Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You idly gaze out of the window; your chin gently rests in your upturned palm. The sky was a pearlescent grey; soft wispy clouds drift and merge. You shiver slightly as a draft works its way up your spine, glancing down you can see the raw stubs of your fingers, nail bitten back harshly, the middle one on your left hand had begun to bleed again. Ignoring this you return your attention to outside, a dead tree swayed unsteadily in the prevailing wind, you could barely remember a time when there were ever leaves on the old thing, it seemed that the only reason it remained was due to the laziness of the school gardener.

You sigh heavily, I guess that’s why I’m still here, no one can be bothered to actually kick me out, besides I’m too ‘convenient.’ Your mind turns briefly to back home, your own metaphorical cloud overshadowing your every move. Your eyes trace the movement of the shifting clouds, two had merged together, I guess that one kinda looks like a heart...and that one looks like a dog, or is that a deer?… and that one…

“Miss __ , are you even attempting to pay attention, I don’t think the sky will help you pass your exams.”  Mr Dawkins gravelly voice interrupts your wandering mind.

Your head snaps up from the palm of your hand, wincing you flex your wrist, it had become unsurprisingly stiff from you resting on it for a prolonged amount of time, creases had formed and blood began to rush back into it leaving a tingling sensation.

You had completely tuned out the drone of his voice, instead of focusing on how it had initially annoyed you, you had instead allowed it to mingle with the hum of the air conditioning that the school refused to turn off, even in the dead of winter.

“Of course Sir.” You respond, your voice devoid of emotion, quickly flicking your gaze to the clock you tap your fingers impatiently, for God’s sake there’s only seven minutes left, why is he picking on me?

You ignore the blatant stares of your classmates, gormless expressions twisted into smirks, mirroring Mr Dawkins’ own face. That only included the ones that cared, half of the class were vacantly gazing in other directions as they daydreamed.

Mr Dawkins crept across the room towards you, geez can’t he even walk normally. With every slight step his hideously creased brown suit crinkled like crepe paper, there was enough sweat dripping off his forehead to give the River Nile a run for its money. His hair was combed over to conceal the fact he was going bald, (poorly) each strand was plastered to his head, it didn’t help that he ran his fingers through what little remained when he was agitated. Watery grey eyes fixed on your own as he hovered over your desk.

“In that case I’m sure you can tell the class the difference between scalar and vector quantities.” A smirk was ineffectively concealed as he awaited your response.

You roll your eyes, really? This is his attempt to catch me out, I learnt this years ago, this only proves that there is little point paying attention in class to begin with.

“Scalar is used for that which has magnitude and vector is used to describe that which has both magnitude and direction.” You respond coolly, eyes unwavering from his own bleary ones.

You notice the skin around his eyes tighten as his eyes narrow slightly.

“Correct.” He forces out behind gritted teeth before turning his back to you with an unnecessary flourish.

You suffer through another five agonising minutes before the bell rings, everyone had slowly been edging towards their bags towards the last few minutes of class. As soon as the bell declared the end of the day you leapt out of your seat, coat wrapped halfway around your torso and bag hazardously zipped up, a ruler poked out of one end.

 As you race towards the door an all too familiar voice calls out to you.

“Miss __, may I have a moment of your time?”

No, you reply in your head, taking a deep breath you turn around and walk towards your teacher’s desk in a deliberately slow manner. His irritation is palatable as you notice a single bushy grey eyebrow twitch constantly.

He moves before you, you wrinkle your nose slightly at the smell of his breath, definitely yesterday’s fish from the canteen.

“Miss __, it has come to my notice that you are not performing to the best of your ability in my lessons, are you perhaps unhappy at school?” He inquires, a false smile fixed on his face as he switches to a facsimile of empathy, “I don’t suppose there is a problem at home is there?”

You grind your teeth giving a grimace that only just passes as an acknowledging smile, why does he give a damn anyway, I’m not spilling my guts to this weirdo.

“I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with my home life, I fail to see how my work is inadequate, I achieved 100% in my last physics test which is marginally greater than 30% of our class’s results.”

This time his eye twitches along with his right eyebrow, “There isn’t a question of your work during exams, recently you have shown a tendency to not pay attention in class, I’m not your enemy here, I’m simply concerned. Maybe you would be happy in Mrs Brown’s class there’s at…”

A scowl shatters the fragile amiable expression you had constructed, “You’re not sending me to the retard class.” You state firmly.

It seemed that his eyebrows had surpassed your expectations, they could indeed climb higher up his brow to his receding hairline, it was mesmerizing.

“Now, now, that is no way to refer to your peers…” Your mind began to wander again as he went off into another rant about respecting pupils and authority. You weren’t sure if he had finished or not, he was most likely reiterating the same point regardless.

“Yes, I understand, see you tomorrow.” You but in, giving him no time to refuse, indignant splutters ring out behind you, much to your satisfaction.

I’m pretty sure I could teach our class better than Dawkins at this point, his very presence makes it nearly impossible to pay attention in the first place, it’s like an aura that immediately puts you to sleep, I mean I would be impressed if it wasn’t so detrimental to my learning. You muse as you exit the school building, by now it was pretty much vacant of students, as it was so early in the year few clubs had been organised, most students were eager to get home.

…And then there’s me, huh, the only reason I’m eager to get home is because they’re out, Mom and Dad. At least I won’t have to deal with them tonight, plus Sophie’s at her friend’s house, looks like the whole place is to myself.

As you turn the corner you let out a whine of dismay, your bike was no longer tied up in its usual spot, some bastard’s stolen it, why does this always happen to me?

It wasn’t that you deliberately went out of your way to make enemies or anything,  douche bags seemed to orbit you like satellites, watching your every move for some unexplainable reason, what’s so interesting about my life that other people try to mess it up anyway?

Your mind brings up images of your parents, the novelty of being the daughter of the mayor would have worn off quickly, that is if you had been proud of him in the first place. You were well aware of your father’s threatening nature, from a young age you had become aware that his dealings weren’t all entirely ‘legal.’ Needless to say that as the town was fairly small everyone was acquainted with your father, many of your peer’s parents held grudges against him, and by extension you.

You puff your cheeks out in annoyance, I guess I’m walking back then. On the way you distract yourself with thoughts of your favourite game, Undertale. I really wish it would be that easy, to simply run away and meet so many great people, monsters seem so much kinder than humans. You could never bring yourself you go down the genocide route, hell you couldn’t even reset the game due to the guilt it instilled in you. Instead you had resorted to writing fanfiction and drawing fanart, just to hold onto it.

It’s ridiculous to get so attached to a single game, I mean there’s plenty of great games out there, even still you had fallen in love with the characters, genuinely lead to care for them, maybe even more than the people around you. I blame my sorely lacking social life for resorting to fiction for comfort, you think wryly.

You frown, suddenly aware that your aggressive walking had lead you to stomping in a puddle, despite the fact that the last time it had rained was last night the definitive lack of warmth in your town in general made it nigh impossible for water to evaporate at a natural rate.

Looking down at the muddy stain spreading up across your jeans you cast your mind to your mother, well that’ll be a fun conversation to have.

Continuing on you finally reach your house, at eighteen you were still living at home with both your parents and younger sister Sophie who was twelve, who happened to be having a sleepover that evening with her best friend Natasha.

You freeze as you reach the door, lights were on in the house.

Hesitantly, turning your key in the lock, you slip inside. Your father was waiting in the kitchen, he seemed to always clutch a newspaper in his hand whenever you came across him, frantically scouring each paper for any mention of him. You often wondered whether this was due to wanting to be positively recognised or out of fear of someone uncovering  one of the skeleton’s in his closet.

Sans would be proud of that. You pause, why is it that I frequently daydream of Undertale, to the extent that I wonder how fictional characters would react to the things I say, it’s crazy.

Whenever your father held that expression on his face it always foretold of bad tidings. Eyebrows drawn down and brow creased, his deep set eyes that you had once thought were brown were endless pits of darkness. Staring too long seemed to create a sensation reminiscent to falling, as if they were and abyss reaching for you.

“__, where have you been?” He never seemed to raise his voice, besides it would go against the image he presents of himself, cold and immaculate, a gleaming statue of ice with a perfectly pressed black suit.

You frown in confusion, “I was at school, someone stole my bike so I had to walk. I thought you were eating out at a restaurant with Mom tonight.” Your voice was enquiring.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I made no such plans. You were supposed to be home to cook for us, you have neglected your chores.”

You shake your head, “Check the calendar, you said that you were going to meet the Burnistons tonight at the Horizon.” You look up at the back door, only to find that the homemade calendar that Sophie had made last Christmas had been torn down, there were still faint traces of blue tack lodged into the wood with a fuzzy coating of paper mingled in it.

Gulping slightly you correct yourself, “My mistake.”

There was no point inciting his anger, it felt like a blizzard yet somehow it was smouldering, leaving you both chilled from the harshness of his words whilst internally burning in rage at the injustice. You had learned not to argue with him long ago.

Your father stepped forward, scrutinizing your face with a piercing expression, seeming satisfied by your reluctance to challenge his claim, he glances back down at the newspaper in his hand then strides towards the door before turning to you.

“We’ve already eaten, we’ll discuss your punishment for losing your bike tomorrow. Clean up the dishes then go to bed. You have no idea how incredibly lucky you are to be in this family, you have more privileges than the common masses, as thus you should act accordingly grateful. You can go to bed without dinner tonight, do not challenge my authority.”

Without a second glance he leaves the room, you are left with an excessive pile of plates and bowls, surely they didn’t eat this much food, this is just to spite me. What was the point in him denying his outing? Did he fall out with Mom again? God I hope not.

You submerge your hands in the warm water, it was slightly hotter than that which was comfortable, even still the heat kept you focused and on task as you worked your way through the mountain of cutlery and crockery.

After meticulously polishing each spoon you move on to drying the knives, when you weren’t paying attention the sharp edge cut into the palm of your hand. Letting out a yelp you drop the knife, it falls with a clatter onto the linoleum floor.

You stare at the gash on your hand, a thin line of red seeps from the wound onto the pale blue tea towel .

Your Mom enters the kitchen, “__, I heard a crash, what happened?”

You hear a sharp intake of breath as they look at your hand, a flash of concern crosses their face. They shake their head in disapproval, slightly mussed blond ringlets jiggle furiously along with the movement.

“Look at the mess you’ve made, your father won’t be pleased __.”

So much for being concerned about my wellbeing.

The stinging is a mild annoyance, you force yourself to not flex your hand in fear of more blood gushing out of the shallow cut.

“I’m sorry, I will replace it.” You reply, you had mastered the blank expression and flat tone of voice adopted by your parents, the only time when life entered your voice was around your younger sister.

They scoff, “Of course you will, you silly, careless girl. Just go to your room, I’ll deal with it.”

Taking this as dismissal you head towards the stairs, on the way you catch your father’s eye in the living room. Keeping your hand splayed out and away from the wall you notice a familiar look in his eye. Is that glee? His eyes shone softly, the only emotion you had ever seen in those pitch black eyes as he takes in your wound. Does he actually like seeing me injured…well that’s hardly surprising considering…You refuse to finish that train of thought, thinking of the past was unhealthy.

Storming on past the door leading to the living room you ascend the staircase, polished wood under foot, the bannister was carved into a spiral shape, you enjoyed running your fingers over the smooth texture of the honey toned wood.

Taking a brief trip to the bathroom you wash and bandage the cut before returning to your bedroom, your haven.

Everything was pristine, white curtains, white floor, white bed. White everything. This was how you liked it, everything just seemed so clean and pure, like one of the clouds that you spent too long analysing. You fall back onto the your bed heavily, pulling your sketch pad close to you from your bedside cabinet. Flipping to the last page you had worked on, you see Sans.

It’s a good job that it was my left hand I cut and not my right.

Grasping a pencil you trace the lines of a Gaster Blaster, even if you had never done a genocide run it didn’t stop your fascination with it, you had watched a multitude of Youtubers go through it with varying levels of skill. Sans was by far the most interesting character, his laid back nature concealed the infinite knowledge behind the depths of those sockets. Well here I am again, thinking too hard about a fictional character.

You run the pad of your finger over the grin imprinted upon the page, the smiles we carve onto our faces to deceive others…to deceive ourselves…

You were over taken by a wave of fatigue, too tired to change from your clothing into your pyjamas, you disregard the mud stains that had dried to the faded blue of your jeans.

You shut your eyes and think of Undertale, the direction that your thoughts had taken too many times recently, you noticed that every time your thoughts wandered, when it wasn’t to lament another failure it was thinking of Undertale. You often imagined conversations in your head, how you would interact with them, the things you would say, sometimes you noticed that your facial expressions changed in accordance with your daydreams, earing you a few disturbed looks from your classmates.

Even though you knew this wasn’t exactly normal, that other teenagers your age would rather socialise and be in relationships you somehow preferred the comfort of Undertale. It was no longer a game you had played on a computer, it had permanent residence inside your head, a place to fall back on, a place of comfort above reality.

As you zone out, you feel your consciousness fade.

Then your eyes snap open, you’re lying on a bed of golden flowers. A sweet smell cuts through the air, wafting up your nose, sickly sweet. The soft velvet feel of petals brushes against your skin as you sit up in alarm.

What? Is this Undertale?

You rise to your feet unsteadily, you were still dressed in your sub-par clothing, blue jeans stained across the hem and a faded red shirt with long sleeves, luckily you were wearing your trainers.

You gaze around the cavern in awe, tilting your head up you could see a faint pinprick of light, radiating from the surface above. You make your way towards the door, exiting that part of the Ruins.

I can’t believe it, I have reached the point where I not only think of Undertale in nearly every waking minute but I dream of it too. But I know that I’m dreaming, is this possibly a lucid dream? You shrug, nevertheless I’m going to enjoy it, it’s a pity that I probably won’t get far in just a single dream.

You approach another bed of grass, a single golden flower looks up at you, a wide beam across their face.

“Howdy, I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower!” The flower’s eyes fix on you for a moment, narrowing slightly in confusion. “Golly Frisk it really has been a long time since you last reset, you’re all grown up, I’d begun to think you were bored with us.”

You clear your throat somewhat noisily, does he really think I’m Frisk? I guess their gender wasn’t actually identifiable in the game, I don’t think I look a great deal like them though. Should I go along with it or not?

“Uh…I’m not Frisk, my name is __.” You reply after a moment of thought.

The benign smile on their face becomes more tense, “Buddy, that’s not a funny joke. Of course you’re Frisk. Who else would you be?”

Flowey notices that you appear confused by his accusation, his face twists into a demonic grin, eyes wide and teeth bared in a sharp grin, a reddish glow entered his eyes.

“Well if you’re not Frisk then I guess I’lL tAkE yOuR sOuL fOr MySeLf!”

You feel a strange tugging sensation, a brilliant crimson soul hovers before your chest, gently pulsing in time with the beat of your heart.

You attempt to back away, your soul moves along with you, attracted to the space in front of your chest. Four glowing panels appear out of nowhere in front of you.

FIGHT   ACT   ITEM   MERCY <3

Actual rectangles, you stretch a hand out in disbelief, my dreams even have the same mechanics, this is bizarrely detailed. Even though you can’t feel a physical substance your fingers brush against a patch of air that seems to vibrate. A gentle buzzing sensation hums through your fingertips as you touch the MERCY button, it become illuminated, you soul hovers from your chest towards it. You were interrupted by Flowey’s screeching, somehow you had forgotten him in favour of exploring the wondrous intricacy around you.

“It sure looks like a determined soul to me, Frisk or not it’s time for you to DIE!”

White bullets appear in the air, forming a circle around you, they draw closer.

Isn’t this the part where Toriel comes to rescue me? No..?

The bullets slam into you, surprisingly you don’t feel any pain, you do however notice that your health bar has decreased HP: 1/10

Oh wow, I get less health than Frisk, brilliant.

Flowey ceases their rain of bullets, a look of curiosity crosses their face, “Hmm, maybe you really aren’t Frisk after all, they finished the last timeline and reset to the beginning then never returned. I’ve been waiting for them, you’re clearly not them, you have less HP, your stats are different.”

“Resets?” You ask, feigning ignorance.

They let out a snort, “I wouldn’t expect an IDIOT like you to understand, not that it matters now, I will consume your soul and regain my determination!”

This time a single bullet is formed, it streaks towards you, out of instinct you side step to the right, you hadn’t noticed other ones creeping up behind you, after all you were incapable of feeling the sensation of pain in this dream.

God damn it! You look at your health bar, HP 0/10. Welp that’s it. you watch as your soul shatters before you, your knees give out and your body falls face forward.

Before your head reaches the ground you jolt upright in bed.

Your heart is beating rapidly in your chest, pressing your hand to your chest you feel the heightened pulse. A dull stab of pain flows through your left palm, you had forgotten the cut you had sustained in the kitchen.

You reach out to turn the lamp on beside your bed, not risking turning the main light on in fear of alerting your parents. Taking deep, calming breaths you flop back down onto your bed. You swipe at the sweat gathered on your brow.

That was one hell of a dream.

Even though the content of your dream wasn’t necessarily pleasant you felt undeniable disappointment at waking up.

I wonder how far I could have gone in the dream…I wonder if I’ll ever dream of it again…

Chapter Text

Much to your disappointment you had been unable to fall asleep again, this is so stupid, it was just a dream, the chances of being able to have that same dream again is miniscule. You had switched into your pyjamas over the course of the evening after waking up; they were a soft shade of blue with pearly buttons. Irritably you drag your fingers through the tangle known as your hair, splayed out in every direction like a demented porcupine.

Swinging your legs around you stand up and stagger towards the mirror, bleary eyes look back at you, ringed with red, I can’t even be bothered to apply makeup, who do I have to impress anyway? Certainly not my parents. You rub at your eyes before glancing down at your hand, this morning the cut seemed a lot shallower, shiny and red, it had already begun to scab over.

You begin the torturous task of dragging a brush through your hair and select another outfit for the day; yet again it was a casual pair of jeans with a similar red shirt. You trace your finger over a smooth white line, it only became noticeable as you tilted your head back and to the right, a faded curve marring your otherwise unblemished skin. It wasn’t that it still hurt, after all you had received it roughly two years ago, that was the last time you tried dating someone.

Jeremy had been a seemingly perfect boyfriend, kind and attentive; most of all he had seemed unafraid of your parents. You had been enamoured by him, after being deprived of positive attention for the best part of your life the slightest sign made you almost hungry for it. Of course things are never as simple as they seem, you had caught him leaving your father’s office with papers under his arm. Needless to say your father went ballistic and accused you of conspiring against him, it had turned out that Jeremy had been the son of one of your father’s many rivals.

Heh, I should have known that the only reason someone would date me is to use me, I probably don’t have the greatest qualities. After that catastrophe your dad had given you something to ‘remind you of the occasion’ at least it was barely visible under your jawline. Jeremy had also ‘disappeared’ whether it was through his parent’s fear of the consequences and fleeing or one of your dad’s shady connections you no longer cared.

Caring about people is just a weakness anyway; everyone has some kind of ulterior motive. The only thing I can do is remain unattached, that way no one can get close, no one can hurt me…betray me.

Your parents were usually late risers, preferring to put off their work to the last minute; your mother was a manager at a restaurant, Melissa __, your father could usually be found at one of the crummy pubs in the dismally small town, as the Mayor, Jonathon __ spent very little time at the town hall, at this point you were apathetic towards his dealings, he was likely to be have someone else take the fall for him if he were ever caught.  You were never entirely aware of his dealings aside from discarded sheets of paper detailing illegal shipments of something.

Morally it was probably your responsibility to report something like this to the authorities; however you were often scared shitless by your father, there was something not quite right about him.

You practically crawl down the stairs, did walking home seriously make me pull this many muscles or am I just really unfit? Another one of life’s mysteries.

Your parents were on the top floor whilst you shared the middle landing with Sophie, whose room was next door to your own, an illustration of a unicorn was pinned to the back of the door, seeing it always seemed to bring a smile to your face.

It was a miracle that your parents managed to restrain themselves around Sophie, their favourite daughter who was doted on every second of the day. Even still you couldn’t hold any resentment towards them, they were so genuinely cheerful and full of life it was hardly surprising that they preferred her to you, she always treated everyone with such unconditional love. On the other hand you were afraid that scowling and deadpan had become your default expressions over the years.

A loud gurgle coming from the pit of your stomach startles you, that’s right I didn’t eat last night, did I, why does dad have to be such a prick about everything?  Grumbling you slide your feet into your beaten up trainers and head out of the door, I’ll just pick something up when I’m out. I don’t want to be around when they wake up, if they have been arguing they usually have dreadful hangovers by morning.

As Sophie is at Natasha’s their parents will be bringing Sophie to school today, that’s one less thing for me to do.

You had two potential routes to take to reach college, through town or the short-cut through the woods, well if you can call that speck of greenery the woods, it’s pretty small.

You snag a jam filled pastry from a nearby bakery before heading off through the woods, it cut out on all the twists and turns through the over-populated streets.

You had always liked the woods from a young age, one of the paths lead to the town cemetery, despite the morbid connotations of hanging out in a graveyard you had always found it soothing. There was something calming about a place of death, the absence of life. Maybe it was the fact that after going through so much turmoil and strife in your life there was a promised, definitive ending. The world around you was tainted by the progress of mankind yet the small graveyard was almost untouched by the outside world, one of your favourite places.

However, today was just your luck, towards the exit of the woods there was a group of three guys around your age, you vaguely recognised one of them from a class you had taken last year, if your memory served you correctly he had dropped out.

They were wearing matching black leather jackets, what is this? Fucking Grease? They all had hair dyed in muted shades of blonde-brown with little variation, slicked back or spiked up.

The one closest to you widens their eyes in surprise, “If it isn’t the rich bitch, I see you came down from your ivory tower to greet us peasants.”

You attempt to ignore him and walk straight past him, you didn’t notice as one of them stuck their leg out at the last second. You would have gone sprawling to the ground if the one to your right hadn’t have caught you, he had a dim expression on his face and was fairly rounded in proportion. The one who had tripped you was thin and weedy but had the height of a beanpole.

“Careful sweetheart, don’t wanna bruise yourself, hows about you skive off today and hang with us?”

You lock eyes with the leader’s muddy brown ones, sparkling with excitement, his lips were drawn into a sickening smirk as he eyed the position you were in, the arm of one of his lackeys wrapped almost painfully tightly around your shoulder. His fingers began to wander down from your shoulder to your disgust, slapping his hand you push yourself away.

“I’d rather not.” You snap coldly.

His eyes darken considerably, “I don’t think you have a choice hun, not many people are out at seven in the morning, especially in these woods.”

“What are you implying?”

One of his friends barks out a harsh laugh, “Are you stupid or something?”

The narrow one in the slightly longer jacket pulled you towards him, you could smell alcohol on his breath, his clothes held the pungent odour of tobacco, causing you to cough loudly. Tilting your head down you sink your teeth into his hand, small scarlet droplets begin to bead on the surface of his skin. Letting out a manly yelp he releases you and shoves you into a tree.

Your head connects with a sickening crack, pain splinters through your head. Distant laughter rings out from behind you before you register footsteps fading away as they flee. Your vision begins to swim, the brilliant emerald of the leaves in a canopy above you mingle with the dirt. Lying flat on your back you can’t muster the strength to stand. The ache in the back of your head throbs dully in time with your vision flickering.

You black out.

Groaning softly you sit up, once again in a bed of flowers.

Huh?

You raise a hand to the back of your head finding no injury present; your smooth hair had no bump underneath, there was no pain.

Wow, I must have really hit my head hard…am I knocked out? I must be…I have to be dreaming again…this is pretty weird, does this mean that the same thing will happen as last night or not?

You stand up quickly, excitement bubbling in your chest, in your eagerness to stand you slip on a patch of flowers, you are sent back into the flower bed face first.

I’ve got to be the most graceful person I know.

Grumbling you rise to your feet again, at least it doesn’t hurt if I injure myself in dreams.

You feel a twinge of uncertainty when you contemplate the state of your physical body, shouldn’t I be trying to wake up, it can’t be healthy remaining passes out in the woods, oh God what if I get brain damage!

You steady yourself with a deep breath, chances are I can’t wake myself up from a dream anyway, I might as well enjoy it, this is Undertale after all.

Making your way to the next room a fairly high-pitched voice calls out to you.

“Howdy I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower!”

“Cut the crap, I know who you are weed.” You respond dryly.

Flowey lets out an agitated hiss, “Golly you really are like Frisk, you have the power to LOAD. I bet you feel so great evading death. It’s only been ten minutes since the world RESET again, back for more already?”

Only ten minutes? It’s been at least ten hours since I was last dreaming of this place, do they have some kind of concept of time here. That’s kinda creepy, is it possible to break the fourth wall in a dream?

“Well as you can see, killing me is futile, I’ll just come back.” You reason as you begin to edge around the room, Flowey’s head manages to rotate 360°; this was significantly disturbing, watching his flower head turn whilst his stem remained stationary so he could maintain eye contact with you.

“You must think you’re so clever, you’ve got it all figured out.” He spits out, not even attempting to keep up a jovial façade.

Flowey hadn’t even tried to remove your soul this time, they regarded you with a mixture of confusion and disgust, they seemed to be allowing you to leave as you reach to the exit of the room.

“Do you really think it will be better out there? You’ll die and you’ll die until you tire of trying, what good will your determination be when you give up.”

You let out a mocking laugh, allowing icy cruelty to leak into it, “Who says I’m trying?” I’m just existing.

Flowey’s confusion grows as they regard you with a degree of wariness, contemplating something.

As you turn your back to Flowey you hear a muffled noise from behind you.

“Chara?”

It was barely audible; you chose to ignore it, passing it off as him thinking aloud.

Well damn, I’ve managed to pass myself of as a psychopathic murderer somehow; honestly I’m not that emotionless I have empathy. I’m not sure if I should correct Flowey or not, I mean if they think I’m Chara there is less chance of being attacked, on the other hand keeping up the charade will be difficult.

You hesitate; eventually you decide to leave him, choosing to not answer. Before you stands the entrance to another part of the ruins, luscious red leaves coat the ground as a warm blanket.

Hmm, it’s almost like the Ruins represents autumn, I guess Snowdin is winter. With all the rain in Waterfall that’s like the phrase April showers which is in spring, Hotlands would be summer…

You glance around at the walls, now that I see it close up all of this purple is pretty bland. You begin to trample through the crimson leaves; the soft crunch was really satisfying. In front of you sits a golden light, flickering steadily in the dimly lit room.

Ooh a SAVE point, this is insanely intricate for a dream, throwing caution to the wind you step into it, a prickling sensation creeps over your body and you can feel your soul let out a pulse in response to the call of the light. A surging feeling races through your system, so this is what determination feels like in surplus.

It’s kind of odd really, I can smell the flowers, I can hear Flowey speak, I can see all of my surroundings and feel the sensation of SAVING as well as the texture of things. Despite this I can’t feel pain; I would have thought that for a dream so elaborate there would be something akin to pain, I mean I’ve felt pain in dreams before even if they weren’t real. I guess I shouldn’t complain, really it’s a benefit, just strange.

This moment in time feels significant, memorable. It is as though your very essence became etched into this moment in time, stepping away from the light you can sense part of you lingering within the light, an imprint upon time and space.

You climb the stairs, the cool grey stones had jagged cracks running through them, even still they felt firm under foot.  As you walk through the next door you collide with another person.

Knocked back you had managed to maintain your footing for once, a familiar looking monster had been toppled over in front of you.

Way to make an impression.

“Oh sh-God!” You correct, her motherly aura prevented you from swearing in her midst. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going or anything, are you hurt? Do you need…?”

Your frantic babbling was interrupted by a gentle laugh, “Oh my, I’m quite alright child, it wasn’t your fault.”

You offer your hand immediately to pull her up; a soft paw clutches your own accepting it gratefully. Her faint lavender gown wasn’t dirtied n the slightest by her fall, not a single hair was out of place. Reddish-Amber eyes looked deep into your own as you anxiously gnawed on your lip.

“I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins; it has been some time since a human last fell, thank you for assisting me young one.”

 Young one? I didn’t think I looked that young for my age, I’m not even wearing anything stripy, which by Monster Kid’s logic makes you a child.

“N-No problem,” You stutter out, eloquency why has thou deserted me? “After all it was my fault.” You mutter.

Warm arms wrap you into a hug, you let out a startled squeak, if you didn’t count Sophie then you hadn’t been hugged by another person in a very long time, the scent of sugar and spice engulfed you. It was the scent of home but not as you knew it, never had your house carried such welcoming scents, she was the epitome of motherhood, nurturing and loving.

You awkwardly pat her back unsure how to reciprocate her embrace, releasing you she smiles down kindly, as she was at least six-foot tall she had to stoop down slightly to hold you.

“The Underground is a dangerous place, please come with me, I can ensure your safety.”

You nod and accept her outstretched paw, it felt strange, such concern and tenderness was aimed at you, it felt so real. You began to feel tears gather in your eyes, why can’t reality be like this? Why can’t Toriel be real, I’m left with a shitty excuse for a mother? It just isn’t fair.

You begin to blink rapidly, slyly wiping your eyes with your sleeve when Toriel wasn’t looking, even if she wasn’t real you didn’t want to concern her with your problems, it wouldn’t be right.

You approach a dummy, tilting your head towards Toriel you look at her enquiringly.

“Just strike up a friendly conversation with them.”

The dummy looks rather battered, uneven stiches hold the components in place, the material looked like that which is used for sacks of potatoes, course and scratchy, you reach out your hand to brush it. To your surprise a pinkish glow radiates from the cheeks of the dummy.

Uh…

Your soul is pulled from your chest carefully, you couldn’t make up your mind whether or not you liked having your soul out, in one regard it was amazing, it seemed to amplify sensations around you yet it felt fragile, a hazard to keep out. Well they did say that you shouldn’t wear your heart on your sleeves.

Four panels slowly appear, the golden light washes over you, you stretch your hand out towards ACT, feeling the answering buzz of the panel and tug of your soul you decide to speak to the dummy.

“Erm…It would be pretty dumb of me to not see how cute you are?” You awkwardly phrase it like a question. And here I criticized the fact that Frisk flirts all the time…

The answering blush on the dummy’s face is magnified before it flees in embarrassment, leaving you to stand there pretending to be nonchalant. You register a snort behind you; Toriel was covering her mouth with a paw to muffle her laughter.

“Oh dear, it seems like I’m not the only person you tried to sweep of their feet.” They joke in amusement.

You can’t stop the traitorous giggle forcing its way up your throat, your face burns brighter than your future. “We never speak of this again.”

They shake their head rolling their eyes before offering a smile; you didn’t feel that their humour was targeted at you in the sense they were trying to make you feel bad, it was genuinely good natured.
 

After making your way through the remaining puzzles, including one that certainly didn’t seem child friendly with all of the spikes, Toriel leaves you with a cell phone so she can attend to her chores; you were well acquainted with chores.

Even though she told you to remain where she left you it didn’t stop your compulsion to explore, it’s not every day that you see a 3d lifelike rendition of your favourite game, let alone being able to interact with it.

The next monster you run into was a Froggit, due to your fairly good memory and obsession with the game you believed that you could most likely recall the sequence of actions to SPARE any monster in the Underground. You ended the conversation on good terms with them, after complimenting them you ended up in a room with another SAVING point.

This time you lay down in the leaves, the light seemed to give out warmth, flooding through your entire body as well as stoking the fire of your will to press on. You begin to roll around in the leaves, the ones closest to the surface of the pile were the most brittle, you run your fingers over them. You always loved autumn time, even though the leaves were dying and losing the life they once held it seemed as if they gave one last burst of power before winter overcame them, a flashy display of colour, putting their all into one last ditch attempt at existing.

Rolling back and forth slowly you muse over your actions, when was the last time that I was able to act like a child? I had to grow up pretty quickly; regardless I’m going to make the most of this dream.

Chapter Text

After you became bored of rolling around in the leaves you had ventured forth to a room with a bowl of candy, it had quite a deep base so it was capable of containing a lot of them. You stick your hand into the bowl, letting the wrapped sweets tumble through your fingers; you only decide to pluck one out. Yes I’m a goody-two-shoes, it says to take one, even though more would be beneficial if I run across more monsters.

On your way through the Ruins you run into a great deal of monsters, mainly Whimsum, Loox and  Froggit, by now you were beginning to feel pretty chuffed with yourself, you had sustained only a minimal amount of damage throughout your journey, after all you had the unfair advantage of being aware of their attack sequences. Even still applying the 2D knowledge on a screen was very different from actually being in a battle; physically moving out of the way was difficult.

The unusual thing about battles was that it felt like your soul moved before the rest of your body, as if your soul was aware of your intentions a millisecond before your body received the message and complied with your instincts. Perhaps the soul is more in tune with the mind than the body, or one could be an extension of the other…

You pause; I guess it doesn’t matter anyway, debating the semantics of a dream…well, I never thought it would come to this, the awareness you had was uncanny, if you didn’t know any better you would have been certain you were awake, there was also the lack of pain to take into consideration going against this train of thought.

As you had been lost in thought you didn’t pay attention to the ground you were walking on, suddenly you are overcome with the sensation of falling, the ground gave away before your feet. Why does this always happen to me? Can I not stay on my feet for at least ten minutes?

With a thump you land in a pile of leaves underneath, at least it’s a soft landing. You stand unharmed and step through the door to the right, ascending the stairs you traverse the room again. Come on! I memorised the pattern of this, I guess it’s more difficult when you don’t look down on it from a 3^rd person perspective, I’ll just have to count squares.

You startle slightly at the sound of your phone ringing.

“Hello, this it Toriel, you haven’t moved from where I left you have you? Anyway I was wondering whether you prefer butterscotch or cinnamon.”

The legendary question.

“I guess it depends, as a flavouring I guess I would prefer cinnamon but it can be a bit bland on its own…so I guess I really don’t mind, they complement each other.” You respond.

You hear a tinkling laugh on the other end of the phone, “I’m in agreement with you there, so you don’t mind both? Well that’s certainly a relief, I won’t tell you why I’m asking yet, it’s a surprise.” With that the phone clicked off.

Does she really think that I can’t guess why, it would seem that subtlety isn’t her strong point.

After cautiously edging around the room you approach Napstablook, a gently drifting figure hovering a couple of centimetres above the ground in a horizontal position.

You clear your throat softly; I feel kind of rude trying to move them, hopefully we can just talk. You weren’t sure if they hadn’t heard you or if they were purposely ignoring you in hope you would leave. Decisively you reach out your hand, brushing the edge of their luminescent body, about to tap them. They jolt immediately at your touch, stiffening and facing you, you notice wariness in their eyes as they watch you closely.

“Um…hey?” You say quietly, your voice sounded cautious even to you. You watch as Napstablook’s eyes quiver, tears gather in their deep soulful eyes, (heh, soulful…because they’re a spirit…), you jump slightly at the sensation of your soul emerging from your chest, HP: 9/10.

Tears begin to fall from Napstablook’s eyes, they had a milky hue to them, the force at which they fell was quite alarming. Immediately you duck out of the way to avoid them, as they were floating above you the tears were like raindrops, closely compact and streaking down. You bite your lip when you notice that one of the tears had come too close to you, reducing your HP.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, there’s no need to cry.” You call out; hmm I need to attempt to cheer them up for them to stop fighting me. You raise your hands up in a none-threatening gesture to convey that you meant them no harm. The tears began to fall less frequently.

“Why did the ghost get into the lift?” You pause to allow them to reply, their expression of mistrust wavers as they incline their head forward to urge you to finish the joke. “They wanted to raise their spirits!” You speak in an overly enthusiastic way, hopeful that you had cheered them up.

A quiet laugh is uttered, a smile becomes present briefly as they drift closer, their tears had now ceased. “Would you like to…maybe…see something…?” They ask softly, you nod excitably.  Tears begin to well up in their eyes again, this time they float upwards and gather in a cluster above their head to form a top hat. The familiar sight makes you grin broadly.

“I…call it dapperblook…do you like it…?”

“Of course, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, you should wear one more often!” You respond encouragingly, their hat begins to slowly fade as they regard you with wonder.

“Oh gee…I usually come here…to the Ruins to be alone…but today I met somebody nice, I’m sorry…I misjudged you…” The rest of their body begins to fade; you reach out your hand suddenly.

“No, please wait!”

They fade back into existence with a look of perplexity on their face, “Oh no…there isn’t something wrong is there? I’m sorry…”

You shake your head in reassurance, “You never told me your name, I was wondering if we could be friends.”

You felt slightly bad for them as you register the shock on their face, it feels wrong pretending not to know who they are, like I’m lying to them but there is no way I can explain that this is a dream of a game. You pause, why should I feel bad anyway, it’s only a dream…I must be making them react this way according to my knowledge of their fictitious personalities. Even still, it isn’t like I’m going to go on a genocidal rampage, I have standards, if I can’t even do it in the actual game then I’m certainly not going to attempt to do so in a dream.

“Oh…you…want to be friends…I’m Napstablook.” They hesitate uncertainly, when you nod in confirmation they blink, “Oh…well if you really want then I won’t stop you…maybe you could stop by my house if you visit Waterfall,” Their voice takes on a more panicked edge, “Or not…I wouldn’t want to force you…oh no…now you might feel pressured to do it…oh…” They fade away again leaving you a bit baffled.

Well they didn’t say no, looks like I have a new friend now. You mind turns to what is ahead, hmm if I reach Snowdin I’ll be able to meet Sans and Papyrus, I really hope I don’t wake up before then.

Eventually you reach the tree in front of Toriel’s house, the rich ebony wood seemed almost as if it were made of the same shadows it cast from itself, the contrast with the crimson leaves below was quite dramatic.

Toriel steps out from the side of the tree with her cell phone clutched in her paw; you quickly switch your own off and sneak around the other side of the tree. A frown creases her face when she notices that you don’t pick up your phone. Slowly you creep up behind her and place your hand on her lower back; your arms were too short to reach the tops of her shoulders.

“Boo!” You shout and jump to the left when she spins around in shock, one of her paws clutch her chest, the confusion on her face dies down when she takes in your beaming expression, letting out a soft chuckle she smiles back.

“Dear me, my child, you gave me quite the fright there.”

“No kidding, looks like I really goat you there.” You reply.

A startled splutter of laughter is let out, not as dignified and elegant as all of the previous ones you had heard, it was unrestrained and joyous.

“It seem that I have found another pun lover, it’s a good job that I appreciate them and don’t find them too punishing.”

You let out your own laugh at her response, “Who else are you friends with that likes puns?”

A shifty expression crosses her face, “Ah, no one you need to concern yourself with, they live far away. Chances are you may not meet them, that would mean…” They trail off.

That would mean leaving the Ruins, It looks like they’re going to react the same way as they did with Frisk, they probably won’t let me leave willingly.

They shake their head as if to clear the thought from their mind, “Anyway come with me, this is your new home now young one.”

Young one…really?

Following behind her you allow her to lead you into her house, the rich scent of cinnamon and butterscotch instantly invades your senses, dear God that smells heavenly…

“Surprise, I made Cinnamon Butterscotch Pie for you, why don’t you go and rest for now while it cools, I’ll bring it through to you.”

Toriel leads you to the first bedroom on the right, ruffling your hair she unlocks the door. The first thing you notice is how dusty the room is as if it hadn’t been used in some time. Toys lay abandoned at the edge of the bed and the general atmosphere had a sense of loneliness to it. You turn to look at Toriel; her smile was a bit strained, closer to a grimace as she surveys the room.

“Look, a room of your own, I hope you will be happy here my child. If you need anything don’t be afraid to ask, please rest for now.”

Without giving you anytime to reply she had stridden out of the room.

You lightly run your fingers over the wall paper, a buttery-yellow that reminded you of sunlight. Approaching the bed you feel the compulsion to straighten the neglected toys which laid at lopsided angles.

So this is Asriel and Chara’s bedroom, it’s bigger than it seemed in the game.

You were unsure how you were supposed to feel about this place, in one sense it was a dream come true, (literally) in another it instilled a sense of melancholy in you. No matter how wonderful this all was you could almost guarantee that you wouldn’t reach the end, plus no matter what you did in the dream it had no effect on anything. Sure it was odd that you had continued your dream, that almost never happens, that didn’t mean that this was anything more than a dream though. The awareness that Flowey had shown previously could just be your subconscious reconstructing a believable response based on your memories.

The quality of these dreams were unlike anything you had ever experienced before, had you felt pain in a fight then that would have convinced you that you weren’t dreaming. As it stood, the thought of waking up seemed almost depressingly dull in comparison to exploring a dream world.

You glance down at the bed, is it even possible to dream within a dream here? I mean I’ve heard about occurrences of it happening before…

You leave the room and venture along the corridor, your hand reaches for the handle to Toriel’s room before you pause, this isn’t a game if I get caught then I’ll be blamed not Frisk…when did I start thinking of my actions within the dream counting anyway?

Instead of entering you approach the mirror, this moment always seems so poignant in the game, whether it says ‘It’s you’ or ‘It’s me, __’ in the text, now when I think ‘it’s me’ I’m reminded of Chara, instead of ‘me’, even though some people think that the player in a sense is Chara, the idea isn’t completely agreed on. Well, I’m definitely a separate entity to Chara in this dream, although I am replacing Frisk.

You walk into the main living room, a warm fire flickers brightly in the grate, I wonder if that’s from Toriel’s magic. The colours in this room were more muted, creams and beiges neatly blending together. You felt a twinge of sadness when you looked over at the table; three chairs were set out around it and a potted plant in the middle. It felt like you were invading something precious, this house wasn’t your own, hell you shouldn’t even be here. It just felt wrong for some reason.

Toriel looks up at you from her worn armchair, a book neatly resided in her lap, she pushes up the glasses that were sat on the end of her snout.

“Are you quite sure that you are rested enough? You’ve had a long day, perhaps you should get some sleep, I wouldn’t want you to over exhaust yourself dear.”

“Nah, I’m okay. I’m used to walking around; a few puzzles aren’t going to tire me out that much.”

They make a humming sound under their breath in disbelief, “Well if you’re sure…I guess that the pie will be cool enough for you to eat now.”

They scuttle out of the room and return with a slice of pie, they await your response eagerly. I can’t eat it now, I might need to save it for later…but I don’t want to disappoint her.

You turn to face Toriel, “This looks lovely, would it be alright if I could wrap this up for later?”

Concern crosses her face, “Are you sure you are feeling alright, a lack of an appetite could indicate the onset of sickness…” They walk over towards you and press a paw to your forehead.

You shake your head, somewhat irritably, “I’m fine…it’s just that I need to get going and I might need it more later.”

Toriel’s lips press firmly together and her amber lit eyes narrow slightly, “Going where?” Her tone of voice isn’t a question, it’s an accusation.

“O-Out…” You stutter, geez when did I become afraid of Goatmom? “I need to get back home.”

“I really do think you should go and rest for now my child.”

“I’m sorry Toriel, I can’t stay.”

Something akin to determination flashes in her eyes, “Stay here, there is something I must do.” She marches of resolutely.

Welp time for me to get off my ass and chase her, I don’t want to see her seal the exit up.

Hurriedly you rise to your feet and almost trip down the stairs out of your desire to stop Toriel; the corridor down below in the basement was a lot colder than above. The colours themselves almost reflected this, upstairs it was warm and homey with fiery toned colours, down here it was deep purple and black, so unwelcoming and harsh in contrast.

Eventually you catch up to Toriel, your trainers slap the ground hard as you urge your body forward, there was no restriction to your stamina. You almost collide with her yet again, stopping a couple of inches behind her, she turns to look at you disapprovingly.

“Go back upstairs.” They swiftly turn back around and continue to walk away from you.

They notice that you kept up your pursuit behind her, finding that her words hadn’t discouraged you a flash of fear and anger invades her features.

“I won’t tell you again, go to your room.”

Finally you come to the large arched door, violet like the rest of this section but with the Delta Ruin carved into it, pitch back and unyielding. Toriel faces you resignedly, arms held stiffly at her sides while she looks at you imploringly.

“Please child, don’t do this…if you leave…he…Asgore, he will take your soul. You’re safe here.”

Why does it feel so bad? This isn’t real.

“I can’t, I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me but I can’t expect you to care for me. I have my own family, staying here won’t accomplish anything.”

The look of heartbreak on her face as her eyes become glossy with tears causes your heart to race. Shakily she raises a hand, gesturing to your chest with a tugging motion, your soul emerges.

Despite the fear of having it exposed the added weight and warmth radiating from it had a sense of comfort. It pulses evenly in front of you, awaiting the oncoming conflict. Golden panels flash into existence before you, instantly you reach for MERCY and select SPARE.

Toriel wavers uncertainly, “I too am sorry, I will do whatever is necessary to ensure you don’t leave.”

She begins to make complicated gestures with her hands, careful sweeping motions rotating back and forth; suddenly she juts her arms forward, a column of flames fires out towards you. You manage to side step the first blast, the second wave was summoned a lot faster than the first and took you unaware. HP: 6/10

You swallow deeply when you notice the concerned expression on Toriel’s face, not once had you let out a sound of pain, your body was far from clean and unmarred; even still you had barely reacted whenever an attack made contact. You see her hesitate before sending a series of smaller fireballs at you; they lit up the dim hallway and cast contorted shadows across the walls.

“Toriel, attacking me isn’t going to persuade me in the slightest to stay with you.”

They shake their head, “You must show me that you’re strong enough to survive out there.”

This time a tendril of fire slapped you across the face, you register the sensation of heat but it isn’t as extreme as you would expect it to be. A look of horror passes over Toriel’s face.

“I-I’m sorry my child...I didn’t mean to…”

You wave a hand dismissively, “You said that other monsters would harm me and be unforgiving, how would I be better than them if I attacked you?”

Their eyes are still trained on your now presumably blistered cheek; the flames they now hurl forward stray to the edges of the room.

“You’re too innocent to go out there, they will slaughter you. You do not deserve that fate. We could have a good life here, please don’t make this so hard.”

“I need to go h-home…” Your voice breaks on the word home, why am I using this as an excuse? Home is the place that I couldn’t wish to be farther from right now…I would stay with her but I want to see outside of the Ruins…

Your HP was now extremely low, HP: 2/10, Toriel was no longer aiming her attacks at you; it seemed that she was only attempting to frighten you away by this point. You watch as she takes a deep shuddering breath, all of the flames glowing and racing past you dissipate leaving the area a lot darker, the heat summoned by the flames trickles away.

“You are right…it would be wrong of me to keep you here…the ruins are very small when you get used to them…I couldn’t deprive you of your hopes…” The expression on her face was broken.

You approach her swiftly and wrap your arms around her; you no longer acted as hesitantly, burying your face into the sweet scent of her clothing, the smell of home, something you could never have. She instinctively reciprocates, her arms reaching around to caress your back, grudgingly she releases you with a sad smile painted on her face.

It’s a fucking dream, don’t cry, I’ve been through so much worse. This isn’t even real, why should I grieve for a fictional character, I’m stronger than this.

An idea begins to form in your mind, “What if…” You start uncertainly, “What if I remain here and don’t try to reach the surface, I can explore the Underground but still come back to you…if you want I won’t leave…”

Disbelief flashes across Toriel’s face, “Wouldn’t you rather go home, you just said that that was what you wanted?”

What if I am able to dream of this again? If I finish the course of events in the Underground then the dreams might end…so what if I purposely don’t finish the game?

“Truthfully I wouldn’t mind staying in the Underground but if I stay in the Ruins my entire life it would feel very claustrophobic, if I don’t explore very far and I return here on an evening then I should be safe, I won’t go near the castle.”

You watch as realisation dawns on her face, hope behind her wide, loving eyes envelopes you. They look uncertain, “Even if you remain living here and don’t progress beyond Snowdin, the town ahead, the sentries could still harm you.”

“Then I guess I’ll just befriend them.” You state confidently.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I suppose if you are living here then you will be a lot safer than venturing out there alone. If you promise that you really desire to stay then I will allow you to leave. If you left with the intention to return home and were killed by the king it would hurt too much…maybe it is best to let you go now and so I don’t become too attached…”

You smile reassuringly, “I promise to not go to the king, you don’t have to worry about cutting me off, I just want to explore this place.”

Toriel wraps you in another hug, “In that case you better come back in at least four hours’ time, you need to be in time for bed time.”

“I’m not a child!” You argue stubbornly, “I don’t have a bed time, I’m eighteen.”

They blink in surprise, “You are older than I thought…even still you must go to sleep at a reasonable time, it will benefit your health.”

You begin to grumble under your breath good naturedly. Toriel brushes her paw over your injured face and begins to heal the wound; you become aware of a tingling heat spreading across your face but feel no relief as the injury didn’t hurt to begin with.

Wow…I actually did it, the Ruins will remain open to me and I can visit Toriel whenever I want. It seems that they only forbade Frisk from returning because she didn’t want it to hurt so much if they died after losing her other children, approaching the king would seem like instant death. If I want to explore Waterfall I’ll have to make sure Toriel doesn’t notice or she’ll be sent into a panic. This way I can always decide to not leave the Underground and there won’t be a definitive ending to this.

“Well I better get going Toriel, see you later.”

“Goodbye my child, stay safe out there, you still have your cell phone on you, if you are in trouble then let me know, get to the Ruins as fast as you can.”

You roll your eyes, “I’ll be fine.”

You give her one last wave as you slip out of the door; the next room became increasingly dark as you reached the centre until you became faced with a familiar flowery bastard.

“Huh, colour me impressed, I’ve never seen this outcome before. You sure are changing things around here.”

“Oh, it’s you.” You don’t bother keeping the derision out of your voice.

Flowey smirks at you, “You must feel so proud of yourself, playing by your own rules. It won’t always be like that, you’ll run into someone who isn’t as merciful as Toriel, what will you do then? Let them kill you, or will you kill out of frustration? In ThIs WoRld It’S kIlL oR bE kIlLeD!”

You begin to walk past them, much to their irritation. They snag your foot with a vine and pull. You land hard on your arm and a new bruise begins to blossom across your right cheekbone.

“I wasn’t finished speaking.” They scrutinize you for a second closely as if they are waiting for something.

You stand back up and edge further away from Flowey, out of the reach of their vines; I don’t know how far they can reach… You don’t notice the odd angle that your arm is sticking out at from falling on it.

Flowey tilts their head, “Interesting…You’re just like me aren’t you?”

What? What fuckery lead him to that conclusion?

“Sorry pal, I don’t think so. I’m not seeing the similarities here.” You answer dryly.

They begin to giggle in an extremely disturbing way, “You’re empty inside aren’t you? You don’t feel pain.” They look pointedly at your arm.

Ohh, is it broken? Dislocated? How did I not notice? This whole no pain thing is only useful to a certain extent.

You cough, “Maybe I’m just really tough and I’m acting brave.” You bluff.

They narrow their eyes at you, “I don’t think so. You still have your soul…so you’re not soulless, unless you’re them.”

“Nope, don’t know who you’re on about, don’t particularly care either.” You had managed to creep around to the other side of the room eventually, now pausing in front of the door connecting the Ruins to Snowdin. “Well, I would say it was nice talking with you…but you know…it wasn’t.”

You wrench the door open and step through.

“You can lie to yourself but I know what you are, I’ll be watching!” Flowey growls out angrily, their voice fading as you slam the door shut.

Because that’s not creepy at all.

You instantly begin to hug your body, wrapping your arms tightly around your chest, Jesus Christ it’s freezing out here, you would think that after fully knowing what to expect ahead I would have planned this out better.

You feel your feet sink into the soft snow beneath, a light crunching sound rings out in the silence. After glancing back at your arm you feel that now would be a good time to SAVE, you find a SAVE point now situated outside the Ruins. Is that because of something I did? Normally there isn’t one here, oh well…I shouldn’t complain, it benefits me.

You can feel the tingling sensation inside of your chest as you step into the light; your arm begins to move of its own accord, straightening itself out, that feels pretty weird.

You continue on forward, marching through the snow, the sound of it underneath your feet was incredibly satisfying; despite how cold your town was when you were awake there was rarely any snow.

A loud cracking sound behind you startles you and, here comes Sans, how did I forget that this was coming, I’m so dumb.

You keep walking, pretending to be oblivious to his presence even though you’re certain that your jumping gave you away. At last you stand in front of a gate with wide wooden beams. Footsteps begin to sound behind you. You stop walking.

A deep voice rumbles close to your ear:

“d o n ‘ t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l ?”

Chapter Text

“d o n ‘ t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l ?”

Oh boy, here it comes.

You stand rigidly, although you knew it was irrational to feel fear, Sans couldn’t actually hurt you, it didn’t stop the nervous twisting and clenching in your stomach. In your mind you can see the many genocide runs you’d watched on YouTube, the immense power held in one being.

It’s not like I ever did a genocide run anyway, I have nothing to feel guilty about…am I just as bad though for watching? Flowey seemed to think so in the game, something about not being as bad as those who were sat watching…fourth wall breaking shit there….well I shouldn’t be scared, Sans doesn’t even attempt to attack unless you literally massacre everyone.

“t u r n  a r o u n d  a n d  s h a k e  m y  h a n d.” The deep voice continues, it seemed to gently reverberate through the air, rich like melted chocolate.

Okay, I can do this. Before turning around you stretch a hand out in front of you, your fingers quickly brush up some of the snow that had collected on the wooden beams. You compress it into a ball quickly and spin around. Without looking you fling it in front of you while you are in the middle of turning. You don’t hear it collide with anything.

Your eyes widen in shock, there was no one stood behind you, after a delayed second you notice the snowball hit the ground. Well…that’s just cheating.

You startle as you feel soft tapping on your shoulder, jumping slightly you turn back around. Before you stands Sans, a wide grin fixed on his face. You continue watching his face curiously as you see his smile waver slightly, the pinprick lights in his sockets were trained closely on you, above his sockets the bone wrinkles as if it malleable, forming a frown.

He seemed to scrutinize you closely, despite his slouched position with his hands jammed into the pockets of his shorts, his body language screamed ‘tense’ he looked almost nervous awaiting your next action, beads of sweat dotted the top of his skull.

Well…looks like Sans is like Flowey, he knows I’m not supposed to be here…wait of course I’m supposed to be here, it’s my dream.

“Uhh…” You start eloquently. What are you supposed to say to someone that you fangirl over when they’re right in front of you, your favourite character?

You clear your throat noisily and try again, you notice that Sans hadn’t attempted to speak to you, just regarding you hesitantly, the force that his sockets bore into you made you feel that he could almost read your thoughts.

“Sorry bout that, I was just trying to break the ice…” You manage after an uncomfortably long pause.  Fuck it, that was a crappy pun, the great pun God shall smite me.

You watch as Sans eye sockets widen, taking in your awful pun, a lazy grin creeps back onto his face. Even still it seemed quite forced.

“snow problem pal, it was a pretty cool way to introduce yourself i guess.” The timbre of his voice wasn’t as rich as when he had been purposely mysterious, it sounded lighter in a way, it put to shame all of the voice actors you had ever heard, no one could replicate this.

You grin back uneasily, well this is a step in the right direction, he no longer looks like he wants to obliterate me on the spot, kinda understandable really if you take the genocide runs into consideration, based on how the player reacts to his introduction he can gauge what kind of person they are.

“i’m sans, sans the skeleton.” He continues as he steps closer to you as if he can’t quite believe that you’re here.

“I’m __, __ the human.” You mimic drolly, you step forward and stick your hand out, Sans looked surprised at your actions, as if he expected you to attack him.

He reciprocates by offering his left hand to you, you grip it gingerly, attempting to apply as little pressure as possible, however it was futile. Sans squeezes your hand tightly much to your dismay, you can’t feel the bones underneath the rubbery coating of a whoopee cushion, you resign yourself to your fate. A loud wheezing sound is issued from the place that your hands meet, erupting beyond your control.

You groan loudly, “Whyyy…what did I do to deserve this..?”

Sans winks at you, how does bone suddenly grow over his socket to form an eyelid…socketlid? “hey, i’m free to prank to my fart’s content.”

You turn your back to him throwing your arms up in the air, “Nope, I’m done.”

You hear a low chuckle in response, “i didn’t mean to blow you away there with my humour.”

Oh my God, these puns are more terrible than I could possibly conceive how did my subconscious create these monstrosities…damn it, it’s contagious.

“so…you’re a human, that’s hilarious,” They pause and meet your eyes, you just shrug and offer for him to continue, “anyways i’m supposed to be on the lookout for humans right now.”

“Cool.” You reply blankly, he blinks at your response as if expecting you to be somewhat more fearful, his sockets narrow slightly.

“but, y’know i’m not too bothered about catching them myself, my brother papyrus on the other hand is a human hunting fanatic.”

You shrug, “We all have hobbies.”

This seemed to baffle Sans further, you waited for him to offer for you to go through the gate. He doesn’t.

Instead he stares intently at your chest, uhh, this is getting quite creepy now, what is he doing? He tilts his head to the side slightly as he continues analysing you.

You cough, “Eyes up here pal.”

His head snaps up, now meeting your gaze. A bluish glow tints his cheeks; however the bone above his brow is twisted downwards, contorted into a scowl.

“Trust me buddy, I wasn’t lookin atcha like that.” Their eyes flicker back down to your chest, “Your soul…it’s…” He trails off.

You raise an eye brow, you would have looked more nonchalant, unfortunately a large gust of wind hit you that second, causing you to stumble back slightly and clutch your arms around your chest tighter than before. You watch as your breath flows out as icy mist, drifting around your head.

What’s wrong with my soul? It’s what…?

“buddy, do you know what soul trait you have?” Sans asks tersely.

Yeah, it’s determination, at least I think so, I mean it’s red. I probably shouldn’t tell Sans that I know what each colour means; I don’t know how he’ll react.

“What’s a soul trait?” You enquire innocently, attempting to keep your face smooth. Making eye contact with Sans whilst lying was more difficult than you could have ever believed, the small white lights in his eyes flickered.

“the soul is the culmination of your being, all that you are. each soul is a different colour based on one of seven key traits; each colour represents one of these traits, you really don’t know what yours is?” He held a dimmer smile on his face; I guess it’s just a default expression for him.

You wrack your mind for a plausible response, when all else fails lie. It was almost scary in a way; you had reached a point in your life years ago where you would automatically lie to get yourself out of a situation. Whenever anyone asked you anything you would immediately shape your response, never giving your true thoughts and feelings, it was just easier that way. Of course it made things difficult if you presumed their point of view before learning enough about them. You would lie about the simplest things that didn’t matter greatly, avoiding the smallest hint of trouble. I suppose that being punished for every single action that was considered wrong instils caution in you.

“Uhh…sarcasm maybe? I mean that’s probably my most dominant personality trait.” You eventually say whilst trying to maintain a straight face.”

You notice as Sans face twitches slightly, his chest heaves with an exasperated sigh, “i’m tryin tibia serious here, your soul is…different.”

“What exactly do you mean by different? Good different? Bad different?” You step back slightly feeling intimidated by his burning stare.

He pauses thoughtfully, finding the correct words to phrase it, “i can’t see it.”

Huh? But he can see Frisk’s in the judgement hall without taking their soul out, that’s how he sees all of the EXP and LOVE. Why can’t he see mine, I definitely have one…I’ve been in confrontations before.

“I’m pretty sure you have to take it out first to see it, unless you have like x-ray vision or something…that would be weird.”

He huffs out a growl, “you have no idea how maddening this is, the one person that i need to know the most about is right in front of me and i’m blind.” He brings his hand up, phalanges pointed out towards you, “i’m sorry bout this kid but you’re a threat, i don’t know what you mean for the future of this place but it aint lookin good…you’re not even supposed to be here….”

You seize up in panic, your heart thundering against your chest. Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream…you begin chanting in your head, he can’t actually hurt me, calm the fuck down. Why couldn’t I dream of a nice Sans, one that wants to be my friend…why?

You stumble backwards, in your haste to step away you trip over one of the thick, winding roots of the tree behind you. Letting out a yelp you brace yourself for once again landing on the ground, as you’re falling a sharp tugging on your chest forces your soul out. In an instant the red blooms into a rich navy blue, fatigue hits you. You grow limp in the grasp of an invisible force wrapped around you, it tilts you forward back onto your feet, glued in place you are made to stand almost motionless before Sans’ increased scrutiny.

“Erm, thanks…I guess…for not letting me fall…I think.”

“don’t make this harder than it has to be, just let me see your stats.” Sans hisses out in irritation, his hand still raised keeping you upright. Your eyes flicker down to your arm, your entire body is encased in a shimmering blue aura. Your soul shudders in front of your chest, uncomfortable with the magic cast upon it.

“I’m not doing anything! I’m just stood here, if you can’t see my stats then that’s your problem, don’t take it out on me!” You shout out through chattering teeth, normally when your soul is exposed everything is warmer and more vibrant, now it seemed like you had been forced to drink a swimming pool’s worth of icy cold water.

You feel the walls of magic around you tighten, a probing buzz all around you feels like it’s trying to works its way into you, automatically you stiffen, mentally you repel it. Although the sensation didn’t hurt it felt strangely uncomfortable, it was as if he was trying to read your entire being, this felt innately wrong to you as your very soul seemed to protest.

“Stop it Sans, let me go! I haven’t done anything to you.”

He shakes his head, the lights in his eyes had become extinguished, dead and empty sockets glower at you. “you’re doing this on purpose, what are you hiding from me? did you kill them, the monsters in the ruins, is that it? cuz buddy, no innocent person is that determined to conceal their secrets that vigorously.”

This time you pull against his magic, your soul reacts; even though it remains blue you have some degree of control of it as your footsteps falter. I don’t supposed I would have time to call Toriel to help me…isn’t that like running to Mom when the kids in the playground pick on you…well this is a bit more extreme, if I can’t handle this Toriel will never let me back out of the Ruins again.

I’m not even purposely hiding my stats or anything, how would you even go about doing that? My dreams officially make no sense.

You see a flash of remorse pass over Sans’ face as lights flicker back into his sockets, his hand trembles as he gestures upwards. You freeze, your feet were no longer touching the ground as you remained suspended in the air, looking around wildly you hesitated to get free, no particularly wanting to fall again.

You watch as Sans sighs deeply, “i truly am sorry…i made a promise to keep ya safe but you can’t understand how this feels. for the longest time i thought it was over, they haven’t fallen again in years since the last time. we might finally have a chance to be free, i can’t risk having everything taken away again.” His left eye socket lights up, cyan flames burst into life and lick away at his skull. “besides which, i don’t really know what you are, all i know is that you’re a mistake and if i can’t trust what i see with my own sockets…well i’m not gonna risk you hurting anyone, especially if we have no more second chances.”

A stabbing pain shoots through your chest at his words, ‘you’re a mistake.’ Ha, don’t I know it, I’ve been told that my whole bloody life, not wanted in dreams nor reality.

From what Flowey said it would seem that Frisk reset and just didn’t return allowing time to progress, so I guess when I fell it must have caused a reset to occur. I wonder if I can actually reset time or if I have to wait until I’m killed like what happened last time. I suppose if I was Sans and I’d built up all this false hope that another reset wouldn’t happen after so many years of nothing I’d be pissed off to.

Your body is suddenly violently thrust into a tree, your body jolted from the impact as you slid down it. Hey at least being thrown into a tree in a dream doesn’t hurt, unlike what happened with those assholes before I woke up here again…speaking of those assholes I wonder what’s happened to my body, what if no one found me? What if I’m dying? What if…”

Your snapped out of your thoughts when your body is once again picked up and held up in front of Sans, sweat trickles down his face with a bluish sheen to it. Despite all of the anger etched into his face he seemed pretty miserable, like this is one of the furthest things down his list of what he’d like to do on a Wednesday morning.

Gravity abruptly increases causing you to be slammed hard against the ground, your arms drooped and your back became slightly hunched due to the effects of his magic. It took so much effort to straighten yourself out; your body was refusing to cooperate. You noticed that your soul had dipped to in front of your stomach instead of residing before your chest.

You make eye contact with Sans despite how intimidating he now looked, this just isn’t fair, Frisk had to murder absolutely everyone, if they left just one monster alive they could still pass Sans unscathed…and here I am with no LOVE or EXP being tossed around like a ragdoll, where is the justice.

“Sans!” You growl out angrily, “Let me go, I can prove that I haven’t hurt anyone. You can talk to Toriel behind the door, she lives in the Ruins, I’m sure she will vouch for me!”

Sans pauses consideringly, his frozen grin tilts downwards as he gives you a pitying look, “even if that’s true and you haven’t hurt no one i’ve been through this too many times. normally i wouldn’t care about breaking the barrier but this is our one genuine chance to be free, without that brat ruining things.”

Does he not know that I can reset too? He can never claim my soul as we would just be thrown back in time again. Why do I care anyway, it’s not like I could give a fictional character my real soul in a dream of all things, even if I wanted to.

“What brat are you talking about; I’m the only one down here? Whatever you’ve seen so many times doesn’t matter I’m not going to hurt anyone.” You plead, it probably isn’t very effective to plead about something you’re lying about but if I don’t appear confused then I’ll seem even more suspicious.

Sans just shakes his head at you, “you could never understand!”

There is a flash of blinding white light, the air shimmers, it reminded you of how the air above a flame looks, twisted and warped. A large skeletal head appears, wide gaping mouth and burning sockets much like the one wielding it. It hovers in the air above Sans’ left shoulder as if awaiting orders to continue. It makes a strange chattering sound intersected with a low humming noise like a build-up of static.

And…this is where this dream ends, if I get hit by that then I’ll probably wake up like last time.

Your eyes flicker to the four golden panels floating in front of you; it took so much effort to make your soul heave close enough to any of them, gravity making it reluctant to move. You are able to view your own stats:

LV: 1

HP: 3/10

AT: 15(0)

DF: 20(5)

EXP: 0

NEXT: 10

WEAPON: NONE

ARMOR: RUNNING SHOES

GOLD: 58

I’d choose MERCY but I have a distinct feeling that I’d get dunked on.

You decide to check Sans’ stats, you head begins to feel fuzzy with the mental will you’re putting into moving your soul around.

AT: 1

DF: 1

*The easiest enemy.

*Can do only one damage.

*You feel like you’re going to have a bad time.

Gee, ya think? And of course that was the most useful thing for me to do, I knew it all anyway.

You screw your eyes shut after observing Sans giving the blaster a nod of confirmation. Even though you knew it wouldn’t hurt Sans was pretty terrifying. You await the oncoming blast, trembling in anticipation.

It never came.

Your eyes flutter open in confusion, a tinge of hope burns within you; you really were reluctant about waking up even though you were worried about the state of affairs in the waking world.

Sans is staring at you in shock, the Baster floating above his head was giving out a soft whining noise of protest. It turned its head away from you and began to make quiet clicking sounds facing Sans.

“what are you doing?! you’re supposed to attack her, this isn’t a game, you’re supposed to obey me. you’re made of my magic…we partially share a consciousness, can you not understand how fucking important this is?” Sans was blurting out one question after the next, anger colouring his tone of voice as he became slightly hysterical.

I’m just confused, why isn’t the blaster shooting me? Pretty sure this never happened in the game.

The Gaster Blaster makes more distressed noises as its head tilts towards you a fraction, it begins to approach you much to your apprehension. The head now hovers just above your shoulder as it draws closer.

Oh God it’s changed its mind, it’s gonna kill me after all.

You’re pleasantly surprised when it begins to nuzzle against you, softly rubbing its cheek bone against your neck. Oh well I didn’t expect that, it likes me? Your mind buzzes with unanswered questions; you eventually decide to chalk it up to dreaming bullshit that doesn’t make sense.

You raise your hand up to pat the back of its head awkwardly, “Uh, hey there big fella…” I seriously have no clue what I’m supposed to say to a weapon of destruction and devastation, it’s kinda cute though…what am I actually thinking?

“get back here now, stupid thing. that’s the enemy!” Sans rants.

He eventually gives up and raises his fist, making a twisting motion. The air above the blaster swirls as it is dragged into an invisible something.

You hear Sans grumbling the word ‘useless’ under his breath, I wonder if he’d get on well with Mad Dummy.

While he was distracted you slam your soul into the MERCY button and select flee. You dart past him throwing more snow to startle him, it succeeds and he teleports away to avoid it thinking it was an actual attack on your part. Hoping that it proved a good enough distraction you run across the bridge and through the gate. As Sans had officially left the area by momentarily being caught in the transition of teleporting you were no longer engaged in a battle. Your soul feels much lighter now that the effects of the blue magic had worn of, it made it much easier to run.

You had only managed to reach Sans’ sentry station before he reappeared looking very pissed off. Ducking behind his sentry station was a futile effort as you were dragged out forcefully by your once again present soul.

“buddy, i don’t know what bullshit you pulled back there with the blaster but i don’t like it. you really think you can run from me?”

Your given no time to react before thousands of bones surge up out of the ground, the heads of which are thinly coated in snow. You feel the impact of them hitting you, digging into you hard. In a way it reminded you of being at the dentist when you needed to have a broken tooth removed, where the gum was numb but you could still feel the pressure where the instruments dug in. You dully watch as blood seeps out of your chest, mingling with the already red material of your shirt, trickling down to your jeans. Your soul gives one last weak pulse.

You look up at Sans as you fall, his anger had mainly dissipated by this point, sadness present in his hollow sockets.

The world turns black.

__!

__!

Wake up!

A high pitched female voice calls out. You murmur weakly in response, greeted by a sharp stinging sensation across your face. You were most certainly awake now by this point.

Your eyes flicker open hazily, your Mom stands above you, her arms were crossed as she stared down at you beadily.

“Finally, you’re awake! Do you have any idea how long you’ve been out for?” Her voice still sounded stressed out.

You try to sit up, your head aches dully. You reach a hand up to the back of your head only to find that layers of course cloth were wrapped around it. Come to think of it the room was unfamiliar to you too, it was indeed white like your own bedroom but it lacked all of your belongings.

“What happened?” You slur out sleepily.

Your mother’s face twists up into an expression of annoyance, “What were you thinking walking through the woods, we’ve told you a thousand times that it’s dangerous.”

Anger flashes through you, “You could at least pretend to be worried about my wellbeing, I could have died. We need to find the guys that did this, one of them was…”

Your Mom cuts you off abruptly, “It has been dealt with.”

“Already?” You ask in confusion. “How long have I been out for?”

“You were found almost immediately, a man walking his dog happened to be in the vicinity at the time, you ‘ve been out for a couple of hours.”

Really, it seems like I was dreaming for so long?

“How did you catch the guys so quickly, what do you mean that it has been dealt with?”

A cross frown crosses your mother’s face, “Really __, you should stop interrupting, your defiance is unbecoming. Your father has spoken with the parents of the individuals involved, he assured him that it will not happen again.”

“Is that it?” You snort sarcastically, “A promise? They assaulted me!”

Your mother attempts to smile patiently, it looked more like she was having a stroke. “You must understand dear, the parents of those boys are good business partners of your father, you wouldn’t want to cause him trouble would you? It would be bad for his reputation.”

“So you care more about his work than my wellbeing, you’re supposed to be my Mom!” You shout.

The fragile façade of amiability vanished in an instant, “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone looking for trouble, perhaps this will serve as a reminder that you should obey us and not hang around that disgusting cemetery, I thought you stopped this years ago.”

Your voice becomes flat, “So you’re basically saying I deserve it.”

She makes a flustered noise as she attempts to stutter out an answer.

“Get out.”

“Excuse me!” She screeches.

“You heard me, as a patient here I have the right to say who can visit me, just leave, you wouldn’t want to make a scene and ruin your precious reputation.” You spit.

Words catch in her throat as she tries in vain to think of a comeback, blustering and red in the face she gives up. Shooting you one last glare she storms out, leaving you alone in your hospital bed. 

Chapter Text

A pang of anxiety hits you; I should have just let her stay instead of getting mad at her, who knows what father will do. Whenever my disobedience is associated with his affairs his punishment could be ‘unconventional.’

You cast your mind back to your last dream, pressing your fingers against your chest you can imagine the phantom feeling of bones piercing you, the pressure without pain. Sans’ initial glare before melting into a look of remorse when you died haunts your mind. If Sans hadn’t of killed me would I have woken up? That kinda sucks, I never got to meet Papyrus, maybe next time I fall asleep I’ll get to return there. You let out a short cynical laugh; I guess that’s unlikely, a dream continuing over the span of three nights, picking up where it left off, I’m not that lucky. You feel sad at the prospect that you couldn’t even befriend your favourite character.

He never seemed to act like that much of a dick in the game…well, unless you kill everyone…then it’s warranted.  If I do dream of Undertale again at least I’ll have proof that I can reset, then Sans will see that it is pointless to try killing me, he won’t be able to collect my soul and break the barrier if time resets whenever I die. I wish I didn’t wake up whenever I die, it’s inconvenient.

You attempt to sit up again, your head aches even more as you raise it; those bastards really did a number on me.

Your door suddenly creaks open, a perky blonde nurse with too much enthusiasm bounds into the room.

“I’m so glad that you’re awake Miss __, you were unconscious for longer than we expected you’d be, you only received a mild concussion.” She grins at you as she presses a hand to your forehead, you flinch in irritation, you’d always disliked strangers or anyone really, invading your personal space.

Oh wow, only a mild concussion, I feel so much better.

“Does that feel tender?”

“S’fine, when can I leave?” Despite how clean hospitals appeared on the outside they made you feel uncomfortable, when you were younger you used to breath shallowly whenever entering one out of fear of inhaling germs.

You glance at her name tag, ‘Mary’ she tuts at you, “Really, you should stay overnight so we can keep watch on you and make sure there is no severe swelling, you can return home tomorrow to your family. They must have been really worried about you; your Mom arrived immediately and insisted on seeing you.”

“Yeah…worried…” You murmur.

After checking that the bandages were secure around your head she handed you some aspirin. You sit up stiffly while she fusses over you.

“If you need any help with anything dearie just press the buzzer and one of us will come in and help you out. For now you should probably get some sleep.” With those parting words you are once again left alone.

I hate sleeping during the day; it takes forever to fall asleep. Welp I have nothing to do here, I wish that Mom could have brought my sketch pad, at least then I’d have something to do.

You reach for the small glass on your bedside cabinet, while attempting to swallow the aspirin it got caught in your throat causing you to cough, eventually you feel it stick somewhere in your throat, after draining the last of the water you feel it slide down uncomfortably.

You throw your head back onto the lumpy pillow; I wonder if anyone has died in this bed…why am I so morbid?

Eventually you resign yourself to your inevitable fate of having to go back to sleep. The bump on your head felt as if it was pulsing painfully, after lying still for an extended period of time the aspirin finally started to take effect. You remain motionless, concentrating hard on the last SAVE point you made in your dream, so hard you could almost feel the chill of the ice saturated air. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough I’ll be able to return to that point in my dream.

You can feel something brushing against your cheeks, delicate and cold, the temperature of your skin drops drastically in an instant. Your eyes snap open.

You are once again stood outside of the Ruins, the warm light of the SAVING point tickles against your back, a soft tingling sensation. You survey the area; great canopies of trees overhang and send shadows cascading across the snow lathered ground.

Here we go again.

You hesitate before stepping away from the initial warmth of the SAVE point, maybe I should go back to the Ruins, I don’t fancy being murdered by Sans again, you glance behind you indecisively at the great purple door before taking another step forward, well…it’s not like he can really hurt anyway, I should just progress and hope for the best.

You take a deep breath then break into a run your feet slam against the ground hard, snow crunches loudly underfoot. There’s no way Sans hasn’t noticed me, I should have tried hiding behind the trees instead. You jump over a large, thick branch, almost tripping over.  You continue to run, the loud splintering sound of the branch being smashed into smithereens rings out into the woods.

I’m so fucked.

This time when you reach the wooden bridge with the widened bars you don’t slow down, your feet clank noisily against the planks, sliding over the slickened surface.

“kid, wait!” A voice calls out behind you, deep and formidable yet at the same time there was a hint of desperation to it.

You jump slightly, gripping onto the railing to steady your feet before urging yourself forward. I’m not going to be able to outrun him, he can teleport. To your immediate left you can see Sans’ sentry station, the conveniently shaped lamp was planted in the middle of the snow. Before your eyes Sans appears behind the counter of his Station, sockets staring dead straight at you, the absence of the usual glow was eerie.

“kid, just stop. we need to talk.” His voice was now devoid of emotion, something in his expression hinted at sheer hopelessness.

No good conversation starts with the words: ‘we need to talk.’ His glare seemed to burn its way through your own skull, so intent and calculating, any trace of previous remorse you had noticed was long gone. You can feel your body trembling slightly under the weight of his look, shit, shit, shit I’m gonna die again.

Your movement had previously been halted by a single look, now your sense of self-preservation became so strong that you were able to overcome your fear, once again bolting away from Sans. You’re dimly aware of a low growl resounding through the trees.

 You reach a cross road with an old looking wooden box sat in the snow, the pathway had a thinner coating of snow, you were aware that the northern path was a dead end so you continued on right. You didn’t have time to SAVE at the SAVE point as concentrating enough determination to create a fixed point in time took too much time and effort, what mattered now was getting away.

As you leave the crossroad you slam into something large and solid, long lanky arms wind around you to prevent your fall.

“WOWIE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU RAN INTO ME WITH SUCH FORCE, ARE YOU IN TROUBLE? IF SO, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS AM ONLY TO WILLING TO HELP YOU!”

You crane your neck to look up at the towering skeleton who was still steadying you by your shoulders, applying gentle but firm pressure. The ends of his thick woollen scarf tickled the end of your nose as it flapped in the breeze.

You take a step back unsteadily whilst smiling up at him uneasily, his joyous grin was so wide and full of affection, it seemed to be the most positive emotion you had ever seen, accumulated in one place. When he feels you step back he releases you with a kind look on his face.

“YOU HAVE NO REASON TO BE INTIMIDATED, I KNOW THAT I AM QUITE POWERFUL AND AWE INSPIRING BUT I TRULY MEAN YOU NO HARM.”  He spoke much louder than Sans, shouting appeared to be his default setting, his tone of voice was much higher as well, it lacked the richer timbre of his brother.

You nervously glance behind you, expecting Sans to be there, you hadn’t run very far from him after all. Turning back round you offer Papyrus a shy smile to which he responds with a grin ten times more brilliant.

“…Hi, I’m __.”

“NYEH HEH HEH, IT’S A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE __, AS I SAID BEFORE I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD. I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU AROUND HERE BEFORE, ARE YOU NEW TO SNOWDIN?”

Before you had a chance to reply Sans stepped out from behind Papyrus, glowering at you with empty sockets.

“bro, that’s a human, not another monster.” His grin twists into something challenging with a twist of sadism.

Your pulse quickens slightly as you watch Papyrus’ face shift from initial confusion to delight.

Thou art a traitor Sans.

Well, Sans definitely wants me dead, I thought that when he saw that I was still alive he’d learn that there was no point trying to claim my soul, then again that didn’t stop him from repeatedly killing Frisk when they were possessed by Chara. Does that mean he wants me to give up too? To stop dreaming of this place, it’s just a dream. I can dream about whatever I want. He can’t stop me.

You glare right back at Sans, he acknowledges this with a cocky smirk, he knows exactly how Papyrus will react to this news.

Papyrus rapidly turns his head to face Sans, “BROTHER…YOU MEAN, THAT THERE,” He gestures a gloved hand at you wildly, “IS A HUMAN?”

Sans twists his head with a frown on his face, “nah, sorry bro. that there is a rock, my mistake.”

Disappointment floods Papyrus’ face, “OH…”

“wait, what’s that in front of the rock?”

Renewed excitement glows within Papyrus’ eye sockets as he stares at you intently before turning back to Sans.

“SANS IS THAT A HUMAN?” His shouting had a more hushed quality of secrecy to it, even still it was pretty loud.

Sans nods solemnly, “yes.” He utters in a stage whisper.

Papyrus rushes forward as if to get a better look at you, “OH MY GOD SANS! IT’S A HUMAN!” They cough loudly, “OF COURSE AN ADEPT ROYAL GUARDSMAN LIKE MYSELF COULDN’T HELP BUT NOTICE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE INDEED A HUMAN.” Their mounting excitement was almost tangible, “I SHALL CAPTURE YOU AND JOIN THE RANKS OF THE ROYAL GUARD, I WILL BECOME POPULAR, I’LL HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS. ADVANCE SMALL HUMAN IF YOU DARE!”

Well, that happened.

You watch as Papyrus dashes off down the path, presumably to set his puzzles up, I guess he’s happy, that’s a good thing right? Sans wouldn’t kill me in front of Papyrus…would he?

You’re left stood in the snow with Sans, you begin to stub the toe of your left trainer into the snow, dragging it slowly through it, leaving lines in the snow. You keep your eyes downcast, attempting to ignore Sans in the hope he would take off after his brother.

I thought I was the new scary human, shouldn’t he be by his brother’s side protecting him?

Sans makes a sound, as if he was clearing his none existent throat, you reluctantly look up from your patterns in the snow. Your eyes flicker to his own sockets briefly, the tiny white lights were back, fixed on you closely.

“Well…this is awkward.” You manage to say eventually.

The malleable bone of his brow forms ridges as he makes a quirking gesture in the place of raising an eyebrow. “agreed.”

“So…I take it you remember what happened last time…”

His face deadpans, “ya think?”

You take a deep breath, “Okay then…well…” You trail off uncomfortably. What the hell am I supposed to say to the guy who killed you, even if you’re no longer dead, when both of you clearly remember the event?

Sans interrupts your frantic thoughts, “what are you planning on doing human?”

“I have a name!” You state indignantly.

He looks completely unimpressed, “fine…__, i repeat, what are you planning on doing?” The seriousness in his voice was irrefutable.

You pause, what am I planning on doing? Obviously I know that I’d only ever do a pacifist run, aside from that I don’t know. If these dreams really are going to continue somehow then I’ll make the most of them, that means I’ll never reach the end, never face Asgore. Even still, I want to befriend everyone, this is an amazing opportunity.

Sans watches your quiet contemplation without commenting.

Your eyes drift off, looking up at the sky. Well it isn’t really the sky is it, pearly white like clouds, how do they even have weather down here? Maybe it’s an illusion due to magic.

“I’m not really planning anything, I just want to explore I guess.”

Sans lets out a snort of disbelief, “i find that unlikely, with all that power, all that determination…you just wanna sit idle, watch the days go by, content with no idea watcha doin, don’t you wanna go home?”

You shrug your shoulders, “Not particularly, let’s just say my life isn’t very interesting on the surface and we’ll leave it at that.”

“do you know about the barrier?”

You nod, “Oh yes, the one that you need seven human souls to break, yeah…I’m quite familiar with it.”

“but you don’t need to collect the souls to leave, you can just pass through.”

A scowl crosses your face as you recall something you had thought of a while back when you played Undertale yourself. “You know it would be kinda hypocritical of me, to take the soul of a monster, your king, just to satisfy myself so I can leave. I can hardly criticize your king and everyone else for killing off the previous humans, seven lives in return for the freedom of an entire race, it put’s my problems into perspective. So no, it isn’t fair for me to do that, I’m no killer.”

The light’s in Sans’ eyes dance around inside his sockets, watching them was almost hypnotic, after scrutinizing you for a while his shoulders stiffen slightly.

“who said anything about havin to use the king’s soul to cross the barrier, how do you know about the souls of boss monsters kiddo?”

Well shit; I forgot that Frisk doesn’t learn that until Alphys literally tells them it before they face Asgore.

Your mind furiously works to think of something convincing to say, the only other monsters I’ve really spoken with are Toriel and Napstablook, Sans probably wouldn’t be able to get confirmation from one of them.

“Toriel told me in the Ruins, she tried to convince me to stay saying it would be futile to attempt to reach the barrier if I didn’t intend to harm the king. She said only a powerful soul can cross so it could be assumed that just like the king wishes to absorb the human souls to break the barrier, a human could do something similar.” Not exactly lying, you can kinda guess, plus Toriel did warn me.

Sans’ body language relaxes slightly, “hmm, i guess you’re half right. only a boss monster’s soul lingers after death for a human to use the power of to cross the barrier, not all monster souls are as strong.”

You feel some of the tension in the air dissipate, you can feel your heart almost return to its regular pace.

“however, i can’t exactly say i trust ya, to let you wander around down here unsupervised. you could…i dunno…get bored.” The lights in his eyes were temporarily extinguished as if a gust of wind blew them out, before they flickered back to life.

It’s really unnerving when he does that.

By bored I’d assume he’s referring to Frisk becoming bored of continuous pacifist runs before attempting a genocide run. Does Sans think that just because I have the power, the potential to do that, that I will?

“Sans.” You start, locking your eyes with his flickering pupils, “I’m not going to hurt anyone, ever. Even if I have the power to go back in time, to correct things it doesn’t mean that they didn’t happen, I’d remember…you’d remember…so I’d still be responsible for my actions, there is no way to eternally evade consequences, so I’m just going to take it all one day at a time, each day is a new day and I will live them to the fullest and best that I can.”

That was kinda deep for a dream, I wish I could apply this to real life, but real life will never be as simple…people are selfish, it’s all you can do to survive. Down here, in this dream I know everyone is undeserving of cruelty, they’re too kind to be real, part of my reality, that’s why they can only exist in dreams…perfection doesn’t exist. Even if they try to hurt me they are entitled to, they’re not doing it for selfish reasons, all of these monsters look out for one another, they care for one another as if their entire society were one family.  Such an idea could only ever be fantasy.

To your surprise Sans sticks out his hand, you stare at his out stretched hand in confusion, he tilts his skull to the side enquiringly.

“Uh…what are you doing?”

“i’m sans, sans the skeleton, you’re a human right, that’s hilarious.”

“Wait, what? Are you okay?” You ask in puzzlement, has all of the resetting finally got to him?

He sighs deeply, “look kiddo, i may have been a tad harsh judging you before. just take my word for it, you falling here wasn’t supposed to happen, it was a glitch in time somehow, it made me panic, i didn’t know what to expect from ya…so i’m giving you a chance to prove yourself, that you’re not all about pretty words, let’s start again.”

You can feel a spark of anger coil inside of your chest, the flames surging in your veins and radiating through your eyes, “You’re giving me a chance? As if I should be grateful, you seem to forget that you chased me down and killed me, even though I never harmed anyone, if anyone needs to prove that they’re not a psycho it’s you!”

Sans’ glare returns full force, “Buddy, you really should accept my offer to start again, I’m giving you a chance, I could just kill you again, plus I can’t necessarily see if you’re telling the truth, I still can’t read your stats.”

“And it would be futile, I’d just keep coming back. You haven’t even apologised for killing me the first time, and here you are threatening me again.” You step slightly out of Sans’ reach, keeping your arms pressed stiffly by your sides, “If you want to start again you could at least pretend to be sorry, so no we’re not starting again, before when I was telling you that actions have consequences were you even listening? Even if I’m alive now you still killed me, I was innocent.”

Sans slowly lowers his arm, you thought you saw a look of shame cross his face before being replaced with his forced grin and hidden anger.

“Maybe it’s you that needs to prove that they’re trustworthy. I’m not going to harm anyone, now will you let me past?”

Sans steps to the side without removing their gaze from your body, you slowly step forward past him. He made no movement to stop you. Your shoulder brushes against his own, the simple warmth of his body heat, radiated through the thin material of his hoodie. When you’re a few paces ahead of him you turn around to look back at him.

Sans raises his head to meet your gaze, “i’m not sorry, i was entitled to what i did. you could still be the biggest threat that faced the underground since them, for now you can go. just know, i’ll be watching you. and if you ever hurt my brother…well  y o u ‘ l l  h a v e  a  b a d  t i m e.”

His face became absolutely empty of emotion as he gave his parting words, before disappearing before your eyes.

You hadn’t realised that you had been holding your breath, inhaling the clear cool air with relief. When Sans spoke it wasn’t just your heart beating erratically, your very soul seemed to throb and ache with each accusing word, fluttering anxiously in your chest, it was the most sensation you’d felt in your dreams before. The most genuine fear ever provoked, the most coherency and defensiveness.

 In a way it was scary that you could rarely feel as passionate about reality as you could with your dreams.

Chapter Text

After Sans left you continue to tread through the snow, every so often you would glance around, seeking any sign of him hiding in the trees watching you. There was no doubt in your mind that he wouldn’t leave you unsupervised, especially with the level of suspicion he had against you.

It’s not like I don’t understand where he’s coming from, if I’d lived through a kid constantly resetting time, sometimes a friend, sometimes an enemy I’d be wary too. He knows I can manipulate time so I guess I’m more of a threat to him, he seems to think I’ll get bored of being nice and reset like they did, he doesn’t know that I don’t even have the intention of reaching the end.

Even still it was a pretty shitty thing to do; you reach Papyrus’ sentry station, feebly held together with what appeared to be masking tape. I mean he specifically waits until Frisk reaches the end of their journey before judging them, then with me he kills me on sight, even if I was a genocidal maniac he usually waits until everyone’s dead before he acts, what’s up with that? What’s so damn special about me that he can’t wait to kill me? It really is inconvenient that he can’t see my stats.

I guess his original reason for killing me was thinking he could just use my soul to break the barrier, then Frisk would never have another chance to fall…but the way he was speaking earlier, he actually expects me to kill everyone, even if I don’t this time, he thinks I’ll do it in the future…and this is why I never played a genocide run…it just felt wrong. His offer to start again just felt unfair, as if he was trying to absolve himself of the fact he killed me once, he doesn’t seem sorry at all.

You look at a slightly crumpled sheet of white paper with large words printed in black ink.

“YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER... I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)”

Oh God, his hand writing is literally in the font Papyrus, I should have seen that coming.

Looking at this brought a smile to your face, his energetic personality was practically pouring out from the sheet of paper.

Behind the sentry station a Snowdrake appears his feathers looked almost sharp, like thin layers of ice, crafted into the shape of feathers, glistening with a bluish hue. Large purple eyes with pupils only a shade darker watch you beadily.

“Uhh…”

Before you have a chance to elaborate your soul is yanked out of your chest, even though you would have thought that you’d become used to it the sensation was always disconcerting. The lurching sensation was similar to the feeling in your stomach when a rollercoaster descends from a high up place, yet milder.

Since returning to the Underground from the last time your health was at max, much like what occurs in the game, when you reload you have all of your health restored.

“Hi…” You offer cautiously, your mind scrambles for the correct way to spare them. Golden panels flash into existence, unlike with the game after selecting ACT and having only four options your own options were unlimited and not specified, giving you free rein to act how you choose, on the down side you had no prompts for how to act. “So…it’s ice to meet you.”

Snowdrake lets out a disgruntled sound, his wings flutter heavily, fanning out behind him. “That pun was so lame, I’ve heard that one so many times, there’s snow way you could think of better puns than me!”

Small circular disks of ice were suspended in the air, rotating closer and closer to your soul, they moved quite steadily and were easy enough to dodge out of the way of.

You let out a polite laugh in acknowledgement of their joke, it was equally as bad as your own, why is this kid such a brat?

“Macaroni and freeze!” He squawks loudly. This time the disks are part of chains, dipping and swooping around you, trying to gain purchase on your body. You duck out of the way when one swings at your head; having your soul out not only made you more sensitive to temperature and other sensations but you could feel the afterglow of Snowdrake’s magic, a chill radiating from each attack was picked up by your soul when they came into proximity.

Yet again you attempt to laugh, this time even you can hear how feeble it is, nevertheless they found it convincing enough as they beam back at you.

“See Dad! I got laughs, I’m funny!” His voice had an annoying nasally quality to it, as he hopped eagerly from foot to foot. Without another word to you he turned his back and fluttered off, leaving you in front of the sentry station alone. After he was far enough away the force keeping your soul out of your chest was too weak to be in effect and it sunk back in, filling you with momentary warmth.

Well I better get going, Papyrus will be wondering where I am, after all I did spend quite a while talking to Sans after he took off to recalibrate his puzzles.

This time you approach a different sentry station; this one had the emblem of a dog fixed above it to the roof. A thin, anthropomorphic dog with black and white fur was stood squinting out from the opening of the station. His dark eyes seemed to scan the landscape blindly, occasionally fixing on the shapes of birds that fluttered past.

He can only see things that move.

Cautiously you creep to the side of the sentry station belonging to Doggo; you stiffen when his head turns your way, keeping completely still.  You take another step to your left, now so close to his station you could see the movement of his pupils, your foot pressed down hard on a twig.

SNAP!

Uh oh.

“Who’s there? Show yourself! I know something moved!”

You didn’t dare to breathe, holding your breath in you don’t shift from your position, half in a crouch to the left of his station, right under his nose. Suddenly his arm jerks forward; a glowing blade encased in blue light is hurled at you.

It takes everything you have to keep still, your soul hadn’t been pulled out as Doggo hadn’t actually detected your presence, he was merely suspicious.

You shut your eyes as the blade crashes into you, a numb tingling sensation passes through you, the blue magic felt as cold as it looked, leaving a chill running up your spine. You eventually let out a shaky breath; the blade had dissipated after passing through you, a new one formed in Doggo’s hand.

 “Stupid kids, always playing tricks on me.” He grumbles before fixing his gaze elsewhere.

That was close; those blue attacks feel weird, like really solid cold wind that can penetrate skin.

With the speed of one of Napstablook’s snails you crawl behind the sentry station, you can feel the knees on your jeans become damp from prolonged exposure to the snow beneath you, rendering it a sludgy mixture clinging to you.

Finally you make it round the back and edge through the trees before leaving Doggo behind. Now you stand at a crossroad, ice slickened surfaces stretch out before you. The snow was amazingly clear, thick and shiny; you could make out a hazy reflection of yourself in it.

A ragged wooden sign was stuck in the middle of the ice, giving directions that weren’t particularly useful.

You step onto the ice and glide across with ease, moving your feet very slightly so as not to fall backwards. Although you were aware of the snowman in the northerly direction you were worried about making Papyrus wait, if you took too long arriving Sans would most likely hunt you down. After all the only reason you were still alive was because he couldn’t permanently kill you and Papyrus would wonder where you went.

You take a deep breath as you press on forward, coming across a large square of churned up snow, concealing what you knew to be an electrical maze. You look up at Papyrus who waves from the other side cheerfully.

“HUMAN, YOU’VE FINALLY ARRIVED. I THOUGHT THAT PERHAPS YOU WERE LOST OR INTIMIDATED BY MY GREATNESS. BEFORE YOU LIES THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE, TAKE ONE WRONG STEP AND THE WALLS WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP, ATTEMPT TO CROSS IT IF YOU DARE!”

 Papyrus poses dramatically with one hand on his hip, his scarf blows majestically in the wind. By his side stands Sans, he gives you a warning look before reverting to his usual lazy grin.

“hey bro, watt do you think is the probability that they’ll make it through, currently i’m unsure.”

You feel your lips automatically twitch into a smile; you try desperately to fight it, after all you were pissed off with Sans, you didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of making you laugh. You fix a blank look on your face, the very one you had learnt from your father, adopting the aloof, uncaring expression. Unfortunately Sans had been gauging your expression attentively, after seeing your original smile become hidden like a cloud passing over the sun he smirks at you, raising the bone above his sockets.

A look of distaste crosses Papyrus’ face as he spins around to glare at his brother, “SANS, STOP YOUR PUNNING IMMEDIATLEY, THE HUMAN ISN’T IMPRESSED. FRANKLY I’M SHOCKED BY YOUR BEHAVIOUR!” You hear a chocked laugh splutter from Sans as a look of pride crosses his face. Papyrus seems to have noticed his mistake, “YOU…” Pointing accusingly at him, “YOU INFECTED ME WITH YOUR PUNS.”

Papyrus’ reaction was funnier than Sans’ original jokes, you raise your hand to your mouth to muffle your laugh into a cough, Papyrus watches you suspiciously as if trying to tell if you were amused. You notice a smooth blue sphere in his gloved hands; he tosses it around back and forth almost dropping it in the process while watching you eagerly.

So this is the part where I step into the maze and Papyrus gets electrocuted…even if Sans is being a dick Papyrus is too nice…I’d feel bad if he gets electrocuted, even if he isn’t real.

“paps, shouldn’t you toss the orb over to the human, otherwise you’ll get electrocuted.”

Papyrus facepalms, “OF COURSE, YOU ARE CORRECT. I WAS GOING TO DO THAT IN A MOMENT.”

The blue orb is thrown across the maze towards you, instinctively you catch it. The gem like sphere was cool to the touch without any indents on the outside. Realisation hits you, Sans wants me to get electrocuted, Papyrus wont’ be leaving his footprints in the snow so he expects that I’ll get shocked…wow he never did this to Frisk, he must really hate me. Maybe I should have just gone along with what he said and tried to start anew…no he’s still a jerk.

A satisfied smile crosses your face as you take a step forward into the maze, what he doesn’t know is that I’m aware of the solution to this puzzle. Carefully you tread through the snow taking a certain number of steps forward before shuffling to the left and continuing on forward, another step back to the right and straight ahead. When you reach the end you bow with a flourish, containing enough fabulousness to rival Mettaton. Your head rises to look at Sans whose smile became a lot tighter, his gaze calculating.

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, I should have at least pretended to be stuck, Sans looks really suspicious right now.

“GOSH YOU MUST BE A PUZZLE ENTHUSIAST LIKE ME! WE SHOULD BE FRIE…” His words trail off as a frown overtakes his features, he coughs in an unnecessarily loud way, “ANYWAY YOU MAY HAVE COMPLETED THIS PUZZLE BUT DON’T THINK FOR A SECOND THAT YOU HAVE BESTED THE GREAT PAPYRUS YET, NYEH HEH HEH!” He runs off yet again in order to prepare his next puzzle, Sans doesn’t comment, eerily enough as you walk on past his gaze doesn’t falter, he continues to watch you.

Shaking it off you stalk past, to your delight you recognise the stall of the Nice Cream Rabbit, You hear him softly exhale.

“I don’t understand why these treats aren’t selling; it’s the perfect weather for something cold.” His head turns up, noticing you for the first time, a wide delighted smile crosses his face, “Oh, hello. Would you like a Nice Cream, it’s the frozen treat that warms the heart.”

I know exactly who needs their little none-existent heart warming.

“Sure.” You draw out, 15G after checking the price on his board.

“Have a super-duper day!” He calls while giving a jaunty wave.

You consider stowing it in your backpack along with your pie for later before thinking better of it. How does an iced treat even last that long in storage during the game?

You stroll through the snow, kicking random snow puffs in your way, Sans is yet again in front of you. The sight of which makes you instantly scowl.

“you look really pleased to see me pal.” He drawls as he sinks his hands into the pockets of his crumpled back shorts.

You thrust the Nice Cream forward at him, you watch him step back warily as if he believed your actions to be an attack on his person.

“I thought you could use this more than me, it’s supposed to warm the heart…wait you don’t have one.” You snark.

Sans pretends to look offended, “wow kiddo, your words cut me real deep, i feel heart broken.” His phalanges curl around the wrapped treat gingerly as if expecting it to explode. He eventually shrugs and sticks it in his pocket. “thanks buddy but gifts aren’t gonna make me like ya any more.”

You fold your arms over your chest angrily, “You really shouldn’t have a reason to hate me, do you hate all humans equally or do I have a special place in your empty chest where you despise me?”

“i don’t hate you, i just don’t trust you. i’m taking a real risk just keeping ya alive; i guess i’m too lazy to keep fighting you till you give up.”

You roll your eyes, “Sure, I believe that…lazy.” You draw the last word out in disbelief, “What can I do to prove that I don’t have any ill intentions?”

Sans looks straight ahead without turning his head to you, “i guess only time’ll tell.” He sighs, “i’m gonna give you a chance to prove yourself, just like the others, i guess you deserve that much at least. killing you would be the safest thing for this world, like i said i’m not sorry for tryin, it aint my fault that you’re another freak.”

You internally bristle at his words, “I’m not a freak!” Your glare could rival his own dead eyed one; of all people to be insulted by…he only ever called Frisk a freak for repeatedly killing him and RELOADING.

Sans shifts uncomfortably under the weight of your glare, “i suppose that was a bit harsh…i don’t know enough about you yet.” His remorseful tone fades as the lights in his sockets dim, “although…i passed it off before but you know things you shouldn’t…and i’m going to find out why.”

Well shit…I knew I should have been more careful.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You say in a flat voice.

Sans’ grin reappears, “i’m sure you don’t.” They take their Nice Cream out and unwrap it. Sans jaw opens and a thick blue tongue pokes out, glistening and translucent he drags it across his treat.

Internally you fangirl, oh my God…why did I read all of that fanfiction, it’s clearly influenced the way that I see these fictional characters in my dreams…what have I done…the ecto-tongue…why..? Your fangirling ceases when you remember that you’re supposed to be mad at him, I’m not some hapless OC in a fanfic, get a grip on yourself.

You turn away from him and kick the large snowball around; you shove it forward hard and dribble it carefully around corners, giving one final kick when you near the hole. A pole rises up from the hole bearing a red flag; beneath it there lay a message: “Try as you might, you continue to be yourself.”

Ha, I finally got the red flag. I always ended up with purple and light blue when I tried in the game.

You pass by the snowdecahedron, briefly inspecting it then continuing down the path with the additional money you earned from winning the ball game.

Sans and Papyrus stood behind a sheet of paper that was slightly creased and damp around the edges.

Papyrus’ face lights up; at least someone is happy to see me. “HUMAN, ARE YOU READY. IT IS TIME TO GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH THE CUNNING OF MY BROTHER SANS…” He trails off as he looks down at the ground, you can see him grit his teeth together before shooting Sans a withering look, “SANS…WHERE IS THE PUZZLE?”

Sans vaguely gestures at the ground, “right there paps.”

You walk over to it and peel the sheet of paper off of the ground, you had always found the words in the wordsearch interesting, they seemed to give clues to what lay ahead of you: monster, skeleton, mermaid, robot…

It’s a shame that I didn’t think to bring a pen with me, you bring the sheet up to Papyrus and tap each word then point out the position of them amongst the rest of the letters.

“As for the last one, giasfclfebrehber…it isn’t there instead it says giasfclfubrehber, it is actually unsolvable.”

Papyrus glances down at the wordsearch, scanning it himself in confirmation. “SANS, MAKING UNSOLVABLE PUZZLES ISN’T VERY SPORTING. I AM A FAIR MONSTER AND ONLY INDULGE IN THE BEST OF PUZZLES, I CANNOT LET THIS HUMAN BECOME ACCUSTOM TO PUZZLES OF THIS LEVEL.” Papyrus takes hold of your hand and pulls you along with him.

“sorry bro, no wonder i couldn’t solve it, i puzzled for hours over the solution for it.”

You watch Papyrus take a deep breath, visibly attempting to calm himself. He deigned to ignore Sans in favour of retaining his sanity.

You twist your hand in discomfort as you’re dragged along. He stops in front of a plate of spaghetti, the noodles look congealed in the sauce and you’re almost certain that the meatballs are frozen, not glazed. Another thing you’re certain of is the fact that glitter isn’t for human consumption or just consumption in general.

Papyrus gestures towards it proudly, “HERE LIES ONE OF MY GREATEST CREATIONS, WOULD YOU CARE TO SAMPLE SOME?”

How much do I value my life in my dreams?

“Is it vegetarian?” You ask eventually, you had been a vegetarian for most of your life when you were old enough to know of the implications of eating meat meant that animals were killed first. Of course you couldn’t always follow through with your wishes, there was the occasion when your Dad…You shake the memory away vigorously.

“VEGETARIAN…I DO NOT BELIEVE SO, IF YOU WISH THEN I COULD MAKE YOU ANOTHER VERSION OF THE DISH LATER, IF THAT WOULD MAKE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE, I CAN OF COURSE PERFECT ALL VARIATIONS OF SPAGHETTI.” He held a tender smile on his face that made you grin back shyly.

No one else really cared about your preference, or they insisted on you eating the same food as you. Even those that were more tolerant irritated you with incessant questions about why you were a vegetarian…none of them really cared about your answer, just proclaiming that you were weird. It was genuinely touching that Papyrus would offer to cook you something while taking this in to account, ignoring your sense of self-preservation you nod.

“That would be nice…thank you…I don’t wish to inconvenience you.”

“IT IS NO INCONVENIENCE AT ALL, NO FEET IS TOO GREAT FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

He takes off again, is it really necessary for him to run off all the time, I’m sure that he’s probably checked that the puzzles were set multiple times. I could have just walked along with him.

You wander on along to the next area, remembering that a switch needs to be pressed you go to where a group of trees form a triangle shape. Curled up in the snow sat Lesser Dog, he bounds over joyfully. Your soul is ejected from your chest, the intent behind it didn’t feel malicious, just curious.

The familiar gold panels phase into existence in front of you, you stretch your hand out towards the ACT button, the responding buzzing sensation when you brush it accompanies the way it lights up. You stretch your arm out so you can pet Lesser Dogs head, he attempts to pounce at you out of excitement, you smile softly at them as you shuffle out of their way.

“Hey calm down, it’s okay.” You resume petting them, this time they relax and allow you to continue. Their head rises up each time you pet them, ruffling their coarse white fur. Then you realised they weren’t just raising their head to meet each pet, their neck was extending like it did in the game. This is really odd. Even though you knew it was preposterous you continued petting them, the compulsion was too great to deny, absolutely mesmerised by their head so far up in the air, curling back down while bending at a strange angle. You had to resort to stroking a section of their extending neck before it became too much.

Reluctantly you stop and brush your fingers over the word MERCY, that particular word had a much warmer sensation when you touched it. You were curious about what the FIGHT button felt like but you were too unwilling to test it in case you harmed them by accident.

Your soul automatically sinks back into your chest unharmed as Lesser Dog retracts their neck, giving you a friendly lick on the cheek they scurry away.

You stop your foot down hard in the snow, you can feel the ground below you shift slightly and a clicking sound fills the air. You walk around to the other side where the spikes had sunk back into the snow. Although it made you feel uneasy crossing something potentially dangerous you knew Papyrus wouldn’t leave anything around that would seriously damage you.

Next you run into Dogamy and Dogaressa, at the feeling of your soul being removed you stop, drop and roll. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do in the event of a fire…not dogs…oh well.

In between attacks they nuzzled softly at each other’s faces, it was endearing to watch, their large cloaked figures made them appear intimidating, coupled with their axes, even still the way they interacted reduced the fear factor they initially instilled.

Dogaressa steps closer to sniff at you, “Are you actually.”

“A weird puppy?” Dogamy finishes.

You nod and pat each of them on their heads one at a time, their fur had a much softer and well groomed texture to it that Lesser Dog’s fur had. They let out little whimpers when you removed your hands from their heads, having enjoyed the gentle way you petted them.

“Wow weird puppy, you’ve opened up a whole new world to us.” Dogamy states.

“Dogs that pet other dogs, I never would have thought of it.” Dogaressa agrees.

They  nuzzle each other once more before walking away with their paws entwined.

That was surprisingly easy.

Next you make your way through Papyrus’ other puzzles, flipping the switches from ‘X’s to ‘O’s, this seemed to impress him, especially considering how you were able to complete his larger one that had been altered with snow stuck to it. After completing it Sans had been there watching you as always.

“i’m impressed bucko, you solved it in one. almost as if you’d seen it before.”

You shrug it off, “I’m good at puzzles, I used to play games involving puzzles back on the surface.” You weren’t necessarily lying it was true that you did complete puzzles on the surface, you just weren’t specifying that it was this very one via a computer screen.

Sans offered only brief comments in between each puzzle, more interested in watching you progress through them than questioning you at present. Papyrus just took your actions as further proof of you being a puzzle specialist.

You finally reached the colour tile puzzle.

“HERE WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST FACINATING PUZZLES IN EXISTANCE, MADE BY THE WONDERFUL DOCTOR ALPHYS.” This reminded you that Alphys had most likely been watching your journey thus far. “RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!! ORANGE-TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH THEM IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS!! WHICH PIRAHNAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE.”

They take in a deep breath, their voice had begun to taper off towards the end of the long winded explanation. “DO YOU NEED TO HEAR THE EXPLANATION AGAIN?”

Although it would have been funny to make Papyrus go through it again you weren’t sure if you could bear to listen to it being repeated so you just nod.

The switch is flipped and the grey tiles light up, brilliant flashes of different colours light up the way ahead before it settles on a pink path and red edges. When you had first seen this in the game it had kinda disappointed you, you had wanted to solve it fortunately you were able to attempt a larger version of it later on in Hotlands.

Papyrus just stares at it uncomprehendingly, his shoulders twist as he twirls out of the area in small circles…a dramatic exit?

When you reach the next sentry station you notice an array of ice sculptures made by Lesser Dog, all of them had necks of varying lengths. What have I started?

This time you don’t have as much luck with the ice puzzle only the heel of your right foot presses against the ice, as you put pressure onto it your left foot slides forward, causing you to fall backwards.

You brace yourself for the impact, since I fell down here I always seem to be falling over or running into people, you think grudgingly.

To your surprise your falling ceases as you meet something warm and solid, firm arms encircle your waist. You tense in surprise, anxiety rises inside of you, this situation felt way too similar to what happened in the woods. I guess it makes sense; things that happen in reality often influence what you dream of. You feel fear crawl up your spine, looking down you expect to see one of the jerks that had attacked you, somehow ending up in your dream.

You register that the arms wound round you were covered with a thin blue jacket; the hands at the ends, gripping you were made up of bones.

…Sans?

Immediately you jolt out of his hold and spin around, this time you’re more careful on the ice as you pull away, your heart beats quickly as you gaze up at him. His face was unreadable as he just watches you shift away.

You take a moment to calm your breathing, I’m safe here, those jerks can’t reach me, my family can’t touch me, I’m safe… a mantra begins in your head.

Sans eventually looks at your face, “are you alright?”

For a second you almost think he is concerned, “I’m fine.” You snap. “I don’t see why you should care anyway; you’ve made it abundantly clear that I would be better off dead.”

His smile falters, “you really froze up there, i’m surprised that you’re falling for me already.”

Your face fights to remain blank, “Look, I appreciate you catching me but to be honest I’m confused, what do you want from me? One minute you’re trying to kill me, the next you attempt to be friendly and try to forget everything that happened, after that you threaten me, then you joke and analyse me, before being nice again.”

Sans grins, “maybe you’re not supposed to understand what i’m doing, we all have our hidden agendas, aint that so?”

You growl in annoyance, “It would be a lot easier if you just stuck to one behaviour, I don’t know if you’re trying to befriend me in some weird way or gain my trust and kill me again.”

He shakes his head, “nah, i told you that i’d decided to wait, if you turn out to be a good person then i guess you’re safe, but believe me i know that you’re hiding something, whether this is hurtful to us or not i will learn what it is.”

You turn your back on him, why am I so nervous about him learning the truth, that this is all a game, that none of them are real? This is only a dream, I shouldn’t care what they think and feel, even still if I keep having these dreams then the best way to interact with them would be civilly…I can’t tell them, they wouldn’t believe it anyway, there’s no point.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so nosey.”

“i don’t have a nose pal, eye can’t believe you haven’t noticed yet, it’s quite ear-ogant of you to assume i did.”

You sigh in exasperation, just as I thought he was going to be serious.

When you turn back around he had gone, giving his retort then leaving. And here I thought that the way his character was presented in the game made him confusing and secretive.

You manage to make your way through the ice puzzle, sliding from one button to the next. When you go through the cave, which was more of a lump of snow with a hollow centre you snag your sleeve on a branch. The red cloth of your shirt tears and a small strip ends up attached to the branch. You try to tug it off but the material stubbornly clung to the tree, giving up you press on forward, mourning the disrepair of your favourite shirt.

At least it isn’t my real shirt, the one back in the real world will still be fine.

Like with Lesser Dog you play and pet Greater Dog into submission, navigating the numerous snow puffs, he was even more excitable and eager to play than Lesser Dog. After choosing MERCY you arrive at Papyrus’ last puzzle, The Gauntlet Of Deadly Terror.

“THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR! WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ARE YOU READY!? BECAUSE!I!AM!ABOUT! TO DO IT!”

You feel safe in the knowledge that you won’t have to face the flames and blades, it did appear quite intimidating. 

Papyrus pauses uncomfortably, watching your face, your eyes were wide, taking in all of the weaponry with a look of caution.

“well, what’s the hold up?” Sans asks from beside him.

“HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” He waves his arms threateningly over the lever but hesitates again seeing the look of apprehension on your face.

“that, uh, doesn't look very activated.” Sans comments.

Papyrus begins to wring is hands nervously in indecision, “MAYBE THIS PUZZLE ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH, I DON’T THINK IT WOULD PROVE AS GREAT A CHALLENGE AS THE HUAMN DESERVES…”

You feel relief in your chest at his words, you already knew what he was going to say, even still the prospect of making it through the Gauntlet was scary to say the least.

Then Sans spoke up, “actually bro they’ve never done a puzzle like this before, they completed the others so easy, maybe they’d enjoy this one, you should just activate it.”

fuck

Chapter Text

You have got to be kidding me.

You stare up at the weapons suspended above the bridge, spears were positioned in the middle, cannons were poised towards your right. There was one particularly large mace on a chain that was too close to you, the lever hadn’t been pulled yet and you were full of apprehension. Near the exit you could see that there were some swords either side, they would presumable swing down and collide, prohibiting easy exit. The only thing that wasn’t intimidating was the lone Annoying Dog, it appeared to be quite cheerful, tied to a rope and hanging over a bridge stretching across a deep crevasse.

You had a mild fear of heights, even standing as far across the bridge as you were made you uneasy. It’s stupid to feel scared, I can’t really get hurt. The thing you were most nervous of were the blades, you were too familiar with them than normal.

Shakily you raise a hand to unconsciously trace the scar underneath your chin, running down the higher part of your neck, it was usually obscured by your hair. Smooth and always slightly raised, a reminder. You catch Sans watching you from the other side, his sardonic smile faltered slightly as he followed the movement of your hand curiously. You immediately cease the movement of your hand, realising what you were doing, there’s no way he could see it from here.

Your eyes travel down to your left hand that you had sliced in the kitchen, there was no mark on it whatsoever, I suppose when you dream you project what you think your physical appearance looks like, I’ve had that other scar for so long that I think about it as part of my permanent appearance. I wonder if I could manipulate what I look like in dreams or if there is some kind of logic I have to follow in them.

Papyrus keeps glancing up at the gauntlet and back down at Sans; a look of concern was plastered on his face. “ARE YOU SURE SANS…I’M NOT CERTAIN THEY WOULD ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS THE OTHERS…IT’S A BIT TOO ‘DIRECT.’”

Sans shrugs, “they’ve had no problems so far, how could there be a fault in anything you’ve built?”

Papyrus taps his teeth with his gloved hand thoughtfully, “I CONCEDE, YOU ARE INDEED CORRECT SANS. I SUPPOSE THE HUMAN SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT.” He turns to smile at you, “I BELIEVE IN YOU HUMAN, YOU CAN DO IT!”

I’m going to kill Sans, painfully…wait I can’t, I’m trying to do a pacifist run…

Papyrus’ hand hovers over the lever once again, shooting you one last encouraging look before pulling it down. Instantly the cannons are set alight, flames roar from the closest one to you, the mace swings back and forth at 180 degrees,  the spears shoot forwards and retract whilst the other blades swipe down with immense speed.

You take a single miniscule step forwards, the mace misses you by a hair; you jump back further than you had initially stepped forward. The wooden bridge repays this violent movement by swaying dangerously.

Don’t look down, don’t look down…

You look down and instantly regret it, the world around you sways, at least you think it does, it just happens to be your vision blurring. Vertigo hits you hard, why can’t the no pain thing also cover sensations like this?

After stepping back you take a moment to consider all of the gauntlet. Now then, what do all of Papyrus’ puzzles have in common…for one thing there are usually faults with them or they tend to be simplistic. There doesn’t seem to be a particular pattern to the swinging of the weapons or the timing of the cannon balls, as if they are constantly changing, is that on purpose so I can’t time my movements?

Sans watches you from afar with a rapt expression, completely engrossed in your movements. I suppose Sans did this because he knows that I’m aware of things that only he knows, things that have happen in the past…this is something new for both of us. I can’t believe that he’d let me die in front of Papyrus, he would feel so guilty if this killed me.

You breathe heavily attempting to clear your vision; I need to think of this as another puzzle…where is the fault this time? You watch a cannon ball shoot past you, noticing something interesting, they’re angled too high up, when they loop through the air they can’t actually hit anything on the bridge out of risk of damaging it, they just look intimidating when in fact they can’t harm me.

Next you begin to analyse the spears, mace and swords, none of which swung down lower than your waist, they were all aimed at hitting you where your head or shoulders were.

I can use this to my advantage; if I do this correctly then none of them will hit me.

You slowly get down onto your knees, from this level you couldn’t hold onto the rope to steady yourself but at least your legs were shaking less. Keeping your body as flat as you can you stretch your hands out in front of you, gripping a section of the bridge and pulling yourself forward you manage to slither your way across the bridge. Every so often you pause when you feel the bridge rock too much from your movements; it was a relief that the bridge wasn’t too long.

At long last you reach the end; your fingertips brush the soft snow on the other side, a great contrast from the rough texture of the coarse wood. You draw your knees up into your chest as you sit in the snow; taking deep calming breaths …I did it, I actually made it…how did I not realise initially that I could avoid everything by crawling?

You inspect the palms of your hands for splinters, luckily there didn’t seem to be any fragments of wood lodged in your hands.

Unsteadily you stand putting pressure on your legs to propel yourself up; Papyrus dashes forward to take one of your hands, making sure that you are stood upright and steady.

You can see overwhelming pride swim in his sockets, “YOU WERE SO AMAZING HUMAN, I DIDN’T THINK THAT ANYONE COULD ACTUALLY MAKE IT THROUGH. WORRY NOT THIS STILL COUNTS AS A VICTOR FOR I THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

He releases you so he can pose again, the sight makes you giggle slightly, an unfamiliar warm feeling blooms in your chest from his praise, you had been unused to admiration, if you ever achieved anything in real life it was brushed aside. Only the best was expected of you so you could never surprise your parents with your endeavours.

You were reminded of the time when Sophie begged you to draw a picture of a train for her; it was difficult to align the wheels correctly but worth it for the delighted smile on her face, as if you had solved one of the world’s greatest problems.

You smile back at Papyrus, “I shall not be bested by you yet!” Putting on an over exaggerated dramatic voice.

Surprise flashes across his face as his grin turns into a challenging smile, “NYEH? IS THAT SO? WELL YOU HAVE YET TO DEFEAT ME IN COMBAT HUMAN, I SHALL BEST YOU YET!” He strides away in the direction of Snowdin, most likely to guard the route to Waterfall.

Once again leaving you with Sans the fucking skeleton.

You turn to scowl at him, “I thought that you were waiting to ‘evaluate’ what kind of person I was, if you kill me off then I’m not going to feel inclined to be amiable.”

Sans puts on a façade of innocence, raising the bone above his sockets high and widening his sockets, “i don’t know what you mean pal, i just thought you would appreciate a ‘new’ puzzle.” Their sockets dim slightly, “you seemed so confident with the others but for some unexplainable reason you looked stumped by this one…as if you didn’t know how to deal with it…like you weren’t expecting it. were you expecting something else to happen buddy?”

You freeze up before forcefully trying to relax your shoulders, “Of course not, this one just seemed more difficult than the others, it took longer to work out a solution, how could I possibly know what was coming?”

You look up at the swinging dog; Papyrus had disabled the puzzle after you had reached the end of the bridge. “Do you think we should help get the dog down?”

The lights in Sans’ sockets make a strange spinning motion as they rotate in the surrounding darkness, is that his equivalent of rolling his eyes at me?

“it’ll be fine, it has a habit of jus’ appearin and disappearin, it’s no ordinary dog that one.” He pauses, “although you shouldn’t be trying to divert the conversation, i thought we were talking about your inexplicable knowledge of certain events.”

“And I told you that I don’t know what you’re talking about Sans, you’re seeing things that aren’t there, you’re just paranoid.”

He shakes his head, “it aint paranoia if they’re out to get you. you’re going to have to face my brother soon, remember what i told you...” One second he’s right in front of you, staring straight into your soul with empty sockets, the next he’s completely vanished leaving you with an uneasy chill.

So it was all an experiment, in none of Frisk’s runs the gauntlet was activated, by testing me he was seeing if my knowledge is limited to the things that he knows too from previous runs or if I know of all eventualities in general. By now he must be suspicious of me having awareness of Frisk’s runs yet he has never seen me before so there is no way that he can guess who I am, a player amongst many of a game he is oblivious to.

You feel a tinge of amusement; it feels almost as if I am a character in this game, just like the rest of them, such flawless adaptations of their personalities in accordance with the changes I make. I always loved the game so much and now in some way I can feel like I’m a part of it. The only thing I could wish for would be for Sans to stop being such a prick, I’m no way near as bad as Chara yet I’m treated as an equal threat to them, when I think about the game I wonder if this is how Sans would really react to a new human replacing Frisk or if this is some abstract idea from my brain.

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

Meanwhile Sans slouches over his desk, an array of papers were splayed across it bearing numbers. He rests his mandible in his curled up hands while he watches the container in front of him intently.

who the hell is she? why is she here, now of all times and what the fuck happened to frisk? i finally thought that the resets had ended, the kid hadn’t fallen into the underground in at least a decade, i thought they had given up…looks like it was just wishful thinking.

He sighs deeply, what do i do, i’m in the dark here? i have no way of knowing if they gain LOVE or not unless i keep them under constant surveillance, they promised not to hurt anyone…as if that means anything, the kid broke a lot of promises they made. it’s only a matter of time before they become bored, when they fell they triggered another reset, everyone forgot frisk and their last neutral run, brought back to exactly the same point before they fell for the first time. at first i thought it was frisk that came back but i was wrong.

Sans picks up the glass cylinder on his desk, it was filled with a golden liquid casting a warm glow throughout the darkened lab, the lights were dim and the door tightly shut. Within the container resided a single strip of ragged red cloth.

i don’t even know how it was possible for them to replace frisk, they act as if they’ve seen everything before, just like how frisk acted after their first run…but that’s impossible, i’ve never seen them before in my life, they’ve never appeared in any other timeline, how could she possibly know anything? whatever the reason is i don’t like it, what extent of knowledge do they possess? the pacifist and genocide runs? if so then how could they observe it all undetected, whatever they are it’s wrong, their very presence could corrupt this world, i have no idea how the anomaly could impact us.

Sans shakes the cylinder gently, soft bubbles rise to the surface of the cylinder, i’m not even sure what i can learn from part of their clothing, but anything i can find out is useful, it could give me an advantage.

i wonder how much i can piss them off before they crack and show me their true nature, the one they’ve been hiding.

Slowly the piece of fabric changed, the hue of the red became brighter, more vibrant, the liquid in the container was altered to match the colour of the cloth as it began to dissolve, leaving behind a glass container full of luminescent red liquid.

Sans sockets widen, nearly dropping the flask as his phalanges shake, fumbling he quickly grabs at it with his magic, upholding the cylinder of crimson with his own azure light.

how is that possible..?

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

You stop to look at the welcoming banner of Snowdin Town, thin strands of wire bearing fairy lights winked at you. It was still daytime despite the luminous decorations, the entirety of the town was a perpetual Christmas festival, the welcoming atmosphere only put you more at ease.

The first place you stopped at was the shop; you were sorely lacking in healing items and somewhat regretful about giving Sans your Nice Cream, even though you used it as a reason to insult him. All of the buildings nearby were made up of wooden logs, despite the fact that this didn’t seem the best material to endure snow storms, by simply hovering your hand over the door you could feel heat radiating off it. I wonder if there is some kind of charm to stop damage from coming to the buildings, and to stop people from being snowed-in…Sans has contaminated my mind, abort thought process immediately.

You push the door open gently; a soft tinkling sound comes from the wind chime attached to the door, long silver pipes and figures of cakes and other edible items are tied together with pieces of string.

“Welcome traveller!” A chirpy voice calls out from behind the counter. A rabbit monster with soft violet tinted fur smiles down at you kindly. “Is there anything in particular you’re looking for to purchase today?”

You scan her display cabinet, the irresistible scent of cinnamon wafts around the room, tantalisingly teasing at your senses. Mhhm, it reminds me of Toriel’s house, speaking of Toriel I promised her that I would be back in the evening after four hours, I’ll have to head back after I fight Papyrus.

The vendor laughs at your awestruck expression, “It seems you like the smell of my cinnamon bunnies, it’s my own recipe, it can heal up to 22 HP.”

“They smell delicious.” You agree, “Can I buy two of them?”

“That’ll be 50G.”

You hand over the money while she scoops up the delicious pastries with a pair of red tongs and deposits them into small paper bags.

You walk away and give her one last wave, “Thanks.”

“Anytime dear.”

After leaving you glance at the Inn next door, there isn’t much point stopping in there, even if I gain more HP I won’t be able to sleep. Instead you walk up to the bright SAVING point, the warm light caresses your body as you step into it, allowing thoughts of how pleasant and friendly the town is to flood through you, filling you with determination. I’m unlikely to be defeated by Papyrus in any case, at least I’m familiar with that battle as I’ve played it before, I may have watched other Youtubers fight Sans but since I’ve never done it myself I have the least chance winning against him when compared to the other monsters.

You continue on your journey passing by Grillby’s, perhaps it’s best not to go in at the moment, I don’t know if I can stand another run in with Sans even though they’re usually at their stand in Waterfall. Warm amber light shone through the windows, reminiscent of sunlight. A large bear monster waved an enormous paw at you as you passed by the entrance giving a friendly grin. All of the residents here seem really nice, it’s hard to believe that they don’t recognise humans this far from the Capital.

This time you stop in front of the Library, or ‘Librarby’ the brick walls were splattered with colour in certain places, the mismatching bricks had an almost tie-dye effect. You jumped back when a sudden gale of wind knocked some snow off the roof above you; some of it hit you in your face much to your discomfort. You scrub it off while shivering and decide to enter the Librarby where it was marginally warmer.

A green tinged porcupine monster pushes their glasses up their snout at your entry, they blink in surprise but don’t comment, they seemed unused to having new comers here. Three other monsters were sat round the table in the corner; a white lace table cloth was thrown over the table in the centre, they appeared to be arguing over something. One of them fiercely pointed a claw at a piece of paper, too fiercely, as their claw sunk right through it.

“Look what you’ve done now Hazar!”

“Shhh” The other one replied, their hushing was louder than their friend’s shouting.

You decided to ignore them and take a look at the bookshelves; Frisk only took a look at one book from each one of the shelves, I wonder why…you read the titles of the books…wow each shelf is full of the same book that’s why they only read one off of each shelf…they really need new books.

Well I’m pretty familiar with the content of them if they are all the same as the ones Frisk chose in the game, it would be a waste of time to read them.

You turn to the desk with the porcupine monster, “Excuse me, are there any other books here except for the ones on the shelves?”

They tilt their head to the side curiously, “I’m afraid this is all we have here, if you have something specific in mind it can be ordered from the Capital for a charge of 10G.”

You shake your head, “Never mind, I was just curious.” I wonder what books they have in the Capital, the lifts were always broken even though the city that could be seen from Asgore’s castle was huge. Would it be possible to explore it or are the things I dream off limited to the game?

The librarian casts an unamused look at the squabbling group of monsters, aren’t they in charge of writing newspaper articles?

You brace yourself for the unwelcoming cold outside of the door, I guess it’s time to face Papyrus, I told Toriel I wouldn’t explore far so I won’t go to Waterfall today, I should wear her down eventually.

You keep on walking, Sans’ and Papyrus’ house was just down the street from the Librarby, it was certainly one of the most festive buildings in Snowdin, bearing more fairy lights than the rest of the town combined, that’s probably not energy efficient, doesn’t this place run on geothermal energy converted into magic? How is that even distributed down here? The snow coated the roof evenly; it reminded you of the little ginger bread houses you’d seen in shop windows, the snow was like a lavish coating of icing sugar. A light smile tugs at your lips when you notice the pirate flag waving in the breeze merrily.

Hmm, isn’t Sans’ lab around the back of the house? You consider taking a look at it before deciding it would be futile, I don’t have a key anyway, plus I dread to think how Sans would react to me poking around down there.

You edge away from the back of the house, pretending that you’d never contemplated entering. You check the contents of your backpack one last time, fairly comfortable with your healing items, maybe it would have been better to get some kind of defence item…still I have standards, I’m not wearing a bandanna with abs drawn on it, that would be ridiculous.

Reluctantly you start down the path leading to the approaching battleground. The icy gales swirled angrily around you as if trying to convince you to turn back. You raise a hand to your face feeling how cold it was, with the force the snow is hitting me I would have thought it’d make my cheeks sting but it just feels cold and numb. I really need to find a coat around here, or maybe fall asleep wearing one, then it might appear in my dream like the outfit I’m wearing.

The snowstorm made it difficult to see, even still there was no refuting the familiar voice calling out to you, nor the tall shadowy silhouette.

“HUMAN. ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!! I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN... WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR...”

Their voice gradually becomes quieter as they trail off, with a regretful tone of voice they continue, “NO…NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!!! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT'S PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!”

Even though you knew this was coming it didn’t stop the pang in your chest, this sadly had been the closest you’d been to making friends in a long time, to be dismissed by someone in a dream felt like you’d reached a new low in life. Almost as low as that time when you were walking down the street and the old woman in the mobility scooter overtook you and turned around to smirk at you.

The wind ceased, the snow violently whipping around you relaxed and fell at your feet, well that was atmospheric, a bit of pathetic fallacy in a dream never hurt anyone.

Papyrus emerges from the blizzard; even though his heroic pose gives the illusion of confidence his smile isn’t as wide as it was when you solved puzzles together. He raises his left hand to jerk your soul from your chest; the uncomfortable tugging sensation gives way to the emergence of your brilliant red soul, a dazzling contrast to the marginally paler colour scheme around you.

Having your soul so close to your chest you could feel pulses of warmth radiate from it, as if it was aware of your discomfort, the waves of heat briefly washing over you was calming. Okay I can do this, I managed to beat Papyrus in one go in the game, I’m used to dodging and I’ve felt gravity magic from Sans. Papyrus doesn’t want to seriously harm me anyway, if he does defeat me he won’t bring me down to 0 HP so I won’t wake up at least.

“NYEH HEH HEH, READY HUMAN?!” He calls out.

You stand with your legs slightly apart in preparation for dodging attacks; your left knee was bent as you expected you’d be jumping over whatever he threw at you very soon.

“BEHOLD MY BLUE ATTACK!” Papyrus waves his hand and a series of light blue bones come hurtling forward, you suppress your desire to flinch out of the way and stand your ground, it was difficult to hold back your shuddering when what felt like frigid air forced its way through you. Why do blue attacks have to be so cold? I wonder if orange attacks are warm.

The question is to flirt or not to flirt? I kinda want to so I can see his reaction but I’m uncomfortable doing it, how do you even flirt with a skeleton? How did Frisk do it?

You move your hand towards the ACT button indecisively, it lights up under your touch as the panels briefly disappear to allow you to make your move. “Uhh…” You start, “I-I think you’re dead sexy.” Hesitantly you try to wink; you’re trying not to burst out laughter so it looks more like you’re in pain.

Oh my God why, why did I do that? Fuck, fuck, fuck…

Papyrus looks visibly confused; tilting his skull to the side he regards you, raising the bone above his socket on one side.

“A-ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH ME, OR IS THAT A PUN?” His cheek bones take on an orange glow.

Whyyyyyy?

“PERHAPS YOU’D BE BETTER SUITED FOR MY BROTHER, IT DOESN’T SEEM THAT WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON IF YOU ENJOY MAKING PUNS HUMAN.” He smiles at you in a way that seems encouraging.

You let out a spluttering sound, halfway between a cough and a laugh, “I don’t think so Paps.” What the hell have I done? You mentally scream at yourself.

He looks at you in surprise, “A NICKNAME? ISN’T THAT WHAT FRIENDS GIVE EACH OTHER…BUT…I CAN’T…” He looks so forlorn as he makes a twisting motion, the uncomfortable sensation of gravity increasing tugs at your soul, your limbs feel heavier, it’s the closest to fatigue you’ve experienced in a dream. Blue blossoms at the centre of your heart, slowly eating away at the red.

And this is the part where…you force yourself to jump, putting more power into it than usual, narrowly missing the stray bone sliding across the snow towards you; it was harder to make out the bone in the snow as it provided a type of camouflage. Yup, the sneaky bone attack.

Papyrus looked astonished by your quick reaction, “WOWIE HUMAN, YOU SURE DO HAVE GOOD REFLEXES DON’T YOU. YOU’RE BLUE NOW, THAT’S MY ATTACK!”

Do I flirt again or should I just not disgrace myself further, I can’t corrupt the precious cinnamon roll.

“CAN YOU MAKE SPAGHETTI HUMAN?”

“Well…not really, I never learnt to make it unless you count boiling a packet of dried pasta and pouring store bought sauce over it.”

The look of disapproval on Papyrus’ face nearly made your knees crumple before it lit up into something brighter, “NEVER MIND HUMAN, I COULD ALWAYS TEACH YOU LATER. MY BROTHER IS TOO LAZY TO COOK PROPERLY AS WELL, YOU SEEM TO SHARE THE SAME HUMOUR AS HIM, MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO ON A DATE WITH HIM INSTEAD.”

Nope, just nope. Is he completely oblivious to the fact that his brother despises me?

You stretch your hand out towards the MERCY button and spare him; Papyrus just seems uncomfortable by your reluctance to fight back as he continues to hurl bones at you with increasing frequency.

“I CAN ALMOST TASTE MY FUTURE POPULARITY! HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD! PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!”  He keeps stating new reasons to keep fighting, combatting his own growing reluctance.

Bones start to close in on you from either side, causing you to jump even higher to avoid them, each wave is higher than the next. You notice that the edges of the bones look like they’ve been sharpened to increase the damage they inflict. As you jump over one row you didn’t realise that you’d stopped paying attention to what was occurring on your left, you’re smacked in the face by one of the larger bones.

Your footsteps falter as you stumble back, raising a hand to your face you can feel something wet, when you bring it away to inspect it you find your hand glistening with blood. You curiously poke at the injury but there is still no resulting pain from the blow.

Papyrus gives you a worried look after noticing all of the blood on your face; his attacks begin to decrease in speed.

 “UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME AND THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!!!” His overly eager voice sounded strained as he took in your pitiful figure. “MY BROTHER WILL... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH BUT I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS!! EVEN STILL...WILL ANYONE LIKE ME AS SINCERELY AS YOU?”

You look up at him and meet his gaze, “We don’t have to fight Papyrus, I just want to be your friend.”

“IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU WHEN THEY TAKE YOU AWAY, I MIGHT NOT GET TO SEE YOU AGAIN.” His lower jaw moves back and his upper jaw clamps down, it created a similar appearance to when you bit your lip.

“I don’t intend to leave the Underground; I just want to live here in peace. I promise I won’t hurt anyone.” You reply earnestly.

“I-I…JUST GIVE UP ALREADY OR FACE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” When he sees you stubbornly shake your head he sighs, raising both hands up he exclaims, “BEHOLD MY SPECIAL ATTACK!”

A large bone materialised in front of him, only for a familiar mutt to appear, the Annoying Dog. It bounds forward and pounces onto the bone, its teeth lock around the bone aggressively as it attempts to drag it away. You muffle your laughter with your hand as Papyrus glares at it with indignation.

“THAT WAS MY SPECIAL ATTACK YOU STUPID MUTT, BRING IT BACK!” His profuse shouting was to no avail as the dog was only too happy to ignore him, walking off into the distance with one of the largest bones you’d ever seen.

Well at least the dog’s happy I guess.

“SIGH, LOOKS LIKE I’LL HAVE TO USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK INSTEAD.”

Did he seriously just say the word ‘sigh’?

You change your stance awaiting his next attack; all throughout the fight you had pressed the MERCY button whenever the bar of panels flared to life in front of you. It’s kind of interesting how in fights involving the soul you definitely have to take it in turns, unlike with an actual physical fight where each person attacks as much as they please.

This time you choose ITEM, and take out a cinnamon bunny, your HP went from 4/10 up to its maximum amount. Eating it was strange; it had a flavour of course just like its scent, even still it didn’t satisfy hunger in the slightest. I shouldn’t be surprised really; if I can’t feel pain in this dream then the chances of experiencing hunger or thirst would be pretty low, although it’s disappointing I can still appreciate the flavour of it.

Your body moved in frenzy, you knew that if you could feel tired then your legs would have given out a long time ago. The increasing and decreasing frequency of each type of attack nearly threw you off but you were aware of the pattern they followed. You take multiple small jumps over the smaller bones rupturing from the ground while you have to run and stride over the larger ones, the pull of gravity decreasing the normal height you could have reached.

You were beginning to feel proud of yourself for dodging so many when an idea came to mind. While Papyrus was distracted summoning more bones you scooped up a handful of snow, hopefully this goes better than when I tried to hit Sans.

You take aim and lob it at Papyrus, it hits him square in the jaw, his sockets widen in shock as he stops making motions with his hands to summon bones. Slowly he wipes it off of his face while staring at you.

You grin back sheepishly, “You said that you wanted to fight, this is about as far as I go fightwise.”

A challenging light flares in his sockets, “REALLY HUMAN, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BEST THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN A SNOWBALL FIGHT YOU ARE GRAVELY MISTAKEN.”

Much to your amusement he no longer throws bone attacks at you, he stoops down from his great height to scoop up snow in a similar fashion. You’re too busy gaping at his change in behaviour to move out of the way fast enough, a snowball slams into your still floating soul.

It sent shocks of cold throughout your entire being, even still your HP didn’t decrease in the slightest, perhaps it is a change in intent, now he no longer desires to harm to weaken and apprehend me my soul doesn’t react the same way.

The snowball fight progressed with Papyrus cackling out a cheerful, “NYEH HEH HEH!” every so often. In the end he lay down in the snow out of sheer exhaustion, the desire to seriously fight long forgotten.

“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME HUMAN; I AM MERELY…RESTING…” His sockets widen even more when he notices you looming over him in the snow.

You grin wickedly at him, “You never let me use my special attack Papyrus.”

You watch as he grits his teeth together anxiously, “W-WHAT SPECIAL ATTACK?”

You just smirk with increasing satisfaction, “This fight really snowballed out of control, wouldn’t you say?”

A look of horror passes over his face, “YOU WOULDN’T!”

“There’s snow way I’d give up on an opportunity like this.”

“PLEASE HAVE MERCY HUMAN!”

You sigh, pretending to be exasperated, “Very well, I guess I’ll have to use my final attack.”

Papyrus shuts his sockets as a film of bone covers them, wincing in preparation. You crouch down in the snow and hug him. “I’ve captured you now, so you can’t capture me.”

Papyrus’ sockets snap open as he moves his arms to reciprocate the hug, sitting up and making his way to his feet he pulls you up. “I…SEE, IN THAT CASE WHAT IS IT YOU ASK OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS? I HAVE FAILED TO CAPTURE YOU, BEING CAPTURED MYSELF IN THE PROCESS, UNDYNE WILL BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN ME…”

“To be my friend of course.” You feel uneasy, “…Well…that’s if you want to, I won’t force you to be…I just thought…” You trail off.

He beams at you with so much undulated joy, “OF COURSE HUMAN, I AM ONLY TOO HAPPY TO BE YOUR FRIEND…WOWIE WHO KNEW THAT TO MAKE FRIENDS I ONLY HAD TO GIVE THEM PUZZLES, FIGHT THEM AND THROW SNOW AROUND.” He tugs on your hand, “COME ON HUMAN, WHY DON’T YOU COME BACK TO MINE AND SANS’ HOUSE TO CLEAN ALL OF THIS SNOW OFF OF YOU, THEN YOU CAN MAKE FRIENDS WITH SANS, I REALLY DO THINK YOU’D GET ALONG WELL…ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR INSIPID PUNS…” his sockets narrow at this.

“I guess…” If Papyrus noticed a lack of enthusiasm on your part at the prospect of befriending Sans he didn’t mention it.

You feel a sense of relief as the blue fades from your soul and it sinks back to its rightful place in your chest.

Together you make your way through the snow to their house, I really need to get back to Toriel soon, after hanging out here I’ll have to walk back to the Ruins.

Eventually you enter their house. Papyrus looks at your face guiltily much to your confusion.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” You enquire.

He wrings his hands together nervously, “I’M SORRY HUMAN, I DIDN’T MEAN TO HIT YOUR FACE, IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN CLEAN UP IN THE BATHROOM UPSTAIRS.”

Oh…that painful injury I supposedly have. Your fingers brush the dried blood on your cheek, there was no longer an injury underneath as you had been healed up by the cinnamon bunny earlier. Unfortunately this didn’t remove all of the accumulated grime on you.

“Hey, it’s fine, you fought valiantly and I was forced to accept your mercy, considering you’re such a fearsome foe.”

Papyrus’ smile returns, “OF COURSE HUMAN, LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU’RE READY FOR YOUR LESSON.”

“Uh, what lesson?”

The lights in Papyrus’ sockets rotate like Sans’ had earlier, definite equivalent of eye rolling. “I’M TEACHING YOU TO MAKE SPAGHETTI OF COURSE, DON’T TAKE TOO LONG.”

You walk up the stairs, I don’t remember there ever being a bathroom accessible in the game…yet there has to be, Sans mentioned in the game that Papyrus showers in his ‘battle body’.

Sure enough there was indeed a bathroom, across from Sans room, I guess you could only see one side of the hallway in the game.

You enter the bathroom and run the tap, beginning to scrub off the blood encrusting your face. When you were as clean as you possibly could be you left the room, your shirt was still torn from the branches you ended up snagged on earlier and it was also damp from the snow. It’s not like I can catch a cold anyway.

You walk back downstairs finding no sign of Papyrus.

“Papyrus, where are you?”

A voice responds from upstairs behind his locked door, “I’M JUST GETTING CHANGED INTO MY COOL, ‘HANGOUT’ CLOTHES. IF YOU WANT THEN YOU CAN GET THE SPAGHETTI INGREDIENTS OUT FROM THE CUPBOARDS.”

“Okay.” You respond.

It was surprising to see how high the sink was now you were actually stood in front of it, probably best to not open the cupboard under it as the Annoying Dog will come out.

Maybe if I’m cooking with Papyrus I’ll be able to discourage him from adding things to the food like glitter, I don’t want to disappoint him and I know that I can’t be fatally injured but the idea of consuming it is genuinely fear inducing.

You glance around the kitchen for ingredients, what do I even need to make spaghetti, tomatoes I suppose, does he make his own pasta though? You open one of the top cupboards, stretching to reach it. Why is everything so high up here?

After getting the door open you look up at a packet of dried spaghetti, hidden behind a bag of flour. Why am I so short?

You attempt to jump up and grab at the packet of spaghetti, your fingertips only graze it. However the back of your hand knocks down the bag of flour. It falls heavily on the counter coming undone. Clouds of white flour billow out through the air and coat the front of your shirt and your hands.

Brilliant, just as I get clean too…

You’re startled by footsteps behind you, you spin around only to find Sans stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

“hey papyrus have you seen my…” The lights in his sockets snap up to meet yours, taking in your appearance, realising that you were indeed not Papyrus.

To your horror his left socket begins to glow with an azure light, fiery and full of rage it flickers to life. His right socket becomes dead and empty as he glares at you with sheer hatred.

“S-Sans…what’s wrong?” You stutter out.

Then you realise what he’s thinking. He doesn’t know that it’s flour.

“w h a t  d i d  y o u  d o  t o  p a p y r u s ?”

Chapter Text

You stumble back in horror as Sans advances, closer and closer. The flames in his socket only grow with his evident hatred. There was no other exit in the kitchen except the one that Sans was blocking, you were backed so far into the kitchen that your legs hit one of the lower cupboards with a dull thump.

Does he seriously think I killed Papyrus? There’s a fucking bag of flour on the counter, is he blind?!

You raise your hands up in a none-threatening motion, “Hey, calm down. Let’s just talk for a seco-”

A loud growling sound cuts you off, “shut up, i don’t want to hear your excuses. i never should’ve given you a chance; i knew i’d regret it!”

“No really, you want to listen, Papyrus is fine honestly.” You plead, by this point your voice is far from as calm as you’d like it to be, there is a slight shrill edge to it.

Sans tilts his head, his left arm comes out to summon a pair of blasters, these ones were bigger than the first one you had seen before, near the exit of the Ruins. They hover in the air and swivel their skulls back to Sans indecisively. They look reluctant to approach you let alone shoot at you.

“just shoot her damn it, what is wrong with you things!” Sans snarls.

The blasters open their mouths, large jaws unhinging and trembling as a beam of cerulean light is released from each. To your surprise you don’t even have to move out of the way as they slam into the walls either side of you.

Are the blasters even trying to hit me? Why didn’t the one outside of the Ruins attack me back then? Whatever the reason is, it seems to really be pissing Sans off.

With one last loathing look at you Sans dismisses the blasters, “i guess i’ll have to take things into my own hands, huh.” Your soul is violently yanked out of your chest again with a motion from his left hand, the pressure used to remove it seemed unnecessary compared to when Papyrus did it earlier. Yet again like an ink stain, blue floods through the surface of your soul, seeping into the very core of it, making you feel so very heavy.

You can feel your feet leave the ground, nervous tension building up in your stomach as you’re once again thrown into the wall of the kitchen. The impact makes your body jolt as you look down at him fearfully.

Now would be a good time to wake up, I don’t want to die again.

After seeing how futile it seemed to reason with Sans you took a desperate approach, if he cannot be convinced by words, how about actions.

“PAPYRUS!” You yell as loud as you can, at the top of your voice. Sans seems so startled by this that his magical grasp on you momentarily falters, allowing you to slide down the wall into a heap on the floor.

“what do you think you’re doing?”

You register a clattering sound in the distance and footsteps on the stairs. Papyrus bounds into the room obliviously.

“SANS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY KITCHEN? THIS IS WHY I NEVER INVITED YOU TO COOK WITH THE HUMAN AND I!” He has his arms folded crossly, now in the doorway where Sans had been.

You let out a quiet gasp due to the release of pressure as your soul sinks back into your chest, the increased gravity lightening as you shakily stand up. Sans turns around, faster than you’d ever seen him move before, sockets widening as he takes in the image of his brother stood before him, very much alive.

He twists his skull back round to look at you, trembling and holding onto the edge of the counter with your hands covered in flour, he watches as you slowly pick up the bag and fold the top corner. You watch the movement of the lights in his sockets, now tiny white pinpricks as he looks at the flour on the counter and your top putting it together.

Papyrus strides in, “REALLY SANS I SUPPOSE THIS MESS IS YOURS, WHY ARE THERE HOLES IN THE WALLS?” He looks pointedly at the scorched marks that you had been way too close to joining.

The relief on his face was palatable, as he walked towards his brother, “bro, you’re alright.”

Papyrus just gives him a puzzled look, “I AM MORE THAN ‘ALRIGHT’ I AM EXCELLENT, DID YOU REALLY THINK SO LITTLE OF ME THAT I COULD BE BESTED BY ANYONE IN BATTLE?” He shakes his head condescendingly, “I HAVE DECIDED NOT TO TURN THE HUMAN IN, I WAS GETTING CHANGED AS WE WERE ABOUT TO MAKE SOME SPAGHETTI, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH MESS IN HERE?”

Sans was nowhere near as relieved as you, even if being thrown around didn’t hurt it didn’t stop how terrifying facing Sans’ wrath was. You laugh shakily blinking in confusion as everything around you seemed blurry.

“HUMAN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” You can only just make out the look of concern on Papyrus’ face before something warm and wet hits your cheek.

“I-I’m fine Papyrus, I’m s-sorry about the mess, I knocked some flour over. I-I’ll clean it up now, I’m sorry to have bothered you, s-so sorry…” You were mentally bracing yourself for his scorn, whenever you dropped anything at home or made a mess you were punished for it, it didn’t seem like this would be any different.

Papyrus comes over and pats you on the back awkwardly, “THERE’S NO NEED TO CRY HUMAN FRIEND IT WAS ONLY AN ACCIDENT, I CAN QUITE EASILY REPLACE THIS FLOUR.”

Why am I crying over spilling flour, I’m so stupid. I thought I was stronger than this; I’ve been through so much worse before. Maybe I’m just stressed out with Sans constantly attacking me physically and verbally, even still, none of this can hurt me, I’m safe. I won’t let anyone hurt me, I have to be perfect then no one will have a reason to hurt me.

You tug the sleeves of your shirt down and ball your fists, wiping at your watering eyes, the tears stained the red of your shirt a darker crimson. When you look up again Papyrus is stood at your side while Sans was slumped against the wall opposite to you, his usual grin was downturned and strained. You noticed that the lights in his sockets appeared to be dimmer than normal as he watches you. Unconsciously you shift closer into Papyrus who had one hand on your shoulder; being thrown against the wall hadn’t left you with any visible injuries.

“I’m okay Papyrus, I’ll clean the mess up, it was my fault.” You state, forcing your voice to remain calm and even.

“NONSENSE HUMAN, IT WILL BE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT FOR AN EXPERT LIKE MYSELF TO DO IT, WHY DON’T YOU GO AND MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE.” He replies cheerfully, his worried expression faded slightly, convinced by your calm façade.

“I think maybe I should be getting home, Toriel will be worried if I don’t get back soon.” I don’t want to stay here anymore, Sans is way too volatile, if he snaps again over something I do then that’ll be it.

You watch Papyrus’ face fall, “DO YOU NOT WISH TO SAMPLE MY SPAGHETTI?”

You smile back at him, “Of course I do, I’m just really tired after the workout you gave me earlier, anyone would be tired after fighting such a strong person.”

“I-I SUPPOSE YOU ARE CORRECT, VERY WELL WE SHALL COOK TOGETHER ANOTHER DAY.” Papyrus agreed reluctantly.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” You step around Sans nervously, his sockets trained closely on you. Papyrus waves while Sans shifts into an upright position and follows you into the living room. You glance back at him without saying anything and advance towards the door.

“want some company?”

You push the door open and step out, without turning around you reply flatly, “What do you think?” and then swiftly shut it.

That has to be the biggest over reaction I’ve ever seen, does flour even resemble dust?  I’ve never actually seen it besides the pixelated version. Wouldn’t he know that I didn’t kill Papyrus; I thought he was planning on watching me, does that mean he didn’t see us fight? I thought he cared about what happened to his brother, what could have been more important than watching the fight?

You shake your head and trudge through the snow back the way you came; it’s going to be a long walk getting from the Ruins to Snowdin every time I want to visit Papyrus, knowing him all of the puzzles will be recalibrated again every time I try to get through.

The wind was a lot calmer than earlier and snow was no longer falling, as it was later on in the day there were fewer monsters outside. You noticed the lights were becoming dimmer, there’s no sun down here, I wonder who is in charge of maintaining the appearance of what time of day it is. The crunch of snow under foot was audible, you could even hear the few monsters still outside as they gravitated towards their homes. I can’t believe I broke down earlier, Sans probably thinks I’m a wimp, I hope Papyrus isn’t too upset that I left. How did he not correlate the damage in the kitchen with something greater than Sans simply being ‘messy’?

You’d reached the edge of Snowdin, the banner stretched out to your right flapped gently in the breeze. It was then that you noticed that someone was following you; no one lives outside of the main town yet there were footsteps behind you.

I swear to God if that’s Sans again…

“__, wait.”

Nope…just nope…

Determinedly you stride on ahead, purposely ignoring Sans’ attempts to gain your attention. Eventually the footsteps behind you cease. All of your efforts to ignore him turned out to be pointless, once again he is half stood, half lying across his sentry station near the conveniently shaped lamp.

“What do you want Sans, are you here to finish me off?” You snap irritably, why did I even try to flee, I should have just dealt with him back at their house and avoided his weird stalking.

To your surprise he actually flinches at your accusation, the bones around his sockets seemed to be somewhat creased, the lights in his sockets hadn’t brightened from earlier.

He makes a sort of strangled noise before resolutely making eye contact with you, “i wanted to say that i’m sorry.”

You let out a cynical laugh and roll your eyes, “Really? Of all things to be sorry for it was a misunderstanding in the kitchen, you jumping to conclusions. Yet you aren’t apologetic in the slightest for killing me that time nor constantly antagonising and tormenting me, you really need to sort out your priorities.” Your words came out in a rush, becoming more and more heated as you went on.

You watch as he lowers his gaze, his shoulders slumping, “i realise that i was wrong to attack you unprovoked, i should have had the decency to wait without judging you so soon but you have to understand, this isn’t easy for me.”

“Well it isn’t all rainbows and unicorns for me either, you keep persecuting me for things I may do or things I hypothetically could have done. How about you get to know me before you make these decisions?”

Sans slides out from his sentry station and approaches you, automatically you step backwards in response, you see that Sans registers this and slows his pace keeping his hands down whilst assuming a none-threating posture.

“i thought you’d hurt my brother, he means everything to me. i don’t know how i could deal with him gone after so long.” He sighs in frustration, “look there are things i can’t explain, it’s too difficult and you wouldn’t get it, i lost everything after so long of thinking it was finally over. i finally had hope only for it all to be ripped away again, i swore i’d do anything to make sure things go differently this time, no more apathy, to make sure i act before it’s too late…but i wasn’t expecting you…”

“Sorry to be such a disappointment.” You drawl.

His sockets snap back up to you, “i’m tryin to be serious here. i still don’t trust you, i honestly don’t think i can trust anyone but my bro after all the shit i’ve seen, suffice to say i aint gonna take to new comers too well.”

You shove your hands in your jean pockets, the cold became more prominent after standing still in it for too long, “You realise that’s a justification not an apology, you just want to feel better about what you did. Like before you still felt entitled to do it, you only regret that you were wrong about me and that your actions turned out to not be as justified as you thought.”

He shakes his head, “you’re wrong, i do feel bad…well i would if i knew for certain that you don’t have any LOVE, you may not have hurt my brother and i’m grateful for that, but that doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily a good person.”

“Are you even listening to yourself, you keep contradicting the things you’re saying, you can’t say that you could possibly feel bad, you either do or you don’t. Besides there are consequences for your actions.” His eyes darken at these words. “You’re being selfish.”

“i think i’m entitled to be selfish after everything i’ve lost.”

What makes this run so different to anything Frisk’s done; I thought he gave up hope a long time ago. He makes it sound like there hasn’t been a reset in a long time, how is that possible? Why would Frisk suddenly leave and stop resetting? Whatever the reason is it doesn’t matter, I shouldn’t get frustrated at fictional characters for acting the way they’re supposed to even if it is aggravating.

“I guess it doesn’t matter what I say, or even what you say. We’ll each do what we want regardless and deal with the consequences of our actions.” Sans remained silent, that guy really needs to learn what an apology actually is.

After tiring of listening to Sans lamenting how cruel the world is and not so subtly accusing you of things, you proceed to make your way to the door of the Ruins, Sans no longer speaking to or following you.

I need to get home…when did I start thinking of Toriel’s house as home?

You pull on the ebony polished handle of the door; of course it didn’t budge in the slightest. Brilliant, what do I do? Welp the way that Sans got Toriel’s attention was by knocking, perhaps I should try that.

You raise your hand in a fist and knock hard; the sound seemed to reverberate through the door as if it magnified the amplitude of your knock.

“Who’s there?”

Oh great I have to tell a joke.

“Uhh…Canoe.”

“Canoe who?”

“Canoe open the door please, it’s cold outside.”

To your astonishment there was a fairly loud snort from the other side of the door. That was a terrible joke…why? There was a loud creaking sound as the door was slowly edged open.

“Come in my child, I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Can you catch colds in your dreams? I mean if you can dream of dying and ending up in fictional universes I suppose anything is possible.

It seemed that Toriel had also found it cold today, it would account for the floral shawl draped around her shoulders. Cream with springs of lavender.

The instant you entered the house it seemed significantly warmer, she gives you a brief hug before leading you into the comfort of her living room.

“You must be starving, I prepared a meal for us earlier one.” She says softly in a warm tone of voice.

Everything is so much less hectic here in the Ruins, like a little isolated bubble from the insanity outside of it.

A pale green plate is placed in front of you with a heap of fluffy mashed potato and carrots piled on it. You began to eat it curiously, yep; I still don’t feel any hunger, so there is nothing to satisfy, it still has a good flavour but I wish I could appreciate it more. Toriel nods in approval as she sees you clean the entire plate off.

“So…what did you do today while I was in Snowdin?” Most awkward person at making small talk right here.

She just gives you a gentle smile, “It should be I asking how your day was, were you safe out there? No one hurt you did they?”

You spread your arms out, “I don’t have a scratch on me.” Just several bruises on my back from being hurled at a cupboard. You decide not to add that part. “I even made a new friend.”

She looks delighted, “Who is it?”

“Their name’s Papyrus, they said that they want me to return to their house tomorrow so they can cook spaghetti with me. They really like puzzles.”

Toriel taps a claw against her bottom lip thoughtfully, “Hmm, that name sounds familiar…” Realisation hits her as her amber eyes light up, “Oh, that’s the name of my friend’s younger brother, have you met him, we often joke together.”

“His name is Sans.” You grunt, trying half-heartedly to keep the disdain from your voice. It would seem she hadn’t noticed, too excited at the prospect of knowing more about her mysterious friend.

“Well I made them promise to protect you; I can’t always keep my eye on you if you’re away. They seemed like a good person, did they help you?”

“…Sure.” You say without enthusiasm. Why am I protecting that asshole? They should face the wrath of Goatmom.

She looks at you sceptically, “You don’t sound too certain.”

You feel panic rise in you, on second thought he might just become even more mad, I don’t need to give him any more ammunition. “I didn’t see him much, every now and then. I’m sure he was ‘watching over me.’” It would seem that Toriel wasn’t too familiar with sarcasm, seeming pacified by your response.

After eating you wander around the corridor, eventually coming across a picture. Asgore had his arm wrapped around Toriel; two young children were sat in a field of golden flowers, Asriel and Chara. They all beamed at the camera without a care in the world, even Chara looked happy. The scene of so much joy made nostalgia well up inside of you, not longing for your own family but a family you never had. You had no such cheerful memories as the ones hung up on the wall here.

“Ah, I forgot about this one.” Toriel says quietly from behind you. What is it with monsters just materialising behind me, she can’t even teleport like Sans, am I just really unobservant?

“Is that your family?” You ask in a low voice, apprehensive about how she might react.

“Yes…that is my ex-husband…well, we were never officially divorced, it’s more complicated than that…those are our children. The reason I warned you so fervently earlier is because that is Asgore.” She points with an unsteady hand, “I was the queen of the Underground once, before I could no longer take the unbridled rage of our king…my husband. Our children are no longer with us, humans were responsible for their deaths, he longed only for revenge, that is why you must be cautious. I don’t think I could handle another child’s death on my conscience.”

“Have you ever thought of going back…talking to Asgore?”  You felt uncertainty, was it right to delve into the sadness of her past?

She lets out a short, mirthless laugh. “I think of that more often than I should. When two souls call out for one another it is painful to deny.”

You tilt your head in confusion, “What do you mean about your souls calling out to one another?” I don’t think it mentioned anything like this in the game.

Her furred cheeks flush slightly, the pearly white flooded with a tinge of pink, “Ah well, that is a lengthy subject to get into.” She takes a deep breath and sits down in her armchair, gesturing for you to sit across from her; you pull up one of the wooden chairs from the table.

“Everyone has a soulmate, humans and monsters alike. When you meet them it is practically impossible to tell, monsters do not often enter meaningless relationships, they make life long commitments, that isn’t to say that there are exceptions of course…” She folds her paws together neatly in her lap continuing.

She seems to be enjoying this, imparting knowledge; she always was interested in being a teacher.

“For humans the soul is a remote concept, many don’t even believe in the existence of a soul for starters, if a pair of soulmates actually find each other it’d be a miracle. Anyway, during a relationship if the monsters are close then they will see if their souls are compatible by removing them.”

“Wait they fight each other?” You interrupt confusedly.

She giggles, “That isn’t the only purpose for removing the soul, by pressing them together you can see if they resonate at the same frequency, if they are made for each other. As the chance of finding your soulmate is so low couples often don’t attempt this, it could cause irreparable damage if not performed correctly, you only have one soulmate out there so the procedure wouldn’t work for anyone you tried bonding with. The desire has to be mutual on each side.”

“That’s really sad; you might not even meet them. You could go your entire life without them, what’s the point of having one in the first place?”

The look on Toriel’s face isn’t patronizing, it’s understanding and patient. “It is the way we are designed, each soul is half of a whole…and Asgore was my other half…we bonded our souls together. Didn’t you wonder why there are much fewer monsters than humans, children are only born from the shared magic of soulmates, pairings are not as rare as you’d think, it is as if destiny places the person in your path. Even still a monster can only reproduce with their designated mate.”

You shake your head stubbornly, “I don’t believe in fate, it cheapens the choices we make as if we aren’t in control. I wouldn’t want to meet someone because I was destined to; it would be choice, free will not design.”

“I understand,” She replied, “But think of it from our perspective; if it weren’t for fate then the chance of running across your mate would be a lot smaller. It is as if the two souls purposely repel each other at first to protect the owners, shielding themselves as best as they can…almost as if they each have to earn the right to know each other. That’s what made it so hard to leave Asgore, once bonded the souls cannot become untwined, an indelible imprint left on one another. Yet I have to remain strong, I will do the best I can to thwart his will.”

“That makes you strong Toriel; you have no reason to succumb to fate, just because others would say it is so. There is no reason to rely on someone that much, to become dependent.”

You catch a flash of worry on her face, “Even if I regret what happened, and I do not in any way condone his actions, part of me will always love him. Just because my bonding didn’t go well it doesn’t mean all are bad, many bring incredible joy. You shouldn’t give up on love, you are young. Even if finding a soulmate is even rarer for a human you can still find happiness.”

As if there could ever be a person out there designed to be my other half, they’d have to be pretty messed up. Love is used to manipulate, I’ve already learnt this lesson. Your mind flashes back to Jeremy. Besides it has only hurt Toriel even more, if she never bonded in the first place with Asgore it would hurt less.

“I think that is enough teaching for one day,” She ruffles your hair ruefully, “Even if it was an unofficial lesson. You should go and play before bedtime.”

“Okay, I’m going to wander around the house for a bit. I didn’t really familiarise myself with it earlier.”

She nods and picks up a book from the shelf, returning to her chair, “I’ll be here if you need me.”

You decide to go back down to the basement, why are the corridors so long down here? They were as dimly lit as you remembered. It seemed that Toriel had cleaned up down here since last time, the air felt less musty.

You felt slightly nervous down here, without Toriel around there was a chance that you could run into Flowey again.

At long last you are stood behind the door leading back into the snow, well I’ve done enough exploring for one day, I’m certainly not going back outside. You decide to sit down beside the door leaning your head against it, today has been manic, all of those puzzles and attempts on my life from the Royal Guard. I’ll have to deal with Sans and Papyrus soon, maybe next time I can visit Waterfall briefly as long as I don’t let Toriel know.

Your thought were interrupted by a soft knocking on the other side of the door. For a second you were confused before you realised who it was. Hell no, I thought I was finally rid of him. Do I reply or should I pretend to not be here?

After a moment of silence you respond.

“Who’s there?”

It seemed that Sans was equally surprised as it takes him a while to reply, it would appear that he recognised your voice, it was distinctly different from Toriel’s after all. At first you thought he left, then you register the deepness of his voice, much gentler than earlier when he spoke to you.

“ya.”

“Erm…ya…who?”

“i’m excited to hear your voice too.”

“I doubt it,” you mumble, “I’m not the person you were expecting.

There was another moment of silence, this time you open your mouth first, “Knock knock.”

“who’s there?” Sans sounded almost shocked that you’d replied.

“Atch.”

“atch who?”

“You sound like you’re getting a cold out there buddy.” You feel a strange surge of warmth flood through you when you hear him laugh. Why are you so happy, he’s a jerk that want’s us dead. It shouldn’t matter if I made them happy.

“iowa.”

I don’t think I’ve hear this one before, I’m only answering because I’m curious. “Iowa who?”

“iowa real apology to you.”

You’re silent for a second, “Yep.”

“i’d rather speak face to face, but you aint opening this door are ya?”

“Nope.” You pop the ‘p’ sound.

“well…i’ll see you tomarrow.”

“You’re still a dick.”

“i’m aware…”

A strange sensation overcomes you, for the first time a wave of fatigue hits you, if you had been standing it would have immediately brought you to your knees. You can hear a faint voice calling your name. The darkness of the lower bowls of the Ruins feels as if it is closing in on you, everything slowly merging into shadows.

You didn’t notice that your eyes were shut until you feel your shoulders being shook.

“Sis wake up!”

I’m getting a disturbing sense of déjà vu right now.

Your eyes flutter open as you register your younger sister Sophie practically leaning on you with her long blond hair billowing out over your face like seaweed. You spit a strand out of your mouth irritably as it tickles your cheeks.

“You’re finally awake,” She squeals, “The nurses told me that you were having a nap but you’ve been sleeping for half of the day, it’s time to go home.”

“I thought I was staying overnight.” You say in a puzzled voice.

She leaps up jubilantly, “Nah, they said something about not being able to spare the beds, now you can’t get out of reading me a story!”

You look over at the clock on the wall, half past four. Something occurs to you. “Sophie how did you get here, did Mom bring you?” You very much doubted that she had after you had her kicked out.

A guilty look crosses Sophie’s face as she gnaws on her lip, you watch as she picks at her finger nails anxiously. “Mom said that I couldn’t visit but I thought you might be lonely, but it’s okay you can come home now so you don’t have to be sad. The nurses didn’t want to let me in because Mom and Dad aren’t here but I snuck past them.” She appears to be proud of this fact, puffing her chest out slightly.

Dread twists in your gut, they’re not going to be happy about this. My twelve year old sister sneaking out to visit me, no doubt it will be ‘my fault.’

You check out of the hospital and leave with Sophie, swinging her tiny hand in your own as she skips down the street, half walking along, half dragging you. The bump on your head had significantly gone down and ached a lot less, this didn’t reduce the anger you held towards the group of guys that assaulted you, what was I expecting? For Mom to actually care that I was hurt?

“Sis can I have an ice cream?” Sophie begs, pushing out her bottom lip into a pout.

“Sorry Soph, I don’t have any money on me right now, I promise I’ll buy you one next time.”

She looks resigned but takes your hand again, “You’ll still tell me a story right?”

“Always.”

With great reluctance you unlock the door into your house, almost immediately your mother descends upon you both.

Her mascara was smudged and you noticed a bottle of wine was open on the side. Your mother rushes to Sophie and hugs her.

“I was so worried about you, what were you thinking leaving the house unsupervised, someone could have hurt you.”

Sophie looks up with watery blue eyes, “I’m sorry Mom, I was just worried about __, I didn’t want her to be all alone in the hospital, hospitals are scary.”

She pats her head, “It’s not your fault dear, do you mind going to your room, I need to talk to your ‘sister.’ She stresses the word scornfully.

Sophie looks at you uncertainly with worry, she wasn’t as oblivious as you wished she was to your parent’s issues with you. She finally leaves the room after lingering for a while.

You didn’t even see it coming, a blur then a sharp pain across your face, “You stupid bitch, Sophie was in danger and it was your fault. If you hadn’t encouraged her to leave the house then she wouldn’t have put her life at risk.”

You swallow heavily, “I didn’t tell her to come, I don’t have my phone on me, I was also unconscious when she arrived.”

Your explanation didn’t solve anything in the slightest, if anything it would seem to have enraged her more, “I don’t want you getting close to Sophie, you’re a bad influence, the less time you spend with her the better.”

I can’t do that, Sophie doesn’t have that many friends, I can’t leave her on her own. I love her.

“B-But Mom..” She cuts you off harshly.

“But nothing, I haven’t forgotten what you did earlier, throwing me out of the hospital like trash. I will be telling your father about this without a doubt.” You internally cringe, anything involving him would automatically become ten times worse. “Just get out of my sight, I can’t be bothered dealing with you.”

Taking this dismissal eagerly you leave, you consider checking on Sophie but you really didn’t want to make your situation even worse if you were caught. You enter the blissful haven of your room instead, clean and fresh without the scent of cigarettes or alcohol permeating the air like downstairs.

After completing your homework you decided to go on your computer. For some reason you felt compelled to write about the weird dreams you were having on Tumblr, you followed a lot of Undertale related pages and often saw similar content anyway.

You began describing how vivid the dreams were and how they bizarrely continued from one another. People commented underneath, a couple seemed jealous of this, complaining how they seldom remembered their own dreams. There was one who said that you were making it up and having that many dreams following on from one another was ‘impossible.’ None of the messages were as perplexing as the person who privately messaged you.

KrimsonKitsune: Really, you’re serious about this. They are definitely consecutive and that detailed.

You weren’t sure about answering them, they seemed oddly demanding as if it were important.

DeterminedOne172: Yes, I’ve had three so far that continued from one another. Crazy right? Dreaming of a game, I must be pretty obsessed huh?

KrimsonKitsune: Let me know if they continue on from that, if you keep having them.

DeterminedOne172: Why? It’s not exactly important is it?

KrimsonKitsune: Well, if you’re not joking about this happening I really want you to keep me updated.

You were beginning to feel unnerved by their insistence, it didn’t feel like idle curiosity, as if they were looking for some kind of specific information, they were a complete stranger, you had never even conversed with them before. In the end you made the decision not to post about any more of these dreams, even if this stranger didn’t know you they made you feel a bit uneasy.

You hunch over your desk at a loss for what to do. Without really thinking you hit the icon of the red heart on your desktop screen. Undertale is launched. Well even if I really want to play it again I’m not going to reset, it feels wrong to do it.

Flowey appears on the screen and begins to guilt you into leaving the game alone. I know that resetting the game doesn’t really affect anyone, not even my dreams, after all you have to factor in the number of people that play it. I still can’t make myself press the reset button though.

You sit there with the menu screen up, soft music emitting from your speakers as you zone out.

You door is suddenly thrown open quite violently. It was your father.

Today he was wearing a navy blue suit, his dark hair slicked back and immaculate. He regards you flatly with his empty eyes, void of emotion.

“__, I am most disappointed in your recent behaviour. You realise that we have standards, we expect a lot more than that which you have displayed thus far.

You sit in your chair motionless trying to breathe evenly.

“Leading your sister astray in addition to your questionable behaviour is utterly irresponsible. I have dealt with those who harmed you, you have no reason to hold a grudge against them.”

You notice that your father was distracted by the screen behind you, you watch his eyes travel towards the monitor, taking in the images of the game. It was alarming to see how his usually emotionless eyes widened.

You can see a vein furiously pulsing prominently at his temple, a reddish flush overtaking his cheeks.

I’ve never seen him so distressed, is he angry? I don’t understand.

His expression twists into something hateful, which was particularly alarming, every time he stated his disapproval with you in the past he had never become so  angered.

“__.”He finally says in a tense voice with layers of false calm overlapping it, “You will delete that game immediately, understand. I never what to see you play that ever again. You’re free to play anything but it. If I catch you playing it ever again you will be punished.” You could notice a faint tremor in his voice.

“Yes, I understand.” Your voice sounded dry and scratchy.

He turns on his heel and leaves.

I thought he was going to punish me for what I said to Mom earlier and what Sophie did. He must really be distracted to pass up an opportunity to reprimand me.

The way he was treating the game…he seemed to recognise it. That doesn’t make any sense, I’ve never known him to do anything recreational aside from drinking, he’s always at meetings. There isn’t anything particularly graphic or violent about the game Undertale. I don’t understand, what does he have against it? If I didn’t know any better I would say he looked scared.

Chapter Text

After your father left the room, with great reluctance you deleted your favourite game. That was the strangest reaction I’ve ever seen from him in my life, I wish I understood what it meant. Has he played Undertale? If not how does he know of it? I am almost certain that he is more than just familiar with it if it provoked such a reaction. I can’t think of any kind of unsuitable content, plus Father said that I’m free to play any other game, that includes games of a much more explicit content. The question is what is so different about the game? Maybe I’m over thinking things…

You glance over at the clock on your bedside cabinet; it’s getting on for seven o’ clock, Sophie will be wanting a bedtime story soon…I’m not sure whether it is advisable…I did promise her that I would but I don’t want to see how Mom and Dad would react, so far I’ve escaped with only verbal reprimanding, I’d like to keep it that way.

In the end you decide to risk it, you would feel too guilty if you broke a promise to your sister, at least someone in my family actually wants me around. As Sophie’s room was on the same floor as your own you could enter it quietly, you could make out the murmur of voices downstairs from your parents, they appeared to be arguing again.

Sophie leapt up from her bed immediately at your arrival; she wraps her slender arms around you as she eagerly drags you over to her bed. Whenever you entered the room your senses were bombarded with the colour pink, it was literally everywhere, much like your own room was virtually all white. There was a distinctly sweet aroma in her room, lingering around her belongings as well as her person.

“Sis, will you read this one to me?” She holds out a rather tattered book with a leather bound cover, you were somewhat perplexed, it didn’t look like the type of book a twelve year old would have in their possession. The leather was a dull reddish colour and the pages were faded and yellow bearing pictures in brown ink. Curiously you examine it running your fingers over the worn edges.

“Where did you find this book Sophie?”

She shrugs in an attempt of nonchalance, however you could notice a look of uneasiness on her face, she always had a habit of picking her nails when she was uncomfortable.

“Please don’t tell me you took it from Dad.” You begged sounding a little too desperate.

They nibble on their bottom lip, “Well I didn’t steal it, Dad left me in his office one time and I was bored so I started looking at his bookshelf, it seemed interesting so I went back for it later.”

You give a long suffering sigh, so my ex-boyfriend can’t steal from my father’s office undetected but my younger sister can, brilliant. You look at it briefly, it seemed to be in such a state of disrepair, it didn’t even look like a child’s book apart from catching glimpses of words like ‘magic’ and ‘monsters’ it was honestly surprising that Sophie was that enamoured by it to begin with. It seemed like an old fashioned fairy tale.

“I really think you should return this whenever you can, you don’t want Dad to catch you taking things from his office.” They nod solemnly.

Why does Dad have a book of children stories in his office? He’s always read biographies and newspapers whenever I’ve seen him around.

You decide to smuggle the book into your room, what does it matter if I’m caught, I’m always in trouble anyway; there’s no reason for Sophie to have to go through it as well. With enough convincing your sister relented and allowed you to read something different to her, selecting The Wizard of Oz, it was a story you had read to her multiple times in the past, this didn’t stop the fact it was a favourite of hers and she would willingly read it at any opportunity.

Of course luck was seldom in your favour, when you left Sophie’s room your Father was waiting for you on the landing.

“Did I not tell you to stay away from Sophie; I don’t want you contaminating her.” He spoke flatly without a trace of anger in his voice, his face as expressionless as ever. There was no sign of his earlier distress present as if the incident had never occurred.

You bow your head and remain silent, after all it didn’t seem that you would be able to give a convincing excuse, he had quite clearly seen you leave after forbidding that very action. It wasn’t like he’d care about promises and dedication to loved ones.

He seemed to be appraising you, looking for any sign of resistance or defiance; you catch the slight curl of his lip, as if he had a modicum of pride at your deference.

“I want you to follow me to my workshop, its time you received a new lesson, you have humiliated your mother, put your sister at risk as well as disobeying orders and being carless with your property.”

These very words sent shivers down your spine, painful anxiety curling in your stomach and pressure on your chest. You let out an inaudible sigh, quietly walking behind him as he led you downstairs. The cellar had been converted into a workshop for him some time ago, at the time it had confused you slightly, your Father had never shown any inclination towards building anything, he seemed more focused on destroying. Any of the projects he worked on down there remained unseen; you had never been permitted to enter the room before, even your Mother daren’t step foot in it.

You had begun to wonder if the place had anything to do with your Father’s dealings, as he was often seen with unsavoury characters in pubs. Phone calls and shredded forms that you had caught tiny glimpses of further indicated the suspicion you had; he was importing and trading things. One time you had found him buying an assortment of guns and knives, this itself was eerie, as far as you were aware he had no use for them. It wasn’t like you could do anything about it, the very town you lived in was founded by your own family, they had the most power and influence, anything incriminating brought up could easily be discarded.

The workshop had the lights off; strangely it was lit by oil lamp, something that you rarely saw nowadays. There seemed to be no plausible reason to be using them when there were much more efficient light sources.

The door shut with a loud click behind you.

Your Father stood with his back to you, arms clasped behind his back whilst gazing down at his desk. The machinery littering the room cast odd shadows on the walls, you hadn’t a clue what any of them did, they looked completely unfamiliar.

“You know.” He began softly, “There is a lot that can be learnt from your tools.” He gestures towards the saw lying on his desk. “If a tool is blunt it is crude, inefficient. It must be honed to the best it can be in order to complete its assigned job, its given function.”

You swallow loudly, edging closer to his desk, albeit reluctantly. He finally turns around, his head tilted to one side as he analyses you. “If your tool is blunt then it is useless, it has no purpose.” He grasps your right arm, fingers locked tightly around your wrist; with surprising gentleness he runs a finger up and down your arm. “That isn’t to say that it is irreversible, the tool needs more thorough shaping.”

You could feel your heart hammering in your chest violently, each time he ran his finger across your arm you flinched in his grasp. He pulls you towards the belt sander in the corner of the room, a machine with a strip of red/brown material. He switched the machine on at the wall; the material moved in a loop, it was a belt sander, used to wear down the edges of things. The moving surface looked rough and spun rather quickly.

“In some cases tools are too sharp, untrained, not broken into shape.” He pauses after each word as if giving it time for them to sink in. “But their owner can easily remedy this.”

He jerks your hand forward and presses the back of it against the sand belt; you try to pull against him, panic rising in you more and more. It felt like toughened sandpaper, the surface like poorly ground glass scrapping against you relentlessly.

You bite down on your lip hard, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing you in pain. It was excruciating feeling the top layer of your skin being eroded away. Your hand couldn’t have been there for longer than a few seconds yet it felt like an eternity. When you let out the smallest whimper he pulls your hand away.

Blood trickled down, seeping into the cuff of your shirt, what was left was exposed and red, raw and angry looking. You felt more ashamed for the fact that your immediate reaction was distress at how ugly and horrifying it looked rather than the pain it left you with.

Why didn’t I fight back? If I tried he wouldn’t have been able to pull me towards it…I just froze up. I’m such a coward, willing to bend to his every whim.

Your eyes watered furiously, the shadows of the room were distorted around you. Your Father just stood back and watched you with a passive expression. A shrill ringing sound signifies his mobile ringing; with a slight crease of his brow he withdraws his phone from his pocket.

“Wait here, don’t touch anything.”

He leaves the room, stood just outside of the door; you can hear his voice faintly. You allow the tears to trickle down your face no longer observed, it hurts so much, do I really deserve this?

You pull your sleeve down and wind it around the wound, a large circular section worn into the back of your hand, blending the paler tone of your flesh with garish red stood out prominently. You reflexively clench your fist due to the pain, even though it pulled on your muscles and encouraged more blood to flow. In all honestly the wound wasn’t particularly deep, you knew it would scar but your Father was a careful person, it would heal up without any hospital treatment.

Waiting in the darkened workshop was difficult, awaiting his return whilst doing nothing what so ever. You couldn’t help that your hands gravitated towards his desk drawer; you wanted to sate your curiosity. You found it was locked, the key was only a few centimetres away so you unlocked it, casting anxious glances behind you, listening out for a lull in conversation behind you.

It took effort to twist the key, the lock was stiff and resisting the force you were applying, it didn’t help that you had to use your left hand either. Eventually you managed to open it, inside there was a knife.

The blade was short and seemingly made of copper; you held it in the palm of your left hand. Why does it feel warm, it’s just made of metal? It can’t have been picked up recently so it’s not body heat. It left a strange tingling sensation on your skin, fuzzy and warm like a build-up of static. It kind of reminds me of the sensation of touching a SAVE point or making contact with one of the four option panels in battle.

Suddenly the edge of it begins to glow; you grasp the handle aware that the heat was intensifying. The blade became coated in flames; you almost dropped it in shock, slowly cutting through the air the flame wavered.

That’s amazing; I can’t see any kind of circuit there’s no panel to unscrew anywhere. I wonder if there is an internal circuit in the handle. Why did Dad had this in his drawer, a knife that literally becomes a flaming blade.

All while you were touching it you could feel the odd thrum of static in it as if it were reacting to your touch. After examining it you decide to put it away, fearful that your Dad would catch you. When you were putting it away you noticed there was another knife in there, a standard kitchen one.

In fact it was the very knife you cut yourself on the other night when you were washing the dishes in the kitchen. More disturbingly still was the presence of blood on the blade.

You immediately shut the drawer and replace the key back onto the centre of the desk. Why the hell would he have that in his drawer, that is disgusting and pretty unnerving. What good is an old knife encrusted in my blood?

You weren’t even sure if you wanted to know the answers to these questions, the sooner you could leave the workshop the better. I’m really hoping this is one of those situations where I’m blowing everything out of proportion and there is a perfectly logical explanation for all of this.

Part of you was longing for the security of your dream world, even if it could be violent at times there was no pain, you were in control.

Very quietly you walk up to the door, your Father was still on the phone, he had been on it for a surprisingly long time.

“…No I tested a sample recently they are not ready yet.” His voice wasn’t as muffled when you were this close to the door, you wished you could hear the other side of the conversation. “I know you are impatient but we can’t rush things, I can continue with the pretences but I don’t believe that she will ever be as strong as they were….it isn’t my fault that they got away, we’ve been honing this for years…fine I will try to speed the process up…keep looking for them…”

Even though you were insanely curious about his conversation you knew that he would be done soon, things wouldn’t go over well if he caught you with your ear glued to the door. You were so absorbed with the content of their conversation that you had begun to ignore the throbbing pain in your hand.

What is he talking about? It sounds like they lost something…or someone and tried to replace them. What exactly is he waiting for, someone not being ready…this definitely sounds unrelated to any of his duties as mayor. Not to mention his weird knife and the machines down here, there is so much I don’t know about him, how much does Mom even know about all of this?

At long last the conversation ends, your Father reinters the room, surveying it critically. He seems satisfied that nothing is out of place and sends you off back to your room.

You begin the painful process of cleaning the wound on your hand, cringing whenever you had to make direct contact with it. Fortunately the cut on your left hand had mainly healed so you had one functioning hand, at the very least it was only the back of your hand damaged, you could still grip things easily enough.

You’re exhausted when you crawl into your bed, changing into actual pyjamas instead of collapsing in your clothes. Not only had you had your head bashed against a tree but you had incited your Dad’s rage all in one day. You were feeling pretty drained, it didn’t take long before you fell asleep.

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All around you was darkness, submerged completely in shadows. The complete absence of light or sound put you on edge. Even still you maintained the same level of coherency you had in your other recent dreams, fully recalling them.

Another lucid dream…well I guess I can’t be lucky four times in a row…have my dreams of Undertale finished…there was so much more I could have done, I shouldn’t have wasted all of that time.

You walk forward, despite how futile it seems, there didn’t appear to be any destination, just endless darkness. Where am I?

“You’re not anywhere.” A voice responds behind you.

Immediately you freeze, but I didn’t say that out loud did I?

“You are quite correct, you said it in your head.”

Okaaay…that’s pretty creepy.

“So offensive.” They scoff.

You turn around. Behind you stands a small child, mahogany hair fell messily around their face, with long bangs draping across their forehead. They didn’t obscure the vivid red eyes though, looking at you with such a calculated expression, those eyes didn’t belong to a child, they seemed too old. An overlarge jumper distorted their figure, lime green with a bright yellow band.

You could feel your breath catch, fear itching away at you, urging you to leave.

Oh God it’s Chara the demon brat, what the fuck are they doing here, I didn’t kill anyone, shit, shit…

An amused smile crosses their face, “I’m glad to see that you think so highly of me, I must say you are quite intriguing yourself, a welcome distraction from how mundane everything has become.”

This time you speak aloud, even if it made no difference, “Why am I here? Did you do this?”

They shake their head patronizingly, “So naïve and confused…how precious.” You wait for them to continue, “I am unable to interact with you directly…for the moment, you are here because you brought yourself here.”

“I don’t see why I would want to be here, not the most pleasant of places.”

They shrug, “I guess you’re lost then, this is the Inbetween.”

You frown, I should just keep them distracted for now. They certainly registered that thought if the increase in their smile was anything to go by. “In between what, dreaming and waking?”

“Not quite, in between a multitude of places would be a more accurate way of putting it.”

“Places? But I’m just dreaming right, this is another dream isn’t it?” You ask confusedly.

They let out a chilling laugh, high and merry like a child but with a cold edge lacking mirth. “Silly little human, a dream isn’t a destination it is more a method of transport if you will.”

“That doesn’t make sense, a dream is scenery and a place even if it isn’t physical, how can a dream make you travel?”

They roll their eyes at you, “Well if you don’t know I don’t have the patience to explain it to you, I’ve never been a very patient person after all. I suppose we have that in common, we’re both determined.”

You cross your arms around you, more out of a protective reflex than irritation, “Fine it’s not ,like it matters you’re not real anyway.”

“Keep telling yourself that if it helps…it’s funny really they tried so hard to prevent all of this happening again, even though they were the one to lead you here in the first place.”

You shake your head, “Can you not be so cryptic, there isn’t any point making these vague statements. Who tried to prevent what? I thought you said I brought myself here.”

Chara walks towards you, “You’re questions are becoming irksome, I think it’s time you woke up.” they pause and pull a knife out of the waist band of their trousers, long and sliver with a red sheen to it. They dart forward, the darkness made it hard to judge distance, you couldn’t move far enough away from them before they plunge their knife into your chest.

“I’ll be seeing you around partner.”

You feel the force of the knife hitting you, blood seeping out onto your pyjamas, staining them. Chara flickers in front of you before you’re swallowed by the darkness.

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You wake up gasping for breath, heart racing and beads of sweat dripping from your forehead.

I really hope I never have a dream like that again, I always thought that the game Undertale broke the fourth wall, Chara seemed conscious that I was dreaming unlike the others. They acted like they had knowledge that I don’t possess. This is all ridiculous, for a moment I almost felt convinced that they were real but that’s impossible, I must just have a really vivid imagination.

You weren’t able to fall back asleep after that, unwilling to return to that place, the ‘Inbetween.’ What did they mean about it being inbetween multiple places, it was just another dream, something else created  by my mind, right?

Giving up on sleep you pad across the room to you bookshelf, on the bottom shelf you remove four books on the right, behind them they concealed the book you had confiscated from Sophie earlier. How am I going to sneak this back into Dad’s office without being caught, it’s always locked?

You switch on your side lamp, I might as well read or something if I’m not going to get back to sleep. You flip the book open and begin to read it.

‘Long ago two races ruled over the Earth, humans and monsters. They used to co-exist in peace, that was before a member of human royalty was allegedly killed by a monster. This was seen as an act against all of humanity. As thus war was declared, the monsters plead innocent to the claims stating they had no part in the princesses’ death. Even still the war continued, there were many casualties on either side. The monsters had their magic, capable of impossible feats. Their actions were seen as threatening. The royal line of monsters had great reserves of strength and they could wield fire magic. They were blamed for the outbreaks of fires in the places of worship, the villagers accused them of being demons sent by the devil and saw it as their duty to purge the Earth of them.

The help of several mages was enlisted, it is unclear how certain humans were able to wield magic, many thought that they had found a way to extract the life energy of monsters via their souls. Souls were an important focus of the war, humans fought out of fear of their souls being taken and weaponized whilst monsters feared the stronger souls of humans. It was found that there were seven traits associated with the souls of humans: determination, bravery, justice, kindness, patience, integrity and perseverance whilst monster souls were supposedly made of love, hope and compassion.

Through their combined magic the mages sealed the monsters off underground, due to the course that the war was taking monsters occupied too many locations to have them all effectively sealed off in one physical place, they couldn’t be herded. Due to this the mages were able to affect their very souls, banishing them from our own reality and plane of existence to another one that overlapped our own, their location didn’t matter, all monsters were affected.

The magic had imperfections, the barrier erected was able to contain all weak souls but it couldn’t prevent the entry of strong souls. Several locations were identified where there were breaches as humanity lost some of its people, obliviously falling into the Underground realm. The place the monsters were banished to was only specified in the curse as ‘a place where neither the sun nor sky will ever touch.’

Anomalies were detected where the barrier was weak enough for people to cross into their realm but not leave, as no one ever returned reports were inconclusive of the state of this other realm. There has been speculation of whether this realm existed prior to the monster’s banishment or if it was actually created to house them as a prison.

The barrier was said to only be capable of being broken by a power equal to that which originally created it, rather than a bubble encompassing them it operated as a one way door. Over time records of the monster’s existence was erased so as to prevent certain humans attempting to free them, there had been attempts by rebel groups to undo the curse on monsters to no avail.

As the barrier sealed the monsters away it was found that all natural existing presences of magic in nature came from monsters exclusively, by banishing them the mages lost the ability to perform magic and the art was lost to the ages. The only existing source of magic is that which resides within the barrier.’

You were utterly absorbed in reading the book, after the first few pages to your dismay you found that the pictures were too discoloured and there were patches where the pages in the book had been burnt and purposely censored. It was only the first few pages that were perfectly intact.

How old is this? It really is fascinating, at first I thought it was just a child’s story but it is written too technically, more of a report, a summery. I can’t imagine a child reading it. It bears striking similarities to the game Undertale, judging by the state of the book the content existed way before the game. I wonder if the game was possibly based on this story. It is odd though, as it is written so factually it makes it seem as if it really happened, why on earth would Dad have this book in his possession, it doesn’t seem to serve a purpose.

Chapter Text

After reading the only salvageable part of the book you took from Sophie you were still unable to sleep, after all you’d spent the majority of the day passed out not to mentioning having a nightmare of the demon spawn.

You sat up in your bed musing over the odd recent occurrences, to begin with there are the strange dreams, even if I didn’t return to the same place in Undertale that dream of Chara is still connected, they showed awareness of what I’d been doing. It’s pretty eerie when I think about it, I’m sure that it isn’t normal to dream of the same thing so often, let alone for the dreams to have continuity.

Then I have to consider the things he’s done…Dad…I can’t think of a rational reason that he should hate Undertale, then there is the book that supposedly came from his office. I’ve never seen this book before, the similarities to the game are uncanny, it has to be based off of it yet that doesn’t make sense, there is no stated relationship between the two, the creator never mentioned this as inspiration. The book looks pretty old too, there can’t be many copies of it around so perhaps that’s why no one has traced the game back to it, I wish I knew what used to be on the other pages. Why is the book burnt and censored? Did that recently happen or was it defiled a long time ago?

I’ve always had a degree of fear where Dad’s concerned, how can I not? He has almost complete control over the town, when I was younger one of my teachers noticed bruises on my arms and asked about it, I was too naïve to lie properly…and well a week later she never returned, she was supposedly ‘transferred.’

What is Dad hiding, I’ve never been certain of what he’s done in the shadows, I guess I just assumed it would be drug dealing…but that knife in the drawer, how did it set on fire? I couldn’t see any feasible way for it to be triggered and there didn’t seem to be a circuit…it felt strange as well…the buzzing sensation. Oh and then there’s the knife with my blood on, what the fuck does he want with that?

I suppose I stopped questioning why my parents hated me; it’s just always been that way. I don’t remember doing anything wrong and I never thought I acted any differently than Sophie as a child. I was always told that I should be ‘grateful’ for what I have, to be honest I’m aware that people who suffer abuse can be moulded into agreeing with their abuser but I’ve always kept a level of detachment, I know this is all wrong and I don’t deserve it…it’s just futile to fight back due to my current circumstances. I only have to wait out the rest of the year then I can leave this shitty little town in the middle of nowhere, seriously who builds a town out here? There are no nearby cities for trade, a poorly equipped hospital and just miles of wasteland. It shows how genius my family are, founding a town like this, it’s supposedly a place of beauty powered completely by renewable energy.

You swing your legs off the bed; I guess if I’m not sleeping I should do something productive, like revision. I’ve been slaking off recently and I don’t want Dawkins attacking me. You carefully replace the book you’d been reading behind some of your others to obscure it, I really need a better hiding place. You sit down with one of your physics textbooks and begin looking over wave interference, after staring at the same page for too long you began slamming your head into the book in the vain hope of the information somehow sticking, I really haven’t being paying attention lately, too busy daydreaming…I suppose this is the price I have to pay, well I’m not giving Dawkins the satisfaction of saying he told me so, I’ll just struggle through and hope for the best…I’ll deploy the best method when revising ‘hope it never comes up’ I’m pretty okay with the other stuff.

After giving up revising you take your phone out and go on Tumblr, you nibble at your lip slightly when you see that you’d received another message from KrimsonKitsune, what is this person’s problem, my dreams are pretty fascinating but not to a total stranger, why should they care?

Even though you were reluctant to check the message you couldn’t help but feel curious.

KrimsonKitsune: Have you had anymore dreams recently?

Well I suppose there’s no real harm in responding, right?

DeterminedOne172: I often have dreams.

KrimsonKitsune: You know I didn’t mean it like that. Have you had anymore Undertale related dreams, specifically ones following a chronological order?

DeterminedOne172: Yeah, what of it?

KrimsonKitsune: Okay, I have a really important question. Have you met Chara at all?

Okay that’s kinda creepy…literally just dreamed of them…that’s just unnerving. Why is that an important question? I’m not sure that I should tell them, they’re very persistent…

DeterminedOne172: No, I’ve just seen the Ruins and Snowdin, besides I haven’t taken a genocide route in a dream, I’ve been befriending them, somewhat grudgingly in some cases.

KrimsonKitsune: I see. That’s good; if you ever do see Chara it is imperative that you tell me as soon as possible.

Even if I feel slightly guilty for lying to them about the content of my dreams they’re sort of creeping me out. I don’t see why it’s important whether I dream of Chara or not, a dream is a dream. It’s not like a fictional character can hurt me in a dream, they sound like they’re worried about me.

DeterminedOne172: Why?

KrimsonKitsune: I’m just interested that’s all.

DeterminedOne172: I really doubt that, a mild interest would be sated by a few answers. Me writing vaguely about things I’ve seen are far from invigorating, you sound way too interested, it doesn’t matter who I see or what I do, it’s a dream. If you find this so interesting why don’t you go read a fanfic or something, it’d be more detailed than my ramblings. Can you please stop bothering me?

KrimsonKitsune: I’m sorry if I upset you, that wasn’t my intention. I just have to be sure. I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want, just know that if you need help you can reach me whenever you want, I’ll respond. I’m just worried about what could happen; maybe I’m a bit too paranoid.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? They need to be sure of what? I have no intention of reaching out to a complete stranger if I’m in trouble. Is he some kind of psychologist, maybe he thinks I need bloody mental help or something.

Resolving to never respond to this person again you decide to distract yourself with various posts on Tumblr. You scroll down viewing a lot of Undertale related fanart, well Dad said I could never play the game again, he didn’t mention leaving the fanbase and giving up on watching related videos and other content so technically I’m not disobeying him. You continue scrolling down, quickly passing over a Soriel image shuddering, doesn’t Sans refer to Toriel as ‘Old Lady’ in the game…just no…

Then you come across a news report, even if you weren’t as obsessed with reading the news as your Father you still liked to be up to date with it.

30 infants die of unknown strain of meningitis in local orphanage.

The article went on to say that people were looking into cases of mistreatment due to the number of deaths; they were unsure whether the children were receiving sufficient treatment for their illness. There was also commotion over whether it was a new more deadly strand and if there was a risk of it spreading any further into town. You were quite surprised to read the article as up to this point you were unaware that there was even an orphanage in your town let alone one bearing your family name: ‘__ Orphanage.’

I wonder where it is, I’ve never come across it before. I thought I was fairly familiar with most places in this town. That’s an awful lot of children that died, it’s terrible. I never even knew that my parents were responsible for maintain the property…I suppose it shouldn’t be that surprising, a lot of the town’s property belongs to my parents, still they’re hardly the most child friendly people.

Somehow you had managed to waste the early hours of the morning quicker than you thought possible, groaning you stretch your arms out, twisting them whilst listening for the satisfying click. Looks like I should get dressed then.

After noticing that the weather was still strangely warm which was unusual for your town you decided to wear something thinner, a short sleeved white top with jeans. Even if it were the dead of summer, the hottest day I’m not wearing a dress.

It was your favourite time to be awake in the morning, perfectly convenient to grab some cereal from the kitchen and get Sophie ready for school, this time you had a legitimate excuse to be around her, your parents always claimed to be too busy to assist with ferrying Sophie around town, that was your responsibility. Well they can’t have it both ways, either I’m convenient because I take care of Sophie in their place or I’m cast aside as a bad influence.

Sophie managed to stumble down the stairs without you having to wake her up this time, you make her jam on toast and leave together, staying clear of the woods, not wanting a repeat of the day before. Your head didn’t hurt much now but your hand certainly did, it was going to make things difficult at school if you couldn’t hold your pen properly without cringing in pain.

Sophie cheerfully burbled about a book they were reading in class, telling you about the plot on the way, it was lucky that her school wasn’t far from your local college.

“Have a good day sis, make sure no one hurts you again. If they do they’ll have to answer to me.” She gives a pose worthy of Papyrus, a confident smile on her face before hugging you and running to the distant figure of her friend Natasha.

You smile after her and continue on your journey, lamenting the loss of your bicycle. I’ll have to tell someone that it was stolen; Mom and Dad won’t do anything about it as it is apparently my fault for being ‘irresponsible.’

When you entered the school building you were overcome with a wave of apprehension, brilliant I forgot that we’re supposed to get jabs today, it’s not that I’m scared of needles they’re just really unpleasant. When I was younger I had some sort of health complication, I remember having a lot of tests and blood drawn, since then I’ve definitely become no fonder of them.

You attended your regular lessons as normal, it was a slight relief to only have English Lit, first thing in the morning, the class were reading passages of the book aloud. Whenever the teacher made eye contact with you as if to urge you to read part you would give them a blank stare maintaining their eye contact until they were uncomfortable and looked away. Relenting she asks the guy to the left of you to read instead.

You notice that he glances down at your bandaged hand every now and then enquiringly. You had made no effort whatsoever to learn any of your classmate’s names it didn’t seem important, having known most of them since you were young due to the fact that there were no other local colleges for people to join aside from your own; still they had either ignored you or tried to rile you up. The occasional person attempted to make small talk from time to time; you hadn’t been very outgoing as a child and saw no purpose in joining a clique.

I guess that’s why it was so easy for Jeremy to get close to me; you could recall the goofy smile on his face as he cracked jokes with you and sat with you at lunch. He seemed so sweet and attentive, holding my hand and kissing me, for so long I’d isolated myself feeling unable to relate to people, then the one time I lower my defences I’m left destroyed. After spending so little time with others you had felt lonely, it was too easy for him to become close, for him to manipulate you into letting him into your house. Your trust was repaid by him stealing from your father and leaving you to deal with the consequences. So of course it was natural to resolve to not let anyone else become that close, it was out of a sense of self-preservation after all.

That was why you blatantly ignored the scrappy piece of paper pushed to your side of the desk, refusing to read the note. You heard an annoyed huff next to you, the guy’s elbow jutted out as he nudged you gently to get your attention.

Letting out your own sigh you turn around and give him a dead look, completely unimpressed. He recoils slightly and shrugs nonchalantly giving up on whatever he was trying to accomplish.

After class you wait in line with everyone else to receive your jabs, a shot for a combination of things to boost your immune system. The process was quick enough, a jab in each arm with a syringe and you were handed plasters to apply, you were regretting your choice of a short-sleeved top as the plasters on your upper arms were visible.

When you were waiting in line for lunch you noticed the girl next to you was looking at your arms inquisitively, what is it with people staring at me today, jeesh.

“Um, excuse me, I was wondering what you got jabs for.” She eventually asks.

“The same as you I’d think, polio, tetanus, meningitis…” You respond dully.

She frowns at you, “Then why do you have two shots, it was all combined in one syringe yet you’ve had two jabs.” She gestures towards your arms.

“I don’t know, that’s what they said it was.” a twinge of nervousness in your voice.

They give you one last confused look before selecting their food and leaving the queue. You were left with a deeply unsettled feeling, they’re just jabs aren’t they? It’s not like the school nurses are going to give me any kind of harmful substances besides I usually receive two jabs…maybe mine just weren’t combined like the others, they may have run out. Your reasoning didn’t really make you feel any better, you scan the crowd, those with exposed arms only had one plaster. I guess I’ll ask Mom about it, she wrote the consent forms for me to receive the jabs, maybe she selected some kind of different option.

Throughout the day you felt increasingly odd, your heart rate felt faster and you kept twitching in your seat, it was like you had too much energy. It felt similar to the time you drank one too many energy drinks in an attempt to stay awake and finish watching a series on Netflix.

At long last you reached the last lesson of the day, physics with Dawkins. Taking your usual seat by the window you had your body angled to gaze out of the window as you did every lesson. There was a disappointing lack of clouds today to watch and not much of a breeze. You had to content yourself to staring at the crows flittering over the field, pecking perseveringly at pieces of litter discarded.

You could feel yourself zoning out listening to the hypnotic drone of your teacher’s voice, you honestly saw no point in taking notes from him if all the information you needed could be accessed from a text book and he wasn’t the most inclined to help out students having difficulties.

Regardless of the buzzing coursing through your system you could feel your eyelids beginning to droop, you really hadn’t got a lot of sleep last night, it turned out that spending most of yesterday asleep didn’t make up for waking up earlier than usual this morning.

You began to feel even odder, a sort of warmth felt as if it had wrapped itself around you, it was already way hotter than usual outside, vaguely in the back of your head you wonder if you were coming down with something. The air feels almost denser, finally giving into the impulse to shut your eyes you become aware that your limbs are pinned to your side. Twisting agitatedly you struggle and open your eyes met with only darkness.

For a second you thought you were back in the ‘Inbetween’ that was before you began to make out the shapes of stuffed toys and a wardrobe dimly through the dark. It was also then that you noticed you were lying down no longer slumped over your desk, your arms were pinned down by a heavy blanket tucked around you.

Why am I back in this room, this has to be Asriel and Chara’s room in Toriel’s house. I don’t remember this being the last place I visited before I woke up.

You scramble out of the bed and click the light on immediately screwing your eyes up and wincing at the intensity, the contrast of going from the dark to the light was startling. You quickly scan the room reassuring yourself of the fact you weren’t in the ‘Inbetween’.

After taking a moment to calm down you leave the room in search of Toriel, you didn’t have to look far as she was humming to herself in the kitchen as she scrubbed away at the small side plates and let them drain on a rack. She must have noticed your footsteps as she turns around when she hears you approach.

“Oh you’re awake, I was worried about you.”

You frown slightly. “Worried about what?”

“Well you said you were going to go explore before bed time and it was getting late, you were nowhere to be found. I even went down to the basement and I swear you weren’t there, I turned away for a moment and looked back and you were sat leaning against the door asleep…maybe I’m getting old, it’s hard to believe that I missed you the first time I looked…” She trails off.

Hmm, so when I wake up do I physically disappear from here or not I wonder.

“How did I end up in bed though?”

She gives you a warm smile, “I carried you silly, you were fast asleep so I brought you to your room.”

Maybe I don’t disappear then; I had to have left some kind of form behind for her to carry although she said that I wasn’t there for a time. Perhaps my body reappeared when I was in the process of falling asleep, I was drifting off for a while and I could feel the surrounds of the dream even when I was half awake. I’ll have to be careful then; if I wake up from the dream around someone here then they’ll see me disappear.

Curiously you look down at your outfit, hmm I would have thought that my clothes would change depending on what I wear when I fall asleep, like when I saw Chara I was wearing pyjamas…but I’m still wearing my red shirt. After scrutinizing it further you notice that there is no longer a large tear in the sleeve, in fact it looks like it was freshly put on. That’s kinda neat, my top didn’t get permanently ruined, Toriel couldn’t have fixed it while I was asleep as there is no sign of it being sewn up, like it was just automatically replenished or something.

“Well it’s nice to see you awake so early, you can get so much more done when you’re not sleeping your life away.”

Sure…I’m totally not dreaming my life away right now.

“I was wondering if I could go out again and see Papyrus, we’re planning to cook together.” Because it went so well last time I attempted.

You see Toriel twist her lip up, brow furrowing with worry, she lets out a gentle sigh. “I suppose I cannot stop you, still I’m not sure it is advisable to go out there too frequently.”

You pout, “I made a promise that I’d go.”

An understanding look crosses her face, “Well it’s important to keep the promises you make, just make sure you have some breakfast before you leave.”

You oblige and eat breakfast to satisfy Toriel even if it doesn’t ease your none existent hunger. So apparently it’s morning here yet it’s afternoon in the real world. Time doesn’t have any set value to convert by, like when Flowey first killed me I’d been gone quite a few hours but I was supposedly only gone for ten minutes, even still time seems to move a lot slower here. I can’t expect time to make sense anyway, it isn’t like I can accurately record time passing in a dream.

You were pretty eager to once again explore Snowdin town, it was one of your favourite places in the game, although you were looking forward to being able to see the wishing room in Waterfall. I really hope these dreams continue, whatever is causing them I guess isn’t normal but I’m not going to complain, as long as I don’t finish the game and see Asgore, what if I was able to indefinitely dream of this place?

Outside of the Ruins you step into the SAVE point as was now routine, the warm tingling washing over you, the quiet burn in your chest of determination, a bookmark amongst the chapters of your dreams. You quickly check your stats to make sure all of your HP was there and fully restored after Sans had tossed you around the other day.

HP: 12/12

What? Why do I have more HP? I’m pretty sure that the max amount I had was 10…that doesn’t make any sense…don’t you only gain HP from killing people…oh Sans is going to love this if he finds out…I really hope him not being able to see my stats for LOVE and EXP extend to my HP too…

You smiled at the soft crunching sound under foot; the weather was surprisingly calm today with next to no wind. You let out an exasperated groan when you notice that Papyrus had indeed recalibrated all of his puzzles, well at least they’re not complicated to get through.

At long last you make it to Snowdin at the entrance of Sans and Papyrus’ house, do I just knock? Well Sans is hopefully feeling a bit calmer…he tried to apologize using knock knock jokes…

Hesitantly you rap your knuckles on the door, a deep rumbling voice responds, “who’s there?”

Of course, he never misses an opportunity.

“Honey bee.”

“honey bee who?”

“Honey bee a dear and open the door please.”

You see the handle twist as the door is opened, Sans stands on the other side an odd expression on his face, “honey?”

You feel your face burn, “Bee quiet it was just a joke.” You were feeling proud of yourself for thinking of a response so quickly.

Sans raises the bone above his sockets, arching it enquiringly with a smirk twitching on his face, “i’d bee very careful if i were you, you better beeware of the implications of punning around me, hive got a lot more experience.”

“I suppose I’ll have to comb my brain for some more then.” You respond smugly.

“you’ve got to be pollen my leg there; I don’t think you can keep this up.”

“SANS I CAN SENSE YOUR DEVIOUS PUNNERY FROM HERE, PLEASE DESIST, YOU’VE INFECTED THE POOR HUMAN ENOUGH ALREADY.” Papyrus hollers, suddenly coming into view.

“welp you better come in, it’s snow cold outside.”

You look at Sans and shuffle awkwardly outside of the door, not entirely convinced that you were welcome after what happened last time.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR HUMAN, I SUPPOSE IT IS NATURAL TO BE WARY OF MY COOKING SKILLS AFTER ALL YOU ARE IN THE HOUSE OF THE GREATEST CHEF THERE IS, FEAR NOT I SHALL TEACH YOU TO BE ALMOST AS GREAT AS MYSELF…ALMOST…” Papyrus gives you a wide welcoming smile, encouraging you to come in.

Well, attempt number two. I guess I’ll remember to stay away from the flour this time.

You quirked an eyebrow as you took in Papyrus’ outfit, it’s the date clothes from the game. A white shirt with the words ‘cool dude’ were emblazoned on it in red, the sleeves resembled small basketballs adorning either side of him. He had put his cap on backwards, it made you wonder if he had possibly fit spaghetti underneath it and if so how. You traipse into the house followed by Sans’ perpetual gaze.

Papyrus began to pull various ingredients out from the cupboards, dried spaghetti, tomatoes, garlic, glitter…wait glitter!

“Uh Papyrus, I don’t think it’s be a good idea to add glitter.”

He frowns in confusion, “I AM CERTAIN THAT IT IS A HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENT, I’VE WATCHED METTATON ADD IT TO MANY OF HIS CULINARY MASTER PIECES.”

You drum your fingers on the counter thoughtfully; If I ate glitter in a dream would my HP decrease enough for me to die? “Isn’t that his signature embellishment, I thought the Great Papyrus would have developed their own exclusive recipe.”

A brief look of nervousness flashes in Papyrus’ sockets before he laughs loudly, “NYEH HEH HEH, YOU ARE QUITE CORRECT HUMAN, I HAD THOUGHT THAT MY TASTES WOULD BE TOO REFINED BUT I WILL OBLIGE AND COOK YOU SOMETHING OF MY OWN CREATION, DON’T WORRY I REMEMBERED THAT YOU DON’T EAT MEAT.”

You felt touched that he would take that into consideration, Sans looks at you with a far too amused expression, “i’m not sure that was the best thing to say, i’ve tasted some ‘unique’ creations of his own design before…and well it’s certainly impastable to replicate that.” He lowered his voice enough so that Papyrus couldn’t hear.

“I’m sure I’ll mange,” You say dryly, “I’ve eaten some unpleasant things in my time, it can’t be any worse than what I’ve eaten.”

“suet yourself.”

Sans is being friendlier than usual, well he always made puns anyway but he hasn’t glared at me at all…yet…I’m almost proud. Well I’m not letting my guard down, he could be pretending so he can gain my trust, even though he said he was sorry.

You hadn’t noticed that you were spacing out until Papyrus nudged you, Sans was leaning against a wall across from you over seeing it all. Looks like he doesn’t trust me that much if he’s supervising. You were confused when the lights in his sockets strayed to your shirt, looking over it with interest.

“I’M GOING TO PUT THE SPAGHETTI IN THE PAN, UNDYNE SAID THE MORE VIOLENTLY YOU DO IT THE BETTER THE FLAVOUR, WATCH CLOSELY AS I THROW IT IN.” He tips the box sending all of the spaghetti in, you jump back slightly to avoid the water splashing you out of reflex. Papyrus produces a large wooden spoon and begins to stab it into the pan sending strips of spaghetti flying. “NEXT TIME WE’LL HAVE TO INVITE UNDYNE OVER AS WELL, THEN WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS.”

After stirring for a while he calls out to you. “WHY DON’T YOU CUT UP THOSE TOMATOES BY THE SIDE, I’LL KEEP AN EYE ON THIS.”

You gulp slightly looking down at the large hefty knife, you raise your head a fraction to make eye contact with Sans, you notice his sockets darken for a second before he shrugs. Taking this as grudging consent you pick it up, for moment you can see blood on it, the knife hidden in your Dad’s drawer, you hadn’t realised until now how much it truly unsettled you with dealing with everything else on top of it.

You feel it fall out of your hand back on to the counter with a clatter, you blink rapidly to clear the sight from your mind, there was no blood on the knife, it was also larger than the one at home. You take a step back with a deeply unsettled look on your face.

“something wrong bud?” Sans asks, he looks puzzled by your reaction, clearly not expecting you to drop it.

“F-Fine, I just remembered something that happened…” You don’t continue what you were about to say, you can’t say that it happened yesterday as in his mind you’d have no feasible way of being on the surface.

Sans tilts his head scrutinizing you and your trembling hand which thankfully held no trace of the wound you received the other day.

Papyrus abandons the spaghetti to come to your side, concern etched on his face, “ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT HUMAN? IF YOU DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE CUTTING THE TOMATOES WE CAN SWAP JOBS, AFTER ALL I WASN’T ALLOWED TO USE KNIVES IN THE KITCHEN UNTIL I WAS BIG ENOUGH.”

You smile gratefully and take the spoon and begin to stir the spaghetti in circles slowly. You can feel Sans’ stare burning into the back of your head, you can practically taste his curiosity. I’m not some puzzle for him to solve, he’s probably only attempting to make up with me so he can keep a better eye on me and learn about me.

Even though you were looking forward to cooking with Papyrus, you weren’t able to enjoy it as much with Sans watching your every move like a hawk. When it was finally ready you sat around a table together, plates piled high with spaghetti that was strangely green. How much pesto went in it along with the tomatoes?

Papyrus watched your face attentively, awaiting your first bite, you began to wind a few strands around your fork, you hadn’t eaten spaghetti in a long time so you weren’t used to twisting the strands together. You steel yourself, in the game the flavour was described as well…’indescribable.”

You didn’t think it was possible for something to be both undercooked and slimy as well as possessing crispy burnt edges, the vegetables were chopped roughly and were uneven in size, a pieces of green stalk was visible on the plate. Despite this, it wasn’t the worst thing you’ve had to eat; it had a flavour, not necessarily the best one but everything was arranged so neatly with so much love and dedication. Determinedly you plow through the meal, taking in one mouthful after the other. It didn’t sink to the bottom of your stomach like you’d expect it to, one of the benefits of not experiencing hunger here.

Papyrus was practically enraptured watching you eat with gusto, when you look up you find that Sans actually looks mildly impressed, all of the spaghetti on his own plate had ‘vanished’ you doubted that he’d eaten it.

“WOWIE HUMAN, YOU MUST REALLY LOVE MY COOKING AND BY EXTENTION ME!”

The joy lighting up his sockets was endearing, evoking your own grin. “It’s great, thank you for making me some. I really appreciate it.” And you truly did, it was a long time since anyone had cooked a meal for you.

Sans stands up from the table walking over to you nonchalantly, “hey paps, mind if i borrow the human for a bit. i think it’s time i bonded with them too.”

Papyrus beams at you, “THAT’S AN EXCELLENT IDEA SANS…WHICH IS QUITE RARE FOR YOU, WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T TAKE THE HUMAN TO THAT GODFORSAKEN PLACE.”

“what place would that be?”

Papyrus narrows his eye sockets, “GRILLBY’S OF COURSE, THAT GREASE DRENCHED PLACE.”

“i dunno paps, it’s kind of a hotspot for activity in this town, the bartinder’s pretty great.” He winks at the distressed look on Papyrus’ face who flees the room; turning to you he offers his hand, “i know a short cut, it’s time we had a little chat.”

Chapter Text

You stand there, giving Sans a dumbfounded look. Here he was with his arm out stretched, offered out to you, a pleasant smile on his face. You didn’t trust him at all.

“Why are you offering me your hand, I’m perfectly capable of walking to Grillby’s, it’s only around the corner from here.” You state. I don’t want anything to do with one iota of his magic, what if he leaves me in the void while teleporting?

He doesn’t withdraw his arm, “i can get us there faster, you’ve seen me teleport before.”

“All the same I like walking, I’m pretty sure I’d get motion sickness or something.” You insist.

Sans’ smile wavers slightly, the lights in his sockets dim somewhat as he lets out an exaggerated sigh. “you really like making things difficult for me huh.” He shifts forward and grips your wrist, a feeling of static creeps up from the place he held onto you, spreading up your arm and prickling the expanse of your skin. It felt invasive, the pricking increased and you could feel a numbing sensation sweep over you, it felt as if your soul jolted in your chest, reacting violently.  You can see your arms fading along with Sans.

You automatically react by panicking, pulling against him, after all it was fairly disconcerting feeling yourself fade away even more so than when you feel yourself wake up. His magic seems to react to you, feeling you work against it you feel the tingling recede. Sans is ripped from your side, a blue haze flashing dangerously, he collides with the couch in the corner of the living room.

Immediately he stands, staring at you in shock. “what the hell did you do?”

You back away nervously, “I didn’t want to teleport, you were making me feel uncomfortable.”

The bewildered expression didn’t leave Sans, he steps forward slowly keeping his arms at his side, metacarpal palms facing away from you. His brow creases, the bones crinkling anxiously. “i don’t know how you did that buddy; it shouldn’t be possible though for you to override my magic.” You wince in preparation for his oncoming accusations. He breathes heavily taking in your pained expression, “hey kiddo, it’s alright. i’m not gonna do anythin, i know that i don’t have the best track record with our explosive chemistry but we really need to talk about some of the shit going on. if there’s any way for us to reach an understandin we haveta be honest with each other.”

Oh yes, because you’re the epitome of honesty. I really don’t think it wise to explain my situation to him; perhaps I should just listen to how much he knows and lie by omission.

“No teleporting.”

“no teleporting.” He confirms.

You both leave the house and make your way to Grillby’s in silence, mulling over what you’d say to one another. Because I can obviously explain to Sans that I’m not really here and this is a game, I’m sure he’ll take it well when I say he’s not real, that no one here is real and they’re all a dream from my warped imagination of a game possibly based on a dodgy looking book.

As soon as you enter the bar you’re hit by a wave of heat, the very air is fragrant with fast food; the grease found so repugnant by Papyrus was delightful. Before you learnt to cook proficiently and you were too young to buy your own food it was heavenly to lay your taste buds on the abstract concept of fatty food.

Excited choruses of Sans’ name is chimed out throughout the establishment; you were surprised to find that you were also greeted as cheerfully by all of the Canine Unit. Lesser dog bounded over and rubbed his head eagerly against your upper arm, nuzzling softly. You would have petted him but you didn’t want to pay Grillby for the roof repairs.

Sans swaggers over to his usual seat, looking back at you expectantly, great I have to suffer the indignancy of sitting on the whoopie cushion, if I look under the seat immediately then he’ll know something’s up. Who am I kidding; he knows there is a lot up.

With a disgruntled expression you gingerly climb onto the stool, you awaited the loud squelching sound that you had heard before when you shook hands with Sans. It didn’t come. Instead Sans smirked at you from the seat across.

“what, were you expecting something?” The light’s in his sockets merely seemed amused, whatever decision he had come to about you was decidedly not hostile any longer.

“With you around I have to be prepared for anything.”

He lets out a soft thoughtful hum, one that was clearly showing disbelief. He knew that you knew that he knew that you were lying…that’s kinda confusing.

The heat had intensified now you were sat at the bar; gentle lights flickered throughout the bar. You look up to see Grillby; his attire was so neat that you thought that even your Father would be impressed. Flames of different amber hues, ranging from scarlet to saffron licked at the collar of his uniform as he watched you both quietly.

“so what do you wanna get kid, fries or a burger?”

You turn to scowl at Sans, “I’m not a kid Sans, I’m pretty much considered an adult at eighteen by human standards.”

He shrugs, arching the bone above one of his sockets, “zat so, welp it’s still pretty funny riling you up, you get so heated about it.

Really fire puns?

“And here I thought you brought me here to grill me about the supposed things I’ve done.” Internally you feel a stab of pity for Grillby, having to suffer through fire puns at his expense, although you assumed that by now he’d be used to Sans.

Sans lets out a low whistling sound through his teeth, “ouch, the burn. you really have a low opinion of me huh. you better order soon, i’m on break, if i’m gone too long i’ll get fired.”

You raise your hands in mock surrender, “Can I have fries please?”

Grillby nods silently and looks at Sans in confirmation who shrugs, shaking his head Grillby disappears in to the back.”

“so, i heard, you’re vegetarian, sounds like a mi-steak to me.”

“And how would you know that, I told Papyrus that when you weren’t even around.” You stiffen next to him.

“well i did say that i’d keep a socket out for ya, though i’m curious about why you are.”

Here I go again, how many people have I explained this too now?

“Let’s see, is it a difficult concept to believe that I don’t like the idea of animals being slaughtered for food, when there’s other sources of food available, to be honest eating corpses isn’t too appealing. One time when I was younger my Dad brought me to an abattoir, where animals are killed, hearing a pig squeal out in pain…well just knowing that what was on my plate was once alive disgusted me.” You finish tersely. You honestly didn’t care if other people decided to eat meat, it was there decision, just getting into the conversation was tiresome.

Sans seemed to be studying you intently throughout the conversation, “hmm, killing really bothers you…i suppose i can see your point of view but down here we have limited space to grow crops, with our lack of sunlight.” He gestures towards the roof rolling the lights in his sockets, momentarily his sockets darken, “though that’s a pretty sick thing for your dad to do.”

When your food arrived you rejected his offer for ketchup, you were intrigued to watch him drink it, his teeth unclasped and the viscous liquid poured down his none-existent throat. With intrigue you fixed your eyes on his phantom tongue, as blue as his magic, the slick sheen of it swiped against his teeth, lapping up the stray ketchup.

Sans notices you watching, “see something you like?”

You scowl at him, “How do you even have a tongue, you’re a skeleton.

“monster.” He corrects, “i just look like a skeleton, how do you think i eat without organs, magic can be used to replace and make whatever we want.”

“So,” You begin to divert the conversation, “There were things you wanted to know about me, anywhere you wanna start?”

He taps a phalange against his teeth, “i think it’s fair if we take it in turns, i’m sure there’s things yer curious about no?”

He’s being strangely accommodating and amiable, I haven’t been accused of murder all day, it seems like an achievement. Though it seems evident that he’s acting this way because he wants to find out more information, nevertheless if this satisfies him then I don’t have to worry about him coming after me.

“Alright then.”

“well, ladies first, what do you wanna know?”

You wrack your mind, this is an opportunity to learn things that weren’t in the game…but they can’t exactly be considered canon can they? “Who is the person that fell before me? You said something about them being gone for a long time.” Logically if I was oblivious to the game I’d be pretty curious about who the person Sans keeps referencing is.

Sans clearly looks displeased by this question so soon, “so you caught on to that, observant of you since i only mentioned them in passing.” His face twists into a look of anger, “that kid is the one who started all of this, there name’s frisk.”

“What do they have to do with me?”

Sans raises a hand, “one question at a time pal, we’re takin it in turns here.” He seems to contemplate something, “i guess it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to grasp.”

“You’re confidence in my intelligence is overwhelming me, never before have I received such a wonderful compliment.” Sarcasm dripping from your words.

Sans seemingly ignores you, “anyway you’re aware of the resets, hell you cause them. there was someone before you who could do that, frisk fell into the underground, they befriended all of the monsters, after their little adventure they reset the timeline. i was forced to watch the timeline repeat itself over and over again, i knew about their power after they died one time. at first i was like ‘hey it was a fun adventure, anyone would want to relive it.’ but then it kept happening, it was a compulsion, a habit they couldn’t break, needless to say it pissed me off, you still with me?”

You nod, a fry halfway to your mouth, absorbed by his story. This is nothing new, the only thing I’ve learnt is the extent that he remembers the past timelines.

He continues, “if that wasn’t bad enough they began to change, they were bored with the same dialogue, what better way to shake things up than to go on a killing spree amirite?” His tone of voice by now was akin to a snarl, “the kid that fell down here wasn’t the same as the one i faced, they were like a different person, completely remorseless, then i learnt that supposedly they were a different person, possessed by another soul.” He laughs mirthlessly, “pretty convenient right? easy to blame all the bad things on another person, after so many bad timelines i just gave up trying then it all changed. the kid reset and befriended paps and undyne and just left like that. the king was dead and the souls were gone but we were happy, they didn’t come back, ten years and no sign of the kid returning, i let myself hope it was over, we could progress, we had a future.

You weren’t ready for his sockets to suddenly darken, pitch black voids delving into you, “then you fell. all of that progress was torn away, i never should have let myself hope, i should know by now that everything i do is futile. i was beyond angry, i thought the kid came back to taunt me…but you were there, with your hidden soul and determination, your inexplicable knowledge. i had tasted hope, what the future could be, seen my friends become closer, for relationships to develop, all for nothing. so i tried to take your soul, if you had any other soul than red it would have worked, but you refused to die, your soul vanishing as the all too familiar sensation of time rewinding washed over me.”

…shit that’s dark. I feel bad for causing all of this pain just by dreaming…it’s irrational, I haven’t really done anything wrong. I suppose that explains why he wanted to kill me, to break the barrier like the others. What would have caused Frisk to simply leave and never return though?

Sans looked exhausted, “these resets are different though, when the kid would reset i would just feel vertigo, when you do it feels like i’m being ripped apart every time you die, just adds salt to the wound.”

“The solution to that would be…I dunno…not killing me.” You offered dryly.

“ya think?” He replied, taking a moment to compose himself, “the kid honestly scared me, how they could go from one extreme to the other with a blink of an eye, then there’s you,” He waves a hand at you lazily, “at least with the kid i knew their kill count, you’re just an enigma, a human who shouldn’t be here, a glitch who replaced them after a decade of nothing.”

“One of the reasons you don’t trust me is because you have no way of seeing my LOVE and EXP, can’t you just go and talk to Toriel, wouldn’t she know if I killed anyone in the Ruins? I’m certain that you kept watch of me throughout Snowdin so you know I haven’t killed anyone here.” You rationalise.

He looks up from the wooden counter, sockets drooping, “not necessarily, she probably didn’t go every step of the way with you. it would be easy for you to kill someone out of sight, dust is easy to dispose of.” His downturned grin twitches up slightly, “anyway i think it’s my turn to ask the questions.”

Shit.

“so…what are your clothes made of?”

Dafuq? What does that have to do with anything?

By now you had finished eating, you had nothing to occupy your hands with so you were fiddling with the cuff of your red shirt. You give him a puzzled look, “Uhh…cotton.”

The only word that could describe Sans’ expression was sceptical, “you sure about that?”

“What else would it be made of, polyester?”

The lights in Sans’ sockets stray to your shirt, specifically the sleeve that had once been torn, now mended unexplainably. Ohh…

“sorry to needle ya but there are holes in your explanation. i didn’t know that dead plant material could mend itself, your shirt was torn, i even found part of the fabric missing and lo and behold it would seam that there isn’t a blemish, as good as new. care to explain?”

Can I say no?

“As far as I know it is made of cotton, nothing unusual.”

Sans withdraws a glass cylinder from the pocket of his shorts, how did he hide something that size? Inside of it there is a glowing red liquid.

“…Nice Kool Aid.” You offer.

Sans wasn’t amused, “do ya know what that is? i exposed the fabric to a certain agent that breaks down the properties of materials, this is what it is in its purest form. DETERMINATION. i’ve heard of people wearin their hearts on their sleeves but this takes the cake.”

I honestly haven’t a clue what he means, my clothes are made of…determination…I’m confused. It reminds me of that one YouTube video when someone asks Frisk what gender they are…

“Determination…welp I can’t say that the shop told me that, can’t trust anyone these days.”

His sockets narrow, “more specifically your determination, your clothes are made up of the same stuff as your soul…any idea why that is?”

Hmm, well honestly it makes sense, nothing in a dream is real physical matter. So if this is just my soul then the clothes must be modelled on what I was wearing the first time I fell asleep before waking up here. Still the idea that dreams have a kind of scientific logic is startling, it adds a new depth to it. I wonder if I could change my clothes at will…or even my hair colour, that’d be cool.

The question is what to say to Sans…

You make a mysterious motion with your hand, waving it across your face while wiggling your fingers, “Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram.” When all else fails quote Bill Cipher…that’s not the best philosophy to have…

Sans blinks slowly, “uhh, is that code for something or are you just messing with me?”

Well…

“How do I even explain this…sometimes I’m here and sometimes I’m not…” A+ job there in explaining stuff there __, way to go.

Sans surprisingly is looking at you attentively trying to piece your vague explanation together, before he could ask any more questions Papyrus burst through the door, the hinges screeched as the door groaned from the force it was put under.

Papyrus strides over to your booth, with a look of disapproval he lifts Sans up. Sans goes slack in his grasp, allowing himself to be lifted. “I SAID YOU COULD BORROW THE HUMAN FOR A TIME, YOU’VE HAD LONG ENOUGH TO BOND WITH THEM.”

Sans shifts in Papyrus’ arms looking embarrassed as you watch them bemused, “i didn’t know i had to clock in at a certain time paps, i didn’t mean to tick you off.”

Papyrus’s voice becomes low and almost threatening, “SANS, STOP NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”

You thought you heard him mutter, “it’s already too late.” Under his breath.

“i was just commenting on that second hand shirt of theirs.”

Papyrus’ eye sockets narrow slightly, “THAT WAS A PUN WASN’T IT, I BELIEVE I NEED TO START A PUN JAR, EVERY TIME YOU MAKE ONE OF YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS YOU WILL DISPENSE 1G.” He starts to walk towards the door, “COME ALONG HUMAN, YOU MUST BE SATRURATED IN GREASE BY NOW, I APOLOGISE ON BEHALF OF MY BROTHER.”

Grillby looks disgruntled by Papyrus’ appearance, frigid air, drafted into the bar through the open door.

“just put the food on my tab grills.” Sans calls out lethargically.

You swore you could see a single flame eyebrow twitch with mild irritation.

You follow after the retreating figures of the two of them, unfortunately it was once again snowing outside, icy flecks assaulted your face as soon as you stepped outside. Sans probably isn’t happy about being interrupted, at least I’ve managed to avoid his questioning for now, he’ll be puzzling over what I said for a while.

Sans looked thankful that Papyrus released him outside, coming to walk in step with you. “you realise i’m not done with you right?”

“You realise that you promised me a proper apology.”

Sans scratched the back of his skull with his phalanges, “ah, well.” He lowers his eye sockets, dimming the lights in them. “it was wrong of me to judge you without knowing ought for certain…you made my bro really happy by completing his puzzles and cooking with him, it’s been a while since i’ve seen him smile as brightly. even if it turns out you did bad things you’ve never hurt him…i’m grateful. i realise that i blamed you for some of the shit that the kid did before you, i can’t assume anything without proof, i’d be doing a poor job as ‘the judge’ in any case…so what i’m tryin to say is i regret killing you…you don’t seem that bad, that doesn’t mean i trust you though, i’ll still be watching.”

That’s gonna be as close as I’ll get to a real apology, he seems…slightly remorseful, maybe. There’s no point holding a grudge, it’s not like I really died.

You sigh loudly, “I suppose I can perhaps, somewhat forgive you for your partially regretful claim.”

Sans snorts, “maybe thanks then.”

This is strange but kinda nice, him not trying to kill me, a peaceful silence between us…I must have low friendship standards.

As you trudge through the snow you realise that Papyrus is marginally further ahead than both you and Sans, his long legs carrying him at a faster pace than the two of you. You fall slightly behind Sans,  when you look over to your left you notice Monster Kid dashing around in the fallen snow, strangely enough he clasps a rounded disk between his teeth.

Under closer scrutiny you make it out to be a Frisbee, they twist their head to the side before jerking their neck forward and releasing the grasp of their jaw on it, sending the green Frisbee hurtling away. It was only because you were idly watching them play that you noticed when they spun too far around and tripped over. The Frisbee changes course, flying towards you and Sans. In fact it’s on course for hitting Sans in the back of the head.

You feel a prickle of fear race up your spine, a nauseating sensation well in your chest as it aches. Without thinking you practically leap forward, throwing yourself at Sans’ side, your weight was enough to make him topple over.  You’re leaning on him with a hand resting on his ribcage, one of his sockets sparks blue, perceiving your actions as a threat, an attack. That was until he saw the Frisbee cut through the air past him, where he was once stood.

He gazes up in confusion at you, “you…saved me…from a frisbee…”

The look on his face was much softer than it usually was, void from suspicion and calculation, he has a nice smile…

Realising the awkward position you were in you push yourself off of him and offer your hand, “Well you don’t have the highest HP…it seemed like a really bad idea to let that hit you.”

Sans accepts your hand, “thank you.” His voice quiet.

Monster Kid charges forward, tears glistening in their eyes, “Dude, I’m so sorry, are you alright, I completely lost my balance, please don’t tell my Mom, I’m…”

Sans smiles at them kindly, “s’all right kiddo, i have no plans to disk-us this with your mom, i can see you fell-t real bad bout it.”

Monster Kid buts his head against Sans in the replacement of a hug, “Thanks man, I’m already in trouble with her for sneaking out all the time, see ya later.” He turns on his tail and runs after his fallen Frisbee.

Papyrus wanders over, “STOP BOONDOGGLING YOU TWO. I WANT TO SHOW THE HUMAN METTATON’S NEW TV SERIES.”

“sounds thrilling.” Sans replies flatly, clearly he’s no fan of Mettaton.

When you enter the house Papyrus offers to make you all drinks and leaves you and Sans in the living room. As you sit on the couch you’re hit with a familiar wave of dizziness, your vision blurs in front of you.

No! I’m waking up, I can’t let Sans see me disappear.

By now Sans was a hazy blue blob to your right.

“Sans, can I use your bath room?” Your voice sounds weak, Sans clearly noticed, even though you can’t gauge his expression his answering tone of voice tips you off onto the fact that he’s noticed something is wrong.

“sure buddy, you don’t look too good, are you alright?”

You nod shakily trying to stand, clutching onto the edge of the couch you propel yourself forward.

“Miss __! Miss __! Get up now.”

Shit, I’m waking up.

You don’t make it to the stairs, collapsing on the floor, and succumbing to the dark.

The incessant voice in your ear demands your attention. Reluctantly you open your eyes, only to find Mr Dawkins leaning over you with an enraged expression, his eyebrows dancing, almost at the top of his forehead. You got too close a glimpse at his sweat covered face, blearily you rub at your eyes.

“I can’t believe how irresponsible you, falling asleep in class, your parents will hear about this.”

Of course they will.

Your eyes dart towards the clock hopefully, much to your despair only fifteen minutes of the lesson had elapsed, oh God I have to put up with another forty-five minutes of this.

Then you realise something worse, next time I fall asleep how am I going to explain to Sans what happened?

Chapter Text

You were condemned to suffer through the sound of Mr Dawkins voice, the drone almost lulling you back to sleep. It seems that after sleeping for what could have only been fifteen minutes you had used up the restless energy that had been writhing inside of you, in fact you were feeling pretty drained.

Letting out a low groan you rest your head in the palms of your hands, by this point you were lying across the desk, practically parallel with the ground. After briefly glancing up and meeting Dawkins beady gaze you relented and sat up, at least slightly.

“This whole town is purely sustained on renewable energy, the founders of the town discovered a way to power the entirety of this place without the outcome of an increase in pollution…” he continues on flatly ignoring the raised hand of the boy on the front row.

You felt something tug at your mind, curiosity and confusion, “What kind of renewable energy?” You finally ask.

Dawkins gaped at you, more surprised than you had voluntarily asked anything in his class than the complexity of the question. “W-Well we have sources of both geothermal energy as well as wind power.”

“Geothermal? We’re in the middle of nowhere; there isn’t a plate boundary with volcanoes nor hotspot in sight, where are you getting the energy?” You enquire.

He produces a handkerchief from his creased pocket, who seriously still carries those around though? Mopping at his forehead he turns away from the board, “You don’t need to be on a volcano to use geothermal energy, you can drill down far enough and there is a plentiful source.”

There are literally no mines here, I’ve never seen a wind turbine here either, where the hell are they?

“So…where are the mines for them, as that is the most efficient system to be put into place? I’ve never seen any wind turbines around.”

The rest of the class just seemed mildly annoyed by the exchange, willing the rest of the lesson to fly by.

Mr Dawkins glares at you with his watery eyes, eyebrows dancing crazily. “I don’t know, it is likely  that there are pumps in place underground and the energy is used to heat water, the source doesn’t have to be that close by, what does it matter, we have energy?”

For someone who is a supposed scientist he seems pretty dismissive of something he should be interested in, I’m asking about something as mundane as the history of the towns energy supply and he’s acting like I told him that his mother was assassinated by their pet cat with that level of incredulity.

You scowl back at him and refuse to answer any of his questions later into the lesson; if he was going to be so evasive then you didn’t see any reason that you should be accommodating.

You wince when you bend over to pick your pen off of the ground, arms stiff and aching, this always happens when I get injections. You resume staring out of the window to Mr Dawkins disgust, some of the clouds had parted, golden streams of light broke through them, illuminating a section of the field.

This was by far more entertaining to watch than trying to decipher the illegible scribbles that were Mr Dawkins’ handwriting on the board.

You didn’t hold much hope in being able to leave at the same time as everyone else, it was clear that Mr Dawkins wanted another, ‘friendly chat.’

You figured that there was little point attempting to behave and be attentive; you were already doomed so you might as well get all that you could out of it.

You were proven right when Dawkins called you up to his desk at the end of class, you sat down in the unoccupied chair across from him, it seemed to annoy him that you invited yourself to sit. You very deliberately tap your fingers against the desk, making an audible noise; each tap caused his eyebrow to twitch.

“Listen Miss __, it was only last lesson that I reprimanded you for not paying attention, now you’re sleeping in class, I’m concerned that you won’t be able to keep up.” The gravelly drone had transformed into an equally irksome whine.

What is this guy doing with his life, he clearly hates teaching….what is the point?

His voice grows louder, “You’re doing it again, stop zoning out on me!”

With a long suffering sigh you look up from the desk, not even noticing that you had been engrossed in the pattern of the wood grain, well anything is more exciting than this.

“Ok.”

This infuriated him more, “I will ring your Father tonight, someone like you should show respect to your betters.”

Someone like me?

When he spoke angrily his spittle sprayed across your face, making you cringe in disgust.

I’m drowning.

“You can go!”

“Kay.” You reply in a deadpan voice.

Great, round two with Dad tonight. I’m not following him down to that cursed workshop ever again, no matter what he threatens me with.

You groan when you realise that you still don’t have your bicycle to ride back home on, I’ll just hang around town until it’s time to pick Sophie up from school. It’s better than going home and waiting.

You decide to risk hanging around in the woods, after all it was a onetime occurrence, idly leaning against a tree you go on Tumblr with your phone, the battery was fairly low so you didn’t intend to spend very long on it.

Scrolling through you can’t find any mention of the article you’d read the other day about the deaths in the orphanage as if it had vanished. Instead you decide to search for mentions of the town orphanage online.

There seemed to be no official page for the orphanage with contact details, how would you even go about adopting the children if no one knows they’re there? Finally you find an address for the place; it’s off the main road going into the town, up by the small mountain in the west.

The odd thing was that the orphanage wasn’t marked on the map of the town; it was only through directly searching for it that you could find an address in the news reports that were still available if dated. The one you found the other day about the deaths was only the most recent one, there were two other mentions of deaths, a child ‘disappearing’ twelve years ago and five children dying of an illness sixteen years ago.

Holy shit that’s a lot of deaths, they really can’t be looking after the children if so many are dying of illnesses and disappearing. How come there’s been no mention of this in the local papers, the information is only online and even then one of the articles is gone. When you try to go back to one of the previously read articles for confirmation it comes up with an error. ‘The page you’re looking for is unavailable, it has been taken down due to breeches in privacy, if you have an issue please click here for more details.’

I was just looking at that a minute ago and it’s been taken down. There is definitely something not right here. The other article said that authorities were looking into it; they can’t be doing a good job if things like this have been going on for years. It made it sound like it was just a case of neglect but it feels like more than that.

You had a few hours before you had to get Sophie, out of impulse you decided to find the orphanage, I must be mad, it’s not like I can do anything, I’ve never even seen the place. Even still if the orphanage is funded by my Dad, whenever problems arise with things he’s involved in they have a tendency to ‘disappear’ as well.

Realising that it would take too long on foot to reach the outskirts of the town you take a bus as far as Crossbill Farm. After stumbling around like a general idiot you come across a gate, tall black railings tower above you, a crooked sign in tarnished gold writing said, ‘Welcome to __ Orphanage.’ Being part of the founder family is really weird; it’s unnerving seeing my surname plastered everywhere.

There were many trees shrouding the area, as there was a nature trail nearby you could see that the orphanage was off the beaten track, there were no paths leading to it. I’ve never met anyone at school from the orphanage; does that mean that they receive tutoring here? Although the gate was firmly locked you could clearly see the main building of the orphanage, old worn grey bricks with lengthy chimneys. It was the opposite of welcoming.

It seems more like a correction institute, I know that our town is pretty rural but why would they build an orphanage way out here? I’m guessing that somehow it isn’t so they’re close to nature. It’s just really eerie, why does this town feel like it’s part of some kind of dodgy conspiracy? I mean I always knew that my Dad had some kind of less than legal dealings, tied with this I can only wonder how invested in this place he is. Usually buildings marked with the family name are privately funded by him but after all of the stuff I saw in his workshop downstairs and all of the strange occurrences recently it seems like he’s working with this place.

He hates kids...well me…he switches between doting and indifference with Sophie. It doesn’t seem like he’s suddenly developed a sense of empathy.

You think back to the journey you had taken to reach the place; I’m surprised I didn’t run into any of these supposed mines we have on the outskirts of town, what with our energy coming from them. To be honest it’s probably just a lie to make our town sound more appealing, they most likely import coal or something.

You start to circle to perimeter of the gate, I hope they don’t have CCTV, this probably looks suspicious.

Around the back of the orphanage you can see a dirt path with fresh tracks worn into it, judging by the size of the tracks it came from a van, which makes sense if they have to drive into town to get supplies for a bunch of children…well that is in the case that there is a bunch…the numbers appear to be dwindling.

Suddenly you hear a loud snapping sound. Someone had stepped on a twig. There was someone behind you.

For fuck sake, it wasn’t funny when Sans did this, I’m guessing they’re not as friendly.

You spin around quickly, a dark figure in a long hooded trench coat looms behind the trees. The hood was pulled down low obscuring their face. From here they appeared to be a few inches taller than you, their age was indecipherable, thick buckles crossed over the middle of the coat that fell to their calves.

I didn’t think that The Matrix was that popular anymore…

You attempted to calm your breathing; your accelerated heart rate seemed too noticeable. Being in the middle of nowhere with no one knowing where you were was beginning to look like a really bad idea. You keep your eyes fixed on them as they made no attempt to approach you.

How long have they been watching me? Did they see me at the entrance?

You were uncertain of whether you should try to confront them or run away like your life depended on it. They certainly didn’t seem like an approachable person, well I could be wrong…they could be very nice and friendly…with pet bunnies…nope I’m stalling…

“Hi..?” You eventually squeak out, sounding more like a question than a greeting.

They cock their head to the side as if studying you intently, “You’re them aren’t you.”

Uhh?

There voice was smooth and soft, it seemed as if they had purposely altered the pitch to make it unidentifiable.

“I’m who?” You demand trying to keep the tremors out of your voice; I’m crap at false bravado.

“The replacement.” They respond, this time there is a touch of sadness to their answer.

“A replacement for whom? Why are you being cryptic?”

They gently let out a huff of air, “I’m so sorry, this should never have happened to you, if only…well…” They trail off before starting again, “I didn’t expect you to find this place, they won’t like it if you get to close.”

All of the unanswered questions were furiously screaming inside your head, letting out a sound of agitation, “Who the fuck is they? Do you know what’s being going on here in this town? I don’t want your sympathy I want to know why! What am I close to?”

“The truth.” The two simple words cause you to glare at them, they take in your expression and with reluctance they continue, “Knowing too much is dangerous, it would be for the best if you left.”

“There’s no way that I’m leaving now, I need answers.”

They shake their head, “No I meant this town. It isn’t safe for you here, you should leave this town and get as far away as possible, maybe they’ll lose interest if you’re lucky.”

Who the hell is this person telling me these things? They act as if they know me, even if I can’t see their face they don’t seem familiar in the slightest, why wouldn’t I be safe…besides the obvious, my parents may be a bit psycho and involved with things they shouldn’t but what does that have to do with me? Why would I be a replacement for someone, none of this makes any sense!

“Listen, I don’t know who you are but you have no right to just come here and say all of these things and expect me to dutifully obey without asking questions. I’m not doing anything; I sure as hell don’t trust some weirdo I met in the woods who looks like they want to mug me!”

They begin to approach much to your apprehension; heavy black boots made of supple leather shatter the dry twigs underneath. Seeing you bristle they raise their hands up, “I mean you no harm, I didn’t even think I would meet you so soon…I just wanted to visit here, it’s been so long…”

Your gaze flits back to the forbidding grey building behind you, “Yeah really homely.” You soften your voice, “Did you grow up here?”

They bark out a startled laugh, “You have no idea; you really don’t want to know. I can’t say I have any love for the place, there are just things I need to check on, how far they’ve come.”

“Yet again you fail to mention who they are. Must be a lapse in your memory.” You respond dryly.

Their body language becomes less stiff as they lean against the tree across from you, “You seem like a good person…you don’t deserve this…hell no one does; if I hadn’t been so selfish things could have been different.”

“You sound like you’ve done something to harm me, but you’ve only spoken with me…are you planning to hurt me?” Suspicion drenched your fragile voice.

They bend their neck, lowering their head, “God no, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just have to correct my mistakes.” When they look up again they push away from the tree, “You should be going, you don’t want to be seen with me.”

With that they stalk past you, heading to the orphanage, nervously they tug at their hood, checking that their face was still hidden enough.

You dart after them swiftly tugging on their sleeve, “Wait.”

 Okay I must be insane, I’m still not certain that they’re trustworthy, it would be better to leave them…yet they have answers…I need to know…

They jerk out of your grasp startled, “You should be going, if you’re not planning on skipping town then it’s best you try and fit in, don’t break routine, go home.”

“Where are you going?”

They laugh darkly, “I’m breaking in.” You were certain that if you could see their face they’d be smirking.

You hesitate, and continue after them.

“What, you feel like coming?” They mull over this, “Well…you could get caught, however I’m very good, you probably won’t learn anything. I’m looking for something specific anyway.”

“You know you could just answer my questions then I wouldn’t have to come with you.”

They shrug, “Too complicated, anyway I don’t know how intrinsic you are yet, acting now could be premature. If I knew with any certainty, that these weren’t coincidences then perhaps I could tell you…till then you’ll have to sit tight I suppose or follow my previous advice.”

“I’m not leaving.” You state indignantly, “I can’t just drop out of college, I have a family.”

They let out a thoughtful hum, “Yes, that family of yours…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing whatsoever.” False brightness injected into their voice.

They begin to haul themselves over the bars, they were worn in places where the black paint was peeling, certain bars were bent out of shape and corroded, almost making footholds.

What the hell am I doing? You nervously grip onto the bars, pulling yourself up, the strain was making your arms shake, you couldn’t hold on for very long when you were lowering yourself down the other side. Your fingers release the bars too soon and you plummet. Landing in a heap of leaves, you arch your back and groan, slowly getting to your feet, only to be met by a loud snickering.

“You’re really not good as this kind of thing are you?”

“Shut up, not all of us are outlaws who break the rules on a regular basis.” You snap.

This seemed to quiet them down quickly, was it the outlaw comment?

“Wait are you actually an outlaw?!”

They cough, “Strictly speaking I’m not wanted for committing any crimes per se, nevertheless being caught and recognised would be a bit not good.”

‘A bit not good’ oh God they’re a Sherlock fan!

You brush off the leaves irritably, “Well we’d best get this over with, I have places to be.”

Nodding in affirmation they lead you to the back, “I suppose I can use another pair of eyes, whatever you see won’t make any sense to you at this point anyway.”

You know, I really want to find out some Earth shattering secret just to lord it over their head, they are really insufferable.

They keep walking until they reach a small play area, decked out with a sparse array of toys, in one corner there was a grate with a padlock, they produce a worn key from their pocket, with a lot of force applied to twist it in the rusted lock it finally gives, the chain falls away. Where did they even get the key from?

“Well, do you want to go first?”

“You’re asking if I want to head down a dark tunnel to God knows where with a complete stranger?”

“Hey I never said you had to come, in fact I advised against it. This leads to the sewers under the orphanage, there’s a ladder leading down to there and further on into the sewers there’s another leading out that’ll lead us to one of the labs.”

Panic rises in you, “Labs? Why would there be a lab in an orphanage? You mean like a nurse’s office or first aid right?”

They scoff at this, “Considering you managed to make your way to this place which is kept significantly under the radar I would have thought you would have a bit more knowledge of this place. Haven’t you read the papers recently, all those iffy deaths…not the first either.”

“What does that have to do with there being a lab?”

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” They practically growl, “There’s a reason that the children here are kept secluded, why they get sick.”

You swallow thickly, “You’re saying that they’re experimented on.”

“Ding ding ding we have a winner!” They call out sarcastically.

“You don’t know that, there could just be outbreaks of illnesses, the children would be in close proximity so many would catch it. What would they have to gain from experimenting on children?”

They open the hatch and start to place their hands and feet on the bars, slowly descending down the tunnel, they shoot you one last look under their hood before the top of their head disappears, “Trust me, I know.”

You feel a bit dizzy; your heart was beating too quickly and a sick tightening in your chest set you on edge. This is all so wrong, how can human experiments be taking place right under everyone’s noses, they have to be wrong. Yet the way they were speaking earlier, they’re definitely seem familiar with this place…were they from here? Is that why they know about what’s going on inside?

Even if I learn anything I don’t see what I can do. Who would I even go to if I found proof? There’s the police…yeah lead by the same chief as the guy who’s best drinking buddies with Dad, this is insane. Things like this don’t happen except in fiction, how can this be happening to me? I would say that it’s all a big coincidence, everything circumstantial…but it clearly isn’t, it’s just hard to accept. I didn’t even know this place existed before today.

Who is the person I met here, is he one of those ‘Officials’ looking into the mysterious deaths, maybe they’re trying to find evidence to expose them. Still that doesn’t explain the things they said to me, why would I need to leave? I can’t see that I’m in anymore danger than usual, they sound so melancholy.

There is something about them though, something familiar, their mannerisms…how demanding they are and invasive…they know things they shouldn’t.

“I thought you said you were coming. Did you chicken out at the thought of wading through sludge?” Their voice calls out with a distinctive echoic ring to it.

“I’m coming, jeez.” Looks like I’m really investing trust into them, they haven’t attempted to harm me but it’s too soon to form a conclusive opinion on their intentions.

You grimace when you notice that they left a thin coating of mud on the bars of the ladder that you clung to, remnants from the bottom of their boots. This time you were more successful and reached the bottom without epically failing.

You immediately regretted leaving the ladder when your trainers sunk into a thick layer of scum, the squelching sound was abhorrent. You swore you could already feel the muck seeping into your shoes.

Your elusive friend chuckled when they heard you whimper, “It’s gonna get worse before it gets better, let’s keep going.”

You trudge down the darkened tunnels, a flashlight is produced from their pocket, illuminating the place, it didn’t look much better. Now you didn’t have to only put up with the feeling of being gross with all the filth but you could now visualise it too.

“You never told me your name.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Well, I’m __.” You decided to tell them.

“Believe me I know.”

“That’s just creepy, you realise that you don’t seem a trustworthy person in the slightest, a complete stranger who spouts nonsense and happens to know me, convincing me to break into a dubious orphanage.”

“For the last time I never tried to convince you to do anything.” They deny, “It’s you that insisted on coming.”

“Well if I let you roam around anywhere who knows what you’ll get up to, I can minimise the damage.”

“Oh yes I’m sure that’s what concerns you right now, not burning curiosity.” They counter.

Up ahead there was a dull ringing sound, of something striking metal; they stiffen by your side in response, “It’s probably nothing, maybe I’m a bit too paranoid.”

This statement seemed to ring a bell, you couldn’t quite place it.

You keep walking in silence, screwing your face up when you step in a particularly deep patch of waste. “So what should I refer to you as?”

They pause, “I’ve had many names, I don’t really care.”

“So you’d rather I refer to you as the dodgy hooded stranger from the woods?”

“Ha ha,” They reply humourlessly, “I dunno, pick something.”

“Fine.” You huff, they really are familiar…then something occurred to you. “If you’re not going to give me your name then I’ll make one up for you, how about Kitsune?”

Chapter Text

Your companion’s footsteps falter for a second, the sound of water trickling down from a leaking pipe became more prominent, filling the silence with each slap against the grime below. It is as if time stood still for a moment.

They clear their throat a little too loudly, “K-Kitsune…that’s an interesting name.”

A smirk crosses your face, “Hmm, I thought it was fitting.”

“What makes you say that?” Their voice was sharper, apprehensive.

“I’m sorry but I think it best that you don’t know that information yet,” You drawl sarcastically. See how you like others withholding information.

They groan in response, the flashlight in their hand shifts, illuminating the wall next to you, they deliberately kept it away from their face. Reluctantly you continue to trudge through the grime. I wonder where we are, they said it was a sewer but this place is conveniently large, running under the orphanage. I really shouldn’t be trusting a random stranger that I met less than an hour ago; I must have a death wish.

“How about a trade of information,” They pause, “You tell me why you named me that and I’ll answer one of your questions, sound fair?”

You nod, which was probably not the best action in a darkened sewer now that the light was facing away from you. What do I want to know the most? Who am I a replacement for? Are they from this orphanage? Why are they supposedly experimenting on children? What do my family and I have to do with all of this? Why do they pretend to act all mysterious? Who knows?

“Okay, how exactly is everyone in my family involve in this, this whole scheme and fuckupery?” You eventually say after deliberating.

They sigh, “You couldn’t have asked something simple could you, your role and your parent’s roles are very different. Very well, your father is a scientist, they own this facility and hence they are the one authorising the experiments here, your mother isn’t particularly talented in any of the fields required, she is involved by association with your father. Sophie has nothing to do with this whatsoever you can be rest assured.”

After breathing in deeply and not continuing their explanation you nudge them, “And me?”

“You’re a replacement.”

Agitation rises inside of you, “Whose replacement? A replacement for what?”

They chuckle humourlessly, “I said that I would tell you to what extent your family members were involved with this plot, I didn’t say that I’d state the specifics of said plot, only their roles within it. Now I believe you owe me some information.”

Grinding your teeth you glare at them, stepping slightly into the beam of light in front of them. “You know what I implied in my questioning.”

“You should have been more specific then.”

This person’s even more of an asshole than Sans, pedantic little shit…

“Fine. I called you Kitsune because you are none other than KrimsonKitsune.”

You can feel them bristle at your side, “I expected as much, how did you find out?”

“I thought we were only answering one question each.” You snarked with enjoyment.

You were amused to hear them muttering curses under their breath; your brief interlude of happiness was cut short when you tripped over something small and solid. The person that had now confirmed themselves to be Kitsune grabbed your arm, stopping you from falling into the foul water. Perhaps I should be more appreciative towards them…

What even was that? Tilting your head towards the item you had tripped over you coax Kitsune into shining their light down on the ground. A fairly large cylindrical syringe was semi-lodged into a condensed pile of leaves that had ended up down here. Bending down slowly you wrench it out of the ground, the glass was cracked on one side, it held a red residual liquid. Possibly blood? The increment markings usually found down the side of it were worn away.

A feeling of unease tauntingly caresses your spine, shuddering you turn to Kitsune. “What are the chances of whatever drug the children here are receiving being the same as what we get in College?” Your voice had a slightly raspy quality to it as you voice the sudden rising fear.

They gently pull the syringe out of your hand, “They’re not exactly dangerous…what they’re given…well I suppose it is circumstantial, at the very least it doesn’t cause harm to the body or even the soul.”

The soul, what the hell? Is this person religious or something? There’s no such thing as the soul, it’s a made up concept.

“What do you mean by soul?”

“As in the very culmination of your being, obviously.”

You let out a laugh, “Dude, Undertale is a game. I know you follow fan pages but that stuff isn’t real.”

You can hear them audibly swallow, “I’ll answer another question if you tell me how you knew I was KrimsonKitsune.”

You bring to the forefront of your mind, all of the tiny obscure observations you had made, then decide to be blunt. “I didn’t actually know for certain, I was bluffing. It’s quite funny really considering you didn’t even deny it, only wondering how I knew. There was a pretty remote chance of me even being correct. The way you speak is similar to the way you type, you know too much about me, which was implied in your messages considering you had never met me…you seemed invested…in dreams no less.” You smirk, “That’s ridiculous right? Why would my dreams interest you, clearly you were talking to me because you wanted something, then there was something you said, “It’s probably nothing, maybe I’m a bit too paranoid.” You said that in a message the other day and repeat that phrase today. It all seemed circumstantial, if anything I only called you Kitsune because your intrusive and secretive nature seemed similar, I didn’t actually think you were them…but you kinda confirmed it.”

You can see them lower their head, “I was careless, nevertheless it is only you who knows. I do not believe it to be detrimental to my plans, on the contrary it could be beneficial.”

“Who says I’m getting involved with your shady doings, I have enough of that with my family that you still refuse to be specific about.”

They gesture around them, “Not getting involved in my shady doings? What do you call this?” Their laugh was more affectionate than mocking.

“I suppose you’re right.” You admit grudgingly, “Anyway you owe me another answer, who am I a replacement for?”

They pause consideringly, “That’s rather simple to answer. Me.” Leaving it at that they press onwards.

What the hell? A replacement for them? Why would I replace them? Who are they? Your thoughts buzzed angrily inside of your head like an irate hive of bees.

“Aren’t you going to ask?” They comment.

“And receive another evasive response. By this point it would be better if I learn this stuff myself, you’re doing me no favours.”

At long last you come to the end of a tunnel, you can dimly make out a ladder, curiously enough the metal seemed to be polished, an obscure contrast when compared with the dismal state of the rest of the sewers. Perhaps it is in frequent usage.

“Ladies first.” They offer.

“So you’re male?” You respond.

They tug their hood lower self-consciously, “Maybe.”

You grip hold of the first bar, it’s oddly slick as if it were polished recently, this makes it seem like an even worse idea, whoever maintains this place might come back.

As you climb you consider the things that you have recently learnt, maybe I should try to break away from them and explore this place myself, they’re only going to give me half truths anyway. There is a chance that I can learnt the purpose of this place as they’re obviously not going to tell me. Why would they only tell me certain things? Surely I’d be a better asset to them if I was aware of what they were doing. They know things about this place, about me and my family. It seems evident that they came from here, the level of disgust and knowledge they have reinforces this. Then there is the matter of me being a replacement, from what I can gather they left, is that why I replaced them? And what am I replacing them for, what is my purpose?

Your mind turns back to the last lesson you had with Dawkins, they were acting really cagey about the energy source for this town, and they said something along the lines of ‘a person like you should show respect to your betters.’ I mean what’s up with that, a person like me, do they know about this crap? How many of the town members are actually involved with what my parents are doing?

When you finally reach the top, the palm of your hand presses against something solid and metallic, there seemed to be something you could turn. Groping around blindly in the dark you latch on to it, tugging it whilst attempting to remain balanced, after all you seemed to have an unfortunate record of tripping over as of late.

The section gives way as light streams down from the surface, you can hear Kitsune behind you, the quite groan of the bars protest against your combined weight. You screw your eyes shut as you haul yourself up, ending up on the cold polished white floor of a lab. The room was incredibly bright in contrast to the dim sewer tunnels, after Kitsune found their way out you sealed the exit making sure to cover it with the tarpaulin that you had knocked off when you emerge, lifting the section like a lid had caused the material to shift off it as soon as you pushed it open.

“Where are we?”

“One of the minor side labs, however it is responsible for record keeping. Quite convenient isn’t it, whenever the authorities come to examine the place, official records and damning evidence can be swiftly removed to the tunnels underneath. They are well aware of the system but the entrance by the playground is rarely used, they key was stiff with disuse.”

The only words you register were ‘record keeping’ what information could be found here?

“What are you even looking for Kitsune?”

They twitch slightly as you address them as this again, “I need to see how far they are, how close they are until their plan comes into fruition, for that I need to access the computer in the main lab, they should keep a log of their ‘patients’ there, what I’m looking for isn’t going to be in these stuffy archives.” They make their way towards the door confidently, “Stay here.”

You watch them leave, stood mutely. Well here we are, all alone in a mysterious lab…do they really expect for me to not touch anything? I mean this is me we’re talking about, if I rummage through my insane Father’s workshop drawers there isn’t a chance I’m neglecting anything here.

Hesitantly you make your way over to the first set of drawers, the lab was fairly small, row after row of draws lined the room, archives of information. In one corner there appeared to be broken equipment, old monitors left abandoned. Of course the drawers were locked, tugging on them was pointless. I could break into them with force but it doesn’t seem like a good idea, I mean we’re supposed to get though here undetected. It would piss Kitsune off…well that’s more of a benefit.

By this point you didn’t feel scared of Kitsune, of course they were initially intimidating and as they possessed an extraordinary amount of knowledge about you and your family you were on edge. And yet there were so many opportunities for them to harm you, but they didn’t.

Not much to base a friendship on really…oh well….what if they lead me here for a reason…like to abduct me. I should have learnt a long time ago to not trust that people’s intentions are good.

Sighing n frustration you relent with your assault on the drawers, going to each one in hope of finding one that wasn’t locked. It was futile. And here I thought I could learn about these experiments, honestly this is sick…children…and thus far the authorities are only concerned about some of them recently dying of meningitis…I’m guessing they died of something else.

The word replacement continued to echo through your mind, it rang a bell somewhere, reminding you of the partial conversation you had overheard from your Father back in his workshop.

“But I don’t believe that she will ever be as strong as they were….it isn’t my fault that they got away, we’ve been honing this for years…fine I will try to speed the process up…keep looking for them…” In retrospective it was painfully clear that your father was talking about you, well at least with what Kitsune had told you it seemed so. This person that got away, could it possibly be Kitsune? If so then Dad still wants to find them, that must be the reason that they’re keeping their face obscured…as for me being a replacement…being honed to replace them…why? For what purpose? None of this makes sense.

A few days ago I wouldn’t have believed there was anything wrong with this town, I was too absorbed in my own problems to consider what was going on around me. I became accustom to my Father and Mother’s treatment of me, it didn’t seem to be anything more than disapproval and disliking, not some godforsaken conspiracy.

You were reluctant to admit that you were sulking, leaning heavily against a worktop as you scowled at the drawers, in the vain hope of opening them with will power alone. It didn’t work.

Instead you go over to nosey at the broken equipment, under closer examination and general fiddling it seemed that it wasn’t broken but possibly outdated, it was most likely discarded in favour of new equipment. There was an ancient VHS player sat on top of a sealed cardboard box. Much nostalgia.

You decided that the box was battered anyway, if the tape was slightly peeled it wouldn’t go amiss. Gently you nudge at the corner of the tape, thick brown masking tape. Of course with how precise you were you practically ripped the surface of the box of in an attempt to remove the tape. Well done.

The box had stacks of VHS tapes inside, piled up neatly, some of them had the tape unwound from the reel and spreading out underneath it. They didn’t seem to be in the best condition. After rummaging around you find one with all of the tape on the inside. Your mind kept nagging at you to watch it.

What’s the worst that could happen? Whoever works in here could come back, my father could eviscerate me, Kitsune could find out, it might not even work…heh it reminds me of the True Lab…at least I’m not going to be plagued by an army of amalgamates, right?...right?

You cast a cautious look behind you, that isn’t going to do any good, even if no one is around at the moment I have no idea if they’ll suddenly come back. You crawl over to one of the sockets built low down into the wall. After finally working out how to connect everything you were pleasantly surprised to find that the VHS player was working. Unfortunately the screen kept flickering before being overcome with static.

You rock back on your heels, hand pressed to your forehead as you let out a hiss of frustration. However despite the lack of visuals the audio was still working.

At first it was difficult to make out, the quality wasn’t the best. You barely let a breath escape you in fear of you missing something, you couldn’t turn the volume you, even if you wanted to it would be inadvisable.

“Beta subject prepped, analysis shows that they have one of the largest quantities of x present, however it is substantially smaller than the amount possessed by subject Alpha. They are the closest candidate that we’ve found since their impromptu departure. Previous tests have shown that it is possible to increase the amount of x possessed by a subject, however too strong a concentration and quantity at one time has caused grievous consequences. Gamma, one of the first subjects showed signs of promise, however they were unable to deal with the increase with no way to channel x, the build up caused damage to their essence and surroundings, they showed no signs of recognition, potential mental damage, they displayed destructive tendencies and violent behaviour. Smaller less frequent dosages have proven more effective as they accumulate slowly allowing adaptation to them, over the course of a little under two decades subject Beta should be at the level of Alpha, the chance of finding a candidate as strong as Alpha naturally is infinitesimal, artificial means must be deployed.”

There is a loud hiss of static before the voice continues, “Other qualities of substances have been found in the subjects, not all of them have a dominant ratio of x,  we have identified these other qualities and found the subjects unbefitting of continuing the experiments, they will be unable to handle the smallest increase. Subjects H, K, L have been terminated.”

You hadn’t realised that you’d been shaking, more chilling than any of the words spoken was the voice, the calm detached one that you had heard many a time, not even the static could obscure it. Your Father. The tape finished, yanking it out quickly you put everything back sitting in the middle of the floor silently.

The only thing that you hadn’t returned was the tape, that was securely hidden in your bag. What am I even supposed to think about all of this, there was part of me that didn’t believe any of this, my Father may be a horrible person to me…but to think he would inflict pain on other people…children. But now I have proof, I don’t even think that this would be sufficient proof in a court, the terms used are too vague, they could be references to animal experiments at a vivisection. None of this helps, it just infuriates me more. All I know for certain is that my family are responsible for experiments that are unethical, it said that certain subjects were ‘terminated.’ Did he kill them, innocent people? What was he injecting them with? This compound x, possibly the same thing that I’ve been receiving, what about the other students at my school, is it just me?

I shouldn’t be surprised that he’d consider me another subject, an object, not a person. Does he even consider me his daughter?

From what I can piece together Kitsune is possibly subject Alpha, it mentioned that they left and they possibly escaped here…if that’s so does that make me Beta? Beta replaced Alpha, why am I a test subject in the first place?

It was then that you felt something warm and wet trickle down your cheek, it wasn’t often that you let yourself cry, crying was counter-productive, unnecessary and messy. Even still you couldn’t ignore the emotions engulfing you, betrayal and hatred, sorrow and loss. It seemed that everything had been a charade, your entire life was false. What do I do? I have no one I can trust? I will have to leave soon, to pick up Sophie…to go home, how can I face them, there is still so much that I don’t know.

You furiously scrub at your face with your sleeve, heh this is one of the times that I’m glad I don’t wear makeup.

You fiddle with the edge of a rug that had been lain out across a section of the floor, it did nothing for the room, the dirty rust colour looked dreadful next to the white and pale green spattered everywhere.

It looked out of place, curiously you peel it back, there were lose panels underneath made of wood, a fairly wide crack running through one indicated that it was toyed with a lot. You lean over to lift it up.

The small cavity hidden underneath the wooden panels were filled with vials, tiny glass bottles holding a brilliant red liquid, phosphorescent, it lit up the darkened space with a crimson glow. There were a total of eight vials, neatly lying on top of one another. You hold one up to the light, at first it had looked like it was blood but the shade was wrong, plus blood didn’t glow. In fact it looked similar to the strange cylinder that Sans had shown you, that he claimed held an extract of your clothing…DETERMINATION…from your soul.

You try to laugh, it sounded almost hysterical, that’s ridiculous, determination is something you feel and experience not a physical quality I’m being stupid, there are so many things that this substance could be, maybe it’s substance x, whatever that is.

The longer you held the vial the stranger you began to feel, it was warm in your palm, you assumed this was to do with your own body heat. You could feel adrenaline course though your body, urging you to move, to act. It burned inside of you, this was utterly baffling, you weren’t in immediate danger. I can’t let nerves get to me. The feeling persisted, then your eyes were drawn back to the vial, the red liquid appeared to be glowing brighter, emitting more light as you held on to it. the light began to pulse slowly, it was in time with the throbbing beat of your heart, the sensation was so intense, building more and more.

You couldn’t take it any longer, shakily placing the vial back into its hiding place, your body shook with tremors, as if something had awoken inside of you. Your vision lost focus, everything was to bright. Something was calling out to you.

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You’re swallowed by the darkness again, shadows writhing around you. As you crept closer you noticed holes, gaps were the shadows weaved into one another, small spots of light with a multitude of colours reach out to you. You can make out hazy scenes through them, in one there is a golden Hallway, light streaming in untamed as it entwines with cobalt flames, in another there’s a peaceful garden, people gather around a table somewhere. So many places, so many times.

“Interesting aren’t they.”

You turn around from your somewhat craned position over one of the lower holes in the shadow’s web. Behind you stood Chara, beaming at you with their scarlet eyes glittering with intrigue, they wore the same clothing as last time. You had almost forgotten the last time you ended up here.

“Small windows from which I can view everything, I suppose it makes up for how empty it is here. A teasing ray of light just beyond my reach, never attainable.” They gesture at another one by your foot.

After flashing them a disconcerted look you peer into it, you could see Sophie, her blonde hair pulled back into a neat plat as she stared diligently at the board in her classroom.

“Of course there are other places but I don’t care to look upon them, only two of the realms are interesting, a lot of them are devoid of life, even those with life are pointless to view, I’m not associated with them.”

You look up again at them, “Why am I here?”

Irritation passes across their face, “You asked that last time, I’m not bringing you here. It’s not my fault if you get lost on your way to your destination.” Their face brightens, “It does get awfully dull here, your pretty soul really brightens things up.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll point me towards an exit.” You respond drily.

They pout in a discontent way, “Don’t you want to play with me?” They let their voice increase an octave.

What is up with this kid, they act so serious and speak as if they’re older than they look, before reverting back to the mentality of a three year old.

“What do you want to play?”

“I play with lots of people, lives, futures, none of it matters in the end. It is so easily erased. How about a game I like to call ‘dusting’ I don’t expect that I have to explain the rules to you.”

This kid is fucked up, their grin had widened, their cheeks flushed happily, “No thanks, dusting sounds too much like a chore.”

Their expression darkens drastically, the reddish hue of their eyes become obsidian as their pupils begin to grow, bleeding into their alarming irises. “Do you think you’re funny little comedian? Do you think Smiley Trashbag would be proud of you?” They lean closer, their breath scalding on your neck, “I don’t think so, in fact after your last disappearance I wouldn’t be surprised if he attempts to make you permanently disappear.”

You swallow and step away from them, their knife like words, cruel joy. “Don’t worry you won’t disappear, I won’t let you. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while, even more fun than watching Frisk cower on the surface, thinking they’re safe. We’ll have a lot of fun together, one way or another.”

You cough quietly, “I’d say it was nice to see you again but, you know, it really wasn’t. I don’t feel like committing genocide on a whim Chara.”

They tilt their head looking perplexed, “Why not, you can just reset. Why does it matter? Besides this is all a dream right? It doesn’t matter if you kill a bunch of people in a dream, heheh, we’re not real.”

Their words were like honey-coated poison, something sickly sweet but deadly. It sounded as if they were mocking you. Of course it was a dream, and yet the way they are saying all of this is eerie…threatening.

“I know it’s a dream, it doesn’t mean that I have to kill anyone, I don’t want to.” You refuse stubbornly.

Surprisingly they just smile, this smile was calculated and cold unlike their ear-splitting grins, “You’ll get bored eventually, one day it won’t be enough…you’ll get curious just like they did, and I’ll be waiting.”

You could feel yourself become lighter, the shadows pulsed slowly around you, you seemed to lose whatever little substance you had.

“Leaving so soon? Oh well, I’ll be watching __, always watching.”

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Your head jerks up quickly, at least they didn’t stab me this time. You were perplexed by your surroundings. Face to face with something green. Plush and soft on the outside yet when you shifted your weight you could feel lumps pressing into you. Looking around blearily you realise that you’re in Sans and Papyrus’ house.

This is where I passed out last time, from what Toriel said I actually disappear before my body reforms when I’m in the process of falling asleep. How did I get on the couch?

“sleepin seems to come to you naturally, you can do it with your eyes shut.”

You jerk out of the seat to face Sans, his face was oddly blank except for the intense scrutiny of the lights in his eye sockets. You couldn’t decipher what emotion he was feeling, he was purposely withholding his feelings.

“my good sense of humour seems to have vanished recently, then again you’ve got quite the warped sense of humour yourself, was it fun befriending my brother, pretending to be something you’re not?”

It was then that his sockets become dead and empty, “I-I can explain Sans, there’s a reason for all of this.” You push yourself off of the couch and stand at the opposite end, keeping as much distance as possible between the two of you.

“it has occurred to me, who is the one person who knows so much, who has seen so much? who is apparently responsible for controlling the actions of others? the one that frisk warned me about?”

“C-Chara.” You whisper shakily.

An azure flame licks at one of his sockets, “you know where everything is down here with never stepping foot, you know enough about everyone’s personalities to predict how you should act to befriend them. did you think  you were being clever, it isn’t possible for you to know these things…yet you do. you wear clothes made of your own soul, no actual physical matter that is considered normal, you have a degree of control over my blasters and you inexplicably vanish out of time and space.” His teeth clench shut angrily as he raises his left hand, a sharp tug wrenches your soul from your chest, “that got me thinking, who do i know that has these traits in common? you’re them aren’t you, i don’t know how you formed a new body or found one but you’re them aren’t you…chara.”

You shake your head rapidly, “That’s ludicrous, Chara never had control over your bloody blasters, you were pretty trigger happy with them. It makes no sense, Chara died years ago, I look nothing like them, I’m not them!”

Sans makes a twisting motion with their fist, your soul is engulfed with a cloud of blue, the inky stain spreading across the red surface, your limbs becoming heavier. “then explain to me how you know these things, about the times the kid killed us all, how could you possibly observe all of this and retain the memories unless you’re them, you know everything about this place, anticipating every action. i know you’re not frisk, hell at first i though frisk was making up this chara person to redirect blame…but it makes sense.”

“It really doesn’t, I’m not a psychopathic child hell bent on destroying the world. Just because I observed these things it doesn’t mean I had a part in them.”

You feel your legs leave the ground as Sans raises his hand, “then tell me, who are you, how do you know these things?”

Your breathing becomes more rapid, “Just put me down and I can explain. I’m not them, I promise. I’ve never killed anyone. This is the first time I’ve actually been here in person anyway.”

He shakes his head slowly, his hold on your soul tightens making you gasp out, an increase of pressure was uncomfortable but not painful, “but i don’t know that, i can’t tell if you have LOVE or not, besides if you’re them then it would make sense, who else would have the abilities you have as a human if not that demon.”

“If we just talk then I can explain to you, please listen to me!” You plead.

He pulls you closer to him, “words cannot convince me, you have already lied to me in the past, only genuine emotion and love would convince me as the demon clearly lacks these, if you aren’t them then you’ll have love instead of LOVE.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to prove that to you?”

Sans holds you in place consideringly, “your soul is all you are, the culmination of your being, the rawness of your essence. despite the fact that your physical form is comprised of mainly soul the core of your being resides there.” He points at the now stained navy heart suspended from your chest, “as such all of your feelings, your memories and personality are contained there, souls can’t lie, they must follow their very nature.”

A frown crosses the malleable bone above his sockets, “a method like this hasn’t been used in many years…it was never banned but went out of typical practice…”

“What method?” You whisper.

“soul-scouring…a method of interrogation.”

You try to twist violently in his hold, to release yourself from his magic, your mind conjures up images of a scouring pad being rubbed against your soul. What the fuck is wrong with this guy, sure I can do some crazy stuff but that doesn’t make me the demon kid from hell.

“What does that entail?”

“i’m going to touch your soul.”

Chapter Text

“i’m going to touch your soul.”

“I don’t fucking think so.” You state with a deadpan expression, staring back at his empty sockets, the one on the left with its intense flames shuddered at your absolute refusal, glowing brighter and more deadly.

“you don’t have a choice, either i end you now, which we both know to be pointless, as you’ll keep coming back like a parasite, or you let me judge you properly.” Sans’ grip on your soul tightens slightly as he’s still holding you above the ground before him.

You attempt to twist your body against his unfaltering grip, helplessly dangling your legs with no hope of reprieve. “I have to admit you have the most bizarre logic I’ve come across,” You lower your voice to imitate Sans’ own, “Oh it’s something I don’t understand, I can’t trust it, it might kill me, who knows what it’ll do, it could be a bloody baby but it has the potential for genocide, best kill it now. Not to mention it has very tenacious similarities to someone else, instead of asking them I’m going to force the information from them. I’m such a great person!” You finish acerbically, spitting at him.

Sans doesn’t even flinch, “i’m not doing this for me, this is for everyone. if you turn out to be that thing that i faced years before the last reset then i’m not risking anything. you might not even be them, it didn’t stop the abomination from possessing frisk, how do i know it isn’t doing the same to you?”

You roll your eyes, “I dunno, common sense perhaps?”

Sans lowers his hand slowly, your body is thrown back into the couch, an invisible weight pinning you down. Sans steps forward keeping his eye sockets trained on you. Your arms are pushed against the back of the couch in a pose not dissimilar to being crucified.

Is he insane? I thought we were actually getting on now, he saw me disappear and somehow it’s brought back all of his old suspicions. Sure I probably wouldn’t trust me if I were him but he won’t even give me a chance to explain. There’s no point me even lying to him by this point…but touching my soul…what will he see? Will he just feel my emotions or can he actually see things?

You glare at him stubbornly as he perches precariously on the edge of the couch, keeping his ribcage twisted away from you, regarding you with a serious expression.

“So…why exactly did this go out of practise?” You comment idly, attempting to waylay the inevitable.

You see his jaw tighten and clench together harshly, the azure glare of his flames dims somewhat. “touching another person’s soul is painful for the individual in question, like an exposed wound…delving into it.” His sockets darken, “then again i’ve never seen you react to pain before, even when i fought you, not once did you wince in pain. so to be honest i’m not sure i should really feel that bad for you, i’ll simply be extracting information from you, you probably won’t feel a thing will you?” He adopts a more threatening tone of voice.

“I really don’t think that’s an excuse, I’m sure I’ll feel something if you lodge your hand in my soul. I have a feeling that souls are pretty personal.”

You blink as you watch Sans grow increasingly flustered, a bluish hue that wasn’t the light cast from his blazing eye, flushes over his cheekbones. “shut up. this is a serious method! the only reason it went out of use was because it was considered unethical, there is only one other person who is meant to be able to touch another’s soul without causing pain, by this point i don’t care if you’ll be in pain or not, i have a threat to evaluate.”

Once again you try to pull away from his looming presence, even if you knew it was futile, you didn’t want to relent without a fight. “This is wrong!” You hiss, as you regard his now outstretched arm warily, inch by inch he moves closer to your ink stained soul.

You think you see a flicker of regret on his face as the blue flames become extinguished, harsh white lights bore into you uneasily, “after everything i’ve seen i don’t have a choice but to be careful. i’ve walked the path of indifference before, it doesn’t make anything better. there are things i care about, that i have to protect.”

In one last ditch attempt you try to throw your head back and call for Papyrus. “Papyrus, where are you!”

Sans shakes his head mockingly, “when you disappeared i told him you felt ill and went home, he’s at undyne’s now. it’s just the two of us.”

Sans seems to swallow, his phalanges tremble slightly, a few centimetres from your exposed soul, “for what it’s worth if you are innocent…no i can’t…” He trails off, a resolute expression of grim determination masks his trepidation. “here we go.”

When his hand presses flat across your soul it feels like a jolt of electricity, your soul spasms and contracts in an attempt to throw his hand off. The touch of his hand sends a wave of warmth through you, it was unwelcome. Gritting your teeth you fight against it, his very presence felt as if it were sinking into you, your mind was no longer empty. It was as if you could sense something wrong, something foreign that shouldn’t be there. With all your mustered will power, concentrating on your soul you try desperately to push against it. Get out!

The invading presence had a personality, vague surface feelings of shock that were not your own became registered in your mind. You hadn’t realised that you’d shut your eyes until you felt the pressure on the couch decrease and a loud thump on the ground across from you grabbed your attention. The strange invading warmth was fading as you felt your soul heave  in relief.

Sans was sprawled on the floor, animosity glowing in his eye sockets, “you did it again, like when i tried to teleport us that time. you should really stop, i was trying to be gentle. Now i won’t hold anything back.”

Getting up with as much dignity as was possible he stalks towards you.

“Learn anything?” You ask dryly.

His body stiffens as he watches you with a calculated expression, “you’re good at hiding things. i was barely able to read your surface emotions. trust me that isn’t satisfactory in the slightest, i need to know who you are, what you’ve seen and done, to feel the very intent and desires of your soul to judge whether you’re a threat.”

“What I’ve seen and done? You want to know my memories!” You shout in disbelief, “You can get lost, they’re private. You disgusting piece of shit!”

“you know what they say, seeing is believing , you didn’t look like you were in pain before, i’m not really  a-soul-ting you,” Once again he finds his place on the couch, with a twisting motion of his hand your back is pressed against the arm of one end of the couch while he crouches in front of you, your legs were forced on the ground, causing you to twist your back awkwardly.

More fiercely than last time, instead of laying his hand across the surface of your soul he grips it, curling his phalanges around it tightly. You let out a shaky gasp, not only was the pressure forcing your body into this position but it was becoming harsher, your chest felt as if it were on the verge of collapsing.

Yet again you try to muster the will to fight against Sans’ own mind, forcing its way into you, even still your head ached and your soul felt crippled from all of the pressure, it was difficult to think coherently, you felt weak and exposed.

No, I can’t let him win. He has no right to know anything about me. He can’t see. No.

Your breathing quickens, there was no use trying to move your body anymore, the battle was internal. Despite how uncomfortable it felt to have your mind invaded the strange warmth began to increase again. Your head felt heavy, as if it were too full of information, thoughts buzzing and reverberating throughout your mind, some of which that weren’t your own. Your limbs were numb and limp by your sides.

Turning your focus to your soul with your eyes screwed shut you try to summon that determination, the brilliant red shrouded underneath Sans’ own magic. It felt disconnected, smothered and small, unwilling to fight back against Sans’ assault.

Sans’ grip on your soul decreases slightly as if taking into account the discomfort, “don’t fight it, just let me in.”

No, no, no, stop! you can’t!

You were beyond the point of externally verbalising your thoughts, a swirling feeling of fear and shock, hurt and betrayal surged through you in response. With your eyes closed you could see it in your mind, an oncoming blue haze, seeping into the corners of your mind, blurring the limited sight you had. It was relentless but warm, so warm, deceptive comfort.

let go…

The breathy words were uttered, ringing out inside your head, your refusal was waning, the warmth felt too nice, too calming and comforting. It scared you, letting someone this close, it was wrong. It went against anything you had ever told yourself, the truths the world had taught you, ‘never trust anyone fully, everyone is only looking out for themselves, you’re nothing but a toy, a plaything to them, don’t let them take advantage of you, don’t let anyone close.’

Heat washed over you, concentrated at your soul, almost tender as it worked its way through you, crushing your resistance.

Where is the pain? I thought it was supposed to hurt. Maybe if it did hurt it would be easier to fight.

Your mind was now engulfed with the pale blue fog, your thoughts were too hazy now, you were beyond resistance. Letting out a soft sigh of defeat you let go, no longer able to fight the force of Sans, once harsh and direct, now creeping and subduing.

All too soon the haze was gone, your mind oddly alert as everything turns white. The scene is taken over by a seven year old you sat on the rich mauve carpet downstairs in your house. It was your birthday, you appear to take their place, becoming your seven year old self.

“Dad, where are my presents?”

“Toys don’t get toys.” He replies briefly, his tone of voice devoid of any emotion.

The scene changes again to a couple of years ago, you’re walking down the street cheerfully, hand clasped by another person, Jeremy was smiling at you softly, his green eyes sparkling with excitement. He laughs softly as the wind musses his hair across his face.

“Of course I love you __, you’re important to me.”

Darkness edges around the sides, leaking into the jewel bright recollection, warping it. You’re stood before your father in his study.

“You stupid whore! Trying to sell my secrets to others, are you really that cheap and useless. You belong to me, you’re nothing more than an object that I possess. What right have you to let filth like that stupid boyfriend steal from me?!” his eyes are dead, like voids sucking away any of your lingering happiness. “You need to remember your place girl.”

A knife glints in the low lit room, the fire in the corner casts elongated shadows across the wall. You couldn’t watch, focusing on the distorted and darkened images as your head is bent over the desk, forced down harshly as your hair is grasped. Pain surges through you, a quick flash of agony across your jaw, stretching onto your lower cheek, the blade traces the flesh slowly, consideringly, to draw it out.

The colour leeches away, you’re sat at a desk with your head bowed, leaning against the table as tears fall softly.

A warm hand pats you on the back awkwardly, “It’s okay, you can tell me anything.”

“I can’t do this anymore, it hurts too much.” Your voice is muffled, both from the table and the thick layer of tears masking your voice.

“I already know some of it, I’ve seen your arm, you can’t tell me that it was an accident, the bruises are shaped like fingerprints.”

Your head rises so you can look at Miss Evans, one of your old primary school teachers, “Parent’s are supposed to love their children aren’t they? Did I do something wrong?”

The tears in your eyes blur the sight before you, You’re five years old, sat in front of a mirror as your Mother tugs harshly at your hair, forcing it into two small plats at the back of your head. You whimper slightly as she tugs harder. You try to make eye contact with her in the mirror, these days she rarely looked at you without anger. This time she does, eyes flicking back and forth uneasily with a hint of guilt.

“I never wanted this for you.”

The image trembles and ripples spread across it, you’re now seventeen, in charge of babysitting Sophie. It was on one of the rare days that there was actually sun. Lying on your back peacefully, Sophie rested her small head on your stomach, a content smile on both of your faces.

“You’re the best sister in the world.”

You laugh, “I’m the only sister you have silly.”

She sits up, looking at you with a serious expression, “Really, you are.”

The scene turns white again, you’re stood in the snow trying to reason with a familiar skeleton, fear and desperation racing through you.

“buddy, i don’t know what bullshit you pulled back there with the blaster but i don’t like it. you really think you can run from me?”

This time you can feel a presence near you, as you’re watching Sans about to attack you can see the dawning horror in his eye sockets. You’re not the only one reliving the past.

Bones push their way through the ground, piercing you in several places as you stare at him in shock. Your body flickers out of existence as darkness  ascends.

Again and again you are forced to relive your memories, whenever they happen to be ones involving the Underground you can feel Sans, the real Sans in the place of your memory’s version. His expressions different to the ones he held at the time, filled with self loathing and grim reluctance.

You feel terrified, never has anyone seen so much, known so much about you. It was a weakness, to be this exposed, to allow someone this close. You felt shame wash over you.

Sans is judging me, seeing all of my weaknesses, he must be so disgusted seeing how weak and pitiful I am.

It’s not real, not real, NOT REAL.

It can’t really hurt me, Sans isn’t really here, it’s all in my mind. My imagination. Nothing more than flashbacks.

You feel something akin to guilt roll over you, it felt empathising and kind. A small piece of comfort among the uncertainty of conflicting thoughts and feelings.

You can feel the warmth running through your veins in response to Sans transmitting his mind into your own head.

You did indeed feel raw, no wonder it’s called soul-scouring.

You try to focus more on the warmth than your previous defiant soul, it soothed the after effects of the pain you relived. It was nothing like dreaming in the Underground, these memories were vivid and painful, something that was always lacking in dreams.

Your senses begin to return as your eyes crack open hesitantly, your body is coated in a thin layer of sweat from all of your struggling. Your eyes dart around nervously, finally daring to look at Sans. Your chest is heaving with unsteady breaths, heart racing with fear.

You noticed that Sans was no longer clutching your soul, a gentle wave of heat crashes into you as he strokes your soul with his phalanges, slowly running them across the surface tenderly. His face looked haunted, the lights in his sockets were now dim, barely glowing and miniscule in the great expanse of his cavernous sockets.

“__.” He whispers.

You shudder slightly, fearful of his reaction, he had seen everything about you. Of course you weren’t guilty of anything he’d accused you of, yet this was worse.

“y-you…e-everything…how? they….why?” His sentences were broken as he continues to traces delicate soothing patterns across your soul.

You were temporarily rendered incapable of speaking, you had frozen up, unwilling to clarify anything, too dismayed that he had seen you.

You can see a tremor in Sans’ phalanges, choosing to focus on them rather than his face.

“you really aren’t them…you never…i-i hurt you…so much.” His hand encloses your soul again, the repetitive soothing fading. His skull falls forward onto your shoulder, his ribcage heaving shakily. “why did i…how could i be so wrong…”

You were still entrapped by his magic, it was less forceful now, an imperceptible pushing.

He raises his head to look into your eyes, “does it hurt?” He tilts his skull in the direction of your soul in his grasp.

You can only shake your head numbly.

The tender stoking starts up again, swirling a phalanx where there’s a dip in your soul. You feel your arms being released. A rich red blooms back into your soul, yet you continue to sit there silently in shock, your mind racing over everything you had been forced to witness again.

Solid fingers cup your chin, forcing your head to tilt, you look at him. You cringe in his hold causing him to swiftly release you.

“please look at me __, i’m sorry, so sorry. i should have believed you, waited until you were comfortable telling me the truth. i should have trusted your word…there are so many things i should have done…i’m so sorry __.” His voice sounds frantic, calling out to you, filled with self-loathing.

You try to open your mouth, unsure what so say, tear slips down your cheek, you were unaware that you had been crying. He captures it, wiping it away, “they’re not here now, i won’t let anyone ever hurt you again, i promise that i’ll protect you.”

“please don’t cry, i’ll do anything.” He begs.

His arms curl around your shaking body as he embraces you, slowly rocking you back and forth in his arms. “shh…it’s okay, i’m sorry.”

It was too late, he had already seen everything, you had no more secrets, there was nothing left. You were stripped bare at his mercy. Confusion registered dully at the back of your mind, why was he being so nice, he hates me?

All you wanted to do was curl up in the strange warmth he was emitting, easing all of the past horrors and pain, you accepted the joyous sensation. Sans seemed only too happy to provide, maintaining a steady, rhythmic caress on your soul, the hazy blue fog only curled at the edges of your mind, no longer piercing and invading, gently lapping.

You feel him stiffen slightly and pull back, his hand no longer wrapped around your soul. You frown and look up in confusion as the warmth seeps away.

You see Sans sweating and shifting awkwardly, in front of his ribcage there’s a white light, under closer inspection you realise that it’s his soul, an inverted white heart with an aura of blue radiating from it. It pulses and sways in front of his chest as if it were indecisive.

The fog in your mind clears along with the distance between you, clarity becoming more prominent. What hell am I doing? Accepting comfort from the likes of him? He made me relive the worst moments of my life, all he’s doing is drowning in self-pity.

You try to shuffle back on the couch but your back was already pressed against the arm of it. Your eyes widen as you fix them on his soul. What on Earth is he doing? He looks just as confused as me.

Sans is watching his soul with a bewildered expression, it seemed that he hadn’t intentionally called his own soul out. It inches forward towards you, timid and pale, it looked so fragile. You were unsure how you were supposed to react. Eventually it meets your own crimson soul, colliding with it slowly, a jolt of warmth arcs through you, surging all the way from your soul to your fingertips. This time it’s more intimate, your heart is set once again aflutter to keep up with the roaring of your blood through your entire being. The heat ignited within you makes you almost uncomfortable, it came with emotions, love, kindness, protectiveness.

You try to stand up to get away but your legs felt too weak, wobbling and giving out under you, sending you crashing back down onto the couch.

Sans’ soul pushes against your own again, when it moves away it tries to circle it. Whatever it was doing you didn’t care, you needed to get away. All of these feelings, so tender and loving made you feel claustrophobic.

At last you find your voice, “Sans stop.”

He snaps out of whatever trance he was in, he had been staring at the movement of his own soul, doing nothing to prevent or control its actions.

He looks at you with disbelief, astoundment on his face. The glowing lights in his sockets grow in size. If they were pupils you were sure this was them doing the nearest thing they could to dilating.

He takes a deep breath to steady himself, “__...I don’t understand…how can you be…”

“I’d really appreciate it if you could learn to speak in full sentences Sans.” By this point you had had enough of it all. You just wanted to wake up, to get away from this entire mess, which in itself was a startling thought, actually desiring to see the real world.

You reach out and push Sans’ soul away from your own, you blink in surprise as his body seems to convulse, his breathing becomes heavier.

“__,” he gasps out.

Okaaay, I really need to get out of here. I can deal with…everything…later.

His soul pushes back, it’s like magnetism, as if it were attracted to your own soul, trying to reach for it once more.

Once again when they touch, the fire streaks through you again, it collects in your abdomen making you feel uncomfortable, your skin buzzing with sensitivity as it coils pleasantly, you let out a startled moan.

Pulling away you succeed at standing this time, fleeing from the sensation, “That’s enough, haven’t you done enough?” Your voice was barely a whisper.

Sans looks mortified and slightly sickened, “__, i need to tell you something, your soul it’s-”

You level him with the most empty, flattest look you could muster. “You’re not real.”

You watch him recoil, the further you move away from him the more you feel your soul tug, as if it’s trying to make you return to your place in front of him on the couch.

You scowl determinedly, running for the door you don’t look back.

You’re barely thinking as you dash through Snowdin town, you briefly register warmth flicker over you as you run though a SAVE point outside the shops.

The heaviness in your chest worsens, as the distance increased to a certain degree between the two of you, your soul had reluctantly snapped back into your chest. It was almost difficult to breathe, a nameless ache persisted inside of you making you feel quite ill.

I need to wake up now, I need to escape.

Your eyes scan the landscape nervously, you weren’t sure if Sans would follow you or not. Reluctantly your mind turned to the easiest option of waking up.

I need to die.

You look down at the frigid water, lumps of ice bob about on the surface.

As good a way as any.

You try not to think about it as you launch yourself into the water.

It burns! Oh God it’s freezing, it’s so cold it burns!

Your body was too numb to work against the current as it drags you under, instinctively you panic, thrashing against the water. You try to breathe, a gush of icy water fills your lungs, you splutter and try to cough to exhale it, your struggling caused you to hit against jagged pieces of rock, protruding from near the bottom, it scrapes against you painfully. Water slowly fills your lungs, the burning pain inside, it was too much. You give up and let the darkness claim you.

Vaguely you feel panic, the very notion confused you on the edge of consciousness, you weren’t scared anymore. You thought you could almost make out a voice.

“__.You need to get up.”

“__. Now’s not the time for naps, they’re coming.”

The weak wailing of an alarm fills the air.

Sluggishly you sit up, hands tighten around your arms, pulling you to your feet. The familiar cloaked figure of Kitsune tugs at you, urging you to move. You kick the wooden plank on the floor, covering the exposed red vials. You notice that the red vial that you had been holding before you passed out was laying on the ground, without thinking you pick it up, much to Kitsune’s annoyance.

“We don’t have time, we have to go.”

You nod and follow them as they uncover the exit, twisting it open and exposing the ladder leading into the sewers. Kitsune swiftly hauls themself down the ladder. You take their place, sealing the lid-like door. When you were halfway down your foot slips, your body feels strange, reacting slower than it should.  I must be really tired.

As your foot slips off you land on your back, falling awkwardly you managed to twist your arm and scrape it against the wall. Luckily it seemed that the clothes you were wearing cushioned the fall.

You roll over grimacing when you realise that you are now coated with God knows what, thick grime clings to you.

“Kitsune, wait!” You call out.

The flashlight ahead stills, you can hear them shifting around nervously, eager to get out of here. Finally catching up you run alongside them.

“What did you do to trigger the alarm?”

“I tried to access a file that was password protected, it had a different password to the others, after failing to guess it correctly three times it triggered an alarm. I didn’t see anyone else working down there so hopefully it will take them some time to respond.” They reply as they lead you through the tunnels.

“Hmm.” You respond.

“What were you thinking, falling asleep in there, do you have any idea how much danger you could have been in? I knew it was a bad idea to let you come along, no matter how much it involves you.” You can clearly hear how stressed out he sounds, their voice was slightly hoarse as they continued to fret.

“Oh yes, I just decide to take naps in the middle of the floor for no reason. I passed out you idiot.” You snap, I’ve dealt with too much bullshit for one day.

“You wouldn’t be the first person I’ve met who had a talent for falling asleep anywhere.” They reply in a sombre tone of voice.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Partially, it’s enough for now I guess.”

“How reassuring.”

Your footsteps echo as it disrupts the filthy water, splashing loudly against the curved walls.

It was a relief to reach the surface, Kitsune refused to rest, dragging you through the still vacant playground  and deep into the woods. When there was a good distance between the two of you and the orphanage they finally stop, leaning against a tree their breath comes out in short pants.

You stand back and watch them curiously.

They look up at you in surprise, “How are you not tired right now?”

You shrug, “I suppose I’m getting used to you dragging me around.”

They slide down the tree, now sitting at the base with their head tilted back. When their breathing settled they tilt their head in your direction. It was aggravating not being able to see their expression under their hood.

“__ are you all right?” You detected a tinge of worry.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

They point at your arm, you glance at it in bemusement, your eyes widen when you notice what Kitsune was asking you about. Your sleeve is torn near the elbow, exposing reddened flesh and heavy bloodstains coating your arm, it seemed that you hadn’t just shallowly grazed your arm, it looked as if it was cut in several places.

You continue looking at it, frowning slightly. Something was wrong.

“That looks like it hurts.” You can hear sympathy in Kitsune’s voice.

“No. I can’t feel a thing.”

Chapter Text

“What do you mean, you can’t feel anything?” Their voice had a sense of urgency, hinting at dread.

You blink slowly; your head was oddly fuzzy. It seemed as if everything you were seeing around you, everything you were feeling was unreal. It was a strange sense of detachment, rather than experiencing it all it felt more like you were watching a film, a person that looked and acted like you, living life for you.

You just kept staring down at your arm in disbelief, your eyes trace a path down to your injured hand from the day that your Dad had decided to ‘teach you a lesson,’ now that you thought about it that didn’t hurt either.

Kitsune had commented on the fact that you weren’t tired, I should be…we’ve run a pretty long distance…I mean I’m hardly the epitome of health and fitness.

You take deep calming breaths…yet it felt superfluous…what would happen if I didn’t?

Your heart wasn’t beating particularly hard, nor did you feel a rising panic. You felt calm. You felt numb.

“What’s wrong with me?” You utter softly.

You vaguely register Kitsune swearing under their breath. After your admission to not being able to feel the very obvious wound on your arm, Kitsune had taken to circling you.

They look like a bloody crow…should I not be more worried about this situation? A slight frown mars your face. I’m taking this oddly well…I’ve just found out I’m immune to pain and I’m not immediately rushing to a hospital.

“__...oh God, what did you do?” Kitsune whispers, their circling ceases as they squat down next to you, you hadn’t realised that you had slumped down to the ground, lost in thought.

Your eyes snap to them, “What did I do? How the hell should I know? I woke up like this.”

“Did you make a deal with them?”

“With who?!” A tinge of frustration colours your voice. “You know what I’m sick of all these half truths and vague statements, either help me or leave me alone Kitsune.” Your uninjured hand jerks forward to wrench their hood down. You see them recoil back, it was too late, you could see their face.

Large chocolate brown eyes regard you warily; they had slight golden flecks near their pupils. You take in the elusive face of Kitsune eagerly, from the small spray of freckles across their nose to their shaggy, shoulder length hair the colour of mahogany.

A snort left you; they barely looked older than you, early twenties at the most. You just smirk at the betrayed look on their face which was admittedly as androgynous as their voice. “What’s this, the person that knows every detail of my life and many details they refuse to share has had their face revealed, calamity!” Your voice sounds dry, “Do you really expect me to keep talking to you and attempt to interpret your emotions from your voice? You have every advantage over me; it’s just your face.”

They roll their eyes at you, “I would have shown you my face eventually.” Their face grows concerned, their brow crinkles while they furrow their eyebrows in thought, “This is most concerning though…your situation…”

“You sound like you know what’s happening; hell you always know something I don’t. I don’t know anything about any deals.”

They lock eyes with you intently, “Did you make a deal with Chara?”

Are they mental?

After giving them a judgemental look you respond, “You are way too obsessed with that Undertale game; I mean I thought I was bad with all the fan art and theories.” And fanfiction, you add mentally. “Chara isn’t real, none of it’s real.” 

A hint of what could be pity crossed their face, “Okay then…in your dreams…did you make any deals, did you trade your soul or even damage it in some way.”

Your blood runs cold, your eyes become glassy. “I believe I told you online, KrimsonKitsune, that I didn’t wish to discuss my dreams with you anymore. And for your information I haven’t made any deals with anyone.”

They raise their hand slowly and wrap their fingers around your arm, firm but not painfully tight. For someone who likes to keep their face hidden they certainly have a thing for intense eye contact.

“You didn’t dismiss the second part of my question, what happened to your soul in your dream? It has to be something serious…for you to leave part of it…” They trail off in thought.

You stand abruptly, pulling away from their grip; this definitely wasn’t the time to have your personal space invaded by the idly curious. “You are insane, I have a few vivid dreams and you’re trying to blame my current situation on them, if anything I would have thought you’d be blaming one of the orphanage scientists, at least that makes sense.”

They let out a cynical laugh, “Do you really think the scientists care about how much pain you’d be in, during an experiment, if anything it would be a bonus.”

Well shit…just tell it like it is then.

You shake your head in disbelief, “What are you suggesting then, that my dreams are real?”

“I wasn’t suggesting it; I was stating it as a fact.”

They ignore your scoffing.  Do they seriously expect me to believe that my dreams are real, that there are actual walking, talking goat people…and skeletons…and assholes..? It’s a game, fiction. As in not real. The game itself is hardly real so my dreams are definitely not.

…yet there are so many coincidences, the way that that some of them talk…like Chara and Sans, they make it sound like they’re aware of things, especially Chara. They know it’s a dream and they taunt me. After what happened with Sans…what he did to me, now that I think about I could feel pain afterwards, I remember the agony of drowning…looks like next time I want to make a quick escape dying isn’t the preferable course of action.

You shiver slightly, what am I thinking, it’s all illogical, there’s no proof. I’m being absurd even considering it.

But then again I’ve seen a lot of absurd things...the book that makes the game seem almost factual as if the game is based off of it…and that crazy flaming knife…it buzzes and hums with energy; I’ve only felt something similar in my dreams.

Kitsune had been watching you silently, giving you time to mull over your thoughts without commenting. It seemed that you were perpetually doomed to argue with one another about everything you ever discussed.

“I don’t know what you want from me Kitsune, ever since we first started talking you have kept things from me, I realise you may think it’s for my own good but I am so sick of all this shit happening to me, I honestly wonder how much worse my life can get by this point. I just want to know, what do you want from me?” Your fatigue laden voice seems to resonate with them.

They beckon for you to follow them, “I suppose I should really start from the beginning then…if you’re to understand all of the mistakes I’ve made. I’m not a good person __, I’ve done terrible things. You do have a right to know…if I was less of a coward then you wouldn’t even be in this situation, there are things that have been in play for years, half of which I’m only just in the process of uncovering. I know you don’t trust me but there are so few people you can trust anyway; I want you to come with me __.”

You raise an eyebrow sceptically, “The weirdo who’s been stalking me online, who knows personal information about me, who I’ve only known for a matter of hours, who has a serious Matrix cosplay thing going on wants me to follow them to an undisclosed location.”

They scratch their head, giving you an awkward but somewhat endearing smile. “I’m hardly offering a child candy, nor pills for that matter, I’m offering you the truth.”

“Suuure, Morpheus.” You drawl. They watch too many movies.

They tap their foot impatiently, “Well..?”

Your brow furrows, “I can’t leave my sister.” You pause, “Fuck I should have picked her up at least an hour ago, my parents are gonna be so pissed.” You can feel your body shaking, you try to straighten your back and clench your fists to reduce the involuntary tremors.

Kitsune’s face twists, “I am quite confident that Sophie will be safe, they have no reason to harm her after all.”

You narrow your eyes at him, “Are you saying that I gave them a legitimate reason to harm me?”

“Not at all…the fact stands that you are not like Sophie, it is unlikely that they would turn to her as your replacement, I’m sure they have better…in addition I can’t imagine that even Jonathon __ would put his daughter through all of that…”

You glare icily, “I’m his daughter too, that didn’t stop him.”

They pause, tilting their head in thought, “Hmm, I can’t say that I’d be proud to have any familial association with that man, nevertheless it is irrelevant, Sophie will be fine. Have your family ever shown any inclination of harming her in the past?”

“Well..no bu-” You protest.

“Then I have no doubt that she’ll be fine.” Their voice was firm, “I thought you wanted the truth, you’ll never be safe with them around, I dread to think how far they’ve progressed with you as it is.”

Your mind churns furiously, going over everything they said, “You make it sound as if I’m not his daughter, what are you insinuating?”

“I’m not insinuating anything, believe whatever you want. We have more pressing matters. Are you coming or not?”

You hesitate, will Sophie really be safe, I’m not convinced that they won’t turn on her if I’m gone. Even if she isn’t harmed, how can I leave her without saying goodbye, doesn’t she deserve that at least? How long does Kitsune even want me around? Indefinitely? I can’t go on the run with them, I have a life here, school…and Sophie…and admittedly nothing else…I would be safer if I left, I’d never have to deal with my parents again. Does it make me a coward, for wanting to run from my problems, or is it reasonable self-preservation?

“Fine, I’ll go with you. Shouldn’t I go back to my house to pack?”

They look oddly amused by all of your indecision, “If you choose to do that it’s your funeral, your parents will have already realised that you are missing, that’s on top of the orphanage break in which will have most certainly have been reported. If you value your life then I suggest you leave everything, I will be able to provide you with whatever you lack.”

“There’s no need to be so smug about it, my life here is over.”

They shrug indifferently, “Was it much of a life to begin with?”

You don’t deign to answer, merely shooting them another scowl and following after them grudgingly.

Trailing behind silently you’re lead to a car, the paint was black but badly scuffed and dented around the sides.

“Are you getting in then?”

“This is another one of those situations, getting into a strangers car. Have you never heard of stranger danger?”

They give you an exasperated look, “Yes because we’re going to flee efficiently on foot.”

With a long suffering sigh you sit in the back of the car, Kitsune looks at you questioningly for not choosing to sit up at the front with them. The seats were made of some kind of faux-leather, it was cracked and generally grimy looking. As soon as you sat down you could visualise colonies of microbes attacking you.

“I suggest that you make yourself comfortable, this is going to be a long drive.”

You grunt in acknowledgement to which they give you another amused look.

Look at us, getting on so well, I’m surprised that we’re not driving each other up the wall. You scowl when you realise that you’d made a pun. You lean back in the seat grimacing slightly when your fingers brush over something gooey. By this point the very thought of puns made you cringe.

You allowed yourself to think of all that had occurred since your last dream, with your hectic and hurried leaving you hadn’t been able to deal with the thoughts and memories, brushing them aside for later. Looks like it’s later.

The feeling of his magic encasing you, forcing you to remain immobile while he touched your soul was horrific, unable to move away, the ability to even struggle at all, taken away from you. The fact that Sans saw your memories would be bad enough but you had to actually relive them, to see them all again yourself. There were so many things that you had hid from the world, things that you felt ashamed of for feeling so weak and helpless, worthless. All of it was exposed, it made you feel so vulnerable. You weren’t simply watching them again, the memories, you took the place of that version of yourself, it was all in first person while Sans had the luxury of sitting back and viewing them as he pleased.

He did seem to take the place of my memory’s version of him though, judging by his expressions. I don’t remember him looking that ill at the time…I shouldn’t feel bad for him, he asked for it…I hope he’s satisfied, I’m not Chara. Even if I can rationally accept that his accusations had some basis he had no need to resort to those means, he can’t blame everything out f the ordinary on Chara.

Why am I even putting so much thought into it, it was only a dream. A nightmare.

The more you thought of Sans the more you could feel a strange aching sensation in your chest. It started off as something that you would naturally dismiss but it kept growing. You began to breathe heavily and shifted uncomfortably in the back.

You see Kitsune’s eyes briefly flick towards the mirror, watching you before focusing back on the road.

It was confusing, that you were actually feeling any discomfort at all, the ache in your chest was becoming almost painful, a furious tugging leaving jolts of pain behind. You wrap your arms around yourself and shut your eyes trying to ignore it. I suppose I should be grateful that I can feel anything at all. You dig your fingernails into the palm of your hand, curious if you could feel pain again, you only felt the pressure of the movement, I guess I should have expected that considering I still can’t feel any pain in my arm, I should really clean that up…

The ache was persisting, it was impossible to ignore. It was slowly beginning to spread making your head pound, a wave of dizziness hits you and you black out.

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You blearily rub your eyes, taking in your surroundings you groan. There was a time that I looked forward to going to sleep. You were back in the shadowy abyss, the walls crawled as the sentient vapours of darkness shifted and curled. Like last time you could make out the odd bright spots that tore through the darkness, the ‘windows’ that Chara liked to watch from. Why am I back here?

  “Golly I don’t know, could it be that you enjoy our time together __?”

How can a child’s voice sound both innocent and sinister at the same time?

You turn around and watch them smirk, picking up on the stray thought, “It’s a talent.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that, can’t my thoughts remain my own?”

They giggle gleefully, “I don’t know, you’ve already shared them once.”

You have second thoughts about approaching the hell spawn but shrug it off in favour of questioning them. “What do you want?”

They tut and shake a finger side to side at you, “Weren’t you paying attention the last few times we spoke, I’m not responsible for you being here. I don’t control when you dream or where you go, that’s all down to you.”

“It certainly doesn’t seem that way.”

They let out a disparaging sigh, “I’m disappointed in you __, I thought you were intelligent, living in denial is only entertaining for so long. You are blind to that which is right in front of you.” A smile crosses their face, “At least you’ve met up with one of my old friends, that should stir things up.” You follow their gaze to one of the windows, it showed a busy road somewhere with cars travelling along it.

Well…that’s a pretty mundane thing to watch.

“Which old friend is that?”

Their face darkens, their crimson eyes that usually glittered with malice became gaping black holes, “You are such an idiot, I don’t feel inclined to answer stupid questions.”

You edge away from them cautiously, this makes their grin widen.

“You said that dreams are a conduit and not a destination, so what is the destination?”

They lean against one of the walls, you cringe when you notice the shadows caressing the figure of the demonic child almost lovingly, “Are you blind, you should be quite capable of seeing that which is around you, you don’t need me to tell you. Ask me something intelligent for once.”

You grind your teeth angrily but hold your tongue, antagonising Chara wouldn’t help you in the slightest. After you had been silent for a while they cough quietly to regain your attention.

“Bloody useless the lot of you.” They cross the area languidly with an almost lazy grace, like a predator stalks its prey. “Because I’m a nice person I’ll give you some information for free.”

There’s no such thing as a free gift.

Their brow quirks slightly, “Nine humans have visited the Underground but only six have ever fallen.”

Is that a riddle…I’ve always been pretty shit at riddles to be honest.

“It’s a fact. Plain and simple, interpret it as you will.”

You stare at Chara in puzzlement, “How can there be more children in the Underground than fell, are you saying some of them had kids themselves, is that why there are more?”

Chara darts forward grasping your forearms tightly, they shake you hard. “__...__...what am I to do with you, you really disappoint me, who exactly are the fallen humans supposed to have copulated with, there has only ever been one alive in the Underground at one time.”

You try to pull yourself out of their grasp, the expression on their face was positively maniacal. Their personality is bizarre, one minute cold and refined then childish and taunting, they’re pretty much always condescending.

They lean forward and swipe their tongue across your cheek, letting out a yelp you shove them away, furiously wiping at your face while glowering at them. “What the hell was that for?”

They tilt their head to the side, the gesture is strangely familiar, “Your energy levels are quite high, not the highest I’ve seen mind but I suppose tampering got them quite far.”

“That was utterly disgusting.” You snarl.

They adopt a lofty attitude, “Grow up, it didn’t hurt did it. If I wanted you to be in pain you’d know about it…you’re free game now anyway.

You both stand apart for several minutes without speaking, they seem perfectly comfortable with the absence of sound.

“There is something about you that I must admit that I find surprising.”

They raise an eyebrow looking curious, “Oh?”

“Why do you care? You keep talking about how fun this all is, you revel in the chaos but I thought you wanted oblivion, to destroy everyone, why would you care about any degree of drama”

They look at you consideringly, “Hmm, I’m bored.”

“Is that it?!” You exclaim in disbelief.

They stare off into the distance, “I have killed everyone here numerous times, I thought that if I had to be condemned to this prison.” They gesture around them, “Then no one should have the luxury of being alive, petty I know.” They sigh, “Suffice to say I grew bored quickly, there was nothing to watch, even if I gained a form and became capable of interacting with them it was temporary, I’ve since realised how insignificant all of their lives are. If I destroy everyone then there’ll be no one for me to play with.”

You shudder at the wide smile they flash at you, “I like to play games, do you?”

“It depends…” You reply hesitantly.

“It is much more satisfying to play with my little puppets, even still this playground is rather small. I’d much prefer a larger variety of toys.”

“You want to interact with humans rather than the monsters in the Underground.”

They roll their eyes, “Duh, I’ve seen almost every variation that these toys can offer, there is only so much that a script can be tweaked. Your arrival however is a good opportunity for me to play, I have a new toy now.”

“I’m not your toy!” You state indignantly.

“If you say so.”

You start to walk around the room, peering at the odd assortment of windows, you grimace when you spot one that showed the living room of Sans and Papyrus’ house. Were they watching it all?

You hear obnoxious giggling behind you again, “I never thought that Smiley Trashbag had it in him. I’m quite offended really that he’d mistake you for me, you’re evidently lacking in intelligence and you’re much too weak to harm anyone. “

“Yeah, well tell that to him, he can’t seem to get it through his thick skull.”

You watch them twirl a piece of hair idly, “It’s funny really, you don’t even know what he did to you, nor what you are to him.”

“He is nothing to me and I’m sure that I mean nothing to him.” You respond shortly.

“Hmm, if I had empathy I’d almost feel sorry for you, I’d never want to taint my soul like that,” They shiver in disgust, “I’m looking forward to your interactions, how about I send you to him now?”

You jump back when they produce a knife, they wave it around mockingly. You step back becoming uncomfortably aware of your close proximity to the squirming walls.

“Now now it won’t hurt…much.” They stalk closer, their face is flushed with delight.

“I don’t want to talk to him, I never want to see him again.”

They tap the blade against their teeth like one might do with a pen, “Is that so, we could make a deal if you like.”

Suspicion immediately creeps onto your face, you remember Kitsune’s warning when you were awake, about making deals with Chara. Screw it, they’re not real anyway, it doesn’t matter.

They look positively delighted, “So naïve…wonderful. Now I’m not promising to keep you away indefinitely. You have a choice, you can make a deal with me and you’ll wake up…or I can kill you now and you’ll end up in Snowdin at the last SAVE point just before you pitched yourself into the river. You’ll only be delaying the inevitable, it’s up to you.”

If I do take their offer then maybe I can find a way to stop myself entering REM sleep, when I wake up I can try to find a way to stop myself from coming back, then I won’t have to deal with Sans again…it’s only a favour isn’t it? And I really don’t want to talk to Sans…maybe I should.

You notice that Chara had begun to hum nursery rhymes under their breath.

That’s messed up.

They smile at you angelically, “Well then, will you make a deal with me?”

“What do you want in exchange for me waking up?”

The red in their eyes seems to grow more intense, their stare burnt into you. “Well, when you are awake you can’t feel pain, you’ve already traded that with your counterpart.  How about your capability to sense heat, you don’t really need it do you, in fact it could even be considered beneficial, you’ll never feel burns again. What do you say?”

Well…I’m already pretty fucked up as it is, what’s one more thing. Plus, chances are this won’t really affect anything.

“Is there anything else I could trade?”

Their eyes shine with interest, “How about your capability to laugh or even the sound of your voice?”

“I’d rather go with the first thanks.”

They creep closer, “Are you sure, you could face Sans and you wouldn’t lose anything more.”

“Except my sanity.” You mutter.

“Now that would be interesting to barter with,” They sound admiring. They offer their hand, gripping you fiercely, they shake hands with you, you can feel a tingling sensation around you.

“What the hell are you doing __!” A loud and familiar voice yells behind you.

Spinning around you’re faced with Kitsune, the pure animosity in their glare incites fear in you.

“K-Kitsune…why are you here…how?” You stutter out.

They were dressed in the same long, black leather coat they wear when they’re awake, their hood is down giving you unobstructed access to the betrayed yet fearful look in their eyes.

Chara’s grip on your hand relents as they immediately rush over to Kitsune, their face lights up as if it were Christmas. “Oh my you must really care about __ if you’re willing to put yourself at risk like this, did you forget what you promised me on the condition that you returned?”

Kitsune sneers at them, “I am well aware of the repercussions.”

Chara lets out a drawn out sigh, “Of all things to bring you back, seriously. I thought I taught you better than to get attached to people, you know where that leaves you.” Chara turns to face you, their eyes flit back and forth between you and Kitsune with barely concealed glee. “Although I suppose you always had a penchant for helping those in need ,you just can’t help but befriend the feeble, isn’t that right Frisk?”