"You tell me to hold on
Oh you tell me to hold on
But innocence is gone
And what was right is wrong
'Cause I'm bleeding out
Said if the last thing that I do
Is to bring you down
I'll bleed out for you
So I bear my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes
And I take it in
And I'm bleeding out
I'm bleeding out for you (for you)" Bleed Out, Imagine Dragons
"Sans… what did you do?"
Sans was tenser than she had ever seen him.
Everyone's heads darted back and forth, confused. Silver's tail tip twitched with apprehension, Papyrus was uncharacteristically quiet at the sight of the flower.
Rocky was head over heels with shock. His fur fluffed up slightly.
"I-is that a talking flower? I've seen it all!"
Frisk inched closer to Sans.
"Leave. It was never necessary to hold your part of the deal. You did nothing." She could hear his chest rumbling with an aggressive growl.
Flowey chuckled, slowly bouncing back and forth on his stem. His powder blue petals danced with him.
"How rude of you, trashbag. Just because my assistance was never needed, does that mean I didn't help you? Without my intervention… Frisky there would be gone forever." Flowey stuck his tongue out in his signature mocking face.
"Sans." Frisk grabbed his shoulder and tugged it.
Sans's eyes darted to hers, then away. She caught a slight hue of fearful purple edging in his left eye light…
"What. Did. You. Do." She growled through her teeth. If he did what she thought he did, she was busting his other kneecap.
"Sans. Speak." Doggo barked, sternly.
"… I made a deal with the thing." Sans's voice lowered, and he shrunk a little.
"What kind of deal." Frisk urged, softer. Sans was getting more nervous by the second, she could tell.
"… I honestly never thought we'd be able to… talk him into… sparing you. He… offered… to have us all gather here, and… he said he'd… he wouldn't let you die, Frisk… I was desperate… you were taking so long…"
Frisk was silent for a few moments.
She briefly thought on how gullible Sans had to be. Flowey KNEW that they wouldn't need his help. But… Flowey probably played the manipulation game, and although Sans was never a good target for mind games like such he was very desperate and not in the right mindset…
"…what was his part of the deal?"
Sans looked away.
"Sans." She grabbed his shoulder again, feeling a dark feeling bubble on her gut.
"What did you give him?"
"The souls, of course!" Flowey chirped. "What else would I need? Well… besides…" Flowey's façade faded. "All of your souls?!"
Sans took a bold step forward.
"Get lost, petals. I never gave you anything. You aren't getting anything. Leave."
"Oh, really? Because I beg to differ… while you guys were having your little "chat" to save the stupid little human…" a vine motioned towards the little flower.
Suddenly, 6 different souls came from the ground. They each had a main color, with trade hints of others swirling inside the heart. They circled Flowey, casting an eerie light.
Toriel covered her mouth with her paws.
Doggo jumped.
"How did you get those?!" His proper, calm demeanor slipped as his eyes widened in shock.
If Doggo was saying "oh shit," it was, most definitely…
An "oh shit" situation…
If Frisk listed the amount of profanities that spilled from Sans's mouth at that moment, she'd need to go to church for the rest of her life.
Rocky was freaking out, and Undyne had summoned a spear in her hand.
Frisk could feel their desperation and disbelief soaking into her moment of stunned, numb silence.
This was their entire future…
Being stolen before their eyes.
"Give them BACK!" Undyne yowled, fins flaring.
Frisk yelped when Sans pushed her back and swung his arm, sending a line of bones shooting at the little flower.
Flowey covered himself with his vines, and the bones bounced off harmlessly.
"You really are all idiots, aren't you? Don't you realize… try calling one of your "friends"! I didn't just sit here with these souls, dawdling… well, I should say we, shouldn't I?"
Frisk felt a cold feeling in her soul, the feeling she got when something horribly wrong happened…
"We? What do you mean we? Who the hell would help you, besides stupid skeletons?" Undyne shot Sans a look, and Frisk wondered if his other kneecap would be gone before she had a chance to bust it herself.
"…" Frisk had a name in mind, but she didn't want to believe it…
"They should be here shortly! And, with the help of these souls, and the Core… we have every soul in the underground! You are such an idiot, skeleton. You let me gather all of you right here… all the most… problematic monsters. Without any of you around, gathering every monster was a cake-walk… so weak, hehe~" Flowey giggled.
"…what?" Sans looked back at Frisk.
If what Flowey said was right, then…
Sans's eyes were wide and dark.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL THE SOULS!?" Undyne screeched, slamming the butt of her spear on the ground.
"Oh no…" Toriel whispered.
Asgore's eyes were huge, powerless.
"Heh, that's right! You're all alone… not for long! You'll see your friends soon! Because-"
"You're next."
Something grey whirred by Frisk's ear, and there was a slight sting a few seconds later. Warmth bubbled at the spot.
Frisk's hand clenched the bottom of her shirt.
Why did she have to be right?
Chara stood in the doorway, hips tilted smugly. Her tail waved back and forth and her eyes glowed a deep red.
"Greetings. Did you really think this was over, Frisky?" She showed her teeth.
Frisk growled deep in her chest, trying to hide the heart racing dread that built up in her body.
Toriel turned and froze when her eyes met Chara.
Asgore had the same reaction.
"C-ch…is…" Toriel couldn't form audible words.
"Hello, friend… took ya long enough." Flowey added passive aggressively.
Chara shot him a look.
Frisk swallowed and decided to muster a tiny bit of courage.
"I thought you were above getting help from a little craven." Her voice wasn't as loud as she would have liked.
Chara tilted her head.
"Oh, bold words for a little mutt… unfortunately, words won't sAv3 You." Chara's form flinched violently, and black liquid- corrupted Determination as as she remembered- spilled from her mouth, splattering across the stone floor. Frisk noticed there was far more than usual…
That could mean…
Frisk swallowed once more.
"Chara… y-you're… my child… you…"
"I am nOT yYouR ChilD." Chara spat suddenly, more black spewing from her mouth. Her entire form was twitching, as if taken by a seizure. Even after seeing this behavior before, it still terrified Frisk and made her feel sick. Even Silver's eyes widened and she took a silent step back, and she would have betted on Sans telling Paps to look away if he could.
"YOuR CchiLD diEd a LonG tIME agO."
Toriel was shaking, and the little threads at the bottom of her dress quivered with her body.
Asgore took a step forward, and turned so he was fully facing Chara. Frisk could not see his face, but she could assume it wasn't a good one.
"W-what do you mean? Chara… you will always be our child. H-how- or why- are you h-here now?"
"L I E S" Chara's voice itself was even beginning to freak out, as her body kept twitching.
"I aM NOt thAt CharA… and YOu aRe the SAme aS tHe ReST OF TheM… FiLTHY!"
Chara tightened into an aggressive stance, and Frisk felt her heart leap. She was going to attack Asgore!
Frisk opened her mouth, but before her voice came out Flowey spoke over her.
"Chara! Let's deal with the more important business first! Like we planned?" Flowey tilted his head.
Chara's head slowly turned towards him.
"Do NOT order me, Flower." She snarled, and her spasms seemed to cease for the moment.
Flowey's cheek twitched with annoyance.
"Look, if we don't go with the plan we are going to fail. And you always were a sore loser."
"Don't. Push. It." Chara bared her fangs, tail sticking straight and ears pricked forward in aggression.
Chara's eyes slowly fixed on Frisk.
Her heart stopped.
Something bad was going to happen.
Something worse.
Chara straightened out, chuckling.
"Though you do have a point, flower. We need… a little boost… of determination. And-" Chara held out her hand, and a swath of shadow curled into a knife above her palm.
"We've got some unfinished business."
The ground shook violently as vines erupted from it, and instantly Frisk was jumping away, avoiding speeding white bullets.
Doggo was the first to react, swinging his sword and sending a wave of blue magic. It didn't effect Flowey himself, but it cut down a few of his vines.
The next to react was Undyne, as she pulled her bow and summoned a magic arrow, shooting at the tiny flower so he'd go underground.
Papyrus was shocked and was looking around, trying to figure out a way to settle things peacefully no doubt. Toriel opened her mouth to say something but it was cut off by all the chaos as parts of the floor cracked and everything shook.
Frisk slashed with her dagger at the vine closest to her, slicing the green appendage in half. On of the thorns grazed her, but she only felt a minor sting on her knuckle as the rest was numbed by adrenaline.
Silver jumped into the air, bells clinging. Rocky followed up at her side, spear in hand. Silver too her short sword and went for the Flower, while Rocky stuck to the side as support. Flowey effortless avoided and blocked every move.
Asgore still hadn't joined the fight- instead he was looking around confusedly. Why?
Frisk stopped and gazed at the former king in confusion.
It was then she realized that in Flowey's act everyone had so easily forgotten about-
"Game over, Frisky."
Each second took years to play out.
By the time her heart skipped and her body had begun turning, she could see the silver blade in her peripheral vision, coming down to slash her open. She could see the multicolored light glinting off the tip of the blade.
For some reason, in a remote and detached part of her mind, she thought it looked beautiful.
The next moment, something was shoved in front of her and that beautiful glare was covered by a black jacket and the logo of a howling wolf.
The sound of ripping fabric, cracking and a splatter broke above all else.
Frisk didn't know what was going on.
But when she did…
It was too late.
Chara jumped back, eyes gleaming.
"Damn you… stupid skeleton… heh, but I guess it wasn't in vain… burn in hell." She spat.
Frisk's feet took a step back of their own accord, and she realized Sans was in front of her.
She also noticed that the blade that had been above her only minutes ago had not struck.
There was a few drops of crimson on the floor between his feet.
Her mind wasn't putting together what it had too.
Everything felt so… blurry and dreamlike. Like it's wasn't real.
She could hear the blood roaring in her ears.
Everything else had stopped.
"B-brother? Sans? Are you okay?!" Papyrus spoke.
Sans hadn't moved.
It was then it clicked.
He had blocked the hit.
Oh. No.
Oh god please no…
"Hey! Everything alright over there!" Undyne yelled from the far side of the room.
Sans finally moved, and she couldn't see what he did from behind him… but there was a glimmer of hope that maybe he was alright.
Maybe it was just a scratch. Maybe she just caught his jacket.
He turned.
He looked a little unbalanced, like his feet couldn't carry his weight. Unsteady.
Shock?
Her eyes were met by a blaze of scarlet.
It ran all down his shirt, staining the white. Underneath was a deep, deep gash, going through his entire ribcage. Parts of the bones had broken off, leaving it crumpled. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and his nose, one of his arms covered part of the wound while the other hung at his side. His eyes were dim and tired.
"Dammit Chara, you missed! You got the useless one instead!"
"Oh, it's far from useless~" the Wolf Demon cooed, holding the bloody knife close to her cheek.
Sans's mouth curled into one of his smiles, fangs poking out.
"H-heh…bloody hell, amirite? Heh…" he was heaving.
Frisk was in complete shock.
She couldn't feel anything.
Someone said something behind her, but she didn't catch it.
She tried to form words, but her throat never produced the sound.
Her heart was running desperately, trying to tell her it was okay. He was going to be okay, they could fix it. Everything was fine. Sans was fine.
But her head knew better.
How cruelly painful the naïve, loving heart could be.
Sans stumbled forward, and it felt like the next instant he was right up against her, arms wrapped loosely around her and his weight resting up against her own. Closer now she could see tiny specks of ash dotting his shirt.
His breath was raspy.
"H-hey, I-I'm s-sorry, S-snap pea… Paps… I couldn't d-do it…"
His arms got a little looser, and slid down a little. His weight got heavier.
Then, he pulled back, bumping his skull against the side of her head.
"Papy… Frisk… I love ya both… I love ya both so much… I've always b-been a bit s-stupid, huh? But you know what, I'd do it all over… cause it really was somethin'. Loving the both of ya." Sans slumped a little, and his eye lights were completely gone. There was more dust.
"Welp, a-all there is left t-to say… is… heh… knock 'em dead, Snap pea…"
There was a pile of dust and clothes at her feet.
Little particles danced in the air, contrasting the beautiful colors of the barrier that danced like the northern lights. Sans's broken soul hung above, cracked and broken. Seconds away from falling apart.
Frisk couldn't feel her body. She felt herself drop to her knees, and her ears felt misplaced. Blocked.
The way the glittering frost was tucked between the little indents of the stone floor was really quite pretty.
Sans wasn't there anymore. There was just dust.
Where had he gone?
She noticed he hadn't been wearing underwear.
Silly skeleton.
Things swarmed though her head. Little things she didn't think about. How soothing nis voice had grown to her. That odd warmth she enjoyed leaking from his bones. The way she loved hearing him snore or how funny he looked when he forgot he had stuck his tongue out and just sat there with the blue appendage sticking out.
Papyrus was right next to her, feet fidgeting in desperation.
"Sans! SANS! Someone! Please help! Do something! Hurry!"
There was a quiet sob from Toriel, heavy breathing from Rocky as he tried to suppress the tears.
No one said anything to the last remaining skeleton.
Frisk couldn't look up at him. Her eyes remained glued on the best friend she had ever had.
Had was the key word.
"…please? Human, tell them to do something to save my brother!" Papyrus begged desperately.
"…Paps…" everything broke. Like a dam bursting, everything they she hadn't been feeling hit her at once. Her body hunched over and she covered her hands with her eyes, feeling the most horrible feeling of grief and emptiness rip at her heart like a rabid animal. She started sobbing heavily, feeling like her soul was pouring from her mouth.
Everything was collapsing.
"S-s-sans…." She couldn't say anything else. Her body could only sob uselessly.
"H-human?" Papyrus asked, voice reaching a higher pitch from fear and grief.
The was a few clicks as Doggo made his way over. He placed his paw on Papyrus's shoulder.
"I am sorry. But… your brother is dust now. He's gone and there isn't anything we can do."
"What?! No! I refuse! I believe in him! He'll come back! He's just lazy!" Papyrus insisted.
For a few moments, the only sounds were that of Frisk's pathetic, painful sobbing.
"…r-right, Frisk? My brother… is coming back… right?"
Frisk curled in harder on herself, feeling the pain grow stronger.
"…brother…? I don't want you to be dead… please don't be dead… w-who will read me my bedtime story? Am I too old for one now? Is that why you won't come back?" Papyrus's voice was shaking with pain.
Frisk couldn't take it. She couldn't take Papyrus's pain too.
Chara began walking forward, and Doggo moved to stand protectively in front of them.
"Sans has made a sacrifice. He may have walked a burdened and dark path, but he always had a heart of gold. By his actions, I herby declare a drawback of all orders placed against this human and the rest of human kind! He is not truly dead, as I will make sure his death will continue to change and impact both us and the rest of our world, for to truly live is to make a difference in the heart, an invaluable difference. And I declare we will avenge and protect that change from the likes of you!" Doggo finished with a powerful bark.
"Save your words, half breed fool." Chara replied. She reached and grabbed what was left of Sans's soul.
She examined it.
"Funny how his soul still lingers… I thought monster souls didn't do that. Oh well… it seems to be powerful… we could use this in place, couldn't we?" Chara looked down, and Flowey popped up beside her.
He looked at it closely.
"Golly, I don't know. We could try… I'm tired of this stupid soap opera over some mentally ill skeleton who couldn't even walk straight half of the time.
Chara let out a dark chuckle.
"Agreed. Here." She pushed the soul to him, and he called the other six human souls. Then…
Hundreds of white souls filled the room, floating above them.
Frisk looked up, cheeks puffy.
They had gotten what they wanted…
Another soul…
Frisk felt an uncontrollable rage.
How. Dare. They.
They would not have Sans's soul. They would not have any soul.
All they would get was a dagger tearing their entrails out before being sent to the darkest pit of hell where they would rot for all eternity.
Frisk snarled viciously, baring her fangs.
"Heheh, it works! You're all pretty useful for being so d!"
The souls began to circle Flowey violently, and they all came together and flashed.
Everything was replaced with blinding lights as Frisk was forced to cover her face.
When she managed to open her eyes again, everything went dark. No lights. No stone. Just… dark.
She could still feel Papyrus's and Doggo's presence around her.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the dark.
It wasn't one she recognized. Small, childish.
As it got closer, she could see what it was.
It looked like Toriel, except a child. With round ears, tiny horns and a line of fur running down from the sides of his jaw. He was wearing a green and yellow sweater just like Chara.
"Hey! It's me! You're best friend!" He closed his eyes.
Everything flashes again, but this time much weaker.
"ASRIEL DREEMUR!"
A gust of ice cold wind billowed through the area.
"Love is the voice under all silences,
The hope which has no opposite in fear;
The strength so strong mere force is feebleness;
The truth more first than sun
And more last than star."
E.E Cummings
Please don't kill me please don't kill me I am not responsible for any mental issues caused by this chapter pliz
Also sorry for the big wait, between a lot of emotional stress and nearly getting my eye pecked out again it was rough. This was supposed to be way longer but I cut it short because it's so overdue :b
I've been dropping the hints forever now, come one guys. If you saw the lyric comic on DA it includes this scene, save for some minor inconsistencies. If you haven't look for my Open Letter Lyric Comic, it'll really hammer the feels.
Also, big news! I am hosting a shipping contest on DA! It actually involves all of my works (Springheart, my new original series Eclipse, stand alone OC's, Foxglove…) but if you want to enter go do so!
Anyways, hopefully I get the next chapter out sooner. Lol.
From the wolfie in the mountains who needs to stop looking at kinky stuff on Pinterest…
Comycat ~