Ink's pov

Error was at 78% for rebooting. I feel uneasy.

"Dream... something's wrong..."

"...You feel it too...?"

"Yeah... like someone is unleashing an incredible amount of magic..."

Dream walked over to Error.

"It isn't Error..."

"It feels similar to... Dusttale Sans's magic... but... at the same time like a Papyrus?"

"It does..."

What is this...? It feels painful. Then, it goes away.

"... It's gone...?"

"Yeah... what was that?"

"I have no clue..."

We stay silent for a few minutes. That was... actually kinda scary. I want to go see what that was, but I don't know where it came from, and can I really just leave Error here? No. I can't. Whatever that was, it needs to wait. I look over to Error. 98% done. I figure he'll be another 7 minutes or so. Dream seems to be deep in thought as well. Okay now I'm bored. Again. I plop onto the ground and sit cross legged, then whip out a sketchbook and a pencil from out of nowhere. Literally.

"What're you gonna draw?"

"Hmmmmm... I'm gonna draw... Error."

He nods and sits next to me. I start off by sketching a circle, then I make a line through the middle of the circle, but angle it all slightly to the side to make him at a slanted view. Then I re-trace the circle, but I curve the circle to make it shaped like his skull. Next I draw the base of his neck; one singular line. Then I draw the base of his torso, and his abdomen. I look at Error to see how much time I have left. He is 99.4% complete. I have 3 minutes left. I draw two sticks connecting to the base of the lower- body, and put circles in the middle of the sticks. Those will be legs later on, and the circles will be his kneecaps. I go back to the base of the neck, and draw the neck. Next, I lightly stroke the pencil over to the top of the torso and draw a circle on top. This will be the front-view shoulder. I draw another circle on the other side of the torso. This will be his other shoulder. I go back to the next, and make a curved line directed by the torso and circles. The front-view shoulder is done. I do the same thing with the other shoulder. Dream looks mesmerized by my pencil. He always does that. It's kinda funny; you'd think he'd grow bored of me drawing considering all the times I've drawn in front of him, and yet he never gets bored of watching me draw. Heh. He's an amazing friend. I re-trace over the torso.

"REBOOT COMPLETE."

Dream and I both jump at the sudden loud voice. Error groans and rubs his fore-skull. I quickly write Error's name on the top of the page so I don't forget who I was drawing.

"Are you alright Error?"

"... MMmMm' fInE..."

Damn. He looks tired and stressed. I close my sketchbook and place the pencil on top of the cover.

"You don't look very fine to me, Error."

Error only groaned in response. He wasn't glitching too badly at least. He looked like something sucked some life out of him. Does rebooting do that to him? Or do these effects occur when he crashes?

"You look awful, you should get some rest."

Error rubbed his temples.

"I cAn'T jUsT sLeEp rIgHt AfTeR I rEbOot. If I dO, tHeN mY sYsTem mAy ExpEriEnCe A fAtAl cRaSh AnD I'Ll nEvEr wAkE Up aGAin."

"O-oh... then when can you get some sleep?"

"I dOn'T nEeD sLeEp. I wAs nEvEr rEaLly AbLe tO sLeEp aNywAy. I dOubT I cAn nOw."

His eyesockets were blank as he said this. You could see the pain in his expression. I feel a pang in my hollow chest. Dream looks slightly shocked, but also saddened. Has he ever even slept before? Not counting the times here, of course.

"... What kept you from sleeping...?"

Error was silent for a moment. He looked a little tense. He took in a deep breath.

"tHe vOicEs In tHe aNtI-vOid, nIghTmArEs, iNjUrIeS, pArAnOia, pAiN, aNd tHe cReatIon oF nEw AU's."

Oh stars... that is just... I don't even know what to think.

"bUt iT'S fInE. I dEsErvEd iT. I wAs tHe dEstRoyEr, aFtEr aLl. hEh..."

His eyesockets are still empty, and deprived of any happiness. Dream has tears in his eyesockets.

"Don't say that, Error...! You didn't deserve any of the suffering you've received!"

"wElL wHaT aBouT aLl tHe iNnOcEnTs i'VE kIlLEd hUh?!"

"You didn't want to kill them. You had no choice! It wasn't your fault!

"I-..."
That shut him up. Then I pulled the small glitchy skeleton into a hug. I got a glitchy squeak in response. Dream joined the hug, wrapping his arms around Error's side. I could feel him begin to shake, and he shoved his skull into my chest and gripped the front of my shirt. I could feel wet patches form on my shirt. I rubbed his back soothingly. He let out small sobs as Dream and I hugged him. I promise I will protect him with everything I have. I promise to never cause him pain again. And I will not break my promises.