Alone. He was all alone in the world. The monsters were hiding, or… he clutched the hoodie closer to himself, trying to draw comfort from the memory of his brother for the second time that day. But it was so much harder now that he was the one that was alive.
He felt the presence behind him before the detached voice spoke.
"You? How did you get back here?"
He turned. Oh. There was still someone left alive, at least. Another human… looking, creature. This human looked a lot like the other one, only… with glowing red eyes, and a different striped sweater.
A cruel laugh filled the room. "That idiot could have sent back ANYONE, and they chose YOU? HA! When they couldn't stop me from taking over? They, who were able to kill everything else. Not even the fish, or your pathetic excuse for a brother could stop them!"
"WELL OF COURSE SANS WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP THE HUMAN. BUT HE TRIED!"
"HA! For all the good THAT did! He fell ASLEEP in the middle of the battle!"
Of course he did. Sans could fall asleep doing ANYTHING. Thinking about it was like a knife to his gut. He just wanted everyone back. WHY had the human done this?!
"Anyone else would have made more sense. The smallest monsters put up more of a fight than you. So why you? Why did they pick you to try to stop me?"
"BECAUSE, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS." Somehow, that hadn't come out as confidently as he'd intended. He'd even winced a little as he'd spoken the words.
"I'll be sure to write that on your grave. Oh wait… you won't be getting a grave, because I'm going to erase EVERYTHING!"
"WHAT?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? IF YOU ERASE EVERYTHING, THEN YOU'LL ERASE YOURSELF, TOO. IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU WANT?"
The human-like creature glared at him. "You wouldn't understand!"
Was that… pain? "YOU… YOU LOST SOMEONE, TOO, DIDN'T YOU? FAMILY. I… I KNOW HOW MUCH THAT HURTS."
More anger. "Of COURSE you do! Do you know why, though? It's because I killed your pathetic brother! The human never would have been able to land a hit without ME! So keep your pity to yourself!"
Sans wasn't pathetic… just a little lazy sometimes. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't live up to THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S reputation. "I… I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DID THAT, BUT… YOU CAN STILL CHANGE, YOU KNOW. THERE ARE STILL MONSTERS OUT THERE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ERASE THEM, TOO. WOULDN'T… WOULDN'T YOUR FAMILY WANT YOU TO LIVE ON?"
"Ha! Like you want your brother to live on? Or your stupid fish friend? Maybe they would have even wanted YOU to live on, but none of you is going to get that wish, either!"
"SO THEY WOULD HAVE WANTED THAT! I THOUGHT SO. THAT'S HOW FAMILIES THINK. WHAT WAS YOUR FAMILY LIKE?"
They paused, and looked confused. "I just told you that I killed your brother. Why would you ask me something so stupid?"
The face of the 'creature' was looking more and more human all the time, and there was a burning pain there that made him ache. "WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?"
"I watched them all DIE!" The pain seeped into the voice, and a tear ran down the child's cheek. There was no glee in the face, only pain.
He walked over, and the child reacted by slashing the knife, blinded by new tears. He missed it easily, and hugged the little figure, focusing on the pain they must be feeling.
The 'death' grip on the knife didn't loosen… nyeh, heh, heh… he wondered if Sans would have enjoyed that pun and decided that he would have… but the child in his arms didn't kill him either, so that was a good sign. He'd gotten a bit further than last time, anyway, and that was a start.
"I… I was alone. I thought I'd never see them again, and then Mom was there, and, and she was just trying to protect them, but they killed her, just like everyone else! And they didn't stop! And it… it HURT, so much, I thought, well, why shouldn't everyone else die, too? Why shouldn't YOU die, too!"
The child pulled back, tears angry all of a sudden. The anger faded a bit as their eyes met, and he realized that he was crying, too. "AND YOU WERE POWERLESS TO STOP IT?"
"THEN I was. Not ANYMORE! After a while, I started HELPING them kill, until… I… I wouldn't have killed Dad. But that STUPID weed got in the way, and I was going to crush it when… when I realized that it was Asriel, and I COULDN'T, until they pushed me… then I just… what was the POINT?"
"WHO'S ASREAL?"
"It doesn't MATTER anymore! Didn't you hear me? They slashed him, and then I made sure the job was finished. But that's ENOUGH about MY brother. Let's go back to talking about how I stood by and watched until your brother was worn out, and exhausted. Oh, don't get me wrong, they were still trying their DARNEDEST to kill him, but he was still holding his own. He didn't expect ME to decide to join the fun! HA! I wasn't able to wipe that INSUFFERABLE smile off of his face, but taking control, actually FEELING the knife in my hand slashing through him…" The crazed look was back, and the child started to laugh. "If it's any comfort, his last, pathetic thoughts were of you! What were his last words again? Let me see if I can remember…"
The murderous glee turned to confusion in front of him, and the child's head tipped to the side, watching the tears run down his face. "Don't you want to tell me to stop? Doesn't it HURT you to hear this?"
He nodded. "IT DOES, BUT… AT LEAST… SINCE I COULDN'T BE THERE FOR MY BROTHER… AT LEAST I HAVE AN IDEA WHAT HAPPENED NOW. IT HURTS… OF COURSE IT HURTS, BUT… I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU TO STOP TELLING ME ANYTHING ABOUT SANS."
"I MURDERED him. He's DUST now, because of ME! And you're… you're HUGGING me! You're wearing his stupid coat, and you're hugging me!"
"YOUR FAMILY IS GONE, TOO. AND YOU WERE POWERLESS TO STOP IT."
"Stop! Don't try to pity me! I watched them all die; your precious royal guards, the not so undying Undyne… all the people who ignored you like the FORGETTABLE person they all see you as! Even your brother couldn't REALLY stand you! He was DISGUSTED with you for FAILING so easily! *heh, well, at least i didn't fail everyone as badly as that pompous, conceited windbag i call a brother...
"THOSE were his last words. Imagine how much more disappointed he'd be if he could only see you now, COMFORTING his MURDERER!"
"I… I GUESS THAT SOMETIMES, WHEN PEOPLE FEEL PAIN, IT MAKES THEM FEEL BETTER IF THEY MAKE OTHER PEOPLE HURT, TOO. SO… IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, YOU CAN KEEP GOING."
"Your brother HATED you! He was as sick of your constant bragging and whining as I am!"
The words could have hurt, but they didn't. He tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it, anymore than when Sans told one of his puns.
"What? Is it a RELIEF to finally know the TRUTH? WHY ARE YOU SMILING?!"
"BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T EVEN TRY TO CONVINCE ME THAT WAS TRUE IF YOU ONLY KNEW. I COULDN'T EVER BELIEVE THAT SANS DIDN'T LOVE ME."
"After getting after him for being lazy all those times? After refusing to laugh at his pathetic jokes?"
"THAT'S WHAT BROTHERS DO. IF WE'RE NOT TEASING EACH OTHER AT ALL, SOMETHING'S USUALLY WRONG WITH ONE OF US."
"Like one or both of you have been MURDERED?"
He sighed. "YES. SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT YOU HAVE A FAMILY, TOO. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THEY LOVED YOU, BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER THE WAY THEY TOOK CARE OF YOU. THE WAY THEY SMILED AT YOU. THE WAY THEY WERE THERE FOR YOU WHEN NO ONE ELSE WAS, AND…"
"Stop, stop, stop, STOP! I don't WANT to listen to your… your… you shouldn't even be here! I WATCHED YOU DIE! Even though… you didn't even try to hurt them. See what your kindness gets you? MY brother was right! It's kill or be killed!"
"IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE. THE HUMAN SAID THEY WANTED TO 'RESET' EVERYTHING, INSTEAD OF ERASING IT."
"So that they can kill everyone all over again?"
"I THINK THE HUMAN HAS LEARNED THEIR LESSON. I BELIEVE THEY REGRETTED THEIR CHOICES."
"Too bad! I WON'T let them do that again! It's better this way. We won't have to keep hurting this way!"
"BUT YOU…"
"FINE! You want everyone to have to die AGAIN?! YOU DO IT!"
There was a flash of a knife, again, and he was back in the void.
Wait… this was different. He pulled the hoodie closer around him, and stared at the wall in front of him. What did that mean? Continue, or True Reset?
Was this some sort of puzzle?
He looked around, but there were no hints. Was this what the human had been talking about? The reason he was their only hope?
Continue… keep going?
True Reset… start over? He gasped. As in, start over completely? Before anything bad had happened? Would… would everything bad just happen again?
No. The human couldn't possibly make such bad choices all over again! Not after THAT! Besides, the child was wrong. THIS was NOT better than having everyone back, even if it was only going to be for a little while.
He reached out and touched it before he could second guess himself, but that just had to be the right choice. This… this was too terrible.