Chapter Text

A Relatively Eventful Night

      Pastry is sitting atop his bed, tired as shit but still really wanting to do... whatever it is that he does on the phone at 3AM. He’s nearly ready for sleep, he swears-- but his room is just so dark and comfortable, and he needs to finish reading this one little thing.
The sweet aroma of tea-- mixed with small cakes and candies freckled across his nightstand-- urges him to press on against sleepy eyes. His cup is perched precariously on a book upon his bed, the faint sight of rubbery balloons being barely noticeable behind it. They're a brilliant assortment of colors, yellows and blues, tainted by the unnatural LEDs being emitted.

     Frustratingly interrupting his thoughts were several knocks at his window. He begrudgingly drops his phone and looks up. Just his window. ...Maybe it's worth investigating, but...

     Stubbornly, he picks his phone back up and picks up where he left off. It was getting to the good part. Pastry forgets entirely about the knock.

     Until another one arises. Clear and sound against the glass.

     Pastry groans, and aggressively plops his phone into the sheets.

     If it's a squirrel, I'm kicking it, Pastry thinks to himself as he ascends from his comforter. He begrudgingly goes to his window, yanking open the blinds.

     Peering through his window, expecting perhaps a small rodent, Pastry frowns as he is met with nothing but late-night traffic. Strange, but not... too weird. He'd tell his friends about this later. After further surveillance, and nothing of note, Pastry turns back around to his room, trying to remember where he had left off in his reading. He stands, and is about to sit back down, when a strange feeling prompts him to look up toward the corner of his room.

     Two yellow dots are staring at him.

     "Oh! Dandy!" Pastry exclaims happily, with a hint of underlying suspicion. How did Dandelion get into his room? There were many things in the corner of his room, being an assortment of gift boxes, candies, plushies... his special Jirachi he had received only a few days prior. Still, something inside him pressed him to squint into the shadows.

     This proves to be a critical decision, as through the shadows, he identifies a humanoid figure. Which leads him to a critical realization. Those yellow, glowing dots, are eyes. The eyes of another person. Staring at him. Oh, someone has broken into my house, Pastry thinks.

     ...

     MotherFUCKER. SOMEONE HAD BROKEN INTO HIS HOUSE. Possibly even stalking him prior. The realization kicks in later than it should've. An icy shiver of fear runs down his body, and without thinking, his arm grasps backwards for some sort of weapon. It latches onto the book on his bed. Desperately, he throws it at the figure. There's a yelp, then a crash.

     Pastry, shaking, takes a few steps back as the potential assailant is struck. His head is buzzing, and the lights are hot and spinning.

    "M-Mom--?!" He practically whispers. As he was about to run out the door for his parents, a large skeleton clothed in yellow emerged from the shadows and into the blue lighting of his bedroom. The thing stares up at him, with a pout. It caught the tea cup in its hands. 

     "Well, ow..." The skeleton says, adjusting a crown on its head. A telltale crown.

     Pastry stops, then is calculating. The Math Is Circulating. A HYPOTHESIS IS FORMING. ...But there's no way. Cartoon skeletons... OBVIOUSLY... aren't real. Right? But then-- there's no escaping this. There's no avoiding the absolute that is standing right before him, in his very own bedroom.

     That’s Dream from Dreamtale (HOLY FUCK WHAT THE SHIT).

     "...This isn't real," Pastry gawks. 

     The figure groans, rubbing his skull.

     "...Let me explain," Dream(!!) says, sitting up.

     Pastry shakily points at him, trembling slightly, (he’s not sure if it’s excitement, terror, or both.) “ARE YOU REAL?? THE REAL DREAM???”

     Dream beams. "Hehe~ Yep! I could feel your love for me even from within the multiverse, and with the help of a certain artist, I've come to give you a very important opportunity." He then casually takes a sip of the tea.

     ...What the fuck does THAT mean? Pastry thinks to himself. He laughs a little bit at the absurdity. This hallucination is scarily 4K. "This-- haHAHA-- I took some... some sort of pill..."

     Dream's nonexistent lips smack. "Chamomile? Delectable!"

     "Right," Pastry says uneasily, realizing he was still shaking. "Chamomile and..."

     "...absolutely no additional flavors?" Dream finishes kindly, placing the empty cup down. It clinks.

     "How did you know?"

     "I know a lot of things." Dream takes a breath, standing and taking a seat on Pastry's bed. "I'm here to give you an opportunity, firsthand, to view Undertale's multiverse for yourself."

     Pastry stares with stars in his eyes. He blinks. "But... But... H-How?"

     "I know, it's a lot--"

     "No, I mean, how am I hallucinating this hard when I've slept, AND I haven't had any weed?"

     Dream stares for a long moment, as if he had two heads. He opens his mouth, stares again, then says with a twitchy smile, "You... are indeed not under any substance, I would hope... and yes, this is real." The skeleton extends his hand. "Pastry, will you please join us for a short while? Your interest in our world-- a hyperfixation, you could call it-- has summoned me to you, one of our Creators. And little do you know, perhaps your hyperfixation could even save lives."

     Could... Could that be foreshadowing? No, couldn't be. Pastry hesitantly takes his hand, closing his eyes. For a long time, he feels nothing. And then, after a zip!, he HEARS nothing. It's as if his ears were clogged. "Dream...? Are you here?" He calls out uncertainly, opening his eyes. Suddenly... Everything is new. His surroundings are no longer dark, rather cold and bright. He's standing in snow... and looking at himself! Dream, now as Pastry, smiles politely. "This is quite the shock -- I know. We must swap places."

     Pastry-- now Dream-- is flabbergasted. He examines his hands, covered by golden gloves. He feels hollow inside out, and his entire body feels much more... magical. "H-How long will this last?" He sputters.

     Dream winks. "You will find out soon." And just like that, Dream disappears. Pastry looks down at his new body.

     ...This is a really fucking good lucid dream.

Chapter Text

     Pastry, now as Dream, looks around at his surroundings. He was greeted by constant screaming, the sound ringing in his ears, neverending. He had a sharp pain in his leg, but he couldn't focus on that sensation amongst the chaos. His vision was still adjusting to the darkened landscape. Looking around, buildings were flattened, and the land he stood on was desolate. Skeleton men, women, and children were all desperately running away. From what, he couldn't tell. After a moment of thinking, he decided it was a safer option to run with them. He stood up, his legs shaking slightly. He took in a deep breath, taking a single step forward before falling back to the ground. He glanced down at his legs, discovering cracks in the bones in his legs. I'll have to mend that later. Turning around, he finally got a peek at what everyone was running from. Taking in an exasperated breath, adrenaline filling his body prepping him for Fight or Flight, he saw it. Ronald Mcdonald. He couldn't tell how tall the thing was, and was now even more confused about what timeline he even ended up in. I guess this explains why all the land is desolate.

     "Hey! Are you okay?" He heard a voice calling out to him. It was unfamiliar to him, though the voice seemed to recognize him. He was unsure if it recognized him for himself, or him for Dream. The voice seemed unfamiliar to him, though it was oddly comforting nonetheless.

     "Wait- you're not-" The voice was getting louder as it approached him, and also sounded more unsure. "..Who are you?"

     Pastry looked down at his boney hands, grasping his skin-less fingers into a tight fist before sitting up. "Who I am isn't important.." He stated, finally looking up and getting a good look at the boy in front of him. He had dark skin, darker hair, and deep brown eyes. He'd never seen this boy before, though he still looked oddly familiar nonetheless. He definitely stood out amongst the skeletons still desperately running all around them.

     "My name is Nicky! Nicky Hemmick! ...We need to get you off the battlefield!" Nicky said hastily, grabbing Pastry by the arms and pulling him up to his feet.

     "Wait! Where are we? What timeline is this?" Pastry asked desperately, hoping Nicky would have some answers.

     "No idea!" Nicky said plainly, looking down at the skeleton, wrapping the skeletons arm around his shoulder to help him walk. "...But if I had to guess, you and me are in the same boat. We got teleported across the multiverse."

     "What the hell does that mean?" Pastry grumbled.

     "I think it has something to do with Ronald Mcdonald and The King." Nicky explained through baited breaths, still trying to help Pastry get away.

     "..Who's 'The King'? Ronald Mcdonald I recognize.. but The King?" Pastry asked, confusion etched into his voice.

     Nicky glanced behind him, watching the chaos from a safe distance, still continuing to run. "Burger King. We can talk more once we're safe, okay? After we defeat them, we can swap timelines and it'll be okay."

     Pastry nodded in agreement. They desperately hobbled away. Pastry was grateful that Ronald Mcdonald seemed more preoccupied to fighting The King than to try to catch up with him or any of the others running. The two were taller than skyscrapers, and created huge rumbling booms with every step that they took. Pastry couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at the sheer size of them. They could flatten him and anyone else with just a single step. Dead before anyone knew what was coming. He decided to try not to focus on the thought. Instead, he had to think about how to get back home.

     Nicky had aided him across rubble and bodies for what felt like hours. Every corpse was wearing brightly-colored uniforms. He figured they were soldiers in the war, dressed in the traditional red and yellow, ready to serve Ronald Mcdonald to the very bitter end. Nicky lead him into a building, setting him on the floor. "I'm home!" Nicky called out in a booming voice. "I brought someone! He's like us!"

     Pastry looked around at his surroundings. He could see a staircase across the room, and there was a table with a few chairs just next to him. There was a small opening that lead to what seemed to be a livingroom with a TV and a radio. The TV had a soft glow to it, illuminating the floral-printed couch. A short figure sat on the couch, though he couldn't make out any features, other than the fact that he was short.

     At the sound of footsteps approaching, Pastry turned his head to look back at the staircase. Coming down was two tall-ish looking men, both wearing masks. One had the mask of a chicken, the other the mask of a bear. The bear-masked boy approached him first. As he got closer, he could see that they were holding hands.

     "What's your name?" Asked the boy in the bear mask, moving the mask to the side of his head after he deemed he wasn't a threat.

     Pastry looked up at him questioningly. The boy had pale skin and dusty-blonde hair. It looked hardly brushed and was very unkept. "..Did Nicky not fill you in at all? My name is Pastry, I'm not from this timeline, just like you."

     "Rightttt, well I'm Traydon, and this is my good buddy, my old chum, my best pal, Liam!" Traydon tugged on the chicken-masked boys arm, the boy pulling off the mask. 

     "..Your leg looks pretty bad." Liam stated plainly, kneeling down and pulling Traydon down with him to get a closer look at the damage. "How'd you manage this?"

     Pastry blinked silently at him. "I have literally no idea." He debated explaining the situation with Dream, the fact he's normally not a skeleton at all.. But figured it wasn't worth it. If these people were really in the same boat as me, they wouldn't be in their normal bodies.

     Liam nodded at him, standing up swiftly before walking away. "Not to worry! I've got a younger brother back at home in my timeline, and he's pretty clumsy. Gets injuries like that all the time. I'll get you fixed up!" He beamed, smiling and waving at Pastry before walking away. Liam squeezed onto Traydons hand a bit tighter at the mention of his brother. Pastry figured he must miss him.

     Pastry couldn't help but question the figure sat on the couch. He could tell the boy was glancing at him every once in a while. He figured the boy was cautious. Who wouldn't be? I'm the one in his house.

     Liam came back shortly later with a first-aid kit. Traydon was right behind him carrying a couple of red apples. They stumbled down the staircase, approaching him and kneeling down. Traydon handed the apples to him. Pastry was a bit confused, but figured it had something to do with Dream and the fact he was in Dreams body. Liam began patching up his leg while he snacked on the apples.

     "So," Pastry began, speaking inbetween bites of food, still looking off into the livingroom. "Who's that?"

     "Oh, that's Neil." Liam stated, still focusing on the bandaging. "Don't mind him- he's pretty untrusting, so of course he wouldn't be super excited to see a stranger in this place. Ah! There we go!" Liam beamed, pulling at the bandages before standing up. He grabbed Pastry's hand, pulling him to his feet. "There you go! How do you feel?"

     "..Better, thanks. So, what's up with.. Ronald Mcdonald and The King?" Pastry felt confused at his own words. There's no way something like this is real.

     "Right! It's a territory dispute. They've been at war for centuries." Liam said grimly. "I don't think there's any way to get them to stop fighting."

     "..How long have you been here?" Pastry asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

    "Me and Liam come from the same timeline." Traydon interjected, stepping closer to Liam. "I think we've been here for a few months now? Nicky and Neil were here before us, they've been here for probably around a year."

    "..A whole YEAR?!" Pastry gasped in shock, sitting down at one of the chairs and resting his head on the table. "I don't want to wait that long!"

    "You won't have to." Nicky declared from the top of the stairs, bounding down them in strides. He cleared his throat before laying down a large parchment of paper across the table. Pastry stared at the paper. It featured a large hand-drawn drawing of a skeleton with a burger for its head. All the writing was in German.

    "This is a little something me and Neil have been working on." Nicky stated before turning to face the livingroom and calling out. "Neil! You're going to want to see this!"

    Neil hesitantly stood up, walking into the dimly lit room. His hair was auburn, and his eyes were an icey blue color. He rubbed his eyes as he approached the table, shooting Nicky a glance. 

    "Whatt? Don't look at me like that!" Nicky said, pointing at the picture. "We can finally find him! We can end this war!"

    Neil continued to stare at Nicky before clearing his throat and changing his focus to the piece of paper laid out on the table. "Was it really a good idea to reveal this to someone you've just met?" Neil asked, shooting Pastry a quick glance before looking back at the paper.

    "We finally have all we need!" Nicky beamed, glancing up at Pastry. "Burger!Sans..!"

    "...Burger!Sans?" Pastry sounded astounded, once again looking down at the picture. "I.. Don't think I get what you're saying."

    "Pastry, you.. You're the hero who was meant to save us all. *YOU* are Burger!Sans." Nicky stated eagerly.

    Pastry debated on explaining everything to him, like the fact that he wasn't actually a sans at all. ..But he decided against it. It'd be too much effort, and would take away their only hope at escaping this hell of a warzone. "..What do you need me to do?" He asked with hesitant confidence.

    Nicky pointed to a part of the paper, "You need to go to The Cave of Ketchup, retrieve The Burgers Wish, and bring peace to the land once again."

    "How can you tell that it's me though?" Pastry asked, still puzzled at the situation. "...I don't even look that much like the picture." Never minding the fact that I'm not even a skeleton to begin with..

    "Those apples we gave you.." Traydon spoke up, leaning back in the chair he was sat in. Of course he was sitting next to Liam, holding his hand. "..We picked them from the Mustard Tree. When a person eats them, it's supposed to be *spicy*.. spicier than any pepper you've ever tried. But you had no reaction.. Meaning you must be Burger!Sans."

    Pastry took in a deep breath, shaking his head slightly. "Righttt, okay. Cave of Ketchup, Burgers Wish, weird Mustard Apples.. Got it." Pastry stood up, adjusting the crown on his head. "Where's the Cave of Ketchup?"

    Neil glanced at Nicky, expecting him to say something more, only to receive a confused look back. Sighing tiredly, Neil turned his attention back to Pastry. "I'll come with you. You need to take The Golden Bun with you, and I don't trust you with that artifact."

    Pastry looked over at him. "What's the Golde-"

    "We don't know." Liam stated plainly, cutting him off. "We found it by the tree. It was glowing, and it seemed important so we took it. We.. Figured you'd know what to do with it once you got there. Since.. You know.. You're Burger!Sans."

    "What's the Cave of Ketchup even like? What should I expect?" Pastry asked, trying to get an idea of the place in his head.

    Nicky cleared his throat. "The walls of the cave are all red like Ketchup. There's a single tree in the center with yellow leaves and red apples, and the tree is surrounded by a pond of soda. We're not sure what soda it is- To me it tasted like Fanta, to Traydon it tasted like Pepsi, and to Liam it tasted like Grape Soda."

    "...Is that all?" Pastry muttered, looking around the table.

    "Well.." Nicky leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "We think there's more.. But I don't think we can access it without the powers of Burger!Sans. There was a part of the cave that looked kind of like a door, but we couldn't figure out how to open it."

    Pastry nodded. He looked towards Neil before walking to the door. He was stopped suddenly by a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Nicky.

    "Before you go, do you want to meet the last member of our group? He doesn't like people much, but I'm sure he'd still want to say hi!"

    "..What's the poi-"

    "I'll go get him!" Nicky beamed before running off.

    Pastry blinked in silence, glancing up at Neil. "Any idea what that was about?"

    Neil sighed. "Nicky wants Sunny to try and open up." 

    "What was that one thing Nicky said he was?" Traydon asked from the table. "Highkey Oh More? Hickey Morey?"

    "...Hikikiomori." Neil said plainly.

    Nicky came down the stairs moments later with a plain-looking boy with pale skin and black hair. The boy seemed reluctant to be here. Nicky definitely had to put in some effort persuading him to come out.

    "This," Nicky began, bringing Sunny over to Pastry. "Is Sunny! Say hi, Sunny!"

    Sunny stared at Pastry.

    Pastry stared back.

    Sunny's staring intensified.

    Pastry blinked.

    "Hi, Sunny." Neil said tiredly. "Ready to go, Pastry?"

    "Yeah, I'm ready." He answered, heading out the door with Neil before anyone could say another word.

    The door slammed loudly, being shut a bit harder than he'd intented. He whinced slightly at the loud noise, quickly shaking it off and heading back out into the barren wasteland. He knew he was safe, but he still couldn't help but feel wary about the ongoing war. Neil seemed like he knew what he was doing, running away from dangerous situations. It felt safe. Well, as safe as could be.

    They traversed across the terrain, the heat of the day barring down on them and sand and dirty eventually finding its way into their shoes. Who knows how it got there. Pastry was sure he'd collapse on the way, now feeling especially grateful for the bit of medical treatment he'd received from Liam before heading out. 

    Looking out across the sunset, beyond the horizon, he saw it- a large cave. There was some texted engraved into the stone in a language he didn't understand, but most importantly, there was a burger symbol. He was there. Neil walked infront of him, having already been to this place once before. Together, they entered the cave.

    The inside of the cave was dimly lit by faint torches on the walls of the cave. Inside was just as described. The cave was far vaster than he'd imagined, with more ancient writing on the walls of the cave, a mysterious pond in the center. Atop the pond was a small island, just big enough to fit a single tree. Looking behind the tree, he saw the previously mentioned door. 

    Curious about the pond, he approached the tree. Kneeling down and holding his hands to form a cup, grateful for his gloves covering his boney fingers, he took a good drink of the pond. He was pleasantly surprised at the flavor, with the pond tasting like cream soda!

    Wiping off his gloves, he stood back up and made his way to the door. Just in front, there was a couple of axolotl statues in front. One wore a clown nose, and one wore a crown. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. One axolotl was meant to represent Mcdonalds, and the other, Burger King. ...How creative.

    Neil hesitantly handed the Golden Bun to Pastry, watching expectantly and curiously. Dream held it, and stared questioningly at the two axolotl statues. Both reached out a hand. Pastry placed The Golden Bun in one axolotl hand, but that still left the other hand. I'm Burger!Sans, so maybe..

    Pastry rested his hand cautiously on the other axolotl, and watched the door slide open. Grabbing the Golden Bun, he headed in. He was shocked when the door slammed behind him, with Neil trapped on the other side. For whatever reason, it seemed only Burger!Sans was allowed in. He ignored his feelings and continued in through the cave. The ancient writing was difficult to understand, but by holding The Golden Bun up to the text, it could be translated. He began to read.

    Ronald Mcdonald and The King are not of this land. No one knows where they came from, or if they even come from the same timeline. But alas, they are here never the less.

  Pastry continued on.

    For years, they got along. They were both beloved by the residents of this timeline, who had never tasted such delicious burgers as the ones produced by Mcdonalds and Burger King.

  Pastry sighed tiredly, moving on to the next bit of writing.

    But The King wanted more. It wasn't enough for him to be Ronald Mcdonald's equal. So he tried desperately to stand out and to make himself different.

  ...

    Ronald Mcdonald, in a desperate attempt at staying in line with his brother, began to take more of The Kings land. It became quickly obvious that nobody could dare stand up to Ronald Mcdonald and the empire he'd built up around his burgers.

    ...?

    But the king refused to step back and to let Ronald Mcdonald win. First, it was only one. Then two. Then ten. The King killed off Ronald Mcdonald's most loyal customers. He'd hoped that, if he couldn't win people over by flavor, he'd win them over by fear.

    ...?!

    In an act of retaliation, Ronald Mcdonald tried doing the same. But ended up killing innocent civillian lives. The endless cycle of bloodshed never ceased. The axolotls know the truth. Follow them. Save the world.

    ...?!?!?!

    Pastry couldn't help but wonder to himself what any of that meant. He continued through the corridor of the cave, watching as the sides of the cave began to deepen, filled with water, only with his pathway remaining. Kneeling down, he noticed axolotls swimming in the water. They seemed so playful and happy. Axolotls of all colors- red, yellow, white..

    He shut his eyes and listened closely, hearing the axolotls whisper to him. "We are you."

    Pastry felt taken aback at the words, confusion flooding his mind. He blinked silently at them. Standing up, he quickly noticed the end of the cave. It ended rather unsatisfyingly as a simple cube shape with water at the end. He continued to think over the axolotls words.

    Holding The Golden Bun close to his chest, and taking in a big breath of air, he dove into the water, swimming with the axolotls. The red- no- the ketchup axolotl pressed its head into his chest, a burger taste filling Pastry's mouth. Followed by a mustard axolotl. And a mayonaise axolotl. He began to notice burger traits manifesting onto his body. He was lifted out of the water, his head transformed into a burger and with a large staff in his hand. Looking up, he noticed he wasn't in the axolotls section of the cave anymore. Instead, he was standing right in front of Neil.

    "So you really are Burger!Sans.." Neil muttered, half out of disbelief and half out of curiosity. 

    "...Yeah, who knew." Pastry replied with a thin bit of pride. He gave Neil a thumbs up and headed out of the cave. Ronald Mcdonald and Burger King stood outside, waiting for him. They were normal sized instead of being giants like they were before.

    Pastry glared at them. "Do you two have ANY idea about what you've done?"

    Ronald Mcdonald lightly shoved The King away. "He started it!"

    "You think I care?" Pastry asked, annoyance etched in his voice. "No more fighting. Don't make me ground you."

    "..Yes, sir." They both said in unison.

Chapter Text

pretend there's a meaningful scene where pastry and his friends are at a campfire and sing the happy bday song, its very bittersweet and stuff
hooray

click on this: https://imgur.com/a/rahh-boqXfHM (please)

Chapter Text

      The Omega Timeline, Pastry had assumed prior but only recently confirmed, was the name of this new realm. It was a curious place.

      After the situation with... The King, and Ronald McDonald... all Pastry remembers is passing out and reawakening to a white sky. The second thing he noticed was how fresher the air was. It smelled of pine and morning dew, a stark contrast to the greasy, fast-food laden air he had gotten used to. As he sat up, he realized he was in a lush, green meadow surrounded by towering trees and vibrant wildflowers. The sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves filled his ears, and a gentle breeze brushed against his bones. Pastry took a deep breath, feeling a sense of calm wash over him. More strongly, he felt familiarity. It wasn't long until he noticed a plethora of skeletons, humans, fish-people, lizards...

      ...Undertale characters, like he now was.

      Pastry had always known of the Omega Timeline, of course -- he'd roleplayed it with his friends, read about it, seen the comics. It wasn't a new concept. It was only now that he was seeing it in person that he could realize how serene it truly was. The timeline glowed with a myriad of colors, though it was mainly accented with white. Buildings and centers came and went as they pleased, seemingly appearing in and out of view. It was as if the timeline itself was alive and thriving, growing lovingly alongside its own inhabitants.

      Naturally, after repressing his excitement, he was quite enjoying himself as he walked along, the faintest smile on his face as he remembered the "allies" he had made only few days prior. Days... He had already been out in the Multiverse for several days. It was almost hard to believe, yet terrifying.

            H-How long will this last?
            You will find out soon.

      A simple wink seemingly sealed his fate for who knows how long. What was going on in his old life? Was Dream treating his friends well? He reflects back on their encounter -- surely Dream had picked up details of his life, so he wouldn't feel out of character.. He knew about his favorite type of tea, for example. And it just doesn't seem to be in Dream's nature to do something as risky as this without thinking thoroughly on how it would affect the two individuals. Pastry was sure it was okay... he was more concerned on how long he would be here.

      Four days now. Four days could soon become a week, which could turn into a month, which could potentially last even years from now. And it wasn't like this was very easy, either... Pretending to be Dream.

      His gaze perks up, noticing a large tree in the distance. It's shadowing over a small patch of the timeline. That seems like a good place to rest and gather my thoughts.

      Approaching the conifer, Pastry suddenly feels an odd tingling sensation in his chest. Now walking slower, he advanced deeper into the crowd, and this feeling intensified -- only now, he could identify what it was.

Anxiety.

      A sudden, sharp pang of anxiety that wasn't his own. It mingled with joy, sorrow, anger, and countless other emotions, each pulling him in a different direction. His chest tightened, and his breath became shallow. Every step felt like wading through a thick swamp of conflicting feelings -- his feet felt like they were growing heavier and heavier, seeping deeper into the mud.

      "Too much... it's too much," Pastry whispered to himself, his voice barely audible over the cacophony of the crowd. He couldn't understand. He had been perfectly calm before this. A little lost, sure, but emotionally? He was excited. Why, out of the blue, is his chest so-?

      His vision blurred, colors blending together in a disorienting swirl. The ground seemed to tilt beneath him, and he struggled to keep his balance. Pastry claws into his skull, trying to block out the torrent of emotions flooding his senses.

      ”Calm down, Pastry. Just breathe," he murmurs, attempting to steady himself. But the emotions kept pouring in, an unrelenting tide that threatened to drown him. 

      Every emotion surrounding him seemed to latch onto him, amplifying his own distress. He felt a surge of anger from someone arguing nearby, a wave of sadness from a Frisk who had lost something precious, and a pulse of joy from a couple reuniting. Each emotion struck him like a physical blow, leaving him reeling.

      His knees buckled, and he sank to the ground up against the bark of the tree, clutching his chest as if to hold himself together. Before he realizes it, words are coming out of his mouth in a shaky breath, his vision further obstructed by tears: "I can't... I can't do this." The noise, the feelings, everything was too much.

"Of course you can."

      Cutting through his thoughts was the voice of a child. Gentle and soft, the eye of the hurricane. Slowly, Pastry looks up at what looks to be a grey blob. He blinks away tears. "What...?"

      He fully opens his eyes, and sees a blob of grey. Forcing himself to focus, the figure in front of him is-- a child. Entirely greyscale, with large, seemingly all-seeing black eye sockets.

"You're not really Dream, are you?"

      His breath hitches in his throat as he looks at the child. Their grey appearance stands out against the pastel color and white vibrancy of everything else. Slowly, he nods, voice shaking. "H-how'd you know..?"

"Shhh. It's okay. What you're going through right now is emotional sensitivity -- I'll explain all of it in a moment. For now, my name is Frisk. What's your name?"

      "Dream--"

"Your real name."

      He slowly moves to sit up against the tree. Taking a shaky breath, he closes his eyes as he speaks. His voice was dripping with confusion. "...Okay. Pastry. I'm... just Pastry."

"Okay, Pastry. I'll explain everything in a moment. For now..."

      Frisk takes Pastry's hands into their own. "Take deep breaths with me - it will help to calm you down. In..."

      Pastry took a shaky breath and slowly started to mimic their breathing. In. Out. Breathe in, breathe out...

 ...and suddenly, the hurricane has subsided. The fog that was blogging his mind feels like it's cleared, and the loud chattering of the crowd... suddenly wasn't so loud at all. He always knew this damn technique existed, but never thought it'd be so effective.

"Very good," Frisk affirms.
      "What's happening to you right now comes with your current form. Being in this body... Dream's body... makes you susceptible to sensing, and feeling, the emotions of other people." 

      As he continued to breathe deeply, Pastry's eyes widened as the realization hit him. That explained why he suddenly could feel everything so... intensely. He hadn't been prepared for that. Not at all. Does this mean he also had Dream's magic and abilities?

      Frisk continues. "I'm afraid there's no helping it. You'll only have to grow used to this. If you find a strong source of negativity, I suggest you quietly leave. You're doing great as an undercover impersonator, but Dream has his own story to tell. Spreading positivity is his job... not yours."

      He nods slowly, the realization of how he would have to cope with this hitting him. That was going to take a hell of a lot of time. But he could do this. He could. He had to.

      Pastry takes a deep breath, his gaze turning down to the ground. "...And I assume the emotions will be less overwhelming the longer I'm as Dream, then...?"

  "Yes! Very good." Frisk cheers, releasing their hands and sitting beside Pastry against the tree. "I will say, this is my first time speaking to one of the Creators. It's a pleasure to meet you."

      He can't help but smile softly as Frisk praises him, feeling a warm sort of comfort he's not felt in a long time at the comment. He then tilts his head to the side at their next words, their familiarity with how this worked piquing his curiosity. "...What do you mean? Creators?"

   "Ah - yes. You are a being from a plane of existence that is above our multiverse. I theorize that each world is a layer -- our multiverse going up to yours, then potentially beyond that. Only few are aware that beings of your magnitude have created us, or that you even exist -- but they give life to our multiverse. You give life to our multiverse." Frisk smiles. "It is very exciting to meet you, Pastry."

      Pastry carefully digested each word, realizing only now that he had stopped crying. He wiped his sockets, now looking at his hands.

"Still overwhelmed?"

      "Yeah..."

Frisk looks at him. "Would you like to learn where we are?"

      "Please."

   There's gentle rustling of the grass as Frisk stands up, their small stature keeping them at eye level even as they stand in front of Pastry. "Welcome to the Omega Timeline! I am its founder and host. This is a safe haven for those who no longer have a safe timeline to live in. Anyone can enter, and anyone can leave."

HA. HE KNEW IT. ...Pastry's expression must have given away his self-win, because Frisk frowns and places their hands on their hips. "Why did you make me explain if you already knew?"

      "Oh, I- I just wanted confirmation..."

"So then I assume you know my indicator, too?"

      "Core. Yes." Pastry nods sheepishly.

"Welcome, nonetheless..." Core sounds the slightest bit disappointed. 

      Pastry blinks.

      Core remains stern for a moment, but then cracks into a small smile. "Sorry. I'm not actually upset - only teasing. Now, I know you must be excited to see all of your favorite AUs..."

      "Am I ever!" Pastry says dreamily.

"...but I advise you against that."

      Pastry's smile fades. "Wha?"

"For starters... The door to the Omega Timeline is magical, yes, but not adaptive. You can only use it to enter your own timeline and back. Which, of course..."

      "...I don't have." Pastry sighs.

   Core nods. "Now, you could teleport around, but that's immensely dangerous for someone who can't yet regulate their emotions... let alone summon a bone."

      Pastry looks up. "So then...?"

"You can have your fun here until Dream decides you've had your fill. I unfortunately... don't know when that will be. Dream was acting strange before he made this decision, but even I could not have predicted he'd do this. There is a lot of mystery around it," Core admits with a regretful nod.

      So, Dream didn't even tell anyone he was going to do this. Pastry thinks again back to their encounter. "He told me that... He could feel my love for him and his story, or something like that."

"Oh!!" The smaller of the two exclaims.

      "...?" Pastry urges.

   Core simply shrugs. "I dunno what to make of this."

      PASTRY SIGHS, deflating.

"However! I can ensure you have a comfortable place to stay for the remainder of your time here. If you're feeling better..." They extend their hand. "Will you come with me?"

      "..Sure," Pastry agrees, taking it. Only-- to his horror-- his hand goes STRAIGHT through Core's.

"Ah." Core stares awkwardly.

      "..WHAT-"

"I can only interact with objects that share my mass or lower... Take my hand in an, ah, lighter matter."

      Pastry stares. "..IJUSTSWIPEDTHROUGHYOURSKIN???"

    They give a painful expression. "Actually, perhaps you can lift yourself and we can walk..."

      ",,Yes. Let's."

      The Omega Timeline, Pastry had assumed prior but only recently confirmed, was the name of this new realm. It was a curious place.

And he was going to live in it.

Chapter Text

 
     "...And that's all you have to know." The monster smiled from behind the desk; Pastry’s room keys dangling from her hand.

   Pastry was sat awkwardly on a chair in the lounge. He was still playing the role of "Dream", of course -- he hoped feigning ignorance wouldn't seem too 'out of character.'

       "Thank you."

   He reaches out and takes his keys from the hands of the Innkeeper, a bunny monster just like classic Undertale.

       After a long, long day of contemplating pretty much everything that had been going on, what it came down to was this:

       Core Frisk is fucking awesome; Omega Timeline hotels are more akin to a cottage, whether it be good or bad; and Pastry is exhausted. He can't remember the last time he's had a proper rest through all of this.

       "Is that all?" Inquires the sweet voice from behind the counter; the rabbit was quite chubby, and wore a blue cardigan. She was the type of person who's sweet enough to make you want to bawl, which Pastry really didn't mind.

       "Mhm!" Pastry replies with a sincere hint of gratefulness in his voice, turning to the stairs and heading up. The stairs were quite small and cramped, miniature steps that almost made him feel as if he were invading the house of an old grandmother. The lighting of the stairs was much darker than the hallways and rooms; which had soft carpet, and light yellow tones. It was easy on the eyes, taking him in an entirely different environment than the whiteness and chaos that surrounds them outside.

       Pastry makes it to his room, fiddles with the lock, and enters. The bedroom was quite simple, being rather brown. The carpet is the same as downstairs, a soft cottony texture; however, the decor is the main differentiator, as there is only a twin-sized bed at the far right corner of the room, bordered by a small night-stand and a desk lamp. The place smelled distantly of Chinese food. Closing the door behind him, it is as if he's entirely shut out the world.

       He plops down onto the bed, instantly making a 'hm' noise. It... feels akin to a couch. The girth of the bed was quite bouncy, but the ends felt stiff, almost like a board. He feels the sheets; soft and clean. You know what? It'll do. He's too tired to complain. The home-esq feel gives the place... charm. He reaches to the lamp and turns it off, leaving the room in comfortable darkness; not exactly pitch-black.

       Pastry lays down. Shuts his sockets. Begins counting sheep. For a long time, it is dark and silent, exactly what he should need after such a tiring adventure.

   But he... just can't seem to fall asleep.

       He turns to the right side of the bed, images of The King flashing into his mind. Of the dirt being kicked under their feet. He saved hundreds of people from a millennia of cheap, fast-food war. He should be proud of himself. But then, as Core said... Was that really his place? Spreading positivity is the job of Dream. He isn't Burger!Sans... He isn't even a real skeleton. Had he interfered with someone's story...? Stolen someone else's opportunity to be a hero, who would've made more out of it than he had?

       Expression twisting, he rolls to the other side of his bed, laying on his side. His bones felt particularly uncomfortable now... Having skin was soft, but it feels odd laying on your own bones, unprotected. ...Pastry jolts onto his back, the thought weirding himself out enough to cause him to open his eyes with a disturbed look. He sighs, exasperated, and places his hands onto his face.

       "I'm Dream..." Pastry murmurs. "I fit in here... this is just ordinary life for me! I'm *fine.* I can do something as simple as rest."

He closes his eyes again, yet can't help but think-- can he? And... is he?

       Though comfort warms him like the sun, little sprouting thoughts creep in one after another, like vines growing through concrete. He's not... really Dream. Yet, he feels so happy under this persona, this personality. Who does he like more? Dream, or Pastry? Does he deserve this? Is he making the best he can out of this amazing opportunity...?

       ...Is he dreaming? Is the reason he can't fall asleep because he simply hasn't woken up yet?

       No longer able to stand these thoughts, he claps his face with both hands, groaning. "FOCUS. You're fine... we're fine."

"We are? Thank you." A familiar voice replies.

       "WHA- HA- HUH?!" Pastry yelps, sitting up with wide eyes.

       He reaches for his lamp, and immediately, he's met with his own body. Dream snickers. "Are you surprised?"

       "You're back!" Pastry exclaims, rubbing his eyes and blinking twice to make sure he wasn't only having hopeful hallucinations.

 "I am! Have you been enjoying your time here?" Dream asks, sitting down on the bed next to him. "I apologize for alarming you."

       "THE REAL DREAM SANS!" Pastry points at Dream, who blinks.

  "I... Yes! It's me!!" Dream replies uneasily.

       "HOLY SHIT... OH MY GAWD... It's the real Dream Sans."

  "..."

       "IS... IS THAT... IS THAT THE--"

  "ANYWAYS," Dream interrupts passive-aggressively. "How! Have you! Been! Has there been any issues? I apologize ...again for barging in."

       "THE REAL DREAM--"

   "PASTRY."

       "AHAH!! Aahhh... that was great. Anyway, no no, not at all! It's... been really great. I've met some nice people."

   "Of course," Dream says with a nod. "I'm glad! Any thoughts, feelings... regrets?"

       Pastry hesitates. "...No. It's just, a new experience is all. But, wow... a week in the life of you has been..."

   "Magical?" Dream tilts his head with a kind smile; gentle eyes.

       "No... More than that. It's everything I could've hoped for every time I changed my Discord profile picture."

    Dream smirks at that. "That's wonderful! I knew this would be a great idea for you, Pastry. A brand new adventure in a new body, with new powers... It's almost as if your old life was never there, no?"

       Pastry is hit with a pang of remorse. He had honestly gotten so caught up in this life that he'd mostly forgotten about that. "Aahhh... No no, I do miss it. Are you treating everyone well? Pepper isn't worrying about me??"

    With a light chuckle, Dream replies in a light voice, shaking his hands. "Oh, no, no! Everything is going swell. I cleaned your room quite a bit... I'm maintaining your body's hygiene, too. Your hair feels quite fluffy! It's fun having hair!"

       "It's equally sucky to be bald!" Pastry replies in the exact same optimistic tone.

   Dream leans into Pastry, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "But, wow. Such a magical place, no? Almost like you would want to stay here for forever."

       Pastry smiles, tensing up uncomfortably. "Haha, uh... yeah."

   "You know, Pastry," Dream says, looking at him. "I quite like being human! But, there's another reason I brought you here. One I had to wait to tell you about... so you'd see this amazing world before I disclose it."

       "Another reason...?"

    "Our multiverse thrives off of creation, as Core told you about."

       Pastry pauses. How did he know? "Go on...?"

    "This act of throwing and reusing ideas is what helps us to thrive. However, something is happening in your realm, and AUs are slowly dying-- not at the hand of any of our own destruction, but due to a cease in creativity flowing through your world." Dream's smile has faded. "Do you see what I'm saying, Pastry?"

       "I... don't quite think I follow," Pastry replies, a drop of sweat appearing on his skull. He could detect... a very determined emotion, from within Dream.

      Dream releases him and stands up, staring at a wall, his back facing Pastry, like a fucking anime. "When I first found out this was happening, I wasn't worried. This happens all the time, Ink taught me; I only need to give it time, and soon, timelines will be thriving again. We're only in a little pit, before riding back up the hill..." He raises a hand to the air to signify this.

       "But..." It lowers, his hand resting on his chest. "That never happened. Characters are growing dull. Disappearing. Storylines stopping entirely, as if they'd never existed in the first place."

Dream's skull slowly turns to face Pastry, a manic expression on his face. "Do you know what that means for me... for you?"

       "I..." Pastry replies shakily. "Don't... know."

Dream walks toward Pastry, his eye twitching. He's smiling again. "If there's no positive emotions, I can't thrive. But I'm not weak either, Pastry. There's no negative emotions either. I was in purgatory. Until... when I was at my most desperate point..."

       "Dream...?"

"...I heard you. And what a beautiful sound it was! A real person who is out there -- someone who loves me -- someone with such strong positive emotions, I was able to travel all the way to reality to find them. Pastry... I was never made for the Undertale multiverse in the first place."

       "Dream, you're scaring me."

Dream's voice softens, becoming sickeningly sweet. "Pastry... you love it here. You told me yourself."

       Pastry swallows, standing up. "What... What are you getting to? Just spit it out already...!"

"When I'm in your body... in your world... not only do I no longer have to deal with those pesky emotions, but I can save my multiverse. I can inspire others... create my own source of positivity... Pastry, think about it. I benefit more from being in your place than you do!"

        "No," Pastry says firmly, his head spinning.

"LISTEN TO ME. I deserve it more than you do! I- I can help!"

         "NO, you're NOT."

Dream clutches Pastry's shoulders, his head looking down. "Pastry, PASTRY, please... Look- look me in the eyes."

         "Get off of me." Pastry begins to shake his arms in an attempt to get Dream off.

"LOOK at me, Pastry." Dream looks up, clutching his arms tighter and staring at his face. "I can't let you have this back. I- I need it. We've made it THIS FAR."

         "I told you, get OFF!" Pastry yells, kicking his own body in the stomach. He takes shaky steps backwards as Dream grunts, holding his stomach and falling to the floor.

  Dream coughs on the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK??? THAT HURT... :("

         "YOU'RE INSANE!" Pastry yells again, tearing up from the pressure. "You... You tricked me! It literally isn't even physically possible for you to feel NOT happy!"

 Dream slowly rises from the carpet, still clutching his stomach, wearing an insane smile. "Oh, no, nonononono. Ahahaha... no. It's not possible... for you to not feel happy."

...This fucker is going to try to steal my body.

  Without a second thought, Pastry TACKLES Dream to the ground, and the two begin to tussle. The two throw punches, throw kicks, rolling across the carpet -- creating a general commotion, as downstairs there were a lot of slamming. 

"That body is mine!!" Pastry yells, feeling DEEPLY strange about attacking his own body.

"I need it!" Replies Dream, getting up and kicking Pastry down. "You don't understand my mission!"

"I do! And it's fucked!"

They both turn to the door as it creeks open. The kind bunny lady is peering in. "W-What is with all this commotion?! No fighting in--"

"AGH! Enough of this. I can't have you messing this up... I'm taking care of you now."

"..WHAT THE FUCK DOES  T H A T  MEAN??"

"IT MEANS THIS."

To Pastry's amazement, Dream begins to glow. Then, before he knows it, there's a loud explosion, emitted from Dream's hands. The floor above them caves in beneath them, then cracks.

"AAH!" Pastry screams, falling and hitting the ground hard, his fall being "broken" (BARELY) by wood boards. As he's recovering from being winded, there's more explosions, debris and wood falling and dust clouds filling the room.

"You're destroying the innocent HOTEL? How is thus helping anyth-..." His exclamations trail off as he opens his eyes, pushing the wood off of him and looking around him. There's a slow, loud ripping noise beneath them as he realizes that not only is this building collapsing, but the rest of the buildings in the timeline as well.

Pastry coughs, feeling as if his lungs are on fire. Everything becomes loud and, before he knows it, he feels something hit his head, and Pastry is rendered unconscious.

Chapter Text

When Pastry recovers, colors and shapes are mending together. What used to be a tranquil timeline is destroyed.

Below himself the floor begins to crack, slowly spreading apart. Pastry yelps and holds tightly onto a piece of furniture as the entire timeline itself seems to be breaking; Dream had destroyed it.

Around them are the sudden shrieks of monsters and humans alike as a siren begins to ring out; there's the thudding of a stampede as desperately, people begin to run for the exit door.

Pastry can feel all of it. Every single one.

"Gah-!" Tears welling in his eyes, he tightly holds onto his skull, squeezing his eyes shut as feeling after feeling circles his head, tormenting him. The amount of panic rising in the timeline-- the deranged sadism coming from the psychopath before him-- He can't... take it.

When he opens his eyes again to ease the pain, he noticed his vision didn't change. Everything was- black. The building around him had crumpled, and fallen into a void below him. He stares down in horror at the debris as it hits green text files; hundreds of green text files, floating and surrounding them in what looked to be... code.

The next thing to come to him was the thousands of inhabitants, left helplessly floating in this void. There are screams and wails and cries and then...

Silence.

All of it is blurred to Pastry as he stares directly at Dream. His expression is blank -- he feels nothing in the moment, an unnaturally calm reaction to this destruction that almost scared himself, too. Despite himself, he takes steps forward, silently approaching Dream, who is laughing-- yet crying-- manically.

"I didn't mean for it to go this far!" Dream hics, holding his head as if he were deranged, floating above it all. He was both smiling and crying. "YOU DID THIS. You had to understand, you had to. If there's no happiness to be spread, I have no reason to exist."

"You were meant to be their joy, whether the population had fallen or not," Pastry retorts with a determined expression, his hands in fists as he continues to walk toward Pastry. All around them was death.

Dream freezes, his eyes becoming shiny. For just a split second, Pastry could tell he had broken through.

Dream slowly shakes his head, tears pouring from his eyes. "I'm tired of second chances. I used to find it exhausting to feel anything that wasn't joy, but now? But now..."

"Dream!" Pastry shouts, extending his arms to the newly born god. "I can help you through this -- just stop the explosions!"

"No... no, NO!! Don't- Don't do this to me!" Dream shrieks, raising his arm. He radiates a yellow glow in his hands.

"WAIT-" Pastry runs to try to stop it...

...all too late. Dream claps the two balls of energy above his head, then squeezes it in his hands, causing a massive shockwave to extend out across the Out!Code -- flashbanging Pastry. He covers his face and closes his eyes tightly, wincing in pain at the sudden bright light.

"Just let me DO THIS!" Screams Dream through the bright light.

"N-No,.. No, I... I...!"

His ears are ringing. Pastry is falling. Everything goes from white,

to red,

to black.

Then,

he wakes up.

Pastry is shaking.

"-stry..."

Voices are fading in and out. He barely dares to inch his facial muscles.

"'s... -ake!"

Five more minutes...

"...-o, he... not."

"Yes, he is!"

The voices are clearer now. Pastry slowly opens his eyes, his vision still blurry. He sees two faces-- both of which were similar enough. A chubby, childish face with short, brown, curly hair. The difference was that one of them had a blindfold of golden flowers, while the other bore a cowboy hat.

They stare down at him. He stares back. The one with the flowers is the first to speak up:

"See? I told you he's awake."

"Well, I never..." Says the second, in a heavy southern accent (that very much so reminds Pastry of Apple Jack.) He tilts his hat, with a huge, relieved grin. "We were worried 'bout you!"

"My heaaaadd..." Pastry whimpers, rubbing his skull to see if he's still intact. Yep... regrettably, still alive.

"You're Pastry, right?" The cowboy kid greets.

Pastry stares at both of them in shock...before coming to a realization. "C...C...CLOVER?!?!!!  ....STICK??????"

"Wow! He already knows us!" Exclaims Stick, reaching into his pockets.

Clover sighs. "Thank gosh you're still with us! You took a pretty heavy blow from that new evil human over there."

Pastry attempts to sit up before weakly falling back down. However, his autism is just too strong. He manages to sit up fully, and grabs Clover by the shoulders, shaking them. "THE REAL CLOVER FROM UNDERTALE YELLOW???????"

"Udder tail yuh-huh?" Asks Stick. Clover gasps, and holds his hands to his head.

"No way.. NO WAY! I'm a famous sheriff!! I'm recognized by Pastry!!" Clover exclaims, eyes shining. His ego was CLEARLY boosted.

Stick kinda stares before giving a thumbs up in the wrong direction. "Yay!!"

Pastry coughs, still weakened by the blast. He tries to calm down his autism by changing the subject. " Okay, why— why are you here??" 

"We saw you fightin' that evil guy!" Clover says in a suuuper serious voice, though to Pastry, he sounds more like a dorky kid. "You got blasted allll the way down to the bottom of this here void."

Now that Pastry has a chance to look at his surroundings, it's true -- everything around them is pitch black, with occasional crumbles of debris from several feet above them. There's distant screams and explosions. The three of them stare in awkward silence for a moment as a woman's distressed shrieks sound out in the distance.

Stick speaks up once the wailing is cut off by yet another resounding BOOM. "Yes!! And we wanted to fight to stop them, but Core told us that you're a very important person, and we had to come rescue you."

Clover nodded. "Now... I don't know when ya changed your name to *Pastry,* but I've seen you around, and I know that if ya need anyone to deliver justice... You're the--"

"Best person for the job!" Says Stick happily, plopping a bandage onto Pastry's forehead.

Clover stares at Stick, looking injured and offended. Stick simply looks oblivious.

"That's... no... I'm the first person for the job, Pastry's the second..." Clover mumbles sadly, pouting in another direction.

Pastry stands up, looking determined. He has to stand up for what's right...even if he's afraid internally. "Yes...I, am the best person for the job." He mutters under his breath shakily.  His cape blows in the wind dramatically as if from an anime as he faces away from the two kids.

"How can I help?" Pastry turns his head around, his eyes thinning at the two.

Clover tilts their hat and puts their hand on their hips, looking proud. "Now that's the tootin' spirit!" Somehow, the western accent got even stronger.

"Well, Core told us there's only one way to defeat this strange human," Stick says, glancing to Clover.

Clover hides his face with his hat, looking solemn. "Yes, indeedy, and it's very risky. See, long ago--"

"I wanna tell the story!"

"There wa- wh-"

"There was a BIIIG--"

Clover shoves Stick away. He lands with a THUD. "Owie!!"

Clover coughs, clearing his throat. "..Mmhm. Anywho. Long ago, in the distant past, there was a biiiggg, purple man..."

Pastry does a quick run through their mind, trying to search through all the Undertale characters and AUS where there could be a big purple man. Fresh? No, he's multicoloured... maybe, XGaster? Technically he has a bit of purple.

However, he will soon know.

Clover continues speaking.

"One day, he went to a pencil sharpening store...and he asked the owner if he had any pens. But... little did he know. Wait, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself!" AHEM. "Long ago, before he went to the store! He wanted to snap half of the universe in half..."

Stick butts back in, spitting a bandage onto Pastry from his mouth. He had been chewing on it.

"And he had a magic fentanyl that let him do it! If he got all 7 human fentanyls, he'd be able to snap the universe in half. However, the Creators didn't like that... So they nerfed him, sealed him beneath this Out!Code, and put the 7 human fentanyls in a child-proof drawer." He shivers at the very thought of it.

Pastry stares in disgust as he coughs the bandaid out. It landed in his MOUTH. His skeleton mouth.

"Okay, so...what happened next?"

Clover shoved Stick aside. "No, let me finish the story! Okay, anyway... he went to the pencil sharpening store. And he needed a pen! So he asked the shop owner for a pen...but they had none. How blasphemous! He got angry, and strangled the shop owner. But...the shop owner HIMSELF was a pencil sharpener! And he didn't just sharpen pencils... he sharps EVERYTHING! His hand, who was strangling him, started GROWING and getting sharper! He cried out in pain...the hand was losing its blood circulation from how much it was stretching, and...it started becoming green from the blood loss."

Stick is flopping his sleeves around, distracted like a kitten would be with yarn. "Yyyep! And that's how he turned green. Everyone started calling him... Swap!Thanos."

"After being lonely for so long in his void, he's been reported to have a change of heart! That's only rumors, though... no way to know if he really is worth trusting now. But we think it's our only hope. So..."

Stick places his hands together. "Please help us awaken Swap!Thanos, Pastry!!"

Pastry stares in confusion, but complies anyway. "Of course, anything to get back home...sorry, I mean— save the people!" He smiled reluctantly, seeing that there's indeed some hope after all.

"How do we awaken him?"

"It's said that deep, DEEP down, in the--"

"Oh! Just open the child-proof drawer for--"

"STICK!! It's MY story!" Clover whines, throwing a fit.

"--his fentanyl, he'll be summoned!"

"...And where's the child proof drawer?" Pastry asks, befuddled by the whole situation here. This feels like an insane fever dream, but it's...real. At least, he thinks so. It all feels so vivid.

Clover replied quickly, "It's a while over there!" They pointed into the abyssal void. "But not to worry! I have a trick up my sleeve..."

Clover pulls out a tiny bag, but pulls out a giant human-sized AK47. "We can ride on this!" They pull out a saddle as well, putting it on the AK47. It meows and purrs. "This will get us there in no time!"

Anktjer big elxlosion from above them;

"YAY! Riding time! Riding time!" Stick claps happily, hopping onto the back of Clover's big gun. It giddies up, clicking. It smells oddly of coffee grainer.

Clover reaches in and hands Pastry his own big fat human-sized gun to ride on before climbing onto his. "For the road. Let's get to it!"

Pastry blinks. What the fick+??1 ? Is happening

Pastry reluctantly hops onto his own AK47. It growls and scratches. Somehow. Pastry freaks out and is going bonkers so bonkers! Crazy

Clover looks over with a nonchalant expression. "Ohh, you old gun, stop bein' feisty! Don't mind her, that's just how she is."

Pastry reluctantly continues to straddle before suddenly both AK47s blast off into the distance, a trail of bullets shooting behind them. It's like a magic carpet ride.

Pastry's metaphorical hair is flapping in the high-speed winds as they soar across the Out!Code, various tex files zooming across them. Until soon... they arrive at a very special place. As the guns slow down right infront of a line of text, Clover and Stick stand outside. "Well, this is it!"

Pastry takes a deep breath. Okay, no pressure. Find a child-proof drawer, open it, bam. "Thank you both. Are you--"

He hears the sort of cocking that you'd expect from a decades old vehicle as the guns hack and flies away. Pastry sort of stares in bewilderment, brows furrowing as they ditch him. "--...guys coming in." ..Sigh. So it's a solo mission. He can handle that. He thinks. ..Hopes.

Pastry reluctantly steps into the code, seeing lines of colors until he lands in a simple white void. ....There's a drawer in front of him and literally NOTHING else in the timeline. Pastry picks himself up from the ground and stares around suspiciously. That's it? Is this a trap? There's seriously *nothing* more than this.

With hesitation, Pastry slowly opens the drawer... turns the nob, and... The child-proof lock is literally so rusty after all these years that it simply falls onto the ground, and the drawer opens.

.. Well then. 

Pastry looks inside, and-- ..wh? There's no fentanyl in the drawer. Just two video game controllers.

From behind him, he suddenly hears the cocking of guns. It's followed by two thuds as Clover and Stick plop down onto the ground. Pastry turns around.

"AHA! I've caught you!" Clover points. "I challenge you... to a battle! A game of Smash."

"Wh-" Wait. THIS IS HIS CLOVER. THE SCAMMER ONE THAT HE DESIGNED. Pastry knows VERY well how this game works... and he'll wager. Pastry picks up... the right controller. He sees Clover sweat.

"Y-Yeah, a game'a smash! Before ya save the multiverse, I think you gotta prove yourself. Now, there is--"

"Money on the line, I know."

"So uhh, can you hand me your controller? I just, gotta hook it up to the switch." Clover asks in a friendly tone.

"No, I'm sure it'll connect just fine." Pastry smiles. Clover stares.

"Ah, uh, yeah, I'll just... be a sec, then!" He says, urgently turning around and whispering something to Stick. Pastry immediately walks over to see what they're doing, and it's just as he expected. Clover is un-rigging his controller.

"What'cha got there?" asks Pastry.

Clover yelps, jumping and tossing the remote in his hands. "Ah- ah- nothing! Just... uh..."

"If you don't mind, the universe is in danger. This isn't very justice of you."

"Ffine..." He takes out his switch, and gestures to Stick. "Do the thing."

"Okay!" Cheers Stick. He proceeds to barf up an entire tv.

"..." Pastry is horrified.

"Don't ask," says Clover casually. He bonks Stick on the head. "C'mon, bud, you can finish it!"

Stick is panting... before also barfing up an entire couch.

"........"

"Great job, boy!!" Clover grins, handing Stick a little pebble.

Stick exclaims with excitement and runs off into the distance of the timeline. "5G!! I'M RICH!!"

"Is... Is he..." Pastry hesitates, dumbfounded.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Now!" Clover sits down on the slightly damp couch with a smug grin. Pastry stares, confused, until he looks down at his own hand. He has the left controller. ...HE HAS THE LEFT CONTROLLER? Pastry GLARES at Clover, who continues to look smug as they load up smash.

The game boots, and immediately, Clover tilts his hat. "Now, the whole world is endin', so only one game, arright?"

"Wh- Wait-" Pastry refutes. But it's already started, hesitantly, he picks Kirby, fully aware he's already lost... So he attempts damage control. "Okay. Just, uhh-"

Wait.

Pastry.. doesn't even HAVE any G.

"Just... a... uhh..."

Clover stares. "..Well? 10G, give or take?"

"Uum, about that..." Pastry says, half grateful he's not capable of being scammed.

"..You don't have 10G? Man, you're poor. Don't worry then, Pastry, we can do a measly 5G!"

"Aahhh..."

"..2G?"

Pastry gives a winced expression. 

Clover is astonished. "Oh. Well. Uh..."

Interrupting the moment, they hear a loud explosion in the distance, followed by a surprised yell. Clover's head immediately snaps into the distance. "Shoot!! They found this timeline! Pastry, the fentanyl is UNDER the desk!"

"WAH!! Clover!!" Shouts a distant voice among another boom. Without another word, Clover immediately runs out to help Stick.

"WAIT--" Pastry extends his hand, then sighs as Clover is already running off, too late to prevent. These two kids can't fight bombs! He freezes, faced with a difficult choice. Does he help them first, or does he get the fentanyl???

Glancing between the two options, he gasps under his breath and holds his head down as a yellow bomb flies over him, exploding right past him. Okay, he needs the fentanyl, NOW. Pastry scurries over to the desk and looks underneath it, where he finds it... the seven human fentanyl. He picks it up and instinctively steps into the middle of the timeline, standing... calmly. Suddenly, his cape begins to float as the magic powers over him. And the fentanyl floats in his hands!

It begins to glow with brilliant rainbow colors, and suddenly, from below... a HUGE crack forms in the floor of the timeline. A MASSIVE, GIGANTIC figure ascends from the hole, taller than any building, thicker than any hunk. If you have a giantess fetish, you'd love to be here right now, because this green man was - quite literally- a giant, potentially a God. Pastry knew, right then and there... he'd done it. This was... him. 

"MORTAL... WHAT IS THE PURPOSE FOR MY AWAKENING?" Asks Swap!Thanos, his voice raspy. 

"Thanos, we need your help. Dream is going to destroy the multiverse because he's a salty little whiny bitch!"

Swap!Thanos, green as grass, gives a deep nod of understanding. "I SEE. I WILL ASSIST YOU, HUMAN FROM BEYOND OUR WORLD."

Clover and Stick look at each other. 

"That's not Dream?"

"That's a human?"

Pastry stares regrettably at them. "There's a lot I haven't explained... But that human who is bombing shit? That's the real Dream. I... am nothing more but a placeholder for his strange, anti-villain plans."

"Wow..." Stick gasps, amazed.

"Well, either way, we're right by ya!" Says Clover. He hops onto their gun, helping Stick onto it. "We'll go distract Dream for ya, Pastry! We believe in you!"

"Yeah!! Go beat up the banana!" Stick cheers, raising his arms as they zip out of the timeline.

"MORTAL... THE FENTANYL."

Pastry nods to Swap!Thanos, extending his hands. With serene grace, the fentanyl flies up to Swap!Thanos, floating around him. He takes the pills, suddenly glowing as his green scales become fresher... healing him. As if he had been deprived.

"THANK YOU. I AM... RELIEVED. FOR SO LONG, I HAVE BEEN LOCKED AWAY."

"I... yeah..." WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING.

Thanos begins to ascend, destroying the entire roof of the timeline. It cracks and reveals the Out!Code.

Thanos thins his pink eyes, preparing for the worst. Dream was in front of him...an insane anime battle was about to occur.

Dream, floating to eye level, stares him down. "You...! Decades ago, you were casted away. So why...? Why fight?"

"YOU. WHY DO YOU FIGHT?" Swap!Thanos looks Dream directly in the eyes.

Dream's eyes glow icily. "Look around us, Beast; this realm is crying beneath our feet. There is no room for any emotion but fear. I need to fix this. This is the only way I can make the universe truly happy." 

He lowers his hand slowly, energy beginning to form within his fingertips. "I didn't mean for it to go this far. If you truly care about this world, this world which turned its back on you, you will allow me to guide it to prosperity."

He replies gently, with sadness in his eyes, "BUT THERE WILL BE NO MORE HAPPINESS IF EVERYTHING IS GONE." He pulls out a rubix cube. He holds it tightly in his hand, fondling it. It's one side away from being finished.

Dream stares. "What- what the fuck is that meant to do???"

He caresses the unfinished side. "IT WILL BE YOUR END."

He fondles with it before sliding the side to be correct. All sides of the rubix cube are now perfectly aligned.

It starts glowing and turns into a football. He proceeds to throw it at Dream's head.

Dream, cackling with DARK TOXIC POSITIVITY ENERGY, lifts his hand, simply catching the rubix-cube-turned-football. He twists it around in his hand, looking at it with a bemused expression.

"This is how you think to defeat me? Pathetic."

He crushes the cube, filling it with Autism speaks ads. With the power of a hundred suns, he raises it behind his head, throwing it back to Swap!Thanos with twice the power.

Thanos gasps as it's hurled towards his head. He pulls out a DISHWASHER! It does nothing. He is hit.

He stumbles back upon the impact, yelping out in pain.

With a loud THUD, the entire Out!Code shakes from the impact of Thanos falling. Monsters and humans alike hug each-other, quivering in frozen fear as not only is their home being destroyed, but seemingly the entire multiverse.

For a long time, it is silent. Dream floats in place. Slowly, he raises his arms into the air, cackling victoriously. "THIS was your best resistance!"

From the smoke, a small voice comes through. Two human figures... Pastry gasps as he recognizes Traydon and Liam.

Holding hands, they weakly trot into the middle of the battle field, hand in hand. Standing in front of Swap!Thanos protectively, they stare up at Dream.

"What...? What is this? What do you children hope to do?"

It is silent. Everything is silent.

"Woaaahhhh..." They sing together in harmony, all heads perking up to stare at them.

"Story of Undertale," They belt, taking a synchronized stomp forward toward Dream. Their voices echo throughout the fallen void.

As the debris floats throughout the field, from the shadows appears two more figures; one of which have wings on his head and back, a short blonde clad in red. The other was topless, with a collection of scars across his skin. Together, they sing inharmoniously, "I fell from the light. Talk, or should I fight?"

Thanos' body starts slowly ascending into the air. Very slowly. He's heavy as fuck.

The field begins to light up as more voices join in, humming ahhhh's as background melody. Their energy begins to slowly go toward Swap!Thanos, healing him. Pastry feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Monster Genocide!" Smiles Core. Pastry stares with watery eyes.

The harmony stops at once, a haunting chorus leaving it all up to Pastry. Knowing all eyes are on him, knowing what he must do, Pastry steps forward, climbing onto Swap!Thanos' hand and staring directly at Dream. Right now, the entire world depends on him. Their dreams. Their hopes. It all comes down to this:

"This my Undertale."

His thong starts emitting a small light...before becoming blinding. His thong grows in size, his erect crotch blaring sunlight.

"GRRRAAAAAAAAAH!" Swap!Thanos yells, powering up. Like a gorilla, he extends his arms to the air, now bursting with energy.

His nether regions started becoming blinding, glowing intensely. His thong grows in size, his erect crotch blaring sunlight.

"KAME....KAMEEE...GHHH...FENTANYLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!" A beam of light is directed at Dream.

"G-GUH! NO.. N-NO...!" Dream shrieks, being blasted deep into the void. There's a huge collision between him and codes as he hits a wall of the Out!Code. The crowd cheers loudly! Pastry begins to feel a warm feeling in his chest. These positive feelings-- they're empowering him...!

Upon the loud chaos there were cheers, but...Thanos' voice could not be heard among them.

...

He had accidentally exploded himself in the crossfire. He...was no longer Thanos. The only thing remaining was his stretched out thong.

There's a collection of gasps and murmurs. As Swap!Thanos slowly dusts, a tear of hope and joy rolling down his eyes, Pastry's eyes well up. Gently, as he's placed on the ground, he hugs his hand one last time before that, too, disappears.

"No..." Whispers Pastry through rage and hurt. 

Their one chance at salvation...

"No, no, NO..."

...was gone.

Chapter Text

Their only chance at salvation

had fallen.

May he rest in pieces.

Pastry desperately clasps at his chest, coughing wildly as mountainous amounts of smoke covered everything. He waves his hands in-front of his eyes, trying to clear the air so he can see, his eyes watering as he squints through the heavy amount of black. His heart pounds as if it's about to rip out of its chest and run away sexily. Then, through the smoke, he sees it: tiny hints of color. But... from... what?

As the smoke clears, a soft, cottonball-like figure is floating magically in the air. In this moment, Pastry feels it in his very BONES. This being holds all of his dreams... his hopes... his love... his...

"I AM HYPERFIXATION," Its voice booms, sounding like a chorus of sweet bells, high-pitched yet soothing, powerful yet divine. "THE HYPERFIXATION... (THE HYPERFIXATION...)"

...His hyperfixations! It comes down to Dream and Pastry on a magical rainbow, galloping it’s way down very prettily like a pretty princess. Pastry can't believe his eyes. The pink fur-- the big, blue eyes...

Hyperfixation takes the form of a pink fluffy unicorn dancing on rainbows.

Dream and Pastry are in 😟😀🫢 as THE hyperfixion descends down to them; the pinkiest, fluffiest unicorn to ever dance upon those rainbows.

Yet, in all his holiness... he seems 😡😡 . The hyperfixation comes down and in the most angelic voice known to whistle the ears, his words echo for all to hear:

“Bad dream, cannot steal others bodies, tut tut tut… 😠 ."

DREAM AND PASTRY STAND IN UTTER SHOCK AT THE DIVINE BEING THAT HAS JUST DESCENDED UPON THEM.

Dream, glaring, summons his double knife whammy thanmy thing. Charging it with piss energy, he screams, charging at Hyperfixation.

The divine looks upon him. He swiftly moves aside, the attack completely missing.  "Foolish being...I am the ultimate life form, not a hedgehog. Even greater than Ink...because he harasses beings for being tired."

Rainbow beams suddenly appear out of his eyes, blaring light. They act as laser beams, directly aimed at Dream.

Dream, with the reflex of a CHEETAH, gracefully does a swan dancing move to dodge the rainbow beams. He runs along the code, causing it to be destroyed as he goes. As well as poor, innocent, random timeline members.

"Ultimate being? More like HYPERFIXION," Dream snarls.

Pastry stares in horror, unable to move in this situation. They're almost trembling— they have no fighting experience. So seeing a fight between a literal GOD and THEIR BODY?? It's horrifying.

HYPERFIXATION glares at Dream upon the mispoken name. "You dare utter such insults?"

"DUH, I just DID," Dream retorts.

Pastry gives the most horrified stare. This is it! he thinks. I'm gonna die! My body's gone! It's clover, isn't it.

Brandishing his bow, Dream teleports behind Hyperfixation. "Nothing personal, *loser.*"

With that, Dream extends the string of the bow and jams it around Hyperfixation's pink, fluffy unicorn neck -- essentially cutting his neck, and simultaneously strangling him.

HYPERFIXATION begins speaking, their voice hoarse as they're being choked. "You need to give the body back. The lore behind it only proves it. Pastry's friends—" HYPERFIXATION gets interrupted by coughing, since they're being strangled to death actively. They continue, this will not stop them. "Pastry's friends and family will never get to see them again. And you...you will suffer. You will miss your home, here, in the multiverse. All of your friends, your brother, you'll never see them again. Instead...you'll be forced to life a life of misery in the human world. Did you know that the human world is so corrupt that there isn't even free healthcare? There is no Omega Timeline to save you from your fate. There is only capitalism. You will grow up mortified, having to life off of minimum wage to pay for your daily necessities."

HYPERFIXATION continued to infodump...until they could no longer speak. They're gasping for air.  Upon hearing their friends and family mentioned, Pastry tears up. They miss them dearly.

Dream slowly loses pressure in the bow as the rant goes on and on and on, slowly zoning out in the middle of it. All he heard were words, not really... what was being said. Bla, bla, bla... bla, bla, bla... Why can't this be about positivity, or apples or something...

"Ohh, yeahhh," Dream says dryly at the end of it, feeling entirely drained. He forgot what he was even doing here at this point. His hands were fidgeting.  "Anyways so I have uh, I have to go now because I told my friends--"

HYPERFIXATION sees the opening for an attack as Dream is distracted. HYPERFIXATION kicks them in the stomach with their pink hooves. HYPERFIXATION is freed from their grasp and they knock Dream to the floor. Before he can react, HYPERFIXATION starts charging up a rainbow attack. He starts ascending...the clouds in the sky are circling, almost like a storm.

"KAMEEE.....KAME...........TISM!!!!!!!!" HYPERFIXATION throws a large rainbow ball of energy at Dream. However, HYPERFIXATION creates a shield for Pastry so they don't get hurt by this brutal LGBTQ+ ball.

"AAUUUUHUHHHH NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Dream SHRIEKS unholy-ly as the fruit beam consumes him, seemingly absorbing everything around them. All of the random AUs, and innocent people, also get... gay'd.

Pastry gasps and braces himself for impact, but slowly opens his eyes as he realized-- nothing was happening to him. He soon notices this black aura around him, the PHOBIC aura, was protecting him.

"IT IS TIME, YOUNG ONE, FOR US ALL TO RETURN HOME," declares HYPERFIXATION. He gives one last knowing look to Pastry, giving him the man ™️ nod.

Knowingly, Pastry nods back. This was it. He closes his eyes and falls back, allowing the light to take him...

Chapter Text

Pastry is sitting atop his bed, tired as shit and breathing heavily. Sweat is drenching his clothes, and he feels like he's on fire. Shaking, he stands up, and clasps his hands onto his skull. As usual, it's hard, cold, and-- ...fluffy, and...

...Pastry, slowing down. What he's feeling is... hair. He stares down at his hands. He has skin. It's... HIS hands. He's himself again! He's human! Pastry hugs himself tightly, laughing breathlessly at himself. It felt amazing. He was finally back. He missed this so horribly. Pastry sits up in wonder. His room is just so dark and comfortable, and he glances back at his book which, if he's not kidding himself, he wasn't reading much of anyway. He prefers digital works. The sweet aroma of tea-- mixed with small cakes and candies freckled across his nightstand-- urges him to simply close his eyes and smile, gratefully. His cup is perched precariously on a book upon his bed. The nightmare is finally over.

Interrupting his thoughts is the sound of a warp. Pastry flinches, already aware of who it would be. Pastry turns on his lamp, and as expected, Dream emerges, looking broken.

"You've lost," Pastry says, defensively taking a step back.

"No... I know. Pastry, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

Pastry folds his arms, giving a suspicious expression. Dream continues. "This was... horrible of me. I should not have tried to steal your life for such selfish reasons."

Pastry's expression softens ever so softly, though his gaze is still cold. "Pastry, I wasn't lying about wanting to use you to save my world. But I got lost in the absence of... well, to put it blankly, how I usually feel. I got carried away. It's not an excuse... I'm sorry."

Pastry takes a deep breath, looking down. He lets his muscles lax, no longer tense and angry. "I suppose we've both learnt things this week, haven't we?"

"I suppose we have." Dream chuckles softly, feeling his skull. "...Stars, I acted so out of character... I'm sorry. Pastry, can I ask what you felt in me? My emotions must have been clear as day, for sure. I'd just like to know."

Pastry thinks for a moment, his expression shifting thoughtfully. He opens his mouth, words coming after a short delay. "I think... I felt a lot of determination in you. In everything you did, I felt a sense of passion."

"I see. After I leave from here... well, we need to rebuild after what I did. I'll need to face the consequences of my actioms... which I am prepared for. And, more importantly, we promise never to mess with your world again."

Pastry slowly nods, thinking to himself that he's NEVER going to touch Undertale ever, ever again after this. He needs to delete so many things on so many devices now. God dammit.

"And... Pastry... one last thing."

Pastry looks up. "Yes, Dream?"

"Perhaps the true Undertale we made along the way was the Sans." Dream gives a tearful smile, taking a bittersweet step backwards.

"W...what the fuck??? What???"

"Goodbye, Pastry. Live your life as you wish to."

"No, what the FUCK??? THAT'S your take-away from this?!"

A blue portal opens. "Until we meet again!" Dream waves, stepping through. ... Pastry stares. And stares. And STARES. Simply frozen. Standing there, in place, minutes and minutes after it closes. Then, without a word, he falls backwards onto his bed and stares at his ceiling. He needs so much fucking therapy.

...

He closes his eyes with an exhausted expression.

Happy birthday to me.