Error can not allow himself to give in to the voices assaulting his senses. He looks away from Pinto and scrunches his eyes closed, fists pressed to his forehead. Error slowly manages to calm the severe glitching all over his body. The longer that his previously made portal is closed, the easier it is for him to get a grip over himself. His erratic breathing eventually calms. Error opens his eyes and folds his arms back over his chest. He does not trust himself to let his own hands be free.
"I aM soRRy thAt yOU haD to seE thaT," Error says. His voice is still more distorted than normal, but now comprehensible.
     "Who?" Pinto asks. He still doesn't know who exactly he is facing.
     The dark-boned skeleton straightens his shoulders to make himself look a little more presentable. "I aM Error, THe GoD of DestrUction."
     "Oh! Like me!" Pinto says excitedly. He remembers seeing the God title in his own check box.
     "YeS. LiKe you," Error agrees. A pained expression crosses over his face. "InK gavE up his GOdhooD and life beCause he beLived in yoU. I've beeN watchIng ever sINce."
     "Ink," Pinto repeats the name. Dream and Blue were talking about the same person. Now Error is talking as if Pinto should know them. A very sad thought comes to mind when the bitty thinks over all of the conversations he has overheard. Pinot wiggles and takes off the paint vial on his back and holds it up for the other god to see. "Ink?" He asks.
     "YEs. Ink gaVe tHat to you," Error nods.
     Pinto slouches in the strings, touched by an unfamiliar twinge of sadness. Ink is dead. He was killed by the mechanism of the red strings. Error feels a bit bad for forcing this realization on the bitty. He pulls some more string from his eyes and begins expertly weaving something. In a matter of moments, Error has created a rectangular piece the size of his hand. The God of Destruction calls down four strings to grab the weave by all its corners. He manipulates the strings around Pinto to carefully set the bitty down on the makeshift platform. Error can't bear it to physically touch anyone.
"It iS no smAll taSk thAt Ink has asKed of yoU," Error says.
"The strings?" Pinto asks.
"YeS." Error grabs the collar of his jackets and shirt. He pulls it down far enough to reveal a mess of tangled red strings on his collar bone. The threads disappear under the red of Error's clothing. Pinto immediately reaches over to try and grab at them. Error takes a step back even though he is well out of reach . "You won'T bE ablE to bReak theSe, liTtle CreAtor. FatE hOlds her faVorites tiGhter. Ink waS not able To bREak his oWn. UnLike him, I haVe a soUl. Fate can mAke me daNce on her stRinGs howEver shE plEases."
"You are nice right now," Pinto points out. Except for Ink, everyone else with red strings has acted unlike themselves.
     "OuTsiDe the AntiVoid, I am juSt likE the reSt. Ink's deAth was enouGh to shOcK some seNse inTo me evEn if hE had alreaDy hadEd over his title. Even The poRtaL tHat I opened to bRing yOu heRe waS enouGh to neArly seNd me bAck to maDnesS. I aM traPped here," Error explains.
     "Help? Can I help?" Pinto chirps. He doesn't like the thought of Error being trapped in such an empty place. The Antivoid must be very lonely.
     "YoU caN helP by freEing the oThers. ForGet aboUt me," Error insists. "You diD a goOd job wiTh HorRor. You neED DuSt or KilLer next. CrosS is not uNder Fate's cOntrol. He iS very loyAl to the GuaRdian of NegeTivIty and still thInks he is carRying oUt thEir wilL. ProVe him wrOng. He miGht liSten to tHe oThers. YoU can'T riSk goiNg afTer NigHtmare unTil moSt of thE oThers haVe lefT his siDe. Do yOu undeRstand?" Error is deadly serious as he lays out his instructions. He has choice but to trust Pinto with the lives of his friends. Error feels utterly useless.
"I understand," Pinto says, trying to put on his most serious expression.
     "DoN't foRgeT it," Error warns. "I wiLl Be waTchInG, but I caN't help You."
     With that, Error flicks his wrist and summons a portal just big enough to swallow up the bitty. It closes immediately after, but Error can still feel the burning demand of the strings tightening around his soul. It hurts. Error stares at the now empty platform as he trembles and glitches. Ink might have chosen well, after all. Maybe.......

*****

     Pinto falls through the portal and drops right into a chorus of yelling. Dream and Blue are still panicking over the bitty's sudden disappearance. They are standing and shouting to one another over how they're going to find Pinto. Horror is still on the ground. He doesn't know what to do in this situation. Horror flinches and barely restrains himself from lashing out when a slight weight hits his shoulder and slides back into his hood. He hisses from surprise more than anything else.
Horror grabs at his hood and pulls on it, straining his neck to see what is inside. Pinto is lying on his back inside of the fluffy, stained hood. He gives Horror a big smile when he sees the other. The large monster is surprisingly relieved when he sees no obvious injuries.
"Found him," Horror grunts loudly. He scoops the small bitty out of his hood. Blue and Dream immediately cease their arguing and snap their attention over to Horror. He holds Pinto in one hand.
"What happened!?l Dream gasps, "Was that Error? That looked like Error's strings. Did he hurt you?"
"Error is nice," Pinto chirps.
     "Nice?" Horror repeats. "Error has strings."
"Why did Error take you?" Blue asks.
"To save them!" Pinto says determinedly. "Killer or Dust. Cross next, but no strings. Then Nightmare." Pinto is proud of being able to relay the instructions so clearly.
"Error sounds like he is in control of himself. I thought Fate had him just as tightly as the others," Dream frowns. He looks at Horror for an explanation, but the large monster just shrugs.
"Error is trapped in the white place," Pinto explains.
"That sounds like the Antivoid," Blue supplies helpfully.
"Error must have more control in a space near separate from the rest of the Multiverse," Dream theorizes. "I am relieved that we don't have to worry about facing him in the near future. Error said that Cross isn't being manipulated?"
"Don't need to. Cross will do anything Nightmare says," Horror huffs. To him, it's an obvious waste of magic to string up Cross when his loyalty to the Boss will work just as well.
     Despite their grief over the news of Ink's sudden death, Dream and Blue can't let themselves stop and mourn. They are just as much protectors of the Multiverse as Ink was. Nightmare and his crew have been enemies for years, but peace between both groups was nearly achieved. Fate tightened her strings and made all of them act out at the last moment. The hope for peace is not lost. Pinto can break apart Fate's influence.
"We are going to help you, Pinto," Blue says, speaking for Dream and himself. "It is not right to let Fate control them. If we don't take a stand now, more people could start getting manipulated just like Dream." Blue looks at Horror who is still seated on the floor. "Are you with us?"
Horror is indecisive at first. He feels disgruntled with the idea of fighting against his makeshift family. He look at the ground and scratches at his clavicles where threads used to be. Horror knows that the others must be just as confused as he was. Cross might have a suspicion that something is wrong, but he won't act against his family until he has undeniable proof. Error is trapped and can not help. Horror is the only one who can act. He sets Pinto down on his shoulder and picks up his axe with both hands. "I am with you."
"Perfect. Ideally, we'll get Cross and Dust or Killer alone. Pinto can break one of their threads right in front of Cross. That will hopefully get him on our side. Do you have any ideas about how to lure them out?" Dream asks.
Horror can't take them all to back to his home. Nightmare would catch them all at the base. Error made it very clear they have to free some of the others first. "Don't know why Nightmare sent me and Dust here, but Cross and Killer were sent to Underfell," Horror offers, "Could still he there."
     "That is as good of a lead as any. Let's go!" Dream orders decisively. He summons forward glimmering gold magic and opens up a portal. Dream goes through first with Blue close behind. Horror follows, Pinto riding on his shoulder and gripping the larger monster's jacket collar.
     Underfell is eerily quiet when the group enters. Blue can feel his magic buzzing just underneath the surface of his hands, ready to summon and attack at any moment. Dream's portal dropped them at the edge of Snowdin's forest. The cover of trees give them some time to examine their surroundings while going undetected.
     There are absolutely no other monsters. Horror quickly points out why when he sees a pile of dust. Killing off residents of an AU is a common way Nightmare can sow negativity. It looks like Killer and Cross have taken that task upon themselves. If they truly are intent on clearing out the whole world, there is a very good chance that the two of them are still here.
     All that the group can do is follow the trail. They try to remain quiet and out of sight. The path of dead monsters leads all the way through Snowdin and into Waterfall. They have to be extra carful to step lightly so that the echoes of the caves do not give away their presence. After a few minutes, they begin to hear voices.
     Horror recognizes them immediately. "I go first. Talk to them," he murmurs. Horror gently grabs Pinto and encourages the bitty to hide in his jacket pocket. Horror shoulders his axe and marches forward to confront his friends.