Aldyr made a move to enter the tunnel.

"this is an obvious trap, you know," Sans said.

Aldyr glanced back at him.

"Yeah," Aldyr agreed ruefully. "This could get really bad, but I can't just let her go alone. I think she's trying to go somewhere she can't hurt us. Do you want to come, or stay here?"

Sans thought for a second or two, and decided, "i can't let that thing inside her go. i've still got a bone to pick with it."

"All right," Aldyr agreed.

He gave Sans an apologetic glance, ran to him, and slung Sans over one shoulder.

"wait, what-?"

"Hold on, just let me-you're a little heavier than you look-I just gotta protect us both with a shield, ok? The tunnel is dangerous without a shield," Aldyr explained.

"uh, ok-"

Aldyr ran for the tunnel, entering as it was just about to close.

The wormhole-like tunnel twisted and turned, with sides of sapphire energy that crashed around them like sea waves. They both felt a sudden maelstrom of forces that pushed everything forward like a river. Aldyr's shield protected them from the sides, turning them into a giant marble shooting through a pipe.

Aldyr leaned forward into it, like a parachuter finding the most aerodynamic position, increasing his speed. They started to catch short glimpses of Rose when the tunnel straightened out for a bit.

"this is weird," Aldyr heard Sans mutter. Looking over at him, Aldyr saw he had some kind of unusual glow in his eyelights, but it was hard to decipher. Was it too optimistic to think he looked just a little bit happy?

"i'm actually enjoying this," Sans thought. "i guess the scientist part of me thinks this is awesome. the energy making this doesn't feel like it's coming from something bad, either. i didn't expect to have anything like fun...especially under these circumstances. but trying to figure out how this works is a welcome distraction compared to what's usually going through my skull."

Suddenly everything seemed to shudder, the tunnel straightened out, and they could see an exit far up ahead. But both the exit and the tunnel walls were disintegrating fast.

"It's breaking apart!" Aldyr yelled.

"hey, do you think you could throw me?"

Aldyr looked surprised by the idea but nodded. There was no way they'd both get there in time.

He hesitated, and said one last thing. "Sans, her real name is ~~~~. It's important to her."

"what-?"

Gathering all his strength, he threw Sans forward, the momentum making him somersault as he released the skeleton monster over his head.

Sans came flying out of the tunnel exit fast, but flipped over and landed gracefully on his feet, with the skill that came from too many battles. He looked back to see the tunnel disintegrate completely. He didn't know where Aldyr ended up - somewhere in space and time? Trapped between worlds? Sans hoped he was alive, but nothing could be done for him now.

Sans took stock of his current location.

"the air is filled with the dust of monsters, and it's pitch black. whatever i'm standing on isn't normal ground. i'd guess this could be my world after chara got through with it, but i thought it got reset? did she destroy it again? or is this just a different timeline than my own?"

He summoned a ball of blue fire and sent it high in the air. He soon spotted Rose lying haphazardly a few dozen meters away.

He drew closer to her, and saw she was in a semi-conscious state, eyes cracked half-open and burning red like live coals, and her breath ragged. Every few seconds her body twitched violently.

Sans sensed that her shield was completely down, and when he focused, he could see Chara's soul latched onto hers, as if it was a leech biting down. It seemed to have found a weak spot in a hole on the bottom left part of her soul heart.

Sans sighed, feeling sympathy. He was in a merciful mood, and he'd eaten the pancakes of friendship. He felt like a part of his real self had returned that he'd been starting to lose. Even though it was awful being in this battle again, he was no longer tight-rope walking on the edge of sanity like before.

"this world is dead. the only thing at stake here is our two lives. i can afford to play it safe this time," he reasoned. "i can try to help."

So instead of bone attacks, he sent a wave of karma to drive Chara away. But when it touched Rose, she yelped, flinching and jumping away. She landed in a crouched position, tense as an animal.

She waited in a battle stance, and he got the impression that the slightest move would provoke her to attack.

But she was focusing hard on his shape, trembling with the effort and blinking, as though seeing him through a fog.

"she's trying not to think of me like an enemy," Sans thought. "what is chara doing to her mind? i can only imagine."

"Sa-" she tried to talk but couldn't quite make the words.

Her left arm's muscles clenched suddenly, and suddenly they both noticed a vein of red molten liquid was crawling up her arm. Rose's eyes widened in horror, and she jerked away like she was pulling on metaphorical strings controlling her, and turned and ran.

"it's a nice gesture," Sans thought, "trying to keep herself away from me, but it's not going to help. she's only going to get worse."

Sans lifted a hand, using blue magic to grab and hold onto her soul, pulling her back from her forward momentum.

A foreign voice whispered through Rose's mind, and she shivered, but it wasn't even talking to her.

* What next, a throw then a bone attack? Wish he'd make it harder. I've seen this before.

Sans brought a wave of karma down on her, now that she couldn't move.

* Ok, karma. Where's the open spot I can move to? Wait, I really can't move at all? I have to use Transform already? Lame.

...

Suddenly you were flooded with every painful memory from your past - the hits, the bruises, the lashing words, the mind games, the dread of the holidays which meant more time with them.

You crouched to the ground, bringing the backs of your hands to your eyes to wipe at the tears like you would when you were a very small child. At the same time, you were only vaguely aware that you were screaming, and the sounds were becoming more and more like those of a frightened rabbit and less like those of a human.

You wanted to run, but red haze danced at the edges of your vision, and burnt your skin like fire when you moved. You tried to beat it back, to fight, as something giggled and laughed.

You were vaguely aware that this was a trick, and most of what you were seeing and feeling probably wasn't even real. You tried to center yourself and defy the will of whatever was affecting you. But something gray and dispassionate took over from the red, controlling your limbs, and in your weakened state you couldn't stop this new enemy. Its desires consumed your own until you couldn't even remember your own name.