I'm so tired Part 2
Sans felt jittery, his magic snapping just underneath his bones. This was the first run that he knew he could prepare for the demon that took over the kid's body. His notes indicated that one of the past Sanses had tried to figure out what was up with the kid, but Frisk had dodged him at every turn with an ease that was terrifying.
Then there were the fuzzy memories of a time under the sun where everyone was happy, setting him even further on edge. He had never remembered the RESETS, in fact even Papyrus had better memories of them with his deja vu feelings. But he had gotten by with his notes and his ability to read others. Him remembering could only mean that something big was happening, and that couldn't be a good sign.
Sighing, he decided to see if Grillby was staying late that night, and teleported over to the entrance of the bar. He shoved his hands in his pocket and called out, "hey grillby, just comin' to-"
He cut off, looking at the kid in front of him with wide eyes. The demon prancing around in his best friend's body gave a dry chuckle.
"Well," the demon muttered, pouring more alcohol into the glass in front of it, "This right here just about sums up this run."
Sans let out a dry chuckle, keeping an eye on the demon. "and what are you doing here?"
"Trying to get the guts I lost after talking to a skeleton," the demon muttered, draining its glass, and Sans felt a flicker of irritation. That wasn't its body to be poisoning with alcohol like that, even if since it was monster made it wouldn't hurt the kid's body.
"if you were anyone else i'd say that was a good one," he said inching closer.
The demon waved a hand to the stool next to it, "Might as well take a seat. I'm not gonna fight you here. It'd be a waste of good whiskey."
Sans raised an eyebrow, "whiskey? longing for the strong stuff?" He wondered if it got the sharply shaped joke in there.
The demon let out a dark laugh, throwing its head back. "You have no idea comedian. No idea at all." Sans sat down next to it, noting the flushed cheeks and dilating pupils. The demon was drunk and, from the way that it poured another glass, only going to get drunker.
"See, LOVE," the demon said, almost to itself as Sans stiffened next to it, "is almost like a drug. You never really get rid of the urge to get some. It forever scars your soul." It snorted, and then laughed again. "Even if you wish you could be a better person, after all that you've done, it's never going to happen. Isn't it ironic?" It laughed again, a bitter one this time, draining its glass.
"I'm the demon that comes when you call its name," it muttered, just low enough that Sans almost didn't catch it.
"But Frisk," the demon continued, speaking before Sans could reply. Its eyes softened, and Sans wasn't sure if he should feel sick that a monster like that obviously cared about his best friend. He had no idea what the kid was going through when they weren't in control of her own body, but he couldn't imagine that it was pleasant.
The demon cradled its empty glass, "Frisk never gains any LOVE. No matter what situation she's put in. Always showing Mercy. Always Mercy."
The demon's head hit the counter with a hard enough thunk that Sans worried that its HP was going to go down for a moment. It muttered something into the wood that he didn't catch, and Sans found himself at a loss of what to do. There was no guarantee that killing the thing now would give Frisk control back, and having it drunk was a good opportunity to get information from it.
But there was something….off about everything in this run, almost like the world had been shoved a step to the left.
"and what sit-uations are you talking about?" he asked, chuckling at the twitch the pun got out of the demon. If it hated puns, he wasn't going to waste the chance to torment the tormenter.
The demon laughed, tilting its head so the counter wasn't muffling its words any more. "Nothing you have to worry about any more. We finally fricking fixed part of that stupid problem."
Sans blinked, "what?"
It waved its hand, though it was more of a flop than anything else, "The glitches that messed up the world. Corrupt SAVE file. Not like you'd remember. No one ever remembers. Except Frisk. Frisk is the best you know."
Sans felt sweat drip down his brow at the sudden glare the demon sent him, daring him to challenge that statement.
"the kid is pretty great," he finally said.
The demon brightened at his agreement, "Isn't she?" The demon started to nod, its head bobbing up and down even when it was clear that it wasn't nodding anymore. "She wouldn't even Fight anyone in that one messed up world when Flowey was the only nice person."
The demon hummed under its breath, "It was weird that- that you liked me more than Frisk." Sans blinked again, having no idea of what it was talking about. The demon pouted, "Frisk is better after all. All I did was beat that you into the ground for killing her. I mean she came back, but it's the prins- prinz- idea of the thingy."
"well uh, sounds like you have quite the story to tell?" he finally said after a moment. This really wasn't going anywhere close to how he thought it would.
"Stories are nice," the demon agreed, its words slurring together. "The-" it hiccuped, "the ones with losta deaths are my favorite."
And just like that Sans found himself on familiar ground again. All of his anger came rushing back, and Sans shoved himself away from the counter. The demon blinked at him, and he felt his anger grow. Where did this thing get off, ruining everyone's lives, making them repeat over and over again, and tormenting Frisk?
He reached out and wrapped his magic around its soul. The demon blinked again, and then giggled. "Aww Sansy if you wanted a fight, you should have just said."
The skeleton growled. "i just wanted another shot," he muttered angrily.
"Why won't you leave me alone?!" the demon snapped, looking a little wrecked around the edges, and slamming its glass down on the counter. It shattered. "Just let me go through this run!"
"i wonder why i'm not," Sans said sarcastically. "i'm sure you've done nothing to deserve this."
"Not lately."
"i find that a little hard to swallow."
"Enough with the puns!" the demon roared, surging forward with a piece of glass gripped in its hand. Sans shoved it back on instinct, slamming it into one of Grillby's tables.
"whoops. sorry grillby," Sans muttered when the table cracked under the weight. The demon stood up unsteadily, swaying on its feet. Blood dripped down its face, and it gripped the broken glass in its hands hard enough that Sans could see it cut deeply into the skin. Its body was shaking, but Sans chalked it up to the alcohol.
"Why do you ruin everything?!" it yelled at him, charging forward. He dodged the swing easily, the attack clumsy. "First it's don't kill everything Chara. Then it's show less Mercy Chara." It swung again, this one going wide. "I get it alright." Sans shoved it back again, its feet skidding across the floor. "I can't do anything right!"
It wobbled again before falling to the floor. It pressed its bloody hands against the wood. "I'm just a screw up that should have died." It let out a bitter laugh. "Too bad you can't kill what's already dead."
Sans hesitated, before raising a hand to kill it while it was down. That hesitation was all that was needed for a small yellow flower to enter the bar, and put together what was happening. Sans cursed as vines and roots bust out of the ground forcing him to skip backwards to avoid getting hit.
"Chara," the flower called out to the demon.
"Just leave me alone Flowey," the demon said in a resigned tone. "What's the point anyways? This run was screwed up from the start. Might as well let him kill me and start over."
Sans reached out with his magic again, and the flower turned to him. Its eyes bled black, and it open its mouth to a gaping maw of sharp teeth.
"You do that, and I'll tell Papyrus alllllll about how his brother killed his best friend." Sans jolted backwards in surprise at the sudden shift from the flower. "Maybe I'll bring up the loops and mention how many time you killed the human. How red do you think the judgement hall would be if the blood didn't disappear after each reload?
"How much do you think your precious younger brother would love you if he knew just how MERCILESS you could be?"
"shut up," Sans snapped.
"Did you ever wonder why the human just stop fighting you in the middle of some of those battles, Smiley Trashbag? Did you think it was because they felt regret? Or have you finally put it together that it was Frisk in those moments? Frisk who offered you Mercy. Frisk who you killed without remorse. Frisk who you told to never come back. Perhaps you never even gave a thought to the fact that those moments stopped after a while."
"stop it," Sans said, clenching his fists. The demon was staring at the flower with wide eye, its breath picking up into a wild rhythm.
"Maybe all of those Genocides that could have been stopped could be placed at your feet."
"I said, SHUT UP!" Sans shouted, a blaster forming behind him, and shooting out at the flower. Wall after wall of roots rose from the ground rose up to take the blast, and when it was done, Flowey was panting but unhurt.
The flower still had the gall to smirk at him. "What… you can't...take someone…calling out all….your mistakes?" Flowey said between breaths.
"i dont have to listen to a blooming flower," Sans muttered.
"I- I don't understand," the demon breathed. Its eyes were half lidded, and it was holding onto consciousness through sheer Determination.
Flowey sighed, a root dragging the demon next to him. He laid a leaf on their head, and his face twisted into something that reminded Sans of King Asgore. Flowey's voice was soft, a remnant from a lost time. "Go to sleep Chara. Everything will be fine when you wake up."
"You can't tell...me what...to….do….Azzy…." the demon protested even as it fell unconscious. The look on Flowey's face disappeared as soon as the demon's eyes closed. He sneered at Sans.
"Are you really that empty headed or are you trying to emulate your brother?" the flower snapped at Sans.
"papyrus isn't an idiot," Sans snapped back, feeling like he was at the end of his rope.
Flowey scoffs "Every monster down here is an idiot."
Sans grinned, seeing a weak point. "you said every monster. what about the kid?"
The flower froze, a split second tell before he started to laugh. "You think I would care about that idiot? Why would I feel anything for the person who keeps reseting my memories?"
"how would you even know that she's been doing that?" Sans asked, his soul sinking as he realized that he probably didn't actually want the answer to that question.
"Do you really think that Chara and Frisk are the only ones with Determination?" Flowey asked, his grin turning sharp. "Do you want to know the best ways to make Papyrus scream?"
Sans' magic lashed out at the flower, as Flowey ducked back into the ground and was gone. The flower's voice echoed throughout the bar one last time.
"Remember what I said Smiley Trashbag. You kill Chara and we'll put how much Papyrus really loves you to the test."
Sans stood in the ruined bar, clenching his jaw for several minutes before he realized that the flower had done the smart thing and ran away. The skeleton stepped over the broken wood and shattered glass to stand over the demon. Blood was starting to pool around its head, and Sans debated what to do. Lying there unconscious, it looked a lot like Frisk was the one in control.
Sans reached down and scooped the body up, holding it close to his chest. It was so small and frail and for just a second Sans could imagine that he was going to tuck Frisk into bed after a day of playing with Papyrus. The skeleton gave into the urge to bury his face in the brown hair.
"c'mon buddy," he muttered, taking a step forward. He raised his foot up in Grillby's and set it down in his own room. He shook off the excess magic from the teleport, and set the demon down on his bed. "you can beat this thing Frisk. i'm rootin for you kid."
Sans blinked and his room was replaced with a bright golden hall, the line he had just spoken echoing around them all. Frisk stared up at him with eyes that were too tired for a kid before giving him a soft smile.
*I know you are Sans* she signed before straightening. *I'll do my best to make sure this is over soon*
The kid took a step forward, and he dodged the swing of the knife. A manic grin split its face in half and the demon laughed.
"Come on comedian, you have to admit that this is fun! The rush of your magic, the pressure of what could happen if you lose," the demon giggled, and threw its arms wide. "You can't deny the fact that killing me would satisfy you."
Sans closed his eyes to try and deny the statement, and stared in horror at the melting skeleton in the dark.
"Sans," Gaster told him, "There Is More To The Human Than You Know."
"SANS!" Papyrus said, pounding on his door, and Sans whirled around, his chest heaving. Hie eyes were wide as he tried to figure out what had happened. "DINNER IS READY. DON'T THINK THAT I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH EATING THAT GREASY FOOD FROM GRILLBY'S TONIGHT."
"heh," Sans forced a chuckled, "come on bro. why dont you-"
"SANS!"
"throw me-"
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
"a bone?"
"AUGH!"
Sans tried to relax, to focus on Papyrus' voice, but part of him was wondering when this scene will shift. He gripped at his jacket, and took a shuddering breath.
"i'll be down in just a sec pap," Sans said, and there was a pause. He cursed himself, thinking that he probably hadn't been careful enough with his tone. Papyrus would be hovering for the rest of the night and probably tomorrow as well, which was the last thing Sans needed. He grit his teeth and glared at the demon, at Frisk, at the world. For one horrible moment, he wished that the demon had actually succeeded and that the timeline had ended.
"ALRIGHT THEN BROTHER," Papyrus said, cutting off Sans' thoughts. Sans let out a long breath as he listened to Papyrus' footsteps, and turned back to the demon. It shifted on the bed, muttering in its sleep. He straightened. He wouldn't let it take whatever happiness he had away from him, and he wouldn't stoop to its level.
Papyrus deserved the whole world, and all the light on the Surface, and so much more. So Sans would give him that. He would free Frisk from the demon's control so Papyrus could meet her, so she could break the barrier and they could have their happy ending. Then he would find a way to keep the demon from resetting ever again.
Chara sat in the darkness of the Void, swinging her legs back and forth. She wouldn't have minded staying in the Void for the rest of time. It was a simple process to learn how to control the shadows that swirled through it, and nothing was really there physically so she would never have to eat, sleep, or drink again.
She waved her hand, and the shadows swirled around her to form a vaguely Frisk like shape. The figure pulled out a knife, dancing through the motions of a fight, and for a brief moment Chara let herself want. She let herself wish for a Frisk that would have followed along with her plan to end the timeline, to slaughter everyone.
Chara sighed as the shadows stilled, and she let the magic fade, the figure melting away. A whistling filled the air, and Chara grinned dropping to the ground as a blade of black color magic flew over her head. She rolled to the left as spikes made of shadows sprouted from where she had been.
There was only two other people who could show up in the Void and Chara knew where Frisk was.
"You Are Starting To Improve Child," Gaster's voice echoed from all directions."Perhaps It Is Possible For You To Learn To Dodge As Frisk Does."
Chara let out a wild whoop as she jumped out of the way of another attack, and then dove to the side, landing hard as one came out of nowhere from the right. Fights from the void were strange to adjust to, they were three dimensional, with participants able to move up and down as easily as they could left, right, forward, or back.
Chara focused, and shot upwards in order to get out of the way of more spikes, and turned to find one inches from her eye.
"It Seems That You Have Been Defeated Once More," Gaster said, amusement evident in his tone.
The grin didn't waver from Chara's face, as she tried to catch her breath. "The only thing I can think each time," Chara said, flopping back down to the 'ground,' "is that 'No wonder Sans is so terrifying.'"
Out of the corner of her eye, Chara watched the shadows solidify and a white skeletal face appear with a burst of static. The almost dopy smile that was ever present on Gaster's face widened, and his hands appeared with another burst of static. It wasn't the most solid he had ever appeared as, but it definitely wasn't the worst either
"And How Has My Brother Been?" Gaster asked, his body pooling in a way that would be like sitting for anyone else.
Chara let out a bitter laugh, "He tried to kill me again."
"My Apologies," Gaster said, inclining his head, and he meant it. It just wasn't fair that Sans ended up with someone was cool as Gaster as his brother, and that Gaster had been scatter even before she had fallen. Chara wished that there was some way that she and Frisk could stay here with Gaster. Then all she would be missing was Asriel. If it was the four of them, and Chara didn't have to deal with anyone else. Maybe then she could be happy.
"How Are You Planning On Dealing With His Anger?" Gaster asked her.
"Dunno," Chara muttered, "Don't really care either as long as I don't reset or reload and bother Frisk."
"She Is Recuperating?" Gaster asked, and Chara nodded.
"Have you ever seen what she does when she stays here?" Chara asked softly, her hand curling around her chest reflexively, as if that would let her feel the echo in their twin souls.
"I Have Refrained From That Course Of Action," Gaster said, "Frisk Cloaks Herself In Shadow, Which I Interpret To Mean That She Wishes To Remain Alone."
"Why do we even end up here?" Chara asked.
"Your Magic And Determination Are Tied To The Void, The Space Between All Of Time And Space. Your Code Is Simply Too Complex For The World To Be Able To Support It All While It Is Also Dealing With The Glitch That Messes With Your Repeats," Gaster explained, the ones and zeros that he had once explained were the code of the world scrolling in front of them. "When We Find The Problem And Fix It, You Will Stop Showing Up Here Naturally. If You Wish To Visit Then You Will Have To Find High Concentrations Of Magic Where The Wall Of Reality Is Weak."
"What's this if shit?" Chara asked, "Where else am I going to find someone willing to really fight me at the same time they talk science?"
"Past Data Has Shown That Sans Is Capable Of This," Gaster pointed out, his body dripping as he lost hold on it.
"Sans would kill me," Chara said darkly, "Or I would kill him. Either way Frisk would be upset."
"The Savior Becomes Unhappy Even When We Fight," Gaster said with a chuckle, his body solidifying a little bit more. Chara's grin turned fond, and the absolute darkness wavered. "Ah. It Seems That This Is Goodbye."
"Only catch you later," Chara said forcefully, "I'll bring chocolate next time."
"If You Can Manage That," Gaster teased at the exact time Chara's dream ended.
She opened her eyes to dirty sheets, and Chara could feel her cheeks ache with a grin. "Bastard," she said.