Anger
"You…" Sans gasped, his mouth hanging open like a fish's. He stared across the small clearing where the other monster watched.
"(HELLO, SANS.)" Gaster said in a language that sounded like leaves rustling. He held up one of his unique hands in greeting.
Sans appeared at his side, trying to wrap his arms around the other monster, but they passed right through, and Gaster signed the word for 'sorry'. Sans backed up, a little embarrassed. He wiped his suspiciously wet eyes and said, "How are you here? I thought, with the accident at the CORE, and you… I thought you were dead." Sans had not noticed, but a black wall of energy had been built around them, keeping them completely hidden from anyone who may have wished to eavesdrop.
"(I THOUGHT SO TOO. BUT HOW I WAS ABLE TO RETURN IS SOMEWHAT IRRELEVANT. I APOLOGIZE, BUT I DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME HERE.)" Gaster said. He looked awful, and Sans could see through him a bit. His skull was cracked and his hands bore two identical holes. Sans swallowed hard and nodded.
"(THERE HAS BEEN AN ANOMALY. ONLY NOW WAS I ABLE TO LOCATE IT. IT WAS HIDING ITS TRACKS SO WELL. ALTHOUGH, I WAS OUTSIDE OF THIS REALITY, AND THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIFFICULTY...)" It took Sans a moment to realize that he was supposed to respond. Right. Talking. He knew how to do that.
"Hold up, the anomaly is a real thing?! We were right? I have so many questions! Let me-" Sans was interrupted by Gaster holding up his hand again.
"(SANS. WE HAVE NOT MUCH TIME. THE ANOMALY ALWAYS BEGINS THE INCONSISTENCY AT THE SAME MOMENT IN TIME. NEVER BEFORE. AND IN TURN, IT NEVER ALLOWS THE UNIVERSE TO PASS A CERTAIN POINT. YOU MUST ALLOW THE TIMELINE TO CONTINUE NORMALLY. THIS SEQUENCE OF TIME HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO CONTINUE FOR FAR TOO LONG. MUCH LONGER, AND THE BALANCE BETWEEN TIME AND SPACE WILL BE STRAINED.)"
Sans' head was beginning to spin, both from translating Gaster and the knowledge he was expected to comprehend. He was relieved though, that he hadn't been apathetic and lazy for no reason; things were being reset. He looked up. "Who is it?"
Gaster said nothing for a moment. Sans saw his form flicker dangerously, and almost go out. ("BY MANIPULATING THE CODE, I AM ABLE TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THESE RESETS WITH YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND FROM NOW ON...PRINCE ASRIEL HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A YELLOW FLOWER...YOU…END...RUN...)". Gaster was fading in and out. He suddenly disappeared all at once, leaving Sans alone in a completely dark forest.
Sans woke up in the morning with a crick in his neck and an ache in his back. Sleeping against a tree was nowhere near as comfortable as his own bed, and his anger at his brother had passed. Maybe it was time to go home. With a single thought, he materialized onto his own bed, but something was wrong when he got there.
There was a tornado once again, the collection of socks was sitting on the floor, and he had bumped into the green blob on his bed because he had expected it to be flattened. This was not the same room he had left yesterday. Well, it was, but not the one in the same timeline. He scrambled out of bed to check the date on his cell phone. It was a few months earlier than it should have been. Sans put his hand on his head.
We've been living out MONTHS over and over again?! he thought frantically. This was really bad. Sans dropped the phone; only just then he remembered his chat with Gaster. I have to find that yellow flower. It could be anywhere… although I've never seen one before that looked important, certainly not like a prince who has been dead for more than a decade. W.D. better give me another hint or something…
Sans was startled by his bedroom door being opened. "Ah! There you are, dear brother!" Papyrus said cheerily as he entered the room.
At least Paps isn't mad at me here. Sans smiled and asked, "What's up?"
"Well, other than the pleasant surprise of you already being awake this early, it's another glorious day that a potential human could fall down into the Underground! We must be at our stations, so as to maximize the chance of catching them. Let's eat and be off!"
He swished his scarf dramatically, strode from the room, and Sans could hear him humming all the way down the stairs. Sans would never admit it to Papyrus, would barely even admit it to himself, but he much preferred his room being clean to...this. He took it in with a sigh and a resigned expression on his face. He liked the cleanliness but not the cleaning. Figured.
He saw his blue hoodie strewn across the floor, and went to pick it up. Less than an inch away from the fabric, he stopped. He went over to his dresser instead and found a black t-shirt that said BONE ZONE in big white letters. He decided to wear his normal shorts, though, and headed downstairs too.
"Brother! You're late! We're supposed to leave in three minutes! ...Interesting choice of attire." He said, looking tired of Sans and his antics. Sans shrugged and said, "Well, if the shirt fits!"
Papyrus groaned and put his hand over his eyes. Sans' smile grew wider.
At his post, Sans glanced over at Papyrus. He was mumbling to himself and writing in a small notebook he kept in case he needed to get an eyewitness account or make 'future Royal Guard notes'.
Sans' head was propped up on his hands, and he started to feel a little sleepy. He was just barely nodding off as Papyrus screamed, "SANS!"
He looked over with a start.
"Sans, I am going to go calibrate one of my puzzles. Please remain here, and for the love of King Asgore, DO NOT FALL ASLEEP AT YOUR POST! See you later!" He ran off.
Sans sighed and stood up, pushing his chair in behind him. He stretched his arms and neck, popping joints here and there.
The walk to the door of the Ruins from his post didn't take long, even for a tiny little skeleton. Since Sans could only remember the last run, the one where Papyrus got mad at him and they fought, and this current one, he had no idea where that little flower could be. The Underground was, sadly, not a very large place when it came down to it, but maybe, just maybe, the woman on the other side of the door knew something he didn't.
He sat against the large, purple door and waited. He reached behind him and tapped on the door with white knuckles. After a moment, someone knocked back. He smiled. She was here.
"Knock knock." he said.
"Who's there?"
"Butter,"
"Butter who?"
"I really butter think of some good jokes soon."
She laughed, a whole, hearty, genuine sound that made him grin. She had a really beautiful laugh, and he could listen to it all day. He realized he was blushing a little, and shook his head.
"Your turn," he said.
"Okay, knock knock,"
"Who's there?"
"Dismay,"
"Dismay who?"
"Dismay be a bad knock knock joke, but I bet you'll still laugh!" They laughed together. It occurred to Sans that he, unlike Papyrus, didn't think it was annoying when people laughed at their own jokes. They were meant to make people laugh, right?
They continued on like that for a good half hour, swapping knock knock jokes and other kinds before Sans said, "Hey, um, can I ask you a question?"
She noticed the tone in his voice and grew serious too. "Of course."
"Have you ever seen a little yellow flower around? Maybe um… one that can kinda… talk?" Sans knew as he said it that he sounded crazy.
She seemed lost in thought. "No… I can't say that I have? Have you?"
"No, but his name might be uh… Asriel? Like the prince?" Sans waited to hear a response for several moments. "Um, hello?"
"I have to go." There was the sound of receding footsteps, and then silence.
"Wait! I just…" Sans trailed off, knowing she was gone. Great. I piss off two of my favorite people in two days. Nice goin', bonehead. Oh, well. She wouldn't be mad at him for long. With one RESET, she would forget all of this.
This inactivity continued for a few RESETS. None of them lasted for more than a few days, which seemed odd. Once, Sans had been in the shower when things were RESET, and suddenly he was standing in the exact same place, but without any water on. The RESETS seemed to completely not affect him, which was good, he supposed. No one else noticed him appearing suddenly. He'd asked the lady behind the door if she knew any golden flowers or where they grew, but this time used different wording, and she said that one of her old friends told her that King Asgore grew them.
A teleport to Asgore's castle in the dead of night had given Sans no information. Yes, there were golden flowers there, but they weren't talking, none of them seemed like they could RESET, and he didn't want to make Asgore angry. Asgore was scary even to Sans when he was angry.
So, at yet another dinner, as Papyrus talked to Sans about his day and how a barking snow poff had stolen one of his puzzle pieces, Sans drifted in and out of paying attention. He went for a sip of water and suddenly remembered something that seemed crucial, vital, so important that he couldn't believe he forgot about it until now.
He gasped as he was drinking and immediately spat water from his nose, his mouth, and he thought maybe even a little came out of his eye sockets. He was coughing and sputtering and Papyrus was shocked, but in between the complaints and questions about whether Sans was alright, Sans choked out, "You...flower...talk to…*cough*… right?"
Papyrus looked thoroughly befuddled. "If I'm right about what you're asking, then yes, Sans, I do occasionally have a friendly conversation with a little golden flower, fittingly named 'Flowey', but I've told you that before and I don't see why that's any reason for you to nearly drown and I…" Sans stopped listening to Papyrus. That was it! That was the anomaly! All this time it had been right under his nose! (metaphorically) He felt really stupid, but ignored the feeling for now.
"Paps look, I really have to meet him, okay?" Sans said.
"Hmmm, why? You've never wanted to meet him before." Papyrus said, looking suspicious.
A terrible realization suddenly dawned on Sans. That flower was currently the single most powerful monster in the entire Underground because it could do something that no one else could. It could RESET. Despite Gaster's gift, Sans was completely unable to have any effect on the timeline other than remembering the previous ones.
So if Sans did meet him, he would have to meet the flower and play it extremely cool, not betraying any of the knowledge he possessed. Even though Sans was without a doubt, one hundred and ten percent sure that there were no other talking golden flowers in the Underground, he had to meet this 'Flowey' and judge for himself how to stop him before trying anything too drastic. Call me a cautious old skeleton, Sans thought.
"I just really want to meet the little guy who's made my favorite brother so happy!" Sans said, forcing a grin.
Papyrus didn't notice this white lie and brightened up. "Well, of course you can meet him, then! I'm so happy! He only usually talks to me during the day, so tomorrow?"
"Perfect." The elder brother replied, still smiling tightly.
Sans lay on his bare mattress, for once unable to sleep. Tomorrow was an extremely important day. If he made a mistake, there would be no going back. Flowey would be able to RESET as much as he wanted and punish Sans and Papyrus for… well, forever. And Sans would be the only one of the skeletons who would remember why. Little bastard. It made Sans wonder how many times that little weed had come after them, how many times it had killed his baby brother.
He pushed the green clump of blankets away from him, and suddenly remembered how nice it felt to sleep on a bed with sheets, blankets, and an actual pillow. Maybe Papyrus had somehow gotten through to him, if only a little. He went to work, untangling the separate pieces of cloth and arranging them straight on the bed. It looked a little sloppy, but it was infinitely better than sleeping on nothing.
He pulled the blankets over himself and felt warm and comfy. His eyelids felt heavy, and he smiled. Maybe it was worth the effort, at least sometimes.
"(SANS.)" A voice crackled quietly from the far corner of the room. Sans was immediately sitting straight up, hand aimed toward the sound. A volley of bones had formed in the air, sharp points aimed at whoever had spoken. He let his hand fall, and the bones turned into smoke when he saw it was only Gaster.
"Shit, you scared the hell outta me! What's wrong with you?!" Sans clutched the area of his chest where his SOUL lived, safely behind his ribcage. "Don't do that!"
"(I WAS A BIT SURPRISED AT YOU, AS WELL, SANS.)" Gaster said, speaking as much with his voice as he was gesturing and signing with his deformed hands.
"Me? What did I do?"
"(NAMELY, YOUR FAILURE TO REALIZE WHO I WAS REFERRING TO IN ANY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.)"
"Hey, look, I had completely forgotten about Papyrus talking about that flower. He never actually did in these last few runs, you know. It must have been from a while ago. Before, I mean."
Gaster said nothing.
"Why are you here now?" Sans asked, feeling a little stupid. He didn't like feeling stupid, obviously.
"(YOU HAVE NO DOUBT REALIZED THE TREMENDOUS WEIGHT THAT RESTS UPON YOUR SHOULDERS. YOU WILL NEED TO PRETEND THAT YOU ARE UNAWARE OF RESETS IN ANY FORM.)" Gaster said.
"Yeah, duh, I know that already." Sans said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not THAT stupid."
"(PERHAPS YOU MISUNDERSTAND. THE ANOMALY SEEMS TO HAVE PICKED UP ON MY TRACKING. IT IS ALREADY SOMEWHAT SUSPICIOUS. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING IT FROM MY PLANE OF EXISTENCE. WHAT I MEAN IS: IT IS AWARE THAT SOMEONE IS TRYING TO END ITS ABILITY TO HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THIS UNIVERSE. IF YOU SHOW UP OUT OF NOWHERE, WANTING TO BE FRIENDLY, IT WILL BEGIN TO SUSPECT YOU.)"
"What can I do?" Sans asked.
"(YOU NEED TO MAKE IT TRUST YOUR COMPLACENCE. YOUR APATHY. YOUR IGNORANCE. IF IT COMPLETELY BELIEVES THAT YOU ARE WORTHLESS, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SURPRISE IT EVENTUALLY. BUT THAT WILL COME FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD THAN TOMORROW, I AM AFRAID. UNFORTUNATE, FOR WE ARE STILL RUNNING OUT OF TIME.)"
"So, how do I prove that? Do I let it kill me? Do I… let it kill Papyrus?" He was suddenly afraid. He wasn't sure if he could stand watching his brother die and not doing anything. But Sans was a very good actor. And it wasn't like Papyrus would stay dead. Flowey would definitely RESET at some point. It would be okay. Somehow. Right?
"(IT SEEMS YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU ALSO REMEMBER TO CHANGE YOUR LOCATION WHEN THE TIMELINE RESETS. ACTUALLY, I WILL REMOVE YOUR ABILITY TO BE PHYSICALLY UNAFFECTED BY THE RESETS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE LOCATED THE FLOWER.)"
Gaster began to very imperceptibly flicker. His magic was already draining very low, but he did what he said. Sans felt no different, but Gaster looked… less visible when he was done.
"Can I ask, just how long have we been here? How many RESETS have we gone through?" Sans asked in a quiet voice.
Gaster thought, and said, "(LONG ENOUGH. I MUST GO NOW, SANS. MAINTAINING THIS POCKET OF SPACE AND KEEPING MYSELF CORPOREAL ENOUGH FOR CONVERSATION IS NO EASY TASK. PLEASE REMEMBER WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU. AND I - I HAVE COMPLETE FAITH IN YOU. DO NOT FAIL, FOR EVERYONE'S SAKE.)" As jarringly as he had appeared, W.D. Gaster was gone.
Sans couldn't sleep after that.
Papyrus and Sans were in one of Waterfall's many coves filled with shimmering crystals. Sans wore his blue hoodie, for appearance's sake, and Papyrus was busy calling out to Flowey. The pit of anxiety and nervousness had grown into a chasm in Sans' SOUL. He was very worried about how this meeting would go.
"Sorry, Sans, I guess Flowey isn't around today. Maybe tomorrow." Papyrus said, putting his hand on Sans' shoulder and turning to leave. Sans was immensely relieved, until he heard a little voice speak up from behind them.
"Howdy, Papyrus! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry I kept you waiting! Well well well, is this the magnificent Sans that I've heard so much about?" Flowey chirped in a nauseatingly false voice. It was like someone dumped a pound of sugar into a gallon of honey. Sans hated him already.
"Yup! This is my coolest older brother, Sans!" Papyrus gently nudged Sans forward and grinned.
"Hey there. I heard about how you and Papyrus were getting along so well, and I just wanted to thank you. Even just meeting you now, I can see why you two are best buds." Sans said with a small wink.
For a terrible moment Flowey didn't say anything, didn't move an inch, and Sans was sure he hadn't been convincing enough. But then, Flowey laughed a nasty little laugh and said, "Oh, I get it! That's funny, Sans! Your brother told me all about how you're a comedian! That's so nice!"
Sans chuckled briefly and relaxed a little. Flowey looked up at him sweetly. "Do you know what else is funny?"
Sans didn't let his worry bleed through, and asked, "What's that?"
Keeping that same sweet look on his face, Flowey grew a long, thorny tendril and let it burst up from the soil. In no time flat it was wrapped around Papyrus' neck, lifting him up into the air.
"The way Papyrus begs and pleads for mercy." Flowey chuckled.
It appeared that Flowey was sadistic by nature. He didn't have a reason to be kind when he could make everyone forget what he was doing. Sans heard Gaster's words in the back of his mind. He had to pretend like he was weak and stupid. He had to let himself and his brother die. It would be okay. It had to be.
Sans put on his best shocked face (honestly, not hard to do) and said in a slightly dopey voice that he didn't recognize; "Flowey, what are you doing? I thought you and Papyrus were friends!"
Flowey laughed and said nothing. Papyrus was begging him to let go; it was getting hard to breathe. Flowey regarded Papyrus with open indifference as he smashed his skull open on the wall of the cave.
Sans' vision went red. He could hear his SOUL thumping with rage, and he wanted so badly to kill this little weed. But he just collapsed and buried his head in his hands. Acting weak was easier than he thought. He looked up just in time to see his brother turn into dust.
"Tut tut, Sans. You're next, and you only have… what's this? ONE health point? ONE?! ...Ah yes, actually, now that I think of it, I do remember that about you, you little weakling. I stopped playing with you so long ago, I had nearly forgotten you existed! Did you know that Undyne can take a few deadly hits and keep on coming? Wow!" Flowey seemed to realize he was getting off topic. "Anyway, I think that I will only need… hm… one friendliness pellet to finish you off! How pathetic! Prepare to die, Sans the skeleton."
Sans closed his eyes just before the pellet struck him-
And woke up in his own bed. Checking the time on his phone confirmed the RESET. He didn't remember feeling any pain as he died. He dashed down the hall and threw open Papyrus' door, only to find his little brother putting on the last of his battle body.
"Sans, what are you doing? Don't you know to knock when someone's getting dressed?!"
"Heh, sorry, I just thought I heard you call for help. I'll go back to my room now, bye!" He said hurriedly and closed the door to his own room. Okay. We're fine. We're okay. We've probably died countless times before now and we just didn't remember. I need to get it together. He's going to come see if I remember him. I have to be convincing.
"Sans, get your lazy tailbone down here! We have to go watch for potential humans!" His brother called.
Stepping outside, Sans started to feel a little… chilled. He zipped up his hoodie and stuck his hands deep into his pockets, but it didn't help. As they turned to go, a little yellow flower popped up from the snow in front of them, blocking their path.
"Howdy! How are you today, Papyrus?" Without waiting for Papyrus to respond, Flowey turned his attention to Sans. "Ohh, is this your older brother? I've heard so much about you!" He said in mock kindness.
Sans gritted his teeth together while the flower was speaking, but let his natural charisma do the work when he had to reply. "That's me, Sans the skeleton, at your service! I can tell that a friendship might be blooming between us already!"
I HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU LITTLE FUCKER I HATE THAT I HAVE TO BE NICE AND LIE AND NOT RIP THE PETALS FROM YOUR SCREAMING HEAD I HATE YOU I HATE Y-
"You're a funny one, Sans! I do love jokes. Take your brother Papyrus, for instance." Flowey grabbed Papyrus with several vines and began to drag him into the ground, pulling deeper and deeper, not even slowing upon hearing the skeleton's bones cracking.
"Flowey! What are you doing?! LET ME GO!" Papyrus' screaming got louder as the cracking sounds got louder.
"Isn't he a sad little joke, Sans? Isn't it cute, the way he screams in pain?" Flowey laughed.
Sans gasped and fell backwards, clicking his teeth together as he hit the ground. He aimed a finger at Flowey. "Y-you let my brother go! Or I'll, I'll…"
"You'll do nothing. You're weak, and stupid, and worthless." A vine shot out and grabbed Sans by weaving in and out of his ribs. It was agonizingly painful, and being dragged towards Flowey felt no better. Flowey brought Sans right to his face and crooned softly into his ear; "But we both know that isn't entirely true, is it? You know more than you're letting on, don't you? We both know that all you want to do is attack me. So do it. Show us what you're made of."
This. This was perhaps the defining moment. Sans had to make it look really good. Flowey threw Sans into the snow hard, about twenty feet away from where he was. Sans focused, and made his left eye glow a brilliant blue. He acted like he was charging up a huge attack, and flung his hand in front of him, yelling to get more power.
Five small bones bounced harmlessly off of one of Flowey's vines. Flowey looked slightly confused. Then he sighed. "What do I expect from someone who has one attack point?" He snapped Papyrus' neck, then did the same to Sans.
Sans woke up, hands at his throat. Holy shit, he thought. How can I keep this up? How long will it take to convince Flowey that I'm not the one behind the plan to kill him? These thoughts turned endlessly end over end, and Papyrus calling him from downstairs couldn't clear the fog in his mind.