Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

over and over

Dust billowed throughout the Underground, spreading the massacre until every corner was tainted.

Over and Over

The memory of joy fades as agony and mourning take root in the deserted towns and homes, echoing each time he closes his eyes.

Over And Over

A red scarf lays atop the snow in a clearing of trees, softly flittering in the breeze as a figure watches from afar.

OVER AND OVER-

Sans opened his eyes in his room. The mattress squeaks beneath him as he sits up in yet another timeline. A long sigh drags out into the silence, punctuated by a knocking at the door.

“BROTHER WAKE UP! IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GO TO OUR POSTS!” Just as he always does, Papyrus comes to rouse Sans from his slumber. Too bad he’s been getting less and less of that lately.

“Comin’ bro.” Sans groans as he finally stands, hobbling over to pull on his jacket. “And so it repeats again” he mumbled to himself.

He opened his door and began his descent on the stairs, not needing to look up to know Papyrus was standing by the door with a grin on his face. After all, he’d seen this same scene more times than he could be bothered to count anymore.

“HURRY UP SANS! I HAVE A FEELING A HUMAN WILL FALL TODAY, I JUST KNOW IT!” Heh, Papyrus had always tried to be the more positive one and look forward to every new day. Sans used to hope that Papyrus’ “feelings” would come true just to make him happy, but now, he couldn’t think of anything he’d want more than for Papyrus to be WRONG.

“Sure bro. You’d better be on your way then. I’ll catch up with you later, I know a shortcut.” Sans caught the tail-end of Papyrus’ groan as he teleported away. He stepped out of his shortcut in front of the Ruins doors, sitting down and waiting for the tell-tale sounds of fighting.

It’s been like this for awhile now. He used to get a sense of deja-vu as he woke up, bits and pieces of familiarity as he went through the song and dance.

Until one day he woke up, and he REMEMBERED.

Every last detail of the day was ironed into his memory as it continued to repeat. And it was always the same.

The Human came, they killed, he fought, he lost, rinse and repeat.

EVERY TIME

They started small with most of the main figures around, then began to kill more of the smaller monsters, until they did full-on Genocide. And once they started, they never STOPPED.

OVER AND OVER, they killed everyone in the Underground, and Sans was forced to watch, to REMEMBER.

It gets tiring after awhile. Sans was so TIRED.

A thump from behind the door signaled what Sans already knew would happen. Toriel was dead once more.

He got up from his spot on the ground and short-cut to the surrounding trees, waiting for the Human to emerge. The door slowly opened as the small figure stepped out into the Underground for the umpteenth time.

Sans followed from the trees as the Human strolled through the snowy woods, stopping at the bridge like he knew they would. The Human spun on its feet to face him as he stepped up behind it.

“Why are you doing this?” He forewent his usual spiel in favor of cutting the conversation short. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time the Human would hear it. “Why won’t you just STOP ALREADY?! What more could you possibly do that you haven’t already tried?!”

The Human laughed as it pulled its knife out of a pocket and began to play with it. “Oh Sans, haven’t you figured it out by now? I’m not doing this for a reason, I’m doing it for FUN!” The wicked smirk on its face just raised Sans’ ire.

“FUN?! Killing everyone is fun to you?!” The Human stepped closer, continuing to laugh until they were about two feet from him.

“That’s part of it sure, but it’s more fun to see you react every time!” Sans gritted his teeth as he took a couple steps back, anything to get some space between him and the Human.

He launched some blue bones toward the Human, managing to trap it in place. “I won’t let you keep doing this. I will stop you.”

It just continued to grin as it ripped itself free and continue down the path toward Snowdin. “You say that every time, and yet, nothing has changed. Just accept the fact there’s nothing you can do.”

He watched the Human go until it walked out of sight, then continued on to play the rest of his role, its words echoing in his head. He didn’t say anything more to it during the run, just repeating his old moves like nothing had changed.

When he woke up in bed again, he came to a conclusion. He’d tried a lot, but not EVERYTHING. He still had one option at his disposal.

It’s a terrible, horrible idea, but it might be his only remaining path. His only remaining choice.

He did a couple more runs in silence to really consider this idea, and build himself up for the action that would change everything.

He will defeat the Human. He will make the resets stop.

The Murder has begun.

Chapter Text

He’d lost track of how long the Human had been gone. Days, months, years, it doesn’t really matter anymore. He’d simply have to wait for it to come back.

That was until He showed up. A goopy sort of figure began prowling around in Snowdin square after appearing from a similar-looking portal.

He knew every monster in the Underground, and that thing was definitely not one of them. Especially since he’d made sure to clean up everyone this time around. There’s been plenty of time to do such, what with the Human never coming.

He was tailing the figure from within the trees when he felt something wrap around his ankle and TUG. He didn’t even have time to flinch before he was being held upside down by the goopy figure.

“There you are!” The monster (because what else could it be?) exclaimed. “I was hoping you’d come out on your own, but this works just as well.”

He stayed quiet as he dangled in the air in front of it. The figure seemed put off by this, but quickly brightened once more with an eerie grin. “Not much of a chatterbox are you? Well, that will work just fine with me.”

The ground suddenly came rushing for him as the goopy figure released his ankle. He landed hard on his ribs, knocking the air out of him. The tentacle, which he can now see had been what was restraining him, quickly picked him back up in a coiling hold.

He began to struggle to get free, but the tendril only tightened until he couldn’t breathe or feel his legs. “Now now, we wouldn’t want you running away before I can speak with you! After all, I have a proposition to make with you.”

“Who are you and what do you want.” He croaked out. It’s been a very long time since he’s talked to anyone, and the figure began to laugh upon hearing him.

“Oh where are my manners! You can call me Nightmare. And you are Sans, correct?” He flinched in Nightmare’s grip and lowered his head once more.

“‘m not Sans. Not anymore.” Nightmare only continued to laugh at this.

“Ah just like the others I see. Well, we’ll have to change that when I get you back.”

His confusion only continued to grow, but he stayed silent. “You see, I have a special job that needs to be done, and I’d like to have a few employees to help me. And you, are one of my lucky selections!”

“Sorry, but no. I’m not going anywhere, especially with you. I have to be ready for when the Human comes back.” Nightmare’s grin only stretched impossibly farther before he got really close.

“You misunderstand, this isn’t an offer to accept or decline. I am simply telling you how it’s going to be.” Without any further warning, Nightmare hurled him through another portal where he slammed into a hard, rock floor.

He could hear Nightmare stepping through behind him, but he didn’t have time to move before he was already being wrapped back up in the tendril.

“Rough landing?” He snickered as he stepped toward a throne sitting near the end of the long hall they were in. He tried to gather a look at his surroundings, but quickly gave up at the sight of nothing but doors and bricks.

Nightmare sat down in the throne before giving a long whistle. Two more figures suddenly appeared from the shadows and took a place on either side of him. One on the right who looked an awful lot like himself with the main difference being the black, tar-like tears leaking from his sockets, and one on the left who had a giant hole in his skull.

“These are your fellow coworkers, you could say. To my right is Killer, and to my left is Horror. You could also call them Sans, though you might get a rather distasteful reaction” Nightmare chuckled.

He said nothing as he looked at Killer and Horror more closely. Guess the old multiple-universe theory was true after all. Killer grinned back at him with a subtle threat gleaming in his sockets, while Horror simply glowered at him.

“Ah that’s right, I haven’t given you a new name yet!” Nightmare seemed overjoyed about this as he looked him up and down. “How about Dust? Or would you rather Murder instead?”

Both of those sounded repulsive. Seriously, Dust? And Murder was almost worse. He opted to stay silent instead of responding, but Nightmare didn’t seem phased. In fact, he seemed rather pleased with himself.

“Well I guess I’ll just pick for you since you don’t want to answer me! We’ll go with Dust!” He internally groaned but didn’t outwardly show any emotion or reaction to this.

Nightmare seemed frustrated for a moment, but quickly calmed with a self-satisfied smirk plastered onto his face. “I suppose you all should hear a little bit about each other to get to know one another huh?”

‘Dust’ was pleased to see he wasn’t the only one rather uncomfortable about the idea, seeing Horror and Killer both shift a bit in place. “I’ll start with Horror! His story continues after that Human leaves and all Hell breaks loose in the Underground! The monsters in his world resorted to any food they could find, including themselves! Cannibalism is such a treat to witness in an AU! Makes me feel practically giddy.”

Horror’s frown grew quite large as he bowed his head, angling his body away from the others. An angry sort of growling could be heard coming from him, causing Killer’s grin to tense and his stance to shift farther away.

“Killer and Dust, you both are quite interesting indeed! Your stories are so similar, yet so different at the same time! It’s truly quite intriguing how that Player can cause such different stories to play out.”

Killer tensed even further at the mention of said Player as Dust just burned his gaze into Nightmare. “I mean, both of you went around and killed everything in your AUs, the only difference being your reason! Dust, your utter Determination to defeat the Human, and Killer, your deal with that very same Human to feel Something New.”

Dust whipped his head around to lock eyes with Killer. There’s no way. No way he made a deal with that THING. Now way he killed everyone, killed PAPYRUS, for fun. Killer met his gaze head-on and didn’t flinch, even going as far as to grin at him while pulling a knife out to fiddle with.

Nightmare watched this interaction with a pleased gleam to his eye. “Of course, there will always be more time later to learn about each other! For now, I think it’s time our new friend gets some sleep.”

Dust didn’t have time to blink before his skull crashed into the floor and darkness rushed up to meet him.

Chapter Text

“Well that wasn’t in the plan.”

Dust groaned as he woke up to the sound of Killer’s grating voice. His skull felt like it’d been split in half and he wobbled as he sat up from dizziness.

He lifted his head to get a look at their surroundings, but was met with a pitch-black space. The only light sources seemed to be coming from his eye sockets and Killer’s very soul.

“Shuddup Killer. My head’s ’lready pounding without the sound ‘a your voice,” Horror grumbled from somewhere in the dark. Dust snickered before groaning at the new-found pain in his ribs.

Killer’s figure turned to face a spot in the dark with a long scowl already taking root on his face. “Well we wouldn’t be here if someone hadn’t ignored me in the first place!”

Dust finally saw Horror’s eyelight flicker into existence as he trained a glare on Killer. “And who put you in charge, eh? Don’t remember agreeing to take any sort’a orders from you.”

“I’ve been here the longest, so of course I’m in charge! And that means you have to listen to what I say!”

“Since when has listening to you ever brought me more than a headache?” Dust seconded that one. When he was first ripped from his AU, Killer had been quiet. Now though, he never seemed to stop talking.

“Oh shut up! You’re just mad you didn’t see this trap for what it was before we were already stuck!”

That’s right, Dust had forgotten how they’d even made it here in the first place. Must have been when he bashed his skull hard enough to get the first bit of sleep in a week or so.

They’d been fighting the Stars in an AU when Ink had led a retreat to the Waterfall area. Killer had been quick to follow with Dust and Horror lagging behind. Dust had already used a lot of his magic in the fight defending himself from Swap, and Horror was always hesitant to follow Killer anywhere.

The Stars had dove into a dark cave in one of the many paths of Waterfall, and like idiots, the three of them had gone right in after them without checking first.

After the three of them had stopped in the middle of the cave, they heard a loud rumbling and turned to see the Stars causing an artificial cave-in, sealing the entrance and showering the Trio with rocks and debris. One of the larger falling chunks had slammed into Dust’s head, knocking him out cold.

“You say that as if ya weren’t the one who went in first, Mr leader.” Killer tensed with anger as Horror bristled in frustration. Dust decided to tune them out as they continued to argue in earnest. Why was it again that he had to be stuck with these morons?

He picked himself off the ground tenderly, trying to scope out both his injuries and the current standing of the cave. His ribs were bruised and his skull had a thin crack running from his right temple to his jaw.

The cave wasn’t in much better condition. The entrance had been completely sealed shut, with no amount of poking or prodding seeming to have any effect. The overall look of the cave also screamed unsteady, as if it was one wrong move away from caving in completely.

Killer and Horror’s fight had only risen in volume during this time, and Dust’s headache was only growing worse. He turned around and summoned two walls of blue bones to separate the two.

“Enough. We need to figure out how to get out of here, and you two squabbling like monster kids isn’t doing us any favors.” Killer and Horror looked a bit stunned, which was understandable. Dust had been pretty adamant on keeping silent in this little joke of a ‘job’ until he could get back to his AU.

Killer quickly recovered and smirked at Dust. “Look who finally spoke his first words! We should take a picture to commemorate!” Horror and Dust both glared at him, and Killer only smiled bigger.

Dust didn’t say anything in return, only de-summoning the blue bones before turning away. “Dust’s right. Even if ‘e weren’t, I’m more inclined to listen to ‘em than you.”

Killer’s smirk fell then as he grumbled in frustration, but he still got off the ground to begin looking around for a solution like the other two.

“Just rocks, rocks, and more rocks. I don’t see a way out of here,” Killer muttered from across the cave. Dust sighed as Horror gave a similar answer.

“Might just have’ta wait until the Boss comes and gets us.”

Dust inwardly cringed at the idea. He really didn’t favor Nightmare in the slightest, and it would be a good long while until he came to get them out of this. He also didn’t want to spend an extended period of time trapped with these other versions of him.

“Guess we’re waiting then. Ay, I got an idea! What if we named this little group of ours!” Killer grinned while Dust and Horror both grimaced at the idea. Dust didn’t want to be associated with these two anyway, let alone with some stupid name like the one Nightmare has given him.

“That’s gotta be your worst idea today. And we’re stuck in a trap because of you, so tha’s a pretty darn bad.”

“Please, I could do worse.”

“I know.”

Killer frowned at that, but didn’t seemed deterred from his idea. Dust slumped to the ground in a seated position, resigning himself to his fate. Horror grumbled before mimicking him, taking a seat to his left. Killer bounced over and sat down to his right, making a rough circle.

“What about something with ‘Trio’ in it?”

“Bit on the nose, dont’cha think?”

“Eh, means it fits. Just don’t know what else to do.” Dust zoned out a bit as they continued to talk about this group name for a while. Killer would spout out ideas, and Horror would almost always vehemently shoot them down.

“Why not something with an old catchphrase of yours? Technically we were all Sans at some point, so it could work.” Killer seemed put off to mention the fact he used to be Sans, interesting. Dust filed that away for later as he started to entertain Killer’s little idea.

There were plenty of phrases he used to say that could be pretty recognizable, but one in particular stuck out.

“What about that old line of ‘wanting to have a bad time’?” Killer and Horror both stopped to consider it, in turn nodding agreement at that.

“Sounds pretty good to me, like ‘Bad Time Trio’ or somethin’.”

“I think it’s too close to the old phrase, needs a but more ‘pizazz’!”

“What about that other name Boss wanted ta’ give you, Dust? Murder?”

Killer’s face practically lit up as he jumped up and exclaimed, “Murder Time Trio! It’s perfect!”

Just as he said that, a black portal opened up and Nightmares stepped out. Killer’s mood immediately flattened a bit as he and the others moved to stand in a line before Him.

“I suppose it’s time I take you lot back. Besides, we need to review this mission and how spectacularly you failed me.”

Dust groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

“I have a new job assignment for you three, and this time, you had better not fail me.”

Nightmare was standing in front of his throne addressing the Trio who were all in varying states of disarray.

Killer and Horror were both twitching on Dust’s sides, clearly nervous of another possible failure. After all, Dust still aches from his lashing, no telling how they feel.

Dust himself now had a permanent thin scar of a crack starting from just beside his right socket down to his right cheek bone.

“Your task is to disrupt the peace and cause as much chaos as possible. I trust this won’t be hard for you to accomplish.”

The three nodded in sync as Nightmare grinned big with a gleam in his eye. He waved his hand and created a portal to what Dust assumed was that world’s Snowdin town.

“Well go on then, I’m not very patient as you know.”

Killer stepped forward first with Horror and Dust trailing behind them. Dust was unnerved by how eerily happy Nightmare seemed. Something must be wrong.

They wandered into the town to be met with nothing but silence. Dust kept looking around, but not a soul could be seen.

This pattern continued through all of Snowdin and into the woods, causing further alarms to ring in Dust’s head.

It finally started to click what was going on when they found THE spot. A small bundle of red was left deserted on the ground between Snowdin and Waterfall, softly stirring with the occasional wind.

“That’s why this place is so weird, must have just gone through a Genocide,” Killer spoke as they paused to observe the scene.

“Makes ya wonder why Boss sent us here if he knew that, which I’m sure he did,” Horror grumbled back. He wasn’t too familiar with the different runs as such, but that didn’t really matter to Dust.

All Dust could see were the endless times the very same thing happened in his world. All he could hear were Papyrus’ last words echoing in his head.

“Dust!”

Dust snapped to attention at the sound of Killer’s voice. He and Horror had moved away in the time Dust had been trapped in his head, now both giving him a strange look.

“You gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna follow us?” Killer didn’t wait to see what his reaction was, instead turning back around and continuing to walk. Horror glanced at him again before doing the same thing.

Dust stayed silent as he moved to follow, but hesitated and glanced back at the scarf. He slowly approached where it laid and picked it up. It’s so similar to his own brother’s scarf, yet so different. Same color, but different fabric and texture. It helped to further break the illusion Dust was trapped in.

He bent down to dig a small hole in the snow and a little in the dirt. Deeming it big enough, he laid the scarf back down and then just stared for a moment.

“I ain’t a saint, so I can’t sing you a requiem to help your soul, but I hope you can rest now. Even if the Human of this world might just reset soon, you deserve it. Angel knows I should have done the same for my brother a long time ago.”

He stood silent above the small hole for a moment longer, then pushed the snow atop the scarf and stepped away. He slipped shaking hands into his hoodie pockets as he found and followed the tracks Horror and Killer had made.

The wind seemed to pick up and wrap around him as he walked, until he came to the edge of the wood and it crept away once more. He took one short glance behind him before stepping all the way into Waterfall.

Nightmare must have known the AU was like this. He always seemed to know these things. That must have been what the look was for when they stepped through. Must have known how it would affect him.

Dust was really starting to hate the guy. He clenched his fists in his pockets as he finally caught up to the other two. They glanced at him, but didn’t say anything.

The three of them kept walking and checking every spot in Waterfall, but even the echo flowers had nothing to say. The place was starting to seem like one big graveyard, and the familiarity of it was starting to itch at Dust.

The only place like this that he’d ever want to be in would be his own AU. This place only gave him a pervading feeling of wrong.

He could tell it was getting to Horror as well, and Killer, though he’d never admit to such.

“This place is completely empty. There’s nothing for us to do here,” Killer muttered.

“I don’t think Nightmare actually intended for us to do anything. I think he just wanted to see us squirm,” Dust spoke so lightly it was almost as if the wind had blown through his bones to make the sound.

This place was only making him feel worse on a day that already sucked, which must have been Nightmare’s plan.

“Yer prolly right. Wonder what we do now?” Horror spoke. Even he had a softer tone of voice than usual.

“I’d say we’re probably stuck waiting until he comes back for us.” Dust nodded slowly at this while moving to settle down against one of the walls.

The room they ended up in was the one with the statue that sings. The melody he played now was not one of joy, but of reminiscence. It seemed to echo with the tone of a requiem, fitting for a time like this. One long endless prayer for the lost souls in this Underground.

Horror moved closer to Dust but didn’t sit down. Killer stayed where he was at the entrance to the hall, facing away from the other two. All the same to Dust, he didn’t care what the others did.

He took one hand out of his pocket and clasped his brother’s scarf with it, feeling for the now familiar rips and tears in the fabric.

He settled fully against the wall and truly let the song flow over him. Nightmare would show up eventually, probably with a smug grin like he accomplished something. Dust didn’t care. He wrapped himself in memories long gone and let go of reality.

The Song of the Dead would continue to echo even after they leave, with a chorus of voices singing along for the final rest they sought and could finally achieve.

A Melody of Mourning.

Chapter Text

Sans grumbled as he trudged through Hotland to get back to Snowdin. He never could understand why any monster that didn’t have to would live here. The heat was so oppressive, he felt like his bones were melting.

“‘Get a degree for chemistry’, he says ‘You’ll get to work with me in the Lab!’, he says.” Sans kicked a loose rock as he continued walking. “Gaster has some sense of humor I guess, making me his little errand boy.”

He crossed the boarder into Waterfall and felt a wave of relief crash over him. The air here was FAR more breathable, even for a monster with no lungs.

Though he was frustrated with constantly being sent away from the Lab for useless menial stuff, Sans still loved his job. He got to mess around with Chemistry with plenty of supplies and say it was ‘research’.

He looked around Waterfall as he passed through, never tiring of just how beautiful the rocks were. There was also the room full of ‘stars’ that would always be a special place to him.

On this particular night, the ‘moonlight’ was shining on the rocks and waterfalls, causing beautiful sparkles to be cast all across the walls.

He was almost disappointed as he passed the threshold between Waterfall and Snowdin, but he would never tire of seeing his home. The light was similarly shining down here, making the snow look like a dusting of glitter across everything.

Sans smiled as he walked up to his house. He shared it with his little brother Papyrus and Gaster, though the latter was almost never home.

He opened the door and stepped inside, taking his shoes off as he went. Closing the door behind him, he went toward the staircase and began to ascend.

Now, for what he came for. Gaster left a device he’d been working on in his room, and he requested that Sans retrieve it. He told him it was in his bedside table, which proved to Sans that he HAD been working in bed again.

Eh, takes one to know one.

He opened the door to Gaster’s room, conveniently between his and Papyrus’, and walked over to the table. He opened the top drawer to a bunch of scrap parts, the second to a bunch of blueprints, and the third to the device in question.

It seemed like a remote of sorts, with a large red button right in the center. Sans chuckled at the idea of it, then put it in his labcoat’s pocket before turning to leave.

He shut the door behind him as he moved toward the stairs, only to be stopped by the sound of movement behind him. He turned to see Papyrus had gotten out of bed and was watching him.

“Heya Paps. What are you doing out of bed?”

Papyrus brightened considerably realizing it was his brother and ran to give him a hug. “SANS! YOU’RE HOME!”

Sans hugged his brother back with just as much grandeur as the four-year-old gave him.

“Ah, not for the night yet, I’m afraid. Just had to grab something for Gaster.” Papyrus visibly deflated, but perked up only a moment later.

“WELL, I WILL AWAIT YOUR RETURN LATER THEN! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“Alright bro, but you need to go to bed. I promise I’ll let you know when I come home, but babybones need their rest.” Sans hoisted Papyrus up and carried him back to his room.

He laid Papyrus down in his race-car bed before tucking the blankets around him. He could tell that Papyrus was already starting to fall asleep, what with the way his eyes were closing.

“Goodnight Sans..” Papyrus mumbled before drifting off fully. Sans huffed a laugh before patting him on the skull.

“Goodnight Paps.”

Sans closed the door quietly behind him before slowly making his way down the stairs and out of the house, the device still secure in his pocket.

Then, IT happened.

Sans doesn’t know how else to describe it, but it was almost like the magic in the air of the Underground RIPPLED, like something had splashed into the magic itself and disrupted the flow.

At almost the same time, his phone began blaring with the theme song from “Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2”, Alphys’ ringtone.

He scrambled for his phone in his pocket, unaware that in the frantic movement, the red button on the device got pressed.

He finally found his phone and quickly pulled it out to answer Alphys’ call. Maybe she had some news on that weird phenomenon.

“Alphys? What’s going-”

“SANS!” He jumped as Alphys SCREAMED into her phone. He’s never heard her get that loud before. “HE FELL! OH MY GOSH HE FELL!”

Sans felt a chill run down his spine as he began to run back in the direction of the Lab. “What? Who fell?”

“HE… I… I can’t remember! How.. can I not remember?! I know he did, I just saw… who..”

Sans had just crossed the boarder into Waterfall when she said this, and deemed it important enough to take a short-cut instead. He appeared in the middle of the Lab and looked around, but didn’t spot Alphys anywhere.

“Alphys just stay calm. Where are you?”

“I-I’m above the C-Core. On the catwalk.”

THAT explains the ripple in the magic. The dread increased ten-fold as he quickly short-cut to her location.

Alphys looked, for lack of better words, AWFUL. Her labcoat was dirty and disheveled, as well as her ‘hair’. She was shaking where she stood, eyes locked on a spot in the molten Core, with her phone clenched tightly in her right hand.

“Alright I’m here, are you okay?”

She whipped around to look at him with pure raw FEAR in her eyes. She flung herself toward him and dragged him into a hug, beginning to sob. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, and let her cry.

She calmed down after a bit and stepped away, breathing slow and steady in an effort to regain control. He patiently waited until she managed to look him in the eyes once more.

“So, what happened? Who fell in the Core?”

She flinched before staring off into the Core once more. “I-I was out here with someone, though I c-can’t remember who for the life of m-me, and I t-think they slipped.”

Sans scrunched his face at this. “How do you not remember? It just happened right?”

“I-I don’t know! It’s so strange! M-maybe it has to do with that weird rush I f-felt in the magic.”

“I’ll ask Gaster then. Maybe he’ll know.”

“W-who’s Gaster?”

Sans knew instantly that something was VERY WRONG. He turned a wide-eyed stare on Alphys, his eyelights extinguished. She had to be joking. It had to be a prank.

The look of utter confusion on her face. That’s an emotion that is truly hard to fake. Alphys isn’t good at faking ANYTHING. She’s not lying.

SHE’S NOT LYING.

Sans looked over the edge of the catwalk down at the Core. It clicked who it must have been who fell.

“You know, Gaster? The head royal scientist? Our superior?!” He had to try. It couldn’t be true. Couldn’t be real.

“U-uh, I’m pretty sure it’s just us a-at the top, I-I know there WAS a-a royal scientist, but-but I think he’s b-been gone for awhile.”

He just blinked at her. She looked concerned for him at this point, still shaken from a person falling that SHE COULDN’T REMEMBER ANYMORE. Why couldn’t she REMEMBER. Why could HE?

“Ah, uh, yeah you’re prolly right. Man I really should get some more sleep huh? Guess I’ll go home now, bye Alphys.”

“Wait San-”

He was already gone before she could finish her sentence. He needed to check something.

He blipped into Papyrus’ room and lunged for his bed. He shook his brother awake rougher than he ever has before. Papyrus woke up with a groan before getting scared at how WILD Sans looked.

“Papyrus, do you remember Gaster?” He’s just plain hoping at this point. Alphys had more direct contact and connection with Gaster than Papyrus did, but even she didn’t remember him.

Papyrus’ face scrunched up as he tried to think, before slowly shaking his head. Sans backed away at that point, stumbling blindly to the door of Papyrus’ room.

“WAIT, SANS, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” Sans didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He figured if he opened his mouth again he’d do nothing but scream.

He stumbled through the door and started wandering down the hall to his room. He belatedly realized that Gaster’s door wasn’t there anymore.

He felt around the wall where it should be, to no avail. It was as if the room never existed. He made it into his room and locked the door behind him. Papyrus would give up eventually if he tried to come see him.

He laid down on his bed and tried to think. Why this happened, what exactly happened, the like. He didn’t have any answers and that was almost worse.

Gaster was gone, and he was the only one who remembered he ever existed.

This was the first crack.

Chapter Text

The Human had just reset as usual. Just in time for his next experiment.

It was becoming more creative in how it tried to avoid him, but he was learning at the same pace, if not faster. There was no where it could go that he wouldn’t find it. Not down here.

He gathered his next weapon of choice: a good ol’ knife. The very same knife the Human had used to kill his brother time and again. Perks of being where the Human wanted to be well before it.

‘Sans’ shortcut to his guard post in the woods and waited for it to come by. It’s been trying to sneak through the woods as of late, but he made sure that wouldn’t be a problem this time.

The tell-tale SNAP of one of his metal traps going off and the cut-off scream from somewhere in front of him through the trees was exactly what he’d been waiting for.

He slowly made his way to the sound, making sure to make his presence known and amplify the terror it probably felt. He smiled with a twisted glee at hearing its breathing start to pick up.

He rounded the last tree to see the Human’s leg stuck in the metal trap he’d set. There was some blood on the ground, but ultimately it had served to stop the flow and give it time to clot around the metal teeth.

The Human whipped its head up to look at him, a crooked grin on its face that was poorly hiding the FEAR behind its eyes.

“Well, looks like you’re in a bit of a tight spot this time around! Good thing I found you in time!” His smile grew as it flinched away from him. He struck some blue bones through it as he began to undo the trap.

It choked back a scream and tried to fight him off. He only struck it with more bones and kept working. After all, these injuries could mess with his tests!

He threw the trap somewhere behind him as he fully removed it, setting the blood free from the leg as it began to pool underneath the Human.

“Now that’s a lot of blood! We can’t have that! It wouldn’t be very scholarly of me to alter the terms of the experiment! It could change the results!”

He took the knife out of his pocket and cut some of the Human’s pant leg off and tied it around the puncture spots. It flinched and tried to muffle a cry as he tied it, but that only served to make him tie it tighter.

He gave another wicked grin as he stood back up to tower over the Human pinned to the ground. “There we go! Now it’s time for the real action. You know what’s going to happen.”

It tried to jerk free of the blue bones but only served to further injure itself. It was almost enough to see the FEAR, the PAIN, on the Human’s face. Almost.

“We tried the axe last time, and weren’t those some crazy results! I feel you’ll be particularly familiar with the knife I’ll use this time.”

He chuckled as he waved it in front of the Human. Its eyes followed the blade for a moment before flickering back to him.

“You know the general layout of this experiment I’ve been running. I’m testing to see which weapon down here has the most effect on you depending on location and depth of the injuries.”

The Human began to shake in the bones. Curious that it’s not been talking this time around, perhaps the axe did a bit more than he thought. He’d have to add that to his notes.

“Now,” he smiled so big it began to hurt, “LET’S BEGIN.”

Chapter Text

Sans choked on his own blood as the final strike took its effect. The Human looked down at him with a wicked grin etched into its face.

“That’s another win for me! Honestly, I thought when you started killing your friends that you’d grow stronger, but I guess I was wrong! I’m on an unending winning streak, and you’re doing nothing but dying.”

He struggled to his feet and glowered at the Human. His heart was still racing with the adrenaline from the battle, but he could feel it starting to slow with death.

This has been only the tenth or so run of his new plan to gain LV to defeat the Human, and so fair it hasn’t worked. Killing just Undyne and a few other Waterfall monsters wasn’t enough. He needs MORE.

“You.. W-won’t win…” he muttered as he stumbled past it. “No m-matter how long it t-takes, I will defeat you.”

The Human just continued to laugh as it walked out of the hall, leaving him to his certain death. Oh well.

There’s always the next Reset.

Upon waking up in bed once more, Sans got to work on a plan. He needed to kill a couple more monsters to beat the Human, so he figured he’d start with all of Waterfall. He’d already begun killing some there, might as well finish the job.

This plan ended in failure once more with the Human’s taunting and the pain of death.

RESET

He tried killing Mettaton and Alphys this time around. Alphys had already been a problem before trying to evacuate the Underground, so honestly it would be doing himself a favor! (That’s what he tried to tell himself at least).

Nothing but more pain and that stupid smile met him at the end of that run. He still needed MORE.

RESET

He wiped out the whole of Waterfall and Hotland this time around. The LV he gained was almost overwhelming. He was confident this would be all he needed.

He was wrong.

RESET

He killed a couple of monsters from Snowdin as well as the other two regions this time. Just the dogs in the Royal Guard. And Jerry. It was so much worse than the others, but he felt all the more powerful.

It wasn’t enough. He needed MORE.

RESET

He killed some of the monsters in the Ruins this time with the others. It was almost worth it to see the look of shock on the Human’s face as he struck down Toriel. He became stronger and weakened the Human at the same time.

All for naught.

RESET

By the time the Human exited the Ruins in this run, it had gained no LV to its name. He already killed everyone there before they could. He has killed EVERYONE there is in the Underground, except for those he can’t find. And HIM. He can’t kill him.

He might not have a choice.

RESET

He found the stragglers this time. He’s been starting to memorize everyone’s patterns, their hiding spots, their every move. He still can’t bring himself to end them all.

It might be the only option.

RESET

‘Sans’ came face to face with Papyrus. He’s tried to avoid him on every Run he’s done. He didn’t want to look Paps in the eyes. Didn’t want him to see the monster he’s become.

Papyrus didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t understand why everyone was gone. Why his ‘dear brother’ was so tormented. ‘Sans’ didn’t want to have to explain.

“B-BROTHER? WHY.. WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS? Y-YOU MUST HAVE A GOOD REASON.. RIGHT?”

‘Sans’ clenched his teeth into a mockery of a smile. “The Human Paps. It kept killing everyone down here over and over and over-….. so I’m gonna stop that. Stop it and those horrible RESETS.”

“B-BUT… I-IM SURE IF WE GIVE THEM A CHANCE, THEN THEY CAN BE GOOD! EVERYONE CAN BE A GOOD PERSON IF THEY JUST TRY-”

“NO!” ‘Sans’ screamed. Papyrus flinched back violently, but he was too distracted to notice. “You say that every time Paps, and all it did was lob your head off. It doesn’t work that way.”

He slowly began to approach his brother as Papyrus began to creep away. In this approach, neither of the brothers saw the Human coming before Papyrus’ skull went rolling through the snow.

‘Sans’ froze all movement as he watched his brother’s body fall in slow motion in front of him. The Human began to laugh, doubling over in its fit of mirth.

“You should see the look on your face! Ha! That’s what you get for taking all my kills!”

He snapped out of his frozen stupor as quickly as he’d fallen into it, flashing forward and driving a bone through the Human’s chest. It choked as it went down to the ground with him standing above it.

“I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET THAT FOR AS MANY RESETS AS IT TAKES.” He growled out. The Human simply shot him a smirk as they reached for that CURSED BUTTON.

“We’ll be here in this song and dance for the rest of eternity then. See you!”

RESET

The Murder continues.

Chapter Text

Dust’s patience was wearing thin as the game continued. Killer’s voice could do that to anyone.

They had been allotted some down-time in the AU they were stuck in while they waited for Nightmare to pick them up, some sort of gambling joint, and Killer of course had dragged them off to what used to be a casino.

Dust had resisted the whole way, but Horror was mildly curious, leading to his involvement in Dust’s current presence.

“Ha! Yet another clean shot from me! Man, you should really ‘dust’ off your Pool skills!” He knows Killer hates himself for making a pun, but he also knows that Killer would do anything to inconvenience his life.

Dust simply waited for Killer’s inevitable slip up which gave him the opportunity to play. He was nothing if not persistent in his goals, and his current goal was to play the longest and most boring game of Pool ever, just to annoy Killer.

If Killer didn’t get to him first.

“And you fail once more! I’ve almost won it Dusty, better pick up your game.”

Dust simply stared and waited for Killer to make his move. By the look on his face, he could tell Killer was unnerved and frustrated at the lack of response.

He really should be used to it by now, what with the fact that Dust hardly speaks ever. The only person who seems to get a response from him is Nightmare, and that’s only because of the consequences if he doesn’t.

Killer sunk one of Dust’s stripes, leading to the exchange of turns once more. Dust let a smirk grace his face as he pretended to think and aim his next shot for ten solid minutes. He could practically feel Killer’s temper and patience running thin.

He finally had enough of that and struck the white ball in such a way it sunk the remaining three balls Dust had left to get. All except the 8-ball of course. He made eye contact with Killer as he sunk the white ball.

He knows Killer just wants the game over with by now, even if he wins or loses. He also knows that Killer wouldn’t forfeit the game on his end to achieve this. Meaning, Dust or Killer had to win this one.

With Killer having four remaining balls on the table, each in very hard to reach spots, Dust was confident he could drag this out a fair bit longer.

Killer seemed to realize this too, scowling as he set the white ball back onto the table. He managed to sink one of his, but not without sinking the white ball in the process. Back to Dust then.

Horror wandered back over sometime during Killer’s turn, now standing behind Dust as he turned to watch the game. Killer had gone quiet with Dust’s obvious lead, and Dust was perfectly fine with this.

He angled the white ball just so in order to nudge the 8-ball, but not sink it. He started to laugh internally as he heard Killer muttering under his breath.

This tactic continued until Killer had finally sunk all of his solids, leaving only the 8-ball on the table. It was finally truly nearing the end, and Dust could see the relief hidden deep in Killer’s eye sockets.

Too bad Dust isn’t letting him gain that satisfaction.

Even reaching this point in the game, Killer hadn’t managed to sink the final ball on any of his tries. Dust was missing on purpose, so it didn’t count. Killer was growing increasingly frustrated, and it eased something in Dust to cause him such stress.

Killer deserved a taste of his own medicine once in a while.

The game drew to a close when Nightmare finally appeared to take them back. It was Dust’s turn, and he intended to ruin Killer’s time with it.

He lined up his final shot, then gave the white ball just enough power to barely roll it. Killer outwardly groaned, but quickly shut up as Nightmare dragged him through the portal.

Horror trailed behind them, glancing at Dust before stepping through. Dust grinned as he followed them through.

His persistence had paid off. The 8-ball sunk just as the portal closed.

Chapter Text

Within the first week of Nightmare kidnapping him, Dust didn’t just roll over and accept it. He wanted back to his world, and he was DETERMINED to get back.

This, he learned, was simply impossible until Nightmare took him back. Trial and error taught him that.

He’d tried to sneak out in the middle of the night. Where would he go when he got out of the castle? No clue. He’d planned on figuring that out when he got there.

He never made it past the kitchen, which was a long way from the doors.

He tried short-cutting out through the void, seeing as he’d never been outside of the castle before.

A pointless effort.

He’d once snuck into Nightmare’s study to see if there was anything he could use there.

He was caught snooping through one of the books on his massive bookshelf. Nightmare needed only teach him that lesson once.

This continued many more times, over and over, until Dust was worn thin. It didn’t help any that Killer and Horror were both aware of what he’d been trying, and simply told him it was no use.

He’d stopped listening to others a long time ago.

The breaking point only really hit when he managed to open a portal through sheer luck that gave him his first glance of “home” in weeks. Dust had felt the briefest flicker of hope for the first time in a LONG time.

Nightmare appeared almost immediately and closed the portal.

“Hm, seems you’re more determined than I thought. Neither of the others made it this far, I had assumed you wouldn’t either. Truly just an error on my part, but I won’t make that same mistake again.”

Dust was lucky to still be alive after that. However, Nightmare did manage to knock something loose in his memory because Dust can’t for the life of him remember how he did it the first time.

Nightmare had since locked the castle down even further so that something like this wouldn’t be physically possible anytime in the future.

Killer and Horror were upset at the loss of even a little bit of their autonomy, but were also impressed on some level that he’d managed that much. Certainly seemed that way to Dust with how they were looking at him.

Dust himself had received even more rules to follow, high punishments in place in the case of his failure to comply. He really did hate Nightmare.

With the possibility of escaping completely thrown for now, Dust tried to turn his focus to other things. He began to take a long winding walk through the corridors in the dead of night.

These walks helped him to clear his mind and stay focused on his one true objective, even in the face of the tasks Nightmare gives them.

This lasted for almost a week until Killer caught him.

Over and over for the next month, Dust would leave his room for his walk and be rudely interrupted by Killer. Every time.

He turned to staying in his room instead and finding ways to occupy himself. Killer barged into that as well.

Over and over.

Dust had to admit that between the two of them, even though he didn’t care much for either, that he’d much rather be around Horror than Killer.

Of course, Killer caught onto this as well, becoming even more irritating than before. Dust was really starting to lose his patience.

He kept his sanity through all this mess with only one thought in mind.

I will get out, and it’ll be all over.

It’s just a matter of time.

Chapter Text

“Thank you once again for your work this month, Sans. As promised, your payment will be delivered by the end of today.”

Ah, right. Today was pay-day. Sans had almost forgotten with everything else going on. Not everyday a Human falls into the Underground and has to be caught.

“Thank you Asgore. But you know you don’t have to pay me, right? I’d still do it if you gave me nothing more than a crumb.”

Asgore turned a bruised look to him before patting him on the shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but Sans knew without a doubt how he felt. That’s just the way their King was.

“We’ll figure out a way to stop this, I promise. It could take the entire life-cycle of our race before seven humans fall, I can think of something else to get us out.”

Asgore hummed before turning a resigned yet curious look onto Sans. “We’ve spoken on this before. It’s the only way. Though, strangely, I feel as if another friend I had known before said something awfully similar. Shame I can’t remember who.”

Images of Gaster flashed through Sans’ mind as he clenched his teeth. He forgets sometimes that he himself is the only one who remembers him. It’s still just as jarring, even after the time that has passed.

“Great minds think alike I suppose, but I mean it. I don’t want to see you hurting anymore.”

“I’m afraid there isn’t anything to be done about that now, my boy. This is simply the way things are.”

Asgore turned and exited the hall towards the palace. Sans thought of trying to catch up, but he decided to let it be. Might as well let the King have some time after recent events.

Sans turned to the opposite direction and began to trudge home to Papyrus. With his paycheck, he’ll be able to get some things for him that Papyrus has been asking for.

Like supplies for the Halloween costume he wanted to make. Sans still didn’t know how he got the idea, but he supposes Papyrus is just cool like that.

Either way, with the sixth human soul now locked away, he’s sure there’s going to be a bit of a reprieve before the next one falls. There always is.

“Papyrus I’m home!” He shouted as he opened the front door. His not so little brother came running to the door and swept him off his feet into a big hug.

“BROTHER! IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN! I JUST FINISHED SOME SPAGHETTI, COME EAT!” Sans relaxed into his brother’s hold as he was carried to the kitchen.

Papyrus set him down in his usual chair, sliding a plate of spaghetti in front of him as he took his own seat. It’s hard to be upset about anything when in the presence of the Great Papyrus.

He ate a couple bites before pushing the plate away from him and standing up from his seat. “It’s really good Paps, I’m just not really hungry right now.”

Papyrus didn’t seem too upset by this, simply waving him off to bed as he stored Sans’ plate in the fridge for later. Sans meandered up the stairs and down the hall to his room, running his hand along the wall where another door used to reside.

He sighed as he sat down on his mattress. It’s been a long day, and the sweet reprieve of sleep has never sounded better to him. He laid down and drifted in and out of consciousness.

Sans began seeing flashes of the Underground, but something felt wrong about them. An air of despair hung over the images while they flickered by in his mind.

He struggled to hold onto any fragment of this vision until it halted on something that took his breath away.

Another human was standing in front of Papyrus, but it was different. The most recent human had looked nothing like that, and he had made sure that Papyrus had no contact with them whatsoever.

The human in this vision struck forward with a knife before Sans could react, and he could only watch as his brother dusted in front of him.

He jolted awake with a cut-off gasp as he clutched his chest over his Soul. He took in his surroundings slowly, as if trying to navigate through a fog.

So much for a reprieve in his sleep.

Sans stumbled off his mattress and made his way out of his room and down the hall. He noticed that it was the middle of the night, must have been sleeping for longer than he thought.

He creaked open Papyrus’ door and slowly made his way to his bedside. His little brother was out like a light, peacefully snoring in what he hoped was a more pleasant dream than his own.

Was it even a dream? It felt so real, more like a memory than a fantasy. He tried to shake the thought away, but it settled somewhere in the back of his mind.

He took a seat in the floor next to Papyrus’ bed and simply stared off into space. He didn’t want to try sleeping again for a little while.

All things considered, it’s not the worst pay-day he’s ever had. It’s certainly one of the weirdest. Oh well.

There’s always tomorrow for things to change.

Chapter Text

Sans wakes up to yet another Genocide run. He can’t say he’s surprised, but there’s still a part of him that hopes he’ll wake up to a final ending far more pleasant.

He goes about his usual actions in the run. He does the meet in the woods, watches as the Human kills the other Snowdin residents, and bides his time until the confrontation in the Hall.

Of course, before then he has to collect his brother’s scarf from the snow. Even if he knows Papyrus will come back, it gives him an almost sense of peace to keep it safe for him.

It’s time now that the Human should have finished its interaction with his brother, so he wanders over through the trees to see the flash of red in the snow-

Only to see nothing but the dust flowing in the wind.

Sans took a second to scan the surrounding area, with nothing but white and trees meeting his sight. Where is it?!

He spent a long time trying to find it, even going through all the surrounding woods, but found nothing.

It was no where to be found, and the Human was probably far closer to the Hall by now. He needed to get there so it wouldn’t figure out he remembers.

Upon the Human’s arrival in the Hall, he could tell that something was wrong. It was smiling too wide, like it’d done something to be proud of.

It’s then that he notices the red tied around its neck.

Sans freezes all movement as the Human starts to laugh. “Notice my new clothes? I thought it would be nice to try something else for once. And! I can act like your stupid brother!”

He couldn’t say anything as the Human spread their arms and sifted its voice up an octave. “You can do better! You can be a good person! Everyone can be a good person if they just try! Haha!”

A cold rage began to build in Sans as the Human kept laughing. He suddenly shot a bunch of attacks at it, managing to catch it off-guard. One of said bone attacks pierced the scarf and pinned the Human to the wall.

“Oh what? Did someone not like my cosplay of their brother? I thought it was pretty accurate!”

“You keep talking about Papyrus that way, and I’ll give you a Bad Time you won’t ever forget.” His rage had mounted into his magic, his eyelight flaring a bright blue, maybe brighter than it has ever been.

“Oooh I’m so scared! Hahaha! We both know that this won’t stop me. I can never truly die!”

“I’ll make you want to. No matter how long it takes.” With this, he charged a blaster and burned the Human off the face of the Underground.

The familiar feeling of a RESET took place instead of the usual LOAD.

“Odd, would have thought it’d keep trying until it won like usual. Maybe it has something else planned.”

This something else turned out to be the same song and dance as usual, except the Human was now always taking Papyrus’ scarf with it after killing him.

Sans realized how difficult it was going to be to add this new change into his routine without slipping up.

This continued for RESET after RESET, and he started to grow sick of seeing that red around the Human’s neck, hearing them mock and laugh at his brother while he has to act surprised.

Eventually, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

When the Human killed Papyrus this time, he stepped forward and blasted them with bones and blasters immediately. He took the scarf lying on the ground and tucked it safely into his pocket.

The Human laid a couple feet away in the snow, gathering itself before standing up to face him. “Now THAT’S new!”

“Quit killing everything down here. I warned you already so many times, but I’m running out of patience.”

The Human only grinned as it pulled the knife back out of its pocket. “Aww, is someone mad their brother is a mockable loser? It’s not my fault Papyrus is easy to kill and mimic!”

“KEEP HIS NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. Papyrus is more human than you could ever hope to be, especially after everything you’ve done down here.”

The taunting smirk didn’t fall off the Human’s face once, just growing sharper as they mocked him too. The anger that is starting to become as familiar as numbness floods back in as it spreads its arms once more.

“Come on Sans! I can still be a good person, he just said so! Or do you think your brother is a liar?”

Sans had always prided himself on his remarkable hold on emotions, but this comment, paired with the movement, was all it took for his control to SNAP.

The speed at which he killed the Human impressed even himself, and as they came back, he killed it before it could even open its eyes.

He’s never used this much magic at once, nor as violently, but some things have to peak before they fall.

The Human tried to learn his new “pattern”, but he was done following a schedule. This was raw, unfiltered emotion.

He bent over panting as the Human came back once more. It regarded him with a curious look.

“You done with your temper tantrum yet? I’ve never seen you have a meltdown like that before. It’s not in your script. Unless…”

Sans felt a chill travel down his spine as he realized the same moment the Human did.

He revealed he could remember. The Human knows he REMEMBERS.

“You sneak! You’ve remembered everything this whole time! Hahaha!!” The laugher it let out only solidified Sans’ terror.

He was so preoccupied that he didn’t have time to dodge the two slashed the Human gave him. He choked on a scream as he tried to apply pressure, but he knew it wouldn’t do anything.

“Now that I know, things are about to get so much more interesting! See you next run, Sans.”

Sans had never been so afraid to wake back up in his bed after a RESET. He knew what this meant for him and everyone else in the Underground now that the Human knows.

It’s the beginning of the end.