HopeTale

by FilledWithHope

"The end of everything began as a day of nothing. My name's serif. This is my story." HopeTale is an AU where Hope is stronger than Determination. Spanning across the multiverse, the path of SerifSans takes him in contact with the war beyond the surface of his own world; the fight between wrong and right, between villain and civilian, between darkness and light.

3. Prologue- The End

one wrong move… and i die… one wrong move… and ink dies… one wrong move… and the world will come apart—well, at the seams.

"Serif, look out!" Ink shouted.

I ducked as a thick spike of rigid threads splintered the tree behind my head, then rolled as another projectile impaled the ground where I had been standing just moments before.

"HolD stILl, yOu lIttLE GliTcH!" Error growled, static lacing his words.

For a moment, his blazing eyes were on me; just enough distraction. Flecks of bright indigo splattered the snow to emphasize the loud slap as Ink whacked Error with his mighty paintbrush, coaxing another volley of strings from Error's fingertips.

Summoning a Gaster Blaster, I started running. It fired, carving a gap through the snow beneath Error, narrowly missing him. Right as a burst of strings splintered the blaster, I took a running leap off its head and took to the sky. The magical wings at my back obeyed my every wish, responding to the slightest changes in direction. I made sure to give Error a wide girth as I circled him, searching for a weak point. Error, once more distracted, stumbled as Ink snapped his fingers; the indigo paint coating Error's side and arm suddenly morphed into lead, yanking him down to earth. A burst of strings and the weight was shattered. Error seemed to snap.

"EnOUgH!" he roared, the very light around me flickering as a huge wall of threads burst up from the ground, enclosing us three Sanses in a sphere of deep blue coded death. I was forced to return to solid ground. Closing my wings, I dove through a gap in the spidery strings filling the air and came to a rolling stop in the snow.

I tried my best to block out the terrified screams of the townspeople; if I got distracted, it would all be over. Another attack narrowly missed me. But then, one cry rang out from the noise, closer than the other screams, and I froze, almost getting pummeled. My soul stuttered. I knew that voice. papyrus! I whipped around and looked up. There, suspended by thin, tight strings, was Papyrus, held just above and behind Error. Ink gasped. Error laughed, hitches and static distorting the sound.

"WeLl, HopE. BeEN MisSIng YouR BrO, haVeN't yOU?" Papyrus's soul was suddenly yanked from his chest, hovering helplessly and trembling fearfully. A smile cracked up Error's face. "TiME tO dIE."