For the first time in a long time, light floods the shed.

A thick layer of dust has settled over everything. I'm not surprised. It's been years since this place has been used.

Has needed to be used.

Everything's as it was—the blueprints he shoved in my hands one day, right before he disappeared. The machine I can't fix, no matter how hard I try.

To this day, I still don't know if he wanted me to.

I grab the diagrams, as well as some tools and the parts I'll need. He was pretty organized, that one—left me everything I'd need. I wish I could say his mind was that time…

I remember the day clearly:

"Sans. Come here for a minute."

"…If something ever happens…you'll know when it does…" He traced a finger over the schematic. "When that day comes—and I sincerely hope it doesn't—use this."

I looked up at him. He hadn't seemed right in the head all day. Kept looking back and forth, dropping things, asking me the same questions over and over again. Now, this. Something I couldn't understand, shoved on me like a tower of dirty plates.

"I—slow down. you aren't making sense. what are these?" I looked back down at the blueprint. It was the layout for some kind of skull-shaped…I didn't try to guess. "is something—"

He turned away, mumbling something else about "preparations." I didn't get a word of it. He wasn't usually like this. Calm, cool-headed—what had gotten into him?

"hey!" My shout got his attention. He turned, looking like he hadn't slept in days.

"what's going on? this…this isn't like you. something's wrong, isn't it? …There's something you're not telling me. Do you really expect me to do something about what I don't know? 'Cuz…I'm kinda lost, and freaked out. So calm down, and explain it."

He didn't speak, for a moment. When he did, it wasn't what I expected:

"Sometimes, in life, there are things you'll never understand. Things happen that are far above what we could ever hope to comprehend. This is one of those things. I can't explain it to you—and even if I could…"

The last coherent thing I would ever hear from him faded away in a jumble of half-finished phrases, and he left. I never saw him again after that. I heard rumors of his death, or that he somehow made it to the Surface.

…I still don't know how he knew. How he knew all this was coming.

I thought it had something to do with the machine. I found it in his lab after he left. He spent his last days working on it non-stop, constantly adjusting something or another. It took the best part of his mind and left behind what I saw of him that day.

I wanted it. I wanted to find out why it was so dear to him…what it was that consumed him…

…And some part of me still thought I could find him again in the process.

I spent the first days after he left looking at the machine. It took me that long to discover two truths:

1. As was, it was a worthless piece of junk.

2. It was a worthless piece of junk I could never hope to fix.

After that, I spent about a month trying to disprove the second one. It…didn't really work out. I came up with every excuse you could think of to explain to Papyrus what I did all day, and why I always came back washing grease and dirt off my hands. The whole "oh, I got a job waiting tables at Grillby's" bit worked until the day he popped in to check on me.

Come to think of it, I think it was then that he made me get a job.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. I would hide some of the diagrams in my pockets, and try to work them out on slow days at the Snowdin Sentry Station. His handwriting was always awful, and tended to lapse into some sort of weird pictorial shorthand that crept into my dreams for nights on end. I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

I had never worked so hard on something before. I always had a policy of taking life easy, but…

It's weird what obsession does to a guy.

It was a quiet day at the Waterfall Sentry Station, as usual. My spine had started to hurt from hunching over the papers so long.

So then, if that symbol is…then it would be…G…A…S…T…

"SANS!"

Despite the clanking of her armor, I hadn't heard Undyne approach. I jumped, papers scattering everywhere.

My proverbial skin crawled as she picked one up.

"What's this?" Her mouth opened as if for a lecture. I slid down in my seat, preparing myself for what would likely stretch into a half-hour reprimand.

"Hey, is this…a cannon or something? Not bad."

Of course she would see a weapon in it.

"The beam here…is that...concentrated magic or something?" She grinned. "Never thought of that! Is this something Alphys drew?"

"uh, yeah. from, uh, one of those cartoons she always watches. she wants to make it real." I had worked with Alphys before his disappearance; I could at least come up with a lie convincing enough for Undyne.

"That's…actually kind of AWESOME!" Her smile quickly turned into a frown. "And also NOT acceptable on the job! …Don't let me catch you with your guard down again. Understand?"

I watched her walk away. Where'd she even get a response like that? It didn't matter; it was Undyne. She could weaponize a banana peel if she had to.

I picked up the blueprint and looked over it again.

G…A…S…T…..E?

No, putting that aside…

Could she be right?


At that moment, I realized why he didn't want to tell me what he meant that day.

All of them…they're all different designs for the same weapon. A magic cannon in tune with its creator, controlled directly by their will. In a sense, an extension of their own body.

It takes a lot out of the user—it could probably kill someone who didn't have a lot going for them. Clearly, it was only something to be used in an emergency.

Something I couldn't handle on my own, but would have to. That was how I thought of it.

I didn't know what it was he saw coming, and I had no way of figuring it out. He didn't tell me because he didn't want me to think about it. He still wanted me to keep that carefree life I had—every minute of it—until I couldn't any longer.

I decided what I would have to do.

I shoved the blueprints in a cabinet in the shed. As I prepared to close it, my hand brushed against something.

I ran my fingers over the grooves the pen left in the back of the paper. I didn't have to look at it to know what it said:

Don't Forget

I understood. It was the here and the now that was important—not what was, what could have been, or what might be.

I locked the door, and hid the key in the bottom of my drawer.

I swore not to think about it anymore.

No matter what would happen, I had a life now. A life with Papyrus, and Undyne, and Grillby, and Snowdin…

And I let myself relax…until they showed up.


I set up shop in front of the TV in the living room. Screws, sheets of metal, fragments of wire and various tools littered the floor. From there, I got to work.

For hours, I listened to the news reports. "A dangerous human is currently in the Snowdin area. Please stay inside, and refrain from contact with the individual…" "The human is approaching the Waterfall. All residents of the Underground are advised now to evacuate to the Capital…" "The human has crossed the bridge into Hotland. Evacuation is now mandatory, and will be enforced by the remaining members of the Royal Guard…"

With each update, I thought. If they're in Hotland, they've gotten past Undyne. If she couldn't stop them, I sure couldn't. There wouldn't have been any hope if I tried to confront them. That was how I justified it.

I looked down at the hunk of metal in my hands, and hoped my time was better spent here.

So they're in Hotland. That means Alphys and Mettaton are next. Alphys would probably be assisting the Royal Guard with the evacuation effort, and Mettaton…

Well, he was more geared toward fighting onscreen than anything else.

I continued on as the afternoon light faded into evening. Outside, Snowdin grew quieter and quieter, until all I could hear was the wind.

"hey, Paps. think there's gonna be a storm tonight?"


…I need a break.

This is probably what I get for spending the past few years taking it easy. Even though what's in front of me is important—should be important—my focus wanders.

I rub the back of my skull, and look up.

A snack. Yeah, food would be nice.

I get up and stretch—pop a few knuckles. How long have I been sitting there? Hours, I guess—I don't know for sure.

Opening the fridge reveals nothing except an empty bag of chips. This morning, it was still filled with Papyrus's spaghetti. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

"…so you couldn't leave me even that, huh?"

I slam the door shut. All right. So there wasn't anything resembling edible food left in the house…unless you really wanted to count the dog that sometimes ended up under the sink. You'd really have to be kind of a freak.

A thought crosses my mind:

Even at the end of the world, would he still be here?


The short answer: no.

Grillby's is completely empty. Overturned chairs and tables litter the floor, and even the jukebox that only ever played one song is silent.

I pull up a stool at the bar. Even Grillby is gone. For a guy made of flames, he's usually pretty cool-headed; I can't imagine him getting worked up at any of this.

…I wonder if that makes me crazy for still being here.

It's true. Really, there's nothing keeping me here. There's no guarantee I'd be able to stop them, even with whatever it is he wants me to build. I could go join everyone else in the Capital. I could have half a chance of being safe.

…But if what that demon weed said is true…

There's something here far above what I could ever hope to understand.

I lay my head down. I'm still tired; a nap would be so nice…

It's then that I see the note at the end of the counter, a bottle of ketchup acting as a paperweight. I don't want to move, but I can faintly make it out from here:

Make yourself at home.

"…heh."

I don't know how, but he knew I'd come by here at some point. And somehow…

For a minute, I can see everything as it was. The dogs, playing poker at a table; the bunny, drunk out of his mind in the corner booth; the flower, always mumbling something about human food; the fish-man, looking for the other fish in the sea…

…And Grillby, wiping a glass behind the counter.

I lifted up my feet, and slid behind the bar.

"…thanks."

I don't care about getting to the surface anymore.

We're never going to. That's just the way it is.

But if there's a chance I could make them start this all over again…

Then maybe, if nothing else, we could have this again.


I try not to take too much. In the fridge in the back, I find a takeout box with my name on it, along with a couple bottles of ketchup.

I fish through my pockets.

"…sorry, it's not a whole lot, but I hope it'll cover today and the last few years." I put my last paycheck from sentry duty on the counter, along with a few coins as a tip. It's all I have on me.

From there, I head home and continue working.

It grows darker and darker, until I can only see by the light of the TV.


I worked through the night.

As I look over its sturdy metal frame, shining a sickly gray in the morning light, a twisted feeling comes over where my gut should be.

This is it.

I'll have to fight on my own.

I untie the cape from my arm. I want to take it with me, but it's too risky. If that kid grabbed it, they could pull me to them pretty easily, and...well, I don't want to think about it.

...

No. There's still a way.

I take off my jacket, then my shirt. I wrap the red fabric around my ribcage, then tuck it under my clothing once more.

I won't have to fight alone.

I'll fight with you, at least.

...

There's no going back.

We'll never get to the surface.

I'm not even sure they'll ever RESET again.

But if there's a chance we could go back to the way it used to be...

If there's a chance I could see you again...

...

Then I can't let what that weed was talking about come true.

I step out the door.

"it's a beautiful day outside, huh, Papyrus?"


I have to fight off sleep now as I stand in the light of the hallway, the…thing hovering behind me.

It won't be long now. I can hear their footsteps.

"…heya."

They aren't a pretty sight. Covered in dust from head to toe, hands gripping a knife…

"you've been busy, huh?"

They killed her. I feel it. There's no way they didn't.

"do you think even the worst person can change? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?"

I think of Papyrus—his clothing scattered across the ground…

They take a step closer.

"heh heh heh heh…all right."

I think of Undyne. I hadn't seen her in the news reports about the evacuation. She couldn't still be alive.

"well, here's a better question: do you wanna have a bad time?"

I don't know what happened to Alphys, but it couldn't be pretty.

"'cause if you take another step forward…"

I watched them kill Mettaton on live TV.

"…you are REALLY not going to like what happens next."

They take a step. Another one. Footfall by footfall, they work their way toward me.

"…It's still too long, dummy."

I feel my left eye start to glow blue.

"welp, sorry, old lady."

"…This is why I never make promises."


Blooper Reel #2:

I watch them approach.

"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee, who opens the gates of hell…come forth, divine lightning…this ends now! Indignation!"

The cannon fires, blasting them off the face of the earth.

They come back through the door, a few moments later (before? Tell me how all this works), eyes narrowed.

"aww, c'mon, you didn't like that? kids like you have no taste."

They frown.

"It's too long."

"nah, kid, you don't understand. see, when you stop to say something like that, everything stops. or hadn't you noticed? c'mon, try it."

They take a step toward me. I open my mouth:

"mi-mi-miracle-mikurun-run!"

Their feet stop halfway. The cannon fires, blasting them into next week.

They emerge from the door, completely done with my [censored by Mettaton].

"ready to RESET yet? lyrical tokarev, kill them all!"

ERROR TYPE: EXCESSIVE WEEB. CHARA HAS CLOSED THE GAME.


Notes:

I needed my Sans Desktop Buddy to get me through this chapter. Yes, pet the skele.

I feel like Living Death Youth by Kenshi Yonezu is fairly appropriate for this chapter. It kept going through my head. (On the subject of Kenshi and Undertale, I'd like to see an AMV of Sans killing Frisk/Chara over and over again set to MAD HEAD LOVE. "Baby, baby-by…LOVE TOO IS AN ACRONYM" *bwoosh*)

Anyway, I think I should mention my take on Gaster: the short version is, I think Sans worked alongside/under him as a Royal Scientist. This would explain Sans's mysterious rent money (pension), and his knowledge of quantum physics. I think Papyrus was maybe aware of it and knew that something caused Sans to quit (Gaster's death), but Sans shielded him from the situation because…he tries way too hard to protect his brother.

...ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS KEEP MAKING DRAMATIC IN-BATTLE SPEECHES. YOU'RE IN AN RPG, BRUH. IT'S THAT SIMPLE. (I wanted to work in "It's oshioki time, yo!" from Danganronpa Abridged Thing, but it was scene-breakingly long as it was.)