Chapter 2
( Lucus: Is the answer to your plea… A. Heck yes!? B. Heck yes?! C. Heck yes!? Or D. Heck yes!? But yeah, I'll continue this!
Silver: =( Yeah, I was like "NOOOO" when I saw the tumblr post. Thank you for the kind comments about the writing! Prepare for a weird ride toward the ending I envisioned!
Aura: You're absolutely right! But my take was that you technically "freed" everyone's souls when you used your SAVE. Either that, or Asriel could have used a last ditch move to help himself out when he saw that it was crazy Chara.
Guest: Calm… Anxiety? You might want to seek help for that! It doesn't seem healthy! Haha, but, no, I'm glad that the story evokes some emotion! But… That's every writer's hopes and dreams. It's about to get way worse… I'm afraid, in that department. Prepare your tissue boxes. D-did anyone catch that reference in there somewhere.
Kiryma: I LOVED the idea. I mean, it blew me away that they had this idea in the first place. And thank you! I know I changed a lot cause of my own head canon so I was still hoping it would have that same "feel".)
Before the knife could be brought down and the sharp blade could tear satisfactorily through fabric and bone, a boney hand was extended. Finger joints moved as a strange blue light began to emanate forth from one singular eye socket. The perpetually grinning skeleton stood in Chara's path once more but this time he seemed hesitant. What could have been a swift first attack with a series of Gaster Blasters followed up by the rest of his strongest move was instead a simple toss up of Chara as their heart turned blue in reaction.
Their eyes met and something seemed to unnerve the skeleton, for the doubt subsided and his pupils disappeared into darkness for an instant. A flick of the wrist later, despite tugging hands now on his shoulder and the sinful child was sent straight into the hard ground.
"*where… did you get all that LV, kiddo?" he questioned tentatively, as if not really wanting an answer at first, eyes sliding to the side as if avoiding direct eye contact now. "*is this some sort of joke, because if it is, I'm missing the punchline."
"*Sans! What are you-," protested the kind voice of Toriel, pitch rising as she watched with intense fear as her beloved child was picked up and tossed like a rag doll. "*But you promised-!"
"*you wouldn't happen to be… the real "monster" from all those nightmares, would you? be a pal and answer honestly."
Sweat seemed to be pouring off of San's forehead at this point. Not from exertion, but from terror.
"SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THE HUMAN? I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DID NOT GET YOUR CHANCE TO FIGHT SAID HUMAN WHILE WE ALL HAVE IN FACT DONE SO, BUT THIS MIGHT BE A TAD EXCESSIVE, BROTHER!" Arms were attempting to wrap themselves around the smaller skeleton now. Gloves lost their grip, however, and only managed to almost tug the blue hoodie that Sans wore.
"*Hey, knock it off, Sans! The punk is a wimp! They can't take that kind of abuse!"
"*S-sans, I-I'm sure you h-have an idea or s-something, but maybe this c-can be settled by talking it out?"
"Perhaps… We're mistaken about the child. Let's talk this out, first," another, deeper voice added.
"*That's quite enough!" was the loud yell that came next, Toriel's fur covered hand seizing San's wrist tightly just after he had sent the human flying one last time for his turn. "*I will not stand idly by and allow you to hurt such a poor, innocent young youth! How could you harm them after all they did to assist you? You are worse than Asgore, I am afraid! And that is stooping very low!"
There was a grumble of discontent from nearby, a large figure standing off to the side. Despite his huge size, the large form was bathed in darkness. He had pretty much gone unnoticed by everyone and now even Undyne cast a gaze over at him with her eyes wide.
Slumping down, seeming to be fully exhausted, Chara was at the brink of losing all of their health. It wouldn't take much at this point. Their weapon of choice was lying nearby, having been picked up and tossed alongside of them the entire time as if connected to their very being. Fingers stretched out toward the artifact. Sans saw this and looked back at the others as if awaiting some sign that they were noticing what was wrong here. However, the glares and looks of confusion, even from Asgore himself, told the skeleton playing hero that he was wrong.
"*don't tell me that none of you have those nightmares? i must be dreaming…," he added ironically, shrugging his shoulders as his hands extended from out of his pockets. Almost immediately, the shorter skeleton was seized from behind, long arms wrapping around his shoulders and holding on tight in a manner that pinned his arms in place. Eyes trailing after her movements, the comedian was unable to stop the goat mom from approaching the fallen child in his current position. "*tori, wait…"
"*My child, are you injured? It is alright now. I, Toriel, will attend to your injuries. But tell me, my child, where did you learn of such a name? Chara?" the kind older woman questioned, her eyebrows furrowing with apprehension. Despite this, she bent down onto one knee and then onto both knees and scooped up Chara tenderly. Uneasiness died away as the act of kindness was rewarded with an eager embrace from the human child.
"I-I'm sorry, Mom… I-I'm sorry," was the almost inaudible response from the brunette youth. It became evident that they had used the leverage, however, as a means of retrieving their weapon off of the ground. Blade now in hand, they twisted it in their grasp, a wild smirk widening as muscles tensed.
"*tori, watch your back!"
Wiggling in the tight grip placed upon him, Sans managed to snake his arm out of the grip and in one last ditch effort, use his powers once more to lift Chara up from the ground, interrupting the attempted assassination.
However, in an instant, Toriel had whipped around in her spot hunched over on the ground, her hand now extended as a bright ball of fire appeared just above her palm.
"*Unhand. My. Child!" she growled heatedly, her demeanor similar to a momma bear whose cub is in jeopardy. Before anyone could move a muscle, the ball of light had been sent flying in the direction of the skeleton, whose one white pupil and other glowing blue pupil traced the orb of fury. Even as Papyrus attempted to switch positions, the actions were too late. The magic struck him square in the chest. Immediately after, the human fell from their position in the air, freeing them. Somehow, miraculously, they landed on their feet rather than taking damage.
"NO!"
Even as now, the taller brother attempted to hold on as tightly as he could, Papyrus was unable to stop the inevitable. San's health dropped startling down to 0 after the blow struck him. Having the lowest health and the lowest defense in the entire Underground, in the past the comedian had relied solely on his ability to dodge, being rather nimble and able to move faster than should have been humanly possible. Normally it worked out fine for him. Sans rarely if ever engaged himself in fights normally. The lazy bones enjoyed chilling and hanging out in Grillby's. When he was on "human scouting duty" he tended to sleep almost the entire time.
But in situations like these… Well…
His entire body began to disintegrate, leaving behind nothing but dust that began to pour onto the ground before being caught up by a faint wind and swirling past everyone toward the Throne Room.
Slumping forward, knee caps slamming straight into the hard ground, Papyrus held out his hands in the same manner as he had before, as though he were still in the act of holding his dear brother. Only, there was nothing for him to hold any more.
"SANS? BROTHER?"
"*No-no, that wasn't what… Oh, my god, what have I done?" was the distressed response from the goat as her hands flew up to cover her face. It had clearly never been her intention to take another's life. In fact, her sole focus was in keeping everyone safe. In her overly protective moment of fury, however, she hadn't realized how little health her friend had. Slumping forward, using the ground as a brace to keep herself from simply having her face meet cold ground, regret seized up inside of her and Toriel could barely function.
"*O-oh my-," stammered Alphys, hands shooting up to cover her mouth, shock and horror evident in her eyes. Next to her, Undyne breached some of the distance and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, comforting the lizard for just the briefest of moments.
"*T-they were trying to stab T-toriel! S-sans was protecting her and… O-oh my," Alphys stammered, her words reaching the furry ears of the goat mom whose horror intensified.
"*NGAHH! YOU!? WHAT IN THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU, PUNK!?" Heels stomped as a rage fueled Undyne moved forward. A spear had already been summoned behind her, twirling in mid-air menacingly. Toriel meekly bowed her head after looking up at the Royal Guardsman, eyes sliding shut finally as the compassionate lady went to accept her fate.
However, the stomps of Undyne's boots faded as the fish woman passed beside her, a small gust of wind created by the energy emanating off of her merely rustling Toriel's hair. Confusion set in, she turned just in time to witness a webbed hand shoot out and snatch Frisk up by the collar of their sweater, hauling them off of their feet. Despite the horrifying fact that someone had just met their demise right in front of them, a monster that Toriel had confirmed before to be a friend of Frisk's, the human was grinning madly. A Cheshire type grin that was chilling to witness. Chilling to the bone. Toriel shook her head, feeling a tear roll down her cheek at the very thought of a pun having crossed her mind at a time like this.
"*I can't believe that I trusted you!? How could you break everyone's hearts like this? What in the heck is wrong with you!?" was the shout that followed, a fire lit in the depths of her eyes. Despite all the hours of cooking that they had done together, the phone calls… The human had turned on them all in the end. The betrayal that she felt was overwhelming and caused her normally steady hand to shake despite having no real issue holding up the human's puny weight. "*Sans always knows when something is up, and boy was he right. Either way, you aren't worth Sans! NOTHING is worth losing Sans! And now I have to sit here and watch his brother suffer? No… You're going to PAY for that, PUNK!"
Even as the words escaped the snarling lips, spittle spraying subtly onto the human's face, Chara's hands were shakenly reaching up to their own face.
"I, I don't care! I don't care!" was the screech that followed. It seemed inhuman and reflexively Undyne loosened her grip. Maniacal laughter followed: a sound like that from a haunting nightmare. Even as the human slumped forward onto the ground declaring loudly, "I'll kill you all again and again and destroy everything. We can erase it all!" tears had begun to form in their eyes, dripping steadfastly to the floor.
XXXXX
"*i can get us there, kiddo. i… i know a shortcut." For once in all the time that they had been friends, the human child realized that Sans actually sounded timid; as though he weren't entirely sure what to do next. It only served to make the innocent one worry more when Sans turned away from him and spoke again, "*i… shouldn't… no, i have to. if there is a chance that pap can be…"
It was as though Sans was talking to another being that was there, as he gestured toward an invisible space in the air before making up his mind finally.
"*i have to try. come on kid, let's go."
Hand in hand, the two of them suddenly vanished from the otherwise vacant bar, leaving behind no witnesses to the strange power that the skeleton possessed. Once again, their surroundings blended for a fraction of an instant, before they were replaced completely by the long, familiar stretch of hallway.
"*wow, well, we're still alive, pal, so things must've worked." There was a sigh of relief that escaped through his clenched teeth.
"W-wait, are we back in your timeline or mine?"
"*yours, hopefully, but my eye sockets can't make out anyone."
"That's because they would all be in the room with the barrier. Come on, Sans!"
They began to run this time, neither hesitating as they rushed through the door and into the King's room. Crossing over yellow flowers, trampling some petals, neither felt a tad bit guilty for their disturbance. However, as the two reached the doorway that led to the barrier, the lazy skeleton froze up, skidding to a halt.
"Sans! We have to stay determined! No hesitating!"
"*r-right, yeah…," came the response. "*sorry kid, guess for a moment my skull didn't feel screwed on right…" was the response the child received. Turning and frowning, Frisk gestured eagerly with his hands, propelling their friend into action. As they continued on their trek, a dark shadow crossed San's face, obscuring the change in emotion that flickered across his skull.
"*papyrus…," he whispered to himself, escaping the ear shot of the innocent child he was following. Like a flood gate had been unleashed, memories came rushing into his head. Something about the transition to this timeline had caused it to happen, had been the first thought that crossed his mind. He was no real genius when it came to stuff, preferring to distance himself from the research he had performed in the past now, but it soon became apparent that the only reason he was receiving these memories was because the Sans from this timeline had perished. But it wasn't just his own death that the comedian could recall. No, it was everything from this timeline, including the kind and compassionate little human that had spent time playing with Papyrus, solving his puzzles and sparing each and every monster that they had come across.
Willing himself forward despite the confusion dancing in his mind like some sort of tap dancing ballerina, the skeleton ran after his friend, picking up speed again once they came close enough to see the others standing off in the distance. It didn't take a rocket scientist to pick out his taller brother in the group, though he was hunched over, palms on the ground. Eyes were locked upon his brother; fixated.
"*papyrus!" Sans couldn't help himself from shouting. Heads turned. Each monster looked like they had just seen a friend struck by a bus and slowly went from that grief stricken dead look in their eyes, to wonder and bewilderment like a child discovering Santa was real after all. Most of all, Papyrus seemed in utter awe as his shorter brother skidded on the bottoms of his slippers and fell to his knees, hugging the puzzle-lover as tightly as he possibly could.
"SANS!? IS THIS FOR REALSIES!? WOWIE, YOU'RE ALIVE! NYEH- YOU, YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH! IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR SHENANIGANS?"
"*yeah, I'm for real, pap. i'm sorry i scared you, bro," Sans answered, allowing his eyes to slide shut as he just took in the moment. In his mind's eye, the short skeleton could see his brother through the hazy snow. It had been impossible at that time to see much of what was happening. However, as the child had advanced in their route and Papyrus' voice had mellowed, it had finally struck Sans deep within his chest that his brother didn't look right. The snow storm had subsided and there Papyrus was, beheaded. It took only a moment for his body to disintegrate and his heart to burst into a million tiny little pieces. Sans had replayed it time and time again, beating himself up for having not known any better.
"THAT IS ALRIGHT, I FORGIVE YOU SANS! BUT PLEASE… DO NOT SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN…," was the sincere response, Papyrus gripping his older brother tightly. Warm water splashed onto San's shoulder, signaling to him that the tall skeleton was openly crying in relief.
"*Wow, guess Sans is tougher than he looks! I always knew I liked you for some reason!" Undyne cried loudly, throwing her head back and laughing before giving a wild emotional grin, her method of releasing all the sadness and anger that had built up inside of her up until this revelation.
"*Oh, thank goodness! This is a good thing! I am happy to see this," Asgore added, clapping his hands and looking utterly relieved. Had she not been thrown on a yoyo of emotions, goat mom would have probably glared in his direction for acting so nonchalant when she knew he had really been terrified himself like everyone else had been.
"*Thank heavens indeed," Toriel instead added, relieved and holding back her own floodgate of tears. However, the Ex-Queen was much better at hiding her emotions, having mastered it for a number of years now.
Everyone converged on the brothers besides Undyne, who was lording over Chara, keeping an eye on them.
"*H-hey, g-glad you're okay, Sans…," the nervous scientist started, tapping her nails together as Papyrus and Sans helped each other off of the ground. "*B-but you didn't perhaps…?"
"*i had no choice, Alphys," Sans responded, face darkening for a fraction of a second. "*anyhow, guess it was just a brush with death." With that, the comedian removed his comb and pretended to use it across his skull, earning him a groan from Papyrus initially before a reluctant smile was given.
There is a type of blindfold that happens when you zero in on a particular object or person. This worked utterly to Frisk's advantage as the little child snuck past everyone. It was no wonder. After all, even Undyne had never been able to spot them in a small patch of tall grass. Heck, they even managed to slip right past Asgore themselves, using his massive frame and cape like a camouflage while peaking around in order to get a better view. Surely enough they finally spotted the person that they had been switched with. It was like looking into a mirror. Down to the brown hair cut in a short style just past their ears to the blue and pink striped sweater, the human that was kneeling down on the ground was the same as them. It was eerie, in fact, and sent a shiver down Frisk's spine.
Seeing themselves like that, looking completely crazy? It was unnerving. Frightening even. Worse yet, to think that there was some timeline where they had fallen off the wagon and into the rabbit hole of messed up was hard to fathom. Everything from the time when Frisk had made spaghetti and burned down Undyne's home to participating on the MTT Brand Cooking Show and even having the overly persistent Monster Kid buzzing in their ear about how great Undyne was… There was no way that Frisk would trade any of that for the world, let alone murder. So what had driven this human to this awful choice?
Still, if their adventures had taught them anything, it was that anyone and anything could be spared or saved. Maybe even… Someone as deranged as that timeline's Frisk.
But before the kind hearted human could march their way across the room and make themselves known to everyone, Chara was on the move. Straightening up, something seemed to change as their health jumped startlingly upward from something that they had just eaten.
"*Hey, move one more muscle and I'll make you eat a fist sandwich instead!" Undyne demanded, earning a slow step forward instead in response, a taunting smile spreading across the human's lips. Frisk almost couldn't believe their eyes. No, this wasn't them, was it? Sans had been right. "*Seriously, punk!? Alright, if you want to go, then I'll show you a real fight! No more holding back with you. Clearly you've grown past the little kid fights now, huh? Ngah!"
"*W-wait, Undyne, y-you aren't serious! They have a c-crazy amount of LV! Y-you don't stand a chance… A-and w-without your armor!" cried Alphys, rushing forward and attempting to grab at her girl from behind to pull her away from the impending battle.
"*Pssh, armor, smarmor! I don't need no stinking armor to take care of some trash! N-no, not you, Alphys! Real trash! I'm talking about this human that made us all believe in them only to pull this crud! Besides, I've got you guys behind me, right? I'll be fine with all of you chanting my name to victory!" came the overly dramatic response, confidence radiating off of the blue scaled monster as she grinned with all her pointy teeth showing practically.
"*I-it's suicide!"
"I can't lose! In fact, since you're such a wimp, I'll let you go first even," Unyne offered even as she turned Chara's heart green, giving them a shield in the process to protect from all of her spears. After all, the fish woman was always generous beyond compare.
"She's right, Undyne. You should have listened," taunted the cold, almost dead voice of the human as they twirled their weapon, eyes flashing with a hint of red color that was almost undetectable at first, but didn't go unnoticed by Frisk.
(Gah, short chapter, sorry! I didn't want to make you guys wait too long between them. This is the point of divergence too, where I start giving my own real ending to it so I figured it made the most sense to stop here.)