Cover Art: FairyFan94 from Deviant Art


Chapter 11 – Consequences

Sans for the first time in this timeline fully dropped his grin, he didn't even bother to keep up his default grin when he walked down the stairs and found his brother frowning at a video tape in his hands. Wordlessly the shorter one sat down next to his brother. He wasn't sure what was going on right now but one thing was a fact. It was quite in their house, too quite.

The human child had cried herself into sleep and Sans had put them to rest in Papyrus bed. The two had wordlessly agreed that the child was going to sleep in his race car bed tonight. Yet even though the child was 'fine' now and deeply asleep, it didn't change the fact that the air was tick with worry, from both skeletons, and something more.

Sans couldn't explain it but he sensed that there was more that bothered his brother then only the worry about their human friend. For all he knew, it had something to do with the video tape in his brothers' hands. The short skeleton glanced at it from the corner of his eye-sockets and he had to control himself not to suck in his breath when he saw the title.

"SANS…" Hearing his brothers voice, the short skeleton sat up straighter. "DID WE…"

Papyrus paused not sure how do address the matter, he was still staring at the tape in his hands as images flashed before his mind eye. "DID WE HURT THE HUMAN?"

Sweat formed on his skull and Sans chuckled nervously. "Hey now bro. They aren't hurt just… uh upset about something they did." At least that was what Sans thought besides. She wasn't hurt physically.

The taller skeleton shook his skull still not facing Sans. "NO… THEY ARE NOT JUST UPSET… SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THEM…"

Papyrus paused. How was he going to ask? Ever since he found that tape weird images appeared before him. He didn't know if they were a product of his fantasy or if they were actual memories. Since a few of them were about the human going through his puzzles but then again. The human did not go through them since they had escorted the child to Snowdin.

Then there were these video tapes. He had yet to watch them to confirm their content yet he felt like he already knew what was on them. The dates on the tape, Papyrus clearly knew that his favorite show did not air on these days. He was also very certain that he had spent the day with his brother upgrading one of his puzzles outside of Snowdin.

But…

…there was no mistake that the label on it was in his handwriting.

"I AM NOT AN IDIOT SANS." Papyrus slowly started and Sans skull snapped to the side to look at his brother an automatic reply of "Of course you are not." lay on the tip of the shorter skeletons nonexistent tongue but Papyrus did not give him the chance to say it as the taller skeleton continued. "SOMETHING STRANGE IS GOING ON. THE HUMAN IS NOT OKAY AND I HAVE THESE STRANGE IMAGES IN MY SKULL AND THEN THERE ARE THESE TAPES…"

"Bro…" Sans sweated. Was his brother remembering other timelines like he did? He could explain why Alphys and he could but his brother? The taller skeleton had never in any timeline really shown that he remembered, of course there were comments about things being familiar to him but Papyrus had never remembered or told him that he remembered other timelines.

The shorter skeleton struggled to come up with a plausible lie so his brother wouldn't worry. Involving Alphys was one thing but his brother? That was a different matter, at least to him it was.

"SANS, PLEASE TELL ME THE TRUTH." Papyrus looked at him with pleading eye-sockets and Sans knew, he couldn't keep it a secret from his brother any longer, especially if the tape in the taller skeletons hands contained what he thought it would.

"You won't like it bro…" A long sigh escaped him as he closed his eye sockets. It was a try. A fruitless one. The short skeleton knew his brother to well. He knew that Papyrus would be upset if he refused to tell him but he also knew that if Papyrus saw that he had a reason for hiding it…

"BROTHER PLEASE… I NEED TO KNOW…" Papyrus voice clearly wavered and was losing its usual strength. "DID… DID THE HUMAN EVER KILL? AND…"

The taller skeleton paused once again not sure if he should say out loud since he couldn't really believe it nor wanted to acknowledge it either yet he felt like he needed to know or he was not going to know what was real anymore. "DID WE… DID I KILL THE HUMAN?"

Floweys words echoed in Sans mind. 'Even your 'harmless' brother. He didn't capture her… no he killed her!' Screw every reason he had. He was not going to let his brother suffer because of some other stupid timelines that no longer mattered anymore.

Sans opened his eye-sockets, their light was gone and Papyrus knew that whatever he was going to hear would be a serious matter. The taller skeleton sat up straighter turning his full attention to his shorter brother and waited for him to speak. He had a hunch that it wasn't something easy for his brother to talk about but he needed to know before the images were going to confuse him even more.

Sans stared at his brother for a short while longer. He was aware what the consequence of this was going to be. Finally after what felt like hours he started to talk. "I actually don't know where to start bro, but whatever the tape there in your hands contains… it had happened. Just not in this timeline…"

Flowey huffed in frustration. He would curse and hiss but the tape that covered his mouth was clued to his face. He couldn't get it off no matter what he tried. The soulless flower had enough of this place, he had been stuck here far longer than he wanted and was 'determined' to get out.

Not thinking straight the flower slammed his head against the back of the shelf. The flower repeated that motion a few times, fruitlessly seeing how the flower pot didn't even wobble. A muffed growl was heard and Flowey slammed his head a last time against the wall. Instead of repeating the motion this time he choose to push his head with all his strength against it, in hopes that the pot was going to move this time.

"Hahahahahaha…"

Flowey turned around sharply, his eyes searching through the empty laboratory. His eyes narrowed as he saw that nobody was around. Yet he was sure that he heard someone laugh.

"The link was created~"

The flowers eyes went wide as he recognized that voice and he searched around more knowingly but couldn't find the owner at all. A small smirk was forming under the tape.

"You will help me to gain full control~"

A shiver went down the flowers body and the smirk faltered at the tune the voice had. The image of a creepy smiling child flashed in his mind. An unknown emotion was pulsing through his vines. Why was he feeling this strange emotion?

"Oh? Do you not want to help me Asriel?"

Flowey froze, he remembered now. This strange emotion he was feeling, was fear. But why? Why was he feeling that right now? The image appeared once again in his mind and Flowey started to feel more and more uneasy.

"Don't you remember?"

Eyes shut tightly, body shaking. He tried to ignore the cold that consumed his very being.

"You don't have a choice."

More Images flashed before Floweys mind eye. Where these actual memories? Why? Why was he remembering them only now?

"People like us would not hesitate to kill each other if we got in each other's way…"

Floweys eyes snapped wide open, that were his words. He had spoken them before. But being the one to get them told by THEM…

Dread and fear was all he could feel as the voice fated out with a crazy laugh.

This was not what he wanted.

This was not what he had planned.

This no longer was his game.

This was their game now…

In the black abyss red eyes gleamed in satisfaction before their head snapped to the side smiling smugly at the other being in the darkness. Their small hand gripped lightly onto the handle of the knife as they started to play with it. They felt how black goo slowly climbed up their legs trying to consume them. They only needed a little bit more and they would gain the control they needed. A white half soul burst from their chest, freeing them of the black goo. They were filled with 'determination'.

He only shook his head staring sadly at the child before him. It was sad that he didn't manage to stop the reforming of the connection between the two souls but he still had hope that everything was going to turn out the way he want it too. Turning his back to the child he looked into the black distance, waiting for the day… the time that he would finally see the light that would lead them out.

"There was never a chance for you to stop me." The child behind him sung smugly, the knife in their hand spinning before they caught it again.

"I am sure you saw what happened." The child chuckled darkly. "I said you aren't any better than I am but I take that back."

His head turned slightly so he could see the child while still having his back turned to them.

"Don't get me wrong." The childs eyes gleamed in the darkness under normal criteria it would send down chills his back but he had been far too long in the black abyss to feel that way.

"You are…" The child crocked their head their black eyes with red iris showing through their bangs. "…way more pathetic than I am."

He turned to face the child, his face drained from all emotions yet expressing disappointment. What had gone wrong for this child to become this way? Weren't they once a happy child? Raised together with the prince? Cared for and loved by the Queen and King?

He saw the black goo surrounding the child yet not getting any closer because of the soul that was hovering before their chest. He knew that no matter how much he borrowed the human childs power he would not be able to undo the made connection between the two.

It was a simple fact that he had reacted to slow. If the timeline took a turn for the worst he would be the one to blame. Turning away from the child he stared out into the blackness of the abyss once again. He needed to find another way to help. SAVING and LOADING time would no longer be of help unless he could save someone with it even if it drained the human child

"This world…" The childs voice ringed through the black abyss. "I will erase it once again and this time this stupid girl won't be able to recreate it."

Slowly once again he turned to face the child, they were balancing the knife on their finger playing with it while the white half soul protected them. His face was showing worry, it was not a worry for what the child had said. It was a worry for what their words meant.

If they had succeeded in erasing this world once…

His left eye-socket opened wide, for the first time in what seemed forever a light came into live in it. This was bad. This was more than bad. He had thought the human child had had enough control to stop before it was too late. But it seemed that even his watchful eye-sockets escaped some things that happened outside.

The child laughed crazily seeing his reaction. This was not completely the reaction they wanted to lure out of him but it was a step forward. After all now they had a chance to erase him too and they would use it. They frowned a little, their red eyes staring at the one before them. Something was not right. They felt it.

They had the chance to erase everything this time, but something felt wrong with that. What was it that bothered them about it? Hadn't that always been their goal, to kill humanity, to kill everything and every monster, to erase this painful and unfair world?

Why… why were there doubts? They did not understand it yet they were 'determined' to go through with their plan.

He noticed the change in the child when they stopped laughing. It was a slim chance but there was hope and even though this was going to make everything more difficult now… yet… he could not give up this hope and his dream…