I N F E C T (Errortale AU Fanfic)
I’m going to point that this is completely experimental, so don’t expect it to be perfect! Either way, enjoy! Errortale belongs to @loverofpiggies.
Sans called out to his friend from the emptiness of the anti-void. His voice echoed across the blank expanse, bouncing off of nothing.
Error never told him where he was going. Sans assumed that it was because Error didn’t trust him. He was just another prisoner, after all. Even though he had never seen anyone else here besides himself.
The only confirmation he had of others being trapped here were the occasional screams.
He didn’t like to think about that.
Sans didn’t like being alone, either. It just reminded him of how lonely Papyrus probably was without him. He missed Papyrus so much.
His only comfort was Error’s presence. His captor.
Sans looked down. When did things go so wrong…? I can’t even tell what day it is anymore…
Something grabbed his shoulders from behind.
“GAH!!!” Sans pulled himself away. He heard laughter. glitched laughter. He turned around to see Error staring at him.
“You should see the look on your face. It’s hilarious.”
Sans grinned nervously. “Ha ha…good one. You really got me.”
“Well, don’t sound so DEPRESSED about it. I really tried to make you laugh this time.”
Sans scratched the back of his head. Clearly their sense of humor was not the same.
He decided to change the subject. “So, Error…where were you all this time? It took you a lot longer than usual to get back.”
“Oh, nowhere special. I was just passing through a few universes. Although, when I made the count…I found that there were several more than before. Some idiot keeps creating new AU’s right under my nose and dropping multicolored paint everywhere. It’s annoying.I almost ruined these slippers I stole from Underfell by stepping on his mess.”
Error balled up his fists and giggled. “When I find that good-for-nothing creation enthusiast…I’m going to KILL HIM. Nice and S L O W.”
Sans trembled a little, but not enough for Error to see. He wished that his friend would develop an attitude that was less…murdery.
“Anyways, how was your day today? See anything new? Do anything fun?”
“U-umm…no?” Sans stammered. “I can’t really go anywhere else besides here?”
“Oh, right. The whole ‘Prisoner For All Eternity’ thing I forced you into.” Error rubbed his chin pensively, then his eyes widened.
“…Hmm. I’ve given you a lot more freedom than most others I’ve trapped here, haven’t I?”
“I…I guess so…” Sans mumbled.
Error tapped his foot. “…Ok. So here’s what I’m thinking. Unlike them, I actually like you. If you keep behaving as well as you are…I may consider letting you out of here to come with me on a couple of my…'expeditions’. But that’s it. I won’t give you anything else.”
Sans couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You…would actually do that? For me?”
Error shrugged. “Why the heck not? HOWEVER. If you try anything funny like escaping or telling anyone about me…I’ll drag you straight back to the anti-void, tie up your soul again, and make sure that you NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Do you understand?”
“Good!” Error patted him on the back and grinned. “Actually, I need to go to another universe that popped up recently. Thinking of destroying it right away. Maybe toying with the people there for sec before I decimate their insignificant existence.”
“Wait, you’re leaving again??? You just got here!” Sans protested.
“Relax. I promise I won’t be long.”
Sans pouted. “You said that last time.”
“Did I?” Error looked up at nothing, pondering to himself. “Huh. I don’t remember saying that. Ah, whatever. No use in dwelling on the past. See ya later!” Error created a small gap into a universe and walked through it.
“Hold on a minute!” Sans shouted. He ran for the gap, but it had already disappeared. He was all alone again.
I’m so tired of this silence. I’m supposed to be the one that always has faith and believes in everyone. But how can I here? How do I believe in someone that won’t listen to reason? How am I supposed to protect my brother when we’re so far apart?
Tears began clouding his vision. “Papyrus…my friends…anyone…please, talk to me. That’s all I want.”
Sans started sobbing. His cries gradually bleeded out into the emptiness of the void. It was still strong enough to carry out for a long distance. In that instant, someone heard.
Sans’s crying ended abruptly. Was that a noise he had heard just now? A voice?
“H-hello? Is anyone there?”
It was hard to catch, but Sans could tell it was someone else. He could barely make out what they were saying, since it was more of a whisper than actual talking.
“Turn left. You’ll find me.”
He didn’t bother hesitating. Sans dashed to the left as fast as he could. It had to be someone friendly; otherwise, they wouldn’t have said anything. He ran and he ran and he ran, until his soul felt like it was on fire. He had to stop before it burst. Sans slowed down to a walking pace.
“Getting warmer. Come closer.”
Sans kept moving forward for what felt like hours. He might as well been, since time lost all meaning in the anti-void.
Sans jumped at the sudden proximity of the voice. It felt like it was right next to him…or behind him? Above him? In front of him? He couldn’t tell. One thing he did know for sure was that the voice sounded similar to his own.
“Are you another Sans? Another me? Where are you?”
The voice wasn’t speaking.
“I know you’re there. You told me to come to you! How do I get to you if I can’t even see you?”
“Come on…say something! Don’t tell me that I made you up! That I just imagined a person to talk to when Error isn’t around! I…I don’t want to be crazy…like him.”
He sensed something behind him. Sans quickly turned around to avoid being jumpscared like the first time. Nothing was there. He felt it behind him again. Turning around once more only produced the same result. Sans waited. This time, he didn’t turn around. He braced himself for another shock.
And there he was. Another Sans, wearing vibrant, neon colors that hurt his eyes along with a cap and black sunglasses that had the word ‘YOLO’ bodly engraved onto the lenses.
He grinned. “Sup, brah? Heard your sick nasty cries across the multiverse. You can chillax, cuz Sanzy Fresh is here to make it all better for ya!“
It wasn’t what he expected.
In fact, it was much better.
Now whenever Error disappeared, this Sans would slip through unnoticed. Just to hang out with him. It was nice, not being completely alone for once. Sometimes they would even pull pranks on Error. The other Sans was clever enough to make it seem like an accident every single time. Somehow, Error never managed to figure it out. Sans was a little surprised by this, then realized he’d probably get killed if Error found out.
At the very least, he remained true to his word and never discussed any information he did know about Error with the other Sans. Error was still his friend, which he pointed out constantly to the other Sans if he started to pry him.
The other Sans would simply grin in response or say “Aww.”
He kept asking Sans to call him ‘Sanzy’, ‘Fresh’, or both combined. Sans still never got comfortable with the idea, but he didn’t know what else to call him. He chose not to call him anything at all. The other Sans didn’t seem to be bothered by this.
After a few days or weeks of the same thing, Sans decided to turn the tables and pry the other Sans.
“Hey, uh…Sanzy?” Sans flinched at the use of the bizarre nickname.
“What’s shakin’? Heyyyy…you used my title, bro! Righteous!
“Heh heh, yeah…” Sans forced a smile. He still didn’t like it.
“Where exactly did you come from?”
Sanzy raised a eyebrow and his grin increased. “Homeboy, I thought you’d never ask!” He put his arm around Sans’s shoulder. Sans was startled by the sudden physical contact.
“See, I come from a tubular world full of gnarly dudes and dudettes that just wanna have a rad time! When we’re not hangin’ 10 on the waves or kickin’ it old school with turned up beats, we’re bringin’ down the house with awesome parties! Literally. We like, totally trashed ‘Dyne’s house the last time we did it.”
“Wait, Dyne? As in Undyne?”
Sanzy pointed his index fingers at Sans. “‘Cha! Who else would I be talkin’ about?”
“W-wow, that’s great! From the way you described it, your world is safe! I guess Error didn’t manage to reach your universe yet and mess with it! Unlike mine…”
Sanzy curved his eyebrows. “What was that?”
Sans slapped his own mouth shut with his hands. Oh no! What have I done??? I shouldn’t have said that!!!
He looked at Sanzy and waved his hands frantically. “Look. F-forget what I said, ok? It’s really not all that important!”
Sanzy didn’t seem to have heard him. He was staring off into the distance.
Sans felt the atmosphere change.
“…So. That what he’s been doing this whole time. I didn’t know that one of us had the potential to do something like that. Wicked.”
Sans began to sweat nervously. “Uh, Sanzy? Are you ok?”
Sanzy still wasn’t facing him. “I’ll bet ya don’t like being stuck here, huh?”
Sans lowered his gaze. “Of course I don’t. I care about Error, and as his friend I really want to help him, but being in the place all alone when he isn’t around…it’s too much for me.”
Sanzy tapped his fingers to a nonexistent beat. “What if I told you…that I could find a way to get you out of here?”
Sans let out a small gasp. “R-really?”
Sanzy swiveled his head back. “Sure thing, bro-seph! There’s just one little detail ya gotta do to seal the deal.”
As he stared at Sanzy, eagerly waiting for a reply, he saw something shift in his face. For a second, he swore he could see Sanzy’s expression change to terror, and the word on his sunglasses had become something else.
It didn’t finish. Sans wondered if he had truly seen that, or if his mind was playing tricks on him.
“Bruh, it’s no biggie. But it has to be done!” Sanzy added, interrupting Sans’ train of thought.
“Wait…what needs to be done? Sanzy…?”
In an instant, Sanzy had him trapped in an iron grip by the arms. A purple aura oozed from behind his sunglasses.
“L E T M E I N F E C T Y O U , S O I C A N H A V E H I M.”
Sans tried to yell, but he was cut off by a terrible sensation rippling through his body. It hurt. Sans shrieked from the pain. Then he felt nothing. No, it was worse than that.
He couldn’t feel himself anymore.
Error returned to the anti-void with a stolen cup of coffee and a spider donut. He hummed cheerfully as he tossed the finished cup back into a random universe. He thought he heard someone shout angrily in protest, but he didn’t care. He shut the gap.
He was still holding onto the donut. He laughed to himself for no particular reason.
“This oughta cheer him up. He always looks down when I’m about to leave, so I might as well give this to him.”
Error looked around. Sans wasn’t in the usual spot he found him in.
“….Huh. weird. Wonder where he is. Hey, Sans! I’m back!”
Error was confused. Sans usually came to him or replied by now. But…nothing?
Error narrowed his eyes. “Very funny. if this is payback or a little fit for leaving you alone, it’s not going to work!”
Now Error was starting to get worried. Something was wrong. This was far too unusual, especially for Sans. Why wasn’t he showing up?
He walked around. “Sans! Where are you? Did something happen while I was gone? Are you ok?”
He got quiet and listened. There was something making noise. It was very faint, but Error decided to follow it. As it got louder, he could make out what it was.
It sounded like someone had a terrible taste in music. Error covered his ears.
“UGH. It’s AWFUL. Who’s making that horrible racket?!? And is that…static?”
Error sped up. The music increased after each step he took. Once the noise became unbearable, it muted itself.
Error put his hands down. What’s going on here…? There’s still no sign of Sans anywhere. Maybe I should turn ba-
He was interrupted by blaring music. It was rhythmic. Obnoxious. Irritating. Error gritted his teeth furiously.
“Oh, that is IT!” Error pulled his blue strings out and flung them around wildly. “WHERE ARE YOU?!? SHOW YOURSELF!!!”
The music got lower. Error started to hear someone chuckling. It was coming from everywhere. He forced his strings to stop moving. His eyesight still wasn’t very good, but he scanned the area nonetheless.
It was incredibly blurry, but Error saw it. There was a figure about as tall as him, facing him from a long distance. Error frowned and readied his strings for an attack.
“Well? Are you gonna just stand there or make me come after you?”
The figure moved a little. Error blinked and it was only a few feet away from him. Now it was clear enough to see. He recognized the colorful outfit and stupid sunglasses right away.
“Not you again. Don’t you have anything else better to do than bother m-”
Error froze. Something was different about Fresh this time. His face looked smoother and more juvenile. There was a starry gleam from inside the sunglasses that he’d only seen in one other person. That was when he noticed the bandana and boots.
Error put his hands on his face as his body started to glitch out. Several ERROR symbols appeared all around him.
“No…no no no no NO!!! You can’t…you DIDN’T!!!
Fresh cackled. It sounded more like two voices fused together, one higher than the other.
“Yo, Error! Long time no see! Lookin’ hella tight as usual, huh? I REALLY missed ya! I hope you’re ready for some sWeEt SwAgTAcUlAr fUN tImEs. I KnOW i aM.”
Error pulled his strings tight enough to the point were they would cut anything that went near them. His eyes radiated fury.
“GET OUT OF HIM. RIGHT. NOW. BEFORE I RIP YOU OUT MYSELF.”
“Come on, my diggidy homeslice amigo. Don’t be like that. It took me so long just to get back in here. Thanks to your little blueberry bud, it made things a wHolE loT eaSiEr for me.”
Error said nothing as he swung his strings towards Fresh. He aimed them at his chest, where the soul was supposed to be. Surely if he managed to pull just hard enough, it would split them apart and Sans would be safe. But Fresh was a lot faster than he was. He dodged Error’s strings easily.
“Ha ha! somebody looks like they aren’t feelin’ so hot! How ‘bout I…cRaNk uP ThE bEaT???”
Fresh snapped his fingers. The music came back on twice as loud as before. The noise was agonizing to Error as it reverbated in his skull.
Error’s movements became more glitched and erratic as he strings shot off in a million directions. One of the strings struck Fresh straight in the arm. It stayed in there, but Fresh didn’t seem to react to it. He simply kept
Error glared at him in disbelief. “How can you not feel that?!? It’s supposed to be extremely painful!!!”
Fresh shrugged. “Dunno. Guess I’m immune, since this ain’t even my body. After all…the screams have never been mInE.”
Error stopped. Fresh was right. Each time he appeared, he was inahbiting a body that wasn’t even his own.
Fresh snickered. “That’s right, breadslice. You’ve been listenin’ to your buddy’s screaming this whole time. Heh hEh heH…You should’ve seen what he was like whenever you went away. ‘Oh, I’m sOOOoo LoNelY. ‘I want to see my DEaaARrr bRoThhHHeRRrr aGaiN.‘OH Error, WhY WON’T YoouuUU LeTT mEE gOOoo hOmE??? wHY dO I hAVe To sUfFeR lIkE YoU??? dOeS EvErYoNE nEeD tO HuRt sO yOu ffEEEeeeLlllLl bEttTTTeeRR AbbBoOOuUtTTt yOuRsEllLLfFFf??? yOuuU'RreeeEE sOOOooo SElFIsH.’”
Error became dead silent. He was twitching a little.
“Awww, whatsa matter, dawg? Did I actually break you? Hard to believe I could, since you already aRe.”
Fresh heard an audible snap. He looked down to see that the string on his arm was gone. All of the strings fell to the ground, surrounding Error. For a second, Fresh’s grin faltered. Then it came back.
“…Whoa, broski. Cutting down your only line of defense? Bodaciosuly risky, if ya ask me. Don’t really see how you’ll be able to do anything without the-”
Error screeched. It was distorted and fractured, like glass breaking or nails on a chalkboard. He slammed his fist into the ground. It actually cracked from how hard the impact was.
Fresh backed away slightly. He wasn’t expecting that.
Fresh raised his eyebrows. “Huh? I didn’t quite cat-”
“I SAID. WHAT. DO YOU. WANT.
Shock passed through Fresh’s stolen face, which rapidly turned into delight. “Well, it’s about time!”
Fresh reappeared directly in front of Error.
He jabbed his bony finger into Error’s chest. “This. I want you. Your body. Your pOwEr. Give it to me, and I’ll release your ‘lil chum pal.”
Error’s expression darkened, and he looked down at the white floor. He wondered how many times Sans or any of his prisoners had done the same thing. Feeling hopeless. Joyless. Empty inside.
Error looked back up, right into Fresh’s eyes. They were still difficult to view clearly because of the sunglasses, but he could see Sans in there. Terrified. Probably still screaming. For the first time since he could remember, he felt pity. Not just for Sans, but for everyone else he’d locked away in this white prison.
He grabbed Fresh’s hand and pulled it down. He stared at him intently.
“…Fine. You can have it.”
Fresh’s sunglasses started to glow purple. He was jumping a little and glggling, as if he’d been given a brand new toy.
Fresh paused. “…And what would that be?”
Error chuckled. “I get to do one more thing with my body. I’m putting everyone I kidnapped here back. Or at the very least, I’m letting them go.”
Fresh laughed hysterically. “Bruh! You’re JOSHING ME, right? Most of these suckers have no world to go back to. You don’t think they’d actually forgive you, after everything you put them through! Heck, the only one that probably would is the dork I’m posessing right now!”
“I’m not asking for their forgiveness. Just who do I think I am?”
Error smiled. It was a genuine smile.
“…Heh. I just feel like it. Crazy how that works, right?”
Sans groggliy woke himself up. His body was tingling, and it felt like his brain had been tossed around like putty. He looked around at the dark hall and rubbed his eyes.
He snapped his head back up. A dark hall. Halls didn’t exist in the anti-void. Nothing existed there, besides Error.
Sans stood up and tried to see where he was. Pillars. Large glass windows. The symbol representing all monsters on each one.
He put his hands on his mouth. “No…it can’t be. Am I…back home…?”
He pinched himself to see if it was real. He felt it. Sans started breathing shakily as tears streamed down his face.
“I…I can’t believe it. He…he actually let me…go…”
Sans stumbled along in a random direction. He kept crying as he took each step. It was pitch black. He wasn’t sure where exactly he was going, but he was still so relieved and greatful. He didn’t even get the chance to thank Error, before he…
Sans felt his head throb painfully. It was almost as if his mind was preventing him from remembering. The only thing that came to him was his interaction with Sanzy. Even that seemed to be slightly fuzzy.
All of a sudden, he heard another pair of footsteps. They matched his precisely as he continued to walk. He slowed down. The other person did the same.
Light filled the room. Sans yelped as he was blinded by it. When he opened his eyes again, he was positive that he was inside the queen’s castle. The golden pathway right before the throne room, specifically. Sans’s eyes darted from left to right, seeking the person that had been nearby.
He stopped on a darker section of the hall. Someone was there. A strange magic started to flow from one of their eyes.
Sans felt his heart skip a beat. But he knew that if that eye kept glowing, it meant he was going to attack.
“Wait! Don’t do what I think you’re going to do! It’s me! it’s really me!”
“…How do I know if you’re telling the truth? That you’re not just a fake or a figment of my imagination?”
“Because…no one knows you better than I do…Papyrus.”
He heard a small gasp. The tall skeleton walked out of the darkness and into the light. There were black circles under his eyes from exhaustion. He squinted his eyes at Sans.
“…S…Sans…? Are you really here…? Or is this just a perfect dream instead of a nightmare?”
Sans could feel tears forming in his eyes again.
“Ha ha…I’m honestly trying to figure that out myself.”
The two brothers barely waited for any longer. They ran forward and embraced each other tightly.
“I m-missed you…so m-much, Paps. It was one of t-the only things that kept m-me going…”
Papyrus carressed his brother’s head lovingly. “Me too, bro. Me too.”
Sans looked up at him. “The others…?”
Papyrus’s smile faded a little. He shook his head.
“Oh…” Sans looked down. “…So, we’re all alone here?”
Papyrus shrugged. “Guess so.”
Sans moved his arm. It shocked him when he sensed pain.
“Ow!” He looked down at his arm. There was blood trickling down from it.
Papyrus stared down at the injury with a combination of worry and anger. “Where did that come from?!? Did that jerk hurt you?!?”
“Then who did this to you…?”
Sans wracked his brain for answers. It went blank.
They both heard a crackling sound. Sans lifted his head up. His eyes dilated when he saw a strangely familiar gap beginning to form above them. It emitted a sickly purplish color. He wasn’t sure why, but Sans felt like it was something far worse than the oredeal they’d been put through the first time.
Sans grasped his brother’s arm. “We have to get out of here!!! This isn’t right! Something is very wrong!!!”
Papyrus stood stiff, unfazed by the potential terror unfolding before them. Sans pulled at him, begging him to leave it be and escape.
Despite everything, he refused to run.
Sans couldn’t bear to leave his brother’s side again, so he stayed. They watched as the gap grew, revealing a dark figure standing inside.
Sans knew who it was. But at the same time, he didn’t.
The black skeleton set foot in the Judgement Hall, as he had done several other times. Instead of pulling out his strings…he took out a pair of sunglasses. When he put them on, they were engraved with the word ‘ERROR’. Even so, this title was a lie.
Sans stared in horror as the ERROR symbols disappeared entirely, never to be seen again. Now it was a diseased violet glow emanating from his friend.
Sans shuddered and gulped, forcing himself to say a name that didn’t belong to the person facing them. Papyrus sneered at the abomination, silently readying himself with bones that stuck out of the ground.
The skeleton slowly craned his head in Sans’s direction. He grinned.
“Wiggidy wiggidy what up, blue? Ya look a little spooked there! But to be honest…I wOuldn’t blAmE yA foR iT. I am a bit much to pRocEsS.”
“After all this time…I’ve gotten what I always wanted. A totally rad body with funky new moves. With this…I can spread my gOoD ViBeS across the mulitverse!”
Sans saw the strings materialize in Fresh/Error’s hands. They radiated bright neon colors.
“So! Which one of ya wants to feel the Fresh first? I don’t actually need to ask, tho. I’m doIng iT aNyWays.”
Sans felt a deep heaviness in his soul. “…Why? Why are you doing this? I thought that we were friends! Didn’t any of that matter to you at all?!?”
He laughed. “Don’t you get it? I was just using you. We were never fRiEnDs. As for why I’m doing this…”
The infectious music started to play in the background.
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