#It's interesting to think about! If there were humans then surely Gaster must be aware of the Souls? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

songfell-ut · 4 years

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Chapter 5 already, huh

In which I personally feel sorry for Sans only a little bit, guess when

Oh, and @lostmypotatoes? My brother actually doesn’t have The Virus, which makes me feel even worse for randomly shouting at you about it just because I happened to have our conversation open when I saw the text from my mom. Sorry again! Official chaptery link found here.

Sans had gotten used to waking up in a luxurious, his-sized bed, and after a full week with the High Priestess, he felt he could handle being stuck in the humans' castle for twenty-three more days; it was amazing to sleep so soundly, and he could think of about a million worse fates than spending his waking hours with Frisk. What he could not handle was having a really wonderful dream like that, only to wake up wifeless, childless, and absolutely certain he'd remain that way for the rest of his unnatural life.

He tried not to blame Frisk for it, he really did, but as he emerged from his room, she was sitting at the worktable in her robe with another goddamn proposal in hand, as if to taunt him. "Good...morning," she said. "Are you all right?"

"F'fn m'rg," he muttered.

"I see. I didn't sleep well, either." When he didn't respond, the priestess shrugged and went back to her letter.

The boss monster sat down at the worktable and selected a book at random, trying to shake off the feeling of his dream-wife messing with his face. Less than five minutes later, someone knocked at the door; Sans started to sweep books and mixing tools aside to make room for breakfast, but Frisk shook her head as she got up. "It's Sunday, and I have matins in less than an hour. We won't get fed till afterwards. One minute, please!"

She was about halfway across the room when Sans sat bolt upright: the bar across the doors was lifting itself, and the double doors swung open from the outside. "Good morning," said a soft, scratchy voice.

"Er...good morning, Dr. Serif," Frisk said as the man walked in. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." Though the worktable had several chairs pushed beneath it at widely spaced intervals, the doctor sat down next to Sans, ignoring the skeleton's glare and addressing Frisk: "When I informed His Majesty that I would be coming here this morning, he asked me to tell you that he and the Prince will be attending matins. I've brought several men to escort you to the chapel as soon as you're ready."

The High Priestess blinked, and said, "I see." She picked up her veil and headdress from the edge of the worktable. "Please excuse me, then."

Sans waited for her to disappear into her dressing room before he rounded on the royal sorcerer, resisting the urge to grab him by the neck. "What the hell are you doin' here, ya creepy bastard? You steal my magic 'n make Frisk use it, ya come here without askin' and open doors all by yerself—and how come we need a bunch of extra guys to go t'church all of a sudden?"

"She needs them because you will be staying here," said Dr. Serif, unperturbed. "We have several things to discuss, many of which do not directly concern Her Eminence and needn't come to her attention. She already has enough responsibilities for three women."

Sans couldn't argue with that, but he could and did tell the guy, "Hell with you. I'm not interested in anythin' ya have to say."

The doctor shrugged. "Very well. I will only ask you to listen to one word." He reached into his robe and retrieved the end of a very long, thin golden chain hanging from his neck, twisted the chain once around his finger, and pulled—

His face blurred and his hand melted, the flesh sliding off like warm wax. Beneath his pale human features was a long, bone-white, masklike face with black slashes above and beneath his hollow eyes, lipless mouth curving into a grin. His now-bony hand rose in greeting, chain twined around his phalange, its end dangling through the hole in his palm. "Boo," whispered the skeleton.

The door to Frisk's dressing room cracked open. "Shall I wait for you two, Dr. Serif?" she called. "Or will you keep Sans here and deprive him of another hour in church?"

The doctor dropped the chain and was human again. "Indeed, my lady," he said. "I am sorry to disappoint our visitor, and those who will come to see him for themselves, but I understand that monsters employ methods of collecting magical energy that would benefit us greatly. I wish to hear it from the horse's mouth."

"That's probably for the best. He's told me the basics, but I'm not an expert in metallurgy or alchemy, so I'm afraid most of it is over my head." Frisk closed the door behind her, settling her veil in place. "If nothing else, Sans can have a break from me. I think we've been getting along fairly well, but he's probably tired of being lectured." She paused by the edge of the worktable, where Sans was frozen in place. "Well, Sans? Shall I get out of your hair now?"

He was still reeling from what he'd seen, and only vaguely aware that he had to say something leaving-related. "Yeah, bye," he muttered.

He didn't see her start, or how her head ducked as she turned and left. The moment the doors closed, the royal sorcerer removed the chain from around his neck, setting it on the table and scowling at Sans like a disappointed teacher. "You realize you've hurt her feelings very much?" The slashes above and below his right and left sockets creased in disapproval. "No. You don't, do you."

"Well, you're hurting my fuckin' brain, ya—ow!"

Something had immediately smacked Sans in the back of the skull. He whipped around to see a disembodied hand hovering in the air, wagging a skeletal finger in disapproval before it vanished. "I will not tolerate rudeness," the doctor said severely. "Is that clear, young skeleton?"

The boss monster felt as if someone had pulled the floor out from beneath him. "Yeah, I guess so. That's about the only thing I do get right now."

"Understandable. I will begin by asking this, Sans: do you recognize me?"

That was a good question. The longer Sans looked at him, the less certain he was. "You...honestly, it feels like I used ta have nightmares with you in 'em, but I've had so many others since then that ya can't keep up. Competition's pretty stiff in here." He tapped his skull.

The doctor chuckled. "I see. Does the name 'W. D. Gaster' sound familiar?"

Sans flinched, and he didn't know why. He just knew that he wanted to open his head up and scrub the insides till the name was gone. "Not...really," he managed. "'Zat you?"

"More or less." Gaster half turned in his chair and snapped his fingers. Two more hands appeared at the windows, unlatching them and pushing them open to let the chill morning air stream in. "This is an informal meeting, principally to get acquainted again. We can start with this." He picked up the golden chain and held it out for Sans' inspection. "To the best of my knowledge – and I pride myself on thoroughness – there are no similar devices in use by any other monster in this kingdom. You should not be surprised in this fashion again."

"I sure fu—flippin' hope not," Sans remarked. "Whaddya mean, 'get acquainted again'?"

"Ah, you caught that. Well done." Gaster's mouth curved again. "We've met before, but you were so young that I'm not surprised you don't remember. The next question: would you like to have a device of your own, and the ability to appear human?"

Sans prided himself on not being dumb, but this was way too much, too fast. Gaster must have seen it in his expression, because he raised his palmless hands in a conciliatory gesture. "My apologies. I have been looking forward to this meeting for a long, long time, and I may be overly enthusiastic. I'll ask an easier question—did you kill the man found in the gardens yesterday?"

The boss monster put a hand to his skull, as if he could manually collect his thoughts. "The guy jumped. Didn't the King tell ya?"

"His Majesty told me what he was told, yes. Did Her Eminence see the assassin jump rather than give himself up, or did you throw him out the window after you squeezed him eighty-percent to death?" Gaster raised a finger as Sans started to protest. "Don't waste my time or yours, boy. The gentleman may have landed in an unhealthy fashion, but that does not explain the uniformly horizontal bruising across his front and back, or how he struck face-first and still managed to crack most of his thoracic vertebrae. His injuries were consistent with a very large hand doing a very large amount of damage before his fall."

Sans wasn't sorry, and he saw no reason to either lie or volunteer more information. He stared at Gaster, daring him to say anything more, and the royal sorcerer shook his head. "No, I will not judge you for taking drastic measures to save the High Priestess. The man was carrying three large knives and two empty sheaths, which suggests he was very serious in his purpose. Nor do I intend to trouble His Majesty or Frisk with this information, unless perhaps I find out that you crushed the man to pulp right in front of her."

"Hell, no, I didn't," Sans snapped. "Ya think I wanted her ta feel any more messed up than she already was? I didn't even let the f—the guy scream on the way down. She didn't hear anything, an' she didn't see anythin' after I got him outta the room." He drummed his fingertips on his femur. "And don't use her name. 's weird."

Gaster's brow twitched. "That answers that. Thank you."

The boss monster felt like something had gone over his head, and he was about to demand more information when Gaster raised his finger again. "One moment. Do you hear that?"

Very faint choir music was coming through the open windows. "Yeah, I know," Sans said impatiently. "When they get sick of talkin', they do that instead. It all sucks."

"Not necessarily," murmured the doctor. "This particular hymn includes a solo, and with the King in attendance, they'll use their best performer. Listen."

Sans didn't get it till the hymn faded to almost nothing and it seemed as if the song was over. He was thinking of his next question when a single voice rose through the stillness and his head turned of its own volition. His feet made him get up and cram one shoulder out the window to follow the sound, heedless of the floor creaking underfoot.

Sure enough, it was a lone woman singing. The words were indistinct, but the sound sent prickles running over his skull and down his spine; her high notes were perfect, and while he could barely hear the lower tones, they were somehow even better. When the last note died away, he wanted to jump out and yell for whoever it was to keep going.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gaster was leaning on the other window, arms folded on the sill, head propped up on a spare hand. "I've missed hearing her in the mornings."

Sans hurriedly scratched the corners of his sockets, which somehow felt itchy. "Yeah, I guess s'not bad for a human," he said, trying to sound careless, though he couldn't help adding, "Kinda wasted in a church."

The doctor chuckled again, stepping away from the windowsill. "An increasingly common opinion, as you are doubtless aware by now."

Before Sans could ask what the hell that meant, Gaster glanced meaningfully at the boss monster's face and hand. Sans followed his gaze and saw why: his phalanges were stained bright red. "Wha..." Had he hurt himself? Sans grabbed the corner of his sleeve and swiped at his eyes, pulling it away to reveal more streaks of red. "What the crap is this?"

Gaster was very quiet. Then he reached into his robe and produced a folded white square. "Here," he said. Sans looked at it blankly. "It's a handkerchief, my boy," the doctor explained. "For drying tears."

The walk back to her rooms after the service was more irritating than usual. Frisk was thirsty, her calf was beginning to cramp from walking at the four guards' pace, and there was no one to talk to—just like old times, she thought with a twinge of dismay. She was reconsidering the merits of Sans' magic when they reached the double doors and she could all but run inside.

"Greetings, my lady," said Dr. Serif, raising his head from a series of drawings scattered across the worktable. There were tiny words and numbers scribbled all over, and even at a glance, the notations were beyond her. "If you'll allow us a moment, we'll clear the table. Breakfast should be here any moment."

"Thank you," she said. "I'll be out as soon as I extricate myself." Dr. Serif gave his odd half-smile, while Sans didn't so much as look up.

Well, at least changing into a looser dress made her feel better, as did kicking off her slippers and enjoying the strange walking-in-pits feeling of removing heeled shoes. Technically, she knew she should keep her veil on, but the prospect made her want to eat the damn thing. It wasn't as if the royal sorcerer was going to tell on her, and she almost never wore it around Sans anymore—not that he cared either way.

...Good Lord. When was the last time she'd felt this crabby? He must be rubbing off on me, she thought wryly.

Dr. Serif had poured a tall glass of water for her. Frisk came out, seized it from his hand, and drank the whole thing at once, setting it down with a bang and a sigh. "Thank you very much, Doctor."

"I had a suspicion you wouldn't be allowed time to care for yourself after the service," he remarked. Sans was still looking at a sheet of paper, at least until the doctor plucked it out of his hand and set it on a stack of notes. "I hear something in the hall. Sans?"

The skeleton grumbled, but got up to open the doors as Frisk sat by the doctor. "It looks as though you've made some progress. In your opinion, are these ideas practiceable?"

"I believe so, yes," he replied. "Based on what Sans has told me, we could possibly convert some of our existing infrastructure for this purpose. We will need more detailed specifications, but I thank you for allowing me to borrow Sans and attain a starting point."

"And thank you for giving him a break," she said, drawing on all of her training to keep from sounding petulant.

It must not have worked, because the doctor sighed. "That was a very natural misunderstanding on your part, my lady. He and I had words while you were getting dressed, and it distracted him. I doubt that he genuinely wanted you gone. In fact, he's been checking the clock every ten minutes since you left."

Frisk felt herself flushing. "I didn't—"

"Watch out," said Sans, and as they sat back, the dishes flew off the trolley in a burst of red magic, settling neatly onto the table. "There. What's this about me 'n the clock?"

"Nothing whatsoever," the doctor said genially. "Her Eminence is back, by the way."

Sans glowered at him, and glanced at Frisk for the first time since she'd come in. "Yep. You can go now, Doc." He made a shooing gesture, then came back to the table, pulled over a random dish, and began shoveling the food in.

Dr. Serif looked ready to hit the skeleton upside the head. "You were marvelous, as always, Your Eminence," he said loudly. "It's been a long time since you performed at matins, hasn't it?"

Frisk paused mid-stab, rearranging her tomato slices into an angrier pattern. "You can hear the chapel from all the way up here?" Stab. "Would you like something to eat, Doctor?"

"Nothing for me, thank you. On a clear day with little wind, yes, the sound carries quite far."

The priestess couldn't help grimacing. "That's good to know." She got up for another drink. "I had to chat with His Majesty and Gaius for almost twenty minutes after the service. My throat is killing me," she said over her shoulder.

When Frisk turned around, Dr. Serif was not looking at her, but at Sans, who had slowly raised his head. "Hold on a sec," the skeleton said. He shifted to face her. "That was you?"

His obvious disbelief made her want to dunk her head in the water pitcher, and perhaps also throw it at him. "I...yes? It was my turn to take that solo," she said to her plate, and crammed a wad of egg into her mouth.

"Your turn, indeed." Dr. Serif raised his eyebrows at Sans. "Her Eminence is aggressively modest about her vocal talent. You won't hear her again until the Feast of All Souls in three days, and she will do her best to get out of it."

Frisk swallowed, coughed, and said sharply, "Doctor, please." What was he doing?

"Forgive me, my lady." He rested his head on his hand, dark eyes studying her. "Speaking of All Souls Day, I've discussed the matter with Sans in his capacity as your personal guard, but I also wanted to give you a direct word of caution. We may need to employ unorthodox methods to ensure your safety, as you will have an unavoidably public role in the ceremony. Will you agree to comply with whatever measures we may deem necessary?"

That sounded ominous, but Frisk had already been trying not to think of the upcoming holy day, or the dead assassin, or how the prospect of being murdered was no longer an abstract concept. "I'll leave it to you and Sans, Doctor. Thank you for your concern."

"Of course, Your Eminence. Now, with your permission, I'd like to briefly review what you've taught Sans thus far. St. Brigid's is unparalleled in its instructional quality, so I have no doubt as to your knowledge or capability. However—"

Sans banged his empty plate onto a tray, startling them both. "Thanks, Doc. Go away."

"Sans!" the priestess snapped. "What's gotten into you? Do I have to send you to your room?"

Dr. Serif raised his hands good-naturedly and got to his feet. "All right, you can have her to yourself again. But I would like to consult with both of you at least once every day. May I come here in the morning, or is the afternoon more convenient?"

"Either is fine now that I'm excused from most of the services," Frisk answered. She pinned Sans with a glare. "Do you have a preference?"

The skeleton grumble-shrugged. "Splendid," said Dr. Serif. "I will see you tomorrow morning after breakfast, then." He bowed slightly. "My lady."

Frisk rose to walk him out of the room and into the hall. To her surprise, Dr. Serif gestured for the guard to move away, and when the man was out of earshot, the royal sorcerer lowered his voice. "Forgive my asking, but when you spoke with the King, what did he say about Sans?"

The priestess crossed her arms at the waist, and uncrossed them. "He asked how Sans was behaving towards me. I told him I'm not in any danger, but I don't know if he believes it."

To her shock, the doctor laughed. "That was not what he meant, Your Eminence," he said. "I fully agree that Sans bears you no ill will. However, surely you have noticed that he is...we'll say, potentially unstable? I checked the potions you've recently made, and didn't sense his magic in any of them. Have you allowed him to infuse anything yet?"

At this point, Frisk couldn't even try to keep her emotions off her face. If nothing else, she thought bitterly, it'd save time.

"I see. Those who witnessed your initial encounter with him said you stopped him in his full attack without violence. I hate to put responsibility for his actions on your shoulders," the doctor continued, "but as you know, Sans is much too powerful to be allowed to lose control of himself again. There can be no peace between humans and monsters if your emissary destroys any human life or property while he is here, or if he evens frightens anyone too much."

"No, of course not." Frisk shifted her bare feet on the marble floor. "He's being difficult today, but as I said – or at least, I thought – we've been working together well enough. He's an excellent student, and he has a sense of humor. I'm certainly not afraid of him anymore."

"Hmm." The doctor was plainly skeptical. "You don't feel threatened by having such a large monster in your living space? Does he seem apprehensive about your barriers?"

"As a matter of fact, I trust him enough now to have taken down several of them. When I created one so that we could talk privately with the King, he handled it fairly well."

The doctor's eyes grew very wide. "You kept him inside a barrier, and he tolerated it?"

"I...told him it was all right, and I made a bad pun. It seemed to work."

For some reason, Dr. Serif muttered something curse-like under his breath, then said, "I beg your pardon, my lady, but that is extraordinary, especially considering he's been under your care for only a week. Monsters are absolutely terrified of barriers, no matter their size or strength, and he knows firsthand that he cannot break yours. Whatever you are doing to foster trust between you, by all means, continue to do so." He turned as if to go, and paused. "One more thing, Your Eminence. Has he told you how he became a boss monster? There should be none but their King and Queen."

Frisk shook her head. "I tried to ask about it, and he got upset."

"Indeed. Thank you very much for your time. I will see you tomorrow." He strode off down the hall, allowing the guard to return to his post.

Any hope of Sans behaving better with the doctor gone was dashed the moment she came back in. "How come ya don't like singin'?" The skeleton sounded almost accusing. "If I could do that, I'd never shut up."

"That's none of your business." The priestess busied herself collecting dirty dishes and loading them up.

Another cloud of red lifted the trays out of her hands and dumped them back on the trolley with an unholy clatter. The doors opened, the trolley rolled itself out to the hall, and the doors creaked shut. "There, all done. So does it take a lotta magic or somethin'? I noticed ya don't make as much noise around here now that there's not as many barriers ta keep up."

Noise? "Drop it, Sans. I'm not going to ask you again," she warned, coming to sit across from him.

Pause. Frisk could actually see him think about it and then decide to keep right on going. "I didn't think you were the shy type. Yer willin' t'stand up in front of a zillion people and tell 'em not to be scared of the big bad skeleton, you got me right where ya want me, and ya talk to th' most important guys in the kingdom like it's nothin', so how're—"

That did it. She was so furious that she had to fight the urge to throw a barrier in his face. Instead, she inhaled, stuck her thumb and forefinger in her mouth, and gave an ear-splitting whistle.

And that was how Frisk learned an interesting fact about skeletons: they didn't have ears, but when faced with a completely unexpected and shrill sound – not just being shouted at – they still instinctively tried to cover the sides of their head, and at least one of them also yelled, "What the fuckin' crap was that for?!"

"First, watch your language, and second, it was for being a giant hypocrite! I haven't made you tell me how you're a boss monster, and when I want you to stop asking me a personal question, I expect the same courtesy!"

"Are you seriously comparin' my life bein' ruined with yer stupid 'Wahh, I'm a perfect fairy-tale princess, don't listen to me'?"

"This is not a contest! I know what I've experienced and how I feel about it, and it has nothing to do with you!" She slammed her palms on the table, standing up so that she didn't have to keep craning her neck to look at him. "We may be familiar with one another by now, but that does not give you the right to say whatever you want to me! Do you understand?"

Sans was still rubbing his skull. "Not like it matters," he muttered. "Yer the boss, right?"

"Oh, please! Haven't you ever had a friend before, Sans? A real one? Have you ever learned to treat someone with basic respect?"

"Not a damn human!" The skeleton also sprang to his feet, towering over her with eyes aflame. "Excuse me if I hurt your widdle feewings askin' a stupid-ass question!"

"You hurt my feelings because you showed me that you don't care about them! Don't you dare blame this on my being human, Sans! You're wrong, and you damn well know it!"

He snarled, lowering his head until his jagged teeth and the blinding orange-red of his eyes were less than a foot from hers. The effect was terrifying, but Frisk was too angry to remember the doctor's warning about letting the boss monster lose control; the only thing that mattered was standing her ground. "Don't you give me that look!" He wanted to win by being bigger, did he? Frisk put one foot on her chair, stepped onto the table, and, as Sans blinked in confusion, reached down to jab a finger into his sternum. "What are you going to do? Bully me until I'm as afraid of you as every other human you've met? Think of another plan, because that's not going to work!"

The ferocious light went out like a candle. For just a moment, Sans looked as though a tree had sprouted in front of him full-grown and then fallen on his head. He stepped back, mumbled, "'Kay," and went into the bedroom, shutting the door.

Frisk stood in the middle of the table, her pulse racing, not sure whether to cry or step down and then cry. She swallowed several times, but it didn't help.

Damn him. The bedroom was an upset woman's native habitat, and he had stolen it. There was the couch, but it wasn't the same. Besides, even if she understood on a grown-up level that the assassin was gone, she was still afraid to open the office door without Sans there.

At a loss, Frisk sat on the edge of the table, letting her feet dangle as she surveyed her domain. The room had gotten even messier in the past week. If Sans had the power to put dishes away instantaneously, he'd have enough to put all these books and papers away for her, too. Maybe she could make him organize her proposals while he was at it.

Proposals. For the thousandth time, Frisk wondered if it was time to stop ignoring them and start making a list of men she might actually consider accepting. She hadn't told Sans how few positions in the Church were suitable for her current rank, or that the likeliest ones were all lifetime commitments, a fate more lonely and boring than death. She'd been so scared but so excited to become High Priestess, where she'd do so much good and be known and loved by so many people; no one had reminded her that being up on a pedestal meant being utterly alone, not to mention exposed to anyone below who wanted to push her off.

Maybe that was why she had imagined her resident boss monster being smitten with her, why she'd been so hurt by him trying to escape, and why she felt so awful now. Frisk knew he had no social skills whatsoever, and he'd probably thought he was complimenting her in some backhanded, childish fashion, but leave it to Sans to turn being "perfect" into an insult.

No, the choice between the Church and marriage wasn't much of a choice at all. She was very tired of her pedestal, and she wasn't going to trade it for one so high that she couldn't come down again. If she chose the right husband, she could do as much or more for people in need than she already was, and she wouldn't be doing it alone. Even if she and her future spouse were well-to-do and had busy schedules, she'd have company in the evenings, not to mention nights and mornings in bed, which there was no shame in looking forward to! Then there'd be children, a family of her own...

Frisk sighed, massaging her neck and turning it toward the window, then the door. For the briefest and most frustrated of moments, she contemplated sending the skeleton back to the Underground now, perhaps tomorrow morning. He'd learned enough and given the royal sorcerer enough information; surely she could get rid of him in good conscience, and he wouldn't have the chance to hurt her ag—

The child from her nightmares was sitting inches away from her on the edge of the table. It was smiling, eyes shining red, kitchen knife in hand and all its little teeth bared.

Every hair on Frisk's body stood straight up, and her breath came quick and shallow. She tried to push herself off the table, to yell at it to go away, but her muscles were locked in place. All she could do was watch as the child lifted the knife, pointing it straight at the bedroom door, eyes never leaving hers. The child slowly lowered the knife, turned the blade around in its hands, and held the handle out to her.

Frisk's hand twitched. A tiny part of her knew that if she tried, if she really wanted to, she could move enough to grab the knife. But...why?

Something bubbled up in the back of her mind, whispering that even a boss monster was no match for a determined human. She knew exactly what to do: shuffle into the room with her head down and her hands behind her back, creep in close to tell Sans how sorry she was, and bring him down in one swift crimson slash. It'd be so easy!

The child was still smiling, still holding out the knife. Frisk moved her hand, raising it slowly, and the child's grin somehow widened.

Frisk leaned forward. She reached up, and with every shred of determination she possessed, she turned her hand toward herself, jammed her fingers in her mouth, and whistled as hard as she could. The child only had time for one furious glare before it vanished.

The bedroom door banged open. "What the hell d'ya want now?" demanded the skeleton, stepping into the workroom. "I'm not a damn dog! If ya need something, just...oh, shit—" Sans dropped to one knee next to where she'd crumpled onto the floor, shaking, her hand pressed to her mouth. "Frisk! Hey!" He reached for her shoulder, thought better of it, and looked around, as if for help. "Come on, Frisk! Look, I'm sorry, a'right? I know, I shoulda listened to you! I'll shut up next time ya tell me, I swear! Just knock it off!"

Frisk shook her head, tried to speak, and couldn't suppress a sob. Sans considered her from a couple different angles, said, "Incoming," then carefully scooped her up and walked into the bedroom, setting her down on the edge of the bed and sitting on the floor. "I'm sorry," he said again, wincing as she turned her back to him and curled up with her face buried in the pillow. "'m sorry, okay? You were right. I wasn't thinkin' of how ya felt, just bein' a nosy prick. I really don't want ya to be scared of me. Ya don't hafta tell me anythin' if you don't want, I just..."

Something in his tone made her wipe one eye and raise her head far enough to look at him. He was staring at the bedpost. "'s not an excuse for how I acted, but..." Sans shrugged helplessly. "I really, really wish you liked ta sing."

Silence. Then, to his abject horror, Frisk clutched the pillow and began wailing incoherently into it, sobbing in earnest.

"Aw, fuck! I mean—Frisk—" The skeleton opened his mouth and shut it several times. He stood up, paced out of the room and back again, and sat down as the noise continued. "What'd I do now?!"

No answer. Sans tried to think of something, anything to make her stop. "Uh...can I get ya anything?" he asked lamely.

She quieted long enough to shake her head and kept right on crying. Sans scratched the back of his skull, glancing at the windows – still too small to jump out – and finally, against his better judgment, sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey. Ya know that explosion that killed all those people? Asriel, Chara, a bunch of humans, couple'a monsters?"

That got her attention. Frisk sat up, scrubbing her eyes on her sleeve. "What?" A protracted sniffle. "What about it?"

"That day, me 'n Papyrus came to the gala with Kris, and we were way at the back. For some reason, Kris took off into the crowd, an' I was smaller than Pap, so I went after the little bugger." Sans looked at his massive hand. "Next thing I knew, there was this big damn flash of light and I got knocked down. I don't know what happened after that—it hurt like hell, but I was thinkin' of Pap and wondering where Kris was, and then I woke up in the lab."

Frisk sniffled, but she was listening. Sans clicked his phalanges on the bedpost. "The best explanation Alphys and I came up with was that I was determined ta stay alive, but a monster's body can't handle too much determination. I mean, if we feel a lot of it, we literally melt like butter. Al's not sure if I held together because I absorbed little bits of human SOUL as they died, or if I somehow converted some of the ambient magic, or what. Nothin' really makes sense. It sure didn't happen to anyone else who was there. But me? I was on the way to becomin' my bee-yootiful new self." He gestured grandly, back still to her. "The end."

The priestess scooted closer, pillow tucked under one arm. "You said it ruined your life?"

"Hell yes, it did. I got too big to fit in my own damn house! I have to take a shortcut into the living room because I can't fit through the friggin' door!" Sans kicked at nothing. "The other monsters are scared of me 'cause I keep losin' my temper 'n I look scary as hell, Asgore treats me like I'm tryin' to take Toriel from 'im when all I wanna do is tell jokes with someone...oh, and ya know what?" He shifted around to nearly face her. "Remember what I said about monsters havin' kids with magic, and how it's always a pain in the butt?" She nodded, wiping her eyes again. "Well, lucky me, I'm too strong t'even try it. If I was a lady boss monster, I could handle someone else's magic and make a little Sans, no problem, but no. If I tried givin' anyone enough to get the job done, there's no guarantee I wouldn't overdo it and kill 'er." Shrug. "Boss monsters are supposed t'have kids with each other so they can transfer their life force and age naturally as the kid gets older. I'm just gonna live forever as a damn freak."

"You're not a freak. You're Sans." Frisk gave an unlovely snrk. "Thank you for telling me this, but you know you didn't have to."

"Yeah, I know." The skeleton turned around the rest of the way, crossing his legs on the bed. "I'm not tryin' to trade it for your pers'nal business, either."

She smiled a little, and his SOUL lifted a little higher. "My story's not nearly that interesting. My mother said something very cruel the first time I sang for her as a child, and no matter how many people since then have told me how wonderful I sound, there's no getting rid of that feeling that they're all wrong. That's all."

"Yikes. I wouldn't say it's 'all,' not if you were a kid an' you were trusting your own damn mom to not be an asshole. That crap really hurts. I shouldn'a said it was stupid."

"Agreed, but I accept your apology." Frisk sighed, tucking the pillow under her chin to rest her head on it. "I've been feeling sorry for myself because being High Priestess is so isolating, but at least I can get out of it. Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Nope! I can't get hitched and stop bein' a boss monster. We've tried a bunch of different things, and it's irreversible. We can't exactly replicate the accident to make me a lady friend, either."

"No..." The priestess yawned. "No, I expect not. I'm sorry."

"Not yet fault. Not anyone's, so far as we know."

Frisk curled up on her side with a sigh, facing him this time, cuddling the pillow. "I'm glad we had this talk, but I suppose we should get to work soon."

Sans had never wanted to be a pillow so badly. "Isn't it Sunday? Why not take the day off? I vote for a nap and then a game of chess or something."

"Mm." The priestess frowned at a rip in the silken bedsheet, probably caused from his toe catching it. "You know how to play chess?"

"Nope. You can teach me."

Frisk chuckled. "It's a deal." She couldn't help yawning again. "All right, you win. Escort me to my office, please, and I'll get to work on that nap. It's been about a year since I had one."

The boss monster paused, and said, "I feel bad takin' this thing up when yer crashin' on the couch like a houseguest. You take it. There's a lotta floor space fer me out there."

The priestess looked over the huge expanse of mattress, remembering the child and the knife, wondering when she'd feel safe again. On impulse, she hopped over the foot of the bed, landing in front of a cedar chest under the windows and opening it to rummage through the blankets. "I'm fine," Sans informed her. "It takes bein' out in the snow for a while 'fore I get cold."

"It's not for you," Frisk said cheerfully. "Come with me for a moment."

Bemused, the boss monster followed her to the office and the couch. At her instruction, he held out his arms for her to fill up with cushions. Then it was back to the bedroom, where she made him place the cushions on the side of the bed away from the door, holding them up so she could throw a large quilt over them. "There we are! You, sir, are sleeping on the bed. I am sleeping in a pillow fort. There's no impropriety whatsoever."

Sans had so many objections that they all tried to get out his mouth at once. By the time he could say, "I don' think that'd hold up in court," Frisk had already disappeared into her fort.

The mattress was not only wide, but so plush that he could have jumped on the bed without disturbing her arrangement. The skeleton tapped the light off, then lay down in his usual spot near the middle of the bed. He couldn't stretch his arm on that side now, but otherwise, there was still plenty of room. When she sniffled again – in a residual kind of way – Sans remembered the handkerchief, and wished he hadn't used so much of it. It was her fault, having that kind of voice out of nowhere.

Silence settled over them, but it was a comfortable one. Sans closed his eyes, tried to think of something else to say, and decided not to bother: judging by her breathing, Frisk was already asleep.

#songfell #it was actually a viral pneumonia

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cheriesjubiles · 3 years

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please don’t look under the read more i’m just testing

Can you imagine a world where we're all represented by a font? Huh, I wonder which one I would be? sees Arial Too straight. No! Not in that way! Just, straight, as in unexciting. sees Badaboom Too.. uh... Deadpool.... BROADWAY! Now that's the one! Now THAT'S the one! Hello Internet, welcome to GAME THEORY, where instead of putting a joke here I want to ask you a question. If your personality were represented by a font, what font would you be? Take a moment and put your font in the comments. I'm really curious to see what everyone has to say. Maybe find a couple new cool fonts to use. I'm getting bored with ol' Calibri 11. And with that out of the way, it's time to talk UNDERTALE. Now I don't think I've ever gotten this many requests to cover a game. Well, except for FNAF. And I suppose FNAF 2. OH and there was FNAF 3. Wait a minute, should I be worried about something here? Anyway, across the board on YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter, you all have wanted Undertale. And honestly, I'm glad you brought it to my attention. True loyal theorists will know that Earthbound is my favorite game of all time. So a self aware RPG in a similar style, WHOA MAN, it's like a gift from the indie gaming heavens. Undertale is a game where every character, from goat mom to grind fodder has a sympathetic design and a unique personality, motivations, goals, fears. Whether you're saving or slaughtering them, the game makes you feel something every time you enter an encounter. But to me, one character stood out amongst all the rest. SANS. A skeleton named after the font, Comic Sans, hence all the font references at the beginning of the episode. If you haven't played Undertale I'm sure that was a really weird opening. ANYWAYS, Sans is, well, there's a lot of mystery around this guy. And before we get into it, let me put up a very special spoiler warning: UNDERTALE is a game best experienced blind. So if you haven't played it, pause the video and come back after you've finished. I PROMISE YOU, I PROMISE you won't regret it. Alright, so everyone out of the pool and ready for the adult swim? Good. Because I'm feeling pretty determined to get to the bottom of Sans' mystery. So just to recap for those of you who haven't played the game and ignored the SPOILER WARNING, or just need a refresher, Sans is one of the two skeletal brothers who appears in the game. His partner is Papyrus, a loud, goofy trap lover also named after a font. But in the world of Undertale their origins are a big question mark. All you really know is what's given to us by a shopkeeper in Snowdin, who explains that Sans and Papyrus, quote, “just showed up one day and asserted themselves.” Weird, right? What's more is that, well, Papyrus is just kinda the goofy sidekick. Sans is much more complex. He likes fart jokes, but he's also incredibly powerful and deadly serious. Not only is his boss battle the hardest in the game, he's one of the only characters who has knowledge and power over space and time. He can take shortcuts around the world through ridiculous routes. Even is walking through walls. He also acknowledges that he's only one of infinite versions of himself, making self-aware commentary of the various timelines that you've played through in the game. He can even count the number of times he's killed you. He acts like an arbiter of this world, passing out judgements on the player's actions in the game, even explaining the secrets of EXP and LOVE, or EXECUTION POINTS and LEVELS OF VIOLENCE, just to clarify. In short, he just doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the world of monsters. But then, what, or who, is he? Well, the idea that he doesn't belong in underworld seems to be correct. The evidence seems to point the fact that he WAS, in fact, formerly a surface dweller. In the true pacifist ending of the game, as the group looks out onto the horizon, Papyrus asks Sans about the giant ball in the sky. Sans says, quote, “we call that the sun.”

This is important because A, the usage of the word WE, and knowledge of the sun shows that Sans has a kinship or knowledge with other humans, and B, that despite he and Papyrus both being skeletons, or, supposedly, brothers, and apparently appeared in underworld at the same time, they clearly-- uuuGGHH take two CLEARLY have two very different histories. Why would Papyrus not know the name of the sun but Sans would? We get further clues to Sans' origins as we hear him say multiple times he wants to "go home" or "go back." He says as much during his dinner date scene at the Mettaton hotel. He notices that the player wants to go home and says, quote, "i know the feeling." He then continues, "maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." As though he ended up in the underworld by accident. AND in a genocide run during his boss fight he says, quote, "look, i gave up trying to go back a long time ago." End quote. And before you say he means going back to the surface world, that's clearly not the full story. His very next line of dialogue is, "and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore either." Key word here, is EITHER. Yes, he seems to hail from the surface and wants to go back, but based on his dialogue he no longer considers it his home. It's as though the surface world he once knew is gone, as though he's from a different time. It's pretty intriguing. So we're left with a being that appeared out of nowhere, presumably from being from the human surface, but from a different time period, who seemingly has the power to teleport. That's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. But here's where things get REALLY interesting. Sans has a hidden workshop that takes a fair amount of searching to find. You could say it takes a lot of DETERMINATION to unlock. Anyways, obligatory determination references aside, as you start to look for this easter egg Sans gives you a key to his room and says "it's time you learn the truth." After some searching you find the workshop which contains items that leave even more questions. A photo album featuring Sans and a bunch of smiling people you don't recognize, a badge, blueprints with illegible handwriting, and a broken machine hidden behind a curtain. In the latest update, one more detail was added. A handdrawn picture of 3 smiling faces with the words “don't forget.” so what does it all mean? Well a lot of Undertale theorists have been linking these details to a feature to a character named W.D Gaster. A ghostly character who never truly appears in the game. Honestly, covering him is a theory all unto itself, and probably one best saved for another day. Even still, none of the Gaster theories I've seen have been able to explain all the details. In particular, the photo album, and the badge. And that's what kept nagging me as I researched Undertale. A badge? That one in particular really stuck out to me. Why would such an oddly specific item to be hidden in the huge easter egg of a room? Something that supposedly reveals the truth about Sans? Badges just aren't important in Undertale. Then it hit me. What if this badge isn't from Undertale? What if this badge is from a completely different game? And was, in fact, the most important badge in the history of gaming? The Franklin badge. Now, for those of you wondering what I'm talking about, the Franklin badge is a pivotal item from the Mother series. You know, the one with Earthbound. Or, maybe you don't know that one either. Uh, you know, the one with Ness from Super Smash Bros? Yeah well, Ness is from Earthbound, and Earthbound is the second part in this larger Mother trilogy. Alright? Good. Anyway, the Franklin badge is a really important part of that series. It gets its start in the very first game and carries through the whole trilogy, saving your life multiple times in the process. It's SO important that nintendo has made it a staple item in the Smash Brothers series. So I asked myself; what if the badge in Sans' drawer was THAT EXACT badge?

Well first off, it made Undertale connected to my favorite game, thereby making it even COOLER, but that's still a pretty big logical leap. I needed more. Let me tell you, as I started looking, more and more pieces started to fit into place. At the end of Earthbound you're given a photo album, covering your adventures throughout the game. To me it's one of the best, most satisfying endings in gaming to look back on your journey in picture form. And what does Sans happen to have in his other drawer? A photo album with pictures of Sans with people you don't recognize. Of course you don't know them, they're not characters present in Undertale. And note the word that's used here, PEOPLE you don't recognize. Not underworld monsters. So that's 2 items oddly linked to the Mother series. But then, how do the blueprints and broken machine fit in? Well, in the final stretch of Earthbound, Ness and his 3 friends must travel to the past in order to have their final battle against the evil alien Giygas. To do that, Dr. Andonuts (remember him, by the way, he's going to be important later) with the help of the science geniuses Apple Kid and Mr. Saturn, create what's known as the Phase Distorter, a machine that allows people to travel through time and space. Except, it comes with a cost. It can't transport organic material. As a result, the young heroes must put their souls into robotic bodies to use the machine, and thus, save the world. I played this game back in 1997 and I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first saw this scene, I cried. It's DEVASTATING. Doctor Andonuts says goodbye to his son, these characters you've grown to love and care about are suddenly promising to sacrifice their lives. For all they know, there is no possibility of them being able to come back home. It's this incredibly dark departure in the final moments of what was otherwise a fun, quirky, and colorful RPG. So what does all of this have to do with Undertale? A LOT, actually. But the first thing you need to know is that Mr. Saturns are known for their, let's say, unique linguistic style. That would explain the illegible handwriting on the blueprints. And the machine? I think a broken Phase Distorter is behind that curtain. Now that may seem like a stretch, but it actually explains a lot. If Sans wound up in Undertale via Phase Distorter, it could provide a reason for why he's a skeleton. He used the machine as organic matter and suffered the consequences. Not killing him, but turning at least a part of him into a pile of bones. That could also explain why Sans has given up hope for going home. Remember the Phase Distorter is a time machine. By being in underworld, he's not only in a different place, but based on how he talks, he's also in a different time, with no hope of travelling back to the time he came from. But the crossovers between Earthbound and Undertale continue. When you speak to Apple Kid at the end of Earthbound, he's blown away by the astronomical odds of Ness overcoming Giygas, saying that he's going to continue studying the trait called courage, in order to harness its power. Seems awfully similar to the same experiments happening in Undertale around the trait of determination, no? Especially since so much has shown that Sans was a key player in those experiments. But I'm sure you also want physical evidence right? Well don't worry, because I have plenty. During one of the endings of Undertale, we see Undyne and Alphys hanging out on the beach on the surface world. A beach that bears a lot of similarities to the tropical resort location named Summers that you play through in Earthbound. In fact, the geographic layout of the surface bears some striking similarities to the world of Mother. When Undertale's crew of monsters are finally able to reach the surface and look out over the earth, they're met with a beautiful sunset falling across the landscape of a tall mountain, a large city, and a sandy area adjacent to water. Notice the sun's reflection to indicate water, and a lack of trees in this middle section here, hence the sand.

Well, in Earthbound you have the big city of Fourside, complete with skyscrapers, which you reach via a desert that just so happens to be adjacent to some water, and to the east, the mountain in Onett where a meteorite lands on Earth. I always called it Aw-nett. But if that's not clear enough for you, Mother 1, Earthbound Zero, Earthbound Beginnings, whatever you want to call it, it's had a lot of names, had a map laying out the same geographic landscape. A tall mountain to the east of a large city, separated by a desert, with all of it up against a coast. I don't know about you, but to me it seems like there's a definite connection between the world of Eagleland (Eagleland? Again, unclear how its pronounced.) between the world of Eagleland and the surface world of Undertale. But the strongest physical connection, one that definitely unites these two franchises, comes from none other than Papyrus himself. He wears a custom-made costume known as his “battle body”. But if you look really closely at the design on the armor, you'll notice some markings on the chest. Is it just a throwaway detail? Ohoh NO, that right there is an exact match to the ones that appear on the chests of Starmen, the most iconic enemy of Earthbound. And look at the way he stands! I always thought it was awkward until i saw the two characters side by side. Papyrus’ curved arm and hand is a DIRECT match to the curved arms of the Starmen in the Mother series! In short, we have some incredibly strong proof that the Earthbound universe is somehow connected to the Undertale world, which brings us back to our initial question, WHO IS SANS? Well, what if we took it one final step and said that Sans happened to be Ness from Earthbound? Sent through the Phase Distorter during a test of courage, carrying the Franklin badge and his photo album and his trusty backpack. Not only do all the items in the workshop suddenly fit, but so does Sans’ behavior. Remember, Sans can seemingly teleport. And Ness just happens to have the PSI ability to teleport. Now look the way Sans always stands, hands in his pockets, directly facing the camera. It's a very similar stance to how Ness is depicted standing in most marketing for the game. It even explains why Sans bleeds when you finally hit him. He is, or at least, WAS, a human. Oh and finally, Sans is only one letter removed from being an anagram of Ness. That's just a fun one. I thought it was worth mentioning. But if there was any doubt, we have to look no further than the creator's previous work. Toby Fox, the man behind Undertale, had previously worked on a Halloween hack for Earthbound. But this just wasn't a simple reskin. The Halloween hack tells the tale of Dr. Andonuts after the events of Earthbound. Remember, I pointed him out? He's the one who made the Phase Distorter. In Toby Fox’s version of the story, we see that after Giygas' defeat, the souls of the kids never return home. Instead, by going to the past to defeat Giygas, they create a new timeline that they're stuck in. As a result, Jeff never reunites with his father Dr. Andonuts. And Dr. Andonuts goes crazy with guilt, because HE’S the one responsible for creating the time machine, and extracting the souls of his son and his son's friends to send them back to what he assumes was their death. In his mind, he's killed 4 kids. And in Toby Fox's game, he's lost his mind trying to deal with that guilt. I'm telling you, this hack is DARK. that said, you see a lot of Undertale in this game. The appearance of Amalgamates, the first use of the awesome song Megalovania, the prototypes for Flowey? And the theme of having the choice to be nonviolent in an RPG, SPARING your enemies. But then why's all this matter to the theory? Well, remember, in Toby Fox's version of the story, the kids don't come back. They're stuck in the past, with no hopes of getting home. Just like Sans. And, in the hack, one character is oddly missing, with no explanation as to why. NESS. Presumably in this timeline his soul is in a different place than his 3 friends.

In short, Undertale is a continuation of Toby’s version of Earthbound, with Ness never being able to get home, adopting the name Sans, and accompanied by Papyrus, a former Starman, an alien force able to speak English and still equipped with his armor, and signature posture, but without any knowledge of earthly things... like the Sun. The pieces all just seem to fit. Now all we need is an appearance from Pokey/Porky and we’ve got ourselves a true sequel. But hey, that's just a theory. A GAME THEORY! THANKS FOR WATCHING!

#it’s the sans is ness game theory video copypasta

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hoodie-lover · 4 years

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My Multiverse Ask Event! #3

“UT sans why do you refuse to fight the human until they are level 19 in genocide route?”

“Because it is the only time it matters. Any other time I don’t have to worry about the world ending. If you were trapped in a world where nothing, almost nothing, you do matters, why do something that doesn’t matter? And I must say, the look on their face when I launched my first attack, and their faces afterwards, were worth it.” Sans said, smiling at the memory of their shocked face.

“Flowey if the human genocides you are aware they won't hesitate to kill you right? ps why not just pop up from the ground in the room with the human souls and take them?”

“I know. But I like watching everyone die, it’s funny as they try to stop an unstoppable threat, how they sacrifice themselves and whatnot. And if the human can beat Sans, Undyne, and slaughter almost every monster of all, why would the souls be able to do anything? Sure I could flee, but I am the Prince of the Underground, I’m going down with my ship.” Flowey said, his face appearing to be a mix of Asriel and his own before morphing back as he chuckled a sinister giggle.

“Frisk so your saying that your next reset will be a genocide if so is it because your possesses by chara or because your a bad person. ps if your possesed by chara during genocide why kill flowey knowing he is asriel? pps do you even make it to the surface after genocide?” “Chara is only there to make me remember my crimes, kill Asgore, and Flowey. And I’m not really a bad person per say, I’m just a kid having fun! And why would I return to the surface? The Underground is more fun. Asriel is dead, Flowey is someone new, and Flowey is pathetic.” Frisk said, smiling. “To all skeletons when you eat food where does it go? do you even have a stomach?” “We only eat magic-based foods so it is instantly absorbed. It just disperses and helps heal and stuff.” Papyrus said, making hand gestures to help explain it. “Error, when are you guys going to start looking for who Error once was? We can help! We know multiple versions of Error and many versions of his backstory to draw reference from. I'd start with G̵͈͇̙͖̰͇̠̥̱͍̅̿͌̀̋̄͛̇̽̒̄̿̄̑̈́̾͊̔̉̄͒̕ȩ̸̛̠̗͓̗̃̈́̏́͆̓̃̅̎͊̾̃̐͐̍̍͘͜n̸̢̢̛̲̬͎̱̘͍͎̗̯̘̭͉̦̓͗̓̓͂̀̈́̀͜͠͝͝ơ̵̢̗̼̳̥̞̱̺̭̠̅̐̐̾̽͋̋͐́̍͊̈́̈́͘͠. Trust me.” “What? We didn’t hear what you said.” Error stated, sipping some hot chocolate. Mini marshmallows danced on the surface. “Well, since you apparently can’t say who to start with, I guess we have no where to start from.” “How about we look at the timelines? Talk to the voices and see how long Error was there and what timelines had separated before and after then.” Horror said and Nightmare shrugged. “Sure.” In the Creator Realm, Maxie, Zack, Beatrice, Jana, and Jack were listening. “We all know it’s Geno right?” Maxie said and they nodded. “How about we drag this out? Make them suffer!” Jack said, and for once, Zack agreed. “It would be funny, just as long as they learn the truth eventually.” Zack said, earning a sadistic grin from Maxie. “Yay! I wonder if we can get some help in leading them astray?” Maxie said, calling over to the group asking the questions. “Wanna help us drag this out?” She asked. “UT sans when are you going to tell papyrus about resets?” “I already know. Though I have asked Sans the same question many many times.” Papyrus said, giving Sans a dirty look. Sans had come back from his sentry station for lunch. “You’d forget! Just because you know doesn’t mean you’ll remember. I’d figured out it was possible while looking through scans and other old work I look through every day. Plus knowledge of the multiverse helps.” Sans said, “I actually did tell you once, but it crushed your spirit. I didn’t want you to lose what made you, you. and I had a support group so I wasn’t handling it alone like I used to.” Sans said, Papyrus sighed in response. “UT sans how do you manage to put 29 hot dogs on a person's head and why not 30 hot dogs?” “Why not 28?” Sans said, and Papyrus groaned. “Ok ok I think we have embarrassed the boys enough, for now.... Dream any stories from your brothers past he would rather his boys not know about?” “YES!” Dream cried out and Nightmare tried to silence his brother, but he was tackled, bound, and gagged on the ground before he could make a sound. Everyone listened to Dream intently. “Nightmare, in the early days of our village’s founding, had a girlfriend.” Dream said, Nightmare thrashed on the ground as everyone gasped “Who?” Cross asked, eyes wide as he heard Chara snicker and make faces at Nightmare. “I don’t remember her, we didn’t really talk all that much, but what I do know is that,” Dream donned the smuggest and most evil smirk as he gave his brother a wicked glance, a twisted smile on his face. “Nightmare, lost his virginity to her.” Dream said and everyone went nuts. “Did he top?” Horror asked, and Killer laughed. “Was she a virgin too?” Dust cried out, looking at his struggling father. “She wasn’t, and I think he bottomed based on what he told me.” Dream said, genuinely puzzled. “So, how old were you?” Error asked, Dream thought about it. “We didn’t know at the time, as far as we’re aware, right now, we’re about 1200 years old, and the village was around for about 1,000 years, but she was about a young adult, maybe 20 or so.” Dream said, looking at his brother for confirmation. Tears were streaming down Nightmare’s face and Dream took pity on his sibling. “There, there, I only have one more to tell.” Dream said, picking up Nightmare and placing him on his lap as he cuddled him. “What’s the story?” Fresh asked, he was mostly silent but he was curious. “Nightmare’s first time drunk.” Dream said, and Nightmare froze as he tried to run away. “Nope.” Dream said, keeping Nightmare in place easily. “One day, I was given a present by someone, I don’t remember who they were. Nightmare girlfriend, Lily was her name, had long passed away by this point. They broke up but remained friends. It was a bottle of whisky, hardcore whisky.” Dream said, “Like Blue’s signature drink spiker.” Dream said and Blue gasped. “I do not spike drinks!” Blue said, huffing. “Sure.” Dream said, rolling his eyes as he continued. “Anyway, I wanted to share the gift with Nightmare, as I always did. I even broke apart, remade and regifted presents I recieved to Nightmare to make him feel better. So we drank the entire thing, Nightmare having most of it.” Dream said, clearly embarrassed. “If we had known, that night would have ended differently.” Dream told them. “Nightmare ended up singing a random song at the top of his lungs at the top of the tree. I was about to pass out most of the time. We never got drunk again, the hangover was bad.” “Ok back to embarrassing the boys, on a scale of 1 to 10 how cute is Error? this is for anyone that wants to weigh in on the Error cuteness scale. Also does he have glasses in this multi-verse and do they up his cuteness? Sorry Error you are my favorite!” “10.” Everyone said they had by this point released Nightmare. “I do have glasses, Nightmare gave them to me soon after they learned how bad my eyesight was, but I began to wear contacts when I started fighting with them.” Error said. “They were bigger and red versions of Harry Potter’s glasses, and they increase his cuteness to a solid twenty-six out of ten.” Cross said, smiling as Error blushed. “Oh I saw someone else mention how we know of many different Errors. I gotta say most of the Errors I have seen have been tortured horribly and are left in a pretty bad state. Are you sure you want to know where you came from? You can't ever go back to what you were before, and I don't want you to get hurt Error.” “I know. But, I want to know my story, I know I can’t go back, I know I have a Papyrus, Toriel, Alphys, Undyne, and all. But I never thought about it, and with the revelation that I’m an alternate timeline, I can dive a bit deeper. I know these people, and Killer, Horror, and Dust can help me. They know what it’s like.” Error said, “And I’m not asking to know about what you have put other me’s through, I can infer what you’ve done to them.” Error said, glaring. “Frisk, what do you think about the humans from other AU?s” “AUs? Do you mean, alternate universes? I was involved with many fandoms, so I know the term. Papyrus broke script last time, and Sans was acting odd a few years ago. Interesting. I must thank you, if I’m right, then I might be able to see my own handiwork again.” Frisk said. “Frisk, have you encountered Gaster yet? ps do you even know who Gaster is?” “I know who he is. Though he always disappears before I can say a word to him.” “Stretch, my tall orange jerk. How did you take the news that not only did Ink lie when he said the dark sanses took blue, but Ink was actually the one to take him and do some pretty bad things to our sweet little blueberry? What about when Ink had Dream hurt blue to keep him crashing? And how are taking Blue being more like Error now?” “I was mad, I wanted to kill him with my own hands. I let myself be fooled, and I can’t even blame myself half the time! I was just so powerless. I’m glad he’s dead.” Stretch said, grumbling as he blew out a puff of smoke. “I was ready to dust Dream right then and there, but Blue held me back. And the yellow squirt’s apology was overwhelming. I could barely go a day without a text or in-person apology, and when he finally earned my lack of distrust, we haven’t talked since aside from the occasional ‘hello’. And Blue had it worse.” “It took awhile for me to get used to Blue’s glitching. Sometimes he crashed and rebooted, those were scary and they still are. Error helped Blue and I adjust, helping us figure out Blue’s glitching triggers. Stress being a big one. I’m grateful for his help, though I may not like him.” Stretch said, lighting another cigarette. “And now the most important question ever asked... Who wants to join the Error protection squad? I'll make badges!” “ME!” Blue cried out, eyes glowing big and blue as he smiled. “Don’t forget about us!” Cross said and Error sighed as he buried himself in his outfit as everyone announced how they would join. “It’s ok Error. I’d defend you, but I don’t need a badge.” Dream said and Error smiled, he was glad his family would defend him. He felt safe, and he felt loved. “What is the worst timeline or version of this universe any of you have ever experienced? I mean, this is a multiverse. What are the darkest reaches of it?” “Aside from our own personal trauma, I think it was one of those torture AUs.” Nightmare said, and Cross snapped his fingers, realizing what Nightmare meant. “Yeah, where the people exist only to be beaten and broken, no hope, no dreams, no reason and will to live. There’s also HorrorLustFell.” Cross said and everyone shuddered. “‘Nough said.” Dust announced and everyone nodded. “Frisk you know a genocide is technically impossible because you never kill annoying dog ps what do you think of annoying dog?” “The annoying dog doesn’t count, and I never get to Alphys or the people she evacuated either. And the dog is cute, I want to cuddle them.” Frisk said, their face looking like an innocent child’s instead of a mass murderer.

Formatting is off because of glitching in my word processor. I have it fixed.

#undertale #fanfic #my multiverse #ask event #Dark Sanses #nightmare sans #dustsans #horror Sans #killer sans #cross sans #fresh sans #error sans #dream sans #underswap sans #underswap papyrus

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sleepyfan-blog · 4 years

Text

Reaperdream Soumate AU ficlets

Fandom: UTMV

This was written for the UT Rarepair discord server Secret Santa Event, for @izzy-the-bizzy

Characters: Dream, Reapertale Sans, Aftertale Sans, Ink Sans, Swap Sans, Underfell Sans, Reapertale Papyrus, Reapertale Gaster, Swapfell Sans, Fellswap Sans

Warnings: major character death

Word count: 7,451

tagslist: @anxiety-is-married-to-depression @angelofthehalfmoon @trainwreck-of-skeletons @hisame-amadashi @therandomskelekey

Dream stared at the red string that had been wound around their finger from the moment that they had woken up from that awful stone spell. They knew what it was, of course. It meant that they had a soulmate somewhere in the wide multiverse. They had stumbled and fled through a portal that they had created by instinct, unsure as to just where they would end up, but fleeing the eldritch thing that Nightmare had become. Unsure as to whether or not they wanted to meet their soulmate or not, they fled from world to world, trying to gain strength and generally evade Nightmare as best as they could.

Which was how they had ended up in the situation they are in now, having been drawn to an AU that Ink had warned them to avoid. Reapertale. But they had felt... Drawn here. They were wearing their cape so that their face was hooded and hidden as they wandered throughout the world, finding it to be a mix of monster and humans. There were whispers of gods and goddesses who ruled them all, beings of incredible, indescribable power. They hadn't realized that their Red String of Fate had grown taught until they very nearly ran into their soulmate, who had a scythe raised as a human pleaded weakly for mercy.

Dream called out at the scene before them, confused "Uhm... What's going on here?" The human's injuries were fatal - and their chest had stilled. Their soul was floating freely from their chest, and still pleading for mercy.

"The name's Sans, god of Death. If you try to interfere, I may just have to kill you too." The hooded figure called out, slashing the human's soul in half and turning to face them, a red string taught between the two of them. "I trust that you..." The Sans stopped talking, staring at the taught red string that connected the two of them. "So... I guess we're soulmates, huh?" The Sans muttered, leaning on his scythe and staring at Dream.

Shock and confusion flooded Dream, and they wished that they could take back the "What the hell is that even supposed to mean?" At least they weren't bound to a mortal... They weren't sure what to think.

"I don't know. What do you think it means?" Death asks, staring hard at them.

Dream sighed, knowing the answer to that instantly "Trouble."

"Why, disappointed to find out that the god of death is your soulmate, mortal?" Reaper called, out, squinting at him.

Dream shook their head, lowering their hood "I'm no more mortal than you are. While I can be killed, I don't age, can't die of illness, starvation nor thirst. I suppose I should introduce myself, since we are soulmates, and I know your name, Sans. I'm Dream, guardian of positivity."

"... I've heard rumors about you from the Sanses who run around with Ink. You've been sorely missed throughout the centuries, since your other half has been causing a giant rampage across the multiverse. Not that Ink particularly cares beyond a new game to play. Especially since Nightmare fucks around with darker timelines for the most part."

Dream sighed softly "I was trapped in a stasis spell for centuries... I'm not sure what Nightmare has been up to while I was trapped, but I... Considering how strong he is, I can guess at what he's been up to. I... I suppose that it's nice to meet you?"

Reaper laughed, voice filled with bitterness "I suppose it's good to meet you too... If you're looking for hugs and kisses, I'm afraid I might dust you, even if you're more durable than mortals. My very touch kills."

A small frown appeared on their face at that "You... You've never been able to touch or hold someone? Not ever?" that sounds so horribly lonely...

"My brother, Paps, is also a god of death, and we can hug one another without dusting each other... But hey, it's not all bad. This death touch makes my job easier. You wouldn't believe how -" Reaper began, rearing back in surprise and flailing in shock as Dream rushed him, hugging him tight "Wait I... I... You... You're not..."

"Dusting or dying? Nope... As I told you, the only way I can die is if I'm killed... So your touch won't knock me down." Dream murmured, hugging Reaper tightly "This is going to be troublesome and complicated, but I... If you like, we can try to make it work? Unless you'd rather I vanish and never come back to your world? The multiverse is vast, I'm sure we could manage to avoid each other."

"I... No. I don't... I don't want you to vanish as soon as we've met one another. I do want to make a go of things. Of... Of getting to know you." Reaper responded, treacherous hope blooming in his chest as he looks down at them, his soul twisting and making it difficult to breathe. He had a soulmate... Who wasn't afraid of him. A true smile appeared on his face as he asked "How much of my AU have you seen, Dream?"

"Just a bit of the mortal world. Some of this city and nothing else, as a matter of fact. I'd be delighted to explore more of your world, if you like?" Dream offered, a hopeful smile appearing on their face as well.

Reaper nodded, offering them an arm as he murmured "I gotta take this soul to the afterlife. Then I can show you a few of my favorite places, if you’d like?"

Dream nods. They have no idea just how this will work out... But they're willing to try, hoping that the two of them might be able to enjoy one another's company. "Sounds good to me."

~~~

Reaper ran his fingers along the carved number on the inner portion of his radius. He was well aware of what the numbers meant, as they slowly continued to trickle down, each second passing in less than the blink of a mortal eye. He had taken the souls of many mortals, and their numbers - or the numbers of one or more of the mortals around them had hit zero, as he appeared to them, taking their souls from their bodies, to take them to the afterlife.

Five hundred and sixty-four days, three hours and ten minutes. With twelve-eleven-ten... Seconds left. That was how much longer his soulmate had to live. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he wondered morosely if his only chance to meet his soulmate - who had to be alive... They must be a boss monster of some kind, to live for so long - would be when he took their soul to the afterlife. To meet them only to be the one to take their last breath... As he sure as hell wasn't going to make his younger brother take his own soulmate's life...

He wondered what they might be like? Would he be able to meet them before they died? Would he know if they were his soulmate, and he was theirs? The dull ache that pulled at his soul whenever he stared at the numbers for more than a couple of seconds had returned. With a sigh, he pulled down the sleeve of his robe, shaking himself as he stood up, stretching a little. He was going to pester Tori for a while. It was always fun teasing the goddess of life.

He pauses, sensing something... Someone new in the garden of life. Moving swiftly, making sure to float a couple of inches above the grass, so that he didn't kill everything he touched, Reaper charged to where he could sense the new being - who was worryingly close to Toriel, summoning his scythe, just in case it was another Chara situation. Instead he sees a -

Reaper stops dead, blinking rapidly as the brightly blazing golden aura of the being who was speaking to Tori, their voice too loud and very soft all at once, the dizzying amount of information that he had gotten from seeing them for the first time incredibly distracting and distressing. Yet... The distress and concern that he felt at this stranger - powerful, kind and gentle as he could feel they were - faded away. "Good morning, Sans." Tori called out, smiling warmly down at him. "Come, meet the guardian of positivity. Their name is Dream."

Reaper nodded, coming forwards and nodding politely, his scythe vanishing as he tucked his hands behind his back "Hello, My name's Sans... I'm one of the two Reapers, so I'd like to shake your hand, but if I did, I'd kill you."

Dream smiled a little and nodded in understanding, the radiance of their soul still nearly blinding "It's wonderful to meet you, Sans. I sensed Toriel's distress and came to see if I could help. We've had a brief chat, and she's doing much better. She cares very much for you."

Reaper smiles a little bit and rubs the back of his skull "Yeah, I'm not sure why she cares for such a spooky bonehead like me, but I'm lucky... Although we didn't always get along with one another, haha... I'm... I don't think you're from this universe, are you?"

"Nope! But do not worry, I do not plan on staying here for very long. I like to wander, now that I've learned how. Thank you both for your time." Dream murmured, smiling warmly at Reaper, their magic rippling against his senses and almost causing him to purr at the feeling.

"You're welcome... And thanks for coming to cheer up Tori. That's very kind of you." Reaper responded, a genuine smile appearing on his face. "Say, have you met Ink? If you hop around enough 'verses you're bound to run into him. He's... Interesting and kind of dangerous. But for now at least, he means well."

"I'll keep that warning in mind, Reaper. See you later, I'm sure." Dream calls out, a happy smile appearing on their face as they open a golden portal, vanishing in a flash of light.

Reaper hadn't known what was going on in the multiversal sansnanigans that were going on. He had made sure that they knew that he was neutral. As long as they didn't fuck with his home timeline, he wouldn't reap their souls and send them on to the afterlife. It was a pretty good deal, and those whom he loved and cared for were well protected. Dealing with the mess that the others made when the reapers from the worlds that they had their destructive fights in was annoying and irritating to say the least, but it wasn't the absolutely shittiest thing he'd had to deal with.

What he hadn't expected was to be unexpectedly summoned during one of his rare days off, frowning as he found the Omega timeline in absolute shambles. There were dozens of injured mortals, with hundreds more dead. Sighing, he summoned his scythe, slashing his way through the dead souls, shoving them none too gently into the afterlife, having so many to reap, there was no time for any of the tact nor kindness that Paps showed the mortals who were dying.

He froze as he felt something vibrate on his left radius as he finished reaping the last of the mortal souls dead. With trembling fingers, he pulled down his sleeve, staring in muted horror as the numbers flicked down... Ten seconds... Nine... Eight... Panic seized him as he searched the AU, instinctively knowing that his soulmate had to be here... He could hear sounds of fighting and charged recklessly onto the battlefield to see Dream, Ink, Nightmare and Error battling two on two, their mortal companions dusting around them.

Before he could even attempt to defy fate and stop all four of these assholes from killing each other (as he had no idea which one of the four of them was his soul mate) one of Dream's arrows pierced through Error's soul, shattering it at the very moment that one of Error's gaster blasters was able to slam, full-force into Ink, vaporizing the creative guardian, even as a wave of ink gutted Nightmare. An anguished "No!" Left reaper as he rushed towards the four of them, noting that Error and Ink had already dusted, but he had a couple of seconds left, the positive and negative guardians sputtering weakly, glaring darkly at one another.

"You... Killed... My soulmates... Dream... Of course... I wouldn't... let that... Slide..." Nightmare ground out, surrounded by several piles of dust, the clothes of Cross, Killer, Dust and Hatchet surrounding him.

"It was not.., My intent to do so, brother... I never... Wanted to hurt you..." Dream called out, their eye lights fading. "Oh... Hey Reaper... Here to... Clean up our messes, as always?"

Discarding all sense as he knew in the back of his mind that he would only hasten the other's end, Reaper rushed to Dream's side, picking the other up and gently brushing the tears from their eyes "Dream! Dream no... Please... You.. you have to stay with me... Please no... I just... We... We're..."

"Soulmates? Oh... I'm so sorry to leave you... But..." Dream coughed weakly, golden ichor splattering Reaper's face "There's nothing that... Can be done... S-smile for me?"

"But I... I can't... Not... N-Not when you're dead! I can't... I don't..." He only helps souls cross into the afterlife. He never sees them again not unless they are reincarnated. "I... I'll bring you to Tori... Maybe... Maybe she can... She can heal you?" Tori would do that for him, right? Heal his soulmate? He's already preparing the portal when Dream shakes their head.

"No... I... I'm not meant to exist without him... Gotta... Stay balanced..." Dream mumbled, gesturing in Nightmare's general direction as the negative spirit collapsed into a puddle of dark ooze, having just given up on this life. A spectral form of a small, violet elemental hovered over what remained of Nightmare, waiting to be collected. "But... I'm glad to know... Who my soulmate is... Even if it's just in my final moments. You were a wonderful friend... Reaper... You must... Remember to smile... Maybe we'll meet each other again in a happier time?" With that, Dream faded into a puddle of dust, nothing remaining of them but their circlet and clothing. A yellow, spectral elemental appeared, gently nuzzling into him before chirping, causing the darker spirit to appear, murrmuring lowly. With trembling fingers, he cupped both of them, saying quietly "I release you from this life, and send you on to the afterlife. Rest well."

He reaped what remained of Error's soul... and poked at what little remained of Ink, knowing full well that the other was soulless. Would he resurrect somehow, or was this it? Reaper realized with a jolt, that he had accidentally allowed part of Dream's cloak to touch what remained of Nightmare... and a small sapling had begun to sprout from where the two had mixed. With careful, trembling fingers, he wrapped the little sapling up in Dream's scarf, stumbling into Tori's garden, yelling for her help, covered in dust and miserable.

She came running over, Undyne yelling at him for daring to be in here and gaster staring at him in a great deal of confusion, half a dozen of the other gods watching him. "Tori I... They... My soulmate just died and I... This... This tree.. They... I... Please take care of it... I... Please?" Reaper begged, knowing that he wasn't making much sense.

"Of course... Sans... Give me the sapling, I will tend to them... Go to your brother, and grieve for them..." Life murmured, a sad and understanding smile appearing on her face.

Reaper nodded, staggering off to where he knew his brother to be, collapsing into the other's confused embrace.

~~~

Reaper had gone to these Christmas parties for several years now, having found them to be endlessly entertaining... And if he could poke and prod at people without dusting them, finding their reactions to be amusing as all hell, so much the better. He knew that whatever had happened to his soulmate to cause the other to feel no emotions whatsoever for... Five hundred and twelve years, sixteen hours and seven seconds (so sue him for counting. It had been disorienting and terrifying when the emotions that didn't belong to him but did belong to his soulmate suddenly vanished) had suddenly come back a couple of weeks ago. The first thing he had felt from them was a return of the absolute terror, confusion and soul-rending betrayal that had laid him flat on his back, wheezing as he tried to get himself together. Tori had fluttered over him and yelled for Paps - as his brother was the only one in his AU who could touch him without dying.

The misery and sadness had died down to bearable degree - but much of the warm cheerfulness and contented peace that he had sensed from his soulmate had never returned. Not truly. There was a lot of determination and a grief that caused Reaper's soul to ache. Reaper had searched amongst the crowd of sanses at the Christmas Party, hoping that they were amongst their numbers... And he was getting close to asking Ink for help, to find his soulmate... Even if it meant dealing with the creative guardian's shenanigans a lot more than normal, it would be worth it to find his soulmate and hopefully dragging their miserable butt to therapy.

"Hey, Reaper..." Geno murmured, squinting at something or someone behind him "Ink's here... And he brought that golden marshmallow with him. I mean - Blue is tough as they come. Cheerful and sweet, but he can and will out-maneuver and manipulate pretty much anyone and everyone when he has a mind to do so. What the marshmallow is doing mixed up with the soulless creator and the mafia leader of friendship, I do not know."

Reaper hummed, turning around and freezing as he sees the gold and blue-clad sans. Their magic called to him in a way that he'd never experienced. "I... I think that they might..." He had seen other people meet their soulmates before. Whether the reactions were positive, negative or neutral, the first impression tended to be a lasting one, especially... Especially between soulmates. "I think they might be my soulmate."

Geno snickers a little "You wouldn't be the first to hope for that. They're the guardian of positivity, and their warm aura makes everyone around them feel happy... Sounds really lonely to me... They've been told that by at least half of the sanses here... Not that any of them were right, but hey. Good luck. If you're right, then you're right."

Reaper waves a hand at Geno "I can sense their emotions. What they're actually feeling, not the positive aura that is lifting the spirits of everyone around them." With that he went quiet, making his way over to Dream, mentally rolling his eye lights as a hush fell over the crowd and they reluctantly parted. He looks over at Dream, more sure than ever that the other was his soulmate. The fake smile on their face belied the exhausted circles under their eyes and the almost desperate way that they seemed to be trying to please and distract others. "Hello."

"I... Uhm... Hi." Dream responded, blinking up at him "My name is Dream. What's yours?" They ask, holding out a hand for him to shake.

Reaper grins, taking the other's hand, amused by the way that everyone tensed up around them "It's nice to meet you, Dream. I'm Death."

Dream stared up into his face, their eye lights widening for a couple of moments, surprise, hope and uncertainty flickering through them as they murmur "It's... It's nice to meet you death..."

"Heh... I get it. Not many people are eager to meet me. I think I even scare the life out of some of your companions." He responded, winking a little at Dream. "But don't worry, I'm a pretty chill guy. Meeting me here isn't automatically a death sentence."

The smile on Dream's face shifted to something a little bit more real, and a soft chuckle left them "Hehe... I... I don't think that you're all that scary. I've seen worse things happen to people than meeting you... You seem quite nice."

Reaper shrugged a little, a small smile appearing on his face "Eh. This place is a lot like an idle fantasy for me. I can touch people without killing them here. Which is nice, as in my home AU, anyone I touch who ain't my brother dies. Mortal or not. But in this place, I've got no fangs."

Dream giggles again, their eye lights brightening a little "I think the two of us need to have a bit of a private chat."

Reaper nods, following the other "True, but I'm not sure how private for how long this chat will be. Your friends seem to be kind of... Nosy."

Dream shrugs, grabbing one of Reaper's hands and teleporting them far away from where the party was "This should give us enough time to talk for at least a little bit. And of course, there's the Underfell Therapy Closet to hide in. I... I think you're my soulmate. It's difficult for me to tell, as I can sense the emotions of everyone around me... But your feelings are familiar to me, even though we've never met before."

"... I'm pretty sure that we're soulmates too, actually. Were you trapped in a stasis spell or killed for five hundred years and change before either resurrecting, reincarnating or breaking free of the spell? I couldn't... I couldn't sense you at all for that time and I..." Reaper shuddered a little. He'd despaired of ever meeting the other. That his soulmate had been mortal and worse yet, born in a different world and that they had lived and died before he'd ever had a chance to meet them.

"I... I was trapped in a stasis spell for a very long time. I didn't realize it was five hundred years. I've recently broken free. It's... I... I'm so glad to meet you, finally. Do... Do you mind if I hug you?" Dream asked, voice trembling a little as the other reaches out for him.

Reaper nods, scooping the smaller immortal up and hugging him close, lightly resting his chin on the top of the other's skull. "I'd... I'd very much like to hug you... I'm sure that there's a lot of shit that both of us have to talk about - complicated backstories and whatnot... But for now... I think just holding one another sounds good... What about you?"

Some of the worry and fear that he could sense within Dream ebbed away, replaced with hope and joy as the other murmured into his chest "I... That sounds like a really good idea to me... Thank... Thank you... Reaper."

"You're welcome, Dream." Reaper murmured quietly, hugging them tightly. Come what may, and regardless of any metaphorical or literal skeletons hidden in each of their closets, they had one another, and they'd found one another. That alone was enough for Reaper as he presses a gentle kiss to the top of the other's skull, hope and a small whisper of affection blooming in his chest as he looks down at Dream.

~~~~

Dream has existed for several days when they finally fall asleep for the first time, one warm evening, snuggled into their twin, leaning against what remained of the one who had created them, and what they had been created to protect. They found themself in a beautiful garden - with plants of many kinds that they had never actually seen before - with beautiful blossoms that as they rushed over to smell, found that they could neither touch nor smell.

This was terribly confusing to the young guardian, who tried to grab the flower, their fingers again going through the petals as if either they or the flower didn't exist. They hear two people speaking "telling you Tori, I don't have a soulmate. I've never once dreamed of them, and I've never seen them, if they've dreamed." said one voice, gruff and slightly frustrated and sad.

"Perhaps your soulmate simply hasn't been born or created yet? You mustn't give up hope, dear friend." a second voice said, comforting and gentle.

Dream makes their way over to the pair of voices, continuing to walk through the garden, seeing plants and hearing... Birds? That's what the information in their head from the previous guardian informed them that the strange but pleasing noises were coming from. "Uhm... Hello? Do you know where we are?" They call out, looking up at the tall, fuzzy person and the tall, bone person who looked similar to themself and Nightmare, though the big bone person had on a really cool black cloak. They had seen trees... But none of them remotely resembled the tree that they were meant to protect and live beneath.

"...How did you get in here? You're not supposed to be in here. This place is a sacred place." The tall bone person demanded, a growl in their voice.

Dream shrugged, not the least bit intimidated by the growls "I dunno how I got here.. I fell asleep next to Nighty an' I woke up a little while ago that way." Dream responded, pointing in the direction of the place that they had found themself in "I dunno how I got here... Why can't I touch anything? Who are you? Where are we?"

The furry person paused for a couple of moments before asking "... Do you see someone, Sans?"

"Yeah, there's this little kid like three feet from us. Can't... Can't you see them too? They're right there." The big bone person responded, pointing directly where Dream was standing "You're in Life's Sanctuary, kiddo. I'm-"

The goat person abruptly cut in "This is Sans, and my name is Toriel, young one. You and Sans are soulmates. you are currently dreaming, and you've dreamed your way to your soulmate. I can now see you, but only just. I promise that though Sans may seem kind of scary at first, he is kind and very punny. What's your name, young one?"

"My name is Dream!" The little guardian responded, grinning brightly up at Sans and Toriel, tilting their head a little as they pressed "So when I wake up, will I be back with Nighty and the tree?"

"If that's where you fell asleep, then you should, unless you were moved in your sleep... Why did you fall asleep near a tree?" Sans asked, curious despite the bored and unaffected expression on his face.

"Because me an' Nighty were created there, to protect her!" Dream responded cheerfully. "We are the guardians of the tree of feelings. I'm the guardian of the positive fruits. To make sure that no one eats them..."

"Why would someone want to eat these fruits? What do they do? ... How long have you existed?" Sans asked, moving a bit closer to them, trying to understand why now, of all times, had his soulmate appeared. After waiting what felt like an eternity for them to appear, did they finally show up. Or at least... Make themself known to him.

"The positive fruits represent the hopes and happiness of everyone... if they are eaten, then they don't feel those good feelings anymore." Dream explained with a worried frown "So I gotta protect them! And I've been around for..." They stare down at their fingers "Three days! The previous guardian - who was killed by a human - was dying and made me an' Nightmare! Night guards the negative fruits. They stay balanced so that peoples' feelings are balanced. You are the first people, part from Nighty, Who I've ever seen or talked to."

Toriel spoke up, murmuring quietly "You... You're quite big for three days old... And you can speak quite well..."

"Well, yeah. That's because our creator made our bodies so that they were adult-sized, or mostly adult-sized. An' gave us lots of information so that we would know things an' be able to guard the tree!" Dream responds happily, beaming up at the both of them. "... Why are you two upset? We haven't met any mortals yet... Part from you two right now, but you're not where I am, an' I don't think all mortals are bad... And the mortal who killed the previous guardian is dead because mama killed him."

"Err... Dream. Neither of us is mortal, either." Sans spoke up. He pauses for a moment before forging on ahead "Tori here is the goddess of Life... and I'm the god of Death." He hadn't heard of the tree of feelings, but then again... There were things about the universe that he didn't know about. He'd have to talk to dad, as he was pretty sure that this little one along with their twin were little godlings, perhaps born somewhere within the mortal realm and they needed to be found and trained properly in the use of their power... Why hadn't he been informed of something that was so important? He glances at Tori, dozens of questions on the tip of his tongue, but nothing that he wanted to ask, lest he confuse the very new godling in front of him.

"Ohhh... Cool! I didn't know that gods exist! That's really cool." The little guardian murmured, beaming eagerly up at the both of them. Dream pauses for a moment, blinking as they turn, hearing Nightmare call out for him "I think... I think I'm going to wake up soon. It's really nice to meet you for the first time, Sans! I hope to talk to you again soon." With that, the little guardian vanished into nothingness.

"... Tori, why wasn't I informed about this tree of feelings? Is it protected somewhere within the realm of the gods? Or is it rooted in the mortal realm because the tree affects both mortals and the gods?" Reaper asked, glancing at Life, trying to read her responses.

"I... I honestly have never heard of such a tree, but I cannot think that little one was lying to us. Their words had the ring of truth... Or at least, they believe what they've been told to be the truth, at least." Life responded, frowning a little "Perhaps it is something very old, that I have forgotten..."

"I'll speak with Gaster and Alphys. If there was anyone who could tell me about this tree of feelings, it would be one or the both of them." Reaper murmured, determined to find his soulmate and meet them in person - at least once. The little one hadn't seemed to be the least bit afraid or nervous of him... But the other was so new to the world, it made sense as to why they wouldn't flinch at the sight of death... Nor fall down in worship of Life.

----

Alphys had no idea what he was talking about when he had spoken of the tree of feelings. Gaster had frowned, pausing for a couple of moments before murmuring quietly "Such a tree would be well known, if it was native to this universe, Sans. I believe that your soulmate is from an entirely different universe, Sans. There are multiple universes, but it will take time and research for me to figure out how pan-dimensional travel is feasible... You will need to content yourself with dreaming visions of them and they of you until then, Sans. But I am glad to hear that you have met your soulmate, in some capacity at least."

Reaper nodded, sighing in frustration. Of course his soulmate had to be from an entirely different universe. His luck could never grant him something as easy as a soulmate who he could immediately reach out too... Although he did feel terribly unsure as to just what might happen if the two of them were able to actually interact with one another in reality... Dream was so very young, it was almost certain that they were platonic soulmates. which suited him just fine but... What happened if the other tried to embrace him? Would the other dust at his touch? "I... alright. Keep me informed. Thanks, G."

"Mmm... And I would like to remind you, sans, that by mortal reckoning, you are a little over ten years old, although gods do not age as mortals do, and you have always had an old soul. From what you told me of your soulmate... This young guardian seems much the same." Gaster pointed out, a small and knowing smile appearing on his face. He hadn't expected the other's soulmate to be so far afield... But he had hoped that the other did have a soulmate, as neither of his creations were lifeless creatures, even as many of the gods hissed and glared, muttering irritably at the necessity of such beings.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. It just... Feels weird. I have a soulmate... But I... I'm glad to have finally met them in some way... and that they haven't been hiding from me because of what I was created to be..." Reaper murmured, hope and uncertainty lingering in his mind. Perhaps the other didn't mind his presence now... But later? Reaper mentally shook himself. There was no need to dwell on what-ifs and might be’s. What would happen, would happen. He had a chance to get to know his soulmate, which was more than what a decent chance that Mortals got. "But hey. I'm sure I'll win him over with my punderful sense of humor. Then again, he's so sweet and I've just got this killer sense of humor. They... he? Might not take to it so well, given how saccharine sweet he is."

"have courage, Sans. Your soulmate is yours, and they yours for a reason." Gaster murmured "I cannort say for what reason the fate have bound the two of you together, but it is a rare and precious gift to be able to meet your soulmate, even amongst the gods."

"I... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Gaster." Reaper murmured, heading off to go find Paps - who would absolutely want to know that he'd met his soulmate. A small smile lingered on his face - perhaps Paps had met his soulmate today as well? He's pretty sure that he’d hear all about it if that were true.

~~~~~~

Dream was very glad that they wore gloves at this particular moment in time. As otherwise they would have to find a way to hide what was on their palm. Ink had dragged him into this strange place - the... Omega? Timeline? where there were dozens of different versions of the same monster, from many different AUs and timelines. Amongst the goat monsters, occasional humans, buny monsters, Migosp, Aaron, Temmie and Papyri... There were also... Sanses. LIke the Stylized black and blue S that had been carved into the middle of their palm since they had first acquired a body, centuries ago.

Their soulmate was very likely named... Sans. Any one of the sanses he was currently watching talk, fight and argue with one another could be their soulmate... Or none of them were their soulmate, and the Sans whose S this was, was someone else entirely. They lightly tugged up their glove a little higher, trying to decide how best to bring about the end of a brawl that was going on between an Underfell, Swapfell and Fellswap trio of Sanses - especially as a couple of Undynes were headed over, Papyri from similar timelines hot on their heels and it looked like it was going to turn into a huge mess of negativity and pain and they really didn't want that to happen.

They clear their nonexistent throat as they call out, pulsing their magic in order to increase the warm and happy feelings that the assembled and brawling monsters were feeling, lowering the amount of aggression, fear, and uncertainty in the same flare of magic "Hello... Excuse me... But why are you fighting?"

Every eye light focused on them, but Dream stood their ground. They were fairly sure that they could handle this many rowdy mortals. And they could see Blue hovering nearby, prodding at a snickering Ink, possibly to come help keep the peace.

"This asshole stole my chocolate! I want it back... Who the hell are you? You some sorta swap with a fixation on yellow?" The Underfell sans huffed, glaring a little at them, pointing at the swapfell sans accusatory "... I'm called Red, if you didn't know."

"It's nice to meet you Red. My name is Dream." They respond, a small smile appearing on their face. They turn to look at the swapfell.

"The hell it is! I bought this chocolate three days ago, and you're the one who took it from me! You cheated at the sparring match that you made me lose, so I took it back. I'm called Viper." The swapfell huffed, glaring at Red as he tried to keep the chocolate out of Red's hands.

The fellswap Sans growled "That's where they're both lying. These two stole the chocolate from me, and I want it back! I haven't seen a Swap Sans variant who looks quite like you.. are you from a storyswap where you're the king or queen of the underground, given the circlet on your head?"

Dream frowns a little in confusion, wondering what the other meant by that "No, I... I'm not a swap sans. My name is Dream. I don't know if my AU has a name, but I've never... Monsters weren't... But that's not the point of this... I propose that the three of you split the chocolate evenly between the three of you, that way, each of you has some chocolate... Regardless of whose chocolate it might have once been... Besides, isn't there a chocolatier down the street? You could each purchase as much chocolate as you wish from there."

the trio of Fell variants stared at him "I... Fine. Splitting the chocolate sounds reasonable. What do you mean your AU doesn't have a name? Unless you're from an unfinished world, yours has gotta have a name... And are you implying that you're from a surface AU? Are there humans aboveground in your world?" Red demanded, equal parts curious and annoyed at having to share his chocolate. But if it got Viper and Blackberry off of his back, he'd take it. "Ink... HEY INK! What's Dream Sans's AU called?"

"Oh... I'm not... A sans..." Dream murmured quietly. Viper glanced at him quizzically, but no one else had heard them say that.

Ink laughed merrily "Pfhahahaaha! I wish I knew. I found Dream wandering around a littletale, completely out of place and terribly confused. He can travel AUs whenever he wants to, without my help. Also He prefers to be called Dream, rather than Dream Sans. I dunno why."

the answer to that was relatively simple. Dream wasn't a sans. He did inhabit a skeletal body -the body of a swap sans that had been created by the previous guardian of the tree of feelings... But he had not been born, nor created inhabiting this body and thus could not truly be called a sans. Not that they felt any desire, nor the inclination to actually explain this, as they had a feeling that the others might not react all that well to learning about that... Not that they had spoken to Ink and Blue - with whom they had been traveling for some time now - about anything in regards to their past... Everything was just too fresh and painful to begin to think about, much less speak to another about.

"Heya, Ink. Is there a reason why you invited me here? It's not as if there are another one of those parties going on at the moment - though, with those three, I'd not be surprised if you've got a proper death on your hands soon." A low, amused sounding voice called out from behind Dream. all three of the fell based Sanses froze and drew back a little, wariness and uncertainty flashing across their faces.

Dream turns to face this newcomer, a small smile appearing on their face "Hello. My name is Dream. What's yours?"

"... Dream, huh? Like half of the people here, my name is Sans... but I have several nicknames. My favorites are "Augh no, not you!" as well as Reaper and Death. In my AU, I'm one of the two gods of death, along with my brother, Papyrus. You have been sorely missed over the past few centuries that you've been trapped in a stasis spell."Reaper called out, a small smirk appearing on his face "I had wondered what had happened when your soul mark had changed color for centuries, and was hopeful when it changed back to the color it used to be."

"I... You.. we're... Soulmates?" Dream managed out, eye lights bright and wide as they tried to process the huge download of information that had been thrown at them, a giddy grin appearing on their face, their eye lights turning into stars "I... I'm so glad to hear that we are soulmates. It's wonderful to meet you, Sans... Unless you prefer one of the nicknames that you gave me?"

"Eh, as long as you don't call me a curse, I don't care what you refer to me as," Reaper responded with a small smile. He didn't extend a hand... He did hope that his touch wouldn't kill the guardian of positivity... But he had no reason nor the inclination to even attempt to try. Not unless Dream attempted to initiate contact with him first.

Dream hummed, looking at Reaper curiously "I think I'll refer to you as reaper, at least while we are around other sanses, to reduce confusion... Do you have time for us to speak one on one?"

Reaper shrugged "Eh. If the people in my AU - the other gods at least - had it their way, I'd never stop working... But reaping souls endlessly gets really... Dreary. I've got plenty of time to get to know you."

Dream nods, a small smile appearing on their face as they walked over to reaper, taking off their right glove, turning their right palm so that the stylized S could be seen by the other, offering it out for the other to shake. "Alright.. Have you ever been to an OverHaven? They are beautiful places."

Reaper hesitates, showing the gold and blue D on his right palm, reaching cautiously towards him and the two of them shook hands, their magics sparking a little and shifting. "Can't say that I have. I don't tend to travel the multiverse all that much, although it does sound nice."

Dream nods, beaming happily as they open a portal to Overhaven 36, to a point where there should be no mortals around for miles. "Alright. I've opened the portal to what should be a secluded glade."

Reaper nods, smiling a little, though a bit uncertain as he nodded, stepping up to the portal, a hopeful expression appearing on his face. So far, his soulmate wasn't the least bit afraid of him. That was a good thing, though that might partially be due to the trauma they were likely still processing, as Reaper could read souls and was... Well aware of the secrets that the other was hiding from everyone in regards to their past. He steps on through, making sure to float a few inches above the grass, to avoid killing anything. "I... Oh..." The vibrant colors of the flowers seemed to glow in the early dawn light, the dew glistening brightly on the grass, his breath leaving him in a pale white, misty cloud. A goofy grin appeared on his face "This... This is incredible..." He murmured to Dream.

Dream nods, beaming happily and hugging him tightly around the middle from behind "I... I'm so glad to finally meet you, and I hope that we'll be able to get along."

"I hope that we get along as we get to know one another better as well..." Reaper murmured, shifting in Dream's grip so that he could give them a hug, a goofy smile appearing on his face. He'd heard muttering for the longest time from the other gods that he didn't have a soulmate - or that they had died. He had hoped that the latter wasn't true, well aware that the former was false... And now... Here Dream was... In his arms, unafraid and curious about him, even. This was a start for both of them, and one that he was determined not to squander or waste.

#major character death cw #dream sans #reaper sans #reaperdream #aftertale sans #ink sans #swap sans #underfell sans #rt papyrus #rt gaster #sf sans #fs sans

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spacegate · 5 years

Text

The Best Revenge: Ch 2

An Undertale Fanfiction

Chapters: 1 | 2 | / AO3 / FF.NET / Characters: Sans, Grillby, Papyrus, Royal Doggies, Gaster, Undyne, Alphys, OCs Setting: Baby Blaster AU **Fic Contains: **Mentions of past child / medical abuse. Hurt / Comfort. Kids going through therapy. Healing. Dadby. Flashbacks to bad things. **Synopsis: **It’s been almost a full year since little Sans and Papyrus were rescued from W. D. Gaster. Scarred from their experiences, both children will need extra care to come to terms with what happened to them. Now as their father, Grillby needs to guide them through both their recovery and life outside the laboratories. Life is full of ups and downs, but Grillby will try his best. After all, they say that living well is the best revenge. Part two of the TRUST trilogy.

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

001-S paced around their cage with careful, practiced steps. It was only a few cycles of light since they were able to move. Walking was a challenge and they didn’t receive help from the strange creatures in white. All they got from them was cold indifference, no matter how much they squeaked at them. They didn’t seem to hate them: they just had nothing to feel at all for them at all.

It was confusing, but then again, everything was. They were brand-new, after all.

They didn’t know how many cycles of dark and light has happened since they first awoke. They were in a clear place that was hard when he drifted close enough to touch it. It had all been strange. Blurry faces would press up against the clear place to look at them, but at least they were warm.

Until they took him out of the warm place and into the cold. The first sensation they ever felt was pain as something sharp and hot on their leg bit down. They had cried out but nobody answered. They couldn’t understand what the white creatures were saying and didn’t understand what they were doing.

The white creatures just didn’t care...and they felt it in their young soul. It was perhaps the thing that frightened them the most.

That was many light times ago. They had grown a little bigger and there hadn’t been a pain like the bite on his leg since. What a strange bite it was, all lines made by teeth they couldn’t even see.

They stopped pacing, tired for the moment, and laid down on the cold steel.

They had heard the creatures in white say something about an ‘ex-pera-ment’. They figured he’d find out what that was soon enough.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Sans bolted upward with a gasp, clunking the top of his skull against something hard and wooden. Fingers gripped the carpet and blankets under him as he reeled from the sudden pain.

What?

Where?

He opened his eyes, expecting to see the bars of a cage. He expected to feel steel. He expected pain and sensations of cold.

But what he actually saw was half the world in darkness, and the other half showing carpet and fairy lights. The carpet was soft, and he was warm in a thick sweater and fluffy blanket.

He took a moment to think and realized he was home.

Not a cage. Not the labs. Home.

He calmed down at that, lying back down in his position under the bed to rub his cranium. Ow. His thump had knocked some pieces of candy and packaged granola bars stashed away in the support beams down. He remembered. This was where packaged food was stored, ‘just in case’. Dad had no problem with that, as long as what was opened got eaten so the crumbs wouldn’t get everywhere.

He thought back to what happened before he fell asleep to chase away the lingering visions of steel and harsh lights. He was playing downstairs with his brother and father. Papyrus ran him around as he seemed to have limitless energy. Then he got tired, and went upstairs to nap.

He couldn’t figure out how long he had been asleep; he’d been sleeping quite a lot lately.

But wait, where was Papyrus?

A cold start jolted down his spine in panic. He may have been able to wake up from dreams of his past, but the anxiety of his brother being elsewhere was one he had no defense against. He gasped and shot out from under the bed, faster than he usually moved, and nearly tumbled down the stairs in his haste to find his brother.

“pap? PAP?”

He tripped and took a small tumble, landing against the legs of his adoptive father. Thankfully, they were soft legs, as they didn’t have bones, just pure fire. Sans grunted, stuck upside down and wedged in between his father’s legs and the carpeted stair-step.

“Sans? Are you okay?”

Grillby’s voice was full of worry, and it was worrisome to see a distressed child nearly throw themselves down the stairs in order to get to the bottom faster.

“where’s pap?” Sans ignored the question like usual. He rarely, if ever, focused on himself at any given time.

“In the living room, just like he was an hour ago.” Grillby reached down and grasped Sans under his arms, lifting him up and setting the skeleton back on his feet. He began to check for any cuts or bruises. “I was just coming to wake you.”

“is he okay?” Sans continued as Grillby tucked him into his arms, turning to carry him away from the stairs.

“Of course he is. Why do you think he would not be?”

Sans didn’t have an answer to that. He just felt like he had to know. He didn’t know how to put his feelings into proper words, so he stayed silent as he was carried into the living room and set down on the floor.

Sans was instantly relieved to see that, indeed, Papyrus was just fine. He was having a blast with some rainbow-colored stacking cups, humming to himself as toddlers tend to do. He was also surrounded by a mess of other toys. Clearly, Papyrus was not about to run out of things to do.

“HI!” The little skeleton greeted the other with a large smile...before stuffing a cup into his jaws to chew on it.

“See? He is fine. I’m keeping an eye on him, after all.” Grillby did his best to reassure the elder skeleton.

Sans just nodded and watched his brother play for a moment. For a moment, he could almost see the casts and bandages on his tiny brother’s limbs as he toddled about. He had remembered how weak he would feel in the cage, unable to stop anyone from taking little P-2...Papyrus...away to do terrible things to him. Sans rubbed the rough semi-healed etched marks on his left radius. Sometimes it was hard to stop thinking of the times before. It was hard to truly feel safe.

Warmth touched his side as his adoptive father took a seat next to him, so they could watch the youngest play together. Sans didn’t say it, but he did feel better immediately from the close contact.

“It won’t be long until Papyrus can speak full sentences.” Grillby remarked.

“he’s smart.” It was an easy reply to that.

“So are you.” Sans could hear the smile on the older monster’s voice. Sans had nothing to say in reply.

Grillby continued after a moment of silence. “You know. I’m always here if you want to talk.”

“...talk about what?” Sans honestly didn’t quite understand what Grillby was saying. Sure, Sans didn’t say all that much, but he did make sure to tell his father if he wanted more to eat or telling Papyrus that he was good. He also made sure to tell everyone that he loved him. To him, it was plenty of talking, and all he really needed.

“Your feelings. Dreams. Whatever you like, I’m hear to listen.”

Sans thought for a moment. Here were things in the edges of his mind that he had questions for. But he couldn’t find the right words, at least for now, on how to express them.

“ok.” Sans finally said with a yawn.

They sat again in comfortable silence. There wasn’t much that could be said, but there was plenty to be felt. Right now Sans felt content and safe, and that was good enough for him. He liked the quiet. He liked how softly his father spoke. It was warm and gentle, so completely different from a life of cold and violence. Sans leaned on his father’s side, soothed enough that he felt like he could take another nap, right here.

That was, until he noticed something odd.

In the corner of the room, there seemed to be a patch of color missing. The yellow wall was faded to a light gray. But when he blinked, it was yellow again.

He shook his head. He must be tired. Seeing with one eye was more taxing than having two—all the more reason to get some shut-eye. He settled down to rest his head on the warmest and softest lap ever. Grillby smoothed his head gently with a hand of fire and Sans closed his eyes.

Once again, he was asleep, but this time, there weren’t any nightmares.

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

How interesting...

For a moment, Gaster could swear that 001-S had saw him. The creature looked right at him, but then quickly lost interest to be useless and lazy again. He had been trying to get noticed, after all.

He would need further testing.

He, for a moment, wondered if the chip he had implanted in 001-S was still active. He wasn’t aware enough to know the full extent of damage that 001-S sustained in the CORE. When he had somehow dragged himself back into reality, 001-S was already on the path of healing.

There must be something he could do.

He was in a place that defied all laws of reality and nature, a place worse than hell. He had no help, no codex or anything to help him figure out this place. He was on his own, with just the scientific method and time on his hands.

There must be some connection between him and his creations that kept him tied to this world.

He had used parts of his own matter to create the beasts. Skeleton monsters were incredibly rare, yet powerful. There were none stronger than himself; the ones that weren’t strong either died in the war or fell down years ago. It made sense to use his magical makeup as a template.

It was proven that monster souls, unlike humans, couldn’t persist after death. But he was surely dead, and still here. Maybe he still existed in the living world, as unlikely as that was. Maybe he could only truly ‘die’ once they both did.

Gaster’s mind spun as he considered the implications. He could find a way to end his creations, but there could be multiple outcomes.

One. His creations died, and he died along with them, no longer bound to them or this void. There would just be nothing, no more torment of being bound to his killer. It might be the most favorable outcome, to be honest.

Two. Nothing happens. They die, but he still lives. Still in the same situation as before, but this time, with nothing interesting to do. At least now he could still somehow apply the scientific method and get something useful out of this madness, something to keep his mind sharp. He would rather not stay trapped here if he could help it.

Three. His creations die, and end up with him here, in the void. An interesting predicament, but he was sure his creations would still obey him...after a bit of re-education of course. However, there would be nothing to do with them...at least, not without his tools. They’d just be as useless to him here as they were out there.

Four. They die, and somehow, he ends up back in reality. Almost like a trade, in a sense. He couldn’t theorize how such a thing could work, but then again this void defied all senses of logic and nature.

He hummed to himself, watching the fire monster interact with the beasts.

He needed more data before he decided just what to do.

It wasn’t like he was leaving them anytime soon anyway.

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

Snow crunched under boots on the undisturbed ground of the forest. Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne were outside again in the cold, marching off into the thick woods. Sans held Papyrus' hand in one glove, and a basket in another. They at least had a picnic basket with them with lunch that their father had packed for them all. It didn’t seem like Undyne was going to stop to eat any time soon as she ducked under the heavy boughs of pine trees.

“where are we going again?” Sans sighed, not quite in the mood to go traveling all over the place. When Undyne showed up at their door asking them to come out to play, she mentioned she wanted to take them somewhere. She had made sure to whisper that last part out of earshot of their father, which gave everything an air of mystery. Papyrus was instantly excited about an adventure, and wherever Pap went, Sans went.

“You’ll know when you see it!” Undyne was in the front, breaking a path through the snow. Sans was at least grateful she was doing that; breaking snow was hard. Undyne’s convenient habit let him walk in her footprints and travel easier.

“so far all I have seen are pine cones.”

“Trust me, it's a lot cooler than pine cones!”

“PINE KONES.” Papyrus happily chirped. He had a pine cone in one of his hands that he decided to keep. It smelled nice and interesting, so of course he had to have it.

“yeh pap, pine cones.” The elder brother made sure to sound out the word for the younger brother.

“PINE!”

“yep, you got it bro.”

Undyne snorted and continued to lead on. Together they crossed a bridge over a very steep canyon. Both boys needed some convincing to get across, but they could appreciate the view once they were safely on the other side. A whole underground valley stretched out before them. A vast ocean of snow was flecked by pockets of evergreen trees. A few houses in the dark had their lights on, which shone like jewels from far away. A river flowed through it all, streaming down into Snowdin. It was beautiful.

And then, they reached a wall.

A wall with an elegantly carved door. Sans recognized the symbol etched into the door, as he had seen it here and there. Usually King Asgore had it on him somewhere when he would come to visit. That was when he had to be ‘fancy’ and ‘official’, things that Sans had no clue about. Some of the guards had it on their armor. He never asked for the official name, but he did recognize it.

“that’s weird.” Sans looked up at the huge door, dwarfing all three kids in sheer size and height.

“I know right? I found this yesterday when I was exploring,” Undyne sounded proud of herself. “I had no idea this was here! This has got to be one of the end points of the Underground.”

“but why is there a door there?” Sans hesitantly reached up to touch it. The door was cold, and was filmy with grime and ice flakes. Clearly, it hadn’t been opened in a long time—there wasn’t even a knob or handle to open it.

“I dunno, but I tried to open it.” Undyne crowded besides the skeleton to examine the door further. “I looked all around for a secret switch or something, but found nothing.”

“maybe you need a password? like in the movies?”

Papyrus waddled to the door and patted it. “OPEN. PLEESE?”

The door remained firmly shut.

“oh well, it was a good try pap.” Sans patted his little brother’s head. “i don't think it’ll be that simple.”

“I haven’t tried... maybe you need magic to open it?” Undyne said thoughtfully. She then stood back and grunted as she concentrated hard, and with a little shimmer, a little blue spear was clutched In her hand. It wasn’t much bigger than a stick, but when it came to making something with magic, Undyne was way ahead of both boys.

She poked the door with the magical spear a few times. When nothing happened she dispelled it with a sizzle. “Darn.”

“maybe it wasn’t meant to open, undyne.”

Undyne growled and bared her sharp teeth. “But I wanna know what’s behind it! It could be anything! Something cool, maybe!” Her voice, however, was tinged with a bit of concealed worry.

Sans just shrugged and watched Papyrus tap the door with his pinecone.

There was a moment of silence, before Undyne turned to look at Sans, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Hey...Sans...”

“yeah?” Sans wasn’t too sure if he liked that look.

“Can you turn into your dog thing and blast it open?”

“...no.”

Undyne sighed in frustration. “Ugggh why not? You can spit crazy powerful laser beams out of your mouth! It’s bound to take down this door!”

“because i don’t feel like it.” It was true: Sans just didn’t feel up to it. It was all he had to even walk all the way out here. Just imagining powering up a blast seemed like it would take more out of him then they would gain.

“That’s so lame Sans! It wouldn’t even take a lot of blasting! Just one?”

“no.” Sans furrowed his brow at his friend. “and before you ask, papyrus can’t either. he’s too little.”

Undyne groaned and gripped her hair. “Dude, seriously. You can do it. Dad said that you blew up a lot of stuff before! It would be easy.”

Yes, It had been easy. It was also easy to kill another monster. Sans’ eyes went blank as he thought about it. He was made to destroy. The last thing he wanted was to do so unless it was really needed. He wasn’t what he was made to be, he was different. His Dad said so.

“easy for you. but not for me.” Sans bent down to scoop up his brother, feeling tired all of a sudden. “come on, let's forget about the door for now.”

“But don’t you wanna know what's on the other side?”

Sans shook his head, tucking his brother up on his shoulder. “nah. it might be locked up for a reason, ya know? better to leave it alone.”

Undyne huffed and put her hands on her hips. “From what Alphys told me, if she didn’t break that weird lock in the lab, you guys wouldn’t have gotten out. I don’t....” She trailed off a moment, and rubbed her arm in thought.

That made Sans freeze in his steps. He wondered for a moment if Undyne was trying to manipulate him, but he couldn’t feel any malice from her. She was their friend, and she seemed to have gotten it in her head now that there could be something awful behind every locked door. Something that could be hurt and tormented children. After all, from what she had heard from her dads, there was more than just himself and his brother in that terrible place.

An inkling of doubt began to swirl in his head. Yes, there was a big, mysterious door out in the end of the underground. The scientists that made him were either in jail, or dead. That didn’t mean there couldn’t be more scientists in another secret place. Or, just more labs hidden around. Labs that could have more things like him.

“...you’re right.” Sans conceded and turned around. He’ll hold out Papyrus. “here, take him and i’ll see what I can do.”

He expected Undyne to whoop and holler at that, but surprisingly, she took Papyrus quietly and nodded. His little brother settled nicely in her arms and proceeded to start drooling all over them.

Sans shook himself out to get out some kinks in his bones, before they began to change and snap into new configurations. It didn’t take long for Sans to be on all fours again, shaking himself out again like his canine friends. He sneezed. The only bad thing about this form was that wayward snowflakes would find their way into his nose, which was very uncomfortable.

“You ready?” Undyne backed up with Papyrus to a safe distance.

Sans huffed, and padded up to the door to smell it. His nose worked a lot better like this, and he took his time touching his snout to the stone door and smelling deeply. A tickle of strong, but old magic made him back up a little. There wasn’t any smells of any other monsters around or even under the snow. He examined the door further, and scratched it a little with his claws. They left no mark on the stone. If anyone could figure out how to get this puzzle of a door open, it would probably be Papyrus. A much older Papyrus, and they didn’t have time to wait years for him to stop eating jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Sans backed up by about a meter, locking his limbs up and straightening out his tail behind him. Magic in his throat began to hum and glow a bright blue as his jaws split, rising in pitch before finally -

KSSSK!

The hot beam directly hit the door, sizzling and blinding in brightness. He poured on the magic he could spare for a good five seconds before he had to stop, coughing out steam and leftover magic.

When the brightness and haze of magic cleared, the snow was completely melted around them.

But the door didn’t even have a scorch mark on it.

Sans sat down on his haunches, surprised. Their magic beams were pretty dangerous and could cause a lot of damage, but he didn’t even leave a mark on the door.

Undyne started. “...huh? It didn’t work?”

Sans shifted back so he could talk, still sitting. “doesn’t seem like it.”

“Darn!” Undyne kicked at the bare dirt. “I was sure it would work!”

Sans wearily got to his feet and brushed off his pants. “sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be sorry Sans. I guess this just means we have to tell someone. My dad maybe? Or maybe yours? No offense Sans, but your dad is old. He might know about it.”

“Maybe…” Sans felt...wobbly. A sense of fatigue started to weigh him down. Just moving his legs was taking a lot of effort. “...maybe…”

“Sans?” Undyne sounded concerned and began to walk over.

Sans continued to wobble, his eye lights dimming in his sockets. He wanted to sleep so much. He couldn’t stop his eyes from closing before he lost all mobility. Unable to balance, he felt himself fall, and hit the dirt. The last thing he heard before everything went dark and silent was Undyne and Papyrus screaming.

He could just...take a quick nap. One quick nap. That’s all…

He fell deeply asleep, and heard and thought no longer.

“Sans? Can you hear me?” Grillby knelt next to the children’s bunk bed, holding the small skeletal hand that belonged to his eldest son. Sans was tucked into bed along with his brother. No matter how many times Papyrus yelled at his brother, he still wouldn’t wake up. He knew something was wrong when a tearful Undyne nearly kicked down the front door, carrying both skeletons in her arms. Sans was deeply unconscious and between Undyne and Papyrus screaming, he had no idea what had happened.

The only thing he thought to do was call Undyne’s parents to the house and somehow handle the situation. The only thing that kept him from wanting to tear the underground apart was Undyne’s tearful ‘He fell asleep and won’t wake up’ explanation. So, nobody had hurt him. But something was still very wrong. He had a suspicion that something wasn’t right with how much Sans was sleeping and how much energy he lacked. He assumed he would perk up after several months of care, but he didn’t. He of course, was stronger and much more stable, but one could sense the fatigue that had settled into the little skeleton’s soul and colored all his actions.

It didn’t take long for Gnash and Frank to arrive. Gnash saw to his daughter, hugging and rubbing her back as she cried into his shoulder. Frank immediately got to work on Sans, working around Papyrus who refused to leave his brother.

Grillby had no idea that Frank knew that many diagnostic spells. It seemed like Frank wasn’t pulling any punches here, and was worried just like everyone else.

So here Grillby was, holding that tiny little hand in his own, hoping that the warmth of his fire could be felt. Maybe it would comfort the skeleton in his unconscious world. He didn’t seem to be dreaming. He simply laid there like a broken toy.

“Let him wake up on his own, Grillby. All you can do is wait.” Frank sighed and put away some of his tools.

“Please tell me what’s wrong with my son.” Grillby felt his soul clench with those words. He was beyond worried. He was scared.

“I can’t tell you what just yet, I have to do more tests…” Frank sighed and looked at the sleeping child. “We’ll have to take him to New Home Hospital. I don’t have the tools here for a proper scan.”

“He is not going to like that.” Grillby shifted a little to be more comfortable on the floor. “Are you sure it is necessary?”

“I know what you mean, old friend. I know it’s going to be incredibly stressful for him, but it’s not like we can bring an entire hospital here.” Frank sounded sympathetic. “Eventually he’s going to have to learn how to cope with medical environments, and he’s not going to be alone for all of it.”

“I know...but still…” Grillby exhaled a small plume of smoke, frustrated with the situation.

Gnash poked his head in through the open doorway. “Hello, how is he, dear?”

Frank shook his head at his husband. “He’s stable. He isn’t falling down. He just...won’t wake up. He seems to be deeply in sleep more than anything else. We’ll have to do more tests to find out why.”

“Damn...that sucks.” Gnash frowned. “Anyway, I got what happened from Undyne. Apparently, they were trying to break down a door in the woods, somewhere at the mountain border. He blasted it, but then collapsed soon after.”

“What door in the woods?” Frank rubbed behind his gills. “And why in the hell were they trying to break it down?”

“Undyne was worried there might be another...you know…” Gnash tilted his head at the skeletons in the bed. “Another situation like theirs. She convinced Sans to help her. Undyne is going to take me to the spot later.”

“How is she?” Grillby asked. “She was very upset when she arrived with the boys.”

“She’s feelin’ a little better. Still shaken but now she knows she didn’t accidentally kill her friend or anything. She’s downstairs with some hot cocoa.”

Grillby shook his head. What a terrible, frightening thing for a small child to experience. Not to mention, her thinking that there are more cases like Sans and Papyrus out there. “Gnash, did you find any more labs?”

“We did. But they were either devoted to completely different projects or neglected entirely. We combed those places top to bottom but didn’t see anything relating to the kids in there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Grillz, we’re sure. There isn’t going to be more kids in trouble like that. Still, I think it's time to have Undyne see a counselor about this.”

Grillby nodded to that. He didn’t know if Alphys was seeing one too, but he knew for sure his boys needed one. He just wasn’t sure how to go about it. They weren’t comfortable with strangers at all, and certainly not enough to tell their darkest and most painful memories.

Frank finished packing up his bag. “I’ll go ahead and get those tests ready. I’ll need you to explain what’s going to happen, try to get the kids comfortable, and explain that I’m just going to see what’s wrong and nothing else. I don’t want to scare them anymore than you do.”

“You can’t handle them with kid gloves forever though.” Gnash tilted his head to his husband. “They’re tough. It’s one thing to be careful, but they aren’t fragile anymore Grillby. You have to let them get scared once in a while. It's how they learn how to deal with things.”

“Within reason.” Frank replied.

“I understand...if you find a good therapist...please let me know.” Grillby bowed his head in thanks.

“I will. Please call if anything serious happens, okay? I think Sans will wake up eventually, but if he’s in pain or doesn’t wake up in 24 hours, call me.”

“I promise.”

“Good.” Frank looked at his husband and nodded to the door. Taking the hint, Gnash walked downstairs, and can be heard talking to Undyne a moment later. With one last goodbye, Frank waddled out of the room, leaving the father and children some privacy.

Grillby had yet to get up from the floor where he was holding Sans’ hand. Papyrus seemed fine with just snuggling with his brother under the cover. Despite the noise and presence of other people in the room, Papyrus had drifted off and snuggled under his older brother’s chin.

He was reluctant to let go for now, but he had to make food in case either of them woke up. He tucked the little hand back under the covers and gave the best equivalent of a ‘smooch’ as he could to the top of each of their skulls. He had no lips really, but his flames were warm and gentle, surely something comforting. He stood, and took one last look back, his eyes scanning for anything amiss. When everything looked fine, he ducked out of the room, turning on the nightlight and shutting the door. He left it open a little, so the hallway light could filter in and hopefully chase away any nightmares.

The clack of pans and pots echoed from downstairs, but for the boys, they only had silence.

Moments past where the only movement in the room was the drifting of household dust particles highlighted in the light of the nightlight.

For a moment, the corner of the room began to drain of color, and a soft, crackling noise, like static, began to hiss in the air. A glitchy black spot appeared, fragmented and thin. It only lasted for mere moments before color snapped back into existence. Silence was once again heavy in the room, interrupted by the faint sounds of cooking from downstairs.

All that was left was a tiny, black spot on the floor.

#keetah writes #the best revenge #undertale #fanfiction #sans #papyrus #grilby #dadby #trust #gaster #oc #undyne #in which things get steadily terrible #babyblaster au

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doodlefox-beta · 6 years

Note

ｂｕｎｇｕｓ

can you imagine a world where were all represented by a font? What font would I be? Hmmm, no, not Arial, that's too straight. No! Not in that way! Just, straight, as in unexciting. Too uh, deadpool.... BROADWAY! Now that's the one! Now that's the ONE!!! Hello Internet, welcome to GAME THEORY, where instead of putting a joke here I want to ask you a personal question. If you're personality were represented by a font, which font would you be? Take a moment and put you font in the comments. I'm really curious to see what everyone has to say. Maybe find a couple new cool fonts to use. I get bored with old calibri 11. And with that out of the way, it's time to talk UNDERTALE. Now I don't think I've ever gotten this many request to cover a game. Well, except for FNAF. And I suppose FNAF 2. OH and there was FNAF 3. Wait a minute, should I be worried about something here? Anyway, across the board on YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter, you've all been wanting Undertale. And honestly, I'm glad you brought it to my attention. Truly loyal theorists will know that earthbound is my favorite game of all time. So a self aware RPG in a similar style, WHOA MAN, it's like a gift from the indie gaming heavens. Undertale is a game where every character, from goat mom to grind fodder has a sympathetic design and a unique personality, motivations, goals, fears. Whether you're saving or slaughtering them, the game makes you feel something every time you enter an encounter. But to me, one character stood out amongst all the rest. SANS. A skeleton named after the font, comic sans, hence all the font references at the beginning of the episode. If you haven't played undertale I'm sure that was a really wierd opening. ANYWAYS, sans is, well, there's a lot of mystery around this guy. And before we get into it, let me put up a very special spoiler warning: UNDERTALE Is a game best experienced blind. So if you haven't played it, come back after you've finished. I PROMISE YOU, I PROMISE you won't regret it. Alright so everyone out of the pool and ready for the adult swim? Good. Because I'm feeling pretty determined to get to the bottom of sans' mystery. So just to recap for those of you who haven't played the game and ignored the SPOILER WARNING, or just need a refresher, sans is one of the two skeletal brothers who appears in the game. His partner is papyrus, a loud, goofy trap lover also named after a font. But in the world of undertale their origins are a big question mark. All you really know is what's given by a shopkeeper in Snowden, who claims that sans and papyrus just, and I quote, "showed up one day and asserted themselves." Wierd, right? What's more is that papyrus is just kinda the goofy sidekick. SANS is much more complex. He likes fart jokes, but he's also incredibly deadly and much more serious. Not only is his boss battle the hardest in the game, he's one of the only characters who has knowledge and power over space and time. He can take shortcuts through the world on ridiculous routes. He even is walking through walls. He also acknowledges that he's only one of infinite versions of himself, making self-aware commentary of the various timelines you've played through in the game. He can even count the number of times he's killed you. He acts like an arbiter of this world, passing out judgements in the game, even explaining the secrets of EXP and LOVE, or EXECUTION POINTS and LEVELS OF VIOLENCE. In short, he just doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the world of monsters. But then, what, or who, is he? Well, that he doesn't belong in the underground seems to be correct. The evidence shows he used to be a surface dweller. In the true pacifist ending of the game, as the group looks out onto the horizon, papyrus asks sans about the giant ball in the sky. Sans says, quote, we call that the sun. This is important because A, the use of the word WE, and knowledge of the sun, shows that sans has a kinship or knowledge of other humans, and B, that despite he and papyrus both being skeletons, and BROTHER, and apparently both appearing in the underworld at the same time, the clearly have two very different histories. Why would papyrus not know the name of the sun but sans would? We get further clues to sans' origins as we hear him say multiple times he wants to "go home" or "go back." He says as much during his dinner date scene at the mettaton hotel. He notices that the player wants to go home and says, quote, "I know the feeling." He then continues, "maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." As though he ended up in the underworld by accident. AND in a genocide run during his boss fight he says, quote, "look, I gave up trying to go back a long time ago." End quote. And before you say that means going back to the surface world, that's clearly not the full story. His very next line of dialogue is " and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore either." Key word here, is EITHER. Yes, he seems to hail from the surface and wants to go back, but based on the dialogue he no longer considers it his home. It's as though the surface world he once knew is gone, and as though the surface he's from is from a different time. It's pretty intriguing. So we're left with a being that appeared out of nowhere, presumably from being from the human surface but from a different time period, who seemingly had the power to teleport. That a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. But here's where things get REALLY interesting. Sans has a hidden workshop that takes a fair amount of searching to find. You could say it takes a lot of DETERMINATION to unlock. Anyways, obligatory determination references aside, as you start to look for this easter egg sans gives you a key to his room and says "it's time you learn the truth." After visiting the workshop you find some items that leave a lot more questions. A photo album featuring sans and a bunch of people you don't recognize, a badge, blueprints with illegible handwriting, and a broken machine hidden behind a curtain. In the latest update, one more detail was added. A handdrawn picture of 3 smiling faces with the words “don't forget.” so what does it all mean. Well a lot of undertale theorists have been linking these details to a feature to a character named w d gaster. A ghostly figure who never truly appears in the game, honestly covering him is a theory all unto itself, and probably best saved for another day. All of the gaster theories i've seen haven't been able to explain all the details. A photo album, and the badge, and that's what kept nagging me as i researched undertale. A badge? That one in particular stuck out to me. Why would such an oddly specific item to be hidden in the huge easter egg of the room. Something that supposedly reveals the truth about sans. Badges just aren't important in undertale. Then it hit me. What if this badge isn't from undertale? What if this badge is from a completely different game? And was infact the most important badge in the history badge in the history of gaming? This franklin badge. And for those of you who are wondering what i'm talking about, the franklin badge is a pivotal item from the mother series. You know, the one with earthbound, or, maybe you don't know that one either. You know, the one with ness from super smash bros? Yeah well, ness is from earthbound, and earthbound is the second part of this larger mother series. Good? Yeah, well anyways, the franklin badge is an important part of that series. It gets its start in the very first game and carries through the whole trilogy, saving your life many times in the process. It's SO important that nintendo has made it a staple item in the smash brothers series. So i asked myself; what if the badge in sans drawer was THAT badge? Well first off, it would make undertale connected to earthbound, thereby making it even COOLER? But that's still a pretty big logical leap. I needed more. Let me tell you, as i started looking more and more pieces started to fit into place. At the end of earthbound you're given a photo album, covering your adventures throughout the game. To me it's one of the most satisfying endings to a journey. And what does sans have in his other drawer? A photo album of people you don't recognize. Of course you don't know them, they're not character present in undertale. And note the word that's used here, PEOPLE you don't recognize. Not underworld monsters. So that's 2 items oddly linked to the mother series linked to the mother series. But how do the broken machine and blueprints fit in? Well, in the final stretch of earthbound, ness and his 3 friends must travel to the past in order to have their final battle against the evil alien giygas. In order to do that, with the help of dr. andonuts (remember that, he's going to be important later) along with science geniuses apple kid and mr. saturn, create a machine known as the phase distorter, a machine that allows people to travel through time and space. Except, it comes at a cost. It can transport organic material, as a result the young heroes must put their souls in robot bodies in order to save the world. I played this game back in 1997 and i'm not ashamed to admit that when i first saw this scene i cried. It's DEVASTATING. Doctor andonuts says goodbye to his son, these characters you've grown to love are suddenly promising to sacrifice their lives. For all they know, there is no possibility of them being able to come back home. It's all a very dark departure in what was otherwise a fun, colorful, and quirky RPG. so what does all of this have to do with undertale? A LOT, actually. But the first thing you need to know is that mr. saturns are known for their, let's say, unique linguistic style. That would explain the illegible handwriting on the blueprints. And the machine? I think a broken phase distorter is behind that curtain. Now that may seem like a stretch but it actually explains a lot. Sans wound up in undertale via phase distorter, it could provide a reason for why he's a skeleton. He used the machine as organic matter and suffered the consequences, not killing him, but turning at least a part of him into a pile of bones. That could also explain why sans has given up hope for going home. Remember the phase distorter is a time machine. Based on the way he talks, he's not only from a different space but from a different time, with no hope of travelling back to the time he came from. But the crossovers between earthbound and undertale continue. When you speak to apple kid at the end of earthbound, he's blown away by the astronomical odds of ness defeating giygas. Hes going to continue studying the trait called courage, in order to obtain its power. That seems awfully familiar to the experiments happening in undertale around the trait of determination, no? Especially since so much has shown that sans was a key player in those experiments. But i'm sure you also want physical evidence right? Well don't worry, i have plenty. During one of the endings of undertale, we see undyne and alpyhs hanging out on the beach of the surface world. A beach that bears a lot of similarities to the tropical location summers that you play in earthbound. In fact, the geographic layout of the surface bears some striking similarities to the world of mother. When undertales crew of monsters are finally able to reach the surface and look out over the earth, they're met with a beautiful sunset with a tall mountain, a big city, and a sandy area adjacent to water. Notice the sun's reflection, hence the water, and a lack of trees in this middle section, hence the sand. Well, in earthbound you have the big city of fourside, complete with skyscrapers, which you reach via a dessert that just so happens to be adjacent to water, and to the east, a mountain on onett where a meteor hits earth. I always called it onett. But if that's not clear enough for you, mother 1, earthbound zero, earthbound beginnings, whatever you want to call it, it's had a lot of names, had a map laying out the same geographic landscape. A tall mountain to the east of a large city, separated by a desert, with all of it up against a coast. I don't know about you, but to me it seems like there's a definite connection between the world of eagleland (eagleland? Again, unclear how its pronounced.) and the surface world of undertale. But the strongest physical connection, the one that definitely connects these two franchises, comes from none other than papyrus himself. He wears a custom made costume known as his “battle body” but if you look really closely at the designing on the armor, you'll notice a few marks on the chest. Is it just a throwaway detail? Ohoh NO, that right there is an exact match to the ones that appear on the chests of starmen, the most iconic enemy of earthbound. And look at the way he stands, i always thought it was awkward until i saw the two characters side by side. Papyrus’ curved arm and hand is a DIRECT match to the curved arm and hand of the starmen. In short, we have some strong proof that the earthbound universe is somehow connected to the undertale world, which brings us back to our initial question, WHO IS SANS? Well, what if we took in one final step and said that sans happened to be ness from earthbound. He hopped through the phase distorted as a test of courage, carrying his franklin badge, a photobook, and his trusty backpack. Not only do all the items in the workshop suddenly fit, but so does sans’ behavior. Remember, sans can seemingly teleport. And ness just happens to have the ability PSI teleport. Now look at how sans stands, hands in his pockets, legs out, it looks very similar to how ness is shown on most of the marketing for the game. It even explains why sans bleeds when you hit him. He is, or at least, WAS, a human. Oh and finally, sans is only one letter removed from being an anagram of ness. That's just a fun one. I thought it was worth mentioning. But if there was any doubt, we have to look no further than the creators previous work. Toby Fox, the man behind undertale, had previously worked on a halloween hack for earthbound. But this isn't just a simple reskin. The halloween hack tells the tale of dr. andonuts after the events of earthbound. Remember i pointed him out, he's the one who made the phase distorter. In toby fox’s version of the story, we see that the souls of the kids never returned home instead, by going to the past to defeat giygas, there stuck in a new timeline. As a result, jeff never reunites with his father andonuts. And dr. andonuts goes crazy with guilt, because HE’S the one responsible for creating the time machine, taking the souls of his sons and his sons friend to what he assumes aws their death. He's killed 4 kids, and in toby fox's game, he's gone crazy with guilt, trying to deal with that. Im telling you, this hack is DARK. that said, you see a lot of undertale in this game. The appearance of amalgamates, the use of the awesome song megalovania, the prototypes for flowery? And the theme of being nonviolent in an rpg, SPARING your enemies. So why is this important to the story? Well, remember, in toby fox's version of the story, the kids don't come back. They're stuck in the past, with no hopes of getting home, just like sans. and , in the hack, one character is oddly missing, with no explanation as to why. NESS. presumably in this timeline his soul is in a different place than his friends. Which brings us back to undertale. 3 faces, with “don't forget” written on it? Its ness, trying to remember his 3 friends. In short, undertale is a continuation of toby’s version of earthbound, with ness never being able to get home, adopting the name sans, and being accompanied by papyrus, a starman, with knowledge of english, his armor, and his signature posture, but without any of his memory of human things, like the sun. The pieces all just seem to fit. Now all we need is an appearance from Pokey/Porky and we’d have a true sequel. But hey, that's just a theory. A GAME THEORY! THANKS FOR WATCHING!

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askmicrowaveayem · 6 years

Text

MAYEM: Just Like Me - Pt. 8

[Previous]

[Archive] [Cast]

Despite walking this same route often alone, it was nice to have someone with him that he trusted. It was nice to feel that familiar hum of magic and know he wasn’t alone swimming in a sea full of beings that could spin around and dust him in an instant. It was good to have help. He turned into a side street and headed for a small grocery store. There was produce sat outside in cardboard boxes and little wind chimes dangling around the entrance. It was quaint and homey. It wasn’t too busy or loud save for the occasional passing car. It was about as busy with humans as Gaster could comfortably manage. But that was okay. He had come a long way since being pulled out of his void. --

Gaster followed along, curious about where they were headed. There was definitely enough to keep him occupied looking around, everything looking so new and different.

It seemed like this was somewhere his twin had ended up going before. Maybe a lot? ...he wondered if any humans or monsters around recognized him as a regular, or something.

...he wanted to see his boys, and he wanted to go home, but at the same time--if he could, he would’ve been glad to spend more time with his twin and maybe help him on the surface.

They seemed to be all right as long as they felt they had each other’s backs.

As they approached the front of the store he looked at his double. “Still okay?” He asked while grabbing a basket. He then grabbed a few tomatoes from the bins outside, bagged them, and set them in the basket. He didn’t eat much but he knew what his boys liked. --

He nodded and followed along.

“Yeah, I think I’m fine, now. You?”

-- “I’ll be okay.” He said. It wasn’t great or fantastic, but… he would be okay. “I’ve been here a lot before. I don’t need the boys to escort me anymore, which is good. But it’s nice to have someone close.” Gaster lead his double inside, the aisles lined with all sorts of food that neither of them would probably find appealing. One could taste too much and the other nothing at all. But sometimes it was nice to look at. Surface food was different. “I wonder what a lot of this stuff tastes like.” He held up a bunch of grapes. “The boys have tried some of it for me, but describing it only goes so far.” --

“What are they?” He asked, looking at them closely. He was tempted to try one, but… well. In the store, that was probably not a good thing. He looked up at his double, squinting thoughtfully. “.....do you think we can build something that might augment our tastebuds somehow?”

“Grapes.” Gaster said, then put them in the basket. He would let his twin try them when they got home. At mention of augmenting their tastebuds he laughed. “Knowing us? Probably. If we tried hard enough. But… I’ll be honest, I haven’t even settled down to figure out what I’m made of.” “Kinda hesitant to find out.” --

Gaster nodded understandingly He was, well, pretty familiar with the feeling of terror and confusion about what exactly one was when they realized they were different. And the struggle to decide if it was better to just take what was in front of you or to go out seeking answers.

But that also meant he was sure his twin would become curious enough to try eventually. No rush.

He nodded again. “It makes sense. We don’t have to. Just throwing it out as an idea; it’s not exactly top priority, understandably. But it might be something to toss around.”

“Maybe I’ll start toying with it once I… well… you know.” He gestured a little. His main focus had always been Chara. Once that little beast was dealt with the world was his oyster. He lead his twin around the aisles, grabbing things he knew the boys would like. Hot dogs, ketchup, pasta, and popato chisps. “If you see anything interesting just grab it. We have plenty of money to spare.” --

Gaster nodded and looked around again. There wasn’t much he was interested in, especially with how his form was now, but he still paused, considering. Finally, he took an extra box of pasta and some hard candy.

“Interdimensional presents,” he explained. “Can you imagine my Papyrus’ face when I give him a box of space-pasta?”

Gaster chuckled at the thought, “Speaking of which, how was he doing before everything happened? Did he turn out like my Pap at all?” --

Gaster smiled, a real, wide, genuine smile.

“Yeah. He’s just… he wants to be a Royal Guard so he can protect people, once he started accepting that magic could be used for things other than violence. That’s all he wants to do, now. Use it to take care of others. He still has a lot of trouble talking with people, but it’s mostly that he’s trying too hard, I think, but he... I’m really proud of him. He used to always assume the worst of everything, you know?” He paused another moment, looking up at his twin. “...he started retraining himself to always give the benefit of the doubt, first. Someone says something mean? Maybe they’re having a bad day, or they’re scared, or they’re supposed to be saying mean things and trying to save face. He’s figured out how to not take things personally. It’s… he’s not oblivious at all. He’s just choosing to fight back against that sort of thinking. ...I’m really, really proud of him.”

Gaster’s smile only grew as his double spoke. “That’s good. I’m glad. I’m proud of him too.” Again the thoughts of how some timelines turned out bubbled up in his mind, but he roughly pushed them aside. He didn’t want to worry his double. They would get him home and everything would be okay. It had to be. They had paid for enough. They had earned it. He hoped getting back to their boys was another constant. Being a loving family together. --

He was grinning back when he caught the small flash of… something across his double’s face. “...what’re you thinking of, right now?”

Shit. Gaster looked at his double, very still. His smile faded instantly. Shit. He inhaled and continued walking as he spoke. Were this anyone else he would have said ‘nothing’, but they have both proven long ago they couldn’t hide things from one another. It was good and annoying at the same time. “I’ve seen how some timelines pan out. I’m just being paranoid.” He hoped that was enough. --

…

“...things happen to Papyrus?”

“Things happen to everyone.” Gaster said as he pulled a box of crackers off the shelf. “Remember what I said?” He asked, looking at him. “Closer to my timeline I saw many possibilities. Chara killed Papyrus. Chara killed Sans. The flower killed both of them. Sans slips and falls over a fucking ledge and cracks his head open. Just… infinite possibilities.” “I’m trying not to think about them. I didn’t want to say anything to worry you.” He looked away again and kept moving. Gaster really hadn’t wanted this to come up. --

“...all right. Sorry I brought it up,” he said, and moved along with him. “...so what’s the weirdest food on the surface?”

“It’s okay.” He said, but was very grateful for the change in subject. “Papyrus’ cooking.” Gaster laughed, “But seriously? A lot of their fruit is weird. Bananas are weird. Just by how they look. Have you ever seen a pineapple?” --

Gaster shook his head. “What the fuck is a pineapple?”

He was imagining an apple covered in… needles.

-- He turned and headed back towards the produce and went straight for a collection of pineapples. An arm thrust outwards as if to say ‘look at this weird fucking thing’. It was neither a pine nor an apple. It was… a spiney thing with a weird jagged top. “I mean… look at that.” --

“How,” Gaster asked, staring at it. His voice dropped lower. “Why.”

“...it looks like it’s going to grow arms and legs and reveal itself as a monster any minute. Are you sure it’s a fruit?”

He honestly didn’t care if any of the scattered humans around overheard that. They needed to know. They had to be aware of what this thing was.

-- “I don’t know.” Gaster picked one up. “But… yeah. Definitely a fruit. It scared me the first time I walked in here.” He laughed at himself. “The boys had to convince me this wasn’t a monster or something.” He set it down and then picked up a can of pineapple chunks that sat next to the stall. “You cut it up and eat it.” The can was held towards his twin. “Should we get it? Are we brave enough?” --

“How dare you question my bravery,” he said very seriously, eyeing the can like it was going to be painful. “Let’s do it. You’d better film whatever faces I make, though.”

-- “Oh I will.” Gaster grinned and put it into the basket before turning and heading back the way they had came. “Any other goodies you wanna get for your boys?” --

“I’m not sure. I already feel sort of weird getting them anything at all. Like. ‘Hey! I’ve been gone for years! Sorry, I was just i an alternate dimension for a few weeks. Here, I brought you souvenirs’?”

He mimed along with his words, trying to convey just how ridiculous it all felt.

Gaster laughed, “No yeah that’s pretty weird.” He lead his double to the checkout, the cashier barely giving either of them a strange look at all before letting out a chipper; “Hello! Is that everything?” before beginning to ring them out. “Yep.” Gaster said, pulling his wallet from his chest. This didn’t effect the cashier either. She must have dealt with Gaster enough to know him. --

Gaster was weirdly very happy just to watch his double interacting with the cashier? She wasn’t phased and his double wasn’t nervous around her, and that was just such a nice, refreshing thing to see that he was almost tempted to congratulate them both, just to make it uncomfortable.

He didn’t do that, it would be mean. So he stayed back, watching and enjoying seeing his double seem relaxed around a relative stranger for once.

-- There wasn’t much smalltalk, but that was okay. The cashier rung him up, bagged his things, and Gaster paid. “Here’s your change. Have a good day.” The cashier smiled at him and Gaster nodded back. “Thanks.” He didn’t give her quite something that could be called a smile, but… it was a comfortable sort of look. He wasn’t nervous to talk to her, however brief. After taking the bags he lead his counterpart out of the store. --

“Heading back to your place, or more on the way?” Gaster asked, falling into step beside his twin once they were outside.

-- “I’ll leave that up to you.” Gaster said, looking at his double. “The only other place I’m okay with going into is the park.” He pointed ahead and then veered his finger off towards the mountain to indicate direction. “It’s quiet. Mostly just pathways and trees.” “Taste of the surface that isn’t asphalt.” --

Gaster nodded. “...it sounds nice, if you’re up for it. I saw a bit of trees and shit while helping Papyrus get you both down the mountain, but I wasn’t really paying that much attention to them.

Gaster nodded and veered off the pathway they would take were they heading back home. The streets grew quieter and quieter, even more so than the one they lived on. Stores broke away for houses, and then houses broke away for trees. They passed a sign that said ‘Ebott Park’. It was all dirt pathways carved out along the base of the mountain and short distance away from the townhouses most of the monsters lived in now. The beginning of it were benches, picnic tables, and playground equipment. There were a few pavilions here and there, but Gaster didn’t stop at any of them. He lead his twin towards the smaller back paths that lead deeper into the woods. It was calm. There were no cars or loud noises. The only things that could be heard were distant children playing, the birds, and buzzing insects. --

Even though there were no loud noises, that didn’t mean it was really quiet. Not with the birds, and the insects, and the most distant sounds of the park and city. THere were lots of sounds, they were just all… soft.

He kept beside his double, grinning a bit, looking around.

He switched to signing, not wanting to be any louder than the things around them. My Sans would like this place.

Gaster joined with the signing, ‘Yeah? Does he like nature?’ That was a little surprising. His Sans didn’t hate it, but he wasn’t super interested. He liked space. --

Gaster shook his head, Not nature specifically, no. But he always liked exploring. The minute he got the hand of signing, he asked more questions than I knew what to do with, and then he could move on his own, and there was no stopping him.

He grinned, thinking about his eldest. This place looks like it has a lot of places he could spend time looking around.

‘I see. I guess having limited mobility will do that.’ Gaster thought about whether or not he would bring them here someday. Maybe he would if they didn’t manage to break the barrier themselves. Maybe. He tried not to think too much. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Get his double home first. They continued along the pathway, the trees casting them both in shadow and flecking their black forms with sunlight whenever the leaves parted enough. Gaster couldn’t feel it, but he could see it, and that was nice. That made him think. ‘Can you feel the sun?’ He asked. --

...I don’t know, he said at length.

That wasn’t a very satisfactory answer. But it was what he had.

He supposed he could. He could feel particles hitting him and the UV radiation and knew photons hit him on one side and were not hitting him on the other, but it was hard to pull that all apart from all the other things he was also experiencing.

That didn’t mean this wasn’t nice.

-- Gaster nodded and accepted his answer, even if it wasn’t really an answer at all. It implied that his double could feel something, which is good. Maybe too much just like his sense of taste? A bit overwhelming to describe? That was fine. He fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. --

He let the silence continue, unbothered by it this time, and just tried to take in all their surroundings as they continued down the path.

It didn’t seem like this area was used much, at least not at this time of day. He could definitely tell why his counterpart liked it.

Eventually they did run out of trail.

-- “Back home?” Gaster asked once they had looped around and ended up at the entrance of the park again. “Time to try pineapple, wait for the boys to get home, and then watch the stars.” He smiled. --

He smiled back. “Sounds like a good day.”

He followed him home.

It had been a long time since he had such a relaxing, non-rushed day like this. They happened, of course, he didn’t want his boys to constantly be ‘on the road’ hunting the anomaly and ditching their friends and a slightly more normal life. But things had been really hectic the past week or so and it was nice to not be worried about dying. He lead his double back home, unlocking the door and walking to the kitchen. The first thing out of the bag was the can of pineapple chunks, then the rest was put away. --

While his double put everything away, Gaster got to work finding a can opener and getting the can of chunks open. Anything else you wanna see me try to eat?

-- Gaster was way ahead of him. He set down the grapes, a bag of chisps, and a cookie. Then he pulled out his tablet, sat across from him, and started recording. He grinned over at him. --

He got the sudden feeling this was going to go on the… it wasn’t the undernet anymore, was it?

He still got the feeling that was going to probably happen.

Save me if I start dying, he signed, and picked up a piece of pineapple.

He ate it and tried to chew.

He really tried.

He ended up doubling over and twisting a bit before finally giving up and pulling it out. “Are these acid?!”

-- Gaster couldn’t stop laughing. He couldn’t respond. It was all he could do to keep the tablet upright and recording. Black goo appeared in the corners of his eyes and he gripped his chest, unable to stop himself from nearly falling off the chair in laughter. --

“Shut up!!” He said, also starting to laugh at his double’s difficulty staying on the chair. He took another piece of pineapple and chucked it at his twin.

-- He ducked, the pineapple still managing to hit his shoulder before falling on the floor. Gaster reached down and picked it up, then tried to sign through his laughter. He couldn’t manage talking. ‘Does it really fucking taste like acid?’ --

He hesitated, but just for a moment. “W-well not like I’ve actually tasted acid! But yes!!!”

-- “Oh man.” Gaster finally said, laughing a bit. He popped the piece he had picked up into his mouth, but like everything else couldn’t taste it. He swallowed it anyway. After calming down a little he gestured to the grapes. “Try those next?” --

Gaster huffed and tried to gather himself again to look somewhat dignified, but failed a bit. Still, he nodded and leaned over to pick a grape, watching it much more warily after his experience with the pineapple.

...it squished a bit. He was tempted to just squish it instead of eating it.

He ate it. He made a face, crossing his eyes a bit, but swallowed it with a lot less trouble than he expected. “It’s doing the sugar thing, and it’s really fucking squishy. Like. I don’t know, I’m thinking of goo? What d’you think’d happen if we microwaved some of these things?”

“Hell yeah. I loved microwaving random things when I found a microwave for the first time.” Gaster said, sounding excited. “But first, tasting.” He reached over, taking a grape for himself and squishing it around before popping it into his mouth just because. Chisps and cookies were next. --

Cookies next. Chisps for last.

He had an idea of what to expect when he went for the cookies, at least. The most he ate, the more he was starting to anticipate the reactions, even if his actual responses to those reactions were still a thing in themselves. And it was always different to have the memories rather than the experience all over again.

The cookie was sweet. Far too sweet. And he might have blocked most of it out as he ate, blinking, before staring blank faced at his counterpart and slowly shaking his head.

Gaster blinked back, “Explosions?” --

“Explosions and dirt,” Gaster said. “They need better quality flour.”

He chuckled, “Gross.” The last was the chisps. --

He picked up the chisps, shaking his head and signing, dedicated to Sans, before trying one.

They were very pointy. And a little bit painful. But that was pretty much expected at this point.

“Yeah, Sans can have them,” he said, handing the bag over to his double, trying to unscrunch his face. “It’s…. The salt is sparks? I think?”

If he’d known the word for ‘poprocks’ he would have used it.

“Neat.” Gaster grinned and took one of the chisps to eat it. It didn’t crunch, merely popping into his mouth and… going somewhere. He never seemed to chew. He stopped recording and set his tablet down. “Do you think you’ll ever need food again?” --

He paused and considered that. “...I don’t know. I didn’t eat anything at all between you finding me and the soul extraction, so… I’m assuming I don’t. But I still got a burst of energy from that breakfast? Maybe my baseline of energy altered, somehow?”

He glanced at his twin again. “...do you need food at all, or does it affect you?”

“Nope. It doesn’t do much of anything for me. Usually all I need is rest. I still eat though. Papyrus likes it when I eat his cooking.” He smiled, “And coffee is just… familiar.” --

“That’s definitely an up-side to not having tastebuds,” he said. “...it makes sense.”

“Yeah, I’m glad I don’t need to. Might be depressing.” He gave a dry chuckle before standing up and grabbing a bowl. A few pineapple chunks were dumped inside. “We’ll have to get the boys to try these too.” --

Gaster nodded. “I want to know what it tastes like to normal monsters. Especially those hell chunks.”

Gaster started to get the giggles again as he threw the bowl of chunks into the microwave and punched in a number.

“That was so good.” --

“Woah, woah, wait,” he said, before picking up the tablet again and starting a new recording. “Okay, go.”

Gaster was still giggling as he shut the door of the microwave and watched the pineapple start to rotate inside. “I’m going to rewatch that video forever.” --

Oh, fuck, his double’s giggles were infectious. “You fucking loser,” he said, shaking his head. “You’d better get me a copy somehow.”

He kept the tablet trained on the microwave.

“Maybe I can copy it onto something you have when we’re back home. Or put it on a flash drive.” Gaster said, then continued to watch the pineapple chunks. “... Think anything will happen with these?” --

Gaster leaned forward, squinting at the fruit. “They’re definitely getting hotter. Serves the bastards right.”

… Gaster started to giggle again, eventually clearing his throat and taking a breath to stop himself. “Ah. Haven’t laughed that hard in awhile.” He continued to watch, but nothing looked particularly interesting. “Should we move onto something else?” --

Gaster nodded. “Cookies and chisps won’t be that interesting. Grapes?”

“Grapes.” Gaster nodded and opened the microwave, pulling out the pineapple and setting it aside before reaching for a few grapes. “Should we cut them into pieces or put them in whole?” --

“Will it make much of a difference?” Gaster asked. “Maybe just cut them in half and they won’t try to roll out of the center or anything that way.”

“Alright.” Gaster grabbed a knife and cut a few grapes with medical precision before setting them in the microwave and punching in a number. --

The grapes were all very close to each other, most of them just a hair’s width apart from touching.

Gaster wasn’t really expecting anything to happen, assuming that, like the pineapple, they’d probably just heat up and he could insult them a bit.

And then, a few seconds into microwaving, something flashed.

“Woah--woah! I didn’t imagine that, right?”

It kept pulsing and flashing.

“Woah, holy shit.” Gaster blinked, leaning closer rather than flinching back. “What the hell was that? What the hell is that?” Now he was curious. --

“Um, whatever it is,” Gaster said, unfocusing his eyes and looking more at the idea of things than what was there and--haha, wow, that looked an awful lot like an extremely hot gas or high voltage current? “It’s destroying your microwave.”

The microwave began sparking uncontrollably.

“Wh-” Gaster’s eyes went wide and he quickly stopped the microwave before yanking out the plug and looking panicked. He had blown up a lot of microwaves. He did not want his sons scolding him for doing it to one they actually used. --

It was Gaster’s turn to start laughing at his twin. He set the tablet down and covered his mouth, snorting at his double’s face and trying hard to stay upright.

He started applauding, still cackling.

Laughter was infectious. Gaster started to join in. “That was cool!” He said through his chuckles. “But… seriously if I broke this thing the kids are going to be pissed.” He kept laughing anyway. --

Gaster nodded, grinning and still laughing as he went up to the microwave and opened it carefully, taking the grapes out.

“If it doesn’t look broken, it wasn’t our fault, right?”

“Hell yeah. Okay.” Gaster started to walk around the room dumping out the pineapple chunks and putting everything away. “Make it look like nothing happened. We didn’t do shit.” There was a sound of the door opening and Papyrus’ voice was soon to follow. “WE’RE HOME!” Gaster abruptly grabbed the grapes with telekinesis and flung them into the trash.

Gaster turned off the tablet, quickly motioning for his double to go out and say ‘hi’ to the kids while he handled the rest of the kitchen.

I got it. Tell them I just tried to eat food and ended up needed to spit things out and that’s why we’re in the kitchen. They really had no business being in the kitchen.

Gaster nodded and strolled out. “Hey, how’s the lab going?” “SLOW, BUT… WE MADE PROGRESS. IT’S CLEANED UP NOW. WE CAN START REBUILDING EVERYTHING TOMORROW.” “why were you in the kitchen?” Sans was nothing if not observant in any timeline. “We went to the store. Kidster wanted to try some weird food. I showed him what a pineapple was.” “DID IT SCARE HIM?” Papyrus started to laugh a little. “Not as much as it scared me, but… yeah. Then he tried some and said it tasted like acid.” --

As if on cue, Gaster took that moment to come out of the kitchen, looking miserable and wobbling a bit more than he had a moment before.

Without giving a greeting or second glance to anyone, he made a beeline to the remaining pineapple chunks in the can, picked the can up, and brought it over to the boys.

“W̥̜̹ha͇̻̬͕̲̩̪t̠ ̭i̮̟̤̟s͕̯͙͚ ̰͇̻ṱ̬̠̮h̗is͓ͅ ̩h̹̮̟̦̯͓̬e̬̬̥̜̝̪̝l͚l̼̳.͖͎͇̲̩”

The distorted voice was a nice touch, Gaster thought. Sans and Papyrus looked at the can before the taller of the two took it and stared at the label. “I DON’T THINK I EVER TRIED PINEAPPLE BEFORE.” He said, looking down at his brother who shrugged. He reached a finger into the can and pulled out a piece before handing it down to Sans, who did the same. They both popped it into their mouth at roughly the same time. “IT… IT’S KIND OF WEIRD…” Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets. “yeah. not a big fan, but it’s edible.” Sans said, then popped another in his mouth to be sure. --

He paid the most attention to Papyrus’ response, definitely interested to see if he would elaborate.

He really wanted to know what the fuck was up with pineapples.

“IT’S… TINGLY?” Papyrus said after a moment of being watched, he wasn’t sure how else to describe it. “MAYBE A LITTLE FRUITY, BUT NOT MUCH.” Sans was reading the back label of the can now. “yeah. maybe it has a high acidity level? like… higher than most fruits or something?”

None of them knew too much about food in general, despite how much Papyrus liked to cook. --

“A̙͕̥̟̤͙͎l͖͈̠̮̖̼͖l ͔̯̣̖t̹̞̜̝͖h̟e̠͔͇̹̗s̖̭̰̫̖e͚ br̖̝͓̦a̮̤̭n̯̦̘c̩̥h͕͙̪e͉̥̟͇̖̼s͕͎̙̮̫ o̫̮̟̹̫̜f͖̞ ͙̪s̱̙͍c̞͇̩̼̯i͓͓̲̬̹͉e̗̥̠͎̻n̘̘̤ce͙̜͚̬̤͕̬ ̱a̼n͙̻̦̬͖̲d͇͔͖̝̪ͅ ͓͕n̜͙̝̩̦̩o̻̫͕̯̲n̩̺̹̗e͚̞̲̻̻͈ ͚̟̠̞o̭f̺͔̗͈̪ ̦̫̖us̞̼̺ ̼̻̦͓̦̭ͅk̮̱n̥̞o̭w̱ͅ ̰̣̤̻̖͇̣s̻͈̠̝̦̻h̬̟̬i̖̲̩͙t̼̹̝̹̫.̜͎͉̙,” Gaster said.

...he hoped they’d figure out the answer before he headed back to his universe, because otherwise, he was probably going to try to become a botanist next.

He looked up at Papyrus a moment later, though, ready to fully stop the situation or move it elsewhere. “W̟̺͖͎̗e̩̝͉̦ ̣͎͚̥g̥͉̳̻̲̪ͅo͇͕̘̬͎t͈͔͔̣̳͙͙ ̹̠̬͈̲̱y͚̣̳̜̼o͍͙̘̙̖u ͔̤̻ͅm̲̭͇͖͎ͅo͕̬̰͚̮̜re͍͉̱̭ p̻̲a̩̪͍st̝̬͓a̞̰̤,̱ ̩to̲͔̯̱o͙̟̬͔̬.”

Gaster laughed at that. “Hey, you were Mr. All Knowing Everything weren’t you?” He asked playfully, knowing that dumb information like that was probably the first thing to go. “OH GOODIE! THANK YOU!” Papyrus started to remove his shoes. “I SHOULD START DINNER. NEITHER OF YOU WILL EAT TONIGHT, I GUESS?” “Not me. One meal is good. Save the food for you two.” He took the can of pineapple from Sans to read the label as well. “We’re gonna drive up Ebott tonight to give Kidster a nice look at the stars.” --

“I’m ruined for food for a while,” he said, letting the distortion face and gesturing to the pineapple. But he grinned at the reminder of tonight’s mission.

“Are you two coming, or..?”

Papyrus was already starting towards the kitchen. “WE CAN IF YOU LIKE. OR I CAN JUST DRIVE YOU AND DAD UP THERE. WE DON’T MIND.” They had seen the stars plenty of times before and still loved to see them, but both sons had sort of reached a silent agreement to give the other some space. It was probably hard to see his boys that weren’t really his when he hadn’t been around them in so long. --

It was hard to see them. It was also horrible to not see them. Even if they weren’t his kids, they were… still sort of his kids. Different timeline kids. But still.

He might’ve started to understand what his double had initially felt upon meeting CS-1 all those years ago.

“It’s up to you,” he said. But. It would be nice to see the stars with his own kids, and--

...he couldn’t get sad right now. There were a lot more days of waiting to come.

-- Sans was still stood by the two Gasters and seemed to infer enough to start walking away while addressing Papyrus who was now in the kitchen. “Isn’t your favorite show on tonight, Pap?” “OH YOU’RE RIGHT! I GUESS I’LL JUST DRIVE YOU UP THEN.” Gaster looked at his twin, “You think you’re up for heading into the lab tomorrow? Even if you can’t help, I’m feeling well enough to get started.” --

Gaster nodded. “Sounds good. The sooner the better, right?”

He kept his tone light, but he really was eager to get home.

#undertale #RP log #mayem #just like me #goop #kid #sans #papyrus

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saveloadreset · 7 years

Text

Still weird details

Hi !

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

Save Note:

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

2, 3 and 4 :

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

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

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

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

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

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

Save Note:

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 :

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Save Note

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

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

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

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

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

6 :

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

7 :

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

Save Note

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

I think that’s what’s up with that.

8 :

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

Save Note

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

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

9 :

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

Save Note

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

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

10 :

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

Save Note:

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

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

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

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

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

13 :

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

14 :

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

Save Note:

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

What post was this?

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

Save Note:

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

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

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

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

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

The frustrating truth is: we don’t know.

15 (what… No 15 ?) :

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

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

Thank you for reading !

#save submissions #submission

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undertalescreeching · 7 years

Text

Microwave Grapes pt 14

It was a long walk from the river to the lab. Gaster didn’t remember paying for the ferrying fee, but he was sure he had, since no one called after him as he got out of the shallow boat.

The halls felt very cold compared to the rest of Hotland. Somehow, colder than even Snowdin.

The temmie wasn’t at the receptions desk. A shell with two eyestalks and an abundance of furry arms was there instead. Gaster hesitated halfway down the entry hall, not sure if he should check in--but the thought of approaching the desk and speaking, introducing himself, asking the monster to call down to inform of his presence--the nerves won out.

He shuffled the rest of the way down the entryway to the elevator, very aware of two eyestalks swiveling to follow him. But his key still worked. The elevator doors slid open.

He didn’t look up from his shoes until the doors finally, finally closed.

Fuck.

He’d forgotten how exhausting this could be.

…

Ursama’s office was two floors down. A bit below the labs, a bit above the greenhouses. Gaster didn’t meet more than two people in the hallways, but he still thought he could feel himself being judged around corners and stared at through the little windows in the doors. And at any moment he could imagine someone walking around the corner to spot him hovering outside Ursama’s office, hand not even raised to knock yet. They’d corner him into an explanation. He had to get inside before someone else rounded into the hall, but knowing Ursama was inside and therefore also a person to corner him into an explanation--

Halfway into his thoughts the door to her office fell open.

Gaster jumped.

She shrieked.

Something fell out of her paws and smashed against the ground.

...It didn’t smash. It was a plastic cup.

Gaster was three feet back with a hand over his chest, and Ursama was mirroring his posture in the doorway, her dark eyes wide and dilated.

“Goodness!” she said. “Gaster!”

“Uhk,” he croaked.

She covered her eyes with her palm and shook her head, letting out a loose breath as she sighed and bent over to pick up the fallen cup. Her labcoat reached down to her ankles.

“Come--come on in. You startled me.”

Gaster made a sort of ‘wub wub’ sound somewhere in his throat that she accepted as meaning, ‘me too.’

(He had temporarily forgotten how to blink and only started to again when he realized his eyesockets could metaphorically dry out.)

Ursama’s office had a flickering light that she informed him was on the fritz again as they sat down, him shuffling quietly into the too-large chair in front of her desk. She abandoned whatever she wanted to do with the plastic cup, setting it on the corner of the desk beside a messy stack of papers. Beside that was a partly filled lantern in case the lights went out again. “Sorry, one second--”

“I can wait,” he croaked, shifting in his seat as Ursama turned around a few times behind her desk, apparently searching for something. Pushed a pair of glasses up and rubbed her eyes, shook her head.

“No, it’s fine, we were waiting--can you get the door?”

Gaster stood quickly and went to close the door. Promptly back in his seat. She thanked him quietly. Groomed her snout.

“What WERE YOU THINKING? ”

Gaster died immediately.

He melted down in his chair and hid his head between his shoulders and was pretty sure he went momentarily blind, as he had no idea what his eyes were trying to focus on.

(But Ursama hadn’t been shouting --it had just seemed so loud to him--he just--

He understood that it couldn’t have been heard outside, that she was still rubbing her snout and eyes and she looked exhausted , but his body wanted to curl up and hunch away and just take it--)

“I just--what in the world would possess you to steal CS1 and run off with no explanation , and for months , with--”

Even though she wasn’t talking quickly, his mind was still fuzzed over with static and he didn’t hear all the words.

“--We’ve had to stall the project while you were gone and come up with an explanation for the--”

He dug his fingers into the holes in the opposite hand until a sliver of dust scraped free.

“--while a human ran around, and--”

“--I!” Gaster said.

...Ursama paused. Paw away from her nose. Staring at him. Maybe she didn’t mean to stare. Maybe she was just giving attention, and staring was just what it felt like, because he’d finally gotten his eyes focusing again, but he could only dart them to the corner of her desk, watching a place where the edge of a stack of papers and the metal top aligned.

“I… I came back because of-of the human, actually...”

...Ursama took another deep breath, sat down in her chair, and Gaster told himself again that she’d never really been angry.

“...I, uh, I saw something in the woods that looked like a, like my bone constructs, but CS1 was far away--”

Ursama held up a paw.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” she said, “and that the human gave you a scare, but I need to know why you did something this rash in the first place. Like I said. Normally I’d have never believed it would happen with you, Wingdings.”

He hadn’t heard that before. But he would have to believe she’d said it. It didn’t light up anything warm or affectionate in him. The nickname didn’t even send a twinge of annoyance. He was already sick to his nonexistent stomach.

“I-I- came to suppect SssseeS1 was being harmed here. S-somehow.”

“Being harmed?” She leaned forward a little, snout wrinkling.

“ Somehow ,” he repeated. “I-I didn’t find any physical evidence, but he was very distressed whenever I left the room, a-and since learning to speak more--”

“Has he said something to make you support that theory?”

“Y-yes, he, he expressed some distress about it, um.”

“Anything more concrete than that?”

He glanced up from the edge of the desk where he’d been focused, to Ursama’s hands crossed in front of her on the desk, to her small eyes still staring at him. This wasn’t how he remembered his parents handling things about scared children when he was young; something wasn’t going right and he couldn’t find it in him to remember exactly what Sans had said-- “Well, well he was taken from the room without permission and, and there were additional things he was exposed to without--”

“There’s always tests, Wingdings….”

“But, but he was very upset by them, to the point where he did not want me to leave his side, so I believed my presence was stopping someone from--”

“Who do you honestly believe would do that?” Ursama asked, sighing and rubbing the side of her head, just in front of her twitching ear. She finally closed her eyes and relaxed her face again, but Gaster didn’t feel any better about it. Instead, he felt even heavier in his seat. “I’m sure he was just scared by a technician taking him out for a bath, or--”

“I-I-I was hoping to ask Serptrine.”

…

Ursama didn’t answer him, but one of her eyes popped back open and returned to staring.

Gaster shrank again.

“...I’d. Like to ask Serptrine. I-I agree and I’m sure there has to be an explanation. Sans said that Serptrine was there and I’m certain the royal scientist wouldn’t--”

“Sans?”

...Gaster couldn’t seem to ease the cold grip around his soul.

His jaw was hard to move.

“...I… gave him a nickname…”

…

He didn’t want to hear Ursama sigh again.

But she did.

He just tried to focus on his breathing.

“...Wingdings,” she said, in a terribly gentle voice, leaning forward on her desk again. “...where’s CS1 right now?”

…

“Wingdings. Please answer me.”

“...my apartment. I. Didn’t want to leave him somewhere far, but he was scared to come back to the lab.”

“He’s expressing emotions now?”

“...he has been, yes.”

“Okay. We’ll have the room prepared for you when you return with him in an--”

“I’m--” ...There was a way Ursama looked at him when she was interrupted that made the silence feel much, much longer than it must have been. “I’m not… I’m able to sufficiently care for him at my place, I think, so until I get what happened sorted out and talk with Serptrine, I’d rather care for him there, just in case, and--”

…

He met her eyes again and neither of them spoke for a long, long silence.

The lights flickered out. Then on again. Neither commented.

...Ursama put her head in her hands. And sighed.

“You’re on unpaid leave, Wingdings,” she said. “We’ll expect the return of borrowed materials by the end of today and be contacting you with more information later.”

...Gaster nodded. Swallowed. And got to his feet.

“Right,” he croaked. “I’ll go get that.”

She nodded and didn’t open her eyes to see him, even as her hands once again fell down and her arms folded in front of her on the table.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said, and was gone.

There weren’t any pictures of his parents left in his house. He’d gotten a contact print as a present, once, and kept that as best he could, but the earthquake had destroyed most things that he would’ve tried to salvage.

Sans had wandered to the kitchen and rifled around, obviously, but found nothing there. Nothing in the livingroom was of interest to him. There were no books he could easily read yet.

Gaster found him on the floor in front of the couch, with Poe Yo beside him, bouncing in circles and pretending to make different monster noises.

He hadn’t even prepared a new trap for Gaster, which was… refreshing. In fact, Poe Yo seemed to fail to notice him entirely, busy imitating an Aaron’s “nyeah,” in a dead, monotonous drone. Sans noticed Gaster’s arrival first, actually, stopping his applause abruptly to point Poe Yo towards Gaster and start signing.

“I’m, I’m going to have to run back,” Gaster muttered, signing along with the words, about a half a step ahead. “I just, just need to return some things…”

Sans nodded and Poe Yo let out a cheerfully monotone, “Alright!!” as Gaster scurried past them, picking up any bolts and screws and wires and soldering irons he’d borrowed from the lab.

Somehow, his apartment was even emptier when he was done than it was before.

…

Or maybe everything looked emptier, now that he’d gotten used to the little round blue carpet at the foot of the quilt-covered bed, the coffee table and two chairs by the window, and the fireplace heating the teapot in place of a stove.

The shelled monster in the entry hallway to the labs called out to him this time as he came up to their desk to sign the materials back in, and the only reason Gaster knew they were talking to him was because no one else was even around for them to be talking to--but he had to look around to see it, and almost cringed, pointing to himself, and watching their shell bob in a nod.

“Yeah, you! Your interview went that well?”

The worst part of this conversation was that he had no idea why it was happening.

“I-interview?”

“Yeah!” said the monster. They had a high, soprano voice that matched exactly nothing of their outside appearance. “Are you not the new hire?”

Oh thank fuck.

He signed his name quickly. Gstr on the dotted line.

“N-No, no, I’ve been here a while.”

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “I haven’t seen you around before?”

“I’ve, I’ve been away,” he said as he took one hopeful half-step towards the elevator, then another. “I, uh, I guess you’re filling in for Temmie while she does the same, huh?”

“Temmie?”

“The, uh, the front desk… person…?”

“Uh, well, I’m actually new here, too, so? But I’m the only one here?”

“Oh,” he said, and continued trying to shuffle towards the elevator while the front desk person continued to talk.

“The person before me got fired for letting someone steal some supplies. Is that what you mean?”

Oh.

“Uh, hahaha, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been gone a while. Have to go to a meeting, again, though. Bye!”

He.

He circled his thumb inside his hand’s hole as he climbed, shaking, into the elevator.

He’d drop off the bag of supplies he’d carried in with him.

The power went off halfway through the return trip back up. He opened the side door of the elevator and tiredly started pulleying the thing up by hand. It was like pulling on a safety-lock seatbelt until you were on a new floor. There had to be a better way to do this.

(When elevators didn’t have power, the humans called them ‘dumb-vators’. Gaster really hated dumb-vators.)

Back to the piers. Back to the rivers and rivermen. Three more gold coins to get him back to the edge of the Capital. Back into town.

Gaster was exhausted by the time he climbed the stairs to his apartment. Making the round trip twice in one day didn’t seem like such a severe undertaking, but today it had been. He leaned against the wall outside his apartment when he finally got there, catching his breath and wishing the Capital were a bit cooler before twisting the knob and shuffling in to tell Poe-Yo that he could head home now when he realized that Poe Yo and Sans were no longer in front of the couch where he’d spotted them last.

Gaster groaned.

That pogo stick better not have tried to use his kitchen or made a mess of his backroom storage.

Grumbling quietly, he shuffled over to the kitchen and poked his head in, expecting the whole place to be flooded, or at least to see--what-- sauce everywhere, or something.

...it was somehow disconcerting to see the kitchen in the same state as he’d left it.

He stepped back again, looking around the livingroom once more, even though there wasn’t really anywhere to hide except behind the couch.

“Poe Yo?” he called, and did glance behind the couch. No one there.

“Poe Yo, I’m back…”

Gaster opened his back storage closet. Or tried. It was a little bit stuck.

He braced his foot on the wall to try and tug the door open, grunting with one hefty tug. The door squealed.

Ugh.

The air inside was stale and musty-cold. No one’d opened this room at all since he headed to Snowdin.

…

He shut the door again. Hard. It squeaked back into place, even though the knob stuck and didn’t go back into the wall all the way.

He tried to shake off the musty smell and swallowed his nerves back down.

Turned sharpy.

Back into the hall. And across the way.

He rapped his knuckles against Poe Yo’s apartment quickly, with less hesitation than he’d ever felt outside that door, and more trepidation than he’d ever imagined.

“Just a second!!” came the monotone, nasally voice.

And a second later there was Poe Yo, opening the door, and looking up with his jack-in-the-box head, beaming. “Oh! You’re back already!”

“Where is Sans?” Gaster said. “He just went to see you in the lab!” Poe Yo reported, striking a salute. “The slime you sent up here picked him up just a half hour ago!”

-- A/N ‘dumb-vator’ is a play off ‘dumbwaiter’, where if you use a german pronunciation, they’re pronounced about the same. Dumbwaiters nowadays are freight elevators and run off electricity, but you can find them in houses that far predate electricity. If you’ve ever taken a tour of the Founder’s houses in the US, you’ll probably have seen one-- they were often used to lift wine or single meals up to different floors in the house so they didn’t have to be carried from the cellars.

#beatext #gaster #sans #microwave grapes #chapter 14 #microwave grapes chapters

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pumpkins-s · 7 years

Text

Not As Simple As A Happy Ending

Read on AO3 Here

Read the Other Chapters On Tumblr Here

It’s just a ribbon.

Just a plain red ribbon, absolutely nothing special about it.

At least, that’s what Sans tries to tell himself as Frisk stares up at him, their expectant look slowly morphing into confusion while he sits there frozen.

In which Frisk isn’t the first human Sans meets, nor the first he befriends, nor the first he kills.

And being Sans in general is complicated.

Fandom: Undertale

Characters: Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Frisk, Toriel, Asgore, W.D. Gaster, Grillby, Flowey, Chara, Blue Soul Human, Light Blue Soul Human, Yellow Soul Human, miscellaneous

Warnings: Canonical character death, non-graphic violence, bucketloads of angst (y’know the drill)

Other Things Worth Noting: Non-linear Narrative (though primarily set pre-canon), canon compliant, assumes post-pacifist run following an almost-genocide run for post-canon settings, Sans-centric with other characters being viewed through his eyes

Chapter 18: Conjecture

((Author’s Note:

Heyyyyy. Long time, no update!

(I'm back.)

Apologies for the interim between updates, it's been a weird few months for me, and I really needed a break from this fic to clear my head by working on other things and to deal with some personal issues. Given that, and the fact that this chapter (and the one following it) are possibly two of the most important chapters in Act 2, and I really wanted to do it right, finishing the update took a while.

Before we begin, some extra content and fanart to present!

First up on fanart: Adorable character cards Celestialfeathers surprised me with at Emerald City Comicon this year! You can check them out here!

Next, two gorgeous sketch sets of Wind, Rose, Sans, and Integrity by katthesmall, which you can see here and here!

We also have, by lieu of me googling Not As Simple on a dare, some pieces of fanart featuring Integrity I discovered by saphira123 (If the artist is reading this, I don't have accounts on any of your preferred media to thank you directly, but just know I found them and I love them!!). You can check out their gorgeous art of Integrity here, here, and here!!

In terms of bonus content for you guys, more exciting stuff!

First, to accompany the last chapter, Wind now has her own playlist here!

Second, and possibly most excitingly, Not As Simple now has its own song!! My little sister commissioned one of my favorite independent musicians for me as a Christmas present, so I am overjoyed to present to you guys Lost Time, the official song for Not As Simple, which you can find here!! (The musician in question is amazing and I would absolutely suggest checking out the rest of her stuff!)

That's it! Now, I'm happy to present to y'all chapter 18! ))

“I’m… pretty sure that’s wrong.”

Gaster frowns, turning and squinting at the whiteboard. “…No?”

“Nah, he’s right.” Wind says from the table next to Sans where she’s perched, legs crossed and thick book open in her lap. “Top row, G. You didn’t carry the four.”

Gaster hums, tilting his head and staring up at the section in question. “….Bollocks. You’re correct. I can’t believe I missed that.”

Wind snorts loudly, turning a page in her book, and Sans rolls his eyes, going back to entering the data on his notepad into the computer in front of him.

Sans is fifteen, and some days it feels like they’re no closer to breaking into the rules of the barrier than they were when he first came to the labs.

…Ok, no, that’s wrong. It’s not a case of what he feels, though that certainly plays an inevitable factor.

No, it’s more like they logistically, honestly have little more of an idea of what the fuck they’re looking at than they did three years ago. Never mind the fact Gaster had already been working on this puzzle for at least another two decades and then some before Sans was even a factor.

It’s exhausting, and frustrating, and Sans knew the mystery of the space-time bubble that is the Underground wouldn’t be solved in a day, but sometimes it feels like he’s losing his goddamn mind.

Then again, he notes idly, as his eyes flicker to the two other people in the room, it’s not like this was a job built for the sane and healthy. To learn the truth, to even get close to it, you had to be willing to become damaged goods— And that’s just what they are, him and Wind and Gaster, the byproducts of witnessing the unfathomable and walking out the other side.

Smugly, Wind points out another error in Gaster’s math, laughing loudly at his outraged spluttering, and Sans can’t help but stare quietly, drinking in the bright sound of Wind’s laughter, her rustling wings as her shoulders shake with mirth. Across from her Gaster is loudly animated, coat twirling as he turns and chucks a marker at her, shouting indignantly.

They are so alive. Sometimes Sans has trouble understanding how he got lucky enough to be graced with this.

Wind had become something of a staple in many of his and Gaster’s research sessions ever since their little heart-to-heart during the first annual inspection he was present for, slipping into the mix of languages Gaster meshes together on accident during his ramblings and partaking in the easy, insulting banter, with a grace that alludes to her experience with it. It speaks to just how long she’s been around Gaster, Sans thinks, and of how much time she’s had to learn his patterns. Perhaps it had always been like that, before Sans had arrived. He hates to think he accidentally made Wind feel she could no longer be Gaster’s first support, that whatever had come of sharing her memories led Wind to feel she had a permission, one that she never needed in the first place, to be around them, but at least… things are alright now.

Honestly, Sans had never realized the true depth of Wind’s intelligence until she had quietly intruded upon his and Gaster’s work sessions, offering corrections and assistance. She may not be a scientist, but there’s a clear kind of innate brilliance and quickness to Wind that makes sense for someone Gaster would take an interest in.

Regardless, her presence definitely helps, and there’s a kind of openness in what she’s seen, what she’s chosen to stand for, that makes it easy to share with Wind the research into the barrier, into human souls, that they cannot with the others. She has thrown her lot in with humanity as much as himself or Gaster, and there’s an innate kind of trust that comes with that.

The only research Gaster pointedly does away from all eyes but his own and Sans’s is of that into the timelines. Even Wind is kept well away from every piece of it, and while Sans was never shared Wind’s memories of her time with Gaster as his assistant, she does not, as far as he can tell, know of this one little secret. For all that she may know of the barrier, of the deaths of the humans and of the blind loyalty of the guard, this piece of the puzzle is one Gaster has kept hidden.

It’s protection, Sans thinks. There’s a kind of closeness between the two of them, one that makes sense with the knowledge Gaster has known Wind since she was a teenager, and for every moment Gaster seems parental-feeling towards Sans and Papyrus, there is something of a matching moment there for Wind too. Gaster may not ever admit to it, defensive bastard that he is, but it’s plenty obvious he desires to care for the people around him. And for Wind, who has already seen so much of this nightmare, this is the only shielding he can offer her.

Sans doesn’t know if it’s right, to keep the truth from Wind like that, or from any of them really, but he does understand it. He has done, and continues to do, the same for Papyrus, for Grillby. He cares about them too much to ever tell them, as hypocritical as that sounds.

No, the secret of the timelines was one Sans shared only with the human, and now, he supposes, with Gaster.

Sometimes it feels like a bit of a sick trade off— Sans lost a sister and gained… What? A parent? A father?

That word brings hesitation, whenever it crosses Sans’s mind, much like when Rose’s touches to his cheek feel too maternal. He’s… scared. To risk that label, with all the consequences and costs it could bring.

A guardian, then… A guardian in Gaster, and in Rose, in a way. Someone to trust, in Wind, people to call something like family, in Gamma and Ficus, and a friend, in Alphys.

He has all this, and it is invaluable, and yet what he wants most is something he cannot have back. How selfish.

Still, while he cannot change the past, at least so far as he knows, Sans is painfully aware of the variability of the future. If they want to protect the next human who will inevitably fall down here, they must beat the clock, and crack the barrier first. It’s the only option.

…If only it wasn’t so fucking complicated.

Alphys’s familiar stutter paired with an aggressively loud voice greet Sans when he enters the main lab, leaving Sans gritting his teeth against the assault on his hearing, only adding to the headache that’s already been lingering the last few hours from watching Gaster work through walls of data without any success. Sans is well aware not every day is going to produce some sort of breakthrough, even a minor one, and most days don’t, but today has been… particularly frustrating.

And now this of all things.

A startled squeak followed by a nervous-sounding “Sans!” alerts Sans to the fact that Alphys has noticed his arrival, and, reluctantly, Sans stops in his tracks, turning to face her and her guest.

“Oh, it’s you.” Says a second, rougher voice, its occupant hovering just behind Alphys, arms thrown over her shoulders.

Sans sighs. “Hello to you too, Undyne.”

She grins, sharp and wide. “Fuckface.”

“Fishbitch.”

“Please.” Alphys says despairingly, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose in a sign of exasperation she no doubt picked up from Rose. Undyne whines in complaint, dropping her head against Alphys’s shoulder, causing Alphys to flush pink, and Sans shrugs lazily, earning himself a glare from Alphys.

“She started it.” Sans says easily, ignoring Undyne’s outraged squawk of protest. Alphys rolls her eyes, and he snorts. “I’m just getting something from Wind’s study, anyways. Just go back to… whatever you two were doing. Or… whatever you were doing that Undyne was creepily watching you do?”

Alphys twitches in annoyance, an embarrassed blush scrawling further up her cheeks, and Undyne pops her head back up to point angrily at him. “I’m not creepy!”

“Nah, just annoying.” He answers, walking past them and shutting the door to Wind’s office firmly behind him. Leaning against it, Sans lets out a small sigh of relief, dropping his head and staring at the floor without any real purpose or recognition. Running into Undyne is always a bit jarring, her presence loud and demanding no matter how somewhat used to it he may get. Which is exactly why Alphys is supposed to give him some kind of warning before bringing her over, Sans thinks with a kind of half-hearted annoyance.

Honestly, it’s amazing things between them have even progressed enough that Sans is able to tolerate Undyne’s presence, and Undyne the same for him, even if she still seems to take a kind of vicious pleasure in insulting him (Not that he, admittedly, doesn’t do the same). He blames Wind, really. After seeing her memories he couldn’t help but look at Undyne’s position through new eyes. He still isn’t really clear on the details, but Undyne does seem to spend basically every day hovering around Asgore, and while Sans is pretty sure she isn’t living with him like Wind had been (particularly given Alphys had off-handedly complained about Undyne’s group home once or twice), Asgore does seem to be all she has.

And… Sans can’t fault her for that. Not when he knows what it feels like to be alone and desperate for anyone to place your faith in, and not after Wind. Undyne isn’t to blame for what Asgore and their world taught her— Asgore makes victims, both intentional and unintentional, out of everyone he touches, that’s just the way it is. The Underground is poisoned with his hate, and as it stands, most monsters are just too blinded by faith or too stupid, whichever or both, Sans doesn’t know, to question what has been done.

To turn, monsterkind will have to see the truth, and that’s what Sans and Gaster and everyone else in the labs are here for, after all.

Besides, it also doesn’t hurt that Undyne has calmed down some over the last couple years. Not much, but she’s at least stopped trying to fight Sans at every given opportunity, has learned not to shit-talk humans in his presence. And in turn, Sans has learned to bite his tongue when she slips up and praises the Guard and the future death of humanity.

It’s all… a work in progress, at the end of the day. But they’ve reached this, at least. A place where they can easily insult each other and shove each other around cheerfully and, most importantly, stand in the same room without trying to kill each other.

It’s almost ironic really, Sans thinks. The two of them have achieved this kind of mutual truce, and yet they stand in such opposing positions. Undyne hadn’t joined the regular guard when she turned fifteen, or even when she turned sixteen or seventeen, like Sans had thought she would, instead she stayed at Asgore’s side, training directly under him. There were whispers around the castle, Alphys told him, that Asgore would step in and immediately promote her to Captain once the current head of the guard retired.

And then there was Sans. Sans, who trained under Wind and learned under Gaster, who had a soul that lived not just for the future of monsterkind but for humankind as well. He is the product of Asgore’s greatest mistakes, his greatest betrayals to people that once loved him, and he has every intention of being the thing that takes Asgore down, one day.

In essence, Sans is the epitome of everything Undyne is not, and yet, he thinks, they’re not completely different in their positions. They just placed their faith in different people.

…Of course, Sans likes to think his own choices in what company he keeps are markedly much improved over Undyne’s. She is just a pawn in Asgore’s Underground, and Sans… he is no one’s to use. Not even Gaster’s.

Sighing, Sans straightens up, getting off his resting place against the door and taking the few steps he needs to drop heavily into Wind’s desk chair, sparing a small grin when it spins a couple loops as his weight hits it. Never let it be said Wind didn’t make excellent interior design choices. Her swivel chair was one of the best things in the labs upwards of the ridiculous shit that could be found on Gaster’s floor.

Speaking of… bending down, he trails his finger-bones down the drawers on the left side of the desk, pulling open the third one. There was an old storage drive Wind had somewhere here with some old work she’d done on studying shield magic like her own and comparing it to the barrier that she thought might help. Spotting the item in question, Sans grins and grabs it, sitting up and allowing himself a victory spin on the chair. Glancing at the door, leading back to where the others wait for him, Sans takes a deep breath and stands up.

He cannot become bogged down in introspection and frustration. He needs to do this, there is no one else but himself and those waiting for him in front of Gaster’s whiteboard who can.

He must do this.

Sometimes, Sans can’t shake the feeling of being watched.

Admittedly, he’s always been a bit like that, and his time in the loops with the human had only made him more paranoid, fearing an enemy at every turn, but this is… different.

It feels more like an observer, than an impending threat, something unobtrusive and invisible, but undeniably there. It’s an odd sensation, to feel as if there are eyes on him but find nothing, and too often he chalks it up to his worries getting the better of him.

Occasionally, at night, he dreams of a presence, one that sits across from him in the hollows of his consciousness, hidden by shadow. It’s hard to put a name to it, really. It reminds him instinctively of the human, the same kind of curling, inexplicable power in its form. But… More than anything, when he reaches out and pokes at its consciousness intruding upon places it should not be able to, it feels most like himself— Not a perfect match, but close. Like looking in a distorted mirror. In a way, that makes sense. Sans, in his glitching, sparking magic, can jump through the spaces between reality without hesitation, and this… thing, in its own way, is doing something much similar.

It doesn’t belong to the physical Underground Sans lives in, and yet it walks in and out of it, hovering on the very edge anyways.

Its visits are infrequent, and sporadic. Sometimes, it feels as if something is following him for days on end, and on other occasions he’ll go months with only the barest flicker of its presence once or twice in that whole time for only seconds.

When it happens, he is reminded of the creature that once wandered into his nightmare, years ago, abolishing the shadow-form of his sister with ease, and of the ghost Wind had joked about after she’d shown him her memories.

Most of the time, Sans thinks he’s being obsessive over something that is not there, so set on finding another enemy he must keep his guard up around that he’s gone and invented one. Or… perhaps so desperate for another ally he’s done the same thing. It’s hard to tell which.

Occasionally, though, he feels as if there is another player in the chess game he and Gaster only fleetingly understand the rules to. Something else moving pieces as himself and the others hurriedly do their best to find a way to checkmate Asgore.

He… doesn’t know what to do with that potential concept, beyond hope that whatever it is, if it actually exists, is on their side.

God, he hopes it’s on their side.

Sans hits the ground with a yelp of pain, shoulder colliding painfully against the stone floor before he rolls over it and up, tensed in a crouch and magic crackling readily at his fingertips as he braces them on the ground and glares up. Across him, Wind straightens up, sighing and stretching an arm over her head languidly. “You’re way too slow. That wasn’t even a glancing blow, I hit you dead-on.”

Sans huffs, curling his spine up and resting his forearms on his thighs, still crouching. “If you just taught me shielding magic— “

“My shielding magic is a kind unique to my species, and one that takes years to master.” At Sans’s scowl, Wind’s expression softens. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, Sans. Your magic reserves are the kind most monsters couldn’t even dream of. I’m just saying it would likely be exceedingly difficult, not to mention strenuous as hell. Shielding takes up enormous energy, it’s not the kind of thing you do frequently in fights unless it’s your specialty or you have no other choice.” She tilts her head. “Look at it this way. Have you ever seen me maintain my shield between blows?” Sans reluctantly shakes his head, and Wind beams. “Right, because it’s the kind of thing I wouldn’t risk draining my energy unless I had no other choice to keep it sustained indefinitely. Shielding magic is incredibly useful, but it’s not reliable as your only form of defense. Hence...” Wind sweeps down, lowering herself until she’s crouching at Sans’s level, leaning forward with her wings spread out behind her for balance, a picture perfect form of a lithe, graceful soldier. “We learn to dodge. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sans grumbles, and Wind grins.

“Good. Now, again.”

Wind flies forward, leaping up and at him with purpose, and Sans barely has a second to dive sideways and roll out of the way before Wind’s foot slams into the spot where his head was moments ago. Jumping to his feet, Sans ducks under Wind’s arm as it makes an arc over his skull, and manages two steps to the left before a wing curves in from the right and hits him solidly in the chest, sending him flying through the air. Sans barely has a moment to brace for inevitable impact against the wall and send a quiet thought of apology to Papyrus for dying on him so soon, before a pair of wiry arms catch him and the buffet of wings catching on air fills the sound around him. Carefully raising his head and opening his eyes, Sans stares at Wind’s concerned expression as she gently lowers them both back to earth, setting Sans down slowly once her feet hit the ground.

“That’s six times I’ve gotten you today, Sans.” Wind says patiently, in an annoyingly forgiving way that makes Sans grit his teeth in frustration. “If I was a Royal Guard, that’s six times you’d have been dead.”

“I know, I know.” Sans mutters.

“Do you?” Wind crosses her arms, frowning down at him. “In a real fight, your opponent isn’t going to give you a chance to catch your breath, and you may not have anyone to watch your back for you.”

“I know!” He snaps. “It’s not like I’ve never fought for my life before or anything!”

Wind winces, and Sans sighs, ducking his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—“

“No, you’re right.” Wind says. “I should be the one apologizing. I was… pushing you too hard. If you don’t want to do this I— “

“No!” He yelps, head snapping up to stare wide-eyed at Wind. “I need this. I need to be ready. Don’t start babying me because of one rough day. I asked for your help and I’m going to keep asking until I’ve learned everything I can.” Taking a deep breath, he takes a step back, assuming a defensive position. “Again.”

Wind hesitates, and then lunges forward. Sans ducks under her leg as she aims a flying kick at him, diving behind her and jumping up onto the wing that sweeps out at him, using it as a platform to propel himself up and over Wind’s head. He hits the ground rolling, jumping up and breaking into a sprint as Wind takes off after him. He’ll lead her around the room, he thinks, tire her out— Survival is the name of the game with this exercise, the idea being to evade Wind’s attacks for a full five minutes. He grins at the sounds of Wind behind him, confident for once that he’s got the upper hand, and then there’s the flapping of wings and a tall figure slams into the ground in front of him.

—Guards everywhere, cornering them in the tight caves of Waterfall’s hidden crevices. He dodges right to avoid a barrage of flying arrows, the human right behind him, hand in his, he searches the perimeter desperately, looking for a way out, frantically moving until— There! On the left, a gap between the soldiers stands out, leading to the entrance of another cavern. He dives forward, dragging the human behind him, sights set on the route of escape. They’re going to make it, they’re so close, and then a guard slams into view from seemingly out of nowhere, wielding their spear as they thrust it forward and straight into Sans’s soul, shattering his conscious instantly. He hears the human scream, but everything is going black, and he can’t move—

Sans comes back to himself stretched out on the floor of the training room, head pillowed in Wind’s lap and limbs spread out haphazardly. He flinches as cool fingers prod the edges of his skull clinically, checking for injuries, probably, and slowly Wind’s worried face swims into view above him.

“…Sans? You back with me, buddy?”

He winces, sitting up carefully, Wind’s hands going to his back to steady him. “Yeah, more or less.”

“Where did you go?” Wind asks, voice knowing and soft as she runs a gentle hand down his spine, patience and understanding in her whole being.

He shrugs helplessly. “Back.”

Wind purses her lips, choosing not to press him. “I think that’s enough for today.” Sans opens his mouth to protest, and she shakes her head. “You’ve been out of it all morning, and it’s never a good sign when you start having flashbacks. Trust me, I’d know.”

“I suppose not.” Sans mutters reluctantly, and Wind sighs.

“You’ve been running yourself ragged, kiddo. You’ll burn out if you press too hard. So you’re having a bad day, that’s fine. Take a break for once, yeah? Clear your head.”

Sans snorts. “I’ve tried, believe me, but I feel like every time I leave this room I’m staring at more dead-end equations.”

“Then get out of the labs for a bit.” At Sans’s incredulous look, Wind rolls her eyes. “I know you hate being in Asgore’s potential sights, but the Underground’s a lot bigger than his immediate reach. It’s not healthy to live your life down here fulltime. There’s reasons why Rose always bullies Gaster into doing sample collections for her outside the labs, a little change of scenery is good for him, and, for that matter, for you. Take the day off— Go visit Grillby in Snowdin, go to a market in the Capital, go… Fuck around Hotland, I don’t know! My point is, do something.” Wind pauses, sighing. “Sometimes the way to solve a problem is to come back to it with fresh eyes.”

“Yeah, alright, point taken.” Sans says, ducking his head. “I’ll— I’ll try.”

Somehow, Sans suspects when Wind advised him to take some time to himself, this isn’t what she meant.

Muttering under his breath, Sans curses as he trips over another outcropping of rock, stumbling none too gracefully over the thin stream running through the ground beneath his feet. It’s embarrassing really, just how clumsy he’s gotten. What he once navigated with deadly precision and artistry now leaves him falling over his own feet— This is the first time he’s set foot in the lower pools in… God, months.

He’s been neglecting it, and his place in it, this expanse of caverns that was once his home. Was once their home, his and Papyrus’s, his and the human’s.

It was only a few years ago, when he knew the watery songs of this place down to the marrow of his bones, and the core of his soul. Frequently now it feels like a lifetime ago, sometimes it feels like it all just happened.

Very occasionally, Sans still wakes up and expects to see a cavern ceiling and feel the weight of a hand on his sternum, to find the world has reset itself and turned back time once again.

…Honestly, Sans doesn’t know now whether he would be relieved or horrified if that happened. Maybe both.

He has not accepted her death; he will never accept her death, not for how it happened or what was done to her, and in turn to him. And yet, he doesn’t know if he could ever go back to that time. This is so much bigger than one life, one soul to save, now. He’s seen and learned so much.

This is not just about Sans himself or the human he came to call friend and sister. This is about all of them. Humans, monsters, the souls lost to Asgore and the people of the labs he now calls something like family and the fates of the next to fall. There are individuals to protect, those he loves and those he has not yet met but sworn to guard with his life when he does, and there are whole nations to save, that stand to fall if he doesn’t find a way to stop this war.

Patience, he reminds himself. The barrier wasn’t built in a day, and neither will it be destroyed as such. Nor, he thinks, is it as simple as pulling a switch and shutting off the power to whatever keeps them trapped here. Destroy the barrier without learning how to control it and they will only unleash Asgore’s war between humans and monsters that much sooner. They need that power to bend it to their will, to use the barrier as their bargaining chip against the crown. Right now the cards are stacked in Asgore’s favor, and they desperately need to produce an ace.

“Will you kill him?” Sans remembers overhearing Wind ask Gaster in a hushed discussion one night, when the overhead lights were dimmed and they believed he’d fallen asleep in the plushy chair in the corner with his book.

“Not unless I have to.” Gaster had said. “His words have considerable sway among the people, sway that can be played to our advantage if we can control his message to the public, and regardless I’d rather not stoop to his level.”

“What will you do, then?”

“Get him to step down from power, obviously.” Gaster snorted. “He’s too dangerous to try and control him while he holds power. You and I both know we could never successfully make a puppet king out of him. We’ll have to cut the strings or risk getting strangled in them.”

“…Then what?” Wind had offered eventually, her words quiet. “Who will replace him? Monsters have never had democracy, we have told our needs to the royal family and they provided. Our supposed good nature kept us in peace with one another. They will balk at such a human way of government, and in the wake of the destruction of the barrier it will not be the time to try it out. They will need a leader.”

“Yes. They will.” Gaster agreed.

“So I ask again. Who’s going to lead them, Gaster? You?”

“Me? God no. Never. Never me.”

Wind had frowned, crossing her arms. “That’s not an answer and you know it.”

Sans sighs, sticking his hands in his coat pockets and staring up at the cavern ceiling above him, contemplative. He’d couldn’t help but ask Gaster, after Wind had left and the other had come to pick him up and tuck him into his bed for the night.

“Who will lead?”

“…So you were awake.” Gaster had stilled, hesitating and then picking Sans up anyways. He’d squirmed halfheartedly, wanting to protest he was not a small child and yet enjoying the soothing contact too much to protest it.

“Who will lead?” He asked again, once he was settled in Gaster’s arms, his small stature even for most young monsters easily dwarfed by Gaster’s considerable height.

“…Wind will lead.” Gaster had said finally. “She is strong, and intelligent, and has the heart to hold a whole kingdom. Her status as the last of an elite military family, and of a revered species of monster, will give her the backing she needs to reasonably take control, so long as her old records disappear.”

Sans blinked, and as if sensing the unasked question, Gaster bowed his head slightly. “I will advise her, if I can, but my reputation as the nutcase who protected a human proceeds me. Wind’s hands are cleaner, less involved in this mess.” He sighed. “It is more than possible that Asgore will not relinquish his power easily, and if things go wrong someone must take the fall. I will go down as the one who destroyed Asgore’s throne if I must, and from the dust Wind will rise as their savior.” His gaze fell to Sans’s firm glare. “If that happens, Sans, you must let it. Do not go trying to save me from my own choices.”

“The entire Royal Guard and half of Asgore’s advisors know me as the kid who fought their troops for a human.” Sans said, tinges of something close to wry amusement crawling into his words. “My hands are no cleaner than yours. If you fall, I’ll damn well plan on falling with you.”

“Sans—“

“If you want to protect me then don’t let anything happen to you.” He returned firmly, cutting Gaster off. “Do not ask me to… Do not ask me leave my family again. I won’t. I can’t.”

“…I know.” Gaster said. “I know.”

Wind isn’t aware of Gaster’s potential plans for her, Sans knows, and it leaves him with an uncomfortable taste in his mouth at the thought. She would refuse if she knew, he’s sure, which is likely also exactly the reason Gaster never chose to tell her, and in knowing this much about Wind himself too, Gaster has also bought Sans’s silence, prudence winning over his desire for transparency.

Ironic really, given all the times Sans has pressed Gaster for honesty between them.

Sometimes, Sans looks back on the memories Wind had shown him, of her first meeting with Gaster, and wonders if the other had planned this from the beginning, the very moment he met Wind and saw what she was, what she offered.

It would not surprise him if that were the case, honestly. Gaster acts continuously in the best interests of the future, but that can drive him to be manipulative, to keep his cards close to his chest, even if largely unconsciously. After all, the initial agreement between them that brought Sans to the labs was more a business arrangement than anything else, a peace treaty between temporary allies. The later developed familial affection was an unexpected consequence, or bonus, depending on how one looked at it.

Regardless, those are both matters of the past, and of the long-awaited future. He cannot change Gaster’s actions in the past even if he sought to, which he doesn’t, really, and the potential scenarios where Wind might find herself granted Asgore’s royal power, chosen or not, look to be years away. It’s a non-issue for now, at least until they find a way to break the barrier.

…Which leads him to why Wind had booted him out here to get some metaphorical fresh air in the first place.

The utter frustration at their lack of progress, the frustrating itch in his soul telling him he is missing important clues, puzzle pieces he needs to find the answer.

The presence, Sans thinks, the one that haunts him like a half-imagined daydream, or perhaps a lingering nightmare, would know, does know.

He’s not even fully confident it actually…. well, exists beyond the scope of his paranoid delusions, but if it does, if it is real, then it holds the answers he seeks. He is inexplicably, completely certain of that.

It’s crashing into a sign that smacks him firmly in the face that pulls Sans from his musings.

“Ow, fuck.” He growls, tripping blindly away from the offending obstacle and rubbing at his sore skull. After a moment of cursing and waiting for the pain to dull down, he opens his eyes, spots the sign, and groans, slumping forward.

Of course... Of fucking course.

“Why.” He deadpans, staring at it.

It seems he really is just as consistent as Gaster in some behaviors.

And apparently, when he needs the hard answers, Sans’s subconscious only knows one place to get them.

The head Tem’s sharp-fanged smile borders on gloating when he comes to her, eyes trained on him and expecting, as if she knew he would come here.

…On second thought, he decides, scratch the ‘if’. She was the head Tem, she knew about everything that got within even a fifty-foot radius of her village the second it did so. She knew he was coming here before he himself even did.

“Ah, my favorite expendable life-form.” She drawls, voice sickly-sweet. “How lovely.”

“Save it.” He sighs, flopping down into the chair across from her and fighting off a shiver at the predatory curiosity in her gaze.

The Temmies, Sans has come to realize over the last couple years, seem to… like him— As much as Temmies can like something aside from themselves, at least. At best, he figures, he’s something between an amusing distraction to them and an obedient pet they’ve grown fond of. At worst, a toy they’ve decided is worth not breaking during their play.

Honestly, none of the above descriptions stick out to him as particular definitions of valuing a person’s life, but from what he had gathered from Gaster, the first time the latter came back from meeting with the head Tem to sort out Sans’s potential debts to them, the Temmies showed a certain lenient interest in preserving his continued existence they didn’t really hold for most monsters outside their own kind. It appears those years of work for them had paid off, in their own way.

Still, even knowing he holds something like their favor, that doesn’t stop Sans from being fucking terrified of them.

…And with good reason, he thinks, as he watches the disarmingly small form of the head Temmie as she sits across from him.

“What can I do for you?” She asks, tilting her head faux-innocently, and Sans snorts. As if the Temmies do anything without a cost.

“I need information.”

The grin on the Temmie’s face grows wider. “Information is expensive.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just…” He pauses. It’s useless to ask about the barrier, of course, that he knows. If it was as simple as bartering an answer out of the Temmies, then Gaster would have done it years ago. There’s some things even they don’t know, he supposes.

No, it is something else he seeks explanation on, and yet something just as elusive.

“…This is something I’m not sure even your Temmies will know anything on.” He says, choosing his words carefully, and winces when the head Temmie twitches slightly at his words, clearly less than flattered at his implication that her knowledge of the Underground is less than complete. “Not that your sources are… lacking. I’m just not sure any record of this thing even exists.”

The Temmie raises an eyebrow. “And?”

Sans groans. “Look. If you have something to offer, I’ll do the work for it, but if I tell you about this thing and you don’t have any information, can you take our longstanding… business relationship into consideration and just be honest with me before I go and do a job for you that’s not going to give me anything.”

The Temmie sniffs haughtily. “Tems do not lie, especially about information. That is not a part of our principles. In light of the benefits you have served to the Temmie agenda in the past, I will tell you if I can, in fact, offer you anything on the subject of information you seek.”

He sighs, slumping. “Thank you.”

“So,” She quirks an eyebrow, looking borderline intrigued by the concept of something so mysterious that Sans could think even eludes her, “What is it you seek that you find so confounding?”

“It’s…” Sans pauses, trying to think of a way to accurately describe the presence. “…A creature. I’m not sure if it’s monster or human in origin, or… something else. Hell, I’m not completely sure it’s real.” The Temmie’s eyes narrow, and he shrugs helplessly. “I’ve only met it once, it invaded a nightmare and intervened.”

“And you’re sure this wasn’t just your subconscious taking pity on you?”

He winces. He had considered that for a long time, but… “No. My nightmares… Don’t ever stop like that, and it’s only happened the once. It wasn’t me, it was an outside consciousness with autonomy over my dreams. Or, at least, it had that power in that moment.” The Tem nods, and hesitantly, he continues. “I don’t know what it looks like, it was like it was cast in shadow and its face was just…” Sans waves his hands around his own pointedly. “Not there? Distorted. It had a magic signature, though that was kind of static-like too, as if it wasn’t flowing properly— Powerful, I could tell that much, at least… similar to my own, maybe? I’m not completely sure, I’d never felt anything like it.”

“…And did this creature have a name?”

“It called itself… a remnant.”

The Tem frowns, brows furrowing, and Sans watches almost hopelessly as she looks down at her desk and taps it with an idle paw, considering his words. There’s frustration scrawled across her features, and that’s enough to basically give Sans his answer. Temmies as a rule are in the business of knowing everything, and the only thing that truly frustrates them even more than a situation out of their control is something in the Underground they know nothing about, a true wild card.

“No,” She says at length, “I can’t say I have heard of it.” She jumps off her desk, causing the two Temmies standing at the entryway corners of the room to straighten up almost imperceptibly, but she simply pushes open a crudely-painted bright orange and blue door set against the back wall amongst the rabble of overly-cheerfully colored things in the room, and disappears inside, voice slightly muffled as it rings out again. “You said it had a powerful magic signature?”

“Ah…” He shifts, glancing at one of the guarding Tems, who looks as confused as he does, from what little he can gain of their expression, at least. “Yeah.”

There’s a shuffle, and then the sound of something being pulled off a shelf and of pages being thumbed through. “You live in the castle laboratories, yes? You interact with incredibly strong monsters on the daily. Would you classify it as more or less powerful than the stronger signatures you’re familiar with?”

“I… More, maybe?” Sans frowns, and shakes his head ever so slightly. “No, not more, just… Different? Monsters’ signatures all hold some similarities, even slight ones, but this was completely its own equation.”

“Estimate, then. Just on your initial impressions of raw potential.”

He shudders, doing his best to recall the fading glimpses of the remnant’s magic that single time it had interfered in his mind. “At least around Asgore’s, boss monster capability levels of magic.”

“Hm…” The head Temmie hums, pushing back into the room with a large, well-worn book balanced on her head. “Interesting.” She jumps back into her seat with surprising grace, the book barely wobbling from its position before she lifts it off her head and sets it with a none-to-gentle thump on the desk, flipping through the pages with purpose. “Did it have a soul?”

“…What?”

She peers up at him, a distinct lack of amusement scrawled across her features. “I said: did it have a soul?”

“No, I heard what you said, I just…” He runs a hand nervously over the back of his skull, fingers catching on his jacket hood and drawing it over his head on instinct. “It must have, right? Nothing can survive without a soul.”

The Temmie blinks. “Do you remember the presence of a soul?”

“I—“ He slumps. “No, I don’t, but I wasn’t exactly looking for one, anyways.” He feels a shiver up his spine at the implications of his own words. “What are you getting at?”

With a slight frown, the Temmie looks back down at the book, finally landing on a page and smoothing it out before turning the book around to face Sans. “It is not an exaggeration to say my knowledge of this Underground and its inhabitants is likely second to none. If such a powerful creature were loose in these caverns, no matter how elusive it may be, I would have heard about it.”

“…Alright.”

The Tem sighs, nodding to the book, and Sans’s gaze falls to it, eyes widening at familiar handwriting. “There is a… theory, one that was originally developed as a matter of study on the surface before the war, about the nature between consciousness and soul, and whether they can be separated. “

Sans leans forward, grabbing the edges of the book and pulling it forward. “This is… Gaster’s handwriting.”

“But of course.” The Temmie nods towards the book. “The theory was all conjecture originally, but it became a matter of interest for the first Royal Scientist, whom your Gaster studied under. It was thought that if the theory could be put into action, it might offer a way to a means of escape from the Underground.”

“The lost soul effect…” He mutters, reading the words at the top of the page and peering over the book, taking in Gaster’s messy handwriting in the odd-shaped symbols of his native language. “You said it was about separating the consciousness and the soul?”

“Yes. It is generally assumed the consciousness resides in the soul, particularly in regards to Monsters, as our physical forms have no definable neural systems as humans do.” The Temmie pauses. “This research, however, postulated, among other things, that it might be possible to disconnect the consciousness from the soul, and to exist as a separate entity, so long as the soul remained intact.”

Sans furrows his brows, glancing up at her. “Is it?”

“Do you really think that, were it proven possible, we would not have capitalized on it?” The Temmie says pointedly, and Sans winces in answer. “The theory is absolutely impossible to prove correct within any reasonable bounds of experimentation— Monsters souls are the culminations of their beings, to attempt to separate a monster from their soul would result in an overwhelmingly likely chance of death, and, even back on the surface when human souls were accessible, the conjecture was still too risky to test on them. The only way to prove it true is if a naturally occurring case was found.”

“…And you think…?”

“What you described— A creature capable of thought but without a physical form, with a magic signature but no discernable presence of a soul tied to it, what does that sound like to you?”

“But…” He frowns, fingers running over the symbols at the bottom of the page. “It says here that magic is connected to the soul, not the consciousness, and that severing the two would cut off a monster’s access to magic. This thing definitely had magic.”

The Tem tilts her head in acquiescence. “Magic is channeled from the soul, but the assumption that separating consciousness and soul would separate consciousness and magic is conjecture. It is sound, logical conjecture, yes, but only conjecture. As is this.” She purses her lips, shaking her head. “I am not positive on what it is you believe yourself to have found, but if what you say is true, then whatever it is, it is outside our constraints of how monsters and humans work. It takes incredibly powerful magic to influence the psyche, and to interfere with your sleeping conscious this creature would have to share some bond with your own soul, or at the very least your magic signature.”

Sans’s eyes flicker back down to the page, darting over scattered symbols for soul, magic, mind, body. “…It knew my name. It knew me.”

When he looks to the Temmie, she only stares back impassively, and he sighs, idly flipping the page in the book, and scanning the contents, taking in a similar set of notes and charts. “…What’s this?”

The Temmie glances at the book, and blinks. “Ah. The even more outrageously speculative sister theory to the previous one we just discussed. It suggests potential ways to keep a monster’s consciousness alive during the loss of a soul.”

That catches Sans’s attention, and he skims the page, grimacing at the overly-complex diagram filled with a multitude of numbers and symbols revolving around a central circle with only the symbols for what roughly translated to will-to-live variable set inside it. “How would you give a monster a will to survive after they’re already dying?”

“Human souls survive after death, by the means of something within their own makeup.” The head Tem offers. “This was the idea that, if said something could be isolated, and given to a dying monster, it might revive them. Or, in its more wild concepts, that an object given that isolated human element that allows the soul to persist might allow the object to develop a consciousness.”

Sans shakes his head, sitting back. “That’s more fantasy than logic. Maybe, maybe, you could revive a dying monster, if there were some miracle drug sourced from human souls, but you can’t create a living being out of nothing, that’s just like… something out of one of Gaster’s bad animes. Hell, you could sprinkle monster dust over that item and you still wouldn’t get anywhere, not without a soul, or a residual magic signature at the very least.”

The Tem hums in agreement, and he groans, bringing his hands up to rub wearily at his eyes. “I can’t believe Gaster never told me about any of this, half of our fucking research revolves around the nature of souls.”

…Admittedly, that research was focused on the timeline properties of human souls, not on consciousness and soul, but… Well. It’s not like the Temmies needed to know that little tidbit of information.

“It is possible that he did not remember.” The head Tem says, leaning forward and shutting the book. “These were inane theories his predecessor studied for a short period of time then abandoned, nothing more. I doubt he even remembers trading a spare copy of the research notes in exchange for… a favor.”

Sans grunts in something like concession, not bothering to ask why the Temmies would want the notes to such a seemingly pointless bunch of theories. To them, such things didn’t have to be practical or applicable to be desirable. They coveted knowledge, in all its forms.

“Yeah, I suppose. Not exactly the type of thing someone would try out for a laugh, even him.” Sighing wearily, he pulls his hands away and cracks an eye open. “So, how much do I owe you for even showing me that?”

“Nothing, so long as you inform me of anything further you discover on the subject you came asking me on.”

He blinks, sitting up and staring openly at the Temmie. “Wait, really?”

She scowls. “Do not take this as some foolish form of kind-heartedness. I dislike not knowing about anything in this Underground, particularly things that may have more power than they seem. This creature you speak of… It has peaked my interest, to say the least.”

“…Huh.” Sans returns at length, mentally shrugging and deciding not to question the small mercies in life. The less time he has to waste doing odd jobs for the Tems, the better. “Alright, deal.” Almost idly, he stands, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Well, I should get back, I was only supposed to be out for a quick walk.” The head Tem tilts her head, granting him permission to leave, and he turns, ignoring the ever-unsettling gazes of the guarding Temmies as he goes.

He makes it to two steps before the door when the Temmie’s voice calls out again. “Sans.” He startles slightly, because the Tems almost never use his name, and goddamn is that creepy to hear, and looks over his shoulder, meeting the glimmering stare of the head Tem.

“Your Gaster has never tried to give an inanimate item consciousness or tried to revive a dying monster, true, but that does not make him any less of a stubborn fool, or as forgetful as you or I might give him credit for.”

He swallows nervously. “…What do you mean?”

The Temmie grins, sharp and wide, and once again Sans is reminded of the cold, calculating being she really is. “The dog. Toby. It is not like the other dog monsters of the Underground, you know this— But that is because it is not a monster at all.” Her fangs glint. “It came here many, many years ago, with the human Gaster called his own, and the dogs of the surface, mere pets, do not have such long lifespans as their masters. That dog should, by all reason and logic, be dead, and yet it is not. Do you understand?”

It takes a moment, and then the bottom of Sans’s stomach plummets, a horrible, lurching feeling taking over as the implication of her words, of the words on that book still clutched between her paws, fall into place.

“…No idea what you’re talking about.” He forces out, turning and yanking the door open. “I… I have to go.”

He runs, seeking the quiet of Waterfall, away from this place of cursed ideas and suggestions and of obnoxious facades, away from theories on time-worn paper that bring fear and nervous realizations and paranoia crawling into his throat.

Above all, he pretends not to hear the laughter of the Tems as it chases his heels.

#hI THIS FIC ISN'T DEAD YET #Undertale #Undertale fanfiction #undertale fanfic #Sans #my writing #Not as Simple as a Happy Ending (Undertale)

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con-ka · 7 years

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Gaster Theory Response

These are questions that popped into my head as i sat contimplating the things i heard in those three videos. and i will humbly attempt to discuss them..

1. How is flowey connected? He didn't explain the Hyper Goner and how flowey got it. After all, flowey is the product of alphys experiment, not Gaster. The shape of the hyper goner is Gaster's signature, NOT a result from too much determination.

2. How is monster kid goner connected? Monster kid Goner is not one of the G-Followers, he doesn't mention gaster, and his existence literally makes no sense since monster souls CAN'T persist after death. Not to mention, his behaviour and knowledge is too mature and knowledgeable unlike our alive monster kid. How does he know these things? Gaster is related, but how?

3. How can "you two" refer to Sans and Alphys if Sans was the result of his shattering, which means he didn't exist prior to the experiment?

4. How can something "Shatter" in equal amounts of left and right? Shattering is random and unequal. Cutting into two is SLICING not shattering.

5. How can the shattering be "across time and space" if it only created Sans and Papyrus?

6. If "you two" referred to Sans and Alphys, and Papyrus is also a part of Gaster who knows of his existence, why didn't Gaster refer to Papyrus too by saying "you three"?

7. (nobody mentioned this but I noticed it) wHaT ABOUT CHARA? is he related? because let’s be real his story makes no sense. Why did he get sick, what's with his irrational love for evil and hate for humanity? human souls can persist after death, but how can his soul FESTER in other people who let him? How can he be aware of resets and erasing and stuff when he's just a child and he died before he knew these things?

8. what about the determination? if it was in excessive amounts, where did it all go? assuming it’s a drug or a force, and not a "feeling", it’s a substance that was created. if too much went to sans and papyrus, they'd melt like the other monsters. what about the rest? did it all JUST go to sans and papyrus? how can any of this be equal if sans is obviously WAY stronger than papyrus

1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 can all be answered via the following hypothesis:

First of all, answering 4, 5 and 8. According to the G-Followers, Gaster shattered across time and space. Therefore, like Mat said, different pieces of him now exist in time and space, and that should include the excessive amount of determination that caused the shattering. However, the shattering did not merely produce Papyrus and Sans, but also fell in places in different timelines, and affected others besides them as well. Meaning, Sans and Papyrus together are NOT the whole of Gaster, but other pieces of him also exist elsewhere.

I think Lab entry 17 wasn’t made as Matpat suggests as Gaster was breaking apart, how would he even manage that? It also speaks in the future tense.

ENTRY NUMBER 17

*DARK, DARKER YET DARKER.

*THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING

*THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER

*PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE

*THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT

*SEEMS

*VERY

*INTERESTING

*WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?

(credited to the wonderful peeps at reddit, so’re all the lab entries referenced in this shit.)

See there, the experiment hadn’t happened at that point. What does he mean then? Well, A Photon is a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. So, when the Photon readings are “negative,” and that it’s getting “darker” and cutting “deeper,” he literally means recreating the power of determination requires A LOT of radiation, ones that are anti-light, in the undertale universe. They don’t seem to exist in our reality, but apparently they were measured by Gaster, who in turn let it get darker and more negative until he reached a value that destroyed him with the amount of whatever this energy is. He used this form of radiation to create the determination extractor.

This is a pretty large claim in term of the other question so I’ll explain myself:

I think it’s quite logical to assume that not all “shards” or parts of Gaster that were broken are in Sans and Papyrus, but where did they go? To answer questions 1, 2 and 8 we must consider what we know about Flowey, Monster Kid Goner and Chara. I’ll do so for each separately.

Flowey: Flowey possesses the Hyper Goner, which is an attack that has Gaster’s signature design on it. That could be explained by how a piece of Gaster had fallen into the flower Alphys had experimented on. While the chances of that happening are slim, as Sherlock Holmes would say, if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbably, must be the truth. This is all very dodgy I realize that, but if it were true, it would make sense how flowey after getting injected with determination has the Hyper Goner, not to mention it means the amount of determination in the ‘shard’ remaining from Gaster’s experiment enabled flowey to be stronger than usual. Because if you think about it, flowey didn’t break into pieces which means Alphys didn’t put a lot of Determination in the flower. And while Sans is aware and can sense time shifts, unlike flowey, he cannot actually manipulate time. So on top of the determination remaining from Gaster that Flowey already got (and let’s not forget whatever remained from Asriel’s soul after he died), Alphys made it so much worse by injecting it with more, thus creating a creature lacking of empathy. But hey, what about Asriel you ask? Fair question. Flowey IS supposedly Asriel without a soul. Well, the answer is in Entry no. 8

ENTRY NUMBER 8 :)

*I’ve chosen a candidate.

*I haven’t told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it…

*In the center of his garden, there’s something special.

*The first golden flower, that grew before all the other ones.

*The flower from the outside world.

*It appeared just before the queen left.

*I wonder…

*What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?

As you can probably guess from that, this flower she chose was not a random flower. It was seemingly a special flower, from the outside world nonetheless. Who died in a bed of golden flowers outside of the underground? That’s right, Asriel. His soul then is a little stronger than other monsters, it survived briefly in the form of a flower. How did it survive? Well, wouldn’t it make sense that this is Gaster’s shard’s fault? Some of his soul power or Determination (whatever you call it, it’s the same thing) went into the remaining soul lasting it longer. So because the soul was deteriorating, when Alphys injected Flowey, Asriel did not return. Flowey became alive, but didn’t have the soul to feel. Just a fuck load of determination, the will to survive, and a fragment of Asriel that remained in the shadows ever since. Like I said up there, improbable, but quite an interesting idea.

Monster Kid Goner (Or I’ll call him Goner Kid): Unlike Flowey, Goner Kid is straight out a normal monster that we know called Monster Kid. And even though the Gaster Followers are pre-existing characters as well, unlike Goner Kid they speak of Gaster very directly. I’m not sure whether they’re influenced by Gaster’s scattered shards or determination, allowing them to exist in this timeline after being wiped clean, so I’ll leave them at that. On the other hand, Goner Kid is a completely different story.

If you don’t save Monster Kid and Undyne saves him, he says “Undyne . . . You saved me . . .? Yo, I thought I was a goner, haha . . .”

Coincidence?

NO.

If you think about the FUN value and Multiple timelines theory (the one where Matpat explained. U know, if you chose something in a certain timeline another timeline is created for the other option) you’ll realize just as there is a reality where Monster Kid survived, there must be another where his life ended. And that, I believe, is who Goner Kid is. He is Monster Kid from another timeline, from the one he died in. But if he died, how did his soul survive, let alone travel to a different timeline? Since Gaster’s shards traveled across space, and TIME, it’s quite possible one of the shards connected with Goner Kid before/after/during his death. Whichever way it happened, it explains how his soul lasted, how he can travel from timeline to timeline (if he got some determination from the scattered bits as well) so that us players can perceive him in multiple ones (timelines 90 and higher on the FUN value) and it also explains what he says.

Because let’s be real, Monster Kid is just a kid, he’s stupid. Or rather he’s not knowledgeable. Even if his soul survives JUST by the determination, that doesn’t explain how cognitively functional he seems to be when he’s in the form of Goner Kid. In fact, he talks about different universes as Matpat mentioned, but he doesn’t just talk about them, he UNDERSTANDS the weight of them and can conclude that the thought terrifies him. How would monster kid know that, if he hadn’t got that knowledge from having a part of Gaster in him? The fear of being erased, dead, non-existent somewhere else is scary to him. We don’t see that in sans despite sans knowing that. Actually, San’s okay with it, he tells you to say hello to other Sanses out there, albeit tensely in battle. And Papyrus may know about timelines, but he doesn’t seem bothered by it. It’s quite possible he didn’t consider what those things mean. Goner Kid embodies Gaster’s fears, worries and doubt about his experiment. He has the part that, after the shattering, is uneasy for the most part, and that translated into Goner Kids’ mind. So, my conclusion is that one of Gaters’ parts also fused with Goner Kid.

Chara: Doesn’t it strike you as strange that Chara, the first human CHILD (keyword being CHILD), hated humanity to the point of wanting to murder them? Like, not in an edgy way, but in a psychopathic way?

Psychopaths, by the way, are shown to have evidence of being unable to physically empathize/feels certain emotions since birth. Such as guilt and remorse. They end up being very problematic children, you can look it up. Chara wasn’t normal to begin with, he was both a human with determination, and probably a psychopath. Psychopaths are also categorized as cunningly manipulative and charming, could explain why the Dreamurr family took him as their own and loved him, he probably just acted. So when how did he get sick, die and survive enough to even inhibit Frisk? With this question we must refer to this, to answer the question as to how Chara was able to possess Frisk, we must remember

ENTRY NUMBER 7

*We’ll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes.

*After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters.

*Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL…

*So then…

*What about something that’s neither human nor monster?

Why would toby go out of his way to mention that in Alphy’s entry? (yes, it’s alphy’s, see proper grammar) It’s seemingly unrelated since she’s talking about the monsters and the bodies, this simile was uncalled for. Unless he’s telling us something about Chara.

What Chara did was not possible for a human.

How did he do it then, if it was not possible just by determination? This also answers the question of how Chara KNOWS what to do with the power of determination, and how to erase the world. Another Shard fell into him as well at some point, which gave him powers and knowledge quite abnormal. Allowing him to seep into Frisk the same way the shard seeped into him and Goner Kid.

Finally, answering questions 3 and 6:

The issues in the questions themselves indicate that

1) “You two” cannot have been referring to Sans.

2) If it was, why didn’t it also refer to Papyrus?

In my opinion, it actually doesn’t make sense that Gaster would do that. If sans is trying so hard to get Gaster back, and Gaster knows Sans exists, wouldn’t that stop him from performing the experiment in the first place? Wouldn’t that be a time paradox? More importantly, wouldn’t Sans himself stop him?

No, I think it’s unlikely they existed. And if they didn’t, how would Gaster know they exist? Because there’s no proof he was aware of other timelines. And if he knew his body would shatter across time and space he wouldn’t do it, seeing as Sans is so PASSIONATE about wanting to go back that life elsewhere seems pointless to him.

I think Gaster didn’t know he’d shatter, it was a bizarre experiment and he took his chances. Since the persons he was talking to in entry 17 weren’t Sans and Alphys, that leaves me with two options (they may be more I hadn’t considered but this’ll do for now):

1. Alphys and Asgore. Why you ask? Well, the obvious answer is that he’s the royal scientist, isn’t he? His job requires him to report to the king new findings regarding to research that has to do with freeing people from the underground. Obviously, he documented it in an entry for purpose of reporting the progress.

2. Alphys and HIMSELF. No, not Sans or Papyrus or anyone, his future self. It is possible it was just a sarcastic joke for his future self to reflect on when he goes through the experiment. Since he’s not aware of the shattering business, if he survives he’ll be able to perceive the results either as a good or a bad thing. During the time he wrote the entry, the experiment was interesting to him, that may yet change depending on the result. So just like someone who writes a message to their older self, asking what they do and how they’re doing, it’s quite possible Gaster was sending a message to himself as well in the future in case he survives.

Important note:

Back to the skele bros, the shattered business is not possible with a right-left brain hypothesis. Because human physiology is sorta useless when it comes to monsters. What proof do we have that their brains are anything like ours, or are devided like ours? Seemingly every part of the skele bros has no muscle and is very dodgy looking. A human brain does A LOT of things besides thinking, it also administers reflexes, breathing, visceral contractions, muscle contractions, hormones and a shit load of sensory stuff. All of which do not apply to the skele bros, except the fact that they bleed. In fact, weirdly enough, we don’t know if Sans resembles Papyrus in the abdomen area. Is he fully skeleton? In the genocide route he’s cut across and the blood is shown through the entire length of his torso and stomach. That’s a weird wound for someone who’s a skeleton completely. So you see, biology isn’t really relevant here, so it’s stupid to say sans happened to have the left brain and papyrus happened to have the right brain, we don’t even know if Gaster had a brain like ours.

Other problems are that despite sans being the left brain, he demonstrates lower frequencies of using higher language (and ends up using casual language constantly) whereas papyrus constantly uses over-the-top fancy words when he speaks. He sounds VERY posh. That doesn’t AT ALL fit with the brain theory. Not to mention, Matpat got it wrong. The game Sans finds difficult isn’t word search, it’s CROSSWORDS. Which is both language AND culture based. Something that needs actual knowledge of random crap, which is why everyone finds it hard. Papyrus ALSO has trouble with it, since he just fills them with Z and never solves them. So that part is kind of false.

HOWEVER, and I will conclude with this, there is truth in this theory. Granted they didn’t purely take one side over the other, but the shattering did favour certain aspects of Gaster’s personality in Sans than Papyrus. Sans got most of the determination, the strength, knowledge, but he lacks thinks Papyrus has which are emotional motivation, caring for others, a sense of justice (lemme remind you Gaster did the experiment to free the people from the underground, no? that sounds pretty self-righteous to anybody. Sans isn’t as thoughtful; he only really gives a shit if it was Papyrus or to an extent Toriel.) and a tendency to use fancy ass words (entry 17 sounds Posh at any rate). Sans knows the scientific terms, but when he talks, he’s awfully casual.

But, they also share many things. They both have the ability to TALK and walk and eat (somewhat, idk how that works but hey I ain’t shaming) they both ADORE puns, though papyrus is less appreciative of it, and they get irrationally obsessed with one thing like Spaghetti, freedom or friends or in san’s case humans.

one question that i couldn’t answer is the following: If the entries 1-16 were written after gaster died by alphys and sans using his blue prints... when did gaster write entry 17, and why is it number 17, and why did sans (the author of all entries after 17) skip the number 17 unless he knew about it...

Disclaimer, i wrote this 1am it’s probably bs and i’ll hate myself later so heh

#matpat #the game theorists #undertale #gaster #sans #papyrus

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demonicnoobie · 7 years

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#memes #kek #i hate myself #sans undertale #ho lee fuck #the quest for funnyman

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soapvorer · 7 years

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#i wouldnt click that readmore if i were you

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11isnotanumber · 7 years

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#long post #shit post

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