Stretch had been out of his mind with worry. Blueberry didn't have a scratch on him, but when he saw him break down, it was too much. He didn't talk to him, he just broke down crying until he passed out. See, this is why he didn't want him to be a royal guard. This wasn't the first time he had seen action. After all, he helped Dream, but that was always more of a game in his eyes. This… this was bad. Nightmare came to their world… came after Blueberry… and Stretch wasn't going to let that slide. Oh hell no. He'd find a way to blast that little bastard into a gooey mess.
"Brother?"
Stretch quickly turned around from his spot on the couch, looking at the stairs as Blueberry came down. His eyes looked dark and he actually looked upset, which worried him to no end. Blueberry usually could force a smile on his face, and while it didn't always fool him, it was a constant he appreciated.
"Sans, how are you feeling?" he asked quickly.
"I'm fine," he lied. Blatantly. It was obvious, and that alone put Stretch on edge.
"You don't look fine," Stretch protested. "You should go back to bed."
"I can't… I… I need to see Jewel."
Stretch paled a little as he tried to distract himself, and Blueberry, by lighting a cigarette in the house.
"Papy, you know I don't like it when you smoke in the house!" he barked at him, grabbing the cigarette straight from his mouth. And while he would fight him on it, this was the first time he snatched it from between his teeth.
Stretch stared at his little brother. "Sans, really, are you all right? You're not acting like yourself."
"I just… I need to see Jewel!" he barked at him.
Stretch's brow knitted together in concern. He didn't know what seeing Jewel had to do with any of this, but… "She's… not here, bro."
"What? Where is she?" Blueberry demanded.
"I don't know. She… hasn't come back."
Fear tinted his face in a dark blue as Blueberry started to panic. Her magic wasn't up to normal levels, she was still recovering from the last coma… The wound in her back looked pretty deep. "I need to get Ink!" he shouted as he tried to push past his brother, only to get grabbed around his middle.
"Sans, knock it off! You're in no condition to be running around!"
"I'm not hurt, I'm fine!" he squirmed against his brother's grip. "I need to find her, Papy! She's hurt, she can't go into another coma! I have to help her!"
"She's not here, bro! You can't help her if we don't know where she is!"
"That's why I need Ink! He can find her! S-she probably went to see Classic or Red!" He prayed he was right in that regard. Maybe she went home to the anti-void! Maybe she went to the Doodlesphere! She'd be safe in those spots!
"Sans, you have to stop!" Stretch tried, but his brother fought him with an intensity he wasn't used to. He pulled himself from his grip and bolted. "Damn it!"
Stretch tried to teleport in front of his brother, but he refused to listen to reason. He ran all the way back to his station. He wasn't sure why but given it was the last place he saw Jewel, he could sort of understand the panic-filled logic.
"Sans, stop!" he tried to grab him, only stop as he saw the tears in his brother's eyes. "Sans," his voice got softer. "Come on, talk to me. What's got you so riled up?"
"She… she's never had anyone… really believe in her…" Blueberry started to break down. "Sh-she needs… she needs positivity," he cried. "I can't just leave her alone!"
Stretch sighed softly before letting his brother go but held him firmly by his shoulders. "You can't let panic cloud your mind, bro. You can't do anything if you're not thinking clearly."
Blueberry sobbed, but he tried to calm himself down. "I… I need to get Ink… please, brother, let me do this!"
Stretch sighed. "I don't like how you attach so quickly to people… but all right," he relented. He was only going to resent him if he said no. And he knew Ink… sort of. Didn't quite approve but he was okay… "Call me if you need me, okay?" He would stay… but he had to check on a certain human.
"I will," Blueberry promised before his brother teleported away.
Jewel's drink was still left by his brother's stand. He dumped it out into the snow, screaming for Ink, hoping he'd get the message. Nothing. He ran toward the river, throwing rocks and calling for Ink through that, hoping he'd get the message… After about ten minutes of it, Blueberry had to face facts. Ink wasn't in the Doodlesphere to watch the portals. He gripped his skull, trying to wrack his brain to figure anything out. He couldn't get ahold of Dream, Ink wasn't home… there was only one other person he could call for help… and he was desperate enough to try.
"If Jewel told him she was coming here… he's probably checking in on her, right?" he thought as he looked around. He wouldn't be able to see any of his portals… not that it meant anything. He started gathering sticks, rocks, anything he could. He started writing out "Error" along the ground, hoping to get his attention. He didn't leave the river, trying Ink every so often… it was a waiting game that he really didn't like…
Error really didn't like the idea of her trying to hang out with Blueberry of all people. He could understand Dream, but Blueberry? He was very vocal about his protests when she told him where she was going. At least she told him, he supposed. She could have just gone like he did. Though it was a safe enough timeline, it wasn't like she was going into a Genocide run or anything… still… she was going to thank that stupid diabetes-inducing shrimp of a skeleton!
He had checked on her before. She was laughing with Blueberry, messing with that idiot brother of his. He actually laughed when she dumped all that snow on him. That had been worth it! So he left her be. Let her have her fun… but it had been a while. When he checked again, Blueberry was asleep and Stretch was sitting down with a drink. She probably left. She did say she was going to talk to Classic, so he tried to check on him. Nothing. Maybe she found Dream? He would hop around and he wouldn't know.
Still, it had been too long for his liking since he had seen her. So he checked again. UnderSwap was the last place he had seen her… Knowing her she'd hop out to go somewhere and come back with something for them. It was how she was. But when he saw Blueberry by the river, with his name spelled out in a variety of different spots… well… his interest was grabbed. Why was he trying to get in touch with him? He wanted nothing to do with that little bastard. But he hadn't seen her… and now he was legitimately worried.
"He probably pissed her off and she ran away," he muttered to himself, hoping that was the case.
Blueberry was getting dejected, no one was answering him. Jewel was still missing… He couldn't give up but what could he do?
He heard a pixelating sound and his head shot up as he saw Error walking through a portal. His glare was fierce and it was fixated on him, but he didn't care! "Error!" He had never been more relieved to see him!
"You got my attention," he practically hissed. "What do you want?"
"It was Nightmare!" he cried out, which instantly made Error lose the majority of his edge, his eyes growing wide as he stared at Blueberry. "Jewel teleported him away to save us, but she hasn't come back!"
"What?! How long ago!?" he demanded, so, so close to just grabbing Blueberry by his scarf.
"It's been a few hours," Blueberry explained, tears in his eyes. "She got hurt by Dust and-!"
"Dust?!" God damn it, things could never be easy!
"She… she said she would take them away! She hurt them, they haven't been back! I was hoping she was with you! Or one of the others!"
Error growled a little. He couldn't really blame the little blue blot for worrying. Dust and Nightmare? Granted, it was only two of them, but for a surprise attack. "She hasn't been with Classic, not that I've seen. I haven't seen her since she pranked your brother."
"That wasn't long before," Blueberry told him. "M-maybe she went to Red's?"
"Why the hell would she recover in UnderFell?"
"Maybe she didn't have a choice! He might have been closer, I don't know! Please, we have to check!"
"We?" he hissed at him. But even Error wasn't immune to the puppy-eyes of Blueberry. "Ugh, fine. But you go check with Classic, I'll go to UnderFell," he said, opening a portal to the main timeline.
"Right! Divide and conquer! Come get us as soon as you know anything!" Blueberry agreed as he jumped through the portal.
"Trusting idiot," he muttered. "He's lucky I don't want to deal with Classic right now."
Error closed the portal behind Blueberry and opened a portal to UnderFell. Unlike with Blueberry, who he dropped off slightly away from Sans' house, Error didn't have a problem going directly into the line of fire with Red.
Red was sitting in his house. It was dinner time after all, and it was another pasta night. Edgy's skills had gotten better since he had Jewel to compare to now, and he was determined to beat the human in something. He was going to have to thank her for that. He would have if a certain someone didn't kidnap her the second she was healed. It still irked him. He had barely any time with her and this was the second time she had come to him hurt. Technically he was called to help her this time, but still…
However, when he saw a pixelated portal open up in his kitchen, with a certain black skeleton walking through, his eye lit up and he was ready to go. He shot up from his seat, the chair failing and he lunged for him. Error, however, was ready and quickly grabbed Red with his strings, slamming him down into the floor. Edgy was quickly up and Error just summoned a bunch of red bones and a black blaster, glaring at Edgy.
"Don't even try it. I'm not in the mood."
"Ya got some fuckin' balls showin' your face 'round here after what ya did!" Red growled, fighting against his strings.
"Shut up," Error rolled his eyes. "Fucking hate me later. Has Jewel been here or not?"
Red stopped struggling and looked up at him. "She's missin' again?!"
So no, she hadn't… "Nightmare went after her in UnderSwap. She's been missing since she ended the fight." All hostility was gone as Error let Red go and recalled his bones and blaster.
Red got up, rubbing his wrist a bit as he looked at Error. "Have ya checked wit Classic?"
"Blueberry's there now," Error explained.
"Excuse me," Edgy barked, not meaning it in the slightest. "You think you can just leave this mess here?!"
"Boss, this is serious! I'll deal wit it later," he said, glancing to Error, who opened a portal. The two ran through before Edgy could do anything.
"I'm still pissed at'cha," Red muttered.
"Don't give a fuck," Error muttered back.
They walked through the snow, finding Sans and Blueberry at his station. They were waiting for them. Sans' eyes narrowed at Error, he was still upset too, but Error didn't give a damn about any of that right now.
"She hasn't been here either," Blueberry told Error as they approached.
"I told you I hadn't seen her come by," Error muttered.
"What do you mean?" Sans glared at him.
"She was going to talk to you after the marshmallow here," he lazily motioned to Blueberry. "Unless she found Dream with him."
"Maybe she's wit Ink?" Red suggested. "If she got stuck, she knows how to call 'im, right?"
"That might be why he didn't answer when I tried to get his attention," Blueberry was hopeful.
Everyone looked at Error, who, annoyed, opened a portal to the Doodleshere. He hated being the only one to taxi these three around the multiverse, but really, it didn't hurt too much… But upon getting there, Ink was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he?" Blueberry worriedly whined.
"You know how distracted he gets," Error muttered.
"Well, we don't need Ink to look at his portals, right?" Sans asked. "Maybe Jewel's by something we can see into. Then Error can go get her."
"Better than sittin' 'round I suppose," Red agreed as they all headed to the various liquid portals of the AUs.
Error just stared at them. "They have no idea how many worlds are out there…" he muttered.
"But it's all we have," Blueberry turned to him.
Damn it. She found him without any portals or any windows… if only he could re-create that… Error groaned as he found himself before the portals Ink had set up… a cluttered, disorganized mess. Of course it was…
"How the fuck does he find anythin' in this bullshit?" Red grumbled, red eyes darting around from portal to portal. He and Sans were quickly getting overwhelmed with the sheer number of them.
"This doesn't even include the worlds that don't have natural water," Error explained. "You'd be surprised what they create."
"I can see why you destroy 'em, there's too fuckin' many," Red muttered.
Finally, someone else who got it! But out of the corner of his eye, Error saw something. "Well, I'll be damned."
Everyone turned to him as he opened a portal and with his strings, quickly grabbed and pulled in a very confused golden-clad skeleton.
"Dream!" Blueberry exclaimed,
Dream blinked as he looked around at the group, who was very much without the caretaker of this place. "What's… going on?" he asked cautiously as the portal closed behind him.
"Jewel's missing! It was Nightmare, he-!"
"What?" Dream exclaimed.
"Calm down, Blue," Sans spoke up, finally. "I think everyone deserves an explanation," he said, before glancing at Error. "From you too. Don't think you're off the hook for kidnapping Jewel before."
"Whatever, it's not important right now."
"He's right, ya know. Jewel's been targeted by that damn blob again if he's got 'er…"
"He… doesn't have her… I think," Blueberry spoke up, all eyes turning to him.
"Tell us what happened, kid," Red encouraged.
"It… it was just… normal, ya know? She was about to go, I really didn't want her to, we were having fun. But in a second, everything changed. I guess she sensed Nightmare because she threw up a barrier at the same time he attacked. It… it was weird, he… couldn't move afterward."
"I thought magic didn't affect him," Error questioned, looking to Dream, who shrugged.
"Remind me to ask her what she did, that would be helpful to know," he commented.
"I just… saw this shock come out at him, he was stuck on the ground."
"Do you know why he was there?" Sans asked. "Did he track her to your world?"
Blueberry fidgeted a little. "No… He… said he came there for me…"
Everyone stared at the anxious skeleton, Dream quickly catching on.
"He went after you to get to me… Blue…" He felt horrible.
"Once he saw Jewel was there, he seemed confident… but so was she. He tried to make her anxious by telling us he didn't come alone, but she knew already," Blueberry said, looking up. "She knew he wasn't alone and knew who! She knew Dust was there too, knew exactly where he was! It was… surreal."
"Who's Dust?" Sans asked, looking over to Error.
"You, but at LV20. He wiped out his world to kill the kid, even Papyrus."
Sans paled. No way in hell that would happen! Yeah, he had been desperate to stop the kid, but… that desperate? No way in hell!
"How did she know about him?" Dream asked.
"Well, she did mention she knew of other murderous AUs when introducing me to these knuckleheads," Red explained. "But we can ask her more when we find her. It sounds like she had da upper hand, what happened?"
"Dust came out and tried to break the barrier with a blaster. Papy and I both thought it would break with a point-blank attack like that, but it didn't. A shockwave blasted Dust back and stunned Nightmare again. Jewel seemed so confident… but then she said she forgot about the karmic damage…"
"And at LV20, that would really hurt," Sans paled.
"But she's not," Error started, everyone turning to him. He groaned, but fuck it. "She's not pure like you assholes. She's helped me murder AUs and didn't even flinch."
"Doesn't really matter," Red piped in before the fighting could start. "Even at a lower LV, dat much could really hurt."
"She said she couldn't take another hit like that," Blueberry interrupted. "She changed tactics… she distracted Dust for Papy and me to stall him. Then she went after Nightmare. She… did some stuff and then teleported them away… and she hasn't… been back…"
"Did she go into another coma?" Sans asked worriedly.
"She said… she couldn't do that again. She might never wake up," Blueberry said worriedly. "That even Dream and I might not be enough to pull her out."
Worry was definitely filling the room. How were they going to find her? There were so many alternate worlds to check.
"Can you track her?" Error then spoke up, looking at Dream. With confusion, Error continued, "Nightmare could sense negativity and track it. Can you do the same for her positivity?"
"It's… possible, but I don't really know it off the top of my head. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference from anyone else's."
Silence ran over the group for a moment as they tried to figure out what to do. Then they heard a soft tap. Everyone turned to Red, who had his phone up to his ear, and a slightly annoyed expression.
"What are you doing?" Sans asked him.
"She gave me her number before," he explained. "But it goes right ta voicemail. Either it's dead or her phone's off for one reason or 'nother."
"Well, at least you tried," Sans sighed. "Try again and leave her a message to try and call us back if she can. She might be hiding, who knows."
"Her, hide? Doesn't seem likely," Error scoffed at the idea.
"If her magic is gone, she could be waiting for an opportunity to slip by, you don't know what's going on with her!"
"She wouldn't hide, she'd fight!" Error barked at him.
"Stop!" Blueberry shouted over them, tears in his eyes as he shook. "Please, stop!"
Error scoffed a little at the crying skeleton, who was being comforted by Dream. "Whatever," he rolled his eyes before opening a portal.
"And where do you think you're going?" Sans snapped at him.
"Dusttale. If Jewel took them anywhere, their "home" states might have overridden what she planned to do. It's worth a shot."
"You're going to go where that psycho lives?"
"I've worked with that psycho before. He won't hurt me. Besides, he's got a soul, won't take me long to finish him off he was stupid enough to try."
"But if Nightmare's there," Dream pointed out, "You could be in trouble. I don't think anyone should be going anywhere alone."
"You wouldn't survive in Dusttale," Error spat at him. "Even without anyone there, it reeks of death and you know what that breeds. It's why Nightmare likes it and why I haven't deleted it yet." He wasn't getting into a territorial dispute with anyone over an already empty world.
"Maybe we should split up to where there's an AU traveler in each," Sans suggested.
Error rolled his eyes. "Fine. Thirteen can come with me, Blueberry and Dream can go wherever they want, and you can wait for the ink stain to come back."
"Why Red?" Sans questioned.
"Because Nightmare wanted him to join him. He won't set off alarm bells if he catches us in Dusttale."
Sans couldn't argue that point. He sighed a bit, before looking to Dream and Blueberry. "Guess I'll hold the fort down here."
Red grumbled as he walked forward, hands in his pockets. "Ya know I'm only doing dis 'cuz I wanna find Jewel, right?"
"Like I'd go anywhere with you otherwise," Error rolled his eyes as he headed through his portal, Red following before it closed behind them.
"It's… strange to see the kind of people who care about her," Blueberry spoke up softly.
"She does have a wide range of friends," Dream agreed.
"If she even considers us as such," Sans bitterly commented.
"Please, stop," Blueberry pleaded. "Ink's told you she wants to talk to you. And she was going to when she was leaving my world before all of this.
Sans sighed. He was just being bitter and he knew it. Error took her and he was mad… if her magic was gone and still not fully back, he couldn't blame her. That might have been why she went to see Blueberry first, his positivity was key for Dream to figure out how to heal her, she might have been charging with him.
"Sorry, Blue," he said softly. "So, those two have a game plan, what about you two? Anywhere you think she might go?"
"Jewel did mention Error takes her to Outertale… and then there's the AU we were just at for lunch. She has this tree there she likes to think at," Blueberry spoke up. "But everyone's human there."
"Then… how did you..?" Sans questioned while Dream also looked a little confused.
"I didn't mind the stares, and Jewel came up with a good excuse, no one questioned it," Blueberry explained with a small smile. "It was… fun. But… I don't think she'd go there after this."
"Well, there are AUs we can try," Dream said softly, thinking. "Maybe she wound up in a random one by mistake if her powers fizzled out."
"Let's hope it's a peaceful one," Sans sighed.
Red glanced around as they stepped into what felt like a familiar place… only even darker than what he remembered. It felt more like his world than any other he had been to so far… except it was too quiet. Even quieter than after everyone got wind of Edgy coming into town with a bad mood.
"Damn," he muttered a bit.
"Be quiet," Error told him. "We're the only living things here now."
"Ya said… he killed da kid, right?" he questioned.
"Yeah."
"So… why hasn't it… reset?"
"Because I have the soul," Error said plainly. "If the world doesn't get deleted, the kid's soul has to be removed. It's in my collection."
"You… have a collection of human souls?" Red blanched a little. "And Jewel's okay wit dat?"
"It's plain to see in the anti-void, I've never hid it. She's never commented on it. Now shut up."
Damn, Error was scarier than he thought. And what about Jewel to just be okay with… souls all around her? He silently followed behind Error as they looked around, looking for signs of life. Footprints in the snow, anything…
Their footfalls did not go unnoticed. Dust lingered around a corner, clutching his chest, or rather, what was left of it. His red and blue eye emitting purple smoke as he glanced to who had bothered to enter. He would never admit it, but he was glad it was Error. But why was he here? With the Sans that refused Nightmare's offer… interesting…
"Ya know, stalking around like that is gonna get you blasted," Dust said with a grin.
Red couldn't help the back-step he took as he stared directly into the eyes of this Sans. It was… disturbing. In a familiar way, and he didn't like it.
"You can try," Error replied cockily. "You don't look so good."
"Heh, humans are bitches to kill," he muttered.
"Heh, what, run into another one? Not enough LV this time?"
"Nightmare had me hold back, wanted this one alive. Nearly cost us both, damn psycho," he muttered.
"Psycho, huh?" Error rose a brow, seemingly disinterested. Internally, he wanted to just wring his neck for insulting his best friend. He deserved what he got, plain and simple.
Dust's eyes narrowed as he pulled his jacket back, blood seeping through his white shirt from where his ribs had been shattered and dusted. He lifted his shirt, showing his missing sternum and ribs, his soul exposed and… cracked. "Mother fucker, no sane person does damage like this, believe me, I should know!" he laughed. "She literally went through me and hit me straight in my soul!"
Red visibly paled and Error was honestly surprised, uncertain how to process this.
"She went for Nightmare's too!" he shouted at him, his maniacal grin growing. "Boss is insane if he thinks he can just use her! Psycho has no problem plunging her hands straight into his chest! You got to have a serious instability to not see the crazy!"
"Where is Nightmare?" Error tried, deciding to not focus on this information just yet. He'd start to spiral down a rabbit hole of thoughts and he couldn't do that in front of Dust.
"The fuck should I know," he muttered. "Crazy bitch grabbed us and next thing I know I'm here. He's probably recovering or hiding his shame," he laughed. "That was not a fucking fair fight, damn! Coulda used you."
"Heh, you always need me to save your asses," Error smirked. "You let me know where she is, I'll go pay her a visit."
"Dunno. But you should go see Nightmare, he's probably already plotting something."
"I'll think about it, got my own shit to do," Error smirked before opening up a portal. Red dove in and Error quickly followed.
Dust watched them leave before his smile grew. "Lookin' for her, huh? Nightmare will love to hear this."