Hey, I'm back!

I felt so pumped about posting this chapter, I have no idea how you all will react to this. But I hope you like it!

These last three chapters will play out in the same time line, the time line after Byakuran entered Frisks mind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Byakuran is sitting inside Papyrus and Sans's house, tiredly looking over a few blueprints he's holding. The time line has reset yet again, but that doesn't bother him. This time, he'll focus on the time machine. He is unwell enough that he won't get bothered by Mettaton for a while, and it's getting tiring to answer the same questions over and over when you've already answered them at least 50 times already. Everyone are worried since sickness often means the monster will turn into dust, that won't happen to Byakuran. But his sickness is more severe than just a normal cold, they are right about that.

Sans enter the living room from the kitchen, holding two cups as he walks over to the sofa. He gives one cup to Byakuran, which he accepts with a small smile, before Sans sit down on the floor again to arrange and look over the papers there. They have been working in silence like this for at least two hours, trying to see which part went wrong with the time machine. It's not really helping that Byakuran isn't in top shape either, because if he was he would have it a lot easier to think. Only sipping on sugar drenched coffee helps him slightly but it doesn't help him a lot. It might have gone better with Shoichi here too…

Absently, Byakuran puts away his mug and digs into his pant pocket after his phone. He calls a number and puts it to his ear, waiting to see if someone will pick up. But no one does. Byakuran is about to frown in disappointment, but then he remembers that time might be changing up there on the surface too. That's why he and Sans are working on this. So without any further ado, Byakuran goes back to looking over the papers and sipping at his coffee.

It's strange, but when he woke up this reset, his body was weak and was hurting a lot from the invisible pressure around him. But now, when they're working on the time machine, the pressure has lifted completely and Byakuran can actually relax to recover. It's almost like he got the bigger hit from mind walking than Frisk even if it was their mind he and Chara were fighting in. It's strange, but he supposed it's better him than Frisk. The kid is still so young. A few setbacks couldn't be avoided from the kid though.

"Byaku, Sans!" Frisk call out as they step inside the house, their cheeks red from the cold and snow on their jacket. Sans jacket to be precise, but Frisk is using it. The human and skeleton look towards them, nodding towards the happy child and putting down their respective papers.

"hey kiddo. you had fun with Papyrus?"

Frisk giggles slightly, nodding their head as they take off the jacket and shoes so they can approach Byakuran sitting in the sofa. After carefully moving the blueprints onto the floor, Frisk climbs up beside the man to hug him tightly. Byakuran pats their head in response, a comfortable smile on his face. Now, this is the kid he's friends with. Little Frisk who is nice to everyone with a happiness that knows no bounds. It's amazing that they're still cheerful with what they've been put through. But it must have something to do with how they don't know what happened when Chara was in control and has lost a lot of memories. Most memories are still there but they've forgotten about Chara and some important things about the surface. They have worse eyesight than before too, a lot worse, but nothing that a pair of glasses can't fix. Byakuran made sure Frisk would get glasses from the very beginning even in his weak state. The glasses are round, like Alphys glasses, and they can barely see through them at the moment since the quick change from cold to warm temperature caused their glasses to condense. The third thing isn't fixable… And that makes the skeletons and human very uncertain about leaving Frisk alone.

"So now you're friends Undyne-chan too? That's good. We're almost done here and then we all can leave for good."

Frisk takes off her glasses to beam happily up at Byakuran, nodding vigorously before hugging him again. The man chuckles and once again starts to pat her head.

"You two the smartest!" They say, looking over to Sans with sparkly eyes. The skeleton shakes his head, lifting his hands in a shrug.

"not the smartest kid, but we're smart. Gaster was definitely the smartest, it's kinda hard to understand what he did to make this thing work."

That makes Byakuran once again think of how Shoichi built his time machine and sighs quietly. If he was here, it might have been easier. Not to mention Byakuran's strange form of flame exhaustion. He is both physically and mentally tired, which is really frustrating when you try to think.

Byakuran rubs his forehead slightly, a headache building up. He can't remember last time he was this bad…

"You ok…?"

When Byakuran opens his eyes, he's faced with the large, sad eyes Frisk is showing him at the moment. He simply nods, smiling with his eyes closed. He's far from fine. He has no idea what is wrong with his body either.

"I'm fine. It's just a headache. Where is Papyrus-kun?"

As if uttering a spell, Papyrus immediately slams the door open and steps inside proudly. Frisk huddles closer into the human male's side when the cold winter air seep inside the house. Byakuran smiles towards Papyrus instead, looking completely comfortable with Frisk by his side.

"Hello Papyrus-kun. You came later than Frisk-chan did. What happened?"

Papyrus point at himself proudly, straightening up slightly. He is almost glowing with the joy he is emitting.

"I JUST TALKED TO A NEW FAN OF MINE. OF COURSE, I ALREADY HAVE MANY, BUT I WOULD NEVER HINDER ANYONE FROM BASKING IN MY WONDERFUL PRESENCE."

"Ah, I know how that's like." Byakuran says absently with a nod. His headache is getting worse by the second and he can feel the magic around him swirl around uneasily. Just what is happening to him?

Hearing that Papyrus has started to ramble and Frisk falling asleep, Byakuran focuses inwards, to the very core of his power and mind to see if there's any change there. If his power or mind got damaged because he mind walked without being a mist user, then he won't know how to deal with it. He might be able to copy some attributes, but he can't copy rain, storm or cloud. And his copies of the flame is never as strong nor as effective as the real attribute is. Anything could have gone wrong. So he looks at his mind first, trying to see if there's any crack or disorder. Nothing is wrong from what he can see and when he tries, his power to look through parallel worlds is still intact. But it makes his body hurt for some strange reason. Even if the mare ring is sealed, he can still do it. It's quite strange but not unwelcome. When Byakuran focus on his flame, his power core, the first thing he notices is that he doesn't have as much flames as usual, which is obviously because of what happened last timeline that somehow got carried over to this one. The second thing he notices is that this unique flame inside Underground is surrounding his core as if trying to break in to get his soul. The third thing he notices is that there is a small crack where this magic has the most dense feeling to it…. A crack… On the 'protection' around his dying will, his soul. This isn't good… Not good at all…

Opening his eyes again and focusing on the outside world, he notices that he has a blanket over him while the other three people in the room continues to talk to each other. Frisk is still sleeping but they wake up with a flinch when Byakuran moves slightly. How long has he been unaware of the world around him? It felt like only a few seconds to him. Now the question is… Is Frisk affected by the magic in the same way Byakuran is?

Not wasting any time in explaining and completely ignoring Papyrus 'YOU'RE AWAKE!', Byakuran puts a hand on top of a drowsy Frisks head and focus on finding their core too. He ignores their blinking, confused stare as he continues searching. After a while he does find it. Their core is in a similar situation as Byakurans, only without any cracks in it. Unknowingly, Byakuran releases a heavy sigh in relief that Frisk doesn't face the same danger he might be facing. The child doesn't have anything to worry about and that's what is important.

"Byaku…?"

When he looks at Frisks worried and confused eyes, he almost tells them what's going on inside his body. But instead of doing that, he smiles at them like he smiles at Yuni. They are similar, Frisk and Yuni. Both of them care for him from the bottom of their heart no matter what happens. He was lucky to have gotten one such person, but now he has two, maybe even more than that.

"Just some bad thoughts." He says without answering any or their questions. Frisk frowns, getting even more worried about him when he says that. But he ignores it and stand up from the couch, a little wobbly but is still able to stand. He can't let Frisk worry about him like they're doing now. They shouldn't have to.

"I'm going to the inn to order a room. It's getting late." Byakuran says, looking outside to see how Snowdin is darker than usual. It's close enough to bedtime for him to use that excuse. Just as Byakuran is about to walk towards the door, Papyrus jumps in his way with his arms spread out and a stubborn frown on his skeleton face.

"NO YOU WILL NOT! YOU HAVE NOT HEARD A SINGLE WORD WE HAVE SAID THIS PAST HOUR, EVEN WHEN WE SAID YOUR NAME. IT IS OBVIOUS YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL. YOU ARE GOING TO STAY HERE AND THAT IS FINAL. I WILL COOK YOU SOME SPAGHETTI SO YOU WON'T GO HUNGRY, AND YOU SHALL STAY IN OUR HOME!"

It won't be any good if they knew how truly serious his situation is. So Byakuran smiles politely, holding up a hand and is just about to decline when Sans interrupt.

"Papyrus is right. you don't feel well so you should stay here for the night. we'll take good care of you, we don't bite."

Byakuran is still reluctant to stay, scratching his chin with a small chuckle. He really don't want them to know how serious it is. And he doesn't know how magic food will effect him with a crack in his core. It could end badly.

"It's fine, I'm just exhausted. It'll go over in the morning. I'll see you all tomorrow anyw-."

The pressure around him suddenly increases, making Byakuran freeze up in pain as his whole body practically explode in a burning heat. When he starts to tilt forward, Papyrus is quick to catch him so he won't fall. The two skeletons and one child's stares worriedly at Byakuran as he's staring off into nothing, his body tense and unresponsive as Papyrus lightly shakes him.

"BYAKURAN? BYAKURAN, WHAT IS IT?! SANS, WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"

Frisk stands up from the couch quickly to approach Byakuran, but then their own body suddenly becomes completely relaxed and they too fall towards the floor. Sans quickly catch the kid, eye sockets narrowing in worry for the two humans. This with Frisk collapsing, that has happened since Byakurans walk through their mind. They don't know what it is and why it's happening, but Byakuran says that they can find out about it once they get to the surface. The kid just needs to rest and they'll be back up on their legs again.

Holding the human child, Sans looks towards Byakuran and quickly tries to think of something they can do. He has no idea what's happening, he doesn't know a lot about humans so he doesn't know how to help. He looks at the papers scattered over the floor. He noticed that Byakuran seemed to relax more when he was working, but he has no idea if anything like that would work for him with the state he's in now.

"lie him on the couch is a start." He says, adjusting his grip on Frisk. With a frown on his face, Papyrus puts Byakuran down on the couch and starts shaking him again but more violently this time.

"COME TO YOUR SENSES! YOU ARE WORRYING THE HUMAN, BYAKURAN! YOU SHOULD NOT STARE AT NOTHING!"

"bro, I don't think shaking him like that will help. the neck is vulnerable." Sans says, stopping his brother from hurting him. Once Byakuran is resting properly on the couch, Sans places Frisk next to him on the couch. He stares at the two humans for a short while before looking back at Papyrus. Maybe Byakuran has something for this back in his home. "I'll go to his house and see if he has something there that can help. try to wake him up." patting Papyrus once on his shoulder, Sans is gone in a flash of blue light as he teleports to Byakuran's apartment. Frisk is still limp as they lie on Byakuran's chest, but their eyes move up to look at Papyrus. The remaining skeleton can clearly see the panic and fear in their eyes. So he gently pats Frisks head, grinning slightly to put on a brave front for the child.

"I-IT'S GOING TO BE OK, HUMAN. BYAKURAN WOULDN'T BE BEATEN THAT EASILY."

Frisk looks up at Byakuran's face, hand twitching as they struggle to make their body move. But instead, they fall asleep without any warning. Papyrus looks between the two humans, one sleeping and one staring at nothing. If shaking and talking won't help, then maybe water will. So Papyrus moves towards the kitchen to get water. When Papyrus is gone, Byakurans eyes start to focus again without any real reason. Groaning, he closes his eyes and moves a hand up to his forehead. His face is damp with sweat. It feels like he has been run over by a truck and then dipped in a pool of lava, this really isn't good.

Byakuran notices that there is something lying on him, something that is making him even warmer. He starts to push it away, but then registers that the weight is actually a human. A tiny human, Frisk. So when they starts to slip from the couch, Byakuran quickly grabs onto them so they won't fall. But his grip is slipping. Why does he have to be so damn weak?

Papyrus quickly picks up the child, having heard when Byakuran 'woke up' and holds Frisk to his chest as he looks at the older human. Byakuran opens his eyes, staring up at who saved the kid from hitting the floor.

"Papyrus…" He mumbles, releasing a heavy sigh before he closes his eyes again. Still holding Frisk with one arm, Papyrus pats Byakuran's forehead with the other hand, frowning even harder at seeing his face even redder than usual.

"WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE THIS RED?"

Byakuran forces out a small chuckle, opening an eye to look at the skeleton. It seems like he really does have more than two people caring for him…

"No… I'm not…" He says weakly, tensing up when another wave of pain washes over him. He smiles slightly in irony, seems like this world really has something against him. He tries to break the constant cycle and in return, he's dying. That's what he gets for doing the right thing after the sins he has done in another future. A fitting end in his opinion, but he will see it through at least.

"I'm… paying for my sins… seems fitting…" Byakuran chuckles again, grinning. Papyrus looks between the human in his arm and the human on the bed, Frisk is still sleeping and Sans still hasn't returned. That expression makes Papyrus feel nervous. Not for himself, but for Byakuran. It looks like one of those expressions Sans can make when he thinks no one is around to see it, like nothing matters anymore.

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SINS, BYAKURAN. RATHER, YOU HAVE DONE MANY GREAT FEATS! NOT AS MANY GREAT FEATS AS I HAVE DONE, BUT MANY NONETHELESS. YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO TAKE OFF YOUR CHEST, I CAN SEE IT. BUT DO NOT WORRY, I AM HERE TO LISTEN."

Byakuran looks at Papyrus for a few seconds, Papyrus staring back at him with a bright smile as comfort. Another weak laugh passes his lips, tilting his head slightly to give Papyrus a stare of disbelief. Well, since he asked, Byakuran might as well humor him. He completely ignores the short flash of blue appearing in the corner of his eye as he looks at Papyrus. Frisk stirs slightly in their sleep.

"Well, Papyrus… I'm dying... My soul is cracking..." Papyrus smile immediately disappears, eye sockets growing wide in horror. He never imagined such a thing happening and he has never heard of anything like that happening either. Especially when a human is still alive. There's the sound of a metal object dropping to the floor and Byakuran looks to his left, his grin growing when he sees Sans equally shocked face. This just feels so ironic that he can't get the smile off his face. When he's doing something good, that's when he's dying.

Sans is horrified, looking at Byakuran with very small dots in his eyes. Byakuran will die? He has always seemed superior, unbeatable, someone every monster looks up to. And now he casually says, with a smile, that he's going to die? Sans and Papyrus can't believe that there's anything joyful about dying, they themselves are scared of dying. But Byakuran just smiles and says it without any fear, only acceptance. Doesn't he even realize how many there are who are worried about him, who care about him? Papyrus is standing in front of him, clearly worrying and wishing only the best, and Byakuran just casually says that he's dying? That won't happen, they won't allow it.

Sans pupils disappear completely, putting his hands in his pockets and staring down at the little box with a red cross on top of the case. He picked it up from Byakuran's apartment and thought it might help. Now he comes back to hear this? Seriously, what is this human thinking?

"... what are you smiling about? that kind of joke isn't funny Byakuran."

Byakuran chuckles again, turning his gaze up to the ceiling, putting a hand to his warm forehead. He just can't help it, it's all so amusing.

"When I do… something good… that's when I'm dying… It's just so… so ironic…" He can't help but chuckle again, moving his hand down to covers his eyes as he just continues to chuckle weakly. "I-... I'm dying, burning... Like I killed others… My power will be the death of me…"

The house is eerily quiet as Byakuran just continues to laugh at nothing.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Cliffhanger...

Mind walking and making Frisk in control of the body again took a lot out of the two humans. Now, Frisk has received a permanent illness and Byakuran is only getting weaker. What will happen next? :3 Two chapters left!