Chapter 19: Accidentally at Fault
A crowd of monsters, a human, and a flower stood before the menacing machine face.
You and Flowey shared an ecstatic glance.
"Alright," you addressed the monsters. "Are you ready?" After a collective nod, you asked the expectant group, "which of you wants to go first?"
Murmurs broke out among the several souls, but before long Onionsan came slowly to the front. "I'll do it," he mumbled nervously.
You nodded, leading him over to the machine. After exchanging what you hoped was a reassuring glance with Onionsan's anxious one, you stepped over to where Flowey was in front of the control panel. Deciding against asking what he was doing to avoid making the rest of the monsters any more wary than they already were, you watched as he typed in the specifications and then gently inserted the orb into the slot where you had once placed the powering crystal.
"It doesn't need a power source because we already absorbed a lot of determination from you," Flowey explained, catching you staring. "The orb can do anything, so let's pray this will work." He said quieter.
"It will." You responded with a determined smile.
Flashing a brief yet doubtful smile of his own, Flowey nodded to Onionsan and flipped the switch. At once, the machine boomed out, Determination Insertion Initiated. Squeezing his eyes shut, you all watched, entranced as Onionsan's entire body practically glowed. He tensed, making several small squeals as each deformed or injured spot on his body began to shrivel up until they were completely gone. It was only a matter of minutes until he was completely healed, and the machine boldly stated, Determination Insertion Complete.
For a moment, Onionsan didn't move an inch. "Onionsan?" The others asked. "Are you alright?" Cracking an eye, he peeked at the crowd of monsters now surrounding him, until finally opening his eyes and taking in that he was still alive. Immediately after, his face brightened, expression awestricken as he looked himself over head to toe.
"It worked!" He screamed. "It worked, y'hear?"
Victoriously, the group of them cheered, until Mad Dummy stepped up to the machine. "I want to go next." He stated, and Flowey complied, flipping the switch again.
As the DT Machine revved up, Flowey glanced at you, and in his eyes you saw surprise and relief. You let loose a sigh that you hadn't realized you were holding, and mouthed "It worked" to your newfound flower friend. He stared at you for a moment, blankly, before allowing himself a wide grin and a chuckle as he continued to repair each of the monsters he had once mutilated one by one. You thought that, as you watched him fix the mistakes of his past, this was the first step to his recovery into the monster that he wanted to be. You smiled to yourself, glad that he had realized that he could change his behavior and become a better monster.
Once all of them were looking and feeling much better, you all had settled down, and your cheers had quieted, you sat down and closed your eyes. It was nice, you thought, to have a moment of down time where no immediate problems were demanding to be dealt with. But then, as Flowey sat down next to you, you opened your eyes and looked over at him. A quick glance showed he was staring expectantly at you, and you remembered that there was something left unfinished.
"There's still someone we have to save, isn't there?" You stood, reaching a hand out to pull the flower up with you.
"But how do we go about accomplishing this?" Flowey asked, still looking at you as if you had all the answers.
"I haven't got a clue, but this worked if that's anything to go by," you stated, glancing towards the machine and twirling the ends of Papyrus' scarf between your thumb and index finger. "There's got to be something," you whined, mostly to yourself, as you continued to stare at the machine. A sudden fear overcame you that you might not be able to do this. You refused to believe that, of course, after how far you had come, but just the thought of it made you sweat nervously. You thought to yourself that it probably didn't help that you were wearing Sans' incredibly cozy sweater over the rest of your clothes, so, despite not wanting to, you began to pull your arms free of the sleeves to shed the extra layer off of you...
...And that's when it hit you.
"Flowey," you started tentatively, halfway through taking a sweatshirt off, so the awkward look he gave you seemed justified. Nonetheless, you continued: "You know how monster funerals usually consist of spreading the dust over a beloved item?" He still looked puzzled beyond belief, but nodded. "What if that item could bring them back?"
"That's ridiculous," Flowey spat, but as you finished taking the coat off, you saw the hope in his eyes. Gently placing the blue fabric underneath the DT Machine, you heard the other monsters gather around.
"Onionsan," you called out, "Go flick the switch, now!"
Almost as anticipating as you, he nearly tripped over himself to flip the switch. Anxiously, you watched as the orb began to glow, bright with heat, and the machine whirred to life. The group you had gathered held a collective breath, and you teetered on your heels, fingers crossed and double crossed. Slowly but surely, the article of clothing started to take the form of something, specks of dust morphing miraculously before your eyes. Heart leaping into your throat, and palms sweating, the short, stubbed shape of a skeleton appeared before you, smiling with chubby cheeks, not a scratch or scrape on him, good as new.
You wanted to run into his arms, but something stopped you. Hesitant vibes crawled through your veins and you watched as Sans looked at you alone, the blank stare on his face feeding your fears.
A single human foot moved forward in an uncoordinated scuffle. "Sans?" You asked, and you were too preoccupied to notice the desperate stutter in your words.
"Of course you'd be in heaven, kiddo." He chuckled to himself, as if not believing you were really there either.
"Tell me I'm not dreaming." You reached up to touch his face, and the bone was warm beneath your hands. It made your heart race. "Sans, is it really you?"
His expression shifted, neutral tones becoming shocked at the sound of your voice, before irrevocable joy flashed across his features as he squeezed you deathly close. The two of you embraced in silence for a moment, it was just the two of you, the only ones left in the world.
"Frisk," he whispered, and you knew that he too was crying. "It's really you."
"I've missed you," you laughed, howling as he swept you off your feet. And then there were more, Flowey, Onionsan, Mad Dummy, all of them were huddled around you, cheering in unison, "It worked! It worked," and nothing in any timeline could be more perfect.
"Oh Sans," you rambled the moment he let go, words spilling out before you could stop them. "It was horrible! You were gone, and it was just me and Flowey, and the things he did, but I did it Sans! I got through to him, and he helped me, he helped us, and I remembered what you said and used the orb, and they're all better now, all of them, and I tried it on your sweatshirt with your dust and- oh Sans, I love you so much and I've missed you!" And he was stroking your hair and you were smiling and resting your hand on his other hand and it was enough. And you were happy.
But, as your hands drifted up to the red scarf wrapped around your neck, you remembered that you still weren't done.
With Sans phalanges still on your head, you unwrapped the scarf from around your neck. "Flowey, go boot up the machine again!" You called out to him, untangling yourself from Sans to place the red cloth where Sans stood not a minute ago. However, when you looked up to give Flowey the ok, you gasped. Sans was stood in front of the flower, blocking his path. You hurried over immediately, overhearing the skeleton nearly screaming.
"What gives you the right," he roared, "to give life now to someone that you've murdered in cold blood countless times over the past year!"
"I'm sorry!" Flowey babbled, flailing his arms to protect himself from the eldler monster. "But please, this is all I can do to correct-"
"There is no possible way to correct your actions," Sans hissed. "You can never undo the years of torment you've caused Frisk and I."
"Sans!" You shouted, catching his hands which had summoned light blue swirls in the palms. "Fighting won't bring solve anything. He's doing what he can to change, the least you can do is give him a chance!"
"He killed my brother!" Sans growled, voice deep and reverberating, scaring you to the core.
"If you kill him, you're no better than he was! It won't solve anything! What would Papyrus say?"
But you realized he wasn't listening, he had already pushed past you and was advancing towards Flowey. You screamed his name again and again, terrified and shaking him at the shoulder and forearm, but he shoved you to the floor, anger taking over him. His pupils had vanished, and he stood menacingly over Flowey, who refused to bare his thorns. He shook, about to dart away, but it was too late. Sans had already summoned his blasters, two giant heads charged with magic. Your shattering scream filled the lab, and your limbs went numb as you watched helplessly from the floor.
He fired, but the blast never reached Flowey. There, on his knees, blocking the path to the shaking and defenseless flower, was Papyrus. A huge, gaping hole was missing from his torso.
"Pap!" Sans gasped, racing towards his brother, gently cradling him in his arms. Picking yourself up off the floor, you limped over to the younger skeleton. Glancing past him, you noticed Onionsan by the DT Machine, gasping and covering his mouth.
"No, no, not again!" Sans panicked, watching as Papyrus held his chest and smiled up at him.
"Br- brother," he smiled, innocently as ever, eyes beading up with tears. "It's good to see you."
"Papyrus, I'm so, so sorry!" Sans cried, hold his brother as gently as possible.
"I know, Sans. Me too." He coughed, and you all held your breath, hoping that in a moment he would exhale what you were all too petrified to. "I wish…" he got quieter, so only Sans and I could hear, "I wish that you…"
"Don't try to talk," Sans quieted him, cradling him as he fell limp in his grasp. He let his head to rest on Sans' lap as he kneeled once more by his dying brother. It was then that you saw that there was no chance that he would make it. "I'll take care of you, Pap," Sans insisted. "I'll never let you get hurt again. I'll keep you safe. I'll never let anyone touch you."
"Sans," Papyrus cooed as he smiled sadly. He didn't look angry, just disappointed. You turned away; it hurt to watch. "Can't you see it's you who needs to be taken care of?"
At that, Sans cracked. He bawled, muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, It's all my fault," over and over as his brother's eyes closed, small smile still splaying across his lips.
"But it's okay," Papyrus whispered, voice so raspy you thought it would sputter and die, like a car engine on the side of the road, at any moment. "Because I believe that even the worst person can change, that everybody can be a good person if they just try. Look at everyone around you, they are proof. And besides, you always mean well." He paused briefly as he struggled to suck in a ragged breath. "And Sans, I believe in you. You can change, too." He smiled wider, squinting up at Sans face. He had stopped crying, but his lip still quivered as he nodded and pressed his forehead against Papyrus's. "And Sans," Papyrus whispered, loud enough only for Sans to hear, but you knew what he was going to say regardless. "I love you."
"I love you too, Papyrus. I promise, I'll change for you."
Papyrus smiled one last time at Sans words, hand reaching for his brother's face. Before Sans could catch it, it fell away, turning to dust in Sans' lap. This time, there was nothing left of him, not even his scarf.
For a long while, Sans didn't move, even when you crawled over to him and put your arm around him. He let out a few muffled sobs, but made no effort to get up. After several minutes of you rubbing his back, he stood up and turned to Flowey on two shaky legs. "I'm sorry." He said, voice surprisingly not raspy at all, but clear as day.
Flowey nodded. "I'm sorry too."
"Is there anything I can do now?" Sans looked around at all the expectant monster faces around him, then to you. "For any of you?"
Taking a deep breath, you limped over to him, leg suddenly throbbing from when you were shoved, and replied, "Actually, there is. Somehow, we were able to get these monsters back to perfect health. Or, at least we think we were. We used the orb to pump determination into them-"
"Wait, are you serious right now?" He stopped you, and you nodded, unsure of what he was freaking out about. "That much raw concentrated energy could've killed them without a buffer! No wonder there were protocols for testing the artifact! If it could do that…" Sans shook his head, refocusing himself. "Did you at least inject them all with 3 ccs of currengy first? That's that closest thing you've got to a decent magic buffer." You shook your head in response, to which Sans made you hand him the remaining currengy you had and had you and Flowey help inject all the monsters with some. Throughout this, each monster met Sans' and Flowey's apologetic glances with sympathetic or understanding nods.
Once you were done, you all sat in a circle, muttering a few words here and there, until you finally asked, "So what now?"
"We should all move to the surface," Tsunderplane piped up, "so we can all move on with our lives."
"He's right, we've done all we can." Mad Dummy added, although he seemed to be calmed than usual. Perhaps, you thought, the great emotional turmoil that had occurred with Papyrus had finally allowed him to morph fully with his body. For that, you were grateful. At least some good changes had come about because of it.
"I don't think there's anything else we can do but that." You agreed.
"I wish I could follow you," Flowey whispered, rubbing his leaves together. At this, Sans patted the most upward petal on his head, to which Flowey craned into the comforting touch. You smiled at this. Even if it wasn't the perfect ending, everyone was still in a good place. At least nobody was at each other's throats anymore.
"Maybe you still can," you suggested. You proposed that if the orb could work wonders for the rest of you, that maybe it could solve his problem as well.
Sans, however, shook his head at this. "It just doesn't make sense," he sighed.
You thought of something else: "Maybe we could bother Dr. Gaster one more time and ask his opinion on what might work?"
*Well, since you asked so nicely, of course!* You heard the monster in question's strange vernacular from out of nowhere. As soon as it was sudden, the old royal scientist appeared before you, seemingly from out of nowhere. His body was far from whole, crackling in and out, and from the casual reactions of the other monsters, it was as if you were the only one who was surprised, it seemed. Why the other monsters weren't the least bit surprised, you couldn't tell. It was as if the time traveling mystery wasn't a mysterious thing to them (Which, thinking back, was possible and even likely, but moving on).
*Gaster!* Sans replied in the same dialect. *Papyrus, there's-*
*I know, Sans. And I'm sorry. I should have never given you such rotten advice to deal with that retched Flower. Perhaps if I took a page from Frisk's book more, I might still be with you today.* The fragmented monster shook his head and shrugged. You wished you could understand his odd language of jumbled sounds and hand signals. He continued. *Regardless, the maker's orb is quite the thing, as is a monster's soul. Especially one with determination. What you should do, my boy, is give your brother my soul. Don't protest, Sans,* he added when Sans went to argue, *It's the least I can do. You've always counted on me, and you've finally outdone your need of me. I'll see you all to the surface. Even that scoundrel of a flower. Give him the artifact as a soul; it's fitting for the son of royalty. Who knows, maybe he's gained enough morality for his body to take it now.* He chuckled once more before reaching out to gesture to Sans, what you could only assume was some sign of affection if his face was anything to go by. *Take care, Sans. You've grown beyond your years, and now beyond me. That kid's determination suits you all.*
And with those final words, he vanished, leaving behind a mass of crystals nearly identical to the first in his place. Looking to Sans for an explanation, you grew worried when you saw his eyes so wide.
"What's wrong? What did he say?" You asked.
"He's gone," said Sans. "And he's left all the pieces of his soul. I could've sworn they'd been scattered across time and space. And yet," Sans paused, thinking. You watched him ponder the science of it, theories in his eyes. "It seems he's gathered them here for the likes of Papyrus." Sans smiled at nobody in particular. "He deserves it more than anyone." Before you could stop him from what you thought was going to be a self deprecating speech, he smiled the most genuine grin that you had seen from him in a long time at you. "It's going to be okay, Frisk. And I promise, I'll take after you this time."
Shocked, you stared wordlessly at Sans. Was he finally choosing to spare without an argument? You smiled, running into his open arms again. You were glad to have Sans back to the monster he was before this mess, and maybe even a little less rash.
You were glad he was still stubborn, you thought to yourself as he delicately collected the fragments of Gaster's soul with his magic, carefully piecing them together as they bobbed in the air. Before you knew it, a small, floating heart was in his arms, burning bright as ever. In a swirl of Sans' bright blue magic, the heart slowly collected dust. It whooshed around the soul for a moment, the most beautiful birth in the world, before a monster clad in red boots and a sparkling new scarf stood tall next to Sans. They hugged, and you galloped over to join them.
"Papyrus, I'm so sorry," Sans was blabbering, "I'll never hurt anyone ever again, I'll-"
"I forgive you, brother," Papyrus silenced him, holding the two of you tighter. "I, The Great Papyrus, is alive, and now everything will be okay."
"I love you, brother," Sans nuzzled deeper into the warm embrace, as did you.
"I love you too, Sans." He laughed, the most perfect sound in the universe. "Come on, family. Let's go home."
You had never heard a better idea on your life.