#mergingtimelines

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter One!

art by @mercuryne on Discord!

RESET

Sans suddenly woke up with a gasp, unsure of exactly what he'd woken up from, but he had a feeling it was bad based on how much it seemed to get under his skin. The skeleton grabbed at his panting chest, looking down and half expecting to find a red slash across his torso for some strange reason. He could hear Papyrus calling for him downstairs, and Sans slowly, shakily pulled himself out of bed, trying to shake off his unease as exhaustion from another night of little sleep sunk in. He was so tired; it felt like he hadn't slept at all, though he knew that wasn't the case, as he'd woken up from a nightmare he could no longer remember.

Down in the kitchen, Papyrus kept talking about how he could feel in his bones that a human would fall today, and Sans had the same feeling, only it was accompanied by dread, the unease from his forgotten nightmare creeping down his spine, as chilling as the Grim Reaper's fingers. After forcing down his brother's honestly inedible pasta, because try as he might, his brother was cool, but his pasta... well.... it was bad to the bone. Sans had a strong sense of deja vu the whole time, but didn't pay any mind to it, a decision that would come back to haunt him, and not for the first time. After they left the house, with Papyrus's steps quick and well-paced and Sans's slow and his feet dragging in the snow, Sans went to patrol by the Ruins, like he did every morning. To his somewhat surprise, a human child exited through the old magenta doors, though the kid was covered in dust and they had an unnerving smile on their face.

The human stumbled through the snow, feet catching on ice chunks, arms hanging at their sides, and they seemed like a puppet being controlled by strings, but the puppeteer was unskilled in how to make the marionette not look so boneless. The smile was as wide as the kid's eyes, which were opened as wide as they could be, even with the gusts of wind hitting them in the face. They were unbothered by the cold, despite only wearing a blue and pink sweater, blue pants, and brown boots, despite Sans knowing humans could feel cold, not even a shiver going through their body. Their face was one he felt he recognized, the look of someone who's killed many times now, and he forced down the feeling of being rattled for now, opting to try getting more information on them first.

Sans couldn't help but feel like he'd seen this all before, chills going down his spine with each second that passed, but he wasn't sure how they were familiar. He stalked them silently, hiding behind the pine trees of the pathway, eventually breaking a branch under his foot in an attempt to draw their attention, but they just kept walking. Sans was confused, but figured they probably hadn't heard him, so he approached them later on, though they turned around before he'd said to when he'd approached. Then they hadn't even attempted to play along with Papyrus's puzzles, and Sans could tell they were heading down a bad path, even tried to warn them against it, but they didn't listen.

Then he got a sudden feeling in his soul that he needed to go to the path to Waterfall as fast as he could, and he teleported there just in time to see Papyrus, arms wide to hug the human... have his head cut off sliced off at the neck. The child left as he turned to dust, not sparing a glance at him, and Sans ran to his brother as he disintegrated, crying cyan tears as his brother's scarf fell into his arms. The short skeleton fell to his knees, tears falling onto his brother's dust as it was slowly covered by snow, the human continuing through the blizzard and going out of sight. Sans glared after the human as he put his brother's scarf in a large inside pocket of his coat, pulling himself to his feet, brushing off snow that had gathered on him.

He watched as they killed everyone else in the Underground, smiling as they turned everyone Sans knew to dust, and the skeleton knew his time was coming as well. Sans met them in Judgement Hall, the place of his oncoming death, and he could tell by their expression how many times he'd killed them, but then... he'd lost. He was slashed across the chest, bright red liquid he did yet didn't know he even had because he knew what it was and it shouldn't be possible for him to have it without dying from it. Only Undyne could have some Determination, and even that had caused her to melt eventually.

Sans wasn't stupid though, not with the way he seemed to sweat during their fight, his bones liquifying a bit as the fight continued, exhaustion seeping into his movements and slowing his attacks, but he'd been determined to stop them. Asgore and that stupid flower were the only ones left, other than the refugees, and when Sans had gone to check on Alphys... he only found her dust on the floor in the lab, away from the few remaining members of the Underground's population. Everyone he knew was dead, and it was up to him to convince them to stop, to just Reset, an ability he'd figured out they had based on their expressions, and bring everyone back; give them the happy ending they deserved. They didn't want to do that, though, not when they had so much fun being a genocidal maniac ranking up LV and Execution Points like a trick or treater with a great costume getting candy.

Sans stumbled behind a pillar, not wanting them to get the satisfaction of seeing him die, his hands turning to a mix of dust and goo from the Determination he didn't understand how he had, and he sluggishly reached into his jacket pocket. It took a few tries, his hands not responding or just simply vanishing, but he succeeded at grabbing his scarf, Determination dripping from Sans's mouth and onto the dusty fabric. Tears fell from his eye sockets, holding the scarf to his chest and dampening it quickly as his knees gave out, his vision blurring and eye sockets almost melting shut before everything went black, his soul shattering a moment later after his body had dissipated into a mess on the floor.

Sans woke up again, clutching at his chest in panic, the same way he had previously, but this time, the memories of his "nightmare" remained, burned into his mind and covering his vision like a film he couldn't bling away. Is this what he'd woken up from before, or had that all just been another bad dream? Surely enough, it wasn't, as everything happened the exact same way all over again, the day filled with death and despair, Sans once again meeting his demise. The whole time he tried so hard to rationalize why they'd done this; why they felt such a need to kill everyone. They hadn't done anything to deserve such a fate, so why... why did they kill everyone?....

And this happened again...

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again. 

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Should I tell someone?

And again.

And again.

And again.

They won't remember.... 

And again.

When will it end?...

And again.

And again.

And again.

Stop, please...

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again. Timelines blurred together in a haze.

And again.

And again.

And again. How many times had this happened?....

And again.

And again.

Please, stop...

And again.

And again.

And again. Why didn't they just stop?...

And again.

And again.

No... no......

And again.

And again.

PLEASE, STOP!!!!

And again.

And again. They killed someone a different way, and Sans's soul fluttered with faint excitement from the change.

And again.

And again.

And again.

They wouldn't stop.

And again.

And again. Nothing new again.

And again.

And again. 

He didn't care anymore, he knew it wouldn't end.

And again.

And again. Something new, more faint excitement.

And again.

And again. Timelines blurred together, it could be a dozen or hundreds, maybe thousands...

I.. don't...... care... anymore!

And again.

And again.

It would never end, why bother pleading for mercy when they knew none?

And again.

And again. Another new thing, more excitement that grew in the overwhelming hole inside of him his emotions once were.

And again.

And again. Something new. They offered him to join him, and he declined without a second thought, spitting Determination in their face as he died.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined. Timelines blurred together again, he couldn't tell them apart.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

And again. They offered again, he declined.

It happened over and over, each time exactly the same, never changing other than Sans's deaths growing faster, the human dying less and less from remembering his attacks that he couldn't change. He'd honestly lost count of how many times it'd happened, and he slowly became numb to it all. Death was a daily occurrence to him, his life so filled with the loss of lives around him before eventually his own, and it was such a monotony that Sans was completely desensitized to it. He didn't seek out his brother, he didn't try to stop Alphys from ending her own life, and he accepted his death at the end, no longer fighting to get them to reset, his requests lacking hope, and he just repeated everything because... well... nothing ever changed here, and if they wouldn't change things, why should he? Sans was sure that if he didn't have Determination, he would be dead from a lack of hope, but he wasn't an ordinary monster, now was he?

The human always seemed to look forward to him the most, eagerly anticipating their fight and killing everyone as fast as they could, hurrying into Judgement Hall to face him. He didn't know why they were so obsessed with him, but he knew it was a bad thing, and yet... he just couldn't care. 

"this is it, huh?..." Sans asked again, the words practically a mantra with how many times he'd said them, and he panted a bit, clutching his wound as he continued, starting to head behind his designated grave, "welp, i'm going to grillby's... papyrus, do you want anything?..."

"Wait just a minute.... I didn't come all this way for nothing." The human said, and Sans looked at them tiredly. Why couldn't they just let him die already? "I have a request to make of you."

"a request for you? after what you did?" Sans asked as Determination dripped from his mouth in the same way it always did, "hehe... go off yourself."

The human grinned at him, and continued, "Are you sure, Sans? If saved in time would you kill monsters with me? Try something new?" The human proposed, and it was absolutely preposterous.

Sans's eyelights vanished in his shock at the sheer audacity they had to offer that to him. And then... Sans erupted in laughter, a forced smile on his face.

"i thought you were crazy before, but you really took it to another level. i will never be scum like you!" Sans snapped as he settled down from his laughing fit, his timer continuing to count down towards his death.

"You always do that.... the fake smile thing. You weren't like that, Sans. Not at the beginning..... Your smile was different at the beginning, you know my words are true. That smile is your one last hope. I remember how I thought. Your laugh.... your smile..." The human's face broke into a wider, unhinged grin, "Oh~ When I went back! That look on your face!" The human laughed, "That first time that I Reset this world! You tried so hard to rationalize why! You started thinking 'Should I tell someone? They won't remember.... I.. don't...... care... anymore!'!"

Sans could hear himself thinking that, and he narrowed his eye sockets at them as they kept monologuing while he slowly died.

"You want to continue, or stop. Anything other than Reset. So.... To avoid the pain... you closed yourself off. But when I do something new, you feel something. Something new."

"i don't. i......" Sans started, but the human cut him off like they cut open his ribs.

"Don't lie to me, Sans. I have seen what you are! A part of you enjoys hurting me! Trying new things and feeling new things!" The human said, and Sans realized they probably figured out he remembered by him changing his attacks in an attempt to end their existence once and for all, but that was a fruitless effort, "And getting hurt by them. That's why..... I give you this opportunity to do something new. I want you to kill everybody with me, but don't worry, they won't remember after I Reset. Come with me, Sans! Let's kill them all!"

They were actually crazy.

Sans spat Determination in their face, glaring daggers at them as the liquid dripped from their skin onto the floor, like the wound on his chest dripped, like the Determination on their blade dripped.

"like i said..... no........ go... ... off... ......yourself." Sans spat, eyelights weak and he felt himself being a moment away from dusting, seeing and hearing one last thing before he died again.

"This is the one hundredth and seventy sixth time you've said no to me! Maybe I need a new way to persuade you."

Something changed. Something in his mind changed, he could feel it the moment he woke up. He wasn't sure what it was, and a part of his soul was almost excited by it, and Sans spend the timeline trying to figure it out, but nothing held any promise... until their offer once again came to him as he turned to dust.

"Oh come on, Sans. That's the two hundredth time you've said no to me." The human sighed as he stared at them blankly after rejecting them, but this time it seemed more difficult to do so, something pulling at his mind to just say yes. "Don't you want all this to end? I know you don't feel anything anymore, but I'm offering to change that. I'm offering you to feel something new. You'll only have to do it just once, and then it'll all be over... So what do you say?"

They offered him their knifeless hand, and he stared at it in defeat and pain... before finally shaking it, his body practically moving on it's own. Their face lit up with a sinister grin.

"See you next Reset then, comedian." The human said, and everything went black as he turned to dust.

When he woke up, he just teleported outside of the Ruins, skipping breakfast, and not long after, the dust covered human exited the Ruins, looking at him with a smile.

"Ready?" They asked him, and he nodded, just wanting to get this over with.

They both massacred the Underground in no time, monsters screaming in panic, fear, and confusion as one of their own slaughtered them alongside a human. A part of him even found it fun, just like they'd said, but he buried that feeling in numbness, the timeline flashing by in a blur of emotions, pain, screams, and something new. One timeline turned into two, which turned into three, which turned into.... Sans lost count.

They told him so many things; that their name was Chara, about themself, and in return the words pulled themself out of Sans's mouth outside of his control. They'd whisper things to him, murmurs that echoed in his head endlessly, sometimes replacing any and all other thoughts. He could go on autopilot after so many resets, just following their instructions and letting his mind empty was so much easier than dealing with the pain of the emotions Chara promised him would go away, as long as he listened to them... To his best friend...

He lost count when black liquid started trickling from his eye sockets, he lost count when the liquid grew and his soul was agonized, he lost count when everything was an even bigger blur and an even bigger, insane haze, the only constant was Chara's presence that grew to be a chilling reminder and a twisted comfort at the same time. Everything flickered after the blur continued for a while, and Sans found himself seeing his own hands opening the closet in his room, Chara leaning against the wall, looking at him with a smile as he searched through his clothes for something new. They stepped behind him, an arm around his shoulders and their mouth next to his skull, whispering things to him.

"Not that one, Sans."

Sans stilled, hand hovering in front of a purplish blue jacket.

"No, that isn't right for you, partner."

Sans moved his hand away from a light gray hoodie, hovering in front of a dark blue jacket with a fluffy tan hood, waiting for their approval or denial. They hummed next to him, and he saw them nodding from the corner of his vision, so he grabbed the jacket, putting it under his arm as his hand hovered in front of a black turtleneck.

"That looks good, Sans. Grab that... It'll make your soul stand out more..."

Sans grabbed it, his hollow eye sockets hiding his gaze as he looked over at them.

"Good. You have good taste, partner..."

Sans reached towards a pair of dark blue shorts upon looking back at the closet, and Chara tsked, making him stop moving.

"No, not that one. You lost me there. Grab this one instead."

Their hand reached forward, their arm now visible as they gently grabbed his wrist, Sans letting them move it to a pair of white shorts with a black stripe on each side, an inverse of his current ones. Their arm was a green sleeve, Sans able to see what they really looked like outside of the body they were possessing, controlling it like a puppet, like they were controlling him, but they didn't need to possess him for that. He let them guide his movements like he was nothing more than their marionette, not unused to them guiding his movements, his arm slack as they moved his arm to it, holding it there. 

"Right there. That one. You're going to look much better with this wardrobe change, partner... You'll be perfect..."

Sans grabbed it, and Chara grabbed a pair of blue sneakers from off the floor before pulling him into a tight hug, squeezing him a bit when he didn't initially return it, and Sans realized his error, hugging them back. The gesture meant nothing to him, but it probably meant something to them, and Sans was supposed to make them happy, right? That was his job... That and killing... Why did he do that again?... Oh, right. Their words replayed in his mind, a helpful reminder to him to remember his purpose.

"As my best friend, you'll do anything to make me happy, partner, won't you?~"

"of course."

Sans woke up with a strangled gasp, feeling their grip still around him and still in his mind, and he tumbled off the bed, clawing at himself and his own head, trying to get them away. He could still feel the contact, hear their voice in his mind, and the blanket wrapped around him, suffocating him like their hug had. He tried prying it away, the fabric under his back preventing his efforts from being successful as they only fueled his panic. He heard a loud bang as his bedroom door shot open, Sans a mix of relieved, guilty, and terrified as his brother opened the door, running over to him, skidding to a stop on his knees. Sans was trembling, rattled, and he backed away automatically. He saw Papyrus's head falling away from his neck, heard Chara whispering next to his skull, but he didn't want to listen. His mind wasn't an empty, blank canvas for their words to write out every thought he had when he let them, he was himself, and he wouldn't let his brother be hurt while he was himself. 

"SANS? BROTHER ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus asked, reaching a hand toward him.

"no! papyrus stay back!" Sans yelled desperately as he backed away, flooded with panic as he remembered how close Papyrus was, and that at any moment, his mind could snap into being Chara's mindless weapon.

"BROTHER, WHAT HAS YOU SO FRIGHTENED? I PROMISE YOU, I AM NOT GOING TO HARM YOU." Papyrus reassured, not knowing Sans was afraid of harming Papyrus.

Sans backed himself into a corner, trembling as he managed to kick away the blankets, and Papyrus was trying to figure out how to proceed. Sans could see the thought process on his face, trying to deduce how to continue when Sans was so upset and Papyrus was so concerned.

"WOULD SOME OF MY SPAGHETTI HELP YOU, BROTHER? WHAT ABOUT SOME KETCHUP? I KNOW YOU LIKE THAT. OR WHAT IF THE GREAT PAPYRUS READ YOU A BEDTIME STORY FOR ONCE? THOSE ALWAYS HELP ME SLEEP!" Papyrus asked him, trying his best to find a way to help his brother. 

Sans didn't deserve him. He could only curl up in the corner, shaking and begging his brother not to come closer, whispering that he didn't want to risk hurting him. Sans wasn't even aware of everything he was saying, everything tumbling out of his mouth, Sans trying to blink away what could be tears but could also be that black liquid from... whatever he'd seen unfold in his mind. Exhaustion was soaking into his bones, the blind panic and the struggle against his blanket setting in, and Sans's rushed breathing didn't help either. 

"SANS, YOU CANNOT HURT ME. AFTER ALL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus reassured him, and he pulled his brother into a gentle yet firm hug.

Sans tried getting away at first, weakly thrashing, but the exhaustion quickly took its toll, Sans's struggles slowing down, and he eventually hugged his brother back, whispering and sobbing out apologies as he broke down. It was.... all a nightmare? His soul wasn't a target floating out from his chest, his eye sockets weren't leaking that black liquid, and he could feel emotions, something he never knew someone could even miss. Was all of that just a nightmare?... Was it not real at all?

No. He knew it wasn't, but he wasn't sure how or why that had happened, but he had a bad feeling it was going to happen again. Once Chara came out of the Ruins, Sans would confront them, taking this opening as a chance to get some revenge, if they didn't have a way to put him into that state again; if this was all normal, but no, his soul was still an upside-down white heart... What was going on?... The night ended with Papyrus carrying him to his room and putting him on the racecar bed, and reading him a story for once, trying to calm him, and it had the desired effects. Sans fell asleep to his brother reading, dried tears on his face, and he desperately hoped that none of that happened and he wouldn't see anything like that again. He wasn't that lucky.

In the morning, Papyrus was in the kitchen making spaghetti, and Sans went downstairs on his own, surprising his brother.

"SANS! HOW ARE YOU FEELING, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked.

"i'm ok... last night really chilled me to the bone though." Sans replied, winking with his left eye, trying to play off his still present unease.

"ARGH, SANS! THAT WAS HORRIBLE!" Papyrus groaned.

"aww, i thought it was a real... rib tickler." Sans joked.

"BROTHER, ONE MORE PUN AND I'M TELLING GRILLBY TO NO LONGER GIVE YOU KETCHUP!" Papyrus threatened.

Oh well, not like it'd last. Everything would just Reset anyways.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, BROTHER? RESET?" Papyrus asked.

Crap, had he been talking out loud?

"uhh... nothing." Was all Sans could think of.

Papyrus regarded him in concern, before shrugging it off.

"WELL, HURRY AND EAT UP, LAZYBONES, A HUMAN WILL FALL TODAY, I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONES! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus posed dramatically, scarf blowing in nonexistent wind in the kitchen, and the nonexistence wind also sent a shiver down Sans's spine at the familiarity of it.

After eating the.... valiant but futile attempt at pasta, Sans tried to go on a patrol, but Papyrus said they'd take the day off, which is something that hasn't happened yet. They wound up watching a physics documentary and Sans hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to a blanket covering him, his brother gone. Thankfully no nightmares had woken him up again, and Sans let himself relax.

Wait.... images of Papyrus flashed in his mind when he blinked . . . PAPYRUS! Sans fell off the couch, teleporting to the first guard post after the Ruins, looking around in a panic. He saw the human there, not far from his brother, and Sans teleported between the two, Gaster Blasters forming behind him and in front of his brother, all aimed at the kid. They didn't look like they usually did, the yellow and green sweater gone, but Sans was prepared for the trick, focusing on protecting his brother, if only for a bit longer.

"WOWWIE! WHAT ARE THOSE?!" Papyrus asked in wonder as the kid backed up in both confusion and... fear? "BROTHER, PLEASE, YOU ARE SCARING THEM."

Papyrus went to move to get in front of his brother, and Sans's soul pounded in panic. It twisted and clenched in his ribcage, and Sans's breathing grew shakier.

"papyrus no! they'll kill you!" Sans warned him, voice a mix of panic and worry, and Papyrus looked at him in confusion.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BROTHER? THEY'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG." Papyrus asked him.

The kid went to take a step forward, and Sans turned their soul dark blue, flinging them against a tree and taking 1 HP. His left eyelight had turned cyan and yellow with the usage of his magic, and he didn't realize how much he was trembling until he heard his bones rattling.

"don't even think about it, chara!" Sans snapped, Gaster Blasters aimed at them and preparing to fire, and they didn't move other than by trembling.

Papyrus got in front of him after that, "BROTHER, PLEASE CALM DOWN! THEY MEAN ME NO HARM! AND DO YOU KNOW THEM? YOU CALLED THEM 'CHARA'."

"pap, get out of here." Sans told him, dead serious for once, bones still rattling and the smile on his face was an extremely strained grimace, the cyan and yellow eyelight vanishing, replaced by his regular white eyelights.

"NO, I WON'T! SANS, THEY HADN'T DONE ANYTHING BESIDES JOKE WITH ME! THEY HAVEN'T HARMED ANYONE, BROTHER! IT'S ALRIGHT." Papyrus told him, "IS THIS ABOUT YOUR NIGHTMARE LAST NIGHT?"

Sans's eyelights shrunk at that, and he actually looked at the kid and read their expression. They hadn't harmed anyone, they hadn't gained LV, there was no dust on them, and they weren't smiling. They were, however, trembling with tears streaming down their cheeks as they looked at him in concern and fear. They weren't a threat, they were a pacifist. His Gaster Blasters disappeared, and he released their soul, it turning red again before going back into their chest. 

"Are.. are you ok?" The kid asked him.

"... fine. i'm fine...." Sans replied, trying to force the tremors to leave his body and for his soul to stop twisting in panic.

"THEIR NAME IS FRISK, BROTHER. I AM UNSURE AS TO WHY YOU CALLED THEM CHARA." Papyrus asked, before gasping, "DO YOU HAVE TWO NAMES, FRISK? I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TWO NAMES!"

They shook their head no, and while Papyrus was confused, he shrugged it off. Sans forced himself to calm down, trying to even his breathing and force himself to stop panicking. That was easier to do when they didn't look like Chara and had no LV, so he was mostly alright... for now... but he was still rattled.

Sans approached them slowly, and they tensed as he reached his left hand out, only he hadn't attacked them this time. "come on, kid, you can shake my hand. i won't hurt ya. it was just a big misunderstanding. tibia honest, i thought you were... someone else."

They hesitantly shook his hand, a loud fart resounding in the area. The gag helped Sans calm down, more so when the human laughed a bit, smiling slightly and not in an unnerving way, and Papyrus groaned. Their expression helped Sans calm himself down, if only a little.

"name's sans. sans the skeleton." Sans introduced himself as remembered he had so many times before, "you're a human, right? that's weird."

"OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE A HUMAN?!" Papyrus asked in shock, "I MUST RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES SO THAT I MAY CAPTURE YOU! AND BROTHER, DON'T CALL THEM WEIRD, THAT IS NOT NICE! PROCEED WHEN YOU WISH, HUMAN, AND FACE MY PUZZLES, IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus ran away excitedly, heading to make sure his puzzles could capture a human. Sans knew they couldn't, and he knew the kid knew too.

"Sans? Are you ok?" The kid asked him again.

"never better, sorry i had ya rattled. now come on, we can't leave paps waiting." Sans said, and after that, he teleported to his brother before they could respond. 

The kid played along with each of his brother's puzzles, got captured, and the kid actually didn't hurt him. Then, once he'd spared them.... they spared him too. The amount of relief Sans felt at that was inexplicable. They moved on through Waterfall, Sans keeping a close eye on them... only this time, Papyrus followed. This had never happened before, not from Sans's memories. It was something new. Sans grimaced at his internal choice of wording, trying to pull himself away from thoughts of his nightmares and the way the shadows seemed to dance with versions of his friends that were so heavily distorted it was hard to find any similarities, just their voices giving them away. Their faint screams echoed in his mind, along with shadows of Chara, sometimes across from him and other times next to him, leaning over his shoulder and whispering things he couldn't always identify. They lingered in his peripherals, gone when he looked at them but back when he looked away.

"SO YOUNG HUMAN, WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE UNDERGROUND?" Papyrus asked, breaking the silence and a mirage of Chara flickered out of existence.

"I don't really remember. I think I hit my head on the way down." The kid replied.

"you probably hit it a bunch of times then, all things considered." Sans muttered, and the kid gave him an indescribable look he didn't pay attention to.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked.

"well, the underground is pretty far under ground, so it had to be quite the fall, right?" Sans replied, covering for himself.

"OH! THAT MAKES SENSE!" Papyrus said.

The kid probably couldn't remember much before the resets due to there being so many, if he was right about this, but this didn't seem like Chara, which was admittedly comforting. The kid also wasn't used to things changing, going off of their expression; they probably weren't familiar with any of this. Who knows how many times they'd Reset and nothing had changed, but now, so much has changed already. They were definitely out of their element, and Sans was admittedly satisfied at that, but he didn't know what would happen next either, so that made his satisfaction decline. It wasn't until Papyrus left to find Undyne and the two were alone that the human spoke.

"So, you know about Resets?" The kid asked.

"what makes you say that? you determine it?" Sans asked, slipping in a pun.

"Well... you've never done that before, and you've definitely never called me Chara... How do you know them?" The kid asked.

"here's a better question, why do i remember you continuously resetting and killing everyone?" Sans asked them, eyelights vanishing.

"I... I don't do that every time, that doesn't seem right. I'm... not in control over my body all of the time. Sometimes it's me, Frisk, but other times... there's different personalities with different names who use my name and body. Sometimes they're a pacifist, like me, but other times.. not so much..." The kid answered, before asking again, "How do you know Chara though?"

"i.. it's complicated." Sans replied, reluctant to admit the truth, and he settled for lying, "it's not that i know them, but... i know the name. you?"

"It's complicated." The kid replied. Smart mouth. "They've never taken control over my body to do a timeline, but they've taken control to Reset. You mentioned some kind of genocide loop, which I don't remember happening ever... Are you ok?"

"yeah, i'm fine. 'sides, tibia fair, i probably didn't see what actually happened. i just saw nonstop genocide." Sans replied, "these resets gonna stop?"

"Oh... I wish I could say that it'll all stop, but... I can't promise that. I'm sorry, Sans, but i can't stop them." The kid apologized.

"it's not your fault, kid." Sans reassured.

Besides, he understood it from his nightmare. The thrill, the enjoyment... he could understand why the other personalities wouldn't stop, and Chara was probably just Resetting out of boredom or entertainment. He just wished that he couldn't remember that nightmare, and that he could stop the kid's body before they could hurt or kill anyone, but that would fail in the end. It was all like an unsharpened pencil; pointless.

"BROTHER, FRISK, IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND I HAVE RETURNED WITH UNDYNE!" Papyrus announced, striding over with the fish monster in tow.

"Hey!- Wait..." Undyne's gaze landed on the kid, "HUMAN! PREPARE TO DIE!!"

Undyne summoned a spear, preparing to use it against the kid.

"UNDYNE, WAIT! THEY ARE ALRIGHT!  YOU DON'T NEED TO ATTACK THEM! THEY ARE A FRIEND!" Papyrus jumped in front of her.

"Get out of the way, Papyrus!" Undyne ordered.

"I'M AFRAID I CANNOT DO THAT. THE HUMAN IS HARMLESS!" Papyrus replied, not moving.

"I don't care, Papyrus, they need to die or the Underground will never be free!" Undyne said.

"WE CAN JUST TALK ABOUT THIS INSTEAD! PLEASE UNDYNE, DON'T DO THIS!" Papyrus pleaded.

". . . Sorry Papyrus." Undyne swiped her spear, turning his soul green before running around him, intent on attacking the kid.

The kid hid behind Sans, scared, and Papyrus looked at him pleadingly. Damnit. In a way that was eerily familiar to his nightmare, he turned Undyne's soul blue, pinned her against a nearby wall, and created blue bone attacks which he then aimed at her as his eyelights vanished. He felt Chara gripping his shoulders, whispering next to his skull, and he felt his mind blank out.

"Don't let anyone hurt me, Sans. You're my best friend, after all!"

Right.....

"She's a threat, she's dangerous.... You'll protect me, right, partner?~"

Of course. 

Undyne went to move, and Sans reacted automatically, a blue bone extending from the ground, right under her chin, able to hit her if she so much as swallowed wrong.

"i  w o u l d n ' t." Sans said, the threat clear in his tone, which for the second time today, was dead serious.

He was snapped back to himself by Frisk gripping his shoulders shakily, their breathing fast, and he glanced over at them to see the sheer level of how unnerved they were, and he looked back at Undyne, seeing Papyrus off to the side, looking at him in concern and worry and fear... Sans could hear Chara's laughter in the back of his mind, and he blinked a bit, eyelights returning as he tried to play this off. 

"first, release my brother." Sans told Undyne, who did as told, looking shellshocked, "secondly, can we just talk about things? otherwise i'll just leave you here."

"Ok..." Undyne replied, still freaking out a bit, and Sans released her soul and got rid of his attacks, Undyne relaxing a bit.

"thank you." Sans said.

"UNDYNE, THIS IS FRISK, MY FRIEND WHO IS A HUMAN. THEY ARE VERY NICE AND I'D MUCH PREFER IT IF YOU DIDN'T KILL THEM." Papyrus introduced, trying to get rid of the tension, "I HONESTLY THINK YOU TWO WOULD BE GREAT FRIENDS!"

"Papyrus, I told you, they have to die, for the sake of the Underground. I can't be friends with them." Undyne said.

"you can't be friends with them? never thought the day would come that you'd admit you couldn't do some-fin, undyne." Sans said, and the kid quietly giggled behind him.

"I-! I can do anything!" Undyne snapped, and Sans saw a bit of fear in her eye as she replied in anger, and a tiny part of him enjoyed that expression. He told that part of himself to go die in a hole.

"except for befriending a human, which would probably go swimmingly." Sans said with a grin that was less forced than earlier.

"You know what, punk?! I can do anything! Come on, Frisk, I'll be the best friend you'll ever have!!" Undyne shouted. 

The four then went to Undyne's house... which somehow managed to get blown up while cooking pasta of all things. The interaction kept Sans out of his own head, Chara's voice quiet and the hallucinations not as frequent, and Sans made sure to pay attention to Undyne and Frisk so he couldn't get absorbed into his mind playing tricks on him. As they stood outside of the burning house once it exploded, Sans played his trombone.

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled, and the kid laughed.

"That explosion was sick!!" Undyne shouted, and the kid was looking down guiltily, "Don't worry about it, punk, it's alright!"

From there, they went to Hotlands, though Undyne lacked her armor so she wouldn't overheat. Sans could remember being in the lab with Alphys as she worked on evacuations because of the kid, but those were soon replaced with memories of killing her or finding her already dead by her own hands. Sans's soul clenched painfully, though he hid his expression expertly, annoying the quiet giggle from Chara in his mind, bouncing around his skull. Then Mettaton showed up, and everything really went downhill.

Sans hated that guy. 

It started with a quiz, then a baking show, and then disabling bombs, and Mettaton was showing off the whole time, and Sans was getting more and more irritated. In the end, the kid dealt with Mettaton after they'd been closed in an area together, the fight broadcasted across the Underground from Mettaton's attempt to inflate his own ego more than it already was, and Sans was extremely satisfied once he lost. After a bit of talking with Asgore and the barrier being broken, everyone waiting for Frisk to be ready before heading to see the sun. Frisk started acting nervous, though, and that caught Sans's attention. The last thing Sans was aware of was the kid saying sorry before their eyes opened, turning red as the world shifted around him, and his soul clenched painfully as everything went black.

RESET

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[gregorysiff]

writing a legacy on a legacy. #fortuny #gregorysiff #mergingtimelines @fortunyvenezia

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Four

art by @mercuryne on Discord!

Sans's bones rattled after the Reload occurred, his breathing shaky and his soul crying out in pain. He couldn't let this continue, he had to do something, and now. He went to step forward, but his legs gave out from under him, nearly falling to his knees before Undyne hooked a hand under his armpit, Papyrus doing the same on his other side. 

'lucky? what the hell was that?' Killer asked, and Sans saw him by the wall across from him, Alphys running in front of him and over to Sans, Killer gone after she passed by him.

"S-Sans? Wh-what's wrong?" Alphys questioned, worried.

"i... i don't know..." Sans replied, regaining his bearings and standing on his own, "i'm fine.... thanks, guys.. didn't mean to rattle ya."

Papyrus and Undyne hesitantly released him, backing away as Sans stood up on his own, looking towards the door. Sans knew he needed to do something, and now. He ignored the whispers, pushing them down because he wasn't doing this because of them. Sans teleported out of the room, appearing next to Frisk and bringing up a wall of bones to block multiple explosives. Once the smoke cleared, Sans was standing there in front of Frisk, an arm out in front of them, facing off against Mettaton, Sans's legs shaking a bit from the pain in his soul.

"mettaton, that's enough." Sans glared, voice stern as he stared the robot down, Mettaton's song playing in the area.

"YOU DON'T SCARE ME, DARLING. NOW GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE YOU GET HURT." Mettaton replied, voice threatening.

Killer walked next to Mettaton, and looked Sans dead in the eye sockets. 'don't even think of backing down. it's time to take him down a peg.'

Sans summoned a few bones behind himself, and Mettaton sighed, rolling his eye. Sans felt a shiver go down his spine, and realized Killer was probably right behind him, recognizing the chill. Mettaton threw several more explosives at them both, Sans once again blocking them, but this time, as the smoke cleared, Mettaton was suddenly right in front of him.

"WRONG CHOICE, DARLING!" Mettaton yelled before kicking Sans into a wall, some rubble falling on him as the bones he'd summoned vanished.

"SANS!!!" Frisk shrieked in fear, and Sans could hear everyone yelling in horror outside the door as he was kicked.

When Mettaton's foot made contact with Sans's chest, he felt like his soul left his body in a way. His HP should've been reduced to 0, he should've been dying, and yet... he wasn't. Sans hit the wall, rubble falling on him, and Sans didn't even feel the pain, didn't even make a sound, and when he tried to, he couldn't. His body was moving on it's own accord, like a puppet on strings, and Sans couldn't stop it.

He could feel his own emotions, but he could feel other ones too. An overwhelming numbness that sent a chill through him, faint flickers of emotions only occasional, but it was all mostly pure numbness. Like the emotions had been sucked out of him and left him a husk, like when he'd go into that weird trance, but he still had thoughts and could think for himself. The whispers were actually quieter now, replaced by faint murmurs of the ones he knew, but it wasn't much of a relief, as it was their voices calling out for him, pleading for mercy, sounding confused, angry, and scared.

These were so much quieter though, and were being drowned out by.... were those Killer's thoughts? Mettaton was so annoying, such a pest... It was. Killer was mildly annoyed; Sans could feel it, annoyance flickering in their shared consciousness, and Sans saw his body moving, pulling itself out of the rubble as Killer controlled it.... Killer was controlling his body...

It looked like Killer was in the driver's seat now, the feeling both disorientating, but also familiar, like he was playing the game instead of watching the movie. If it were under better circumstances, Killer would be enjoying this, but for now, he had a robot's metaphorical butt to kick. Even his butt in this form was still flat. Sans felt his jaw clenching, his hands digging into the fragments of the wall, the sharp edges digging into his fingers, some sharp edges drawing black blood from wounds Sans couldn't even feel.

Sans's eye sockets narrowed, his hands pushing the rubble aside, nudging some more of it away from his foot, and his body jumped away from the rubble, landing in a crouch in front of Frisk. It was time to have some fun... he'd been itching for this fight for two timelines now, and he was finally getting the chance to scratch that itch, and Killer was taking it. Sans found his gaze flicking up to the televisions and screens in the room. Sans saw himself with Killer's appearance standing in front of Frisk, and Sans felt the smirk spreading on his face as he saw it appear on the TV. Sans's gaze flicked back down to his own hands, which still looked like his own, and he saw his hand clenching into a fist before looking back at Mettaton, his hand lowering to rest at his side, his body standing up on it's own accord.

It looked like Killer's appearance was the same physically, but through the technology his true appearance was revealed... Sans felt liquid starting to build in his eye sockets, and as they blinked, Sans not even able to control that. Moments later, Sans saw some black liquid form at the bottom of his eye sockets, spilling out over his cheekbones like a bucket being filled with too much water. Sans felt it trickle down his face, the liquid cold and something he could feel, despite not feeling the pain of his injuries.

This should be easy enough. His attacks are mostly predictable; Alphys cranked up his aggression levels in the past between him and Chara, so Killer knew most of his attacks. This will be fun, and he even got to do it without Chara being there... Killer was starting to like this timeline more and more. Killer was getting excited at the prospect of fighting Mettaton, the liquid forming in and falling from his eye sockets quicker. Sans felt his soul squirming and writhing in his ribcage, a source of pain he could feel, though Killer didn't acknowledge it, keeping his soul hidden from view.

'looks like i get to take this baby out for a test drive!' Killer smirked mentally.

'just don't break anything!'

'no promises~' Killer laughter echoed in their mind for a few moments before quieting back down, and Sans was slightly thankful it wasn't emotionless and hollow like it was when Grillby died.

Sans's arm moved out to the side on it's own, well, not on it's own, Killer was moving it, and Sans felt magic being drawn from within his body's ribcage, sensing a few bones forming off to the side. They felt different though, the magic used to call for them being one Sans wasn't aware he had, or maybe only Killer had it and he was summoning his own attacks.

'why do those attacks feel different?' Sans asked him. Killer's gaze briefly flicked up to the TV, showing Sans the bones had a sharp end, his vision moving back to Mettaton a moment later.  'thanks.'

"YOU THINK A WARDROBE CHANGE WILL ACCOMPLISH MUCH, SANS?" Mettaton asked, summoning a bomb in one hand, tossing it up and down as he smirked at him, "AND WHAT'S WITH THE TEARS? DID MY KICK HURT THAT MUCH?"

"nah." Sans's mouth moved on it's own, his voice just like Killer's as the skeleton replied, "these aren't tears, you pile of bolts and screws. if you want tears, though, i will gladly show you some. i just gotta hold a cup under your eye after i'm done with you."

"OH, WITTY, ARE WE?" Mettaton chuckled, "THAT WIT WON'T GET YOU VERY FAR, DARLING!"

The music started to change, Mettaton's song turning into a much different one, an orchestra replacing Mettaton's electric piano and more electric sounding music. That was more like it, some good old Occisor. Better than Mettaton's crap. Mettaton seemed confused by the music change, and threw the bomb at him.

Killer extended snapped Sans's fingers, summoning a wall of bones to block the bomb, firing the sharp bones at Mettaton as he brought the wall down. Killer teleported away, using blue magic to slam Mettaton into a wall, firing more sharp bones at him. One of them managed to land, but Mettaton kicked the others away, jumping off of the wall, cartwheeling through the air before trying to land a kick on Killer, slamming his extended foot down. Killer jumped back, doing a backflip through the air and landing in a crouch with grace Sans didn't know his body possessed.

Killer stood back up, running off to the right, movements faster than Sans thought was possible for his legs, his body seeming to phase forward slightly when both feet were off the ground, outrunning bombs as they landed behind him. He jumped over one that got too close to him, jumping off of the ground with surprisingly light feet, landing on the wall, a sharp bone in Sans's hand as he dug it in, keeping himself there for a moment. Right now, this was his chance. Killer pushed Sans's body off of the wall, leaping off of it and towards Mettaton, stabbing the sharp bone down into his shoulder, jumping off as Mettaton punched at him, skidding to a stop on the ground as he started running again.

Sans saw himself jumping over Mettaton's legs as he swung them out at him, Sans feeling adrenalized but Killer wasn't feeling it at all, just some excitement, entertainment, and numbness. A few more kicks, and then Killer would have his opening to attack again. The kicks followed, Killer's predictions far from inaccurate, Sans's body jumping over the kicks in time with the music, a sharp bone extending from the ground and stabbing through Mettaton's leg. Killer took the opening and lunged towards Mettaton, teleporting to be right in front of him, a sharp bone in his hand and stabbing through the rest of Mettaton's arm, taking the limb off and leaving sparking wires coming out of a stump in it's place. Easy.

Some of the black liquid dripped into Sans's mouth, the taste almost like black licorice, and Killer reached Sans's hand up, wiping away at it and rubbing it off and onto his right shoulder. Killer jumped back, slippers pressing off against Mettaton's chest, doing a flip in the air before landing on his feet again. A disco ball with lasers dropped down, Killer shooting a sharp bone at and through it, destroying it as he ran away from more bombs and kicks, knowing all of Mettaton's attacks from experience. Killer summoned several sharp bones from the ceiling, tips aimed down, and he shot them down at Mettaton.

Mettaton, unlike Sans, wasn't good at dodging, and got hit by several, whereas Killer had Sans's body weaving around the attacks. Sans's left hand twitched, Killer wanting to grab the knife in Sans's pocket, but he resisted the urge, holding off on grabbing the weapon. It would be useful, but it would blow any cover they had left. Killer jumped forward, landing a kick into Mettaton's face, holding his foot there as Mettaton skidded across the ground for several feet, his back hitting the wall.

Killer summoned a sharp bone into Sans's left hand, stabbing it into Mettaton's other shoulder, twisting and tearing it away, removing the second arm before jumping back from lasers from a disco ball on the ceiling. Killer jumped on top of the disco ball, stabbing the bone into the device, not destroying it, instead allowing him to aim it, targeting Mettaton with his own attack. It didn't last long, Mettaton making it self-destruct, Killer dropping down from it in a barrel roll, Sans's body back on it's feet moments later, running away from more bombs that were launches at him, Mettaton kicking some at him for speed. Killer dodged one as it flew over Sans's head, ducking his body down as it sailed over them, exploding behind them.

'five g says that looked badass on tv.' Killer thought, and Sans sighed a bit, causing Killer to chuckle.

Killer was quickly on the move again, Sans's body running away from more bombs and kicks, an idea forming in Killer's mind. That could definitely work... just gotta time this right... Killer egged Mettaton on, grabbing a bomb midair and blowing off Mettaton's leg, leaving him hopping around. Killer's snickers at the sight only irritating Mettaton more and more, Killer moving backwards with his dodges and luring Mettaton to the center of the room.

Sans felt a large amount of magic forming in his soul, the glowing red target soul pulling itself out of his ribcage as Killer drew on his magic for the final attack. A giant Gaster Blaster formed next to Sans's body, the edges sharp, and it was pitch black, the eye sockets and nasal cavity white with white lines going down from the eye sockets. Mettaton's eye widened at the sight, black magic building in the dragon skull's jaws, the attack last second twitching upwards as it fired. Killer used blue magic on Mettaton's soul, pinning him down as the black magic tore through the ceiling, rubble and debris falling down rapidly and crushing Mettaton under it just as the song ended. 

Killer brushed himself off from some of the dust that had gotten on him from the explosions and his final attack, approaching Mettaton after hiding his soul again. Sans's body was taking casual steps, stepping over bits of rubble and shrapnel, hips swaying slightly as his body approached the defeated robot. Killer crouched down in front of the rubble, Sans's hand reaching forward and tossing a large piece to the side, revealing Mettaton's battered body, his other leg removed by the debris. Sans's mouth twitched up into a cocky smirk, grabbing Mettaton by a clump of his burnt and tangled hair. 

"WHA- SANS!! UNHAND ME!!" Mettaton snapped, Killer doing the exact opposite.

Killer instead turned around, dragging Mettaton behind him, and while he stepped over the debris, he dragged Mettaton through it. He chuckled a bit at Mettaton thrashing weakly behind him, moving his head around to try getting away.

"i agree with ya, metts. that song was a real head banger." Killer smirked.

"SANS!" Mettaton snapped, causing Killer to chuckle.

Killer noticed a shocked and quivering Frisk staring at him in awe and fear from behind a large piece of rubble, Killer paying them no mind whatsoever. Mettaton did pay them mind, but Killer tightening his grip on his hair halted those efforts. Killer reached the door, moving his foot to kick the door open, Killer and Sans being met with Undyne, Papyrus, and Alphys all looking at him with slack jaws, Papyrus having eyes in his eye sockets, and they all looked shellshocked. Sans wanted to glance off to the side, but with Killer controlling where he looked, that wasn't possible. There was also some unease visible in their expression, but it was mostly covered with shock and surprise.

". . ." Silence.

". . . what?"Killer asked.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT', SANS?!" Papyrus exclaimed incredulously, "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"what do you mean?" Killer questioned, playing dumb.

"Why did you look different on TV, how and why were you so good at fighting him, how were you so fast, AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LAST ATTACK?!" Undyne listed.

"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IT WAS! IT WAS THE RUINING OF MY REPUTATION!" Mettaton snapped.

"YOU DON'T GET TO TALK!" Undyne snapped at him.

"YES I DO, DARLING!" Mettaton replied.

Killer sighed, moving Sans's hand to pinch the bridge of his nasal cavity. Mettaton never failed to be annoying. Killer looked over at Alphys, who tensed up from the hollow eye sockets landing on her. Sans's vision rolled, Killer rolling non-present eyelights at her fear, and he approached her, dropping Mettaton's squirming form at her feet before walking away.

"Wha- WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" Undyne yelled after him.

"later!"Killer responded, rounding the corner and teleporting away.

Sans saw running water in front of him next, Killer having teleported Sans's body there, sitting by a stream of running water. His legs hung over the edge, feet kicking a bit as the black liquid leaked from his eye sockets. Killer rested Sans's elbows on his knees, hands under his jaw, slumped as he looked down at the water, seeing his own appearance. It looked like Killer's appearance showed up in reflections and in cameras, but was otherwise Sans's. Broken Determination dripped down from his cheekbones like it usually did, the liquid splashing slightly in the water, falling down into it like oil, remaining clumps.

Sans tried figuring out how to make himself appear, feeling some magic tugging at his soul that he hadn't noticed before, Killer's possession making his soul much more sensitive. Sans's appearance flickered into existence, visible in the corner of his vision, and he saw his body's gaze move over to meet him. It felt so... odd. He could control and feel the movements in a way, but he could also feel his body's. He could feel his manifestation reacting to his emotions and what he wanted it to do and what he felt, but when he wasn't visible to himself, it became harder to control and sense.

"what do you want?" Killer asked him, Sans's gaze moving up and down as Killer looked him over

'i uh.... wanted to thank you for not killing him.... i appreciate that.' Sans told him, the manifestation's mouth moving with his thoughts.

'eh, don't mention it. had to keep suspicions down one way or another. besides, i only really kill with their permission, and they aren't here right now.' Killer thought back to him. 'besides, i humiliated him because he got beat by the supposed weakest monster of the underground." 

Killer chuckled out loud, a smirk on Sans's face, and the laughter leaving his mouth was much different from how it normally was. 

'yeah well, i don't think anyone thinks that anymore.' Sans replied, still trying to get used to all of this. 

"fair. for now, at least. you enjoyed seeing him get beat up, didn't ya?"Killer asked, right eye socket half closed, and he was still smirking; Sans could feel the expression on his own face.

'a little... i mean i don't exactly like the guy, so... you know... umm... seriously, thank you for not killing him. i appreciate that.' Sans thanked him, and Killer shrugged him off.

'so... your soul... do you know why it's a target?' Sans questioned, and Killer moved their vision down to his chest, letting the glowing red target come out.

'my memories are kinda scattered over here. i have some speculations, but nothing concrete on why it happened or what it is.' Killer replied, 'chara mentioned it wasn't a human or a monster soul; it was something else entirely. they have the same thing in my timeline, but i wanna say it was black? it was weird...' Killer explained.

'i'll look into it. i gotta admit, i'm pretty curious about it too.' Sans told him, and Killer nodded a bit.

'it would be interesting to know what it is.' Killer said, tapping a finger against the glowing red target, and Sans felt pain jolt through the soul at the contact.

Killer's skull tilted up a bit at the sound of approaching footsteps, and he didn't need to look to know who it was. Sans lost his grip on the manifestation, feeling it vanish, and Killer waited for Frisk to announce their presence before acknowledging it.

"Sans?" Frisk asked, approaching the body Sans currently couldn't control, "Are.... Are you ok?..."

"yeah, i'm fine, kid." Killer replied, the tone slightly different from Sans's as the words left his mouth.

"You don't seem ok. I... never saw that stuff come out of your eyes before..." Frisk mentioned, and they sat down next to him. Frisk gasped a bit from his reflection, caught off guard by it, but they didn't vocalize it yet, instead asking, "What is it?"

"it's a long story." Killer replied.

"And you're not Sans. That seems like a longer story." Frisk said, bringing the issue to attention. Sans's skull turned towards them, a curious look on his features, and Frisk said, "Your reflection... It's a dead giveaway, not to mention the fighting and.... yeah... I've seen genocide routes before, I know how Sans fights, and you... aren't him. Not to mention that song and the blaster..."

"you're smarter than you look."Killer told them, a backhanded compliment, and they sighed a bit.

"Thanks?... So... will you tell me what's going on?" Frisk asked, "Or at least if Sans is ok. He seemed...  very scared these last few timelines..."

". . ." Killer hesitated, faint white outlines of eyelights in Sans's eye sockets.

Sans felt something in their mind when the eyelights appeared, but he couldn't figure out what it was before it was gone again. Killer didn't know whether or not to tell them; if Chara was the same as his here, or if they were different... 

'the kid already knows, killer. there's no point in hiding it from them now.' Sans pointed out.

' ' ' fine.' Killer thought before sighing out loud.

"he's... okish. some sorta glitch is happening that brought me here from another timeline. the others seem to recognize me a bit, but otherwise sans here is getting the brunt of it." Killer explained, "he's getting flashbacks of my timeline, and it's wearing on him a bit."

'a bit?' Sans quoted flatly.

"ok, ok, a lot. he's not holding up the best." Killer told them, "something happens when the timeline gets rewound. not every time but so far each reset has done it, and a reload let me do this."

"Oh... That's why he asked me to find a way to stop the Resets..." Frisk mumbled.

"yep. any progress on that, by the way?" Killer asked.

"Not yet... It's extremely hard to resist completing the timeline. One of the personalities might be able to do it, their will is stronger than mine, but otherwise... I'm sorry, but I can't resist it for long..." Frisk apologized. 

". . . what's chara like here?" Killer asked.

"We don't talk much... They're not bad or anything if that's what you're wondering. They just want to keep the loop going, or at least everyone in the Underground..." Frisk replied, "I take it they're bad in yours?"

"that's... one word for them. lucky saw the worst of it and he's having a hard time dealing with everything." Killer told them.

"Lucky?" Frisk asked.

"it's my nickname for him since he gave me a nickname, but he's not feeling so lucky right now, so it's kinda ironic in a way." Killer responded. 

"Oh... what's your nickname?" Frisk questioned.

"that would be a huge giveaway to something about me." Killer replied, "so uh... what do you think, lucks? let them in on my dirty little secret?~"

'. . . you're the worst.' Sans sighed.

"taking that as a yes. name's killer." Killer introduced himself, holding Sans's left hand out to them.

They looked at him in surprise, clearly caught off guard, but they still shook his hand, albeit hesitantly before asking, "So you're uh... a killer?"

"yep. not here, though. not right now anyways, but i might team up with one of those other personalities of yours-" Killer was cut off by both of them.

'NO!'

"Don't!" 

"i'm joking, relax!"Killer snickered, looking over at them, and Sans made himself appear behind Frisk, giving him a firm look.

'not funny.' Sans glared.

'never said you'd find the joke funny, lucky.' Killer pulled a corner of Sans's mouth up in a smirk. 

Frisk sighed, looking off to the side before asking, "So um... Just to be clear, you're not going to kill anyone here?"

"nah. not unless i have to, which isn't likely. so you can relax." Killer replied, and Frisk nodded, but Sans could see the sliver of doubt on their face.

"What um... what is that liquid? You never answered that." Frisk asked.

"oh that? it's a form of determination, but it's broken. keeps me alive, gives me a strength boost, but it stains horribly. this jacket is trashed. it uh... mainly forms when i feel things."Killer explained.

"Things?" Frisk asked.

"emotions." Killer clarified. 

"Oh.... And that target on your chest?" Frisk asked.

"that's my soul. it's a bit different from a monster's soul." Killer understated.

"A bit?" Frisk quoted before exclaiming, "It's completely different!"

Killer chuckled a bit, doing a quick mental check of his stats, so fast Sans couldn't see what they even were, and he thought to him, 'hey lucky, you should be good to take control back. the damage should translate over to you by a ratio.'

'thank you! how uh... how do i do that?' Sans asked, his manifestation moving past Frisk, who shivered when he walked past them.

'well, you got kicked through my manifestation, so odds are you just gotta fling yourself back in control. or maybe just try grabbing me and pulling or something.' Killer told him.

Sans nodded, grabbing his shoulder, feeling the freezing cold of the contact on his own body before pulling on it, and Sans felt control over his body return to him, and he looked down at his hands as his eyelights came back, and then at his reflection, reassuring himself he was back in control. Frisk followed his gaze after noticing his eyelights, and they relaxed a bit. Sans wiped at the Broken Determination that had finally stopped forming and falling, staining his sleeve black, but at least it was off of his face. 

"Sans?" Frisk questioned.

"yeah, it's me..." Sans replied, and Frisk smiled a bit, "that was uh... something."

'is it like that for you all the time?' Sans asked Killer.

'yup.' Killer replied nonchalantly.

'damn...' Sans thought; he'd make sure to look at Killer's manifestations more in the future in order to make appearing easier for him.

'. . . thanks.'

'you're welcome.'

"Yeah... I uh... should probably warn you the others are probably on their way here by now..." Frisk mentioned.

'damn...' Killer thought.

"thanks for the head's up. i take it you're gonna want to finish the route?" Sans asked.

"Yeah, and then everyone will forget the whole thing..." Frisk said, before frowning, "Well, almost everyone.. Me and you won't forget it..."

"yeah..." Sans sighed.

"BROTHER!!! ARE YOU HERE?!" Papyrus yelled in the distance, and Sans heard him, Undyne, and Alphys approaching.

'damnit...' Killer muttered. 

"you called it." Sans whispered to them, "just uh... hurry up, ok? i don't want to have to explain.... him."

Frisk nodded, standing up and heading out of the area, going around a corner and out of sight. Moments later, Papyrus's skull peeked around a corner, vanishing a moment later.

"HE'S HERE!" Papyrus announced before running around the corner and over to Sans, picking him up under his armpits and holding him to his head level, "SANS, WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY LIKE THAT?! YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO EXPLAIN FOR, BROTHER!!"

Undyne came around the corner a moment later, carrying a blushing Alphys by hugging her to her chest. Alphys, aside from looking flustered, also looked at Sans in curiosity and apprehension. Undyne... well... she just looked shocked, angry, and kind or relieved. 

"Sans! What the hell happened back there?!" Undyne asked, running over to stand next to Papyrus.

"uh... with wha-"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" Undyne snapped, "Why did you look like that on TV? What was with the change of clothes?"

"you know mettaton and his camera tricks, undyne. he probably did some kind of cgi or something." Sans shrugged.

"Then explain that black stuff. You can't deny that when it's all over your jacket, and we saw it on your face." Undyne gave him a firm look.

"U-Undyne's right, Sans.... what's going on?" Alphys asked.

"it's nothing, really! mettaton's oil just splashed on me-" Sans was cut off by Papyrus.

"METTATON DOESN'T HAVE OIL, BROTHER." Papyrus told him, "HE'S SAID HIMSELF HE DOESN'T USE OR NEED IT."

"maybe he lied?" Sans asked.

"He didn't. I b-built him, Sans... Th-there was no oil in-involved in m-making him. He doesn't need it to cool his motor down."

"WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY HE'S SO HOT!" Papyrus piped up, and Sans was contemplating asking Killer to beat Mettaton up more than he already had.

'you don't have to ask for that, lucky. i'll gladly do that on my own.' Killer smirked as he appeared at the edge of the room, Sans able to see him past Papyrus's skull and shoulders.

Sans got back on track, decidedly ignoring what Papyrus said, and he told Alphys, "yeah, well you also accidentally made him a murder drone for humans, so it's possible you might be wrong."

Alphys flinched a bit, looking down and off to the side in shame before saying, "Y-Yes, b-but I know how he's b-built. He doesn't have oil, Sans... So what is that stuff?..."

"it's nothing, really." Sans repeated, reaffirming he wasn't budging on the topic.

". . . Will you at least explain how you fought him? What those attacks were and what that music was?... That wasn't Mettaton's. Right before your fight started, it changed. You had an entire orchestra, Sans... No one in the Underground has that." Undyne asked.

"i... honestly don't know." Sans said, a half lie; he didn't know the truth about Killer's song, but he could guess his magic had changed with his soul.

'that orchestra is probably everyone i've killed. it's like my lv vocalizes itself for me.' Killer explained.

'damn...' Sans thought, admittedly unnerved by that. 

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?" Papyrus asked, "THOSE WERE YOUR ATTACKS, SANS... YOU KNOW YOU CAN TALK TO US, RIGHT? IF SOMETHING'S GOING ON? YOU CAN TRUST US."

"i know, paps, it's not that, it's just..." Sans trailed off, finishing in his mind, 'none of you will remember, so there's no point in telling you.'

"Just what?" Alphys asked. 

"it-" Sans was cut off again, this time by Undyne.

"Sans, so help me, if you say 'it's nothing' again, so help me I will shove a spear up your coccyx!" Undyne threatened before whispering to Alphys, "That's the word for it, right?"

Alphys gave her a thumbs up, blushing a bit, but she also looked proud.

'great, alphys is teaching undyne skeleton parts.' Killer muttered.

The world seemed to glitch a bit, everyone but Sans seeming unaware of it. It flickered and faded, and it shifted around him. Sans braced himself for it, squeezing his eye sockets shut as a sharp pain pierced his soul again as the timeline was Reset once again...

RESET

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Multiverse Madness Chapter Forty Eight

It'd been around a day since Cross and that human had came through, once again wrecking his lawn, but Sans was happy the human had fixed it. Between Killer setting things on fire, usually after pissing off Dust, grilling accidents that were inevitable, and even Papyrus breaking something on accident... the grass outside of Sans's house was an important symbol of how the events of the week were unfolding. Most accidents were caused from too much of that candy from that world they'd gone to for Christmas. They still hadn't gotten through the bags, even with how much Horror tried to eat, which usually led to even more chaos, and more requirements for fire extinguishers to be in every room.

Sans doubted he would ever figure out how the hell they set soap on fire as part of one of those science experiments Killer and Dust had taken to doing. Thankfully Dust hadn't joined in on Killer's hobby of dissecting dead animals that Sans hoped Killer hadn't killed in order to dissect them... He probably had, actually. Sans sighed, flopping down to lay on one of the gray couches in his living room, hoping for just one day where there wasn't someone from the multiverse coming here, someone from here destroying something, or his head terrorizing him. Again.

As if on cue, the whispering started up again, and Sans habitually reached into his pocket, grabbed his headphones, and started playing music on his phone to drown it out. He'd prefer for them to not show up again, not when he was trying to relax. Sans could hear some running through the headphones though, and he lifted his skull up to see Mono running out of a hallway. His eyelight was present and his soul was a red and white upside-down heart, indicating he was in control, if his almost innocent sounding giggles weren't an immediate indicator. A black string was in his hand, and Dagger chasing behind him, limbs scrambling and trying to catch it. Mono was giggling, enjoying himself, and he smiled when he saw Sans.

"hi, sans!" Mono greeted, lifting the string up, Dagger jumping up after it.

"hey, mono." Sans responded, turning off his music and pulling his headphones down to rest around his shoulders as he sat up.

"was it too quiet in here?" Mono asked, and Sans nodded.

"yeah, but it was also peaceful." Sans nodded, "no one's breaking anything."

"for now." Mono mumbled, and Sans chuckled a bit.

"how're you doing, buddy? you were up early." Sans questioned as Mono rolled the string up, putting it in his pocket before sitting on the couch next to him, Dagger running off to chase another toy in a nearby room, or one of the bugs she'd brought in at some point.

"well, killer didn't wanna sleep, but it's also my turn to take control for half of today, so he just annoyed me until i got up." Mono replied, and Sans sighed.

"i thought we told him to stop doing that..." Sans muttered.

"yeah, but he was antsy and bored, and we had pent up energy." Mono responded, "besides, it wasn't that bad. me and papyrus played card games."

Sans nodded, "he told me about that."

"it was fun. it wasn't stressful either, but killer thought i was a coward for finding that a good thing." Mono looked down, and Sans narrowed his eye sockets.

"Well, he isn't wrong..." The absolute bane of Sans's existence said, the hallucination of Chara appearing and leaning over the edge of the couch behind Mono.

Sans made it a point to not pay attention to it, knowing what would happen if he did.

"he said that?" Sans asked.

"he didn't say it, but he thinks it. i can't stop him from thinking things, and i don't want to. we have different opinions, it sets us apart. i just wish he didn't have such cruel opinions, even if they're true...." Mono sighed.

"you're not a coward, mono." Sans reassured.

"i hide at the first sign of trouble, and killer handles it. i can't blame him for being bitter or thinking like that when i can't even handle a karen at a store." Mono replied, "and i think bad things about him sometimes, too, and he admits those are true, if not a bit harsh."

"yeah, i know..." Sans nodded, "but you two are stuck sharing a body. the others drove me crazy and vice versa in there."

"i know... . . . sans?" Mono questioned.

"yeah, buddy?" Sans showed he was paying attention.

"do you still see them?"

Sans's eyelights went out, his gaze flicking up to the hallucination of them, and they giggled at him, smiling 'innocently'. They'd been up here for over a year now, and Sans still hadn't told the others that he still saw and heard Chara. They knew about the nightmares, about the whispers, but not about them...

"i uh...." Sans hesitated, eyelights forming again, "why do you ask?"

"so that means yes..." Mono sighed.

"n-no, uh-" Sans tried to deny, but Mono cut him off.

"sans, please. don't try denying this. it's important." Mono told him, and Sans paused, "are you seeing them right now?"

Sans's eyelights flicked to them again, watching as they waved at him, taunting him, and he looked down before nodding reluctantly, "yeah... how'd you know?"

"a guess... besides everyone else kinda figured you still saw them, and killer's angry you never said something, especially since we've been up here a year." Mono informed, crossing his arms, and crap, Killer was awake in there...

"the rest of you have enough trauma to deal with, i have mine handled." Sans told him, the Chara snickering quietly.

"you have all of theirs and mine. not all of it, but you have large parts of it, and you don't deserve that..." Mono sighed, yawning, "just... talk about this stuff with them, please?"

". . . ok..." Sans relented, and Mono leaned against him, "you ok?"

"yeah, i'm just tired..." Mono sighed, "i lasted a while, though, and killer will probably take control at some point..."

"yeah, you can get control back later once you're more energized." Sans reassured, and Mono nodded against his shoulder.

"killer's probably gonna rip you a new one if he takes control..." Mono mumbled, wrapping his arms around him.

That was something they'd all found out after a while. Mono was clingy when it came to sleeping. He didn't like sleeping if he didn't feel safe, and he only felt safe around Dust, Sans, Papyrus, and sometimes Horror, but that depended on his mood. Also Horror snored, loudly, and Mono slept light. Killer could be the same way on the rare occasions he willingly slept, having started staying with Dust, especially when he was in stage three... Sans still didn't understand that one... When it came to Mono, though, he always used Sans for a pillow.

"Awww!~ How cute! And pathetic." The hallucination remarked, and when Sans didn't react, his mind decided to give him a break, the hallucination vanishing.

Sans pulled his headphones back up, starting the music again, and he relaxed on the couch, Mono sleeping against his side. He trembled a little in his sleep after a few minutes, his soul shuddering and shaking before it twisted, turning into a target. Sans sighed, watching the now hollow eye sockets open, and he felt Killer's gaze locked on him.

"lucky." Killer said, and Sans sighed.

"yeah?" Sans asked, knowing what was coming, and Killer's grip around him tightened.

"listen here you little shi-" The door opening cut Killer off, and Killer quickly scooted away from him.

"BROTHERS!! YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHO I FOUND SITTING IN A TREE!" Papyrus exclaimed, and Sans looked up.

Papyrus held up the other version of Dust, the one working for that Nightmare guy, and he didn't exactly look overjoyed to be here, but then again, he probably didn't have much of a choice. There goes his chances of having a relatively uneventful day...

"hey, look who it is!" Killer smirked, "haven't seen you since christmas! what brings you by?"

"i was on a training mission and me and who i was with got ambushed, then tailed through several aus, and i got dropped off while he tried ditching them, since i can't teleport and we don't know how we were being followed." Dark Dust sighed, "i was waiting for him to come back, but you guys' papyrus found me."

"WELL IT'S HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE TO WAIT IN TREES! BESIDES, YOU COULD'VE BEEN UP THERE FOR HOURS! IT'S MUCH BETTER TO WAIT HERE, AND WE CAN TALK WHILE YOU DO! AFTER ALL, I DON'T THINK WE EVER GOT TO THANK YOU PROPERLY FOR THE TRIP ON CHRISTMAS! WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE CANDY!" Papyrus smiled, putting Dark Dust on one of the other couches.

"uh... you're welcome?" Dark Dust replied.

"WOULD YOU LIKE SOME? WE STILL HAVE BAGS OF IT!" Papyrus offered.

"it won't go bad or anything, and horror always puts snacks in my pockets, so i don't wanna eat your stuff-" Dark Dust started, but Killer cut him off.

"dude, it's hard to even make a dent. it won't hurt anything." Killer sighed, "besides, you look like you need the sugar."

"i don't think he does-" Sans started.

"the fire extinguishers are getting dusty." Killer informed.

"because we haven't needed them, and i don't want to need them." Sans crossed his arms.

"i won't set anything on fire if that's what you're worried about." Dark Dust reassured, "that's killer's thing... most of the time... ok i won't intentionally start anything on fire..."

". . . paps can you get the-" Sans started to request, but he'd already grabbed a fire extinguisher, putting it nearby, "thanks.."

"OF COURSE, BROTHER! OTHER DUST, WOULD YOU LIKE SOME FOOD, IF YOU DON'T WANT CANDY?" Papyrus offered.

"nah, i'm ok. i'm honestly full from what horror made for breakfast." Dark Dust replied, and Sans was surprised.

"horror can cook?" Killer asked.

". . . if you give the guy a box of pizza, he either under or over cooks it. if you give him a steak or any kind of meat.... holy crap..." Dark Dust responded, and Sans was surprised, "wait, he's never made you guys meat before?"

"NO, HE ISN'T ALLOWED IN THE KITCHEN AFTER HE WEAPONIZED THE BLENDER, BUT I DO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM COOKING MEATS, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR COOK OUTS!" Papyrus answered.

". . . yeah i recommend you at least let him make you bacon or something, 이런 젠장..." Dark Dust recommended, and Papyrus nodded.

"I'LL MENTION IT TO HIM ONCE HIM AND DUST GET BACK! WELL, THIS DUST! THEY LIKE TO TRAIN IN THE WOODS SOMETIMES! I WAS ORIGINALLY LOOKING FOR THEM WHEN I FOUND YOU IN THE TREE!" Papyrus said, and Dark Dust nodded, "DO YOU LIKE TREES, OTHER DUST?"

"uh... kinda, even though killer hasn't stopped cracking jokes since last night..." Dark Dust grumbled.

"why?" Killer asked.

". . . ok, so uh... i can do something, ok? i found out yesterday, made the mistake of showing killer, and he hasn't stopped making jokes, especially since it started happening when i got startled, particularly this morning when killer rigged a bluetooth speaker to play a scream and hid it on top of one of the fridges."

Killer snickered at that, and Sans sighed, "that sounds like him... what can you do, anyways?"

". . ." Dark Dust sighed, getting up from the couch, and heading to one of the open areas in the living room.

Sans was momentarily confused before Dark Dust showed him, Sans's eye sockets widening as two glowing purple magic bird wings formed out from his back. Sans's and Killer's jaws dropped, and so did Papyrus's, eyes forming in his eye sockets.

"how the hell...?" Killer trailed off, and Dark Dust made the wings vanish, teleporting back to the couch and sitting down, "that's awesome! . . . say, you didn't want the other stuff papyrus was offering, but do you want a-"

"killer, so help me, if you say seeds, bird suets, or a cracker, you're gonna be needing that fire extinguisher over there." Dark Dust threatened, but there was no ill intent behind it, he was merely joking.

Killer knew this, and he laughed, "ok, ok, jeez... how's your ribcage doing, anyways?"

"oh that? that finished healing a while ago." Dark Dust answered, and his phone buzzed.

Then it buzzed again, and again, and again, and Dark Dust picked it up, typing something into it, and several notification sounds went off. What the hell?

Dark Dust sighed, typing something in, and more notifications went off.

"the other me spamming?" Killer guessed.

"yup." Dark Dust sighed, getting up and walking over, showing them both his phone screen.

Tar Fountain 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈 😈

Hole In One Killer, stop spamming!! . . . WHO THE HELL CHANGED MY NAME TO THIS?!?!

Tar Fountain It wasn't me!!

Hole In One changed their name to Stop It You Idiots

Tar Fountain changed Stop It You Idiots's name to Crackhead

Crackhead 🤬🤬🤬

Tar Fountain *cackling*

Edgelord You don't even ned to type that, you idiot! i can hear you from my room!

Tar Fountain *need 🤓

Swiffer Duster Killer stop being a grammar nazi!

Tar Fountain 🤓 At least I know Grammar

Tar Fountain changed their name to M.C Grammar

M.C Grammar changed Swiffer Duster's name to Tweet Tweet

Dark Dust grumbled under his breath, typing, but Killer and Sans could still see the screen.

Tweet Tweet KILLER!!!!

Tweet Tweet changed their name to Dust

M.C Grammar changed Dust's name to Dustbunny Wunny

M.C Grammar Love ya, little brother!~

Edgelord Damn, ain't that adorable?!

"shut up, fell...." Dust muttered under his breath.

Dark Killer called Dark Dust his little brother? That was... oddly wholesome. Killer seemed surprised by it too, based on the glance he gave Sans.

Dustbunny Wunny changed their name to Swiffer Duster

Swiffer Duster changed Edgelord's name to Shadow The Hedgehog

M.C Grammar Ha!! Truth!!!!!

Xceptionally Xceptional Why the hell do you guys always blow up the group chat?

M.C Grammar Better this than a school, Veronica!!!

Xceptionally Xceptional My god, Killer... Dust is literally in the middle of something!!!

Swiffer Duster Not rn. We got ambushed by Error and that other colorful guy Horror and Bill were talking about, so I'm at that one classic timeline til he comes back.

M.C Grammar Damn. Ah well, I left you some videos on your phone if you get bored! Just search 'prank' and you'll see 'em!

Swiffer Duster Should I be scared?

Xceptionally Xceptional Yes

Shadow The Hedgehog Yes

M.C Grammar No.

Crackhead Yes Damnit!

Crackhead changed their name to Horror

Horror You suck, Killer

M.C Grammar Ask Boss, he knows I do~

Sans almost choked, and Killer started wheezing. Dark Dust seemed torn between laughing and cursing Dark Killer out.

Horror AYO WHAT THE-?!

Shadow The Hedgehog You walked right into that one.

Swiffer Duster Yeah screw this I'm leaving

Horror Dust no don't leave me alone with him I beg you!!

M.C Grammer 😏😏😏😏

Dark Dust turned off his notifications and closed the group chat app before Sans could read what Dark Horror said next, but it had been in all caps. He went to his Gallery next, searching 'Pranks', and sure enough, several videos came up.

"i thought i told him to stop taking my damn phone..." Dark Dust muttered, and the door opened.

"we're back!" Dust informed, Sans looking over the couch to see him and Horror covered in leaves.

"HELLO, BROTHERS! I WENT TO LOOK FOR YOU, BUT I FOUND THE OTHER DUST INSTEAD! HE WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO COME GET HIM, AND I BROUGHT HIM BACK HERE!"

"hi?" Dust waved a bit, and Dark Dust waved back.

"he carried me back here." Dark Dust informed.

"dude, we don't care. you're not here to start trouble, we're good." Dust reassured, him and Horror sitting on the other couch next to them "besides, you gave us one of the best christmases ever."

"technically i did it since i got the other me to agree!" Killer pointed out.

"not the point..." Dust sighed.

"what all did we miss, anyways?" Horror asked.

"well, dark dusty here can make magic bird wings, and you missed some absolute hell go down in a group chat, and now he's pulling up videos dark me made of him pranking people!" Killer summed up.

"wait he can what?" Dust questioned, and Horror's eye sockets were wide.

"yeah, and the killer on my team hasn't stopped making damn jokes since he found out last night..." Dark Dust sighed.

"and you thought this killer wouldn't make jokes?" Dust asked.

"oh i knew he would, but this one doesn't have nearly the amount of ammo that the one on my team does..." Dark Dust replied, looking through the videos, "holy crap, these date back to before cross even joined the team... there's a ton of them here on horror."

"damn, i kinda feel bad for him." Sans said.

"don't." Dark Dust told him, "do not feel bad, he's got this coming for the crap he pulls."

"WHAT DOES HE DO?" Papyrus questioned.

". . . you know horror's spider head trick, right?" Dark Dust asked, confusing Sans.

"crap.." Horror muttered.

"NO? WHAT'S THIS TRICK?" Papyrus replied.

"ok, so basically horror can detach his skull, and what he'll do is he'll sprout these spider legs from it-" Dark Dust explained, and Sans's jaw dropped.

"he can what?" Killer questioned, eye sockets wide, and Dark Dust nodded with a sigh.

"yup.. i've woken up multiple times to him just... there, on the ceiling, watching me sleep, and then skittering behind something. scares the absolute crap out of everyone back home, and he knows it." Dark Dust described, and Sans was trying to process that.

". . . horror you don't do that here, do you?" Sans asked.

"i plead the fifth." Horror held his hands up, and Sans sighed.

"alright, now i wanna see this." Dust said, teleporting over to sit on Sans's other side, looking at the phone.

Papyrus and Horror moved to stand over the edge of the couch, watching, and Dark Dust hit play on the video. The phone was aimed down at the floor, which was cobblestone, and Sans could see Killer's blue sneakers as he walked, and he pushed a door open, lifting the camera up. It was inside of a bathroom, the floors black tile with teal in between each one, the walls cobblestone with different black racks attached. There was a black sink with a silver faucet and handles that looked like tentacles, and the light spread across the room, coming from a large light attached to the ceiling, built into it.

The shower was running, steam filling the room, and the black curtain was closed, and Sans could hear the familiar sound of Killer snickering. From there, Sans saw a cut-out of a bear with a speaker attached, and he stuck it over the curtains, the sound playing. Dark Horror yelped, catching himself on something inside, probably a railing, and he stuck his skull out from around the curtain, wearing a red shower cap, probably to keep the water out of the hole.

"killer!!!" Dark Horror yelled, the culprit running away with the phone in hand, the camera going down to the floor, the cobblestone floor blurring by as the video ended. 

Dark Dust was snickering, as were the rest of them, and looking through the amount of videos that there were, Dark Killer had been recording pranks with Dust's phone for months. They wound up watching several more, and Sans even got glimpses of their rooms and other areas of the castle. All of them were unique to them, decorated and personalized, and they were honestly really nice; well cleaned and organized, and the kitchen.... Sans had snickered when he'd seen Horror's face when he saw it on the phone. The cabinets were full, there was bowls of fruits along the counter, apples strangely absent, and there was several fridges.

Dark Killer didn't just prank Dark Horror, he pranked everyone, including who Sans guessed was Nightmare. Dark Dust answered questions they had about the castle, like what it was like there, how everyone got along, etc., and he was overall comfortable talking with them after a while. Everyone was relaxed, joking and laughing, and it was peaceful, honestly. There was a knock at the door after a while, and Sans looked over at it.

"I'LL GET IT!" Papyrus said, opening the door.

"hi, papyrus! is dust here? i kinda need his help with something." Sans recognized Dream's voice, and he knew things were probably about to escalate.

Dark Dust went still, turning his phone off and putting it in his pocket, visibly holding himself back from attacking.

"WELL, UMM... YES! WHICH ONE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?" Papyrus asked.

"what?- oh.... uh oh." Dream seemed to see Dark Dust, who had leaned over the back of the couch, and if looks could kill....

Sans had to duck a bit as the purple wings from earlier formed, flaring out and briefly catching Dream off guard based on his expression.

"dust, don't." Horror told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "not here."

"that's why i haven't done anything yet..." Dark Dust muttered.

"what um.. what's he doing here?" Dream questioned.

"it's not really any of your business." Dark Dust responded coldly.

"but i guarantee you know why i'm here." Dream crossed his arms, and Dark Dust smirked.

"oh i do. how's murder holding up, by the way?" Dark Dust asked, and Dream clenched his teeth.

"fine, actually. just fine." Dream responded.

"not from what i heard." Dark Dust said.

"wait, can you two hold off for like... two minutes? i need popcorn." Killer requested, and Sans elbowed him, "hey!"

"not now." Sans hissed, and Killer pouted.

Something about the way Dark Dust was acting wasn't adding up. He was perfectly fine before Dream showed up. He was laughing, telling them about the castle and his team and the crap they got into, and now he was just... cold; closed off and downright intimidating. It was like a switch flipped the moment he heard Dream's voice.

The look in his eyelights was one of hatred towards Dream, but it was too quick of a switch for that to be natural or normal, as no good mood can dissipate like that, and Dark Dust had his hand behind Killer's skull on the couch, and he was on the defensive based on his body language. The way he was angled was showing he was ready to protect them, not to attack Dream. Was he exaggerating it? He had to be, because he kept glancing at them like they were in danger.

Dark Dust didn't seem to trust Dream, and Dream was angry, and Dark Dust had a good front up, but Sans could see through it. He was on edge and he was scared. He had no ways of getting out of this world, and just because they couldn't fight here didn't mean they couldn't fight somewhere else. Personally Sans didn't see Dream having it in him to doing something like that, but he also didn't know him as much as Dark Dust did.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MURDER?" Papyrus asked.

"it's... complicated... dust, why are you here?" Dream questioned.

"error and fresh were tailing me and someone else, so i got left here while he ditched them." Dark Dust replied.

"it was ink, wasn't it?" Dream guessed.

"if it was?" Dark Dust asked.

"look, when he comes back, all i want is to talk to him. that's it." Dream requested.

"well last i checked he doesn't wanna talk to you." Dark Dust glared, "not that i blame him. yeah, that's right, he told us what you did."

Dream sighed, "it wasn't like that. ink lied to me about caring for people for years, dust!"

"killer lies to all of us every damn day by pretending to feel crap. we all know it, and we don't ditch him!" Dark Dust snapped.

"damn, i feel kinda outted." Killer muttered, "i still want popcorn..."

"shhh!" Sans hissed.

"he has the ability to allow himself to fix that, or at least be honest with me! he knew stuff that was going on, and he still didn't tell me about it! he didn't even realize he was in the wrong!" Dream told him.

"so?! friends don't just ditch each other after a damn fight!! especially with what happened afterwards! we don't even know what happened but killer had some damn bad ideas of it! granted things got much better, but still, you saw him, and if you could've gotten your skull out of your own coccyx, it wouldn't have happened!" Dark Dust spat.

"me?! you're the one running around terrorizing the multiverse for nightmare!! and for what?!" Dream exclaimed.

"because it's what he hired me to do, you idiot! that was our deal! he gets me out of my au and helps me kill the brat, and i spread negativity for him! those were the terms, and i accepted them!" Dark Dust responded.

"and you don't care about anyone you hurt?!" Dream asked, "all the pain you cause?! you became what you hated, dust! how can you not see that?!"

"i'm doing what i have to, and sure, maybe i have a good time doing it, but so what?! aren't you all about 'positivity'?" Dark Dust did air quotes.

"i am, but not from that! never from that!" Dream sounded offended, "i want to keep nightmare from drowning the multiverse in negativity! all you're doing is making his life easier!"

"well it's good to know i'm doing my job right, whereas murder won't be doing his job right for a while. serves him right after killing insanity." Dark Dust hissed.

"so you get him high on lv for revenge?!" Dream snapped, and Sans realized what Dream had probably came here for Dust's help for; Murder probably wasn't doing too great...

"i knew that's what this was about! dust, listen to me, i-!" Dream started, but Dark Dust cut him off.

"no, you listen to me! blue was an accident! horror got hit too! if we'd wanted him dead, he would've been dead long before that day! murder killing insanity was intentional!" Dark Dust hissed.

"i had nothing to do with that! i was actually really pissed that happened, and i had him and the others promise to never do anything like that again!" Dream told him.

"oh right, you were so upset about it! you! after what you did to cross?!" Dark Dust spat.

"what the hell are you talking about?! don't tell me you mean when i tried convincing him to switch sides?!" Dream questioned.

"oh, sure, 'convincing'!" Dark Dust rolled his eyelights, muttering, "frickin' liar..."

"how am i lying?!" Dream asked.

"don't you dare play innocent about that!" Dark Dust glared, wings flaring again, and Sans almost got hit on the skull with them.

Dark Dust gave him an apologetic glance, and then he was glaring daggers at Dream again. Yup, definitely acting.

"i'm not playing innocent, dust! i don't know what nightmare told you, but-!" Dream started, but Dark Dust cut him off.

"he didn't say crap! don't try to turn this on him just because you're pissed that your own brother cares about us more than he does you!" Dark Dust hissed.

"he is not my brother!" Dream glared.

"not with that attitude he's not!" Dark Dust retorted.

"UM... IF I CAN SUGGEST SOMETHING, PERHAPS IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO TRY AND CALM DOWN?" Papyrus recommended.

"i don't think that'll happen, dust is very.... temperamental..." Dream grimaced.

"oh i'm temperamental?! i'll show you temperamental when i shove my slipper up your a-" Dark Dust started, but he was cut off by Papyrus.

"BOTH OF YOU, ENOUGH!" Papyrus snapped, and both of them quieted down, "THANK YOU."

". . . i'm just gonna wait outside, see if he shows up, otherwise i gotta make a call..." Dark Dust sighed, still visibly upset, but he teleported out of the room, and consequently, the house.

"well that was... interesting..." Killer muttered, "he was fine a few minutes ago..."

"he... really doesn't like me..." Dream sighed, "and when i ask why, all i get is that. things i don't understand what i did, vague answers, or just straight up him telling me to stop playing stupid..."

"yeah, he really doesn't like you... i've almost never seen dusty here that pissed." Killer said, "i'm almost impressed you got him that upset."

Dream just sighed again, and Sans looked past his shoulder out the window, seeing Dark Dust pacing, wings still out and flared, and he was on the phone with someone, making hand gestures as he seemed to be yelling. He paused as a black puddle formed on the ground, and a short skeleton wearing mostly all black emerged from it, the clothes accented with amber. Was that Ink?... Dark Dust caught him as he stumbled forward, and Dream followed Sans's gaze, seeing the two outside. Dream was quick to rush outside, only for blue magic to seize his soul and fling him out of the way, Dark Dust teleporting himself and Ink out of sight a moment later.

. . . Sans definitely didn't get to have a peaceful day, did he?

Ink teleported to another AU, a genocide timeline in a classic Undertale AU, after dropping Dust off at the Undertale timeline that was a self-designated 'neutral zone' where no one could fight each other, as per the Sans's of the AU's request. He looked around, seeing he was in Snowdin, watching the glitching white portal open, followed by the rainbow 'FRESH POOF'. Ink made himself sigh, acting irritated, and their combined glitchy and funky themes were almost giving him a headache.

"why are you two teamed up to chase me, anyways?" Ink questioned.

"'cuz i gotsa make sure he doesn't yeet ya at shattered again, brah!" Fresh replied.

"one time..." Error grumbled, crossing his arms.

Ink rolled his eyelights, making himself look annoyed, and Fresh continued, "'sides, brah! no idea whatcha were up to, but you're all dusty 'n stuff! ya weren't killin', were ya?~"

"if i was?" Ink asked, eye sockets narrowing further.

"i'd have ta ask ya to stop, broseph!" Fresh responded, and Ink huffed.

"you're a fool to think i'd listen to you." Ink glared.

"yeah, we know, because you're shattered's puppet." Error rolled his eyelights.

"i'm not a puppet." Ink replied.

"oh yes you are, ink. i know you, you never do what you're told, and now you're doing whatever he tells you like a damn lapdog!" Error spat.

"i don't have to justify myself to you two, now stay the hell out of my way." Ink demanded.

"see? brainwashed." Error huffed.

"yeah, jeez, broseph. ink ain't inkin'." Fresh frowned.

Ink gripped Broomie tighter, readying himself, even as exhaustion was tugging at him again. While he was relieved he wasn't in that immobile form like he was all the other times without his vials, he didn't like exhaustion in the least. He was already going through that AU practicing killing before Error and Fresh decided to ruin the fun he was supposed to be having, as per Shattered's instructions. He was supposed to act like he enjoyed killing, and he had been, but Error and Fresh interrupted. He was supposed to act angry about that, and so he was. 

"brah, you good? ya wearin' eyeshadow ta be edgy or somethin'?" Fresh asked, and Ink glared at him.

"no, i'm not." Ink responded, adjusting his footing as he got ready to fight.

"wait, are you seriously ti-" Ink cut Error off by lunging forward, slamming Broomie into his side, flinging him across the area.

Fresh's glassed flashed from "RU DE" to "UH OH" as Ink used Broomie on him next, shooting him in the opposite direction. They pulled themselves up, Ink ready for a fight as he summoned Gaster Blasters and bones, attacking Fresh with them while he targeted Error, getting up close and personal with him, which he knew Error hated. Ink alternated between blocking and countering Fresh's exploding furbies and dodging Error's attacks and attacking him back. He held his own easily, despite his tiredness, relying on Broomie to block most attacks by spinning it rapidly, deflecting them.

Ink melted into a stream of black paint, rematerializing behind Error and kicking him in the back, bringing up sharp bones from the ground, impaling him. Error teleported out of the attacks, pissed, and Ink felt strings seize his ankles, and he yelped as he was thrown around, colliding with trees, rocks, anything Error slammed him into. Ink made a black knife, slicing the strings loose before throwing it at Error's skull, which he ducked down to dodge. Ink lunged at him, his eyelights gone and his mouth an open, fanged void, and he slashed at Error, his face catching him off guard.

Error teleported back, summoning and firing Gaster Blasters, which Ink dodged, only to be hit by Fresh's baseball bat. He slammed into several trees, spitting out some black paint blood before pushing off with his feet, jumping into a tree before spamming Gaster Blasters, firing them at the two of them. They were disorganized, running into each other, and some of their counter attacks nicked each other, and Ink quickly saw this as something he could take advantage of. Error could be useful, and he was powerful. Shattered had shown interest in Error, and if Killer brought Nightmare gifts as a sign of loyalty or allegiance, why couldn't Ink do the same for Shattered?

He could even tie him up with a bow for his boss... Ink made himself smile as the idea formed, and he primarily targeted Fresh, keeping him occupied as he went for Error, trying to knock him unconscious. Error was dodging though, but he seemed to see the change in strategy. Error switched to more evasive maneuvers, but he still attacked Ink, causing Ink to have to alternate between dodging and attacking.

Ink saw Fresh get past the last of his Gaster Blasters, and he got an idea. He jumped up right as Error and Fresh both attacked him, Error getting hit by the furbies and Fresh getting hit with Error's Gaster Blasters and bones. Explosions went off, Ink summoning and firing Gaster Blasters at Error, and when the smoke cleared, he saw Error knocked out and Fresh scorched. If Ink had emotions, he would be smug that he'd knocked Error unconscious this time. 

"you two have no form of coordination, you know that, right?" Ink asked.

He'd have to work quickly to get Error to Shattered. The glitch wouldn't stay knocked out for long, and Shattered probably had a way of getting to him; he had plans for everything, after all.

"eh, maybe not... brah, you really aren't yoself, ya know that, right?" Fresh responded, and Ink made himself frown.

"this is me." Ink glared, several black bones coming out of the ground, stabbing through Fresh.

Fresh grunted a bit, and Ink approached Error, crouching down to pick him up, only for furbies to knock him back. Ink skidded back, making a glare form on his face as Fresh's true form lowered the glasses covering that body's eye sockets, the purple-tentacled creature launching across the snow-covered ground towards the glitch, and Ink realized too late what he was doing.

"oh mother####ing ####!!!" Ink cursed, getting thrown back by an explosion that looked like colorful static.

Ink blinked several times, the theme from before becoming more coherent, and he blinked as Error's body stood up, Fresh controlling it, having changed his clothes to fit his style. Which was an eye-sore. His clothes were loose, a black jacket with rainbow confetti patterns all over. His shorts were black with colorful stripes down them, looking like when a TV has no signal, and his socks were black with yellow triangles with exclamation marks in the middle, and his shoes were sneakers covered in rainbow glitter. He had a visor over his eye sockets, the rim flashing between colors of the rainbow, and the words "RUN BRO" were on it. The blue streaks coming from Error's eye sockets were thicker, and Ink was not liking this. 

"woah! i gotsa say, broseph, i kinda like dis new drip!" Fresh mentioned, looking himself over, and Ink gripped Broomie tighter.

"he's going to kill you." Ink informed.

"nah, he'll forgive me eventually. 'sides, ya were gonna kidnap 'im!" Fresh pointed out.

"he'd be more useful to shattered than to dream, anyways." Ink muttered.

"ya really ain't thinkin' straight, are ya, brah? ah well, looks like i gots ta beat some sense inta ya!"

Ink adjusted his footing, readying himself before lunging Broomie, slashing it at him. Fresh jumped back, blue streamers shooting from his hands, and Ink found himself wrapped up in them. Ink struggled inside of them, and before he could try freeing himself he was whipped around and thrown through several trees, spinning through the air as the streamers rapidly unfurled from around him. Ink felt several of them breaking as he was thrown into them. Ink was slowed down from all of the collisions, winding up in a heap on the ground after slamming into a large tree that he didn't fly through, and a large amount of snow fell on top of him.

"strike!" Fresh yelled, voice muffled from the snow, and Ink popped his skull out of the snow, making himself glare at him.

Ink knew how much Fresh disliked swearing, so he muttered loud enough for Fresh to hear, "####ing pain in the ###."

A black rectangle appeared in front of his mouth when he tried to swear, beeping the words out, and Fresh frowned at him, his visor saying "QUIT CUSSIN'".

"dat's not very nice, broseph." Fresh frowned, crossing his arms.

"dat's the point, broseph." Ink mocked, and he was grabbed by blue streamers, yanked forwards, and Fresh slammed a baseball bat into his ribcage.

He felt his ribcage cracking from the impact, but he'd felt far worse, so he brushed off the pain once he got up. He'd gotten lucky and only slammed into a large boulder, so he didn't crash into several trees. He pushed himself up, feeling his paint repairing his ribs as it oozed from his broken bones, and he watched Fresh glare at him through the visor.

"glitchy brah seriously needs a chill pill or somethin' for him to have all dis capacity for anger." Fresh muttered, shaking his skull a bit, "and you need to feel somethin', brah. your act don't fool me."

"what act?" Ink asked innocently, creating small paintbrushes between his fingers as he walked forward.

"ya know what, inky brah. like i said, dis ain't you. stop it, get some help." Fresh told him, baseball bat in hand.

It was red, metal, covered in error signal stickers, and it had some blue streamers and wires coming out from the end of the handle. No wonder it hurt so much, Fresh always used a wooden one before, but this one was solid metal and it hurt.

"i don't need help." Ink informed, glaring at him.

"brah, look at yoself. you're supposed to be all up 'n colorful an' cheerful! friendly an' creative! now ya's just... dull. like that goopy brah's sucked all da party outta ya." Fresh sighed, "what'd he do to ya, ink?"

Ink didn't respond for a moment, just staring him down. This was him now. He didn't need his vials, they weren't important anymore, and neither were any of his former allies enemies. They were just in his way. In Shattered's way. 

"none of your business, fresh." Ink responded, lunging forward and slashing the small paintbrushes at him, streaks of black paint shooting forward, and Fresh couldn't dodge them before they'd wrapped around him.

Ink swapped the smaller paintbrushes out for Broomie, teleporting next to him before sweeping them under his legs before slamming him up before he could hit the ground. Fresh went flying up, and Ink teleported into the air, slamming Broomie down on him, shooting him into the ground. He teleported to stand next to him, jumping back as blue streamers shot at him. Fresh pulled himself up, tapping his visor to get rid of the error messages that formed on the screen, and he sighed.

"i tried bein' all up n' reasonable with ya, brah, but ya won't listen." Fresh sighed.

"you threw me into several trees." Ink deadpanned.

"yeah, well, i got glitchy brah's temper an' like i said, he needs a chill pill. or anger management." Fresh sighed.

"or some weed." Ink smirked, watching Fresh's face sour.

"ya know i don't like dat stuff, brah. don't do drugs, kids." Fresh told him, his visor flashing to "NOT COOL", "ya know i don't like it, an' ya still say it. why? what do ya get outta makin' me hulk out?"

"a distraction." Ink replied, summoning several Gaster Blasters, hitting him on all sides.

Once the snow settled and the flash cleared, Ink saw him cocooned by blue streamers. As they unfurled, Ink teleported next to him, slamming Broomie into them and sending Fresh through several trees. Ink made himself smirk, feigning satisfaction when Fresh raised his skull before jumping back at him, Ink snapping a quick picture on his phone before jumping away. His legs shook slightly when he hit the ground, but he didn't let himself fall.

He looked behind himself when he heard Gaster Blasters forming. They looked like Error's, but with rainbow confetti scattered all over them, the blue lines under the eye sockets were thicker, and the eye sockets were covered in visors that said "BLAST OFF" on them. Their mouths charged up with rainbow blasts, and Ink started, running, glancing behind him to see where the blasts would hit, and Ink jumped out of the way when needed.

After another a bit of running, more exhaustion weighing him down, he turned around after another glance, only to be met with a Gaster Blaster right in front of himself. It hit him, blasting him back into several others, and Ink fell to the ground after getting hit. He groaned, pushing himself up on shaking arms, only for them to give out. Fresh walked over to him, crouching down in front of him.

"inky brah, give it up. ya lost. game over." Fresh sighed.

Ink glared up at him, about to punch him, only for Fresh to grab Ink's left wrist with streamers, pulling it up. He pulled Ink's sleeve up, his visor flashing to "OMG" as he saw the marks Shattered had carved into Ink's arm. Fresh was quiet, not making a sound, and Ink was making himself glare at him.

"ink, what'd he do to ya, brah?..." Fresh asked, his voice filled with emotions Ink couldn't fully understand, but he sounded a mix of angry and concerned.

"none of your business." Ink shot his right hand forward, tightly grabbing his lower leg, and he saw Error's haphephobia flare up.

Fresh froze, visor filling up with error signals as he let out a yelp and stumbled back. Ink yanked his arm free, pulling his sleeve back down, and he managed to push himself up this time, kicking Fresh in the chest to send him flying back. Fresh pushed himself up, and Ink's legs gave out as his skull swam. His dizziness gave Fresh a chance to recover, something Ink cursed himself for.

"since when do you get tired, brah?" Fresh questioned, looking down at him with "YOU GOOD?" on his visor, and Ink glared at him, but his exhaustion made it difficult to accurately imitate the expression.

"i'm not your 'brah' or 'broseph' or anything. i am your enemy. get it through your skull. unless you have error's iq, you shouldn't find it that difficult to understand." Ink spat, but he couldn't get the right amount of venom behind it.

He just sounded pathetic... Shattered would be disappointed.

"bro, stop. ya don't fool me. why're you fakin', ink?" Fresh asked, "if ya wanna seem emotional or somethin', why don'tcha come back an' drink your vials? dream's still got 'em."

"i don't need them." Ink responded.

"yes ya do. an ya also need some help. and some bandages, dos scars look gnarly." Fresh frowned.

"they're fine." Ink told him, and he tried getting up, but Fresh summoned the baseball bat, pressing it down on his back to prevent him from getting up, and Ink swatted at it, glaring weakly, "i don't belong at your feet."

"i never said ya did?... just take five, ok?" Fresh responded.

"#### you...." Ink muttered, the rectangle appearing again when he'd tried swearing, and Fresh sighed.

"ink, brah, again, dis ain't you. i dunno what he went an did all up in ya head, but you're not yoself. snap outta it, broseph." Fresh said, and Ink rolled his eyelights.

"there's nothing i need to snap out of, now #### off." Ink gave up on the act, saying that emotionlessly, and Fresh's visor changed to "BRAH STOP".

'ink, dust is waiting for you, and i'll teleport you both to the castle once you arrive. he said he's at the front of the 'sanses house', whatever that means. do you need me to come get you?' Shattered's voice echoed in his skull, gaining Ink's full attention.

'no, boss. i'll finish things up here.' Ink replied, and Fresh snapped his fingers in front of Ink's face.

"- an' ya didn't hear a word i just said, did ya? ya spaced out big time, brah." Fresh commented.

Ink rolled his eyelights, summoning Broomie into his hand to slam Fresh away from himself, using his remaining strength to teleport to where Shattered told him Dust was waiting. The fixation on obeying Shattered's order gave him a small burst of strength, allowing him to make it there, and he saw Dust standing a bit away from him, magic purple wings extended from his back. Ink's legs gave out, and Dust was quick to catch him, wrapping his arms around him, and Ink felt the wings engulf him. He was so tired, but he couldn't sleep, not without Shattered.

He needed his boss, or he couldn't sleep, and Shattered said he was coming, right? He was, Ink knew he was, because Shattered never lied. Dust teleported them out of the area after a while, Ink feeling disorientated from the action, and he felt Dust use more strength to hold him up. Ink felt Shattered's aura sweep over the area a moment later, the feeling causing Ink to let the remaining strength drain out of his body as he fell unconscious.

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Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Seven

Sans was in Snowdin, some blood splattered on the wood of the sentry station, and a hot dog was to his right. He was rhythmically drumming the fingers of his left hand on the wood, his fingertips sharp, like claws. He was holding his head up with his bloodied right hand, and he looked up at footsteps approaching, his grin getting wider and a demented, quiet laugh escaped him, like a gasp for air but filled with anticipation. He saw a human child, a scar by her neck like a choker, and she was wearing a tattered pink dress, her hair matted and uneven, and her eyes were sunken in. She trembled as she approached him, arms hugging her waist as she shivered from the cold and from fear. 

"hey buddy, what's up?" Sans asked, sounding casual, his voice gruff, and she looked down, shivering, "heh, nah, i already know. you're starving. like any minute i'll find ya..." Sans was snickering as he readied himself for the pun, laughing a bit more after he said it, "pasta-way."

His laugh was the definition of unhinged, quiet and coming out in high pitched, short breaths. Sans looked down at the... hotdog... on the desk of the sentry station, "how 'bout a nicey spicy hot dog to fill ya up?"

The human shook her head no, refusing his offer.... and his trap. Sans looked at her, a few breathy laughs escaping him as he stared her down. Looks like he'd need to try convincing her otherwise... His brother needed to eat, after all...

"heh, seriously? that's kinda funny... 'cause judging from that expression... not eatin' anything is just killing you!" Sans said, and she grabbed at her abdomen in pain. Sans knew he was right. He knew how much hunger hurt, even without a stomach, he could still feel his magic craving for any bit of food... but he knew he couldn't eat. He needed to save it for his brother.... He needed to resist.

Sans started drumming the fingers of his left hand on the table again, and he spoke, "c'mon kid, it takes effort to make a perfectly good dog free of charge... i put a lot of blood and sweat into this thing..."

Sans's grin somehow widened even more as he saw her reaching for it. As her hand grew closer, he grabbed it in the blink of an eye, sharp fingertips digging into her wrist as she struggled, trying to get away. He felt blood come out of her wrist as his fingertips pierced through flesh. Her face was filled with horror as he grinned at her, eyelight shrinking; shaking as he looked at her with demented anticipation. Her eyes closed as he yanked her onto the table, her head on the desk as he grabbed the axe he'd had hidden out of view, and he started laughing again.

"one head dog coming up." Sans grinned as he brought the axe down as she screamed, cutting her head clean off, blood splattering everywhere with a wet squelch.

Dust woke up with a strangled gasp, nausea forming rapidly in his soul, magic building in his throat and burning as it waited to release itself. He saw a blurry yellow and white shape next to him, and he felt his skull flush from nausea, the magic gushing into his mouth before he leaned over the side of the bed to hurl in a convenient bucket. He wasn't sure why he was so phased by it, he'd killed the human in gruesome ways before, but they had been evil. Maybe it was because this one was innocent?... Dust tried to sort himself out, panting as he looked down at the purple magic glowing from within the bucket, the dark and bright purples within it making it look like violet magma. Dust blinked a few times, Killer appearing half under the bed, arms folded behind his skull as he looked up at him from next to the trashcan. Dust spat some of the magic at Killer's skull, it phasing through him, and Killer snickered. 

'you really don't like me, huh?~' Killer asked, and Dust glared at him.

'obviously. pretty sure i've said that multiple times now.' Dust replied before questioning, 'you seen that guy before?'

'nope.' Killer replied, 'probably another soon to be roommate. if he asks to redecorate anything, tell him nothing red, be it paint or.... you know...' Killer trailed off, 'actually, that would be fun, but lucky's already not handling the nightmare well.'

'is he ok?'

'i'm not exactly able to feel empathy, but he doesn't look too good...'

Dust sighed, 'can you get out here so i can help him?'

'you trust me enough for that?' Killer asked, and it was a valid question.

Did he? Killer had kept his word so far, not lying about his actions and keeping his word, and... Sans needed help right now. Sans had attempted to empathize with him and with his situation, despite his anger towards him. Dust didn't trust Killer, but he could give Killer the chance to show any ulterior motives or intentions by letting him have control while he helped Sans. 

'. . . no, but sans needs help. don't do anything stupid, ok?' Dust requested.

'i won't.' Killer replied.

'i'm holding you to that.' Dust told him, voice stern.

'i know you are.' Killer replied, reaching up and grabbing Dust's shirt, pulling on it.

Dust was pulled out of control, eyelights going out, and he went into the subconscious, looking around the black void and wondering what he was walking into. He saw Sans a bit away, curled up in a tight ball, hands gripping at his skull. The mittens were absent, his fingers digging into his skull, and Dust froze when he saw what was behind him. It was a human with brown hair, glowing red eyes, and flushed cheeks, and they wore a green and yellow sweater, brown pants, and black shoes, but they were transparent, a clear illusion.

"sans? what the hell is that?" Dust asked, but Sans didn't seem to hear him, eye sockets squeezed shut as he trembled. 

The hallucination gripped his shoulders, whispering things to him that Dust couldn't hear, and he saw Sans's face going blank, his breathing evening out as his hands pulled away from his skull. What the hell was that thing doing to him? Dust stepped forward, and Sans's eyelights, despite being extremely faded, flicked up to him, his face blank. 

You're my best friend forever, aren't you, partner?~

Sans nodded slightly, eyelights still on Dust, and Dust's eyelights were still on the illusion of the human. Whatever it was, it was doing something to him, and Dust didn't like it. Dust summoned some bones, stabbing through the illusion, and it vanished. Sans kept staring at him though, and Dust was extremely confused as to what the hell was going on here. He decided to figure that out later, instead focusing on Sans, slowly approaching him, and Sans didn't move at all, just.... blank. Dust reached him, kneeling in front of him.

"sans? are you ok?" Dust asked, snapping his fingers in front of Sans's face, receiving no reaction.

Dust cursed, looking off to the side before back at Sans, on high alert for if the illusion showed back up. What would snap him out of this? Would a slap do it, or would that just make him attack? Dust knew Sans couldn't hurt him, but Dust didn't want Sans doing something he would regret. Dust knew enough about how regret felt to know he didn't want Sans feeling it more than he needed to. Dust sighed, settling on his course of action before slapping Sans across the cheek. That thankfully seemed to do it, Sans flinching back, blinking rapidly as his eyelights grew a bit brighter, and gained some awareness back. Sans looked up at Dust in a bit of confusion before realization hit.

"you snapped me out of it?..." Sans asked.

"yeah... you ok?" Dust questioned.

"something that hasn't happened for a bit... it's uh... complicated." Sans sighed, looking off to the side. 

"try and explain it anyways." Dust requested, and Sans took a deep, shaky breath before looking back at him.

"it uh.. it's from killer's timeline- and before you go blaming him, this isn't his fault!" Dust shut his mouth from Sans's words, looking at him curiously, wanting him to continue, "in uh.... killer's timeline, the human there, chara... they brainwashed him. they broke him into... what i was just acting like. it's how they brainwashed him and turned him into... that, i think... it's some kind of programmable state that he went into, like his emotions and thoughts just turned off as a defense mechanism and they molded it... i uh... i saw a lot of his timeline before he showed up, and uh... it transferred over to me..."

"and the human? why do they show up?" Dust asked.

"trauma?... it messes my head up a lot. puts me into that trance and starts messing with me. killer's gotten me out of it before, but he doesn't know how to help other than by keeping me head busy so their voice can't start up..." Sans explained.

"i didn't take him for the type to help anyone..." Dust muttered.

"maybe he sees some of himself in me? i don't know... he's at least trying to help out..." Sans shrugged, "it's partially why i'm trying to get along with him... i know what he went through because i felt everything that happened to him; i experienced it... he's annoying but he has his moments..."

"i still hate him for what he did. i will never forgive him for that." Dust growled.

"i'm not expecting you to; i don't either. at the very least, i'm trying to get along with him, like i'm trying to get along with you. there's more to him than sarcasm and deflecting and apathy, and i think he hides that part of him from himself and from everyone else." Sans replied, "the only reason i'm attempting to get along with either of you is because i know what you went through that drove you to do what you did."

". . . i still hate him." Dust told him.

"i know." Sans nodded.

Sans tensed as he saw something behind Dust, and the dusty skeleton turned around, seeing Chara there again, a wide smile on their face. Dust summoned a Gaster Blaster, firing it at them before looking back at Sans, seeing him visibly restraining himself, which made Dust confused.

"what is it?" Dust asked.

"i uh... part of the brainwashing was to always protect them, so uh... it's a reflex..." Sans explained.

"oh..." Dust nodded, looking around upon hearing the human's voice echoing around the subconscious, another attempt to lull Sans into that state again.

"it just won't stop..." Sans whispered.

"what makes it go away? so i know how to deal with it?" Dust asked.

"i... i don't know, me calming down maybe? it's a defense mechanism in my head, but i can't calm down after seeing that..." Sans grimaced, likely remembering the nightmare.

Dust nodded a bit, looking around as he tried to think of something, and he got an idea, asking, "would music help?"

"i... think so? i used it before, but i don't have my music player in here..." Sans replied.

Dust nodded, and he thought back on one of the songs he had memorized, playing it loudly to drown everything out, and Sans looked up at it, relaxing slightly, but not because he was going into the trance. 

'They're coming, creeping from the corner And all I know is that I don't feel safe I feel the tapping on my shoulder I turn around in an alarming state But am I losing my mind? I really think so Not a creature in sight But, what you don't know Is that my breathing gets faster and so does my heartbeat I wish this was over, I wish that this was a dream but I created a monster, a hell within my head With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own Oh, I'm so scared I created a monster, a beast inside my brain With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own My mind impaired Awake me from my nightmare Wait, something doesn't feel right (feel right) No, something seems wrong (wrong) And I've been feeling this way (oh, that's too bad) For far too long As my vision gets blurred, my skin's getting colder Appearing young, while I'm growing older I collapse to the floor and scream "Can anybody save me from myself?" I created a monster, a hell within my head With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own Oh, I'm so scared I created a monster, a beast inside my brain With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own My mind impaired Awake me from my nightmare Walking to the ledge, I find myself looking down Frozen still with fear, now I'm plunging to the ground If only I knew how to fly Then I could convince myself this isn't my time to die Instead, I'm rocketing faster and faster I dive-bomb to the floor And when my body crashes to the pavement I'm right back where I was before I created a monster, a hell within my head With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own Oh, I'm so scared I created a monster, a hell within my head With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own Oh, I'm so scared, no, whoa I created a monster, a beast inside my brain With nowhere to go, I'm out on my own My mind impaired Awake me from my nightmare (I'm so scared) Awake me from my nightmare (I'm so scared) Awake me from my nightmare (I'm so scared) Awake me from my nightmare (I'm so scared) Awake me from my nightmare'

By the end of the song, Sans had mostly calmed down, Dust keeping an eyelight out for more appearances of the human, and glancing at Sans to make sure he was still doing alright, which he thankfully seemed to be. Sans didn't deserve any of what he was going through, all of it being shoved into his mind for him to struggle to deal with. Papyrus probably didn't make it over here with the whole timeline thing, but he could probably handle himself; he couldn't die a second time, after all. Everyone here, though... they couldn't fend for themselves as easily, and Dust needed to protect them, and Sans. Dust wasn't worried about Killer; nothing seemed to bother that psycho, but Sans was a different story. If Dust could keep him from suffering more than he already was, Dust would do so. He didn't need to suffer just because they had. 

"hey, dust, how's lucky doing?" Killer's voice rang through the subconscious, Dust and Sans looking up.

"i'm fine, killer... better than i was. how's everything out there?" Sans asked.

"flowey just showed up if that answers anything." Killer informed them.

Dust was surprised Killer was telling them about the development, and Sans seemed to be the same, the two of them exchanging a look. Dust looked at Sans questioningly, seeing if he was up for leaving, and Sans nodded.

'alright, we're on our way out.' Dust told him.

Killer gripped the edge of the bed as he gained control over the body, looking down at the glowing purple magic in the bucket with hollow eye sockets, making sure his soul was hidden from view. His gaze flicked away from the bucket, seeing Alphys's feet by it, and he looked up at her, meeting her gaze.

"Sans? Are you ok?..." Alphys asked him, and Killer nodded a bit.

"yeah, i'm fine... bit of a close call though, huh?" Killer asked with a smirk.

"Close?!" Undyne asked, "You almost died!!!"

"twas merely a flesh wound." Killer smirked, and Undyne's eye twitched.

"You little..." Undyne sighed, "You're lucky I'm worried about you! How are you even alive?! Your HP was 1 the last time we checked, and how were you bleeding?"

"it was just ketchup-" Undyne cut Killer off.

"No it wasn't! There was no ketchup bottle in your jacket, and some of it was coming out of your mouth! On top of that, your ribs were sliced open! Alphys had to bandage them together and saw it coming out!" Undyne pointed out.

". . . you caught me. i drank so much of it that i bled it." Killer sighed dramatically.

"Sans, I swear to god-" Undyne started, fists clenching, and Alphys got between them, looking nervous as hell about it.

"G-Guys, umm.... can we not do this r-right now?.. S-Sans still needs to rest." Alphys asked. 

". . . I still want answers." Undyne huffed, crossing her arms.

"I-I do, too. B-But we won't g-get them by i-interrogating him.." Alphys told her, and Undyne sighed,

"Challenge accepted." Undyne replied, glaring back over at Killer.

"challenge failed." Killer smirked, and Undyne growled.

"You slimy little-!" Undyne was cut off by a new voice.

"Undyne, let him be." Asgore requested, walking over. 

Killer looked over at the king, surprised he was here, and he glanced over at Undyne, seeing a similar expression on her face. She backed away from Killer a bit, bowing her head and looking off to the side.

Asgore looked over at Killer, and asked, "I heard you were injured?" 

"Was just a scratch.."Killer shrugged.

"You were bleeding all over the floor! That wasn't a scratch! You still haven't explained how you bled!!" Undyne snapped.

"that was ketchup."Killer told her.

"RAAAAGH! NO IT'S NOT!" Undyne yelled.

"Y-You threw u-up your ma-magic before, an-and it w-was purple too.." Alphys quietly stuck up for Undyne, "Th-that was d-different too..."

"Purple?" Asgore asked in bewilderment. "Your magic was always cyan and yellow."

"first time for everything." Killer shrugged. 

"Not for something like this, Sans. From what I've heard from everyone, you evacuated everyone you could after activating the alert, brought them here, took a nap, and before Alphys even told you what was going on, you already teleported out, and you took the blow before your brother could be injured. You knew exactly where he'd be." Asgore said, "What I don't know is how you knew. You've always been very perceptive, but never to this extent, and if you were, you hid it better than this."

"i... had a hunch." Killer said. He knew the others experienced deja vu on occasion, so it was a probable excuse. 

Asgore hummed in thought. "I've had hunches too, and they've proven to be right more often than not. However, that doesn't explain how you're still alive..."

Killer went quiet, not having an excuse for that. 

"Sans, please. How are you still alive right now? You have 1 HP, and while you're powerful, otherwise you wouldn't have your job, that doesn't mean you're powerful enough to survive a lethal wound." Asgore said.

"What job?" Undyne asked, confused.

"A very important one." Asgore replied cryptically, before looking back at Killer for an explanation.

"well, uh..." Killer started, before looking at a sudden crack in the floor, frowning as a familiar yellow flower came out from the floor. Damnit, not him again. 

'hey, dust, how's lucky doing?' Killer asked mentally, knowing Flowey was about to be a pest that he didn't want to deal with, because if he did, Flowey would be dead or Killer would screw something up. 

'i'm fine, killer... better than i was. how's everything out there?' Sans questioned.

'flowey just showed up if that answers anything.' Killer informed.

There was a moment of silence before Dust spoke up, 'alright, we're on our way out.'

"Flowey." Undyne glared, eye narrowing as Alphys trembled a bit, and Asgore watched him warily.

"what do you want, weed?"Killer questioned.

"Well, I saw you get hit by an attack and you didn't die from it, because if you had, their LV would've gone up, but for some strange reason, you're not dead, and they're pretty pissed about it. I also heard them muttering about, and I quote 'This must be a new one' among other things that'll raise a large number of questions from everyone else here that I have a feeling you don't want to explain. I want answers, right now." Flowey replied, crossing his leaves like they were arms.

Killer narrowed his eye sockets before he pulled himself out of the bed painlessly, everyone protesting, trying to tell him to take it easy, but Killer paid them no mind. "you, me, snowdin town square. now."

"Good choice." Flowey grinned, going back into the ground as Killer teleported to the Snowdin town square. Killer used sharp bones to break all the cameras Alphys had set up, and Flowey appeared a moment later, leaves crossed. "Talk, or I can see how much HP you have left, and you won't survive it."

'don't tell him. the only thing that will come of him knowing is him using it for his own amusement.' Dust told him.

'obviously, dust.' Killer rolled his nonexistent eyelights.

"Five." Flowey started counting down, wrapping a vine around his torso and squeezing, the tip aimed at the center of his ribcage, "Four." Flowey brought the tip closer, "Three..."

'tell him!' Sans snapped.

'no!' Dust and Killer replied.

"Two..."

'if flowey hit the soul, we're dead! not to mention it'll hurt like hell!'

"One and a half..."

'killer!!!'

"alright, fine!" Killer snapped at Flowey and at Sans, and the flower smirked, putting him down.

"Good choice, smiley trashbag. Now talk." Flowey glared.

"Fine, whatever! Just tell me what the hell's going on!" Flowey snapped, impatient. 

'i can't believe i'm doing this...' Killer sighed mentally.

'if he uses this to his advantage, repeatedly killing the kid so this gets worse, we're teleporting there and killing him. you know the spots?" Dust asked.

''course i do.' Killer replied.

"alright, so uh... i'm not sans. this timeline intersected with mine, and i got brought over somehow. currently sharing his body and mind with him and someone else. that one is the one that was saving everyone before, and he does not like me, not that i care. certain times the timeline rewinds itself it merges with another one briefly and then a bit of us carries over in here." Killer tapped on Sans's skull for emphasis. 

"Huh... Why did you look different on Mettaton's little show?" Flowey asked.

"best guess is reflections and cameras give away who we really are. kinda annoying, but eh." Killer shrugged.

"And that black liquid?" Flowey questioned.

"something special for me." Killer replied.

"Huh.... You guys got different names?" Flowey inquired.

"yeah. i call sans 'lucky', though it's starting to seem more and more sarcastic. i'm killer, and the new guy's dust." Killer replied.

"Killer, huh? How'd you get that name?" Flowey asked, looking more and more interested.

"blame your deceased sibling."Killer told him.

"Chara?!" Flowey questioned, surprised.

"you got another one i don't know about?"Killer asked.

"No.... so, Chara was the human in your timeline?" Flowey asked.

"in a way. it's a... long story." Killer replied.

"What do you mea-" Flowey started, but was cut off by Sans's phone ringing.

Killer sighed, looking at the caller before sighing again, mildly annoyed before answering, "'sup, papyrus?"

Killer turned the volume down a considerable amount as Papyrus started talking.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! I HEARD YOU AND FLOWEY WENT SOMEWHERE TO TALK! YOU'RE STILL INJURED, BROTHER, AND WHILE FLOWEY IS NICE, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU SHOULD BE MOVING AROUND MUCH, AS HE PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO HELP SOMEONE MEDICALLY!" 

Killer sighed silently, rolling his nonexistent eyelights, and Flowey could probably see it on his face.

"i'm fine, don't worry. we're just having a bit of a chat. i'll be back soon, ok?" Killer told him.

"... ALRIGHT, BUT HURRY UP, SANS! EVERYONE IS REALLY WORRIED! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE RESTING!" Papyrus snapped.

Killer was the older one here and he was being treated like a child... Killer bit back several words before sighing, telling him, "i will. see you in a few." Killer hung up, looking over at Flowey, saying, "well, looks like that's the end of our little conversation-" Killer was cut off from his surroundings growing blurry.

Killer looked around as everything growing pixelated and glitching a bit, Flowey seeing it too. Killer saw his appearance briefly flicker on him through several glitches before it returned to normal, Flowey's eyes widening, seeming to see it too. 

"welp, looks like i'm not heading back there after all." Killer shrugged, and everything went black.

RESET

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Twenty Five

After a minute or so of walking, Killer heard Toriel saying, "Child? Killer told me to ask you about Chara? How do you know them?"

"You know Chara, Frisk?" Asgore questioned in surprise and confusion.

"Wait, who?" Raphael asked.

"Chara, a human child me and Tori had adopted... they died due to eating a poisonous flower... It was a tragedy, and not a day goes by that I don't miss them..." Asgore replied somberly.

"Oh... I'm sorry for your loss." Raphael apologized.

"It's alright... Frisk, how do you know them?... Why are you glaring at Killer like that?" Toriel questioned.

Killer glanced over his shoulder at Chara, seeing them glaring daggers at him, and he smirked at them. He still didn't completely trust them, but he'd still enjoy their suffering and see how much it took in case they snapped. He still didn't like how brainwashed Sans was; how protective and how willing he was to listen to them... . . . If they did make it to the Surface peacefully, Sans was going to need a lot of therapy, even if they had to drag him there for it. 

"It's... complicated..." Chara sighed, and Killer turned his skull ahead again, watching for traps and enemies.

"Complicated how?" Asgore asked. 

"I don't want to talk about it..." Chara muttered.

"Please, Frisk..." Toriel pleaded.

"I..." Chara started, before trailing off.

Killer groaned, the knife in his hand stilling that he didn't realize he was spinning as he said, "oh for the love of-! that's not frisk right now. chara is possessing them because during the reset fiasco that still might not be over, frisk gave their soul to chara because they screwed up and wanted to undo it but didn't have the power to without chara's help, and now chara can possess their body whenever they want to."

"WHAT?!" Toriel and Asgore exclaimed in shock, and everyone stopped walking.

"Damnit, Killer!" Chara snapped. 

"Child, is this true?" Toriel asked.

"I- . . . Yes..." Chara admitted.

Killer heard movement behind him, and glanced behind himself again to see Chara being tightly hugged by Asgore and Toriel. He'd roll his eyelights if he had them or if Mono was awake, but instead he just settled on leaning against one of the walls, looking back at them as Chara hugged the goat monsters back. He'd seen them mercilessly and gleefully kill them both, and here they were, hugging the two them. 

"Child, why...? Why didn't you tell us?" Asgore mumbled.

"I didn't know how to... Besides, after a while I thought it'd be best you didn't know..." Chara answered.

"Chara, of course we would want to know! We missed you so dearly! The knowledge of you being back..." Toriel trailed off, tears in her eyes.

"I know... I'm sorry." Chara apologized.

"It's alright, at least now we know..." Toriel said, hugging them tighter.

"Killer, how did you know?..." Asgore asked, and Killer looked up at him.

"they were in my timeline. we... knew each other." Killer replied vaguely. 

"How?" Asgore questioned, and Killer's grip on his knife tightened.

"i don't wanna talk about it." Killer told him.

Asgore looked at Chara in confusion, and they said solemnly, "It wasn't good... The Chara in Killer's timeline hurt him, bad... He's kinda pissed about it."

"'kinda'?" Killer narrowed his eye sockets.

". . . Ok, he's really pissed because of it, and before you say anything, it's completely deserved." Chara said.

"But you're not that version of you." Toriel said.

"doesn't matter." Killer told her, "and i still gotta deal with sans... ugh..."

Killer tilted his skull back with a groan, and Toriel looked at him in confusion, asking, "Doesn't it matter? Also, what did you mean about Sans?"

"No, Tori, it doesn't. I can tell he clearly suffered from them, and if I had suffered and seen another version of them... I wouldn't handle it well either." Asgore said, and Toriel frowned, "As for Sans... Is he ok?"

". . ." Killer was silent for a moment before he sighed, "not really."

"That's a given." Undyne sighed, "All he mentioned was the dissociating, but there seemed to be much more going on..."

"KILLER EXPLAINED SOME THINGS TO ME, AND... I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIM..." Papyrus trailed off, frowning.

"When did you guys talk?" Alphys asked.

"uhhhh...." Killer trailed off, trying to think of a lie.

"Wait.... It was last night, wasn't it?" Undyne realized, "That's how Papyrus knew about the Royal Guard thing... you told him..."

"he needed to learn sooner or later." Killer sighed, "not teaching him crap will just get him killed in an actual fight, and i know you guys have fought before, but he holds back too much. besides, we didn't just talk. i taught him how to do something."

". . . You taught him how to dodge." Undyne said after a moment of thinking, not really a guess.

"yup." Killer confirmed.

"WHICH WAS VERY HELPFUL, BROTHER! DODGING IS A HUGE ADVANTAGE!" Papyrus smiled.

". . . Killer? B-Be honest... how bad is Sans's con-condition?" Alphys asked, and Killer went still for a moment.

". . . before i got here, lucks got a massive amount of memories from my timeline. about... over two decades in one night. he saw endless genocides, every single damn time, with nothing changing. he saw... more than he ever should've, and uh... it messes with him. not like it did me, i'm another issue entirely, my soul was altered from it. lucky though... . . ." Killer went silent for a moment before he continued, "the chara in my timeline brainwashed me, and that transferred over into lucky. he hears and sees them as hallucinations, and when he dissociates... it's bad..."

"Oh my god..." Toriel gasped, hands over her mouth.

"H-Has it gotten worse?..." Alphys questioned, looking extremely concerned.

"sometimes.... the last time it happened when he was in control was... it was two timelines ago i think? wasn't it, with skyler?" Killer asked Chara for verification, and they nodded.

"Yeah, then Iggy came next." Chara answered.

"thought so. anyways, uh.. it happened then, and... that was probably the most severe it's gotten." Killer sighed.

"What happened?" Undyne questioned, "And be honest. We need to know how to help him."

". . . he's gonna kill me for this.. if only i cared..." Killer sighed, looking down at the floor for a moment before answering, "he wound up attacking the kid."

"HE WHAT?!" Everyone but Raphael exclaimed.

"yeah... me, dust, and horror snapped him out of it, but they got hurt a bit. dust patched them up while i calmed sans down... it always happens when he's stressed out or everything's quiet. so, we make some noise, keep him distracted, block them out, all that."

"I didn't know it was that bad..." Chara murmured.

"yeah... that and his stupid coccyx trusting you too much." Killer sighed.

"Is that why he im-immediately went to protect them?" Alphys questioned.

"yeah. i mean they're less frequent, but he had another episode earlier after he found out about papyrus..." Killer replied, and Papyrus looked down guiltily, "and no, don't blame yourself for that. me and dust handled it while you guys dealt with horror, and he's fine. just knocked out from the damn soul tranq..."

"I STILL FEEL WE SHOULD ADDRESS HIS MENTAL STATE..." Papyrus said.

"i'm not saying we shouldn't. all i'm saying is don't blame yourself." Killer told him.

"It's still concerning how much he's suffering because of this..." Asgore frowned.

"it's gotten better. me and dust aren't at each other's throats, horror doesn't hate us anymore, and we're working together more now. so things have improved." Killer informed, "the nightmares still mess with him though."

"Which is why I'm concerned..." Asgore sighed. 

"PERHAPS THERE'S THINGS WE CAN DO TO HELP HIM? LIKE KEEP FIDGET TOYS WITH US, OR ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION WITH HIM OFTEN? AND MONO-"

"don't." Killer cut him off, not wanting the others to know about that.

"Mono?" Alphys asked in confusion.

"nothing." Killer sighed, "you guys ready to keep going or what?"

Everyone exchanged glances before they nodded, and Killer started walking again, the others following behind him. As they walked, Killer could see deactivated robots on the floors, seemingly turned off, and Killer knew it was probably that EMP gun Raphael had. Then there was some with trident stabs in them, along with some scorch marks, and Killer could tell Asgore had helped fight.

"you guys had fun, huh?" Killer smirked.

"There was quite a few robots, yes." Asgore replied. 

"where's this armory at, anyways?" Killer asked.

"Why? Don't you already have a knife?" Chara questioned.

"i wanna pick up a weapon for horror as a souvenir." Killer replied.

Chara sighed, "Of course you do... He can summon one, you know. We've both seen it."

"i know, but still, souvenir." Killer insisted. 

"Will you just admit that you want to go to your version of a toy store?" Chara asked.

"no." Killer smirked, and Chara sighed.

"If you wanna swing by, we can. I'll state on the record we grabbed another EMP gun there, and anything else missing was probably grabbed or knocked down when everyone was evacuated and wanted extra protection." Raphael told him, and Killer went still.

". . . nobody's here but us?" Killer asked for verification.

"Yup. Everyone else left. I told them we'd have this handled." Raphael answered, and an idea came to Killer's mind.

"hmm.... . . . can i grab a backup knife?" Killer requested.

"Sure, but be quick." Raphael nodded.

". . . You know, you humans might not be so bad after all." Killer admitted after a minute.

"Thanks?" Raphael responded, seeming uncertain of how to reply to that.

They got to the armory in another minute or so, and Killer bolted inside, looking at all the weapons, almost in awe at the large selection, a large grin on his face.

"this is heaven... i don't know how i got in, but it's heaven..." Killer whispered to himself, looking over all the blades and guns on the walls and tables with glee.

". . . I've never seen you this excited before." Chara muttered, and Killer grinned, looking around some more.

"it's an entire room of weapons!" Killer grinned, grabbing a serrated knife off of a hanger, testing it's weight before putting it back. 

Killer heard everyone else talking, and he kept looking around, finding a bag filled with small explosives with a detonator next to the bag, and he got an idea. He glanced around, making sure no one was looking, and he grabbed the bag, emptying it into one of his coat's inside pockets, the detonator in the other one as he teleported out of the room. Killer teleported back to the waiting room, hiding explosives around it before racing out at full speed, hiding the explosives under robots and other areas, spreading them out rapidly, especially on pipelines with plenty to spare. He teleported back to the armory within thirty seconds or less, popping up from behind a display case and looking around again, hiding the smirk threatening to spread across his face.

Killer looked over at the knives again, testing the feel of each in his hand. He couldn't find one like his, but that was before he found a better one in a box inside of a cabinet. It had an actually better weight to it than the ones Chara had given him, and it was razor sharp. It was a beautiful Raindrop Damascus, and the blade's handle was a comfortable black and red micarta. He'd found his new favorite. He spun it in his hand a few times, grinning widely at the balance it had, and he promptly put the one Chara had given him on a shelf. 

"DID YOU FIND SOMETHING?" Papyrus asked him, and Killer smirked at him before looking back at the knife.

"Yup, he did..." Chara sighed. 

"i can't wait to test this thing out!" Killer grinned in excitement.

"Well, at least he isn't upset anymore..." Flowey muttered, and Killer ignored him. 

Killer looked over at the axes, reaching to grab one for Horror when he heard faint mechanical footsteps approaching, and his skull whipped towards the door, grabbing a cleaver and putting it in an inside pocket instead. The blade of his knife turned glowing red, the Damascus patterns a darker red, and he could practically stare at it for hours, but he'd do that later. In the mean time, it was time for him to have some fun. Killer teleported out of the armory and into the hallway, ignoring everyone else talking as he saw the robots rounding the corner and racing towards him, lasers charging and firing. Killer leapt over the blasts gracefully, slashing his knife at the robots, slashing them across their chests before they exploded into shrapnel.

Killer smirked at the effect of his newest toy, and he jumped over more lasers, landing on a robot's shoulders and plunging the knife straight into the robot's head with little effort, flipping off of it and tearing the knife out of it, leaving a clean cut down the back of it's head. The robot crumpled as he landed on the ground in a crouch, jumping to the side to dodge more lasers, bouncing off of the wall, twirling a few times midair as he flew towards the robots, his knife creating a circular slash that tore through the robots, leaving them in splinters. Killer flipped around in the air, feet planting on the wall and jumping off of it as more lasers were blasted at him. He did a flip midair, landing on the ground on his feet, before slashing his new knife in front of himself multiple times, the slashes that appeared in front of him flying forwards and obliterating the robots.

As he fought and maneuvered in the air, he was secretly slipping the tiny explosives into air vents and onto gas lines, keeping them out of sight and out of mind until it was time for the fireworks he had planned once they were out of here. Killer heard a laser fly past his skull, and he turned around to see robots rounding the other corner. He sent waves of sharp bones in both directions, careful not to use his Gaster Blaster in case it set off the explosives, and he slashed his knife to destroy any robots his bones left behind. He continued fighting and having fun for a few more minutes, before the dams dried up of robots for the moment, and he ran out of targets. He was almost disappointed, and even searched around for any stragglers, opening doors in the hallway trying to find more robots, but found none. He sighed in now definite disappointment, and headed back to the armory, seeing everyone peeking out of the door in shock and awe.

"what?" Killer asked as he heard a robot, or at least, the remained of it, fall off of the ceiling behind him.

"How the hell...?... Ok, now I see why Frisk- err, Chara, wanted to get you a knife, hot damn..." Raphael muttered, stunned.

". . . That knife... your magic in it destroyed those things in a single hit with no effort..." Flowey said, "I know you fought me, but you never managed to land one of those slashes. You could've killed me..."

"yep. hey raphael, can i keep this?" Killer asked, looking down at the blade.

". . . It's shorter than the legal requirement to own a permit for it, and I mean, if it's in self defense... In this particular situation I guess you could. Just don't kill anyone with it. Robots only, otherwise you'll be arrested for murder. Ok?" Raphael responded.

". . . i'm really liking your loopholes." Killer smirked, and he headed down the hallway again, hearing everyone else follow him, likely looking around at the damage.

". . . I'm going out on a limb and saying Dust came up with plans for if things went south?" Chara asked after a moment.

"That's what he told us." Undyne replied. 

"And he probably also told you to protect everyone else, right Killer?" Chara questioned.

"i mean it's kinda a requirement, otherwise you'd reset." Killer shrugged.

"That wasn't my question." Chara said, and he glared at them.

"Wait, why wouldn't he? Aren't you guys friends?" Raphael asked.

"that's stretching it." Killer said.

"It's... touch and go." Chara sighed, "But did he?"

". . . fine, yes, he did. what about it?" Killer questioned.

"He also told you not to kill me back at the lab when I took over Frisk's body, and you listened to him." Chara mentioned, and Killer caught on to where this conversation was going.

"oh no no no no no, no. we are not having this conversation right now." Killer glared at them.

"What conversation?" Toriel asked.

"Why Killer does everything Dust tells him." Chara replied.

"HE SAID IT WAS BECAUSE DUST WAS THE LEADER OF THEIR TEAM." Papyrus spoke up.

"That's not it. It might be an excuse, but it's not the true reason. I can tell." Chara sighed. 

"and i can tell you to mind your damn business. you're wrong, anyways. it is because he's leader." Killer hissed.

"No, it's because you view him as your best friend, and that stupid other version of you made you want to do whatever your 'best friend'' tells you." Chara glared at him, and he glared right back at them.

Killer could see and hear everyone looking between each other with mixed expressions, mainly concern and sympathy, and Killer ignored them. He didn't want their damn pity.

"and i say that's a load of horse crap." Killer glared.

"And yet I'm not wrong." Chara sighed, "Does Dust at least know? You have to have told him! Right?"

Killer glared off to the side, before muttering, "he knows, and he's pissed about it."

"As he should be! Look, I don't know how long it'll take to undo what they did to you, but-" Chara started, but Killer cut them off as he burst out laughing, nearly doubling over.

They really thought they could fix him? That they could undo what had been engrained into him?? Wasn't that just damn pathetic?

"sorry, sorry, you- you think you can fix me? come on, we both know you're not that damn stupid! i can't be fixed. my determination is broken, my soul is irreversibly screwed up, and oh yeah, i don't even want to think about what my emotions would be like if by some miracle my soul got 'fixed'." Killer glared, "you can try undoing it with sans, which honestly won't work, but do not try that with me."

'what's going on?' Mono asked, and Killer's jaw clenched.

'great freaking timing as usual, mono.' Killer sighed, 'chara thinks they can fix what happened.'

'wait, really? that's kinda stupid...' Mono mumbled.

'looks like we can actually agree on something.' Killer muttered mentally.

"That's not what I meant... I'm talking about what they did to your way of thinking... I don't even want to say what they did, how, and why, but we both know what I'm talking about." Chara said.

With Mono awake, Killer was able to feel his emotions, and they were... overwhelming, to say the least. The anger, the pain.... It felt like he was drowning in it.

"as if i'd trust you enough to start poking around with that!" Killer hissed.

"Why would I do anything to hurt you when only reason I kept Resetting in the Underground is because I wanted to keep everyone safe?!" Chara snapped, and Mono's emotions surged.

"well you've lied before! 'it's only one time and then i'll stop', 'it'll be fun!', 'you can trust me!', 'just one more time, just to make sure you really get the full experience! this time will be even better!'!" Killer shot right back, Broken Determination coming from his eye sockets in thick globs, splattering on the floor as his soul spasmed, "it was hundreds upon hundreds of times! when my damn lv would go up you'd take advantage of it and give me little comforting words that were just another damn way for you to turn me into this! you were right though, i did stop caring! if i showed signs of caring, you'd just reload over and over, making me kill that particular monster over and over and over again, even telling him that i'd done it before! don't even think about trying to 'undo what they did' because you already did enough!"

Killer teleported away after that, the emotions from Mono too much to handle, and he ignored everyone's reactions to his words. He didn't even notice he'd teleported himself back to the armory until he felt one of the cabinets pressing against his spine. Killer curled in on himself a bit as another sharp pain hit his soul, Mono trying to take control because apparently Killer wasn't freaking out enough for the both of them. His soul spasmed again, a choked gasp leaving Killer as he could feel Mono taking control, but Killer wouldn't let him out, this was supposed to be a damn escape mission. 

Try as he might, Killer couldn't hang on, and Mono took control, soul painfully turning into an upside-down red and white heart, Killer forced to spectate Mono having a damn mental breakdown. Mono had moved Killer's hands to tightly grip his arms, tremors wracking the body's bones, and every time Killer tried taking control back, Mono's emotions were like a wall he couldn't get past. Mono was hyperventilating, tears mixing with Broken Determination and streaming down his cheekbones, and the grip on his arms would be painfully tight if he could feel pain. 

"BROTHER?" Killer's vision shifted to look up at the doorway, seeing Papyrus standing there, more tremors wracking Killer's body as Mono shook. 

Mono hallucinated Papyrus's skull getting sliced off from behind, it falling to the floor before his body turned to dust. Mono curled Killer's body on himself tighter, arms hugging his knees, apologies pouring out that Mono probably wasn't even aware of, and Killer mentally sighed. Mono flinched as Papyrus's hand was gently placed on his right shoulder, Killer's vision suddenly snapping up again to look at Papyrus, who was kneeling down in front of him, looking concerned.

"KILLER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus asked softly, and then he seemed to see the definitely present eyelight in his left eye socket, "MONO?"

Mono nodded Killer's skull a bit, looking down as his bones rattled and trembled, replying quietly, "y-yeah..... it's me..... h-how'd you k-know?..."

"KILLER TOLD ME ABOUT YOU..." Papyrus answered, and Killer's vision snapped up to Papyrus's face again, Mono surprised and shocked.

"r-really?" Mono asked.

'you did? really?'

'yeah yeah, don't make a big deal about it...' Killer grumbled.

"thanks, killer..." Mono mumbled.

'whatever. can i have control back? we still need to get out of here.' Killer requested.

'out of where?' Mono questioned.

'. . . look back in the memories.' Killer sighed.

Mono did so, Killer seeing the memories flash through Mono's thoughts, and he felt his eye sockets widening a bit, '. . . oh... at least we made it out, right?'

'not yet we didn't.' Killer muttered, 'i was working on it though...'

"MONO? ARE YOU OK?" Papyrus asked, and Mono nodded a little again.

"y-yeah, sorry.... talking with killer... umm... is everything ok with the others?..." Mono questioned.

"YES, MOSTLY. THEY'RE WORRIED, THOUGH... I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAME TO FIND YOU, I TOLD THE OTHERS TO STAY BACK. I FIGURED KILLER WOULD COME HERE; HE SEEMED TO LIKE IT HERE AND I ASSUMED HE WOULD FIND IT A SAFE SPACE." Papyrus responded.

"yeah... killer loves w-weapons for some reason..." Mono mumbled, "he's the main one that knows how to use them..."

"YOU AREN'T AWARE?" Papyrus asked, and Mono shook Killer's skull no.

"no... the... the last thing i really remember clearly is... i wanna say my.. was it my twelfth birthday?.... after that i know stuff happened but i don't remember it myself..." Mono answered, "i know killer does because he looked through everything, but i never did, i slept through it..."

"OH..." Papyrus mumbled, moving to sit next to him, Mono quickly moving Killer's body to curl up next to him, "YOU REPRESSED A LOT OF UNPLEASANT MEMORIES I SEE?"

"yeah... i don't... i don't like remembering... i get bursts of memories all at once that freak me out, but then they go away again... something always brings them back and they get shoved down again..." Mono explained.

"HMM... MAYBE YOU'RE AGE REGRESSING?" Papyrus muttered, and Mono tilted Killer's skull a bit.

"age regressing?" Mono questioned.

"YES. LIKE, YOUR MENTAL AGE REGRESSED TO A HAPPIER, LESS STRESSFUL POINT IN YOUR LIFE, IN THIS CASE, ONE OF YOUR RECENT MOST HAPPY MOMENTS. I WONDER WHY IT WAS THEN THOUGH..." Papyrus explained, his tone turning thoughtful at the end.

'probably because that was around when flowey was messing with everyone. pretty sure he did it before that too, but still.' Killer sighed, but Mono wasn't listening.

"i don't know either... at least it hurts less..." Mono mumbled.

"THAT DOES SOUND LIKE A GOOD THING..." Papyrus nodded. 

"but then i should hurt..." Mono said quietly, guilt and shame forming rapidly.

'damnit, here we go again...' Killer groaned.

"NO, YOU SHOULDN'T, BROTHER." Papyrus reassured.

"but i should! i- i hurt you, i know i hurt you! that- no, no, i should have to remember!" Mono responded, a bit angry, and then the anger vanished, replaced by sadness and guilt, "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to-"

"BROTHER." Papyrus moved to crouch in front of him again, hands on his shoulder, "IT'S OK. PLEASE, DON'T BLAME YOURSELF FOR WHAT HAPPENED IN YOUR TIMELINE. IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT."

"but-!" Mono started to protest.

"SHHHHH..." Papyrus shushed gently, "IT'S OK, BROTHER. IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT."

Mono saw another slash appear across Papyrus's neck, and Killer's bones rattled, Mono shakily extending a hand to touch his vertebrae, making sure it wasn't real. It was Mono's attempt to ground himself and stay calm, but all it did was break him down, tears flooding out of Killer's eye sockets. Mono buried Killer's face in Papyrus's armor, Killer internally cringing in mild disgust and exasperation as Mono sobbed into Papyrus's shoulder. Killer felt Papyrus hugging Mono, which only made the skeleton break down further, crying even more and clinging to him tighter.

Killer blocked it out, waiting for Mono to wear himself out, and sure enough, after a few minutes of his meltdown he wore himself out, Killer taking control back as Mono passed out. Killer winced as his soul returned to Stage Two, spasming and swirling in the process, his grip momentarily squeezing Papyrus before it loosened, and Killer sighed, letting go of Papyrus's neck. Papyrus was still hugging him though, but he seemed to be able to tell Mono wasn't in control anymore.

"hey, you uh... you can let go now." Killer told him.

"I CAN, BUT I WANT TO REASSURE MONO A BIT MORE." Papyrus responded.

"he passed out." Killer informed.

"I WANT TO REASSURE YOU MORE." Papyrus amended.

"i don't need-" Killer started to protest again, but Papyrus cut him off.

"LET ME HUG YOU, DAMNIT."

Killer snorted, laughing a bit, Broken Determination coming out of his eye sockets, "alright, alright, fine..."

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Papyrus let him go, Killer moving to sit against the weapon's cabinet again, and Papyrus sat next to him, asking, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING?..." and  Killer shook his skull no. "ALRIGHT. THE OFFER IS THERE WHENEVER YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT,  JUST KNOW THAT, OK?"

"alright, thanks..." Killer thanked him, wiping any remnants of the tears Mono had shed in his breakdown before asking "where's the others?"

"THEY ARE UP AHEAD IF YOU WOULD WISH TO REGROUP WITH THEM. THEY ARE ALL VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU, AND CHARA FEELS VERY GUILTY ABOUT... UMM..." Papyrus trailed off as he stood up, unsure of what to call his breakdown while being polite and gentle about it.

Killer sighed a bit, pushing himself up to stand, questioning, "you wanna head back to them? get outta this dump?"

"IT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA...." Papyrus answered, standing up.

Killer nodded, before asking, "hey, uh... can you not tell everyone about what just happened?"

"OF COURSE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL KEEP HIS GREAT JAW SHUT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED! . . . WAS CHARA RIGHT ABOUT YOU AND DUST BEING BEST FRIENDS?..."

Killer was quiet for a minute, before sighing as he admitted, "i consider him my best friend. not sure what he thinks about me."

"WELL, I BELIEVE IT GOES YOUR WAY TOO. DUST SEEMS TO BE FOND OF YOU AND CARES ABOUT YOUR WELLBEING, AND HORROR AND SANS, WHILE NOT HUGE FANS OF YOU, SEEM TO CARE ABOUT YOU TOO. ALL IN ALL, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE GENUINE FRIENDS, BROTHER. FRIENDS THAT DON'T WISH TO USE YOU OR HURT YOU OR MAKE YOU HARM OTHERS, AND I CANNOT POSSIBLY FATHOM HOW YOU'RE STILL GOING AFTER ALL THAT YOU AND MONO ENDURED. YOU BOTH ARE VERY STRONG, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT MEANS, BUT... I'M PROUD OF YOU." Papyrus said, sincere.

Killer stared at him for a moment, before looking off to the side, unsure of what to say for a while before settling on, "i uh.... thanks..."

"YOU'RE WELCOME, KILLER. ARE YOU READY TO RETURN TO THE OTHERS?" Papyrus asked.

"yeah, let's go." Killer nodded, and they both started walking.

It was a mostly silent walk, Killer not saying much and Papyrus not seeming to know how to fill the silence. The only thing making any noise was their footsteps and the crunching of robots under their feet, and finally, they regrouped with the others, Killer immediately being onslaughted with questions.

"Dear, are you ok?"

"Are you alright?"

"You ok?"

"K-Killer, how are you d-doing?"

"Hey punk, you alright?"

"i'm fine." Killer sighed, answering all of their questions at once, and he asked, "you guys ready to get the hell out of here?"

He received nods after a few moments, and saw Chara off to the side, an extremely guilty look on their face. Flowey was looking between them, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there, and Killer sighed again, approaching them.

"hey brat." Killer spoke up, and they looked at him, "don't sweat over it too much. just don't do that crap again or i'll ask horror to do to you what he did to iggy, capiche?" 

Chara shuddered a bit, nodding, "Ok. I'm sorry. I should've known not to talk about-"

"hey, we all make stupid decisions. yours was just idiotic. besides, you know what that other version of you did. you barely did anything but bring memories back." Killer told them.

"... If you're sure... Killer?" Chara asked.

"yeah?" Killer responded.

"I... I still want to make it up to you somehow. I know it wasn't me, but it was still a version of me, so... anything you want me to do, and I'll do it. Any revenge you want that doesn't involve killing or torture, mainly because Frisk would experience it too, you can do, ok?" Chara told him.

Killer thought for a moment, before saying, "i'll give you a raincheck on that."

"Alright..." Chara nodded, and Killer kept walking.

Killer heard the others following behind him, everything tense, and he was on high alert for more robots, since they were in the home stretch if he was remembering the way out of the base correctly. The silence was heavy, no one saying anything, not even Flowey, who would normally want to fill the silence with the sound of his annoying voice. Killer was still subtly placing bombs around, hiding them expertly so no one would see them, and it was sure to go boom now. As Killer rounded a corner, he glanced at them from the corner of his eye sockets, seeing that even Papyrus was tense, and everyone looked uncomfortable. Killer couldn't think of a good way to ease the tension so the silence wasn't suffocating, and took to twirling his knife in his hand as he walked, humming his battle theme under his breath.

Killer may not care about them, but what he did care about was not being bored out of his mind by everyone being on edge. They got to another door, Killer opening it with a lack of caution he'd find himself regretting in a millisecond. Killer saw a laser blast going for Papyrus, who'd moved to stand behind him, and Killer didn't hesitate. Killer jumped in front of him lightning fast, the blast hitting him, and he glared daggers at the assailant, seeing Captain Aldergrave at the end, holding the gun with her uninjured hand.

"Marigold Aldergrave!" Raphael yelled, "Stop this, now! You have been dishonorably discharged, and are under arrest for misuse of power, attempted murder, civilian endangerment, assault with deadly weapons, aggravated assault, and for harming citizens under the protection of the Treaty of Ebott. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in the court of law."

"They signed the damn treaty?!" Former Captain Aldergrave snapped in anger.

"Your actions were a surprising motivator for it's approval." Raphael replied, and she scowled before looking at Killer.

"You! Why the hell don't these work on you?!" She questioned.

"i'm just that good." Killer smirked.

"HUMAN! PLEASE, BEFORE THIS CONTINUES, PLEASE TELL US WHY YOU ARE DOING ALL OF THIS!" Papyrus pleaded.

"You want to know why?! Monsters killed my sibling!" Marigold snapped.

Chara gasped quietly, Killer looking back at them as they shared a thought. There was no frickin' way...

"Our parents hurt us every day! Told us how bad monsters were and thought of us as them, told us we were little monsters and beat us! I was seven when they went to go find help, since our father was the sheriff, so we couldn't reach out to authorities... They didn't return for a long while, and I thought they'd been caught! Turns out they had been! A monster carried their corpse to our village as a taunt, and was heading for me next, before it was fatally wounded and left to die of it's wounds! You monsters killed Chara, and now I'm returning the favor!" Marigold exclaimed.

". . ." Killer burst out laughing, both shocked, surprised, and realizing exactly why she was so familiar.

"What's so funny, monster?!" Marigold asked in anger.

"holy crap... ok, this... oh man, i knew you were familiar! chara wasn't killed by the monsters! they were adopted by them! they sacrificed their soul to let their adopted brother get through the barrier and get your dumb human butt to save you, but he was killed before he got the chance to!" Killer explained, doubling over as he laughed.

"W-What?!... No! You're lying!" Marigold snapped.

Killer glanced over at Chara between snickers, who was looking up at her sadly, and Chara stepped forwards, tears in their eyes.

"Mari... It's me. To prove it to you, I got you a wooden toy horse for your sixth birthday, and you loved it. Your favorite color was blue when I last saw you, because you thought it looked like that lake by our village we would camp at when we got the chance. Your favorite animal was the hawk, and you always loved the rain. You always used to calls me 'Chars', and when I left to find help, I told you to wait for me, and that the code to open the door to my room was two knocks, silence, and then three knocks."

The gun dropped from Marigold's hand, tears in her eyes as she fell to her knees. Chara slowly walked over to her, Flowey wrapping around Killer's arm and attaching to him.

Chara reached her, looking solemn as they said, "It's me, little sister. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you..."

Marigold looked at them before hugging them, crying, and Chara hugged them back.

Everyone was in silence for a while, before Flowey muttered, "They said they wanted to see the golden flowers of their village... I didn't know they meant her..."

"they meant both. they wanted to save her and free the monsters. they just didn't tell you the whole thing." Killer whispered so no one but the weed could hear.

"I wish I'd known..." Flowey mumbled, before asking, "How'd you know?"

"how do you think? they told me." Killer answered, and Flowey nodded a bit.

After a bit more mushy crap Killer didn't pay attention to, they all exited the base, Marigold shutting down the protocol and surrendering to arrest. Everyone else had all agreed not to press charges, saying it was a misunderstanding and that they forgave her, and hoped she could just be dishonorably discharged and not placed into jail or prison for her actions. After all of that, that must have taken hours to give eye witness accounts of what happened, they were on a hill overlooking the abandoned base when Killer remembered the most important part. He teleported back inside, grabbing the detonator from his pocket and pressing the button, dropping it as he teleported back to the others, the base engulfed in an inferno of flames. Killer smirked as he watched his long awaited arson, satisfied with the destruction.

"KILLER!!!!" Everyone exclaimed at once after several moments of shock, and Killer snickered.

"the army probably self destructed it to eliminate evidence or something~" Killer lied.

"OH MY GOD, BROTHER! I CANNOT WITH YOU!" Papyrus groaned, and Killer chuckled.

"I'm telling Dust!" Flowey cackled.

"go ahead~" Killer smirked. He couldn't wait until he was awake again... Killer glanced over at Chara, who still looked upset, and he asked, "what's eating you?"

"I just... I wish things could have been done differently... If I had told her, none of this would have happened... I..." Chara trailed off.

"hey, you did the best you could. that's the thing about new things, you don't know what to do." Killer said as he turned his skull back around to watch the flames. 

He'd thought that was the end of it, but then he heard the familiar sound of a particular button being summoned, and his skull whipped back around to face them.

"One more time... One chance to do everything right..." Chara muttered, looking down at the Reset button hovering in front of them.

"NO!!!!" Killer yelled as they went to press it, grabbing his knife, the blade turning glowing red as it flew into the button, shattering it as everything went black...

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Merging Timelines Chapter Twenty One

Warning! This chapter contains graphic gore, so be warned!!

The kid held up a sign for another freebie, and Papyrus came in, falsely announcing that Undyne was coming, and everyone scrambled to hide the half cooked Aliza from her sight. She went flying from the grill, splatting onto a table and grossing some of the monsters out. Sans teleported next to the table as the monsters scrambled, and he grinned down at her.

"making friends?" Sans asked, right eye socket closed as he stared down at her, grinning wider.

He grabbed her, teleporting her outside and away from Grillby's, using the frenzy inside as a distraction. He dropped her on the snow, her barely alive body falling onto it with a splat, and she stared up, shakily breathing as the snow around her steamed with the heat left over from the oven. 

"talk about dumb luck, passing the forth puzzle. you barely got out by the skin of your teeth." Sans commented, overhearing everyone still panicking back at Grillby's, and she looked at him, letting out a shaking, quivering breath as a response, "hey, c'mon, don't look at me like that. you know i'm just... roasting ya."

Pained tears were welling up in her eyes and falling down either side of her face. She was probably still getting a grip on herself after almost being cooked alive, so Sans let her collect herself. After a minute, the kid pulled herself up, shaking from the effort.

"anyways, paps is waiting at... uh... home. he'll show the, eh... the last... um..." Sans trailed off, looking at her as the scent of half cooked flesh wafted towards him from the wind, "woah, grillby, you cooked her up good-"

A gust of wind hit him in the face, her appearance melting away to reveal a human-shaped blob of orange meat, and his hearing faded out. He could hear voices in the back of his head, easy meal, food, juicy, roast, eat, chew, meat, EAT, food...

"-didn't you." Sans felt the hunger growing in his nonexistent stomach, his body craving food as he felt control over himself starting to wither away, starvation setting in, "oh no."

"Thank you for saving my life, Sans." Aliza said, approaching him, and red flickered across his vision as he took a few steps back, holding a hand up, black goo, which he'd assumed a while ago was drool, dripping from his mouth.

"forget about it. deal's a deal. you gotta get out of- hhn--!!"

Sans doubled over as a sharp pang of agony hit his spine where his stomach would be if he had one, and the black goo flooded his mouth, pouring out of it as he trembled from the pain. He breathed out a curse, trembling and forcing himself to take a few shaky steps back. He crossed his arms, tightly gripping his forearms and attempted to ground himself, but he still felt himself slipping. The hunger was increasing, racing through his mind as he fought to stay in control over himself.

"i'm not hungry. i'm not hungry." Sans repeated to himself, and he heard the kid faintly saying something, "no food here.... i'm not eating a human... i can't..."

Sans wiped some of the drool from his mouth, it sticking to his hand like tar, and his vision flickered red again. His grasp on himself was slipping, leaving only hunger behind as he stared straight ahead. Another loud growl roared from his midsection, his body demanding food, and he couldn't stop himself from giving it what it wanted, now could he? Drool dripped down from his mouth as his vision turned red, and his head whipped to face her, some drool still stuck to his fingers. She turned around, and he pulled his hand away from his mouth, staring after her as he shook. In a flash, he'd teleported behind her, biting her head clean off and feeling the blood rush into his mouth, and it was the best thing he'd tasted in his life...

She turned around, and he pulled his hand away from his mouth, staring after her as he shook, and she turned around right before he planned to teleport. He teleported out of sight, and she turned back around, looking for him. He appeared behind her as she frantically looked around, getting ready to go in for the kill, but she turned around again, and he stopped himself, acting casual.

"on second thought, why don't you stick around for a while. we can shoot the breeze..." The drool leaked from his mouth again, dripping onto the snow as he continued, "chew the fat." She looked at him in terror, hands close to her chest as she looked at him warily, and he said, "it'll be fun."

She looked away from him, closing her eyes and she turned her head away before looking back at him.

"whaddya say?" Sans asked, drool dripping from his mouth as he stared her down.

She turned around, trying to quickly get away from him as fast as she could. He teleported behind her, tightly grabbing her wrist, saying, "nope."

He whipped her around, grabbing her shoulder and forearm with each hand, drool pouring from his mouth as he stared her down... stared his food down... "it's over, kiddo. it's time you help out a starving friend. i've waited seven years for a bite to eat! i'm not waiting a second longer!!"

She frantically grabbed at his wrist as he effortlessly twisted her arm, blood gushing from it as the flesh separated from bone, her bone itself showing, and he prepared to rip her arm from it's socket. 

"order up." Sans grinned in starving anticipation, ripping it off.

Blood splattered out of the flesh, and he dropped the screaming and petrified prey, holding the arm in both hands as he stared at it in awe. Finally, after all these years.... Drool dripped from his mouth as he stared at the flesh, mouth opening to finally, after so long, eat...

"SANS! STOP!!!"

Sans was jolted from his hunger-driven insanity by a hard object colliding with his jaw, his food ripped from his grasp as he was sent flying back, skidding to a stop on the snow. His vision went back to normal, no longer a blood red as his hunger simmered down again, and he couldn't remember what had just happened, his memory a red haze.

Papyrus was saying something, Sans couldn't tell what, and as the ringing in his skull wore off, he heard Papyrus asking, "SANS?"

Sans grumbled, still extremely dazed as he groaned, "oh man, i'm seeing stars here..."

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR FLATTERY, BROTHER! I COME WITH THE MOST TERRIBLE NEWS! THE QUEEN... SHE REALLY IS HERE!" Papyrus told him.

Sans shot up, pulling himself into a sitting position abruptly, staring at his brother in surprise, starting to get stressed.

"you're joking." Sans said, growing nervous.

"I'M NOT!" Papyrus replied.

"where's the kid??" Sans asked.

"W...WELL, SHE'S... SHE'S THERE." Papyrus pointed a bit away at the dismembered, bloody arm laying on the ground.

"wh... what the hell...?!" Sans asked, surprised, "what happened-"

Sans was cut off as he looked down at his own hand, seeing it covered in blood. He sighed, shame pooling in his soul as he realized what he'd done, or at least, tried to do. Was that just what he'd done... or just what was left of her?... No, he didn't taste blood. He must've been stopped just in time, then...

"REST, MY BROTHER. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL RETRIEVE HER." Papyrus told him.

"no, paps, you can't miss rollcall." Sans told him, "the moment that psycho-fish finds you missing, she'll go searching for ya. we can't have her poking around with that kid on the loose." Sans told him.

"I SUPPOSE SO... BUT WHAT WILL WE DO?" Papyrus asked.

"i'll find her... right after i wash my hands." Sans said.

Just looking at the red liquid made him hungry, but he held himself back. He couldn't let himself do that. As tempting as it was to drink every drop and eat every bit of red stained snow, he held himself back. He wouldn't lower himself to that. 

Sans woke up with a yelp, trembling as raw magic built up in his throat again, and he bolted to the trashcan, throwing up yet again from a nightmare. Dust appeared off to the side, looking extremely disturbed, eyelights red and cyan as he shuddered. Killer was against a wall behind Dust, for once looking slightly unsettled, and Horror was off to the side, and when Sans looked up at his face, Horror looked ashamed.

'i never remembered what i did during all that... i mean i could piece it together, but i... damn, i didn't know i was that bad..." Horror muttered.

'hey, don't worry about it, big guy. we can't control the nightmares, so i don't thi-' Killer was cut off by Horror.

'that wasn't what i was getting at, killer! i'm talking about the fact that i can't believe i lost control over myself like that. it's not about the nightmare, it's about knowing what i did.' Horror said.

'dude, you literally went seven years without eating. you were bound to go crazy.' Dust spoke up as Sans vomited again.

'i know, and my hunger's gotten to me before, sure, but never.... at least, i don't think it was ever that bad...' Horror mumbled. 

'yeah, i saw you hungry here, and you were still ok. you just made me eat to calm you down. hey lucky, you should probably keep food on you or something just in case the hunger hits again.' Killer suggested.

'killer, food is the last thing i wanna think about right now...' Sans told him, shaking as he dry heaved.

'fair.' Killer said.

'... i know you just said you didn't want to think about food..... but i'm hungry. could i grab something from the kitchen?' Horror asked.

Sans looked over at him, eyelights dull as he panted a bit, calming down before sighing, "fine..."

Horror approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling, and he gained control over the body. His glowing red eye appeared in his left eye socket, right eye socket hollow, and he pulled himself up, Sans going into the subconscious. Horror sighed quietly before walking over to the bedroom door, creaking it open, and stepping out into the walkway. His eye made a red hue appear on the carpet floor, and he headed past Papyrus's room silently, keeping his steps expertly quiet. He walked down the stairs, past the sleeping Frisk on the couch, and headed to the kitchen, quietly opening the fridge. 

He looked around inside, searching for anything he could eat cold, or that wouldn't take a while to heat up, and he sighed. Most of the fridge was completely filled with honestly poisonous pasta, but he did manage to find a leftover burger in the fridge, and based on the smell, it was still good. He grabbed it, softly closing the fridge as he carefully unwrapped the burger, putting it on a pan and turning on the burner, heating it up while making sure not to burn the bread. After a minute, it was hot enough, so he turned off the oven and grabbed the burger, putting it on a plate.

He heard motion behind him, and turned around to see Frisk sitting up on the couch, watching him.

"You ok?" They asked him, concerned.

"me? yeah, i'm ok. why?" Horror asked.

"I could hear your... whatever the equivalent of your stomach is, growling." Frisk explained, and Killer appeared, sitting on the back of the couch, and Dust was leaning against the side of it. 

"sorry if i woke ya." Horror apologized.

"No, you're ok." Frisk replied.

Horror nodded a bit, and he started eating the burger, tension he didn't know he had bleeding out of him.

After he finished it, he said, "sans had another nightmare from my timeline, so try and uh... i don't know. help him out or whatever next time you see him, ok? it was... it was a bad one."

"I will, thank you for telling me." Frisk replied, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"me? oh hell no. i'm ok on that." Horror replied, before asking, "anything you wanna talk about, kid?"

"No, I don't think so." Frisk replied.

Horror walked over to the couch after putting the plate in the sink, and he sat down on the other spot on the couch. 

"what was it like with chara controlling your body yesterday?" Horror asked them, curious.

"It was... weird. I could still experience everything happening, but I couldn't control it at all." Frisk replied.

"huh, so like how it was with me early on, then..." Horror mused.

"I think so, yeah." Frisk replied. 

Horror went to say something else, but Undyne threw the door open, yelling, "Guys! Queen Toriel just came out of the Ruins!"

"wait, seriously?" Horror asked, and Undyne looked at him, or specifically, his left eye socket.

"Horror?" Undyne asked.

"yup." Horror replied, and asked, "what's she doing out of the ruins?"

"I don't know, I just saw her out my bedroom window!" Undyne replied.

"QUEEN TORIEL?!" Papyrus asked, poking his head out of his bedroom door as he threw it open.

"YES!" Undyne replied.

'... killer, did you prank everyone again?' Dust asked Killer, and Horror turned to look at them both.

'no, i didn't. she probably saw the tv thing mettaton did and came out here.' Killer replied.

"... undyne was toriel covered in paints or bright colors?" Horror asked, looking over at Undyne again.

"... No?..." Undyne replied.

"alright. killer, you're safe for now. i'm gonna grab some sunglasses." Horror said.

"Why?" Undyne asked him.

"sans saw something from my timeline, freaked him out, and he's gonna be in the subconscious for a while. dust and killer don't look remotely uhh... you know. so, i'm the best bet." Horror explained.

"What'd he see?" Undyne asked.

"you don't wanna know." Horror said, and he teleported to Sans's room, grabbing the sunglasses and tape, putting them on, and teleporting back down.

"GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!" Papyrus greeted him.

"morning, paps. you guys ready?" Horror asked.

"Yeah, let's go!" Undyne replied, picking up Frisk and running out.

Horror sighed, following after them, and Papyrus followed him out. Upon getting outside, he saw several monsters all watching Toriel in curiosity, and a crowd was quickly forming.

'do the glasses hide my eye?' Horror asked, Killer appearing across from him, looking him up and down before nodding.

'i don't see it, you should be fine. just watch the brat, make sure they don't get killed, yada yada. otherwise you'll need a lot more than glasses.' Killer answered.

'yeah, then killer will be the most normal looking one, and that says something.' Dust sighed, walking out from behind Killer.

'yeah, that's... yeah...' Horror sighed, and he looked back at Toriel as she spoke up.

"I would like to speak with Frisk, please." Toriel announced, looking around.

"They're right here!" Undyne replied, holding Frisk up from their armpits as everyone cleared a path between her and Toriel.

Undyne walked over to Toriel, putting Frisk down in front of her. Toriel kneeled down, cupping their face gently with her hand, checking them over for injuries before hugging them.

"I am so happy you're alright, my child." Toriel told them, pulling away from the hug with her hands on their shoulders, "Are you alright? Mentally? Are you fed?"

"Yeah, I'm ok. I've made some friends, and I'm ok. I'll probably grab breakfast in a little though before breaking the barrier." Frisk replied.

"My child, you don't have to do this. You don't have to break it. I'm certain everyone will be ok if you stay down here." Toriel reassured.

"No, no I... I need to break the barrier. I want to free everyone. You've all been trapped down here long enough.... you deserve a happy ending..." Frisk said, looking over at Horror as they spoke.

'i don't think we-' Dust started, but was cut off by Killer.

'dust, we've gone through hell. you killed to save everyone out of desperation, i originally started killing for the same reason and then.. well... you know, and horror killed to feed everyone. it's circumstantial for us. we still helped out here. you kept everyone alive during genocide routes, i've helped out with that and with keeping the kid alive, horror helped by making iggy reset and now covering for sans while he freaks out in the subconscious. hell, we even helped figure out what was going on with chara and then i convinced them to end the loop. we pitched in. the rest of these guys are just reaping the benefits.' Killer said.

Dust looked away with a sigh, pulling his hood higher over his skull, casting a shadow over his face, eyelights glowing from within it, 'brat.'

'you say that because you know i have a point.' Killer smirked.

'you two, zip it.' Horror told them, and they quieted down.

"You still don't need to give your life for it..." Toriel told them, tears building in her eyes.

"I won't be. Asgore doesn't need to absorb the souls, they just need to be out, and once they are, we can free everyone. I'll be fine, mom..." Frisk said.

Tears fell from Toriel's eyes at being called that, and she sniffled, nodding her head a little as she said, "If.... If you're certain it'll work. I'll keep Asgore from killing you."

"i'll be helping too." Horror said, and Frisk looked back at him.

"No traumatizing him." Frisk glared at him.

"yeah yeah...." Horror muttered, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Why would he... never mind..." Toriel sighed.

"HOW WOULD YOU DO THAT, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked him.

"... last reset was... interesting." Horror whispered to him.

Undyne picked Frisk up again, putting them on her shoulders as she yelled, "Let's go, dorks! We've got no time to waste!"

After that, everyone headed to New Home, heading for the castle, and Horror was watching Dust and Killer argue next to him. As they walked, more and more monsters joined them, following behind them like a massive parade of monsters, all heading towards their soon to be freedom. Once they got to the Lab, they reunited with Alphys and Mettaton, exchanging greetings, and they kept going. Everyone was in at the walkway where you could see the Core in the distance, almost at their destination, when something... happened.

'i still say it would totally win!' Killer told Dust.

'not a chance! there's a snowball's chance in hell that would happen!' Dust replied.

'you say that now, but i'm telling you, it would win.' Killer said.

'and i'm telling you, you're delusional.' Dust replied.

'not more delusional for you to think that lv hallucination was actually your brother telling you to kill everyone' Killer replied, and Dust tackled him, the two roughhousing on the ground.

Horror sighed, rolling his eye in exasperation as he kept walking. Frisk glanced behind themself, looking back at him, and Horror gave them a look. Frisk frowned in sympathy, and turned around to keep walking, only to get hit by a falling rock from above. The rock knocked them off balance, and sent them falling into the lava below with a scream. Horror dove forward, trying to catch them, maybe even use blue magic, but they were out of his magic range.

RELOAD

Killer yanked Horror out of control the second the Reload happened, cursing under his breath. They'd been around a corner with most of the civilians having not rounded it yet, with just himself, Frisk, Papyrus, and Undyne next to him, Toriel in front of him so she hadn't seen what happened. Papyrus was on his left, a bit behind him, and Undyne was next to him, 

"BROTHER?" Papyrus asked him as he forced his soul to hide in his ribcage, despite it being uncomfortable.

"Wait, was that-?!" Undyne started.

"yup..." Killer sighed, and Toriel turned around.

"Sans? Were you not just wearing different clothes a moment ago?" Toriel asked in confusion.

"yeah, i uh... i was. just umm... uh..." Killer trailed off, trying to think of a pun, but before he could, Undyne said something.

"He was just showing me this cool trick he learned with his magic, no biggie!" Undyne spoke up, slapping him on the back friendlily.

"Oh, I see. Well, it's a very useful trick, I must say!" Toriel smiled, turning back around.

"a rock, kid? seriously?" Killer asked Frisk, and they groaned.

"I don't wanna talk about it..." Frisk muttered, and Killer chuckled.

'almost as bad as you watching my little pony.' Dust spoke up, appearing next to him.

'almost as bad as getting killed by a froggit.' Killer smirked, and Dust and Horror both laughed.

'seriously, how can you watch that but not know basics about friendship?' Dust asked him.

'... really?' Killer asked, giving him a flat look, and Dust snickered. 

'sorry.' Dust apologized, though he was still smirking slightly.

Papyrus looked where Killer was looking, and gave him a curious look.

"dust." Killer whispered, and Papyrus nodded, understanding their dynamic.

'seriously, of all times and of all ways....' Horror sighed, appearing in front of him and rolling his eye.

'hey, at least your appearance is here now. i wonder what would happen if they died again, because as of right now, we're all caught up on sync ups...' Killer mused.

'how about we don't test it and never attempt to test it? better yet, why don't we wrap the brat in bubble wrap for eternity?' Dust suggested.

'no fun...' Killer complained.

After more walking, they were finally back where they'd been the first time, Killer summoning a sharp bone and stabbing through the rock before it could hit Frisk, scattering it into harmless pebbles. Everyone else looked at it in surprise and confusion, before shrugging it off and continuing the journey. Once they got to the castle, the majority of monsters stayed outside, just the Killer, Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel, and Alphys heading inside. They walked into the castle, traveling through the hallways and Killer got the feeling they were being watched. He looked around, keeping an eye out for anything that moved, and he narrowed his eye sockets as something caught his attention. It wasn't someone, but he could feel his magic pulling him in a direction. 

"you guys wait here. i wanna check something out really quick." Killer said, and he teleported off and to a house that looked just like Toriel's without waiting for a response.

'the hell is that feeling?' Horror asked, walking next to him and looking at him curiously.

'something important.' Killer replied, teleporting into a bedroom where there was two gift boxes on the floor.

Killer could feel his magic pulling him; leading him to the object he could sense based on the connection his soul had made to it. He followed the pull, kneeling down to open the box it led him to, and his prized possession glinted up at him.

'wait, is that...' Dust asked.

'the true knife. chara gave it to me in my timeline. my magic's got this... bond with it. i've actually kinda missed this thing.' Killer replied, putting the knife into his pocket and teleporting back to the others.

"WHAT WAS IT, BROTHER?" Papyrus asked him.

"nothing much. just uh... thought i saw someone, that's all. no one was there." Killer replied, and Papyrus nodded, buying the lie.

'i can't believe you just grabbed that damn thing. sans is gonna be pissed.' Dust muttered, appearing next to him.

'if he finds out. keep a secret for me?' Killer asked with a smirk, and Dust groaned.

'let him keep it. something tells me it won't be easy getting out of here.' Horror told Dust, and Dust sighed.

'fine. no killing anyone.' Dust instructed.

'i won't, don't worry, boss.' Killer reassured him.

Dust groaned, muttering curses and obscenities for a reason only he and Killer knew, and Killer bit back a chuckle. 

"Stay close to me, my child." Toriel instructed as they passed through Judgement Hall, and she pulled Frisk closer to herself.

Killer remembered all of the battles that had transpired here; all the deaths, be them his own or Chara's. He could remember dodging knife slashes and countering with bones, blue magic, and blue magic, only to be killed again and again, over and over, no matter what he did. At least, until he agreed to Chara's offer, and after that everything changed, but he couldn't help but remember all of the battles that existed in these halls. Especially given he had a scar across his ribcage, an effect of Determination on his body.

He had a feeling his roommates had the same scar, and he also had a feeling he didn't need to ask to know he was correct. They neared the throne room, and Killer knew that past this point, things could escalate very easily and in unexpected ways. After walking through the corridor, they went through the door on the left, heading through the hallway to Asgore's throne room.

"i'll head in first." Killer said, walking in front of them as he opened the door, expecting to see Asgore inside, but he saw no one, "what the hell?.."

'isn't he usually in here?' Dust asked.

'yeah, which is why i'm confused.' Killer replied.

Killer looked around, his hand going into the pocket with his knife as he searched around, on edge.

"Sans?" Frisk called out.

"asgore's not in here. i'm looking around." Killer replied, looking for any movement.

"PERHAPS HE'S AT THE BARRIER ALREADY, WAITING FOR FRISK?" Papyrus asked.

"maybe..." Killer muttered, taking his hand out of his pocket, and waving the others in.

They entered, and Killer headed through the door to the hallway. He could feel something about to happen, but he wasn't sure what. It was a form of dangerous anticipation, but instead of feeling uneasy or dreadful, he felt excited, filled with anticipation of a potential fight. Sans appeared in front of him, looking at him in confusion.

'took you long enough. welcome back, lucky.' Killer greeted.

'you doing ok?' Dust asked.

'yeah, i'm... i'm ok.' Sans replied, looking on edge, 'what'd i miss?'

'frisk got killed by a rock, horror's appearance transfers over now, and we're almost out of the underground.' Dust recapped.

'thanks.' Sans thanked him.

"I-Is it j-just me, or is s-something r-really wr-wrong here?..." Alphys asked after a moment.

"you too, huh?" Killer asked, turning around to look at her, and she nodded. 

"What do you think's going on, because I feel it too..." Undyne asked, and Killer neared the final door, Frisk beside him and Saving at the Save Star.

Killer shrugged.

"I HOPE EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT..." Papyrus muttered.

"So do I, child..." Toriel agreed.

Killer peeked inside, Dust and Horror on the other side of the door. Killer's eye sockets widened in surprise, and his left hand immediately shot into his pocket with the knife, gripping the handle tightly.

"What is it?" Frisk asked, but something was off about their voice, something he recognized instantly.

Killer looked behind himself to see their eyes open, Chara taking control and looking at him warily. They probably recognized his behavior based on what they saw of his timeline, and knew something was up.

"What is it?" Chara asked him seriously.

"i.... don't really know." Killer replied, looking back in after hearing a familiar, yet more distorted than usual, laugh, "wait, is that..."

'that stupid weed!' Dust snapped, eyelights lighting up red and cyan, a purple flame engulfing his left eyelight.

'what the hell is he thinking?...' Horror muttered, 'is he thinking?!'

Killer looked back into the area, seeing the mass of vines, pipes, the TV screen and the weird mouth under the TV, along with the four eyes and two vinelike legs. Broken Determination dripped from Killer's eye sockets, softly hitting the floor as he repressed a grin, growing excited at the prospect of a new fight. Asgore was laying inside the area, unconscious and beaten up, and Killer's eye sockets narrowed as his excitement was slightly brought down. Great, rescue mission too. That took the fun out of things.

"dust, can you copy his attacks?" Killer whispered to him. 

'i... i don't think so... i never fought flowey like this, much less killed him....' Dust replied.

"damn..." Killer sighed.

"BROTHER?" Papyrus asked him.

Killer turned around to look at them, all of them confused and concerned.

"you guys, stay the hell out here. i need to help asgore with an uhhh.... weed problem, and i don't mean marijuana. ok?" Killer requested.

"What happened?" Chara asked him.

"flowey absorbed the human souls and kicked asgore's fluffy butt into next week. so, i get to have some fun." Killer replied, and everyone gasped.

"WHY WOULD FLOWEY DO SUCH A THING?" Papyrus asked.

"How is that fun to you?" Toriel asked.

"well-" Killer was cut off by a vine slamming into him and into his ribcage as the wall burst open, and Killer had a feeling his HP went down a decent amount, as he'd heard his bones crack from the impact of the vine and of the wall he was slammed against, "damnit!!"

He could feel his ribs fracture and possibly break upon impact, and he felt his black blood coming out of his ribs, his turtleneck growing wet and sticky, and if his turtleneck wasn't already black, it definitely would be now.

"KILLER!" Undyne, Chara, Alphys, and Papyrus shouted, while Toriel shouted "SANS!" before looking at the other four in confusion.

"Why did you call him 'Killer'?" Toriel asked them with audible confusion.

"Long story short, the Underground has been in a time loop for a while, and each time it starts over, there's a chance our timeline can intersect with another one, and the Sanses from those timelines are being transferred here... through Sans. They can see and hear each other and can take over the body whenever they want. There's three of them so far, Killer, Dust, and Horror. That's Killer." Chara summed up quickly.

"Oh my..." Toriel said, looking at him in surprise as he pulled himself away from the wall.

Killer's legs shook slightly before he steadied himself, and he gritted his teeth in anger, soul prying itself from his broken ribcage as he glared through the hole in the wall. Now he was pissed. 

"Killer, here!" Chara yelled, throwing a piece of Butterscotch pie to him, and he hesitated slightly before eating it.

He felt his ribcage mend itself, and he gripped the knife in his pocket again, before looking over at Dust, "dust, i need a plan."

'piss him off, and let me see his attacks to i can get an idea of his attack patterns. dodge them, taunt him, but first, get asgore the hell out of there.' Dust instructed.

Killer nodded, using blue magic on Asgore's soul, and pulling him out of the area rougher than he intended. Undyne bolted behind him, catching the king, and Killer stretched, popping his vertebrae and knuckles, bouncing on his feet a bit.

"when you say piss him off.... how much do you mean? just for clarification, because i'm an expert gaslighter in fights." Killer asked, looking over at Dust.

"He's not kidding..." Chara sighed. 

'... as much as you want.' Dust told him, and Killer grinned, the smile spreading across his face.

"you're the best, boss." Killer grinned at him, and Dust sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He bolted into the area, gone in a flash, jumping into the air and withdrawing his knife from his pocket, the whole blade glowing red as he slashed it at incoming vines. An explosive red streak shooting across the area, turning every single vine it hit into confetti. Killer landed on the ground in a crouch, grinning as Flowey glared at him.

"somebody call the gardener?~" Killer asked, smirking. 

"Get lost, Killer!!" Flowey snapped. 

"nah, i'm good! you got any veggies i can dice up? i could go for some salsa. what about you, horror?~" Killer looked to his left where Horror appeared, chuckling.

'yeah, i'm down.' Horror chuckled.

'dust, you watching?' Killer asked, looking around to see Sans next to everyone else, who was watching from the door next to the others, and their jaws were all dropped, and he saw Dust higher up, perched on a few bones to watch.

"No I don't have any damn veggies!!" Flowey shrieked.

'killer, where the hell did you get a knife?' Sans asked after a moment, and Killer chuckled.

Flowey sent bullets and more vines at him, covered in massive razor sharp thorns, and Killer dodged them, jumping on the spaces between the thorns easily, purposefully doing aerial tricks to piss Flowey off. Killer skidded to a stop on the ground, rapidly slashing his knife multiple times to send multiple slash attacks at him, dicing the vines into ribbons.

"you sure?~ oh well, suppose we'll have to settle for a salad, horror. maybe a caesar salad... i'll even stab him twenty three times to drive the point home..." Killer smirked.

"Chara!!! I know that's you!! Call off your stupid pet!!!" Flowey snapped, and Killer froze, face blank as he stared at Flowey, who actually tensed.

Killer heard Toriel saying something, but he didn't pay attention to what she said.

"w h a t  d i d  y o u  j u s t  c a l l  m e ?" Killer asked, his tone lethal, and Flowey realized his mistake a bit too late as Killer grew serious.

Killer's soul twisted as he felt rage surge through him, anger like he hadn't felt in a long time surfacing. It raced through him like an inferno, and he narrowed his eye sockets, bright red pinpricks in them as Broken Determination raced down his cheekbones. He was pissed. 

'uh oh.'

'flowey, you did not just say that...'

'... killer.' Dust said warningly.

Killer summoned his Gaster Blaster, firing it at Flowey, hitting him dead on, and as the blast cleared, he lunged forward. He slashed at him multiple times midair and sent hundreds of razor sharp bones at him. Flowey barely brought up vines in time to block the slashes, sending multiple bombs back at Killer. Killer leapt out of the way, jumping high into the air, slashing at him multiple times before teleporting out of the way, slicing into the TV as he landed on top of it. Flowey managed to grab him with a vine, flinging him off and into a wall before falling to the ground.

He lifted his head up to glare at Flowey, jaw clenched and soul in burning anger. He pulled himself up, summoning another Gaster Blaster and firing it at Flowey, and Flowey shot out multiple bombs, the bombs colliding with the blast and causing a massive explosion. The ground shook from the explosion, and Killer steadied himself so he wouldn't fall over. Killer glared at him through the smoke, realizing too late his knife was still lodged in the top of the TV, which was being covered in several vines.

Killer dodged multiple vines, outrunning them as they shot at him one after another, and he looked back up at Dust, yelling, "dust, please tell me you have a damn plan!!"

'horror! get in there and slice through those vines with your axe, get killer his knife back! i have an idea!' Dust called out.

'on it!' Horror replied, appearing next to Killer and grabbing his shoulder, pulling him out of control.

He heard a horrified gasp from Toriel and he sighed, looking over at Flowey's surprised expression.

"So, you're the new one, huh? Horror, right?" Flowey asked.

"yeah, that's me." Horror replied.

He opened his left hand and closing it around a bone that formed, said bone forming into a large axe, the blade falling to the ground as it was summoned, creating a large crack in the ground. He lifted it back up, holding it against his shoulders, smirking sharply as he teleported. He extended a large, sharp bone out of the wall, teleporting onto it and jumping off as he lunged at Flowey, swinging his axe straight into the vines on the top of the TV, and Flowey lashed out against him with multiple other vines. Horror summoned multiple large, sharp and bloody bones out of the ground, impaling through the vines, rendering them unable to move, and he heard something coming from behind him.

He summoned multiple sharp bones, pinning the vine down onto the ground, and he tore his axe out of the mess of vines, slashing at it again, but the vines wrapped around it. Horror let it vanish, summoning it again, and bringing it down on the vines, making a gap before trying to pry them apart with his fingers to reach for it. Flowey shook, thrashing around, and Horror had to dig in his sharp fingertips to stay on top of the TV.

"dust! this isn't working!" Horror called out to him. 

'just light the stupid weed on fire!' Killer called out, appearing across from Horror, looking over at Dust.

'... that's actually not a bad idea.' Dust muttered, appearing next to Horror.

Dust grabbed his hood, pulling on it as he took control, the bones Horror made vanishing. He jumped off of Flowey as flies swarmed him from this venus flytrap looking thing, and Dust skidded to a stop on the ground. His scarf whipped behind him as the explosion boomed through the area, and he narrowed his eye sockets, both of his hands engulfed in purple flames. Dust looked to his left, seeing the other three appear next to him.

"alright, new plan. i'll set him on fire and work on getting the knife back. killer, once i get ut back, i need you to slash through the vines when they come at us, and lunge at the TV, that's gotta be a weak point. horror, while killer's lunging, take control and use your axe. sans, watch for stray attacks so we know if i need to bring up a bone wall to protect the others. got it?" Dust asked.

'roger that.' Killer replied, Sans vanishing to teleport to the others, and Horror nodding.

Dust made a large horizontal bone shoot out of the ground under him, flinging him up into the air as he summoned multiple massive Gaster Blasters, shooting infernos of purple fire at Flowey, who shrieked from the flames, glaring up at him dangerously. Dust made a bone stick out of the wall, perching on it as he summoned several more Gaster Blasters in a clockwise wheel around Flowey, before making a counterclockwise one to up the difficultly. Dust leapt off of the bone as Flowey sent bombs in his direction, screeching in rage.

'dust! bombs over here!' Sans called out, and Dust brought up a bone wall in front of the others to block them, briefly seeing their shocked expressions beforehand.

They'd looked... a mix of terrified, in awe, and flabbergasted. Dust landed on the ground again, summoning multiple yellow tridents behind him, sending them at Flowey, aiming for the vines on top of the TV, but they shot over it.

"HA! YOU MIS-!!!" Flowey taunted, only for the tridents to turn around midair and stab into him.

"did i?" Dust asked with a small smirk, teleporting onto the TV, fire shooting from his hands and into the vines, burning away at them.

He reached through a gap in the vines, grabbing the knife and teleporting to the ground. Flowey looked at him in anger, shooting multiple vines at him. 

"killer, you're up!" Dust called out.

Killer took control, leaping over the vines as they stabbed into the ground, slashing his knife and sending the bright red attacks at the vines, turning them into shreds as he landed on the ground again. Flowey sent multiple bombs at him, and he lunged at Flowey, using the explosion on the ground as a propulsion to get closer to Flowey.

"horror!" Killer yelled.

Horror took control midair, summoning his axe and throwing it into the TV screen, Flowey shrieking in absolute fury, the screen cracked and broken. Killer took control back, teleporting to the ground. Flowey sent an army of vines at Killer, who ran away from them full speed as they hit the ground behind him, slashing at Flowey multiple times, but all of the slashes were blocked.

"how much damn def does he have?! even without blocking the attacks i should still be able to do something..." Killer asked in irritation as Flowey laughed maniacally.

'too much! aim your gaster blaster at his mouth, shut him up!' Dust instructed, and Killer nodded.

Killer summoned his Gaster Blaster, shooting it at the mouth, which was blocked as it was met with another blast from Flowey's mouth, neutralizing it. Flowey sent countless bullets and bombs at him, and Killer dodged them all, but a second blast shot from Flowey's mouth hit him directly. He grunted as he was blasted into the wall, and a vine wrapped tightly around him, thorns digging into his bones and tearing into his clothes. Killer glared at him as he was lifted up and pulled closer to Flowey, Killer summoning another Gaster Blaster and firing it straight at the his mouth. Flowey recoiled, but instead of dropping him, Flowey flung Killer into the wall between him and the others, or, more accurately, through the wall.

"KILLER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Papyrus asked him, concerned as he helped him up, Killer barely resisting the urge to shrug him off.

"yeah... yeah, i'm fine..." Killer replied.

Killer glared daggers at Flowey through the hole, grabbing his knife from off the ground next to him. Killer was preparing to lunge at Flowey again, but Chara stopped him, grabbing his shoulder. He turned to glare dangerously at them, gripping his knife tighter as they spoke.

"Hang on, let me try something. You guys aren't getting anywhere trying to hurt him. I think I know what to do..." Chara said.

Killer scoffed, and he'd be rolling his eyelights if he had them.

'killer, it's worth a try...' Sans told him.

"shut it, lucky..." Killer muttered; Flowey still had him pissed off.

'killer, let them try talking. when it doesn't work, we can go all out, exchanging control after using our strongest attacks, ok?' Dust told him.

Killer sighed, shoulders slumping as he listened to Dust, "fine..."

"Thank you." Chara thanked him, and they started walking over to Flowey. 

"Be careful, my child!" Toriel advised. 

Flowey saw Chara, and he glared at them, sending vines towards them. Horror took control, teleporting in front of Chara, deflecting the vines with his axe.

"never would've thought i'd be protecting a human from getting killed by flowey, of anyone..." Horror muttered.

'why?' Killer asked.

'he protects them from me in my timeline. granted he's never successful, but still...' Horror replied.

'i didn't think he had it in him...' Sans said.

'neither did i. always pisses me off.' Horror sighed. 

"Flowey, stop! I don't want to fight you!" Chara called out to him.

"No! I won't let you leave! I won't let you leave me here!" Flowey snapped at them.

"Is that what this is about?!" Chara asked, "We can take you with us! You don't have to stay down here!"

"No!" Flowey snapped again, sending bombs, and Horror brought up a barricade of razor sharp bones, blocking the attack.

"Why not?!" Chara asked him.

"Because I can't! I can't leave the Underground!" Flowey answered.

'couldn't we just pick him or something and put him into a pot?' Killer asked.

"couldn't we just pick you and put you into a pot or something?" Horror repeated Killer's question.

"NO!" Flowey shrieked.

Horror sighed, rolling his eyelight.

"Souls, listen... If you can hear me, I... I need your help." Chara changed their tactic, "I need you to help me end this loop, this cycle. Please, help me put an end to this. Help me help Flowey. Help me put you at rest, please..."

'there's no way in hell that's gonna work...' Dust muttered.

'you have any better ideas?' Sans asked him, and Dust didn't respond. 

Flowey sent more bullets and projectiles at them both, and Horror spun his axe rapidly in a circle, blocking the attacks before throwing the axe into the flytrap, embedding deep into it. Flowey glared at him, a flamethrower forming on his other... arm? Whatever the large vine with claws was. Horror decidedly ignored Killer's excited gasp at the flames. Dust took control, bringing up a wall of fire around them both, the purple flames blocking Flowey's, and he narrowed his eye sockets in concentration to keep the flames strong. 

"Please! We need your help!" Chara called out again, and Flowey sent more projectiles and attacks, trying to overwhelm Dust, and Dust narrowed his eye sockets.

He brought up a wall of bones, fire, tridents, spears, and Gaster Blasters, using everything he had for a massive shield around the two of them, and another one in front of everyone else. The attacks hit, and Dust staggered a bit, forcing his attacks to stay up and block any more attacks, which quickly followed. Dust kept making more bones, fire, spears, anything he could use to deflect the attacks, and Chara called out for help between the explosions. This kept going for a few minutes, until suddenly, Flowey shrieked out.

"The souls...? What are they doing?" Flowey asked, and Dust could feel a powerful surge of magic, followed by it rapidly receding, "NO!! NO!!!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!! STOP!!! STOP IT!!!!! STOOOOPPPP!!!!!"

A massive explosion rang out through the area, and Dust's defenses crashed down. Dust and Chara were sent flying back. Dust hit the wall, wincing slightly, and Toriel caught Chara.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus called out, running over to help him up.

"i'm fine..." Dust muttered, and Papyrus pulled him up, keeping him steady.

"Dude! That was insane!!!" Undyne yelled.

"I... I d-didn't k-know that was e-even p-possible..." Alphys said.

"the souls?..." Dust asked.

"Th-That and y-your at-attacks..." Alphys said.

"oh... right.." Dust looked off to the side, and Toriel looked over at him.

"How were you able to do that?..." Toriel asked him after a moment.

"umm..." Dust trailed off, hesitant, before looking into the room as the smoke inside cleared, his eye sockets widening in shock.

'holy fu-!'

'is that?....'

'oh my god..... holy shi-!'

The barrier.... it was gone...

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Thirteen

Undyne put Killer on the couch, and when he tried getting up, she pushed him back down with her foot, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Killer sighed, frowning and crossing his arms in a pout, looking off to the side. Papyrus was to the right of Undyne, standing a few steps back from her, his arms crossed, and he seemed to be irritated and exasperated, or maybe something else. Killer wasn't good at seeing complex emotions on someone's face. Skyler was to the right of Papyrus, a similar look on their face to Papyrus, and Alphys was behind Skyler. 

"can i at least get more comfo-"

"No. Start talking. Why would you help prank the Underground?! I mean sure, if they were harmless, no problems there, but do you even know what pranks were used?!" Undyne cut him off.

"well, captain mettaton broadcast it across the underground this morning." Killer replied, a corner of his mouth pulling up in a slight smirk.

Undyne's eye twitched.

"This isn't a time for jokes, you're lucky I'm not dragging you to Asgore myself and letting him deal with you!" Undyne snapped.

"then why aren't you?" Killer questioned.

"Because you're my friend, you numbskull! I wanna know why you did what you did before just taking you to get punished. I don't know why you would do something like this, or why you would help in it, but you must have had some good reason, right?" Undyne asked.

'does 'i was bored and it was fun' count as a good reason?' 

'nope. not even a little.' Dust answered.

'yeah, i'm with dust here.' Sans agreed.

'i mean you coulda done worse...' Horror mentioned.

'i don't think i even want to know what you count as worse.' Sans said.

'stringing up intestines as garland. best part was that in hotland, they were cooked after a while, so everyone got to eat them to clean them up.' Horror explained.

'. . .'

'. . .'

'. . .'

'i like you.' Killer told him.

'can't say the same goes to you.' Horror replied.

'ouch, i'm so wounded~' Killer snickered internally.

'do not start fighting again, i swear-'

"Sans!" Undyne jolted Killer out of the conversation in his mind, "Please, come on! Tell me you had a damn good reason!"

"I think he was just tired, Undyne... He p-probably still is if he doesn't have the e-energy to make e-eyelights..." Alphys said quietly.

"Yeah... Speaking of, can you please summon them? They're creeping me out!" Undyne requested.

"keep my eye sockets empty? ok." Killer smirked.

'why don't you have eyelights anyways?' Horror asked.

'something with my magic i think.' Killer answered, 'why's your eyelight red?'

'mine got stolen so i stole this one from someone i killed.'

'. . .'

'. . .'

'. . . what the fu-?!'

"-ANS, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME RIGHT NOW?!" Undyne snapped, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

". . . sorry, what were you saying?" Killer questioned.

". . . You seriously need sleep if you're zoning out that much, space cadet..." Undyne sighed.

"Can I try talking to him? I might be able to get him to sleep for a little while?" Skyler offered.

"Skyler, you probably have enough going on as it is, you don't need to worry about this idiot too..." Undyne told them, and Killer was confused.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, UNDYNE?" Papyrus asked, and it seemed like Killer wasn't the only one.

"yeah, what do you mean?" Killer questioned.

"I'm not stupid, Sans. Kid shows up, hiding their face and where they're from, staying with you and sticking to you like glue... There's nowhere called 'Around', at least, not in the Underground. Me and Alphys were researching it last night just to double check. It's obvious they have a bad home life and you're helping them out, which I respect, truly, I do, and I understand why you would wanna be tight-lipped on the whole thing, but you don't need to be. I get you're probably stressing yourself out over this, making yourself stay awake from stress, but... this has gotta stop before someone gets hurt..." Undyne explained.

'wait, that's what she thinks is going on?' Sans asked. 

'i guess. i mean it works for us; she just created a cover story for us.' Killer shrugged.

"Undyne, that's not-" Skyler started, but Undyne cut them off.

"Skyler, stop." Undyne took her foot off of Killer's chest, kneeling down in front of the kid, "I wanna help, ok? I won't tell anyone you're here if they ask about you. You're safe here, ok?"

"INDEED! I WISH I HAD KNOWN AS WELL, BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE DONE MY PART, AS A ROYAL GUARD IN TRAINING, TO ENSURE YOU WERE SAFE! THE ROYAL GUARD'S DUTIES ARE TO PROTECT THE KING AND THE CITIZENS OF THE UNDERGROUND, AND I WOULD GLADLY DO ONE OF THOSE THINGS BY HELPING YOU! MY BROTHER HAS HELPED YOU OUT A GREAT DEAL, WHICH I COMMEND YOU FOR, BROTHER, THOUGH I DO WISH YOU WOULD HELP YOURSELF AS WELL, BUT I CAN HELP YOU TOO!" Papyrus reassured.

"It's not-" Skyler started.

"you heard 'em, kid. it's a safe space. no need to lie." Killer told them, and they sighed.

'as you're literally lying right now.' Dust sighed. 

'what they don't know won't hurt them.' Killer responded.

'. . . he's not wrong.' Sans admitted.

'and i hate that.' Dust muttered. 

'you hate a lot.' Killer pointed out.

'i don't hate a lot. i hate you a lot. not as much as i used to, but i still don't like you. i hate the human of my world, but otherwise i'm a chill guy.'

"Just... Undyne, can I try talking to him? Maybe I can get him to get some rest?" Skyler requested.

". . . Fine." Undyne sighed.

"Thank you." Skyler replied, grateful, and they grabbed Killer's hand, pulling him up the stairs to his room, which Killer teleported them into.

"i'm still not sleeping." Killer told them, sitting on the bed, his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest.

"I figured as much... Why did you prank everyone like that?" Skyler questioned.

"i thought it'd be funny?" Killer replied, "which it was."

"Monsters got hurt from that, Killer. Some of those pranks were unnecessarily cruel..." Skyler told him.

"so? it's not like they'll remember anything after you reset." Killer shrugged.

"That isn't the point!" Skyler snapped, surprising Killer a bit, "The point is that not only was it wrong, but there's no way to explain that."

"could say i was possessed?" Killer shrugged, "which i mean, it's technically true. i'm basically possessing lucky's body right now."

"And what? Have everyone do an exorcism?" Skyler asked, and Killer snorted, "This is serious, Killer. There's consequences here, and you need to understand that."

"for now there's consequences. until everything falls apart and gets reset again, and until you get control again, however long that takes, there won't be anything." Killer responded.

"That! That right there is your problem. You're so completely unused to being held accountable for your actions, that you can't possibly comprehend the fact that what you do does matter. I know you've seen it. The ways everyone looks at you when you don't have eyelights... They're unnerved and uneasy." Skyler pointed out.

'they're right. they used to be like that for dust too...' Sans mentioned.

"yeah, and everyone used to do that when they saw dust's. why the change?" Killer asked.

"Think about it. The first timeline Dust had control was with Karter, right?" Skyler questioned.

"yeah?... they were unnerved when they saw his eyelights." Killer verified.

"have they been at all this timeline?" Skyler asked.

"no? not that i saw. dust, lucky?" Killer questioned, "you guys notice anything?"

'they didn't freak out when they saw his eyelights this time. sure, they weren't exactly calm but they weren't negatively surprised. just... surprised.' Sans replied.

'yeah, i didn't notice them freak out this timeline either...'

"they said notta. papyrus and undyne weren't negatively surprised when they saw his eyelights earlier, last timeline they didn't react the... same..." Killer trailed off, going silent for a moment before realizing, "something changed." Killer got off the bed, pacing back and forth in front of it, his hands in his pockets as he said, "something actually changed.

"Exactly. I think it's because of what Dust did the last timeline. I think they're not associating his eyelights with danger anymore because he saved them." Skyler hypothesized, "But the point is there seem to be consequences. Meaning this might not be as inconsequential as you think..."

". . . huh." Was Killer's response, no longer pacing, instead just looking over at them.

'huh? really? you just found out that there was some consequences here, and that things we do actually matter, and your response to that is, 'huh'?' Dust questioned, appearing behind Skyler, leaning against the wall.

'yeah?' Killer replied, and Dust facepalmed.

'you're an idiot...' Sans sighed.

'me? you weren't exactly taking consequences into consideration last time, lucks. you left me and dust unsupervised yesterday.' Killer pointed out, 'you wanna talk about consequences, and yet you weren't considering what could've happened while you were gone.'

'. . .'

'he's... actually got a point. we didn't even hear a peep from you. what was happening in there, anyways?' Dust asked.

'. . .'

'. . . it happened again, didn't it?' Dust questioned.

'. . .'

'damnit, sans! that's the second time now it's happened and you haven't asked us for help!' Dust scolded.

'second time what's happened?' Horror asked.

'lucky dissociates and sees a version of the chara of my timeline. they uh... mess with him. it's a whole thing.' Killer sighed.

"What's going on in there?" Skyler questioned.

"lucky dissociated again while me and dust were with you at undyne's. and he didn't tell us so that one of us could try helping." Killer explained, "oh yeah, and he didn't consider the consequences of that yesterday either, because he left us unsupervised too."

"Really?" Skyler was surprised and concerned, "Is he ok?"

'i'm fine.'

"he says 'i'm fine', which is probably a massive lie." Killer replied.

"It usually is..." Skyler sighed, "Sans, you know you can talk to them, right? Or me, while I'm here. Riley and Frisk are good options, too."

'i know, i know. i just-'

"nuh uh. get your coccyx out here and talk to them. i'm not reciting any speeches you say if you say a lot like when you went off on the three of us earlier." Killer told him. 

"Wait, what happened?" Skyler asked.

"horror had a bad reaction to dust after what flowey said before dust killed him. lucky went off while we were arguing." Killer summed up.

"Horror?" Skyler questioned.

"new guy. got brought over during the reloads." Killer explained, and Skyler winced a bit.

"Sorry..." Skyler apologized.

"it's fine. was fun in a way, seeing him go off like that. not that i want him to do it again, i mean he ripped all of us a new one, but still." Killer told them, "also seriously lucky, get out here."

Sans appeared next to him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him out of control over the body as Sans took over. 

Sans looked down at his hands, clenching his fingers a bit to make sure he had control back, looking around the room as his eyelights reappeared, his gaze finally settling back on Skyler.

"Sans?" Skyler asked.

"yeah, it's me." Sans nodded.

"Good... Why didn't you tell them you dissociated? How bad was the episode?" Skyler questioned.

"i just.... i don't know, i wanted to handle it, and it wasn't that bad..." Sans replied, but it had been... 

"You sure about that?" Skyler asked, "I don't think you were telling the truth about at least one of those things..."

"i thought i was the expression guy." Sans joked.

"You don't need to be a master of reading expressions to be able to tell when someone's not ok as they say they are... So please, tell the truth?" Skyler requested.

". . . i didn't say anything because i couldn't. i just... froze. and then i was.... you know... i remembered your breathing thing when i realized what was going on, but... i don't want to talk about what happened before that..." Sans admitted.

'so it wasn't because you didn't want our help?' Dust asked.

'what? no, of course not! i mean, i don't want you guys to have to burden yourselves with thi-' Dust cut Sans off.

'we aren't burdening ourselves with anything. we're trying to help you. at least, i am. killer is too, actually...' Dust told him.

'yeah, i don't want to deal with that crap either.' Killer agreed.

'. . . heh. you went from being neutral about this to wanting to stop it. you can try twisting it however you want, but you actually want to help... thank you...'

'eh, don't mention it.' Killer shrugged, appearing to Dust's right, the skeleton glancing at him for a moment before looking away.

"You don't have to." Skyler reassured, "Just... will you at least tell me why you didn't consider what could happen leaving Dust and Killer alone? From what I heard they don't exactly get along..."

"i don't know, i just didn't. i was upset because they thought you were manipulating me and that the brainwashing from killer's timeline was messing with me, and just left to cool down." Sans replied.

'brainwashing?' Horror asked.

'. . . my timeline was... eventful.' Killer understated.

'understatement of the damn year...' Sans muttered mentally.

'yeah...' Dust sighed.

"I wouldn't do that to you, I was trying to he-"

"i know, relax, kiddo. that was just them being paranoid. i know you wouldn't do that." Sans reassured, sitting down on his mattress, back against the wall and arms crossed over his chest, "i know you wouldn't do anything, they just uh... have some trust issues."

'some reasonable trust issues. especially with the current situation.' Dust muttered.

"i'm still fine, dust. i knew they wouldn't do anything." Sans mumbled.

'riiiiight. how'd you know?'

'i know when someone's genuinely trying to help, killer.' Sans sighed.

'never said you didn't. thing is, though, is that you aren't an accurate judge of their character anymore. we're all pretty biased here, honestly, but the difference is we know that, and you don't.' 

'what do you mean 'i'm not an accurate judge of their character anymore'?' Sans questioned, a bit offended.

'you can tell when someone's killed, if they're going to kill, etc., but you can't tell if someone is being genuine towards you. i can sense your emotions, sans. you trust them too much to not have any ulterior intentions towards you.' Dust said.

'right, because someone who's had bad intentions here towards me without killing someone first has shown up.' Sans rolled his eyelights.

'i might not know a lot about all this, and i still hate them and want to throw them down into hell, but they have a point. you trust that brat too much for your own good.' Horror spoke up.

"i still think you're all paranoid." Sans muttered.

'because you trust the human more than us? more than me, who literally dealt with the brat for years and knows how they work, not to mention seeing who someone really is? more than dust, who's a literal genius and is smarter than you?' Killer questioned, walking past Skyler to bend over in front of Sans, Skyler shivering as he passed them.

'you both have nothing but bad experiences with humans. if anything, your judgement is impaired, not mine.' Sans told him, looking up at his hollow eye sockets.

'that's the thing, lucks... if your judgement is so crystal clear...  t e l l  m e  w h y  t h e  k i d  i n s u l t  f l o w e y ? ' Killer asked, and Sans's eyelights went out, 'why would they, the helpful and kind child, insult flowey?'

'i... i don't know-'

'that's right. you don't know. tell me why the others wouldn't do what skyler is and keep the timeline going for a while.' Killer continued.

'because the determi-' Killer cut Sans off.

'you actually buy that crap? seriously? no. even if they were that determined to finish the route, why would they put their needs above yours, even after you told them something was happening? they could've became more determined to help you, but instead they just kept going.' Killer pointed out, 'this whole damn time, you have been completely and utterly blind to what's happening, because all you're doing is trusting your best friend.'

Killer's appearance vanished, replaced by Chara's, bending over to look him in his eye sockets, eyes glowing red and a wide smile on their face. The corners of their mouth were torn open, strings of flesh barely holding together, blood dripping out of the tears and rips. It grew even wider, tendons and skin snapping and breaking, liquid dripping from the wounds and onto the floor, and Sans felt his mind go blank. 

When Sans was jolted back to awareness, Killer was in front of him, freezing hands on Sans's shoulders, the biting chill drawing him back to himself a bit more with how cold it was. Killer had faint outlines of eyelights in his eye sockets, looking straight at Sans, and the faint white rings were shaking a bit, not leaving Sans. His soul was racing, twisting and turning in his ribcage. He took a moment to look around, seeing he was standing in the middle of the room, Skyler hiding behind his dresser, peeking over the top of it with some blood coming through their forehead, and Sans realized his magic was being used. He looked behind him, seeing several bones summoned, and his eyelights shrunk, breathing quickening as his hands trembled, de-summoning the attacks. 

"what... what h-happened?...." Sans asked, panicking.

'later. breathe. now.' Killer instructed curtly, and Sans's bones rattled as his panic and confusion grew over what could have just happened, but he did try to focus on his breathing.

In for seven, hold for eight, out for nine. In for seven, hold for eight, out for nine. In for seven, hold for eight, out for nine.... In for seven... hold for eight... out for nine.... 

Sans continued this for a few minutes, his soul settling back down as his breathing grew more steady, Killer's grip on his shoulders was a constant, the freezing chill grounding him to reality like nothing else could, and despite how it was borderline painful, it helped. Skyler slowly came out from behind the dresser, watching him in concern, but they didn't approach, and he didn't pay much attention to them, Killer moving to block his view of them. He was still a bit panicked and confused by the end of the breathing exercise, and he just hoped he got some answers for what happened. He'd briefly seen Horror over by the wall, looking at him in astonishment, and Dust wasn't far away, watching him carefully.

After one last exhale, Sans stopped, asking again, "what happened?"

'i uh... i messed up. i was stupid, and i uh... i accidentally made you dissociate. tried taking control, but you just kept teleporting away every time. skyler tried getting close, but you were seeing them, and i checked what you were seeing and it wasn't them, and uh... you attacked them, lucks. you only got a few hits in, we kept you busy and you only did one damage per bone, so there's that. nothing lethal or anything, they're fine. just uh...  you freaked us out, lucks...' Killer explained, and Sans's eyelights went out.

He'd what?.....

'hey, keep those damn things visible, will you?' Killer shook Sans's shoulders, the freezing feeling getting worse, and his eyelights reappeared. 

"i... i attacked them?... kid, i-" Sans was cut off.

"It's ok, really. You're alright." Skyler reassured, and Sans looked past Killer to see them standing there, a few holes in their clothes, some blood still coming from them.

"but i-" Killer cut Sans off this time.

'sans, it's alright. they said it's ok, so it's ok... it wasn't your fault, alright?' Killer told him sternly.

"killer that-"

"SANS, SKYLER!!" Papyrus shouted from outside the door, knocking on it, and Sans's attention went to it, his eyelights snapping over to the door, "QUEEN TORIEL HAS RETURNED! WELL, I BELIEVE IT IS HER! SHE LOOKS VERY DISPLEASED, AND IS TALKING WITH ASGORE IN SNOWDIN TOWN SQUARE AS WE SPEAK! SANS, ASGORE HAS ALSO REQUESTED YOUR PRESSENCE, AND BROTHER, NEXT TIME YOU'RE SLEEP DEPRIVED, DON'T PRANK THE ROYALS, WILL YOU?! YOU'RE LUCKY WE COVERED FOR YOU!"

"We'll be down there in a few minutes!" Skyler told him.

"ALRIGHT, JUST HURRY UP!" Papyrus replied before Sans heard him leaving, footsteps heading back down the stairs. 

'i'll take care of everything down there, alright? killer, can you handle sans?' Dust asked.

'yeah, i've got him covered, i think. you and horror gonna be ok?' Killer responded.

'. . . maybe? will we?' Dust questioned, looking back at the taller skeleton.

'. . . i won't hold an axe to your neck this time if that's what you're wondering.' Horror replied.

'then we'll be fine.' Dust told Killer, and he teleported to Sans's left, Killer stepping back and letting go of his shoulders.

"i can go down there and-" Sans tried to protest.

'no. you're too unstable right now. you need to focus on calming down, i have everything handled down there. just... killer, let me know if i need to go in there, alright? i can say we're getting some sleep, and we can all just talk in the subconscious. how's that?' Dust asked.

'sounds like a plan. make sure the kid doesn't have any blood on them.' Killer told him, and Dust nodded.

Dust grabbed Sans's arm, pulling on him and taking control over the body, Killer pulling Sans into the subconscious.

Dust flipped his hood up, heading to the closet and grabbing a dark purple coat out of it, throwing it to the mattress before grabbing the balled up sheets, summoning a sharp bone and sliding off long, thin sections.

"take off the coat." Dust ordered, Skyler doing as instructed and taking it off, Dust dropping it on the floor and kicking it under the bed. 

Dust wiped away the blood on their forehead from a small scratch, wrapping a small section of the sheet around the injury to keep the blood from dripping down their forehead. After that, Dust turned around and had them put on one of his t-shirts, the blue and pink sweater now bloodied and currently inhibiting his bandaging, running how to bandage the wounds through his mind.

'you're gonna do it wrong, by the way. you did the head wound alright, but the other ones i'll walk you through.' Horror said, appearing in front of him.

'you want to help me?' Dust asked.

'. . . not you. him. he doesn't need to deal with this.' Horror replied, and Dust nodded.

'fair.' Dust replied. 

"I changed." Skyler told him, and Dust turned around.

The shirt was too big for them, but it would work. Dust got back to work, looking at one of the wounds on their arm before grabbing more of the cut up sheets. Horror appeared on the other side of Skyler's arm, and he pointed to a spot a bit below the injury.

'right there, put one end right there and wrap it over the hole, leaving a corner of the end out.' Horror instructed, Dust doing so, 'now fold it over the fabric and keep wrapping. get around three inches above and below the wound, and wrap it thick, around three times. after that, tie it up. repeat the process for the other spots.'

Dust did so, moving quickly, with Horror pointing where to adjust any errors, and when Dust was working on the second wound, he asked, 'how do you know how to do this?'

'in my timeline, everyone has flesh. blood, bones, you name it. after the core went down, the magic in the underground did too, and with so little magic in the air, everyone started changin'. i'm talkin' faces fallin' off as monsters gained organs and flesh, terrifyin' the crap outta themselves and everyone else... some of them died from it, others didn't. point is, a lotta monsters started gettin' hurt, and without food for the magic to bring everyone's hp back up, everyone was learnin' first aid from videos and books alphys found in the dump. me and paps got pretty good at it, but paps was better, since he worked much harder than i did at it. i just focused on the core.' Horror explained.

'that... sounds horrifying. it explains the blood though.' Dust told him.

'oh it's not monster blood. that's all human, but still.' Horror shrugged, and Dust sighed, going back to focusing on bandaging.

After Dust finished bandaging the wounds, he tossed the dark purple coat over to Skyler, the human putting it on and pulling the hood up.

"Thank you..." Skyler thanked him, and Dust nodded, "How's Sans doing?"

'killer? how's sans in there?' Dust asked.

'he's doing alright right now.' Killer replied.

'thanks. keep me informed.' Dust told him.

'you can't see it, but i'm saluting.' Killer responded, and Dust sighed.

"sans is ok right now." Dust answered their question, and Skyler sighed in relief. 

"SANS!!!" Papyrus yelled from downstairs.

"i'm coming!!" Dust shouted back, sighing as he teleported down there.

"SANS I SWEAR TO-!! OH, THERE YOU ARE! LET'S GO!" Papyrus grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the house at breakneck speeds.

Moments later, Dust and Papyrus were both standing before Toriel and Asgore, who were a few feet away from the house, and Dust.... Dust nearly burst out laughing. Horror was cackling, his laughter downright psychotic and unnerving, but Dust didn't pay it that much mind, a hand over his mouth as he looked at the two. Asgore's fur was purple, yellow, and green, his beard still mostly orange, but the sight itself was still hilarious. Toriel though... her fur was every color of the rainbow, and some not in the rainbow, and some Dust didn't even know existed. Dust was laughing inside, forcing himself to stay composed, but Killer and Sans laughing in their subconscious was making it increasingly hard to stay serious. A few snickers broke through, and Papyrus lightly punched him on the arm to keep him serious.

"s-sorry, just... wow.." Dust apologized after a moment, struggling to keep a straight face.

"It's alright, Sans." Asgore replied, "You had an understandable reaction. Honestly, I did the same."

"Indeed, it's quite alright, my child." Toriel replied, "Say, you sound familiar..." Toriel's eyes widened in realization, and she asked, "Knock knock?"

"who's there?" Dust questioned.

"Old lady." Toriel replied.

"old lady who?" Dust asked.

"Oh my, I didn't know you could yodel." Toriel laughed, and Dust laughed as well, despite hearing the joke several times before. 

"nice to meet you face to face." Dust told her with a smile.

He'd met her face to face before, but never under the best circumstances.

"You as well." Toriel replied.

"You two know each other?" Asgore questioned.

"YOU KNOW HER?" Papyrus asked in surprise at the same time as Asgore's question, and Dust nodded in response to them both.

"Yes, we've been telling knock knock jokes through the Ruins door for a while now. He's a good comedian." Toriel replied.

"He is, yes. Sans, the reason I called you is because... well... everyone has been pranked. I assume you saw Mettaton's... umm... broadcast, this morning?" Asgore questioned.

"yeah, that was... uh..." Dust laughed a bit, "That was better than his usual shows."

"Wait, what happened?" Toriel asked.

"the famous robot from around here got pranked." Dust explained. 

"Oh, I see." Toriel replied with a small giggle. 

Asgore waited a moment before continuing, "Anyways, Sans, I was wondering if you could help find who did this."

"i think i can do that, yeah." Dust replied, even though the culprit was currently in his head. 

"Thank you. Just look for anyone who's enjoying this a little too much." Asgore replied while giving him a hidden look, basically saying 'i need your expertise on expressions here.'

"you got it, your majesty." Dust told him. 

Dust glanced back at the house, seeing Skyler watching out the window, and he got an idea... 

'i vote go for it. if i remember correctly, tori always cared about the humans. in my timeline, she's a bit... different, but uh... she still cares in her own way.'

'exactly. she's gonna be happy to know the human's alright.' Dust replied.

"hey, uh... toriel? can you follow me for a moment? i want you to meet someone." Dust asked her.

"I can, yes." Toriel nodded, and Dust grabbed her hand as he led her to the house. 

Dust teleported them both to his room, Skyler turning around from the window in surprise.

"i kept my promise, the kid's safe." Dust told her as he let go of Toriel's hand.

"Oh, my child!" Toriel cried, racing forward, sliding on her knees as she hugged Skyler tightly, "Thank you, my friend. Thank you."

"you're welcome." Dust replied as Skyler hugged her back.

Toriel pulled down Skyler's hood, and frowned when she saw the bandages.

"My child, what happened?" Toriel asked in concern, gently tilting their head up. 

"I uh... I fell. I'm ok though, Du- Sans patched me up." Skyler replied.

"Thank you, Sans, truly. It's so good to know that they're alright..." Toriel thanked him, looking over at him.

"it's no problem, they're a good kid, after all." Dust responded.

Toriel looked back at Skyler, and Dust saw a flash of red fabric on the edge of his vision, and he tensed. Uh oh.

'what was that?' Horror asked.

'possible trouble.' Dust replied.

Dust snapped his fingers, a purple spark between his fingers as he teleported to the middle of the forest in Snowdin, seeing some of Killer's faint footprints still in the snow. Dust looked around, on edge, knowing what was coming. 

'dust, what's going on?' Horror questioned, serious.

'i uh... i see a hallucination of my brother sometimes. i'm pretty sure it's from lv, considering he hasn't shown up here at all yet, even though he normally would have. i think killing flowey brought him back out...'

'i figured i wasn't the only one with lv hallucinations...' Killer muttered, appearing across from Dust.

'wait, that can happen??' Horror asked. 

'yup.' Killer replied. 

'i never had those. then again, i mainly killed humans.' Horror muttered.

'lv could affect you differently, so-' Killer was cut off by Papyrus's echoey voice. 

"SANS..."

'rude.' Killer muttered.

"SANS, IT'S ME, BROTHER..."

"no, it's not." Dust replied, flashes of red in the corner of his eye sockets, like a scarf blowing in the wind.

"YES, IT IS. WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME, SANS? HAVE I EVER LIED TO YOU BEFORE?-"

"you're not him. that right there is a lie." Dust replied.

A demented version of Papyrus floated infront of him, a disembodied head with glowing red eye sockets, a tattered, long scarf wrapped around it, swaying behind it, and two gloved red hands at either side, near the end of the scarf. The Papyrus looked Dust in the eye sockets, and spoke again.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS GAME, BROTHER! WE NEED TO START KILLING BEFORE THE HUMAN DOES, SANS."

"i'm not doing it." Dust glared, whispering starting up in his head, his mind trying to convince him this was Papyrus.

'it's not him, dusty. don't you dare listen to it.' Killer told him.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, SANS. HE HATES ME. HE WANTS YOU TO IGNORE ME. DON'T LISTEN TO HIM. NOW GET THE EXP. YOU NEED IT. YOU NEED TO LEVEL UP. NOW."

Dust's bones rattled, his mind screaming at him this was Papyrus, that he needed to listen to him. Even though he knew it wasn't him, it was still impossible to ignore his mind insisting this was his brother. He'd figured out by now it was just his LV, he knew what it was, but his mind was still a battleground. He was starting to freak out, and Killer suddenly grabbed his shoulder and pushed.

Killer didn't waste any time, glaring at the hallucination as Dust's manifestation landed with a thump in the snow, and he cracked his knuckles, and he went off. His dislike for Papyrus only made it even more satisfying, and Killer didn't hold back. He didn't really care if Dust killed everyone... under normal circumstances. However, these weren't normal. Things were continuing for once, and Killer didn't want that to end. The fact that he cared about Dust had nothing to do with it. 

"listen here you manipulative little pest, you need to shut the hell up right now before i slice and dice you so fast you turn into a bunch of bone meal and confetti. you are not going to ruin this timeline for me, and you are not going to gaslight dust into killing everyone again. you have no authority here, there is no necessity for dust to kill anyone, and i'm not gonna let you trick him into thinking otherwise.

"i don't know who's more delusional, dust for hallucinating you and thinking you're real, or you for claiming to be real even though you're faker than mettaton's hair, and it's made out of the same crap as a broom. you're less convincing than a salesmonster trying to sell a pair of gloves to that kid that follows undyne around everywhere. i wish i could blame dust's insanity on your existence, but unfortunately it's not that simple, now get the hell out of our head and leave dust alone, you lv induced, manipulative, gaslighting, lying, power hungry, delusional, spineless leech off of dust's questionable sanity.." Killer glared daggers at the hallucination the whole time, Broken Determination trickling from his eye sockets and dripping down and onto the snow. 

The hallucination got in his face with a violent screech, the scarf and gloves gaining jagged edges, and it's eye sockets turned black except for glowing red slits for pupils, it's teeth sharpening. This was it's real face...

*YOU VILE, LITTLE-

"oh i'm vile? you're one to talk. i didn't think you could get any uglier." Killer smirked. The hallucination screeched at him again, and Killer didn't even flinch. "You seriously think you can scare me? you can't hurt me. besides, that anime... what was it? oh, right, mew mew: kissy cutie, is scarier than you are. actually, you could probably fit right in if i put a bow on your head."

Killer summoned a wall of sharp bones in front of himself, stabbing through the hallucination, and it disappeared in a cloud of dust. Killer wiped his hands on each other, and he looked down at Dust again. Dust was  just staring up at Killer in a mixture of shock and awe, purple tears in his eye sockets. Sans appeared next to him, doing much better than he was a while ago, and he took control.

'now we're even. you help me out through a mental... whatever, and i help you out.' Killer told him, before going into the subconscious.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Twenty Three

Sans had decided he probably shouldn't have a knife on him when the humans arrived, so after quickly excusing himself, he went back to the battleground and hid the weapon by a boulder. Killer wasn't happy about it, but he also probably understood why it was a bad idea to have any kind of weapon on him for when the humans came. Sans teleported back to the group, and a few minutes later, watched five of the helicopters land in a clearing a bit away while the rest stayed hovering in the air, likely ready for hostility. Some humans got out of the vehicles, all wearing green camo uniforms, and they began heading towards them. There was two humans in the lead, and the rest followed closely behind them, and Sans kept a close eyelight on them as they got closer, standing by the pathway the soldiers were using to get closer to them. If Sans had to guess, they were human soldiers, and they were coming to inspect what had just happened, since they'd probably been keeping tabs on them for a while. 

'at least they don't seem too hostile.' Dust muttered, 'but then again, the human in my timeline was probably on another level of murderous and evil compared to most of them.'

'and the chare from my world was way more evil and twisted than yours.' Killer added.

'they might not do anything. from what i can tell, the only reason human's do anything is because they're scared. . . . so i should probably avoid taking control.' Horror said.

"probably a good idea." Sans mumbled.

"SANS?" Papyrus asked from behind him, and Sans looked back at him.

"yeah, bro?" Sans replied.

"WHAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA?" Papyrus questioned.

"horror just said he probably shouldn't take control around them." Sans answered. 

"I SEE..." Papyrus nodded, "WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?"

"Yeah... they look m-military..." Alphys said, sounding a bit worried.

"hopefully they don't attack us." Sans sighed, "that's what i'm hoping for."

"If they do, we'll likely have to fight them for monsterkind's freedom." Asgore frowned, not seeming to like that option.

'hey, it goes south, i can deal with the humans. they fire a shot i can kill all of them in a single hit.' Killer spoke up.

'i know you can, and that's what'll just scare them more. they're probably as scared of us as monsters are of them.' Sans told him.

'you're not scared?' Dust asked.

'. . . i have you three in my head and i can defend myself.' Sans deadpanned.

'fair.' Killer said. 

'can't argue with that logic.' Horror shrugged, appearing in front of him, 'want one of us to keep an eye on them?'

'they'd probably feel like they were being watched; it would only put them more on edge. just... stay here for now. odds are they're only a few minutes away anyways.' Sans responded, looking back down at the approaching humans.

It took a few more minutes for the humans to arrive, them coming up through the path on the right side of the ledge. One of the main humans, the one on the left, was a older female, having long grayish brown hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes. Her face was wrinkled, and she seemed very serious, looking over all of them; assessing them. The other was a younger male, with blonde spiky hair, tan skin, and light blue eyes. They had around two dozen soldiers with them, one dozen on each side of them.

"Hello, humans." Asgore spoke up first, nervous but trying to be friendly, "My name is Asgore, and I am king of monsterkind. Me and the other monsters mean you no harm, and I would like to discuss terms of a treaty. We have no ill will towards the human race, and only want freedom and to live among you peacefully."

"Hello sir. My name is Captain Aldergrave, and this is First Sergeant Raphael Stormvale. We are part of the USA Military, specifically a special division designed to investigate supernatural occurrences should there be any, and you and your species fall under that umbrella. You say you want peace?" Captain Aldergrave asked.

"Indeed. Me and my species have been trapped underground for hundreds of years, and we've just escaped. We harbor no ill will towards your species, as none of you alive were responsible for what happened, and I want there to be peace between us." Asgore answered.

"I'm the ambassador between humans and monsters. My name's Frisk, and I helped free them. I've seen how they act and befriended them. They all are compassionate and friendly, and he's telling the truth. He truly does want peace." Chara spoke up, catching Captain Aldergrave's attention.

"You can vouch for them, but I highly doubt you'll be recognized as ambassador. You're a child, and you have no idea how these things work." Captain Aldergrave told them.

"I have made them ambassador, and I recognize them as such." Asgore spoke up, "They are no ordinary child, and I trust them to help broker a peace between us."

". . . Very well." Captain Aldergrave sighed after a moment, "If you want peace, I can take you somewhere a treaty can be brokered between our species. If you are deemed as hostile or as enemies, you and your species will be detained or killed. Understand?"

"Then I have nothing to worry about." Asgore said.

". . . Follow me. Your companions can accompany you, and can wait while the treaty is discussed." Captain Aldergrave instructed.

"Would you all like that?" Asgore asked, receiving nods, and he told her, "We'll come with you. More of my species is within the mountain, can I give them instructions to wait until I return to get them?" 

"That's acceptable." Captain Aldergrave replied.

Alphys pulled out her phone, typing on it before saying, "I just sent a text to M-Mettaton. He'll keep e-everyone inside until the t-treaty is a-agreed on." 

"Thank you, Alphys." Asgore thanked her.

"Y-You're w-welcome." Alphys replied.

After that, Captain Aldergrave and Raphael turned around, the soldiers making a path for them, Asgore following right behind them. Undyne and Alphys were behind Asgore, Sans and Chara walking behind those two, Flowey still wrapped around their arm, and Toriel and Papyrus were at the back of the line. The soldiers walked on either side of them, and Sans didn't miss the glances they were giving them, looking for any hostility. There wouldn't be any, though, but the amount of soldiers had Sans a bit on edge, but not enough to attack. They were just scared of what they didn't understand, that was all. Sans had to ignore Chara's voice in his mind that had slowly gotten more audible, but with glances at the human he was walking next to, he knew it was just in his mind.

"Give them something to be afraid of, partner~ You can do it~"

'shut it, chara.' Killer muttered, him and the other three in Sans's subconscious.

Sans heard music start blasting in his mind, and Sans took a few deeps breaths, concentrating on things around him to avoid letting that voice draw him into that dissociative state again. Sans was concentrating on his surroundings so much that he flinched when Chara put a hand on his shoulder, his skull whipping towards them before some tension leaked out of him at the contact.

"Are you ok?" Chara whispered to him, and he nodded.

"yeah, thanks, ch- frisk." Sans replied quietly, but they didn't seem to believe him.

"So... you guys were down there for centuries, huh?" Raphael asked after a few moments, starting up a conversation to ease some tension.

"Yes, it's been centuries since I've seen the sun. My... ex-wife, Toriel, remembers it as well. The rest of my companions, other than Frisk, haven't seen it before other than pictures and gaps in the mountain." Asgore replied.

"Yeah, the sun's beautiful up here! It's so warm, but not to the point where it's scalding." Undyne chimed in.

"What was it like down there?" Raphael questioned..

"well, there was different areas. there was the ruins, which is near the top of the mountain where frisk here fell down, and toriel's been living there for a few decades from what i know. from there there's snowdin, where me and my brother papyrus live. after that there's waterfall where undyne lives, past that is hotland which is filled with magma and it's... well, it's hot. alphys lives there, and asgore lives at the castle in what we call 'new home'." Sans informed him.

"Snowdin? Is that a pun?" Raphael asked, turning around to smile at him.

". . ." oh heck yeah. This was the distraction Sans needed. "it's ice to meet a fellow pun lover."

"OH NO..." Papyrus sighed from behind Sans, and some of the other soldiers were laughing slightly.

"Yeah, it's snow good to meet another one. Captain Aldergrave isn't one for puns. It's a shame, honestly, they're such good icebreakers." Raphael snickered.

Sans chuckled, "my bro likes 'em too, sometimes." 

"BECAUSE THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE FOR PUNS, SANS. YOU JUST CONTINUOUSLY SPEW THEM UNTIL THEY ARE NO LONGER FUNNY AND UNTIL THEY DRIVE ME CRAZY." Papyrus sighed.

"chill out, paps. there's snow harm in a few good puns." Sans grinned.

"A FEW IS NOT DOZENS, SANS!" Papyrus told him. 

"hey, my pun game is snow joke, it’s always snowing puns when i'm around." Sans replied, and Raphael laughed.

"SANS!" Papyrus scolded, and Sans chuckled.

"It’s un-brrr-lievable how many puns and jokes Sans knows." Toriel spoke up, and Sans laughed.

"OH NO, NOT YOU TOO!" Papyrus gasped in horror as Toriel giggled.

"Great, now Sans won't stop telling puns until we get to the damn helicopters!" Flowey sighed, leaves drooping as his head tilted down.

"there's snow way out for you or paps." Sans chuckled.

"I hate you, smiley trashbag..." Flowey muttered. 

"same to you, weed." Sans whispered back with a glare.

Chara sighed, before saying, "Sans, Flowey, take a chill pill." 

"HUMAN, NO!" Papyrus cried, and a grin spread across Sans's face.

"Good one, my child!" Toriel praised, patting them on the head fondly from behind.

"Thank you." Chara smiled.

"you know why i like snow puns so much? they're winter-changeable." Sans smirked, and Raphael snorted. 

"SANS THAT WAS THE WORST ONE YET!" Papyrus groaned.

"I don't know, that was pretty good. No need to get frost-rated." Raphael chuckled.

"I can't believe you're finding this funny." Captain Aldergrave sighed.

"You know I glove me some ice puns, Captain." Raphael smirked, and she groaned, most of the soldiers struggling not to laugh.

More puns ensued over the next few minutes, the walk not nearly as tense and quiet as it could've been, and it was honestly nice. They sun still felt nice, and there was a pleasant breeze as they walked, birds chirping from nearby lush trees, and flowers were blooming along the pathway. The surface was so damn beautiful, he'd never seen anything like it. They made it to the helicopters, some soldiers waiting near each of the flying vehicles.

"We're taking them back to the base, they want to discuss a treaty." Captain Aldergrave informed the soldiers, and she turned around, saying "Asgore, you and your friends will be riding in two separate helicopters, so figure out who you want to sit with."

"I would like to sit with Frisk. Tori, would you-" Asgore was cut off by Toriel.

"I'll sit in the other helicopter." Toriel said.

"Me and Alphys can sit with her!" Undyne volunteered.

"yeah, me and paps can stay with you, the kid and flowey." Sans said; he wanted to keep an eyelight on Flowey, still not trusting the weed.

Wanting to protect Chara had nothing to do with it.

"That sounds good to me." Asgore said.

"Alright, let's go. Just pick a helicopter to ride in." Captain Aldergrave said, making a signal with her hand after pointing her arm up, and the soldiers split off, half staying with them, and the other half going to other helicopters.

"Can I ride with Asgore, Captain?" Raphael asked.

". . . Fine." Captain Aldergrave sighed, heading to one of the other helicopters with some of the soldiers, along with Toriel, Undyne, and Alphys.

"she sure seems like the life of the party..." Sans muttered quietly after a moment.

"Yeah... she doesn't like monsters much. Otherwise I'd think someone pissed in her coffee." Raphael whispered back, and Sans laughed a bit.

"you're telling me." Sans chuckled as they headed to a helicopter.

"WHY DOESN'T SHE LIKE MONSTERS?" Papyrus asked after they were seated, soldiers on either side of them as they started to take off.

Asgore and Papyrus were sitting on one side of the helicopter, with Sans, Chara, and Flowey on the other, and Raphael sat all the way in the back on a foldout seat, a soldier sitting between Raphael and them on both sides, with another soldier on their other sides. They put on seatbelts, and Sans got comfortable in the seat, arms folded behind his skull casually, but he was still a bit tense.

"She never said." Raphael replied, "Just watch yourselves though, ok?" 

"we will." Sans told him, and they were given headphones so they could hear each other.

They put them on, adjusting them as necessary, and even Flowey was given a small pair so that he could communicate with them.

"PERHAPS WE CAN CHANGE HER MIND?" Papyrus said hopefully.

"Maybe..." Raphael said, and the helicopter took off, flying into the air with the others, more helicopters surrounding them and another helicopter, which must've had Toriel, Undyne, and Alphys inside of it.

"I think we can pull it off." Chara said, and Flowey looked off to the side, not looking convinced.

Sans was pretty sure Killer and Flowey would actually agree on this. Sans didn't know how to feel about that.

"hopefully we can, and hopefully there won't be too many humans who don't like us either." Sans said.

"IF THERE IS, I'LL CHANGE THEIR MINDS TOO! I'LL SHOW THEM HOW GREAT I AM AND HOW AWESOME MONSTERS ARE, AND THEY'LL ALL ACCEPT US IN NO TIME!" Papyrus grinned.

Raphael looked over at Sans with a look that could only be described as 'how is he so pure?', but Sans sighed, shrugging and smiling a little.

After around twenty minutes, they approached a large facility, the helicopters heading to several landing pads and lowering down from the sky, maintaining formation. Once they'd landed, they removed the headphones and unbuckled, the soldiers sitting closer to the pilots collecting the headphones and placing them up in the cockpit. They stood up, ready to get off the helicopter when the door opened. 

"We're here. King Asgore, you and Frisk will be taken inside to a conference room with several screens where multiple humans will discuss terms of the treaty with you. The rest of you will probably be transferred to a waiting room, and from there it's a waiting game. I don't know about the Captain, but I'll try making sure you guys have some entertainment and food provided to you. This... could take a while." Raphael said.

"THANK YOU, KIND HUMAN! I APPRECIATE IT!" Papyrus thanked him.

"You're welcome." Raphael replied, and the door opened, two soldiers exiting with Sans, Papyrus, Asgore, and Chara and Flowey right behind them, followed by the other two soldiers and Raphael. 

Once they were off the helicopter, Sans looked over and saw Toriel, Undyne, and Alphys, and they walked towards each other.

"hey, how was your flight?" Sans asked.

"It was quite enjoyable. There was a lovely view up there." Toriel replied.

"Yeah, it was sick!" Undyne agreed.

"i didn't look out the windows much, was mainly talking." Sans shrugged.

"I see." Toriel said. 

"Are you ready to get on with this?" Captain Aldergrave asked as she walked over to them, seeming irritated, but hiding it well.

"Yes, I am. Frisk, come with me, please." Asgore said, and Chara nodded.

Flowey uncoiled his vines from their arm, wrapping around Papyrus's, and Sans gave Flowey a warning look.

"Relax, I won't do anything to your damn brother." Flowey sighed.

"I DON'T BELIEVE HE WILL EITHER, BROTHER! IT IS OK!" Papyrus said.

"Raphael, lead King Asgore and the child to the conference room. I'll take the other monsters to the waiting room." Captain Aldergrave instructed. 

Sans did not like the idea of Chara where he couldn't see if they were in trouble or in danger, his soul doing an uncomfortable twist at the idea, but he knew it was for the best. If they were hurt he would make the humans regret it...

"Alright." Raphael nodded, heading into the facility with Asgore and Chara behind him.

"As for the rest of you, follow me." Captain Aldergrave said, heading in another direction, and they followed, Sans glancing back at Chara one more time along the way.

Toriel was walking behind Captain Aldergrave, Undyne and Alphys behind her, and Sans and Papyrus were in the back of the group. Flowey was still wrapped securely around Papyrus's arm, and while Papyrus seemed a bit on edge, he was noticeably trying to remain calm and seem unbothered. The revelation from before still had his mind spinning a bit, but he was glad he knew it now.

"soooo... how long do you think this'll take?" Sans asked, filling the silence that had been slowly making him more and more uncomfortable.

"I don't know. Treaties can be difficult things." Captain Aldergrave replied tersely, and Sans nodded a bit.

'you guys listening?' Sans questioned.

'yeah, we're listening, lucky.' Killer replied, 'we also have a plan for if everything goes south.'

'keep your guard up. something about this isn't right.' Dust advised.

'good looking guys, and i will. i'll let you guys know if i need you.' Sans said.

'i'm happy to help kick some human butt! i'm kinda a pro.' Sans could tell Killer was smirking.

'we're all pros, dumba-!!' Dust started to shout.

Sans could hear crashing in his mind, and he sighed quietly. Flowey wrapped his vines around Sans's arm, moving to use him for transportation as he whispered next to his skull, "Problems, smiley trashbag?~"

"they can't go an hour without breaking something." Sans muttered, and Flowey chuckled quietly.

"If they weren't versions of you, I might actually like them." Flowey snickered.

"i don't even know how the hell they're versions of me..." Sans sighed under his breath.

"You two aren't arguing, are you?" Toriel asked after a moment, and Sans looked up at her.

"nah, just talking." Sans replied, and she nodded after a moment.

After a few minutes of tense walking, they arrived at a door, and Captain Aldergrave opened the door. There was a TV, several couches, and a table with a phone and some food inside. The walls were a dark gray, and there was dark green carpet. Sans could see cameras in the room, but they were all powered off, and there was no windows or anything else. He could faintly see some seams in the walls, but he couldn't see what they were for. Something wasn't right.

"That TV is linked to the conference room so you can see what's going on. If you need anything, just use that phone." Captain Aldergrave told them, which relieved Sans a bit, and Killer appeared behind her, watching her carefully.

"Thank you, dear." Toriel thanked her, and she nodded, exiting the room once they entered, shutting it, Killer still on the outside. 

'killer, what are you doing?' Sans asked.

'watching her from this end. if there's a tether to you, i'm testing it.' Killer replied.

". . . smart." Sans muttered.

"Huh?" Undyne tilted her head.

"killer actually had a good idea." Sans replied.

"W-What's going on?" Alphys asked him.

"something isn't right about this." Sans whispered. 

Sans tried getting the TV to turn on to see what was going on with Chara and Asgore, but it wouldn't work. It was plugged in, it had power, but it wouldn't let him see what was going on, which put Sans even more on edge. What Killer said next, though, sent him over that edge.

'what the... ok, i found something weird. . . . hey sans, say you have to go to the bathroom.' Killer instructed, voice monotone, and Sans froze.

Killer just called him Sans... . . . Something was wrong; very wrong. Killer never called him 'Sans'. Ever. 

'killer, what'd you find?' Dust asked urgently.

'just do it!' Killer snapped.

"BROTHER, WHAT IS IT?" Papyrus questioned.

"it's... complicated..." Sans replied, and Dust appeared in the room, standing a few feet away from him. 

'killer's being weird.' Dust noted.

"no crap, dust." Sans muttered, and he went over to the phone, picking it up.

It had two buttons on it, being a green and a red button in the shapes of an old phone, with 'CALL FOR ASSISTANCE' written underneath it. The phone seemed new, though weirdly had no numbers on it, and was connected to a cord attached to the table it was sitting on. Sans pressed the green button, and he held the phone to his skull, hearing a dial tone before someone answered. At least it worked, unlike the damn TV.

"Hello?" A male voice answered.

"hi, yeah, i was just wondering if you have a bathroom?" Sans asked.

"Yes, we do. Someone will come to escort you to it." The male voice responded.

"thanks." Sans replied, hanging up once the human said "You're welcome."

"WHAT'S WRONG? MONSTERS DON'T NEED TO USE TOILETS." Papyrus was confused.

"killer found something, and he wants me to check it out." Sans replied quietly.

"Wait, hold on, he was snooping around? He can do that?" Undyne whispered, looking surprised.

Sans nodded, Flowey attaching his vines to Papyrus's arm again. A minute or so later, the door opened, revealing Captain Aldergrave.

"captain?" Sans asked, surprised; he figured it'd be a regular soldier.

She nodded, and asked, "You said you needed to go to the bathroom?"

"yeah. i figured escorting someone was...  i dunno, below your paygrade?" Sans shrugged.

"I want to keep tabs on your locations personally until the treaty is agreed on. I volunteered." Captain Aldergrave told him, and he nodded a bit.

"gotcha... also, the tv for the conference room isn't working. is it not hooked up, or...?" Sans trailed off.

"It bugs out sometimes. I'll let a technician know after I take you back here." Captain Aldergrave replied, and Sans nodded a bit.

"got it, thank you." Sans thanked her, and he exited the room, waiting for her to lead him to the bathroom.

She nodded, closing the door, and she started walking down the hall, Sans following her. 

'why'd you have Sans say he needed to go to the bathroom? he can't leave if she waits outside.' Horror asked.

'i can take control and teleport to what i saw while dust stays back and lets me know if she says anything.' Killer replied.

'. . . smart.' Horror admitted after a moment.

'thanks.' Killer replied.

"so, uhh....the weather usually this nice up here?" Sans questioned after a moment, trying to start a conversation with her.

"It depends." She replied shortly. 

"not much for small talk, huh?..." Sans asked.

"Not particularly. That's Raphael's thing." Captain Aldergrave answered. 

"what about big talk?" Sans smirked, and she gave him a deadpanned look.

Sans smiled a bit, and he heard the other three quietly snickering in his mind. She sighed, rolling her eyes and continuing down the hallway, heading to a door. Sans saw a pair of rooms with basic humans on it with 'Male' and 'Female' labeled under each of them, but they... walked past them?

"wasn't that them?" Sans asked her, pointing back at the doors with his thumb.

"Those were out of order. The other ones are this way." Captain Aldergrave told him.

'something isn't right about this...' Dust muttered, appearing in front of him before walking past him to the bathroom doors, before cursing, 'damnit! i can't get past doors!' 

'then open it?' Horror suggested.

Sans could practically hear crickets, and Horror chuckled quietly while Dust swore at him.

Sans and the Captain rounded another corner, heading to a slightly ajar metal door at the end, Killer standing by it. 

"you sure this is the bathroom?" Sans questioned.

Killer turned around and looked at him looking surprised he was there.

'lucky?'

'killer, what the hell did you find?' Dust asked, appearing next to him.

"Yes, it is." The Captain told Sans.

'look inside.' Killer instructed, and Dust did so, swearing loudly.

'sans, don't go in there, it's a trap!!' Dust turned around to yell, eyelights red and cyan.

Sans went to get out of the area, freezing in his tracks, but the Captain tightly grabbed his arm, not letting him go.

"look, i don't know what your plan is, but i would really reconsider it." Sans advised.

She said nothing, pulling him forward, throwing him into the room and slamming the door behind him before locking it from the outside. Dust appeared next to him, forcing him out of control with a harsh shove. Sans turned around to look up at him and demand an explanation, but the lights in the room turning red distracted him.

"PROTOCOL DUSTBATH ACTIVATED. OBJECTIVE: NEUTRALIZE ALL MONSTERS IN VICINITY." A monotone, robotic voice rang out through the room, several panels opening in the room to reveal several robots.

The robots had two legs and two arms with lasers on each one where the hands would be, and the heads looked like security cameras with glowing red screens on them, likely their way of seeing things. The robots were a combination of stainless steel and black metal, and were around two feet taller than Sans. They had some wires exposed around the joints, and were otherwise coated in thick, plated armor, especially around the chest.

'holy crap!' Sans yelled, and Dust ducked under a laser blast from that scorched the wall where his skull had been.

'like dust said, it's a trap!' Killer told him, appearing next to him.

Dust summoned multiple sharp bones, firing them at the robots, and they embedded deeply into them. Dust summoned several Gaster Blasters and fired them, vaporizing the machines.

"well, that works..." Dust muttered, dodging an incoming attack and firing several more Gaster Blasters as more robots emerged from the walls.

Dust jumped onto a wall, lunging off of it as a blast fired at him, landing on another robot's shoulders and stabbing into it's head with a sharp bone, breaking it. He teleported out of the way as a laser blast shot over his skull, running past the robots on the ground as they fired after him rapidly.

'dust, their heads are their weak spot! aim for them!' Horror told him.

'i know! just found that out! horror, find a way out of here, we need to get to the others if she tries doing this to them too!' Dust instructed.

Several laser guns rose from the floor, shooting at him and he cursed, teleporting behind another robot as a shield before teleporting again as another robot shot at him. The blast hit the robot he'd hidden behind, and Dust summoned multiple sharp bones and shot them down at the floor, stabbing into the floor and the guns. Dust dodged more blasts, but it was getting increasingly difficult as more and more robots kept coming. Dust cursed, teleporting to the ceiling, making a bone platform extend from a wall and surround himself in a wall of bones as he summoned a clockwise and a counterclockwise Gaster Blaster circle at the same time, destroying all of the robots in the room.

Sans stopped manifesting, seeing out of Dust's perspective, though everything was dark, the purple flame coming from Dust's eyelight being the only light source. Those things just wouldn't stop coming, there was practically hundreds of them... Some bones cracked under Dust's feet, Dust moving Sans's body away from the spot before reinforcing it, still keeping the attacks coming to try destroying all of the robots.

'any ways out?!' Dust asked, yelling in their subconscious so they could hear each other over the blasts.

'no! whole room's locked up tight! not even through those panels the robots are coming from!' Horror answered.

'damnit!' Dust swore, glaring at nothing, 'tell me when the bastards quit spawning!'

'can do!' Horror replied.

Dust kept spawning the Gaster Blasters for the next few minutes, and Sans could feel his exhaustion from the constant, rapid attacks. Dust had very high magic levels, but even this was almost too much, especially after the fight with Flowey earlier. Sans could feel Dust pulling on the magic he could spare to keep the bone shield around himself up, trying to keep himself protected instead of falling into the swarm below. 

'they stopped!' Horror shouted to him

Dust stopped summoning the Gaster Blasters instantly, letting the bones vanish as Sans's body dropped down to the floor in a crouch, his body's chest heaving for breath. The whole room was burnt to a crisp, robots laying smoldering and destroyed everywhere, covering the floor completely. Dust looked underneath himself, seeing that he'd landed on a destroyed robot's chest, and he looked around again for more attacked. Sans heard the door opening behind him, and before Dust could turn around, Sans felt a laser blast hit him on his back, and everything went black.

Killer forced himself to awareness, everything in their mind otherwise quiet as he focused on his senses. He heard footsteps approaching, and he paid close attention to them. He didn't take control, just lingering at the recesses of consciousness, waiting to strike.

"Not bad for a monster, I'll admit that..." Captain Aldergrave's voice muttered after a moment, and Killer felt a flicker of anger build in him. 

He heard her stopping next to him, and he heard her cocking a gun, the sound familiar to Killer after him and Chara had tried different weapons for killing. Nope, not happening. Killer took control over the body, teleporting out of the way just as a silenced shot rang out. He was on the other side of the room, glaring over at her, and she looked at him in surprise.

"The hell?..." She asked in confusion, before quickly recovering and shoot at him again.

Killer teleported out of the way a second time, running past her and bolting out of the door, trying to close it behind himself, but the door was held open by her hand, the door forced open. Killer narrowed his hollow eye sockets, wishing he had his knife on him as he summoned a sharp bone into his hand, stabbing into hers. She yelled out in pain, releasing the door, and Killer slammed it shut. He cursed under his breath, looking around the hallway for threats, but saw none.

'dust?! horror, lucky, you guys ok?!' Killer shouted in their mind, but they didn't respond, and nope, he definitely wasn't worried about them, absolutely not.

Killer took a chance, going into the subconscious for a moment, seeing the three of them passed out in the middle of it. He appeared next to them, trying to wake them up, but they had this... blue glow around them, and they remained asleep. Damnit, it must've been some kind of monster soul tranquilizer. That would explain how Killer was still awake; his soul wasn't a monster's anymore, after all.

Killer snapped himself back to awareness, looking around again, before bolting down the hallway. He saw the lights flaring red with sirens, and he cursed, rapidly nearing the door with Sans's friends, brother, and Flowey inside of it. He could've just teleported there, but he needed to make sure there was no more robots, and if there was, that he dealt with them. Besides, he didn't know what he could be teleporting into, it was safer to just run there and get a good idea on what he was getting into.

Killer heard explosions inside the room from a distance, and he kicked the door open after teleporting to it, seeing a bone and spear wall up, robots continuously shooting laser blasts at the wall, more attacks rapidly forming. At least he'd taught Papyrus how to do that, and Undyne was helping... Killer summoned sharp bones above the robots, shooting them straight down through their heads, deactivating them. He looked around for more to appear, and his shoulders sagged in mild disappointment that there was none. He didn't see any dust around the room, just a lot of robot parts, and he heard a projectile flying at him. His hand shot up automatically, catching the bone as it flew at him, looking over to see Papyrus lowering the bone wall slightly, before fully lowering it and running over to him once the spears vanished.

"BROTHER! MY APOLOGIES, I WASN'T AWARE IT WAS YOU!" Papyrus apologized, before asking, "ARE YOU OK?"

Killer saw the others looking at him, all in varying degrees of shock, surprise, and concern. Except for the stupid weed, who instead just looked surprised.

"not bad aim, papyrus. yeah, i'm ok. those lasers have monster soul tranqs in them i think, dunno how the hell they made 'em." Killer sighed. 

"H-How do you know?" Alphys asked him.

"because the other three are out cold and i can't wake them up, so that's fun. plus side dust is a paranoid genius, and he planned for if the humans wound up being unhinged, especially her. that plan being we find asgore and the kid, and get the hell out of here. also i'm pretty sure the captain was doing this on her own. raphael said she didn't like monsters on the helicopter ride, and the tv not working and the cameras being off lines up with that. besides, something about her is... familiar. i don't like it." Killer responded.

"So, you're on a rescue mission?" Undyne summed up.

"yep, pretty much." Killer replied.

"Sick!" Undyne grinned. 

"Child, do you think Frisk is ok?" Toriel asked him.

"pretty sure, yeah." Killer replied, "we just gotta get the hell out of here, but first thing's first, we need an armory or a kitchen, stat." 

"WHY?" Papyrus questioned.

"i need a damn knife."

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Eight

"Are you ready to kill him?" Chara asked, grinning at him as he twirled a bone in the air, fidgeting with it. He didn't feel anything right now, face blank and eye sockets empty. He was numb. He remained silent for a moment before giving them his answer.

"SANS!" Papyrus called out for his brother, "SAANS! SAAAAANS! WHERE DID YOU GO, SANS?!"

"papyrus." Sans said, voice flat, standing across from him, his right eye socket half closed.

He felt emotions stirring up in him, the skeleton feeling jealousy and hatred for his brother's innocence, for his naivety and ignorance to the situation, for not doing anything but standing there and letting himself die trying to persuade a homicidal maniac not to kill him. For not fighting back and protecting him despite being the stronger brother. He couldn't wait to be the one responsible this time...  

"SANS, OH MY GOD!" Papyrus sighed in relief, running to him, and Sans raised his left hand, "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT WHERE YOU WERE!"

"finally.." Sans whispered to himself. "finally i will kill you..."

Sans summoned a Gaster Blaster and a few bones, all pointed at Papyrus. "SANS?" Papyrus asked in confusion.

"you don't know how much i hate you, how jealous i am that you don't remember. you don't remember any of it. i needed you, papyrus, but in the end, you don't remember anything that happens..." Sans laughed a bit, unhinged and broken sounding, "why don't you remember? why can't you remember? why why why why?.... apparently, i don't need you." i'm sorry, Papyrus.... no I'm not....

"SANS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I DON'T UNDERSTAND..." Papyrus said, holding his arms out from himself, sparing him... the nerve of him... "THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO FIGHT, SANS. I WILL NEVER HURT YOU, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU FOREVER!"

Sans burst out laughing, "you are so stupid!" Sans sent a wave of bones at him, quickly draining Papyrus's health. "so pathetic.." Sans's smile dropped, and Papyrus fell to the ground, shaking as he tried getting up, and Sans used his foot to gently push Papyrus's head, keeping him down, "if you used your strength... you might have survived... i might have survived...."

"DOES MY EXISTENCE HURT YOU?" Papyrus asked, and Sans was silent, face blank, "OH SANS, I DIDN'T KNOW... IF MY DEATH MAKES YOU HAPPY, THEN IT'S OK... IT'S OK... ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY...." Sans felt guilt creeping up his spine, his sins crawling on his back, "GOODBYE, BROTHER...."

Papyrus turned to dust, and emotions came crashing into Sans like nothing he'd ever felt before.

"papyrus.... bro... brother!!!!!" Sans's eye sockets filled with tears, "papyrus.... what have i done?... i didn't want.... i... oh god no.... NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!" Sans covered his eye sockets with his hands, crying, "PAPYRUS COME BACK PLEASE I DIDN'T MEAN IT! i'll never hurt you again...." yes i will... "NO NO NOOOOOO!!! PAPYRUS COME BACK, COME BACK, COME BACK!!! I'M SORRY, PAPYRUS!" 

Sans was breaking down, an emotional wreck, sobbing uncontrollably, guilt and sadness and regret flooding into his soul relentlessly. What had he done?..... He went into hysterics, a mix of sobbing and laughing from grief, regret, and insanity from his actions. Sans was on his hands and knees, laughter delving into sobs once again. Chara walked up behind him and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry, Sans, it's your first time. You'll get used to it." Chara 'reassured'.

"no.... no, i don't want to do this anymore..." yes i do...  "because of you i became a killer..." it's not their fault... Sans broke out into broken, grief-filled and insane laughter once again, and Chara crouched down in front of him.

"Shhhhhhh, shhhhhhhh... don't worry, everything will be fine. Everything will be Reset so it doesn't matter." Chara pulled his hands away from his eye sockets, looking into his tear filled eye sockets, "There's no going back, Sans. Welcome to the Genocide Run."

consequences don't matter.... nothing matters..... get used to it, and in the end you'll feel nothing...

Sans gasped as he woke up, cyan and yellow tears running down his cheekbones, and he sat up, trying to get a hold on himself. He was several things right now: Angry, sad, hurting, and grieving.... and pissed. That was a big one. Sans was trying to get a hold on himself, seeing Chara starting to appear across from him and his emotions starting to fade into nothing, and his breathing hitched. He was saved by the bell as he was yanked into his subconscious from a sudden explosion, his body falling limply back onto the bed as Sans appeared in the subconscious, seeing Dust attacking Killer.

Gaster Blasters were firing rapid fire at the skeleton, and Killer... didn't look too good... He was dodging, sure, but his dodges were mere and barely dodging the attacks, and he looked like he was seconds from a breakdown. That made some of Sans's anger abate, seeing that Killer wasn't handling the actions that well either... but Sans was still pissed. 

"HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO HIM?!?!?!?!" Dust screamed, firing an even bigger Gaster Blaster at Killer, his eyelights red and cyan. His left eyelight had a blazing purple flame enveloping it, and Sans was surprised his hood didn't catch on fire. There was also glowing purple tears coming from his eye sockets. "I WAS THINKING ABOUT TRYING TO GET ALONG WITH YOU, BUT AFTER THAT?! YOU SHOULD BE BURNING IN HELL!!!"

Killer barely dodged the Gaster Blaster, his bones rattling, and he was trembling, his left eye socket having a pale gray version of Sans's cyan and yellow eyelight. Sans had seen that from him before, and he'd also seen the current shape of Killer's soul, which was an upside-down red and white heart. The Broken Determination was watered down, and it was rushing down his cheekbones, dripping all over the 'floor'. Sans could feel himself starting to go into that state, it trying to pull him under, and he knew he needed a distraction, fast.

Sans got between the two of them, eyelights shaking as he looked at Dust, Sans having a hand out towards each of them, yelling, "DUST, STOP IT!"

"WHY THE HELL SHOULD I STOP AFTER THAT?! YOU'RE SERIOUSLY STICKING UP FOR HIM?!" Dust asked in rage. 

"NO I'M NOT, BUT-!" Dust cut Sans off.

"DON'T YOU SAY IT!! I DIDN'T TELL PAPYRUS HE WAS A HORRIBLE BROTHER! I TRIED EXPLAINING WHAT I WAS DOING! THAT I STILL CARED ABOUT HIM! THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT!" Dust yelled, "HE MADE THE ONE MONSTER WHO DEFINITELY DIDN'T DESERVE ANY OF IT THINK HE MADE ME... HIM... YOU.... US MISERABLE! THAT WE HATED HIM! YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT'S OK!"

"I'M NOT, BUT LOOK AT KILLER!" Sans snapped back, pointing at Killer before looking back at him from the corner of his vision, seeing he still wasn't doing well. Sans looked back at Dust, seeing his surprised expression, "he's not shrugging it off right now. he feels guilty, dust."

Dust seemed to pay more attention to Killer's face after that statement, looking at his expression closely before sighing. He got rid of attacks Sans didn't even notice he'd formed, and while he was still furious, he was calming down slightly. The emptiness in Sans's thoughts and emotions grew, and he shook his skull a bit to try clearing it as he approached Killer, who was trembling, legs barely supporting him.

"killer, buddy?" Sans started, and the eyelight snapped up to look at him, more tears coming from his eye sockets.

"i'm sorry... i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm so sorry..." Killer curled in on himself tighter, sitting on the floor with his skull in his hands, shaking and near hyperventilating.

Sans was taken off guard, exchanging a shocked look with Dust before Sans slowly approached him, kneeling down in front of him. He could tell Dust was probably still glaring at him, but he was also observing the situation to figure out what the hell was going on. Sans just hoped Dust would tell him once he figured that out.

"hey- killer, it's alright, buddy... you're ok.. it's alright, buddy." Sans tried to reassure, though he was unsure as to what he was dealing with.

To Sans's shock and amazement, Killer lunged forward, hugging him and crying into his shoulder, clinging onto his jacket with a vice-like grip. Sans looked back over at Dust in mild alarm, seeing the dusty skeleton's jaw dropped. Killer cried harder, sobbing uncontrollably as he choked out apologies between his sobs. Sans had seen a glimpse of this the last timeline, with Killer crying after Dust's nightmare, but this one sent him over the edge, breaking him down.

Sans wasnt sure if this was helping prevent going into that trance, or making it worse from his emotions on it, but he wasn't focusing on that right now. Sans could see that this nightmare had torn down any walls Killer had put up, and it'd ripped the floodgates open and nearly drowned him. Sans gently rubbed his back, and Killer cried harder, somehow clinging to him tighter as he broke down. Sans looked up back at Dust, who hesitated, before teleporting next to and kneeling next to Killer, patting him on the back a bit.

"i still hate you, but i know how it feels..." Dust muttered after a moment, looking off to the side.

"i'm so sorry... i didn't mean it.. i... i just... i was.... i... i.... i....." Killer was tripping over his words, unable to get them out.

"hey, take your time. it's ok. take all the time you need." Sans told him, trying to be gentle with him until he figured out what the hell was going on.

Sans had never, ever expected anything like this to happen. Killer was usually so apathetic, and even with what happened when he woke up the last timeline, he didn't think he'd ever see Killer like this... 

"i..." Killer spoke up again, "i'm so sorry.... paps, i didn't mean it.... i didn't mean any of it...."

Sans's and Dust's eye sockets both widened, taken off guard. Killer thought he was hugging and apologizing to Papyrus? Sans knew it was just Killer breaking down and not perceiving his surroundings, but it still hurt a bit to see him like this; it hurt to see anyone like this. Sans might not like Killer, but Killer wasn't too bad to hang out with, as long as he wasn't being a sociopathic, apathetic jerk. Granted that was most of the time, but there were moments they could actually get along. Killer cried for a while longer before seeming to settle down, sniffling a bit. 

"killer? you with us, buddy?" Sans asked. 

"i... y-yeah.... s-sorry..." Killer apologized, releasing Sans and sitting back down on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest as he stared at the floor, the eyelight in his left eye socket still lit, and it was shaking.

"hey, you... you don't have to apologize. you did enough of that before... look, do uh... do you wanna explain what's happening? never seen ya like this, pal." Sans said.

"don't act friendly with me. i.. i don't deserve it." Killer muttered.

"yeah, you really don't." Dust agreed, and Sans gave him a harsh glare, so Dust continued, "but you didn't deserve going through hell either..."

"yeah... do umm... do you want to talk about anything? it might help you?" Sans asked. 

"i... he's just so lucky, so oblivious, not just in my timeline but in yours too... he doesn't know about anything going on. it's just me, it was always me, left to suffer in silence to keep everyone else happy; to not take them down with me as i suffer. papyrus... i always tried protecting him most...i always warned him, tried to help him, keep him alive, keep him away from chara... but he always got killed.

"he always sought them out, believing the best in everyone. i... i'm jealous of how happy and hopeful and positive he is, how much he can keep everyone encouraged, how much enthusiasm he has.... how much faith he put into some brat, thinking he can save them from themself... i suffered even more because he trusted his ability to rehabilitate a random murderer more than his own brother's warnings; more than my attempts to save his life.... his stupid, naive, stubborn, precious life..." More tears formed in Killer's eye sockets as he talked, trickling down his cheekbones.

Sans looked down, understanding Killer's point of view in a way. He could understand how that could be... upsetting... Papyrus doesn't seem to know better though, which Sans guessed was his own fault for preserving Papyrus's innocence for as long as he had, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to take it from him. If only he'd known better...

"and i.. i want to hate him for it, i want to so badly, but i can't bring myself to... he's my little brother, and... and when i'd made that damned deal, everything was supposed to stop... but it didn't. it was just another loop but i wasn't suffering as much anymore because they broke me like a damn toy and put my pieces back together in the wrong spots with a hot glue gun so they could make a new toy out of me..." Killer spat. 

Sans didn't know what to say, he just kept letting Killer get all of this out. Dust was silent too, watching the scene before him; unsure of what to do as Killer continued talking.

"and it always hurts.... my soul always hurts... i'm not supposed to have this much determination, my soul isn't supposed to be broken... but it is... and i can't fix it.... i can't fix myself, i'm just a damn shell of who i was and i can't go back.. there's no going back..."

Sans's soul ached a bit, still unused to seeing Killer like this, looking at him with sympathy. Sans glanced at Dust, seeing him looking off to the side, half glaring off into the void, and half seeming to be trying to figure out how he felt about the whole thing. He knew Dust was probably still furious about what Killer had said and done to Papyrus, which Sans was too, but they were both well aware of how much Chara had broken him. Sans had little doubts Chara had twisted Killer's mind to feel that way towards Papyrus, or had at the very least encouraged it, if all of the Resets and watching Papyrus get himself killed over and over again hadn't done that on their own. Sans knew personally how much Killer went through; he'd seen and felt all of it, and he was still feeling it, the daze trying to take him over proof enough of that. Sans looked over at Dust a second time, seeing him thinking about something before sighing, beginning to speak.

"look... i know what it feels like to kill paps. how we did it and the circumstances of it are different, and even if you'd only killed him once, you could've made it quick and painless. i will never forgive you for what you did with that brat, but... i know how it feels, and since you're finally getting the knife out of your coccyx, maybe you can let yourself process what you did and why it was so wrong; don't just bottle up your pain and shrug it off. learn from it and better yourself; try to be better here now that you have the chance to be, since you're away from them. you're still a piece of crap and all, and i still hate you, but... i also know how much you went through because of that brat, and you held out longer than i did and ever could have."

". . . thanks..." Killer mumbled, voice quiet, but he seemed a bit calmer.

". . . you're welcome." Dust replied, voice reluctant.

Dust and Killer kept talking, and Sans finally couldn't hold off the trance, whispers growing louder as Sans's thoughts and emotions faded out, finding it difficult to think. It lasted for a few seconds before Dust was snapping his fingers in front of Sans's face, snapping him out of it. Sans blinked a bit, vision re-focusing and his feelings and thoughts snapped back to him.

"you back with us?" Dust asked him.

"yeah, thanks.." Sans replied, blinking a bit more to get rid of any possible traces of the daze, and Dust nodded. Sans thought for a moment, looking at Killer's red and white upside-down heart soul, before he asked, "hey, killer? why does your soul look different right now?..."

"it's uh... my soul has different stages. this is stage one, then the target is stage two. then there's... one other stage. that one's more dangerous, and i don't recommend getting close to it..." Killer explained.

"so you have more emotions right now?" Dust asked, receiving a nod from Killer before he grimaced.

His soul started spasming, warping on itself and spinning, morphing back into it's regular target shape. It looked... painful, to say the least, and Sans winced. Killer curled in on himself a bit more, breathing shuddering and shaking before it evened out as his soul stabilized. Broken Determination started trickling from his eye sockets like normal, and the eyelight flickered out of existence. 

". . . i'll give you two hundred g to forget about all that." Killer told them, looking between them both, only getting a sigh from Sans and a scoff from Dust.

"not a chance." Dust told him, Sans shaking his skull no.

". . . if i gave you each two hundred g to forget all about that?" Killer tried.

"nope." Dust denied.

"yeah, no way. you can let your walls down, killer. you don't need to constantly block every bit of you that has emotions out. i've seen your thoughts, i know how hard you try to make yourself feel something, but when you do feel something, you don't like it." Sans pointed out.

"that's because i want to feel something other than numbness or pain, lucks!" Killer snapped, and Dust and Sans both sighed. 

"i know you do, but-" Killer cut Sans off. 

"isn't papyrus supposed to come wake you up soon? we don't have time for this."

"yes we-!" Dust started, but Killer interrupted him.

"no, we don't." Killer said before vanishing.

Sans and Dust exchanged a glance, Sans sighing while Dust pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity as he sighed. Sans pulled himself back to awareness, and he saw Killer sitting on the treadmill, fidgeting with a knife while looking moderately irritated. Dust appeared by the bedroom door, sending Killer an unreadable look that Killer didn't react to, either not caring or just ignoring him.

Dust sighed before looking back at Sans, asking, 'hey sans, who do you think will be in control this time around?'

'no clue, but we should be ready for anything. that was either karter or iggy last time, based on what frisk told me. either another pacifist, or a genocidal brat again.' Sans replied.

'how do we know it's not a neutral route?' Killer asked.

'riley mentioned they hadn't kept track of how often they were in control, but they'd had control before i started remembering timelines. they probably completed the neutral routes enough to where they decided on doing a true pacifist or just straight up genocide.' Sans told him, and Killer shrugged.

'it would make sense.' Dust said after a moment, 'i vote we stay outside the ruins after papyrus comes to wake you up. that way if it's another genocide route, we can get ahead of it.'

Sans nodded in agreement, and Killer spoke up, saying, 'i've got a question.'

'what is it?' Sans asked.

'what if this situation doesn't last? with them juggling for control over the body, that is. what if we wind up with a permanent genocider?' Killer asked.

"that... is a scary thought." Sans admitted.

'i don't think it could happen. from what i remember, the kid in my universe changed after nine genocide runs. this timeline has probably seen more than it's fair share of those." Dust pointed out.

'you remember the early on resets?' Killer questioned.

'some of them. my memory is pretty patchy, and there's big gaps, but i definitely remember nine being the magic number before everything really turned into a constant hell. we are alternate timelines, so maybe this one's different. maybe this is an entirely new timeline, or at least somewhat new.' Dust said.

"how's that possible?" Sans asked. 

'chara had access to something called an 'erase button'. maybe the kid erased the timeline, like a fresh slate. don't think anything like this happened before, considering how clueless the kid is about all this.' Killer informed.

'meaning maybe it hasn't reached nine genocide routes yet. just one incomplete one because dust saved everyone last time.' Dust added.

'so that means we have time! all we need to do is stop them from killing everyone, and then there won't be a genocide loop because their lv is too low.' Sans smiled.

'until they find a way into the true lab.' Killer muttered pessimistically.

'not if we stay there guarding the place.' Sans pointed out.

'true.' Dust nodded. 

Papyrus opened the door a moment later, all three of them flinching. "GOOD MORNING, BROTH- OH, YOU'RE ALREADY AWAKE! WONDERFUL! COME ON, SANS! I HAVE A GOOD DAY ABOUT TODAY! A HUMAN WILL FALL, I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONES, NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Sans followed after him, getting out of bed, stretching and popping his vertebrae before heading downstairs, Dust vanishing as Sans walked past him. Sans descended the stairs, arriving at the kitchen and seeing Killer sitting up by the sink, his legs swung over the edge while looking at the same knife, no longer fidgeting with it. Dust was leaning against the base of the sink, and Papyrus was making some spaghetti over by the stove. 

'hey, sans? can i ask you for something?' Dust asked, gaining Sans's attention.

'yeah, sure. what is it?' Sans replied.

'can uh... can i eat the spaghetti. i know you don't like it, so...' Dust trailed off, and Sans subtly nodded.

'i don't see why not.' Sans told him, Dust smiling ever so slightly.

Papyrus finished cooking a moment later, plating some of the 'food' and holding it out to Sans after walking over to him.

"HERE YOU ARE, BROTHER! ONE PLATE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus told him, Sans accepting it.

"thanks, bro. you're the coolest." Sans replied, Papyrus smiling happily in response.

"IT'S DIFFICULT NOT TO BE THE COOLEST WHEN YOU'RE THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus grinned, making a dramatic pose, scarf blowing in nonexistent wind as he started making his oatmeal and dinosaur eggs. 

Sans smiled a bit, ignoring the pain in his soul at remembering Killer's nightmare, and he headed over to the couch, Dust sitting there already, waiting. Sans approached him, sitting down where he was, and he felt a biting chill go through his body once again, and he was out of control. Dust twitched Sans's fingers a bit, experimentally to make sure he was in control, Sans's vision darting around the room as his toes curled into the socks and slippers on his feet. Dust looked down at the plate of pasta in his hands, taking the mittens off, putting them on the couch next to him and grabbing the fork, stabbing it through the pasta and rotating it in his fingers.

The fork was cold in Sans's hand, but not nearly as cold as Dust or Killer's touches could be. Once getting a small amount wrapped around the fork's prongs, and Dust moved Sans's arm and hand to put it in his mouth. Sans personally was disgusted by the texture of it, wanting to gag but being completely unable to, Dust chewing it before swallowing the 'food'. Sans mentally shuddered, but Dust couldn't sense it, like how Sans couldn't sense their emotions when they weren't in control. Dust thought he saw Papyrus glancing over at him from around the corner, and he pulled his hood up self-consciously, casting a shadow over his face. 

'i still don't get how you eat that crap...' Killer muttered, appearing over by the table with the rock on it. 

'i already told you. he makes it trying to feed us.' Dust replied.

'more like poison us...' Killer muttered.

'watch it.' Dust glared, eyelights flashing red and cyan for a moment.

'he kinda has a point...' Sans pointed out.

Dust rolled Sans's eyelights, looking back down at the plate and gathering more spaghetti around the fork prongs, twirling the fork with Sans's fingers, getting some of the sauce on it this time, and once it entered San's mouth, Sans and Dust were surprised by what it was, Killer mildly disgusted, earning a mental middle finger after saying, 'ulgh'

"hey pap, is this ketchup?" Dust asked, Papyrus looking around the corner at him, having just finished making his own food.

"YES IT IS! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD APPREICATE IT! WOULD YOU LIKE ANYTHING ELSE?" Papyrus asked.

"no, this is... this is really good, pap. it's just a surprise. what brought this on?" Dust questioned. 

"I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MY AMAZING BROTHER HAPPY, THAT'S ALL!" Papyrus replied.

Sans's eyelights vanished, the nightmare flashing through his and Dust's mind, and Sans even saw Killer tense up from the corner of his vision.

"DOES MY EXISTENCE HURT YOU?"

 "OH SANS, I DIDN'T KNOW... IF MY DEATH MAKES YOU HAPPY, THEN IT'S OK... IT'S OK... ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY...." 

"GOODBYE, BROTHER...." 

Sans's hands shook, Dust feeling a tidal wave of emotions Sans wasn't even sure how to process, and Dust blinked Sans's eye sockets rapidly, a few purple tears forming that, unlike Killer's freezing Broken Determination, burned, just like they did the last timeline. Dust lowered Sans's skull, looking down at the plate, reaching Sans's free hand up to wipe at the tears, the liquid burning his phalanges before Dust wiped them on the couch. 

'how.... there's no way, right?...' Dust asked, Sans manifesting next to Killer as Dust looked over at them.

'do you think he remembers?' Sans questioned.

'well he remembers something. i've noticed that about the others too. they seem unnerved when they see my or killer's characteristics, like it's familiar, and not in a good way. i think this is affecting more than just us, but they're not affected nearly like how we are.' Dust replied, 'damnit, this isn't good...'

'what do we do about this? what if this starts getting worse? what if they see one of you and thinks-'

'they won't. we can't consider that option, especially considering killer's timeline. mine isn't as bad; i didn't tell papyrus that i hated him.' Dust shot a pointed glare at Killer, eyelights reappearing. 

Dust hid his expression as Papyrus walked over to the couch, forcing a smile onto his face as he kept eating, though he was glaring at Killer from under his hood. Sans could feel the expression on his face, his eye sockets narrowed and the frown trying to pull at the faux smile. Dust was so angry, even hateful, but Sans could feel below the surface how he was sad and self-loathing, not just Killer-loathing. And underneath all of that... was the fear. Sans stopped going any deeper after that. 

'look, if they start remembering the timelines, isn't that good for us? i mean think about it, for so long it's just been us going through it. if someone else knows, then maybe things would get easier?' Killer shrugged, 'the whole reason me and you got so screwed up is because we had no one to talk to about it. now, maybe lucky won't end up so... you know...'

'a bit too late for that.' Sans told him, moving his manifestation to look at him.

'besides, it's not a good thing for them to remember, especially not the genocide timelines.' Dust added, eating another bite of the pasta, Sans internally grimacing again.

'want it or not, we might not have a choice.' Killer shrugged.

'that's the part that sucks.' Sans sighed.

"HOW IS IT, BROTHER? IS IT GOOD? SHOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN IN THE FUTURE?" Papyrus asked, gaining Dust's attention.

Sans's skull turned to look up at Papyrus, his eyelights meeting Papyrus's eye sockets. For some reason, Papyrus's appearance flickered, his skull floating there with the tattered scarf around his neck, eye sockets filled with an eerie glowing red light. The hallucination was gone as soon as it appeared, with Dust mostly unphased and Sans was rattled, losing his grip on his manifestation after Dust looked away from him and Killer.

"it's amazing, thanks, paps. ya don't gotta fret and worry about making me happy, bro. i'm happy right now, you don't have to go the extra mile, i'm extremely easy to please." Dust said with Sans's mouth and voice, taking another bite of the spaghetti.

"ALRIGHT. I JUST... I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. I'M THE STRONGER ONE, I SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR YOU MORE. YOU ONLY HAVE 1 HP, AND I CAN FORGET THAT SOMETIMES." Papyrus said.

Dust placed the near empty plate of pasta on the cushion next to him, moving Sans's body to stand up on the one he had been sitting on and hugging Papyrus. His grip was tight yet fragile, like he would turn to dust with too much strength, and Dust was holding back any tears trying to get out of Sans's eye sockets. Dust didn't know how much his brother remembered, but he needed to make sure he was alright and knew everything was ok. He needed to make sure that, if by some curse, Papyrus remembered something, that he passed it off as a bad dream and completely unrealistic, not even worth a sliver of a doubt. Ignorance was bliss. 

"you don't have to worry about me, paps. i can take care of myself. i'm your big brother, after all, you're still just a kid. i should be taking care of you more, not the other way around. ya already feed me before you feed yourself, you work hard to get a good job, you were always an a+ student, and you still have some of your childhood left, i mean i know you only have a few years left til' you're all grown up and out kicking butt, so don't worry about taking care of me, ok?" Dust reassured, pulling away to look him in the eye sockets.

Papyrus had a few tears in his eye sockets, blinking a bit as he started to protest, "BUT-!"

Dust didn't let him get past the first word.

"no buts. now, do you wanna tell me what brought this on?" Dust asked. 

"I JUST... HAD A NIGHTMARE. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS ABOUT, BUT I WOKE UP WITH A STRONG URGE TO KEEP YOU SAFE, AND I FELT LIKE I'D LET YOU DOWN..." Papyrus answered solemnly. 

"you don't need to worry about that. nothing bad will ever happen to me, ok?" Dust told him, and Sans knew that Dust knew he was lying through Sans's teeth.

"I KNOW THAT, BUT.... I JUST CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL LIKE I DID SOMETHING THAT HURT YOU, BE IT PHYSICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY, AND I WANT TO ENSURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN." Papyrus said. 

Dust hugged him a bit tighter, Sans's arms squeezing him a bit more. "i'm ok, papyrus, really. only thing i need from you is for you to not be so hard on yourself. you don't have to bend over backwards trying to make me happy and safe when i already am."

Papyrus nodded a bit. "OK..."

"thank you." Dust smiled

Dust teleported to the kitchen, Sans's vision changing to him on top of the sink, grabbing the sponge with Sans's hand, putting soap on it, and starting to wash it once he turned the water on.

"SANS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO-" Papyrus started, and Sans heard him walking over behind Dust.

"nope. i'm washing it." Dust insisted, leaving no room for argument. 

"YOU DON'T NEED TO-" Papyrus tried objecting once again, but Dust was too stubborn for that.

"paps." Dust said firmly, finishing washing it and starting to dry it off once turning the water off, "it's fine, really. i've got it covered."

"ARE YOU SURE THERE'S NOTHING MORE I CAN DO?" Papyrus asked, and Dust thought for a moment.

If Dust told him to stay away from the kid if they were genocidal, maybe he would listen...

".... paps, if i tell you not to trust someone and stay away from them, would you do that? no seeking them out? just staying put?" Dust questioned, teleporting down from the sink and turning around to face him.

"I... SUPPOSE SO, YES. WHY?" Papyrus asked.

"just wanna keep you safe, that's really all you can do for me. you want me happy, that's all it takes." Dust replied, giving him a small smile.

"ALRIGHT, IF YOU'RE CERTAIN! I'LL BE THE SAFEST SKELETON IN THE UNDERGROUND, OTHER THAN YOU BECAUSE I'LL BE KEEPING YOU SAFE TOO! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus responded, much more upbeat now, and Dust sighed in relief. "OH NO! WE'RE ALMOST LATE!"

Sans appeared over to the right, making himself manifest, and his vision moved over to meet his eyelights, and this was still freaky. 

'want me to take control?' Sans asked him.

'yeah, go for it.' Dust answered, Sans having his manifestation walk over and grab his own arm, the chill forming once again as the manifestation pulled before vanishing. 

Sans blinked a bit, putting his hands in his pockets and relaxing as he got control over his body back, enjoying being in control again. Being late wouldn't be a problem, not when Sans could teleport. He grabbed Papyrus's hand, teleporting them both to one of the sentry stations in Snowdin, his mittens forgotten on the couch. 

Papyrus was pointing at a clock, and yup, they were almost late. That wouldn't be a problem. Sans walked over to Dust, walking through him, and he took control back. Sans then walked over to Papyrus, teleporting them both to one of the sentry stations.

"tada." Sans grinned up at Papyrus, who was smiling gratefully.

"THANK YOU, BROTHER!" Papyrus thanked him.

"you're welcome, bro." Sans replied, and he teleported himself to the Ruins door, waiting.

Dust and Killer appeared on either side of the large purple doors, waiting for one to open. A minute later, the kid opened the door, tears coming from their eyes as they ran over to him, hugging him tightly before he could react. Sans stood there, frozen, as the kid cried into his chest, clinging to his jacket. Sans hesitated, looking between Dust and Killer before patting their back reassuringly, sending a bone through the camera in the bushes.

'deja vu.' Dust muttered, looking at Killer, who tackled him almost immediately.

The two started roughhousing on the ground, not disturbing a single bit of snow, though it was very distracting. The only puffs of particles appearing as they fought was the dust from, well, Dust.

"you uh... you ok, kid?" Sans asked them.

"S-Skyler..." The human, Skyler, responded, introducing themselves as they backed away from him, still looking at him in concern as they wiped tears from their eyes, "I.. I'm so sorry for what they did... I... how didn't you...?"

"i had some help last reset. he got everyone to safety... he also kept me from getting killed, which was nice." Sans answered.

"I think I remember that.... His Gaster Blaster killed them in one hit..." Skyler mumbled.

"yeah, that was him. we're callin' him dust, and he's actually an ok guy. compared to killer, at least... that doesn't say much, though, but dust is... he's alright." Sans told them. 

'hey!' Killer snapped indignantly while he was being pinned down by Dust. 

Sans watched them for a moment and sighed. Skyler turned around to look where Sans was looking, and asked, "What's happening?"

"killer and dust are currently fighting. dust doesn't like killer all that much." Sans explained. 

"You can see them?" Skyler asked.

"oh, uh... yeah. i can. they can appear when they want to, and i can do that when they take control. it's... extremely weird." Sans answered, and they nodded a bit.

"Oh... umm... Dust can hear me right?" Skyler asked, and Sans nodded, "Dust? I'm so, so sorry for what happened. Karter is such a.... a..." Skyler trailed off, trying to think of the right word to say before they exploded, angry, "Such a butthead!"

Killer's and Dust's fight halted, both of them freezing as they looked over at Skyler, and a moment later they both burst out laughing. Dust fell to the ground next to Killer, arms around his abdomen as he laughed, and Killer wasn't doing much better, in a similar position, but he was laughing much harder than Dust was. Killer's laughter was mildly forced, but it was still at least somewhat genuine.

'that's the best they could think of?! a butthead?!' Killer wheezed, and Dust was snickering.

'tell 'em it's... it's ok. it wasn't their fault.' Dust told Sans, putting a fist to his mouth to attempt to stifle his laughter. It was very briefly successful; a few seconds at most before he burst out laughing again.  

"dust said it's ok; it wasn't your fault." Sans told Skyler, trying to ignore their laughter.

'they couldn't have at least said something a little less childish?! for example-' Killer asked as he proceeded to list off multiple insults.

"killer, stop! what the hell?!" Sans snapped, looking at him in shock. Another particular insult made Dust start wheezing.

"What? What happened?" Skyler questioned, alarmed.

"killer is uh... he's being ki- wait, that's a word?!" Sans asked Killer in shock, who nodded, laughing, "that sounds like a computer typo! where did you even learn that?"

'chara.' Killer answered simply, Sans flinching slightly from the name.

"... and where did they learn it?" Sans questioned.

'hell if i know. all i know is that it's funny.' Killer replied, and Sans sighed. 

'i know some fun ones too.' Dust spoke up, a smirk on his face.

"dust, no. do not encourage him." Sans pleaded, almost wishing they'd start fighting again.

'that's some real ill will right there, lucky~' Killer snickered.

Skyler was watching him with a mix of concern and amusement, holding back quiet laughs as they watched the one-sided conversation, unaware of what Killer and Dust were saying. Sans almost thought he was actually lucky for once and that they weren't actually going to get along now of all times, but he was sadly disappointed when both of them started cursing at each other, trading off insults and swears.

"kid, i am really glad you can't hear this. well, if you heard it you'd probably think it was funny, but i'm happy you can't hear them." Sans told them.

'i'm not. i wanna give the kid ammo against flowey.' Killer smirked.

'i'm sure the tame ones won't hurt...' Dust mumbled, thoughtful.

"i can't believe you two are actually getting along over this of all things." Sans sighed out loud.

"What's going on?" Skyler asked him, curious.

"flowey knows about what the resets are doing to me and dust and killer want you to insult him." Sans answered.  

"Crap...." Skyler muttered before asking, "What are you gonna do?"

"nothing, just wait to see if he's stupid about this." Sans replied.

'if he does something idiotic, i'll just kill him.' Killer informed.

'i'll help hide the dust.' Dust volunteered.

'no need, there won't be any dust if i use my gaster blaster.' Killer told him.

'do you want to get caught? if we did anything, we'd need to be subtle. you know that.' Dust chided.

'good point, good point... i suppose i can cut him down to size, you think we can use a vacuum cleaner on him?' Killer asked.

'you wanna risk flowey turning into a mad dummy type situation?' Dust asked.

'true, true... what if we used weed spray on him?' Killer suggested.

'it's possible.' Dust replied.

"what the hell is this conversation?" Sans asked, causing the two of them to snicker. "how did you two go from not getting along at all to fighting, then to trading insults, and now to plotting out a murder?"

"They're what?!" Skyler questioned in alarm.

"plotting flowey's murder if it's necessary." Sans sighed, shaking his skull.

'it's what happens when you've got two homicidal skeletons in your head.' Killer said.

'you're worse than i am.' Dust pointed out.

'as long as you admit it~' Killer grinned. 

"killer, that's... not a good thing..." Sans sighed.

'to you it's not.' Killer smirked at him, reaching into his pocket, grabbing a knife and fidgeting with it. 

Sans just sighed again, completely exasperated, and Skyler patted him on the back. 

'hang on one second.' Killer said, and without warning, he jumped into Sans.

Sans's body stumbled back instinctively, eye sockets squeezing shut and his bones rattled from the freezing chill. Killer took control over the body, eye sockets opening to look up at them, eyelights absent

"Sans?" Skyler asked.

'killer!' Sans yelled, manifesting behind Skyler, but something was... different.

He was seeing out of the perspective of his manifestation, looking down at his hands before back up at Killer, seeing a faint image of Killer's form over his body, not covering it but Sans could see it well enough. His whole body felt like it was absent of feeling, Sans having to concentrate on his movements, unable to feel himself moving. Was this what had changed the last Reset?... 

"not quite~" Killer replied to the kid, a smirk on his face that Sans could both feel and see. 

"Killer?" Skyler asked, reasonably wary.

"yup. look, i need ya to do a favor for me, ok? next time you see flowey, i need you to tell him something for me. it's very important, ok?" Killer requested, and Skyler nodded hesitantly, "i need you to tell him... what'd you say about him before, dusty?"

'that he should date an echo flower because the only thing he can ever love is the sound of his own voice.' Dust replied, and Killer snickered, repeating it.

"That... pffft!" Skyler started laughing, holding a hand over their mouth.

'also tell him he's nothing more than a dandelion throwing a temper tantrum because his parents didn't love him enough to know who he was.' Dust said, 'and the only one who cares about him is papyrus who cares about everyone, whereas anyone else would jump at a chance to kill him a second time and drown him in weed killer.'

"... damn, dust." Killer muttered, mildly impressed, and he told Skyler what Dust said.

Skyler's jaw dropped, and Sans was looking at Dust in shock.

This. This was what made them get along? Seriously?!

'and-' Dust started, but Sans cut him off.

'ok, ok, i think everyone gets the point.' Sans told him, and he grabbed Killer's hood.

Sans pulled him out of control, everything cold for a moment before it went back to normal, his eyelights flickering back into existence.

'awwwww i didn't even get to tell them the ones me and chara bounced back and fourth about him...' Killer pouted, sitting in the snow behind them.

"i think we can live with that." Sans sighed, briefly turning around to look at him where he was sitting on the snow.

'for now... they'll find out eventually...' Killer smirked before snickering.

'tell me in the subconscious. if flowey tries anything we can unleash hell before killing him.' Dust told him.

'... i think the two of us will get along just fine, dusty.' Killer smiled.

'hell no. i still hate you.' Dust denied, but there was less heat in his words than before, and Killer chuckled.

'we'll see about that~' Killer smirked.

'we'll see my foot up your coccyx after i kick it.' Dust responded.

'that or something else of yours~' Killer winked, and Dust's eye socket twitched, his skull turning purple as Sans barely suppressed a shocked laugh.

'killer, you son of a bi-!'

"What are they talking about?" Skyler asked, Sans concentrating on their voice instead of Dust's swearing.

"they're just being kids." Sans sighed in response.

"HELLO, BROTHER!!!" Papyrus yelled from the distance, greeting him, Sans looking around before his eyelights landed on him, seeing him walking over to them.

'speaking of kids... welp, have fun, i'm gonna plot out flowey's murder plans. dust, you coming?' Killer asked.

'yeah. i don't trust leaving you unattended anywhere.' Dust replied, and Killer beamed.

'if that's your way of denying the fact you wanna hang out with me, i'll take it.' Killer smirked.

'don't push your luck.' Dust told him.

Sans heard them both in his subconscious, able to tell by how easy they were to block out; easier than the whispers which were somehow quieter than them, but almost nothing could drown them out. The peace and quiet would be nice, but it'd also be dreadful. Sans had almost gotten used to the constant chatter and chaos, and if that.. state showed up, he would need to figure out a way to jolt himself out of it if Dust and Killer weren't paying attention to what was happening outside of the subconscious. 

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Six

Upon arriving at the True Lab, Dust released Papyrus's arm, and he ran to the elevator, footsteps expertly silent behind him, likely leaving Papyrus confused as to what was going on. Dust closed the elevator doors once he got inside of it, pushing the button to go up. Killer appeared in his vision a moment later, leaning against the left side of the elevator, fidgeting with a knife.

'so, it's about time this happened. i've been waiting for it.' Killer mentioned, and Dust could feel his sight on him despite the void-like eye sockets. It was strange to feel like you're being watched by a hallucination that shared your point of view perception wise. 'it is pretty weird. just means i always have access to a mirror.'

"is there something you want?" Dust asked him in irritation.

'just wanted to say i'm cheering you on while you kill the brat.' Killer said, grinning at him, narrowing his eye sockets.

"i'm not." Dust replied.

'what?' Killer asked in confusion, eye sockets going wide and grin vanishing, and Sans appeared on the right side of the elevator, 'why not?'

"why do you think? this whole situation gets worse each time the timeline is rewound. saves don't do anything because the timeline still flows forward, reloads and resets on the other hand, those aren't that simple. now, since this seems like a genocide route, our best bet is to hide in the true lab, saving who we can and protecting them on the off chance something goes wrong. i don't know about you, but i don't feel like making the situation much worse than it needs to be, especially not by making them keep reloading after being killed." Dust explained.

'good point. it's way too dangerous and risky.' Sans agreed.

'yeah. good thinking, dustbunny.' Killer complimented, prompting Dust to roll his eyelights before noticing the pun.

"dustbunny?" Dust asked, fighting back a smirk at the pun, and Killer snickered at the reaction.

'eh, why not?' Killer asked, shrugging a bit with a slight grin on his face. Dust sighed, lowering his skull and gaze down to the floor, a mix of annoyance and irritation. 'come on, you can't even appreciate my humor in this?'

"not right now, this is a serious situation, killer." Dust sighed, closing his eye sockets for a moment as he exhaled, "not that you can even comprehend that."

'ouch. for your information, mr. emo dustball-' "i hate you." '-i am capable of being serious. don't tell me you forgot how to use humor in serious situations.'

"i don't like using humor as much anymore. too many insane moments, i don't want to prompt one." Dust said.

'that's when lv is involved. you've been calm so far. rational.' Killer pointed out.

". . . why are you right?" Dust asked.

'because i'm me.' Killer smirked, and Dust scoffed, 'look, you need to relax, dust. you're so serious, and yes, this is a serious situation, but everyone else is used to 'sans the skeleton; the pun guy; the one to keep everyone level headed and calm even when crap's hitting the fan. if you show them something's wrong, they'll panic and be freaked out.'

". . . i am getting really damn fed up with you being right..." Dust seethed, fists clenching.

'you'll get used to it. he's like us-' Dust cut Sans off.

"he's not like me." Dust glared, and Sans raised his hands.

'- in the fact that he's intelligent. he's not dumb, dust.' Sans finished.

". . . thank you for having a point instead of him saying something smart again." Dust said.

'you're welcome?' Sans replied.

'heh. you two think i'm smart~' Killer snickered.

"shut up before you make me forget the fact that i said i'd try getting along with you." Dust glared.

'fine... working with you will be such a blast~' Killer smirked, Dust rolling his eyelights.

The elevator doors opened, Dust walking over to Alphys's computers, typing in the password he'd memorized from his timeline and pushing some buttons, initiating the evacuation protocol. It would bring everyone to the True Lab, and all Dust had to do was buy time and save the stragglers. This was later in the timeline than he'd ever done it in his, but Dust was up for the challenge. He'd missed doing this.

"S-Sans?" Alphys asked in surprise, approaching him, "What's wrong? Why did you a-activate the ev-evacuation pr-protocol?"

"there's a human killing monsters in the underground, and i'm trying to save as many monsters as possible." Dust explained, and Alphys's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god! Thank you for ac-activating it! Y-You're saving a-a lot of lives!" Alphys thanked him.

"i'm not done yet." Dust said, teleporting out, probably confusing Alphys as he did. 

Dust arrived at Snowdin, putting up bone barricades over the usual paths the human took, helping monsters get out of Snowdin and into Waterfall, though he was noticing some were already missing. When asked what was going on, Dust simply told them it was a drill, and it was important to be as fast as possible. Dust put up a bone wall barricade behind everyone, and he teleported again to the entrance of Waterfall. 

Dust was spreading the news as he went, telling everyone to go to Hotland and to The Lab. He was moving faster than he had in the past, which was probably due to his LV; he could feel it was at 20, and the increased stats were helping him out right now. He was checking through the smaller, more isolated areas of Waterfall, and he heard the ground crack open, and he saw Flowey pop out of the ground.

"Whatcha up to, Smiley Trashbag?" Flowey asked, and Dust sighed. 

'i never realized it, but you act like flowey sometimes, killer.' Sans snickered, and Dust fought to keep any humor off of his expression; Sans was right.

'wh-what?! take that back!' Killer snapped, and Sans laughed.

"none of your business, weed." Dust replied, narrowing his eye sockets at him in a glare; he didn't have time for this.

"You seem different." Flowey observed, "What gives? You've been acting weird these last few Resets, and I wanna know why." 

"it's none of your business." Dust glared.

"Well, I'm making it my business. Last Reset when you fought Mettaton, what even was that stuff coming out of your eye sockets anyways, and what the hell was up with the wardrobe change?" Flowey asked.

'dustyyy~ please, please let me talk with him~ pretty please with a cherry on top~' Killer asked as he appeared behind Flowey, giving Dust puppy eyes. Dust just looked away, unphased. 'killjoy.'

"as i said, it's none of your business." Dust repeated.

"Fine, then at least answer this: Why are you evacuating everyone? You're actually involved in this." Flowey asked, tilting his head.

"because i don't want everyone dying." Dust answered.

"You mean you don't want Papyrus dying, and the others are just for extra credit?~" Flowey asked, and Dust glared off to the side, "I see I'm right. Alright, now we're getting somewhere."

"you're wrong. are you really just here to piss me off?" Dust questioned.

"No, but it's definitely a plus!" Flowey replied, laughing a bit, "I just wanted to see what was up with you. You're acting really weird, and I wanna know why. Besides, I figured I could get a front row seat to this new turn of events!"

'..... he's totally Killer.' Sans said.

'i am not! i'm way better than that stupid dandelion!' Killer disagreed, and Sans gave him a flat look, appearing to his right.

'aww, don't talk bad about your own reflection, kills.' Sans snickered, dropping the flat expression, and Killer pointed a knife at Sans, his target soul shining brightly. 

'don't make me regret helping you out with your episodes.' Killer glared, the amusement gone from Sans's face

'guys, can i deal with this without you two pissing each other off?' Dust asked; he'd ask about those 'episodes' later.

'no.' Sans and Killer replied at the same time, and Dust sighed out loud.

"look, flowey, i'm really busy right now, can't we do this another time?" Dust asked as Sans and Killer surprisingly quieted down.

"Nope! Answers, Trashbag, or I'll go tell Papyrus it's safe to come out of the hole you put him in and see what happens when the kid sees him~" Flowey threatened.

"don't even think about it." Dust glared, eyelights turning red and cyan from anger, a few purple sparks coming from his left eyelight.

"That's new." Flowey observed with a slight chuckle.

"do that, and i promise you that i will make your life a living hell." Dust threatened with a dangerous glare.

Flowey grinned at him, "Then tell me what's going on. Things are changing around here, and you seem to be at the center of it. What gives?"

"i don't know, and i don't care." Dust replied, crossing his arms. He was aware, but he wasn't telling Flowey what was going on.

'i know! i know!' Killer piped up, holding his right arm up and jumping up and down in the air. Dust ignored him.

"Well, how's about we find out?" Flowey asked.

"i don't have time for this, so no. now if you'll excuse me, asriel, i have things to do." Dust said, turning around and started walking, leaving Flowey sputtering.

Flowey grabbed Dust's ankle with a vine a moment later, pulling him into the air upside-down as Flowey's face contorted so it looked like a Jack-O-Lantern's, and he asked, "H o w  d o  y o u  k n o w  m y  n a m e?"

"i know lots of things, and if you want answers, you won't do anything to papyrus. if you do, i won't tell you anything out of pure spite." Dust responded, and Flowey dropped him. Dust flipped around in the air and landed on his feet.

'and i thought i was the athletic one, heh.' Killer snickered. 

"Fine, but answer one question and I'll leave you alone for now, as you're not very entertaining: How do you know who I am?" Flowey asked.

"i mean it's not hard to do some digging and find out." Dust shrugged. 

"And you didn't reveal you knew this until just now?" Flowey asked, receiving a nod, "Interesting... I'm looking forward to the next Reset, Sans, I think we have a lot to discuss."

Flowey went back into the ground, and Dust rolled his eyelights, them turning white again as he started walking, and he continued evacuating everyone. He got to Hotland in record time, and he teleported to the bunker in The True Lab, Alphys jumping at his sudden appearance. He looked around and saw everyone else there, thankfully still including....

"BROTHER!" Papyrus greeted, waving, "I HEARD THERE WAS A DRILL! I HEARD IT WAS ALSO A RACE! THANKS TO YOU, I GOT FIRST PLACE GETTING HERE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Killer sighed a bit at the behavior, and he snapped his fingers, going into their subconscious, where Dust spent his time the last Reset. Sans still didn't understand that about Killer. 

"What's this about, Sans?" Undyne asked, walking over, "Alphys told me you triggered the drill."

"it's.... undyne, can we talk in private?" Dust asked. 

"Why?" Undyne asked.

"it's..." Dust glanced at Papyrus, a silent gesture.

"Serious? Got it." Undyne nodded, walking off.

"I WANT TO COME!" Papyrus piped up.

"sorry, bro, it's uh... it's a surprise thing, so umm..." Dust trailed off.

"NYEH? A SURPRISE? FOR WHAT PURPOSE?" Papyrus asked.

"it's for gryftmas, we're talking about a present for you." Dust lied, and he followed after Undyne, looking down. He didn't miss Alphys's sympathetic and sad look from the corner of his vision. 

Once they got enough distance from the others, Undyne turned to look at Dust, "So, what's really going on here, punk?"

"there's a human slaughtering whoever they can find in the underground for the exp, so i evacuated everyone. that way they can't become too powerful to defeat asgore, so he can kill them and take their soul himself to break the barrier." Dust explained, though he was lying through his teeth at the end.

There was no escaping this place, but he wouldn't break that news to the others. Sans appeared leaning against a wall behind Undyne, watching the interaction silently.

Undyne looked rightfully angry that someone was doing that, and asked, her eye narrowed, "How many casualties?"

"everyone in the ruins by the looks of it, and some snowdin residents. i got everyone out past that." Dust answered.

"Damnit..." Undyne clenched her fists in anger, before saying, "Good work. And here I thought you were just some lazy sentry who only joined for your brother... Didn't think you had it in you." 

"thanks. everyone here from the rest of hotland?" Dust asked.

"I think so, except for Muffet. Alphys doesn't wanna lock down the Underground without her in here." Undyne answered.

"...... i'll be right back." Dust told her, and he teleported out, reappearing in front of the door to where Muffet was.

Killer appeared next to him, and Sans was standing by the door.

'can i do it? please?~' Killer requested, 'i've been craving some action, and you've been doing a bunch of boring pacifist bullcrap the whole timeline. i wanna have some fun this timeline!' 

'i trust you less than i trust dust, and i don't think he trusts you either.' Sans said.

'why? why don't you trust little old me?~' Killer asked, grinning, right eye socket half closed.

'because you're a complete and utter psycho.' Sans deadpanned.

'he's got a point.' Dust agreed, 'besides, i don't trust you not to do something stupid.'

'.... what if i didn't hurt her that bad? a few scuffs and that's it.' Killer offered, 'you saw me fight mettaton, i didn't kill him. i know self restraint, and i can help. we can work together here, dust. let me help. i'm going to die of boredom.'

'you won't be missed.' Dust told him, Killer frowning a bit and Sans snorting.

'maybe not, but i do want in on this. sooooo...?~'

Dust sighed after a bit of contemplation, and he nodded, causing Killer to grin. 

'thanks, dusty!' Killer grinned at him as he tackled Dust in a hug, subsequently pushing Dust out of control of Sans's body and putting himself in the figurative driver's seat, pulling his hood down, which Dust immediately missed.

Killer made sure his soul was hidden, and he walked over to the door, kicking the door open easily. He walked in, steps silent as he looked around, seeing spiders skittering around, and he tiptoed around the spider webs, avoiding getting ensnared in them. The grin was gone, replaced with a small smirk instead, and he looked over at Muffet as he approached her, his hands in his pockets. 

"Oh! Hello, deary!" Muffet greeted, pouring herself some tea.

"hey. heard you weren't coming for the drill?" Killer asked, tilting his skull a bit and closing his right eye socket slightly.

"Hmm? Oh, no! Why, there's this child who stole from me, and I intend to... make them pay." Muffet told him, "By the way, you seem different..."

"a good different, i hope... with that said, the drill's mandatory, sooo...." Killer trailed off, pointing at the door behind him with his thumb.

"And yet they sent you to come get me." Muffet mused, condescending. 

"i sent myself. now come on; the brat can wait." Killer ordered. 

"I'd rather not." Muffet denied, sipping some of her tea.

"that wasn't a request." Killer glared, hands no longer in his pocket as he crossed his arms.

"Was that a threat?" Muffet asked, her eyes narrowing at him as her theme started up.

"what do you think it was?" Killer retorted, his own eye sockets narrowing in an antagonistic glare, a smirk on his face.

Muffet shot webs at him, Killer teleporting out of the way to avoid them. Her song switched into his, Occisor playing like it had with Mettaton. Muffet wasn't the boss monster here; Killer was. The choir of deceased souls he had singing for him in his theme was proof enough of that. 

Muffet blinked in confusion from his dodge and the song change before she received a flying kick to the face, Killer's slipper leaving a mark on her cheek. The spiders around them all lunged at Killer, and he dodged, running out of the way, teleporting above Muffet, and when she went to use her webs on him, he teleported out of the way. Upon landing, several webs shot at him, and he backflipped over them, jumping to a wall as more shot where he landed. He leapt off the wall as spiders flew at him, and he skidded to a stop on the floor, using a bone shield to block more webs, teleporting away as more came at him from behind.

Muffet's pet emerged from the depths of the room, charging at him, biting and roaring. Killer dodged each attempt the monstrous cupcake with legs made to bite him, making it crash into walls by evading it. He pierced it with a few sharp bones before pinning it to a wall with more bones before finally bringing up a wall of bones around it, ensuring it would stay there and couldn't cause any further complications. It roared at him in rage, breaking free from the wall but it couldn't escape the bones.

He used the impact of an attack to propel himself up to a ledge, jumping off of it and onto a wall. Killer used a sharp bone to cut long webs off at the top, and he grabbed the strands in bunches. From there, he jumped down next to Muffet, and he quickly ran around her. He was alternating between teleportation and running to increase his speed, sliding and jumping under and over attacks that came at him. He pulled the strings taut upon reaching the end of the strands, and Muffet fell to the ground, struggling. He'd trapped her in her own webs.

"How dare you?! Do you realize who you're-?!" Killer stuffed a spider donut in her mouth, and all that could be heard was furious muffled words, likely cursing him out. He grabbed some of the web, grinning in satisfaction as he took his time to drag her back to the True Lab, and Dust appeared in front of him.

'. . . not bad.' Dust admitted.

'thanks.' Killer smirked.

'all you're doing is just pissing her off.' Sans pointed out, appearing next to Dust after a blink.

Killer just grinned at them, that being his point, and they both sighed in exasperation. The walk back wasn't too long, and Dust got control back at the door to The Lab, and he pulled the body's hood back up, Killer once again watching everything like a first person movie.

Dust stepped inside, Killer still snickering in the depths of their subconscious, and he dragged Muffet to the elevator, going down it and heading to the bunker. Dust rolled his eyelights at the laughter, irritated with Killer but still impressed with his skills; Killer was a good fighter, and he'd kept his word, Dust would give him that... Everyone looked over at Dust when the door opened, all visibly surprised. Dust dropped Muffet by Undyne after the door closed, and he teleported to a couch, taking a much needed break. Dust laid down on the cushions, arms folded behind his skull, looking up at the ceiling with a yawn trying to pull itself from his mouth.

'you ok?' Sans asked.

'yeah, killer just drained this body's stamina.' Dust replied, and Killer snickered darkly, appearing crouched in a frog-like position on the back of the couch, looking down at Dust.

'might wanna rephrase that, dustbunny~' Killer snickered, and Dust glared daggers at him as Sans bit back a laugh, appearing behind the couch, hand over his mouth and shoulders shaking.

'. . . i hate you.' Dust informed.

'it's a love/hate relationship then, i see how it is~' Killer smirked.

'i'm going to stab you.' Dust threatened. He didn't know how, but he'd find a way.

'he's probably a masochist, that won't do much.' Sans sighed. 

'dammit...' Dust cursed.

Killer chuckled, appearing on the arm of the couch, turning around to bend his back at an unnatural degree, holding himself up with an arm on the back of the couch. Killer grinned at Dust, face upside down.

'you're going to fall.' Dust warned with absolutely no concern.

'only for you~' Killer grinned wider somehow, and Dust looked completely done with everything. 

'stop doing that.' Dust glared. 

'nah, i'm good~' Killer replied.

'you're bored, aren't you?' Sans asked, walking to stand next to the couch, leaning against the back of it and looking at Killer.

'yup!' Killer replied, and in the blink of an eye, he was back to crouching on the back of the couch, grinning at them, 'what do you guys wanna do?'

'i want to take a break and enjoy some peace and quiet,' Dust replied.

'boooooriiiiing!' Killer said, 'come on, can't we do something fun?' 

'sleep?' Dust asked.

'come on, killer, let him sleep. you just got to fight muffet. he's done a lot and he's earned some rest.' Sans said.

Killer sighed, shoulders sagging, 'killjoys.'

Killer disappeared a moment later, and Sans sighed. 'he's usually more tolerable.'

'oh i bet.' Dust rolled his eyelights, 'makes sense that i can get out of one hell only to be trapped in another one.'

Sans sighed, and Dust closed his eye sockets, hearing the usual occasional whispers and faint screams of the ones he'd killed, and luckily from so much magic usage, Dust was able to fall asleep for a while. He was sleeping peacefully when he was suddenly woken up a bit later, Alphys shaking his shoulder. His eye sockets opened, looking over at her to see what was wrong, and she looked guilty, be it from waking him up or something else. He was still tired, so this had better be important... "S-Sans?" Alphys asked.

"what is it?" Dust questioned.

"I... um... Papyrus..." Dust was instantly fully awake, "He.... he o-overheard me telling Undyne more about the human... He... he went out to go 'help by br-bringing them to Asgore'..." Alphys explained.

No... NO!

'no!'

'can't say i didn't see that coming...' Killer muttered.

'shut up, killer!!' Sans and Dust both snapped.

Dust bolted up, eyelights cyan and red from his panic, the purple flame bursting to life in his left eye socket, and he almost missed the fear on her face. Almost. That wasn't important right now, though, not when Papyrus could die again... 

"what?! when did he leave?!" Dust asked urgently.

"A... A f-few m-minutes ago..." Alphys stuttered, and Dust bolted to the camera system set up in the bunker, flipping through the cameras, shaking as he looked for any signs of Papyrus.

Sans appeared next to him, looking worried as well, and Dust could feel shivers going down his spine, and not from his sins. Dust, for the first time in a very long time, felt afraid, and he still didn't like it. 

"S-Sans, please! Calm down!" Alphys begged of him.

Dust briefly glared daggers into her soul before going back to searching, and he snapped, "i don't want to hear it. you could be getting my little brother killed, and it'd be on your head!"

'ouch.'

The words were harsh, but Dust wasn't focused on controlling his temper not right now, not when Papyrus's life was at stake. Dust could see her ashamed face in the reflection of the computer, along with his true reflection, and Dust felt a bit guilty for snapping at her, but he would apologize later. Dust saw a flash of Papyrus's scarf from one of the cameras, seeing he was near the entrance to Hotland, and Dust immediately teleported to the location. His brother was nowhere in sight upon Dust's arrival, and he broke out in a run, trying to get to Papyrus as fast as he could.

He ran as fast as he could, Determined to get there, to save him.... but he was too late. Dust arrived just in time to see the human walking past his dust. How had they dealt so much damage to him so fast?! With their low LV, it shouldn't be possible, not unless they had a high desire to kill... He'd seen Undyne get killed with one hit before, when he'd watched the kid do Genocide Runs in his timeline. That had probably happened this time too... and it pissed Dust the hell off.

'we were too late...'

"NO!!" Dust shouted, and in his rage, summoned a Gaster Blaster, it's size rivaling the size of Killer's.

It looked like his old Gaster Blasters, but the eyelights matched Dust's current ones, and the edges were sharper, showing it was more dangerous. Dust fired it at the human, killing them in one explosive purple attack.

RELOAD

Dust's eye sockets snapped open when Alphys woke him up, and he immediately teleported to the entrance to Hotland. Dust didn't even hesitate to get hit by the blow that would've killed Papyrus, feeling the slash attack rip into his ribcage like it had so many times before. The human looked at him in shock, and Dust felt Determination leaking from the wound and out of his mouth.

'holy crap...' Killer muttered.

Dust flung the murderous human back into a wall, and he grabbed Papyrus's arm, teleporting them back to the bunker. Dust was shaking on his feet as he looked back at Papyrus, making sure he was still alive, and he was. Dust felt that his HP was dangerously low, but it wouldn't kill him. He had just enough HP to spare... The adrenaline was wearing off, though, and he was exhausted; the room spinning a little from his fatigue. 

"BROTHER?" Papyrus asked, voice full of concern.

"you ok?..." Dust questioned.

"I.... I AM OK, YES." Papyrus replied, still processing.

"good.." Dust breathed out, sighing in relief.

"S-Sans?.." Alphys asked, looking at him with horror, and he saw several others looking at him with similar expressions.

'dusty? you alright, buddy?'

'dust?'

Dust's vision started spotting, fading to black, and he vaguely heard Alphys running over to him, yelling something, and Papyrus catching. Everything went black a moment later.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Currently revising Merging Timelines, and that will be done by December. New versions of the chapters will be posted here, and once that's done, Multiverse Madness chapters will be posted here!

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Nineteen

Dust appeared in the subconscious, looking around for Killer, and found him sitting on the 'floor', his back to him. Dust could see his knees were pulled up to his chest, and he could hear thick, black Broken Determination splattering on his clothes and the floor of the void, coming out of his eye sockets in thick globs. Dust walked over to him, putting his hand on Killer's shoulder, and Killer flinched, jumping back. Dust had to quickly teleport out of the way as Killer summoned a massive black Gaster Blaster, firing it at him.

"killer, what the hell?!" Dust asked, looking him over.

Broken Determination was pouring out of his eye sockets in thick globs, and his soul looked... mangled. It looked like it was loosely drawn by a marker or pen, in squiggles that rapidly changed, but kept the vague form of a target, though it drooped down towards the middle, like a heart. His eye sockets were empty as usual, but the Broken Determination was coming out of his eye sockets and mouth much more than Dust had ever seen. Dust looked over at the blast mark, before looking back at Killer. This had to be Stage Three...

"hey, it's ok. it's just me. you ok?" Dust questioned, but Killer just stared at him. 

Dust sighed, and took a step towards him, but Killer took a step back, hands shaking and his soul swirling more erratically, a few sharp bones summoning behind him. Dust held up his hands in a harmless manner, trying to show he wasn't going to hurt him. 

"killer, it's ok. it's me, dust. your friend? . . . your teammate? any of these ringing bells?" Dust asked, trying to get him to recognize him. 

Killer stared at him for a moment, Broken Determination dripping down from his mouth and eye sockets, splattering and plopping down on the floor. The bones disappeared, and Dust took another step forward, and upon being met with no hostility, he took another. Killer's soul got more erratic, and Dust froze, not moving and watching his soul settle down before taking a step forward again. Dust played red light green light with Killer's soul for a few minutes before being a step away from him, and Killer was watching him, hands twitching, especially his left hand, like he was trying to grab for something that wasn't there. Dust put his hand on Killer's shoulder, keeping his movements slow and deliberate, and he kept eye contact with Killer the whole time.

"it's ok. you're ok. i promise, i won't hurt you." Dust told him, and Killer didn't say anything, "you're ok, killer. i won't hurt you, i promise."

Killer looked at him strangely for a moment, on edge and careful, trying to figure out how much of a threat he was. Dust forced himself to stay relaxed, keeping tension out of his body so Killer wouldn't be on edge and thinking he was going to attack him. He kept himself looking at Killer's hollow eye sockets, too, allowing him to see that he wasn't a threat; that he wasn't trying to hurt him. Dust tensed as he was suddenly tackled to the ground, getting ready to defend himself, only to see Killer holding him down, looking everywhere but at him. It almost seemed like he was trying to protect him, keeping a hand on his sternum, Broken Determination dripping down onto Dust in thick globs.

"killer... kills, it's alright, buddy. it's ok." Dust reassured, reaching up to gently pat him on the shoulder.

Killer's skull snapped back to him, hollow eye sockets boring straight into him, and he twitched slightly at him. He looked around again, on edge, and when Dust tried moving again, Killer forced him down with more force, glaring daggers at him as Broken Determination dripped onto him. Killer said something intelligible, sounding like random gibberish, but his tone basically said he was not happy Dust kept trying to move. Dust sighed, giving Killer a look saying that he wasn't happy Killer kept pinning him down.

"killer, i swear-" Dust started, but Killer growled at him, getting in his face and glaring at him, Broken Determination plopping on his skull.

". . ." Dust was not expecting this. 

Killer stopped glaring at him, returning to paranoidly watching their surroundings, crouched over Dust protectively. This went on for at least five minutes, and Dust tried moving again, and Killer's skull shot down to him, staring into his eye sockets. Dust hadn't even seen him blink not once this whole time, and it was honestly kind of unnerving. Sure, skeletons didn't need to blink, but they did it to blend in and not be creepy, something Killer currently wasn't concerned about in the least.

Suddenly, Killer sat up, and just when Dust thought Killer was done with... whatever this was, his shirt was grabbed, and he was pulled against Killer. Killer's skull tucked neck to Dust's neck, chin on his shoulder, and his arms kept Dust close to him in a tight, almost suffocating hug. His breathing was still a bit rushed and panicked, and he was clinging onto Dust for dear life, his grip almost painful. Dust didn't know what to do, patting Killer on the back a bit, and he was squeezed tighter, Killer saying more gibberish that Dust couldn't discern. Killer clung to him even tighter, fingers digging between his ribs through his jacket and shirt, and his legs wrapped around his waist, completely trapping him.

Dust sighed, realizing he probably wasn't getting out of this until Killer calmed down, so he just dealt with this. He waited him out, and finally, he seemed to calm down, and then he tensed, squeezing him for a good thirty seconds before his grip eased, breathing evening out. Dust waited for a few more moments, just to be safe, unsure if he should try moving again.

"killer?" Dust asked.

"hey... sorry..." Killer apologized.

"it's alright... what uh... what was that about?" Dust questioned.

"stage three is uh... usually much more violent... that was new." Killer replied, "you ok?"

"yeah, i'm fine. are you?" Dust asked.

". . . yeah." Killer answered, still not moving away from Dust. 

Dust looked off to the side before sighing, questioning, "killer, why... why did you stop when i told you to? the way you froze up... it was instant. why? what the hell was that?..."

Killer took a deep breath, grip tightening on Dust a bit before he sighed, burying his face in Dust's shoulder for a moment, hugging him a bit more before putting his chin on his shoulder, saying, ". . . chara turned me into a living weapon. a tool. it's all i am. i'm meant to attack who i'm told. you told me to stop, so i stopped..."

Dust was shocked for a moment before saying, "killer, i... you're not a damn weapon. you're a monster, like the rest of us. you have feelings, thoughts, a personality, and motivations. you aren't some... some tool." 

"whatever you say..." Killer muttered.

"no!" Dust snapped, "you're not a damn attack dog, killer!"

"you heard what chara said in the nightmare last timeline. my soul isn't a human or a monster soul. it's something else entirely." Killer said.

"that's what they said. what do you want to be?" Dust asked.

". . . free." Was Killer's response.

". . . i want to be that too." Dust admitted, looking off to the side "and it'll happen. i won't stop til it does."

"thanks..." Killer mumbled.

"you're welcome... killer, you never answered why you listened to me earlier.." Dust circled back.

"chara umm... made sure i that obeyed who i felt close to. they made me care about them, view them as a 'best friend' and do whatever they said. it was a way for them to control me. i... me and mono both agreed that if they were like our timeline, then we'd rather not listen to them, and that if i was gonna listen to anyone, it'd be you..." Killer admitted.

"i..." Dust was speechless.

Killer cared about him that much? Trusted him that much? Dust knew Killer cared about him and viewed him as a friend, but... he still never would've expected something like that. 

"killer, i appreciate it, really, but i just... you said you wanted to be free, and then you view me as an authority figure. why the contradiction?" Dust asked.

"because you won't use it. if someone has to have that power so that chara can't keep it, i would rather it be you. lucky's unstable enough as it is, and he's not getting better, horror still isn't a big fan of us, and you... you i can relate to. mono likes you, and i like you, so you're stuck with us." Killer responded, "the closest i can ever get to freedom is if you have the reigns, dusty, otherwise it just isn't possible... besides, what's the harm in it if you don't use it?"

"because it's still not freedom, killer. you'd probably be considering what i wanted to do above yourself, and... i don't want that. i hate the human enough as it is, i don't need you treating me like i'm them." Dust told him.

"it's only temporary, but if they're evil, they have no power over me." Killer said.

". . . alright, fine. just remember something for me, ok?" Dust requested, "friendship isn't about doing what someone else wants. it isn't about ignoring yourself for them, putting yourself in danger for them.... that's not what it is, and i want you to remember that for me, ok?"

". . . can do, boss." Killer replied.

"you don't have to call me that." Dust told him, "dust, or hell, even damn dust bunny is fine."

"hey, you said do what i wanna do~" Killer pointed out.

". . . you're gonna be the death of me." Dust sighed, and Killer snickered.

". . . i just realized. we left lucky out there with chara." Killer said after a moment.

". . ."

". . ."

". . . oh shi-!!"

Sans was looking up at Chara, who was standing in front of him, but he couldn't see them. Everything was flickering and fading, Frisk's body being replaced by Chara's, their monstrous face hovering over the human's true expression, and Sans's soul was racing. He felt his mind going blank, no matter how much he tried stopping it, and was jolted out of it by a sharp chill on his shoulders. Sans yelped, looking at the source of the freezing cold sensation on his left shoulder, seeing a skeletal hand with sharp fingers. Sans followed the dark blue sleeve attached to it, and he saw Horror crouched in front of him, gripping his shoulders and looking straight at him.

"sans, breathe." Horror told him, and oh, he wasn't breathing...

Sans tried focusing on his breathing, getting into the breathing exercise, and he heard some conversation between the others, but his soul was racing too much and his focus too much on his breathing for him to concentrate on what was being said. After a few minutes at least, as Sans wasn't sure how much time had passed, his soul finally stopped racing, and he opened his eye sockets, not knowing when he'd closed them, and he saw Horror still in front of him, the freezing cold sensation still on his shoulders.

"you alright?" Horror questioned.

"y-yeah.... thanks..." Sans nodded a bit, but even he didn't believe himself.

"Are you sure you're ok?..." Chara asked, and his eyelights flicked up to look at them, seeing them past Horror's skull. 

Their face didn't look monstrous and distorted, it looked... concerned. There was a frown on their face, not a smile, and they were looking at him with bright red eyes that looked more worried that murderous. They weren't them. Sans relaxed a bit before tension bled out of him, and he nodded.

"yeah... i'm... i'm alright." Sans replied.

". . . What the hell was that?" Undyne asked from off to the side, and Sans saw Horror shoot a look at her that said 'not now'.

"horror-" Sans started.

"no, you need a minute before you go explaining... that." Horror cut him off with a glare, a frown on his face.

"i had a minute. i'm ok." Sans reassured.

"you almost just dissociated again!" Horror snapped.

"yeah, but i didn't... i'm ok. they aren't them, so i'm fine, ok?" Sans told him.

"i still say you need a damn minute..." Horror grumbled.

"and i still say i'm fine." Sans responded.

"Should I close my eyes? Would that help?" Chara offered, and Sans looked back up at them. 

"no, no you're ok." Sans reassured.

"WHY WOULD THEIR EYES SCARE YOU, BROTHER? ARE... ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE OK?" Papyrus asked from Sans's right, and he looked up at him.

"no reason, just uh... they weren't the nicest in killer's timeline, i think i mentioned that, and uhh... well, with everything i saw there, it's got me a bit... on edge. you could say my bones are rattled, heh..." Sans explained.

"NOT THE TIME, BROTHER." Papyrus frowned before asking, "HUMAN, YOU WON'T HARM MY BROTHER, RIGHT?" 

"No, I don't. I'm actually pissed at what that other version of me did to him..." Chara sighed, Sans looking back at them in confusion, and they elaborated, "You aren't the only one gaining memories from those timelines... I remember yours and Dust's, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sickened by what they did. The only one I don't remember is Horror's."

"probably a good thing." Horror informed.

"What did that freak do over there?" Chara asked.

"it wasn't you over there killing." Sans told them, "i actually didn't see you over there at all."

"because they weren't there." Horror said.

"Wait, umm... if they weren't killing... who was?" Alphys questioned from behind Sans.

". . ." Sans and Horror exchanged a look.

". . . Wait..." Undyne muttered, seeming to put the pieces together.

Sans sighed, getting up and leaning against the wall by Chara, seeing Undyne a few feet away and Alphys next to her. Horror teleported to lean against one of the machines, and Papyrus was still watching him in concern. Chara seemed surprised that he was leaning against the wall by them, not moving away, but Sans only did that because they weren't a threat. He trusted them.

"in my defense, it was your fault." Horror spoke up.

"My fault?!" Undyne asked incredulously, and Sans sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nasal cavity. 

"in horror's timeline, asgore died from the human, toriel came back, said humans were friends, you led a coup and overthrew her, and declared humans as enemies-" Sans started summarizing, but Undyne cut him off.

"I WHAT?! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!-"

"not finished yet." Sans shot her a look, continuing, "then the core went down, you had horror trying to fix if, he found a way to but alphys would lose her voice, and so she decided to steal his eyelight, which would kill him."

Alphys looked horrified, Undyne seemed shocked, and Papyrus was a mixture of the two.

"Why... Wh-Why would I do that?..." Alphys questioned.

"i don't know, i saw horror's memories, not yours." Sans replied, "anyways, there was a fight, undyne got half her face taken off. horror did get his eyelight stolen, and uh.... i don't think you wanna know what he did as payback. anyways, since there was a famine in the underground because the core was down, there was no food, and everyone was gaining flesh and bones because of the lack of magic, so uh... horror took some measures to keep everyone alive...."

". . . He didn't." Undyne said, looking at Horror in shock.

"yeah...." Sans looked off to the side, catching a glance of Chara's expression, and they looked like they were still processing everything.

"it was either that or everyone starved, i had to do what i had to do." Horror shrugged.

"WAIT, WHAT WAS HAPPENING?" Papyrus asked.

"Something... very messed up." Undyne worded her response carefully.

"W-Wait, Horror, if you lost your e-eyelight, then... where did you get the one you currently have?" Alphys questioned.

"remember what sans said about monsters getting flesh and bones? i uh... borrowed this one. otherwise i couldn't see, and i'm still blind in one eye socket." Horror answered.

"Oh wow... . . . Is that why y-you've been glaring at me and Undyne?" Alphys asked.

". . . maybe." Horror replied, "hey, kid? i got a question for ya. how come you didn't stop karter and iggy from their uh.... you know.... actions?"

"Because they were too Determined. I can't hear thoughts, I can just watch everything play out, but once they get that first kill, I can't gain control anymore, meaning I can't Reset." Chara answered.

"why do you keep resetting anyways?" Sans questioned.

"Humans are dangerous, and I... I'm trying to save you. They just don't give up on trying to break the barrier. Skyler finally had the right idea, but everything fell apart, and I... I panicked. I didn't want to..." Chara looked down, "I just want everyone to get along. It's safer down here..."

"yeah, but it's also dangerous down here. with all the resets, sans is just getting worse, and don't get me started on his damn mental state. i have to live in here, it's a hellhole. also... how'd this even happen?"

"A while back, Frisk did a genocide route, and their Determination woke me from death. I told them I'd let them Reset the timeline if they gave me their soul, and they accepted. When they gave it to me, it split their mind into five fractions, and a different one took control each Reset." Chara explained, "I... don't know how or why Sans started remembering, though."

"none of us do, or why we're being brought here." Horror sighed.

". . . Why don't you just take control over the body at the start of the timeline? Or before they can break the barrier?" Alphys asked.

"That isn't fair to them." Chara sighed.

"well if they didn't keep going, it wouldn't be necessary." Horror muttered.

"imagine if only i was in control, horror. would you be ok just... spectating?" Sans questioned.

"i don't have that problem." Horror responded, and Sans pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity, "and the vegetable has a point."

"The w-what?" Alphys asked.

"yeah, but imagine if you did. how would you feel?" Sans repeated.

". . . again, i don't have that problem." Horror said, and Sans sighed.

"you're impossible..." Sans muttered, "but you're somehow better to deal with than when dust hated killer."

"WHY DID THEY HATE EACH OTHER?" Papyrus asked, "YOU NEVER ANSWERED THAT."

"the same reason i hated them." Horror shrugged.

"killer didn't really hate dust, but dust... well... it was a rocky start." Sans sighed.

"That's not answering why, Sans." Undyne said, crossing her arms.

". . ." Sans was silent.

"this'll be fun..." Horror muttered, leaning on a machine, reaching up to his face with his right hand, the edges of his fingers going into his right eye socket, hooked on the inside.

". . . Look, the names are concerning enough, so my best guess is Killer.. what, killed everyone, and Dust is the survivor of a genocide loop?" Undyne hypothesized.

". . . close." Sans said.

"Wait.... Did Dust-?!"

"yeah... projecting self hatred is my best guess." Sans sighed.

". . . Explain. Now." Undyne demanded.

"him and killer didn't have a choice, i'm saying that now. both were stuck in a genocide loop, and no matter what, it never stopped. dust lasted between one to three years of it before killing everyone for lv to be able to beat the human, and killer... he lasted around two and a half decades before the chara from his world convinced him to kill everyone with them. it all went downhill from there." Sans explained, looking down, memories flashing in his mind as he spoke.

Silence. Then...

"HE WHAT?!?!" Undyne exploded in rage.

"OH MY GOD..." Papyrus muttered, looking shocked and said.

"h-holy crap..." Alphys whispered in horror.

Undyne was fuming, looking like she was going to punch a hole into a wall.

She glared daggers at Sans as she asked in shocked anger, "AND YOU'RE OK WITH THIS?!"

"no! i never said i was! i know what they went through, and i don't approve of it at all, absolutely not, but i know what happened to them. i have literally seen what they experienced, and hell, we share a mind! when they're in control, i can hear their thoughts, i know who they are and how they feel about their actions! dust saved everyone until the human stopped every attempt he could make at saving everyone, and he couldn't even save a single soul from them. then he started killing. as for killer...." Sans shuddered, bones rattling, "i don't want to even think about that..."

"You're defending them?! Why?! Have they done it here?! Have you?!" Undyne outburst.

"U-Undyne! y-you're b-being i-irrational!" Alphys told her.

"No I'm not!" Undyne snapped back at her.

"dust has saved your sorry butt during the genocide timelines! he's saved everyone here because he knows how! he only started his own genocide run because, like i said, the chara in his timeline found out how to get past the evacuation bunker and any attempt he could make at saving anyone. otherwise he would've continued saving everyone until the brat gave up. they haven't killed anyone here, and dust only killed flowey once because flowey killed the kid and brought horror here from the timeline being reloaded, and made some... remarks he shouldn't have." Sans told Undyne sternly, "i know them, undyne. you don't."

Undyne grumbled angrily, glaring at a wall.

"'sides, they're not the only ones who have done messed up crap for the 'better good', undyne. your ledger ain't clean either" Horror spoke up, and everyone looked over at him as he glared at Undyne.

"I... I know, you explained that, but you didn't die! Right?..." 

". . ." Horror was silent.

"H-Horror?..." Alphys questioned.

"i uh.. in a sense, am dead. i can't die for that reason. i pass out from starvation that woulda killed anyone else, and i wake up a few minutes or less later. the process of gettin' my eyelight out wasn't a gentle one, either." Horror explained vaguely.

". . . What do you mean?" Undyne asked.

". . . hey paps, take off that headset for a sec, will ya?" Horror requested.

"WHY?" Papyrus questioned.

"you're not gonna want to see this." Horror replied.

"OTHER BROTHER, I DON'T WANT TO LOOK AWAY. IF YOU ARE WOUNDED, I WOULD MUCH PREFER TO SEE IT INSTEAD OF BE IGNORANT TO AN INJURY." Papyrus refused.

"it's more a scar than anything. nothin' can be done for it, so ya don't need to freak out about it. i don't want you havin' nightmares." Horror said.

"SANS, I STILL WANT TO SEE." Papyrus responded stubbornly, "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I CAN HANDLE ANYTHING!"

Horror sighed, "paps, as your big brother, i'm tellin' ya that it's bad."

"AND AS YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, I AM TELLING YOU THAT I'LL BE OK!" Papyrus shot back as he crossed his arms.

Horror sighed, his left eye socket twitching, before sighing again. He pulled down his hood, revealing the hole in his skull, and everyone was horrified. Alphys looked like she was about to throw up, Undyne looked horrified and angry, Papyrus looked extremely worried and concerned, and Chara's jaw dropped, their eyes wide.

"like i said, wasn't gentle." Horror sighed.

"I... Oh my god..." Undyne murmured, looking as nauseous as Alphys now.

"yeah..." Horror muttered, looking off to the side. 

". . . hey, horror, you think killer's ok?" Sans asked.

Horror shrugged, "no clue. dust probably has him covered, though."

"Yeah, what was up with that black stuff anyways?" Undyne questioned.

"it's broken determination." Sans informed.

"B-Broken D-Determination?!?!" Alphys asked in shock, "H-How is that p-possible?!"

"The version of me in his timeline needs to die." Chara stated.

"yeah..." Sans agreed, shuddering a bit.

"M-Monster's can h-hardly e-even have D-Determination! H-How w-would he?! D-Do you have it?!" Alphys asked.

"it's uh... complicated. let's just say i'm unique. yaaaaaaaay." Sans sighed sarcastically, looking down for a moment.

"YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING IN ALL OF THIS. I... DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO BE UNIQUE, BROTHER..." Papyrus frowned.

Sans and Horror simultaneously gave each other a look basically saying 'good thing Killer isn't here right now'.

"What was that look for?" Undyne questioned.

"inside thing." Sans replied.

Dust and Killer appeared, looking around, Dust's eyelight engulfed in a blazing purple flame, and upon seeing everything wasn't going to hell, he seemed to relax. He had Broken Determination stains all over his jacket, but Killer seemed to be doing ok, so there was that.

"everything ok here?" Dust asked.

"yeah, everything's fine." Sans nodded, "killer, you ok?"

"yeah, i'm alright." Killer answered, leaning against a wall, and he asked, "they know about the hole situation?"

Horror sighed, and replied, "yes, they know. and stop with the damn puns."

Killer snickered in response, smirking.

"So uh... I know what you guys did in your timelines." Undyne informed.

"nooo, really? i thought that wasn't blatantly obvious by looking at us." Killer scoffed, "also, before you start threatening us, you can't do anything without hurtin' lucky, and none of us want that."

"That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, be on your best damn behavior." Undyne gave Killer a firm look.

"relax, if i wanted to kill anyone, i would have, and dust won't either, he has no reason to." Killer told her.

". . . Fine. Just know that if you do-" Killer cut Undyne off.

"you'll make us regret it, yeah yeah, we know, fish sticks." Killer sighed, and she glared at him.

"killer, don't antagonize her." Sans said, though he could see Horror hiding a smirk, "you three are awful."

"hey, i'm the tame one out of them!" Dust defended himself.

"besides the point..." Sans sighed, "you two wanna get caught up on what we know so far?"

"yeah, that'd be helpful." Dust nodded.

"ok. so basically, the kid did a genocide route, gave their soul to chara, chara gave them the ability to reset the timeline, but when they'd handed over their soul, something went wrong and it split into five pieces, hence the five personalities. chara can take control during a pacifist route, but not if they killed someone. chara keeps forcing resets because humans are dangerous, and they're trying to keep everyone from being hurt. oh, and they can see nightmares of what they did in your and killer's timelines, but not horror's" Sans summed up.

"well, that explains some things..." Killer muttered.

"yeah. chara, you need to realize i can protect everyone, ok? trust me, humans wouldn't touch a single monster soul." Dust told them.

"I still don't want to take that risk, and I am truly sorry for what's happening to all of you, but... I can't allow any monsters to get hurt permanently." Chara frowned.

"you think they aren't getting hurt right now? i can see on their faces that they can recognize me and dust's characteristics, and undyne's got some determination. you really think she won't get memories occasionally, if that's the source of all this? papyrus had a nightmare about some.... things i said in my timeline, and he was a wreck. this won't be effecting just us and lucky soon; this could affect everyone, and permanently.

"besides, what if someone else shows up in here? huh? someone we can't stop from killing everyone? you could be dooming this precious timeline, and for what? trying to overprotect everyone? if they're gonna get killed, it's on them. best thing you can do is teach them how to stay safe, and end this damned loop before things get worse, because it can and will, chara." Killer glared at them, "besides, after a while of genocides, you might not care about that. you might take control and do your own genocide routes, start the loop, and get addicted to the lv and exp. look and me and dust, and look at the version of you in our timelines. you're playing with fire here, and sure, i might like a good arsonist spree, i don't think you will."

"I wouldn't do that, Killer. I saw those versions of me, and I'm disgusted." Chara told him.

"y'know, i used to think that same thing about you, too." Killer replied, and Chara looked away, realizing his point.

"why don't we tell everyone what's goin' on, give them a training course on how to keep themselves safe, using magic as a last resort, and then ya break the barrier?" Horror suggested.

"THAT COULD WORK, OTHER BROTHER!" Papyrus grinned at Horror.

"I-It could..." Alphys spoke up, looking up from a desk with charts on it, and Sans hadn't even seen her go over there.

"We could make an agreement with the human governments too, couldn't we?" Undyne suggested.

Dust nodded, "yeah, maybe. killer, you watched tv, how often did that crap work?"

"often enough. at least, until someone got upset and decided to try killing everyone because they disproved of it." Killer answered.

"If they tried that, couldn't they be arrested? Couldn't we put in a treaty or something for that to be a condition?" Undyne asked.

"WHY WOULD THEY FEEL THE NEED TO TAKE VIOLENT MEASURES IN THE FIRST PLACE? WHY CAN'T WE ALL GET ALONG?" Papyrus asked, and Killer's eye socket twitched in restrained annoyance, and he took a deep breath before explaining unnervingly calmly.

"because sometimes humans are jerks, papyrus. not all of them, because monsters can be jerks too, but you can't trust everyone you see." Killer explained, voice nearly condescending.

"THAT MAY BE SO, BUT I STILL BELIEVE THEY COULD BE CONVINCED IF WE BELIEVED IN THEM ENOUGH." Papyrus persisted.

Dust, Horror, and Sans gave Killer a very firm look, and Killer sighed, keeping his mouth shut and leaning against a wall, glaring at the ground with Broken Determination dripping down from his face. Chara sighed, watching after him with a guilty look on their face. 

"What was that about?" Undyne asked.

"killer's uh... complicated." Sans sighed. 

"DID I DO SOMETHING TO UPSET HIM?" Papyrus questioned.

"not intentionally, don't worry about it." Dust reassured him. 

"How did he upset him, though?..." Undyne asked.

Horror sighed, "it's complicated. not papyrus's fault. killer just uh... has some issues." Horror turned to Chara, "so, you gonna at least give us a shot at gettin' out of the loop? if it gets bad, you can reset, and we could plan it out to.... avoid the issues."

Sans knew Horror intended to just kill anyone who would start up another war, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. He'd discourage it later when everyone wasn't wearing headsets... wait, would he?... He actually wasn't that opposed to that idea right now.

Chara looked thoughtful for a moment, before sighing, ". . . Ok."

Dust, Killer, and Sans all looked at Chara immediately, Sans feeling hopeful and shocked.

"really?" Sans asked.

"Yes... Killer's right. It... It's more dangerous to everyone for this to continue, and you don't deserve to live through this... I... I'll give it a try." Chara agreed.

Sans looked over at them, hope truly building in his soul for the first time since all of this began, and in a flash, he'd hugged Chara tightly. They froze for a moment, before hugging him back. Sans's mind went back to Killer's timeline, Chara hugging him, and his mind tried going blank again, but he pushed it back, focusing on how the hug was tentative, not tight or suffocating. Besides, he trusted them not to hurt him. They were safe.

"thanks, partner... really..." Sans whispered, not realizing what he'd just said, and Chara went completely tense.

"Y-You're welcome..." Chara replied, voice shaking a bit.

Sans pulled away after a moment, and chuckled awkwardly, "well, at least that's outta the way. alphys, you've been pretty quiet over there, you find anything?"

"I-I th-think so, but... s-something d-doesn't make s-sense..." Alphys replied, and Sans looked over at her.

Sans walked over to her, looking at the screen she was looking at, Killer, Dust and Horror coming over to look as well. 

There was several lines, but four lines stuck out, which Sans assumed to be their timelines, all clustered together, and he could see the spots where they'd intersected. He could also see charts of time anomalies, and then something Alphys was looking at. There was the four lines, and they seemed to have holes in them, smaller lines seeming to tie three of them to the fourth one. The lines were at each of the holes, and it almost looked like something was going back and forth with them.

"that is weird..." Sans muttered, looking through the information.

Alphys brought a piece of paper over to him, containing magic readings on it, and Sans could see clear anomalies in one soul that the machines picked up, like the magic levels were at different levels at different times, and Sans had a feeling it was Dust and Killer based on the magnitude of the energy levels. 

"... hey lucky, dust, horror, i gotta ask you three something." Killer said, looking at the charts.

"oh boy..."

"what is it?" Dust asked.

"yeah?"

"you guys ever see someone? like this uh... black blob with a white head and holes in his hands, and two black eyes, a line above and under each one?" Killer questioned.

"every now and then..." Horror nodded.

"yeah, i saw him i think... he always looked sad, and he disappeared before i could get close." Dust answered.

"i... vaguely remember seeing someone like that." Sans added.

"i saw him a few times before i... you know... he was saying 'don't go down the path he did'...." Dust's eye sockets widened, looking at Killer, who looked back at him, "he was talking about you..."

"wait, hold on, this guy's going between our timelines?" Sans asked.

"seems like it. maybe that's how we're getting brought over while chara's just getting nightmares? he's latching onto our souls?" Horror asked.

"that... explains a lot." Killer nodded. 

"holy crap..." Dust muttered. 

"wait, so this guy's using me, or.. us as a gate between our timelines?" Sans clarified.

"I-It a-appears so..." Alphys said.

"that's how it started.... that's how all this crap started..." Sans sighed. 

"I-I th-think he w-was t-trying to h-help you guys... but he e-ended up c-causing th-this..." Alphys said quietly, nervous.

"in a way, he did help. me, dust, and horror are here, aren't we?~" Killer asked.

"you... have a point there, actually..." Dust said, "he unintentionally helped us out."

"you guys, sure, but i'm stuck with you and your pasts in my head." Sans sighed.

"sounds like a you problem." Killer smirked, and Dust elbowed him in the ribs, and Killer laughed.

Horror sighed, "well, at least that's answered. now onto the next thing..."

"W-Which is?..." Alphys asked.

"getting the hell out of the underground." Dust answered.

"oh hell yeah. let's blow this popsicle stand." Killer smirked. 

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Eighteen

Sans was sitting on a cliff overlooking the racing river that carried the ice chunks into Waterfall, looking down at the racing water below, the rapids keeping any water from forming. Glowing purple tears were coming from his eye sockets, a new sight for him, as they had always been cyan and yellow, but with his increased Determination, it made sense for them to be that color now. He'd seen how his eyelights had changed as well, now red and cyan, his right eye socket having a small red eyelight in it, and a purple flame came from his left eyelight, but that was only when he was angry or using his powers, otherwise they were his regular white. Which is what they were right now, white, and he was looking down at his hands, or more specifically, what was clutched within them.

Burnt and tattered red fabric was clenched in his trembling fingers, dust still freshly on the red scarf, and his tears were soaking into it. He brought the scarf to his face, crying into it as his shoulders shook and trembled, his breath hitching and shaking, and his soul aching and throbbing with guilt and grief. He almost went into another crazed laughing fit, but he heard something that immediately made him shoot his skull up in shock.

"SANS..."

Sans looked around in confusion, putting the scarf in his hoodie pocket. He hadn't just heard that... right? Papyrus was dead, he'd killed him... He saw a flicker of red in the corner of his eye sockets, and he whipped towards it, eyelights flicking around rapidly.

"BROTHER, PLEASE CALM DOWN..."

"i really have lost it..." Sans muttered to himself, a broken chuckle tearing it's way out of him.

"NO, YOU HAVEN'T... IT'S ME, BROTHER..."

Sans saw another flicker of red, and he turned towards it, nearly falling off the cliff, using bones to catch himself. He pulled himself back up, laying on the icy snow for a moment before raising his skull, seeing his brother's face staring straight at him, only he had glowing red eye sockets. Sans gasped a bit, backing up a little, his soul racing in his ribcage.

"BROTHER, PLEASE... DON'T BE ALARMED. IT'S OK, I ASSURE YOU..."

"y-you're not real...." Sans gasped out.

"YES I AM, SANS... LISTEN, IT'S ALRIGHT, I PROMISE... YOU DON'T NEED TO BE SCARED OF ME. IT'S ME, BROTHER... PLEASE..."

Sans looked up at him, eyelights shaking as purple tears formed in his eye sockets. Anything was possible, right? Sans was remembering the genocide loop, maybe ghosts were a thing too?... Maybe he wasn't alone in this...

"p-papyrus?...." Sans asked shakily.

"YES."

"but... but how?... i..." Sans didn't know what to say.

"I WANT TO HELP YOU, BROTHER. I REMEMBER EVERYTHING NOW, AND I WANT TO HELP YOU. I WANT TO HELP YOU KILL THEM. WE CAN KILL THEM, BROTHER. WE CAN SAVE EVERYONE..."

"i... paps, this isn't like you.." Sans told him, a bit nervous. 

"I DIDN'T REMEMBER EVERYTHING LIKE I DO NOW. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO NOW IS CONTINUE, SANS. YOU HAVE TO KILL EVERYONE. FINISH THE JOB."

Sans gasped a little, his soul racing in his ribcage as his jaw dropped a bit, eyelights shrunken to pinpricks. He'd never, ever imagined he'd hear something like this coming from his brother of all monsters. He was still suspicious, but something in his mind was telling him that this was Papyrus, and that he could trust him... He could trust his own mind, right?...

*YOU NEED MORE LV, SANS. YOU NEED IT. YOU CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH, EVER. 

"pap, there's only so much i can even get... besides, this should be enough, right?..." Sans asked. 

"NO. NO, IT IS NOT. YOU NEED MORE. SO GO GET IT. I WILL HELP YOU, DON'T WORRY. YOU NEED THE LV TO SAVE EVERYONE, SANS. YOU DO WANT TO SAVE EVERYONE, DON'T YOU?..."

"i-! of course i do, paps, that's the whole reason i'm doing all of this!" Sans responded.

"THEN GET BACK TO WORK, LAZY BONES. KILL EVERYONE, AND THEN KILL THE HUMAN. THE HUMAN MUST DIE, SANS. YOU NEED TO KILL THEM, AND IF THEY RESET... KILL EVERYONE AGAIN."

Sans looked at him in shock, jaw dropping a bit further. Had he just heard that right?...

"paps, you can't really mean-" Sans started, but he was cut off.

"I DO. KILL THEM. THEY NEED TO BE KILLED TO BE SAVED, SANS. YOU NEED TO GET STRONGER. KILL THEM. NOW."

Sans couldn't tell if it was the increased Determination, the LV, or the toll all of his actions were taking on him, but his thoughts were a bit more scattered, more twisted and disjointed. Papyrus was right, if Sans didn't kill them, the human would, and that was something he could not allow to happen. Papyrus never wished harm on anyone, and even he was telling him to kill everyone, so that must mean that he was doing the right thing here, right?...

Sans pulled himself up, Papyrus floating away and above him, though he stayed close.

"they need to be killed to be saved.." Sans muttered, grabbing the scarf from his pocket, looking down at it.

"EXACTLY!"

Sans put the scarf on, it billowing in the wind behind him, edges tattered and scorched, and he looked back up at Papyrus, and said, a slightly insane smirk on his face, "then let's go save them."

A wide grin formed on his brother's face, looking at him with pride. Sans's smirk grew a bit, a part of his mind he didn't want to admit he liked getting excited at the idea of killing. He didn't want to admit how much he'd started enjoying it before he'd killed Papyrus, his brother's death quickly bringing him down from his LV high, but now it was coming back, and as much as he tried to deny it, he liked it. He wanted more- No, he needed more LV. 

"NOW YOU'RE CATCHING ON! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Sans woke up with a gasp, the feeling of the LV fresh in his mind, and it was strong. He grabbed at his head, bones rattling with tremors, and he tried to get it out. It was nearly invasive, worming through his mind ruthlessly, altering his thoughts to want to increase that feeling and drown in it. Sans shook his skull a bit, blinking rapidly to try and get that feeling out, muttering several profanities as he did so. He'd heard of LV highs, but he'd never experienced one like that, especially when the perspective he was seeing out of wasn't basically emotionless.

'holy crap...' Horror muttered, sounding a mix of shocked and pissed.

"dust.. you ok?" Sans questioned, getting no response for a moment.

'y-yeah... fine... just fine...' Dust replied, sounding a bit shaky.

'dust, seriously. are you ok?' Killer asked.

'yes, killer, i'm fine.' Dust reassured in mild irritation, 'i'm not gonna kill anyone, and i know he's not real. i just... i just need a minute.'

'i think all of us do. that feeling... just... damn.' Horror said, 'for being a dirty brother killer, you sure felt pretty good about yourself for a bit there.'

'oh my god...' Killer groaned.

'don't even start, please. it's too early for this crap...' Sans sighed.

'alright, alright... . . . are you alright?' Horror questioned.

'yeah, i'm fine... i just need a damn smoke...' Sans responded with another sigh.

'you're hooked, huh?' Killer asked.

'everything just resets, and it's the only thing that comes close to relaxing me... besides, the fact that i haven't dissociated lately is... concerning.' Sans replied.

'so you think that means you'll dissociate again at some point? or that you're getting more tolerant of them?' Dust questioned.

'i don't know, but they seemed like they were getting worse. maybe it's the stress?' Sans shrugged.

'maybe, i mean you've been going through a lot, and we can feel your emotions. you've definitely been stressed.'

'yeah, especially with how you've been snappier. you're on edge, lucks. be that on the edge of insanity or just on edge from stress, who knows.' Killer added.

'have i really been that pissy?' Sans asked, and the silence that ensued was an answer in and of itself, 'alright, yeah, i guess i've been a bit... irritable...'

'understatement of the year.' Killer chuckled, and Sans rolled his eyelights.

'dealing with you three is more than enough to piss someone off.' Sans pointed out.

'we never said it wasn't justified. just that you've been snappier.'

'. . . fair.' Sans sighed, 'i just wish everything would stop... but i'm not that lucky...'

Sans got out of bed and slipped his slippers on, snapping his fingers and appearing behind the Snowdin Inn, where Dust had teleported them last timeline. Sure enough, there was the packs of cigarettes, and Sans quickly grabbed the top pack, leaving some G that would pay for another pack in a store, and he teleported outside of the Ruins. He opened the box, grabbing a cigarette and using the match and striker attached to create a flame to light the cigarette. He brought it to his mouth, inhaling the smoke, some tension bleeding out of him that he didn't know he had. He leaned against a tree behind himself, skull resting against the tree trunk as his eye sockets slid closed, relaxing a bit.

'you know smoking is bad for you, right?'

'damnit, here he goes again...'

'hey mono... they might be bad, but it's not like that'll matter. everything just resets anyways.' Sans replied.

'yeah, but... i don't know, what if that doesn't last? what if it does end?'

'then everything ends, duh.'

'you know that isn't what i meant. just... think about the consequences of this? they might not have the chemicals human cigarettes do, but the calming magic in them is still addictive, and it can be corrosive to your def, and it's already at one.'

'. . . how about this, while you're awake, i won't smoke, ok? and no, killer, that doesn't mean you can make him sleep.' 

'damn...'

'. . . ok. i can't stop you if i'm asleep, i guess...'

'just let me finish this and i won't smoke any more, ok?' 

'ok...'

Sans was torn between hurrying to smoke the cigarette for Mono's sake, and savoring it because he might not be able to smoke again for the rest of the timeline. So, he smoked it at a normal pace, waiting for the human to exit the Ruins, occasionally glancing at the pair of magenta doors to see if they were exiting yet, despite knowing they weren't going to be leaving the Ruins for a few hours. Sans got through the cigarette, frowning as he could get no more smoke from it, and he sighed. He dropped it on the ground, stepping on it and crushing it into the snow, extinguishing it. He stayed there for a bit, watching the snow falling, and he overheard the other four talking in his mind, not really paying attention to what was being said. That is, until Killer got his attention.

'hey, lucks? he's back asleep, and no, i didn't do it.' Killer informed.

And so, Sans grabbed the box and another cigarette from within it, lighting another match and using it to light the cigarette, inhaling the smoke. He relaxed a bit at the action, savoring the taste of it in his mouth, and he used his pointer and middle fingers to grab it from his mouth once more, exhaling the smoke. 

RELOAD

Sans gasped, the cigarette in his mouth as his eye sockets flew open from a burst of pain in the top left of his skull, the cigarette almost going into his mouth. He coughed on the smoke, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth, his other hand a fist that he coughed into. Killer appeared in front of him, grabbing his arm, the contact freezing cold as always, and Killer pulled. Killer dropped the cigarette on the ground and onto the snow, snapping Sans's fingers and teleporting into the Ruins.

Sans found himself by a patch of yellow flowers, a hole in the ceiling allowing sunlight to stream into the area. Chara had shown him where they fell into the Underground, telling him to teleport there so they could kill everyone together from the start. Sans's vision shot around the area, a curse leaving his mouth as Killer swore, running forward and further into the Ruins, swinging a door open as he ran into the hallway. Sans watched Killer zip and zoom through the hallways, past solved puzzles, looking around for any traces of the human, seeing none for a while, until he found them.

They were being beaten by a Froggit of all monsters, Killer laughing in their mind as he interfered, blocking the fly attacks with a wall of bones, saving the kid from another death. Killer outstretched Sans's hand, clenching his fist as he used blue magic on the human's soul, pulling them next to him. Killer was used to saving Chara from attacks when they made themselves easy to beat, but this brat wasn't Chara, and they weren't doing it as a way to test his loyalty. They were just being pathetic. Sans's eye sockets narrowed as Killer glared at the Froggit, Sans feeling his magic being pulled on as Killer summoned a few sharp bones behind himself, ready to use them. 

"get the hell out of here, now." Killer hissed, and it scurried away in terror. Killer would roll his eyelights if he had them, but Mono was asleep, so instead he gave the human an unamused look. "seriously, kid? a froggit? how embarrassing."

The human was looking up at him fearfully, and Sans could tell it was Frisk just based on their expression alone, but the emotions on their face pulled at his soul. They looked terrified, shaking and trembling in fear, and Sans could sense Killer's confusion, wondering why they were so scared of him, and Sans heard as his mind connected the dots.

"heh. what horror did to the brat last timeline sure has you rattled, huh?~" Killer smirked, extending a hand to them, before freezing. "what the hell."

Sans and Killer were both shocked at the sight before them, that being his hand wearing a black, fingerless glove, his arm covered in a dark blue sleeve, and Sans's body tensed. Killer examined his appearance further, seeing his black turtleneck, dark blue jacket, white shorts with a black stripe on each side, and the blue sneakers, not mentioning his red target soul hovering outside of his chest. He... He looked like himself. His appearance changed.

'how the hell?! what?!' Dust exclaimed.

'holy crap...' Sans muttered.

'how the hell?...'

'we never did find out what happened last reset after that nightmare of my timeline...' Killer thought.

'crap...'

'he's right. he didn't even take control last time, it was dust and then me, and i tortured the brat.' Horror added.

'what'd you do to them anyways?' Sans questioned.

'horror turned them into doraemon.' Killer snickered.

'dora-what?' Sans asked. 

'nah, they were a power puff girls character.' Horror chuckled.

Killer burst out into surprised laughter, startling Frisk, "horror, what the hell?! how do you know what that is?"

'papyrus got into it for a while. better than mettaton.' Horror shrugged, 'how do you know?'

'boredom. also, my little pony was a good example too. and my little pony was better than mettaton. they could actually do good musical numbers.' Killer responded.

Sans gasped, 'dude, you didn't actually watch it, did you?'

'killer, come on...' Dust groaned.

'i was extremely bored! i watched every damn episode, and the movies, and the spin offs, and you know what?... it wasn't bad. queen chrysalis though... oh man, did she have it going on~' Killer chuckled.

'you have lost every ounce of respect i had for you. it wasn't much, but you lost it.' Horror told him.

'yeah, i agree with horror.' Dust said. 

'aww, c'mon, guys! i watched everything else before that! besides, i got to annoy the hell out of chara with it, so there's that!' Killer pointed out.

There was momentary silence, and then...

'fine.'

'acceptable i guess.'

'... chrysalis though? really? i mean i saw pictures but... really?' Sans asked.

'what can i say? i like villains that're black and teal. dunno why.' Killer replied, and they groaned. 

'i would've referenced animal crossing or animated penguins over damn my little pony.' Dust said.

'yeah, penguins of madagascar was pretty good, and what about happy feet?' Horror asked.

'yeah, papyrus loved that movie.' Sans agreed. 

'hell, what about minecraft?' Dust asked. 

'ok, ok, i get the point, jerks!' Killer sighed, and he looked back at Frisk.

"so, horror traumatized ya, huh?" Killer questioned, and they nodded a bit.

"Y-Yeah... that.. that was horrifying.." Frisk admitted, finally accepting Sans's hand.

"for me it was entertaining, but point made. their scream was delightful, by the way~" Killer told them, smirking.

"Gee, thanks..." Frisk muttered sarcastically, still tense and afraid.

"you're welcome~ . . . so... a froggit, huh?" Killer snorted, and Dust and Horror started laughing.

'you guys are jerks. a froggit could kill me in one hit, you know that, right?' Sans asked, and Horror and Dust erupted in laughter, and Killer barely held himself back from cackling on the spot.

"I was having a panic attack from, you know, experiencing Horror cutting my fingers off and mutilating my arm. It was agony." Frisk explained.

'wait, that's what you guys were making fun of? seriously?!' Sans exclaimed, and Killer snickered mentally. 

'took you long enough to figure it out.' Horror chuckled.

"so you got yourself killed by a froggit?" Killer asked, and Frisk groaned, "sorry, sorry, just... a froggit?" 

"You're never letting me live that down, are you?" Frisk questioned.

"heh, nope~" Killer snickered, laughing through Sans's mouth, and he asked, "so... you finishing everything in the ruins, or are you gonna get killed by a froggit again?"

Frisk sighed, "I was going to finish up, yes."

"good, because lucky wants to figure out a more... permanent end to the resets. this timeline. no others.' Killer said.

"I told him I didn't know anything I could do, Killer..." Frisk sighed.

"yeah, well, he's suffering and you're his only hope of everything getting better." Killer informed, "kinda selfish to keep resetting over and over again because you can't help yourself, meanwhile your supposed friend is suffering."

'you talking about someone about being selfish is hilarious.' Horror chucked.

'shut it, horror...' Killer responded.

"I... I know... I'm sorry... I'll try figuring something out." Frisk said.

"how about we speed up that process? let's head to alphys, see what the geek can come up with, how's that? maybe she can do something useful." Killer shrugged.

"It's worth a try?" Frisk agreed, and Killer nodded, "I'll finish up here and then you could pick me up outside the Ruins?"

"i could just teleport us out now?" Killer offered.

"I know, but... I've never just up and left before. It doesn't feel right..." Frisk replied.

"you've gone through this enough times, it probably doesn't." Killer said.

"No, I mean... she'll be looking everywhere for me. She won't know where I went and she'll be worried. I can't put her through that.." Frisk told him.

"you and your damn empathy. fine. i'll be outside the ruins waiting." Killer sighed.

'papyrus is probably coming to wake us up, killer.' Dust told him.

"and he can wait, dust. if we're already up, his job is done, isn't it?" Killer asked.

'not his point. we should at least make an appearance or leave a note.' Horror said, 'you know, so he's not worried.'

'what is with you guys being worried about making others worry? that has to be exhausting.' Sans's vision rolled, Killer rolling his nonexistent eyelights, and Sans sighed in exasperation. 'fine, dust, you go ahead and do it.' 

'fine.' Dust said, appearing next to him and taking control after grabbing his shoulder, and... oh.

Sans's vision went down, appearance mostly returned to normal except for the sheer amount of dust on his clothes, not to mention the scarf around his neck.

"crap..." Dust muttered as Frisk gasped, looking at Sans's body in shock. 

'... whoops. forgot about that problem...' Killer chuckled. 

"Is that...?" Frisk started, pointing at his neck, or, more specifically, the scarf he was wearing.

"... yeah, it is... damn it, this isn't good..." Dust sighed. "sans, you're gonna have to do this."

'obviously...' Sans responded, 'we need to find a way to end this, now. i don’t know and i don’t want to know how much worse this can get…'

'sans is right. we gotta figure something out...' Horror agreed.

Sans manifested in front of Dust, briefly seeing from his own perspective before he grabbed Dust's shoulder, pulling on it before abruptly gaining control over his body again, his appearance returning to normal.

"I… I didn’t expect him to look like that… I mean, I knew he got his nickname from somewhere, but..." Frisk trailed off.

"yeah, it's a sight to get used to." Sans sighed, glancing away from them and at Dust, who was standing across from him.

Sans looked down, seeing a small bit of dust on the ground. "dust, buddy, we gotta get you a vacuum."

Dust sighed, and Killer snickered, appearing standing next to him on his left, between him and Frisk.

'don't feel bad, dust bunny, it just needs a good wash, and sure there'll be dust stains, but hey, you won't leave a mess everywhere you go!' Killer told him, elbowing Dust's arm.

"Would a vacuum even work?" Frisk asked.

". . . dust, buddy, we gotta get you two vacuums." Sans amended.

Dust facepalmed, and Killer laughed, smirking at him. Horror appeared next to Dust on his other side, before blinking in surprise, looking around.

'woah...' Horror muttered, looking at his own hands, getting Dust, Sans's, and Killer's attention.

'what's up?' Killer asked.

'you got the perspective thing now?' Dust questioned, and Horror nodded.

'welcome to the club, buddy! feel free to free roam!' Killer chuckled.

Dust sighed, muttering something under his breath that Sans couldn't hear.

". . . anyways, i'll see you outside?" Sans asked, receiving a nod, "i wanna head to hotland as soon as possible, just to see if alphys can find anything."

"Good idea." Frisk nodded.

'should we just head there now? ask her to figure out what she can, tell her the situation, and then come pick up the brat once they finish up in the ruins, and we can see what she found?' Killer suggested, 'just gotta leave papyrus that note.'

"that's... actually a good idea, yeah. let's do it." Sans agreed, kind of surprised.

'why are you so surprised? i can have good ideas.' Killer pointed out.

'you usually have ideas on how to set crap on fire, something involving murder, and if you have an idea outside of that, it's a joke, a flirt, or you just don't voice it.' Dust deadpanned.

'he's got a point.' Sans said.

'yeah yeah yeah...' Killer muttered, and Horror jokingly patted him on his skull.

'there there.' Horror chuckled darkly.

'i'll slice off your kneecaps.' Killer muttered, swatting at his hand, and Sans snorted.

"What is it?" Frisk asked.

"killer suggested me heading to alphys now and then picking you up when you leave the ruins. after tori gives you a phone, add this number." Sans said, and he told them his phone number.

"Got it." Frisk nodded.

"good. from there, you're gonna wanna call me right after you get out of the ruins, and i'll come get you. ok?" Sans asked.

"Ok..." Frisk agreed.

"now please, don't get killed again, ok? please." Sans requested, a bit desperate.

"I'll do my best." Frisk told him, and he sighed, teleporting to his room with a snap of his fingers.

He grabbed a piece of paper, writing down 'hey paps, woke up early and started a patrol. meet up with you later.' before leaving the note on his bed. Satisfied, Sans snapped his fingers again, teleporting to The Lab, appearing in the middle of the bottom floor.

"hey alphys, you here?" Sans called out, looking around.

"S-Sans? What're you doing here so early?" Alphys questioned from the second level, looking down at him while rubbing her eyes from under her glasses.

"i uh... i kinda have a bit of a... problem. actually, a few of them, but uh... i need some help figuring them out." Sans replied as he looked up, and Alphys headed over to the elevator. 

"Wh-What is it?" Alphys asked him, curious.

"so uh... remember how me and you were talking about timelines a while ago? and about uh... alternate timelines specifically?" Sans began.

"Y-Yeah?..." Alphys replied, walking over to him nervously.

"and about our conversation about how some stuff seems familiar, like we've lived it before?" Sans continued.

"... S-Sans, what's going on?..." Alphys questioned.

"ok, you're gonna think i'm crazy, but we're stuck in a time loop, and uh... well, i remember all of it. i'm the only one who remembers, and uh... well, every time the timeline gets rewound, or 'resets', it uh... has a chance of becoming temporarily interwound or merging with alternate timelines, and the more this happens, the worse the effects get." Sans explained.

"Sans, are... are you ok?" Alphys asked him, concerned.

"look, you gotta believe me on this, ok? i know i sound crazy, but i'm telling the truth." Sans tpld her.

"... O-Ok, say you are... why you? A-And... how bad a-are the ef-effects?" Alphys asked him.

Sans sighed, glancing off to the side for a moment, before answering, "it starts out as a... as a nightmare of another timeline. a very vivid, first person nightmare. each time a timeline 'merges', there's another nightmare, and something happens."

"A-And they're bad?..." Alphys questioned, frowning, and Sans nodded, ". . . You said it got worse. W-Worse how?..."

Sans hesitated for a moment, "here's where you'll think i'm crazy..."

"I... w-won't say I'll be-believe you, but I'll try." Alphys reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"thanks... next thing is you start hearing things. you hear a voice, like yours, but a tiny bit different." Sans informed.

"S-Sans-" Alphys started, but Sans cut her off. 

"wait. from there you start seeing that version of you, and then they can uh... take over your body." Sans said, looking off to the side.

"Sans, that... that s-sounds like D-D-Dissociative I-Identity Dis-Disorder..." Alphys said, "L-Like sch-sch-schizophrenia..."

"it's not. it's something worse. from there it goes to them seeing out of the perspective of where they appear, and i can do it too, and uh... then the newest thing is when they take control, their appearance transfers over..." Sans told her.

Alphys was silent for a moment, looking at him in deep concern, "Sans... that... that sounds like sch-schizophrenia, D-DID, o-out of body ex-experiences, a-and like you're very del-delusional..." Sans sighed. "i... i know... that's why i'm gonna prove it to you."

'killer, you wanna do this?' Sans asked him, and he appeared next to Alphys.

'why me and not dust bunny?'

'because you're not covered in dust, killer. besides, you're the most obviously different one.' Dust pointed out.

'... touché.' Killer relented, grabbing Sans's shoulder, yanking, and taking control.

Killer's appearance replaced Sans's immediately, and Alphys jumped back in shock, shaking like a leaf.

"he still seem crazy?" Killer questioned, and she rapidly shook her head no, quivering, "good. so... you have anything for timeline reports?"

"Y-Yeah, th-thi-this w-way." Alphys nodded, quickly heading to the hidden elevator, and Killer followed behind her. 

On the way down, Killer leaned against the side of the elevator, secretly watching her, and she seemed extremely nervous. She kept glancing over at him in fear, fidgeting and shaking a lot.

"Y-You s-seem f-fa-f-fam-familiar..." Alphys said after a moment.

"figured as much. from what we've seen, you guys get snippets of stuff, like memories or recognizing us. nothing like what lucky's going though, but still." Killer said.

"L-Lucky?..." Alphys asked.

"it's what i call sans. i have a nickname too, and so do the other two, and yes, there's three of us." Killer explained.

"Wh-What are y-your n-names?..." Alphys asked him.

'killer...' Sans sighed, appearing next to Alphys.

"what? oh come on, her knowing my name can't be that bad..." Killer muttered.

"H-Huh?" Alphys was confused.

"talking to lucky." Killer explained, and she nodded a bit.

'look, horror has the most tame name out of the three of you.'

"and she has to know my name at some point. besides, what's the harm if everything'll reset anyways?" Killer asked.

'because we're trying to find a way to end the loop, killer! consequences matter now! get that through your damn skull!' Dust snapped, 'you too, sans!'

Killer sighed, "well if i just told her the first letter of my name, her stuttering problem would be really uh... problematic on the surface."

'oh my god...' Sans muttered.

"name's killer." Killer introduced himself to Alphys casually.

"K-Killer?!" Alphys yelped in shock and mild fear.

'damnit..'

'seriously, killer?'

"yep." Killer replied to both conversations.

"W-Why ummmm... w-why are you c-called that?..." Alphys asked, trembling a bit.

"well, lucky would probably be pissed if i told you, so i won't tell you why. i will tell you the other two's names, though. dust and horror, and you'll know which is which if you see them." Killer replied.

"I-I... O-Okay.... K-Killer, umm... d-do you h-have th-theories s-so far?..." Alphys questioned.

"me and dust have a couple. one is that our timelines are copying and pasting bits and pieces of themselves here, but what i can't figure out is why it's mainly lucky that's affected. based on the fact that we can see out of the perspectives of where we appear as manifestations, it doesn't seem like hallucinations, just projecting ourselves in a layer of reality that only we can see. we can't interact with anything, at least other than Sans's body, and we just grab it and pull on it to take control, but our touch is cold. i mean hell, it might be from a sort of link in lucky's soul our timelines are latching onto, what we can't figure out is how. our magic transfers over, our souls do; mine sure as hell does, but still, why us in particular? is it a main character thing? is it from determination? no, otherwise the brat would remember..." Killer explained, trailing off in thought.

"B-Brat?" Alphys asked. 

"there's a human with a soul of determination that's being forced to reset the timeline each time they break the barrier, and i'm gonna bring them here soon so we can figure out this mess. their name's frisk." Killer answered.

"Th-That sounds f-familiar..." Alphys muttered.

"it should. they have something going on too. they have a different personality in control each time. first it was frisk, then riley, then karter, then frisk again, then skyler, then iggy, and now frisk is back." Killer responded.

'... no way.' Dust whispered, seeming to realize something.

'what's up?' Killer asked.

'say the names again.' Dust told him. 

'frisk, riley, karter, skyler, and iggy. why?' Killer replied.

'frisk, riley, iggy, skyler, and karter. f.r.i.s.k.' Dust informed.

'woah...'

'son of a bi-'

Killer's jaw dropped. "no way..."

"Wh-What?..." Alphys asked. 

"dust is a damn genius. the names spell out 'frisk'. how couldn't i have noticed?..." Killer said.

Oh right, he could barely read. 

'you can't read?'

"Wh-What does it m-mean?..." Alphys questioned.

"i dunno yet, but it's something to look into..." Killer replied, ignoring Sans, before acknowledging, "this is a really long elevator ride..."

"Y-Yeah..." Alphys nodded, and the elevator door opened into the True Lab.

"finally." Killer muttered as they both exited, and she led him through the teal secret lab, heading to a hidden room with several machines inside.

"Th-This is a-all I have..." Alphys informed, turning the lights on, and flipping some switches.

The room itself was overall pretty similar to the rest of the hidden facility, with dark teal tile floors and teal walls that got darker towards the ceiling. The machines inside were all dark gray or silver, several displaying monitors, some of them having line graphs, others having blank screens, and some didn't even have a screen, just several knobs. There was multiple checkboards in the room, most on the sides of the machines and others on the walls, a pen on a string attached to each one. 

"I-I can s-search through t-the d-data, but i-it'll take s-some time..." Alphys told him, pulling out her phone and typing something. 

"alright. i still gotta wait for the kid to give me a call and i'll bring them here." Killer responded, leaning against a wall and going on Sans's phone, starting to scroll through UnderTube Shorts.

Alphys glanced over at him, still concerned but also slightly uneasy, and she started looking through the data the machines had. Killer wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but he figured she probably knew what she was doing.

'really? you're gonna mess up my algorithm, aren't you?' Sans asked.

'sounds like a you problem.' Killer smirked, typing in 'knife tricks' in the search bar and clicking on a video, keeping it muted.

Sans groaned, and Horror appeared next to Killer, watching over his right shoulder. Killer smirked, and slightly angled the screen so Horror could see it a bit better, and a moment later, Dust was on Killer's other side, trying to peek at it the screen. Killer looked up at Horror, smirking and nodding towards Dust, and Horror nodded with a grin. He used one hand and grabbed Dust by the scruff of his jacket, just under the scarf, and picked him up. Dust yelped and squirmed as Horror put him on his own shoulders, giving him a better view. Dust looked extremely surprised, but sighed, watching from his new spot. Sans appeared across from them, laughing a bit.

'you guys are ridiculous!' Sans snickered, 'i wish i could get a picture of this!'

Dust sighed, and Horror chuckled quietly. After a few minutes of scrolling through the Shorts, an unknown caller called the phone. Frisk. Alphys yelped a bit at the sudden ringing, and Killer chuckled a bit, and he heard Horror laugh quietly.

'you guys are horrible..' Sans sighed; he clearly didn't share their enjoyment of others' fear.

"well, that's my cue." Killer sighed, and he turned to Alphys, who was calming down, "i'll be back in a few minutes."

Killer declined the call, and he turned off the phone and slid it into his pocket. He teleported out of the True Lab, and outside of the Ruins, where Frisk was waiting, the phone up to their ear. They jumped at his sudden appearance, before relaxing.

"took ya long enough." Killer smirked.

"Sorry..." Frisk apologized.

"eh, whatever. i don't care. lucky, you wanna handle this crap?" Killer asked, and Sans appeared next to him.

'yeah, i can.' Sans replied, pulling him out of control, his body's appearance returning to normal.

"don't worry about it, kiddo. alphys is looking into the timeline stuff, and we'll hopefully have some answers soon. also... dust figured something out. frisk, riley, iggy, skyler, karter. frisk. wanna explain that?" Sans questioned, and they looked at him in surprise.

"I... I never realized that." Frisk told him, "What do you think it means?"

"i was hoping you knew." Sans replied, "i'm sure alphys can figure it out. you ready to head to her?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Frisk nodded, and Sans grabbed their shoulder, teleporting them both back to Alphys. 

Alphys jumped a bit from his sudden appearance, before relaxing. She probably felt more at ease around him instead of someone literally named 'Killer'. 

"any luck?" Sans asked her, and she nodded a bit.

"Yeah, I... I found s-something, I think..." Alphys replied, walking over, "Y-You're F-Frisk, right?"

Frisk nodded, "Yeah, I am. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but umm.. we've already met before..."

Alphys nodded a bit, "Yeah... Well, it's st-still nice to meet you, for the first time that I can re-remember."

Frisk smiled a little, and asked, "You mentioned you found something?"

"Y-Yeah, I did." Alphys verified, and Sans heard footsteps approaching, Alphys saying, "Th-They're here..."

"who's here?" Sans questioned, narrowing his eye sockets at her slightly.

He got his answer a moment later, because Papyrus and Undyne looked inside the room from the doorway. Undyne was in her black tank-top, blue jeans, and red shoes, and Papyrus was wearing his battlebody. They both looked concerned and confused, and Sans's eyelights almost went out. She'd called them?!

'what.' Killer said flatly, appearing next to Sans to look at the doorway.

'why did she bring them here?!'

'this'll be fun..' Horror sighed.

"Hey, sorry it took us so long, Alphys! Took a bit to find the elevator!" Undyne apologized, and she tensed when she saw Frisk.

"WOWIE, A HUMAN!" Papyrus gasped, and Frisk tensed up, hiding behind Sans.

Sans felt that protective urge crawling up in his mind again, remembering Killer's timeline, Chara hiding behind him as he defended them from attacks. He firmly pushed that memory down, not wanting to think about that right now. Undyne and Papyrus both walked further into the room, standing a foot or two away from Sans and Frisk.

"U-Undyne, re-remember. Y-You c-can't hurt th-them." Alphys said, "I-It could w-worsen S-Sans's con-condition..."

"Yeah, speaking of.... what's wrong with him? In your text, you just said 'Get to the bathroom in The Lab and go down the elevator, go to the hallway on the left when you get out, and go to the last room on the right. Something's wrong with Sans, and you should be here for this. There's also going to be a human, but don't hurt them. It could make Sans worse.'. So, what's up with that? The kid hurting him?" Undyne glared at Frisk at the last sentence, and the urge crept up again, Sans once again forcing it down.

"no, they aren't. it's... complicated." Sans reassured.

"You w-wouldn't be-believe him if he told you.... umm... Sans, I looked into that th-theory he had, and... h-he was r-right." Alphys said, "You're s-seeing them in a layer of r-reality we can't per-perceive... at least, not n-naturally..."

". . . what?" Sans asked.

What did she mean 'not naturally'?

"I f-found a way to allow us to see and hear them too." Alphys explained, "If you're up for it..."

"Wait, hold on, what the hell is Sans seeing?" Undyne asked, looking at Alphys, wanting an explanation.

"SANS, ARE YOU OK?..." Papyrus asked in concern, "AND WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE CIGARETTES?"

"Dude, were you smoking?!" Undyne questioned, her eye narrowing.

"i'm fine, relax! i was just uh... next to someone who was smoking, that's all." Sans lied.

"A-Actually, ummm.... I have a c-camera by the Ruins, and ummm... you were s-smoking..." Alphys said.

. . . He'd forgotten about that...

'tattle tail...' Killer muttered.

"What?!" Undyne asked.

"U-UNDYNE, UMM... AS MUCH AS I BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED, WHICH IT MOST CERTAINLY WILL BE, I WILL DO SO MYSELF, BUT... ALPHYS, WHAT EXACTLY IS MY BROTHER SEEING?" Papyrus questioned.

"Umm... We're trapped in a time loop, and Sans is the only one of us who can remember the previous timelines. He's also ex-experiencing negative effects of it. When the loop starts over, there's a chance for something to happen; for our timeline to collide with another par-parallel one. He currently is seeing, hearing, and his body is oc-occasionally controlled by alternate versions of himself..." Alphys explained.

". . . You're right, I don't believe you two." Undyne said, and Papyrus hesitated.

"IT.... IT DOES SEEM RATHER... FAR FETCHED. ARE YOU BOTH CERTAIN OF THIS?" Papyrus asked.

"Yes. I met one of them earlier. Sans isn't joking this time..." Alphys answered, and she started pushing buttons on a machine, four clear glasses with an earpiece attached popping out, and she distributed them to Undyne, Papyrus, and Frisk, keeping one for herself, "I just need to find the right s-setting, and we should be able to see and hear them too."

The four of them put on the headgear, and Alphys started turning a dial, trying to find the layer of reality needed to see and hear Killer, Dust, and Horror.

"i uh... i really don't know about this..." Sans told her.

"BROTHER, IT WOULD SERVE AS VERY GOOD PROOF FOR WHAT YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING THROUGH, AND... I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH, BROTHER. BESIDES, YOU LIED ABOUT NOT SMOKING, WHICH ALPHYS HAS PROOF OF... SO THIS IS A WAY OF PROVING YOU'RE TELLING THE TRUTH." Papyrus told him, "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, ANYWAYS? NOT ONLY IS IT ILLEGAL, BUT IT'S BAD FOR YOU, BROTHER."

'you gonna tell them your give a damn is broken, lucks?~' Killer asked, appearing behind Papyrus.

Sans's eyelights glanced over at him, and he sighed a bit, 'no, i'm not. not yet.'

'. . . wait. alphys said they could see and hear us?' Dust questioned, appearing in front of Sans, gaining his attention as looked down at himself before back at him.

'what's the matter, dust bunny?~' Killer asked as he walked next to Dust, smirking at him as he slung an arm around his shoulder, 'don't want them to see you?~'

'obviously!' Dust snapped, and he saw Killer grabbing a knife from his pocket, 'put that away! you need to be on your damn best behavior here.'

'why?' Killer questioned.

'because he doesn't want papyrus to freak out.' Horror sighed as he appeared on Dust's other side, 'i don't blame him either. last thing we need is papyrus or fish sticks freaking out.'

Sans snorted a bit at the nickname, holding his laughter back for the most part, muttering, "seriously, horror?"

Horror chuckled, and he pulled his matted, dirty, mildly bloodstained, formerly fluffy white hood up, covering the hole in his skull.

'oh come on! if they're gonna see us, we should at least make a genuine first impression!' Killer whined, and Dust sighed.

Dust's eye sockets widened as he realized something, immediately trying to get his red scarf off as quick as he could. Killer put his knife away, grabbing Dust's hands instead, causing Dust to glare at him immediately, eyelights turning red and cyan, left eyelight enveloped in a purple flame.

'killer, let me take it off!' Dust snapped.

'oh come on, dust. you're still covered in dust, you wearing the scarf doesn't matter.' Killer told him.

'it kinda does...' Horror muttered, moving to lean against one of the machines a bit away, keeping his eyelight on Undyne, watching her with narrowed eye sockets.

'he's got a point.' Sans agreed.

'how?' Killer asked, and Dust glared at him.

'because it makes it blatantly obvious what i did, killer!' Dust snapped, trying to free his hands, but he couldn't, 'how the hell are you so strong?!'

'magic~' Killer grinned, and he pushed forward, tackling Dust.

Dust fell on his back, struggling against Killer and trying to kick at him, but Killer just snickered, keeping him pinned and restrained. Sans watched them with an exasperated expression, sighing. He knew the others were trying to figure out what he was seeing, and they were about to find out if Alphys was right about this.

'let go of me, killer! knock it off!' Dust demanded.

'no! sorry, dusty, but you gotta relax! if they get mad, so what? if anything, they'll be more upset with me than you, anyways.' Killer refused.

"that doesn't matter! i don't want them seeing the damn scarf!" Dust snapped.

Sans heard some quiet gasps, and he looked over at Undyne first, who was looking directly at Horror. Horror looked back at her, and sighed as he looked back at Dust and Killer. Looks like Alphys found the setting alright. Papyrus was watching Dust and Killer fight, and Alphys was looking between Horror, and Dust and Killer. Sans glanced behind himself, and Frisk was watching Killer and Dust fight with a surprised expression, avoiding looking at Horror.

"uh... guys..." Horror started, trying to get their attention, but Dust yelling at Killer prevented the fighting duo from hearing him. 

"killer!! stop it, damnit!!'" Dust shouted, and Killer laughed. 

"oh come on, dust!~ they won't freak out~" Killer replied.

"yes they will!" Dust snapped.

"guys!" Horror yelled, voice louder this time, but he still couldn't get their attention. 

"Are they always like this?..." Frisk asked Sans quietly.

"yup..." Sans sighed, "every. damn. timeline."

"OH MY..." Papyrus muttered.

Horror's left eye socket twitched a few times, and he growled in irritation at being ignored, snapping, voice a dark, dangerous snarl, "dust, killer, enough!"

Dust and Killer froze, looking over at him immediately, their fight pausing, but Dust did land a punch he'd aimed for Killer's shoulder, but it was light, just doing it out of sheer spite. Sans flinched at Horror's voice, and he saw everyone else tense up at his tone.

"what?" Killer questioned, acting unafraid, because of course he didn't fear Horror; he couldn't feel fear at all... that was almost a bigger lie than Sans's mental stability was.

"they can hear you, you morons!" Horror snapped.

Dust and Killer finally looked around the room, seeing all eyes on them, and Dust managed to push Killer off, cursing as he quickly hid behind Horror by teleporting.

"they already saw you, dumby! relax!" Killer sighed from where he was laying on the floor.

"no!" Dust glared at him from behind Horror.

"Dude, he's kinda right. We already saw you..." Undyne pointed out, still seeming to be processing everything, "Did uh... Did he call you Dust?"

Dust sighed a bit, shoulders sagging, "yeah... yeah he did."

"WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN DUST, BROTHER? AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING MY SCARF?..." Papyrus asked, and Dust tensed before looking off to the side, away from him.

Killer sighed, getting up and vanishing, reappearing leaning against a machine next to the one Horror was leaning against and fidgeting with a knife, saying, "he's got reasons."

"killer, i swear to god..." Dust muttered, glaring at him as he toyed with the blade, Killer only smirking at him in response.

"Why the hell do you have a knife?" Undyne questioned.

"because i'm a knife guy." Killer smirked, and Horror snorted.

"that was so bad..." Dust muttered, though he was smiling slightly.

"sorry, haven't dusted off the old puns book in a while." Killer snickered. 

"they always do this too." Sans told the others.

"WELL, THEY ARE STILL YOU. YOU ALL SEEM TO LOVE HORRIBLE PUNS." Papyrus noted, "BUT THESE ARE... DARKER THAN YOUR USUAL JOKES."

"you mean horror-ible?~" Killer asked, his smirk growing wider.

Dust facepalmed, holding back quiet laughter, and Horror was holding back his own. 

"if you guys are gonna get into one of your verbal battles, can we do it after we get all of this sorted out?..." Sans requested.

"Please, because I think we all have a lot of questions." Undyne said, looking at Dust and Killer warily.

"YES, STARTING WITH... ARE YOU ALL ALRIGHT?" Papyrus questioned.

"... that's the first question he asks? really?" Killer asked, muttering his words.

"killer, don't you dare start right now. i will kick. your. a-" Dust was cut off by Sans.

"guys, not now. please." Sans sighed, and he turned to Undyne, "what do you wanna know?"

". . . What the hell happened to these guys, why does that one have a knife and what's on his chest, why is that one covered in dust and wearing Papyrus's scarf, what the hell happened to that bloody one, and how the actual hell are you not crazy?"

"their pasts are uh... bad. not important right now, but they're bad. i might explain later, but not right now. no idea how i'm not crazy, these three are chaotic as hell." Sans sighed.

"you? saying you're not crazy?" Killer smirked.

"killer, shut the hell up." Sans glared.

"temper temper~" Killer snickered.

Sans knew Killer could feel what Sans felt, including how he moved his body, so he slipped his hands into his pockets, flipping Killer off secretly. Killer smirked at the secret gesture, Horror smiling a bit as Dust rolled his eyelights, though he was visibly fighting back a smirk.

"Their names are Killer, Dust, and Horror from what I heard, that's kinda a given." Undyne sighed, and asked skeptically, "How are you sure the human isn't doing this to you on purpose?"

"Because I can't stop the timeline from resetting." Frisk sighed, "I've tried, but I just can't..."

"yeah, it's all chara. speaking of, how does all of this do anything to stop them from resetting?" Killer asked.

"Wait, Chara?" Undyne asked, "The human Toriel and Asgore adopted?!"

"yup. they're possessing Frisk's body." Sans sighed, and he turned to look at Frisk, "chara, if you're listening, i uh... i wanna talk. please don't reset, i just wanna talk about things, ok? please?" 

"you? talking with them? you're asking for it this time, lucks..." Killer muttered.

"i can handle it." Sans told him.

". . . you're lying a lot this reset, and it's barely lasted a few hours." Killer said, and Sans rolled his eyelights.

"WHAT EXACTLY IS HE 'ASKING FOR', OTHER BROTHER?" Papyrus asked.

"lucky here has our pasts in his head, and mine in particular is... bad. he dissociates sometimes, and that's the least of it." Killer answered.

"killer! i wasn't gonna tell them about that!" Sans glared.

"how was i supposed to know that?!" Killer questioned.

"we literally share a subconscious, how did you not know that unless you're just playing stupid?" Sans responded.

"i wasn't paying attention to your head! not everything's about you, lucky..." Killer said.

". . . killer, i am going to slap you." Sans glared, and Killer chuckled, "i'm not even kidding."

"i can't feel pain~"

"i will slap you in the soul. i know how much that damn thing hurts." Sans narrowed his eye sockets, hands clenching into fists. 

". . . ok that's low." Killer glared, crossing his arms at him.

"guys, break it up." Dust sighed, getting between them, and Sans glared at a wall, jaw clenched, "thank you..."

"SO... YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET ALONG, DO YOU?" Papyrus asked, frowning.

"us? nah, at first dust hated me, a lot. but i grew on him~" Killer replied, and Sans looked back at him.

"like mold..." Dust muttered.

"i still grew on you! anyways, lucky didn't like me, dust downright despised me, and when horror got here he had an axe to dust's throat." Killer summarized, and Alphys frowned, looking between them worriedly.

". . . THAT SOUNDS... RATHER VIOLENT.... HAVE THINGS IMPROVED?" Papyrus questioned.

"kinda? i mean i don't hate him as much, horror's getting along with us, and i think sans doesn't dislike us as much. i mean me and him mostly get along, him and killer either get along or argue, and horror is either ok or really passive aggressive." Dust answered.

"Why would he not like you?... I mean I can tell you're... interesting, but uh... what'd you do?" Undyne asked.

"that would prompt a fight, and i'm not dealing with that right now, so that's in the 'conversation topics for possibly never' category." Sans sighed.

"Can you at least explain how Chara's involved in this?" Undyne requested, "And what did Killer mean earlier?"

". . ." Sans went silent, before sighing, "chara can take over frisk's body and reset the timeline, and as for what killer said... they were uh... evil, in his timeline, and i saw a lot of stuff that i refuse to go into detail on, and uh... i have some dissociating issues because of some stuff they did over there. they messed with killer's head, bad, and some of that damage transferred over to me, including the dissociation."

"Oh... Damn..." Undyne muttered, looking off to the side.

"How bad is it?" Alphys questioned.

"it's bad enough to where sans is stupid to want to try talking to them." Killer said.

"SANS ISN'T STUPID, OTHER BROTHER." Papyrus spoke up, frowning a bit.

"Papyrus is right." Undyne agreed.

"yeah, well, the last time he dissociated, he-" Killer started.

"hey! no! not talking about that!" Sans interrupted.

". . . fine, fine... let's just leave it as 'it was bad'." Killer sighed.

"UMM..." Papyrus started, before getting quiet.

"Well, if it's so bad, shouldn't we know so we can help him?" Undyne asked.

"we have the whole 'helping sans' thing covered." Horror told her.

"Yeah, but we can help too." Undyne said.

"sure, you could, but we have it handled." Horror replied, crossing his arms, glaring a bit.

". . . horror, she hasn't even done that yet, quit being pissy." Dust told him, shooting him a look.

"i can still be mad..." Horror grumbled.

"Wait, what did I do in his timeline?" Undyne questioned.

"a hole lot." Killer replied, and Sans and Dust both nodded.

Dust realized his pun a moment later, and groaned, "oh my god, you did not just say that.."

"you get it?" Killer asked.

"yes, i get it." Dust sighed.

"what? . . . ohhhh..." Sans realized, laughing a bit.

". . . killer." Horror said flatly.

"yeah?" Killer responded.

"i will break your arm in fifty places." Horror glared.

"awww, why not fifty one? too difficult?~" Killer smirked at him, and Horror's eye socket twitched.

"I DON'T GET IT... WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT?" Papyrus questioned.

"you don't wanna know, paps." Sans advised, before asking, "what were you gonna say before?" 

Papyrus pointed over at Frisk, and Sans turned to look at them... and his eyelights went out. Glowing red eyes were looking back at him, and Sans went tense. His vision flickered and flashed, Chara's appearance replacing Frisk's on and off rapidly, and he felt his mind trying to go blank, but he didn't let it happen, fighting to keep from dissociating, something that could not happen right now. The next thing Sans knew, Killer had taken control over the body, his appearance replacing Sans's as he pinned Chara to the wall.

After Killer took control, Chara's appearance replaced Frisk's, but their face wasn't distorted like in his timeline. Killer had one hand pressing against their chest to pin them to the wall, his other hand gripping a sharp bone he'd summoned into his hand. Sans could hear Killer's panicked thoughts, along with Mono's, and he could feel the panic racing through their mind, the two of them freaking out, and it didn't do much to help Sans either. Sans vaguely processed the sharp bone being moved towards their throat with his own hand, his body's movements only stopping when Dust spoke up.

"killer, no! stop!" Dust yelled, and Sans's arm froze as Dust ordered Killer to stop, and Killer listened, "back off."

Killer glared daggers at Chara with Sans's eye sockets, his hands trembling violently, and Broken Determination poured from his eye sockets, but he slowly backed off, letting them go. Killer retreated into the subconscious, Sans taking control over his body back, stumbling a bit as he stopped himself from falling to the floor... for a moment, before landing on his tailbone, looking up at Chara, eyelights shrunken. His mind was trying to go blank, Sans having to fight to keep himself thinking, his emotions trying to shut down due to the amount of panic he was feeling. This timeline was off to a great start.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Sixteen

Sorry for the delay!

Warning!! This is from the original Horrortale comic, and is uh... very violent and... well yeah, you probably know, especially the end of the nightmare scene. Anyways, read with caution!

Sans entered the core, hearing a faint conversation as he approached, and he asked, "hey, your majesty. who're you talkin' to over there?"

"SANS!!! What the hell are you doing here?!" Undyne shouted as she whipped around to face him.

"woah! how about bringing it down a few decibels? kinda having a long day." Sans requested.

"What are you doing here?" Undyne questioned, much quieter, and she seemed nervous.

"papyrus couldn't make it, so... i'm here." Sans explained.

"Papyrus...? But I wasn't expecting..." Undyne's eye widened in realization, and she turned around, "Oh yeah, it's Tuesday."

"so what do you two normally do? you gotta parcheesi set around here, or-" Sans was cut off by Undyne, who turned back around to face him, looking sad.

"Listen, I get that you came a long way, but you need to leave! Things have just been so BAD here, I feel like I might be losing my mind!!! The last thing I want to consider is the most horrible solution there is, and with you actually here... I... I... I wish I could tell you more, but you wouldn't understand. It's just too horrible."

"try me." Sans said, narrowing his eye sockets at her sightly; challenging her. He already knew, but he wanted to see if she would make the right decision here.

"No. I... I think it'd just be better if you just went home. I'm sorry." Undyne apologized. 

"well, you're right. there's one thing i don't understand. i don't understand why you're pushing away the one guy who can help you restart this damn thing."

Undyne eye widened, and she outburst, "YOU KNOW?!" Undyne was silent for a moment, before saying, "Sans. I trust you. I know you know what's best. Whatever it is, you can tell me. Whatever it is... I'll be ready. And if you think there is no other way.... Then I'll do it."

"uhhhhhh- ohh...kay..." Sans said, facing The Core and glancing at her, "lil' creepy, but... sweet, i guess." Sans rested his elbows on the metal railing next to Undyne, "the way i see it, given the size of this thing, it's impossible to understand how some of these components work, but one thing the blueprints keep showin' is some sort of capacity to channel energy from an outside source. good thing is, we find this energy receptor, and what's left of our monster magic just might sustain this machine long enough to live out our, uh- temporary stay here."

"But we scoured this thing top to freaking bottom!! There's no alternate energy receptor except the one's that burnt out!" Undyne told him, and Sans sighed.

"that's kinda the bad news. this energy receptor... i got a strong feeling it's in the core's center. i'm talking about the core's core." Sans said. "so... let's destroy it."

"WHAT THE HELL?! DESTROY THE CORE?!?!?!" Undyne exclaimed in shock.

"i mean, not entirely. i'm sayin' we dissect the outer layer, locate the internal receptor, re-energize it, and then... re-build it. look, i know it sucks, and it's a long shot, but i'm telling ya, i've gone through this thousands of times, and nothing else is working. don't worry, i'll help ya recruit some volunteers. the job'll take their mind off things, you know?"

"Uh... S-Sans?" Undyne questioned quietly, looking at him with a scared look on her face. 

Sans kept talking, "give everyone some hope back. take it from me, undyne. it's gonna be ok."

"Can't you see it!?!? You're bleeding!!" Undyne exclaimed.

"bleeding? what're you talking about? i'm fine." Sans reassured, looking over at her without moving his skull.

"Oh god, no..." Undyne whispered, looking horrified.

"what's wrong, your majesty? you feeling ok?" Sans asked, "hey, you've had it pretty rough today. maybe you should go lie down."

Undyne turned around, holding her head and muttering to herself, and Sans faintly heard, "It's not real. It's not real."

"not feeling yourself, huh? i can relate, heh heh." Sans attempted to joke as he turned around to look at her, and Undyne became a little louder..

"Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me." Undyne repeated like a mantra, and Sans was on edge.

He knew she wasn't gonna like it, but he wasn't expecting this...

"uh... you... you ok there?" Sans questioned. 

"I SAID DON'T LOOK AT ME!" Undyne snapped at him, turning around.

Sans leaned against the guard rails, gripping them in his hands and arching his back away from her, and she seemed to come back to herself.

Sans was silent for a long moment before saying, "i'm gonna go."

"Huh??? You're leaving?!?" Undyne asked him, seeming surprised. 

"uhh yeah, i... i uh- i gotta do stuff at home." Sans replied, feeling nervous.

"So that's it, huh. You came all this way... To tell me to break it." Undyne's tone turned angry, "Damnit Sans!! I trusted you to fix it!!! All this time you've been working, which you barely do anyways, AND IT'S ALL FOR NOTHING!!!"

Sans snapped his skull to her, "what did you say to me?" Sans questioned, irritated, "look, i've tried everything. i've beer busting my skull for the past twelve months trying everything. i gotta say you got us in a big mess here, your highness."

"ME?! Look at YOU!" Undyne snapped, "Alphys said you could fix this and save us all. Instead you're just wasting your time EVERY STINKING CHANCE YOU GET so you can avoid doing ANYTHING for ANYONE!!!"

"oh you really get me." Sans rolled his eyelights, "i just love staying up a billion hours wasting my time, like helping my brother scavenge for food or persuading my friends not to dust themselves, but that shouldn't concern miss high-n-mighty. nah, not as long as she rules while us little people perish with the core."

"How, DARE, YOU!!" Undyne shrieked, and she turned away as she started to sob. 

"hey... hey, uh... i'm sorry, i didn't mean that, honest. not eating this long puts a guy on edge, you know? lemme make it up to ya, we still got reserves in snowdin. come by and have some." Sans offered to her, apologetic and sincere, holding a hand up next to him, towards the door. 

"Sans, I gave you your chance. As queen, I gotta do what's best for everyone. Guards. Pin him."

Sans felt a firm hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at who it belonged to. 

"Apologies, son." The guard apologized, regretful.

"you? what the hel- hnnnnnng!" Sans felt two spears pierce through him, narrowly missing his ribs, and he grabbed at each one tightly with each hand as he glared up at Undyne, "are ya outta ya damn mind??? you can't do this!"

Undyne smiled down at him with an insane smile on her face, "I'm the Queen of the Underground. I can do whatever the hell I want. Alphys told me everything, magic man. There's one more power source we haven't tried. It's YOU." Undyne grabbed a four pronged device, pointing it at him, "And I want to try this new tool she devised... Specifically for this occasion!" Undyne held it in his face as the prongs snapped open, and he flinched back, "She told me it won't hurt as long as you keep your eye sockets open, so... You shouldn't have anything to worry about!!"

"hhhold it! you're making a huge mistake! i'm telling ya, you got the wrong guy here! look, i can help you fix the core, i swear. it just needs a little time-"

Undyne cut him off, "Hold him down."

Sans turned his skull to the right to look behind his back at a guard gripping his hood, "are you serious?!?! you jerks are ok with this?!"

"Hey Sans. Look up here." Undyne told him, and when he did, the prongs were right in his face. 

"well... looks like i've got no choice." Sans's left eyelight lit up cyan and yellow, bones appearing in front of him that shattered the spears the guards were using to hold him down. 

Sans lifted Undyne up with blue magic, left hand held up and crackling with yellow and cyan magic, and she looked at him in confusion, "What- What's happening? What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Sans locked gazes with her, his glowing cyan and yellow eyelight locking with her crazed yellow eye, and Sans pointed his arm across from him, and Undyne screamed as she was shot into the wall. Undyne collided with the wall with a loud crack, breaking the concrete, and Sans shrugged with his eye sockets closed. 

"welp, your majesty, i don't know how you did it, but ya did. you officially succeeded at pissing. me, off!" Sans's eye sockets snapped open, eyelights absent, and he summoned a Gaster Blaster, firing it, "here's ya medal!"

"WOAH!" Undyne yelped, barely avoiding the attack, "I knew it! This jerk has the power we need, and he tried to HIDE IT from us!!!"

"can't say you're the only one disappointed." Sans said, before muttering a curse under his breath in a different language, calling her a.... female dog, say to speak.

"DID YOU JUST INSULT ME?! I'LL KILL YOU JUST FOR THAT!" Undyne yelled, grabbing a device with three prongs on the end, just big enough to fit in his eye socket.

"nope." Sans summoned a bone from the ground to slam full force into her jaw, "you're not comin' close." Sans turned around, "i'm outta here, but i'll be back soon."

"NO!" A male guard yelled, firmly grabbing his shoulder, and he whipped his skull to face him, "PLEASE, SANS! WE NEED YOUR EYELIGHT!! MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, THEY WON'T LAST MUCH LONGER!!"

Sans narrowed his eye sockets, using blue magic on his soul and flinging him full force away from him, saying an obscenity as he did so.

"let's try this again..." Sans started, absolutely livid. 

"NO!" Undyne snapped, an insane grin on her face as her eye lit up green under her eyepatch, "You're not going anywhere... ... magic man." Undyne turned his soul green, and Sans looked down at it. 

"wow, this uh... this isn't my day." Sans muttered to himself. 

"DODGE THIS!" Undyne shrieked, and Sans looked behind him to see a spear coming at him, and he brought up a bone in front of it, deflecting it. "What the hell?! I can't beat him if he deflects all my attacks!!"

"that's right, queenie. looks like the best you can do is quit and let me go." Sans told her, closing his eye sockets, and opened his left eye socket to the sound of static.

"A-actually that's not true! When Papyrus fights, he uses a finite number of bones, and I bet it's the same with fighting Sans!" Alphys informed through the speaker, and Sans turned his skull to glare up at it. This was all Alphys's fault, "Just keep attacking and he'll run out eventually!"

"that's great news, alphys, thank you." Sans muttered sarcastically as Undyne cheered behind him. If only she knew that was just for beginners; Sans could create as many as he wanted, as long as he had power.

"YES! You're the best!!!"

"No problem, Undyne. Whatever helps you win." There was a moment of silence, then... "I have an idea! Maybe if you-" Sans cut her off by stabbing multiple bones into the speaker, breaking it. 

"You think that's it, huh?! You think I need Alphys to tell me how to KILL YOU?!" Undyne summoned a spear in her left hand. 

"this is gonna suck." Sans sighed. Sans summoned a bone to deflect the spear at just the right angle, using another to shoot it back at Undyne. Sometimes people forgot he was a physics nerd. "sorry about this." Sans muttered.

The spear connected, piercing through her eye, tearing off a fourth of her face as he did so, and his soul was freed, and the guards shouted, but Sans couldn't tell what they were saying, his nasal cavity and mouth dripping Determination as his will to live and the lack of food caught up to him. Usually he could withstand high amounts of Determination, but not eating for so long had lowered that threshold by a lot. His knees hit the floor with a loud CLACK, and he collapsed to the ground. The next thing he knew, Undyne was grabbing him by the neck, nearly choking him.

"you're going straight to hell for this. heheheh~" Sans told her, eye sockets half closed, "but you already know that don'tcha?" 

"Hell? What makes you think it's worse than this place?" Undyne asked him, crazed.

"there's another way, i'm telling ya-"

Undyne cut him off by thrusting the device into his eye socket, grabbing the eyelight in it's prongs. The device had went into his skull with so much force that it shattered the top left of his skull, and Sans could hear the bone fragments flying everywhere, clacking onto the floor in bits and pieces. Everything went black, Determination filling him not to die, liquid dripping from his skull and onto the floor. He distantly heard her say something, having to concentrate on what it was.

"I'm sorry, Sans. But you're the only one with the power that will save us all."

Everything was a haze of pain and anger, everything echoing around him, making it hard to discern his surroundings, just hearing screaming and feeling his magic being drawn on before... something exploded, he wasn't sure what. The next thing he processed was himself pushing something into his left eye socket, his soul latching onto it, feeding magic into it, and the eye seemed to stabilize the Determination in his body, or at least make it to where he wouldn't die from it. Wait, had he died? Had the Determination brought him back? He faintly remembered the human.... what was their name again?... Oh, right, Frisk... He faintly remembered them coming back to life from Determination, but most monsters couldn't handle any of it without dusting, and even Sans could only handle so much, and certainly not enough to bring him back from the dead... Then again, Sans wasn't most monsters. Vision came back to him in his left eye socket, everything tinged red and blurry before it came back into focus, but his vision in his right eye socket was gone. He couldn't remember what he'd done leading up to that, and he decided to ask about it. 

"ugh... what happened?" Sans questioned with a groan as he put his hand gingerly to the area of a sharp pain in his skull. He reached around in his pocket, searching and unable to find his phone, which he hazily remembered ringing, and he asked a guard, who was trembling, "... hey, who the hell took my phone?"

The guard immediately took off running, and Sans sighed. He looked around, seeing a pile of dust mixed with a guard's uniform, bits and pieces of their skull on the ground. Is that what had been using his power?... He saw an eye laying on the ground a bit away, and he remembered putting something into his left eye socket...

Had he stolen an eye? It looked like it... If he could apparently control the bones inside of monsters... Sans's mouth widened in a grin, getting an idea. This would be fun... Sans stepped over the pile of dust and armor with shaky legs, the limbs slowly steadying as he walked, regaining strength from being fueled by two things: Determination, and rage. 

He spent months looking for ways to fix that damn machine, months losing sleep and watching everyone around him suffer, watching Papyrus suffer because of everything happening, looking for some form of solution where everyone won. His eyelight could fuel it, yes, but it would cost him his life, something he had no intentions on losing, especially not when there was another option, and no one had to die from it. However, Alphys had to suggest the most drastic option out there and say to kill him. He didn't want to die, there was no chance in that. 

Papyrus may be an adult now, sure, but he still needed someone to look after him; someone to get him through this whole mess, and by trying to kill him, Undyne was risking Papyrus's life and wellbeing, something Sans wouldn't allow to be jeopardized. His brother deserved the world, but the world wasn't good enough for him, and Sans had just experienced first hand that being good and trying to find the best option for everyone would only end up in you getting betrayed, so what was the point? Papyrus needed someone to protect him, to protect that damn innocence that the world would try so hard to snuff out... even if Sans needed to end a few lives to protect him, that was nothing.... not when they'd tried ending him.

Determination was still pouring down his skull, Sans reaching up to trace the sharp edges of the bone, almost cutting his hand open in some spots. When he'd pulled his hand away, it was covered in red liquid, so it might've actually cut him open and he couldn't tell, not that he cared. He wiped the Determination on his shorts, and he kept walking, the skull injury only filling him with fury, any pain he had being ignored. He was still trying to get used to the new eyelight, his body adjusting to it, and he felt his powers distorting from the magic of it combined with the Determination that just wouldn't stop.

He saw the guard flinging a door open, yelling out to everyone inside, "DESTROY IT! DESTROY THE EYE!!!"

"What?? What's wrong??" Undyne could be heard asking, and Sans got even closer as the guard yelled in response.

"HE'S NOT DEAD! It's his eye, it's keeping him alive!! And now, he's-" Sans cut him off by seizing his bones with his powers, making them expand out and away from themselves like rockets. 

The guard screamed in agony, that being the last sound he made with his vocal chords before his body exploded into a burst of dust and blood, bits of his armor flying into the room. Sans walked behind the cloud of dust, using the cover to send several sharp bones into the room, all of them small, aimed to deceive them on how much of a threat they posed. Undyne shielded against them while the other monsters got hit, his Karmic Retribution taking it's toll. They'd killed down here, during Undyne's coup against Toriel, and now those deaths were helping him out; helping him get his revenge. This was their karma for what they did to him, after all. 

"So... that's how this is... You monster." Undyne glared daggers at him, and he stared back at her.

Sans turned around and left, teleporting away, Undyne shrieking something for Alphys. Sans wasn't concentrating on what she was saying, instead on the subject of the shrieking. Alphys. Sans had a really fun idea for her... It was payback time for what she'd caused to happen today; what she'd done to him. Sans approached the door, his left eye socket twitching in anticipation, some of his Determination dripping down in front of it. He knocked on the door as Undyne shrieked for Alphys, his eye sockets narrowed in anger.

"Kn-kn-kn-knock all y-you l-l-li-like, you-you are not coming in here!!" Alphys shouted to him, and he knocked two more times.

"aw, c'mon, you don't even know who it is." Sans complained from behind the door, a smirk on his face.

Sans snapped his fingers, teleporting to her left, knowing she was hiding behind the only desk in the room. A wide smile spread across his face, demented, and he couldn't put into words even if he'd tried exactly how much he was about to enjoy this... Alphys seemed to see him out of the corner of her eye, because she froze, turning her head to look at him with big, terrified eyes.

"Oh no.." Alphys whispered.

"so, not so tough when the queen ain't around, are ya... pal?" Sans asked, staring back at her with a sadistic and crazed grin on his face; he was gonna enjoy this.

"W-w-ai-wait! I c-c-can ex-explain-!" Alphys yelped, and he cut her off, bending over to be right in her face.

"oh goodie!!! you talkin' has been doin' me tons of favors! if ya hadn't noticed, i'm a freak now, thanks to you. go ahead and explain that." Sans snapped at her sarcastically, his new eyelight shrinking in his rage. 

"I-I swear I had a good reason!" Alphys whimpered. What a pathetic little liar...

"screw you. i told you about the core. i told you how we could've powered it together! but the second you realized goin' mute wasn't helping-" Sans snarled at her with a vicious glare, and he grabbed her by the collar of her lab coat, pulling her up to his height, "you tell undyne to kill me instead?! whatcha gotta say about that, buddy? somethin' to say, while you still gotta jaw?"

"Yes... THIS!" Alphys yelled, slamming her hand onto a button on the desk by her head. 

The wall to Sans's right slid open, revealing the lit up Core, and he turned his skull to look at it. Sans released her lab coat, walking over to look at it closer, and she approached him. 

"You can kill me, Sans. I'll understand. It's just... You need to see why I did this." Alphys told him, starting to cry.

Sans looked over at her, deciding he'd play along for a few moments before getting his revenge for what she'd done to him. For what she'd turned him into... "... okay..." He replied simply, staring at her with an irritated expression on his face.

"It-it's not because I wanted to." Alphys looked at him, fidgeting with her hands, "P-please, you have to know that. You know what happened is a miracle. Us monsters can now live again, and we all have you to thank for it. You understand that, don't you, Sans? You're the one who saved this place from turning into a massive graveyard. You made that happen, and nothing can take that away! Isn't that what you've always wanted? To make a difference that would last? Your idea about the Core's core was just too risky! Think about all the lives we'd lose before it's even fixed. Think about all our energy and magic wasted if didn't work, and it might not! Yes, what I did was unforgivable. I was c-crazy to think life was worth living without you, and... and I'm ready to pay for it with my life, but my choice helped save the lives you were ready to throw away! I'm sorry, Sans," Sans stood there, silent with a blank expression on his face as she talked, "But I did the right thing. Nothing you do will make me change my mind." 

Sans let a smile spread across his face, taking that as a challenge. He turned to look at her, and she tensed up with a gulp. He snapped his fingers, summoning massive bones that stabbed through the Core, weaving in and out of different areas, piercing through others. 

"No..." Undyne said, audible from the speaker in the room, and Sans said "yup." at the same time, and he summoned sharp bones around his stolen eyelight, ensuring no one could destroy it.

He wasn't destroying the Core... just... ensuring there was no way it could be accessed easily. It would still keep everyone alive, but it wouldn't reverse the damage that had already happened to the monsters of the Underground. It also ensured he couldn't be killed again and that no matter what, he would stay alive. He wouldn't let anyone kill him again in order to try saving themselves. Not when he'd tried saving them in a way that everyone benefitted from, and he still got betrayed and used. 

"you still say i can't change your mind, huh?" Sans questioned, looking over at Alphys as she trembled before him, a sadistic expression on his face, "bet."

"W-what?" Alphys asked in confusion, and Sans summoned several tiny bones behind her head, and he shot them into her brain.

Alphys gasped in pain, stumbling back with a choked yelp, and Sans moved the bones around inside her skull, grinding her brain into nothing but a useless mush, her legs giving out as she collapsed against the desk. Sans knelt down, watching as she lost any bit of intelligence she may have had. She may have been the Royal Scientist, but she'd made the stupidest decision in all of monster kind. She started babbling a bit, saying random words as drool dripped down from her mouth.

"have a nice life, potato..." Sans told her with a dark grin on his face, flicking her forehead with his finger before he got up.

"PRETTY FRY COWS EATING BANANA SHIRTS! GRAPE BEAN KITTY CHEWING DRAGONFLIES!!" Alphys shouted before laughing mindlessly, and Sans chuckled sadistically before teleporting out. Undyne was gonna have a fun time dealing with the vegetable he'd made Alphys into...

Sans woke up, hands flying to his mouth to stop the scream from escaping him, and he felt magic rapidly building up in his throat. He tumbled out of bed, rushing to the nearest trashcan, and he threw up glowing cyan and yellow raw magic. Sans coughed, filled with nausea and horror, and he hurled more of it, the liquid magic gushing out of him. He faintly saw some red mixed into it, but that could've just been him. 

'not bad, horror, not bad~' Killer complimented Horror in his mind, and Sans stared at the trashcan, his face lit up from it's contents.

More nausea built up in him, remembering what he'd seen himself doing, and he threw up even more of it, the magic spilling out past his teeth. He couldn't believe what he'd just watched happen, and he was in shock that Killer was completely unphased by it. 

"killer, you... you cannot be serious right now..." Sans muttered through pants, seeing some inky black liquid mixing with the raw magic he'd thrown up, but he'd worry about that later.

'what the actual hell?!' Dust yelled, who, unlike Killer, was effected by what they just saw.

'... in my defense, she had it coming...' Horror spoke up.

'damn right she did! why did i never think about doing that to chara? i could've made them braindead and not had to worry about resets anymore...' Killer pouted, 'hey horror, after this progresses, you wanna do that on a genocide route here?'

'we are not doing that!' Sans told him sternly.

'maybe not, killer. i might be messed up, but... god, that was...' Dust trailed off. 

'hey, horror was right, she did have it coming. i mean come on, he told her how to fix it!' Killer pointed out, 'besides, he got his skull smashed and eye stolen! i say that was fair payback.'

'... i'll admit, i'd been pretty pissed off, particularly at her, and sure it was kinda overkill, but... i still would do it again.' Horror mumbled.

'not here you won't.' Dust said, voice stern. 

'obviously. this one hasn't done anything to deserve it yet. ... yet.' Horror replied, chuckling darkly.

'. . . whenever someone deserves it, can ya do it then?' Killer asked, sounding optimistic.

'sure.' Horror shrugged.

Dust groaned in exasperation, before saying, 'fine... if the brat kills papyrus, go ahead and do it. leave them like that for a while, and then kill them to bring papyrus back.'

'thank you, oh kind, gracious leader!' Sans could hear the grin in Killer's voice.

'no, you are not doing that, especially since the other personalities in there can remember everything that happens! i don't want to torture an innocent child!' Sans snapped.

'. . . i don't see the problem with doing that.' Horror said.

'me neither.' Killer shrugged.

'of course you don't! you don't see the problem with anything!'

The three of them started arguing, and Sans couldn't even hear himself think over how loud they were, and his eye sockets twitched a bit before he lost his composure.

"oh my god, will you three please just shut up?!" Sans outburst, and they fell silent. "thank you..."

There was rare silence, except for the whispers, and Sans took it as a small chance to calm down, looking back at the trashcan. He sat down on his bed with a sigh, trying to get his soul to stop pounding. He noticed a large amount of black stains on his bedsheets, and he knew exactly who it was from. Killer. Combining that with the black liquid in the trash can, Sans pieced together what had happened.

After calming himself down for a few minutes, he took a deep breath before he asked, "killer, did you throw up?"

'oh? can i talk now?' Killer sassed.

Sans narrowed his eye sockets, "yes, you can. now answer the damn question. did you throw up?"

'no-'

'yup.'

'horror! come on!' Killer whined.

'wait, you threw up? why?? you weren't even bothered from what we just saw!' Dust asked. 

Horror and Killer went silent, and Sans sighed. "what happened?"

'killer had a flashback of something chara did to him.' Horror explained.

'damn, seriously?' Dust questioned.

'really? what was it?' Sans asked, feeling a bit concerned despite his irritation at him. 

'it was stupid, and i don't want to talk about it. hell, i don't want to talk about anything that happened last night.' Killer sighed.

'you still gotta explain-'

'i'll get to it, relax. we just woke up.' Killer cut him off. 

'wait, did you take control of my body last night?' Sans questioned.

'killer, come on!' Dust scolded him.

'it was only for like, an hour, and horror made me eat food. come to find out, toriel, undyne, alphys, papyrus and skyler were down there playing poker, and i got roped into playing. believe me, i didn't want to play in the first place.' Killer summarized.

'he really didn't.' Horror verified.

'that's... not too bad, then...' Sans said, 'but how did that lead to you throwing up?'

'. . .' Killer sighed, 'chara used to force feed me chocolate til i threw up, and uh... yeah, it's embarrassing and stupid.' Killer sighed.

'it's not stupid or embarrassing, kills. you literally have ptsd..' Dust told him.

Killer sighed, groaning, before he abruptly went silent, asking, '... did you just call me 'kills'?'

'that's what you got out of that?!' Dust asked in exasperation.

'he's killer. of course that's what he got out of it.' Sans sighed.

'answer the question, dust.' Killer told him.

Dust sighed, 'fine, yes, i did. so what?' Dust asked.

'... you finally gave me a nickname. after eleven chapters, you have finally given me a nickname.' Killer said.

'eleven what?' Dust questioned.

'it's finally happened.' Killer continued, ignoring him.

'i think sleep deprivation caught up to him.' Horror chuckled.

'yup. killer, sleep in the subconscious.' Sans told him while yawning. 

'not yet. he's got someone to explain first.' Horror said, and Sans was confused.

'someone?' Dust asked.

'. . . you're really making me do this right now?' Killer sighed.

'yup. now talk. that was the deal.' Horror told him.

'. . . i told you about my stages, right?' Killer questioned.

'you didn't tell me.' Horror spoke up.

'my soul has different stages, varying in how many emotions i can feel and what my state of mind is. upside-down heart is stage one, target is two, and an extremely unstable target is stage three. one is pathetic, two is normal, and three everything is a threat, so i attack everything i see.' Killer summed up.

'gotcha.'

'ok, seriously, who does he need to explain?' Dust asked.

'. . . when my soul first... changed to where it had stages, something happened. i was... born, in a sense. all of the broken determination, torture, and lv took it's toll, and uh... my mind formed, too. the first thing i really remembered was waking up laying on a bed of yellow flowers, staring up at the ceiling. everything else is all bits and pieces of memories that aren't mine.' 

'that doesn't make sense. i've been seeing your memories this whole time, if it wasn't you, you wouldn't be here, and you've had knowledge of everything here, be it people, places, or other things.' Sans was extremely confused.

'i looked through your memories trying to figure out what was going on here, that's how i know everything. otherwise... i didn't remember anything before the loop.' Killer explained.

'that still doesn't explain how they aren't your memories. we're literally seeing everything from your perspective.' Dust pointed out.

'it's not my perspective, not really.' Killer said, which only confused Sans more.

'would you quit beating around the damn corpse and just spit it out? you're confusing them.' Horror grumbled.

'i'm working on it... the reason i said it wasn't my perspective is because it wasn't. it was lucky from in my timeline, but that isn't me.' 

'but it is you. you are literally me.' Sans pointed out, glaring at the wall.

'lucky, no. it- damnit... when my soul changed, it formed a new personality and a new mind. me. i am not you.' Killer sighed.

'. . . what?' Sans was shocked.

'wait, so... so you're...' Dust trailed off.

'not sans, nope. i honestly thought sans was someone me and chara had killed and he'd stayed dead. it was kinda true in a way... considering his ghost is a pest...' Killer muttered.

That only added to the confusion.

'what do you mean? are you saying he's still in there? how come we haven't met him?' Sans asked.

'you have, you just didn't know you had. when my soul was in stage one, he came out. otherwise he's mainly asleep or he just watches what's happening. he never appeared much in my timeline, but he's been more annoying since this all started.' Killer sighed.

'. . . why are you only telling us about this just now?' Dust asked.

'because he didn't want you to know about him. he's been keeping him asleep somewhere deeper than the subconscious, and he tries keeping him from waking up. killer figured you two would choose the sans from his timeline over him and try putting him there and keeping him locked away, and that you would hate him.' Horror explained, 'talked with him last night, told me a lot of crap about killer.'

'what? ok, so not only have you been imprisoning someone who's already going through hell, but you actually thought we would do that to you?!' Sans questioned, baffled.

'. . . yeah? you saying you wouldn't?' Killer asked.

'yes!! we wouldn't do that crap to you, skullbrain!' Sans snapped.

'he's got a point. i mean earlier i would've had no problems with it, but now... you're a bit more tolerable... besides, what do you care what we think?' 

'because he cares about you two. he didn't want you to hate him because he likes you guys.' Horror sighed.

'. . . really?' Sans asked.

'you literally share a head with him, how did you not know that?' Horror deadpanned, causing Sans to shrug.

'what i wanna know is why the hell you would keep him locked up in the first place.' Dust said.

'because he's just a giant mess of trauma. that's all 1 is, just pure, unbridled trauma victim, worse than lucky by a lot. the very second he gets freaked out, he just hides, or makes us go into stupid stage one and have a panic attack. it's better if he sleeps, for both of us.' Killer explained.

'that still isn't right, killer.... also, did you call him '1'?' Sans questioned.

'he doesn't exactly have a name. i mean hell, the only thing i really went by was 'partner' or something else chara would call me. i didn't have a name before coming here.' Killer explained.

'you never named him or even attempted to?' Dust asked, sounding angry.

'never wanted him around enough to have to call him a name.' Killer responded.

'so what, you just planned on locking him up and forgetting about him?' Sans snapped.

'that's exactly what he planned. he wanted to be the only one awake, thought that 1 only messed everything up when he was in control, so killer didn't want that to happen and wanted to do everything his way.' Horror sighed.

'are you kidding me?! he went through absolute hell, killer! he deserves a chance, or to at the very least see what's happening, not to mention talking and everything else! what you're doing is downright cruel!' 

'well i'm sorry for not wanting to suffer because that's all he does!' 

'does that mean you're gonna try forcing me away too?!'

'no!! i actually like you! you're not nearly as damaged as 1 is! you have enough of a damn spine to mostly handle what's happening to you!'

'let him out.' Dust demanded.

'i can't, he locked himself up this time. 1 hid when i had the flashback of chara and won't be out for who knows how long.' Killer sighed.

'you seriously need a better name than '1' for him.' Sans frowned.

'like what?' Killer asked.

'i dunno. you need something for him. mono?'

'mono?' Killer questioned.

'doesn't that just mean one?' Dust asked.

'yeah, but do you have any better ideas? it'll at least work until he figures something else out.' Sans replied.

'. . . no, i don't...' Dust sighed.

'so... are we good? if i let him talk to you guys when he stops hiding?'

'. . . dust?' Sans questioned, wanting his opinion on this.

'. . . don't make him stay asleep or locked up anymore, and just... let him have some damn freedom, killer. stop locking him away because you don't want to deal with him or help him. i get that he's traumatized, but he needs some damn help. the exact opposite of what you're doing. let him talk, socialize, vent, whatever, just stop doing what you've been doing.' Dust told him, surprising Sans.

'ok.... you're not mad?' Killer asked.

'oh i'm mad, but... i'm willing to give you a chance to make things right. don't screw this up, you hear me?' Dust responded.

'i won't... . . . why are you giving me a chance?' Killer questioned.

'. . . we're friends, right? i'm giving you a chance because of that. don't make me regret it...'

That... that surprised the hell out of Sans, his jaw dropping a bit. Early on, Dust would've never said that, and wouldn't even hear Killer out before attacking him. Now, though... now he was giving him a chance, and that showed Sans exactly how far they had come from when Dust first showed up. It showed how far they'd come from when this started, and... it was good, and the fact that Horror wasn't as hostile with them meant something happened last night that made Horror more open to trying to get along with them, and that was also good news. 

'. . .'

'wha- arrgh! hey!!' Dust yelped, and Sans heard something fall.

'what happened?' Sans asked.

'killer just hugged him.' Horror explained, sounding amused.

'really?' Sans was surprised.

'yup...' Horror verified.

'. . . also, are you actually blind in one eye socket?' Sans questioned.

'heh, yup... the eyelight undi- . . . undyne stole had my ability to see with it. without it... half blind.' Horror answered, 'this is the first time i've seen out of both eye sockets in like... seven years.'

'damn...' Sans responded with a yawn before he checked his phone, groaning, 'killer, when did you go to sleep?'

'uhhh....'

'neither of us really looked at the time...' Horror told him.

"of course..." Sans muttered.

Considering when he himself had gone to sleep, counting out an hour from Killer being awake, and the current time, which was five in the morning... They'd gotten five to eight hours of sleep. Not enough for two days of little to no sleep, especially considering he probably hadn't slept much before the time loop started.  

'today is gonna suck..' Sans sighed.

'want me to try getting us back to sleep?' Dust offered.

Sans thought about it for a minute, before shaking his head no. 'nah. i'll just take a nap later.'

'killer, why the hell do you have a deck of cards?' Dust asked after a moment.

'i wanna play poker with you guys. duh.' Killer replied, and Sans heard cards being shuffled.

'he played it last night and uh... he's good.' Horror admitted.

'think of it as a team building exercise, dusty. we're practicing tactics, we're playing a game together, bonding, and it's fun.' Killer replied.

Dust sighed. 'fine... have fun, sans. you get a personal day.' Dust told him, and Killer cackled in excitement, 'tell us if you start dissociating, by the way. ok?'

'i will... just don't break anything in there, please?' Sans requested.

'no promises~'

'i'll try keeping everything to a minimum.'

'it was broke when i got here.'

Sans groaned, facepalming. 'i mean it you three.'

Sans was met with mostly silence, except for the voices, and he sighed. He stood up and got off of the bed, finally looking down and seeing himself in Killer's clothes, and he tensed momentarily before sighing. He was too lazy to change, and he should probably get downstairs. So, with a heavy sigh, he grabbed some shoes, not realizing he'd grabbed Killer's shoes, not tying the laces, before he headed downstairs. He was still tired, the adrenaline from the nightmare having worn off, and he was positive he looked exhausted.

"morning, kid." Sans greeted tiredly when he saw them awake. 

"Morning, Sans. So umm... did Killer tell you about how he was down here last night?" Skyler asked.

"he mentioned something about poker and coming down here because horror wanted him to eat." Sans answered, and they nodded, "how bad did things get, and be honest. none of them are listening right now... i don't think."

"It... It wasn't too bad. I mean, it was chaotic, but it was kinda crazy before he showed up and got dragged into playing. He had a freak out when Undyne tried giving him some chocolate, but things lightened up when he came back. He uh... well, he was Killer, but everyone chalked him acting weird up to extreme sleep deprivation." Skyler summed up, and Sans sighed in relief, "And then there was the... comments he made when Undyne and Alphys were leaving."

Sans was silent, before sighing, "of course he did..."

"Yeah... Toriel got mad at him, and he just found it hilarious. He was also speaking this weird language, and I have no idea what he was saying." Skyler informed. 

"weird language?" Sans asked. He'd need to ask Killer about that later...

"Yeah... How's he doing?" Skyler questioned.

"he's doing good right now, playing cards with horror and dust." Sans replied.

"That's good at least. He was definitely skilled, so they might have their work cut out for them..." Skyler said, and Sans heard something break in his mind, followed by Killer laughing faintly.

"yeah... anything else happen last night?" Sans asked. 

"Not that I know of, no..." Skyler answered, and Sans nodded. 

"you up for grillby's for breakfast?" Sans asked. 

"Yeah, sure." Skyler replied, "Isn't it kinda early though?" Skyler asked.

Sans shrugged, "he opens early. besides, he makes some pretty good pancakes."

"I could definitely go for a pancake, yeah. Should we get Papyrus up? He was up really late." Skyler asked him.

"nah, he's good. come on." Sans said, teleporting them both there. 

The diner was empty except for Grillby, who seemed to be getting stuff set up for business for the day. He looked up upon their arrival, but he didn't say anything. Sans and Skyler walked over to the bar, each sitting down on a stool.

"morning, grillbs." Sans greeted him, receiving a nod. Grillby was always quiet around anyone he wasn't very familiar with. "two pancakes please. put it on my tab."

Grillby nodded, turning around and starting on the food.

Skyler was silent for a moment, before asking quietly, "Sans? Are you ok? You looked kinda... shaken. Not very, but a little." 

Sans looked over at them, and sighed quietly, whispering, "yeah, killer not sleeping had the reloads build up, and i got two nightmares for the price of one earlier. they were uh.... not fun to see."

Skyler grimaced, nodding in understanding. They paused, before saying, "You wanna hear something kinda funny?"

"yeah. what is it?" Sans responded.

"When he came down to the kitchen last night for food, guess what he made." Skyler said.

Sans thought for a minute, before replying, "i dunno, what?"

"Pancakes." Skyler replied.

Sans laughed a bit, "you're kidding."

"Nope! Pancakes, jam, whipped cream, and caramel. It looked... extremely good, I'll give him that." Skyler described.

"dang." Sans said, grabbing a bottle of ketchup and drinking it. 

"And he made it from scratch." Skyler informed, and Sans almost spit-took.

"he... he what?" Sans asked, flabbergasted.

"Yeah, he cooked. Surprised all of us..." Skyler nodded, laughing a bit.

"damn..." Sans muttered as Grillby brought the plates over to them, setting them down in front of them, along with some silverware.

"Thank you, Grillby." Skyler thanked him.

"yeah, it looks great as always, grillbs." Sans said.

Grillby nodded a bit, before heading back to setting everything up for business for the day. Skyler and Sans ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the food, and the door opened. Dogaressa and Dogamy entering the diner, before freezing.

"I smell a human..." Dogaressa said.

"There's definitely a human here." Dogamy agreed. 

"crap..." Sans muttered, grabbing Skyler's shoulder and teleporting them outside, but the Dogi burst out the door, and grabbed their axes as their noses twitched rapidly.

"Sans?" Asgore asked, the dye from Killer's prank mostly washed off, "What's going on?"

"Human!"

"I smell a human!"

"Human?" Asgore questioned, before looking at Skyler in realization, "... Sans."

"asgore, they're not-" Sans was cut off by Asgore sighing.

"Sans, be honest with me, please. Tell me the truth. Is that a human?" Asgore asked him, frowning sadly.

Sans was silent, looking down. He went to say something, but Skyler spoke up before he could. "Yeah, I am..."

Sans looked over at them, eyelights shrinking. Skyler, what the hell were you doing?!

"... I see." Asgore sighed. 

"I know you need my soul, and I'm fully prepared to help everyone escape the Underground. I just... I wanted to get to know who I was saving." Skyler told him.

"I can understand that, child. You seem like a good human. However, that doesn't change what I must do. I'm sincerely sorry." Asgore apologized sadly. 

"asgore, wait! give them at least today, come on!" Sans requested, putting himself between Asgore and Skyler.

"Sans, I'm sorry. You know I can't do that." Asgore apologized, "You have protected them, and I respect that, but I also cannot allow my subjects to remain trapped down here any longer. You know your job is not protect them."

"well consider this my formal resignation." Sans informed.

Asgore looked down. "Sans, don't make me do this. Please. Step aside."

Sans planted his feet firmly in the snow, holding an arm in front of Skyler. 

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Undyne yelled, running out of the Snowdin Inn and over to them, looking between them in confusion and alarm.

"Sans is protecting a human!" Dogamy replied.

"The human needs to be eliminated!" Dogaressa barked.

"Human?.." Undyne looked at Skyler, and her eye widened, and she glared, tone threatening, "You.... YOU LIED TO ME!!!"

Asgore's theme started playing, Undyne's and the Dogi's mixing in, and Sans tensed. He could handle Asgore for a while, but he couldn't handle Asgore and Undyne, and possibly the Dogi.

'dust, get out here right now!' Sans yelled in his mind. 

"come on, come on..." Sans muttered, "dust, get your coccyx out here..."

"Sans?" Skyler asked him nervously as Undyne summoned a spear.

 "My child!" Toriel cried as she approached, worried.

"Toriel..." Asgore murmured, looking over at her, but she just glared in response.

"tori, i need you to get the kid outta here, fast." Sans told Toriel, looking over at her.

"Sans, I won't just leave you here!" Toriel refused.

"just get them outta here, please. i can hold them off." Sans pleaded.

Skyler went to take a step, but a spear shot out of the ground in front of them, grazing their nose.

"Don't move, human! Sans, how could you?! This is treason!" Undyne snapped at him. 

"they don't need to die, undyne, so i won't let them get killed." Sans replied firmly. 

Undyne went to lunge forward, but Sans brought up a bone wall, but she only punched through it, knocking him back when he teleported in front of Skyler.

"SANS!" Skyler yelped as he was shot back.

Sans felt himself lose control over his body as Dust took control, and his skidded to a stop, his hood flying up and over his skull as he did. About damn time he showed up...

Dust's eyelights lit up red and cyan, eye sockets narrowed as he looked around, getting an idea of what he was dealing with here. The music abruptly changed, his own theme starting to play. It was like his old one, but it was more dangerous, having darker notes and was more threatening while following the same tune as Sans's still did, but it was played on what sounded like a rock guitar. Skyler gasped at the change in music, and Toriel, Undyne, Asgore, and the Dogi were surprised and confused too. Dust used blue magic on Skyler's soul, summoning the red heart and turning it blue, pulling them over to him.

'never thought i'd be doing this...' Dust thought.

"sorry i'm late." Dust apologized quietly, before looking over to Toriel as she ran over, "i need you to get the human outta here. can you do that?"

"I... yes, I can... Sans, please be careful." Toriel told him.

It seemed like she knew based on the music change that he had this handled, and was willing to do what he said and get the human out of here. Skyler ran over to her, Toriel lifting them up and into their arms once they reached her.

"i will." Dust responded.

"Toriel, please, don't make this more difficult for me..." Asgore pleaded.

"Shut up, Asgore." Toriel snapped, hugging Skyler to her chest tighter. 

Asgore sighed, looking down before looking at Dust, "Sans, I request one more time. Please, stand down."

"not happening, pal." Dust replied, summoning several bones behind himself, his left eyelight engulfed in a purple flame.

"So be it. Dogi, get the human, but do not harm Toriel. Undyne, help me with Sans. He's going to be difficult to deal with..." Asgore ordered.

Toriel retreated, Skyler held tightly in her arms, and the Dogi chased after her, barking aggressively. Dust snapped his fingers, bringing up a large wall of bones between the two groups, buying Toriel some time to run away. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye socket, seeing Undyne shooting several spears at him while Asgore reluctantly joined in with fire attacks. Dust sighed, snapping his fingers and freezing the attacks midair, turning them purple as he took control over them, making them vanish a moment later. Asgore and Undyne were staring at him in shock, and some of the gathered onlookers were taken aback.

'dust, you can do that?!' Killer asked in awe.

Crap, he didn't realize he was watching.

'jeez... well they're screwed.' Horror chuckled.

'i thought it was just a legend or a myth...' Sans muttered.

'nah. that's not the only thing i can do either.' Dust told him. 

"SANS, WHAT THE HELL?!" Undyne yelled. 

"I... How..?" Asgore whispered in shock, summoning a trident and gripping it tightly. 

"i'm just that good. we gonna do this all day, or are you gonna let the kid go?" Dust asked, eye sockets narrowed in a glare.

"Not a chance, brat!" Undyne yelled, lunging at him with several spears, and Dust teleported out of the way, shooting bones at her to pin her against a wall, bringing up a wall of bones to block more of Asgore's fire.

It seems like they realized they shouldn't go easy on him.

Asgore's trident turned blue, slashing at Dust, who remained completely still, unharmed by the attack as it passed through him. He looked up to see Undyne lunging at him, and Dust used blue magic to throw her down and into Asgore's attack, taking damage.

"Sorry, Undyne!" Asgore apologized.

"It's fine!" Undyne reassured him, shooting a barrage of spears at Dust.

Dust rolled his eyelights, wondering when she'd learn that was useless against him. He snapped his fingers, turning them all purple before turning them around midair, turning them blue and shooting them at her at breakneck speeds. She stayed still, avoiding taking damage, and Asgore sent waves of blue and orange magic at him, Dust staying still and moving accordingly. 

Dust summoned a vertical bone from the ground, teleporting onto the tip of it to prepare more attacks, but Undyne pierced through the bone with a spear, and he teleported to the ground as the bone snapped in half. He used blue magic on her soul, sending her into the air before back to the ground, purple strings shooting from out of the snow, wrapping around her arm and bringing her fist directly into her jaw, the strings vanishing as she was sent flying back.

"hitting yourself, undyne?" Dust asked with a smirk, and he heard Killer and Horror laughing in their shared subconscious.

'you guys are such children...' Sans muttered.

Undyne glared daggers at him as she got up, clearly pissed, and Dust dodged more incoming fire from Asgore. 

 Undyne lunged at him, and Dust summoned more of Muffet's strings, turning Undyne's soul purple as she was ensnared, preventing her from reaching him, keeping her suspended in the air. Asgore cut through the string with his trident, several tridents forming above Dust as they shot to the ground, Dust dodging them, remembering Asgore's attack pattern from his timeline. What he forgot to account for was the fact it wasn't 1 v 1, and Undyne landed a punch directly to his face in retribution for her earlier actions. Dust went flying back and into a tree, pulling himself up and wiping at his mouth, some Determination dripping from it.

'she took twenty five hp.' Killer informed. 

'how much does he have?' Horror asked.

'more than that...' Sans said quietly.

'850, if i read his stats right.' Killer replied.

'holy shi-!'

Dust dodged another wave of fire, before snapping his fingers, summoning a Gaster Blaster with cyan and red eyelights, and purple fire formed in it's mouth. Undyne and Asgore both tensed up, preparing to block it. They didn't see the long horizontal bone behind them because of this, and it knocked them to the ground. They both yelped, clearly surprised, and Dust shot the Blaster, the fire shooting right over them.

He was trying not to hurt them too bad, just distract them.... but he was still pretty pissed Undyne had tried killing him in Horror's timeline, so he was beating her up a bit more than he was Asgore. Dust heard a yelp, looking in it's direction to see Toriel wounded, Skyler scared and dodging axes from the Dogi. Their leg was hit, a cut landing across it, and they yelped, the limb giving out from under them. Dust tried using blue magic on Dogamy, but Dogaressa held her partner back.

Undyne seemed to see where he was looking, because she summoned several spears that shot towards Skyler. Dust turned them purple as he took control over them, and he shot them straight into the ground. He got ready to make another Gaster Blaster to fire at Undyne, but saw something out of the corner of his vision. Skyler's eyes opened, revealing bright red irises, and a wide smile formed on their face, holding their hand out to summon the RESET button. Oh no... Killer yanked control over the body from Dust, Broken Determination pouring from his eye sockets as he leapt over at who could only be Chara, trying to stop them.

"NO!!" Killer yelled, and the world froze as they pressed it, everything becoming staticky and Killer's movements slowed as Chara looked up at him, looking at him apologetically. 

"I'm sorry."

RESET

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

[werecat1234]

Merging Timelines Chapter Twenty Six (Final Chapter)

Horror woke up with a groan, a headache pounding through his skull, and Horror tiredly wondered what he'd done to piss it off. He looked up at the ceiling, seeing an unfamiliar light gray surface, and that was enough to fully jolt him to alertness. He looked around, red eyelight shooting around the room as he sat up. He was in a room with a decent sized bed, the blankets were a fluffy light red, the sheets were dark gray, and so were the pillowcases.

The room had dark gray walls and was lightly furnished, with a dark brown wooden bedside table on either side, each with a turned off lamp, and there was a wardrobe and small table made of the same material as the bedside tables and Horror noticed the bedframe. There was a dark gray recliner in the room, and the door out of the room was wide open, some light spilling in. Horror pulled himself out of bed, his bones aching strangely, and he walked out of the room. He glanced both ways in the hallway, seeing three other open doors, and was about to look in them, when the smell of food caught his attention.

He felt his hunger starting again, gnawing where his stomach would be, and he headed towards the smell of food. His steps were slow and cautious, on high alert. The last thing he'd experienced was Dust getting hit on the back with something after a psychotic human tried killing them, and he was reasonably on guard. The walls were an off-white, a few lights on the ceiling, and he heard talking up ahead.

He peeked around a corner, seeing the human, but he wasn't sure if it was Frisk or Chara. They were sitting on one of the white stools at a counter in a kitchen that had white cabinets along the tops of the walls, and there was light gray marble countertops with white bases. There was also an extremely large fridge, oven, a small box that looked like an oven, and a bunch of other appliances he wasn't familiar with. He knew a fridge and an oven, and that was all he cared about at the moment. 

"kid?" Horror asked, and they looked at him, and yup, it was Frisk.

"Hey, Horror! How are you feeling?" Frisk asked, looking concerned.

"tired, mostly... what happened?" Horror asked, walking into the kitchen and looking for some food.

He found a box containing packs of food labeled 'Pop Tarts' and he grabbed one of the packs. He used his sharp fingertips to slice it open while grabbing a plate, pouring the contents onto the plate, and grabbing one of the foods. He sat down on another stool across from them. He took a bite of the Pop Tart-

"Well, Killer blew up the military base." Frisk said.

-and almost spit it out. Horror coughed, hand over his mouth to keep the food in as he looked at Frisk in shock, eye sockets wide and the pupil of his eyelight shrunken to a pinprick. He swallowed the food, putting the rest of it back on the plate before asking, very calmly...

"he what?!" Horror asked in shock.

"We still don't know how we did it, all we know is it went up in flames. There's also, umm... there's something you should know about..." Frisk trailed off, looking over his shoulder.

Horror turned around, seeing Dust looking around the corner Horror had came from, before looking back at Frisk, asking "wait, you can see him?"

"why couldn't they see me? i'm in control of the body." Dust said.

"no, i am..." Horror said, holding up the plate with the pop tarts on it.

"That's... actually what I was going to tell you..." Frisk said, and Horror looked back at them, extremely confused, "Killer, he umm... he broke the Reset button when Chara went to Reset, and there was this big flash of light, and when it cleared... there was uh... you guys were unconscious on the ground..."

"wait wait wait wait wait, he did what?!?!" Dust asked, and Horror looked over to see his eyelights lit up cyan and red, a purple flame coming from his left eyelight.

"Yeah..."

"they also said he blew up the military base..." Horror told him.

". . . i'm going to have one hell of a talk with him..." Dust said, fingers balled into fists.

"GOOD MORNING, BROTHERS!" Papyrus called out from Papyrus, Horror looking the other way again to see him walking towards them from behind a corner on the other side of the kitchen. 

Papyrus looked like he was in a good mood, despite being worried, and Horror saw a large black stain on one of his shoulders, some of his scarf also stained.

"hey, uhh... morning paps. are you ok?" Dust asked, trying to sound much calmer than he actually was. 

"I AM ALRIGHT, THANK YOU! KILLER KEPT US ALL SAFE WHILE WE GOT AWAY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"i mean i have a headache and i'm pretty sore, but uh... otherwise i'm ok?" Dust replied.

"same here." Horror said, taking another bite of the pop tart after picking it up again.

"what happened to your armor?" Dust asked, and Papyrus and Frisk exchanged a look.

"KILLER, UMM... HE WAS UPSET..." Papyrus said.

"He had a breakdown, Papyrus, you don't need to word it gently..." Frisk sighed sadly.

"wait, seriously? is he ok?" Dust asked, "what did his soul look like?"

"HIS SOUL CHANGED, I NOTICED. IT WAS LIKE A NORMAL MONSTER'S SOUL, BUT IT WAS RED AND WHITE..." Papyrus said, "AND HE WAS... NOT OK. VERY UPSET. HE SEEMED EXTREMELY SAD AND GUILTY... I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE ANY VERSION OF MY BROTHER SO DISTRAUGHT..."

"stage one..." Dust muttered.

"huh?" Horror asked.

"stage one. his soul looks close to a monster soul, and he's uhh... emotional... it's like all the trauma and guilt he's buried comes to the surface. only saw him break down once after a nightmare, and uh... sans was more helpful than i was. me and killer weren't really getting along at the time. him breaking down actually made me a bit more sympathetic for him."

"WHAT WAS THE NIGHTMARE OF?..." Papyrus asked.

"it uhh... i don't want to get into it." Dust said, looking off to the side. 

"Was it Papyrus-" Frisk started, a look of realization on their face.

"i don't want to get into it." Dust said, voice firm, and Frisk backed down.

". . . what happened after dust got hit?" Horror asked as he finished off his food, trying to change the subject.

"WELL, I ASSUME WHILE YOU WERE FIGHTING THE ROBOTS, ROBOTS CAME OUT OF THE WALLS OF THE WAITING ROOM AND ATTACKED US, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, PROTECTED EVERYONE WITH A BONE SHIELD UNTIL KILLER ARRIVED AND DEFEATED THE ROBOTS, AND THEN LED THE ESCAPE OUT! FIRST UNDYNE HELPED HIM IN A FIGHT, AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO AID HIM! HE WASN'T PLEASED EITHER TIME, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I PICKED HIM UP AND CARRIED HIM INTO THE ROOM SO HE COULDN'T SHUT THE DOOR ON ME, AND WE FOUGHT VALIANTLY! HE EVEN SAID HE WAS IMPRESSED!"

Dust and Horror exchanged surprised glances. Killer being nice to Papyrus? Without threat of either of them beating the crap out of him? Damn...

"ANYWAYS, AS I WAS SAYING, FROM THERE WE WERE REUNINTED WITH CHARA, ASGORE, AND RAPHAEL, WHO HAD EMP GUNS FOR FUTURE ROBOTS, NOT THAT WE NEEDED TO USE THEM! KILLER GOT A KNIFE FROM CHARA, THEN GRABBED ANOTHER KNIFE FROM AN ARMORY, AND-"

"wait, hang on a second, why the hell would you let him near an armory?" Horror asked.

"He was going to grab an axe for you, and he wanted to look at backup knife, and he found one. Chara umm... accidentally gave him a flashback when Chara gave him the first knife when you met back up..." Frisk said.

"well that explains how he blew up the base. he probably found explosives in there." Dust sighed.

"Probably..." Frisk sighed, before saying, "Then more robots came, and everyone saw how Killer fights. Killer umm... he had fun..."

"I HAD NO IDEA HE WAS SO ACROBATIC! BOTH IN THE BATTLE I HAD WITH HIM AND THE ONE HE HAD OUTSIDE OF THE ARMORY, HE WAS EXTREMELY AGILE!" 

"yeah, that's killer for you..." Dust sighed.

"After that, though... Chara started a conversation up that I think I should tell you in private, in case Horror doesn't know..." Frisk said.

"i can't know?" Horror asked.

". . . they did not bring that up..." Dust said, sounding angry.

"They did..." Frisk sighed.

"wait, hold on, what?" Horror asked.

"it's complicated..." Dust sighed, before saying, "what happened then?"

"KILLER HAD THE BREAKDOWN WE MENTIONED, WHICH I HELPED HIM THROUGH, AND AFTER THAT, EVERYTHING WAS TENSE... THEN WE FOUND CAPTAIN ALDERGRAVE AGAIN, WHO WAS REVEALED TO HATE MONSTERS BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED THEY KILLED HER SIBLING! LITTLE HAD WE KNOWN, THOUGH, CHARA WAS ACTUALLY HER SIBLING, AND IT WAS ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING AND-"

"wait what?!" Horror and Dust chorused in shock. 

"Yeah, so that was uh... an event. After that, we gave eyewitness accounts, and then a bit later when we were on a hill overlooking the base, Killer blew it up. Then Chara started freaking out because they wanted to do everything better, was going to Reset, and Killer threw his knife through the Reset button and shattered it. They can't summon it again, they tried, and I can't either. It's just gone... Then there was a flash of light, and then you guys had your own bodies and were unconscious. Then uh... well, there's something else I didn't tell you yet..." Frisk said.

"what is it?" Dust asked.

Frisk got off the stool, heading around the corner Papyrus had walked out from behind, leading to a large living room. The carpet was a light gray with white walls, and there was a few dark brown wooden tables, chairs, and an entertainment center with game consoles, games, likely movies, and game controllers visible through the glass doored cabinets, and there was a large TV on top of it. There was also dark gray couches, Toriel sitting on one of the couches reading a book with a pale, dark brown haired human pulled against her side, Asgore on the human's other side. The human wore a yellow and green sweater, brown pants, and black shoes, and their cheeks were lightly flushed.

"wait, is that-?" Dust started.

"Chara? Yes..." Frisk summoned their soul, well, the half of it they still had, and they looked back at Chara, "They have the other half. They've been asleep since you guys have. I somehow didn't fall unconscious when everything happened, and it's been a massive emotional roller coaster..."

"holy hell..." Horror muttered.

They walked back around the corner and they each sat at a stool.

"so a lot's been happening, huh?..." Dust asked, eyelights turning white again. 

"INDEED. I'M JUST RELIEVED YOU'RE ALL ALRIGHT. THE HUMANS ARE PROVIDING US THIS BUILDING TO LIVE IN FOR A FEW MONTHS UNTIL WE GET FAMILIAR WITH OTHER HUMANS AND CAN SUPPORT OURSELVES FINANCIALLY, BUT IN THE MEAN TIME, WE WILL BE HERE! ASGORE HAS ALSO DECIDED TO PAY SANS LIFELONG SEVERANCE, WHICH IS FAIRLY LARGE FOR JUST A SENTURY UNLESS MY PAY WAS INCLUDED IN THE AMOUNT, SO WE'RE JUST HERE TO HANG OUT AND GET FAMILIAR WITH THE HUMANS! THOUGH IT WAS REQUESTED THAT YOU, HORROR, AND KILLER AREN'T ALLOWED OUT WITHOUT ONE OF US AT FIRST."

". . . i can practically hear killer saying something snarky right now." Dust said.

Horror chuckled at that, "heh, same here." Horror smirked.

"OH, DUST! I SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION YOUR CLOTHES LIKELY NEED TO BE WASHED. THEY'VE BEEN MAKING A BIT OF A MESS..." Papyrus said.

Dust looked down at his dust covered clothes, eyelights shrinking and turning red and cyan again as he said, ". . . horror, can you get me a vacuum please?"

"on it." Horror said, hopping down from the stool, before asking, ". . . where would one be?"

"I know there's one in the living room. If you want, you can wear some of Sans's spare clothes? We finished moving our stuff here yesterday." Frisk said.

"wait, yesterday? how long were we unconscious??" Dust asked, Horror wondering the same thing.

"About a day and a half..." Frisk sighed, Dust and Horror gaping a bit, before they continued, "Like I said, you guys were out cold. Undyne carried Horror here, Papyrus carried you and Killer, and Asgore carried Sans here. After that it was a bunch of moving, and Raphael and some of his friends helped out a bunch, so that was nice."

"damn... i'll probably just get these vacuumed. i'm kinda attached to them..." Dust said, and Frisk nodded in understanding.

Horror went to grab the vacuum, heading into the living room, and Toriel and Asgore looked up at him.

"Good morning... Horror, right?" Toriel greeted him.

"yeah, morning. you guys ok?" Horror asked.

"Yes, we're alright. Killer was an extremely good ally to have, and protected us well. He seemed rather... upset most of the time though. I believe he was worried about you and Dust." Toriel replied.

"probably upset about dust getting knocked out. killer cares a lot about him." Horror said, and Toriel nodded a bit.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asgore asked him.

"yeah, just kinda sore and a bit of a headache. you know where a vacuum is?" Horror asked.

"A vacuum? What for?" Toriel asked. 

"just uh... gotta vacuum something up." Horror said.

"The dust on Dust's clothes, correct? It was getting everywhere from what I saw. Papyrus carried him here and it got all over him." Asgore said, and Horror nodded.

"It's over in that closet." Toriel said, pointing to a white door to her left.

"thanks." Horror thanked her.

He walked over to the door quietly, opening it and picking up the cordless vacuum with one hand, closing the door again and ignoring their surprised looks. The vacuum didn't seem that heavy, but it probably was. He walked back into the kitchen, where Dust looked upset, and Frisk and Papyrus looked sad.

"what'd i miss?" Horror asked.

"i need to have a looooong talk with killer when he wakes up..." Dust sighed, getting up from the stool and Horror turned the vacuum on, vacuuming up the dust from Dust's clothes.

There was a lot of it, and Dust wound up having to take off his jacket and shaking it out onto the floor so Horror could just vacuum up the pile it formed. Then Horror had to empty it out before vacuuming the stool, the rest of the dust on Dust's slippers, the floor, the dust on the floor leading to the room Dust had been in like a breadcrumb trail, vacuuming the bed. The room was similar to the one Horror had been in, but with white walls, dark gray carpet, and purple blankets and a light blue recliner. It did have nearly identical furniture, though, but the wood the furniture was made of was a lighter brown.

Horror brought the vacuum back out of the room, emptying it into the trash again before bringing it back into the living room and putting it back into the closet, and he went back to the kitchen. He sat down on the stool he'd been at before, and he saw Dust drinking a cup of coffee, Papyrus and Frisk gone.

"where's the brat?" Horror asked.

"left to check on sans. you wanna come with me and see if killer's up yet?" Dust asked.

"yeah, i'll come with you." Horror said.

Dust finished the cup of coffee, putting it in the sink before heading to the hallway with the four rooms in it. They saw one room with a partially closed door, and Horror could see Papyrus and Frisk inside, and Dust headed to the room Horror had been in, peeking inside before going to the other door, Horror following him in. Killer was sleeping sprawled out on the center of the bed, laying on black blankets, black pillowcases, and black sheets. The carpet was a dark gray, and the walls were a seemingly relatively recently painted darker gray. The wooden furniture was maroon colored, and there was a red couch in the room. There was also a red and black knife on one of the bedside tables, the blade having different patterns on it.

"that looks like his taste..." Horror muttered, and Dust nodded, snickering. 

Dust sat down next to Killer on the bed, and he gently shook his shoulder. Horror sat on his other side, looking at the sleeping skeleton. Who would've thought Killer would sleep like he owned the damn bed... then again, Killer did have a bit of an ego problem... yeah, he should've expected that.

"killer? kills, come on, buddy, we gotta have a talk about your arson tendencies..." Dust said, shaking him again. 

"should i pour a bucket of water on him?" Horror whispered.

"no, because then he would just retaliate. we gotta wake him up gently." Dust replied.

"you act like he's fragile."

"i act like i don't want a prank war to break out. especially when we have even less methods of keeping him supervised." Dust countered, and Horror sighed, agreeing with him.

"killer, buddy, you gotta get up, ok?" Horror requested, gently tapping him on the skull before Dust swatted his hand away. "what?"

"just-" Dust was cut off by Killer groaning, eye sockets slowly opening to see Dust and Horror.

Dust and Horror froze, looking at each other before looking back at Killer.

Killer blinked a few times, slowly waking up before asking, "the hell happened?..."

"well, you stopped the resets, for one..." Dust said, grinning at him a little.

"wait, i did?..." Killer asked, not yet realizing they had their own bodies, and he blinked as he seemed to remember, a grin spreading on his face, "oh yeah, i did!"

"yeah, but we need to talk about you blowing crap up." Dust sighed.

"i needed to explode something at least once, dust bunny! where's lucky, anyways?" Killer asked, "i'm surprised he's not out here with you guys yelling at me."

"he's still sleeping." Dust said.

"of course he is... speaking of, you guys ok? i tried waking you up in the subconscious, but you were out cold." Killer asked, and Horror heard him sounding very faintly concerned.

"we've got small headaches and are kinda sore, but we're alright."

"weird, i don't feel that... how do you guys feel it, thought my inability to feel pain transferred over when i was in control of the body..." Killer muttered.

Dust smirked a little, putting his hand on Killer's shoulder. Killer looked at his hand, and shock quickly spread across his face, faint white outlines of eyelights in his eye sockets.

"wait, are you guys-?!" Killer started.

"yup. you broke the reset button and we separated. we have our own bodies, killer."

Killer grinned widely, sitting up and lunging forward, Dust yelping and Horror grunting as they were pulled into a tight hug.

"we're free!! we're completely free! our own bodies, our own subconsciouses, and there's no more resetting!" Killer grinned wider, clearly excited. 

"yeah, just don't explode crap!" Horror chuckled, patting Killer's back.

"no promises~" Killer laughed.

"killer, if you want to see something on fire, just ask me to set something on fire! don't explode a damn building!" Dust chastised.

"sorry, boss~" Killer smirked, and Dust groaned.

"quit it with that!" Dust snapped.

"not a snowball's chance in hell, boss~" Killer grinned, and Horror pulled away from the hug, knowing what was coming next.

Dust tackled Killer off of the bed, the two landing in a wrestling heap on the floor, a mess of limbs, shouts, and laughs, mainly from Killer. Horror stood up next to the bed, watching the two roughhouse like absolute toddlers, and they somehow tumbled out of the room, Killer bolting away laughing maniacally, Dust chasing behind him. Dust tackled Killer from behind, the two rolling vertically for a bit before continuing to fight, Horror following them out of the room. Horror saw a door to their right open, seeing Undyne, Alphys, and Flowey in the doorway, Flowey wrapped around Alphys's arm, Undyne carrying multiple bags. Horror smirked, looking back at his fighting teammates, rolling his eyelight. Undyne and Alphys came to stand next to him, watching the two roughhouse.

"i mean it, killer!" Dust snapped, pinning Killer down.

"mean what, dustaroonie?~" Killer giggled.

"that's almost even worse!" Dust told him.

"what's worse, musty dusty?~" Killer smirked, flipping them over.

"stop it!"

"stop what?~"

"quit gaslighting you little brat!" Dust snapped.

"what's gaslighting? does it involve fire?~" Killer asked.

Dust let out an angry growl, flipping them over again, the two of them swatting at each other. Horror heard motion from either end of the hallway, seeing Frisk, Papyrus and a now awake Sans looking out of the room they were in, and on the other end of the hallway, Asgore and Toriel were watching them.

"they always do this crap. every. damn. day." Sans sighed, Dust and Killer too deep in their valiant and vicious battle to hear him.

"How did you manage?" Frisk asked, and Sans shrugged.

Horror noticed Sans seemed to be happy; probably because the three of them were no longer in his head, so he could have his mind to himself. Oh crap, the plotting boards... Horror's eye sockets widened slightly, his eyelight looking back at Dust and Killer before deciding to save the conversation for another time. Dust and Killer did seem to notice they had an audience, because they both froze, looking around. Dust pulled himself up at breakneck speed, brushing himself off, and looking off to the side nervously. Killer laughed at him, pushing himself up, and Dust used blue magic to send him back to the floor, Killer's target soul turning blue.

"hey!" Killer snapped.

Killer used blue magic on Dust's soul, summoning the, to everyone's surprise and astonishment, bright red upside down heart, turning it blue, and sending Dust down to the floor next to him. They inevitably started fighting again, Dust's soul going back into his ribcage again as they roughhoused, and Horror and Sans both facepalmed. Horror pulled the two away from each other, grabbing each of them with one hand and pulling them apart, the two swatting at each other while held slightly above ground.

"you both are worse than a pair of temmies fighting over a damn bone in my timeline." Horror told them.

"i still wanna see that!" Killer said.

"you probably don't." Horror said.

"oh he probably does." Dust said.

"not more than the woodchipper i have in my backyard." Horror said.

"you have a woodchipper?!" Killer asked with a grin.

"well, had. i can't exactly use it now, though." Horror said.

"damn..." Killer sighed, disappointed.

"some of the best news i've had this whole time... wait..." Dust trailed off, "i'm not in sans's body anymore..." 

". . . yeah, none of us are." Killer said.

Dust grinned, "you guys wanna get some alcohol?"

"oh no..." Sans muttered.

"oh yes! lead the way, my valiant... leader? crap that sounds repetitive..." Killer muttered.

"I DON'T BELILEVE THAT IS WISE... ALCOHOL IS BAD FOR YOU." Papyrus said.

"i can't die, dust has a crazy amount of hp, killer has even more, and we don't have livers. besides, it's a celebration. it won't hurt to get a little drunk..."

"you guys will probably be wasted." Sans sighed.

"i have a high tolerance." Dust said.

"still, no. i'm with paps on this one. i don't trust you guys with alcohol. end of story." Sans said.

"damnit..." Dust muttered.

"You're supposed to be the responsible one!" Frisk said.

"which is why i should be trusted to responsibly drink." Dust said.

"How about this? There's a bunch of video games and movies, why don't you three punks just play games and eat a bunch of snacks." Undyne suggested.

Killer looked between Horror and Dust, the three of them smirking.

"bet you five g i can kick your tailbones in mortal kombat." Dust told Killer.

"and i bet you ten g i can kick your damn booty." Killer replied

Horror and Sans burst out into surprised laughter, and so did some of the others, especially Undyne.

"you're on, killer." Dust replied, eyelights red and cyan, purple sparks coming from his left eye socket.

Killer chuckled, and the two of them raced to the living room, Killer following Dust in. Horror followed after them, and he saw Killer freeze once he saw the couch. 

"how the fuuuuuu..." Killer started, looking between Frisk and Chara, as they had followed the two of them in, along with Papyrus, who he locked eye sockets with, and he froze. Dust sent a glare at him, and Killer finished, saying, "uuuudge."

"good save." Dust said.

"thanks."

"I'M SORRY TO INFORM YOU, BROTHER, BUT I BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE PHRASE CONFUSED. IT'S ACTUALLY 'HOW THE FU-'"

Silence ensued as Papyrus finished the word, before Killer burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter, Undyne and Flowey laughing in shock a moment later, and everyone else was horrified.

"killer what did you do?!?!" Dust snapped.

"i didn't teach him! i sweaherherherhahahahahaha!!!!" Killer laughed. 

"HE DIDN'T! HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO DODGE AND BLOCK ATTACKS, BUT NOT THAT WORD! I LEARNED THAT WORD FROM FLOWEY WHEN HE SAW THE FOUR OF YOU UNCONSCIOUS ON THE GROUND!"

"flowey!!" Dust and Sans snapped, and Flowey tensed up.

"It slipped out, you smiley trashbags!!" Flowey defended himself.

Horror was a mix of upset and humor, finding it admittedly funny. Sure, he was upset Papyrus learned the word, and then what Papyrus said seemed to seep in.

"he... taught you how to dodge?" Horror asked.

". . . UH OH."

"killer...." Dust started slowly, and Killer stopped laughing, looking over at Dust with an 'oh crap' look on his face.

"yeah?..." Killer asked.

"when the hell did you teach him how to dodge and block attacks?" Dust asked. 

"uhhhh..." Faint outlines of eyelights appeared in Killer's eye sockets as he looked off to the side, avoiding eyelight contact.

"when." Dust said a bit firmer.

"the night before the barrier broke... i didn't want him getting killed up here! besides, it paid off, didn't it?"

"and you wouldn't have happened to tell him about the truth about his training with undyne during that time?" Dust asked, and Horror looked back at Killer.

". . . ummm..."

"and then lied to me and said that you didn't?" Dust continued, and Horror could sense the raw magic building in the air.

"uh oh." Killer muttered, and he bolted past everyone, Dust right behind him, followed by Horror and Sans, and then everyone else...

Chara slept through the whole thing, and Killer got his ass handed to him in the five seconds it took for Horror and Sans to get him to stop. Killer of course didn't find it painful, and apologized to Dust about it, who still didn't forgive him... then Killer promised to secretly get him some cigarettes, and Dust dropped it, but Horror knew he would've dropped it after a while anyways. Dust and Killer were playing Mortal Kombat in the living room ten minutes later, Chara sleeping in another bedroom, and Horror wondered how big this place was. Horror and Sans sat behind them on the couch, watching them play as the two idiots were sitting on the floor for some reason.

Papyrus was off with Toriel helping with cooking or cleaning, as he definitely couldn't see this game being played. Undyne was there, though, rooting them on, mainly Dust because she was still pissed at Killer, and Flowey was watching from Sans's arm too. Asgore was off with Chara, looking after them, and Alphys watched them for a bit, before getting squeamish from the gore and leaving to organize her room. She came back after a bit, though, seemingly for Undyne, and the two sat on the couch together, Alphys looking away for the brutal parts, mainly watching Undyne when she wasn't looking. Horror saw blue magic get used on Undyne's soul when Undyne turned to look back at Alphys, and Undyne was tugged down, her face gently bumping into Alphys, and the two of them, after a moment, kissed.

"killer!!" Dust scolded him, glaring daggers at the other skeleton.

"what?! the romantic tension was killing me!" Killer said, and Dust rolled his eyelights, mashing buttons even more as Killer did the same.

Horror rolled his eyelight, and Sans facepalmed, groaning. After the food Toriel and Papyrus were working on was done, the game was shut off while everyone ate, Chara waking up and coming to eat, Asgore carrying them with tears in his eyes, and Chara didn't struggle because it clearly made Asgore happy. After eating, the TV was turned to Mario Party, and things really escalated from there. All in all, it was a good start to life on the Surface... Until hell was unleashed when Dust was sleep deprived a week and a half later.

This was intended for one One-Shot book over on AO3 (which I might also move over here, so enjoy! Link to my account over on AO3 is in my blog description!

Dust hadn't been sleeping very well for a while. It all started when he had a nightmare two nights after they all woke up, and it had been a... particularly bad one. Dust had woken everyone up screaming bloody murder, Killer practically jumping over everyone to get inside, and he managed to calm Dust down after a while. Everyone stood back and let Killer calm him down, as there was several sharp bones in the room, and they couldn't risk getting attacked. Horror had been in there too, but had stood back, unable to help much. Dust refused to go into detail on what it was about, and Killer was annoyed about it. Not sharing nightmares had it's drawbacks, by the looks of it.

Since that incident, he hadn't made a peep at night, and everyone thought he was ok.... until they found out he wasn't even sleeping. Killer didn't really sleep either, and he's been yelled at multiple times for it, and Horror ripped into him once or twice a day because Killer didn't want to eat anything. Sans was exasperated with both of them, and by the end of the first week, Dust started to get kind of... hyper. He drank coffee in the mornings, then some more, and everyone had caught him with a candy bar or energy drink at some point, and that wasn't going into the fact that Killer had indeed managed to get Dust cigarettes, and that had been a fun night when he'd been caught... by Papyrus out of anyone.

All in all, everyone was fed up and just wanted him to take care of himself because even Killer had started taking somewhat decent care of himself. At least, he was eating food when Horror brought it to him, and he'd occasionally sleep. Dust meanwhile, was pulling an all-weeker, and then halfway through the second week, late at night when Killer was scrolling through his phone, as they'd all been bought phones by Asgore while they were unconscious and given to them the morning after their night of Mario Party. Back on track, Killer was on his phone, and he's heard a knock on his door.

He turned his phone off and got out of bed, approaching the door, and opening it to see Dust's glowing cyan and red eyelight staring back at him, dark marks visible under his eye sockets. Killer's soul and Dust's eyelights faintly illuminated the smile on Dust's face, and Killer vaguely wondered if Dust's mind had finally snapped from lack of sleep.

"hey buddy, whatcha doing?" Killer asked him quietly.

Dust giggled a little, and asked, smiling wider, "you wanna mess with everyone?~"

". . . mess with them how?" Killer asked, looking him up and down, admittedly tempted. 

"follow me." Dust told him, grabbing his wrist and leading him to his room.

Upon opening the door, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then Dust headed to his closet, which was filled to the brim with carefully stacked garden gnomes. Killer's jaw dropped, and Dust cackled quietly next to him, practically vibrating from energy. Killer knew this would be good...

"why the hell do you have a bunch of garden gnomes?" Killer asked, not even questioning where the hell he got them. 

"to put outside everyone's doors, and then we can put the rest outside like a tiny army of toy soldiers." Dust giggled.

". . . how many energy drinks have you had, dusty?" Killer asked him.

"about fifty, it's not important. what is important is the fact that i have more hidden outside, and i need your help. soooooo..." Dust trailed off. 

"count me in." Killer smirked, and Dust grinned at him borderline insanely.

In the next few minutes, the garden gnomes were in front of each bedroom door, on all of the countertops, as Dust somehow had a massive crate that Killer wasn't sure if Dust paid for it or not hidden outside.

Horror came out of his room, flinching slightly as he saw the gnomes, before asking Killer in a hushed whisper, "the hell is going on?"

Horror looked up at the sound of Dust giggling somewhere in the house, and Killer replied, "pretty sure dust finally went insane from lack of sleep. i'm letting him tucker himself out and hopefully he'll pass out. he said he drank like fifty energy drinks."

Horror's jaw dropped at that as he cursed quietly, Dust dashing past the hallway, giggling and eyelights glowing with energy as he whisper shouted, "hi, horror! killer, come on! i wanna show you how to make a flamethrower!" before taking off running again.

"oh hell..." Horror muttered, heading to wake Sans up as Killer ran off after Dust. 

Dust was sprinting outside, grabbing the water hose, turning on the well, and putting an orange light on the inside of the hose nozzle, shooting temporally fiery water everywhere. Killer was watching him, speechless, before joining in, running over and helping him. The others ran outside, still in pajamas, and by the time they did, Dust was on top of the roof, spraying water everywhere, laughing like a maniac. 

"BROTHER! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Papyrus yelled.

"no way! i'm on top of the world!!!!" Dust yelled back, laughing his tailbone off.

"NO, YOU'RE ON TOP OF THE HOUSE, AND YOU'RE SPRAYING WATER EVERYWHERE!"

". . . i'm still on top of the house, which means i'm on top or the world!!!!"

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Papyrus shouted back.

"yes it does!"

"HOW?!"

". . . bananas, that's how!!!"

". . . WHAT?" Everyone on the ground asked.

"oh my god..." Killer laughed into his hands, watching Dust in pure entertainment.

"dust, the hell are you even talking about?!" Horror asked.

"it's the bananas! they said i was on top of the world because i'm on top of the house!" Dust replied.

"it's the bananas on the damn energy drink bottles..." Sans sighed from the ground, facepalming.

"He ever been like this before?" Undyne asked.

"nope."

"... Great." Undyne sighed.

"killer, can you get dust the hell down?!" Horror asked, and Killer gave him a thumbs down, and Horror's eye socket twitched in irritation.

Dust went sprinting further onto the roof, dropping the hose and grabbing Killer's arm, Dust laughing hysterically and madly as he got off the roof, and snuck away in plain sight, thinking no one could see them. He literally tried hiding behind a narrow tree, thinking he was hidden. Killer was snickering, trying not to cry laughing.

"shhhh, they'll hear you." Dust hissed.

"WE CAN SEE YOU ANYWAYS, BROTHER!" Papyrus told him.

"crap." Dust muttered, teleporting himself and Killer away.

Killer looked around to see the two of them back at the now abandoned Underground, specifically in Snowdin.

"what are we doing here?" Killer asked.

Dust turned to him, and said with an innocent smile on his face, "arson."

Killer tilted his skull at him, and bursts of purple flames formed in Dust's hands, the sleep deprived skeleton grinning psychotically at Killer.

"dust, buddy... let me make molotovs from the alcohol at grillby's before you burn it down, yeah?"

Dust grinned at him, and Killer bolted into Grillby's, grabbing all the alcohol he could before racing out, seeing Dust holding some of Sans's old sheets. They made massive amounts of molotovs, lighting and throwing them everywhere before they ran out. The two of them sat on the limb of a large tree, near the top as they watched the flames. They both wreaked of smoke, alcohol, and Dust particularly smelled like bananas, but that was probably just his breath. Killer glanced over at Dust, seeing him finally starting to get tired, eye sockets heavy as they slid closed, falling asleep against Killer's side. Killer looked down at him, smiling ever so slightly as he wrapped an arm around him, watching the blaze for a few more minutes before teleporting back to the house, carrying Dust in his arms. They were all in the living room, shooting up from their seats when they heard his footsteps.

"he's out cold." Killer told them, walking past them.

He carried Dust to his room, tucking him under the purple blankets, definitely not smiling when Dust snuggled into them, and Killer left, closing the door behind him as he went to his own room, falling asleep. Keeping up with a hyperactive, sleep deprived Dust was exhausting.

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