Look out Sans!
Lillian's instincts moved me to step out of the way of an unseen attack. Dark gray magic attacks crashed in on where I was just standing as I moved out of the way. Mere feet from me stood a tall, fully armored, gray monster. I didn't sense a soul in them, but they were very much alive. Somehow.
"Holy-! There' more of them!?" Flowey panicked from my hood.
I dodged more magic attacks from the monster, and saw more behind them coming in attack.
I know some of them.. They are all Goners now.
Monsters controlled by the Black Soul Monster. Great.
All of us stood together against them. Papyrus had his magic ready, and Mom summoned up dual swords for herself. Dad winced in surprise at them both and lost his focus for a moment. Flowey's vines grew through the metal floor and broke it up under the Goners to trip them up.
"They are still here." Mom said under her breath.
"I-I don't think we can fight them again Arial!" Dad told her. "I-I'm still recovering from the last time!" he stated in fear.
"Than stand back!" she stepped to the front. "I will handle all these creeps myself." she growled, holding her swords in a strict fighting stance.
"Whoa there mama bear." I stepped up beside her. "You got me and Paps here ya'know." I reminded her.
"And Flowey!" Papyrus said happily, just as we heard the monsters holler.
Flowey's vines, covered in thorns, had wrapped around all of the Goners and slammed them to the ceiling. Some of them cut themselves free, and didn't hesitate to shoot attacks at us. Me and Mom summoned blasters to block them, then she leaned back, gathering her magic to feed it into her blaster. I recalled mine and stood next to her to join my magic with hers. We funneled our combined magic into the blaster and fired it off. Its blast of magic filled the hallway until we recalled our magic from it.
Flowey's vines sat burnt all through the hallway, and the gray monsters were gone.
Flowey popped up next to us hollering in pain.
"Oh please. We hit your branches, not your trunk." Mom said to him.
"I'M NOT A TREE LADY!" Flowey yelled at her.
"W-Wait-!" Papyrus gasped. "Did you just-?!" he said in shock.
"Ah splints-!" I flinched in realization.
We just atomized MULTIPLE monsters..!
"Do not worry Papyrus." Mom told him, unconcerned with what we had just done. "They can hardly be called living monsters anymore without their souls." she looked at the charred hallway full of dead plant matter. "I discovered that long ago about them.." she said with a serious expression.
I sensed she was right, as my LV hadn't increased. Thank Asgore..
"O-Okay.." Papyrus said, still upset.
"Next time, GIVE ME A WARNING!" Flowey complained.
"Wasn't my call pal." I winked at him.
He growled and gave me a mean look.
Dad suddenly yelped and held onto Mom in fear. Down the hallway were more gray monsters coming our way.
"More..?" Mom flinched.
Run Sans..! Get to the Rift! This could very well be a distraction!
"Let's skip these." I turned and grabbed Mom's hand.
I pulled her along with me and we all made a break for it around the corner. We didn't get too far before we ran into more gray monsters though. And is wasn't much longer after that, that the others were caught up behind us. We were trapped.
We each picked a side and stood back to back against them.
"Splints-!" I heard Mom say under her breath.
Don't give up Sans!
Here we go..
They shot first, and we scattered to dodge the attacks from both sides.
I summoned up bone attacks around myself, and before I threw them, Flowey mixed his pellets in with them and we shot them all off at the same time.
Most of the monsters dodged the wave of attacks, and those that got hit seemed unharmed by my attacks, but not Flowey's.
I put everything behind that. What happened?
Papyrus pulled me out of the way of a stray attack from the other side and quickly grafted together a sword with his magic to cut away multiple attacks that came at us.
That's what you need Sans, a weapon!
But I can't do that. I've tried. Even Semi couldn't help me do it.
It's easy!
Lillian took control and summoned up a sword in my hand without a sweat.
How the heck does a human know more about magic than a monster..
Me and W.D did it all the time!
nice..
One of the monsters came charging at me.
I also don't know how to use a sword!
I got it!
Lillian took control and dodged the monster's charge, quickly counter attacking with the sword.
It still wasn't enough to hurt them.
No! Come on!
She charged at the monster, attacking over and over again as they attacked us. We were locked in battle with this one monster now. They were well armored and appeared to be a canine type. Their specialty was spears, which they summoned in their hands and used against our sword.
We kept clashing, but neither of us could hit each other. Lillian kept up with their moments, keeping us out of danger, but I was beginning to feel the wear of so much movement.
I have excused your laziness up until now Sans..
Heh, well excuse me kid.
A Gaster Blaster blast went by us, distracting us both for a moment.
Move-!
Magic hit me from the side as I tried to dodge it. It knocked me off my feet, but Lillian got us into a roll and hopped out of it back right side up, simultaneously firing off attacks at our attacker.
Before we could see if we hit them, gray magic came down on us and pinned us to the floor. It was clam magic, SHARP calms. Flowey's vines came up and pulled them off of me and I got up as quick as I could, getting a face full rock magic. I went tumbling across the floor, right into one of the other monsters.
"Uh.. Hi.." I smiled up at them.
They looked at me with blank white eyes.
I rolled out of the way of their magic coming down on me and fired back as I got up. My magic didn't phase them and I was attacked by another from behind.
That's it.. Magic attacks aren't working, this sword isn't working, but THIS has to work!
I got up and immediately fired off a blaster at them, any of them. When I recalled it, I found them all still standing. One staggered around, so at least I got one of them.
"Sans-!" Papyrus was cut off.
Someone grabbed me from behind and tossed me into the wall along with clam magic. More than one actually hit me, and they all pinned me to the wall. They soon disappeared and I fell to the floor.
I heard Mom yelp, and got up enough to see that she, Dad, and Papyrus were caught.
The gray clam monster that had attacked me walked up. One of the other monsters walked up as well, and picked me up by my jacket, holding me up to the clam monster's face. They peered at me with one giant eye, then stepped back.
Mom got loose, but was quickly caught again. All three of them were thrown into each other and surrounded by the monsters with their magic ready to fire the moment they moved.
I swung my weight to get free, but the monster holding me just slammed me to the wall.
HEED MY WORDS SANS.. THEY WILL ALL BE DUST IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY..
No! Not again..!
I fought my growing fears.. My hate.. sadness..
THAT IS, IF YOU TRULY CARE FOR THEM.. BECAUSE THEY DO NOT FOR YOU..
Ignore it Sans!
Why wouldn't they? They..
YOU HAVE BROKEN SO MANY PROMISES.. IF THEY KNEW.. WHAT WOULD THEY THINK OF YOU?
No.. No no no..! Stop!
Sans!
I fought the memories trying to reappear in my mind. Memories I had suppressed for years..
YOU KILLED THEM..
I didn't want to do it! I-I just..! I did what.. It was the only option left!
I stared out ahead of me, desperately looking for a distraction. All I saw was Papyrus and my parents.
YOU KILLED ALL OF THEM..
"NOOO!" I screamed out, breaking free and kicking the monster away from me.
I summoned attacks and knocked all of them back in one wave, then summoned blasters and rammed them into the monsters to knock them down the path further, to give me a moment to breath.
I fell to my knees as the memories returned.. All the emotions that came with them came flooding back. The time wasted. The time lost. The friendships broken, betrayed, outright destroyed. The promises I failed to keep. The lives lost, over AND OVER again-! I tried to stop them, I TRIED. The lies. The pain. The resets..!
I had no choice.. I had no other way to stop it. To stop them.
To stop Chara.
I.. I did exactly what I was trying to prevent..
Time reset.. and I..
I killed everyone to kill them.
My eyes met with Papyrus' as Mom and Dad fought the monsters back.
I broke my promise..
Sans No!
THE GREATEST ONE OF ALL..
Something in me snapped and I.. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed by fear. By a crushing weight of guilt..
SADNESS..
This is what was causing it.. This lost memory- no.. suppressed. i never forget this. it was the last reset. the last time. the next day..
Chara and Asriel were dead..
I held my face as I began to cry silently. I couldn't hold it in. Everything was coming back. All the times I faced Chara, in the same corridor I had met Frisk countless more times, all the times I watched them wipe out the underground for no clear reason, my attempts to reason with them, to turn them around..
And the one and only time.. I went to the extreme to be stronger than them..
And it was enough.
I had finally put an end to Chara.
God I can still see it..! Everyone I..!
YOU CAN CHANGE IT.. YOU KNOW HOW.
I looked down the path towards the Rift.
GO..!
The Goners stared at me, but I sensed no dread from them anymore. They were standing in a way that seemed to be inviting me to past them for the Rift.
I stood up, facing their direction.
Flowey's vines wrapped around me and held me in place. The feeling of them all around me, crashing me..
Not this time flower.
I shot sharp bones up from the floor to cut the vines away, and quickly cut more down as they came at me from every direction. His pellets came at me next, but I easily dodged them. I had his attacks memorized after all the times I fought with him. Reset after reset..!
Mom and Dad had escaped the monsters holding them and quickly pinned me to the floor with powerful gravity magic.
NO. No one's stopping me. Now even them!
I shook their magic off my soul and grabbed their souls with gravity, tossing them towards the Goners down the path. I summoned up a blaster to fire at them and clear every single one of them out. I didn't trust the Goners. And I didn't trust my lying parents..!
I got ready to fire, but someone grabbed me and stopped me.
Papyrus.
"Sans!" he shouted at me. "Stop whatever it is you're doing!" he told me.
I fought against him.
He shot attacks through my blaster and destroyed it, dazing me with feedback for a moment.
"STOP!" he struggled to hold me still.
Mom and Dad started fighting with the Goners.
"Sans-!" Papyrus gasped. "Don't-!"
I tore my hand arm from his grip and fired off attacks at him, slamming him to the other wall. He staggered from the attack, and came back towards me.
I panicked.
I expected him to stay down.
I quickly fired attacks at him, but he dodged them. I summoned attacks from both sides at him, but he dodged them too. I summoned a blaster and fired it, he jumped over it, coming down with a sword on my blaster. It splintered to pieces from his attack and I felt the feedback.
He picked me up and slammed me to the wall.
He stared at me as I dodged his gaze.
Then he hugged me..?
"It's okay Sans." he said softly. "Whatever is bothering you.. I forgive you for it." he said.
How did he..? He didn't know.. How could he.. Why.. He.. I-I..
"I also don't want to lose you.." he cried. "So please.. don't give up because of one mistake, or one lie, or.. whatever!" he told me. "I forgive you no matter what!" he stated.
"why..?" I managed to ask.
"Do I need any other reason other than you are my brother?" he laughed.
"no.." I replied.. "b-but I-"
"Don't." he stopped me. "We can talk about it later if you want." he said.
Papyrus.. you naive- you have no idea what you are forgiving me for..
A Gaster Blaster fired off behind Papyrus, making him flinch.
"Go for it kid!" someone shouted out.
Frisk went flying by through the air.
"Frisk-!" I gasped over Papyrus shoulder.
"Frisk?!" Papyrus turned to see.
They had the Star Blade. Where did they get it-?
They dodged and countered the Goners and defended my parents with the blade, taking the monsters out one by one with it. Its enchanted glow was their weakness, and within minutes, they were wiped out. Frisk wasn't fazed by how quickly they took them out, and glanced our way with worry.
I shrink back into Papyrus arms as I saw Frisk with the Star Blade.
Why did it scare me..?
"Look out!" the other voice shouted, grabbing Papyrus soul and pulling us aside to dodge a stray attack.
At the other end of the path were the rest of the monsters, fighting against..
S-Semi..?
He dodged and parried their attacks seemingly without effort, countering when he could. He got his sword locked with the canine's spear, but quickly swiped it out of their hand and countered with a swing of his sword, and a shot of magic attacks.
He dodged an attack from behind and stuck his sword upward into the monster, than knocked them over into blue bones he summoned up from the floor.
He ducked in time to dodge another attack from another monster, and a frying pan flew into the monster, knocking them to the floor where Semi summoned a mixture of blue and orange bones. Someone else, a skeletal monster I didn't know, leapt over the monster and retrieved her pan.
"Mom?!" I heard my Mom shout out in shock.
The lady tossed the pan to Semi and he caught it as he jumped over an attack. As soon as he landed he caught one of the monsters in blue bones and blasted them, while using the pan as a shield to block an oncoming attack.
The lady fired attacks at the monster attacking him, while Semi charged at the one he had blasted and hit it with the pan. The monster's body flickered out of reality from the hit.
The lady got hit by the monster she had attacked, and was thrown back by their magic, but Mom caught her. Semi got distracted by it and got hit from both sides by the two remaining monsters. They got ready to make a final attack on him, but a blaster shot came out of nowhere and wiped them out before they could make it. In one quick blast, they were gone.
Something fell to the floor, and we looked back to see it was Dad. He had just collapsed form exhaustion it looked like.
"Tahoma!" Mom rushed over to him.
"I'm.. alright.." he said in a weak voice as he got himself up. "Just not.. used to summoning those.. just yet.." he panted.
"Surprised you even can boy." Semi laughed.
I was surprised too. I thought it was purely a Gaster family thing. Where did Dad even learn to summon a blaster?
Semi gave the unknown lady her pan back, and the two shared an understanding glance.
"Thanks for saving my skin by the way." he playfully punched Dad's arm.
Dad winced from it.
"You alright Arial?" he asked Mom next.
She managed a nod, stunned by the sight of him.
He then looked at us.
"Grandpa Semi! You are back too?!" Papyrus said with joy.
Semi stared at us with searching eyes for a moment, then flinched as he looked right at me.
"Splint-! Frisk!" he called anxiously.
Frisk walked over.
"Get that boy!" he shoved Frisk towards us.
"Huh? Why? A-Are they-?" Frisk looked at us with concern.
I climbed around onto Papyrus back. And saw Semi's eyes narrow. He grabbed Papyrus soul and slammed him to the wall, squishing me in between.
"Go!" he ordered Frisk.
Frisk came charging at us with the sword.
"WHAT?!" Papyrus panicked.
Frisk didn't hesitate and slashed us both through with the blade.
Sans.. Sans..!
The blade's pure magic rushed through me, and all my emotions felt like they had been.. reset. But the guilt quickly returned, and fear shot through me from my memories. I still had them, and they were still tearing at my conscience.
"Sans!" Semi pulled me to the floor. "Snap out of it boy!" he slapped me. "Hey! How many fingers am I holding up? Can you hear me? ANSWER ME!" he panicked.
I shoved him away and pressed against the wall in an attempt to escape.
Everyone was looking at me, and that only made me feel worse.
Mom stopped herself from coming any closer as Dad stood behind her concerned for me. Papyrus gave me an encouraging smile when I glanced his way. Frisk was surprised, and the new lady looked worried. Even Flowey looked worried.
It's okay Sans! Calm down! You will be alright.
"No I won't!" I said out loud as I grabbed my head. "This doesn't change anything.." I cried.
It's coming back.. All of it is coming back.. The problem isn't the monster it's me!
Than forgive yourself!
I can't. Not for that.
"Splinters-!" Semi spat in anger.
The tone of his voice brought back more bad memories. Memories that stirred up emotions of hatred for him. All the times he would get mad at me when I messed up during our old training sessions.. I was so tired of it! Nothing was ever..
My anger quickly melted into sadness..
I didn't want to be so angry with him..
I knew he didn't mean it, he never did..
I wanted to..
But I couldn't..
I just.. give up..
Semi caught me as I let myself fall over.
"Hey! Boy! Get up!" he shouted at me. "Don't give up on me!" he held me up. "Sans!" he shouted.
"Dad stop shouting!" Mom shouted at him.
Semi began to shake as he looked at me.
"Please.." he said calmly.
I looked up at him and felt tears run down my face.
He was.. exactly as I remembered.. His aged eyes were staring into mine, the magic in them faintly glowing. His skull was covered with scuffs from previous battles, and he still had that crack through the top of his skull that I remembered him having. His coat had seen better days, and had the huge tear at one side from whatever happen to him at the lab, and he looked like he had just been through a war. But his eyes told a different story.. They were.. kinder than I remembered.
The last time I saw him, he was yelling at me, threatening to throw me back in the dungeon. But I saw past his rage, even then, and saw he was.. broken.. He never meant to be that way. I had seen his better side.. I knew he could be better.. I never should have said what I did to him.. I should have helped him.. I wanted to but he.. he disappeared..!
"I'm sorry.." I cried at the memories.
"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry about." he replied.
"Yes I do-!" I gasped for breath.
"No!" he held me back. "You listen here boy. I got more to be sorry about than everyone here combined!" he told me. "I betrayed my own brother, I abused power, I KILLED in an attempt to protect everyone, I let my feelings grow callous until I didn't care anymore, I ignored every warning given me, I got all my goals wrong-!" he began to cry. "Worse of all I hurt you and your family.. I hurt everyone until I lost them.." he hung his head low. "Please." he looked up at me. "I don't want to lose you too Sans." he cried. "I'm sorry for never listening to you, for never telling you the truth.." he said. "God I can't lose anyone else.." his voice cracked.
"Dad.." Mom walked towards him.
He held me as tight as he could.
I hesitated to hug him back.. but finally did.
"Whatever it is that monster is using against you Sans, only YOU can overcome it. You have to overcome whatever your weakness is, the blade can't remove that." he stated. "I wish I had done the same sooner.." he sobbed.
I had no reply. I couldn't think up anything to say.
He calmed down, and finally let me go, and Papyrus instantly grabbed me up in a hug.
"Don't cry brother!" he told me. "B-Because if you do, I will cry!" he sobbed.
"You don't even know what I'm crying about!" I shouted.
"That just makes it worse!" he replied.
Dang it..
"Whatever is bothering you.. let's handle it together this time.." he said. "Please..?" he squeezed me.
I.. hesitated..
he deserves to know..
"I broke my promise." I stated.
"WHAT?!" he held me out and yelled. "Is that what THIS is all about?!" he shouted.
"y-yes.." I replied in fear of what he was about to do to me.
"OH MY GOD!" he screamed. "YOU." he sat me down. "ARE." he jabbed at my face. "SUCH." he took a breath. "A CRYBABY!" he said.
"eh?"
"YOU HEARD ME!" he jabbed my face again.
I slapped his hand away. He slapped my face. I tackled into his legs. He tried to shake me off, but I held onto his leg tight. He shouted in annoyance and threw me with magic. I held onto him and took him with me. We slammed into the wall and he tried to pry me off. I let go and threw him to the ceiling. He picked me up and did the same.
OH NO YOU DON'T BRO.
He tossed me one way, I tossed him another. He slammed me to the floor, and I did the same. We kept throwing each other around until we finally rammed ourselves into each other.
He tackled me to the floor and we got in a real fist fight with each other. I got up and was too fast for him, and he was.. also too fast. Curse his longer legs.
I threw myself up and finally got him square in the face. He was quick to do the same to me.
Seriously?
"Is no one going to stop them?!" Semi yelled in panic.
"Nope." Mom answered. "Let them work it out. They always do." she told him.
"Maybe at home, when they were kids!" he argued.
Me and Papyrus stood staring each other down.
He smiled at me.
I smiled at him.
If you two are having an understanding WHY are you fighting?
It's a brother thing.
I know that. I am basically you remember?
Than stop fighting it. This is my mind, my choices!
"You are such a bonehead Sans!" he charged at me.
"Takes one to know one Papyrus!" I charged at him.
We hollered out battle cries as we charged at each. Half way to him I threw myself forward with magic and knocked his feet right out from under him. He slammed to the metal floor face first.
"HOW DO YOU DO THAT?!" he shouted in surprise.
"Trade secret!" I shot bone attacks at him.
He winced with fear and quickly dodged them as I fired them off. He fired back and I just leaned around the shots to dodge them.
"What kind of dodging is that?! You barely moved!" he complained.
"Saves energy." I laughed.
He summoned blue bones right into me.
"Splints." I spat, holding completely still.
"HA! Victory!" he proclaimed.
"What? No way." I replied. "I'm still standing." I stated.
"I'm not going to beat you up Sans!" he argued. "This is as far as this goes!" he said.
"Oh yeah?" I replied.
I steeled myself, and walked out of the blue bones.
"Oh stars-!" I gasped from the pain.
"Sans! Are you alright?!" Papyrus panicked.
"No-! Everything.. going dark..!" I gasped. "Can't feel.. my toes..!" I continued.
"Oh my god.." Papyrus groaned. "Do you actually need to be healed or not?!" he asked me aggravated.
"Oh, yeah." I answered.
He sighed and walked up to me.
"IT'S A TRAP BOY!" Semi warned him.
Papyrus stopped, and gave a distrusting look.
"I know how you work Sans." he pointed at me.
"What? I'm serious. Lillian's soul only does me so much good." I shrugged.
Kinda disappointing really.
Keep talking like that Sans and you my find yourself losing control. COMPLETELY.
Never mind.
Papyrus healed me while I wasn't looking.
"HEY!" I swat his hand away.
"You said you needed it!" he shouted back.
"That doesn't mean I WANT it!"
"Than why did you say anything?!"
"I don't know! You asked that's why!"
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"YOU don't make sense!"
"NEITHER DO YOU!"
"Maybe I don't WANT to make sense!"
"That's dumb!"
"You-!" I stopped myself. "YOU ARE SO GOSH DANG ANNOYING YOU KNOW THAT?!" I said instead.
"LOOK WHO'S TALKING!"
"I CAN'T FREAKIN' STAND YOU!"
"THAN GET A LIFE!"
"I-! I-! DON'T BE SO RIGHT!"
"I'M ALWAYS RIGHT!"
"NO YOU'RE NOT!"
"YES I AM!"
"NO YOU'RE NOT BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON!"
I had to catch my breath after that one..
"But I do." he said. "I have always known.. m-maybe not completely but.." he grew quieter.
"I.. I'm sorry Papyrus I.." I tried to apologize.
"You know what your real problem is Sans?" he asked. "It's not that you are lazy. It's not that you don't care. It's not even the fact that you are prone to violence." he glanced away from me. "You just.. You do not trust anyone." he stated. "I realize that now.." he looked away again. "You do not even trust me.." he winced with sadness.
"N-No I-!"
"Don't try to make excuses Sans!" he shouted at me. "If you trusted me, you would tell me what's going on, you would let me help you, you would-" he paused as he shut his eyes and shivered. "You would know, that no matter what, I would always forgive you and be ready to help." he cried. I watched him wipe his few tears away and face me with a determined face. "And I don't care what you say, or do, or not do, I forgive you for breaking your promise." he stated. "Even if you hate me for it." he said.
"WHOA! Who said I'd hate you for it?" I told him.
"Because you do not think you deserve it." he stared right into my eyes.
Splints how is it he knows this about me..? I didn't even remember this about myself until recently!
It's a brother thing.
"Is THIS what has been bothering you for so many years Sans? Is THIS why you don't do anything? Is THIS what is keeping you from becoming better? Is THIS what has been slowly ruining you?" he asked as he kept staring at me.
I didn't say..
"I should have said something.. long before now." he said softly. "Because I knew." he sighed. "I knew Semi wasn't coming back. I knew something was bothering you while you were working with Alphys. I knew our parents were gone. I knew you lost your job and that we had to move because you could not afford the bills. I knew you were upset about it all. I knew your smile was not always real. I knew.." he cried again. "I'm so sorry Sans.." he gasped. "I-I have been.. a terrible brother..!" he cried.
"So all the times you tried to cheer me up.. all the times you were.. happy.. That was all fake?" I asked him.
"N-Not ALL the time no!" he quickly said. "But.. yes.. Like you I.. did my best to stay positive. For your sake." he said. "I-I did not know what else to do.. I just knew, that.. I-I didn't want to lose you.." he looked at me. "like I lost.." he looked at our parents. "them.." he said. "I also did n-not want you to worry about me.." he said nervously.
"Yet I worry about you anyway." I repeated his words from earlier today.
"You do." he smiled at me.
"Yeah, I do.." I groaned at myself. "Heh.. Now who's the cry baby?" I tried to laugh at him and his tears.
He quickly wiped his face.
Once his eyes were back on me.. I mustered up the courage to.. tell him the whole story..
"You deserve to know how I broke my promise Paps." I sighed. "To know what exactly you are forgiving me for." I told him.
He looked at me with concern.
"I killed.. so I could be strong enough to kill something worse." I began. "If they can be considered worse than me." I tried to laughed. "Going through stuff like that, making choices like that.. makes you think.." my voice faded off. "Who's actually worse?" I asked. "The one who kills a lot?" I thought of Flowey.. and Chara. "Or the one who gives in to kill?" I thought of Frisk.. and Semi.
I gave Papyrus a chance to answer, but he didn't take it. He just kept looking at me.
"I'm just glad everything reset after I killed Chara.." I looked at the floor. "And that that was the last time they reset.. because if they had kept all that up.. There's no telling how much further I would have gone.. How desperate I could have gotten.." I said afraid of myself.
I noticed Flowey's expression as I glanced his direction. He was watching me with genuine concern.
"I still forgive you." Papyrus finally spoke. "It sounds like you had good motives." he tried to smile.
That had to be hard for him to say.
"Still earns me a lifetime in the clink though." I said.
"More than that.. actually." he nervously chuckled.
He would know..
He suddenly got a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Wait.. You said everything reset, correct?" he spontaneously asked.
"Yeah. Chara had no choice but to reset time." I explained.
The image of them defeated flashed by my mind. Even now, I still question if it was worth it..
Papyrus snapped his finger.
"Well there you go than!" he said with a smile.
"What do you mean..?" I asked confused.
"Time reset! So everything you did technicality did not happen!" he winked. "It was.. replaced? Overwritten?" he guessed at.
Wha..?
"So, as far as your promise goes in this timeline, you never broke it!" he stood proud.
I heard Flowey laughing.
What.. the heck.. did he just say?
"That's uh.. That's not how it works sonny." I heard Semi say.
No. No it is not.
An angry feeling I had not felt in the longest time stirred up in me. He had just crossed the line with that statement. He thinks, just because the timeline was lost, that it did not happen? That it did not matter? That everything I just said, everything I had done, had no consequence?!
I pulled him down with my magic to face him face to face.
"You stop, RIGHT. THERE." I poked his face.
"Nyeh?!" he winced in surprise.
I heard Flowey laugh with anticipation.
"It STILL happened Papyrus!" I told him angrily. "What I did was terrible- horrific even! I did it, and I'm going to be haunted by it for the rest of my life just like every other stinkin' massacre timeline I have lived through! Simply because it was reset DOES NOT mean it did not happen, and that I can be so easily forgiven for it!" I sternly explained to him. "You cannot just shove your mistakes away with a weak scientific excuse like that!" I told him. "I better not find out you have done something similar and have let it go because of such a weak explanation! Because if I do, I swear to Asgore, I will take your car keys, and ground you to the apartment, for the rest of your life!" I told him angrily with a stern point at him.
"WOWIE!" he said with wide happy eyes.
"Wowie?!" I replied in anger at him.
"Yes! You are finally back to asserting your older brother dominance! I'm so proud of you!" he cheered with tears of joy.
"I am being serious here brother!" I shouted at him, trying not to laugh at his reaction.
"I know!" he shouted in fear. "I'm scared right down to-" he leaned towards me. "the bone." he smiled.
Silence.
"You're grounded." I informed him.
"W-What for?!" he replied with surprise.
"Telling a joke ain't savin' you brother! You have been lying to me all this time, getting on my nerves for YEARS nagging away at me, you just made a sorry excuse for some horrific actions and make me want to question my ethical beliefs, and I am just plain having a bad day!" I shouted at him as I grew more confused then angry.
You might be over reacting a bit here, I mean, you pretty much did the sam-
That's it. You are grounded too young lady.
Huh..?!
"T-That seems a bit.. much." he said meekly.
"Well guess what? LIFE. AIN'T. FAIR." I sternly told him. "And you obviously do not understand the concept of taking responsibility for your own actions and mistakes!" I told him. "Even if what you did was erased by a reset, it still happened, it is still going to have an effect on you, and anyone else that remembers! Even if their memory is only vague." I stated clearly.
"It's true." Flowey affirmed.
"Can confirm." Frisk affirmed as well.
"Actions. Have. Consequences, Papyrus." I slapped one hand into the other in a chopping movement. "Think before you act bro, and don't make the same wrong choices I have." I stated as clearly as I could.
He stared at me in shock with sweat running down the side of his face.
"You got that, little brother?" I asked him.
"Y-Yes! Absolutely! Y-You are completely right!" he answered nervously.
"Good." I stated.
He was shaking with fear and kept staring at me with wide anxious eyes.
"You uh.. alright..?" I asked with worry for him.
It had been awhile since I last scolded him, heh.
"O-Oh! N-No! I'm fine! I.. I just.. I'm not used to this coming from you! Nyeh heh!" he told me with a nervous laugh. "PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY CAR AWAY! I'M SORRY!" he begged at my feet.
"Heh, I won't bro." I pat his head. "As long as you understand how serious things like this are now, I'll give'ya a pass." I told him. "THIS TIME." I warned him.
"OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO GOOD AT THIS!" he grabbed me and shook me.
"What would you do without a cool guy like me looking out for you Papyrus?" I laughed.
He hugged me again.
"I don't ever want to know Sans." he said.
"You won't bro." I replied. "I promise." I told him.
Well.. good to get that off my mind finally..
Was it really so hard?
You are still in time out.
"See? They worked it out!" I heard Dad say.
"They.. they did.." Semi replied in shock.
"Of course they did." Flowey said in a complaining tone. "These two are inseparable. Believe me, I tried multiple timelines to pit them against each other, but it always ended like THIS." he explained. "They are such crybabies.." he stated.
I heard a blaster be summoned.
"Whoa! Mom it's okay let him-" I flinched to stop her.
But it wasn't her that summoned it. It wasn't Semi either.
It was Papyrus.
"Uh.. bro..?" I asked him.
He flinched in shock and recalled the blaster.
"S-Sorry! I just..!" he stuttered.
"Overreacted?" I said.
He was visibly upset with himself.
"I swear Sans, if anyone bothers you again, you tell me.." he said in a low voice. "and I will organize a team of specialized officers to bring them to immediate justice!" he proclaimed.
"Too bad you can't call them in right now to help deal with that monster." I said.
"Next time I see that monster I-! I DON'T KNOW!" he grew more flustered.
"Breath bro, breath. You're getting too worked up." I pat his leg.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. So did I. My emotions were still reeling.
"You were saying about timelines and trying to turn my family against itself?" Semi leaned over Flowey with a flash of magic in his eye.
Flowey squeaked in fear and shrunk into the ground a bit.
"I have DEFINITELY met this guy before!" he yelped.
"Oh yeah? I don't recall making friends with a talking weed." he replied.
"And I don't recall you being so scary!" Flowey stretched out of the ground a bit.
Semi peered at him with a puzzled look. Had they not met?
"So.. Is everyone alright now..?" Frisk asked meekly.
"Yeah yeah. It's all good." I told them.
"I am just glad you two did not come to blasters." Mom said with relief.
"How did you know they wouldn't? That got pretty intense for a moment there." Semi asked her.
Mom winced with anger, but stayed calm.
"I know my boys." she looked at us, smiling with pride. "They may get in arguments and fights, but it is only because they worry about each other too much. They have ever since.. the incident." she stated. "Anything that they argue about is just them trying to help each other. And they know that." she looked between us fondly.
Me and Papyrus exchanged glances, smiling to each other in agreement. All Papyrus' complaining about me and my laziness was his way of helping me out, the only way he knew how. And my keeping silent on things was my way of making sure he didn't have to worry about anything and go on living happily.
Guess that will be changing after all this.
I realized that Semi had been staring at us with blank eyes. He was in shock.
"That is a very odd way of showing they care." the new lady laughed. "But then again, that is what I and Semi do quite a lot ourselves. It is why I always get on to him over things." she said, looking at him as he stared at us. "Semi?" she asked him.
Semi stood still and silent.
"Dad?" Mom called.
He smiled as he began to visibly shake.
"Yeah.." he said with a heavy breath. "It's.. good to see they can work things out.." he stated.
He looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. I could sense.. sadness. Intense sadness. Like what I just got sliced out of me. I was expecting pride from him, given his attitude I remembered him having. But this.. This was something I had been waiting my whole life to see from him. Regret. Guilt. Proof that he was sorry, and could change.
"Hey Gramps." I called his attention. "You're forgiven too just so you know." I told him with a wink.
His magical pupils came back as he looked at me surprised.
"What for..?" Papyrus said confused.
"Throwing me the dungeon for one." I stated.
"Oh yes!" he replied. "We definitely forgive you all that!" he told him.
"Of course we do." Mom affirmed.
"I don't know if I can forgive him for not, like, coming home." Dad said. "If he had we could have told him this sooner!" he stated.
"What happened..?" the lady asked.
"Yeah! Spill to beans!" Flowey said.
Semi looked away with disgust.
I walked up to him.
"Hey." I got his attention. "I forgave you a few days after all that Gramps." I told him. "And when you disappeared, well.. I felt terrible, because I knew you weren't coming back and that I wouldn't get the chance to.. tell you that." I explained to him. "But now I can. And with what I know now, I can actually help you like I wanted to." I smiled at him. "And you can bet your boots I will do it." I winked as I swiped my thumb under my nose like I would see him do.
He looked at me, no smile, no reaction, nothing. And I still sensed no corruption in his soul.. Just sadness.
He walked around me and on down the path. Everyone watched him walk off in silence.
"Was it something I said?" I asked puzzled by his reaction.
"Subject Semi.." Papyrus walked up writing in his notebook. "And no. That was all good Sans." he told me.
"ok.." I replied still confused.
"Semi.." the lady said to herself.
"What you said was what he needed to hear Sans." Mom told me as she watched Semi walk away. "Once again though, he refuses to listen. And to forgive himself.." she sighed.
"HEY." Flowey butted in. "I could use a healing down here!" he rudely declared.
The lady knelt down to him and looked him over.
"A Buttercup?" she asked.
"Golden Flower." Flowey corrected her.
"Let me see.." she gently grabbed one of his tattered petals.
In an instant he was healed by her magic, all his torn petals made full and his stem made steadier.
"How is that?" she smiled at him.
"Eh, not bad." he flapped his healed leaves.
"You are a strange little monster." she looked at him curiously. "I did not think there were any plant type monsters your size." she said.
"He's not your average monster." I told her.
She looked at me curiously for a moment.
"My, you look so much like Semi." she commented. "But than.. your eyes look so much like his grandmother's." she chuckled.
"Specking of the old bones he's kinda, like, walking on without us." Dad told us.
"We.. better catch up with him." Mom said with some uneasiness as she looked at the lady.
Seeing them side by side, they look like they could be related. Little did I know, Mom was about to clarify that.
"Oh wait. B-Before we go.." Mom stopped all of us. "Mom, this is.. Sans and Papyrus." she gestured to us. "Boys this.. This is MY mother, Calibri." she smiled awkwardly.
I slapped my hands together and held them to my mouth as I took a deep breath to keep myself calm.
You already knew this.
I was just hoping your memories were wrong..
"Is that why you look so much alike?" Papyrus asked as he glanced between them with interest.
"Apparently.." Mom side eyed Calibri.
"I am glad you turned out taller than Semi." Calibri laughed.
"You and me both.." Mom tired to laugh with her.
"So.. Are we all the same age now-?" Dad began to wonder out loud.
"There's no need to get into that-!" Mom stopped him.
"Wowie! I had no idea we had a grandmother!" Papyrus cheered.
"Everyone has a grandmother Paps." I told him.
"Well, nyeh, I bet no one else has a time-travailing grandmother!" he stated.
"Or parents." I added.
"Alright. We have cleared that up now let's catch up with Dad." Mom hurried us along.
I glanced up at Calibri as we walked on together. She looked.. almost younger than Mom.
Your family has become a lot more interesting..
TIME TRAVEL.