"…it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing. flowers are blooming…on days like these, kids like you…
Should be burning in hell."
And then he attacks. My body is flung to the ground and my chin digs into the tile painfully. I hear her laugh in my head.
Is that the best you got, you old pile of bones?
She gets us to our feet, jumping into the air to avoid the bones he sent splintering up through the floor.
His eyes are empty. I want to reach out. I want to talk to him. But she seals my mouth shut.
Now now, we can't have you conspiring with the enemy, can we?
I want to cry. I want to go home.
Oh, don't worry, Frisk. We'll be going home soon enough!
He summons some sort of skull monsters and they shoot beams of light at us. She ducks us out of the way, rolling closer to the skeleton as we brandished the knife.
"here we go."
She takes a swipe at him, but he easily dodges to the side. I hear her growl in agitation.
"what? you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?"
I can't wait to turn him into dust. He'll regret being so difficult.
He sends more bones after us, forcing us to jump through the jagged edges that tore at my sweater. I feel it scrape against my skin and I want to whimper, but she silences me.
No need for that. Just keep quiet while I finish this clown.
"our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting…"
He sends more of the skull blasters to attack us and we barely make it out of the way before another one is shooting. Her confidence from before falters. He sends more bones our way, making us jump and dive to avoid more injury.
I feel my sins crawling on my back.
She takes another swipe at him, but it misses.
"until suddenly everything ends."
I don't have time to listen to his pointless prattle!
We jump, going as high as we can without hitting our head. His attacks are getting faster.
She still tries to hit him. She misses again.
"heh heh heh…that's your fault, isn't it?"
His eyes are gone.
The bones keep coming.
This is almost getting boring.
She misses.
"you can't understand how this feels."
I hear her laughing. It's terrifying.
"knowing one day, without any warning…it's all going to be reset."
Oh cry me a river, skeleton boy.
"look. i gave up on trying to go back a long time ago."
She aims for his skull this time. My breath catches. It's a close shave.
We leap onto a platform and dodge the flying bones, nearly falling off the edge more than once.
"and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either."
Why is he still talking. Does it look like I care?
"cause even if we do…we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?"
I see the sadness he's trying to hold back. The urge to reach out and help him grows.
Don't even think about it, Lover Girl. There's nothing you can do at this point, anyway!
She's still trying to hit him, but she can never get close enough.
"to be blunt…it makes it hard to give it my all."
His attacks are getting repetitive at this point. She knows exactly how to move us to get out unscathed.
"…or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy…? hell if i know."
He's still smiling. Even after all of this. He even winks.
His dust will definitely be the most satisfying to touch. Don't you think, Frisk?
"…all i know is…seeing what comes next…i can't afford not to care anymore."
My body feels cold. And hollow. Like an abandoned house that once was a home.
The blasters are back. We get hit once. It feels like my skin is getting boiled off of my muscles.
Damn him!
"ugh…that being said…you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?"
We look at the knife. She holds it up to the light, letting it glint to show off its smooth blade. I feel my face smiling. But I feel like throwing up.
He watches us, sweat beading on his skull.
"listen. friendship…it's really great, right?" He winks. "let's quit fighting."
He's sparing us. I hear her laughing again.
The coldness inside of me leeches away a little, and I look away. I want so badly to spare him, to stop this. My arm twitches, surprising me. She doesn't notice.
She runs forward, jumping to get some dramatic effect as she attacks him.
Miss.
"welp. it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?"
The lights go out.
Now what is he doing?
Rapid fire attacks come at us from left and right, but she was ready for them. I see more sweat leaking down his face the more he sends. He's getting tired.
"sounds strange, but before all of this i was secretly hoping we could be friends."
A pang resounds in my chest. We were friends, I want to say. I want to scream it. But my lips remain sealed.
"i always thought the anomaly was doing this cause they were unhappy."
Get on with it already.
"and when they got what they wanted, they would stop all this."
The skull blasters appear one by one, tracking us around the room as we duck and cover. She almost drops the knife but recovers before the next skull could fire.
"and maybe all they needed was…i dunno. some good food. some bad laughs. some nice friends."
I remember all his terrible puns. All of Papyrus' spaghetti. Tears prick in my eyes.
Don't be such a baby, Frisk. He's just messing with us.
The lights go out again and we're fighting to stay alive. His smile looks strained.
"but that's ridiculous, right? yeah. you're the type of person who won't EVER be happy."
We're flung across the room again, slamming into the wall and groaning. She hurriedly pulls us away before the jagged, broken bones have a chance to spear us. He throws us against the ground next. She isn't as quick this time, and one stabs me in the side.
He looks down.
"you'll keep consuming timelines over and over until…well. hey. take it from me, kid. someday…you gotta learn when to QUIT."
And we're off again. He tosses us up against the ceiling, then the wall, again and again, before switching to the ground. I can't focus, it's all moving too fast for me. But she's on top of it. I only feel a light scrape on my nose as we leap away for the last time.
I'm getting sick and tired of being thrown around. Why won't he let me win?!
"and that day's TODAY."
He pulls out the mega-skull blasters. Their beams are much bigger than the ones we'd been facing. She curses and rockets to the side, just barely getting out of the way.
Part of me wants to stay in the light, to let it melt me into nothing. But I can't. I know I can't. Because she'll just re-load and we'll have to do this all over again.
"cause…y'see…all this fighting is really tiring me out."
She smiles.
"and, if you keep pushing me…then i'll be forced to use my special attack."
I think of Papyrus instantly. Of his special attack.
"yeah, my special attack. sound familiar?"
I wanted to smile. I really did. The coldness was slowly disappearing the more he talked to me.
"well, get ready, cause after the next move, i'm going to use it. so, if you don't want to see it, now would be a good time to die."
Yeah, right. As if he could ever defeat me, 'special attack' or not. This fight is lasting much too long.
"well, here goes nothing…
are you ready?
Survive THIS. and i'll show you my special attack!"
Tossed like a ragdoll, pummeled by bones, she guided us in just the right directions in order to make it out alive. And then the world twisted.
This is new.
We were sent down a long hallway, having to twist left and right to avoid getting skewered. Sections of bones stuck out of the walls, one of which we hurtled right through and left a gash on my face.
She huffed in frustration as she toyed with my body like she was a playing a game, sending me this way and that without any thought of how I felt.
When we got to the end of it we were slammed into the dead-end, my breath leaving me in one big whoosh. She peeled us off of the wall in the nick of time, predicting everything that was going to happen right before it did.
And then the skull blasters were sicked on us. They completely surrounded us, and one by one they opened their jaws and unleashed their power. She was cackling as we rolled around, easily avoiding every one of their blasts.
It made me sick. All of it. When would this nightmare end?
They suddenly vanished without a trace and we wheeled around to face him. His smile seemed to grow as his left eye burst to life, glowing a bright blue that melded into green and yellow. He raised his hand silently and we couldn't move anymore.
Her cackling stopped, and I could feel her hate as she glared at him with my eyes.
Everything after that was a blur.
We hit the ceiling, the floor, the walls, everything, too many times to count. The knife slipped out of her grasp at one point only to land right back in it when we hit something new. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I could feel was pain, pain, pain.
But then we slowed down. We weren't hitting things quite as hard. Once I could focus on him again, I could see the glowing eye was gone. Sweat was pouring down his face.
We fell to the ground slowly, where we stayed.
"…huff…puff…alright. that's it…it's time for my special attack. are you ready?" His eyes slid closed. "here goes nothing."
The room was silent. All I could hear was my own choked breathing. He stood there, motionless, for who knows how long.
What…What is he doing?…Isn't he going to attack?
She got us to our feet. She tried to approach him, but we were teleported right back to where we were.
He opened his eyes.
"yep. that's right. it's literally nothing. and it's not gonna be anything, either. heh heh heh…ya get it?"
I could feel her rage as she pieced everything together. It made my blood boil, but I didn't feel the same.
"i know i can't beat you. one of your turns…you're just gonna kill me."
Her tantrum she was throwing paused, and she made me cock my head to the side. She smiled.
Yes, skeleton. Yes I am.
"No."
He paused, not expecting me to answer.
I swallow, not expecting to speak. The cold was almost gone, my heart feeling like it was waking up after a long nap.
I go to talk again, but my lips snap close. I can feel her digging her fingers into my cheeks, trying to keep me quiet.
He looks at me. Really looks at me.
I stare back.
What do you think you are doing?
My lips wobble as I try to open them again.
STOP! You have no control here! Not anymore!
I look him dead in the eye. The blue eye. It came back, and it's glowing brighter than before.
Don't you dar-
"Kill me."
Oh. Well that wasn't what I expected.
His smile falters. His hands hesitate.
"what was that, kiddo?"
My arm shakes, the knife in my hand reflecting all the sins it committed. I committed.
Well, that was fun. Thanks for getting his guard down, "kiddo".
My body lurches forward, but my feet stay.
What?
His hands lower from the defensive position they were before.
"Kill me. Please!"
Are you serious right now?
I look at my arm. At my hand. At the knife. I see everyone in the reflection. Everyone I hurt.
"what are you trying to do here?"
His eyes narrow. His hands raise.
It's not like what you're doing matters. Are you forgetting what I can do? So what if he kills us. I'll just reload and we can do this over and over and over and over again.
Won't that be fun, Frisk?
I bring the knife closer to me. My arm spasms and I fight to keep what little control I have. A familiar warmth begins to course through me. I never thought I'd feel it again.
He watches.
I look back up at him. I remember the other him. I remember the other me. Before all this.
Wait. Something is different here. What are you doing?
"I'm sorry, Sans."
I plunge the knife in my chest. I feel it tear through my heart.
NO! OW! IT HURTS! WHY DOES IT HURT?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!
His smile vanishes. The blue eye is gone.
"…frisk?"
My lips twitch and I try to smile. Blood leaks out.
TAKE IT OUT! TAKE IT OUT!
I close my eyes.
I had to pay for what I did. For what she wanted. I should never have picked up the knife.
He moves closer. His bones rattle as he walks.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
My knees buckle and I fall.
He catches me.
I look up into his face. It's all getting blurry.
"I didn't mean to hurt them."
I feel droplets of water on my skin. I didn't know skeletons could cry.
I hear her screams in my head. I feel her desperately trying to take control. The warmth drowns it out.
"She…wanted help and I…let her in. I'm so…sorry…"
"kiddo?"
"I'll be back…She's gonna re-load…You need to know…I never…"
He holds me close and I cry. I choke on my own blood and cough some out on the floor.
He places his hand over my heart, the knife sticking out between his fingers.
"i'll save you. i swear i will."
The warmth wraps around me like a blanket, reminding me of the old times, the ones with pasta and hotdogs. I smile.
It fills me with determination.
.
.
.
.
I open my eyes. The shining star floats in front of me just like I knew it would. I look beside me and see her standing there.
What you will do won't be what you haven't done. What you won't do isn't what you wouldn't have.
I grab a hold of my chest, where my heart lies. It beats firmly under my hand.
It repeats, Frisk. You know that. You can't prevent that.
She's holding the knife flippantly and watching me with those red eyes. I feel tears start to fall.
You never had a choice.
She grips my throat, taking me to the ground. I gasp, struggling to breathe. She lifts the knife, showing off the smooth edge like before. Just like she did to ever other monster. I brace myself, eyes fixed on the sharp point as she brings it down.
Suddenly, her arm shudders to a halt, the knife only a few inches from my eye. I blink, noticing the blue hue radiating from her chest.
"nah, don't be too sure of that."
Her hand is ripped away from my neck and her body is torn from my side, sending her tumbling across the floor and far away. I sit up quickly, wrapping my arms around myself in shock. I hiccup.
Slowly, she comes to a stand twenty feet away, looking down at the blue now adorning her chest in disgust.
"after a while, you get sick of it, y'know? sick of the repeats, the deaths, not knowing what memory i'm gonna get stuck with..."
Her beady, red eyes lift to look at him, pure fury in their depths.
"really, i'm just sick of YOU."
He steps up beside me, helping me to my feet and gently keeping me behind him. I grip the back of his hoodie, my mind reeling.
She glances between us, a sneer screwing up her face.
"so it's going to be DIFFERENT this time."
His eye lights up and he raises his hand. I hold onto him tightly, feeling my heart beat faster and the tears dry up.
Finally, it was going to be over.
A/N: Oh wowie. This is my first attempt at a one-shot, and man, are my emotions all out of wack now. I wanna say that the ending part of this was inspired heavily by BamSaraKilledYou on DeviantArt, and hope that if you're reading this you're okay with that! I loved your artwork, it was REALLY well done!
I love Undertale, so, so much, and thought that maybe I could contribute to the community with this little tid-bit. I hope you all enjoyed!
Also, I wrote all of this just today under the course of four and a half hours, so if there's any mistakes PM me to let me know and I'll fix them right away!
Thank you so much for reading, let me know what you think in a review if you would be so kind!
Okay, that's all I have to say for now.
Bye!