AN: Okay, so it's been a super long time since I posted the prologue to this story. Sorry about that but if you've been reading my other story 'Adopted Promise!' You'll know that I was busy most of the summer helping a friend of mine and barely had any time to write. From now on I plan to try and post one new chapter per week though whether it will be this story or my other one depends on what I'm inspired to write. Anyway I hope you like this extra long chapter in the meantime. It ended up a little darker than planned but don't worry, things will get better. Please let me know what you think :)
Disclaimer: Toby Fox is the amazing creator of Undertale. I'm only borrowing his characters for this story.
It had taken several hours for the older skelebro to tell his story and with each passing minute he seemed to get more troubled. Finally, he let out a sigh, rising to his feet with a look of apprehension.
"Welp, it's about time I head over to the judgment hall." Sans said, meeting his little bros eye sockets. "I'm sure the brat's reached Hotland by now... it's only a matter of time before they manage to pass through the Core."
"What is this 'judgment hall' you speak of?" Papyrus asked confusedly, he'd never heard of such a place.
"Oh, that's my name for the final corridor." His older brother explained. "You know, that place where actual sunlight shines into the underground through the holes in the ceiling? I started calling it that after the first time I was forced to pass judgment on one of the humans."
"Okay then." The younger skeleton nodded, accepting the answer as he moved to stand beside his brother. "Let us go and stop the human!"
"No Pap, I'm going to stop the human... you're staying here." The comedian asserted adamantly.
"But..." The younger tried to reason but was cut off.
"I SAID NO!" Sans shouted, causing Papyrus to recoil slightly. The hoodie clad skeleton had a guilty expression on his face as he continued imploringly. "You almost died... again... do you really think I would risk your life by taking you anywhere near the kid who's favorite pastime is dusting monsters? No way in hell! This is the first time you've survived to this point and I'm not going to throw that away now! So please, Papyrus, stay here... for me?"
"...Fine..." The spaghetti loving monster conceded reluctantly, unable to bear the panicked look in his bros eye sockets as he grudgingly stepped away from the shorter male.
"I love you, Pappy." Sans replied emotionally. "Don't ever forget that okay? No matter what happens."
"Sans?" Pap began, but it was already too late... his brother had teleported away before he could say anything more.
'Why does it feel like something bad is going to happen?' The tall monster asked himself, thinking back over everything he'd just learned, a worried gasp escaping as he remembered their earlier conversation.
"Sans? What happens after I..." Papyrus trailed off, unable to finish.
Even so, his older brother understood perfectly, face contorted in an agonized frown upon mention of the other skeletons premature demise.
"It's always the same, one way or another. Sure some minor details may change but... the outcome remains the same." Sans began, closing his sockets as the memories washed over him. "Undyne, Mettaton, even Alphys in her own way, everyone tries to stop the brat... and one by one... they fall. No matter what I do, I'm too late to save anyone... just like I was too late to save you all those times. But I still have to try! I refuse to just give up! So, even after everyone I cared for have been turned to dust... I head off to face the fallen human on my own."
Pap could tell that his older bro was leaving something out but didn't question it. Instead he chose to focus on his concerns for Sans' safety.
"But brother, that's dangerous! I know you have the most powerful magic in the underground but still... you've only got one HP and you tend to tire quickly! If you get hit even once you'll die!" The scarf wearing monster declared, concern radiating from him in waves.
"Heh, I know bro..." Sans admitted, voice barely louder than a whisper. "I know that all too well. You see, the human got rather... frustrated... with me. In out first confrontation I was able to kill her almost immediately. I thought I had managed to avenge you and the others but she just reset time to right before the battle and I was forced to do it all over again. Every time I beat her she would go back and after awhile... she started memorizing my attack patterns."
Papyrus didn't like the sound of where this story was heading. A feeling of dread washed over him as he noticed the resigned look on his older siblings face.
"A few tries later the kid managed to kill me." The jokester laughed humorlessly, not meeting the other skeletons gaze. "And that wasn't the only time. No, the brat wanted payback for all the times I'd stood in their way so instead of moving on to complete whatever diabolical scheme they had in mind, the kid reset to when she first fell into the underground... and did it all over again. Around the fourth loop, the human figured out that after she kills me she can just rewind to right before our battle and not waste time killing the rest of you. That way she could kill me as much as she wanted."
"How... how many times have you died Sans?" The younger monster questioned, dreading the answer he was about to receive.
'About twenty-four I guess... haven't really been keeping count.' His older brother replied, scratching his cheek bone with one finger uneasily.
It felt as if all the air had been forcefully expelled from his body as Pap shut his eyes. Tears were gathering but he refused to let them fall. No, he had to stay strong... Sans needed him! Judging by the lost look on his bros face, it wouldn't be long before he broke. The spaghetti lover knew Sans was strong, but there is only so much someone can take. No wonder he had been having nightmares recently. Who wouldn't after everything he'd been through.
At that moment Papyrus had promised himself that he would be there for his brother and help take down the fallen human once and for all. That is why, mere minutes after Sans had teleported to the judgment hall, Pap followed as fast as he could on foot. He knew it would take about an hour, even if he was running at his top speed, to reach the final corridor... he just hoped he would make it in time.
As he shoved open the large stone doors he was met with the sounds of battle. Peering around the pillars that lined both sides of the room, the tall skeleton was graced with the sight of his older brother impaling the evil human through the chest with several of his bone attacks. Letting out a sigh of relief, Papyrus watched as the bones disappeared, allowing the child to fall to the floor in a broken heap. Just as he was about to leave his hiding place a blinding flash of light lit up the surrounding room and he heard a menacing chuckle sound from behind him.
"Hmm, what is this?" The voice asked, mockingly, causing him to turn toward the sound. "It seems as if I let a little bug escape my net. Oh well, all the better to crush you now."
Before he was able to move further Chara had rushed forward and landed a crushing blow to the middle of his sternum, sending the winded monster careening backwards to land at his bros feet.
"Pap?" Sans cried, worriedly reaching down to help the younger monster to his feet... sighing in relief as he noticed that the human had refrained from using her knife. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay put!"
"When do siblings ever do as they're told?" The fallen human asked, rage shining in her eyes. "What good are they anyways? Always causing trouble... backing out of the plans we made... breaking promises. If it weren't for my 'so called sibling'... I wouldn't be like this!"
Pap flinched, the hatred in the child's voice sending shivers coursing down his spine. He was so distracted by the fear pulsing throughout his soul that he failed to notice the attack heading towards him and only came back to his senses after Sans pushed him out of the way. He lay there, trembling on the ground as Sans deflected the blow back toward the evil human.
"Pappy you need to run!" The comedian shouted as Chara readied her next attack. "This is why I didn't want you to come. You shouldn't have to deal with this! You're too innocent and pure... I don't want to see that taken away from you!"
The elder skeleton glanced back to where his little brother still lay motionless on the floor, panic shining through the tears in his eye sockets. Papyrus stared in shock. He had never seen his strong, easy-going, older brother look so broken as he did in that moment... and it rattled him to the core.
"Sans, I won't leave you to deal with this alone!" The spaghetti lover exclaimed loudly, ignoring the tremors that wracked his frame as he forced himself off the ground... hands raised above his head for emphasis. "We need to stick together if we are to..."
He trailed off, unable to finish as two knives pierced through his gloved hands and into the pillar behind him, effectively pinning him in place. Blood trailed down his arms as he screamed out in pain, unable to hold it in as his brother rushed forward anxiously shouting his name.
"Oh my god, Pap... just hold still. I'll get them out." Sans uttered, trying his best to remain calm.
Papyrus just whimpered. The knives had sliced through several of the smaller bones causing him excruciating pain. Yet even suffering as he was, the normally energetic monster noticed as Chara silently began advancing on his older bro and managed to choke out a warning just in time. He watched helplessly as his hoodie clad brother turned to stand defensively between the child and himself, the blue glow of his eye illuminating his face and forming a frightening image that even the fallen human hesitated upon seeing. Though that didn't last long and a menacing smirk soon covered her face once more.
"What's wrong, Sansy?" Chara mocked, humor shining in her blood red eyes. "Are you upset that I hurt your pathetic baby brother? You should be happy. After all, he's still alive... isn't he?"
The pinned monster watched as grief flickered across his siblings expression. He knew exactly what was going through Sans' head and so, taking a trembling breath, he called out to gain the others attention.
"Do not listen to her Sans. It is not your fault that I died all those other times." He alleged, a few tears trailing down his face as he accidentally jostled his wounded hands. "You tried your very best to protect everyone... that's all you could do! There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Now stop moping about and show that evil human a BAD TIME!"
"Shut your trap! The only reason you're even alive is because I happened to make a mistake and didn't wait around for you to turn to dust." Chara growled, irately flinging another knife in Papyrus' direction. The scarf wearing monster closed his eyes, awaiting the inevitable impact.
As the demonic child was speaking Sans had managed to summon a large scale bone attack without drawing her attention. As soon as the weapon left the girls hand the comedian had unleashed his assault, letting the bones fly as he teleported in front of his bro... a resigned smile on his face as he gazed lovingly up at the younger skeleton.
Upon opening his sockets a strangled cry wrenched itself from Papyrus' throat as he watched Sans fall to his knees, the knife tip piercing through the middle of his chest directly where his soul resided. Tears streamed heavily down his face as his mind tried to convince him that what he was seeing wasn't real. It couldn't be! There was no possible way that his older brother, the monster he looked up to above all others, was going to fall like this. Yet his heart knew differently. He was awake... and Sans had just sacrificed himself in order to save him.
The shorter monster took in a shaky breath, blood dripping from his mouth to land softly on the ground near his slippered feet. He took some satisfaction in hearing the brats swears coming from behind him and knew that she hadn't escaped his attack unscathed. But even so, it was only a matter of time before she recovered enough to continue the fight.
"H...heya bro..." Sans gasped, barely able to talk as his body began to dissolve. "This t...timeline will probably reset s...soon. It'll all go b...back to how it was before th...the human appeared. When it d...does, I w...want you to just f...forget about this. Block it from your m...memory. But for n...now, you have to f...fight. That brat c...can't be allowed to win. Tibia honest I w...wish I could s...still be by your side p...protecting you, but, I can't. There is one thing I c...can do to help keep you safe th...though."
"Sans what are you..." Pap trailed off as his brother rose unsteadily to his feet and painfully made his way closer to the enthusiastic monster.
With a grimace, the slipper wearing skeleton reached out and yanked the knives out of the pillar, catching his little bro as they both collapsed to the ground. The taller skeleton cradled his bloody hands close to his body as he allowed his sibling to wrap him in a tight embrace. Suddenly, the blue glow of Sans' magic engulfed him... healing his injuries and filling him with a power he'd never felt before. It was as if he had been infused with the older monsters strength. The light vanished moments later as Sans' body went limp in his arms. Papyrus let out a cry of despair as he held the smaller being close, rocking his still form as he would a frightened child, before his brothers body completely dissolved and he was left holding nothing but a dust covered hoodie. He stayed there, silent sobs wracking his body as tears soaked through the blue fabric he kept firmly pressed to his face. It wasn't until shrill laughter echoed throughout the room that he remembered the human child.
"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise." Chara stated, turning a gleeful smirk on the remaining skelebro. "If I had known it would be that easy to kill the comedian I would have let you live longer in the other loops. So Pappy, how does it feel knowing you were the one who caused your brothers downfall?"
The distraught skeleton turned enraged eyes on the evil human who had dared to laugh at Sans' death. Slowly rising to his feet, sockets never leaving Chara, Papyrus took a moment to slip his arms into the sleeves of his older bros jacket... pulling the ends of his scarf out to fall down his back.
'Sans, please forgive me.' The tall skeleton thought as he took his battle stance, the judges magic mingling with his own, making it stronger than it's ever been. 'I should have been able to help! I should have been able to protect you as you've always protected me! But I failed... if it hadn't been for me getting in your way then maybe, just maybe, you'd still be alive. I promise you though, I will do everything in my power to stop the fallen human. Thank you for lending me your powers brother... there's no way I would be able to do this on my own.'
"Chara! You were the one who threw the knife, not I." Papyrus shouted, pain lacing his voice but he refused to let any more tears fall. "Yes it's true that Sans sacrificed himself to protect me... but he did it out of love. Do you even remember what it feels like to be loved like that? To know that no matter what your family will always be there to protect you? Or has the hate you hold within your soul clouded your memories?"
He paused, searching for a sign that his words were having any affect on the small girl in front of him. All he got in turn was a sinister smile as the child readied a new knife (where she was getting them from he had no idea).
"Very well, it seems you leave me no choice." Pap said, regret tinging his voice. "Human! There was once a time when I believed you could be a better person, when I offered you friendship in the hopes that it would help you see the light. That time has long passed. I am sorry but I, The Great Papyrus, no longer believe in you! However, I am not going to give you a BAD TIME, instead... I'm going to have LOTS... OF... FUN!"
The world faded away as the normally enthusiastic monster closed his eyes, taking a deep calming breath as he readied himself for what he was about to do.
"I'm sure my brother would have given a speech about what a nice day it is, but tibia honest... I don't feel up to it." Pap admitted, a sad smile forming on his face as he repeated the final pun his bro had spoken. "Let's just cut to the chase you dirty brother killer!"
His eyes snapped open as the battle began, revealing a blazing orange flame emitting from his right socket. A row of bones immediately manifested below the feet of the human causing her to jump into the air. Papyrus then summoned a large staff-like femur which he used to slash and stab at her soul until she had less than ten HP remaining. He finished his turn by calling forth several of his older brothers gaster blasters... eye turning blue in response to the stronger magic flowing through his body. He watched, unremorseful, as the child fell motionless to the floor... blood seeping from the many wounds he'd inflicted upon her. He sighed, leaning heavily on his staff as a blinding light lit up the area and he was suddenly faced with a revived Chara. The spaghetti lover had anticipated this as he had remembered what Sans had told him of the timelines, yet it still sent an uneasy chill down his spine.
"Nyeh heh heh! I see you are back again!" He exclaimed loudly, pointing the end of the elongated femur towards his brothers murderer. "Have you not had enough? Well then, let's see if we can remedy that!"
Time and time again Papyrus' attacks pierced through the humans defenses... and time and again she returned. Each time gaining more ground as she learned the skeletons patterns until he was nearly at his limit.
"What's wrong royal guard wannabe?" Chara taunted, a malicious grin twisting her face into something demonic. "Getting tired already? Even with Sans' powers you can't beat me. You'll fail just as he did. There's no other way this will end."
The scarf clad skeleton glared angrily at the fallen human, eye pulsing orange and blue at the mention of his brother. Sans had done everything in his power to protect the ones he cared about, to protect all monsters from this evil child, and she had the gall to call him a failure. There was no way Pap would allow her to get away with that. He didn't care if her insults were directed at him, he could brush it off, but to insult the one monster who had always been there for him... that was another matter entirely.
"Leave my brother out of this Chara!" He shouted, calling forth an array of bones which he let fly in her direction. "He was the bravest monster I've ever known and I will not allow you to disrespect his memory!"
The child laughed, dodging every attack that was sent her way. When her turn came she nearly managed to connect with the younger skeleton.
"The comedian, brave? Ha! Don't make me laugh." Chara gloated, remembering her past duels with the elder skelebro. "If only you knew how many times I had him on his knees, begging me to reset just so he didn't have to be alone anymore. No, Sans wasn't brave. If he was... he wouldn't have given up and let me kill him."
The lights of Papyrus' eyes shrank to pin-points, his anger forming a magical wind around him which caused both his scarf and Sans' jacket to flutter in the breeze. He refused to believe that what the child said was true. His bro would never have given up like that. It just couldn't be true!
"You're lying!" The lanky monster replied, vehemently. "My brother would never do such a thing."
"Oh, but I'm not... everything I've told you is the truth." The girl replied. "Your big brother was so overwrought with the pain of loosing the ones he loved that he lost the will to live. It made it entirely too easy to kill him when that happened... so I decided to have a little fun. I fought him up until the point where he was just too exhausted to continue... and then I refused to let him die. I kept him alive... but just barely. He was too weak to harm me and, after several weeks, he tried to end his own life. I wouldn't let him though. I lost track of how many times he begged me to reset, it had to be in the hundreds, and after he'd completely given up on life... after he was nothing more than a shell of the monster he'd once been... that's when I used my knife to end his miserable existence. Sans didn't even put up a fight and, you know what, he died with a smile on his face."
Papyrus had been silent the entire time that the human was speaking, body shaking from the many emotions coursing through his soul as Chara recited the story of how she'd broken his brothers will. He was in shock. Sans hadn't told him any of this when he'd explained the timelines, but... that didn't mean it wasn't true. He didn't want to believe what the brat was saying. He didn't want to think of his brother alone and wanting to die. That thought crashed over him like a tidal wave. Sans had been so desperate to end his suffering that he'd been willing to take his own life! He couldn't dwell on that at this moment however, he would just have to wait for the timeline to reset so he could confront his big brother and learn the truth. Until the moment Sans told him it was true face to face he wouldn't believe what the demon child had revealed. Though doubts still lingered in his mind as he recalled his earlier feeling that Sans hadn't told him the entire truth.
"If what you say is true, I will make you pay for the suffering you caused my brother!" He shouted, redoubling his efforts Papyrus sent attack after attack toward the grinning girl, each stronger than the last.
They continued for nearly an hour, not speaking a word as they traded blows. The skeleton panted. summoning a squad of gaster blasters to finish the girl off, but she managed to survive the barrage. The fun loving monster was barely able to get a breath as he dodged Chara's latest attack. With how exhausted he was though Papyrus failed to notice the second knife following in the shadow of the first and, as the weapon pierced through his battle body, his eyes widened in surprise and he fell to his knees.
"What was that about making me pay?" Chara mocked, looming above him with a patronizing sneer. "I must have misheard you. Someone like you never stood a chance against someone like me."
With that, the child turned and walked toward the door at the far end of the judgment hall... heading in the direction of Asgore's throne room. With one hand resting on the door handle she glanced back over her shoulder.
"It's been fun, Papyrus." She said innocently, entertainment shining in her red eyes. "We'll have to do it again sometime."
With that, she was gone... leaving the defeated monster alone with his thoughts. Papyrus gasped, sobs escaping him clenched jaw as he began to dissolve into dust.
"I'm s...sorry Sans!" He cried, weakly clutching the older skeletons hoodie. "Even th...though you lent me w...what was left of y...your magic... I still wasn't s...strong enough! I'm so s...sorry."
'Hey, don't worry Pappy. I'm not angry with you... not in the slightest. You have nothing to be sorry for.' He heard his brothers voice whisper in his head causing a peaceful smile to spread over his face.
"S...Sans... wherever you a...are... please wait for m...me." The dying monster mumbled, barely able to form the words as the last remnants of his strength faded away.
AN: So that's it. Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter, I know I am ;) Don't forget to review!
