I had been trapped for a day under seven years by this time, and I despised it. No matter how hard I tried to hold on, my hope was slipping away, and there was nothing I could do to stop it! It had been steadily declining for over a year, and Ink knew it. The doll Ink had given me was in fact made by Error; it was a gift from him, but Ink took the credit. That wasn't surprising, knowing Ink. The 'little Killer,' as Ink called it - whether I liked it or not, it was a good name - actually gave me a lot of hope; Error figured that it would be a good way for him to offer some support when he wasn't around. I appreciated the gift with all my soul, and I thanked him so much for it when I saw him again; speaking of visiting, my visit with him was tomorrow, and Ink had just finished his spree. It was time for bed, and I held my doll close as I tried to fall asleep; it was a real comfort. I fell asleep quite soon in anticipation for the next day, and I couldn't wait to see Error once more! When I was woken, I recited my morning lines with Ink, trying to appease his whims in order to see Error. 

"Good morning, Dusty!" Ink grinned.

"Good morning." I hugged my doll close; I was rarely seen without it.

"Today should be quite a fun day for you!"

"Yep." I was counting the seconds.

"I suppose you want to see him sooner rather than later, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Luckily for you, I have a get-together I have to go to this morning, which means I have to get out early; consequently, you'll be taking your visit soon enough." Ink patted my skull; I had grown quite used to that.

That news made me happy.

"Of course, we'll also have to miss our morning routine, but I'll catch you in the afternoon, okay?" Ink looked to me.

"Okay." I only had to wait a little while longer.

"Dusty, are you going to be taking your little Killer?"

"Yeah."

"Don't lose him!" I couldn't stand it when Ink treated me like a child; I lived with it, though..

"I won't."

"Good. In that case, your escort will be here in about five minutes; an evil guard will be waiting for you when you come back!"

"Okay."

Ink left soon after that, leaving me to hug my doll and think about topics for my visit; an hour wasn't a lot of time, and I had to plan my time wisely, calculating for breakdowns and crying. We hadn't managed to get through even one visit without tears, and I wasn't going to bet against the odds; I knew I would cry. As for the guards, they had found out that it was me behind the categories - even if it was Ink's idea to make them official - and I received my fair share of unwarranted pain for it; they also hit me harder in general after that incident. There was still only one diabolical guard, despite the efforts of the others; the only way to achieve that was to be like Ink, and he was the only one took that step. When the door was opened, I was met with two guards who would escort me to Error for my yearly visit; I couldn't wait! I placed my doll into my jacket pocket to avoid losing it; I would be handcuffed this time, since I could actually move. I allowed the guards to restrain me without hesitation; why would I hesitate to do what I had to do to see Error? The trip was long, as always, but the end result was what I was looking forward to; Error looked happy to see me walking through the doorway, and I met him with a smile. When I was seated next to him inside his cage, we hugged eachother tightly.

"It's so good to see you, Dust!" Error smiled. 

"You, too." I was comforted already. "It feels like an eternity.."

"I know..how have you been holding up?"

"Not good..it's really getting to me.."

"I wish there was more I could do to help.."

"The doll really helps..thanks again."

"I'm glad you like it..at first, I thought it might have brought back a few memories.."

"No, it's actually a big help!" I paused. "But.."

"But what?"

"Error, I'm losing it..I'm losing myself.."

"Dust, you can hold on! Papyrus will come for us soon!"

"Will he?" I felt myself tearing up. "What if he doesn't?" 

"Dust, he will."

"I'm scared, Error.." 

"I know.." Error sighed. "If you had to guess..how long?"

"At most..if I'm lucky..five years."

"At least?"

"I think I can make one. After that, I don't know."

"All right. I'll help as much as I can, okay?"

"Okay..how have you been holding up?"

"I've been all right. Just lonely, as usual."

"Well, I'll help you as much as I can!"

"Heh. I guess I walked right into that one."

"Error?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think is gonna happen?"

"You mean..when you.."

"Yeah.."

"I couldn't say.."

"Okay.."

"How about we talk about your brother? What has he been up to?"

"Oh, he's been great!"

"That's good to hear!"

After that, I began to tell Error about Papyrus's accomplishments, of which there were many. I could talk for hours about Papyrus; sometimes, I probably did, when I had the time. We also talked about other things, such as events, people, and the past; I liked talking about the past, even if I couldn't see my family anymore..their memory would live on. Our time moved quickly, as always, but I gained a bit of hope to see me through; that was good. In addition to that, I was able to give Error some assurance; he had more than enough hope, but sometimes, the loneliness really got to him. When our hour was up, we hugged eachother one last time and promised to last until we next met; we had to. I felt sorry to leave him, but at the same time, I had no control over it; I had to leave when I was told, no matter how much I wanted to stay forever. The trip back to Ink's room felt quicker than the trip down to Error, probably because I was dreading what was waiting for me. As the door opened, I clutched my doll closer - the handcuffs were removed after I had left Error's cell - and hoped the guard would go easy on me; I knew he wouldn't. 

As soon as the escorts left, the guard smirked at me, and I cried, holding my doll close. He walked over to me as I sank to the floor; it would be easier to take the pain down there, and the guards liked it when I was lower than them. When he reached me, he knelt down beside me and examined me; a few of them did that before hurting me.

"You won't be needing this." He chuckled, taking my doll away and throwing it across the room; I cried harder when he did that. "Perfect."

After that, the pain started; I couldn't even hold on to my hopes. The guard showed a blatant desire to break my legs; I obliged him, in order to make him leave faster. He launched a couple bones at my legs, and although they would have missed if I hadn't moved, I didn't want the pain to continue; they were fractured almost immediately. I wouldn't be walking until I died. When the cracks began to come quicker, I could only hope that I would be able to move by the end of the day. The guard kept hurting me for two hours. After the two hours, he had gotten his fill of my suffering, thankfully, and he left before he had to; he would have stayed longer if I didn't let him break so many bones. As soon as the door shut, I looked to the area where the guard had thrown my doll; I was considering giving it a name - calling it "doll" all the time was a bit redundant. I liked the term "Hope," since it gave me hope; actually, I decided then that I would call it Hope. I looked carefully for my Hope, but I didn't see it..anywhere. I was a bit worried; what if I had lost it?! I looked for it more, but it didn't show up...it wasn't in the room with me, and even if it was, it was out of my reach; I could barely move.

I decided to wait; it would turn up eventually, and at that point, I would have it again! I had nothing to worry about! I decided to think about Papyrus; thinking about him would reinforce my hopes that he would come for me! He's the best, and he was no doubt trying to find a way to rescue me at that very moment! I simply had to wait, and I could wait! I was being irrational before! Papyrus had the hard part; he had to make a plan, find a way to execute it, and play it out perfectly, while I only had to wait! I could stand a bit of pain as I waited; it was nothing new. After a couple hours of waiting, there was a knock at the door; it wasn't Ink, since he would have simply opened it. I usually wasn't on my own, unless Ink forced me to be; he called it "isolation torture," and I really hated it. A minute later, the knocking came again. I couldn't just do nothing - actually, I could, but I didn't want whoever was out there to have to stand there all day - but I had no clue what to do! I decided to answer them - with my voice, since my legs were broken. 

"I-it's just me.." I called out softly.

"Oh!" The door was opened soon after that, revealing the swapped Sans, who came over to me. "Sorry.."

"I-it's fine..need something?"

"The guard who was here earlier did a 'not very nice thing.'"

"What's that?"

"He took your doll..I managed to get it back from him." The swapped Sans placed my Hope into my arms.

"Thanks.."

"Sure thing! I'll talk to you some other time, okay?"

"Okay.."

"Bye!" The swapped Sans stood.

"B-bye.." 

The swapped Sans left soon after that, and I was left to hug my Hope. The swapped Sans came at just the right time, too, because Ink came into the room only five minutes later. He seemed happy to see me, but I couldn't return the feeling; I didn't want to return the feeling. He was quick to sit beside me, eager to either talk to or hurt me; I hoped it was to talk.

"Heya, Dusty!" Ink giggled. "Did you have a nice day?"

"Yeah.." I simply recited my lines.

"Great! Would you like to hear about my day?"

"Sure.."

"It started out great! I mainly tortured civilians that had been acting up, but they deserved it! You should have seen this one Undyne!"

He continued his talking for a few hours, trying to scare me out of my wits with his gruesome stories of torture; he couldn't, though. I had grown used to vivid descriptions and insane tactics; I was only scared because Ink was present. If I had been told those exact same stories by a guard, I wouldn't have flinched, but it was Ink, and I couldn't keep a calm outlook when Ink was there. He continued his stories until bedtime. which meant he had missed his chance to harm me with his paint; I was thankful for that, but he told me that I would simply get tortured for twice as long tomorrow. When he was asleep, I, too, drifted into the land of dreams, descending into a dusty nightmare. I thought of my brother as I slept; he would come for me.

I didn't have to worry.

~~~chapter end woot ~~~

Dust bean hug.

Thanks for reading my embracing writing!

Bye!