Despite the lack of a door, the house was much warmer than outside. The house had a strange color scheme, but it somehow worked. It had a carpeted floor with a blue pattern and red walls. The living room was to the left, the TV was playing a dancing robot which I found... strange. A sock was sitting next to the TV, it had a tiny, black suit jacket and tie on. There was a kitchen in front of me, the sink was taller than Papyrus and a few plates of cooked noodles sat on a counter. Smoke was coming out of a pot on the stove, it drifted out into an open window. A table sat in the way of the kitchen, chairs sat around it. A small rock on a plate took up one of the seats, it had a small bowtie on and was "sitting" in a booster seat. Papyrus took off his hat, "Go Ahead And Take Your Seats. Dinner Will Be Served Shortly!" he shouted before rushing into the kitchen.
Sans walked over into the living room and plopped down on the couch, Toriel randomly took a seat at the table, and Frisk sat down right next to the rock. Frisk did something I wasn't expecting... she reached over and pet the rock like it was a dog. I decided not to question it any further and took a seat next to Frisk, "So, have you tried Papyrus's spaghetti in another timeline?" I asked quite enough so Toriel wouldn't hear.
She nodded her head, "It has a... interesting... taste," she smiled, "I think you'll like it."
I turned away from her, "Okay then." I looked over at the kitchen, Papyrus was frantically preparing and throwing a range of ingredients into the smoking pot. He was currently chopping up a tomato, I was impressed with the speed his hand was moving. I smirked before looking over at Toriel. Something looked different about her outfit. It looked identical to the one she wore yesterday, but a tad more formal. Also, her eyes had eyebags that were lacking yesterday. "How have you been Toriel?" I asked.
She turned her head to me and smiled, "Good, Jack," she said in her warming voice. "Although, I do wish I chose a different room last night."
I leaned back in my chair, out of the corner of my eye I could see Frisk glancing between me and Toriel. "Why's that?" I asked, having an idea of what the answer might be.
Toriel sighed, "The people next to me were quite loud with their snoring." She yawned, "It was almost like they were performing a symphony."
Frisk cringed before looking down and fidgeting with her hands, "Oh..." she emitted faintly from her mouth. Frisk looked up at her, "... I'm sorry Toriel," she said a bit louder. Why did she blame herself?
Toriel blinked a few times before smiling, "No need to say sorry, Frisk. There is no way you could have prevented it."
Frisk tightened her grip onto the air under the table, "But I..." her voice trailed off as she looked away from her. Seeing where this was going, I patted Frisk's shoulder a few times. She looked over at me, I tried my best to put my soul behind my smile. I was expecting to have to say a few words to her but no, a simple glance was all it took for her to smile back. Frisk turned back to Toriel, confidence behind her eyes that was lacking before. "You know what? You're right," she gained a triumph pose in her seat, similar to what Papyrus would gain, "That is not my fault!" she semi-shouted.
Toriel scratched at her head and gave a confused smile. "Um... it's good you realized that... I guess," she said as supportive as ever despite her lack of understanding for the situation.
A few seconds passed before Frisk's eyes became wide as she examined herself. She slumped back into the chair before coughing into her arm. "Yeah, it is," she said at normal volume. I saw her glance over at me so I gave her a thumbs up. She gave a light smile before returning to staring at the table.
I looked back at Toriel and adjusted myself, "Well, I hope you get better sleep tonight," I said.
Toriel responded by giving me her iconic smile, "Me too."
I was still smiling when I smelt the strong smell of burnt sauce flood the room. I looked over at the kitchen, we were so caught up in the conversation that we had completely missed the piles of black smoke coming from the kitchen. You couldn't even see the kitchen anymore, so I guess the open window wasn't enough. I stared at the black cloud for a few more seconds before I saw Papyrus come out of it, his white attire was stained black. My staring must have caught the attention of Frisk and Toriel because they were staring at him too.
Frisk was the first to speak up, "Papyrus?" she asked. He looked over at her with a smile a kid would give to their parents when they have sugar all over their face. "What did you do?"
"Well... You See..." he began to tap his index fingers together. The oven mittens didn't make this easy, but he still somehow succeded. "...I May Or May Not Have Set Your Food On Fire." Frisk didn't exactly frown when he finished his sentence, but she did something close to it. Papyrus must have noticed this because he instantly gained his heroic pose, "Worry Not Humans! ... And Toriel. Pasta Tastes Best Burnt! Especially The Great Papyrus's Pasta!" this was followed by a loud "NYEH HEH HEH!"
The TV turning off was all I needed to know that we had Sans's attention. "Paps..." he stood up and walked next to his brother. "Unless you're makin' bombs, food shouldn't emit that much smoke."
Papyrus's eyes widened a bit, "Did I Say Food? Because I Meant Kitchen!" Sans slumped down but Papyrus put his hand on his shoulder, "Worry Not, Brother! If Our House Burns Down, We Can Just Live In The Human Containment Facility Masterfully Crafted By Me!"
Sans's pupils got a bit dimmer, "Papyrus?" he said as he looked at the increasingly rising flame. Papyrus looked over at him, Sans did the same. "Get the fire extinguisher."
"Right Away Sans!" he shouted before diving face-first into the couch.
A small yelp from Frisk made me turn around, she was staring at a small flame that had appeared on the table. With the blink of an eye, the flame vanished, Toriel's jacket replaced it. "Do not be afraid, my children," she stood up. A small ember made contact with the top of her head, causing an incredibly small fire in her hair. I couldn't help but stare, Frisk was in a similar boat. "I am the master of the flames-" Toriel nearly finished her sentence but noticed that we were looking at the top of her head. She slumped down, "My hair is on fire, isn't it?" We both nodded.
She sighed as I heard stomping come from behind me, "Worry Not, Toriel!" I snapped around, Papyrus was aiming the fire extinguisher right at Toriel's head. "I Will Save You!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger.
I tried to stop him, "No Papyrus! Wait-" but it was already too late. A beam of foam came out of the extinguisher and covered Toriel's head.
Sans came over and took the fire extinguisher, "Wrong target, bro." He aimed it at the fire but nothing came out.
He fidgeted with it for a few seconds. "Have you ever used one of those things before?" Frisk asked.
"No," he said as he finally pulled the right trigger. Beams came out, smothering the flame. "But there's no time to learn like the present."
After a while, the last bit of flame was finally covered. Black smoke still covered the house, but it was nothing compared to before. The kitchen was a charred remain of it's former self and the black smoke had left it's dust on most of the objects in the house. Sans sighed before dropping the fire extinguisher and collapsing on the couch, me and Frisk stared at each other in amazement, Papyrus stood there like a puppy who just peed on the rug, and Toriel was in the process of wiping the foam off her face. She sighed, "While I appreciate the assistance Papyrus," she spit a bit of the foam out, "It wasn't needed."
Papyrus's eyes had a sad undertone. He looked at all of us, "I Am Deeply Sorry For Being Such A Big Waste Of Time," he said as he slumped down. "You Can Leave If You Want."
I felt bad for the skeleton, so I let my emotions do the talking. I walked up to him, "Hey, don't talk like that. This wasn't a waste of time." I stopped to think for a moment. "In fact, that is probably the most chaotic fun I've ever had."
The skeleton shot up with lit eyes, "Really?!" I nodded. He looked over at Frisk, "Do You Feel The Same Way, Other Human?"
Frisk chuckled, "Of course Papyrus. Anything that involves you is automatically fun."
His eyes lit up even further as he spun around to Toriel. "What About You, Toriel?"
A few seconds passed before Toriel spoke up, "Even though I need a new pair of clothes," she giggled, "Seeing how you and your brother react is quite enjoyable."
The skeleton looked at all of us, his eyes beaming as he did. Suddenly, he looked down to the floor and began to rub his chin, "So If All Of You Enjoyed Your Time..." his eyes became wide, "Does That Mean You're All My Friends?!"
Silence filled the air for a few seconds before I spoke up, "Yeah, I guess you could say-"
"Wowie!" Papyrus shouted before I could finish. "I've Never Had So Many Friends At Once!" He started to pace in circles, "There Are So Many Things We Can Do! We Can Go Outside And Build A Snowman, Have A Snowball Fight! I Could Even Make You Spaghetti That Isn't Ash!" he said as he hopped up and down like a kid that had a little too much sugar. Judging by how apparent Frisk's was, you could probably see my smile from a mile away. Papyrus stood still and began to rub his chin again, "Maybe You Could Even Convince My Brother To Pick Up His Sock," he said just loud enough to be considered a shout.
Sans walked up behind his brother, his eyes closed. "While I'm glad you made friends," he said. He opened his eyes and raised an "eyebrow", "Aren't you supposed to be capturing the humans?"
Papyrus's jaw fell off. He picked it up, "OH MY GOD!" he shouted, his jaw moved like it was still connected to his head. He popped his jaw back on and spun around, "You're Right Sans!" He looked back at us, "But I Can't Capture My Friends!" he looked to the floor, "But If I Don't Capture Them, Undyne Will get Really Mad!" He put his hands on his temples, got on his knees, and looked up, "SANS! What Should I Do!" he said in the most dramatic way possible.
Sans looked down at his brother and shrugged, "I don't know," Sans said simply. "Do what your heart says and all that jazz."
Papyrus put his arms back to his sides, "Sans... You're Useless-" he almost finished his sentence when he jumped up. "Wait, Do What Your Heart Says?" he asked.
"Yeah," Frisk said, "You know, do what you feel is best."
Papyrus faces us and began to rub his chin, "Do What I Feel is Best... What Feels Like The Best Option?" he asked, I had a feeling he forgot we were there. "If I Capture The Humans, Then Undyne Will Let Me Into The Royal Gaurd And I'll Have So Many Friends," he paused, "But If I Do That, I'll Lose The Friends I Already Have..." A few seconds passed with him just rubbing his chin when he eventually put one of his hands on his hip. "Humans!" he shouted out of the blue, making me jump a bit. "After Thourgly Analyzing Each Option Presented To Me..." he pointed at the ceiling with his other hand. "I Have Decided That Your Friendship Means More To Me Than Being Popular!"
A few claps came from Toriel, "Good job Papyrus! You did the right thing."
He put both of his hands on his hips, "Thank You Toriel!"
Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus continued to talk, but since it didn't seem important, I didn't listen. I walked up next to Frisk, the words she said to me when I first saw Papyrus flooded my mind. "You know Frisk, you were right," I said. She turned her head to me and raised an eyebrow, "He's a lot better once you get to know him."
She didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then her eyes lit up, "Oh yeah..." she smiled that smile of hers, "I'd knew you'd like him!"
I looked back over at the group, Papyrus was showing Toriel their couch while Sans looked like he was telling a joke/pun. I chuckled, "Then you know me better than I know myself," I said. As I stared at the group, I thought back over what happened before all this. I grazed over most of the events but one stuck out to me, the hug Frisk gave me. I turned to Frisk, it took a while but I finally felt comfortable asking her awkward questions. "Hey, Frisk?" She turned to me, "It's been eating me up inside and I got to know the answer. Why did you hug me?"
Frisk looked at me for a few seconds before saying anything, "Oh. Well, if I'm being completely honest, I love your hugs. They make me feel so comfy and safe, so I was wondering if I could replicate that feeling by hugging you." I don't know why, but I almost collapsed from the blood rushing to my head. If she had said that like a normal person would, I would have been fine. But she said in such a cute way. I mean, come on, there's no way people wouldn't find that cute. I tried my best to hide my cheeks in a non-awkward way. "Why?" Frisk continued. "Did that make you feel uncomfortable?"
I shook my head, "No. I was just a bit surprised when you did it."
She smiled, "Good!" Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me. "Cause I plan to hug you a lot more!" Forget collapsing, I almost passed out. I wouldn't be surprised if my face felt like a radiator to her. Trying my best to limit my blood flow, I returned the hug.
Even if the arteries in my head were about to explode, the hug still felt nice. That is until, small at first, a pain began to throb in my chest. I tried to ignore it, but it eventually got so bad that I had to let go of Frisk. Frisk let go as I instinctively grabbed my chest, it felt like acid was eating away at my insides. She looked over at me with worried eyes. I felt like I needed to reassure her, "Don't worry," I was barely able to muster out, "I feel-" a sharp jab in my chest caused me to grunt, "-fine." If anything, what I just said made her more worried. All I needed was a few minuted and I'd be back to normal, "J-just need some fresh air," I said as I walked outside, she thankfully didn't follow me.
The cool air dimed my cheeks, it howled as a wolf would. Not wanting to be watched by the passing people, I made my way to the back of Sans and Papyrus's house. Besides for a backdoor that I hadn't noticed inside, nothing was back there. The back door was slightly cracked open. I put both of my hands on my chest and leaned against the wall. The pain, while still strong, felt much weaker. I banged on my chest a few times, that seemed to stop most of it. I wiped my forehead, sweat that I hadn't noticed before appeared on my hand. Once I felt that I could handle a conversation, I walked up to the backdoor and went in.
I shut the door behind me, it was pitch black. Maybe it's the garage? I thought. I felt around the walls for a light switch, it thankfully didn't take long. With a few flickers, the lights turned on. The room didn't match the main house and it certainly wasn't a garage. The floor was a tiled purple and the walls were a plain blue. A workshop of sorts took up most of the room, drawers poked out of it and tools and blueprints sat on top. There were no windows and the lights were fluorescent, a gentle hum came from them. Something sat under a tarp, it's shape was like nothing I had seen before. I walked up to the concealed object, it was like a magnet to me. A voice stopped me in my tracks, "I wonder what's under the tarp..." A little girl whispered in my ear.
I spun around, nothing but air. This time, there was no giggling. I turned back to the object, I had to find out. I reached out and pulled the tarp off, what greeted me was...
...
...
︎notHing...
I rubbed my eyes, my surroundings had completely changed. NotHingness once again surrounded me. I didn't want to belive I was back here, without anyone to talk to. Strangely, the frying pan Grace gave me was in my hands. I gripped it tight, it was the last thing I had of the real world. I looked around praying to whatever is out there that I wouldn't see that thing from last time. Thankfully, they were nowhere in sight. I picked a random direction and began to walk down it, it didn't feel like I was standing on solid ground. There were no sounds, not even my own breathing. Just the gentle silence of nothing.
My surroundings never changed, I couldn't even tell if I was moving. Feeling desperate to reach the end, I began to run. No matter how fast I moved my legs, it looked like I made no progress at all. My lungs never ran out of air, that was probably because I didn't have to breathe to begin with. I opened my mouth and tried to shout "Frisk!" ... No sound left my mouth. I tried to scream again... the same result. I tried once more... it worked... but I didn't shout what I wanted to. I shouted something my mind couldn't comprehend. I don't even know how my tongue made those sounds.
I stopped running and turned around. A small, white oval sat in the distance, I didn't need a better look at it to know what it was. I tried to turn back but my body didn't listen. It instead took a step forward. Without warning, a voice that was not my own began to bounce around in my head. "Hello, Jack." The voice said. It echoed through my head and felt like it left a scar engraved into my mind.
Without having to think, I knew who the voice belonged to. My body decided to finally listen to me as I took a few steps back. What does it want with me? I thought.
Much to my surprise, the voice continued. "It's simple, Jack." Off in the distance, the oval seemed to turn around. Despite not being able to make it out, their horrifying face sat in my mind. "I want you dead."
I froze, regaining control of my voice as I did. "W-what?" I was barely able to must out before I felt something swoop me up. One of the giant hands was nearly squeezing me to death, slowly bringing me closer to the oval. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the frying pan shake ever so slightly.
The oval was coming closer and closer. Once I could make out it's face, the thing began to speak. "Let me put this in terms you will understand..." Silence once again filled my head before it spoke up. "You are what I like to call a glitch. Normally, you would never exist. But since there's been one too many resets, you were popped out." Was this thing really comparing me to a computing error? "Because of you, the timeline is about to collapse in on itself. My theory is that if I remove you from the equation, the timeline will restabilize and act like you never existed."
The hand brought me right in front of it before stopping. So I just sat there hovering, staring a gooey oval. He sounded insane to me. "You're putting my life in the hands of a theory?!"
The face frowned, "I know. Believe me when I say that if there was another way, I'd do it. But there isn't much of a choice, is there?"
I struggled in the hand, I couldn't believe this was happening. The frying pan's shaking got stronger the more I struggled. "You Can't Just Kill Me!" I shouted. The frying pan began to glow. "There are people I want to see again!"
The frown didn't fade from the oval's face. "There's no other choice." A vortex full of strange symbols appeared behind the oval. They began to spin rapidly and fill out a shape. It looked like some sort of animal skull, maybe a goat. It looked bigger than the already huge hands. Eventually, the symbols came together to form a solid object. My guess was correct, it was 100% a goat skull. Horns about as big as the hands poke out of it. It had two circles for pupils, they glowed a bright blue. The skull opened it's jaw, white light began to build inside of it. "Don't be afraid, I am no monster." I felt my soul pop out of my body, it hovered in front of me. Strangely enough, a small chunk of my soul appeared to be missing. The oval's pupils vanished. "I will make it quick."
The white light got brighter and brighter until, after only a few seconds, it looked brighter than the sun. Terror began to set in as I tried to get out. I hit the hand with the frying pan, the hand didn't react while the frying pan began to shake more. I tried to pry my way out but the hand's tight grip wasn't budging. With no other option, I did the last thing I'd ever do. I looked out into the void, "Help!" I screamed as the white light came shooting out of the skull and onto me. Only white filled my vision. I could hear something being blown past me at great speeds. Eventually, the light faded. I wasn't expecting what greeted me.
The frying pan had vanished from my hand and a green bubble surrounded me. It seemed to have a few cracks in it like glass. I was no longer in the hand, instead, I laid on the floor. Grace, in all of her green glory, stood in front of me. Her arms were pushed out and she faced the oval. I jumped up, "Grace?"
The little girl turned her head to me and smiled, "It sounded like you needed help," she said. Despite her being dead, beads of sweat went down her forehead.
The oval furrowed it's "eyebrows." "I see we will be doing things the hard way." Four hands surrounded the bubble, "So be it," they said it a low voice.
The hands came crashing down. They produced a loud thud. The bubble began to crack as I looked around frantically, "What should I do?" I asked.
Grace pushed her hands out further, "Run!" she shouted. Seeing no other option, I ran out of the bubble. A thunderous "Crunch!" came from behind me. I moved my legs as fast as I could but it didn't seem fast enough. Thankfully, a small green blob came to my side. It was keeping up with my speed without effort. "Faster!" Grace's voice came from the orb. I tried to follow her advice but I was already going as fast as I could. Sharp pain in my leg caused me to fall onto one knee.
I turned around, to my horror a bone sat sticking out of my leg. Two of the blasters were speeding towards me. Reality warped in front of me before the oval appeared. "The more you run, the more painful this will be." it said. The two blasters began to charge up as I closed my eyes as tight as I could. I thought as hard as I could about leaving this place and...
I opened my eyes, while I wasn't in that place anymore, I certainly wasn't anywhere I recognized. A long hall sat in front of me, the gentle chirping of birds filled the air. Huge pillars and windows sat on the walls, the same symbol on Toriel's robe were on the windows. Orange light filled the place. Somehow, My leg had completely healed. I looked around in awe, "What the f-"
Grace's soul appeared next to me before I could finish, "We need to get out of here!" she shouted.
Before I could ask why, two of the hands came crashing through the windows, "You can not escape," the things voice said.
Without a second thought, I bolted down the hall and through the exit. An Elevator in a gray hall greeted me. I ran up to the elevator and pressed the button frantically. "Come on!" I shouted. It began to slowly open but I was able to squeeze through the crack. Grace floated in next to my side. I repeatedly pushed the lowest floor. The hands came crashing through the walls, the blasters behind them. "COME THE FUCK ON!" I screamed. Just as the blasters were about to fire, the door slid shut. An elevator tune began to play. I sighed, "Thank god."
Nothing happened for a few seconds when rumbling came from above me. I looked up, dents began to appear in the roof. "Jack? Is that a good sign?" Grace asked.
The lights and music began to flicker on and off, "No." was all I was able to get out before the elevator began to free fall. I braced all of my being for impact and...
I opened my eyes once more, the endless nothingness greeted me. The oval appeared in front of me, "Just die already!" they shouted. Two dozen razor-sharp bones appeared behind them. They came speeding towards me. Seeing no other option, I shielded my face. Right before they made contact, a clear, green shield appeared around my arm. The bones either shattered on impact, or they bounced off. As the shield dissipated, I felt my soul be picked up. I was yanked towards the non-existent wall as I slammed against it. A wall of bones appeared in a split second. Multiple of them stabbed me, others were lodged into me.
I fell onto the floor as a pool of blood formed under me. My soul just barely glowed. I tried to stand up but a bone appeared out of thin air and stabbed me through the chest. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the taste of iron filled my mouth. My soul had vanished. The oval looked down on me, it seemed to say something but my hearing had become far too muffled to make anything out. My vision filled with red as my eyes gently closed.
Cold, dark, nothingness surrounded me, I couldn't even see my body. Is this... it? I thought. Is this really all death is? Nothing answered, just the chilling sound of nothing. What about all the religions? Are you telling me none of those are real? Still nothing. I guess that's it then. I just sit here now. And that I did. Despite being almost identical to the place I was just in, death somehow felt worse. Then, thoughts of the people I cared about filled my head. Comet, my parents, my family... and Frisk. How is Frisk going to react to me being dead? Will she even remember me? Will she even care? A strange feeling began to fill my nonexistent body. It started from my toes and slowly made it's way up to my head. What if she does remember? She's already gone through enough as is, this will probably be the breaking point. And what about my family? How are they going to feel when they never see their Jack again? The feeling grew stronger and stronger the more I thought. After some time, I finally knew the feeling. I don't want to die!
The heat of my body returned to me as I opened my eyes. I sat up, my body was riddled with fatal wounds and yet... I still lived. The bone through my chest vanished, a hole was where it once was. I could see my organs through the hole, it was a weird feeling seeing my own heart. With all of my energy, I stood up. The thing was off in the distance, it somehow noticed this. "Of course you had to have a determined soul," it said before another bone went flying through my chest.
I looked down at it, it was straight through my heart and yet... I still lived. It still hurt like hell though. I wrapped both of my hands around it and began to pull, the pain was indescribable. Thankfully, it didn't take long for it to come out. You could easily see my heart, even though a hole sat through it, it still pumped out blood like it was nothing. Two blasters formed in front of me, "It is impossible for your body to survive this." He said as they began to charge.
They were about to fire when what looked like half of the blaster appeared in front of me. It acted as a shield as the beams fired. They bounced off like nothing. "Hey, Gaster," a familiar, gravelly voice said from behind me. I turned around, there sat Sans, his smile as visible as ever. He walked up next to me, "I knew you had a few screws loose, but I didn't know you were a murder."
The things face distorted slightly, "Stay out of this, Sans," it said in a low voice.
Sans looked off in the distance. "You see, I'd love to." His pupils looked the oval dead in the eye as he gained a half-smile, "But I'm not."
Six blasters formed a circle around us. Sans's expression never changed. "Don't think I won't hesitate to hurt you too."
Sans sighed, "Gaster, be honest with yourself." His pupils vanished. "You know just as well as me that you won't win this fight."
The blasters hanged in the air for a few more seconds before vanishing. "You are right."
"Good," Sans said as he put his hand on my shoulder. He raised his hand and put his fingers together but Gaster spoke before he could speak.
"You know what you're protecting, Sans."
"Yeah, I do." he snapped his fingers. "A living being," he said as everything went black.
A/N
Well, that was a chapter. Half of it was to ease that tension from the last, the other half was progressing the story. I'm going to tell you a spoiler about Sans and Gaster so you don't think this... Gaster is not his father. They were colleges. And that's all you get. I never liked the idea of the two being related, there's just not enough evidence for me to believe it. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the 5,000-word chapter. If you feel you don't like something about the story, tell me in the reviews. Alright, enough from me. See you later.
