Chapter Text
WARNING!! INJURY DESCRIPTION!
It was an awful noise. He didn’t even hear himself scream over it.
Cracks and snaps and pops he’d heard a million times before. He could walk those off by now. But a crunch…
He couldn’t focus. His head spun, his surroundings so fuzzy he wasn’t sure if it was from pain, or because he’d hit his head as well. It was definitely possible. His soul pounded so hard that for a few dreadful moments, he thought it might shatter again.
Breathing coming in short, sharp gasps. His soul wasn’t getting enough magic.
He couldn’t move his leg.
Can't move..
Focus.
You struggle...
Focus.
He had to focus, and not give into despair.
He had to persevere, even with dust crumbling from his leg.
He had to get this damn tree trunk off him before one of them came to finish the job.
His chest shook with effort. His blue magic spluttered at his fingertips, then died out again.
His vision fuzzed.
Not again.
Footsteps were coming. Crunching in the dirt. Killer or Nightmare, come to watch as he faded- or finish the job.
No, no, not again.
He’d gotten used to the feeling, but it was never pleasant. Fading, falling asleep, then having your body and mind jolted back like it never happened.
He clenched his fingers into the dirt, raising his other hand. Focus, focus, focus. Focus on the tree, not on the fact that tears were streaking down his face. On the tree, and not on the fact that his soul was floating out and shaking. On the tree, not on the footfalls growing closer and closer.
He screamed as suddenly, blue strings wrapped around the trunk and yanked it off him. The sudden absence of the pressure was somehow a million times worse, the air hitting his shattered leg like hornets stinging him over and over again. The glitch yelled something at him, but Swap couldn’t quite make out what it was over the fuzz in his head. All he knew was that it was Error. He’d probably only been this glad to see Error a handful of times in his life.
The footfalls stopped- and then there was a loud thunk as presumably, Error threw the tree trunk at them.
Something was tossed to him, and he scrambled to grab the small object before it rolled away- a little wrapped candy. He could have cried again as he popped the familiar candy in his mouth. The effect was immediate. His soul went back to his ribcage, and while it did little to lessen the searing pain in his leg, it wasn’t dusting anymore.
He lay there, staring at the cavern ceiling and trying to focus on how grateful he was. Anything to give Dream the upper hand while he was lying here. He couldn’t tell how long had passed until he was able to summon a small, sharp bone and dig it into the ground as an aid to help himself up.
That had been a terrible idea. His vision spun as he sat upright, but he didn’t lay back down. He hunched over, shutting his eyesockets and just trying to think for Dream. Not on the scuffling he could hear, and not on the pain in his leg. For Dream. Everything was going to be fine. He was grateful Error had come. He was grateful he hadn’t woken up in his bed, with Chara rushing to ask what had happened this time.
Errors grating voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Sw-wap, he’s go-gone. You ca-can get up now.”
Swap shook his head a few times. Unable to quite form coherent words to tell Error that there was absolutely no way he was going to be able to get up in this state. Hell, if Error hadn’t saved him, he’d probably have died.
Error narrowed his eyes at him, his eyelights scanning over his friend to try and find what was wrong. When he noticed the leg, he visibly grimaced. “O-o-h. Yeah, th-that’ll do it.” He summoned some more strings and a blunted bone attack and held it out for Swap to grab.
Getting the idea, Swap grabbed the bone and pressed it to the injury. As he did so, a shock of white hot pain rippled through his body, causing him to cry out again, and Error to wince at the noise.
With a flick of Errors wrist, the bone was tightly wrapped against Swaps left tiba, and another one against his fibula. Both of them were- well…crushed. Multiple bone fragments either dusted away or lost on the ground. Error wasn’t an expert, but it didn’t look great.
He sat down a little ways away from Swap and watched him for a couple of seconds. Swaps face was scrunched up, and he trembling all over. Tears dripped down his cheekbones, dripping down into his bandanna.
Error looked away. “...U-uh, I ca-can take y-y-y-you home-?”
“N-no! No- everyone wi-will freak out, I’ll- we’ll…wait for D-dream…” Swap hiccuped. Dream couldn’t come soon enough. Monster candy stopped him from just kicking the bucket here and there, but Dreams healing magic would…well, actually heal the injury rather than just preventing death.
“We?” Error balked, about to protest. But Swap looked at him, tears welling up in his sockets again. Being alone right now was just about the worst thing he could imagine.
Error sighed harshly, making Swap almost smile at his friends' exasperation. “Y-yes, yes, okay, we.”
They sat like that, neither saying much more. Error kept an eye out for either of the Stars returning, and Swap counted the strings wrapped around his leg, trying to focus on anything else other than the pain.