I made a little one-shot that is an AU of later events. It's called But Nobody Came. Overused title, probably, but you will understand it while crying crocodile tears. Instead of a Christmas one-shot I make something really depressing. I am messed up.
Next year Expect internet prices to go up. And in a few years, all prices. Because the government in US is fucking corrupt as all hell. My generation was already screwed. Now my family is screwed. And the Trump dogs don't care. They care about themselves and the little bit of money they will save for a few years before that money just gets spent on everything else. It only benefits the 1% of moneymakers. Everyone else, including the young and old generation are severely hurt by this.
Proves who the government is really for, right?
Sorry bout that. It bothers me so much. I'm scared I may not be able to go to Fanfiction, or it may get taken down by one of the ISP's. Comcast is the worst. If any of you have a choice do not buy any of Comcast, AT&T and Verizon.
Anyways, relevant to the story. The Christmas one shot is delayed. At best. It's just not coming out that well. I had a mistletoe scene planned (because, ships) but everything else is forced and utter garbage. It may not come out at all. I would probably post a little snitbit of what I have or just write the one scene I wanted to do and post it as a mini-one shot. Idk.
I've been on such a demotivational slump lately :/
Frisk found herself in the void again. She was oddly calm.
She felt the fire in her chest, burning. She felt it spread, giving her a calm yet hot anger, something lethal and powerful.
Determination.
She reached for her Save.
She woke up by the star on the path to Waterfall. A little time seemed to have passed or something, or maybe she traveled too far back. Sans wasn't around and neither was Storm.
Frisk didn't waste time as she sprung to her feet and started running.
She followed the path from before, snow creeping into her shoe. She didn't notice.
The tracks did not go off the path this time.
Good. I'll get there before Papyrus does!
She felt a little twinge through her Determination thinking about the differences. Did she mess up time? Was Sans still fighting Flowey?
Everything around her went ignored as she dashed through the forest, jumping over rocks and logs and snowbanks.
When she burst into the clearing, she was alone.
Frisk looked around, panting. Her breath was visible in the cold air as her chest heaved.
Did I get here before them? It looks like it.
Frisk felt a growl in her throat.
"Howdy! Golly, you sure are stupid!"
Frisk snapped to face the flower.
He was smiling widely.
She didn't like that look.
"You just did exactly what I wanted! Well, I guess it's more my genius than your stupid, or maybe a combination of the two."
Frisk scowled.
"What?"
Flowey's face went dark.
"I wanted you to reset. Because, you see, that takes Determination. Every time you load a Save, that creates more Determination. I've been following you and collecting the Determination. For a little… surprise of mine."
It took Frisk a moment to process the information.
Dammit. Whatever.
Her eyes glittered.
"I don't care. You aren't killing Papyrus. Or anyone."
"Gee, you don't understand the situation you are in right now, do you? Oh, how ironic. Well, you will shortly realize your mistake."
A vine erupted from the ground. In it was a red orb.
Frisk glared at him.
What is he doing?
"This collects Determination. Now. Chara. Time for you to return."
Flowey summoned a tiny, floating black shard.
Flowey let out a sadistic laugh as he threw the container to the ground. The glass shattered.
Frisk covered her eyes and gritted her teeth as intense light flashed through the clearing.
Next there was a heavy slam that shook the ground.
Then deep, echoing growls followed by a bubbling sound and the sound of something shifting.
Frisk opened her eyes.
In front of her was a true nightmare.
It was huge. It's body was made of deep brown/ black fur and flesh that seemed to be melting. Parts of it were completely rotted away, revealing twisted bone. It looked like it used to be a wolf, but it was far too malformed to tell. Its right side was more melted than its left, with its right leg completely exposed. Black fluid bubbled around its spine, revealing the bone. It snarled, red eyes overflowing with more black fluid. The right side of its mouth was fused together from the melting. Twigs and sticks and vines stuck out from its body in various places, It sent a stream of fog into the air from its mouth and the holes in its body.
Frisk stared up at the beat open mouthed.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
It was so grotesque it seemed unreal. Her stomach churned.
Some voice echoed through the clearing, but it was garbled beyond understanding.
Flowey had moved away a few feet.
He was smiling at the beast.
Frisk felt her legs shake. It felt like this beast was sucking her Determination just by looking at her.
"Welcome back, Chara." Flowey said.
The beast didn't respond.
"I'm sorry I didn't… get a better, more suitable body. But it's only temporary. Because…" Flowey's gaze shifted to her.
"We've got one right here for the taking. With her gone, we can rule this world and do everything we dreamed of, right Chara?"
Frisk took a step back.
Oh god.
How do I fight this?!
The sound of Papyrus's bones cracking filled her head. The image of Sans's wide, broken eyes.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
No. I can't back down. I'm scared but… I can't back down. Sans said its okay to be scared. I can be scared, I just can't back down.
"Hehe… Chara? What are you doing?" Flowey's voice sounded suddenly scared.
Frisk opened her eyes.
Chara, as Flowey had called it, was staring directly at the little flower, snarling. Black saliva dripped from its mouth.
"…. You remember me, right? It's your best friend… Chara?"
The creature roared, making the trees shake.
Flowey's face morphed into complete dread.
"You… you're not… Chara. You're not…" Flowey cowered against the ground.
The creature took a step towards the Flower.
"I… I don't like this anymore. G-go back!"
Did he… expect to control it? Frisk wondered.
The melted beast snapped and swiped a huge paw at the flower, intending to rip him apart with jagged claws.
However, Flowey disappeared into the ground and did not reappear again.
Did he run? Frisk felt a stab of anger. He is just as cowardly as I am! Hypocrite!
Chara- maybe not- turned its head to her.
Oh no.
Frisk took another step back.
She couldn't fight it. She didn't even have a weapon.
I never asked Sans what he did with my knife!
Finally… finally…
The voice echoed again, and this time she could make out words.
Fresh meat… meat… prey…
KILL.
Uh oh.
RUN.
Frisk ran as it lunged forward, crashing into the snow. She ran back into the forest, her legs moving faster than they had ever moved in her life.
She could hear trees crashing and snapping behind her as the beast followed. The ground shook.
Frisk's heart felt like it was trying to escape her chest, slamming against her rib cage.
The forest died off as they came to the river.
Frisk skidded to a stop by its bank, eyeing a long stick.
Without a second thought, she picked it up and turned to face the creature. It's facewassoclose!
She stabbed at its eye. It came to a sudden stop and jumped back as the stick sunk into its eye, pulling the stick from her grasp.. It was an odd feeling, like stabbing a piece of plastic wrap with a toothpick.
It howled, black blood gushing from the wound. The stick stuck out of it. The creature stomped the ground with its huge feet.
You. YOU. KILL!
It shook its head, sending droplets of black across the snow.
Frisk got her cue and started running again.
She forgot she was right in front of a river and ran out onto the ice, her feet slipping from under her. She fell, sliding a short distance away.
The beast leaped and slammed its foot right onto Frisk, and if she were on solid ground she would have been smushed.
But she wasn't. She was on ice.
The ice smashed under the weight, Frisk gasping as her body was forced through. She didn't have time to cry out from the pain. The water was cold.
She froze up for a moment as she was pulled by the current. There were large, echoing cracks as the creature thrashed, going into the water.
Frisk was hit away by one of its paws, being pushed farther down.
Frisk snapped out of her daze and started kicking. She didn't know what was right or left or up or down. She just tried to swim.
She eventually realized she was swimming down and turned around, swimming up towards the light.
She fought the current as she burst out onto the surface, coughing up cold river water. The beast was struggling in the water, and Frisk wondered how deep the river was here. Could it go all the way under?
Frisk bumped into a large chunk of ice and grabbed onto it, using all her strength to haul herself up. The air bit into her wet body, making her teeth chatter.
Dammit, this again. Why do I have to fall into this river more than once?!
It seemed the creature could swim. It didn't really have to swim far to the side before it could come up onto land. The river had deep black liquid in it now, swirling through the ripples.
The creature glared and her and snarled, shaking its head. The stick was out and its eye was closed, black seeping through the lid.
Frisk got to her feet, her legs shaking. She was so cold, but she couldn't rest now.
Maybe I can go for its other eye some now… damn, I'm so scared…. But I can't…
I can't lose Determination.
The beast roared and leaped after her, legs stretched out and claws ready to tear her apart.
Frisk cursed and leaped to the next ice chunk, nearly falling off as the beast's Impact with the water sent the chunk spinning away.
It got back out of the water again, looking even more infuriated. Its flesh convulsed.
Frisk bared her teeth, trying to stop her tail from inching between her legs.
She had fought before. She could fight now.
The creature dropped into a crouch, ready to leap again.
Suddenly it was hit with countless bones, and it made a hideous screech.
Frisk blinked, nearly falling over.
H-huh? Sans!
She turned to the bank.
He was there, eye glowing. Storm cowered a safe distance behind.
He turned to look at her. He looked disturbed… not that she would blame him.
"Frisk! What in the almighty hell is that thing! It looks like…" he stopped, saying something under his breath.
"I don't know! Flowey summoned it!" Frisk replied. He could remember timelines.
He growled, and she leaped onto the bank and hurried towards him.
We have a better chance now… right?
The creature turned and pulled a bone from its flank with its teeth.
"It's melting, almost like something called an Amalgamate. Did Flowey inject something with Determination?"
"No… he used mine to… summon it. He expected it to know him… Chara, I think he called it."
Sans stiffened a little.
"He… used yours? How? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. He used the Determination from the Reset. He wanted me to Reset." She felt her eyes burn with anger.
Sans's eye changed color. A soft green, with a tinge of pink in the corner.
"Frisk… thank you for coming back. You scared me. A lot."
Frisk looked back at the creature. It seemed to give up pulling the bones out and glared at them.
"We can't talk sappy right now. Unless you want to while being eaten by that thing."
Sans huffed.
"Oh, fine. But later… I want to talk."
"Figures."
"No! About… well, never mind."
The beast flicked dark saliva from its muzzle and glared them down. It was almost like its red eye held the deepest hell.
The darkest nightmare.
Something about that eye made Frisk's soul run cold. She shuddered and shook herself.
Sans nudged her shoulder.
"Here."
She looked at his arm.
It was… her knife?
"Huh? Why… did you keep that from me?" She looked up at him.
"I meant to give it back, I just forgot to… initiate the conversation. But I was at first. But then I honestly forgot."
Frisk glared at him and took it.
"About time. We really are having a talk later. About how you deny me a weapon when I'm fighting a giant mutated wolf."
"How am I supposed to know it was going to show up!"
"Well, it was either that or a mutated Flower." Frisk felt a sliver of hurt. He didn't trust her with this, did he?
"You said we'd talk later!"
Frisk was about to open her mouth to reply, but a crash cut her off.
"Shit, move!" Sans shoved her down.
The world was a flash of shadow as the grotesque wolf jumped over them, crashing to the ground a little ways away.
Frisk scrambled to her feet.
"Thanks."
"We shouldn't argue in front of a giant Amalgamated wolf." The flames in his eye burst.
"Agreed."
It circled to the other side, blocking off the river.
It doesn't want us to run that way.
Sans's eye returned to its flaming blue.
He summoned his Gaster Blaster. Frisk vaguely wondered which one it was.
At the sight of the beast the Blaster snarled, opening its mouth. It's eye turned purple.
Is it… scared?
The beast jumped for them again, and the Blaster fired blue. But in a surprising act of agility, the beast swerved to the side and took the Blaster in its jaws. It crunched down, and the Blaster disappeared in a burst of blue smoke.
"Shit!" Sans cursed.
Frisk ran to the side as the wolf rushed forward, paws making the ground shake.
It snapped the air where they had been standing a few seconds ago.
Sans had also dodged to the side, albeit the opposite side.
It's gaze followed him and it hit him with its paw, sending him flying into a tree nearby. Sans wheezed as he hit it, the tree cracking behind him as he slumped to the ground.
Frisk's heart skipped a beat.
"Sans!"
She felt a rush of Determination and ran at the creature as its back was turned to her. She jumped up its leg and crawled onto its back, sinking her dagger in right beside its spine. The black liquid erupted like a fountain, spraying her arm.
The wolf howled in pain and jumped, writhing its body in an attempt to dislodge her. Frisk felt the world spin and turn as she pulled the blade out and pushed it back in, holding on for dear life.
Suddenly, everything turned upside down.
It had rolled over, and Frisk felt her body being crushed.
The knife sunk out of its flesh, and she fell to the ground beneath it, feeling like her body was breaking.
Its weight got off of her quickly as it rolled back up, and Frisk felt a jarring pain in her torso. She gasped, taking in air.
She'd be surprised if something wasn't broken.
She couldn't move as it looked down at her, jaws opening.
Before it could swallow her, a bone stabbed its nose. It jumped back, rubbing it with its paw.
Sans was beside her in an instant.
"Are you okay!?" His flaming eye scanned her top to bottom.
Frisk grunted and sat up slowly.
"I think so…"
Sans eye went up to the wolf, burning.
"You wanna have a bad time?"
There was a sharp sound, and four Gaster Blasters materialized in front of them.
The beast stared them down, jaw twitching.
"Cause it's time you get dunked."
The Blasters opened their mouths and fired.
Bones rained down from behind them, some blue and some normal white.
Frisk flinched as all the attacks hit home, causing the snow to go flying.
There was a high pitched scream and the wolf jumped out of the flurry, looking torn up. Even more of its flesh was missing now.
The attacks followed it as it ran across the clearing.
So… many… Frisk thought, watching in awe. So many attacks.
It's eyes fixed on them and it started bolting towards them, bones protruding from its torn body.
Crap, move!
Frisk tried to get to her feet as fast as she could, tripping into the snow as she did so.
No!
"Goddamnit, Fr-AUGH!"
Sans jumped in front of her as the creature slashed with its claw.
More bones and blasts drove it away as Sans fell to his knees, panting.
Frisk scrambled over to him.
"Sans! Sans?"
It's claw had scoured a deep gash across his rib cage. His shirt and jacket were already bloody.
He coughed a little, shoulders going up and down unevenly.
"M… fine… just a scratch."
She shook his shoulder.
"Sans! It's not just a scratch, you idiot! You should've just…" Frisk took a shaking breath.
No. She couldn't do this now.
Sans stared at her as she grabbed her dagger from the snow and stood up.
Sans's attacks had ceased, and she could see sweat on his skull. That immense flurry of attacks must have cost him dearly.
He stood up beside her, wobbling.
He grabbed her shoulder.
"Wait, I got an idea. We can't fight it head on. I'm almost out of magic."
Frisk's eyes shifted between the beast and him.
"I have a shortcut a little bit away. If we can get there I can zap all of us to somewhere it will fall… and die."
"How do you expect to zap that!"
Sans shrugged.
"I dunno. But it's all we've got, and you know that."
Frisk let out a worried sigh.
He was right. He was out of juice and this thing was not a normal animal.
It was a demon.
Frisk nodded.
"Fine. How do we get it there?"
"Well… run!"
Sans grabbed her arm and pulled her, turning around and running. The wolf let out a raged bark and started pounding towards them.
Frisk's heart sped up again.
We need to keep it on us. We need…
Sans was struggling, she could tell. And her chest hurt bad. But they kept going. The wolf rammed through trees behind her, sending them crashing to the ground.
They burst into the clearing before Waterfall.
"We're here! We need-"
Sans didn't have time to talk as the beast burst out right behind them.
Sans stumbled while trying to move, his wounds getting the best of him.
Frisk snarled at the beast and slashed at its nose with her knife.
It shook its head as the blade scratched its nose and snapped, nearly cutting Frisk in two.
She heard Sans cry out in fear behind her.
Frisk jumped onto its muzzle, slamming her knife into its forehead and jerking down. Black Blood sprayed from the wound and the wolf threw its head up, howling.
Frisk cried out as she was thrown up far, still holding her knife as if came out of the wolf.
She felt weightless for a moment before crashing into the ground hard.
Then she was sent smashing into the rocky wall of the cave entrance.
She screeched, blood coming up her throat.
The world was blurry now, and black spots danced in her vision as she fell to the ground. She couldn't breathe for a few seconds, completely winded and nearly passing out.
"Frisk!"
She felt his hand on her shoulder. Shaking her.
She groaned in response.
Then there was a roar, dangerously close. She could feel the hot breath from the creature.
Frisk's head shot up.
Oh no!
She saw huge teeth, ready to swallow her whole.
Then, the world lurched.
She lost all matter for a moment, like they always did when traveling through his shortcuts.
The next second, they were falling.
Electricity danced in various spots as the scent of ozone drifted through the air. Sans grabbed the edge of the pathway- made of metal- with one hand and held onto her with the other.
The wolf howled and grabbed the edge a few feet away, claws scraping on the metal.
Frisk whimpered and grabbed his arm, her body protesting.
Where did he take us?!
Frisk glanced below.
It was dark, with occasional flashes of light.
"I-it's the Core! Whatever you do, don't fall!" Sans yelled.
She wasn't doing any of that anytime soon.
Frisk clutched to Sans for dear life. She hated not feeling ground under her feet.
Suddenly, Sans cried out above her as they were pulled from the ledge.
The wolf had shimmied over and grabbed the edge of Sans's jacket in its jaws.
I WON'T BE ERASED!
It threw them in the air above its head.
Frisk screamed, seeing it open its mouth to swallow them.
Sans yelled and summoned a Blaster. It hit the beast in the face, and it screeched as it lost grip and started to fall.
Frisk felt frozen with fear as she followed.
No! We're going to-
Sans wrapped his hand around her waist. The world wobbled as they went through his shortcut in space.
The last thing she saw before black was the beast hitting the darkness, crying out as it flashed yellow and was vaporized by the Core's electricity.
Her stomach dropped as they teleported, and then she felt a familiar cold as they plopped to the ground.
The cold stung, and the fall sent fresh waves of pain through her body. Frisk stayed motionless, trying to catch her breath.
They made it.
They were alive.
She could hear Sans panting next to her. Then the shuffle of fabric and the crunch of snow.
She felt his hand timidly on her shoulder.
"Cm'ere. You're still soaked. You're gonna get hypothermia like that."
Frisk didn't fight- or do anything for that matter- as he picked her up and held her close to his body. He felt so warm, and she could feel heat radiating off his body in comparison to her cold one. She snuggled closer, the familiar scent of ketchup and wind comforting her. She was too tired to care about looking weird, and she suspected he felt the same too.
Frisk looked up as he stuck his hand into her pocket and grabbed her phone.
"Mines busted." Sans explained. He looked at hers, shaking excess water droplets off. The screen was a little cracked, but amazingly turned on after being soaked.
"I'm gonna text Undyne or Tori to see if they can get us."
Frisk let her head fall again, closing her eyes. Exhaustion left her drained of life, and she could hardly fight off the waves of blackness that threatened to take her over.
Sans gave her a slight nudge.
"Hey, don't give in on me yet, Snap Pea."
"Like you should be talking." Frisk muttered, looking up at him. He looked as exhausted as she felt, eyes half closed and lights dim. "You look half asleep yourself."
Sans gave her a weary grin.
"Aren't I always?"
"True."
Sans let her phone slip out of his hand, lose somewhere between their bodies.
"Done." He sighed, allowing himself to slouch over.
"That was tough."
"Yeah…" Frisk agreed. She never expected that to happen. It still felt so… unreal.
"But we made it."
"Yup."
Sans was silent for a few moments, the only sound being their collective breathing. Frisk found herself naturally breathing with him, synchronizing her breaths with his.
He had that familiar bashful look as his eyes temporarily increased in size. Frisk wondered why he acted like this sometimes, but her head protested thinking about it and won.
Eventually, Sans put his hand behind her head and pulled her closer, letting his forehead touch hers ever so slightly. Frisk felt her heart jump a little at the unexpected gesture, but received it welcomingly. She was too tired to care and she secretly wanted the contact too.
"Thank you…" he whispered, his voice softer than she had ever heard it.
"You saved him. You saved me too."
Frisk didn't know what to say. She just closed her eyes and relaxed a little more. Despite being a skeleton, his breath was warm.
"Ya'know, I was always terrified of how you'd use your power to Reset. At first I thought you'd use it for bad. I had a sinking feeling for awhile nothing good would come of it. Seems I was blatantly wrong to think that way."
"No. I don't think your wrong." Frisk said.
"Huh?"
She opened her eyes.
"Power like that is terrifying on its own, in anyone's hands. No one should have that power, no matter the drawbacks. No one should be able to mess with time."
Sans huffed.
"Aren't we being a wise and humble little pup now?"
"Maybe."
"Heh."
Frisk let her head drop and buried it in his jacket. Sans's arm moved down and pulled her even closer. Frisk had begun to shiver terribly despite Sans's efforts to keep her warm as possible.
Sans was quiet again, staring out into the snow. It had started to fall lightly.
"…Frisk."
Her ear flicked, and she looked up.
When she looked up, his face was dark and his smile gone.
"…never mind. I was… gonna ask you somethin' but… I can't…"
"What is it?" Frisk asked softly.
Sans looked away.
"I… was going to ask you to stay. Stay down here, with us. With me… but I can't make you do that. Take the surface away from you. It's not fair…" whether she was referring to him or her she didn't know.
He rested his head on top of hers.
"I'm gonna miss you, Frisk." His voice shook a little.
Frisk felt her heart tug. She looked down. Thinking. Weighing her options.
She knew the answer. She had known it all along.
"Sans…" she started, gripping his jacket.
"It's true I miss the surface. With the stars and the sky and the warmth. But… back there, I'm alone under that sky. Down here I… I'm not alone. I have all of you guys. I'd rather be under the ground with you than be under the sky alone, and after all that's happened, everyone I've met, I… I can't let that go. If I can't leave with you guys, then I will wait and find a way."
Sans stiffened, taken aback.
"…Frisk… you know we need another human soul to break the barrier. We're stuck here. It's dangerous for you. It's getting colder and colder, and… you just can't be here."
Frisk smiled softly.
"Everyone always says there is no way. But… maybe there is. You just gotta use your head, something you don't do." Sans gave her a playful nudge at that. "But I just have a feeling there is a way. I don't know how, but it's just a feeling in my chest that I can't let that go."
"Eh, I ain't arguing with you, Puppo."
Frisk felt safe and contented in his grasp despite the cold. She looked up at him, and he maintained eye contact. He seemed to be… looking for something?
After a while he huffed and looked to the side.
"…y'know… I hope not all humans have eyes like yours."
"…huh?" Is he calling me ugly? Or is he making a pun… oh no.
"Cause eye-m sure I wouldn't be able to stop looking at them."
"…what?"
Sans looked at her in surprise.
"…wow. You are pretty oblivious, huh?"
"Whaaaat?!" Frisk whined, tugging on his jacket.
He looked away, blue briefly flashing on his cheekbones.
"…never mind. Just… never mind."
Oh wow. I'm not happy with the fight but the ending scene was yaaas.
Too Shippy. Remember, no official Ship launch until the end.
Also, don't worry. Storm is around. He ran away. But… that brings the question. Why was he with Sans? How could he see the Star? :D
Also, to explain in case no one understood, the wolf is an amalgamate version of Chara's broken soul. Overfilled with Determination and taking on the wolf form, because Chara is a Wolf-Blood too. That body is dead in the core now, but…
You'll see more of her very, VERY soon :)
Oh Sans, the Core was the wrong place to discard Chara's soul.
I've got to skip reviews again because it's raining out here :/ I am really, really sorry. I promise I will answer them eventually.
Have a merry and safe Christmas, and see you next time!