#And Fell!Flowey is.....well I have my own thoughts about how he might react to humans now that he's been...himself for a while

[sysig]

Two big softies(?) (Patreon)

[yastaghr]

Carried Skeleton 12

Summary: A new RESET sees Sans afraid of Papyrus, who can't take it and leaves. Chara wakes up as a ghost. The first of the seven souls comes down (Justice).

PLEASE MIND THE TAGS

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17443730/chapters/63949414

When Papyrus woke up from the reset, he had to run to the bathroom so he wouldn’t throw up on his sheets. The sight of his brother’s dust was going to haunt him forever, and the guilt that it had been his fault? Oh, that guilt was excruciating. Still, he had a script to follow if he was to keep Sans from suspecting anything. It wasn’t as though Sans could remember the resets, but he was sharp. Papyrus didn’t want him to catch on if he didn’t have to.

He stood up from the floor of the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and splashed his face off in the sink. Then he leaped up the stairs to make sure he wasn’t late to yell at Sans’ door. He made it just in time, according to his internal clock.

“SANS!” He called out, using the same tone and inflection he always did.

Sans’ skull poked out of his bedroom door. Papyrus assessed him in an instant. He was pale and sweaty with dark circles under his eyes. He must have had another bad dream. He opened his mouth to speak, looked up at Papyrus… and flinched.

Papyrus pulled back, almost recoiling from the raw fear on his brother’s face. No. No, that was- That was too much. He couldn’t… he couldn’t stand to see Sans afraid of him like that. It was too much - too much for him to bear. He didn’t want to be the source of his brother’s fear. Maybe it would be better for both of them if he went away. He had said that he would play with Flowey anyway. Maybe he should just stay with his older brother instead of his younger one. He could always come back next time to check if Sans… if he still…

His face hardened and he turned away from his brother, only to feel an insistent tug on his sleeve. Without looking he removed Sans’ hand and started towards his bedroom, saying, “I HAVE AN… ERRAND TO ACCOMPLISH, SANS. IT MIGHT BE A WHILE, MAYBE EVEN DAYS, SO PLEASE DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME.”

That didn’t seem to work. Sans must have sensed that Papyrus really didn’t mean to come back. He clung to Papyrus like a limpet clung to a boat hull. Papyrus sighed and shoved him gently but decisively into his bedroom and closed the door. He used his magic to lock him in. Then he headed towards his bedroom to begin packing. He was maybe two boxes in when, through the thin walls that separated his brother’s room and his, Papyrus heard Sans panicking. The thuds sounded like he was throwing himself against the door. That wouldn’t do! Sans had only 1 HP, he wouldn’t survive that if he did it too long! Even the intentless door would cause some damage. He needed to stop Sans from doing that, but how?

When Papyrus’ eye lights caught on the figure of his cowgirl action figure an idea occurred to him. The action figure was faded and peeling in places, but he could still make out the hoop that the cowgirl was stepping through. He knew ropes like those were used to tie up and control cattle. He also vaguely recalled stories of people being hogtied to railway lines. It sounded like the perfect solution to his Sans problem! Now all he needed was some rope. Hmm… maybe bed sheets would be better. He didn’t want Sans to rub himself raw trying to escape.

Papyrus glided into Sans’ room and caught his brother in his arms when he hurled himself out of the room. Sans was too surprised to react in time to prevent Papyrus from grabbing his sheets. He wrapped them around the squirming wiggle worm that his brother had turned into with not an inconsiderable amount of care. He didn’t want Sans to be hurt because of him. Not again.

Papyrus sniffed and tried to hold back the tears he could feel brimming at the corners of his eye sockets. His mind was filling up with two things that swirled and clashed like food coloring in water. One was the images of his brother dying, his brother’s dust, and his brother’s fear. They were flashing in front of his eyes like a strobe light, traumatizing him over and over again in his own head. The other thing that was his own worry. Sans was still so young. How could he cope with being on his own? Papyrus was his big brother, he should be taking care of him like he had promised Chara he would. Never mind that he was only 157 years old and wasn’t even legally old enough to be a sentry. He had to look after Sans! Abandoning him like this wasn’t… it wasn’t…

He shook his head and painstakingly tied off the last knot, holding Sans up and inspecting him from head to toe. His little brother was crying and struggling. His voice spell had given out on him, so he was making no noise, but the tears told all the story he needed. Papyrus gulped and turned his head away so he didn’t have to meet the accusation in those eye sockets.

“I’M SORRY, SANS. I JUST CAN’T… I CAN’T HANDLE YOU BEING AFRAID OF ME… FORGIVE ME.” With that he ran out of the room, out of the house, and into the woods.

=====

The first thing Chara thought when they woke up was, Wait. Aren’t I supposed to be dead?

They blinked and stared down at their body, looking for the wounds that had killed them. They didn’t find them, but they did find something else. Their body… their body looked like it had when they first fell down into the Underground. It was a child’s body. Not only that, but it was see through.

Okay, maybe I am dead, Chara thought to themself. Now to figure out-

“Hey, Yvwi Usdi! For why you here?” A child’s voice with an accent Chara couldn’t place called out from behind them. They turned around and saw them. Their face was serious, with a cast to it that Chara recognized as Cherokee. Their reservation wasn’t far away from the mountain if Chara remembered correctly.

Chara shivered at the thought of talking to a stranger - especially a human. They hated humans, but… maybe it was a necessary evil. They seemed determined to talk to Chara, so they might as well talk to them. “I’m… not sure what that means, but,” Chara looked around, taking their surroundings in for the first time, “I actually live here. Well, near here. My house is just a few rooms away. This is the spot where I fell.”

The Cherokee child blinked. “My people were not aware that there were Yvwi Usdi down here. That is, ah, ghosts? Spirits? They are a race of small, good, human-like creatures that help to guide my people and punish those who are disrespectful or aggressive.”

Chara snorted. “There’s a bunch of ghosts down here, but most of them are monsters. I think I’m the first human one. Or maybe I’m a monster now, too? That would be nice. I’ve always wanted to be a monster. But, well, I am… used to be a human, just like you. I live… lived down here for almost my whole life. I have three… two brothers and two parents. My family should be in New Home if you want to see them. They’re the king and queen of Monsterkind.” The Cherokee child stood to attention, then started to cough. It quickly turned from a normal cough into a hacking cough. Then the blood came up, and Chara’s indifference turned to worry. “Hey, are you okay? Humans aren’t supposed to cough up blood!”

When the coughing subsided the living child stood up and smiled grimly. “I am not, but that is why I am here. I have, in my chest, the cancers of the lung. I am dying. But my people still tell stories of the monsters and their kindness, and we regret not helping them in the War. We learned from the anisoi, the non-Cherokee humans, that it would take seven souls to break their cruel barrier. Since I will die soon anyway, I want my death to mean something. I will gladly give my soul for the monsters so that they might go free.”

Chara stared at them, their emotions swirling. It wasn’t like they hadn't had the same thought and acted on it, but that had resulted in not only their death, but the death of their oldest brother. They didn’t want any more monsters to die like that. But-

“You said it would take seven souls? Would those seven souls need to be taken outside the Barrier?” Chara probed.

“No, inside is also possible. Why?” The Cherokee child asked.

Chara’s face split in a slow grin. “I think… no, I know that monsters can find a way to store your soul. If Gaster could figure out how to make chocolate grow down here he can definitely figure that out. Then no more monsters have to die trying to get souls on the Surface.”

The human smiled slightly, the corner of their mouth quirking up. “That is excellent. I had heard of the monster who brought a corpse to the Surface… was that, perchance, you?”

Chara nodded. “I wanted my brothers and all the monsters to go free. I was old and dying, but the only way I could get Azzy to absorb my soul was to make him think that I wanted to see the flowers in my village one more time. I wanted to see the sun again… I probably shouldn’t have made him bring my body.”

The child nodded. “That was an error, but an understandable one. So, Yvwi Usdi, will you guide me to your monsters so that they can gather my soul?”

Chara nodded, grinning. “I will. Come on, uh… what’s your name?”

“Ama,” The child said, “It means water in Tsalagi, the language of my people.”

“I’m Chara. I picked it myself… my birth name is dead to me. My new name is short for character. I wanted something that wasn’t male or female but something else,” Chara explained.

The child grinned back at them, showing teeth. “Ah. I am Two-spirit myself. It means someone who does not fit as male or female, but as something else. I feel like no gender at all. My mother helped me pick a name that would fit that, and my father proudly announced it to the tribe. I hope your family did the same.”

Chara grimaced. “Not my human family, but the monsters did. Gender doesn’t mean a lot to them. They had a hard time understanding how I could be treated badly for something they see as normal.”

Ama smiled. “That is good, friend Chara. I look forward to the day when my people and monsters may teach the anisoi about that.”

Chara grinned, then motioned for the Cherokee child to follow them. “Me too.”

They lead Ama to their old house. It looked… the same. The tree still had no leaves and the courtyard was still empty. Chara wasn’t sure how long it had been since they died. Hopefully Mom would be able to tell them. They wondered if Azriel was going to be here as a ghost, too. Neither of them were there, though.

From there, Chara led the human through the Underground. It didn’t seem like anyone was around, but Chara figured that was because it was night time. They could see lights in a few houses, so the Underground wasn’t completely abandoned. That was good to know. The only reason that Chara would want the Underground to be empty was that the monsters had reached the Surface.

Finally they reached the Newer Home. Chara still giggled at Dad’s silly name. Ama asked, “For what reason are you laughing, Yvwi Usdi?”

Chara looked over their shoulder as they passed through the long hallway that led to the house and answered them. “I was just thinking of this place’s name. My Dad is… not very good at naming things. The place where you fell is New Home. The icy place is Snowdin. The wet one is Waterfall. The one with the lava is Hotland, and this? This is Newer Home. Again, Dad really sucks at naming things.”

Ama nodded. “There is a city that the anisoi call Catoosa. It is a city on a hill, and it’s name, in Tsalagi, means “on a hill”. Most of the places I know have similarly unhelpful names.”

Chara giggled again. “That’s pretty bad, I have to say. I-”

“Human?” A familiar voice said behind Chara. They turned around and saw their Dad. He was holding Sans and he looked awful. His fur was scraggly, his cheeks were wet with tears, and his clothes were wrinkled. Chara gulped. Something must have really bothered him for him to look like that.

“Dad?” Chara’s voice cracked. He didn’t seem to hear them or see them. He looked way too scared.

Ama looked between Chara and Asgore, then gulped and stepped forward. Asgore stepped back and Chara floated back. Ama looked… so resigned. So serious. So tired. “Are you the king of Monsterkind?”

Asgore nodded. “I am, my child. Why… why do you ask?”

Ama was interrupted by another of those awful coughing fits. Chara swallowed, seeing the pain on Asgore’s face. He’d always been so empathetic. That wasn’t always a good thing.

Ama smiled grimly. “I am Tsalagi, the ones known as the Cherokee, and I am dying of the cancers of the lung. My people regret not helping you in the war; you were always kind and compassionate, and we are sorry. If you can gather seven souls, you can break the Barrier. I am here to supply the first.”

Asgore’s face twisted up in even more pain, and his hand spasmed. Chara closed their eyes and ran away. He couldn’t see them, and they didn’t want to see what was going to happen next.

[hoodie-lover]

My Multiverse Ask Event! #5

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - First, Second

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Seventh

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Eighth, Ninth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Tenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Eleventh

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own -  Twelfth, Thirteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Fourteenth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive of Our Own - Fifteenth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth 

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twentieth 

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-First

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Second

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-Third,

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Fourth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Twenty-Fifth, Twenty-Sixth, Twenty-Seventh, Twenty-Eighth

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Twenty-Ninth, Thirtieth

KikiTheSapphireKitsune - Archive of Our Own - Thirty-First, Thirty-Second, Thirty-Third, Thirty-Fourth, Thirty-Fifth, Thirty-Sixth, Thirty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, Fortieth, 

Megalovaniaintensifies - Archive Of Our Own - Forty-First

“UT sans and paps what if i told you there was a timeline in where you took paps’ place in snowdin and then paps saw your dust and became depressed and attacked human at judgement hall and was actually hard to beat

PS it isn't a swap universe”

“Disbelief, yeah, we’ve seen it. I was shown it really early on into my adventures in the Multiverse.” Classic said, taking a deep breath as he lazed at his sentry station. 

“Sans has told me about Disbelief, that version of me is in therapy. And Sans helps him out every now and then, they’re nice.” Papyrus said, standing in the fog as he waited for Frisk. 

“frisk have you ever thought of sparing sans while he sleeps so he's alone there forever and goes mad”

“I have. But I can’t hold that much food in my inventory so I would starve and be forced to load my save before that happened.” Frisk said, sighing as they made their way through Snowdin, now a barren wasteland. 

“Hmm censoring any hints is gonna make this harder. Lets see if we can find a way around that. Nightmare you are a smart monster, take a long look at Error next chance you get and try to look past the color changes made by him becoming Error, make a mental checklist of what might be different and look at other sans in the multiverse for similarities. this is frustrating not being able to just tell you.”

“I assume you are talking about the outfit I first saw him in, he has a few different ones but he wears that one or similar outfits often. I’ll need to take a good look at what he wears, and I do appreciate you trying to help. It means a lot.” Nightmare said, thinking about Error’s outfit, though he still looked around and didn’t let his guard down.

“Maxie, do not trigger PTSD, I will fight you. As someone with her own issues I can tell you how bad it feels when people do that! Play nice or I will never let you sleep again.”

“I wasn’t planning anything too heinous. Just an illusion of Frisk or a dead Papyrus. I’m not that bad.” Maxie said, smiling as she got ready for her plan. 

She created illusory clones of the Star Sanses, minue Ink, she wasn’t that evil. It was in every arena she had set up, and she made sure they could think strategically and make their own choices, while not being sentient. She got some help from her friends and they counted down from five to release them. 

“Five, four,” they said, everyone getting tense and drawing their weapons. 

“Three, two,” Maxie said, grinning like a cheshire cat. 

“One!” She screamed and the Dark Sanses were thrown into a five on one each.  

 “Also Nightmare I can tell you Error is not from a neutral or pacifist run. Although since most universes can have any of the three not sure if that actually helps or not.”

“He was Geno, wasn’t he?” Nightmare said, dodging arrows and blasters like his life depended on it. 

“Error sorry I am embarrassing you so much, I just love you and want you to feel loved. You deserve to be fawned over.”

“Thanks.” Error said, retreating to his web of strings at the top of the cave to stalk how assaltantes. He was like a spider. 

“so how come it's mostly sanses that get involved in multidimensional stuff shouldn't it be the "judge" from each universe that gets involved?”

“They are, Ink just ran a very exclusive club.” Dream said, “All of them are involved to give us more diversity and even out the playing field, though the Sanses still outnumber them, it’s not as bad as it was.” Dream said, he was sipping some hot chocolate as he looked through paperwork. 

“Red how you planning on dealing with mister steal ya man?”

“I was thinking I could kill him. Maybe trap him in a jail cell, or just have him walk in on Blue and I fuckin’.” Red said, smiling evilly as his eye flashed. 

“Blue are you aware of the crush swapfell has on you?”

“Of course. Black isn’t exactly subtle about it. And I like Red being jealous, though I would never encourage Black, so I just act oblivious.” Blue said, taking a sip from a small flask as he patrolled Snowdin.

“error is it possible to ask the voices to see if they know about your universe”

“That was our plan. But we ended up here.” Error said, stringing up the clones and dusting them. “And I figured out they were clones since they don’t have souls or shadows.” Error said.

“I still like dusting a version of Dream though.” Error said as he finally dusted the last one and cleared the challenge. 

“hmm ok Stretch, you seem to be a good one. Some swap paps are uhh overly controlling jerks. They don't treat their brothers like adults and have others keep tabs on blue for them and it makes me a bit not trusting towards swap paps till I see what they are like. Sorry I uhh called you a tall orange jerk.”

“It’s ok. I’ve seen a few that the creators have made and, I am glad that Blue is a good brother and I’m glad I’m a good one as well.” Stretch said, smiling. 

“Wait, where is Blue’s flask?” Stretch said, seeing a very empty countertop. 

“Damn it Blue.” Stretch said, “And you say I’m the irresponsible one yet you drink on the job.” He said, face palming. 

“also why is the genocide run called a genocide run if you dont kill everything why not murder run instead”

“It’s the thought that counts!” Frisk said, looking at Papyrus. 

“HALT HUMAN!” 

“HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I'M TALKING TO YOU!” 

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY.” 

“FIRST: YOU´RE A FREAKING WEIRDO!” 

“NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES.”

“BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE…” 

“THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER.” 

“IT FEELS…” 

“LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH.” 

“HOWEVER!”

“I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU!” 

“EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY JUST TRY!” 

“AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!!” 

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” 

“HEY, QUIT MOVING!” 

“THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!” 

“HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE!” 

“SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW!” 

“BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS...” 

“WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR!” 

“I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!” 

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING.” 

“ARE YOU OFFERING A HUF OF ACCEPTANCE?” 

“WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!!” 

“I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!” He sounded close to tears as he screamed. 

Frisk gave Papyrus a large hug, nearly slicing his spine in half but leaving his ribs untouched. 

“What do you know about the multiverse?” Frisk asked, smiling evilly as Papyrus fell into Frisk’s arms. 

“W-what?” Papyrus said, shaking.

“I need to talk to Sans, and what better way to get him talking than to threaten you?” Frisk said, grabbing Papyrus by his neck and dragging him into his house and locking him in his room, where the window was boarded.

“Behave.” Frisk said, waving as they slammed the door and laughed. 

“the only reason frisk beats omega is because the souls revolt i'm sure they wont help a mass murderer”

“Maybe, but we don’t want them to know we can break the script. That would create too many problems.” Classic said, and Undyne sighed. 

“They’re coming. Hide.” Undyne said, and Sans jumped into the bushes as Frisk came into the scene. 

“well sci and alphys, if Frisk would stop resetting and give you guys freedom you could always get souls to help Asriel. I know that sounds wrong but what if you got volunteers from the terminal ward, a lot of sick humans who know they are just waiting for death just want the pain to be over.”

“Yeah, we have talked about that. But Flowey isn’t sure he wants to become Asriel again, and we don’t trust him with the souls, and Asriel can’t say if he wants to get back.” Sci said, sighing. 

“Y-yeah, overall, t-that is a good i-idea. B-but we a-aren’t sure i-if we can t-trust Flowey.” Alphys said, looking at the cameras and gasping when she saw what happened to Papyrus.

Sci and Alphys got on their phones and told everyone what happened, and Sans teleported into the lab. 

“I’m getting him out, start evacuations early, this is the day we break script.” Classic said as he vanished. 

“frisk if you stop the resets you can get a new timeline!! pls stop reset”

“Nope. I want to know what’s going on.” Frisk said, slaughtering another monster as they stepped onto the dust and scattered it. 

“oh here is another one for the classic timeline to react to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qXFHtHR_Fs”

“Sans, I love you.” Papyrus said as Sans healed up Papyrus. 

“Me too.” Classic said, and Papyrus began to ugly cry as he flinched when Sans sent a burst of healing magic through Papyrus’ wounds. 

“We might need backup, Dream might need to help you with this, I’m not great at healing.” Classic said and he called Dream and explained the situation. 

 Hey Blueberry are you and Error any closer now?

“Yeah. Error helped me a lot with my glitching. It was very useful when Papy and I were trying to figure out how to cope. The rest of the Dark Sanses helped Papy learn how to handle my crashing and reboots.” Blue said, smiling as he pocketed the flask. 

“Frisk really it is time to stop, you need to let time move forward and change. You need to let your friends find happiness and you need to let yourself grow up and change, find a new adventure on the surface!”

“Humanity is cruel and evil, I prefer the Underground. And these guys are not my friends, not anymore.” Frisk said, winking as they trotted through Waterfall, humming His Theme as they went. 

“Fresh furby's were not cheap, you are telling me you have a small fortune in creepy robot gremlins? Clearly you have never had one with a broken voice box, that demon voice could give angry Nightmare a run for his money.”

“I do, and I can fix the voice boxes. Also so have scared people with a broken voice box. It was rad yo.” Fresh said, appearing back with his family. 

“sci and alphys can you get rid of frisks DT”

“It’s possible, but we’d have to basically drain them of all their blood and other things. Killing them, and keeping them restrained would be far too hard.” Alphys said, “Since they can load to a point where they weren’t in our grasp.” Alphys said, opening her doors and letting monsters inside. 

“Nightmare and Dream as mischievous fay.... I love it. Can I join you in messing with people?”

“We would love some Creator help! We have a few ideas but we’ve been hesitant to do a few of them, at least now we have a chance to get away with some of it.” Dream said, smiling a corny smile as he held up a black folder with red letters saying “Plans.”

Sans and Papyrus then came into his office and explained what happened. 

“ok so what happened with alt maybe he knows about the alt errors universe couldn't that help find our errors universe”

“You think this Error’s past is hard to find? Try mine. I literally know shit about his past, literally nothing. If I hadn’t heard about this multiverse’s Error, I wouldn’t know mine was, probably, tortured by Creators.” Alt said.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more.” Alt said, blushing as he retreated into his sweater. 

“Ok I feel like I owe classic Paps some cute and wholesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPZyaNRiAg also would you like a hug paps?”

“Thank you, I would.” Papyrus said as he felt a warm and calming feeling on his injury as Dream worked his godly magic. 

“Who do you want to help you?” Dream asked and Sans thought about it for a while. 

“Dark Sanses. Specifically Killer, Dust, and Horror. This is the time for revenge and it’d be rude to leave them out.”  Classic said.

“Plus, they’re good at combat. It’d be helpful.” Papyrus said, as he wiped some tears from his sockets.

“I don’t like it either Paps, but at this point, I’m not tossing this opportunity away.” Classic said, sighing as Dream made a call. 

“so sanses do you always wear the same clothes?”

“Pretty much. We have an infinite amount of the same clothes. And it’s fun to do, people are always so confused.” Classic said and Papyrus face palmed. 

“Hey Cross, why are you such a sweetie?”

“Because I am!” Cross said, giving puppy eyes and smiling as he ran up to Nightmare and gave him a hug. 

“Horror you cute bean, what is the best dish you make?”

“Thank you. And my best dish is a casserole with chicken and peppers and five cheeses.” Horror said, mouth watering at the thought. 

“Error are you nervous about what these creator creeps have planned? I am worried about you guys.”

“So am I. The first was easy, but what else do you have planned?” Error said, glaring at Maxie. 

“I was going to throw each of you into a replica of the judgement hall and have you  fight with a version of Frisk, but Nightmare figured it out. He figured out who you were.” Maxie said.

“With some help.” Beatrice said, and Jana nodded. 

“Who?” Error asked, eyes shining. 

“G̵͕̲͆̑͑ę̶͈̭̎̍n̴̟̓̃͆͋̈͠o̴̧̬̞͉̠̐.” Nightmare said, but his words were jumbled and glitchy. 

“Like hell I’m letting you tell him. When this whole thing is over.” Maxie said, giggling. 

“What do you mean?” Killer asked and Maxie summoned a portal. 

“Classic, mind explaining what’s happening?” Maxie said, her grin getting bigger. 

“Frisk broke script. We’re going to try and drain them of their DT, but I thought you guys should come and help. You were wronged by them first.” Classic said, “Geno’s ready to help us by the way. We’re just waiting on you. Undyne managed to avoid death so far and save MK.” Classic said, and Killer, Horror, and Dust laughed. 

“Count us in.” They said, jumping through and landing in Snowdin.

“Good Noodle? *blushes* Flattered you think that about me. You are all cute little beans that deserve to be loved.”

“They sure do.” Nightmare said, remembering something. 

“Error is an alternate timeline! Let him go too!” Nightmare said and Classic shrugged. 

“More the merrier.” Classic said as the four Sanses entered the portal. 

“what if we ask chara to give 7 souls she took from genociders and give then to asriel?”

“Implying we talk to them. We only know the role they play because it was told to us by a third party.” Classic said, “We have no idea how they work or if we can talk to them at all.” 

“to frisk what does selling your soul feel like?”

“It feels like you’re having your organs ripped out of you, and then you feel nothing, and then content. It was the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life, but I feel good, I feel calm and clear headed.” Frisk said, walking up to the judgement hall, fingers itching.

The script was ash at this point, and Frisk knew Sans was to blame. They were excited as they walked up to him, standing at their usual spot.

“What does Chara think of Frisk anyway?”

“Ĩ̸͉͎̰̳ ̵̜͊h̸̨̼͉̰̦͌̔̐ȁ̵̢̖t̸̻̟̃̅͝ȇ̸̞͇̖̂̑͐̏ ̸͇͍̙͈̿̾͛̕ţ̴̒ḧ̷̺̝̖̳́̎͋͜e̵͎̺̠͂͝m̸̛̰̍́͠.̸̻͉͕̄̒ ̵̻̳̹͉͕̅̈́̾̈́͝T̶̡̖̟̘͐͜h̴̢̤̉e̴̦̠͈̿͜ͅy̷̩͈͓̏̐͒̓ ̵̛͈͉̹͉̇̾m̵̡̞̗͍̍u̷̬̲͆͋͂̈́͝r̵̢̩̬͎̬͐d̶̬̊̎ē̷̼̥̒͌͠͠r̵̠̯̦͗̈́̕͜͠ĕ̵̻̥̪̯̝̽̀d̵̛̼̜̼̈́ ̵͚͙̣̣̆m̶̭̒̇͂̊ẙ̵̪̜̌ ̶̧͐͑̈̓m̷̯̦̰̂ͅo̷̓ͅm̸͉̂́̌,̸̪̤̞̲̈́̃͊̂ ̵̧͚̭̫̠͋̔̈̒̈d̴̛͚̄ã̵͉̭̯̙̠ḏ̴͙̖͓͐,̷̛̤̈́͒ ̷̫̈́b̷̯̖͇̱͒̇r̶̖̖͙͂͝ǫ̸͖̹̬̋ͅţ̷̏ḩ̸̛̆̂e̴̢͕̣̎̂̀͠r̴̯͂̅̀̚ͅ,̸̫̙̪̃̌̾͑̒ ̷̛͇̹̜̉̕ạ̷̢̡̩̋̽̎̽̇ṋ̷̨̹̻̾͒͝͠d̵͓̙̦̈͐͊̄̕ ̷̫̠̯̋s̴̢̆̽̀ù̸͖̠̬̙͂͛̽͐b̵͍̐͆́̚ĵ̴͎̘̬̤̉ͅę̴͆́̐̽̇c̶̤̘̒͋t̴͙̪̭̔͗̋͐̋ş̵͍̣͂̃̃.̸̡͔̙͐̿ ̶̯͇̈́͗̚͝͝Î̵͉̘ ̶̮̺̖̪͆̋̾͛̒ḩ̴̛̤̹̪̔ō̶͙̽p̶̲̟̳͉̲̉͒ḛ̸͈͈̮͛ ̴̧̬̾̔t̵͈̐̈́̈͘ͅͅh̸̺̤̺͂ế̸͚͖̝͒̌̆ ̶̧̧̖̗͆ŕ̸̰̗͓͒͂͑͝o̶̝̪̪̰͔̒t̸̯̗̖̦͖̎̆ ̵̰͎̤͖́̉i̶̡̘̯͋͜n̵͍̝̤̥͊͜ ̴̨̳̜̈̇̓͊̕h̷̡͙̭͕̙̔̒̿̚é̷̡̻̩̼͐̑͠͝l̷̝̝̀l̶̥̞͍͖͋͝ ̴̥̯̦̹̲̽̂̚̚f̷̧̮̤͐̅̚o̸̻͔͊͝ͅr̵͖͓̣͗e̵̢̻̘̅͋v̶̨̯͂̆͜ͅe̶̩̊̎͋̏͐r̴̲͌̋̆̓ ̴̩̪͎̎͆̍̈́ẃ̷̘̞̬͓̎h̸̛̘̤̪̔͊e̷̪̣͊͗͆̈́ň̶̮̲̓̚ ̵̜͐̾̎͑̆t̴̨̞̦͕̉̎h̶̢̻͇͇̙͋̋̇i̷̻̐͛s̴͓͍̪̝͒̆̅̚͝ ̷͎̖͖̥̫͋ī̶̟̑s̸͖̪̣̱̽̆̈̏̀ ̴̮̳͛̄o̶͎̫̥͖̱͒v̶̹̲̭͙̫͛̄e̷͉̕r̷̬̔̍̉̈́.̷̼̮͐̊ͅ ̴̡̩̺̋̉̕͝͝Ì̴͇̈́̓̈́ ̴͖͕̼̈̾͛̈́h̶̥̿̓͂̓̒o̶̡̬̦̣͂p̷̍͘ͅe̵̮͕̹̼͍͋͌̋̈́͝ ̵̝̋t̶̯̃̈́ͅh̵̯̱̭͠ë̸̲͓̭͍͑͐y̴̯͒͛̐͝ ̵̨̖̥̹̯̐́͝g̵̟͋͂͝è̶̝̜̒̄͠t̷̡͍̩̞͌̓ ̴̰̩̭̠̄̒̅̿t̷̨̥͙͚̹͗o̴͓͛̿̅ ̶͍͔͇̞̎̇̔̐ŕ̶͎̙͠ë̶̹̻̣́̐̉̈́͠l̵͖͂̆i̸̩̩̟̓̈́v̴̯̞̞̓̇̀e̶̩̰̗͈̬̐́̚ ̵͔̜͇̃͋̎ę̵̮̈́̓̇̕͜͠v̶͓̑͐̅̑͗e̵̻̓̋͛̚͠ř̶̛̙̏̈͠y̵͎̌͋͗͗̂ ̸̧̺̃̈́̄̐s̵͇̙͈̓͋̂̑͒ę̵̗̱̿͋͊͒̊c̴̯̩͉̃̔̆̀̽ȍ̶͎̣̬n̷͙͈͎͊͛̈́͑͜ͅḋ̵̹̯̯ ̶̟̠̹̜͠ö̸̢̰͈̼͈́͝f̴̛̟̻̪̌ͅ ̶̯̍̈́̒̿͝p̸͖̲͖̜̥̚͝ạ̸͇̋ȉ̸̥̠̖͒̓͌ͅn̵͖̥̓ ̸͚̖̤͕͝t̵̘́̊h̵̉̎̾͑ͅe̶͕̫̭͎͛̇͘y̵͔̯̝̙̎͆́̆'̷̢̺̳͓̹́v̴̢͍̑̈́ĕ̴̗̦͇̥̭̐̓̄ ̵͔̘̏̿͗e̵̡͙̪͖̓̓͠ͅv̶̨͙̪̦̙̾̍͠e̸̦̗̩̮̍̃̑͘͘r̸̛̬͑̈́̍͂ ̴̠̭̤̘́͂f̴̗̬̀͛̉̑͝ē̴̙͖̖̠̈́͒l̵͙̼̜̈̈́́t̵̢̙͑͋̒̐̌!̸̞̜̏́̂̄” Chara’s words were shotty, but pain and rage, grief and regret, and sadism welled in their voice as they sobbed their words out on the judgement hall floor, though no one could hear them. 

“Ok time to make my boys cringe for a bit. Some fairly common ships include Error/ink, Cross/Nightmare, Cross/Dream, Dream/Nightmare, and of course Dust/Blueberry. Thoughts?”

“What the fuck?!” Killer said, whispering from his hiding spot, shuddering at the ships mentioned. 

Error was trembling at the mention of his and Ink’s ship. He had to mutter to himself that it was probably canon in an alternate multiverse, his Ink was gone, forever. 

Dust was sweating, “I will never fuck Blue. Red would kill me.” Dust said, peeking out from behind a pillar. 

“Dust, Killer, you do know you are adorable right?”

“No we’re not.” Dust said, rolling his eyes. Killer had a similar reaction. 

“so Queen Toriel, I tried to make a butterscotch cinnamon pie and failed badly. any uhh tips?”

“Well, I would need to know how you made yours. It would help me tell you what tips you need.” Toriel said, “But I can tell you practice makes perfect.” She said, clapping her hands together.

“Oh here is another ship, Error/Outer, now there is a pairing that is out of this world. Come on you two, don't you think you would be stellar together? The real star couple.”

Error had to stifle a laugh as he thought about Outer. “I guess so. Good puns by the way.” Error said, glaring at Frisk. 

“Nightmare why are you such a good dad? You should give parenting lessons.”

“W-what?” Nightmare sad, blushing as he turned away. 

“I-I’m not that good. I-I’m more of the dad-friend you have. Yeah, that.” Nightmare said, and Maxie rolled her eyes as she laughed. 

“Nightmare, someone made another version of you called strawberry milk Nightmare, he is pink and very kind. thoughts? Dream here is a pic to show others! https://glitchtale.fandom.com/f/p/3287430564151633045”

“I’m not meant to be the cute one!” Nightmare said, sitting on the ground and pouting like a toddler as the other creators laughed. 

“He is so pure!” Dream squealed, showing the outcodes on standby, the picture and explaining. 

“That is so cute!” Blue said, his eyes getting bigger as he looked at the picture.

“It’s literally just his colors inverted.” Red said, and Blue pouted. 

“I don’t care!” Blue said, sticking his tongue out. 

“and all is fair in sibling wars, Nightmare here is Shattered Dream. Yeah he is as big a prick as he looks. https://www.deviantart.com/gestaelita/art/I-m-sorry-Shattered-Dream-x-Young-Nightmare-812226735 “

“Nope!” Nightmare said, closing his eyes as he shook his head and covered his mouth. 

“I hate these alternate mutiverses! I hate them!” Nightmare cried out.

“Dream, Nightmare, done any glitter pranks yet? All I will say is Red's house and neon pink glitter. You know you wanna.”

“That was actually next on our list.” Nightmare said, still closing his eyes. 

“Error have you made any new dolls?”

“Yes. I’ve made some of the Sanses and Papyruses that we’ve saved as memoirs of those adventures.” Error said, smiling as he saw Classic begin the monologue. 

“chara if you have near infinite souls how can you not have enough strength to revive yourself at the beginning of the run”

“Y̴̰̮̾̋͆̂͜ó̶̻̤̪̤̥u̵̢̝͂͊̈́̌̚ ̷͉̝̗̍̂ͅc̸̨̥̗̥̾͝ạ̵̏̆͑̿n̷̢͇̯̼̒̀͗̓ ̵̧̓̉õ̵̡̼̭ǹ̴̰̗͈͕̲͑l̵̞̭̲̀̀͝y̶͇̰͌ ̶̰̹̟͂̃s̷̺̈́̑̍̏̚͜ę̸͇̠͍̒̾͝l̷͎̗̝͔̗̽͊̓l̸̝͐ ̴̛̬̙͆̾̾y̴̙̞̬̬͋ͅǫ̶͍̹̪͗̐̀͛͠u̷̼̻̼̅̾͒̉͝r̷̡͝ ̶͖͎̩͆̇̅̃̑s̸̻̖͉͓̄̀̕̕ő̶̲u̷̞͐l̶͔͋̎͠ ̴̺͚̅̔o̴̧͔̲̤͑̿̔͛n̷̨̠̯͗̈c̶̛̟͉̘̺̖̀͝͝ė̴̔͜ ̸̰̝̦͖̎͊̂̌b̸̻̟̥͙̰̍̄̓̚͝u̵̱̟̾d̶̢̨̰̪̪̆̒͐̾͝d̶̳̝̬̏͆̏͂ͅy̷̛̲.̷̢̤͙̇̕ ̸̞̾̂̄̕S̵͜͝͝o̷̭̪̳̗̱̎̿͛̂̿ŕ̸͍͎̈͛͊̕ͅŗ̸̨̖̰̣͌̽ẏ̷͚̰̦̺͒̈ ̴̙̥̫͇̞͆͌̀͌t̵̗̑̾̿̌ô̷͕̦̦̻̹̅ ̸̟̙̅̓b̴͉͛̿r̸̨̙͔͊̓͜e̵̝̍͠a̸̻̩̹͊̌͂ḵ̴͝ ̷̧͙͉̲͂̒̑̋̕ȋ̷̱͖̻̗̻͘͝t̸͔̰̾͐̈ͅ ̸̧̪̤̈́̐̾t̵̮̊ȯ̷̟̬̆͋̚̕ ̶͚͌͂̋͝y̶͖̞͗͂͆͂̿͜o̴̝̯̲̮̅́ú̸̧̖̻̏̄̓͝ͅ.” Chara said, their voice a bit sarcastic and playful as they read off their lines like an automatic machine, the words ingrained into their memory by thousands of playthroughs. 

Next

Previous

[silverdragon-imagines-blog]

A Glitched Death - Chapter 7 - The Question

Read it on AO3 here

Semi-important announcement: I'm not putting this story on a hiatus, but I can't guarantee that the next chapter will be out on time. School is sort of kicking my butt, though the main reason is that my muse (i think that's what its called?) has been moving further away from Undertale. I still want to finish this fic, but I don't have a ton of ideas for what should happen before it gets to the end, not to mention the fact that beyond this chapter, I have no more finished chapters. I don't want to force myself to write this fic, so I won't. I hope you guys understand ^-^

TLDR: The next chapter might be late, and I'm not gonna force myself to write it. I'm not as into Undertale as I was, but I want to finish this fic.

[And now the actual chapter]

Reaper could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket, but it only took a glance at the ID for him to ignore the call. Again. Ever since he had that breakdown in the Save Screen, Geno has been more insistent on checking in on him, despite the fact that he had texted him that he’s fine and that he should stop worrying. Of course, Geno didn’t listen, stubborn jerk that he was, and continued to try to call Reaper at least once a day, with texts twice or more per day. He couldn’t say that he was annoyed though, in fact, he was grateful that he had someone like Geno, even though it upset him that it wasn’t his Geno, even more than it used to bother him.

He sighed as the call went to voicemail, knowing that he was in for yet another text not long from now. He looked away from the phone, choosing instead to try and focus on the world he was in, seeing if he could find a “death date”. It had been, what, a few weeks since he had gotten this new job from Ink? He still hadn’t had much success finding a way to see an entire world’s expiration time, but he had certainly put in the effort, not to mention his brother, Respite’s overtime to try and help him out. 

Reaper had never actually managed to get his ability to work to a degree where he could see an entire world’s death date, not even when he was traveling through the void to get from AU to AU. However, he had gotten to the point where he could see, or rather, feel when a large number of people were dying. It was definitely a useful ability for the main part of his job.

He was just about to leave for a new AU, deciding that he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he lingered here when he felt several thousands of humans and monsters die all at once. Smiling at his luck, he shortcutted out of his location to find the AU currently being destroyed. It certainly didn’t take as long for him to find as it used to, and upon stepping out of the void, he was greeted with a sea of blue strings and dust.

He recoiled for only a moment, needing to shake himself of the momentary shock of the carnage that had greeted him, and summoned his scythe to cut through strings in order to find their originator. That too didn’t take long, as the monster in question was facing off against the resident fallen human and Flowey, a seemingly blank look on his face.

“Why the hell are you attacking us?! We didn’t do anything wrong!” the Flowey screeched, ducking in and out of the ground while throwing weak pellet attacks. Error didn’t respond, only dodging the attacks from both flower and human to aim his own attacks at them.

Reaper could only watch for so long before the world started to deteriorate, a wall of white nothingness coming from all sides to meet in the middle. He quickly shortcutted behind Error and swung his scythe at him. The blow didn’t connect with the other’s skull, which was intended, instead the other had formed a glitchy black bone in his hand to block with. Reaper quickly noticed that the blank look that had been on the other’s face was fading, switching between confusion and seemingly growing horror.

“Y-yOu!” Error exclaimed, throwing his weight against the bone in his hand towards the other’s blade, successfully throwing Reaper a short distance away.

“Hey, human,” the god called out, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the glitch in front of him, “start thinking about getting out of here. You aren’t gonna be able to fix this mess, so the sooner you get the Protector the better.”

He didn’t wait for a reply, once more aiming for damaging the Destroyer as much as possible with both magic and his scythe, the latter dodging each attempt with barely concealed fear. 

“S-StOp!” he dodged again, this time summoning strings to his hands and launching them at Reaper, “I DoN’t WaNt ThIs!”

“Do you think they wanted this?” 

The retort was met with a grimace, the strings from his hand being thrown and guided, despite Reaper’s attempts to avoid getting caught, even as they flew ever closer. Until one of the strings latched securely onto Reaper’s wrist.

Reaper flinched at first contact, but then looked in confusion as the supposed harmful intent was not present. He glanced back up at the Destroyer, frozen in his movements while black glitches filled his sockets. He seemed to be shaking, though his expression was unreadable. Reaper began tearing at the tether, hoping to not be attached to the other any longer than he needed to be, especially considering his inaction.

The magic quickly fell away, and Reaper only looked up long enough to see Error escaping into a portal. He reacted slowly, the fading magic felt familiar, almost nostalgic in a way for some reason, and he attempted to force through the other’s portal, only to be rejected. 

“Reaper, don’t bother with him,” a voice yelled from behind, “we need to get these two out of here!”

Reaper turned to see Ink holding the fallen human’s hand, with Flowey wrapped snugly around their arm. He nodded and shortcutted to the ink puddle they were near, jumping into it after them, as the world collapsed behind them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaper had fully expected to find the inky portal unpleasant, which in a way it was since he couldn’t see anything, but it was a quick trip. When he wound up in the Doodle Sphere, he wasn’t as in awe as he thought he would be upon seeing the Protector’s home.

It was like the void, vast and mostly empty, but where the Void was dark and empty, the Doodle Sphere was bright with pages upon pages of doodles seemingly hanging in the air. He knew what they were, it was obvious from the way the page they were now in front of glitched and then vanished. The kid that was attached to Ink’s side whimpered at the empty space that once held their AU, but Ink didn’t seem to react. He only guided them up a path to a small cottage, and Reaper followed behind.

Upon entering, a small grayscale child stood by the door and looked straight at the human Ink had.

“I can take them from here, Ink.” they smiled, holding out a hand for the human, “I know a place where you can be safe, and there are many others like you.”

Reaper could tell that, although nervous, the rescued human was curious, and held onto the offered hand. The grayscale child nodded once to Ink before both they and the duo they had saved vanished. Once they had gone, Ink sighed loudly and walked further into the cottage to flop face down onto the couch that was near the door.

“So, uh, what now?” Reaper questioned.

“I take it things didn’t go well,” Dream’s voice sounded from further inside.

Reaper nodded, closing the door behind him and walked further into the house to find Dream sitting at a table in what resembled a kitchen/dining room. 

“I saw Error,” Reaper said, taking a seat across from the other “and we fought a bit. Though… it was strange.”

“How so?”

“Well, he never seemed to want to fight me, for some reason. Then, he landed an attack, one of his strings, and just… stopped.” he explained, Dream considering his words.

“Did anything else happen? That’s… definitely not something I or Ink has ever experienced.”

“When the attack got dispelled it felt… familiar.” Reaper sighed, rubbing at the spot the string has connected to, “I don’t think I’ve ever met the guy, but then why did I know his magic? Why was it so familiar?”

Dream looked unsure, glancing at the now snoring Ink on the couch before looking back to Reaper.

“I don’t have an answer for you, but if you’d like, I can try to find out.” Dream offered, uncertainty still lingering, “I can’t guarantee that I’ll find anything.”

“Any answers you find would be helpful. Thank you.”

[spectroamer]

SERVERTALE ACT 2 Prologue: Newfound freedom

It has been some time since the monsters have been freed. The Sentinels were inactive, probably because of their loss and because their leaders are injured. The heroes helped monsters set up their homes. Most of the work is complete, now only the actual moving is left. Sans and Scriptina are helping around as much as they can, since they can carry more stuff faster with their levitation abilities, while Ne and Amy take care of cleaning up the houses and Slasher takes care of any needed payments. While Sans and Scriptina are carrying over objects from homes in Snowdin, Papyrus is making sure that Sans isn’t slacking off. Papyrus: I’VE GOT TO SAY, BROTHER, YOU’VE REALLY OUTDONE YOURSELF! YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD WITHOUT A SINGLE BRAKE! Sans: what can i say bro, freedom motivates me. Scriptina: That’s what he wants you to think, but I bet he actually isn’t lazy. Sans: now where did you get that idea from? Scriptina: Oh, I dunno, maybe from all the times I’ve seen you secretly work on your science projects while you pretend to do nothing. Sans notices a devilish grin on Papyrus’ face. Papyrus: IS THAT TRUE SANS? HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING YOUR POTENTIAL FROM ME? Sans: paps, you know that i would neve, and i mean nev- Scriptina: He so did. Sans: tina, you do realize that the point of secretly working on science projects is that it is secret? Scriptina: Yup, but it’s more fun this way. After the battle at the portal, Lopez wanted to check the hills and he found Ne and Amy, helping the monsters. Luckily, he reacted relatively calm, so they were able to explain the whole situation to him. Now he is helping them as well, while they tell him their story. Lopez: So, what you’re saying is that you two and the Slasher held out against an army of terrorists, until Kris’ squad arrived without my knowing? Ne: that sums it up. Lopez: How the hell did you get here unnoticed? Amy: We have our ways. Lopez: So, you three work together and randomly fight criminals? Amy: Well, we go to the most dangerous crime first. Ne: But, yeah, we fight criminals on our own. Lopez: And these creatures... Are they peaceful? How much smart are they? Ne: They only want to live in the real world in peace, and yes, most of them are as clever as humans, some more, some less, but none of them will attack unless provoked. Lopez: I will try to keep this place a secret, but I can’t promise you much. Ne: That will have to be enough for now. Amy: There’s one thing I want to know. I arrived to the fight late and we were saved by Kris’ team, but the police was nowhere to be found. What gives? Lopez: Cobra got to us. Infiltrated the building, threatened me with the lives of my officers. I couldn’t let them be harmed. I’m sorry. Ne: It’s okay. I understand. Amy: Then you need to upgrade your security. We can’t defend this city on our own. And if the police wasn’t able to help, then how did EDS enter the fight? I thought it was a part of the police. Lopez: It is. I ordered Kris to stay away and I thought that i kept an eye on him, but I guess he was better than I thought. Ne: I’ll need to ask him about that myself later. Toriel approaches Ne, stopping the conversation. Toriel: Mike? Could you please bring Frisk here if that is not a problem for you? I think she is still in the Computerworld. Ne: Okay. count her brought. Oh, and by the way. Ne brings Toriel’s attention to the police captain. Ne: This is captain Lopez. He will be a new friend of ours. Introduce yourself to him. Amy: I’ll stay here to help out. Ne nods before heading to the portal. He enters the Computerworld. Ne: Now I realize that I should have asked for a better location than the hole Computerworld. Ne notices that Computerworld isn’t quite suitable for his neon bike, so he decided to check the area by running through it. Frisk decided to talk with Chara while she can in Datafall. Frisk: So... What is it like for you, while I’m gone? Chara: Well, when you’re not here, my mind instantly moves to Asriel. He turned back to Flowey recently, but he’s still okay. Frisk: Really? Chara: Yeah, he’s just like himself... only without emotions. It’s kinda weird, but it’s still way better than what could have been. Frisk: You’re right about that. Chara: I only wish that I could actually bring him back. There has to be a way. Frisk: There probably is something. We just need to think of a right solution. Chara: Do you want to talk with him? Frisk: You mean, right now? Chara: He’s probably in the first room of the Computerworld. He’s always there. Frisk: Okay, then. Lets go. Frisk and Chara went through the whole Computerworld all the way back to the room Frisk fell in when she entered the Computerworld the first time. As Chara guessed, Flowey was in the room. watching the ceiling. Chara: Sorry I kept you waiting. Flowey: It’s okay, not like I have anything better to do. Flowey turns around and sees Frisk. Flowey: What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be helping others? Frisk: They’ll be fine. I wanted to see you again. Flowey: Frisk... I told you to forget about me. Frisk: Not a chance. We already know that we can bring Chara back, and I’m planing to bring you back as well. Flowey: I’m a completely different story. Even if you succeed, what will they think of me when they find out? Chara: I know the feeling, but i bet that they will be happier with us alive. Flowey: I don’t know. I mean, no offense or anything, but we’re the reason why everything got so messed up. Chara: You’re right, but that just means that bringing ourselves back to help fix our mess is the least we can do. Flowey: I guess. What about you Frisk? What do you think? Frisk: It’ll be tough. They might not handle it well, but it’s the right thing to do. Probably, after some time getting used to, they’ll be happier than before. Flowey: I guess we can try, but only because you both think so. Frisk: Great! Flowey: There’s still one problem tho. We need help. None of us can be called a scientist. Frisk: That’s easy, we’ll just ask othe- Flowey: No. I don’t anyone who might say something. I will only accept those that can keep the whole thing a secret until we’re sure that it will work. Chara: Fair enough. As much as I know, Sans and Scriptina could help. They have plenty of secrets and Scriptina already knows who you are. Flowey: Sans does as well and he never said anything, so I agree. Frisk: Mike could help as well. He’s good with souls. Flowey: Who’s Mike? Frisk: A friend. He’s a skilled magic user. Flowey: I don’t really like... magic users. Chara: It’s okay. He isn’t like them. Flowey: If you say so. Frisk: Then it’s settled. Once everyone is set up and comfortable, we will start to make a plan to bring you two back. Flowey: Okay. Chara: What about Gaster? Flowey: I don’t think there’s much to be done about him. Frisk: If I heard correctly, the skeletons are already trying to find something for him. Chara: Wait. Papyrus is helping them? Flowey: Don’t underestimate Papyrus. He’s pretty smart as well. Chara: I know, it;s just that he always seemed more interested in puzzles than science. Flowey: And what do you think he used when he made those puzzles with buttons? All of those were made by him without anyone else. Chara: Interesting. Flowey: Now, go. You don’t want to worry the others. Chara: Alright. See you later. Frisk: We’ll come to visit. Flowey: I know. When Frisk and Chara exit the room, they see Ne, waiting for them. Ne: I thought I might find you two here. Frisk: What are you doing here? Ne: Toriel called me to bring you back. Since they ere the only ones in the room, Ne was able to notice the extra determination around Frisk, and he had a good guess for which reason was that. Ne: Do you have a ghost with you or something? Frisk: Close. Remember Chara? Ne: The girl that went missing? Frisk: She’s not missing anymore. She’s right here? Ne: So that’s the magic energy around you. It’s pretty weak tho, no offence. Is she okay? Frisk: We’ll actually need your help with that. Ne: We can talk about it while we go back to the village. Frisk agrees and they start walking back to the portal. Ne: Alright, so what kind of help do you need? Frisk: Chara’s soul is still here, but, as you said, it is weak and her determination isn’t enough for her to function on her own, which means she can’t get out of here. I was wondering if you know of a way to help. Ne: I know of a possible solution, but I don’t know if it will work. Frisk: What is it? Ne: The only thing we can try is separating your determination in half and giving her that half. If everything works out, her soul should use it to fix itself, but you’ll be weaker than before, until your determination energy regenerates back to normal. Chara: That doesn’t sound really safe. Frisk: I think it’s worth a shot. Ne: Okay, but I’ll need a place where i can have some medical tools. Frisk: Alphys can help with that. Ne: Okay, then. Frisk: How are things with you? Ne: Pretty good. Frisk: Is the team still together? Ne: Yup, we’re still working together and Amy and I have gotten closer. Frisk: That’s nice. Why did Toriel wan’t me in the village? Ne: That’s a question you’re going to have to ask her yourself. Come on, we’re here. Ne and Frisk step on the portal. Chara: Bye Frisk. Frisk waves before the portal activates. Frisk raises her hand in front of her face to block the sun rays. She found it difficult adjusting to the daytime sky after being in the Computerworld. Luckily for Ne, his visor helped him to easily adjust to the sudden brightness change. They walk back to the village and find Toriel talking with Amy. Toriel quickly noticed Ne and Frisk and happily greeted them. Frisk: What did you want to talk with me about? Toriel: Since we will have a house here, I was wondering what are your living plans. In case you aren’t happy with your past home, you could always move in with me. Frisk: Well, I do have a completely okay home, but yeah, it would be nice to live here. Amy: We should totally do that as well! Ne: Really? I mean, if you want to, it’s ok, but I mean, I’m not sure if there will be enough houses if we move here as well. Amy: Slasher can stay in his home, since he probably wouldn’t be interested anyways, and the two of us can share a small house, since you don’t need most of the things from a house anyway. Ne: Sure, sounds good. Amy: Great, I’m gonna go pack my stuff. Ne: Alright, I’ll stay here. Amy goes back to her house. Toriel: You have a good group of friends. Ne: The two of us have known each other for some time and we have found some other people as well. So, what are your plans now that you are free? Toriel: Well, the first thing we need to do after we finish moving here is to find a smooth way to introduce ourselves to the citizens. Ne: Agreed. It will be complicated, but If I get the respected protectors of the city to back you up, it might be easier. Toriel: You would do that for us? Ne: As much as I can see, Frisk likes all of you. That’s enough for me. Toriel: Ah, yes, about that. What is your connection with Frisk anyway? Ne: I just ran into her a couple of times. Later on, while I had free time, we started chatting and got friendly. I promised her that I will always help her if needed. Toriel: I appreciate that. Ne: How come everyone seems... Surprised with you. I mean, I know that you weren’t active as queen for some time, but this still feels different. Toriel: That is because my leaving was not the most peaceful. I claimed that I would never return and that I would always despise Asgore for the law he made against humans. Ne: So what will happen now? Toriel: I can not stay angry at the past forever. We will have to talk about lot of things... But I believe that it is for the best that we solve our problems together. Ne: That sounds logical. Sans joins the conversation. Sans: everything has been moved here. now all you need to do is set up. Toriel: Great. We will begin right away.  Frisk: Toriel? Can Sans, Papyrus and Scriptina be with us as well? Toriel: Dear, I think this is a question you should be asking them. I do not have a problem with it if they approve. Sans: i don’t mind. i’ll just ask tina and paps if they agree, but i’m sure they’ll love the idea. Frisk: Great! Ne: There is a pretty big house in the middle of the village. You should all fit without a problem. Sans: i also need to tell him that he is going to need a less... intimidating outfit. Toriel: Yes, having something more casual to wear would be a good thing for him here. Sans: he’s gonna be so disappointed that he can’t wear his armor all the time now. welp, someone needs to tell him. see ya later. Frisk: Bye Sans. Sans started walking to the portal. it will take him some time getting used to not having his ability to see and jump through the code. Unlike Scriptina, all of his powers except the bone attacks were connected with the Computerworld. He will need to practice his bone attacks more. Scriptina and Paps will help him with that, since he knows that they are more experienced with bone attacks. Actually, now that he thinks about it, he isn’t sure if Tina will be able to help either. He didn’t see her using bone attacks and she was always on her boat. He guesses that Papyrus is his best bet for bone attacks. Soon after, he reaches the portal, where he sees Papyrus and Scriptina, delivering the last group of items. Papyrus: HELLO, BROTHER! NO NEED TO GO BACK IN, FOR ME AND OUR SISTER HAVE BROUGHT EVERYTHING! Sans: great. by the way, how would you two feel about us living with frisk and toriel? Papyrus: ALL THREE OF US, LIVING WITH OUR BEST FRIEND AND THE QUEEN? THAT IS A JOB FITTING FOR THE GREAT AND FRIENDLY ROYAL GUARD PAPYRUS! Scriptina: I don’t mind. Sans: okay, then. lets go and tell toriel. oh, and, before i forget. i need a favor to ask of you paps. Papyrus: YES, BROTHER? Sans: since most of my abilities are gone now, and i haven’t used my bone attacks in a long while now, could we maybe train in the meantime? Suddenly, Undyne shows up and joins the conversation. Undyne: I heard someone needs training! Papyrus: THAT IS CORRECT, UNDYNE! SANS WISHES TO TRAIN HIS MAGIC. THIS WOULD BE A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO JOIN OUR TRAINING! Undyne: I don’t know Paps. Don’t you think that our training is a bit extreme for him? Scriptina: You do not need to worry about that. I can protect him from getting damaged by magic attacks. Undyne: And you! I need to fight you and that human. Scriptina: Sure! I can spar when we get settled in our homes. It will be fun to train again. I haven’t done that since my initiation, but you will need to ask the human yourself. Sans: i’m pretty sure that he’s still talking with toriel. Undyne: Okay, I’m gonna go and tell him. Undyne runs off. She wanted to test Ne, since he was obviously special. Three humans, able to fight against a small army. She wanted to see that in person. While she was interested in Ne, her priority was still Scriptina. To have an older sister of the skeleton brothers, not to forget that she has bigger authority than Sans suddenly pop out... It was surprising, that’s for sure. It would be fun to test them, she knows that. After more running, she finally reaches Ne and toriel. Toriel: Hello, Undyne. Have you seen the skeletons in any case? I need to know if they will be willing to live here. Undyne: I don’t know. I didn’t come here because of them. I came here because of him. Ne: Me? Undyne: Yes, I want to fight you. Ne: Why? Undyne: Frisk claims that you are good at fighting, so I want to check if that’s true. Ne: Fine. We can start tomorrow. Undyne: Deal. Undyne walks away. Ne: Does she always like to fight? Toriel: I do not know. Most of them I only met when we got free. As much as I know, She is the captain of the royal guard, so she is probably used to training. Ne: Well, this will be interesting. ACT 1 Prologue ACT 1 Epilogue ACT 2 Chapter 1

[antarestyl]

PTA Sans - The one with Azzy

So, Azzy it is now. There is a lot of mess to clean up, a lot of talks to be had and Sans is just... really tired.

AO3 Link

Warnings: Uhm... not that many, just some spoilers for the game and talking about the messed up stuff Flowey had done. Also it gets really emotional for Sans there, poor skeleton really needs a break.

I am very sorry it took me so long again to produce a new chapter but I moved countries, got a new job, had a lot of RL stuff going on AND had focused more on TBS with my co-author there. BUT this story is still dear to me so I will continue writing for it. January will be hell for me RL so I try and get some work done now. X.x

Anyway, have fun with this chapter and love all of you who were so patient with me. :D

Things after getting Azzy went... strange. Not bad, mind you but... strange.

The first thing Sans did when he got home was to fall down face-first and waking up much later in his and Toriel's bed. It was early morning when he woke and Toriel was laying with him in bed, her big fuzzy arms wrapped around his smaller form. Sans snuggled a bit more to her, chuckling only slightly when her fur got between his rips, and tried to form a mental check-list.

After the newly named Azzy had gotten used to having limbs again and worked through his minor identity crisis rather quickly they had decided that it would be best if he stayed at Asgore's for now. Sans was sure that Grillby would have volunteered to house the little monster again (bless the soul and core of this monster and Sans knew he and his two partners could never refuse small children) but on the other hand...

Yeah he still felt bad for ranting at Asgore and saying some stuff that was rather unfair to the king, even if he had made mistakes. It really hadn't been the time and place. Besides, it would be good for Azzy to stay with Asgore and re-bound a bit with him. Things would be awkward first but even after all this time, Azzy was just a little kid and Asgore was his dad on more than one level. They could both work on their past and what had happened on their pace. It would probably do them a lot of good too, not just mental-wise. Boss-monster needed the nurture of their parent's love and even with Azzy being a brand-new soul (and probably a plant elemental now come to think about it) Sans really wants to play this safe.  

The rest of them could deal with the rest of this mess.

They had talked about how and when to tell Toriel. They should after all. As soon as possible. Sans really didn't look forward to this but the longer they put it off, the more it would get messy and ugly. But they decided that they should do it together and maybe leave out some of the details Azzy did as Flowey... welp, now he had to find a way to explain to her that Asriel really was gone, that Azzy was like... what did the humans call it... reincarnation? Welp, no, that wasn't it either, it worked completely different... Humans believed that it was still the same soul.

Asriels soul had been green. Azzy's soul was purple.

Instead of losing all his memories with the same soul, Azzy was all of Asriels (and Flowey's) memories but with a new soul. A soul made of Asgore's love for his son, Frisk's compassion to safe him and magic of the machine, bound together by just a tiny drop of determination and a whole lot of other magical stuff Sans had to do to make the machine work again.

The same machine that gave birth to him and Papyrus and that made Gaster go... away. What killed their father thou was a whole different story... it seems that Determination was very very dangerous, even more so seeing how Alphy's experiments turned out.

Stars he should just stop thinking about that.

Point was, Azzy was his own monster, not Asriel, not Flowey but something new. And they had to tell Toriel.

This was going to be hard.

After... THAT was out of the way they had to think long-term. Where should Azzy stay for good, would they enroll him in school to or home teach him, what will become out of the little monster now... Frisk would want him joining school, they loved that little flower boy.

Sans kinda wanted to go back to sleep again. Maybe apologize to everybody involved a few times too.

He kinda missed the days where he just dunked Linda. Maybe he should do that again. She kinda got better these last week but still...

So mental checklist.

Tell Toriel, tell all the others, figure out if Azzy was fit for school... maybe get more sleep. Also he really should sit down with Azzy at one point too. He had talked with Flowey before their little deal was struck but Sans still had some things to hash out with him.

Also, something else had to be done was quick as possible: Destroy the machine. It did its part and Sans would rather not have the reminder of so much pain in the past standing around anywhere. Not to mention all the illegal crap he had to do to get some parts of it and how dangerous it could be if the wrong persons got it.

So... Tell Toriel, destroy the machine, everything else next. Sounds good.

Toriel let out a soft snore, nuzzling at the base of his skull and Sans felt himself flush with magic. Well... maybe he could rest just a little bit longer... Just a little bit.

Azzy in the meantime was... adjusting. It was strange feeling again, it was strange WALKING again. Well, walking in his own body, not one he stole. Yeah that... that was really bad what he did there... Wow he was a jerk. To a lot of people.

Especially Sans thou. Azzy could understand his reasoning at the time. Sans was the only one who remembered some of what was happening and was so interesting to watch react different every time. But wow he did screwed that poor guy up for no reason at all. Sans really wasn't a part of anything, only having a connection to the guy who worked out the foundation for what Alphys did to do the things that resulted in Flowey and yeah, there was no way to justify any of the stuff he did.

He... he really should apologize one day. Especially after he gave him a shot at, you know, caring again.

He wondered a bit why Sans did this for him. It could just be to make sure he wouldn't cause any trouble anymore or make Frisk happy... so they wouldn't reset anymore. But on the other hand, Sans had done stuff he didn't had to do get to this point. Like the time Azzy had spend with the flames was rather nice all things considered. The yellow one had even watered him and Azzy knew that flames usually stayed away from any kinds of water.

Maybe he should ask Asgore... dad... (uh, that was complicated still) to go with him to Grillby's at some point in the future. He really should thank them...  

Anyway, Azzy was... kinda content now? He was laying in a bed Asgore made for him. It was really just a nest of blankets on the couch but Azzy was kinda small still, standing on his hind legs at maybe Frisk's height. He still kinda preferred walking on all four of his pawns but he should maybe practice walking on two legs these next days. He really wanted to have his arms free to do stuff with them. Would make some things a lot easier anyway.

Otherwise he was okay with himself. His body felt like a mix between his old one and the flower one but better. His magic shifted, his soul was different and he might have to relearn everything about magic he knew before but it was alright.

He was a bit upset that his ability to use healing magic was now gone for good.

All Boss monster could do a little bit healing magic and Asriel, with his green soul, had the potential to do greater healing magic. He never got very far in his studies of such of course but it was enough to save Chara that faithful day when they fell into the Underground.

Wherever they were now, Azzy really hoped they were alright. Looking back the plan really was terrible and Chara really wasn't the nicest person... but Chara also was just a child and hurting a lot and there was no doubt they had loved Asriel and all the monster.

But LOVE and hate were terrible things for a soul and Azzy knew first hand how it could corrupt you. Thanks to the new soul his LV was back to 1, a clean slate but he still remembered how it felt. He shuttered.

… maybe that was a reason more to talk to the flames... Grillby was a known war-veteran and Azzy had felt his LOVE while staying with him. He was rather baffled how he could even LIVE with all of that. Maybe there was some kind of secret as how it would not corrupt a monster?

“Azzy? Son, are you alright?”

Asgore's voice pulled Azzy out of his thoughts. He turned and saw the old king in a fluffy pajama and night cap with little ducks on it, a worried expression on his face.

“Yeah, uhm... dad.”, said Azzy. “Just... couldn't sleep.”

“Ah... I know just the thing for that... I'll make you some tea that will calm you right down...”

“No golden Flower tea please!”

Asgore halted at the request, a painful expression on his face and Azzy almost regretted his request. “It just... got a lot of bad memories.”, he mumbled.

“... would a peppermint tea with honey be good?”

“Yeah... yeah that would be alright.”, mumbled Azzy as his father walked away to make tea.

Yeah he hadn't missed THAT so much, feeling bad about stuff like this. But on the other hand he took it any day over not feeling at all. Still, it was strange and awkward and not at all like he remembered being Asriel. He was sure his father felt the same.

Asgore returned with two mugs full of fresh smelling tea later, adding a drop of honey into Azzy's cup just before giving it over to him.

Azzy took a sip and smiled slightly as he felt the tea warming up his body and soul.

“Thanks... dad.”, he mumbled. “... I can call you dad, right?”

“Of course, my...”, Asgore hesitated and Azzy waved with one hand.

“It's alright, you can call me son or... stuff like that. Just don't call me Asriel.”

“Alright, Son.”, Asgore answered with a nod but Azzy did saw the slight hurt in his eyes. “I am sorry, I am just... getting used to this.”

“Yeah I... I don't blame you.”, mumbled Azzy. “This... this is all new. I had months to prepare for it but honestly, I barely thought about it because I thought it was impossible.”

“Well... Sans had proven to manage impossible things quite well.”, said Asgore lightly. “But... I understand your hesitation.” He put his tea down, voice dropping his usual lightness. “I couldn't believe it quite for myself when he told me about... about what he had done.” He sighted deeply and for a moment Azzy thought that his father really did look as old as at least 1500 years.

“I made a lot of mistakes, my son.”, Asgore said softly. “I guess I didn't want to face a lot of them... So I choose to be a coward and look away but just because you don't look at it doesn't mean it's gone.”

“Uh... it's alright.”, mumbled Azzy. “You know, I did a lot of... really bad things to. I could say I only did it because I had no soul and couldn't care but... still...”

A big pawn stilled him and Azzy looked to Asgore who moved in for a gentle hug.

“Hush my son.”, he said softly. “I can't remember what you did and all is well now. I have nothing you need forgiveness for. There are people you have to make amends with but it is not me. And I am here for you. And I love you.”

Azzy sniffled softly at that, tears he hadn't shed for so long finally coming to his eyes. He hugged back his father and cried in his fur, feeling so much and loving and hating it but also somehow feeling it would be okay.

Well, looks like he was still a crybaby but all in all, it was what he was. Even so he thought that Chara would have let this one slide just this once.

Time kinda... ran away from that point. They sat together the next day, Toriel, Asgore, Sans and Papyrus, Frisk and Azzy together with Alphys and Undyne. Sans had kinda wanted Grillby to be there too but he had declined, saying softly that he understood that he wasn't really part of this but ready to offer any help should it be needed.

Sans was so glad to have a friend like this.

The explanation went on long and it hurt a LOT seeing Toriel looked betrayed and hurt and horrified and angry and sad. But they had to do this and in a way it felt freeing too to just talk. They explained as good as they could what happened. Asriel's and Chara's plan, what had happened that day when they died. Gaster's and Alphy's experiments and the creation of Flowey. They all knew already about the resets but Azzy filled in some thing he did while being Flowey, but he left out  a lot of details. Sans was kinda thankful for that to be honest.

After that their talk turned to Frisk's determination and how they saved not only all the monster but for a brief moment Asriel too so he could finally let go. Sans took over and explained his fears and his plan to give Flowey a happy ending too. How he took him from the Underground, how Grillby took care of him and how he started working on the machine together with Alphys.  He did left out how he stole many parts for it thou, no point in worrying anybody. (also it would be better if nobody knew anything in case somebody did came knocking at the doors.)

Alphys and Asgore explained how they made Flowey a new soul. And Azzy explained how he wasn't Asriel still, not really. That he was dead and gone but went without regrets and that he was ready to start a new life.

There were some tears and hugs and apologies but in the end it was... strangely okay.

Toriel did... better than expected, honestly. She requested some time alone and Sans gave it. The others bid their goodbye and even Papyrus announced that he would take Frisk to stay the night at Mettaton's. Sans nodded, told his brother no glitter after midnight and... well then they were alone.

Toriel in their bedroom and Sans in the living room. Time tickled slowly. He wanted to go to her and talk to her but he had no clue what to say.

Sorry I lied. Sorry about your son. Sorry we didn't told you. Sorry I was so messed up these last days. Sorry that I probably committed a lot of crimes and hopefully no human will ever link it to me.

Sorry I made you upset.

So he stayed in the living room, waiting for... something. He wasn't sure what.

Toriel did came down to him later, close to 11 pm. It had gotten dark outside a while ago already at that time. Sans hadn't bothered to turn on the lights... or move at all. He didn't even notice her until she stepped into his view, the moon shining on her soft fur, making her look a bit like a ghost. Sans risked a look at her face and for the first time since a really long time he couldn't say what she was thinking.

That was almost worse than anything he had imagined.

“I am very disappointed.”, she said after a stretch of silence.

“I know.”, said Sans quietly. “I... I am really sorry.”

“... did you had a reason for leaving me out of it?”

“... I... I thought so.”, said Sans. “... I didn't want to... get your hopes up. I didn't know it would even work... I just... couldn't put you through that.”

“I don't like somebody making decisions for me.”

“I know.”, said Sans, very very softly. “I know and I am sorry.”

“... would you do it again?”

Sans looked up at her and she looked down to him. He swallowed. “I... I don't know.”, he whispered. “I... I really don't.”

“Why not?”

There was absolutely no emotions in Toriel's voice or there was and Sans had no idea what to make out of it.

“I....”, he started but stopped. This was... hard. He just wanted to get away, teleport far far away but he couldn't. He wouldn't. How to explain something like that? How to explain he knew he was a hypocrite but still couldn't help acting like one?

“... I really only wanted to... to make you happy.”, mumbled Sans. “I just... I was the... the guy behind the door, remember? You told me everything, I knew how much this... all of this hurt you. Flowey even told me about the timelines he went to you and Asgore and told you two who he were. You suffered so much Toriel and... and it really isn't Asriel. I knew that from the start that he wouldn't be Asriel ever again, he would be somebody new... and I really just... just wanted to talk to you about it when I had all the facts.” He sighed. “I... it isn't all about you, I admit it. I was not ready myself. And it's messed up and stuff but... at least like this I... thought I had some sort of control over the situation? I just... I couldn't Toriel...”

He was looking away from her now, not having the strength to look at her. And Toriel herself stayed silent too.

They must have sat like this for a while before Toriel moved, fabric rustling as he leaned towards Sans and wrapped her arms around him. Sans was shaking, only now noticing just how worked up about this he was. His bones were rattling, now muffled by Toriel's fur.

He still held on to her like a lifeline.

“I am not happy.”, said Toriel after a while, still holding Sans. “But... I think I can forgive you.”

Sans thought for a moment he would pass out at these words. There were definitely tears now in his eyes. He buried his face into Toriels arm.

“I love you so much.”, he mumbled out, earning a humm from Toriel.

“I love you too.”, said said. “I... it will take some... adjustment. But I do think I... we all can come to terms with this.”

There might have been some more they talked but honestly, Sans couldn't remember. The rest of the night was a blurr but they spend it together.

The days after that were a blurr too. They had to register Azzy, make sure he was listed as Asgore's son and all the other things that required lots of paper work. There was debate about how old Azzy was now but they did decide on the age Asriel had died: Around twelve years old, the same age as Frisk was now.

They even made a room for Azzy in Asgore's little house, cleaning out one of the guest rooms and letting Azzy choose his furniture and decorations for himself. The room looked quite nice in the end, painted yellow and green, a deep blue carped on the ground. There was a soft bed, a desk, a chair a big closet with a mirror.

Azzy had chosen the mirror for himself and every morning he would look at himself in it just to prove that there was not a flower and not a goat looking at him but a plant elemental. Just Azzy.

They did talked to him too about school and, as Sans had expected, Azzy really wanted to go to school with Frisk. And because Asgore is still a big fuzzy pushover and Sans had no resistance against Frisk's puppy eyes, Azzy start going to Frisk's school soon after.

There would be time to prepare of course and Azzy was still getting the hang out of doing stuff with his little pawns but it would happen. That means that Azzy would join in a few weeks and THAT meant they would have to tell the school, the teachers and, of course, the parents of Frisk's class.

Sans was kinda looking forward and dreaded the next PTA at the same time.

And in the void, there was something now that wasn't there. A cluster of broken pieces that begun assembling itself like a puzzle. And as one bright white piece clicked together with another, there was suddenly something else.

The sound of a gentle beat of a soul and a spark of magic as a memory completed itself in it. The being felt a spark of joy or at least what could be considered as such at their current broken state. But there was some sort of awareness now, some sort of intent. The memory of a smiling face, some tiny hands and the warmth of love made the being hurry even more.  

The void, for the first time, was not silent anymore and hope let the fragments of the broken soul shine brighter and brighter in the darkness.

So thank you all for still reading this, commenting, liking and reblogging.

Also I got some fanart:

This wonderful Azzy! XD It wasn't like I imagined him at first but I liked the design so much, I pretty much made it canon now. Many many thanks to @amannartblog for this! I am sorry this chapter came out so late now.

[narcisskanotfrisk]

BeyondFell: Part 9

She advanced again, and noticed that this time no branch cracked behind her. She found herself again before the abyss of her dead. She waited again for Sans, and turned around just after the last step. The latter looked at her strangely before exclaiming: "Woah ... I barely have time to arrive when you turn around, the discussion is likely to be hearsay mouahahah." "Ahahah, no, I don't think so!" But I would like to ask you a few questions about the Underground ... " " Oh ? I can light your lantern on a subject or two, I think. What would a person as flourishing as you want to know ... " Frisk thought at the same time that Sans was talking to him. She had to save time. However, she didn't really know what to question him about. What if she asked a little more about the history between monsters and humans? Or should she ask how the monsters survived? No, it would wake up from wounds of the past, and it was not what Frisk wanted. So she looked at him at the end of her sentence and simply asked this question. " How are you today ? She said smiling as usual. Sans was taken aback by this question. He had killed her twice, and in addition it showed as the nose in the middle of the face, but she wanted to know how he was? This girl must have been really stupid ... No, it wasn't that, she had something else that he didn't have. He then took a deep breath, then sighed before answering. "Well ... I would say it will be fine, as always. On the other hand, you would do my brother Papyrus' day. He's a human-hunting fanatic, not really my thing. " "Oh, it's because ..." She paused in the middle of her sentence. Flowey had told him that monsters were not supposed to remember timelines. Even though he was gone, she had to respect that and say nothing about her previous reset. However, she did feel that something was wrong. If no one remembered the old timelines, then why had Toriel had this reaction? And Sans, why did he crack branches at the start and now more? All this troubled her as long as she came to ask an unusual question: "You monsters, do you know the term" timeline "? " "Hmm ... No one has taught you how it goes here, right?" "Oh, uh, yes ... but I have the impression that he was mistaken on certain things," she replied, looking him in the eyes. He sighed before answering: "Princess, some monsters remember timelines and others don't. We do not know how it happened but ... black spots started to appear on some monsters ... These started to remember certain events, while those who did not have them did not notice what change. By the way ... what is the monster that gave you directions to the Underground? " "Oh, it was Flowey! It is a flower that speaks. " Following Frisk's word, the skeleton's orbits went blank, as if he knew something about him that she didn't know. As he remained like that for a moment without smiling, she touched him with the tip of her finger. "Hey! Do not touch me !" Sans took a step back and threw her a bone, which appeared thanks to his magic. Frisk dodged it, despite the very short reaction time she had. Sans expected anger to appear on Frisk's face, or at least fear. But that was not the case, she looked at him with incomprehension. She didn't know what Flowey had done, but apparently Sans him wanted it. She got up, fell as a result of her dodging, and looked at him straight in the orbits. "I don't know the past between you and him .... But he was there to tell me what to do and how to react to these new dangers ... I would rather move forward in the present than rehash the past ! " Frisk held his gaze filled with determination. She even manages to scare Sans a little before he pulls himself together. He sighed before answering: "... you couldn't know he was a traitor!" He fled with the first human soul. When he returned, his parents themselves killed him for this act of high treason, especially ASGORE ... Not enough to break a bone, but he finished it completely.” At that moment, Chara's memories resurfaced, and she began to hold her head, screaming in pain. Human, the first having fallen was her! She remembered everything now ... She came here because she loved walking in the mountains. However, she hadn't paid attention, and ended up falling into the Underground. Asriel, son of Toriel and Asgore, as well as prince of the Underground, found her and healed her in secret. He did not like the way of making monsters today, always trying to provoke a fight and to fight each other. If his parents found that he was hosting a human, which is more under their roof ... Unfortunately, his parents eventually discovered her, while they were having fun in his room. However, they did not react violently and looked after her as if it were their own daughter. Asriel was however suspicious of his parents, and investigated on his side, while gradually becoming someone important to Chara. She had never really had someone as a "friend", most used her as an object. Asriel was the first to care about her. She ends up becoming her best friend. Both rejected by their own species, they could only understand each other. However, a most obscure fate awaited them .... Asriel realized, by dint of investigating, that her parents did not like Chara, and simply wanted to use it to stab humans in the back. Asriel, unable to hide this from Chara any longer, confessed to her everything his parents wanted. Chara felt betrayed ... Despite everything, she kept her trust in Asriel. She returned to the ruins alone, because she had an idea in mind to save her friend. She also knew that Asriel wouldn't want this solution. But she had to do it ... She had given him an appointment there to explain to him what she wanted. If only one of them could be saved, she wanted it to be him. Of course, Asriel, hearing her project, refused to comply ... So she took the knife she had stuck in the kitchen, and stuck it in her chest. Asriel had no time to react. Unable to do anything to save her, he promised her that he would try to live on the surface ... After her death, her soul left her body, and Asriel recovered it. He buried her in a place of nostalgia, which was that of their first meeting: the place where one falls in the Underground. Her soul being in Asriel, she had some flashbacks from her stay on the surface. He managed to survive a week, but humans eventually found him. She saw battles interspersed ... Her friend took terrible wounds ... Tears ran down her ghostly cheeks: she didn't want to see more ... But it came back to her, whether she liked it or not! She saw Asriel return to the Underground. Wounded, he limped to move. However, his father was waiting for him on the throne. He looked at him haughtily and said to him: -Is that all my own son can do? ... Pathetic! He skewered him like a vulgar pig ... She felt the pain of their two souls break, then the memories subsided .... She managed to recover from her emotions and straightened up thinking about all these memories that she had lost. That didn't explain why she was there again. Admittedly, she no longer had a body, but she still survived in a world where she no longer had her place ... "Why ... He could have ... survived ... If only ... humans weren't as stupid ... I wanted at least one of us to be able to survive ... But instead of that, I caused the death of my best friend ... So why am I still there ... Wait ... Didn't this pile of bones just say that Flowey was Asriel ?! I knew I recognized his voice! Oh, I hope he will get out ... " Suddenly, a click was heard, calling out to Chara. Frisk had slapped Sans, who looked surprised more than hurt. But what had happened while she was reviewing her past ??? "I don't know what could have happened here while you were locked up, and I don't really care!" The past doesn't matter as long as the person changes to the present! " Frisk had just thrown these scathing words at Sans, holding his gaze despite the animosity he displayed. She might be curious about the past, but she wouldn't change her mind about Flowey just because Sans was trying to get her there! She heard footsteps on the other side of the precipice. It was Papyrus, Sans's brother, who was arriving. She barely had time to think that Sans had teleported across the precipice. She tried to hide as best she could behind a tree, while listening carefully to the two skeletons ...

[agreementtale]

Chapter 2: Into the

They woke up on an unfamiliar bed, there were dark clouds outside the window.

No, not clouds… a cave ceiling…

They didn’t know where they were, in an unconscious act they touched their arms and forearms.

Nothing.

No, no, no, no, no… not again, they didn’t do it.

They looked at their arms, a blue and pink stripped shirt, they pulled the sleeves revealing untouched skin.

No scars, no marks, no magic.

Did they reset? why? why again? it was all their fault. Why–/

“Could you yell any louder?”

Flowey stood before them, they were hyperventilating again, confused they touched their arms, why there would be scars? Why not finding them was unsettling?

“Sorry” muttered with a raspy voice. Two days ago they had fallen underground, two days ago they followed Flowey to one of the houses on the ruins.

“Why do you have to scream every time you wake up? Stupid human” He sounded like he wanted this to be a whisper, but still made it loud enough for them to be self-conscious “eat this before you die of hunger” three candies were dropped on the mattress.

Their stomach hurt, it was the third day without food, they were growing hungry and weak. But they deserved it.

“Thank you” said, pushing the sweets to below the pillow, what difference it would make? They had reset. Years of progress thrown away because of them… and they couldn’t even remember why.

“Eat it or I’ll shove it down to your stomach” he threatened “Do you know how hard it was to steal you these?” His grimace was funny.

“How hard?” they indulged.

“Very! Now eat it!”

“I’m not really hungry–/”

“Bullshit” he rose to look them in the eyes, it was easy with them sitting on the bed “I know all about you ~humans~” his face morphed to a humanoid form on the last word, ok that was creepy… “You have to eat a lot more than that or you get sick”.

“I’m already sick” they replied mindlessly, they were a sick person.

“Boo hoo, I’m a sad sad human” he mocked “I disappointed people and fell into a cave hole” shaking his head, his petals were a bit nicked at the edges “I make myself sick because I don’t want to EAT!” He jumped on them, vines spawning from everywhere.

They flinched, hard, he used this moment to hold their mouth open.

And they panicked.

Reflexively they trashed on the vines that only were getting tighter and tighter, trying to scratch whatever was holding them down. They saw vines and a wicked laugh and giant green-red eyes, reloading again and again and again.

Thump!

-14

They gasped, opening their eyes. They were upside down, half on the ground, legs still on the bed, but no vines around them, instead Flowey was staring at them with a bruising in his cheek.

They had hit him! “Flowey!” they crawled over their brother “Are you ok? Did I hurt you?” He slapped their hands away with his vines.

“I’m fine” hissed “what is wrong with you humans? I save you and that’s how you repay me?”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” They rushed to the bed, unwrapped a candy and offered to him “Here, please heal yourself”

“I picked this for you, you idiot, are you really trying to apologize by giving it back?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hit you, I just want to heal you, I didn’t–/” he lifted a vine to silence them.

“Is this pathetic speech your way to try to apologize?” They nodded “I have a better idea”

“Anything” they offered.

“Eat it” the vine pointed to the candy in their hands.

They blinked, well, that wouldn’t be all that bad, they ate the candy, feeling the magic rush on their hungry body. It made them remember how much food they were missing, if anything made them hungrier.

“Aaaand the other ones” Flowey looked attentively to them.

They ate the second with pleasure, the non-licorice flavor welcomed, but held the third to Flowey “You have to eat too”

“I don’t have to eat, I’m a flower”

“But I hurt you” they insisted, extending the candy in his direction “You said it was dangerous out there” he was in an arm’s reach, but they tried not to touch him right now.

“You think your weak punch can kill me? Please” rolled his eyes, holding a leaf to his bruised cheek, pretending not to flinch at the stinging contact “It’s you I’m worried about” said amused.

“Well, and I’m worried about you” they said honestly, offering the last candy “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

He chuckle lightly “You are an idiot” his leaves glowed green light, he touched the bruise and the green expanded to all the side of his face “And as your new best friend I will help you survive” and it faded away, no light, no bruise, like nothing had happened, they were impressed “But as an apology you have to do anything I say, now eat it!”

“For the rest of the day?” Asked popping the last candy on their mouth

“For the rest of your life!” He proclaimed proudly, they laughed trying not to choke on the candy, he hadn’t changed.

“With my luck, those might be around the same time”

“Not today!” he yelled “Today you are getting out of bed, humans have to exercise, they get sick if they are in bed all day” pointing an accusatory vine at them.

“I’m pretty sure I’m on the flor now” they retorted, waiting for him to roll his eyes.

“Doesn’t count” he said simply.

“Hm” they cleaned their throats “flor?” he still didn’t react “As in flower?” he looked at them in annoyed confusion “you know… in about four languages?”

“Why would anyone need four languages with the same words?” he asked, seeming actually curious.

“Because… the world is a big place?” they tried to explain the best they could “humans got several languages… and dialects?” the confusion on ONU meetings echoed in their minds, his brother amused voice saying ‘flower’ in twenty different languages, winning a meaningless bet.

He rolled his eyes “Well I couldn’t know that” looking at them displeased “I never left underground”

Their face dropped “I’m sorry” soul aching in their chest.

“Meh, whatever” he said “It’s not like you sealed us down”

…

They let his unintentional accusation sink in…

They deserved that…

They really deserved that…

…

“Hey! Are you listening?”

“Sorry, I got distracted there”

“With what? The cobwebs?”

They gave an apologetic smile “Sure” and got up, they were going out after all.

“So what is it?” Flowey lead the way to what looked like a small street, there were several houses on the ruins, they had no memories of this place, but that wasn’t all new… maybe they did bump their head on the fall.

They caught Flowey looking at them expectantly “Hm?”

“Your name! Stupid! How were you not listening?”

“Oh… my name…” what was it again?

“Yes, your name! Want me to keep calling you human all the time?”

“Actually, that would be perfect” it would spare them the trouble of remembering it.

“Why?” he looked at them smiling tauntingly “Do you get a stupid name too?” he teased.

“Oh, Flowey” they cooed “Your name is not stupid!” the flower contorted his face in horror.

“That’s not – ARG!” he hissed “I don’t care about the stupid name of a stupid human” he went faster to what looked like a bifurcation on the way, and then to what looked like a secret passage behind a stone pillar.

On the other side there was a room filled with red leaves and a wide stone staircase, no, two staircases that connected themselves to an entrance, to what seemed to be a… castle?

Wait.

They remembered this place! They rushed to the middle of the leaves and looked to the entrance in front of them, as if this had trigged a reaction, something important appeared, a golden light, as if drawn to it, they extended their hands.

Their soul greeted the familiar light that emanated the powerful energy. They could feel it. It was bigger than them, bigger than the underground, bigger than reality itself.

* The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling you with determination.

For some reason the text seemed more ominous than before, but they gladly accepted it.

Flowey was staring at them with surprise written all over his face, but when they turned to face him, he pretended to be buzzy climbing… or better… reappearing on the top of the stairs.

“I think I have amnesia or something” they blurted after he avoided speaking with them for almost half an hour of puzzles, walking into rocks and then just walking silently “It’s when people can’t remember things” he was still avoiding them for some reason “I don’t remember things before the fall very well” Names, places, their family and friends “They are all blurry”

“So you don’t remember your name?” the flower asked, stopping on the path, the first stop in two hours.

They shook their heads “Not clearly”

“Don’t you remember anything?”

“Not really” foggy memories about their brother, but their brother was right in front of them… certainly remembering a thing you just saw wouldn’t count.

“Try”

“Hm?”

“Try remembering, see what happens” well… ok, it was worth a shot.

They closed their eyes, what did they remember? The first thought they had when they fell underground… Panic, but why? Why they were panicking? Because the lost time? Was there really something as ‘lost time’ when time didn’t have a meaning?

If a reset could bright back time… no wait… reset… the word itself didn’t feel good, was it because of the reset?

‘No more resets’

Where did they heard that?

Their promise. ‘No more resets’ accusingly played in their head again and again.

They stepped on a tiled floor, their steps echoed

The smell of ozone.

Their own voice resonated on their head, vowing in a yellow lighted corridor.

‘I promise. I will bring everyone back to surface. Then, no more resets’

‘so i promise. i'll be there, every step of the way’ The baritone voice answered and they felt themselves smiling to an old friend.

“Sans...” He will know what to do

“What?” Called Flowey from a few meters away, apparently tired of waiting.

“Nothing” Saying too much could bring this run to a short end, they had a goal. And now that they knew what their goal was they would do anything to accomplish it, they were determined “Actually I remembered something”

The flower looked at them expectantly.

“My name” they said reluctantly, it was trapped in their throat.

“Which is?” If he had teeth now he would be grinding them.

“Frisk” The name tasted wrong in their mouth, half of them felt like a liar, the other half like a coward, but given the fact that they had thrown an entire race into a time prison... again... the bitterness was welcomed. As long as it didn’t keep them from going forward.

“Hm…” murmured “That’s… a nice name” he still looked at them from up and down “It’s that all you remember?”

They thought for a moment, how to bring this up, without talking about the resets? Flowey acted like they never met before, it could be an act, or not. But they would play along, and play safe.

“No. I remember something else” They would not bring anything too heavy, but the message had to be clear.

“Spit it out already! Why all the dramatic pauses?”

“I remembered why I am here” they smiled at the impatient flower “I am here to free all the monsters”

His petals deflated and face seemed to pale.

“Aren’t you happy?”

“Hm…” he seemed deep in thought “Frisk… did you humans kept counting? Or something” he was clearly bothered by something.

“No. Humans don’t even know you exist, there is just the legend about Mt. Ebott” now he looked confused “But I know a way to get a happy ending were no monster gets hurt!” they explained trying to contain the sudden rush of happiness that went along with finding their life purpose “I just have to befriend them and get to the barrier, then you will all go free!”

He looked at them for a few seconds.

Then busted into laughter.

It wasn’t his unpleasant laughter, thou.

“Well” he tried to control his wheezing breath “You want to” another cough-laugh “~befriend~ monsters”

“Yep” that threw him into another fit. That they patiently waited to die down.

“Ok, ok” he breathed, still amused “I know how to get you there” and motioned for them to follow “Just trust your best friend”.

As strange as it was, they did.

_____________________

First

Next

[saveloadreset]

Still weird details

Hi !

Thank you for your answer to my… ask (I mean, I didn’t ask the first time lol) ! So, here are some precisions (I hope) about some of those weird questions ! Hope you won’t regret (in fact you might…) !

Save Note:

Second verse, same as the first! My responses will be here, and the rest of the post will be under the cut.

2, 3 and 4 :

Actually, this is exactly the problem ! What are the factors that do impact on contol when a body is shared (I should have asked it instead of those weird questions). At first, I thought this factor was determination. But then, it raises some problems :

- Asriel and Chara : how did Asriel manage to take control ? Especially as monsters are not supposed to have determination.

- Flowey and the souls : was Flowey more determined than these children ? It was by calling for help that our binom of kids managed to make them react, though, they still were not in control.

Knowing that, I think that another factor might be taken in account, let’s say : the will (actual determination). This would mean that will and determination are two different things (for example, perhaps the determination substance could define an upper bound to one’s will, like a potential).

There is another question : God of Hyperdeath Asriel implied not having total control over the timeline. I didn’t realize this when I wrote the first post, but it doen’t mean that he couldn’t at least do a “partial” reset. Therefore, it is possible that Frisk and Chara weren’t completely either, as Flowey was here, having his own desire for the world (to play, like a player). This would explain why the name cannot be changed, and alsi the notion of True Reset and the conditions for it : making Flowey give up. Now, the problem comes in neutral runs, when Flowey is not spared.

A theorist also presented another possibility : a incredible boost in determination, similar to Undyne’s one. This could explain why Asriel’s last attack didn’t take them down (plus, Asriel was not too determined to finish the job at the end, help I’M CRYING NOW !!).

Save Note:

As far as Asriel and how they took control or not, my answer remains the same: it’s hard to say and we may never know the answer.

I realize that’s not satisfying, but there are a bunch of different ways you could phrase it and logic it to try to figure it out . . . Perhaps the host is meant to have control over the body that surpasses the SOULs they absorb, which allowed Asriel to say no? Perhaps with six SOULs awakened and full of regret, he lost control? Perhaps when you have less than seven SOULs but more than one, you are an incomplete, imbalanced god whose grip on the SOULs that you have is tenuous and easily shaken.

I realize that we like simple answers. Something standard. Something that makes the world more solid and consistent. 

But sometimes it’s not about that. Perhaps its the potency of a SOUL’s regret, or the number of the SOULs . . . Or perhaps it’s an even wrestling that oculd have gone either way, and only through dedicated effort were they able to assert their influence in the way they wanted.

I mean, in the pacifist fight, it’s implied fairly strongly that Frisk/Chara aren’t supposed to be able to SAVE and LOAD. There’s a whole bit of narration about trying to reach your SAVE file and failing. So, I imagine that Asriel and Frisk/Chara were wrestling for control of the timeline, with our heroes struggling to keep it away from Asriel while Asriel tried to pry it from their perpetually dying, determined hands.

I still think that the true reset and the reason it is so thorough is as a side effect of purging the timeline SO thoroughly that even Flowey loses context for what happened.

5 :

Well, I’ve already heard about these two opposing theories. I think I will try to see what each theory would imply, assuming one was the right one (the other left lol). Hope I’m not too cocky to do that, here goes nothing :

First, let’s assume that Alphys was the one who wrote all the entries. It would explain the gap of time, the fact that she stated having been the one who extracted and named determination.

Now, Shyren’s sister’s fell is mentionned by Mettaton in his (their, as a ghost) diary. Well, this would mean… That Mettaton is a pretty messy ghost ! The only thing we know is that the fifth diary from the left is the fifth in time. Chronologically, he would have met Alphys before the event, and after seeing her design of a new body, he would have agreed the offer (detail : the diary at the right already begins with “she”, without mentionning who).

The other implication is about flowers. The first golden flower is the one blooming at first. Plus, as you pointed, Alphys must have known the story (and having a crush is not helping). Now, how would Alphys know that this flower appeared before the queen left ? Asgore probably told her, in that case ! And this particular meaning of this flower has been written even in a lab entry !

Now, the other theory : let’s assume that Gaster wrote 8 entries. It is true that this theory fills holes in a more simple way (I believed it at first), but there are still some issues.

You already described the gap of time mentionned by the three weirdos. If this theory is correct, by assuming that Alphys and Sans worked after Gaster, then we can estimate the gap. Shyren, who used to take piano lessons with Undyne (who isn’t too old)… and stopped : for it, I see only one reason, her sister. Plus, Snowdrake’s mother used to listen jokes of her teen comedian son. Knowing this, the gap would be… about five or ten years. It’s unaccurate, though, it doesn’t appear like much time (it’s subjective though). So, in that case, either the weirdos were overestimating time, or they aren’t able to perceive resets.

Then, why would Alphys pretend to have extracted determination ? As the entries were, by hypothesis, written by Gaster, she would have been aware that something has been done (they didn’t disappear, as the CORE is still here). I don’t see any reason for her to lie, so I see one possibility left : there was a HUGE jumble in time perception and memories. Like : “why are there entries if previous royal scientist is a notion I cannot even conceive ? Unless I was the one to write the entries…?”.

Actually, it was your opinion on these implications I was asking, though I didn’t consider the first theory in my first post ! I may have forgotten details to complete this, but I think I mentionned some points (I personnally am a firm believer of the theory according to which the entries were written by Chara, as they roleplayed as a royal scientist with glasses and all, while petting some dogs, especially entry 17, where the two mentionned are Asriel and Snowdrake, because no hole in this theory, and proofs are given by Endogeny, the bag of dog food… y-yeah exactly ! sorry pls end my pain now).

Oh, by the way, some new questions I have about a detail : about the importance of determination for Chara and Asgore… Before the substance was extracted. Why did it appear already so important ?

Save Note

I think I lost you somewhere along the line in this question/statement/theory.

Like, I think that the idea of Gaster having written the entries is a pure bad take. We know how Alphys became the Royal Scientist, after all! I’ve never seen anything that’s shaken my belief in that.  

We don’t know much about Asgore’s relationship with Determination! But it’s interesting. he doesn’t seem surprised at all, when he hears about how he’s killed you multiple times. He seems acquainted with time travel, as a concept, already . . .

Perhaps it’s a narratively useful coincidence, that Asgore and Alphys both call a human’s ability to defy fate determination. Perhaps Alphys, after seeing the videos and hearing about how determined Chara was, either from Asgore or from the stories around them, named the substance a word that fit. 

Does that answer the last half of your question? I’m having a hard time parsing it.

6 :

My, my… Sorry for this one, I pretty much lacked information. Though, I’ll keep your answer and the DEEP HISTORY part !

7 :

I didn’t know about Shyren’s lower body not disappearing ! But actually, a visible part of Lemon Bread is made of the agent, while Shyren’s sister seems to be in here too… Coincidence ?

Save Note

Keep in mind, Lemon Bread  behaves both like Shyren and like Aaron. It’s entirely possible that Shyren’s sister’s lower half is just because she was melted into an aaron.

I think that’s what’s up with that.

8 :

Sorry. In Undyne’s house, the hot chocolate is described as a green cylinder, while appearing blue (am I colorblind ?). And one of the changes in the colorblind-friendly patch was to make light blue a bit darker… But I’m not sure about the forms of colorblindness concerned. It was a funny detail, but it probably does not mean much thing.

Save Note

It could mean something! Or perhaps Toby wrote the text without thinking too much and didn’t think correcting it was worth it, has never noticed, or thinks that it being deliberately wrong is funny!

It’s REALLY easy to look at little variances, little inconsistencies, and find profound meaning there. In the same way people can find a way to uncover an Illuminati symbol in everything. Before taking them to mean anything solid, I like to have a wide array of different cases that support a hypothesis before I start to really get behind it.

9 :

I forgot to mention that Flowey, while talking to Chara, faces forward. Though, at the end of You know, Chara is also talking, facing forward. I thought this change of perspective would give something, but maybe it wasn’t important at all.

Save Note

Flowey also talks facing forward to us when we first meet, after we fall down. The only difference is that there’s no UI in the way.

I think that’s the main difference. There’s no UI because we don’t need it.

10 :

Well. During I-have-bad-fashion-choices-Flowey’s fight, there are some files that appear (file2, file3, file6, and in the strings, file4). A theorist pointed out in a recent video the fact that there were 3 files like that in data : 0 (save points), 8 (Flowey’s) and 9 (which always saves, maybe Frisk’s). It is likely that the files 1-7 were kids’ ones. But then, there’s file0 that should correspond to the save points. Then, if the files can be associated to someone, who does have file0 ? I was just curious about your point of view, actually !

Save Note:

My point of view is . . . be very careful when using code to try to ferret out bits of lore.

Speaking as someone who has dabbled in gamemaker, you don’t spend most of your time finding secret little places to put story details. You’re tearing your hair out trying to make the damn thing do what you want!

If the code serves a practical purpose in the game not related to directly giving story details, I’m of the opinion that you should not cite it, full stop. Names for objects that look suspicious? Maybe. Bits of dialogue? It’s possible that could mean something.

But when you look that kind of in-depth coding stuff? You risk breaking into the fuse box of the theater and asking how the way the different wires cross relates to the play.

And it’s probably not related to the play’s story at all. More likely, it’s just there to make sure the lights come on when they’re supposed too.

13 :

Well, I just added a new possibility to the already long list of possibilities at the beginning of this post… I guess I will call it a hunch anyway !

14 :

Huh… I’m actually kind of relieved that this theory cannot be dismissed (there’s one I want to dismiss, and it doesn’t even use this one haha) ! It was not what I meant though ! It was on your blog I’ve seen the idea of them playing a role at this point. Somehow, they act differently from before : frightening, serious, but sad in a way, when it comes to “we’ll be togethet forever”… I was asking what did you (was it you ?) mean by “playing a role” ? What kind of role and why ? Perhaps because of LV ?

Save Note:

That sounds like something I would have said at one point, but unless I have the context for what I was talking about I’m not sure what my point was back then.

What post was this?

Besides, there’s another question I got, still related to Chara : how do they get a human soul ? I mean, well, they’re probably soulless, but why would they want a soul ? Perhaps because the situation is at the worst point, and them too ? And to begin with : what did they mean by giving a soul ? They’re not taking Frisk’s place, after all. Related to the previous question, I’m still wondering if the end of the post-no-good-idea was not some kind of… Intimidation strategy. If they play a role in this case, then it might correspond !

Save Note: 

I mean, it’s kind of debatable what it means when Frisk sells Chara their SOUL! Because, unlike how you’d expect, Chara doesn’t appear to leave Frisk behind. In the Underground they even appear to leave Frisk a lot of agency to do what they want.

But . . . In the pacifist ending, when they get to the surface, Chara DOES take Frisks’ place. And when they do, they are implied to kill everyone.

It still leaves an interesting question. Why do they want Frisks’ SOUL? To destroy the world, and destroy everyone? No . . . They already did that together after all. It’s not like Chara wants the SOUL to hurt anyone--and I’m not saying that because I think Chara doesn’t want to hurt anyone at this point, clearly they don’t think anyone’s pain is worth a second thought--but the world is OVER. Everything is finished. There’s a punctuation mark on existence. 

All the same, Chara wants a SOUL . . . Why do they want a SOUL?

Perhaps a SOUL gives them more power, and they wish to be able to freely interact with the world on their own terms, especially once Frisk gets out of the Underground. Perhaps they felt empty without a SOUL, incomplete, and they feel that having a SOUL again will complete them, somehow.

The frustrating truth is: we don’t know.

15 (what… No 15 ?) :

GREAT ANSWER !!! *insert a certain robot here*

Well, I’ve included some new questions in each part ! I’m still interested in knowing your point of view on this, or if I missed one thing that invalids everything (can we even call THAT post a theory ?)…

Thank you for reading !

[sketchy-vore]

The Monster of Ebott

Here it is guys! The AU no one asked for! But I was having trouble writing so I thought: let’s do something light and fun.

So, remember this AU I briefly talked about? I wrote that with Feralfell characters. Also the song that’s mentioned is ‘Fade Away’, an Undertale fan song by @mandopony . My boyfriend is a big fan of his MLP music and I wanted to use a sad song that’s connected to the fandom, so he seemed like the right choice.

Might put this story up to the Feraltale blog if it does okay. Also, first attempt at writing in third person, leave constructive criticism. Also ILLUSTRATIONS!!!

Enough talk let's GO!

There once was a little orphan child. everybody called them Frisk, because they were always optimistic. They were also always kind, looking down so they wouldn’t step on the pretty flowers, or tiny animals. And every day they would walk through the forest to get to school.

“Don’t go through the woods!” People told them. “Monsters live there! They will trick and hurt you, maybe they will even eat you!”

“Oh, but I’m not scared of monsters.” They would say with a smile, and everyday they got there and back, unharmed. They were always kind to the monsters. So kind in fact, that every time they tried to lead them off the path, stole their bag or teased them, they would end up helping them get back to school whole and safe instead. All because they were so kind that it made them feel bad for bullying them.

One day, a messenger came from the castle.

“A MESSAGE FROM THE KING! THE BEAST OF EBOTT HAS REACHED THE KINGDOM, ALL CIVILIANS: BEWARE THE GIANT MONSTER, STAY OUT OF THE FORESTS! TO ALL YOUNG MAN: HE WHO CAN KILL OR CAPTURE THE BEAST WILL GET HALF THE KINGDOM AND CAN CHOSE TO MARRY THE PRINCESS!”

“See now Frisk?” The people said. “It is dangerous to go into the forest! And now there is a monster there that is even more dangerous!”

Frisk just giggled. “I’m not scared of the monsters.” And through the forest they went.

‘How ridiculous.’ They thought. The king’s oldest child, Chara, was just as genderless of mind as they were! Though maybe, that’s just how desperate the king was to keep his kingdom safe.

Suddenly, they could hear screeches and roars far in the distance. Frisk stopped and looked up, just in time to see a form sail through the sky and land in the middle of the lake with a huge splash. Frisk quickly hurried over to help a panting young man up the shore.

“Good god, it was that monster! The Beast of Ebbot, that devil’s mountain. I was trying to fight it, but then there was this icy cold in my chest. And before I knew it I flew up through the sky and landed here. What kind of demon is that thing?!”

The very next day Frisk was walking to school again, only to once again hear the yelling and snorts of a giant beast. And once more, a young man came falling from the sky. He fell into a treetop and came down with many cries of pain and the crackling of twigs. Frisk just reached the trunk as the man came to a stop, clothes and limbs tangled up in the branches. They helped to pull the man out.

“The monster! The Beast of Ebott! It was horrifying! It felt like he was gonna rip the soul straight from my chest! But then I was suddenly flying through the air, what the hell!?”

The next few days many more young men were thrown around the forest, many times Frisk would find and help them to their feet. But every day people would return with increasingly worse wounds, and after a guy returned with a broken arm and leg, his hair singed off, no one dared to set foot in the forest again.

All except for little Frisk. Always looking down to the floor to avoid stepping on little flowers and creature, listening to the mood of the creatures around them to avoid the powerful newcomer. Even though they weren’t really that scared, they couldn’t help but fret. Even the other monsters in the forest were stressed that something so large and powerful, and apparently ill tempered to boot, was stalking around so close. What if the Beast hurt them before they could be nice to him and show they meant no harm?

They decided to take a little break, sitting on one of the rocks with a jelly sandwich. Hmm, strawberry jam, their favorite.

“Ah! P-please not my head!” A tiny voice squeaked out on the ground. Frisk looked down to see a large flower, a piece of the sticky crust stuck to it’s leaves. It had a cute little face in the middle contorted with disgust and stress, the beginning of tiny tears in it’s beady eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Frisk apologized, picking the crust off it’s leaves and taking out a napkin. The flower’s leaves were ripped and had a few holes in them, so they were extra careful as they wiped the smears of jam off, revealing the beautiful gold beneath.

“Thank you,” The flower mumbled. “I’ve had people react worse to me.” They perked up a little bit as it met their eyes. “You were looking like something was bothering you, and you don’t see any other humans in the forest anymore. If you were worrying about Sans finding you, why would you still come here?”

“Who?” Frisk wondered.

“Sans. Uhm, ‘the Beast of Ebott’ I think is what the people here call him.”

Frisk perked up with interest. “You know him?”

“Well, I should. I am Flowey, the Golden Flower of Ebott after all! Although, I don’t know him personally, but I am good friends with his brother.”

Frisk got off the rock and sat in front of the flower instead. “Could you maybe tell me a bit more about him?”

Flowey gave the child a long look, before his face contorted slightly again. The tiny smile on the middle of his face turned out to be slit nostrils as the area above his lower leaves opened slightly, showing a grin filled with sharp teeth. He looked like a child who had just been asked to share some gossip he heard about the bully next door.

“Well, people say he likes the blood of his victims. But actually he just likes the taste of...mustard.”

“No way!” Frisk giggled.

“Yes! And even though he might look like a tough guy, he is actually just a lazybones who just wants to rest and be left alone. But all those people trying to capture and kill him really irritate him.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” Frisk replied as they thought about all the guys she had to help who were pinned to trees by bones.

The flower’s eyes suddenly sparked with worry. “Speaking of which, I will give you a little advice in case you meet them. You seem like a nice person, and I don’t want for anything to happen to you just because Sans nerves are so tense right now. And I don’t want him to get hurt either, Papyrus would be heartbroken. He might be loud and aggressive, but he loves his brother very much.”

“If you meet him, sing him a sad song. I don’t know how, but if you do that he’ll become as meek as a lamb. You can even pull at him and he’ll follow. Just thought I’d tell you in case you bumped into him.”

In the distance there was the sound of a bell.

“Oh no!” Frisk cried out. “The five minute bell! I have to get to school quickly!” They shoved the rest of the sandwich into their mouth and ran off. “By Flower!” They waved.

Later that evening they were walking home to the orphanage at the capital. They were deep in thought about what Flowey said. So deep in fact that they didn’t hear how quiet the forest had got.

Too quite…

Frisk bumped into something.

Because they were always looking down they saw his feet first, and they almost laughed. He wore big, fuzzy, red slippers, with bright yellow socks sticking out of them. The colors were just so strange, and the slippers looked soft and plush. Their humor died down as they realized just how big the strange footwear was, maybe even ten times the size of their own, and that out of the sock stuck thick, massive bones.

Their eyes traveled up, over black shorts with a yellow stripe on each outer side, before they rested on his belly and chest for a second. His body was enormous, towering high over their head with a large round belly. He was clad in a bright red sweater with a thick, black, battered jacket. At his sides they saw huge claws, each was nearly long as their entire arm and the palms easily as big as their chest.

Finally, they looked all the way up until their head was lying in their neck to see his face. His head was a huge skull framed by the white fur hood from his jacket. Three horn-like growths protruded from the top of his head, with two smaller ones on his cheeks. He had a huge mouth filled with sharp fangs. It had two huge tusks, one of pearly white bone while the other was replaced by a huge serrated dagger or knife that looked like it had been welded into the dental socket. Above those snarling fangs were the pitch black eye sockets, with two red orbs inside, each of a different size, staring at them with fury.

A furious rumble started in his chest as the monster’s mouth started to open wide, wider, impossibly wide, as if he was planning to devour the child whole! Frisk suddenly remembered what Flowey told them and racked their brain for a song.

“If I let you go, would you still be a part of me?...” They didn’t know how they knew this song, but they had a distant memory of someone singing it, and it always used to make them cry when they hummed it to themself. Their voice was slightly shaking but they forced their voice to sing the words loud and clear. They felt a tiny bit braver as the monster’s mouth relaxed, wide eyes focused on the tiny child as he listened.

Frisk’s voice got a little more confident as the monster’s mouth fully shut with a soft click, and they closed their eyes as the song started to bring tears to them and a warm feeling in their chest.

Frisk opened their eyes with surprise at a soft sob, but forced themself to keep on singing. Sans was clearly fighting to keep it in, rubbing furiously at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket, but they could still see the big red tears that were starting to stream down his short muzzle.

Looking at the monster as he looked so vulnerable and remembering what Flowey had said, Frisk got a little idea.

After the song ended they started up again, slowly reaching for Sans’ claw. He didn’t even react as they closed their fingers around one of the enormous digit and when they pulled it he took a shuffled step forward.

And so, still singing as they went, Frisk lead Sans back to the capital. They hadn’t even left the treeline but the people already started screaming in fear. “The Beast of Ebott! THE BEAST OF EBOTT IS COMING!” People screamed, all running away and hiding wherever they could. In their homes, on the roofs, in barrels, one guy even jumped off his horse to hide behind the animal. And a soft buzz of voices followed, as people realized that the giant brute was willingly pulled along by a tiny child.

As they walked through the now deserted streets of the city, Frisk could feel the monster’s paws slightly starting to shake. They looked up to see that he was still crying, but he was looking around, eyes full of fear and worry. They gently gave the claw they were still holding a little squeeze, and when he met their eyes they gave him a reassuring little smile.

When they reached the castle the guards were gone nearly just as quickly as the others, leaving the gates wide open. I was only when they entered the throne room that someone stood their ground. As the doors swung open, the normal servants quickly hid under the satin chairs and the oak closets. But the king’s Royal Guard quickly stood to attention with drawn weapons.

The king sat in his throne with stern eyes, no doubt having heard of what was coming. But not that early that he had been able to warn his wife and children. Queen Toriel gasped and turned pale. Prince Asriel let out a startled scream and he and their adopted royalty Chara quickly ran into their mother’s arms, the latter drawing their favorite dagger, just in case.

The king narrowed his eyes and lifted his hand. All available weapons in the room were pointed at the giant monster.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” Frisk cried out in panic. The room was instantly silent.

Too quiet…

Frisk was suddenly aware that they had stopped singing.

Quickly they tried to pick the song up from where they left, but they stumbled over their words and gave a little squeak as enormous hands grasped around their middle.

The room stayed absolutely silent as the kid was lifted off the floor, up and up….and awkwardly cradled against the monster’s chest. Frisk couldn’t see his face, but they could just feel the heat of a venomous glare going being thrown over the top of their head. The fact that the glare wasn’t on them gave them the courage to look up and softly inquire:

“Sans?”

The red eyes lowered in surprise when he heard his name, but his face softened slightly and he gave them a little smile. Then he went back to leveling a glare at the king, challenging him to give the fatal order.

The king slowly lowered his hand, and the guard their weapons. “Are you certain that’s wise my child?” His voice was deep and cautious, looking at the beast before him. He was a big guy, but this monster easily dwarfed him being nearly twice his size.

“Yes!” The child called out. “He’s big and strong, and quite scary, but he’s not a bad guy. He just wants to be left alone and not attacked by young machos every fifteen minutes.”

Asriel and Chara seemed to peek out from their mother a little more, and Toriel herself seemed to have regained her composure, her back straight and the aura around her strong and regal. She was eyeing Sans closely and for some reason the monster was actually avoiding eye contact with her.

“I’m not certain about this.” The king spoke slowly. “I do not wish to leave this creature unchecked, but we are in debt with you for capturing it and… seemingly having tamed it somehow?”

Frisk could feel a huff going through the monster’s chest and ruffling their hair, but he didn’t really protest to the assumption. Huh?

“So we can’t exactly kill it now either.”

“It could stay in the castle park.”

Heads snapped towards the queen. Her children had nearly completely come out from behind her back as she stood proud and tall. Asgore might be king, but everyone knew who the true strength of the royal family was. She slowly walked forward until she was in front of the monster.

“If he stays there, we can keep an eye on him as you wish. But he’ll have the room to roam around and the only people that will come there will leave him alone as long as he behaves. And the child can come live with us if they chose to do so.”

Whatever the queen must have seen in Sans, it must have been worth her trust. And as their eyes finally met there seemed to be a mutual respect between the two forces. And even if you couldn’t see that, the slight dip of Sans’ head left no doubt.

When her eyes drifted to Frisk though, those eyes instantly turned motherly.

“My child, the bag you are wearing tells me that you’re living in the orphanage a few miles away. Would you like to come live with us here at the palace instead, and be part of our family. After all, if I remember correctly someone promised half a kingdom and the hand of our daughter.” There was a sharp edge in her voice as she said that, turning to the king who was fidgeting with a lowered head.

“Oh, I don’t want the kingdom.” Frisk chirped. “I found Sans by chance, and I just wanted to make sure he would be safe. And I’m way too young to know who I’m gonna like, especially when I’m not even sure of my gender too. If I’m going to live with you, I much rather would want Chara and also Asriel as my siblings.”

Said child looked dumbfounded, once again surprised someone would want them around. Toriel looked proud, mom mode quickly starting to kick in.

“Excellent my dear! We will send for someone to get your things from the orphanage. Sans, would you please follow me? I’ll show you the gardens, there you can have as much rest as you wish.”

Frisk could feel the monster hug them a little bit closer, like a child holding a doll for comfort. But he obediently followed the queen nonetheless.

Looks like she wouldn’t need to sing to make him do what she wanted.

And thus from that day on, Frisk lived with the Dreemurr family. They were treated as equal to the other two royal children, learning and playing along with them. Asriel warmed up quickly to his new sibling, energetically hopping around and pulling them along into his every game. Chara was more reserved and sometimes seemed to test the younger child, but they too eventually warmed up and shared their books with them.

And Sans lived in the garden, sleeping his days away in the shade. Eventually, it turned out he didn’t like to be that lonely though. Frisk would visit them every evening, singing their song as he fought back sniffles, his enormous skull laying down in their lap. And after a while Asriel and Chara would join too.

And eventually the three royal children would be playing in his garden under his watchful and amused gaze, the monster laying right in the middle of the sunniest spot he could find and halfheartedly grumbling as the children crawled over them in their games.

Sans got along with the queen too. He would listen to her talk, sharing her books and recipes. He would even make these strange huffing sounds whenever the queen shared her most terrible puns.

As the 3 siblings grew up, they each became much respected and loved by their people.

Asriel became a just and confident king, respected and loved by his people.

Chara became his advisor, smart and resolute as they were, determined to make sure their siblings would be safe.

And Frisk, they were the keeper of the Beast of Ebott, their best friend and a constant reminder that peace can always be an option. Because of them, monsters were left alone in the kingdom. And monsters, under the protection of someone so powerful and kind, saw no reason to be mean to humans anymore.

[reptilerach]

“Rejection”; Chapter One

NOTE: As much as I LOVE Frans, this fanfiction is going to be a Reader x Sans. Hints of Undyne x Alphys will be mentioned in later chapters (as that’s pretty much canon). I have no idea what the schedule will be for uploading new chapters, since I’ve already typed out about 30 lengthy chapters! There will be NO Papyrus x Mettaton; sorry! Not really my thing. But in other words, enjoy!

@elisakou 

______________________________________________________________

It was a windy, snowy day outside. Snowdin was colder than usual, but the monsters who inhabited it didn't seem to mind. The colorful Christmas lights twinkled with cheer, and the “stars” above shone brightly. As little monster children ran about throughout the town square by the large decorated tree with presents lying underneath, you sat on the dark green couch of Sans and Papyrus’s home.

Papyrus was off doing training with Undyne, and God knows where Sans is. That skeleton really was a mystery. Knowing him, you thought glumly, he's probably at Grillby’s again. You didn't mind the quiet; it gave you time to think. Not too long before you fell into the Underground, you had confessed your love for a boy who's name will not be mentioned. His rejection stung harder than it should've, but you couldn't help but believe that in someway you might have acted...desperate towards him.

You sighed, and glanced around the home. It was small, but cozy. A mini kitchen stretched out across the room to your right, and a TV sat in front of you. You didn't turn it on; most of the channels were about Mettaton anyways. That self-obsessed celebrity would just make you feel worse, since all he talked about was flirting and promoting his brand.

There was spaghetti on the wooden table nearby, but it was already cold. A rock covered in glitter sat next to it, as well as a sock on the floor with nearly 15 sticky notes piled on top. A flight of stairs was to your left, which lead up to Papyrus and Sans’s bedrooms. The door to Papyrus’s room read, “NO GIRLS ALLOWED! OR BOYS. ONLY PAPYRUS.” You smiled weakly at the adorable skeleton’s innocent behavior, but it faded away quickly. Rainbow lights and a odd feeling pulsed out of Sans’ room. You already knew what was in there, even though you’d never actually gone into the room.

The same goes for knowing Toriel, Flowey, the skelebros, Undyne and Alphys. None of them had met you before, but you knew them. You knew them all too well. See, Frisk is still around. And they are their own person. But you still couldn't wrap your brain around how you wound up here in the first place. After all, “Undertale” is a video game. You've played it before. How could you possibly BE here?

Perhaps on “the surface”, you were in such a bad emotional state that it was strong enough to break reality itself, resulting in the travel into the world of code and pixels. But that couldn't happen. Can't it? You were certain that the heartache you felt wasn't powerful enough bring you here. But then again… How did I get here? Do I have super-powers? Or is it just my copy of the game? You thought hard, perplexed.

You placed a hand over where your heart would be, and drew out your soul. It was unique, and very intriguing to the few monsters who saw it. You looked closely into it, and saw all the memories of your entire time in the Underground; plus shortly before. You saw him… the boy who broke your heart. But his face flashed away instantly, being replaced by your family and friends. A scene of you meeting Frisk and Toriel played, and you smiled weakly. Frisk seemed to have a hunch of what was going on, with you being brand new to the game. Not once in any timeline ever did you appear. Which is why, you guess, she is reluctant to reset.

Ah yes, resets. The topic that two- now three- people knew about in the Underground. Frisk was the one who did all the resetting, but was she really? Because, weren’t you Frisk back in the real world playing Undertale? Or were you merely allowing your mind to make it think that? All along, Frisk had been their own being. And so was...Chara. But what does that make you? An onlooker? Or a player? This whole thing was as confusing as trying to understand Gast-

Suddenly, the thought left without a trace. Wait, what was I thinking about again? You leaned back on the couch, and realized that your soul was still beaming brightly in front of your chest. The current images flowing by like the breeze outside were about you first meeting Sans. How you freaked out, knowing that your most absolute-favorite-character of the game was standing right in front of you.

But… your heart had stopped. Your mind went on the run, and fear consumed you. His figure, blackened by shadow, was WAY more intimidating when you're actually there in front of him rather than just looking at a screen. His words still remain swimming around in the depths of your mind, and the image of how you were petrified by his seriousness. You still didn't know why, since you knew it was him and he was only here to greet himself and give you a delightfully funny handshake.

Right, the handshake. You watched yourself through the large soul before you take his hand joyfully and practically squeal from relief and pure happiness. You cringed from afar as you drew the big boned skeleton into a bear hug, and began to cry in his arms. You wanted to slap yourself, as a wave of loathing washed over your head. This is why he rejected you. Because you are too desperate. Look, even Sans is confused and doesn't know how to react! Idiot.

But… You argued internally, he's never met me before. If I were Frisk, or any of the previous 7 souls, I'm sure he would've known what to do. After all, he's used to the resets and different timelines. So, obviously, when this is the first timeline where I show up, he's gonna be baffled. You forced the conclusion of the argument, and reluctantly finished watching the cringeful scenario. Again, you smiled weakly when Sans grinned ever so slightly and gently, barely, placed his hands around your back.

The next channel of emotions flicked through immediately, and you saw Papyrus introducing you to his puzzles and Sans cracking jokes awkwardly along the way. You laughed at every one of them, and were sure that Sans was surprised. Frisk, after all, never really let out more than a chuckle in their first run of the game. But, after a couple hundred resets, you figured they got used to it. Who knows, you may be completely wrong, since you were quite certain that something fishy was going on with the whole idea that Frisk has always been their own being rather than you controlling them.

An electrocuted Papyrus here, a Nice Cream guy there. “Junior Jumble” here, and a bridge of mortal terror there. As you peered over the side, your eyes cast upon the vast, thick forest below. Vertigo surge up through you stomach, and you clutched the railings warily. When was the last time I'd eaten something warm? You thought, recalling the Nice Cream man’s cold snack. It’s not like that helped the frostbite you had most likely gotten on your legs. Staring at your soul, you shivered and instinctively covered your bare legs.

When you had “fallen” into the game, you were wearing nothing more than the attire you had outside your laptop. A T-shirt, short-shorts, and black Nike sneakers. Thankfully you weren't too depressed that you did your hair in the morning. You wore it up into a ponytail when you had first met Flowey in the crumbled Ruins, but now you wore it down to try and keep your neck somewhat warm. Snowflakes dotted your wavy curls, and also your freaking-long eyelashes. Your huge “nerd” glasses were steamed up, and your fingers were blue from the frozen treat earlier. And frostbite.

Thankfully, Papyrus let you off easy on that puzzle. You knew that he felt bad about the difficulty, and decided to keep it safe for Undyne later. Perhaps that was what he was doing today. You sighed on the couch, thinking about the battles you had to go through on your journey. You’re not a very determined person, so you really had to watch your health. Certainly Frisk was aware of that when she started putting the pieces together; so she made sure to give you extra healing items such as a “Manly Bandana” and “Healing Bandages”. You had used the bandages a long time ago, back when you were just greeted by Papyrus. The Ruin’s monsters weren't too bad; they were just souls who needed a good pep talk.

You knew from the moment you woke up on those golden bed of flowers you could go through a Pacifist or Genocide run. But, being too amazed that you were actually in Undertale, you decided right away to go Pacifist. Let me tell you, Flowey was not happy about that. He thought that finally meeting a new human, along with already having Frisk, that he could force evil into you. After all, that's what Chara needs in order to posses a vessel. Hatred, LOVE, and determination. You had none of those.

Your eyes stung and watered from the fright of seeing Flowey in person; without a thought, Papyrus appeared once more inside of your multi-colored soul. A human girl like you could only take so much cold; so you can imagine how exhausted, beaten, and freezing you were when you crossed that bridge to follow Sans and Paps.

You could feel his eyes- er, eye sockets- studying you, from your physical form to all the EXP you'd earned. Sans was the “Judgement” monster; he could see right through one’s lies. It was one of his many, many talents. You watched as your body thumped onto the ground, and passed out cold. Sans’ reaction was actually a little stunning; he called for his younger brother, and pointed to you. Papyrus freaked out, and hoisted your limp appendages into his arms, and from there carried you to Snowdin.

Even while asleep, your soul picked up on what was happening around you. Monsters all through the town looked on from a distance as the tallest skeleton was carrying a nearly-dead human to his humble abode. The shorter skeleton wouldn't rip his eyes away from her, and had his hands shoved into his blue jacket’s pockets. Alas, business carried on like usual, since the monsters were all very much used to Frisk. However, a indescribable tension hung faintly in the air as everyone realized another human was in the Underground, never to escape.

Never to escape… You thought drearily, and glanced out the window. The storm picked up throughout the time you had started pondering; you worried for the skelebros. They were being so kind to a stranger, unlike what humans in the real world would do. The real world… Memories of your rejection and your family all came surging back to you at once. Suddenly, an urge to cry sprang up to your face; figuring that Sans and Paps wouldn't be home for another good hour, you let your wet tears stream down your cheeks.

The soul in front of you stopped playing scenes from your time in the Underground, and faded back into its normal opaque color. Well, colors. That's the weird thing about your soul; it wasn't just one personality trait. All the human children that fell from the surface had one trait, which determined the color of their soul. They were light blue, dark blue, yellow, orange, purple, green and of course red. Those stood for patience, integrity, justice, courage, perseverance, kindness, and determination. In that order.

Again, how did you know all this? Well, Undertale is a game. It was meant for entertainment purposes, and of which means that it could be dissected piece by piece to find all of its history and facts. You knew all this game’s secrets like the back of you hand, but now that you’re here you felt like a lot more from the files will soon appear and have a need to be found. After all, this has never happened before. And since you have no knowledge about this timeline, you will remain naive and not know how to escape. You will remain here forever, never seeing your family again.

But really… How bad could it be? You have friends down here, even if they don't know it. You haven't even met half of the game’s characters yet, and you already feel home. Maybe since I kinda am home, you thought. Papyrus gets really attached to strangers really quickly, which was the complete opposite of Sans. But, it seems that Sans has already started trusting you. Well, he kinda already saw into your soul and noted how you have no LOVE, EXP, or HP. LOVE… “Level Of ViolencE”. Really nice way to trick Frisk, Flowey. You sneered, and shook your head dismissively. EXP… “EXecution Points”. And… HP? What's that again? “HoPe”? It would make sense, since you don't really have hope, either.

You sniffled pathetically, and brought your knees closer to your chest. Your heart glowed a deep blue, which you could quickly tell meant sadness. Some trees tapped wildly against the glass, which made you flinch. You looked around the first floor again, and landed on the sink. It was practically 10 feet tall, so Papyrus could fit more under it. The Annoying Dog wouldn't be hiding under there, like normal, since he was asleep up in Sans’ room. You didn't need to go up there to check; you just knew.

A loud bang made you jump about 3 feet into the air; you whipped your head over to the front door.

NEXT

Chapter Ten (Where all the chapters before that are.)

Chapter Twenty (Links to Chapters 11 --> 19)

Chapter Thirty (Links to Chapters 21 --> 29)

[spaghettiappletater]

The Seventh Soul

He'd hesitated long enough, having spent almost an entire day stalling just outside the barrier after shortcutting his way past Undyne and her guards. The doubt in his soul started small but by the time he finally stepped through it had almost consumed him, causing his head to ache from spine to shatter. The bits of humanity inside him had made him stronger for sure, but they'd also made him weaker, in a way. Maybe he should have expected them to be waiting just there on the other side but he hadn't. The two nearly collided, Sans' head ducked and covered by his hood, several layers of clothing concealing his broken form from full view. He thought he'd have to go a bit further into human territory after all, and they wouldn't have reacted well to a bloodstained skeleton waltzing around.

They had stood there, at the barrier, for a while.  It wasn't exactly the right place to enter in from, but it wasn't the wrong place either.  Besides, it was kind of an interesting place to stare and think and ... be indecisive. Frisk hadn't changed too much.  Taller, maybe a little more gaunt and scrawny.  Lots of sleepless nights, it looked like.  The kid wasn't really a kid anymore, but they didn't look ready to be an adult either.  Some overlarge striped sweater ( though not in blues or purples ) with its own hood that knocked itself back from their head upon collision with ... 'Sans'. "O-oh excuse me, I'm -- ..."  They paused in the midst of their apology, taking in the bundled appearance of who they'd run into.

"hhhhh eh heh heh..." Normally the surprise contact would have sent him right over the edge without second thought but needless to say he was more than a little bit absorbed in his own thoughts. The inner struggle only raged harder when he realized who he was looking at, that he wouldn't have time to watch them and steel his nerves before making his move. What took them so long? His eye socket twitched and his fingers clenched inside the pockets of his jacket. "well look who it is. took ya long enough, kid. you're eleven years and several months behind schedule. sup with that?"

Frisk blinked and -- tipped their head to one side, taking a step or two back to give the skeleton some space.  They didn't look scared, maybe nervous.  They figured there shouldn't be anything too different or wrong, but that ... there was definitely something different and wrong. "I don't really have an excuse, I guess.  Did you ... did you get my messages?  I left a few.  This phone is about eleven years old though, so it might not have -- ..."  They fished in their pocket for their phone for a moment.  It's the same old thing Toriel had given them forever ago, with the upgrades Alphys had put on it as well.  Even so, its casing was old and cracked in places, dented, worn, dusty and faded where color would have been.  Its screen was cracked and a lot of the buttons were worn down. "I was ... in the hospital, the entire time, just about."

"got a few. enough. or maybe not enough at all." The sound of the skeleton's voice was a little bit different too. His throat sounded wet and raw. Could skeletons get colds? Then there was that metallic creak every time he moved a shoulder. After so much time, though, maybe they'd simply misremembered him. Had he grown a little too? "sounds like... we've got some catchin' up to do, huh? c'mere. sit down. there are some things i need you to understand."

With a little gesture to a nearby rock they'd been sitting and stalling at before, Frisk moved, taking a seat and pocketing the old phone.   Shoving their hands into their jean pockets, the human waited and listened, eyebrows furrowed.  A lot of their face was still the same, maybe a bit less of the childish baby-fat and slightly more pronounced facial structure.

"I'd -- like to know what happened.  Something feels very different, but ... for a long time I had people telling me that none of what I remembered was real to begin with?  So I don't quite feel like I'm remembering everything the right way anyway."

The monster took a seat on a rock as well, taking a moment to look up at the sky before returning his attention to Frisk. He'd never seen the sky in his own timeline, at least not that he could recall. There was something, a distant memory, perhaps, or just feedback. It felt familiar somehow but too far away to really pin down. "kid, i dunno where to start. so i guess i'll say it's a damn good thing i ran into you on your way in. undyne claimed the throne, ya see, and she's not at all pleased about whatcha did to asgore. he was the closest thing she had to a dad guy, ya know. really went downhill without him. you think she was scary before? hoo. she's big on the idea of human genocide these days." Sans had no idea that it was actually Flowey who was to blame for the late King's death, nor did anyone else.

"I didn't-- ... I - ..."  There was really no use in it, was there?  Frisk cut themself off, glancing down at the ground.

"That old fellow in Waterfall told me Asgore knew her when she was really little, and taught her how to fight, and -- ..."  Frisk sighed.  Guilt ( even if it was more or less inapplicable in this case ) pooled in their stomach, and they pulled one hand out of their pockets to tug the striped hood over their head, huddling against the rock face behind them.

"K-keep going?"

"mmm. toriel was supposed to be the new queen, but undyne wasn't having that. said she was too soft. scared her back off to the ruins and didn't take kindly to it when i stood up to her either. she pooled all of our resources for the royal guard and made our military the top priority. left the rest of us without much to scrape by on. even my brother wants out of the guard at this point, but undick ain't having it. we're not on the best terms. i kinda want her dead." He put an elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his hand, fingers longer, sharper and dirtier than before for sure, but it was dark, concealing the extent of those cracks and claws. "now you tell me somethin'. i don't wanna sit here and monologue all night by myself."

"I remember a big rumble almost as soon as I left through the barrier.  It made the whole mountain shake, and -- honestly, I fell not too far from here, where we're sitting, I think.  At least, that's ... what I was told?  When I woke up.  I spent a lot of time in physical therapy, trying to get some strength and mobility back.  I had a lot of people tell me none of this was real, when I tried to explain why I was on the mountain in the first place.  Nobody came back to claim me, or help me." Frisk kicked a pebble off the ground and it scattered, like a mockery of a soccer ball, over toward Sans.   "I don't know why they didn't just pull the plug.  Sometimes I kind of wish they had?"

"you know, somebody told me it was probably something like that. they must really care about you, for some reason. i guess nobody's completely alone in the world." He scuffed his shoe, more concealing than his usual slippers, along the ground and knocked the rock back. "what you heard was the core melting down. i was gonna get to that in a minute but i might as well tell ya now. there was nothing anybody could do. it wiped out more than half the population. made the rest of us really sick. nothing grows in the underground anymore that doesn't do more harm than good."

For a moment, Frisk looked sick.  Their expression twisted and both hands yanked out of their pockets to hide their face and rub at it.  A shuddering little groan and a shiver was more than enough reaction to the news.

They hadn't gone through the Underground wantonly murdering, not like in a lot of the dreams they'd had.   A few, here and there.  One or two, maybe three, but only when it looked like it was absolutely hopeless -- and they'd felt sick about it every time.

After a moment, they croaked a few words. "S-sorry.  I-- I meant to go back.   I d-did, I could have-- ..."

"yeah. i know you could have. i don't remember how i know. see, i've got this real bad..." Twitch. "...memory loss problem these days. i get confused easy. thinking clearly? it just... doesn't happen. but i know it wasn't supposed to be like this. we just missed our happy ending, didn't we? i think you know that somehow too." There was a wheeze, more pathetic than threatening, as he pushed the hood down off his skull with a quick, almost dismissive bat of his hand. "i don't think i actually lived through all a that, kiddo. but being made of magic? kinda blurs that line. i guess what i wanna know is... what do you think you can do about it now? cause i think it's too late."

Sitting there, and possibly getting any kind of look at the human's soul, was difficult.  It certainly wasn't the blazing, determined red that it once was.   Something lighter, a little more on the orange side, but not orange either.  It lacked deep color, and looked faded, weak.  Mostly, it burned with remorse, and maybe a touch of perseverance. "I can't go back anymore.  I tried so many times, in therapy."  They muttered, kicking the pebble back at Sans.  They lifted their head to look at the skeleton in the dark, staring, sighing. "I can try again, right now, if you want.  I don't know.  I thought maybe if I got close, or if I came back and could see for myself that all of this is very real, maybe I'd -- ..."

"you're not as scared as i thought you'd be." The skeleton squinted at them, smile spreading wider. He felt the sting of pride in his own soul, chipped, veiny and rotting, more grey than cyan with tiny streaks of sickly yellow stretching from the core outward. Their soul, however, was no longer what he hoped it would be. "would you believe in me if the roles were reversed? i don't know if you can improve things around here anymore, but i know that, with one more human soul, i could. things aren't gonna go back to the way they were before but i could at least stop the corruption from spreading. a couple hundred years down the line maybe the underground would be habitable again." He gave them a moment to think before continuing. "what did you think? this probably isn't what you expected, is it?"

"I don't know what I was expecting."  Frisk said, still staring.  The nervousness that gripped them at the first initial bump into the skeleton had simmered down to what ... felt like acceptance.  Like a kind of ... inevitability.  Did they trust Sans?  They had before, as far as they could recall.  Bits of ... silly memory, weird things, -- "I can't do anything.  I dropped down into the Underground for a reason, and wasn't expecting to live through it.  I don't have a reason to go back to where I came from, either.  I guess -- ..."  Frisk held up a hand, cutting themself off, dark circles under their eyes. "Before you do, you deserve to know some truths, if -- ... if you want to hear them."

"yeah.  i think we owe each other the full truth. i'll hear ya out. i did care aboutcha, ya know. maybe a parta me still does. unfortunately, i don't think i'm ever gonna be able to let this one go. i'm not a very good person anymore. saying that i'm bitter? that'd be the understatement of the decade." It was almost alarmingly easy for him to trust them, at least to trust them not to run or to attack him unprompted. Did he think they could handle what the underground had become? No. But did he believe that they had good intentions now that he saw what the passing years had done to them? Yes.

"I -- ... cared about all of you, too."  They muttered, head lowered, eyes on the ground. "There was -- ... a flower.  It killed Asgore.  I don't know if it's still in the underground after what happened, but it might be.  It had the power to reset before I came along.  I'm sure you -- you know what resetting is, I think.  If you don't, you should.  Determination gives the power to reset, and whoever's determination is strongest has that power.  He had it before I came along, I think." Frisk looked up from the ground to stare at Sans.  "I don't think it'll make a difference to Undyne, but -- ... it matters to me.  I had to tell someone."  The human stared for a moment. "You've -- you should be careful with all those souls, too.  I think it's ... kind of a corruptive power, but you're already plenty ... maybe not corrupted, but ... I guess you did say you're not a good person."

"so you noticed. yeah. i didn't wanna get this desperate, but i figured, we were already desperate enough to start eating the people who fell into the underground after you. why not give it a shot? how much worse could it get, really?" He stared back, unblinking with his hollowed socket and bright, angry red eye. "a flower. yeah. i remember something about that. something... hey, believe it or not? i think the souls helped. i feel more than i did before. my own soul wasn't doing so hot." There was a brief pause as he wiped a stream of sweat from the unbusted side of his skull. "downside to feeling so much is that i'm torn now. i only need one more, and now i'm stalling? what are you waiting for you dumb stupid fuck?"

Staring at that bright red eye, Frisk tilted their head.  "You might be able to do something with whatever's left of my determination.  You -- ... seem pretty determined, yourself.  Even if it's just a determination to survive.  That counts for something."  They stood, and their hands pulled from their pockets to hang their arms at their sides. "Do ... you shouldn't wait.  It only gets harder the longer you wait.  If you want, I could -- ... I get violent, sometimes, when things get really foggy.  If you want, I could ... I don't know.  Could do something, make you defend yourself.  It'll feel less terrible."

"ya know, you sound almost like you wanna die. that makes it harder to wanna kill you, somehow, so... sure. if that's how we're gonna do it, i guess you could attack me. thing is, i was expecting a lot more determination. i'm not even sure if it's worth it anymore." The monster finally blinked, eye sockets falling and mouth curling into that smug grin he always wore when he felt he was shining light on a situation. "if you've got it in you to try and kill an old friend... well i guess i'd owe you one, kid."

"You know, it's -- ... odd.  I only ever feel determined like this anymore.  And even then, it's never enough."  Taking a glance about, Frisk reached for a large stone, boney fingers only just grasping over it. "What do you mean, you'd owe me one?"  They asked, looking over the rock before staring back at Horror.

"i mean one of us has to take that dive, right? somebody has to get violent first. if it was you? i could stop stalling." He glanced between the rock and it's wielder. It hardly seemed like an adequate weapon, but then again, they'd made effective use of all sorts of silly things when they were smaller. "you can't reset anymore huh? figured as much. i guess we're both in the same kinda pickle."

"I could just start crying.  Crying gets on my nerves.  I want to make it stop, when I hear it.  You ever feel that way?"  They asked, turning the rock over in their hands.

"Alternatively, I could bash my own head in with this.  You wouldn't have to lift a finger.  I don't particularly like the idea of you killing things.  Or anyone killing things."

"actually, i'd rather not witness another suicide. i'd rather kill you myself than watch you try to do it with a rock. i'm not sure what makes the difference there but it's something. as for crying, i'm not sure. i teeter between really enjoying it and getting pissy about it. it's kinda messed up." Stalling. Stalling. Stalling. "...it's usually easy, but i've lost a lotta friends. i kinda blamed you for it. papyrus told me that was silly, and that you'd come back. he'd... really like to see you, i think. he got long."

They had been trying not to think about Papyrus, or what all of this might have done to him. "... I'll be honest.  I was kind of hoping he was someone who didn't make it.  I don't want to think about -- ..."  There was a little sniffle there, and Frisk's vision finally blurred.  At least it brought a measure of relief to the lump in their throat.

"M'sorry.  This is stupid.  Just do it -- just do it and don't tell him about me.  If you can just -- ... maybe you can do something good.  Or at least ... marginally good compared to what's been done to the both of you."

"ugh. i wish you'd just screamed or something. made it easy. it's too late now, i know it wouldn't be sincere. if it makes you feel any better? papyrus hasn't changed all that much. he's just bigger. still a goofball, still a good person... or maybe i'm delusional. i don't think i could see my brother as a bad person no matter what he did. so, here's an idea." He stood from the rock he was sitting on and got to his knees, stretching his arms out toward the human with his eye turned down toward the rocky ground, avoiding looking at their tears at all costs. "c'mere, kiddo. death doesn't have to be the end, right? this way, you can stay with us. i uhh... i just wanna take you home. we'll look at it that way?"

They'd had dreams about this.  A hug, and then it all ended into some nice, quiet, comforting nonexistence.  Can nonexistence be comforting?

Regardless, physical affection sounded nice.  Too nice.  So nice.  They couldn't have resisted the call even if Sans had been made of sharp knives.  Scooting forward, Frisk dropped down and got close, pulling their arms around the skeleton's shoulders.  Hiding their face on his shoulder, Frisk said utterly nothing, but seemed ... relaxed.  At ease.

The end was quick, sharp and relatively painless. Sans figured it was nothing next to the pain he now understood both of them to have endured, at least. Spikes of bone rose and fell, rose and fell, targeting their brain and heart first. That wasn't at all how it had played out in his head, but he had been delusional. A fool, he figured, desperate for a scapegoat. Their soul was soon pulled from the remaining gore. His head hurt worse than ever, stomach churning despite the fact that he had nothing that even resembled one anymore. He tucked it under his coat and sweater, through his ribs and next to his own, away from the others. The others were of no real importance to him, tools and nothing more. “i hope you can still hear me. the others won't talk to me. no surprise there. ...we're basically god now, right? that's how it's supposed to work.”

The human slumped, body instantly shutting off with the hit to the brain and heart.  They didn't have much in the way of defenses, or healthy blood pressure, or anything like that -- a few weak spurts here and there, but mostly a great deal of lazy rolling and thick red welling in places and dripping.  Not much muscle or fat to tear through to get their soul, either.  Bones snapped like brittle candy. Confusion registered from the soul at the question.  Then warmth.  It felt oddly warm, content.  “Good. Be careful what you do.  I've seen them act against their user.  It's what they did to the flower.  The only reason I survived him.”

“i'm not keeping them long. just you. the others are gone as soon as i fix the core.” The warmth felt nice. Hearing their voice inside his skull made him feel much better about rifling through their belongings than he would have otherwise. Shame he put holes in their sweater. Oh well. He took it anyway. He'd wear it too. It seemed baggy and he wasn't as round as he used to be. “if you wanna stay with me, i mean. guess i couldn't blame you if you wanted to try moving on instead once this is done.”

“I feel alright here.  At least for now.  Not feeling tired is nice.  Maybe it'll help you.  Thank you for making it quick.  I don't know why I was scared.”