Doggo had almost jumped out of his fur, since he was blind and could see only moving things. And so the voice had genuinely caught him off guard. He immediately reached for his twin swords on his back, about to draw them but the rabbit monster had been quicker, as she drew out a swissarmy knife that appeared broken by the handle and held it to Doggo's neck, the tip of the knife pressing against his throat through his fur since he'd been the one much closer to the door.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The rabbit monster warned, she was keeping her voice low as she glared at the trio in hiding. Sweat began to slowly soak through Aku's sweater and she began to curse at herself, for getting so distracted with their argument she had no idea when did this bunny monster hear them.
'Shit! Doggo was probably warning us too and- ugh! damnit!' Aku thought, as she gritted her teeth in anger.
"Connie?" Flowey asked, poking his head from under Akumu's hood recognizing the rabbit monster as one of the monsters who ran the shop before in Snowdin Town. "Oh no, Papyrus got to you too?"
Connie turned her attention over to Flowey. "Ye it's me. And you lot really shouldn't be 'ere right now." Connie warned, suddenly withdrawing the knife, keeping her voice low so the dogs across the hall couldn't hear her. "This place is dangerous!"
Aku raised a brow, confused. "Y-Yeah.. no fucking shit. But, the King has my brother's SOUL! I'm not leaving here without it!"
Connie turned back to the human, eyeing Akumu curiously. "Yer brother huh..? Now I see, so yer that second human Papyrus and the others 'ave been tryna find… They're sent all over Snowdin Forest! That musta been how you were able to sneak in here so far unseen… if we had even half the guards we used ta- jeez ya got lucky."
"Yeah? Well, congratulations you found me. Want a prize? So now what, you gonna turn me in now or something?" Aku snarled, gritting her teeth as she reached for her sickles. "I'll kill you before I even let that happen…!" Aku felt her SOUL appear from her chest, as she initiated the fight with Connie.
Connie waved her arms in front of her in a panic. "No, wait please!"
*Connie is sparing you. Chara narrated.
Akumu stared after Connie, confusion clear as day on her face. "Wh-?"
"Please, I-I can help you…. Don't misunderstand me young 'un." Connie spoke, still keeping her voice low. "Trust me...I lost my sister too. I know what you're going through… maybe I can help."
"...And why should I trust you? You work for Papyrus, what's in it for you if you help me?" Akumu glared, not letting her guard down. "Or wait- don't tell me, you're a double agent? Gonna pretend to help me, while relaying info back to Papyrus about our plans and weaknesses is that it bitch?! Well nice try, but you're not going to fool me!"
"N-No please! I-" Connie thought fast, realizing Aku was dead serious on attacking, feeling the intention to harm coming from the small human tucked away behind Doggo. In a quick motion, Connie threw the swissarmy knife into the room to the side, making sure Akumu would notice this, but at the same time so Dogamy and Doggaressa didn't see either, and held out both palms open wide and left herself completely defenseless.
Akumu was only seconds away from smashing that FIGHT button, but paused in midair when she saw what Connie did. This only served to confuse her even more. "Wh-What are you doing?!"
"Proving myself to you… Papyrus is holding my sister captive too, that's the only reason I'm even working for him, so he won't kill her! I- If you help me to rescue her, I'll help you rescue your brother's SOUL. You can tie me up if you wish, but I want to help..!" Connie begged as she shut her eyes, trembling a bit in fear.
*Connie is still sparing you….
Akumu bit her lip, her hands holding the sickles shaking as she hesitated. Thinking about Connie's words. Doggo whined a little as he turned his gaze over to her.
"I...I think she's telling the truth… B-Back in the dungeons, I thought I did smell the scent of another rabbit down there that smelled like Connie." Doggo brought up helpfully.
Aku's eyes widened as she turned to Doggo again as if wanting to confirm. "Wait, you're serious, Doggo?!"
"U-Uh-huh. Least, the smell felt very similar to hers, so I'm almost positive it was her sisters! I-I think we should help Connie. She seems nice…" Doggo whined.
Aku still continued to hesitate for a few more seconds, considering. Then after a bit, Aku let out a shaky sigh and accepted Connie's MERCY and ended the battle. She then returned her sickles again back to their holster at her back before speaking up again "Fine. I'll take your word for it. But, I am NOT letting you out of my sights, got it?! If you do anything fishy, or anything, that makes me think you're going to give us away and betray I swear to fucking god-...!"
"I promise! I'm not going to betray you. I know this castle like the back of my hand, I can help. It's certainly better than letting you lot wander around here by yourselves. And...sure Doggo knows the castle too but with his blindness, whatcha got left to lose? I swear it."
Sans was gasping in pain, when the whip had finally been discarded, his HP now hovering at a trembling 5 after what felt like hours of torture even though the analog clock on the wall said it had only been twenty minutes passed since he was brought there. Sans knew he must have looked like a mess, small cracks and fissures littered his bones, and his GODsoul looked wrung out, Sans white portion of the soul had now 4x the amount of hairline cracks on it, some old from the RESETS, and fresh, bleeding wounds now decorated the tiny organ. The tiny red SOUL surrounding it now also had its fair share of hairline cracks surrounding it, and was soon about to catch up to the same amount of cracks as his own SOUL.
It made Sans feel sick, as he stared at his SOUL, which was now floating a foot outside his bones. He felt oddly disconnected from it, yet, it disgusted him all the same to see that Frisk's SOUL he'd absorbed became so marred. Delirious "please" and "stops" were mumbled from between Sans teeth but he knew neither the King nor Alphys cared. With Boss standing side by side, yet completely helpless to save him.
"So, you really were taken in by that human child… You stayed quiet about having the GODsoul because after her death, you believed in order to avenge her, you chose to stop me from collecting the last soul for years and keep us all underground to "get back at us" for not learning from her kindness." Asgore summarized, putting the story together from what Sans had been telling him the past while.
Alphys prepared a syringe filling it once more with a painkiller as she then grabbed Sans humerus above Sans skull and injected it into the marrow, and almost instantly, the pain was gone as the medicine mixed in with Sans magic. Sans gave a quick nod, fear in his eye sockets.
"Then in that case, we can continue on to the second half of your torture and you will kindly explain what are these 'RESET's the Commander spoke up when he called me to come here." Asgore ordered, "You mentioned something about things ending in oblivion and you remember these… different timelines?"
Sans bones were shaking and rattling against each other as he opened his mouth, "y-ye.. i o-okay, um…" Sans eyelights moved upwards as he thought long and hard, not even knowing where to start. "s-so...th' the f-former royal scientist...i-i used t' w-work with another scientist known as w… w.d. g-gaster. and uh, i used to d-dabble in some...re-really outlawed things w-with 'im. i-i was h-his assistant t-together with alphys."
"W. D. Gaster?" Asgore repeated the name, though he had no idea what Sans was talking about. "I never hired any W.D. Gaster." His tone was cold, and had an air around it warning Sans not to pull any lies.
"B-But, that's impossible! I'M the only royal scientist around! How-how could there have been a-" Alphys voice shook, and her pupils shrunk at the news.
"i-it's t-true! i… y-ya both jus' don't remember gaster, because of the t-timelines." Sans explained, "a-and i-i think boss forgot him too, when gaster d-disappeared… b-but, h-he was th' royal scientist before alphys took his place. and, jus' like most scientists… he was curious. he- we just wanted to know everything and he had th' smarts and knowledge t' match tha' endless curiosity too. th' blueprints 'bout the d-determination machine? the core? the computers in alphys lab, the cameras, most of the conveyor and vent puzzles in hotland were all c-created by him. "
Asgore and Alphys jumped back in shock at that and in total disbelief. Even Boss, for a very brief moment, shock had shown through the iron mask he had been wearing this whole time as he watched his brother be put through endless pain. But only for a moment, before Boss was able to once again, keep his face carefully neutral as he listened. Arms and hands to his side, as he stood by the King like the loyal soldier that he was.
"W-wait a minute…" Alphys stuttered, "S-so my Lab…. that w-was..?"
"dr. gasters original lab...yes." Sans finished for her, his bones rattling in fear as he still saw the skepticism in the King's eyes as he glared at the frail skeleton. And Sans swallowed, gathering up his courage to continue, "s-so...anyways, th' core. o-originally...it was s'pposed t' be able t' store enough power an' magic t' break the barrier. as an alternate way of destroying it. instead of relying on the 7 humans to fall down here."
"Oh! That explains why the Core's magical o-output is so high!" Alphys exclaimed and Sans nodded again, or tried to, the movement stinging his wounded bones.
"ye' but of course, and most obviously… it didn't work. s-so he r-repurposed it to bringing electricity to all of th' underground instead. as some small way of bringing even j-jus' a little bit of hope to all of us after th' d-deaths of the prince and princess."
Sans shivered when Asgore's magic began to flare, nearly suffocating everyone within the room with its intensity at the mention of Asriel and Chara. Boss, who was standing 3 inches away from the mad King, stood there silently and seemingly unfazed. Solid and unrelenting as the magic flared out for several seconds before slowly calming.
Alphys was on her stomach in a fetal position, meaty hands over her head as she shook in fear. When she felt the magic had died down she stood, bracing herself at the king's wrath while Sans had become frozen in fear, though he was also in reality not as fazed due to the endless amounts of determination in his SOUL. Though, since his SOUL was now outside of his body, and floating 4 feet away and completely vulnerable and even more defenseless as Sans physical body was, he shivered in fright at the impressive 18LV that was now flaring out from the massive Boss Monster.
Sans felt as Asgore's heated gaze was staring right back and holding his constricted eye lights like he could read every thought that passed the smaller's mind. There was paranoia and anger there, unlike Sans had ever seen. It burned hot and putrid behind the glassy mirrors of Asgore's eyes, reflecting Sans's own terrified face back at him. Sans flinched and stared back the best he could, struggling to control the trembling of his bones and hide his fear.
"You may continue, my Little Judge." Asgore said after several moments, as slowly, the seething tension in Asgore's shoulders became a little less. And Sans accepted it readily.
"s-so...anyways, afta th' core project failed our new goal became into f-figurin' out jus' what exactly it was that made human soul's so powerful. which in turn, lead to the blueprints makin' for th' determination machine, though he never got to actu'lly complete it, so, that's when y-you, th' king ordered for alphys to continue the soul and determination research. while, me 'n gaster moved on t-to...researching time."
Sans hesitated, once more seeming to be at a loss of words for what to say next and how to explain. Some part of him was also hesitating on even bringing up Flowey into this, and whether he should keep him being Asriel a secret or not. He knew that Alphys knew Flowey was connected to Asriel, but would the King believe him? And would Alphys just bring up Flowey anyways, even if Sans tried to hide his secret? The king went mad after all, from losing his children and gave up on his kingdom… how would he react to knowing his son created the resets essentially, and for why Sans was the way that he was?
Flowey was Sans' friend, and they'd bonded over the 7 years since they travelled together to get Frisk to the Barrier, and then more so over her death. Would Flowey think Sans was betraying him if he told Asgore? Flowey didn't bring it up to his parents himself, and Sans assumed it might have been because he was ashamed of what he did before.
"f-for years we were both havin' these weird dejavu memories, come 'n go, and… gaster. he-he wanted to know more about these memories we both kept seein' of us gettin' to the surface only to reawaken back underground and...sometimes in timelines where everyone was already dead or some of us were dead and so, we dug deeper and studied how reality worked, and we looked at multiverse theories. part of the research was done, 'cause gaster wanted t' know where all these dejavu memories were coming from, and he thought that if we understood why they were happening, then m-maybe we could change what happened next. and if we could change what happened, and maybe even see the future or change something in the past, we could break the barrier."
Sans felt as Alphys, Asgore and Papyrus gazes were now fully fixated on him, taking in his every word.
"after many more years, we finally made a breakthrough. we found the timeline. and uh… well, regardless to say… what we s-saw and...and read...it made no sense whatsoever." Sans deadpanned.
"What do you mean?" Asgore uttered, his face grave as he watched Sans carefully.
"i mean...what we saw. in our literal futures of th' timeline we discovered, it ended in nothing. it just stopped all of a sudden. a black void. but before that, there was something else even stranger happening with the timeline. it was jumping around. it stopped in some places, restarted again and on a scale we'd never seen or expected. and the worst part of it? the timeline read as if many of these overlapping timelines seemed to span over years. but the calendar had read all of that had been compressed within itself, the resets, the genocides, it had all only occurred in a single day, including our research of the timelines."
"we completed our research in a day. though to me and gaster it had felt as if 20 years had gone by, but it was all happening in the same day, according to the timeline. that was the most surprising part, i think the energy near the core, somehow...it was enough to keep our progress from resetting too and we didn't have to start over our research in every reset luckily in the lab but…"
"i-it was so distinct...whoever was causing the timeline to jump, me and gaster just called it the anomaly. gaster became completely obsessed with finding out what this anomaly w- was. he spent hours, days even, but we knew only minutes were ticking by, and sleepless nights trying to figure out how it worked. what the anomaly wanted, why it was alive and why was it messing around with our lives, and why it kept restarting the timeline, why it kept killing everyone. i… it was nothing like we had ever experienced or were prepared for, it was like-"
"like, we were nothing but playthings to this anomaly. he wanted to know what it wanted, and that's when gaster decided the best way to stop this anomaly was to create a time machine."
"Time machines? Hahaha, how preposterous! Now I KNOW you're lying. There's no way you could have-?!" Asgore started but then he looked at the Skeleton, now seeing the look in his eyes, Truthful, unlying, Determined yet fearful.
"...You and this "Gaster" were really serious about this project, weren't you?" the mad king stated though he was still wary. "But how does this-"
"'m not finished… y'see, gaster thought that if he could battle the anomaly perhaps he could take the timelines control away from it. so we took advantage of the jumpin' timelines and we built a prototype of the time machine in the span of the second day, but to us because of the timelines being jumbled, it felt like another decade had passed again. we got the prototype to run, and to test it, we decided to temporarily stop time completely. only for a few seconds. and it actually worked! and for a moment, it even looked like we stopped the anomaly. but our curiosity clouded our judgement."
"after all, it was because since the anomaly could do it and control time, gaster felt he could do it too. and if he could do it then, he needed to. he saw that the time machine was malfunctioning and he tried to take control of it himself and stabilize it, and then- our experiment went wrong."
"What happened…?" Alphys asked, hands hovering over her mouth in shock.
"gaster he… the world and the universe and everything started to glitch out, and gaster had been shattered across time and space and reality as i knew it had collapsed along with him. i lost consciousness, and- the next time i woke up, it felt as if...the world had rebooted itself somehow. but i didn't wake up in the core, where we built the time machine, but in a new part of the lab i'd never seen before. i wandered around the lab searching for him, but the lab looked as if no one had worked there in years. it was like- what gaster did, everything that we did, had been wiped away. i had only barely escaped with my memories of the former scientist, and-"
"i...everyone i spoke to, all the other scientists that had helped with the project, even alphys. no one remembered the former royal scientist! it was...as if he was erased from the timeline and reality itself. in fact, no one remembered me or boss either. it was like we appeared out of thin air. as everyone likes to describe us as and...well, needless to say, it sure was a lot to take in. absolutely nothing felt the same. though luckily, at least one thing did stay the same. but it seemed like b-boss made it too. though we lost literally everything else, we'd travelled to a world that looked like the one i was in with gaster but everything was changed. monsters were more violent, and i now had a couple of new 'bonus' features. premonitions, karmic retribution… shortcuts, gaster blasters...yet, despite it all, even just seeing my brother again was all that i ever cared about."
"he also ended up with some bonus features but… he doesn't know anything. i mean he hasn't mentioned gaster s-so… i think he also just forgot who our father was and what happened like everyone else did."
Boss felt the others gaze on him, "I DON'T REMEMBER INDEED. AS FAR AS I KNOW, SANS IS THE ONLY FAMILY I EVER HAD." he confirmed, still keeping his expression neutral, and not to show even a hint of concern for the smaller.
Asgore then returned his attention back to Sans, giving him silent permission to go on.
"gaster, well, he's gone. i found the time machine, and trust me...i've tried for so long to get him back and get the blasted fucking machine to work again but simply put. he no longer exists. and as much as i scan the timeline over and over, there's no trace he ever existed left. he's been wiped from the timeline completely. the only traces he did exist is in the core i guess, the machine in the castle's basement, the dt extractors blueprints and in my memories, and mine alone but, he's gone. or, maybe he is still out there, but i gave up trying to go back. i gave up trying to go look for him anymore… a long time ago. part of it is because of the resets, but...now we had this world to live in, and i needed to protect my brother for a while, even if it meant throwing away my morals and having to kill to keep us both alive and survive. i did it. "
"But, what even is the anomaly? Did you ever find out who it was?" Alphys asked, turning to Asgore. "I can't think of any monsters with that kind of power… so who? Was it a human? You mentioned a human could reset so... was it 'Frisk?'"
"NO!" Sans snapped, his voice raising for a second at the mention of Frisk's name. "N-no...no. no, it's not her. she's not the anomaly. well, she had the power to reset too but, she wasn't the original anomaly. frisk hadn't even fallen in the underground until years, i mean...7 days after i learned gaster was gone."
"You're not making any sense Sans. Who- the other 6 humans were dead and their souls collected so it couldn't have been any of them." Alphys thought, getting confused. "And, you said before when you told the Commander that you remembered each timeline. But, earlier you said you only had dejavu memories, so which is it? Can you remember what happens exactly or not?! Or are you lying?!"
"n-no! i...i'm not i- ugh. i can't...i know who the anomaly is. i learned who the original was, when i was helping frisk...but i can't tell you who." Sans finally said firmly. "a-and anyways, you only wanted t' know about th' resets right? and the 'oblivion' i had mentioned, that this world was always bound to, well...i'll tell you. but you will not ask me more ab-bout the anomaly. i'm sorry… but i just can't."
"Why?! Who's the anomaly?! If this...thing is malicious and as you said before, cutting down everyone over and over and over. Then they deserve to be executed and punished! If we can kill the anomaly the resets would end forever, and if you know who they are, it is your duty to tell us. Who. They. Are." The king growled, in a threatening tone, his lips curling back revealing his fangs as his magic started to flare out again, revealing that immensely powerful 18LV again and Sans form had gone rigid as he felt it full force against his injured bones.
"i...i can't… please, i'll tell you everything you want to know about the resets, but i can't speak about who the anomaly is! he already regrets what he did, and he hasn't reset since-"
"ALPHYS!" Asgore shouted, and Alphys nodded in understanding as she grabbed Sans exposed and vulnerable GODsoul and began to once again dig her claws into the tiny organ.
"hngh!" Sans eye sockets flew shut and blood spurted out between Sans teeth as he grimaced, bones rattling as he felt immense pain rocket through his entire being and Sans screamed for mercy, begging and pleading for Alphys to release his SOUL and leave alone, the organ that made up his entire being. Sans stiffened against the wall against his spine, as he felt Alphys slowly drag her sharp claws up and over his SOUL, digging and pushing the tip in, not enough to shatter his SOUL, but just enough where everything was just pure agony and god someone make her STOP!
The pressure continued on his SOUL until, once again, the organ was released, and Sans felt himself go limp against the cuffs and chains and all of his weight was once again focused almost completely in his wrists and tired shoulders, gasping pitifully again. He felt as his HP had dropped to 4.50 and he groaned in fear, as Asgore caught his attention.
"Why must you insist in these secrets of yours, Sans?! Who is the anomaly!?"
"i...i t-told you...i can't-"
Alphys again grabbed his SOUL and again, dug her claws over and into his SOUL and Sans once again started to scream again at the sudden, sharp pressure building and digging deep in his core. If agony was all he had ever known, this was something far, far worse. His consciousness, his beliefs, his emotions, his past; everything that made him who he was was suddenly laid bare and vulnerable, scratched and pierced at in a way that challenged all morality. The world as he knew it fell away, replaced with a searing white. His existence was being shattered, claws and fingers were now forcing its way through its center, squeezing and trying to cleave the organ of his essence slowly, tortuously in two.
Sans's vision turned white, his mind reeling back as Alphys's presence invaded his own. He could feel Alphys in all their horrifying glory, sifting ankle deep through his memories and emotions as she continued to dig deeper into his battered SOUL.
"p-please stop!" Sans begged as he screamed, and then suddenly as if on cue, he was slammed back into his own body, the second Alphys had once again released the SOUL. His thoughts were spiraling, fleeting little things that didn't make any sense. He was aware that he was gasping, sharp, violent inhales that shook his entire frame.
And once again, his HP had only dropped by a few decimals, down to 3.90.
Frisk closed her hands against her ears more firmly, trying to drown out the sound, but she could still hear Sans screams. And she cursed at her own powerlessness to help him.
"Who is this anomaly?! Answer me, or this pain will only get worse from here…" Asgore hissed, sounding as if he was ready to just end the skeleton's life himself if he had to. Though something was holding him back, as annoying and uncooperative Sans was, some part of him still insisted in keeping Sans alive, if anything because of the GODsoul he now possessed.
"gh!...th..the...an-ano...nomaly?" Sans gasped, as he struggled, trying to summon his SOUL back into the safety of his ribcage desperately. He couldn't rat out Flowey. He just couldn't. The flower had already more than made up for his resets with helping Sans keep his sweetheart alive as long as she lasted, even if she still died in the very end. Sans owed it to Flowey this much, to keep his biggest secret safe.
"c...can't… just… please trust m-me… it's b-better you don't know who they are or...or- y-you...i c-can't…" Sans pleaded, panting raggedly as Alphys hold returned to his SOUL, her grip tightening to keep the SOUL away from his main body and Sans whined in pain and he could feel his HP slowly trickling down as he struggled. "p-please… it- it's not l-like any of this matters anyways! th-there's s-still one more hu-human out there th-that can reset b-besides the s-soul we collected and- and i-i know any second now everything's just… g-going to go back and- none of this is real!"
"What do you mean none of us are real?!" Asgore demanded, and Alphys continued the pressure as Sans gagged. "Are you saying we don't exist?! You're not making sense!"
" hrk!- i... i al-already t-told you…" Sans muttered, as he struggled through the pain slowly starting to build, "n-nothing we do matters anyways…! you don't even matter, nothing is real and i know b-because after the next reset, you're all just g-going to forget anyways, and- and none of this will even matter. and i'll probably wake up right back again in snowdin forest, unharmed, and boss would have forgotten everything i told him about frisk and the resets anyways, and the fact i ha-have a g-godsoul and i'll have these memories and once again, be the only one who remembers and no one else will! and i can't even tell anyone because… what's the point? i've tried to tell every incarnation of my brother to stay away from that-" Sans stopped himself from saying the flower, "that anomaly, and i've watched boss killed by the anomaly at least 100 times, i've even watched the anatomy kill myself, and- then the next thing i know, everyone's alive again and no one ever remembers except for me."
"th-there's hng- there's times when things aren't always bad. or it's bad but then it turns into something good, only to become bad again and- there's times i get comfortable with things repeating, and i'm able to predict what they'll say next even before it happens and i hate it. but it makes me comfortable. but i want things to be new, but then it does become new and suddenly i'm scared, because i can't predict everything and everything's changing, and, just as i get used to that, then all of a sudden i'm ripped out of that timeline and thrown right into the next one against my will."
"i'll be on the surface, and chatting with the humans and we're bathing under the sunlight and we're happy and finally free … and i take a nap, and the next thing i know, my skull is lying on the counter in grillby's but i know i was just in the surface! i still remember it clearly, sometimes it's fleeting or- sometimes my memories feels like a 200 piece jigsaw puzzle and i'm able to put 150 of it together and start to piece together what happened because i've seen it all. and there's times when i'm so scared of sleeping because i don't know if the next time i wake… everyone's dead and i might be alone. or in a world where only boss is killed but everyone else is alive, and that's why… i drink myself until i'm nothing but a useless sack of drunk shit, and...and i distance myself from everyone and i build up my walls because it's safer that way."
"i...i tell myself i can't get attached to anyone so it hurts less if i do end up in another genocide timeline, and, you know, before frisk. that was always my excuse for why i killed. it made it, so much easier to distance and numb myself to everything but i never enjoyed it, and- this world...the resets, it's like we're in a video game. and you can only talk to certain characters a certain amount of times before everything becomes the same and you exhaust all their dialogue options and they repeat phrases and things, so you move onto the next person and you exhaust their dialogues and so on. eventually you get to the end of the game, and you've gotten all the collectibles and you've talked to all the characters and you've seen everything there is to see, so...maybe the player, the anomaly, liked the world so much...and they reset."
"then, they try for a new playthrough and- and they erase their game. and now, no ones met the other characters so they say their same dialogue boxes again. and whoever is the main player, character is going to inevitably memorize all their dialogues, and...maybe they get bored and decide to do something new and so they kill all these characters, because they want something new. that's what all of this feels like to me. that's why none of this matters anymore…"
"But, that's not- wh- Sans! Are you saying then, you're the anomaly causing the resets?!" Asgore shouted, quick to assume and Sans bones began to shake more violently as Sans fought back tears, teeth gritting in pain.
"n-no! i'm… j-just like- all of you! but, i'm just...special. because of what happened to gaster and what i got involved in, it's...it's like the world is punishing me too, for helping. but instead of my punishment being erased from all timelines in general, the world decided to g-give me th' ability to remember everything exactly as it happens from the last timelines, but i've seen situations repeating and lived through so many timelines that have been erased and technically never happened, but they did. and it all gets mixed up in my skull! and-and sometimes, it all just gets so confused in my head, and i still have nightmares from past genocides and- it's because of that fucking. flower!"
"Flower? Like, Echo Flowers…?"
"n-no, the flower that alphys experimented on, and-and injected determination into! h-he was...the first anomaly who had the reset power. and...before frisk fell in, he'd resetted maybe 1,000 times over the course of 8 days, and...and then i met the human."
Alphys made a gasping noise as she then realized what Sans was talking about. And a flicker of recognition crossed her features. "The flower from the Throne Room…. The first one that appeared there! The one that came from the Surface…!"
"What was that?" Asgore asked as he then turned his attention to Alphys, who had now finally let go of Sans SOUL and was stepping away from the tiny floating organ, deep in thought.
"Yes, of course! Now it all makes sense, now I know why you refused to talk, that flower is-!" Alphys was just about to blurt the name, but then she stopped, cowering in fear as she turned her attention back to the mad king.
"Finish your thoughts, Alphys. Who. Is. The. Anomaly?" Asgore threatened, magic was now emanating from all over Asgore's body, and his hands were tense, and body rigid like he was ready for a fight. Any hesitation by this point would certainly mean certain death.
"Th-The f-flower...w-was….I-I... Your Majesty, I did not m-mean a-anything b-by it, I promise…! I-I didn't even realize…." Alphys stuttered, as she slinked backward away from the mad king, whimpering pitifully as she shrunk in on herself.
"Speak. UP. Alphys. And tell me, that which I demand to know!"
"I-I...Your M-M-Majesty...I... the flower...I...I didn't know...the prince's dust… it was on the flower...he's Asriel. I-I m-mean...there must...have been some dust that spread on a seed of those g-golden flowers that now thrive i-in the Th-Throne Room in New Home. But...when I went there, l-looking for a v-vessel for my own r-research… t-to make Monster SOULs la-last and, disguise them as h-human's. And injected it with determination, Asriel's essence must have transferred to the fl-flower, and- with the determination, a-allowed him to s-sorta come back to l-life, even without a S-SOUL of his own. Y-Your... son is existing in that flo-flower…!" Alphys gasped.
Time seemed to freeze right at this moment, as Asgore's magic had gone ice cold in response to this revelation. No one said anything in fear of startling Asgore and no one knew what to do, as they let the initial shock settle in.
"My….son…? He's alive…?" Asgore spoke, softly and deliberately. As if tasting his words, and for but a moment, it appeared as if the old Asgore was peeking through the LV.
"Y-Yes. Well, th-theoretically sp-speaking." Alphys informed, as she fidgeted with her lab coat.
Sans felt the king's gaze hover back onto him again, and Sans was just barely hanging onto consciousness by the skin of his teeth, but he knew Asgore would not let him rest yet, and Sans inwardly cursed as he was just barely trying to recover from the pain.
"f-flowey...he was th-the first anomaly but….but then the h-human...my frisk fell in the underground and- and flowey lost his reset abilities. and as...as far as i know, even after frisk died, he didn't get back his reset abilities. i-i thi-think it's be-because frisk's determination...which i absorbed is still stronger than his. but, he couldn't reset and- even though frisk could reset every time she died, for some re-reason i never could. even though i s-so badly wanted to. i jus' w-wanted to bring frisk back. that's the funniest part about all this, i have the potential to be able to use the resets myself and- i'm still a useless sack of shit, little good-for-nothing."
"now...do you understand? heh, i b-bet i don't even have the god power. what's to say i try walking through the barrier and then i die instantly because my weak 21hp. i mean it's not that much better from my original 1hp. but- that's it. that's all i know about th' the resets. and-and w-why i h-hid my s-soul from you all. b-because… nothing even matters anymore. i kn-know...if you all went to the surface, im sure th-the humans would just finish the job and eradicate the rest of us. and i'm tired of holding onto hope, knowing that all i did to help frisk break the barrier was for nothing. and it was all for nothing. and everything sucks and fuck!" Sans bones started to rattle again.
The mad king delivered a thunderous slap across the skeletons head, rattling him to the core, completely sickened by the cowardice his own judge was displaying. "So in other words you are completely USELESS to us…unless…" the tyrant pondered for a moment.
Sans winced, feeling his HP drop immediately down to 1 from the hit, as he spat up blood that escaped from his teeth. His vision completely shaken, he couldn't see straight even if he forced himself to, it was as if his "Eyes" were hanging from his skull. Sans started to flounder backward on instinct, his spine hitting the wall behind him, and he struggled to pull his arms down, momentarily forgetting that he was bound, trying to cradle his wound. He felt his eyelights extinguish the second the palm of the mighty king made contact against bone.
"gh..!" Sans grimaced, his vision completely wavering as suddenly a thunderous tremor was heard.
He couldn't see, but he could sense the thunderous steps of the King coming closer to him, the ground beneath his toes seeming to shake with each and every step that this mountain of a monster took. This monster could have just so easily killed Sans in an instant if he wanted to, crush his skull in the palm of his hands like it was an eggshell. In fact, Asgore very well could have with that slap, but the king was not one for ending lives too quickly. He liked to take his time on his victim, watching them squirm, drawing out the intent to harm, making them beg for death.
Sans let out a violent sob, as he heard Asgore's plan to use him against the humans, his bones shuddered violently with the movement, and the tears only succeeded in making his cheek hurt as he felt one of his salty tears slip into the fresh fissure that had formed on his face. He was completely vulnerable and had no idea that the king slammed his trident into the ground, and then resting it upon sans ribcage, he asked; "My poor Little Judge...do you really think you have a chance to disobey me...even WITH a GODsoul? Surely...you must still underestimate me after all these years." The Lord of the Underground gave a thoughtful, fear inspiring pause.
"Maybe...Just maybe...I'll actually USE you instead...Considering you have such a fond relationship with humans…" he concluded, a low hiss to his voice as he mentioned the race that drove his to near extinction.
Alphys lay on the ground at this point, hands on her head, knees and tail tucked under her stomach; she didn't dare to move nor even breath. The King was making his presence known, and he wanted to be the top dog in this entire ordeal.
Meanwhile, Boss was still standing across the room, there was a momentary flinch as he watched the King brutalize his brother to near dusting levels, and then as the trident rested against Sans ribs, keeping him still, even as his brother was still trembling from the pain and exhaustion. Some part of Boss was now heavily filled with guilt and regret for turning Sans in. Yet, still he didn't do a single thing to help Sans, knowing doing so would mean both their lives. He could still heal Sans after all this, he could still make it right when they were finally alone….
"hng...n...no...y-yo...our majesty…" Sans struggled to speak the tip of the trident poking dangerously into his ribs, he felt grateful his soul was outside his body now. As otherwise the trident would be stabbing into his already injured soul. "n...nev...never.. " Sans coughed up more blood, feeling a bit of it dribble down to his mandible. "b-but p..please…! y..ya… can't..can't...use me… t-to att...tack the humans….y...you can't...win….!"
Sans struggled to rekindle his eyelights, the lights slowly started to flicker back on, but they were dim and his vision was hazy and his eyelights locked with those of the kings. "i..i mean...y-yer...son...he's alive...s..so...y...ou… don't...need...r-rev-venge a-anym-more...ri- hrk! "
Sans awoke a few seconds later, he was violently thrown against the furthest wall, a roaring anger was heard from his king. A roar of anger, rage...and...sorrow? "MY SON ISN'T ALIVE. HE IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE DEAD. IT MEANS NOTHING THAT HIS DUST WAS UPON A FLOWER THAT JUST SO HAPPENED TO GAIN ITS OWN WILL TO LIVE! NOTHING WILL REPLACE MY SON, SOMETHING THAT THOSE HUMANS YOU CARE FOR SO MUCH TOOK FROM ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!" The tyrant lashed out in a wild trance, the loss of his son and daughter still tearing at his heart even to this very day...this very moment.
Air rushed past Sans skull and for a split second he didn't know what was happening when he felt the chains and cuffs holding his wrists, give a slight tug, before he heard the sound of metal breaking. The next he felt the trident cutting violently across his ribs in an arc before he felt his spine slam hard against the wooden wall behind him. Sans felt more blood escape his teeth the instant his back hit, his HP immediately dropping down to 0.00001 and vision went white as he lost consciousness and fell to the wooden floor, a heap of shivering bone and seeping magic.
At this point nothing made sense, how could it? He was tossed and beaten around so much nothing was able to stick in his head, he was on the line of Falling Down, dusting, everything you can pretty much imagine at this point. He said all he had to, but where did it even lead him in the end…? And so, Sans welcomed the incoming darkness as she shut his eyes, giving in the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. A brief and momentary relief from the utter agony and fear that covered his whole body. Blood slowly began to pool around the small skeleton as he laid limp there, unmoving.
"YOUR MAJESTY?" Asgore turned to look at Papyrus after barely regaining his control "FORGIVE ME FOR MY INTERFERENCE. BUT IF MAY I MAKE A SUGGESTION, AND ALSO, CAREFULLY REMIND YOU THAT IF YOU KILL HIM, IT MAY ONLY MAKE YOUR PLAN HARDER TO ACCOMPLISH. I AM ONLY LOYAL TO YOU; NOT HIM. AND I DO NOT WISH FOR YOUR PLANS TO BE RUINED BECAUSE YOU GAVE INTO YOUR ANGER. AM I WRONG, YOUR MAJESTY?"
The king said nothing, waiting for Papyrus to give his suggestion, for unlike Sans, Papyrus was more deserving of his patience.
"THEN I ASK YOUR FORGIVENESS, MY KING, FOR INTERFERING IN YOUR RIGHT TO DESTROY THAT WHICH IS JUST AS MUCH YOUR PROPERTY AS IT IS MINE. AND AS FOR MY PATHETIC BROTHER, I ASSURE YOU THAT AT LEAST FOR NOW, I BELIEVE THAT ALL HIS SECRETS HAVE COME TO LIGHT. IF THERE ARE ANYMORE, I MYSELF WILL FIND THEM AND DIVULGE THEM TO YOU AND YOU ALONE. THEN HIS FATE WILL LIE IN YOUR HANDS, AND YOUR HANDS ALONE. I WILL NOT STOP YOU."
The mad king pondered this for a moment. Papyrus was indeed right, This interrogation, although a bit of a struggle, it did shed light on many new confessions and secrets they had been wondering about for quite some time and Asgore would indeed need time to divulge them a bit more.
"Alright then, Commander, you...you are not wrong. And you are forgiven." Asgore turned his attention back to Boss with far more control, and his rage dimming, the dangerous fire in his eyes extinguishing as his stance seemed a bit more relaxed as well.
The kings gaze hardened. "For your sake, you had better not." Asgore retrieved the bloody trident and allowed it to dissipate in a haze of fiery magic. "You have quelled my anger for now, Commander. Your brother shall be spared, but do not get in my way again. Is that clear?"
"YES OF COURSE MY MAJESTY!"
"One last thing…" Asgore's eyes lowered downwards, to the limp and broken body of Sans lying on the ground and stared at the fragile body before speaking, "Tell your brother… that he will keep no more secrets from me. For he shall neither try nor succeed. And, should I find that he has indeed attempted such a thing yet again, I shall let the good doctor have with him for whatever that she sees fit. Or else, I shall even do the deed myself."
"AS IS YOUR EVERY RIGHT, MY KING!" Boss saluted.
Frisk shivered at the thought of this, and how his punishment could have been so much worse, and the thoughts of losing him. Tears still pouring down her eyes, as she let out a temporary sigh of relief. Grateful, at least for now, that it was finally over.
Asgore and Alphys then made their way out the door, but before doing so however, Asgore handed something to the Boss. "You know what to do with this when the time comes." The king whispered, bringing his face right up against Papyrus's skull, near where should be his ears, if he'd had any.
The human, Ota's soul now in Boss's possession.
Boss called for Doggaressa and Dogamy to lead the King and Alphys back outside the castle. He saluted them on the way out of the torture chamber, even giving the dogs orders to bring Alph, and Asgore something to eat for the journey back to New Home and Hotland and wished them both a safe journey, out of respect.
Papyrus quietly closed the door once the two had left, and, after putting the container containing Ota's SOUL to the ground, he carefully cradled both his boney hands around the GODsoul still floating outside Sans body and in the center of the room. And then, he carefully walked over to where Sans limp body was, and returned the SOUL back to its rightful place and did a quick CHECK.
*SANS
*HP: 0.00001/21
*DEF: 1
*ATK: 1
Boss sighed. He wasn't dead, but by golly he sure was close to it. Papyrus stared at him for a few moments, knowing now that he was completely alone, he let some emotion, though very little, to show. "MAYBE...I SHOULDN'T HAVE ACTED SO QUICKLY AFTER ALL…BUT REMEMBER, YOU STILL BROUGHT IT UPON YOURSELF."
Sans said nothing, he didn't even hear him anymore He couldn't after all, his strength and absolutely decimated HP was proof enough. Papyrus, gently lifted his unconscious brother in both his arms, then moved to retrieve Sans's clothing, and then, using blue magic. He carefully lifted the container holding the human's SOUL.
The energy of Ota's soul, resonated around itself and through the glass cylinder container sealing it inside and Papyrus could feel it strongly as the King's words echoed in his mind again. 'You know what to do with this when the time comes.' And it was then the Boss realized, he was given the King's complete and utter trust and full authorization to either use the SOUL as bait to capture the other human if ever it came to him confronting them, or to even simply absorb Otaku's SOUL, in order to overpower the second human and capture HER SOUL instead to use for the final, and 7th SOUL and free the monsters of the Underground if need be. Some part of Papyrus admired Asgore's thinking and cunningness, as this way, they'd still get all 7 SOULs regardless if Paps DID absorb this one human's SOUL or not, but on the other hand... did he really have the resolve to truly "Use" it when the time came...And if the time came?
Only time would only tell...