#tehrogue

Therapy was all Ink had talked about for the past three weeks. He went on and on about fixing his flaws because he learned where they originated. Error didn't buy it. How can one possibly fix themselves when they were mistakes in the first place? Such anomalies shouldn't ever exist and need to be destroyed. Why should he care about them getting better if he would kill them anyway?

He was hit with a sense of nostalgia as he entered the room. A thick smell of vanilla entered his nose as the air around him stuck to his skin. It was very humid, and Error already hated it.

"He'll be in shortly!" Ink closed the door behind him. "I'll introduce you two!"

"I don't need your company or your help, squid," Error snapped, turning his head around. He paused for a second, surprised the glitch stutter in his voice had stopped when he entered the room.

"Hey, you won't even know I'm here, haha! I'll leave when he starts with ya!"

Error eyed Ink as the painter sat on a brown chair nearby, staring at the billboard. Error followed his gaze. There were a lot of red strings tied from peg to peg on different pictures on the billboard as if it represented a pattern or a lifestyle. There was a small desk below the billboard. It had a fire-lit candle to the right and a clipboard to the left. Once Error noticed the fire from the candle, he noticed that every part of the room was lit, and no shadows were cast.

Error sat down on a large sofa, sinking into it. He immediately felt at peace as he looked up. A fan was turning above him. Other than that, the tan walls were barren. The door was a darker brown than the walls, but everything felt so empty.

And Error loved it.

Besides Ink occasionally shifting, there was no sound. It reminded Error of his home in the Anti-Void. The room was lit with a soft yellow light, and it was cold. The vanilla smell didn't fade away.

Error tried to hide the fact he thoroughly enjoyed this room. "I don't have all day," he snapped at Ink. "Where is this therapist?"

"He's coming," Ink looked over anxiously. "I forgot to tell him I was bringing you, so maybe he's getting new papers for you!" Ink bobbed his head as if a song was playing in his head. He pulled out one of his notebooks and started to draw, his rainbow tongue sticking out as he colored in a previous picture.

Error scoffed to himself. Despite how much he hated the painter, there was always something captivating about him. He was goofy and unpredictable, along with annoying and heartless. He was fun to watch, at least.

They were enemies, they hated each other. Granted, Error hated everyone, and he had no intention to change that. But why did Ink come out of his way not to fight him but to bring him to this place? Especially after he...

Error thought back to when he destroyed the multiverse, and it made him question Ink even more. Even though the creators started to create different AUs again, most alternate universes were gone. X!Gaster hadn't been seen since. Yet, Ink didn't hold it against him, as if he'd forgiven him.

Error hated that. He didn't understand why Ink was suddenly so friendly to him. Ink got over his pain so quickly; something Error was never able to do, and he was jealous because of it. It's not fair...

The brown door opened, and a sweet skeleton stepped inside. His glasses hung from his non-existent ears. He wore an off-white cardigan and a green shirt. He wore a soft smile on his face before he locked eyes with Error. Error didn't bother to observe the rest of his appearance. Confusion filled the therapist's gaze, and Error grimaced. Significant, another stupid anomaly.

"Doc!" Ink shot up from his chair, walking up and hugging the therapist tightly.

Doc looked perplexed before he hugged Ink back. "Ink, there you are! I didn't see you," he smiled softly, still watching Error closely. "Did you bring a friend?"

"Yes! This is Error, Error, this is Doc!" Ink let go of Doc and happily smiled at Error.

Error's gaze went past Doc's eyes as he found his soul. It was an ordinary monster soul as he expected. However, it had a tint of light blue surrounding it. Although he found it strange, he didn't think about it too much as it jolted out of fear. He smirked to himself as Doc shuddered. The therapist's fear was amusing.

"Error, it's nice to meet you!" His voice didn't betray how the therapist was feeling. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Doc Sans; I'm assuming you came to get some therapy?"

"Didn't have a choice," Error glared at Ink and ignored the handshake. "Let's get this over with."

Doc withdrew his hand and sat down on the green chair. He flipped through the clipboard and wrote a few things down. Error knew he was afraid, and rightfully so. One wrong move and the Destroyer would tear this place apart. Why should he show mercy to this pathetic excuse for a life? Was this another one of Ink's tricks? If he ended up destroying Ink's trick, maybe Ink would finally feel the same pain that he did.

"I'll be nearby if you need anything!" Ink trotted toward the door, his eyes sparkling with stars and his grin wide. "Have fun Error!"

Error rolled his eyes as the painter disappeared. He sat back down on the couch, sinking into it. At least the therapy room was nice with its flat appearance. That made him want to destroy it less.

"So, Error, I've heard a lot about you," Doc smiled sweetly as he turned to him. "But I want you to tell me about yourself."

Error scoffed, shaking his head as he slouched in the couch. "The paint freak told you about me. Typical. What did he say?"

"You tell me," Doc tilted his head. "What should he have told me about you?"

Error thought for a moment before he replied. "I am the Destroyer of the Multiverse; I am the one who makes anomalies like yourself fearful for their lives-"

"No, I don't mean your status," Doc interrupted. "I want to know you. What do you do in your free time? What do you enjoy? Your job set aside, who are you?"

...What?

Error never heard of such a question. He started to feel different about this therapy thing. Did this anomaly really want to know? Did he really care? Why would he ask such a thing? No one had even asked him what he liked to do outside of destroying things...

No one expect Ink.

Well, Ink didn't really ask, he just kind of figured it out over the years.

"I uh..." Error glitched, shaking his head. It took a moment for him to regain his composure as he felt like he would crash any moment. "Not much... I search for the Omega Timeline; I chill at home and eat chocolate and watch UnderNovela... Sometimes I go to OuterTale."

"Those are good hobbies!" Doc encouraged, writing down what Error said. "Tell me about UnderNovela and OuterTale. Why do you like them?"

Error scoffed lightly, looking down at the floor as he recalled the show. "UnderNovela is funny. So much unnecessary drama, all in the right ways... And OuterTale..." He paused. There was always something different about OuterTale, something he could never put his finger on. It reminded him of the Anti-Void, just more beautiful. It felt like home as if he had been in a similar place for most of his life that he couldn't remember. "I don't know. It feels like I've already been there thousands of times. It's so empty and dark, yet beautiful."

"How does OuterTale make you feel?"

Error glitched again. Maybe this therapy thing wasn't so bad after all. "It feels like home."

"What is home to you?"

This anomaly was really making him think. "I don't know," he snapped, losing patience. "It just... does."

Doc nodded and adjusted his glasses before scribbling on his clipboard. Error sank further into the couch, crossing his arms. How was this supposed to fix his problems again? He didn't see how this was helping. If anything, Ink just gave him another place to destroy.

"Tell me about your life," Doc broke the temporary silence. "Tell me everything that you remember."

Error started to backtrack to his first memory, waking up in the Anti-Void. He was vague about events like meeting Ink, kidnapping Swap, destroying the multiverse, etc. He pulled a few strings from his eyes and started to knit with them in his hands. He watched Doc get nervous as he played with them, but when he turned his attention back to his fingers, it felt normal to talk about what he had been through while he knitted a blue scarf.

He glitched more as he talked about the different AUs he destroyed before his big finale. He started casually until he got to the people's screams and tears. At the time, he had laughed evilly, enjoying their pain. However, it didn't help the pain that he felt himself. No matter how many people he killed and destroyed places, that pain remained. Nothing he did lessen that mental agony he had suffered from for so long. A sinking feeling rested in his chest. It engulfed him as he kept thinking back. Is this... what regret feels like?

Doc listened intently, asking clarifying questions until Error was done. "Error, do you remember anything before waking up in the Anti-Void?"

"No, I told you that," Error shook his head. "I just was here."

"There could be some hidden stuff there that has caused you to act the way you have," Doc explained. "And it might explain how you feel inside, too." He got up slowly and set his notebook down. Grabbing some red string and paper from a drawer, he flipped the billboard over and started hanging various things Error mentioned up. When he was done, he ran the red string through the various events, many leading back to the empty space, what happened before the Anti-Void.

Error watched and studied what he was doing closely. He would never admit it, but he marveled at how Doc traced his maturing behavior back to the X-Event, his respect for Ink back to Swap, his hatred for touch from Nightmare, how he woke up like an angry manbaby, and how that was caused by something he couldn't even remember.

"Unfortunately, our time is up today as I have another client coming in," Doc sighed. "But we can unpack all of this together and help you get to a place you want to be."

"And if I'm happy with how I am?" Error snapped, hiding the fact he actually wanted to come back and unpack his life.

"Are you?"

Once again, the therapist had left the destroyer speechless. He didn't like how Doc bested him with simple questions that no one had even bothered to ask him. Someone was asking Error about himself for the first time in his life, and he didn't know how to feel about it.

Doc smiled softly; he had his answer. "I'm assuming you're like Ink, and time is irrelevant to you. If you choose to come back, just let me know, and I'll make some room for you, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever," Error rolled his eyes and stood up. "Are we done here?"

Doc shuddered once more but tried to hide it. "Yeah, we are done for today."

"Good," Error threw away the scarf he was working on and walked through the door without a goodbye. What a waste of time, he thought. I could have been watching UnderNovela.

As he walked out of the office and to a place where he could travel to the Anti-Void freely, he paused, turning around. Usually, Error would immediately destroy any AU he went to. He glitched, glancing around. His eyes softened as his gaze saw Doc Sans waving at him with a warm smile.

Huh. A slight smile crossed Error's face as his anger disappeared. He stepped through his portal, having done no damage to this new alternate universe.