Thanks go to Wingah, BadDRUMMERboy15, cassianaswindell123, Remnant7, 10burgers, Gray Kanzakai, Alrarora, Allagenda-domsitzers-chan, Doctah Sawbones, and Skele.

Skele pls no I already let a crack ship for this story win my heart and become canon once before-

Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale or Deltarune.

*Told you so.

I didn't know what to feel, looking at them now. A torrent raged inside my soul. consisting of anxiety, excitement, fear, relief...

I know that they'd asked me something, but it was hard to hear over the roar of my thoughts. So, in favor of speaking, I instead stood there, staring with an expression that reflected the panic attack I was having while cold sweat dripped down my face.

"... Cter?" Chara smirked a little wider, tilting their head to the side curiously. "You okay there?"

"... You were dead." I finally managed to choke out, blinking my eyes to remove some of the bewilderment.

"I was dead when you met me." Chara shrugged casually.

"Ah-! ... Uh..." I lifted one finger as if I had a response, but my mouth hung open wordlessly, and my eyes darted to the side with confusion while I slowly lowered my hand to reconsider my words. "Hm."

Chara just nodded in agreement with my confusion.

"Okay, I guess you aren't wrong," I rolled my eyes, beginning to pace to help rid my brain of the ceaseless energy that came with the many thoughts exploding inside of it. "But you were double decker dead sandwich. Double de-lifed and left woefully exorcised."

"Oh, Cter, is anyone ever really gone?" They waved a hand dismissively, much to my aggravation.

"Yes!" I threw my arms into the air, making them snicker. "In fact several people come to mind when I think of people that are definitely dead and never coming back! And up until five minutes ago, you were one of those people!"

"Do you really have such little faith in me?" Chara cocked a brow, continuing to smirk with amusement. "I did say that I wouldn't keep you waiting, didn't I?"

"I thought you were just trying to fuck with me!" I shrugged defensively.

"Well, I was," Their eyes darted to the side before they looked back to me. "But that doesn't mean what I was saying wasn't true."

I groaned, reaching up and pinching the bridge of my nose. I shook my head, before lowering my hand from my face and pointing at them with it.

"How the hell are you here?" My eyes narrowed. "I didn't land a killing blow in the mindscape and your soul escaped, that part I can wrap my head around."

"What I don't get," I took a bold step forward, unhesitating as I reached out and knocked on the top of their head, as if to confirm that they were in fact physically standing there with a real body that looked just like them and not like they happened to hijack some poor DETERMINED human. "Is how you're here, standing in front of me, with a body."

Chara let out an amused 'hm' at my confusion, and I watched as their lips curved up into a villainous, oily grin.

"You know Cter, perhaps it was the setting in which we got to know one another," And I watched as Chara slowly revealed their hand from where they'd kept it behind their back, before my eyes widened at the item that they proudly displayed.

On Chara's face was a mocking and knowing smile as they stared up at me, holding up one hand to show the glimmering black flower of ink they held delicately between their fingers. The craftsmanship was pretty easy to recognize, considering it was my own.

"But I had no idea you could be so sweet!"

Chapter 12: Puzzle Pieces

"I think I just stopped caring somewhere along the line."

"..." I had to pause, lifting my head as if they were holding me at gun point by revealing my simple gift. "... Where did you get that?"

"Right where you left it." Chara smirked victoriously. "Six feet above my previously worm ridden corpse."

"Previously?" I cocked a brow skeptically.

"Do I look worm ridden to you?" Chara was quick to fire back.

"... So you're telling me that's your original body." I squinted, certainly taking their words with more than a grain of salt. "The one that was buried in the ground for god knows how many years."

"What other body would it be?" Chara furrowed their brow like it was obvious. "Last I checked there aren't just empty Charas laying around left and right."

"Okay but how the hell was that body usable?" I said, irritation growing in my voice. "Why aren't you a decayed, shambling corpse?"

"It wasn't easy." They assured, expression hardening some. "But when there's a will, when there's DETERMINATION, there is in fact a way."

"After you so rudely turned me down in the last timeline and..." They looked to be considering their words. "Evicted me from my current homestead,"

"Weird way to talk about your freaky ghost possession."

"I had to look into what options I had left." Chara didn't acknowledge my jab other than with a little narrowing of their eyes, continuing to explain. "I'd never been in this situation before, after all. When I first awoke, I was already attached to Frisk. And that's how it had always been until you came along."

"And the truth is, Cter..." Their eyes went wide, shinning red in the dim light. "You're the one who gave me the strength to pull this off."

My jaw clenched, eyes narrowing at them.

"You gave me this flower and you told me to rest easy." Fury flared in their eyes, and they spoke through gritting teeth as they once again lifted that dark flower in a trembling hand. "You told me to fade away. You dismissed me, after everything!"

"You said you were all fucked up before you met me? Well I was real bored before I met you!" Chara stomped forward, boldly poking one finger into my chest. "And now, when things are finally getting interesting, I'm supposed to disappear? Go away? Rest. Easy?!"

"You said you didn't know if you were better or worse for having known me! Well I'm a lot better for having known you!" Though rage still burned in their eyes, a grin now crept up their face. "And I know you're a lot better too!"

My fists clenched, and I took a step back as they continued to step forward, remaining in my face.

"And after your three sentence eulogy, I came to some conclusions." Chara's eyes narrowed up at me, finger remaining poked against my chest. "I couldn't die. Not yet. Not with the future that was now within my reach."

"You made me stronger, Cter." Chara's expression hardened back to that frown. "You gave me the DETERMINATION to resurrect this tired old body and claw myself from my tomb. I'm back Because. Of. You."

"You're back because you're a nutcase." I stung coldly, knocking their hand away from me.

"Oh and you aren't?" They glared, tilting their head to the side. "Nobody knows who you really are better than me, Cter!"

"Not Frisk, not Sans." Chara held their arms out to the sides, shaking their head slowly. "Certainly not Monster Kid-!"

Rage flared in my expression suddenly, my teeth gritting and my lips curling back in a snarl to bare my fangs. And in that instant, I yanked back my fist, stomped forward, and sent a punch crashing into Chara's jaw.

Chara stumbled back, eyes wide as they hunched slightly, body tilted to the side. They slowly reached up, touching the small stream of blood now gently running from their lip and down their chin. They glared at me out of the corner of one infuriated right eye.

"Get out of here Chara!" I shouted, a certain measure of base entering my voice as I pointed to the side, snarling with fury. "I'm not playing this goddamn game with you anymore!"

"I have spent a lot of my life being an asshole and here I finally have a shot at being a good person!" I stomped forward, pointing at the ground with one finger. "I am happy here! People believe in me here, trust me here! I'm not just gonna throw all that away just for you!"

"... If you're so happy here..." Chara spoke softly, continuing to glare at me while they lifted that flower I'd crafted, displaying it once more. "Then why'd you miss me when I was gone?"

"..." I flinched at their words, eyes narrowing painfully as they once again threw that flower in my face.

"If I'm really trying to tear you away from the perfect happy ending that you totally want, why would you give a damn that I'm dead?" They took a step forward, squinting at me in their interrogation.

"... I don't care where you go, Chara." I shook my head slowly, not having the strength to answer any of the questions they bombarded me with. "But I can't have you around here anymore."

"..." Chara shook their head in disappointment, beginning to step back away from me. "We could be so much more than all this, Cter. Why do you refuse to look at the bigger picture?"

"I spent a real long time staring at the big picture, Chara." I shook my head, expression hardened as I stood tall before them.

"I cut people down, stabbed them in the back, pushed them away - just to paint a big picture that I wanted." I confessed, staring with cold and unblinking eyes at Chara. "And when the bullet shells hit the ground, when the curtains called and the lights went out..."

"... When I put the paintbrush down, and looked at everything that I'd ever done... It, was exactly what I wanted." I frowned, looking down for a moment and shaking my head. I looked back up at them, pursed my lips, and narrowed my eyes to hide the pain I was certain was visible in them.

"And it was ugly."

Chara didn't seem to have a response for that. I don't blame them; I'm the one who said it and I don't even know what to think about it.

So, instead of speaking, we just stared at one another. Unblinking. Contemplating the other's words until a rift opened in the air behind Chara. A strange kind of portal that they stepped one leg back into, looking at me like they were waiting for me to say something before they made their escape.

"... Don't come back." I finally spoke again. It wasn't an order or a demand. I asked them, quietly and calmly, not to return. "... Please."

"..." Chara smiled gently at me. "We both know you don't really want that."

They stepped through the portal, and they were gone.

For now, anyway.

I didn't really know what all of this meant. I didn't know how I felt about Chara being alive or about the words that had been exchanged between us.

I thought about it all the way back to the inn, all the way up the steps, and even as I crawled my aching, sleep deprived body back into bed without waking Frisk.

I wasn't sure if I was anxious or excited by their return. I wasn't sure of a lot of things, I didn't know a lot of things.

But, I know that, with all of the new information on my mind, with all of the possible dangers ahead, with the revival of my current arch nemesis...

I slept better than I've slept in a real long time.

*Before you, a black geyser pierces endlessly into the sky.

*There is a power in this place, and it shines deep within your very soul.

The large wooden doors creaked apart, Anthony and Angel peaking their heads into the castle skeptically.

"And you're sure this is a good idea?" Anthony glanced over at Angel, who scoffed.

"Nope. In fact every horror related thing I've ever seen tells me this is a shit ass idea." Angel shrugged. "But it's either look for help in the castle or keep wandering around out there with the scythe slinging slasher."

"Welcome, heroes."

The two humans jumped, eyes darting around the castle quickly as they immediately stood back to back.

"Don't be alarmed, you are safe here. I do not wish to harm you. I am a friend."

Anthony and Angel both looked suddenly to the fire that had been instantly lit in the chimney at the back of the room, illuminating the darkness and with it, the figure that had been speaking to the two boys.

It was another young man, clad in a crimson cloak that Anthony could only describe as wizardly. To add to his wizard theory, the boy still had one hand held out to the recently lit flames, and embers dropped quietly from his palm.

He had black hair that was tinted to a dark shade of red if one looked closely, and his skin was on the paler side.

"Anthony, Angel..." He smiled gently, standing with perfect posture and placing his hands behind his back.

"It is wonderful to finally see you."

When I finally awoke from what I could only describe as hibernation, it was from Frisk giving me a shake or two, making me stir groggily.

"Uh, Cter?" I heard Frisk's voice, and I managed to peek open my left eye half way open to look up at them.

"Mnneehh..?" Was the only response I managed, but it did make Frisk laugh a little.

"You looked like you really needed it, so I let you sleep while I took care of Papyrus's date. I hope that's okay." Frisk smiled timidly, and gradually I managed to sit up, the blanket falling off of me and revealing that I was shirtless.

"Huh..? Oh, uh... Cool. Good-" I yawned, stretching my arms into the air above me after I turned to let my legs swing over the side of the bed, my back to Frisk. "Job..."

Frisk paused for some reason, and when I looked over my shoulder I realized that they were staring with wide eyes at my back. Or, if I had to guess, the symbol that had been burnt into it. The symbol of The Angel. The Deltarune.

"... You keep starin' and I'm gonna start chargin' ya for it." I smirked at my little joke, and they jumped slightly as they realized what they'd been doing.

"S-sorry!" They threw their hands up defensively. "I just... Uhm..."

I cocked a brow at them, and they looked away.

"... Did it hurt..?"

"When I fell from heaven?" I continued to half ass joke, standing and grabbing my shirt from the side of my bed.

Frisk frowned at that, giving me an exasperated glare while I pulled my shirt over myself, covering the symbol of The Angel that had been engraved upon my flesh.

'When you got... That." They corrected me, and I turned around to face them.

"It felt." I shrugged carelessly. "But no, it didn't hurt."

"Do you regret it at all?" Frisk asked with some concerned curiosity as I grabbed my trademark hoodie from the foot of my bed.

"Getting super powers and becoming a demi god?" I snerked, cocking a brow at them. "Why would I?"

"Because it makes you a little inhuman?" These words really seemed to have tumbled out of Frisk's mouth, judging by how their eyes widened after they said them.

"... Well, I never saw it that way." I said, brow furrowed while I pulled my jacket sleeves over my arms. "Didn't know ya looked at me like that, bud."

"N-no! I-I didn't mean-!"

"Relax." I lifted one hand dismissively, and Frisk frowned as they went quiet, their shoulders sinking with guilt and regret.

"Nobody's human, Frisk." I shook my head as I spoke casually, stepping past them towards the door. "Human's just a word. So is monster, so is demi god, king, Angel, you get the idea."

"So you're saying everyone is equal?" Frisk followed after me, watching me take hold of the door knob attached to the door that led outside of our humble hotel room.

"I'm saying there's less categories of worth than people think there are." I answered, still looking at them over my shoulder as I pulled open the door and stepped through the doorway.

Well, attempted to step through the doorway. There was kind of this skeleton in my way.

I stepped back, blinking once or twice before looking up with confusion at the face of the one who's chest I'd just bumped face first into.

"We need to talk." Gaster was quick to say, staring down at me with wide sockets.

"Uhh... Good to see you too?" I furrowed my brows, taking a step back from the door and letting Gaster step inside, closing the door behind himself.

"I am the prince of this place." The robed boy explained, smiling gently. "The Kingdom of Darkness, that is."

"Anthony, Angel... There is a legend in this land. A legend that one day, two heroes of light will come, and fulfill the ancient prophecy foretold by time and space."

"Didn't know the storage closet came with exposition." Angel muttered to Anthony, who waved him off, though he couldn't help but smile lightly at his friend's joke.

"Please, heroes, I know this is sudden and confusing, but... Listen to my tale, won't you?" The young man in red pleaded.

"Ah-!" Angel lifted one finger to speak, but Anthony interjected before he could make a remark.

"We're happy to hear it." Anthony smiled a warm, friendly smile that reassured the prince. Angel sighed and rolled his eyes at his companion's kind nature.

Though Anthony's sweet and caring personality is what had drawn Angel into being his friend in the first place, he had to admit that he wished Anthony would say 'No' to people every once in awhile.

But, things had always been that way between the two. Where Angel was apathetic, Anthony was caring. Where Angel was sarcastic, Anthony was sincere. Where Angel was negative, Anthony was positive. It had been that way since the two were children.

Perhaps that's why Angel - though he'd never admit it - needed Anthony around. The boy evened him out. Kept him from being able to get too down. In a world that seemed all too negative for Angel, Anthony was a never ending source of positivity.

And, on some level, Angel felt he had to protect Anthony. Though Anthony was certainly stronger than Angel - that had been apparent since the two had hit puberty - Anthony was also naive. He believed too much in the kindness in people and never saw the malice in them, of that Angel was sure. He was also nervous, and could get very self conscious.

So, the two worked out an unspoken and unbeknownst to themselves agreement. Anthony would keep Angel happy with his never ending positivity, and Angel would support Anthony's kind soul to make sure the albino boy always felt that his caring nature was impacting someone and improving someone's life.

Or maybe they just got along because they were the only humans in their hometown. Who's to say?

"Thank you." The prince smiled gently in response to Anthony, before beginning.

"For millennia, Light and Dark have lived in balance,

Bringing peace to the world.

But if this harmony were to shatter...

a terrible calamity would occur.

The sky will run black with terror

And the land will crack with fear.

Then, her heart pounding...

The Earth will draw her final breath.

Only then, shining with hope...

Four heroes appear at Worlds' edge.

Only they can seal the fountains

And stop Chaos Incarnate from returning.

Only then will balance be restored,

And the World saved from destruction.

Today, the Fountain Of Darkness-

The geyser that gives this land form-

Stands tall at the center of the kingdom.

But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon...

And with it, the balance of Light and Dark begins to shift."

"Anthony, Angel..." The prince smiled gently. "Thank you for listening to my tale. I truly believe you two are the heroes from that legend, and the two of you have the courage to save the world."

Did he... Not see us fleeing from the scythe lady? Angel found himself wondering, though he chose not to vocalize their previous cowardice.

"Delta Warriors, please, won't you accept your fate?"

"Uhh..." Angel wanted to say "Hell no get me dafuq outta here", but he shot a glance to Anthony first to make sure he didn't-

Ah, shit.

Anthony had this real star struck look on his face. Those ruby eyes were wide in wonder, and his lips were curved up in an open mouth smile, his jaw remaining dropped in awe at the glamorous destiny that had been thrust upon him.

Angel grimaced at that childlike wonder that Anthony displayed. He didn't want it, but he figured that Anthony would love this opportunity. His albino friend had always been filled with that desire to help people. Angel often wondered what Anthony felt he had to prove.

"This is so cool, Angel..!" Anthony whispered excitedly, looking over to his best friend. Angel forced a smile in response.

But, if becoming some kind of hero would help fulfill this unspoken dream of Anthony's, then Angel owed it to him. Angel sometimes felt he owed Anthony a lot.

"H-heh, yeah!" Angel grinned right back at Anthony, ignoring the nervous sweat he could feel forming on his brow.

"So you'll help us?" The prince's face lit up.

"You got it!" Anthony gave a thumbs up, grinning wide.

"Oh, thank you!" The prince rushed forward, taking Anthony's hand and shaking it excitedly.

Angel watched as his two companions laughed and shook hands, gulping silently.

"Okay, hate to rain on the parade, but you said there's supposed to be four of us." Angel cocked a brow, watching the two let go of one another in front of him.

"I count three." Angel gestured between the two and himself, and Anthony looked to the prince with some confusion as well. "Where's our fourth?"

"Oh!" The prince's eyebrows rose, before he took hold of his chin. "Well, they're... Uhm... Huh..."

In the next instant, the window across the room shattered open, and through it a feminine figure flung in, firing like a bullet and kicking directly into the prince's chest, sending him exploding back across the room and out from the window on the opposite wall!

"Ah ha ha!" The young woman back flipped, landing on her feet and throwing her head back, sending her long black hair flinging back through the air. She spun her scythe from her back, pointing the blade at Anthony and Angel, who stood bewildered.

"Finally caught you!" The girl spoke, grinning wide. It was then that the two noticed that her face was painted white and black like some kind of cartoony skeleton. Around her eyes it was painted black circles, and little cracks were painted throughout the rest of her ivory painted face. Her mouth had been detailed over with skeletal teeth.

And yet, despite her makeup, what stuck out and stunned Angel the most was that energetic, excited and... A little chaotic gleam in her ice blue eyes.

"After my dad hears how easily I put you chumps away, he'll make me Daughter of the Month!" Their attacker gloated, that scythe gleaming with an icy chill.

"So... Error Sans." I sat on my bed, narrowed eyes staring at the floor. I hunched forward, hands clasped together.

"Yes." Gaster nodded. "He's, a bit of an enigma. You see-"

"I know who he is." I lifted one hand to silence Gaster, shaking my head before I looked up at him. "Why does he want me?"

"... Like I said, Error is an enigma. No one is certain how he came to be, but there was a point in which he was a regular Sans." Gaster's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But somehow he was turned into..."

"A glitchy, photo negative sociopath." I finished, and Gaster nodded, snapping his fingers and pointing to me.

"Yes. That." Gaster agreed. "One of the many theories that float around the concept of his origin is that he was morphed due to someone messing with the code. Changing it."

"... Hacking." I concluded, frown creasing my face.

Frisk's eyes widened some, and they looked between Gaster and I with concern.

"Error seems to believe that you could have played a hand in his metamorphosis." Gaster frowned. "And I'm certain he's prepared to kill us all on that hunch."

"All of this is based on Cter's title?" Frisk asked with confusion, making Gaster shake his head.

"The reality that Cter is from has... Great power over our own." Gaster looked to Frisk. "They can manipulate the code that makes up our very being with relative ease."

"If I did make Error, which I'm not ruling out because I did goof with this place a bit when I was in my world," I stood from the bed, making my way to the window and looking out from it into the quaint little town below. "I didn't do it on purpose. We were able to effect this place from my world, but sometimes it wasn't clear how."

"Wait, you mean Cter is from someplace outside of our multiverse?" Frisk fell deeper into confusion, looking between Gaster and I.

"It's, a lot to get into, Frisk." I looked over my shoulder to Frisk. "And kinda hard to wrap your head around. I'll tell you about it another time, alright?"

Frisk crossed their arms, looking away and pouting silently.

"So what do we do about this?" I turned around, looking back to Gaster. "Do we have an ETA on Error's arrival? Any kinda plan on how to handle him? Anybody but us three know?"

"You are the strongest of us, Cter. And you're the one Error is after. For these reasons I came to you first." Gaster explained, hands behind his back while he spoke.

"Hmm..." I nodded thoughtfully, before looking back to Gaster. "Well, thank you for warning me. You should get in touch with Sans."

Gaster nodded in agreement while I walked past him and Frisk, grabbing the pad of paper and pen from the table and writing my phone number on it.

"Here." I spun around, handing the number to Gaster. "Keep me posted."

"Will do." Gaster took the number, placing it carefully in his pocket.

"But what are we gonna do?" Frisk asked, stepping up to me while I walked to the door and turned the knob, though I did not pull open the door.

"For now, we focus on freeing the monsters." I answered, turning to face them while keeping my hand on the door. "If Error gets into the timeline, it'd be a lot safer for everyone to have the surface to escape to."

"You certainly seem calm about this..." Frisk smiled somewhat nervously, sinking into their shirt some.

"I've faced the apocalypse before, I can do it again." I winked an eye shut when I spoke, and gave a reassuring grin. "We're gonna be alright."

Frisk smiled at that, Gaster as well. I pulled the door open, and Gaster opened a split in the very air, much like Chara had the night before. We stepped through our respective doorways, Gaster disappearing to presumably speak with Sans. Frisk and I made our way out of the Snowed Inn.

I know I acted calm, put on a brave face. Because that's what those two needed. The entire Underground didn't know it yet, but I was it's champion. So I had to stand tall, and I had to make sure they felt safe and secure.

But, this Error Sans thing wasn't a joke. In every comic, story, you name it that I saw Error in, he was a real force to be reckoned with. I was certain that he'd squared up with people stronger than me and come out on top before.

So, as snow crunched under my shoes, and Frisk and I made our way towards Waterfall, I came to some conclusions.

We were gonna need all hands on deck for Error. Anyone who could stand a chance needed to be there. We were gonna need all of the strongest players our timeline has to offer.

Which meant I was gonna have to ask Chara for help.

If I know Chara - and who does better than me? - they were certainly gonna twist my arm about it. Especially after I kinda begged them to leave forever last night.

Eugh... How embarrassing. 'Hey I know I told you to go away forever but could you help me fight Skelelucifer real quick?'

But... I have to get their help.

Whatever it takes.

"Who the hell are you?" Angel demanded to know, drawing his spear from his back and spinning it in his grip, pointing the blade out to the one who had been hunting them.

"I'm!" The young lady jumped up, swinging her scythe down and resting the blade on the ground, goofily balancing on the scythe, upside down and looking out at the two. "The bad guy."

"..." Angel glanced over to Anthony, pointed to the raven haired woman with his thumb and made an expression that read 'You believe this shit?'

"So you chumps are try'na seal our dark fountain, huh?!" She flipped forward, landing on her feet and pointing that scythe at them once more. That is, after dramatically spinning it around an impressive - if not obnoxious - amount of times. "Just trying to keep Chaos Incarnate from returning huh?!"

"... Yes." Anthony cocked a brow, nodding slowly. "That's, pretty much the plan-"

"Don't try to deny it!" The girl quickly pointed to Anthony, who squinted at her and threw his hands up to express his bewilderment. "We both know you'll go East! It's the only way you can return home!"

"But I, Lexi, the beautiful and totally badass Predator who hunted you chumperoos down, have this intricate two step plan to stop that from happening!" The girl stomped one step forward, that energetic grin yanking up her expression.

"Step one:" Angel and Anthony felt the temperature in the room seem to drop as Lexi pointed her scythe to the sky. "Open a can of whoop ass."

"Step two:" A cold gust of wind blew down as she swung her scythe down, the blade crashing against the tile floor.

"Equally distribute."

"You know, was it Error?" The well dressed young man with ember tinted hair glanced away from the window that he looked out from and back to the dark colored Sans that stood across his office, arching a brow. "I've been a very busy man lately. Very bold of you to show up unannounced demanding an audience with me."

"All you new age glitches are busy." Error's eyes narrowed hatefully at the one that so fearlessly talked down to him. Called himself 'The Gatherer', as Error recalled.

"Well not all of us are building an Empire fresh off of stopping a genocidal maniac now are we?" Gatherer turned around to face Error, smiling that winning smile of his as he leaned forward on the wooden desk that was between the two, resting his palms on the wood and leaning forward to be at eye level with his visitor.

"Keep runnin' that mouth, kid." Error narrowed his sockets at Gatherer. "I'll turn this timeline to static faster than you can say 'I'm boned'."

"... Hm." Gatherer's smile died down some, before returning more confidently than before.

"Well I suppose you do have me in a bit of a precarious position." Gatherer stood back to his full height, placing his hands behind his back and looking down at Error. "I'll answer any questions to the best of my ability, and in return you'll leave me be."

"I'm a man'a my word." Error confirmed, that glitchy grin widening some.

"Now," Gatherer reached down, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling from it a carton of cigarettes. Then, holding the carton in one hand, he fished through his pocket and retrieved a lighter. "What is it that you so desperately need to know?"

"..." Error's grin shrunk about as much as was physically possible, his glitching eyes narrowing. "Does the name Hacker mean anything to you?"

Gatherer's eyebrows raised with surprise, eyes darting up from the single cigarette he was placing between his teeth. He paused like that for a moment, a metaphorical deer caught in verbal headlights.

"..." Slowly, Gatherer lifted that lighter, regaining his composure while he lit the cigarette he held delicately between his lips. "... Hacker."

A gentle smirk crept up the face of The Gatherer as he turned around, taking hold of his cigarette between his index and middle finger and slowly inhaling a breath of nicotine.

He pulled the cigarette away from his mouth, and slowly exhaled a steady stream of grey fog into the air. "Now that is a sound for sore ears."

Gatherer looked over his shoulder to Error, who continued to watch him skeptically. He flashed that convincing, winning smile once more.

"What would you like to know?"

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