Chapter 0. The End of Timeline.

- so. this happened. i`d say it was humerus end for her. you, however. you`re new thing happening. explain, quickly. before i decide to bone everything up again.
- Well. All this timeline fudging. Did you ever wonder what happens to timeline you reset? You go back to the anchor point, but the rest of world? Does it reset? Does it go on? Ever wondered about that?
- not particularly, no. you could say i`ve only bothered with the bare bones stuff.
- Well. OK, so here`s how it goes. Basically, there`s more the one timeline going on. There`s ton of them running simultaneously. Each time you make a decision, you split the timeline. Reset, uh... Reset sort of curls the timeline on itself and pulls on the knot until it smoothes itself out. Not the best explanation, but trying to be more precise about this makes my head hurt.
- yes, the timey-wimey stuff is a real skullcracker to grok. s`why i never bothered.
- The thing is, each time reset happens, it introduces additional wobbly. Originally, the anchor point was Frisk landing next to Flowey back in the cave, getting possessed by me, menaced by Flowey and adopted by Toriel. Next, the whole ruddy thing blooms into a filthy broom of itty-bitty possibilities. Sometimes Frisk doesn`t give a darn about me and goes on to befriend everyone. Sometimes, Frisk kills a bunch of monsters, but overall doesn`t go out of her way to cause trouble. That ends less saccarine, but also reasonably good. Well, except for those she kills and their folks, anyway. Finally, there`s lines where she listens early and often, murders the crap out of Underground and usually either ends up getting dunked on here and now, or successfully stabs you and goes on to end the world. Somehow.
- i noticed. what was that about wobbly bit?
- Well, as the resets massed up, the distortion started inching up the chronoline past the anchor point and introducing permutations into additional setting. That`s where I come from. Unlike the primary version of me, I`m not actually axe-crazy. The Chara in this timeline is another aberration - the only one she wants to kill is herself. Which she can only pull off if she snags herself a body. Which, well, just happened.
- huh. i wondered what made the kid drop dead like this. doesn`t explain why she went on the murder spree, though.
- Another wobbly. In this particular timeline, it`s Frisk`s who`s axe-crazy killer.
- tibia honest, i don`t give a damn. let`s get on with dunking, aight?
- You`d attack someone who didn`t do a single bad thing to anyone, Sans? There`s a reason why I went to this timeline, you know.
- went into timeline? what are you on about?
- You didn`t honestly expect there to be two of me running around, did you? Even if one was hopelessly suicidal. No, I`m from another timeline. In that one, I`m good and Frisk is good, everyone gets befriended, including Flowey and I get to live for like a century past the barrier breech. The problem is, Frisk, being the self-sacrificing noble fool she usually is, put half of her soul through the barrier to bring it down. And since she gave other half to me... yeah, well, I got her body to live in. And I DO NOT LIKE IT.
- what, it`s not tailored to your size, heh?
- More of, I actually want everyone to survive. As in, everyone without exclusion. So, for most part of my life, I studied the same stuff you did. Gaster`s notes, Alphys` notes, the core, your own notes even, what little you ever bothered to scribble down. Figured out some interesting things, by the way. For example, I can now give Alphys a good way to split up the amalgamations and even recover the determination from them. Took all that, the stocks and a bunch of it drained from me for like fifty years to make the trip here.
- ...ok, i`ll bite. what is that you want in this timeline, then?
- Frisk`s body over there.
- whyever for?
- Well, the idea is that I`ll grab it and push the reset. And when the world crashes back to anchor point, Frisk is going to meet me already well-bodied. Thus, stopping this silly outcome that I got in the last iteration.
- and what of me?
- Well, for you, it will be just another reset. You`ll keep the memories, like you always do, if you`re asking about this.
- uh-huh. sure. what the hell. i`m game. ought to be different, at least.
- Mhm. Just so we`re clear - I`m not all sunshine and rainbows. Merely... rational. It`s highly likely I`ll still end up sharing soul with Frisk, because we will need something to breach the barrier, but since I`m already going to bring one along with me...
- wait a moment. how`d you live soulless in previous timeline?
- Not soulless. Just a half of it. Turns out with Frisk`s determination levels, half is sufficient to breach barrier. Can`t say it was all nice, but half is better then nothing, yes? The way I figure it, if I bring this soul back, we`d have two in reserve. Half for me, half for Frisk, half for breaking the barrier... and if it works out, half to get Flowey back to being Asriel.
- well, kiddo, you certainly plan big. let`s do it.