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"Papyrus!"
Sans collapsed on the front lawn of Alphys's home, clutching the left side of his chest with his spare hand and wheezing breathily. The cold rain was pouring out of the sky and drenching them both, obscuring their vision but Void could still see the glimpse of periwinkle in Sans's left eye from the use of blue magic.
"Whoa, buddy, you-you don't look so good," Void helped him to his feet.
"Papyrus!" Sans coughed, stumbling and barging in through the front door. He made it a few feet in the dim light before running smack dab into none other than Mettaton before falling right onto his back and rubbing his sore face.
"Oh, hello there darling," the humanoid robot turned on the spot, hands on his hips. "Do you mind not tracking water all over the place? I'm going to wind up rusting at this rate."
"Mettaton?" Void balked at him, helping Sans to his feet once again. "What are you doing here?"
"I have him on speed dial!" Papyrus's head poked around the corner. "Perfect for situations like this one. Mettaton has a very level head. Flat on top, actually."
"I-I don't – but he's – speed dial?" Sans ran a hand over his wet head, staring. "Never mind that; Papyrus, where is the human?"
"Which one?" he blinked.
"Whichever one is gone!"
"The Frisk clone?" Papyrus asked. "She snuck out just a bit after you left – Toriel and the others went looking for them just a minute ago, they asked me to stand guard just in case the human came back."
"Decent plan," Sans nodded once.
"Um..." Papyrus tapped his fingerbones together. "You aren't... mad at me, are you Sans?"
He let out a long quiet sigh, patting him on the elbow.
"No, Paps. I'm not mad. Irritated, sleep deprived and kinda hungry, but not mad."
"P-Papyrus?" Void stepped out from behind Sans, staring up at the taller skeleton. "Is... is it really...?" he choked, pulling out a tattered red scarf from his jacket pocket.
"Sans..." Papyrus started, looking back and forth between them. "There appear to be... two of you. Care to explain?"
"Paps," Void Sans's voice was shaking as much as his arms as he hugged Papyrus. "Y-you're back... I-I can't believe you're alright...!"
"Of course I am, dear brother," Papyrus patted him kindly on the back. "I'm not entirely certain what's going on, but you have no need to fret. I'm not going anywhere."
"I missed you, bro."
They stood like that in the doorway for a little while, Sans and Mettaton occasionally glancing awkwardly between each other. Void eventually pulled away and wiped his eyes with the red cloth, smiling.
"Where'd you even get an eye patch, anyway?"
"Kind of a long story."
"I gotcha."
"Is that my old scarf?" Papyrus asked quietly. "What on earth are you doing with that dusty old thing?"
"It's... kind of a long story," Void Sans answered without looking up.
"So," Mettaton coughed into his hand, brushing a lock of metallic hair from his face. "Anyone at all going to explain why there's two of your brother now, Papyrus?"
"Why are you even here?" Sans asked. "That's an important question."
"Well," Papyrus started, crossing his arms. "I figured that, what with the whole 'world resetting' thing going on, we should all keep in touch with our loved ones a little more."
"... Oh no," Sans felt a sudden drop in his stomach.
"So Mettaton and I are dating now!" Papyrus beamed at him, earning an absolutely horrified look from Void Sans and Classic Sans alike. "Isn't it great?"
"So-so you're, like... dating," Void glanced at the robot for a moment. "As in, dating dating."
"Eey-uh-huh."
"As in you like each other," the color drained from his face.
"That we do," Mettaton answered with a nod.
"But in a romantic way."
"Absolutely," Papyrus nodded.
"And the feeling is reciprocal."
"That is also true."
"And you have a relationship."
"Correct."
"Together."
"Positive."
"Right," Void nodded after a moment of contemplation. "Be right back.
Void Sans calmly walked around the corner, and the sound of pained retching echoed in the hall shortly after.
"... He seems to be taking it rather well," Sans said expressionlessly.
"Weren't we supposed to be looking out for the human?" Mettaton offered.
"Where would they even go, though?" Papyrus scratched his head.
"I think I have a pretty good idea..." Sans took a slow look out the broken door and gazed up at the towering mountainside of Ebott, and took off out the door and clicked his fingers. Papyrus reached out for his brother, but by the time he got there he had already vanished into the night.
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The rain on the mountainside fell at a light drizzle where Sans landed out of his teleport. He fell to his knees the moment he arrived, gasping for breath that would not come. A violently sharp pain in the left side of his chest blossomed outward like wildfire, and he could only wheeze for several minutes before the pain finally subsided enough to allow him to weakly stand.
I can't keep doing this for much longer...
Sans peered about in the darkness for a moment before reaching for his cellphone, flicking on the bright built in flashlight to illuminate the shadows. Fortunately, he appeared to have reappeared close to one of the mountain's many trails, and he began searching the ground in desperate prayer to whatever deity would listen that he would find what he was looking for. It took him several painfully long minutes, but at last, he discovered a glimmer of hope.
Footprints.
Small, uneven footprints winding up the side of the mountain, nearly washed away by the rain. Upon further inspection it appeared as if whoever had left them had tripped and fallen many times, and Sans grimly nodded to himself before taking off in the direction that they had gone. There was no longer any doubt whatsoever.
Chara was ascending Mount Ebott.
Sans took in a long, deep breath and wiped the rainwater from his brow before bolting up the mountainside, nearly doubled over as he sprinted. It wasn't long before he was gasping for breath yet again, and he vainly wished that he hadn't become so out of shape in the last year. His legs burned as he pumped them as fast as he could, pressing himself harder and harder to push past the fallen branches and clambering through the gradually thinning crunching fallen leaves, the footprints that he followed becoming more and more scarce as mud and earth began to give way to gravel and stone.
Sans pushed himself harder and faster, his dim light swaying as he barely managed to avoid slipping in his untied shoes, the pain in the left side of his chest returning as the climb became more difficult. How the kid could possibly have the energy to continue all the way up the mountain in such a short amount of time was nothing less than remarkable, but he could marvel at the child's climbing ability later.
If they're even still alive.
Sans was quick to force the thought from his clouded head, screaming the child's name until his voice became hoarse and straining to keep a decent pace as the freezing rain gradually began to fall harder and harder, the ominous rumble of thunder growing closer and closer above. The dim light from his cellphone seemed paltry now in the swallowing darkness, and he silently vowed to have Alphys make a few adjustments to the store bought plastic garbage.
Finally, at long last he found a small clue that he was even going in the right direction. Sans almost missed it at first it was so small, but it was caught in the light; a small shred of Chara's sweater hanging from a low hanging branch swaying in the cold wind. He clutched it in his hand, breaths falling fast and hard as he reached deep for a newfound determination. They were close, they had to be. He found a whole mess of footprints nearby, along with tracks that looked as if a fight with someone had occurred from the imprints in the dirt. Who the kid could have been fighting with was still up in the air, but he had a pretty good idea.
Sans forced his breathing to level as he continued up the mountainside, struggling to keep the panic from taking over. If that happened, he might as well just give up; fear would inevitably dim his mind, dull his senses. If he wanted to save the kid, he needed to stay sharp.
It felt like he had been climbing for hours when he finally spotted the child standing in the rain not too far away, peering over the edge of a humongous hole in the mountain. Sans reached out for them, unable to breathe as he strained to speak.
"Kid," he wheezed, but Chara did not seem to hear him through the rain. They did however slowly turn their head when the light washed over them, and he saw that their eyes were swollen from crying.
"Go away!" they backed away toward the hole, eyes widening. "S-stay away from me!"
Perhaps it had been because of the dark, or the rain, or the unfortunate root sticking out of the ground behind their foot, but Chara swung as they tripped backwards. Arms outstretched and waving, they seemed to freeze in time for just a moment, both meeting each other's eyes for a long, silent moment.
And then they fell.
"Kid!" Sans croaked, throwing out his free hand and reaching as deep as he could for the magic.
Nothing happened.
Sans swore aloud and cursed himself down to his bones for what he was about to do.
Without waiting another second he cast himself into the gaping maw of the mountain, darkness devouring him as he fell. He caught sight of Chara tumbling through the air in the light of his phone, and he let go if it to grab hold of them with both hands as he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable impact.
It never came.
Sans blinked after a moment, breathing heavily.
A bright, periwinkle glow was lighting up the long throat of the mountain, and he held the child close as they ever so slowly began to rise through the air.
"Hey there," Void Sans grinned as they ascended through the hole and onto the ground, looking utterly exhausted as they dropped safely. Sans held the quivering child in his arms, shielding them from the rain. "Didja miss me, handsome?"
"What-" Sans spluttered, still out of breath. "You're – how?"
"You took off without me," he held a hand to his chest as he approached. "I'm a little hurt, to be honest."
"How'd you know where to look?" Sans stared at his sopping wet twin.
"Your teleports have gotten sloppy," Void smirked. "You left a magical imprint a mile wide. I could follow it easy, kinda like a magic bloodhound. 'Cept, y'know. No nose," he pointed to his nose hole.
"You beautiful, magnificent bastard," Sans coughed out a shaky laugh.
He slowly lowered Chara to the ground, and he could tell that they were still silently sobbing.
"... Why?" Chara breathed after a moment to wipe their eyes, looking between them before pushing the wet hair from their face. "W-why w-would you s-save me?"
"Well..." Sans shrugged. "Why not?"
Chara looked down between their feet, rubbing their eyes.
"Come on, kiddo," Sans said quietly. "Just tell me why."
"... I dunno," they refused to look up, and Void Sans gave a waving motion for Sans to back up a bit as he approached the child. Sans nodded in understanding, giving his doppelganger space.
"... I think you do know," Void said quietly as he put a hand on their shoulder. "If you won't tell him, I get that. But at least have the decency to tell me."
"I-I don't d-deserve this," Chara choked after a painfully long minute.
"What d'you mean, kid?"
"Any of this...!" they pulled at their hair, eyes bloodshot. "I-I d-don't deserve to h-have my family back-"
"C'mon, kid-"
"I'm a freak!"
The sound of their scream echoed despite the rain, and both Sanses froze.
"I'm..." Chara's voice slowly tapered off. "I'm... I'm an abomination. I d-don't deserve to li-"
"Don't you dare," Void shook them suddenly, looking them square in the eyes. "Don't you freakin' dare. I know who and what you are, and you are not some-some freak of nature. We are here – we're alive, and you were just gonna throw it all away?"
"I-I'm sorry," Chara's voice was weak and they tearfully looked back down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Kid. Kid," Void's gaze softened and he pulled them into a tight hug. "Buddy. It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. Everything is gonna work out. Okay? Just... just trust me. It'll make my job a whole lot easier."
"What-what if..." they started, as if unsure if they should even speak at all. "What if it all happens again? What if I lose control? What am I supposed to do then?"
"You won't, kid. Everything is gonna be alright. I promise."
Chara sniveled and fell against his coat, burying their head into his shoulder and shaking violently as they sobbed.
"... Come on, kid. Let's go home."
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A/N
I'm always on the lookout for grammatical errors, so if I missed any please let me know.
Next chapter should be up soon!