The idea of watching someone sleep should be the most boring thing in the world. Oddly enough, I could see it as refreshingly relaxing[JH1] . Chara slept soundly with her head on my shoulder. I summoned dust in front of me as Papyrus showed up sitting in front of me. I smiled to him, letting some silence pass for a minute or so. I finally spoke up, "Hey Pap… Papyrus… Sorry. I'm not your real brother. I guess I shouldn't call you that."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind at all. She must be tired if she hasn't woken up yet," he smiled a bit with an edge of concern. He motioned me to follow as he stood up. Helping me set her down carefully, I took my sweatshirt off to give to her as a blanket. She curled up easily as Pap and I let out a silent chuckle.

I followed him closely, part of my curiosity finally broke through, "What's up? Did I do something wrong? I'm confused…"

He turned around, forcing me to stop to notice his stern look, "San- Turn… Sorry. You need to know something. The reason the dust is angry is because of what she did. She hasn't told you yet by the look on your face…"

"Told me what, Pap? What am I not understanding here?" I said. Dad said the dust was here to take over and kill her, but he never did truly say why[JH2] .

His gaze fell aside as if disappointed or sad, "At first, she made friends with us all. They both did. It was good at the time. I only learned later that she went back to the beginning somehow and started a different path. A genocide run as Sans had called it. She killed everyone even though a few of us didn't even fight her. I know I didn't… I'm only discovering now that a genocider is a killer of monsters from the others. As far as we're aware, when Sans came back using our father's machine, he stopped Chara from being a murderer…"

Listening to him, I only felt worse than before. I needed to change this topic. I couldn't hear this anymore. I turned his attention towards a very different line of thought, "You know what, I wanna know something only you would know. How do you feel about helping me take on Sans?"

"Y… You really mean it? I don't want to see either of you fight him. So yes… I would very much like to be the one who talks to him if that's okay. Now that I'm with you, he can't hurt me anymore or get to me. I'll take care of him. Leave it to me. You can take the others and save that child that needs your help," Pap smiled at me as if he had forgotten the tense topic before.

A voice cleared behind me, both of us finally noticing Chara standing awake with a look of regret on her face. Her eyes were a bit red with shaky hands, "I'm sorry. I never got to tell you, Papyrus. I'm so sorry. I never knew what I did would cause that all to happen. This mess is because I made her try to finish what she started and created something worse than any monster has seen before. She fought you on her own will and I fought to stop her internally. I wish I had the words to tell you how much I regret all of it."

Papyrus and I were stunned as we listened to this. Papyrus took the lead, kneeling to give her a gentle hug, "It is alright, Chara. You are here now and making a difference. I would not ask for anything else. Save my brother and everyone else. Then maybe we can all rest easy. For now, promise me you won't kill that human child. Please?"

I had to look aside, full well knowing her answer would not be to his liking. [JH3] Chara let out an elongated sigh that I was beginning to recognize as her 'lost cause' sigh. She spoke up with a faint hint of sadness, "I can't, Papyrus. Frisk is dead and gone because of what she did. She tried to act like nothing happened the second time around and now we're here. If I'm to stay here and be okay with it… I can't let another genocider live. As Undyne says, humans have to be hunted. I'm not human anymore and I'm beginning to see why she says that. They get curious and then monsters are targets. Until Mom and Dad say so, we are to stay away from them and kill them as the Royal Guard orders. It took me a while to understand that."

Moving beside Papyrus, I shook my head defiantly, "Papyrus is at least half right. We can try to reach her first. If that doesn't work, then… I'm sorry, Pap. Her way is the next best thing."

He seemed disappointed but nodded, "Alright. At least you're promising to try. Just don't give up on her. I never gave up on Frisk or you. It just feels wrong to-"

"Give up on a kid or your brother. You never did change Papyrus," a familiar voice cut Papyrus off as Sans stood at the entrance.

I don't think I've seen Chara that quick to summon a red knife and yellow pistol. Quickly putting a hand in front of her to stop her, I looked at Sans, "Why are you here? You're the reason all of this is happening…"

"Easy. I just wanna talk. No one wants to lose their cool. A friendly chat, no need for the icey reunion," he said looking at me and Papyrus.

Chara just seemed outraged, "No! We have nothing to say to you. You're destroying their home. We don't get that right. None of us did. Sans, stop-"

A bone came out of the floor and knocked her back several feet. In a flash, Papyrus raced to catch her. Without knowing if Chara was okay, I moved my attention back to Sans[JH4] , "Talk about what? That genocider will kill us all and you seem okay with that. Don't you care that your dad or your brother are mixed up in this? Don't you care about what this is doing to Chara? You are letting her down by sparking a genocider. She's barely been able to keep her cool because of you."

Sans seemed impressed and mockingly toying with me too, "And some say that the murderers heart grew three sizes that day, am I right pal? Never knew you had a heart for the kid, although I used to until I really saw what she did to the monsters down here. She changes when those eyes glow red and the right motivations are in play. Thing is that I just want to kill her. Let me kill her and the rest of you will be freed and let go to do as you please. We just want revenge. Pap, I know you know what I'm talking about. I had to watch her crush your skull… Believing in her is a doomed effort," He was pressing Papyrus to join him, which I already knew he'd say no.[JH5]

"No, I don't know what you mean Sans. We're brothers and we've known that the bad comes with the good. I knew about Dad but never said anything after he passed. Things don't have to be this way if you don't let it. Dad is here with me. Let's see him together and forget this mess. I know you're in there, Sans," Papyrus said quickly. He was reaching out for some part of him that probably no longer existed.

I put a hand lightly on his arm, "Pap… He's not worth it. He's too far gone." I used the other hand to direct my dust to bring Chara's scythe to my free hand, "He only knows his truth."

Sans actually turned to me with a grin, "What truth? That on the third time I met the kid she was beginning a genocide run that was only initiated because she forced Frisk to finish what she started. She wouldn't let her let go of what she did and created a demon. Now I have to write the last wrong. Frisk is dead, now I need to kill Chara and we'll be all squared up. We all leave in peace, every speck of us…"

There was a part of me that knew this wasn't a lie, but I couldn't sacrifice her, "Pap, go get Undyne… I'll protect her." After he placed her in my arms, he vanished, allowing me to use his dust to strengthen my shield, "You won't take her from anything. She is her own monster now and deserves this chance to live. It doesn't matter what you say, she is under my protection and every monster I rescue from you will help me prove that point."

Sans glared at me with a wave of anger exuding from him, "You'll regret that decisi- Wait… No. Let me handle this. I can kill him and her. Give me time. Just give me-"

I saw Sans' soul crack, one by one cracks formed. He was being destroyed without a care for who was doing it. I held a hand out, "Sans, take my hand. You'll be safe with us and we can stop that girl together. Quick before you lose whatever chance you have to live. Undyne, take her."

Once Undyne materialized and I put Chara in her arms, I dove for Sans to grab his soul. In seconds, I felt his fear and dread. Not only that, I felt the dust's emotions of fear reaching out. Something was destroying the hold, but I don't know what. His soul crushed in my hands as he gave me one last grin, "Got ya."

He took hold of my shoulder, finally I noticed the dust coming towards me. In a matter of seconds, I lost control out of fear, "No!" A blaster summoned on each side of me made from dust basically instantaneously blasting him away from me as a hole was blasted through the walls as well.

Sans stood up from the hole I blasted him through into the kitchen of the hotel, "I see… Check mate, look-alike."

I saw the dust on my shoulder, but it faded away into my own supply. With a small glance back, I saw Undyne had put herself in front of Chara as if to protect her. I turned my glance back to Sans as a purple aura wove its way around me, "Not check-mate. Chara taught me something. She may guard the monster's soul, but dust of the fallen is mine to guard. Those monsters don't know who the real traitor is to them. The thing you're all becoming will destroy you. It took me till now to realize I can fix this. Just need to undo the damage…" I moved to Chara with a small smile, noticing her eyes watching me carefully as they opened slowly, "I have to go fix this. Remember you can't go genocide or killer on me. Stay true to the monster you became, to your friends and family."

Undyne set her down on her feet, Chara staring at me. She hugged me close, a slight shake to her frame. I wrapped her up in a hug and sunk my head into her shoulder, "I need you to forgive me, but I have to leave. You see, you were right. I do have the power to fix this. Just needed a good reason to see that potential. Good thing I have you. Just do me one favor. Forgive me for what I'm about to do."

"Turn… What do you mean?" she pushed away with a careful gaze at me. In an unnoticeable second, I summoned a dust bone to hit her in the back of the head. When she began to collapse, I caught her and set her against one of the few standing walls of the dining hall.

"It's better this way. I have to try something, but it's potentially dangerous," I said with regret already filling my head, "Don't follow me." I walked towards the doorway until Undyne jumped in front of me.

She was almost red in the face like a fish out of water, "Turn! What are you doing? It takes you both to solve this. Not some solo act. She cares about you and you can't just leave her behind-"

"I can! I just did. Undyne, you told me to ask you about this stuff or discuss it with you. Here it is. This thing I wanna try could get her killed, hell it could get me killed. I just want save her," I struggled with the right and wrong of this situation until I continued conflicted, "I can't let her get hurt. I won't. After this last fight, I swear I will talk to her and you about this. Just please let me do this…"

Undyne shook her head, her dust vanished without a word. I shook off her words with an attempt to focus my mind. My mind raced while I felt several of the monsters whom I saw in my sleep walk behind me, "I got this guys. Trust me. It took me till then to realize what Chara and Dad meant. I know how to stop this."

Papyrus was the first to spark his complaints, "You can't go alone. You left Chara back there to do what? What plan could you possibly have to stop that type of beast? You felt it as we all did; the monster guiding this is an amalgamation of hatred from a spirit left here. It sounds like what my father explained to us while you were traveling. Chara was like that at one point. Whomever it is, they are the source. Sacrificing yourself won't-"

"Pap, enough… Please. I'm finishing this. She needs time to come to terms with herself and I, for one, won't see her hurt anymore. This is my way of protecting her. Those souls aren't under control yet or she should be able to heal easily," I said bluntly until Undyne spun me around and stopped me.

She slapped me hard which made me use a hand to steady my skull, "You idiot! She cares for you and you just left her alone back there. If she wasn't unstable before, she might be now. What you did might make this worse or not even work. Don't you s-"

"Stop! I know what's going on now. When I absorbed the dust on Sans, I felt it. This dust is coming from the world these monsters left behind because of the rip in space and time my brother made to revive me. It's my job to fix this. I know it sounds crazy, but I stop the dust's attack on everyone and undo my mistakes and his," I almost screamed out unintentionally, making Undyne freeze. I continued at a level tone, "With a bit of luck and faith in her, I can pause the coming disaster. The world they're from is collapsing. That could destabilize here. I do remember that much about the science mumbo jumbo my dad spit out."

Undyne didn't even fight me anymore when I noticed Papyrus vanished along with her and the others. They were accepting my plan, but not because I was giving them a choice. Upon traversing the dusty old hallways, I found myself at a familiar patch of yellow flowers. I looked up to where the hole in the roof was supposed to be, only to see a crack filled with a writhing mass of dust. This was it…

"Hey! Monstrous thing. You wanted me, here I am. Or are you too chicken to try to corrupt me too," I jested at it with a false grin. Underneath, I was scared I might not see my family or friends again, especially her. No, I thought, I was doing this for her. I held a hand up towards it, "Give me your best shot you pile of garbage."

It surged towards me when I realized the hoard now held that girl hostage too. I could save her too. With my willpower intact, I held on. The dust covered my soul, which built a new film over my vision as I saw the hundreds of souls trapped in this shape. They all had a red glare to them until finally I noticed the girl at the center. She was corrupting them with her determination and some wisp behind her. I moved towards them with a small smile, "Kid! Can you hear me? Let's talk. I just wanna hear what you have to say."

She didn't move until a moment later when she took strides toward me, offering a hand, "Call me Rose." After I shook her hand, she gripped tight, "But I'm not here to talk. This dust will use you now to fight for me. And the first victim is coming."

She showed me a glass-like image of Chara running into the ruins. Chara was panicking, I could just tell. I called out, "No! Leave!" I turned my gaze to Alice, "Let her go! I won't hurt her. And neither will they. I know how many monsters there were and how many are on my side. You have no pull here."

I know my voice faltered, which made Rose only grin wickedly, "Oh but I do. Your soul wants to protect her. These monsters will help you see how best to protect her. The easiest way to protect a monster is to make her a pile of dust. Then she'll be with you forever." The dust from behind her, red-eyed anger and all, swarmed me with a mission. I felt myself being ripped apart by the hundreds of desires that they all had. My soul felt like it was being torn apart.

I could hear Chara closing in through the slowly growing footsteps calling out, "Turn! Turn- Wow!" She must have seen the mass of dust, but it was hard to tell with all the voices flooding my head.

Some saying Kill her and this will all be over

She'll be yours forever.

No more obstacles.

The process is simple.

If she became dust, you would be able to keep her with you forever.

I don't know why, but this made sense to me. I changed my perspective and my position, the teleport brought me in front of her on the ground. The skeletal hand I held out to her slightly shaking, "Chara, I'm right here. Come on. I found Rose. Let's stop this together..."

She actually backed away from me, struggling for some reason, "Turn…" Eventually, she ran to me in a rushed hug. With a small jump, she was safely nestled in my arms.

Not safe enough.

Dust her now.

Make her stay with you forever.

In this hug, I had the advantage to hold her tight to me while she cried. When my hand summoned a dagger to do the deed, I felt myself struggle with the idea of killing her. The dagger shook in my hand until I plunged it in her back. She never let go of me even though I know the dagger was sunk deep into her back. Every fiber in my being wanted to stop this until the dust lost control of me, "No!"

Chara finally sunk in my arms like a lump. I dropped to the ground to keep a hold of her, "Chara! Wake up. I'm sorry… Please…" I shook her a little bit. Panic filled my being and soul. The weight of what I did was crushing me, but also filling me with rage.

Her soul was changing color almost constantly until it actually glowed. Her body fell to ash in my arms except for the soul that glowed in my hands. There was silence until Rose spoke out of the dust ball above, "Aw… Too bad. You were a good pawn while you lasted. I'll take you out with the remainder of her soul. Then this whole place is nex- Yikes!"

A spear launched past me and almost hit the dust ball. The problem was that Rose struck back with two knives in my chest, allowing the blow to hit my chest without even moving. My soul cracked upon the red blades entering my ribs. I saw the blood I coughed up but I only remember holding her dust. The pain I felt was losing her, not my injuries. The world spun around me except for Chara's remains. That was the only stable thing I had.

"Chara… I shouldn't have left you behind. But I'm trusting you now. Don't let this be the end of all of us. I know your powers are strong…" I had to pause to cough as more blood stained my clothing, continuing, "Help me stop this." I felt weaker than before like I was falling apart.

The cracks in my soul gave me a familiar feeling. I knew this well… Dying. The memory of being sick in bed while my soul was cracking slowly. Papyrus wasn't in the room at the time. That was when a light pulled me out of the unclear mess that was becoming vision. I recognized the rainbow of everchanging glows. The soul was healing me. With a clearer look, I realized the soul was attached to a stranger.

She stood about my height (5'8"-ish). She had a brilliant white long white hair down to her knees with pale skin. The grey jean shorts and similar grey hoodie held no design except for the soul in front of her hoodie. It glowed just like hers. Her eyes were the same frequent color change to it. At the moment, all colors glowed brightly with the green shield around us and the gun in her hand that changed colors as her eyes had. Her voice was kind, but somewhat rich with confidence as I had remembered Chara, "Let's end it then. Together."

I took her outstretched hand with a smile. She was still herself with a different look but still Chara. The power of the seven souls surged through me, making me realize she was sharing her abilities. With a look towards Rose who was trembling, I smiled, "You still have a chance here. Let us help you."

"We just want to close the hole between worlds. We can save you in the process too. Rose, come on. I was like you and now here I am better off. Please let us help you," she called out, her confidence still there but clearly she was distracted.

I looked to her with a squeeze to her hand. Turning my attention back to Rose, I watched her back in fear. She was scared or trying to come to terms with something. Either way, we had to stop her. I focused my abilities on the dust with the supercharge to give me the strength to absorb all of the dust. I had to keep so focused, I didn't get to look anywhere but on the dust. A clang resounded off our green shield that I couldn't focus on. After a few moments, I realized that Rose was trying carve her way in.

Chara held up her gun wielding left hand towards Rose, "You won't remember much of this, but go home…" When the bullet flew at Rose, she tried to run in vain. Rose vanished before our eyes, meanwhile the hole in the ceiling was widening. Chara grabbed my attention, "I need you to help me close that. It's getting harder to focus my magic the longer I let this power flow free."

She was struggling, that much I could see. With the dust absorbed, I had a stupidly crazy dumb idea that might work but might also backfire later. I moved in front of her to get her attention, "Send all the available magic you have into the crack in space and time along with my magic. It should overload and close it. Magic opened it, meaning it can close it. I'm right here, just focus on my voice. You got this, Chara."

With an over-confident nod, I noticed more and more magical power flowing around her gun, illuminating the room. She aimed the gun upwards, me still holding her free hand. I could feel the magic I had left draining away. When the shot went off, it didn't even make a sound. What came after nearly would have blown anyone's ear drums. A loud explosion rang through the air with an astonishing amount of force. I barely held us upright to watch the explosion vanish when the crack began to seal. With a smile, I could almost cheer if I didn't feel so winded. She fell slowly into my arms, "Chara! Easy there… You did it. It's closed. I knew you could do it." Watching her eyes wonder up, we saw the one thing most monsters wished to see out above the mountain; sunlight pouring in through the open hole above.

She smiled to me and then slowly closed her eyes. I used a lot of magic myself, but this time I was weaker than ever before. I accidentally dropped her in the flowers, falling in the same patch beside her. The air here was just warm and comfortable. It sure beat Snowdin… Or at least, that was the last thought before I must have passed out.

I remembered being slapped awake by my brother. He was frantically trying to call to me while I couldn't understand why I couldn't hear him. Frankly, I couldn't hear anything at that moment. Slowly, things became mumbles and then somewhat recognizable words. Papyrus shook me one last time after which I could finally hear the ringing that was blindsiding. Papyrus' voice finally came through, "Turn! Turn wake up. Are you okay?"

"Pap… You're voice is gonna break my skull at that level…" I lifted my left hand to rub my head. With some effort, I pushed off the ground to sit up to notice Chara was still out. I motioned towards her as a familiar duplicate of myself knelt there. Sans was bandaged, but not exactly healed. I spoke up slowly, "Sans… Are you… Well you?"

He never looked up as he nodded yes. With a shake of his head, he looked at her, "I'm here, but not for long. I think it's time I finally let go. She's safe. That's all I ever wanted." He smiled a bit to Chara, leaving a small item in her hand, "You promised me you'd protect her. I'm going to hold you to that, Turn. Don't let her down."

Papyrus shook his head, still knelt beside me, "You can still be healed. It's not the end. We can still do all of this without you passing away. Don't just give up."

"Papyrus has a point. We can wake her up and she can heal you. You don't have to leave anybody-" I tried to help Papyrus' point but he cut me off.

His tone was solemn, "We don't have the right to interfere in a world that isn't ours. I'm better off dead. There shouldn't be two of me here. Besides, I was only family to her. You're something else to her. She has a point, though I'll never tell her. I meddled in the order of things that were not to be meddled with. It's time that I let go… I'm so tired…" His bones were turning to dust slowly which made me finally notice the cracks in his soul. He was dying regardless.

I just nodded before Papyrus could get involved, "His soul is cracked. Sans, I can take the dust you leave behind. You're not leaving entirely, just stuck in this sort of limbo until you can come out…"

"That's fine. Keep your promise. It was good to meet you both. I'm sorry for what we did to your world," Sans said with a small smile before he faded away completely.

I reached out a hand as the dust drew towards me, vanishing just like every other time. With a small smile, "He's okay now. We should head back to town. The dust is no longer an issue, but that human was. Where did she go?"

"Don't know… There was no one here. We'll have to keep an eye out for her…" Papyrus gave a sad smile, "She deserves a home just like Chara did. For now, Chara can stay with us. I don't think Dad will mind losing his room until she can find a place to stay in town."

I chuckled out loud with a nod, "He always slept at his desk anyhow. You're right. If you carry her, I can walk for now. We should go home. For now, everything is over. We all deserve a good family meal at Grillby's. Dad too…"

Papyrus picked up Chara with a small smile, "So now we have a new friend and Dad is back. Things really are looking up. Once we find that human girl and the missing prince, things will be A-okay. I just know it."

He was right. For now, I wanted a break. Also, a bottle of ketchup and to give her an apology for stabbing her. Then my day is complete and over. As we arrived in Snowdin with a straight path for Grillby's, we saw Dad with Grillby, the king, Queen, the Asriel from Chara's world was being held by Toriel and everyone else. They were all back to normal. I was just stunned. Chara woke up in time to see the crowd as Papyrus let her stand on her own.

The King and Queen moved forward with a relaxed tone compared to all the monsters fearing me before this. Queen Toriel spoke up with an even tone, "Thank you. As of now, the skeleton family is officially apart of the Royal Guard and the Royal Science Team. You are welcome here again."

"Snowdin will also be re-populated as well as the ruins when Doctor Gaster approves it. Thank you, all of you. Once Undyne and the others have returned to us. We will give Papyrus a post as well as Chara once Undyne says she's trained and you as well, Turn," the King said with smile. The monsters around him cheered which made me feel at home for once.

Chara smiled to me and nudged me forward, "All him. Nobody deserves this more than him. He kept me going this whole journey."

All of the monsters shoved my brother and I inside to celebrate in Grillby's. Chara kept near for a while but somewhere in the middle I lost track of her. I moved through the place with a careful step as to not step on any tails or anything. Once I was outside, I saw her near the woods with something. Upon closer inspection, I saw Greater Dog[JH6] , but a multiples of him; at least four I think. They were sitting in front of her being healed. When I got closer, they stopped wagging their tails with a fearful look to them. I saw their eyes glimmer as Chara's did. They calmed down to a gentle glow of light blue. I cleared my throat as Chara jumped up fearfully. I just chuckled, "A caring heart to the end."

She blushed and looked aside, "She's gone for now, but they can't be homeless and constantly roaming. I used my powers to help calm them. Now they can use one aspect of the souls to help them control emotions. It seems to make them more patient and caring… I'm sorry I left without saying anything."

I walked up to her and patted her shoulder, "You're fine." I knelt down to hold out a hand to them. One came close slowly while the others followed suit. They sniffed my hand and then licked it until one gnawed on the bones on my hand. I laughed and pulled away, "Not the fingers. I need those. Try this." I summoned a bone for each of them as they gnawed happily. I stood up to look to the set of hounds until I shivered.

She moved over to me and took my hands in hers, "You ever hear why the skeleton stayed out of the cold?" She was blushing but still trying to make light of doing this.

"Tell me," I said with half appreciation at the joke and a side look of my own now. Her hands were warm, but even so this was odd.

"He was all bones," she said with a small laugh of her own. When I laughed, she looked to me, "I'm glad everything worked out. It's nice to know everything is okay now. No more fighting or anything. Everyone is friends… And Turn… Thank you for being there for me…"

I just watched her with a nod, "I'm glad you found a home. It's not where you came from, but home still, right? Hope you don't mind living with a few boneheads."

After we both chuckled, she gave a small coy smile, "At least I know for a fact one bonehead is a nice guy. A real white knight in the end." She stopped herself and turned to walk away, "I'm… going home now… Have fun at your party."

"Wait!..." before I could stop her, she was gone. Even Greater Dogs [JH7] left with her. I just stood in silence as the snow fell on me, "What did you mean by 'nice guy'?" I stood in the snow for a few minutes until I was pulled back into the party by Papyrus. I had fun, but my mind still wandered to what she said.