“Go ahead. Our last save was in the house.” Chara purred. “Do you really want to reset everything and do that all over again? Do you really want to risk it?”

Rain’s grip slackened. She was worn out. She didn’t have the energy to fight for another true reset just yet, which meant Chara could drag them right back to the save point she had made just before Toriel had found them if they had to reload. Did she really want to face Toriel again over something as small as this? She would be weaker if they went back.

Besides, the outcome may not have been nearly as bad as it had looked. Toriel could still be alive… Maybe. But if she went back and tried again she knew things would only get worse.

The past few days- or weeks- hell, could have been months for all she cared- had slipped by in the same timeless, unmoving manner as always. Getting this far without allowing Chara to murder everything that moved had been a draining uphill battle. One that was going on blessedly unnoticed by the rest of the residents in the Underground.

She had been doing so well up until now.

Rain gave up trying to throw Chara’s weapon into the chasm guarded by the too-wide bar's of Papyrus's gate. She relinquished her control over her arms and bowed her head. They came to an uneasy truce. Chara kept the poker clenched tightly in their hands and allowed Rain to resume control of the rest of their body- for now.

“There. See? A compromise. I can still be reasonable.” Chara purred.

Rain bit back a sharp remark and waited. Sans would be along soon enough. The two of them were mentally making bets on whether or not he would have the whoopee cushion this time.

Rain kept a careful eye on Chara’s cloudy presence. After the royal screw-up that had led to the Papyrus and Undyne tag-team demolition derby they had experienced several timelines ago, Chara didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about trying to kill Sans right off the bat again. Of course low enthusiasm was not the same as having none at all.

“The trash bag sure taking his time this run, isn’t he?”

Rain frowned. By now they could usually hear him coming. She began to look around, scanning the trees and checking the path behind them. All seemed quiet.

She had kind of been looking forward to seeing him again. She had hoped that this time they would be able to work something out now that she had better control over herself. She had hoped that as the only other mostly-non-murderous creature with knowledge of both souls and timelines, he would know something that could help her. Maybe he would hear her out now that the Underground wasn’t empty.

She waited and she waited, but nobody came.

The darkness seemed eerily quiet tonight. The shadows seemed vast and empty. “Hello?” She finally crossed the bridge, half expecting him to tell her to stop. She could hear his voice rattling around in her head, telling her to turn around and greet her new pal. But in reality she remained alone in the silence with nothing but Chara there to keep her company.

Chara hummed in interest. “I guess something changed. So, what now? You know I won’t let you just lay down here and die in the snow.”

She crossed the bridge. She had nowhere to go but forward. Chara would not allow for much else. Maybe Sans was still sleeping. She wasn’t sure but she may have emerged from the Ruins on a slightly different day and time than usual. So maybe she simply didn’t know where he was yet.

They passed the sentry station and its odd out of place lamp. There were frozen bottles of condiments scattered across the station floor but the structure was otherwise empty.

There were no footprints in the snow. No shuffling footsteps following behind them and no fluttering orange scarf approaching them from a foggy distance.

Things were different.

Things had changed.

They carried on in relative silence. Maybe they would meet Sans later on. Maybe Papyrus wouldn’t be waiting for them in Snowdin this time.

Maybe this time, finally, at long last, she would be able to spare him.

Chara laughed inside her head. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

The weight of recent events crawled on her back like restless rats and weighed her spirits down to the point that it felt like she was sinking a few inches deeper into the snow than usual.

She had planned to sneak into Snowdin while Toriel was away from home. All she had wanted was a nap beforehand while she waited for her to leave the house. She had just needed a few minutes of sleep. She thought she had found a place to rest that was far enough away to keep everyone safe. But she had overslept. She had dreamed too deeply and Chara had snuck back into control.

Rain had only seen glimpses of the motions as they happened. They were an eerie echo of the first time they had passed through her house.

Toriel turned around with a start, hand going over her heart as she gave a little surprised yelp. She had been drawn to the basement by some nagging memory. “Oh! A human! Hello dear, you scared me…”

The iron was hot in their hands.

Toriel tried to reason with them. “I can’t let you pass. It is too dangerous for you beyond this door. Please, allow me to explain.”

Rain felt her own voice go raw with anger. “No. You are not worth talking to.”

She looked out across the frozen pond where once she had braved an electricity maze in what felt like a lifetime ago. She gave the surface a few test taps before shimmying onto the ice and inching across on wobbly legs.

She had not been careful enough in the Ruins. She had messed up. But at least Papyrus was not here now. At least he was not in danger. At least she would not have to bare the look of disappointment on his face when she brushed past all his little puzzles.

Things became a blur of motion and flame. Lights danced across their eyes and burned away chunks of clothing. The sound of metal ringing against the stones with every failed swipe eventually caused Rain to awaken from the lull of shadows Chara had tried to smother her in.

Chara fought Toriel, Rain fought Chara, Toriel fought Rain.

What a mess.

Rain closed her eyes against the memory, rubbing at her face with cold hands as she fled farther and farther from the scene in grim silence. It had all happened so fast. Chara had moved up their save point to the very start of the battle. She couldn’t escape it. The only way out would have been another true reset and she was too tired to pull one off.

“My child, why are you doing this?” She cried, a storm of fire pushing up against the walls in an attempt to scare them away. Yet still they pushed on. Still they advanced. For Rain it was the desperation to escape into the forest that drove her. For Chara it was a need to regain some of her lost LOVE.

“What do you have to prove?” Toriel begged, reluctant to fight them in earnest.

“That I can still be good!” Rain cried, feeling Chara raising their hand to strike even as she fought against it and tried to turn the blow against herself.

They fled into the forest.

Who had won?

Who had won?

It had all happened too fast. She had tried to stop the blow. She had been so sure she had succeeded. Yet still there had been such fear in Toriel’s eyes. She swore she hadn’t touched her yet still the caretaker of the Ruins fell, clutching at her face and side, a pained gasp rocking her.

She had not looked back to check on her. She could not give Chara the chance to absorb her soul if she had been hurt. She had to get them out of there as quickly as possible. The monsters in the Ruins were easy prey. She had to protect them. With the way no longer blocked she had to take the opportunity as it presented itself and flee.

Now as snow began to fall and she ran with her head bowed against the growing wind, her choice gnawed at her. She hadn’t really hurt her, had she? The blow had missed. It had missed!

If it had missed then why had she seen magic leaking from a cut on Toriel’s face? Why had she cried out in pain? Toriel’s parting words had been but a whisper but they rang in her ears like a roar as she fled.

“I see now. I think I remember you. Please, my Child, do as you say… Please, be good.”

So now she continued to put distance between her and the door, dropping down new save points and hoping things would be better in Snowdin. Her only consolation now was that Chara was just as confused as she was. She did not know what her mother’s true fate was. Rain’s only victory was having been strong enough to make them run.

They breezed through the puzzles, hardly encumbered by the darkness now. They already knew every step and every answer.

Things grew more difficult when the howl of dogs began to split the air. Chara became much more energetic then, eager to spill dust.

The night stretched long.

The guard dogs came, they found them, they fought.

Chara won.

The dogs died.

Rain jumped off a cliff.

Reset.

They ran. They tried to scale a rock wall but Chara made her slip and they fell into the awaiting guards, killing two dogs in a swift pair of twin blows.

Rain allowed themselves to be hacked to pieces by the rest of the group.

Reset.

She evaded them, despite Chara’s occasional mocking howls that helped draw them in. She managed to split the pack up. She laughed with relief when she managed to force Chara away long enough to send the largest of the dogs racing off after a stick.

She saved.

She slogged past more of the unmanned puzzles, flipping hidden switches or shambling up some precarious alternate route she had discovered on one of their past runs.

She saved.

Chara killed the lesser of the two white dogs, who was now escorting a group of teens out of the woods and towards Snowdin.

Rain broke the ice covering on a pond and let herself sink to the bottom.

Reset.

She stabbed herself with her own weapon.

Reset.

She tried to throw their weapon away, casting it down a Cliffside. Chara was sent into a rage and stole control of the situation. They lost their footing and slipped into oblivion as they fought for control.

Reset.

She befriended the lesser dog, patting its head and calming it. Chara was out of breath. They parted ways but some of the teenagers the dog had been escorting grew curious and brave and tried to follow them, throwing taunts and snowballs their way.

Some of them got hurt.

Some of them did not get up.

Chara laughed.

Rain ran.

The process was repeated with the dogs in matching cloaks. The memories of their names had long since been lost to time. All Rain remembered is that she always ended up wearing a cloak taken from one of their bodies.

Chara was particularly vicious about this one, killing the pair several times. Rain turned her own weapon against herself more than once.

Reset.

She threw herself onto the spikes of an active puzzle.

Reset.

She lost the fight on purpose.

Reset.

The dogs became separated. Chara struck one of them down, her yelp loud in the night. She snarled at them even as she bled magic and dust. Chara took her cloak and giggled in triumph as Rain pulled them away, eventually forced to take this half victory over no victory at all.

Fine. Let the demon have her fucking cloak.

She could hear the other dog’s mournful howl behind them. He would not follow. He would remain behind and try to save his injured mate. She had still been alive when they had left. Maybe there was still hope.

Reluctantly, Rain saved.

At long last they came to the bridge that led into town. The wind howled across it, spitting flecks of snow and ice into their face. Rain pulled the cloak down over her eyes. How long had this night lasted in order to bring them here? Days? Weeks?

She tried a few more times to throw away her weapon before she went into town, tossing it over the ledge. Yet Chara used her own methods against her and jumped off the bridge in a storm of bitter curses when she tried.

Reset.

Finally they reached the conclusion that they should just cross the bridge as-is. The lights in town were mostly dark. The town was probably abandoned. Usually if they stirred up too much trouble Snowdin would be evacuated by the time they got there.

It looked like even Sans and Papyrus would be missing this time. With the way Sans always managed to show up out of nowhere and the frenzied alertness of the guard dogs, Rain had been so sure she would eventually run into him before she reached town. Yet neither of the two skeletons had ever appeared.

Maybe it was for the best.

They both took a deep breath and crossed the bridge into Snowdin where the buildings shielded them from the worst of the wind as it died down to an accusing whisper. The crunch of their feet against the ice was like the crack of splintering wood. The snap of their stolen cloak in the wind felt as loud as a mocking applause in the dreary night. It all came together like a scornful symphony saying: “congratulations! You have been slightly less murderous than the last time you were here!”

They took the money and some of the food from the abandoned corner store. Rain tried not to look at the note left pinned to the cash register as Chara rummaged around for her favorite items.

“Please don’t hurt my family.”

Rain risked a little relived smile as they continued to find all the buildings to be empty. Taunting wind and crippling guilt aside, she was doing much better this time around. She was really making a difference. She was starting to feel a shift of power taking place and Chara hated that. But for the time being they were locked in a stalemate, both too exhausted to do much more than simply keep up with one another. Their long trek had left them sore and frozen. They could both sense one another pooling the last of their energy and Determination for what may or may not lay ahead.

They left the town behind and ventured out into the fog.

Between the crunch of their own footsteps and the roar of the rushing river to their side, they did not hear it until they were nearly upon him. A few yards away a tall figure stood stock still in the night, unmoving from a choke point in the road.

Rain gasped and Chara giggled.

“No. No, no, no, no! Why is he still here? Everyone else is gone! Even his brother didn’t show up! Why is he here!”

“Oh, good. I was afraid we would miss him.”

Rain tried to turn away. There must be another way around. There must be a different path she could take.

But there was a cliff face to their right and icy cold water to their left. There was nothing left behind them and Chara would only allow her to continue moving forward.

Rain felt her limbs begin to move against their will. One shambling step after another Chara began to move them forward, teeth clenched and wisps of panting breath rising up between their teeth. This was how she would regain control. This was where Rain’s rebellion would die, crippled and mewling in the snow as it always did. She would remind Rain once again just how pointless it was to try to care for anyone in this world.

Papyrus turned towards them, the pinpricks of light in his eyes focusing in on them like little glinting fog crystals. He held out a hand. “Halt, Human!” He called. His voice was loud and strong against the feeble moaning of the wind that tried in vain to dispel the fog.

“Papyrus, why are you still here?” Rain choked, Chara swinging their feet forward another step.

“Hey, quit moving while I’m talking to you.” He commanded, hand going to his hip like an impatient mother. “I, the Great Papyrus, have something I wish to say to you.”

“Papyrus!” She moaned, dragging Chara back a few steps. Chara was a rolling storm cloud now, pulling against Rain’s restraints like an angry dog with its eyes set upon a cornered cat.

“I’m going to rip him apart.”

“Human, I understand how scared you must be, falling down into the Underground where everything is so much cooler and stranger than whatever world you came from. In fact I understand if you are intimidated by all this! It is not every day you get to meet a monster as great as I.” He placed a proud hand upon his chest for emphasis.

“Why are you still here? Everyone left!”

His confidant smile faltered a little. His hand twitched up to his scarf. When he spoke again he sounded a little more sheepish than usual and had to clear his throat. “Yes, yes I know. I made sure they all made it out okay. I didn’t want any of them to frighten you.”

Chara’s laughter bubbled up from inside their mind and clawed its way up their throat. They flung their head back and cackled, grin so wide it showed all their teeth. “Oh but you stayed behind didn’t you? Why? So you could capture me? So you could become famous? So you could finally join the Royal Guard?” She was stalking towards him again.

“N-no. That’s not it.” He said softly, tugging at his scarf again. “Human, my brother warned me about you. About what you have been doing. He says you are dangerous and not to be trusted. He says that you will hurt people if given the chance.” For a brief moment he looked rather sad, eyes focused on her messy hair. “And… now that I see the way you shamble about from place to place- that look in your eye… the way your hair always seems to carry dusty powder within it…” Always? How long had he been watching them? Was he speaking of recent events or impossible memories? “I-I don’t want to believe all the things my brother has said about you! You just got here, so he hardly knows you! But it feels… it feels like your life is going down a dangerous path.”

“You can’t save me.” Chara sneered, glaring up through her bangs.

“You can’t save us!” Rain echoed.

They had heard this all before. She had done this all before! This was going to end just like last time! Why? Why did it have to be him? Why did he still try to help her? Did he not realize that she had already killed him? Did he not remember that she had cut him down the last time he had tried this?

Rain tried to drag them into the churning river but Chara fought back, taking several more staggering steps towards Papyrus. “Don’t worry Rain. Even after he is gone he will still believe in you. Isn’t that a nice little sentiment for someone so forgettable? How funny.”

Papyrus clacked his mouth shut and flinched, taking a little step back when Chara lurched forward, fire iron sliding out of her sleeve. Did he see it?

“H-hey! Quit moving. See, this is exactly what I am talking about. This is why you scare everyone! Human, I think you are in need of guidance. Someone needs to keep you on the straight and narrow.”

“Someone like you?” Chara taunted.

“Yes! Exactly like me! Nyeh heh heh.” He agreed, brightening a little and laughing to himself to try and dispel the tension. “I-I will not fight you human. I, Papyrus, see great potential within you. Even if you can’t see it yet yourself. I know you can be a good person R-Human. All you have to do is try. I am willing to give you the chance you so desperately need!”

Rain was being forced further and further back inside her own mind. This was it. This was what Chara had been waiting for. This was what she had been pooling all of her energy to prepare to do. Their heart was racing, a war drum in their ears. They fought to the beat of that drum, the internal turmoil becoming so violent that a faint outline of their writhing soul began to drag itself out into the open, a dull half visible glow in the night. Their palms began to sweat. They had gotten used to feeling cold but now it was like they were on fire. They ground their teeth together, hissing curses and objections under their breath.

Why wouldn’t he just give up on her like she had asked him to? Like everyone else did?

“Forgettable”

“Then why didn’t he forget?” Rain wailed.

Chara began to pick up the pace, her thoughts echoing into a focused chant. “Kill it. Kill it. Kill it.”

Papyrus took a deep breath. “I see you are approaching. Are you coming to offer a hug of acceptance?”

She just wanted to get out of here. She just wanted to spare as many monsters as she could then drag Chara up to the surface and then crawl into a hole far away from here so they could never hurt anyone ever again. She wanted to run away from all of this so she could finally give up and rest.

“Looks like his big brother is soon to be Sans a family member once again!” Chara teased.

She was past the point of redemption. She had given up on herself a long time ago. She was so, so tired. She wasn’t quite sure what she was doing anymore or why she was doing it, all she knew was it wasn’t right to let Chara hurt people. It was her fault for giving her soul away. Her fault for letting her anger further twist the both of them. Her fault for looking away because she didn’t want to make the hard choices. She accepted this. Why couldn’t he?

“Why won’t you let me go?” She sobbed, struggling to turn the fire poker upon herself as Chara began to run, eyes trained upon the same spot on Papyrus’s neck that she always struck at.

“Kill it! Kill it! Kill it! Fill the hole with LOVE! Let us be numb! Kill it!”

The distance between them was closing fast now.

Twenty feet.

fifteen.

Ten.

“Because I believe in you.” He replied simply, arms outstretched in an offered embrace; welcoming her. Forgiving her for all the things he did and did not know about.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

Rain squeezed her eyes shut. She felt her body jump forward the last few feet, fire iron raised high overhead as Papyrus echoed the words of his past life and told her: “I, Papyrus, welcome you with open arms.”

***

Sans was a crappy sentry. He could have stopped her from progressing. Hell, he may have been one of the few monsters in the Underground that could give something like that any real trouble once they set their heart to violence.

But what would have been the point of it? If she knew he had grown wise to what she was this early on in the game wouldn’t it just force another reset? He would forget all that he had learned and be reduced to guessing at vague snapshots again.

He rubbed at the crack against his eye. Besides, he had a feeling that he had tried to tangle with her in the snow before and it had only made her mad. So the only thing he could hope to do now was play it smart. He had promised his friend behind the door that he would watcher her so, well, he would watch her.

It was a hard thing to stomach. Sometimes he could hear her muttering to herself across the wind. She blew through the puzzles with more practice than even he and Papyrus had. She walked around hidden traps without ever looking up and solved things either by finding the hidden switches or completing the task in one practiced, detached motion. She didn’t ever pause at a crossroads.

Yeah. He was getting some real strong “been there done that” vibes from this thing.

The dogs caught wind of her without ever needing him to say anything. He listened to them baying throughout most of the night. He doubted they would ever be able to pin her down with the way she handled the terrain though.

He started to stray from her position, mind drifting toward the door to the Ruins. Maybe he should go check on his friend.

He had not managed to stay far before he started to feel it. The world was twisting. Trembling and guttering like a flame struggling against the wind.

Flicker.

Flicker.

Flicker.

The Baying of the guard dogs grew quieter, more spread out. A few minutes later the strange sensation happened again.

Flicker.

Flicker.

Flicker.

It was like a broken record getting stuck on, then skipping over a particular word. The sounds of the hunting dogs were replaced by the cries of children; their voices shrill and scared in the cold night.

He threw away any hope of visiting the door and turned his weary feet towards the direction of the cries. It did not take him long to hone in on the sound and locate several teenage monsters lying in the snow, their friends trying to wake them up. It was a grim sight, softly glowing white magic dripping into the snow and turning to dust while their friends knelt beside their still bodies and cried.

Sans had never been any good at healing magic. The best he could do was teleport the injured ones over to Grillby’s. He knew the fire monster would be hanging behind to offer a safe haven down in his cellar.

By the time he managed to pin down the human again she was getting uncomfortably close to Snowdin. The cries of Dogamy and Dogaressa lead him back to her path but once again he could not follow her for long once he realized the state the Royal Dogs were in.

He took the two mates to Grillby’s, some numb sort of wondering if Dogaressa would receive help in time or if she would bleed out, playing out in his mind.

Sans stayed down in the cellar with Grillby after that; straining to hear the possible arrival of the human up above. She was probably in town by now.

“so everyone else is gone?” He asked, holding down Dogaressa while her mate whispered encouragements and pleas in her ear.

Grillby was rolling up his already rumpled sleeves, the heat in his hands growing more prominent. He had some basic healing abilities but they were not exactly pleasant.

“………I believe Papyrus left with the last boat. I have not seen him since…” Grillby crackled, his voice a soft whisper where half his words were to be determined by the arc and snap of his dancing flames.

Sans let out a slow breath he had not known he had been holding. At least that would be different then. Maybe she would get what she wanted this time and let them be. At the very least he would have a few days to relax before she reset everything again.

Dogaressa yelped when Grillby placed a hand on her open wound. Dogamy whimpered and both he and Sans struggled to keep his mate steady long enough for Grillby to cauterize the strike. The smell of spent magic and singed hair hung thick overhead.

“Be strong my love! Do not worry, I am here. I am here beside you.” Dogamy whimpered, tail trembling as he pressed his muzzle to hers.

“…..It is done. Let her rest….”

“Will she be ok?” He barked.

“…We can hope…”

Flicker.

“…..It is done. Let her rest….”

“Will she be ok?” He barked.

“…We can hope…”

Sans scowled. For a moment he could have sworn he had heard an echo. Another reset perhaps? Who was she terrorizing now?

He gave Dogamy a pat on the back before taking his leave. Grillby watched him go with a questioning spark but did not try to stop him. He had long since grown used to the way Sans would drift in and out of his company on a whim.

Sans slipped back out into the night, checking the ground for footprints. The roads had been turned to ice and slush thanks to the myriad of unusual foot traffic it had received tonight but once he got to the edge of town where the cheery Snowdin banner greeted him with its festive lights, he soon found a single set of unfamiliar tracks leading into town.

So, she was already here. No surprise there.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and surveyed the area. The corner store’s door was ajar and Grillby’s place had a crack in one of the windows. He had probably missed her passing by ten minutes or so.

He rubbed his fingers against the paper in his pocket in idle thought. Good. Good riddance. Let her go. Let her go do her thing somewhere else.

He frowned when his fingers brushed the letter again. There were two folded pieced of paper in his pocket instead of one.

He withdrew his hand and looked at the contents. There was his own letter, folded with uneven edges and messy handwriting, and then there was another. Its corners were well matched and its scrawl was large and careful.

He put away his own letter and unfolded this new one.

It was from Papyrus. He must have slipped it inside his pocket when they had last seen each other.

“no.” He whispered, eyes darting across the page.

Flicker.

Sans, I know that everyone is afraid of the human. I know there is more going on than you wish to tell me. It is strange. It’s like I can feel it in the air. To tell the truth, I am afraid of all this too.

It’s a terrible thing, being afraid. Sometimes it makes you do things you regret. Or it makes you regret not doing anything at all.

Well, the Great Papyrus shall not be one to be conquered by fear!

I know you told me not to go near the human. I know you want me to leave with the rest of our neighbors. But I think something is missing inside of them and they just need help finding it. Maybe something in their heart has been broken and they need help putting all the little pieces back together? Brother, if that is the case, you know I could never let someone do such a thing alone! After all, isn’t a broken heart just another type of puzzle that needs to be fit back together again?

Flicker.

“No. No, no, no! Papyrus, you promised!”

Flicker.

Everyone has been acting really strange lately. Undyne was pushing hard to get me to see things like she does last practice. She told me that sometimes the only way to vanquish an enemy is to strike them down. And now it seems you want me to see the world that way too. But, brother, I hope you can forgive me when I say I just don’t believe as you do! I believe everyone has the power to be good if they just try! And, well, if I were to show the human kindness, if I made them my friend- would that not be vanquishing an enemy all the same?

I hope to see you again soon. Please stay safe.

Best regards,

Your brother: The Great Papyrus.

Flicker.

He dropped the note and ran, every third step teleporting him several yards ahead. His soul ached with the realization that all this time these flickers could only mean one thing. She could only be attacking one person right now. Tormenting him, mocking him, hurting him.

It had been an accident. She had cried. He had heard her crying as she ran. He had been rooted in place by grief and could not stop her.

It had been an accident.

She did not know.

“Not this time. Please, not again. He’s all i have. Can’t you spare him just this once?”

“i thought we were friends rain. i gave you my coat”

“So? I repaid the favor. I gave you a scarf didn’t i?”

It had not been an accident.

He knew where to go. He could feel familiarity pulling him towards the outskirts of town now. The gauntlet that lead to Waterfall. That’s where he would be. That’s where he always ended up. That was where he always found him.

Flicker.

The bright color of his scarf led him to him. It danced around in the wind in a mockery of true life. Why did it move so much in a world that felt so still? Why did it mock him with its animated movements while its owner lay at its feet as nothing more than dust?

Why could he only manage to feel numb?

It was too late.

It was too late.

The flickering meant it was too late.

He caught sight of the scarf, dancing softly in the wind. He was kneeling in the snow, head bowed.

“Papyrus!” He called, reaching out to him. His feet suddenly felt slow and clumsy and his voice sounded dull and raw.

He braced himself for the moment that would follow. He braced himself for the eerily familiar sight of his brother’s head rolling from his shoulders and his body turning to dust.

He heard sobbing.

He stopped at the tree line, confused. The human was still there. She was still with him. He could not quite comprehend what he was seeing.

Papyrus looked up at him and smiled. “Sans! Sans its ok!” He called, a big relived smile stretching across his face. “Look! I did it! I got her to listen! She wants to be good again! Didn’t I tell you Sans? I knew she could be good if we just gave her a chance to try!” He held the human a little closer and rested his chin against the crown of her head, rubbing her back with a gloved hand. “Shh. There, there human. It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok now. I am so, so proud of you.”

Sans became more aware of her muffled sobs as she buried her face against his brother’s scarf, clinging to him until her knuckles where white. “I’m Sorry. I’m so sorry. Why wouldn’t you let me go? I wanted to be good. I tried so hard. Just let me go… Just let me go… I’m so sorry, Papyrus.” Her shoulders shook as she babbled. “Why did you let me do it? Why?”

Reluctantly Sans approached them. His nonexistent stomach was all tied up in a new array of knots. Was this a joke? Was it a dream? He was waiting to feel relief. Or joy, or excitement- anything! But he just felt detached and confused. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He didn’t know what to do.

Finally, he got his dry mouth to work. “Papyrus, you promised. You told me you would leave with the others. i thought- i was afraid i had lost you.” He confessed. The ache in his voice matched the one in his chest.

He stared at the human, afraid to move. Afraid that anything he did from here on out would break the spell. Would she take this away from him if he tried to hold onto it? Why had she changed things now after all this time? Was this just a new kind of game she was playing? If he called her out would she hurt him? If he let her go would she just come back later to finish the job?

“I know Sans. I am sorry for making you worry.” Papyrus looked down at the crying creature in his arms. She did not look so menacing now. She looked tired and frail.

Sans looked out across the snow. Dogaressa’s black cloak lay trampled in the path behind her, muddy and wet. And behind his brother, hidden in the slush and probably unbeknownst to him, a long black fire poker with a sharpened edge lay hidden at his feet. Discarded at last.