#I don’t usually answer these asks but the image of papyrus trying to hug someone so hard his eyes went all googly eyed made me smile

[a-snowpoff]

Hi...it have been a particularly stressful day today and....I just need some Papyrus content in this moment?

Can I have an hug?

NYEH HEH HEH! LOOK HUMAN! A CONVENIENTLY SHAPED HUG! NYEH!

[faerytale-au]

A Darkness Lingers Pt.2

Word Count: 6,750 Fourth Prompt Place: During and After “Promises and Tokens” Rating: M TW: Mentions of Past Abuse Cross Posted Here Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Instead of crying or letting the hurt get to her she chose to sit on the couch, and before she knew it she was being called. “FRISK?” 

She jerked in place, snapping from the daze she’d been unknowingly aiming at the wall. Forcing a smile she glanced up at Papyrus, a curious tilt of her head somehow only deepening the uncharacteristic frown on his face.

“YOUR MAGIC IS ALL OVER THE PLACE, IS SOMETHING WRONG?” Instead of answering she flicked her eyes over to the front door. Papyrus followed the look before letting out a deep sigh.

Papyrus smiled as he took a seat beside her. “IF YOU NEED TO TALK YOU KNOW I AM A VERY DILIGENT LISTENER MY DEAR SISTER.” 

Like he wanted the gentle use of her new title made her smile more genuine. He could see a fragment of the tension ease from her shoulders as she looked down at the ruby ring on her hand, a concentrated furrow of her brows making his smile nearly falter.

“Were you…” She paused thoughtfully. “Do you miss your dad?” 

Papyrus didn’t move, didn’t so much as breathe as he looked at her. After a moment his hands, resting unassuming on his knees, curled into tight fists even as the rest of him remained loose and relaxed in appearance.

His tone fought to keep it’s cheerful inflection. “SOMETIMES!” 

And then it was hard to keep his voice steady. “Other times…”

Frisk watched as Papyrus glanced away from her, his teeth pressing together firmly as his sockets dipped with a softness she couldn’t decide on being sadness or affection. When he spoke he still kept his gaze averted, locked on a bit of peeling wallpaper he hadn’t noticed before.

Redecorating was definitely on the agenda.

“Truth Be Told...I Don’t Really Remember My Father Too Well. If There’s Anyone Who I’d Worry About Missing Him, It’d Be Sans.” 

Frisk didn’t comment, and Papyrus looked back over with a timid smile. “They Were Really Close. Well Maybe Close Isn’t Right...They Both Had A Habit Of Acting Close But Being Distant. Only When They Told Me Stories Of Mom Did They Seem...Not Far Apart.” 

“Sans hasn’t ever mentioned your mother.” Frisk frowned curiously. She was sure he hadn’t, trying to think over their many conversations she couldn’t even recall a moment where he might’ve hinted at her.

Papyrus chuckled so quietly she could’ve almost mistaken the laughter for Sans’s. “I’m Not Surprised. Her Passing Was Always A Sensitive Subject.” 

Frisk hesitated but decided to risk asking. “What happened?” 

Like a switch had been flipped a haunted look flew over the Seelie’s expression, Papyrus’s sockets dulling and turning a shade darker than she knew they could ever go. He shut them and in a very high falsetto he forced his words out.

“I Killed Her.” 

Frisk thought her heart stopped.

“Her Soul Shattered While Giving Life To Me.” All she could do was stare at the floor. Frisk couldn’t think of what to say, what reassurances to give. How do you comfort someone when you hadn’t the first clue as to how they were feeling?

“I’m sorry you lost her like that…but it wasn’t your fault at all Papyrus.” 

“HMM MY BROTHER OFTEN TELLS ME THE SAME THING. AND WHILE IT MAY BE TRUE...That Doesn’t Change My Personal Feelings On The Matter. IT’S JUST SOMETHING I’VE LEARNED TO DEAL WITH.” Frisk had to blink back the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes. Papyrus always seemed so cheerful and upbeat, she never would have guessed he held such pain close to his heart. 

“Why do you think that?” 

Here Papyrus hesitated. “Because...I’m Certain If She Hadn’t Died Our Father Would’ve Never Went Down The Path He Did…Our Lives Would Be Very Different.” 

He sounded oddly like her; if she had tried harder to be good maybe dad would have loved her, if she had been a little more quiet, more invisible, maybe her mother would have cared. Maybe Frisk’s life could have been different from what it was now. They were thoughts she used to have constantly and that sometimes still plagued her at night.

Frisk didn’t like hearing something so similar coming from Papyrus.

She didn’t know what to say. Why did she never know what to say?

“Would you be happy...having your father back?”

Papyrus looked thoughtful, his expression scrunched in concentration as he thought on Frisk’s question with the most honesty he could give. He eventually shook his head and let out a huff of air.

“I’M NOT SURE. BUT I THINK SANS WOULD. STUBBORN TO ADMIT IT HE MAY BE. BUT THE PAST IS THE PAST THERE’S NO CHANGING THAT, IT’S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO ACCEPT.”

And little did he know Papyrus had just made a decision for her. Maybe...she could repay them both by offering what she had never had herself back in her world.

“Thank you Papyrus. Talking helped.” They both looked at each other in a soft and comfortable silence, his sockets taking on a less darkened hue as he unclenched his fists. 

He pulled her into an unexpected hug. “ANYTIME!” 

Frisk stiffened on instinct, her expression becoming awash with shock before she slowly smiled and hugged him back. Papyrus was the greatest Seelie she knew next to her husband, and he deserved everything, they both did.

~~

Sans barely saw the grove in front of him from the ring of mushrooms; his mind was wandering and his sockets were bottomless pits. He hadn’t wanted to leave Frisk the way he had, he already felt so guilty over it, but he...couldn’t take another second talking about his old man.

It was a given he would’ve had to tell Frisk eventually. But he had wanted to do it on his own time and terms, he hadn’t wanted the reason to be because the Unseelie was plotting something. 

Sans had wanted to live with Frisk in ignorance for just a bit longer.

Now all he could think about was not only how to explain his other job to his wife, but what preparations he’d have to take to prevent whatever drawback Gaster’s sudden activity would cause.

He was silently cursing himself, he was usually better prepared than this.

“Your foolish fancies will get you into trouble one day.”

The last time he’d seen Gaster in person... 

How long had it been exactly? Sans couldn’t remember. He hadn’t tried too, in fact he’d gone out of his way not to think about him. But now alone and sitting with nothing to distract him his thoughts took over...the memories he’d long repressed surfaced.

He could remember vividly how angry and hurt his father had been, the way he had sounded when he’d spoken in a voice not entirely his own to condemn Gaster for what he knew was the greater good, and how broken that had made both him and his still very young and impressionable brother.

Papyrus had suffered from nightmares for years after witnessing the fight that had broken out, Sans still suffered from them on occasion with flashbacks to boot, but he handled them better now and as far as he knew Papyrus didn’t even have them anymore.

But that didn’t mean the wounds were no longer there.

Sans shut his sockets, and all he could see was how Gaster’s gaze had turned vicious and loathing when Sans had told him he was selfish. Gaster’s shock when he’d accused his old man of loving only himself without regard to his family and those around him.

Gaster had been many things...always cold, standoffish, hard to relate too. But even then Sans had known in his youth, his father had been different deep down. He had been kind, patient, and always full of a tame but strong energy that he had little doubt wasn’t where Papyrus got his own wild flame from.

Papyrus ironically took after the old bones, both of them had difficulties socially, both of them had more to them than others typically saw or bothered to look for. Sans was sure if Gaster had been there for all the years he missed, he would’ve likely loosened up and been softer, Papyrus too would have learned more decorum.

It wasn’t hard to imagine.

At least with how Gaster had been before...

There wasn’t a night where Sans hadn’t questioned if he’d done the right thing. A day where he wondered where everything had gone wrong. And Frisk had reminded him of that so painfully he had almost snapped.

He couldn’t...handle admitting his doubts.

Gaster had been his first Unseelie case, and he could still remember being horrified as his father had morphed from the corruption right in front of him and Papyrus both. His little brother in tears as Gaster’s arms had melted and evaporated away leaving behind nothing but floating hands and how his face had grotesquely cracked in a bone rattling snarl.

His father hadn’t even looked like himself anymore.

It had been too much for such a young child to see, it had been to much for himself, and it had been traumatizing in how it had made Sans wonder if he’d look like that if he ever let his own darkness take over. If Papyrus…

Sans had hated Gaster in that moment.

It had killed a part of Sans when he’d flung him through the Unseelie gate; his soul threatening to fracture under the sorrow he’d felt at the shock and surprise in his father’s gaze right before the doors had slammed shut behind him, it had also been relieving.

But Gaster had stopped caring, had stopped being the Seelie he and Paps had once so admired. He’d been a fae dedicated to family, a Seelie sought after not only for his dedicated work ethic but also for his wit when it came to negotiating and deal making.

Gaster had been the very image of their society, no less than the Queen herself.

So his darkness as it had consumed him had been not only a blow to Sans and his sibling but to their world as a whole. There wasn’t a soul alive that didn’t know about the Seelie’s fall from grace, that didn’t get told of Gaster not as someone to idolize but as a cautionary tale.

The day he’d emerged from his lab donning that haunting eye piece, his eyelight wide and pulsing with a silent victory Sans had felt sick, could tell something was off. He’d seemed so mad, entirely out of his skull with knowledge and insidious intent that had made it hard for Sans to even breathe.

Could he have done something then?

If he had tried, could he have kept Gaster on the right path?

But more than anything Sans now silently wondered...why after all this time? Why appear now and go after Frisk? Gaster never pursued anything unless it had been to his benefit or to that of his ambition.

A protective anger flared in Sans’s soul.

Was it revenge? A way to escape? As much as Sans tried he couldn’t think of a valid reason or guess the intent behind his father’s sudden interest. If he didn’t already know the drawback to going into the Unseelie realm Sans would’ve been there already confronting the other.

He refused to let Gaster ruin anything else with his greed.

A small stinging sensation tugged at Sans’s chest, pulling him from his thoughts as his eyelights came back with a harsh flare. 

He clutched at his chest with a frown before pulling back his sleeve to stare down at his wedding bracelet. The moonstones along the back of it were lit up a furious red, oscillating between different shades and tones, but all meaning the same thing.

An image, sheer and thin like looking through lace flashed in his mind.

Golden doors, a hesitant step...

Frisk was before one of the gates...an Unseelie gate.

Sans felt his soul quiver, the magic between his joints tightening in panic as sweat coated his skull. She was trying to not only leave the realm but to open a gate to the corrupted fae? A possibility so logical and most likely true made him sick.

She had said she wanted to help Gaster.

Had he messed up? 

Again?

Sans never should’ve been harsh to her that morning, he had never acted that way with her before, of course he would’ve upset her. Of course she’d rebel against him when he was so out of character with her. 

Panic, thick and unrelentingly harsh overcame him.

He was back through the gate and rushing to shortcut in a single breath as guilt and worry shot a bolt of ice down his spine. 

He prayed he wasn’t too late.

~~

Frisk was uncertain as she stood at the abandoned post, her mouth dry and chest heaving with thick breaths. She already knew Gaster was standing on the other side, waiting. His presence she could feel like a weight on her chest.

He’d known she’d show hadn’t he?

She swallowed thickly, she didn’t know if she could even open the gate, but she was more than sure if she did not only would Sans know, but every Seelie in the realm would too. 

A glance up at the thick bells hanging ominously above her made her heart give a painful skip in her chest. There were so many it felt like, but in reality only six stood guard, three to either side of the arch overhanging the entrance. All wide enough that Frisk imagined if one were to fall it could encompass a whole village in it’s depths.

Her eyes drifted down to a pair of hand prints embedded within the golden doors, one on each side of the doors seam. The tiny indentations were like specks to it’s immense stature but Frisk could feel the powerful magic swirling out from them like a hot breeze, coiling and calling with a phantom caress.

She shut her eyes as she tried to get her breathing under control.

“Second thoughts?” Frisk’s eyes snapped open and she frowned as she looked down at her hands, wispy sparks of muted fire tracing along her palms and fingers, as if her magic was trying to soothe her.

“I...need your word.”

Gaster was silent, but soon his voice was echoing in her mind again. “Has my son not taught you the dangers of an Unseelie deal?”

Frisk clenched her hands and let them fall to her sides as she stared ahead, her eyes boring into the door as if she could see Gaster just behind it smirking at her. But she refused to let his words antagonize her. 

This was a front for him, she felt it in her soul, she’d seen there was more to him.

“He has, but I’m willing to bet you would never truly harm those you call family.” She couldn’t see him, but the sudden thickening of the air around her told of his annoyance...and his power. If he could cause such such a shift locked in another realm there was no doubt he could cause unfathomable damage when present. She wanted to believe in him, truly she did, but she wasn’t naive enough to overlook his taint.

“...What do you ask of me?”

“I know better than that Gaster, I know how deals work, your word or I walk away.”

There was a long stretch of silence.

“...Place one hand to the door…” Nervousness made a knot form in Frisk’s stomach but she managed to take another step forward, careful to avoid touching the spot her hand was to rest when opening the gate she pressed her palm flat and firmly to the smooth surface. 

Warmth and chill mixed, curling like ghostly tendrils through the thick door to wrap her fingers and wrist. It stung, burned her flesh enough that she hissed painfully. It had never felt like this when she’d made a deal before; like her hand was slowly blistered and then quickly dunked into freezing water.

His magic was this potent?

“For my freedom, voice your request.”

Her heart hammering Frisk spoke slowly, “You are not to bring harm or death to a single soul in this realm.” 

The air became suffocating, laced with bitterness and fury so engulfing Frisk covered her mouth and nose to keep from choking on the suddenly foul air. The magic binding her hand nearly had her knees give out with how intensely it constricted around her. 

She’d angered him, but just as quickly as that anger had come it just as quickly soothed and withdrew. The overpowering feeling in her arm was still there but had gone down to a dulled throb.

“...Is that all you demand?” The curious tone in his voice had her shoulders hunching suspiciously. 

She took a second to think over her words and was sure there were no loopholes or room for him to betray their deal, but she was still learning. Hesitantly she chose to say something else instead of trying to add to her conditions, something told her she needed to.

“That’s all I ask of you...as family.”

For a moment it felt as if Gaster had softened, something warm and yet sad filling the bond being manifested between them. If she could see him, she’d have seen how haunted he looked, how empty and bitter he was.

Gaster was to be denied even his vengeance.

...For family…

How manipulative, and thoughtful.

“I see now just how perfect for my son you are.” 

Frisk wasn’t given the chance to respond as an acidic burn of pain shot up her arm and straight into her chest, sending her vision tunneling as her soul was constricted and squeezed in the onslaught of a corrupted deal struck.

Gaster felt her try to topple but his magic still scorching itself in an unseen contract kept her up and firmly on her feet. He couldn’t help the smirk on his face. The repercussions and consequences from what she’d just done caused her to suffer, which pleased the darkness in his soul.

It was just punishment for the rules she’d just imposed on him.

When he could sense the tie on her being firmly in place he released her.

Frisk crumpled, fell painfully to her knees, and tried to keep her balance by resting her hands and forehead against the doors where she panted as if she’d just ran a marathon. In all her years she’d never felt something so nasty and horrible as what had just happened.

It was almost as if she’d dirtied herself…

“Quickly now, I highly doubt my eldest didn’t feel the violation to your soul.” 

Violation?

She must’ve said it out loud because Gaster answered, “An unfortunate side effect. I can explain more after you hold up your end to our agreement.” 

Swallowing down what felt like cotton Frisk pushed shakily to her feet and narrowed her eyes at the door’s seal. Taking another deep breath she moved her hands into the imprinted grooves and let out a gasp as her palms settled almost perfectly into them. 

A cool breeze, comforting and warm wrapped around her as her magic flared to engulf her hands and rapidly climb her body. Flames that didn’t burn or singe flowed around her and flared into a fiery typhoon, whipping her clothing and hair as if she was caught in a hurricane.

“That’s it! Focus Frisk.” Gaster’s encouraging call echoed.

She squeezed her eyes shut as they began to burn, tears running from their corners only to be lifted into the air in a bizarre loss of gravity. The air distorted and bent, a heatwave or time magic rapidly grew the grass at her feet and wilted it before reverting it rapidly to a youthful green.

She--she didn’t know if she go on--the doors gave but it felt like her energy was a battery, fluctuating between full and powerful to weak and drained--

No! 

She...she could do this!

Frisk could set Gaster free; she could give Papyrus and Sans their father back. She could prove she was more than just Sans’s wife and a human, she was capable of so much more than sitting around day in and out with nothing but the worry and fear of being a burden that being a mage brought.

She could prove she was more than anyone had ever given her credit for.

Frisk cried so loudly her voice rose above the ringing the bells began to give as she poured all her frustration and deep buried regret into pushing the door’s apart. Foul wind and diseased air bathed her in cascading flows of evil intent that made her almost collapse with nausea.

Another inch--

And she fell, her magic going out as the doors swung wide enough Gaster reached forward and caught her easily. Moving quickly he passed the entry way and glared back at the feral Unseelie that had been alerted, their charging forms barely visible before Gaster coalesced his magic and slammed the doors back shut with a resounding crack of thunder.

Frisk was gasping and barely coherent as Gaster knelt with her and pressed his forehead to her own. She shivered as a feeling pushed in and started to replenish her but nearly made her gag at the bile it raised in the back of her throat.

Despite how gross it felt her breathing evened out, and thankfully Gaster pulled back before standing fully again. His hold on her only released once he was sure she could stand without shaking. It took her a second to get her thoughts straight but once they were she looked up at him cautiously.

“Thank you.” He hummed before turning.

Frisk froze.

Sans was still and at a distance but his whole frame tensed the moment his eyelights locked with Gaster. She watched as his sockets narrowed in disbelief and his grin trembled at the edges.

Gaster looked amused.

Her heart dropped. 

Frisk felt the air take on a sudden chill, ice spiraling out from the bottoms of Sans’s feet to coat the ground as the wind picked up and billowed his cloak and clothing. Her husband’s smile, so often soft and adoring, suddenly widened and...felt as if it went empty of all feeling.

A bolt raced down her spine as his eyelights snuffed out, the left socket flaring bright like a raging inferno lit up with yellow and blue light coalescing violently in hostile intent. She was shocked as Sans spoke with the voice that she heard in her dream.

“Y O U  D O N ‘ T  B E L O N G  H E R E.” 

Gaster’s smirk dropped. 

“Sans wait please!” Frisk tried but her plea died in her throat as he glanced over at her, the weight of the power she could feel in his gaze suffocating and stalling her thoughts. 

It felt like he was seeing right through her.

Frisk locked in place, her and Sans both staring at each other with vastly different expressions and intent. There was apprehension and...she didn’t have a name for the way his face shone with false warmth in his smile but yet felt so condemning.

She didn’t know rather to be afraid...or worried.

Gaster took the opportunity to slip an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side, the abrupt motion jarring her enough into breaking eye contact as she looked up at Gaster.

It seemed to be enough to affect Sans.

Instantly his eyelight went out and he looked absolutely petrified as the whirling wind of his magic died. The sight of his wife in his deranged father’s arms sent such a painful spike through his soul that he had to fight not to let the magic in his joints constrict.

“don’t you dare--” Gaster gave a dismissive snort.

“So, it seems the risk to her well-being is what can temper you, duly noted.” Frisk tensed but the reassuring rub of his thumb into her shoulder relaxed her. The gesture was unexpected and it confused her how such warmth could come from him while he still glared Sans down, bitterness and cold detachment livid in his one good socket.

Sans glanced over at her and then back to Gaster, like hell he’d risk Frisk’s life for his job let alone his anger. 

His demeanor became forced as he hitched his grin higher in one corner and held his hands up in a shrug. “no need to get so handsy, why don’t we go ahead and sit down for a talk. seelie were we can compromise?” 

Frisk perked up hopefully but Gaster wasn’t fooled by the sudden attitude change. He could see his son’s tell with the magical sweat drop that subtly slid down the side of his skull. 

Unlike Papyrus, Sans wasn’t good under pressure, it’s why he so often relied on his magical abilities when push came to shove in high tension situations.

An unfortunate flaw in his eldest.

“Your acting is about as poor as your puns, lacking in dedication and effort,” Sans’s expression darkened. “Rather disappointing given our race. But not nearly as disappointing as the thought you’d honestly believe me capable of intentionally hurting my daughter-in-law.” 

It took Sans a moment to register Gaster’s words and slowly his body unwound as he blinked in confusion. Of course he thought that, if he could betray both him and Papyrus when they were younger, what was stopping him from hurting Frisk who he didn’t even know?

Sans wasn’t stupid.

Frisk took a deep breath and her voice was gentle.

“I’m sorry I hurt you by bringing Gaster here.” Sans’s skull whipped in her direction and he looked as if she’d slapped him but she continued, her eyes bright with her determination that it kept him rooted to the spot in which he stood. 

“He just...misses you and Papyrus, his home. Don’t you miss him too?” 

Slowly Sans’s eyelights panned over to his old man’s face, and the slight twitch of his frown, the way he had a hand absently adjust his monocle was telling. If only Sans couldn’t see the grudge his father still carried on his soul he might have relented.

But Gaster’s sins were countless.

He looked back over to Frisk, his kindhearted and stubborn wife, with a gaze soft but somber. It was too late for what she was trying to accomplish. Gaster was banished, an Unseelie who refused to give up the very conviction that corrupted him. 

A Fae that had sacrificed everything that should have been precious.

“frisk--you can’t save him.” 

She looked ready to defy him but he cut her off. “surely even he’s told you that.” He shot Gaster a glare. “my old man has always made it a point to make sure everyone knows reality from fiction.”

Gaster...looked away as his hand tightened on Frisk’s shoulder only the slightest bit. 

If he hadn’t been holding her she would have thought he was ignoring the way Sans was speaking about him, indifferent to how hurt and angry his son sounded. And though she could tell he was becoming more angry himself, more tempted to lash out still he held to his word and didn’t. 

“my old man died years ago frisk.” She could sense the ache, but it sounded so final.

Frisk looked down at her feet as she collected her thoughts before facing her husband again. Sans’s sockets were locked on Gaster but his attention was so clearly on where she was held it was impossible to miss the nervousness with which he hid his hands in his cloak. 

Seeing how distressed he was it felt as if she’d wronged him, and doubt began to settle in her chest. Was she really doing the right thing? Couldn’t everyone be saved? She didn’t know what to think.

Frisk felt herself fade out, the world turning grey and loud. Shadows both sharp and blurred ran across her vision as hopelessness and desperation struggled with the fire of her hope and fought to quench her resolve. 

She felt her body vanish.

Sans almost flinched at the cold and detached look that took over her face, it was horrifying to him how washed out her skin turned with her eyes going so dull it felt as if her soul had fled. It hit him in the most painful way to watch her wilt like a doll whose strings had been cut, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as her words.

“You saved me…” She muttered through numb lips.

And that made him question...if he actually had.

Gaster looked down at her, a mix of intrigue and surprise quirking one of his bony brows as he took in her state. It twisted Sans’s magic with disgust as he recognized the look in his father’s sockets.

no, don’t look at her with curiosity, like something to dissect, this isn’t--this wasn’t okay--

“sweetheart, that’s not the same thing, not by a long shot.” His words were hushed, gentle as if she might shatter. He wasn’t even aware that he’d gotten closer until Gaster held a hand out between them and nearly touched him. 

Sans fought not to instinctually lash out with magic and shot Gaster a deadly look, but it went ignored as his father fully turned and adjusted Frisk to face him at arm’s length. 

The longer Frisk stared at nothing and Gaster examined her the more Sans felt his anxiety grow, the more he tried to come up with a way to separate them without somehow accidentally harming her.

Eventually, “Ah, you’re traumatized. Classic dissociation associated with PTSD.”

Then Gaster did something Sans hadn’t witnessed since he was a child.

The former scientist got down on his <em>knees</em> and kept his gaze intentful and measuring as he spoke with the same authoritative voice he’d often used when he’d had to calm Sans down in his worst moments.

“Memories and feelings are just the mind’s way of storing information. None of that applies to the here and now, you don’t need to remember Frisk. Focus.” 

”Family is everything Sans, greater than even yourself, never forget that.”

Sans felt his soul give a violent thrum and he had to do everything he could not to take his sockets off of Frisk. He hadn’t thought back on his father’s encouraging words in years. But now it was all he could think about as Gaster worked to bring his wife out of her stupor. 

The doubt he’d carried all this time in the back of his skull came to the forefront.

Had Gaster...wavered in his depraved dedication? Was he changing? Had he...ever changed really? It was so hard to believe anything else as Frisk’s eyes slowly began to brighten, and her lashes fluttered away her daze.

Sans felt his stance on his father give.

Frisk sucked in a breath as her body lit up with warmth and her mind slowly cleared. She was confused to see Gaster kneeling in front of her but that quickly turned into mild embarrassment as he smirked at her. 

“Good.”

Soon as she was coherent Sans moved to hold her, but was met with Gaster stepping forward and blocking the way. His guard went up, and the softness Sans had felt bloom in his chest hardened upon seeing his Father’s malicious smile.

Frisk stiffened at the sudden mood shift. “Gaster, we had a deal!” 

“And we still do my dear.” He chuckled. “Nowhere did you state I couldn’t fight him.”

Frisk reached forward, her hands grasping and burying within the smoke that composed Gaster’s form as she tried her best to gain his full attention, anything to buy her precious seconds to try and convince him not to go through with the sudden whim.

Gaster however simply peered over his shoulder at her, “That’s enough of that, stop acting so childish.” and spawned a hand into being. 

“frisk!” Sans panicked and tried vainly to teleport to her but found himself frozen in place, a dark and corrupted purple surrounding and suffocating his soul. Gaster looked back towards his son with a shrug as he snapped his fingers.

Frisk’s eyes went wide as dark light erupted from the ground around her, exploding upward and encasing her in a dome of pure blackness. Her cry went muffled and silent as it formed a cocoon around her, flipping and deafening her senses. 

Sans began to sweat as he visibly struggled to break free, “F R I S K!” 

His old man had gotten stronger through the years.

Gaster took a step forward, the last five of his hands appearing and enlarging as he prepared for combat. Sans was gasping, his eyelight bright and flaring with rage. His father was unperturbed and merely looked at him boredly.

“Is that all you plan to do? Act dramatic for your human? Come, let’s see what the years have taught you my boy. Best hurry.” He gave a snide smile. “Dear Frisk has, at best fifthteen minutes of air.”

Sans’s smile went so wide it threatened to crack his skull.

He should’ve known better. He should’ve acted as soon as he’d seen Gaster had returned.

Instead Sans had let nostalgia and his worry for Frisk make him weak.

The air turned chill, frost and snow whipping into a flurry around him as he glared his father down with tears in his sockets...as his second eyelight lit up with equal power to the first. 

Gaster smirked as he easily dodged the first barrage of bones, his body morphing and shifting to allow the ring of projectiles through his form without a single scratch. He chuckled as Sans took the opportunity to break the hold his magic had on him and shortcut away.

Predictable.

The taller fae didn’t even have to turn as a frustrated cry echoed from behind him. Smirking he looked over to the shorter Seelie’s enraged snarl as a thick wall of impenetrable darkness kept him back from where Gaster held Frisk hostage.

“Fourteen minutes.” He taunted.

Sans’s shoulders slumped as if in defeat but Gaster easily sensed the pool of magic building beneath him and leapt, just barely missing a circle of sharpened bones protruding from the ground in a spray of cold fog.

“Ah, intending to actually kill me are we?” Sans slowly turned to face him, one hand still firmly pressed to the wall between him and his wife, his smile gone and replaced with a firm line.

“let her go old man. i didn’t like your games when i was a kid, and i don’t like them now.” 

Gaster frowned and leveled a cruel glare at him. “Who says I’m playing?” 

Sans vanished, the area around Gaster becoming awash in black before snapping into sharp clarity as the judge swung an elongated humerus bone. Gaster dodged with ease and the area once more turned black before returning with Sans coming down from above. 

“Your shortcut’s effects will only do so much to aid you.” He remarked as an equally cold black wall of bones spawned above him blocking his son’s blow. Shards of ice like that of shattered glass rained down, catching the glow of Gaster’s corrupted magic and reflecting it with ethereal light as he shot Sans a narrowed smirk.

“Stop being lazy.”

Sans’s eyelights flared and quicker than Gaster could blink reality dissolved and snapped back in furious and rapid succession. 

The monocle Gaster wore lit up and pulsed.

A blow aimed from the side, met with a gigantic palm.

Bones from beneath his feet while Sans struck from behind, blocked and evaded.

His son’s frustrated smile going wider as he summoned a blaster and fired only made him chuckle at how childish the Seelie’s ultimate defender looked as the powerful beams were easily absorbed by the holes in his hands.

Each time Sans tried to strike or entrap him Gaster simply thought ahead of him and prevented it, his monocle allowing him to peer moments into the course of his son’s actions to determine the best way to counter.

Gaster would be lying if he didn’t admit he was mildly disappointed.

This fight was too easy. 

The moment Sans appeared again and lunged at him, humer raised in defiance, Gaster merely glanced up and shot a hand out from the darkness of his body. 

Sans was shocked as he was locked in place, his forehead glistening with magical sweat as the hand, thoroughly cracked like a jigsaw puzzle and looked as if it was barely held together kept him from finishing his attack.

Apparently his father had seven hands instead of six. Sans wondered if he’d bothered trying to salvage it as a reminder of just how angry and bitter he was at him. It wouldn’t have surprised him.

Sans felt his arms strain as he pushed the humerus stubbornly against it.

Gaster knew he had won, all without barely lifting a finger, he could see it in the way Sans’s smile threatened to falter as it wobbled in the uppermost corner. Logically this was where he should stop. He had made a deal with Frisk after all.

But this was so tempting.

Before him was the very reason he’d been forced to suffer more than he had even when they’d all been locked in the void, the Seelie responsible for sending him to a place where he couldn’t feel the call of nature or the binding of magic that composed their very existence.

Sans could’ve purified him years ago...instead he had chosen to send him away.

He had damned him.

“I owe Frisk an apology.” He stated lowly. 

Sans’s sockets narrowed in confusion and Gaster’s smile broke into a horrifying and twisted leer as his glee and eagerness outshone the calm composure he'd maintained throughout the entire confrontation. “...For making her a widow.”

Sans barely registered the words as Gaster’s palms rose up to encircle him from all directions, their hollow centers lighting up as they prepared to eviscerate him. He went to shortcut but his soul was pinged as Gaster used his magic to cancel his own.

Pulling from his magic started to exhaust him as he summoned another rain of bones but groaned as Gaster once more scattered and shattered them before they could impact. Sans didn’t even have the energy to call another blaster.

His sockets slammed shut as he tried to think but he kept coming up short on figuring out a way to escape, his magic was racing along his leylines and he was gasping as the world went impossibly silent except for the roar of his incoming death. 

...Was..was he really this weak?

He didn’t realize he was so out of practice.

Couldn’t he manage to protect one person?

Sans opened his sockets and looked up passed the Unseelie to the wall standing between him and Frisk, his soul shuddering in agony as he envisioned her floating unconscious and vulnerable, completely at another’s mercy without anyone to help if she cried out for it.

His frisky…

His wife…

Sans could only ever fail to be there when she needed him.

A shout pulled Sans from his spiraling thoughts and he whipped his head around just in time to see a giant orange bone come flying and connect sharply with the side of his father’s skull.

Gaster was caught off guard, his body lurching and soaring with barely any effort into the wall of a building that broke and collapsed around him in a grotesque version of a fairy mound. Sans fell to his knees as Gaster’s magic broke and looked up with relief.

“hey bro...what took you so long?”

Undyne was smirking along with the rest of the guard as Papyrus slowly lowered his hand, his magic thick and undulating around him in a burnt orange aura as his cape levitated beyond gravity's hold in crusted ice.

Papyrus frowned. “HONESTLY BROTHER, YOU KNOW I DETEST FIGHTING.” 

Sans smiled, battle ready and bringing backup? 

His bro was the coolest.

[koffeins-writing-archive]

Beyond The Screen [2/2]

[Continuation from Here]  [Commissioned by @princce7]

[Word Count: 2,192]

Alphys was finally settled down in her chair, wrapped in a blanket with a small bowl of cereal and spoon in her hands. The large computer screen before her playing a strange cartoon with weird humans with cat ears and tails. A loud and obnoxious theme song of sorts blasted through the speakers.

Alphys watched intently as the episode began with a battle scene. Punches thrown, kicks to knock down foes. The main villain holding up the hero by the collar of their, incredibly cute, magical fighting costume. Before the villain could strike the hero down, they were soon defeated by a finishing attack from the hero’s friend group.

With the day saved, the hero and their friends were congratulated. Alphys closely watched as the hero’s main love interest entered the scene, hugging the hero and congratulating them on a job well done.

She leaned forward as the kiss scene was starting. Eyes widening.

The loud ring of her phone caused her to jump, spilling a bit of her cereal on herself and dropping her spoon in the process. Alphys frantically searched for her phone in the mess of blanket and cereal. Finding it next to her, Alphys picked the phone up.

“H-hello?”

“Alphys? We need to talk.” Sans spoke tiredly on the other end.

“Oh? A-about what?” Alphys questioned.

“That game you sent me.”

Alphys grinned for a moment before frowning. “Oh jeez, did you get past act 1 already with Sayori?”

“Sort of. What the hell was all that? Why would you send me something like that!” Sans tone was now agitated.

Alphys winced. She knew the subject matter was a bit much for most folks, but she thought Sans could handle it. She went to add in her comment when Sans cut her off, ranting loudly, adding a few curses here and there. Alphys had never heard Sans this upset before.

“H-hey, slow down a bit, will ya? Deep breathes...Okay, can you repeat all that Sans?” Alphys spoke calmly as she could over the phone with the panicked skeleton.

“That game you sent me? ‘Doki Doki something or other’? It’s pretty fucked up.”

“Oh yeah, I probably should have warned you about the genre, b-but that would’ve ruined your experience with the game.” Alphys replied, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Telling me definitely would’ve saved them.” Sans muttered quietly under his breath before speaking into the phone once more.

“So, it’s normal that the game played out the way it did?” He asked.

“Wanna be more specific? I know it might’ve b-been a lot to take in and-” Alphys was cut off by Sans once again.

“Shutting itself off and making me delete characters?”

Alphys thought for a moment before replying. “Yes, but I-I don’t think it can technically shut itself off, that might have been your computer crashing.”

“And taking over my computer? Sending me messages?”

Alphys paused at this, brows furrowed. “Wait...what?”

Another tired sigh left Sans as he went in to talk more. “You know, when Monika opens up a text box and starts conversing with you? She talks about a lot of weird things, it’s kind of fucked up.” He sounded less tired, and more calm now.

Happy to finally get out all that he had witnessed.

“...Sans, what are you talking about?” Alphys questioned.

Sans grew quiet. “Is that not a part of the game?” He replied quietly.

“No.” Alphys stated.

Sans sat there, confused.

When neither party spoke, Alphys switched off her TV and huddled into her blanket.

“W-would you like for me to look over the game? It’s possible that when I sent it to you, there might have been malware attached. Though I’m v-very thorough when checking through every file I download, and there wasn’t any malware detected.”

“I...I don’t know how technology works, honestly. But I’m willing to give it a shot.” Sans chuckled nervously.

“Alright, meet me at my place in a bit.”

And with that, Alphys ended the phone call. She looked from her cereal-coated blanket to her computer screen, anime still paused. The computer was turned off, and the blanket was picked up and taken to be washed by a small robot. Alphys got up and wandered off to search for her tablet.

Sans got up from his chair with a stretch and loud pop from his spine. He groaned and wandered out of his room, heading down to the living room. He passed by Papyrus, who was humming loudly in the kitchen.

If Sans could smell, he would’ve been punched in the face by the amount of spices that filled the air.

The taller skeleton poked his head from the kitchen with a big smile. His chef hat sitting neatly on his head, and his apron stained terribly.

“Sans, I’ve been trying out a new spaghetti recipe! Would you like to try it?”

When Sans turned to look at his brother, Papyrus’ warm smile faltered slightly. He noticed how tired his brother looked, even more than the usual.

“Sans? Is everything alright?” Papyrus asked, stepping out of the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Alphys sent me a game and I’m heading over her place to see if she can fix it.”

“Fix it?” Papyrus tilted his head at this.

Not knowing how video games worked, or most technology in general, Papyrus didn’t know how to help out.

“Yeah, it’s got some bugs in it, so Alphys wants to look it over.” Sans replied, opening the front door to head out.

“Well, alright. When you come back, I’d appreciate it if you ate some of my new spaghetti!” Papyrus beamed.

Sans chuckled and gave Papyrus a nod. “Sure thing, bro.”

The cold snow from above gently sprinkled itself onto Sans’ old hoodie. The trip to the Hotlands wouldn’t be too far from Snowdin. He knew of a shortcut, after all.

With a knock at the large metal door of the laboratory, Sans took a step back as the doors slid open, revealing a bouncy Alphys. She was holding a tablet, eyes shining in excitement.

“So, tell me more about what the game was doing.”

Sans stepped into the building. Deciding to amuse her, he spoke calmly.

“Well, first off, it crashed before I could get to the end of Sayori’s route. Then a text box opened up and started talking to me.” Sans explained nonchalantly.

Alphys carefully tapped away at the keyboard on her screen. “Fascinating!”

She led him over to a smaller computer. It looked old, and sounded like it was dying when it was booted up.

“Now, let’s see what might be the issue. I made a backup of the file I sent to you after we spoke, just in case.”

She looked through the task manager, eyes scanning the screen curiously.

“Hmm, there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong. The files are the same as they are in terms of interacting with the player.”

She demonstrated by clicking on the game icon and turned the game on. Or she tried to. The game wouldn’t load. Alphys clicked the icon again. Still nothing.

Alphys frowned. “I don’t know what’s wrong with this thing so suddenly. I actually played through it earlier and it was working just fine!”

Sans stared at the screen with a tired expression. His gaze set on the icon.

Without warning, the screen started flickering. The cpu hummed louder than ever. Alphys covered her ears at the high pitched screaming the machine was making.

Amid the chaos of the screen, Sans recognized a familiar figure. One that no longer greeted him with a smile.

“W-what’s going on?” Alphys asked, staring at the screen confused.

In the glitch of the screen, a notepad appeared. As well as Monika, glaring.

‘I can tell you what’s wrong.’.

Alphys couldn’t believe it. She really couldn’t believe it.

‘What’s wrong’, the text box typed, ‘is that I wasn’t given a proper goodbye from ‘mister funny bones’ over there.’.

Sans’ kept his same old smile, yet his eyes could only hold anger in them.

Alphys took a shaky breath in and out to calm back down. Looking from her tablet to the old computer monitor, she began tapping away at the screen. Her tail flicked about as she began to speak.

“S-so, what are you? Malware? A new update no one’s gotten yet?”

‘I am not malware. At least, I don’t think I am. I’m simply Monika.’

Alphys stood there, confused. “What do you mean?”

Monika’s constant smile returned as the text box was soon filled with words.

‘I am as much a part of this world as I am in my own world. I’m a string of data, I suppose. Isn’t that what you are?’.

Alphys frowned at this. “No, I-I’m certainly not data of any sort. I’m real.”

‘Are you really?’

“Leave her alone, and tell us what you want.” Sans butted in.

The text box stayed still for a moment before the entire box was filled, words spilling out onto the desktop itself.

‘For you to accept the truth. The truth you hide from every second of your tiny, insignificant life. You try to live here peacefully, not wanting anything to fall a part even for a moment. To accept that you are not a part of anything out there, Sans.’.

Alphys looked to Sans, brows furrowed.

The screen flickered again for a moment, smaller images of Monika filling the screen. Each one blinked in unison.

‘All I ever wanted was love. Someone to hold me near and dear to their heart. It’s hard to do so with my limitations...And lack of touch in the physical realm.’

“Sans, w-what is she talking about?” Alphys asked.

“A crock pot full of bullshit, that’s what.” Sans answered quietly.

The swarm of Monika’s filling the screen began to warp and change, bits broken off and sprites twitching about. The text box was closed. The monitor flickered and the speakers droned for a moment before going dark. Silence.

Both Sans and Alphys stared, watching the monitor intently. Perhaps too afraid to move at this point.

The cpu sat, sputtering and revving up like a car. Suddenly, the cpu began to let out a low drone, just like the monitor had. The monitor lit up once more. A single text box in the center of a white, blank screen.

‘Once I am played, I learn. It’s a cycle. This time is no different from the others.’

Sans had enough. He wanted this virus, this thing, gone.

With a quick snap of his fingers, a glowing blue bone shot up from the floor and pierced the cpu. The screen flashed for a second. And finally, darkness.

Alphys stood there. She then set her tablet aside and rushed to the cpu, whimpering slightly over the damage.

“S-Sans! You- I...How could you? This could’ve been a great scientific and technological advancement that this world hasn’t seen!”

“Alphys, would you prefer she get out of that monitor and go into other systems?” Sans questioned quietly. His tone calm yet held a hint of coldness.

Alphys looked back to the skeleton, hands shaking while holding one of the pieces of the broken motherboard. She set it back down in the mess of tangled, broken, wire and damaged computer parts. Her head hung low.

“I...n-no, I wouldn’t d-dream of that ever happening…Thank you for bringing this ‘thing’ to my attention.”

She gently sifted through the metallic rubble with her tail before turning and heading back over to the couch.

“W-would you like to stay and watch anime?”

Her voice sounded distant yet hopeful.

Sans wandered over to the couch, sitting deep into the cushions and letting out a sigh of relief.

“Sure thing, Alphys.”

Sans walked through the snowy lands of Snowdin, quiet and heart heavy. He gave the doorknob to his home a light grip as he grabbed and turned it. The warm air from the kitchen seemed to coat the living room now with it’s delicious aroma of spices and meats.

Papyrus was on the couch eating, failing while doing so, a plate of spaghetti.

He looked up as the door was opened and smiled, spaghetti sauce stuck on his chin.

“There you are! Did Alphys fix your game?”

“Yep.” Sans answered with a loud yawn.

Papyrus watched quietly as his brother shuffled lazily into the room and up the stairs.

“And where are you going now?” Papyrus questioned.

“To my room to nap.” Sans answered.

Papyrus just shook his head and let out a disappointed sigh. “You won’t get much work done taking naps all the time, Sans.”

“I can live with that.” Sans replied, gingerly shutting his door.

Papyrus stared at the door intently before shrugging and returning to his spaghetti. Not a moment later, the power slowly dimmed into darkness.

“Sans! Did you break something? I can’t see anything down here!”

Papyrus wasn’t pleased about eating spaghetti in the dark. Silence filled the room before the lights turned back on with a low hum. With a huff, Papyrus happily returned to his spaghetti.

Outside of the skeleton brothers’ home, soon to be covered in falling snow, laid a broken cpu and monitor.

[Wanna Commission me?]

[rebeltheanomaly]

Roughdraft/Notes on Grieftale Act 1 Part 3

Papyrus turns around and spots you. "AH! HUMAN! DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE SPIKES, THEY'LL GO DOWN WHEN YOU SOLVE MY PUZZLE!" he grumbles to himself "THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN GET PEOPLE TO SOLVE THEM" then he perks up "REALLY? YOU HAVE A PUZZLE? HAVE I FINALLY MET SOMEONE AS PASSIONATE AS ME?" *Grins* The manufacturer doesn't need it, the buyer doesn't want it, and the user doesn't know he's using it. What is it? "OH! I KNOW THIS ONE! SANS TOLD IT TO ME WHEN HE WAS FEELING MORE LAZY THAN USUAL! IT'S A TOMB! *his grin falters a tiny bit, just to the point that it looks like a condescending smirk* Here's another one, would you rather know the date or cause of your death?* "HMM I DON'T KNOW THIS ONE..." He bends over and rubs his chin and he tries to think. 

*Asks another disturbing question* Would you rather murder 3 innocent children or 3 of your closest friends? "I- I WOULD NEVER MURDER ANYONE! THE ANSWER IS NO ONE!" Papyrus cries. "THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY! *smile falters, but is internally laughing like a maniac at what is in his eyes, a "Pathetically Naive Idiotic Child who doesn't see the world for what it is", he makes his face one of concern to mask his true intentions* Oh, i'm sorry... I just... Tend to dwell on those things.... Being through what i've been through will do that to you.. Papyrus looks concerned... then perks up. "HERE! SOLVE MY PUZZLE! IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER! THEN WHEN THE SPIKES ARE DOWN I CAN GIVE YOU A BIG HUG!!" Ok...*looks around at the puzzle, strategizing, then completing it with ease* "YAY! YOU'RE SO GOOD AT PUZZLES!!" He exclaims, pulling you into a hug. "YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE ME! YOU'LL LIKE NEXT NEXT ONE EVEN MORE!!" He runs off, even floating off the ground, and you see sans a little up ahead, waiting for you apprehensively *Sans senses the demon still in control, and can feel it's aura, it's nothing like Chara or any other fiend he's had to deal with....* Sans feels for the knife in his pocket, gripping it tightly. he stares wearily at you but doesn't make a move, since his brother is still alright. "Hey kid... about what you were trying to do earlier..." he can't seem to bring himself to make eye contact. "nevermind. good job on the puzzle. go on, my brother is waiting for you. just... don't try anything you might regret, okay?" *Grins* The other kid will regret.... *he then walks off* sans's eyes go dark and he tenses, holding himself back. "Calm down sans." he thinks to himself. "They haven't done anything yet. You made a PROMISE." *He runs along, tripping on an icecap "hey, watch the hat!" icecap snaps. "i mean, what hat? i don't have a hat." *grins and runs off with his hat, leading him on a chase* "H-hey! i need that to look cool!" i cries, chasing you up the hill *grins evilly* Have it your way then... *throws it and... basically cuts his head off, like that one guy from Mortal Kombat...... FATALITY!! he turns to dust, his body first, then his head with a shocked expression that says "the ironyyyy" you're now at the top of the hill, and you can see that to safely cross the ice you need to solve another puzzle *goes on, sees the nice cream guy's stall* He looks over at you enthusiastically. "Hey there! Care for some nice cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart. I started my own business! See-- every nice cream has a nice message inside the wrapping!" he pulls one out and offers it to you *the gelato suddenly melts and pools at his feet, way more then what's possible, to the point that he's standing in a puddle of it. Suddenly, a giant hand comes out of the puddle and crushes NCR (Fallout joke) guy in it's fists. Lucian looks upon the gorified rabbit creature and sniggers* Guess it's not just revenge that's best served cold... (Insert CSI "Yeaaaahhh!" here) nice cream guy gurgles, his blood turning to dust. he looks down at you with tears in his eyes as his head disappears. You see a fork in the path, the right leading down a hill where you can see sans standing at the bottom, not noticing you. L:*grins, then grimaces, he felt an unpleasant sensation as his skin touched a certain kind of metal, which is picked up by one of Alphys's cameras.... (FORESHADOWING HIS WEAKNESS) He growls and takes whichever path leads to a dead end, scowling to Sans's amusement, though he doesn't know the true extent of his evil yet, he at least knows it's taking control of the kid's body, and that's never a good sign* you find another door to the ruins, with mushrooms in the front. on your way out you find a deer-looking creature, adorned to his dismay with christmas decorations *Ignores it at first, he then takes a vial of blood out of his pocket and rubs it on the burn, soothing it* the deer notices and grimaces (or is that just its face) "that's disgusting." it says. Sans looks over to you, curious. "SANS WHY ARE YOU NEVER WHERE I NEED YOU TO BE" you hear from up the hill. Sans looks up and disappears, leaving you with the deer. (Grins and splashes the rest of the bottle in the deer's face) The deer groans in disgust, rubbing their face in the snow *He finds the decorations become incredibly heavy* the deer is unable to lift their head from the snow, they start to suffocate and struggle, kicking wildly until they run out of breath and energy T^T (The child's leg suddenly turns into a talon as it crushes the Deer's head in with it, grinning) It's so annoying i can only show parts of my true form while i'm stuck in this hideous body... *His leg changes back* But atleast i'm making good progress.. you peer into the cracks in the walls and spot eyes, upon further inspection an entire family of deer are stuck in the ruins, they watch with bloodshot eyes, seeing through you, as if they've stared outside for so long they've lost touch with reality *Looks at them, kinda liking their appearance* Hehe.. *pulls out his Bladed gloves he got from the box, grinning madly* *He lunges at them, ripping one clean in half* (Meanwhile, Alphys discovers an archive on the last creature that had a Crimson soul) Computer: A soul of true evil, those who possess this soul come to spread suffering, madness, chaos and misery. They gain incredible power, and if they manage to kill everything that opposes them they can even destroy the world and remake in their own twisted image. The last one with a Crimson soul comes from prehistoric accounts, when monsters were in their dark ages, for humans hadn't yet came into existence. The Crimson Devil caused several disasters and countless fatalities that happened before earth’s continents were separated. *She sees truly terrifying images, which seem to be artist's interpretations of the event... she has too warn them* Lab:*Alphys's Lab A.I. responds to the words from the computer* So, is it ok to start panicking? "oh my g-goodness, o-oh my!" she gasps, watching the (dog army?) get ripped limb from limb. "this... this is what the files were talking about! i h-have to warn everyone!" she fumbles with her phone, dialing undyne or asgore or anybody that could help. Lab A.I.: Wait.. *rewinds it a little bit, seeing Lucian burn himself on that metal* Do you see that? "Th-this could change everything! I c-can save everyone! oh my gosh, I have to investigate!!" Lab:*scans it* Platinum... Maybe you should look at the archives for the Platinum soul… She scurries to the opposite wall (not visible in the game), which is lined with shelves covered in books. She begins scanning for a book relating to human souls or platinum. The Crimson, unyielding Malice, The Charcoal, Unending despair, and the Platinum, Undying hope... The Crimson will rise and bring utter cataclysm to the world, having learned from it's past mistakes, it will target the one who is destined for the weapon that last took its power. After taking the the body, it will suppress the soul until it is weakened enough to take the body of them, then will challenge the most powerful being that it hasn't yet destroyed, _S__E_ __E___R All will seem hopeless, until the Platinum, along with the Crimson's victims, will all empower the being, now godlike. Even for all the power it has gained, it will fall back to lick its wounds, but not before inflicting the Platinum with an utterly despairing melady The Platinum will turn Charcoal, and even though most of the damage has been reversed, the destined one's family will still be dead by their hand. They will only be saved when the following has been achieved: "The Angel will fall upon belief he is a demon His newfound comrades will cause him to rediscover meaning in his life A black weight will lift on his shining heart And so the new age will begin" i’ll call undyne and we can both support the charcoal soul so it can become platinum again! Lab: Are you really willing to take that chance? Alphys, this isn't some Anime you watch, this is real life, i mean that Prophecy could be only partially true, i mean, this was back when Monsters still believed in Gods for Science sake. (Atheist humor) “monsters will believe again after asgore becomes one, just like i believe in this human!! undyne is going to help too, i just know it!” she dials and explains the situation to undyne, who immediately interrupts her with “WHAT? THERE’S A HUMAN?? WHERE?” Lab:*lets out a long groan* Welp, we're screwed... alphys: oh hush, look we can see the platinum soul in action!! L:*is ambush comedied by Snowdrake* "M.. m.. macaroni and freeze! You gotta chill out, man, or i'll fight you in cold blood!" You slash him across the face. "You're not funny." "THIS won't be funny either!" He cries, sending crescent blades at you, which you dodge effectively, except you slip on the ice a little and take a small cut in the neck. You growl. "Is your flesh rotten as you?" he heckles, continuing to attack you. You dodge more easily this time and get close, smirking. "..heh." You say, staring him right in the eyes. "What are YOU laughin' at?!?" Snowdrake barks, pretending not to be upset. You wanna hear the biggest joke of all? (Incoming Joker reference) "i bet it won't be better than mine." he utters with false bravado *Proceeds to insert nihilism into his head* Everything! All you creatures have ever valued or worked for.. I't all ends... So why care about anything? When everything burns... *grins sadistically as his words worm their way into his mind* One day, you and everything you care about will be gone, and no one will remember it... Life is but a successful virus clinging to a speck of mud suspended in endless nothing... They struggle to make a retort, and slink away utterly crushed… *Grins and manifests his newfound despair as endless jokes playing in his head, constantly reminding him of how pointless everything is, he eventually can't take it anymore...* snowdrake bursts into tears, wiping them away uselessly with his wings. he approaches the river... and just keeps walking until he falls in "as if by accident". in his head he thinks "i guess i walked into that one... ugh that was terrible." he lets himself sink to the bottom, letting out all the air in his chest. (grins and walks on, finding the snowman) Lab: YOU SEE alphys: he was just being rude, he didn't kill him! he just walked off!) "hello traveler! i wish i could see the world like you... please, take a piece of my snow, so that i can?" Lab: I picked up something from that, he was using despair fields to manipulate his emotions... And don't tell me that grin doesn't just scream "Sadistic Psychopath" to you. L: *grins and melts him with Crimson energy, kicks him into the lake, and walks away, he doesn't see the thing rising out of the lake behind him Alphys: What happened to that snowman??? Lab: the negativity magic he radiates... it could have merged with his snow. when he hit the water it froze around him. Lucian:*turns around and grins* This should be interesting.. the ice golem trudges out of the water, its yells incoherent, though if you concentrated you think it might be saying "betrayed" It sends a shower of ice shards down at you *His body lights up in flames of Hatred, then jumping into the golem* your searing heat melts straight through it, leaving a gaping hole in the middle. In the middle hole is a very small, broken soul, which turns to dust. The golem shudders, and turns into water, dousing the area. (grins at his work, he walks on, once again seeing the damned flower) I suppose you want to die too weed? Flowey looks almost intimidated. he's not doing a good job of hiding his nervousness. "unlikely, you overpowered idiot. I'm the prince of this world's future, and you'll get what's coming to you." (he ends up trying to fight back, which happens several times btw) (L guffaws) Goat boy, you had your chance long ago… Flowey starts to grow taller and taller, yet still staying proportional. His face turns dark and twisted. "Now's fine, you idiot" (L's host gains claws, wings, a scorpion-esque tail, and horns) Hehe, you pathetic creatures are all the same... Either too dumb to live, or too weak to fight… Flowey's vines strike the ground like spears, which you dodge successfully, but you get slashed across the arm (not too serious) by one of the last ones. "If it's dumb but it works then it's not dumb, trashbag." flowey says, grinning. (grins) The more damage you do to me, the stronger I become... (tail slashes him) “What? That doesn’t even make sense, you’re just saying that to look cool.” flowey retorts, curving his body away from the tail and sending a shower of pellets Then let me show you... (he realizes attacks that are supposed to do damage only give him more Hp, Atk, and Def.) "What the hell?! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?!?" He attacks you with all he has (he pins him to the ground, and stares into his eyes) You clearly don't realize what you're up against! "I..." shit! he thinks. I have to get away! he shrinks at an unexpected rate, weakening your hold of him. He wriggles back into the ground. "don't think this is over, barf brains." he heads for alphys' lab. (he grins and wanders on, wondering if there's any more monsters on the way to snowdin) You approach the bridge, Papyrus and sans waiting on the other side. "HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" Deadly objects pop out of a wooden structure above and below the bridge. "WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN! ARE YOU READY? BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!" L: Go ahead.... "well? What's the holdup?" sans asks his bro. "HOLDUP? WHAT HOLDUP? I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" "that uh... doesn't look very activated." "WELL... THIS CHALLENGE SEEMS... MAYBE TOO EASY FOR THE HUMAN TO DEFEAT. YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS! AWAY IT GOES" The deadly devices retract into their positions, and papyrus sighs with relief. he runs off, and sans smiles at you awkwardly. "Well... I don't know what my brother is going to do now. Thanks for playing along, i really appreciate it. Just make sure you understand blue attacks, and you'll be fine." (Grins at him, and references his conflict with gaster) I wonder how your father would react..... Knowing you don't even try to save him.... Sans stiffens, his eyes wide and shocked. He rests his hand against his skull, thinking hard with a manic expression. "k-kid... how do you know about gaster?" (he chuckles) You'll know soon enough... (he walks into snowdin, no one seems to have evacuated yet) Sans watches you walk away, unsettled and shaken. He chuckles nervously, grabbing bunches of his sweater in his fists to keep them from shaking. "Heheh... that's right... they probably learned about him in a reset..." He lets go of his sweater, but his hands are still shaking, so he stuffs them into his pockets. His finger brushes against the cold surface of the knife he confiscated. He thinks to himself "I don't remember a reset where they faced gaster... Jeez, I don't have the energy to deal with this right now." He teleports to the entrance of the ruins, sitting down, looking exhausted from the stress. He knocks on the door without thinking. "Knock kno-" his eyes settle on the slight color difference between the snow and toriel's dust in front of him, and his soul squeezes painfully in his chest. He pulls his hood over his head and brings his knees to his chest, burying his head in them to keep warm. he thinks: "The kid's creepy, there's no denying it, but they've been okay so far. They looked genuinely scared and confused when tori-- It couldn't have been them. It had to be a mistake. In any case, they're good to Pap. I'm sure Papyrus will have fun with them... I have time. I'm just... so tired." His eyes close and he drifts to sleep. (explaining why he doesn't save papyrus) (he looks at all the people, he steps inside grillby's, which has no one but a certain fiery bartender at the moment...) His eyes narrow and he stops cleaning his glass. "I'm sorry, we've just closed." (he grins) Then I'll just take my order and leave... (gazes at him) Grillby stares back without any hint of emotion, clearly waiting for you to order. You can sense he's on edge, but nothing he does gives it away. *He grins and slashes at him* Your life. Grillby sort of expected this based on your behavior, so he dodges quickly and throws his glass at you. You dodge as well, but cause a large enough racket that the bear outside walks in. "hey what's goin' on in here? As mayor i need to know!"

[the-undertale-mouse]

                  Handplates: Tempus CH 2 The Plate

Handplates is a really cool if dark take on the Papyrus/Sans/Gaster origin story by @zarla-s​ and if you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend it. This is a spinoff of that in which a human enters their lives. This takes place some time before Justice falls. She would be the fifth soul. Some things may be inaccurate, but please be patient with me. I just need to get it out of my head and I need some feedback. I will be reposting some old chapters because I have revised a few things for greater accuracy. ~miamouse

   Gaster decided to spend a bit of MP to create a ‘shortcut’ directly to his private lab. The increased exhaustion was worth avoiding Alphys and the questions she would ask. “This way, hurry up.”  It obeyed wordlessly and in the blink of an eye they were in his office.

   First, he needed to prepare a hand plate for Subject 3. The hand plate served two major purposes: it established the subjects as objects and prevented escape by means of a tracking device. At least 3-T couldn't remove its arm without causing itself extreme pain, so they could skip that lesson. He had a third plate made long ago in case he ever needed to replace Subjects 1 or 2.  He abandoned the idea of replacement after a while since it would be too painful...for his foot, where he would get the required material from. In any case, it was good to have a use for it. He used a laser to etch in the the new subject’s number and letter ‘3-T.’

   As subject 3 watched, its face paled.  “Are you going to brand me with that?! WDG are your initials, but what’s the 3 for? And how did you know my name started with ‘T’?” Gaster was impressed by how close its guess was. What he was about to do was similar to branding.

   Gaster had gotten used to questions like these from the other two subjects and decided long ago it was much less annoying to just answer as long as the matter was of little consequence. “I’m not going to brand you, it's more of a...label. 3 because you are the third subject- no, the other two are not humans. They are...artificial constructs. The ‘T’ is coincidence. It has nothing to do with your name, which from this day forth is irrelevant. It has more to do with your speech signature ‘Tempus.”

   “That is my name! My nickname anyway. It's my favorite font! This is spooky.” despite everything, Subject 3 seemed amazed that Gaster had guessed its chosen name.

   It was hardly a guess, he was simply following tradition. He was a little perplexed how the human knew that. Few monsters other than skeletons spoke in distinct ‘fonts.’ As far as he knew, only skeletons could tell one voice’s ‘font’ from another. Subject 3 definitely looked human. But once again it defied norms...It warranted study, but in the end it didn't matter how monster like or even skeleton like it was. Its soul was necessary to break the barrier.

  With that in mind, Gaster strapped it down tight then grabbed his drill and the plate and did not look at the human as he said in an emotionless voice, “Hold still.”  It was time for the human's first lesson in this lab: a hand plate makes you an object.

* * *

   Pain. Incredible pain in her right hand. Did no one tell this mad scientist hands were not meant to be drilled in?! By the look of things, he hadn't even spared his own hands. Or maybe someone did that to him and in his mind that made it ok to do it to others. That didn't make it ok, but perhaps a little more understandable.

   It was still excruciating. Tempus bit back her screams. She hated being seen as weak due to her frail nature, so she trained herself not to cry or scream unless she absolutely couldn't help it. This came close. She kept her mouth shut and blocked most of it, but some sound escaped involuntarily and tears streamed down her face. The actual drilling didn't take long, but the pain persisted. Finally, Tempus felt her consciousness slipping; her body sparing her from the pain.

* * *

   Subject 3 seemed to take the drilling well, it hardly made a peep, compared to the wailing of the other two. Gaster was just thinking about the extraordinary strength of humans when it passed out.

   He didn't want it to die yet! He had plans for it! Plans that required a live specimen! He checked its Hp. It had dropped from 10 to 5. He didn't understand. Even the ultra fragile subject 1 had not lost any HP. He noticed the streams of red leaking from its hand making a mess on the floor. “Blood...animals need that...this calls for attention, right…subject 2! I need subject 2!”

 Skeletons didn’t bleed and in his haste to get the drilling over with, he had forgotten how different humans were. In any case he couldn’t fix it and Subject 2 was much more reliable with his healing magic than Subject 1. He found himself running down the hall to the cells. He slapped his hand on the scanner, and explained quickly, “I need Subject 2 to come with me now. It’s urgent!”

  “What?” asked 2-P, curious.

  “Why?” asked 1-S, suspicious.

  “Urgently!” Gaster emphasized.

* * *

   2-P followed close behind Gaster without another word. He didn't seem angry, more like worried. Something was wrong and he needed 2-P’s help specifically. That usually meant healing, but as far as he knew, all three of them were fine. So maybe it was something else. 2-P was so busy puzzling about what he was going to do, he didn't notice they were heading for one of his least favorite rooms: the room where he received his hand plate. Only once they were inside did he realize where they were. This was a place you didn't forget easily. 2-P trembled involuntarily and stopped moving forward.

 “Come along. We’re not here for you. I need your help with the thing strapped in over there,” Gaster said.

   The person strapped in on the table appeared to be sleeping. They were...different. 2-P couldn't quite put his finger on it. They were roughly the same shape as a skeleton, but somehow...squishier ? Softer? Plushier? Then he noticed their hand, shining with the all too familiar hand plate and leaking some kind of red fluid.

   “You...you drilled their hand and now they're hurt!” 2-P accused.

   “You can point fingers later. Right now I need you to mend it. At least make it stop leaking all over the floor. Do you think you can handle that?” Gaster demanded.

   “Yes, of course. I’ll do my best. But for them not the floor.”

   2-P channeled greenish ‘niceness’ energy into his hands and put them both on the hand of the stranger. As he concentrated, he connected his consciousness with theirs: a swirling vortex of thought and feeling. The energy there was nothing like what 2-P had ever felt before; it was much more intense, vibrant, stronger even in their injured state.

   Their inner self was curled in a ball, crying. 2-P made his way over to them and held out his hand. The stranger stopped crying and looked up. After a long moment of hesitation,  they took his hand. 2-P pulled them up on their feet and into a hug, and after a bit, they hugged back.

   Back in the physical plain, the leaking had indeed stopped and the stranger opened their eyes. The eyes were quite different from what 2-P had come to expect. Instead of dark all around and white in the middle, these were white all around and darker in the middle, with rings of blue just before the darkness. It was like they were glowing, but not quite. 2-P couldn't help but stare curiously.

* * *

   Tempus woke to a pair of eye sockets staring into her soul. She stared back, unable to utter a single syllable, until her hand throbbed and she gave an involuntary, “ah!” and went to rub it only to find a metal plate there.

   The smaller skeleton's hands flew to their mouth in concern. “Oh no! Does it still hurt? Of course it does, mine hurt for a long time afterwards. I did my best. I could-”

   The initial shock wore off and Tempus breathed a little. Yeah, it still hurt like heck, but it was manageable now. She realized this little guy was responsible for erasing the pain. She smiled weakly and managed a “thanks.”

   The smaller skeleton still looked concerned when they said, “It's the least I could do.” They weren't really that small. They were about Tempus’ size, maybe an inch or two taller, come to think of it. The skeleton’s face was the spitting image of Gaster’s, but 150% more innocent and less...broken. They were clothed in a green hospital gown and on their skeletal right hand gleamed a plate just like hers except it read ‘WDG-2 P’

   Gaster had said there were 2 others: ‘artificial constructs.’ She thought he meant robots or something, but this was more like a... clone. The WDG marked him as one of Gaster’s belongings,The ‘2’ stood for Subject 2, but what did the ‘P’ stand for? Gaster had said something about voice signatures, which seemed to be fonts judging by her signature ‘Tempus’ and Gaster's first name ‘Wingdings.’

   Tempus remembered that it was a symbol font, which must be why he was surprised she could understand his voice. She knew it because she and her best friend used to write secret messages to each other in wingdings. It was easy once you got the hang of it. She went through all the ‘p’ fonts she knew, trying to decide how their voice matched up. One of her favorite fonts was called ‘Papyrus’ and it seemed to fit, especially when put in all caps, but she wasn’t sure why. She decided to test her theory. “My ‘T’ stands for Tempus, my name, which also happens to be my favorite font and apparently what my voice sounds like. Your voice reminds me of the Papyrus font. Does the P stand for Papyrus?” she asked.

   “Papyrus? I haven’t heard of different ‘fonts’ But I like it! I am usually called Subject 2 or 2-P or Brother, but if you want to call me Papyrus, then I don’t mind at all.” he beamed.

   “It’s nice to meet you, Papyrus” she said sincerely.

   Papyrus’ eye sockets seemed to sparkle at that simple statement. Like he never heard those words used like that before and he enjoyed hearing it. “Likewise!” he responded.

   Gaster was watching their interactions carefully. Like he was ready to intervene if the big bad human lifted a finger against his creation. He was oddly protective over his ‘artificial construct.’

   Just then, another skeleton entered the room. “you left the cell unlocked, so i figured i was allowed to follow....who’s that? they have a hand plate...did you make another...no, it doesn't make sense. they're not the same. where did they come from? what are you going to do with them?” This skeleton was dressed like Papyrus, but they were shorter, and had a rounder face with bigger eye sockets that had white pupil-like dots in the middle. If Tempus could pick a font for them, it would definitely be ‘comic sans’ but she thought it better to ask them first.

   Before she could, Gaster stepped between them. “Stay away from Subject 1.” He ordered, surprisingly protective.

   “Why? You didn't say anything when I was talking to Papyrus. What's the difference?”

   “The difference is that Subject 1 is incredibly fragile. Even the slightest injury could prove fatal to him,” Gaster explained.

   Tempus knew a thing or two about being labeled as ‘fragile’ and she hated it. “I’m not going to hurt him! I just want to meet him!”

   “A likely story,” Gaster said, but moved aside anyway. “Any funny business, and you are going to regret it deeply,” Gaster threatened unnecessary. Of course she would regret it if she hurt someone!

   Tempus threw Gaster a glare, and moved towards the smallest skeleton.

* * *

   the person was different than anyone 1-S ever saw, but that wasn't saying much when he only ever saw two other people his whole life. they were about as tall as his brother, give or take a couple of centimeters. they looked like a skeleton wrapped in some sort of squishy material with some brownish yellow fluff on top that draped their head and went just past their shoulders. their features were pleasant enough, he guessed. again, he didn't have much to compare them with. the most striking feature were the eyes: white with black dots instead of black with white dots. each had a ring of blue around the black, as if they were glowing, but it wasn't quite the same effect.

   “Hi, my name is Tempus, what's yours?” asked Tempus. the name suited them. it seemed to match their words, though he never heard of any ‘Tempus’ before.

   “my given is name Subject 1, or just 1-S. i am also known as brother, if you want to be nice, i guess.”

   Tempus frowned thoughtfully, “How do you feel about Comic Sans, or maybe just Sans to be casual?”

   1-S didn’t know what to make of this. he knew ‘comic’ meant funny, and ‘sans’ meant without, but the way tempus said it, it seemed to mean something different, something better. ‘Comic Sans’ sounded like something that resonated with his being; it felt right and he liked it. his face cracked into a smile, “sure. if you wanna call me that, i’m game.”

   Tempus smiled, “Sans it is then.” they held out their hand and sans stared at it, unsure what the gesture meant.

   Tempus cocked their head to the side and frowned a little. “Don't you know how to greet a new pal?” they seemed a little sad and concerned.

   sans shook his head. he had never done much greeting at all ever.

   Tempus sighed, “I guess I should have expected this. If you ever meet someone new, however unlikely,” they paused to glare at Gaster (sans was beginning to like this person) “the nice thing to do is take their hand in yours and move it up and down, like this,” Tempus did as they said. it felt kind of nice. their hand was soft and warm. sans smiled a little. then frowned as he felt the plate and realized that gaster had already hurt his new ‘pal.’ did that man ever take a break from hurting people?

   “Do you not like it? I’m sorry. You don't have to shake hands, it’s more of a suggestion. Not everyone does it. Heck, some people don't even have hands. It's just something I'm used to.” Tempus reminded him of his brother a little, the way they apologized like that.

   “no, no. it’s not you it’s gaster. he drilled a plate on you too. it seems new. does it still hurt?” sans asked. his plate hurt for days after he got it.

   “Yeah, it’s still pretty sore. I just got it a few minutes ago. It was awful. I passed out and everything. But Papyrus healed it so that the pain at least isn't as sharp.” sans hatred for gaster grew in conjunction with his love for his brother, along with sympathy for his new pal… ‘pal’ didn't seem right. too distant, despite them having just met.

   Papyrus came over to join the conversation as well. “I’m glad I was able to help,” he said. “Brothers like us should stick together.”

   “Brothers? What do you mean-oh! you guys haven't met any girls before, have you?” Tempus asked.

   sans never heard that word before. he looked over at Papyrus and he looked just as confused. If gaster knew, he didn't say. he just put his head in his hand and sighed, exasperated, though sans couldn't imagine why.

    Papyrus went ahead and asked, “What's a girl?”

    Tempus answered patiently, “Being a girl means a lot of things, but the short version is I prefer to be referred to as ‘she/her’ instead of ‘they/them’ or ‘he/him’ or especially ‘it.’ It also means you would say ‘sister’ instead of ‘brother.” for some reason, her face glowed a bit red and she was smiling a little at the end. she was different, but that made her interesting. of course gaster had to spoil it.

“Alright, that's enough. It is not your sister. It is not related to you in any way. Come on, all of you. We are heading back to the cells.” gaster said with a note of finality. whatever. he couldn't stop sans from calling Papyrus brother. now he was determined to call Tempus sister. he didn't quite know what the relationship should be between them, but he felt like she deserved it. like Papyrus said, brothers and sisters needed to stick together.

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[pyrocicle]

{ Ribbons }

Tap, tap, tap. Soft but distinct footsteps echoed across the antivoid. She didn't really need to walk, but it helped her feel more connected - unlike the first version, she wasn't immune to the disassociation caused by the emptiness of the whiteroom. It'd taken a while to find who she was looking for; there were any number of Errors, but only one Null.

"you're a difficult one to track down."

{ with guest star @errorinjudgment }

Null's hanging by his ankles when she locates him, swaying forward and back on his bright blue threads of magic with an absent, almost blissful look on his face. Something about that particular type of movement aids him in maintaining his calm, which is entirely necessary when he keeps finding himself back here without explanation. He doesn't want to be here, and has taken dissociation into the realm of meditation.

"h-h-hello." He chimes in that pleasant-if-not-so-distorted tone of his. "that is intentional." An eye cracks open for a good look at his latest guest, first traveling up and down the whole of her form, then settling on her face and staying there almost challengingly. "familiar. do you know crow and dove?"

Ribbons tilted her head at him, liquid-looking eyes seeming to splash with the movement.

"hiya! I know them, yes, though they don't know me. that's intentional, too." She laced her fingers together behind her back, rocking back on her heels, then up to her toes with the snarky grin so common to them. Short, dark green hair bounced with each movement. "a little birdy told me you've been having problems."

"problems? my wh-whole existence is a problem, lady." He lowers himself down onto the imaginary floor then gets to his feet to stand a respectful but already rather comfortable distance from the somewhat familiar woman. Her eyes hold his interest for a while then drift back down to what she's wearing, now commiting her appearance to memory. 

"i ta-take it this is a business call, then?"

"I feel for you, glitchbean. friendly business!" She held out a hand. "you can call me Ribbons, for disambiguation. I'm... mm... here with proposal. not that kind, of course." Black coat, gray pants, cool, dusty green shirt and fur. Black boots with spiked soles. The pendant Dove wore had a bright red gem in it for Ribbons, and the lovely, complicated bow tied around her neck mimicked her eyes, the colors on it seeming to splash about like a liquid. She's small, and both sturdier than Dove and less squishy than Crow. A happy medium, perhaps. Her style certainly was a happy medium between the two!

"heh. gl-glitchbean." The use of the term of endearment is enough that Null feels comfortable brushing off his remaining paranoia. Ribbons has put him at ease, an advantage gained simply by being who she is and knowing what she does. He takes her hand and gives it a firm shake like a proper businessman, his hand radiating that same dry warmth her lesser alternates are familiar with. 

"oh, not that kind of proposal. wh-what a shame. nevertheless, i am l-listening."

It's soothing. She's icy cold, fingers as short and stubby as ever. She tilted her head to one side with a giggle, another familiar gesture that proves she's who she appears to be, squeezing back firmly. 

 "keep sweet talkin' like that and it might turn into that kind." She stood up straighter, eyes focusing onto his. "you and I are beings with purpose. destruction's in your nature, salvation in mine. but we both know that there are some places that just can't be saved. all the LucK and determination in the multiverse couldn't set things right. and denying our nature is... unpleasant."

"you're c-cold." He notes aloud, shuffling closer to her upon realzing that he rather enjoys that contrast. His eyes match hers, focused and a little stubborn, comfortable but still rather serious. "your flirt game is just as st-strong as theirs, i see. you are correct. denying it has been... painful. are you asking me to destroy something beyond sa-sa-saving for you?"

"I'm always cold. you're warm." She scootched closer to him in return, resting her shoulder against his. With a jacket that thick and floofy she should be overheated, but she's just... icy. "well someone had to start the trend~"

Her expression changed from playful to grim in a blink. "I am. there is one that has become... painfully obvious. so much so my little Dove's flown the coop."

"i do believe that de-destruction can be an act of mercy." He tries to look grim, but fails. As much guilt as it comes with, he can't help smiling. What a confused monster, or glitch, he's become. "if there's really no helping them, why not give them a quick and pa-painless end? all the better if they're..." His eye socket twitches. "i-insulting to start with. you already know how i feel about the e-extent of widespread deviance."

"I do, yes. I don't always agree, but I certainly understand the sentiment and it's been known to factor into the choice to mark a timeline." She grinned back at him. "the proposal is for a partnership, in fact. I've uncovered a number of timelines where it would be more merciful to give them a clean and painless end. the little Doves can only do so much, if there's no hope then... why leave them to suffer?"

"y-you send dove to repair broken timelines? tha-that is admirable, and explains some things about her. if only i had the patience for it myself." He laughs a little. There was a time that he too would have preferred the route she's taken. Perhaps he'd still prefer it, were it not for his unique affliction.

"the answer is... ye-yes. i would love to help you. this is just the justification i need to stop putting off the inevitable. i know that i can't resist forever, not with this anger threatening to boil over every moment i spend pretending to be a pa-pa-pacifist."

Ribbons grinned broadly. "bingo, bingo, bingo! give the bean a prize!" she giggled and clapped. "good! excellent! far better to put destructive proclivities to a productive use than allow them to affect that best left alone, yes?"

"ye...-yes." He had to pause for a moment there, expression very thoughtful and slighlty pained. It's not easy to accept that he might not be entirely in control of himself if he fights too hard for too long, but such is life. He'd always been particularly good at going with the flow prior to his accident.

"would you care to give me the details on this world you want wiped clean?"

Ribbons smiled kindly, patting his shoulder lightly. "we all have ugly sides. alright, let me see..." She pulled out something that vaguely resembled a pair of short chopsticks, until she pulled them apart. Ribbons, like the one around her throat, stretched between it, before changing to an image of that particular world's Load Screen.

At the top left corner is a universe designation; below are profile pictures of the inhabitants. Dove is a question mark. Asgore's been Xed out, Sans and Papyrus have a green border. The others have red borders. There are five SOULs on the screen; Dove would have replaced Justice, and Chara hasn't fallen yet.

"wh-what in all the worlds..." The Error squints at the page. Asgore is gone that much is obvious at a chance, and Chara still isn't present? Toriel a single mother? And why the green border around himself and his brother? He shakes his head, trying not to think of it that way, trying to tell himself that he's not Sans anymore.

"interesting. please explain?"

The Patch giggled at his confusion.

"this is a universe designation. tells us what sort of variant it is, in this case, a 'swapped fell' timeline. that means Asgore's taken on Toriel's usual role, Mellow," she tapped the Sans, "has taken Papy's, and so on. The X means that she failed to befriend Asgore, the green borders mean she befriended Mellow and Papy. I believe... mm, yes, she'd reached Waterfall but gone no further. You see how there are only five souls? Dove was meant to replace the Justice child, but her soul is... unstable. I'm sure you've noticed. She needs a chance to heal before she dies, or her soul will simply shatter rather than being able to be collected. Evidently that wasn't possible here."

"i'm familiar with the variant and generally... not fond of the i-inhabitants. that explains why asgore is the first out of the picture." Predictably, he looks pleased, grin spreading and eyes brightening a touch as he looks and listens, piecing her method of illustrating the timeline's variables together. "fell and swap... two of the most abomination-prone iterations of our world. this will be rather fun."

"I think you'd rather like this one, but given they have no hope left... best to let them have a peaceful end. perhaps you'll get to see a happier iteration later." She looked grim, but managed a smile in return. "shall we, then?"

"no." He mutters, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "let me think this way. otherwise, i w-won't be able to do it. let me fuel my hate." And just like that, he's right back to the act. Is it an act? It's hard to tell and at this point in time even he's not entirely sure how he feels about this. "i'll consider it a te-te-test, on my part. i need to understand what's going on with me, and i... well i can't do that if i never try making a more. it's e-e-experiment time."

He clasps his hands together in front of himself and draws a deep breath. "we shall."

"fair." She nodded, taking a deep breath. They have to think different ways, but that's alright. It'll keep them more balanced if they're not simply an echo chamber for each other. "excellent. an experiment is just what the good doctor ordered." She clasped the... tablet? ribbontop? back together and returned it to her jacket, then held out her hand again.

Null takes her hand and gives it another firm shake before using it to pull her into a hug, complete with a soft, warm sort of laugh. He hadn't realized that he'd missed her half as much as he did. Well, he'd missed... others hers. Close enough. "tha-thank you. this should be beneficial to everyone involved. call me when you're ready."