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What Are Friends For Ch. 25

An Undertale fanfiction.

Written by ichiwashername-o

Summary: With seemingly no other option, do they dare call upon the aid of the terrible Dr. Gaster?

Rating: Viewer discretion advised. Contains swearing, trauma, and psychological horror

Cast: Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, W.D. Gaster, and others

Chapter 1

AO3

Chapter 25: Holding on to Hope

In the tense air of the lab, ambient noise droned in the background. The time machine whirled with a mechanical hum as it slowly powered down, a steady incessant beeping could be heard from the control panels, and the lights above hissed with a steady fluorescent drone.

They were the only sounds in the lab for a brief moment as an unsettling epiphany fell upon the residents.

“What?” Undyne demanded tersely. Her back was still killing her, even with Papyrus continuing to give her little bursts of healing magic. Eventually she smacked his hand away, furious that Papyrus was even speaking that thing’s name. “The hell do you mean ‘ask Gaster for help?!’”

Papyrus continued to look at her, unflinching. “Dr. Gaster offered to help us fix things, and he sincerely wants to help make things right. I think we should accept his offer.”

“But you said he was dead!” Undyne protested. “Are you saying he’s still alive?!”

“Y-yes?” Papyrus said unsurely. “It’s hard to explain, he’s not really alive, or dead, he’s sort of . . . stuck in limbo, I guess?”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Undyne continued to fume. “And even if he were still around somehow, I’ll never accept the help from that creep!”

“But he’s changed! I spoke to him myself! He seemed really sorry about everything that happened, and he wants to help fix things–!”

“Papyrus, listen to yourself!” Undyne roared. “This is the same guy who’s responsible for all of this to begin with! He’s the reason you’re the way you are! He’s the reason you went totally berserk! He’s the REAL reason why that kid got killed! And you want to go to him for help?!”

Papyrus let out a defeated sigh. Here he was, having the same argument he had with Sans, now repeating yet again with Undyne. Here he was, stuck arguing in circles with someone who was just as stubborn as he was.

Undyne would never relent, he realized. Just like Sans wouldn’t.

Flowey had been unusually silent through all this, mostly focused on the machine, but his gaze seemed to be much further away. “Dr. Gaster is still alive?” he asked quietly.

Papyrus turned back to the flower. “Sort of,” he said. “Like I said, it’s hard to describe, but it seems he’s stuck somewhere beyond time and space? Or . . . scattered, I think he said.”

“Good, then leave him there,” Undyne snarled.

That’s just what Sans said, Papyrus thought glumly.

Flowey didn’t say anything for a long time. His expression was hard to read, but he looked . . . stunned?

“Then we’re all in agreement,” Sans said. “Going to Dr. Gaster isn’t an option. We need to figure this out ourselves.”

“And what are our other options?!” Papyrus all but exploded. “Throwing all we had at the time machine didn’t work! Flowey can’t do it, we can’t do it, what other options are there?!”

“We just need to think a little harder, maybe there’s another path we haven’t explored–” Sans argued, before he was cut off again by Papyrus.

“But this is just what Dr. Gaster said! We can’t go back in time, we have to go outside of time–!”

“You can’t trust that guy! How could you?! After everything he did to you?!” Undyne roared.

“But if you guys would just listen to him yourselves–!”

“If I ever see or hear from that asshole again, he’ll get a face full of my spears!”

Soon, all three of them were in a circle, shouting furiously at each other. All three of them–Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne–proved to be incredibly stubborn in their stance. Even if it was two-on-one, Papyrus refused to concede ground, begging them to just give Gaster a chance. But Sans and Undyne refused to humor that notion.

Alphys, in the meantime, had retreated to a corner of the lab, curling in on herself. She hated to see her friends argue. And she didn’t know what to do, either! The whole idea of Gaster still being around baffled her, and even more baffling still was Papyrus’s claim that Gaster was stuck in some sort of limbo. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she knew she hated seeing her friends like this; all at each other’s throats and yelling without listening.

She remembered seeing Gaster’s hidden labs, she remembered the jail cells with claw marks all over the walls and the doors ripped off hinges. She remembered the room filled with the ruined remains of Gaster’s machines, his reports, al his heinous work reduced to ash–

She also remembered seeing Papyrus as that–that thing. That monstrous, terrible, cruel thing that was not him. And she knew all too well of Papyrus’s desperate desire to go back and undo that one terrible, horrible thing.

She knew his desperation to make things right all too well–

And she remembered her own mistakes. She remembered her own terrible, horrible mistakes that she would do anything to take back . . .

She knew Gaster’s desperation to make things right–

If Papyrus was telling the truth . . .

“He wants to fix this!”

If Gaster really felt that way . . .

“He doesn’t want to be forgiven!”

If it were her . . .

“ENOUGH!!!”

Now all fell silent as all turned to stare, quite shocked, at the meek reptilian scientists. Even Alphys seemed surprised she could be so loud and authoritative! She shrunk back down, abashed.

“S-s-sorry . . . that was . . . louder than I meant,” she muttered. But she straightened. She didn’t want to lose her nerve now! “But . . . Papyrus, do you really, and I mean really believe that Dr. Gaster was telling the truth?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice. “When I saw him, he looked absolutely miserable. The place he’s stuck in–it sounds awful. He told me it was like living every moment in time a thousand times over, and he sounded . . . really, really sad.”

Sans and Undyne were clearly not buying it, but to their credit, they kept quiet as Papyrus went on.

“He said he had an eternity to think about everything he’s done. And he regrets everything. He told me he knows what he did was unforgivable, and he doesn’t want to be forgiven. He just wants to do this because it’s right. He just wants to make it right.”

Alphys nodded slowly. “I think . . . I think I know what that’s like,” she said slowly. “I know what it’s like to do something really bad, and wanting to take it all back and do it all over . . .”

“I bet you do, Doc,” Flowey taunted, but even he didn’t look like his heart was in it.

“I think we should at least hear him out. He deserves that, doesn’t he?” Alphys pleaded. “I mean, if it were me . . . I think I’d at least want people to listen to me before they rejected me outright.”

There was another long pause as glances were exchanged. It was hard for Undyne to even think about it, but even she knew that their options were severely limited.

“This could all be a trap,” she warned.

“And what would the end goal be?” Papyrus asked. “He gets us, and then what?”

“I don’t know! Kill you for some sort of sick twisted vengeance plot?” Undyne said.

“I really don’t think so.”

“Well, even if it’s not a trap, how do we even find the guy?!”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Papyrus confessed. “He appeared to me in a dream, and I was in Waterfall, and found this door.”

“Waterfall?! Where?!” Undyne demanded. The thought of that monster lurking around on her home turf made her hair stand on end.

“I don’t know! I was just . . . wandering around, I didn’t really know where I was going!”

“Great, that really helps narrow it down,” she scowled.

“But I don’t think that door is . . . permanent?” Papyrus suggested. “I think if we just go looking for it, we’ll find him.”

“So we just wander around Waterfall and hope to find a random door somewhere?” Undyne asked skeptically.

“I guess?”

Wow. This plan had about as much substance as a snow poff. She let out a beleaguered sigh.

“I still don’t buy any of this,” she scowled.

“I know. But we should at least talk to him. Hear him out for yourself. And then–if you really don’t like his plan, and you really think he’s dangerous–then we’ll try something else,” Papyrus reasoned. “But he deserves a chance to explain himself.”

He deserves the chance for his face to meet my FIST, Undyne thought furiously, but wisely kept that thought to herself.

“So I guess we’ll all scout out Waterfall, and if we see the door, we’ll call each other, let them know where it is, and meet up?” Papyrus went on. “We’ve all got each other’s cell phone numbers, so we’ll only be a quick call away. Oh, um, Flowey, do you have a phone–?”

“Does it look like I have a phone, you numbskull?!” he asked. “No, forget it. I’ll find the door first! Me and the Doc got unfinished business! Just you wait!”

He paused.

“So . . . what exactly is this door supposed to look like?”

Papyrus laughed to himself. “It’s just a plain silver door with a round handle. Nothing too special about it.”

“Thanks, dummy! I’ll see you losers later! After I find Gaster myself! Hee hee hee!” And Flowey disappeared from sight, vanishing back into whatever cracks he crawled out of.

Papyrus shrugged, none too worried about Flowey’s threatening promise. “I really don’t think he’ll find Gaster unless Gaster wants Flowey to find him. Besides, why would Flowey be so interested in finding Gaster, anyway? Come on.”

They all shuffled out of the basement lab and back out into the crisp frigid landscape of Snowdin. Between the four of them hung a very awkward, very tense energy. No one said much of anything to each other, not when they exited the lab, and not on the boat ride over to Waterfall. A short while later, they arrived at their destination, where they all stepped off and planned where to go next.

“Alright, you punks, I’m the one with the home field advantage, so I’ll be tackling the northern caverns,” Undyne said, jerking a thumb at her chest. “Those are the trickiest to navigate with the most waterways, so I’ll take that. Alphys, you head straight west and scope out the caves closest to Hotland since those are the safest to navigate . . . and also the hottest. Sans, Paps, you go south. It’ll split so one of you heads southwest while the other heads southeast. Any questions?”

A silent exchange of looks indicated none, and they all went their separate ways, parting on uneasy terms. Papyrus and Sans headed south in silence, the tension between the brothers an incessant electric buzz.

“You really don’t believe this is going to work, do you?” Sans finally asked after a while.

“I don’t know,” Papyrus admitted. “But it seems like our best chance, doesn’t it?”

Sans didn’t like anything about this. They had no real guarantee this would work, not to mention if Gaster’s intentions were as pure as Papyrus claimed them to be.

But the worst part was if this actually did work, and then Sans would be indebted to the bastard.

He tried not to think about it. First they had to find him. A selfish part of him hoped they wouldn’t.

On the other side of the region, Undyne was storming through the caverns, her boots echoing like thunder with every step. Unlike Sans, she was on her own quest to find this Gaster, if only to beat the ever-loving shit out of him! Gaster was the cause of all of this mess, so he needed to pay for it!

But Waterfall was a labyrinth. Its waters were treacherous to many foolhardy monsters that thought they could best them. Undyne knew numerous stories of monsters who were swept away by the river’s currents, never to be seen again. They were stories her parents told her when she was only a guppy, and she thought them to be nothing more than cautionary tales to keep her from wandering too far. Until one day she was one of those foolhardy monsters with more pride than sense and found herself whisked away by one of the many raging underwater currents. It was sheer dumb luck her father had been right there and had pulled her out just before she could be lost for good.

She learned a very valuable lesson that day. And today she would impart a similar lesson upon Gaster.

Trick was finding him first.

She started with the caverns close to her home that she was intimately familiar with. She could navigate these tunnels blindfolded and find herself home, just on the sounds of the rushing rivers and distant waterfalls alone. After a thorough search of those, she went further and further outward, past the shop and past the cavern full of blue echo flowers and past the caverns that were absolute pitch-black save for the glow crystals that were scattered along the path. On she went, her eye ever vigilant for an out-of-place door.

She searched for what must have been a couple hours before she decided to check in on her friends. Opening up her cell phone, she created a group chat for her, Alphys, Sans, and Papyrus.

Any luck? She texted.

Nope, Sans said.

Nothing yet! Papyrus responded.

Not yet, Alphys replied.

Undyne frowned, biting her lip. Darn, ok, keep at it, we’ll find it soon.

And don’t go in before we all get there! Papyrus added quickly. I don’t think the door sticks around very long when you open it, so don’t go in alone!

Wouldn’t dream of facing Gaster by myself! Alphys responded, adding a spooky ghost emoji to her message.

What makes you say that? Undyne asked.

Just guessing from the last time I met him, Papyrus said. But there’s a lot I don’t know. So best we tread carefully, right?

With that, she kept looking. But searching Waterfall was incredibly time-consuming because of all the tunnels, and if that door could be anywhere, that meant it could be on any of the dozens and dozens and dozens of cavernous walls.

They could search for weeks and never find it! Undyne had no idea if they could even cover all of Waterfall in their lifetimes, it was that big! But she was hardly deterred. If anything, that just made her search faster, because she was going to find this Gaster, dammit! She was going to find him and give him a piece of her mind!

The hours ticked by, and every so often people would chime in through text messages. Nothing yet. Keep searching. We’ll find it soon.

But soon it grew late, and Alphys had to pause to grab some dinner. Undyne didn’t hold that against her. No one could work all day without a break! She’d be awful if she demanded that of her friend.

I’m sorry but I’m starving >_< Alphys texted. I’ll go grab some noodles and keep going.

Don’t push yourself too hard, Undyne urged. If you need a break, go ahead and take it. Just make sure you remember where you left off, alright?

What about you? You ok?

Doing great, Undyne replied, pushing aside her own nagging hunger. I’ll keep going and keep you guys updated. What about Sans and Papyrus?

Hangin’ in there, Sans said.

I too am going to keep searching! We’re so close! I can feel it! Papyrus chimed in at almost the same time. I’ll search all night if I have to!

Hey, no one push themselves too hard, Undyne said, trying to swallow through her own hypocrisy. Because she too had no intention of stopping, hunger and sleep be damned. Take breaks and grab something to eat. Gaster’s not going anywhere.

Well. That was blatantly untrue. They didn’t even know if the door was even here or not. But all they could do was keep hoping and keep looking.

She kept going. It was hard to keep track of time, especially in these less-explored tunnels that had almost nothing to offer in terms of light or glow-crystals. It was easy to lose yourself in there, and Undyne knew she had to remain vigilant before she got hopelessly lost.

But she had to keep looking! She had to find Gaster!

She had to find him!

Was she really hoping that Gaster was right? Was she hoping that he could really fix everything? Or was she burning for vengeance that badly?

Both, she decided. It was both. She wanted to kick his ass and then she wanted him to fix everything. This was all his fault, after all.

With that resolution burning in her mind, she kept pushing, onwards and forwards.

She had no idea how late it was. The texts between the four grew less frequent. Had they stopped for the day to rest? Papyrus certainly wouldn’t. She knew the skeleton could go days without sleeping if he really pushed himself, even if she tried insisting on him getting some rest. And neither would she stop. Not yet. She needed to find Gaster.

But the caverns seemed endless. Even now they spilled before her like a never-ending serpent, dark and foreboding with no light to guide her, no sign to mark her way, no path to tell her which way was forward or which way was back.

Undyne was a stubborn monster, but at this point, even she felt doubt creeping in.

Gaster wouldn’t be found unless he wanted to be found.

Was that true? How would Gaster even know? Ugh, this was all too complicated! She just needed that stupid door to show up already! Then they could all get this over with!

But if Papyrus was right and Gaster refused to let himself be found, then he was just being a dick and toying with her by not showing up!

Undyne kept pushing on until she reached a dead end. Scowling, she turned around back to the last fork, marking the dead end with an X on the tunnel wall. She went down the other path, only to find that too ended in a dead end.

She paused, backtracked, and marked that tunnel with an X, backing out even further to the next last fork in the path.

Undyne traveled perhaps only a quarter mile or so before the tunnel just . . . stopped. There was nothing but a rock wall in front of her.

Another dead end?! No way! She CAME this way! She would have heard and felt a rock slide! And the rock would be loose! But this wall was solid!

Ok, calm down, Undyne, you’re just tired, you must have missed something, she reasoned. Just turn around, keep your hand on the wall, and find your way out.

Taking a deep breath, keeping her left hand on the slick wet cavern walls, she once again turned around and followed the path back out. Yeah. It was just dark in here. Easy to miss a tunnel opening if you weren’t paying attention.

Eventually, she came across another branching tunnel, unmarked. She breathed a sigh of relief. See? There you go, now just follow it out–

But she hadn’t even gone more than a hundred feet down before that too revealed a solid stone wall.

Undyne felt her heart begin to race.

No. No, this wasn’t possible, there had to be a way out, just don’t panic.

She backed out, marked the tunnel, kept going–

And ran into a tunnel, marked with an X. Her X.

No–

She kept going, finding another tunnel marked with an X–

Where did I come from?!

Another tunnel, another dead end–

Where was the way out?!

Another X, another dead end–

What was happening?!

The walls of the cavern were closing in–

Let me out!

Undyne spun. Behind her was a marked tunnel. In front of her, a crushing wall of solid stone.

LET ME OUT!

All around her, tunnels that lead nowhere. All around her, she saw that X. Dead end. The walls were closing in. Crushing, suffocating her.

She spun around again–

LET ME OUT!!!

A door.

Undyne stopped. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breath so ragged and hoarse she could hear it echo. But everything was still. Everything stopped.

Before her was a door. Simple, silver, unremarkable with a plain round handle. A door in the middle of nowhere.

And in her heart of hearts, she knew this was it. This was it.

Gaster was here.

She reached out towards the door. Papyrus’s warning was all but forgotten as her palm clenched around the smooth cold handle and turned–

The door swung inwards on silent hinges. Inside was nothing but a room of pure sightless black. A void of incomprehensible darkness.

She stepped inside.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Spinning reflexively, she could see absolutely nothing in the black, as if she were suddenly struck blind. But slowly, the room faded into focus. It was just as unremarkable as the door, perhaps fifteen feet by fifteen feet, bare and plain and square with grey walls. And behind her, she could see no door–

She could see no door anywhere.

"Y͈ou w͙e̜re ̯no̳t̻̫̭ t̖̠h͇e ̠̞one ͚͈͖I̘ w̥a̳s̳̤͍ ̘e̱x͉̲p̙̙̮ẹ͖c͙t̘i̳ng͔͖.̦"̲̞͚

Undyne jumped, spinning back around. Before her stood–loomed?--a nightmarish sight. A tall, thin figure, black as night and made from the thickest tar, coalesced in front of her, the edges of his form blurred and static, as if fading in and out of existence. A white skeletal face greeted her, with cracks that split the skull-like visage nearly in half. White clawed hands floated before him, the palms with perfectly circular holes cut through them.

And Undyne had no doubt in her mind that this monster standing before her was none other than Dr. Gaster.

He gazed at her, his eye sockets empty and placid. "V͎̪ͅe͓͍r̮͈̻y well,̰̪̹ ̼̣t͕̠his͍̖̖ ̥̗wi̬̣̠ll ͕h͚a͉ve t̰͖o ͙̟̮d͓̣o̬ ̻̰f̼o͚̲̙r̭ ̺̯̦n̳̭̥o̱͙w-̰-"

Undyne summoned a dozen spears at her side, and in one swift decisive motion, she hurled them against the figure. The spears struck true, sinking deep into the figure. The figure lurched backwards, letting out a grunt of surprise, his eye sockets widening at the sudden attack.

But Undyne was just getting started. Sprinting forward with one spear in her hand, she charged, driving her weapon straight through the abomination’s chest. Again he jerked backwards from the impact, a spark of pain flashing in his eyes as Undyne saw her blow land. She ripped out her spear, causing that black inky tar-like substance to splatter across the ground. Gaster stuttered, struggling to remain upright.

Undyne brought down a torrential rain of spears, pinning him to the ground.

Gaster fell awkwardly, his form more liquid than solid as he reformed, pulling himself back together with a static hiss. He continued to glare at Undyne, unblinking.

"̞͉N̠̗͇o͈w͔̣͔, ̯̮C̮ap̮̠t͚̹a̭in͓̪̱,͔ ͕̥ḭ͎f ̘̤̩y̼̩̦ou͓̮'̗͍r͖̭e qui̪t͕e sa̹͚ti̟̞sf̪i̟ed--̺̬̝"̳

But she wasn’t! Not by a long shot! All the pain Papyrus was forced to endure! All the misery! She swore to bring it all down on him a hundredfold!

More spears pummeled him, striking through his form. Undyne lashed out, again and again, hitting him over and over and over and over–!

Again and again he would just reform, retake his shape, standing up from the goopy puddle on the ground into the nightmare tar-monster he was now!

But Gaster’s patience for Undyne’s fury was reaching his limit. She charged forward, ready for another strike, before Gaster’s hand clamped like a vice around her arm, stopping her dead. He leaned forward, those haunting eye sockets narrowing.

"̖Ha̱̹v̩̯e ̟͖̦yo͉͓u̬͔ f̣͍̙inis̮͙̱h̘̠̼ed ͔y̲et̠̥?"̠̫ͅ he snapped tersely.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE TALK TO ME LIKE YOU GET IT!” Undyne roared furiously. “God, you’re just standing there like a sick freak! Do you even feel ANY of this?!”

“͙͔Y̧̙̼͎̼̞ͨ͌ͥ̃ͫ̓ͅE̯̘͇̼S͉̪!̦̰̟̟̩̿̈́̓̍̽͞!͂̽ͣ!͔̜ͩͩ”̥͇̖̫̲̯

His voice was a deafening static roar, as if spoken through a speaker through a terrible feedback scream. Undyne crashed to her knees, slamming her hands over her ears.

“̂̄̌ͧ̇̚͜Î̏̇̇͏ ̣͓͕̠̥͙̬̏̐͗̇̍͌͒F̙͕̘̰͙͒̒ͫ͌ͣĖ͈̹̚E̼̻ͥ͆L̘͕̯̩̪͉̆͆̽̽͆̚ ̵͕͋EV͍͍ͦ̇Ȩ͈̭͉̥̑̆̔̆R̲̀͐ͅY͈̱͍̞̙̫̙T̸̝̤̟ͥ̋͒H͚̞͇͕̺̟IN̸͔ͭǴ!”͈͙̩̳̼̋ͣͦ̇̀

Undyne felt tears prick her eyes. The noise was coming from inside her head! So loud and so deafening she thought her skull would split!But slowly the screaming faded away, and her eye cracked open, seeing the furious, and pained expression of the twisted Doctor Gaster.

"Ḭ ̳f̙e̙̣el̪̣ ̞̩̖. . ͓ͅ.͚̩ ̫̤ev̳̦̹erythin̥̙g̰.̘͓ T̬̗̯h̫̘e̦re ̜̰̪ḭs͖̞ no ̞̫̯re̹p̯rḭ͎̺e̙̤v̹e. ̤̟ͅT͔̘̩here ͓̟is͇̥ ̱̫̲no͕ end̤͖."̮̯

“Yeah, well, maybe this is what you deserve, you asshole,” Undyne seethed, pushing herself back up to her feet. “After everything you’ve done to Papyrus and Sans–!”

"D̝i̼̤̱d ̦͉̝yoṷ̱̜ com̳̮͚e̜̘̘ ͍̙he͔̫r̫e t̟̭o̘͉ le̻ͅct͉u̹r̤e me͍͇͚, or ͇̞̖did̗̩ ̼͔̘y͈̼o̖̝u ͕c̳̜o͖me ̟̮̠he̺ṛ̫̳e͍ ̹t̻̮o ͙̳͙ass̫i̫ș̹t̗̪̹ y̖͖ou͚r ͈̪̹f̹̞ͅri͈̺͎e͙n̜d̤̠s?"̩ Gaster challenged. "͎̩͉I̫̗ ̹h̠̤av͓e͉̣ ̜̥͕no̱ ̹̟̼n̫eẹḓ͖̪ f̭or ̜̝wo͕͉ṛ̗ds̗, ̮͇s̺o i͕f͎͔ ̫̩̤that̜̻͚'̫̮ͅs ̠̦a̜̪̫l̰̣l ͍y̪͍o̱̺u͓̥̦ offe͖̜r,͙͉ ̝̜you̬̪̬ ma͇̗̜y ̲̬l̟͚ea̗ve.̫̪

Undyne could hear the unmistakable sound of a door opening behind her, but she did not turn to look. She kept her one remaining eye focused solely on Gaster.

“You don’t get to escape justice so easily! You think you can just pop up and make everything better and we’re all just going to forget and forgive and live happily ever after?! You don’t get to do that!”

Gaster remained silent.

“WELL?!”

"͎̞͈Wh͚̹at c̫̜an ̤I̗͙̖ ͉̻͔pọs̳s̥ib͚l̳̰͉y̝ ͙̙ͅs̝͇ay ̥to͙̖̣ ̟y̙̟ou th͎͔a̱̬̬t̠̺ ̼̼̞w̳͍o̯u͎̻̤ld͎̠̲ ̗̞̦cha̗̠͖ṇge̟̗̖ your ͉̘m̘̱i̼̰nd?"̰̺ͅ Gaster simply asked. "̪͖Y̙ou'͈͎v̝e̮͉̹ al̗̟r̲̠e̲̩a̭̗d̮̭y ma̲͎̯de͚͚ ̺̣u̞p̝ ͓̻your ̥m̭ind ͕a͈̥bout m͍e. T̥̠ͅh͈̳̼ere ̘̺i͔̗s̘̣ ̹no͖̪ u̮s̟̖e ̼̝i̘͇͓n ̣̯͍s̤̩par̜͕͓i͖n͓̳g a̼ny ̞m̲̥ore w̰ords ̮t̬o ̯͙̖so̞̜̩me̥o̥̲̼ne͓̥ ̤ͅwh̭̞o̗͉̯ ̩͖ref̯̠ͅu̠͖ṣ͇es ̣ṯ̱̬o̖͇ ̮̦͚l̝͍̮is͇̭̜t͍en.ͅ

“The least you can do is start apologizing!”

"̙̞Wou̗ḽ̙d ̠̟̹t̞̙ḥ̫ͅat͉̞ ̮̠̠he̤̲l͖p?"̭̮

No, Undyne wanted to reply in a furious tone, but she realized she had just proved his point. There was nothing Gaster could say that would make her change her mind about him, so Gaster simply refused to waste any breath or energy doing just that. Seeing this brief moment of epiphany, Gaster continued.

“̜̣Hate ͕̹͓me ͎̤all ͓͇y̯̜ou wi̝sh,̜͙̗ b͓̞u̯t̹ ̮̹m̥y̝͙̦ ̩̖̘offe͓͉r̜ ̖s͙t̻̦̬a͇̰nd̯̣̻s.̘͙̦ ̟I̙̺ ̳̯c͕a̲̝̠n ̼he̖lp͉̳ͅ S̤̹͔a̘ns ̞̹ḁnd̩̳̺ ̭̖P̠̳͙ap͓y̯r̞u͚͖s̬. I͚ ̞̟c̪ḁ͚̖n̰̩ ̼b̼̼̮r͓i̘̙ng͇͕͎ t͔hem̻̞ͅ ̱̳̩ba͕̝̱c͙̬k͖͕ ͍i̩ͅn̦ͅ ti̟̺͓me̱͍ to͉̮̘ t̯hḙͅ ̪͎̼mo̯̞̭me̞n̩̮t̺͕ w̮ḫ̮ḙ̦̗r̖̘e̙̜̞ t̼hḛ͖ ͎human̳̘̯ ̞̙̱i̩̝͓s͚ ̠̜̝k̟i̝l͇l̳͎̳ed ͅa̮̼nd pr͍eve̲̙͙n̼͓̞t ̗͙iṯ f̖rom͕͇͈ ha͖̪̯pp̦̼en̻̯iͅng̰.̼̦ ͚̺I͖ c̘̦an̫ ̺̻̖ḅ̯͔r͓̬ing͇ t̲̮he̬ t̼̖i̞͍m̻̳̝e͉̭͕l͉ine͓̺ͅ ba̯̬c͙k͉͚ ͉t͖o̬̙̲ n̞͍̫o̺̳ͅr͍͔m̜̼al͕͙.͇”͇̤̪

“And how do you plan to do that?” Undyne scowled.

“Fir̠̣͖st͔͖,̙̯ Ḭ͓ ̭͚n̹̮e̱ͅed ̹̩̺Sa̭͚̞ns̜͚ ̖̤̱an̩̖d̻ ̩̣P͉̩ap̱͓yru̖̯s h͕e͕r͙͍ͅe͔͕̟ ̭w̝it̰̘̙h͓͖ ̩͕̬m͙ḛ̥.̣ ̥̦̫S͖̜a̱̼n̞̣͇s͔̜ has a cḛ͈r̯̘tain̙ ̩͕͉.̤͕ . ̜̝̱.͎̝͇ a̹̮ḅ̱̝il͔i̙͕t͕̺y ͍̭͈t͇̝hͅat ̝͉al̩̹̹l͎̩ͅo̠̩ws̖ h͍ḭm̱ to̯̟ tṛa̠͚͓vers̮̺e͎ ̹̼̜ac͚ro̳̞s̤s ̘șp̙̬̞a̠̹c̱e.̤͙ ͉I̤ ḁ̬ͅm ̳̠ͅhe͕̱̱re, b̟̣̫e̙̠̞yo̪n̫̪̠d ͖̦t̝im̮͚̥e̝͚̭.͕̼̬ W̺ith̦̪̦ ̱us̯͚̲ ͙̮͓w̱or̮̪k̮̤͓i̯̱ng in̗̫̲ ̙̖̥t̩͙a͈̪̱n̮͙dem, w̝e̼̺̠ ̟can͔ ̰͕t̙r͇ave̖͙l ̺̱t̲͎o̬ whe̝̦̳r̤̼eve̙r ̱͚̙a͍nd͇̙̰ w͉h̰enever̭ ̲͎we ̼d̺͍eṣ͉i͓͖̦re.̠͖”

“You want them here in this room so you can continue to torment them, is that it?” Undyne accused, brandishing a spear in his face. Gaster didn’t even blink.

“Yo͉͓̘u c͍͓̘aṉ c̯o̪̘̤nti̻n̩͇u̺̲e̺ to ̲̗̞s̥̰ta̞̮̤n̼̻ͅḓ ̯͓th̞̹er̝̠e͚ an̟͍̜d ̠spou̘̻t̫ b̼ͅasel͕eș̤͔s͖ a̼cc͚̹̯us̜͈͎at͉i̥o̤n̠̫s.͉̠ ͙̙͎Y͔o͔u̩͉̬ ̜͍c̬͓̤an ̹̠s̠ͅtand̞ ̹t̘here̠̺ ͇̪̪a̼͇̲nd r̩a̟̰̖i̹̺n ̘do͍̻͎w͇͎̭n̘ ͉̥̰all ̤͖y̬͚̬o̜̦̹ur̠̙̙ ̖might u̖̲͚po̭͔̻n̪ m̫e̞.̹̣̝ ͓̳Y͓̰o̰u c͚͈̖a̹n ͍r͍̺i͕p ̠̫͓m̻͚̞e ͚͇to p͇͉ͅie̲̮̙c̖̭̭e̫͖̹s͇̺ ͚̳̠o͓ve̘r an̰̯d̯̫̣ ͕̙o͈̝ͅv̬ẹr̤̫͎ ̹͉͙ag̣ai̳̯̪n.̠ B̝̖ut̠͖ ͍̭n̩̤o̺̝ne ͇̥̹of͉̣̥ ̞̟͙t̝̟h̝̹os͓͓e t͙h̥ing͈s ar̼̳e͕͈ ̬͎g̠o̤ịn̦g͕̦ t̖o ̭̺̰hel̮̦͇p ͍̳ͅPa̹pyr̯u̻̜̮s͙̳̭, a̤̖r̯̤̣e ͎̣th̻͚̦e̻y͚̜?”͉

Undyne stood there, fuming, fists clenched.

“P̫erhap̮͖s ̲y̪ͅo̱u̲ c͕̝͉aͅn ̮d̦̙o̲̜͍ ̳̟s̹o̻meth̪ing̲ ͖͇͎muc̠̥h̻ m͕͍or̜͚e produ̜͈̲c̦̰t̠ͅi̜v̦̝e t͓h͓̣̦a̺n̤̲̙ st̻̫̺a̠n̮̠̻d͈̤ ̯̭̫h̖͎̖ḛ͔̟r͙͇̖e ̪͉̗a̱͚nd ̘̙͔thr̟o̬̱͎w ̤̭y͓̠o͙u̙̮r̤ c̖hil͇d̬ͅish͓ ̰t̮̭e͕͙̦mp͈̞̟e͙̻̺r ̮ṭ̦a̭n̰͚t̥ru͎̦͎ms. ̥G̼̘o̱͈ f͉͈ind S̭̖a̺̟n͚ṣ ̥̥a͔n̖̝d̥̠̳ Pa͎p̲yr͍u̙͍̺s ̪̮an͚d ̖b͙͚rin̦̘̩g ̥th̞͕e̦m̖̼̙ t͚̥o ͔m̠̻̪e. I͓ w̱̹i͎͕̥l͓͎l̰͔ ̝̪be͉͈ ͈w̖̳̱a̭̖͙it͚̳i̩̮n̞g̮̞ͅ.͇̜”͉͉͖

“Ok, first of all, fuck you, you pretentious douche bag!” Undyne roared, pointing a finger at Gaster. “‘Childish temper tantrum’ my ass! You tortured my best friend and did horrible things to him! How exactly would you react if someone did to Grillby what you did to Papyrus?!”

Undyne could see Gaster stiffen and one of his eyes twitch, and with a grim sense of satisfaction, she knew she hit a nerve.

“And second! I don’t know how the fuck I even found you!!!” Undyne continued, throwing her hands up in frustration. “I was just wandering around! And then I got lost! And all the tunnels became dead ends and I was trapped in a cave with no way out and then here you are! So explain that one to me!”

Gaster frowned, thinking. “Hm.̹͎̪ ̠͓̭M̞̱y̠ exis͍t͔enc͕͎̖e̫͇ ̜a͍̬͚p̻p͈͖̗e͕̝a̬̬r͚s̜ t͙̤͎o͖̼ be so͚̣̟ ̠a̞̙̙t ̣͎odͅd̲s ̠wi̺̣t̜̙̱h r̪e̦al̖i̼̪͚ty̦͎͕ t͕͉haț̱̗ ͓̜͕r̞̞e̻a̘̤lity̯̙̯ ͓͉d͙̼̦eg̪r̘ad̤e̲̠s iṇ ̦͇m͚̱y̳͖ ̰pre̺̦s͍͍en̹ͅc̤͖e͙̘.̣̥̰”

“What?” Undyne snapped with a click of her teeth.

“̺͕̯I̜͎̙n̬͎͕ ͓̦s͇̪imple̥̞̳s̞͕̼t̟ ̟̮t͓̮̠e̪̬̩rm̘̱͖s̩? A ̫̭̰g̙͇̟li̯t̖̻cḫ̝.̗͕ ̼Wh̺̦̫e͎̥ͅn̲̺ y̙̜̦ou̩͙̜ exi̹͎t̳, ̖̣͎th͙̙e͍̟̹ w͔orl̯̘͇d̲ w̪̥ͅil̻͖ḽ ̲͎b̻̪e ͍̥b̦̗ac͕͖̤k̳̦ ̲̺ͅth͖̘e̲̼ ̬̣̬way͈ ̗it̮̭ ̺̤̣is sup̹̻pose̗̜d̲̳ t̠o ̭̣̼b̖̻͉e͉.̗̲̜” ̙

He pointed back behind Undyne, where the door had reappeared. “B̝͙ut ̙͕̮go͈. ͖F͖͚in̰d͎͇̼ t̙̱̰hem̪. B̺r͖i̮͙ng̤ ̩ͅth̳̦̰e̙̹m̗ h͈̣̼ere͈̳. ̦̖L͇̪̰e̫͇t̜̞ ṱ̖̰ḫ͕e̗̞m̹̝ ̘k̖̰n͈̭͉ow ̦I will ̤̭̜h̝e̲̖̩l͙p ̦̪t̪̙̘hem̱ m̩a̼k̻͔̣e it͓͚̤ ̦̬ͅri̩͖g̤̦ht̥̟.

Undyne finally glanced behind her, back to the door. She hesitated.

“I still don’t trust you.”

"I ̠am ̬͎̼a̜̯w̭̝a̗̪̭r̞̤e͎̲͉."

“And if they go back in time, I want to go, too!” Undyne added. She paused, her anger fading as she remembered it wasn’t just Gaster who was responsible. If it weren’t for her . . . “It’s–it’s my fault this happened, too. I made Papyrus . . . it’s my fault.”

Gaster looked on, his expression calm and without judgment. He slowly nodded.

"̪̝͎V̘e͖̤ry̘̰̹ ̺w̬̗e̥̙l̲l̹͍͖."̜

And with one last look over her shoulder, Undyne went to the door, and stepped out.

She was back in Waterfall, back to somewhere much more familiar to her. She jumped in realization; she was actually really close to her home!

What the hell! How did she get here?! This was definitely not where she entered the door!

She shook her head. Man, what the fuck was going on with that guy?

But she had a promise to keep. She took out her cell phone and dialed Papyrus, knowing he would pick up the quickest. Her phone rang only once before she heard him answer.

“Hey, Undyne! What’s up!”

“I found it,” she said, still trying to make sense of . . . everything that just happened.

“YOU DID?! That’s wonderful! I’ll be right over as soon as I can!”

“Meet me by my house, I’ll show you from there,” she said, but she wasn’t sure if Papyrus heard that last bit. He was probably already sprinting full-tilt over here. She turned around to see the door was–

Gone.

She balked.

FUCK!!! The door was gone! IT WAS RIGHT HERE A SECOND AGO! Where did it go?!

“That asshole!” Undyne swore, racing back home. She knew it! She knew it was too good to be true! Gaster made a promise then backed out like a coward! Well, this proved it, didn’t it? Gaster couldn’t be trusted!

Poor Papyrus was going to be so heartbroken–

She arrived at her house just moments before Papyrus came screaming around the corner, Sans slung haphazardly over his shoulder. The shorter skeleton looked quite miffed at the arrangement, but it’s not like Sans was incapable of stopping Papyrus if he disapproved that much.

Papyrus raced up to Undyne, letting Sans off and lowering him to his feet. “We’re here! We got here as fast as we could! Where did you say the door was?”

Undyne sucked in a breath. “Paps, I just saw it down this tunnel, but when I went to call you, I turned around and it was gone. But I swear it was right there–!”

“It is right there,” Sans said, pointing behind her.

Undyne spun around for what felt like the billionth time today. And right behind her house, on the far wall of the cavern, was a familiar silver door.

“Okay, what the FUCK!” Undyne screamed in frustrated rage. “First it’s over there and then it’s not and now it’s here–! God! You stupid skeletons and your physics-defying bullshit!”

Papyrus and Sans slowly approached, apprehension clear as day on both of them. Papyrus was excited to see the door once again, but he knew of his brother’s reservation. He knew this would be the most difficult thing for Sans to see Gaster face-to-face after so long.

Papyrus reached out and gripped his brother’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“We’ll do this together, ok?” he said.

Sans only nodded, numb. He never thought he’d ever see the doctor again. And now that monster was the only one who could possibly help them.

Taking a big breath, he reached forward, opened the door, and stepped inside.

Undyne was right behind them, stepping through before the door had a chance to slam closed behind the skeleton brothers.

The room was exactly like how Undyne remembered it, except there wasn’t that brief moment of black before the room came into view. It was just a room, a plain simple small room. And in the middle of it was Gaster, waiting for them.

"̟Y̘̟ou̮͖ hav͙e ͖͔̳arri͕͙ve͈̞̳d͈̤."̙̝ he said. “̟̠A̯ft͉̙̟er s͕o lo͕̮n͓͖͕g, ̫y̩o̫̞͚u͎̹̩ ̗are̠̭͉ fin̙̩̼al̘ly̤ ḥ̻̬ere.”̖͈

“Yeah, and not by choice,” Sans said. Already he felt his anger begin to build. How could he stand here and not remember every single horrible thing he experienced under the doc’s cruel hand? He hated Gaster. He could barely stand to be in the same room as him.

But for his brother’s sake, he would swallow that anger.

“We̯͇ ne͇̱ͅe̠d ͅn̹o̦t re̮̼mi̻̦nis̲̖c̹̠e̮̠͖ ̠abou̗̣͉t ͈̬p̲as̲t̹͉̞ sins̞,̩” Gaster said. “͔I̺t is̥ ̞a ̳̭wașt̩e o͇͙ͅf ̪̜ḅ̣r̲̗̜ea̳̰͉t͈͇ͅh͍ ̭͓̯t̖̹o ḽ̖̝a̯̜̰m͚en̪t̥̹ ̝͎my̘ r̖eg̘͓r̝e̳ͅts̘̰̠ to̼̪ͅ you.”͓

Papyrus glanced down at Sans, who remained quiet.

“̜͉W̗e̪̱ w̖i̫͙ll ̱add̫̩̳r̖es̥s̩ ̣͕th̘e h̬ͅe̜a̘r͍͕t͈ o̻f ̹t̻h̖e̗̮ ̖̯̹ma͖͇t̟̳t̻͔er̺̘̭: ͚ͅt̮h͓͎̲e̲ ̘huma̫n̳.̬̺̻ W̩̲e̲ ̱n͚̘eeḏ̳̥ to̪͍ ̱̜en͕s̰u̠͙r̜̰e ̜t͖̺h͍̗eir ̞su̫ͅr̜̥̹ṿiva̱l ̯̘̩b̠̲̹y̬ a͓̮̥n̗̙y̼̯̫ m̭͙̻e͈̪̤a͎ns͉̥̝ ̖̦n͖̯e͚̘ce̪s̲̞͖s̭a̻r̠y̦͓͕.̹̩̣ Or̪̳ a̻͖͔t̩̞͓ le͍ast̯,͎̙ the ̰̣su̺ṟ̭vi̱̟̲va̦l̟̪ ̜͚͓of t̺h̩e̼ir so̭̤ul̪̝̞.”

“That’s simple enough. Just keep Papyrus from turning,” Undyne spoke up. “All you need to do is–” She took a breath. “You just need to make sure you stop me from getting to Papyrus before the kid does.”

“Th̙͖̣a͖͕͖t͍͎ͅ is̜ ̣̱̠one̜̲ ̞so̥͙lu͍tion͖,”̭̙ Gaster conceded with a nod. “An͖o̼t̯̱͓he͎̝r͕͉ ̱so̘͇̬l̳̹u̫̬ti̤o̦n̬ ̺̰͎would ̜̼be̞̠̘ t͉o̹̣̞ ̰k͚̟il̬̞͔ḻ͈ ̰͙ͅt̜h͙̻̰e͚̗m͈ b̰ef̰or̪ẹ̱͕ e͚n̩͉c̩͇̞ou͙nterḭͅng͕͕ Papyr͍̺us.”͙͔

“What?! No!” Papyrus protested. “We can’t kill them! We shouldn’t be killing anyone!”

Gaster turned and only gave a sad, mournful smile to the tall skeleton. “You̼r͓̫ i̜̣̗n͙t̹ent͓̥io̱͚ns ̥̯̜ar̝e̮̼ p̦̫̥ure͔,̼ ̣̱̼b̫u̘t̳͈̠ ͇y͈͈o̥u̮ mu̥st ͔̳r̙̣ea̪̪ͅl̠̺ize̻͈̘ ̮͎̩tha̹̤t̜͈͍ death ̝i͍̟͎s͍̼̥ b̠̱u̦t ͈̹͉an̗̯ ̠͚͇in̲̤̰c̼̪̞on̲v̬en̪i̮̮̲e͙̟̣nc̼̰e̩ ̝f̲̼̼or ̩̼the͙̙ ͚̪͉hụma̮̻̠n.̪̱̻ ̼͚͕T͍͈̲hẹy wil̳̝l̝̫̬ d͖͔ie͓, y͉e̖̩͚s, b͖̣̪ut s̬̱o͕̼ ̯̱gr̮e̱at ͚̜is͎ țhei̜͕r̙ d̳͍e̠ter͚͎̘m̬i̻̮na͕tio̺͍̩n ̳̺t̹̹ͅh̟͇̫a̗̹t ṭ͇̩hey w̮̯͎i̩l̮̗l̳͎ ͍̪̖be̺͚ born̜̲͉ a̝̯̝n̰͖͕e̯w ̯̭an͇d ri̦s̤̖̬e a͖̝̼s if̱͙͎ ͕not̼ͅh̞ing̠͉ had ha̟̰̪pp̰͎en̖͔edͅ.͍̤̬”

“Well–! Maybe that’s true, but we still shouldn’t kill them! Just stop them from killing! And then it’ll be ok!” Papyrus said.

Again Gaster smiled that same mournful smile, even laughing quietly to himself. “P̺̟e̺̬r͙h͕̜a̭ps͙͕̠.̥̺̞ P̟͔erhạ͎ps ̦w̭̬̹e̬ c͈͔͍an ̲̩tr͖͍͖y̪͍͔.̺̦̺ But͇͈ ͖̘͉w͚e m̺ṷs̻t ̝̯͚co̙̟ͅn̖t͖̬̻em̻p̹̹l͉at̜͍͚e͓̮̯ ̥̱̦a̦̝ͅll̩̝ ͚̰̭po͍͍̺t̘̹e̫nt͙i̳̩a̳l ̤out͍c̰̗om̬es.͓͈̯ O̞ur͔ h͎̬and͔ ͙̜m̗͇̩a̞͓y̪ ͕be̥ f̮or̭ce̯̹ͅd.͔ An͚̩d̜ ̣͇w̯e̞͓ ̙̜m̼us͇͓ṯ̠ be̯ ̣̱ͅre̯̤a̗dy.͎̮”

Gaster’s gaze fell on Undyne, and she felt herself shrink away. She knew what he was trying to tell her: if death was only temporary, if the kid really had the power to redo things over and over, would she be willing to do the unspeakable to Papyrus?

Would she be willing–would she be able to kill Papyrus to prevent something truly horrific from happening to him?

She steeled her heart and soul. She had to. For him.

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

Gaster turned his head skyward. “̲͔̪N͚̖ow̺͈ ̪we s̭͇t͙̦͈ep̲̬̝ be̳y̼̙o̥n̬͙̞ḏ̺̫,̳̖̭ he said. “̖B̖ey̰̘ond͔ ̤̼͖tị͙me.͙̫̣ B̙̳ey͇̥̖on̗d ̗̼̳s͈͓p̝͔̙ace.̮͙ ̬Th̗̭̦e̞̰r̝̮e, ̹̘̻we̜̱ ̣̭f͈̝low ͉fre̤̪̗e͇ly̝̯ an̦d͈̩͔ g̯͍o wh̩̗erev̹er we̳̬ ̯͇̹m̦̪̳a̯̹͚y͚̻̮.”

“Ok, see, that’s one thing I don’t get,” Sans suddenly interjected. “So if you had this power to go beyond time and space and go wherever you wanted, then what kept you here? Why couldn’t you just go into the past and do whatever you wanted?”

“̰͉͓It ̲̲̝i̹̻̦s ̰s͕imp͉̥͉le,̹̙̞”͎͇ Gaster said calmly. “T̼h̳̻̠e̜ jo͎urney w̥̲oṳld ̞d̮̺̘ḛ̪̹s̯͙̙troy̪ͅ ̭mḙ̭.̯”

“What?!” Papyrus and Undyne exclaimed in unison.

“And it’d kill us, too?!” Sans protested angrily.

“No̘, n̩ot̼ ̳͓yo̹u,̻̠”̩̜ Gaster assured hurriedly. “͉̗Y̱ou̞̭̜ ̖are w̙̼ho̝̯lẹ̮.̩̼ Yo̲͖ͅu a͔̫͓r͔̟͎e͖͉ ̹̝c̺̫o̦̩̣mp͇̪̬l̞ete.̙̤̮ ͔I ̻a̮̰ͅm̹̩ ̰̱̜s̥c̥atter̼e̦͓̻d̙̖ͅ.͉̼ ̤̲F̺͉ͅr̻a̹̲̱gm͙͔̻ḙ̬nt̥̖̖e͔̖d. ̰̩I̻̱ ̘̱̲a̻̱m͙͔ͅ ̳̠no̰̰t͔͉ . ͚̳.̜ ̯̬͍.̣̗̤ ̪̮here̳̬.͚̭̲ ̯̟̫I ̳̱a͚̺m̪̫ ̳̗.͇ .̠̟͉ .͚̼̮ ̥̖a̠̺ll̪. ̖E̳̪̤very͕w̹͕he̥̩r͕̥̬e͎̲͔. T̮o͉ ̹̼̫s̻̰t̬̠̮e̲̳̱p͖ bey̻̤̩on̮̺ͅḍ wo̠ul̘̮d̳ s̰̮c̺̝̤a̘̬tte͓͕r ͖͓me̮̹̪ ͇̬̞fu͖̝rt͎̞ͅhe͔̣r̻͍.͚͖ T͕̝̬o͈ ̺̖̩s͕̩̥t͔e̘p ̖b͔eyon͔̘͙d̝̞ ̱̬. ̣̳.͇̬ ̦̖. ̖͎w͕̖o̠͕ṵ̙͔l̪̥̳d̥̘ ̙͎deͅst͉ro͉̞ͅy̮ mẹ̞̰ ̞̱͖c̠o͎mple̺͕͖te̱̠ly.̖”

There was a stunned silence as all eyes fell on Gaster.

And he just . . . smiled.

“̟H̞̩o̜n̟̪e̠stl͉̩y̭?̖ I̖ ̦l͚͎ͅo͉̥o̗̭̝k͇ ̥f͍̝o̪͙̬r͎̰̩wạ͍rd̪̹͇ to͈̯ ṯh̜̣̭e̦̙̫ re̥̙͓p̙̬ͅr̟iḛ̼v̞e̟͈̗.”̰

“You’re serious,” Papyrus said breathlessly. “You really mean it? Taking us back in time will kill you?”

“͓ͅM̰͍̖os͍t ̥͙li̫ke̼̙̰ly. ͕̩̝It ̠w̺̝ͅoul̟̜̭d̪̞ t͉͍̥e͖̤a̖̻͇r my͉̲̙ a̖l͕͚͔re̫a̦dy f͎̱l̩͍ee̲̣t̤in͇͕g ͓͖c͈͉o͖͈͖nscͅi̥̦͙en̼̗̱ce to p͖͚ie͍̟̩ces.̞ ̳B̖utͅ ̖ͅI ̗kn̗̝̮o͙͙w th̗̱is, and̠ ̘a͚̰cc̭̝ep͇͖̼t ̫ͅthis̮̤.”

“So . . . why haven’t you done yourself in by now?” Sans asked slowly.

“A ͓̥p͚̠ͅa̹͔̻r̝̣t͚̩ ̙̹o̳͇f͓͉ me̜̯–a ̪s̤t͈̝̤ubb̙o̭͚̫r̪̖n̯̜̳,͇̩̪ ͖̭pri͈͈d͇eful p̞̞a͉͈ͅrt͚̗̞ ̫of̦̳ ̞m͈e–w̦a̭̼s͎̘ ͎̪̺a͕fr͔a̬̜i̠̯̬d͉̮͍ to̯̲̞ ̫d̥ḭ͉e̤̭. E͙͎̞v̦̤̫e̱̮n i͕n the͇͉͎ st̥at̫e̞̦ I͙̘ͅ ͎̝͉a̻̯̬m̲ i̮̤ͅn͈̜̱ ͎now̤. ̳̗S̲̟͚o͍̮͓ ̺̦I̦̺͇ held̮ o̜̘u̞t ̜̫̰i̭̥n ̭͓s̩̙o̜me ̩͈͚v̻̙͍ain,̣ ̭͕̗d̟̺̟es̺pe̜̜ͅr̙̳a͎̪t̤e̙̤ ̣̤ho͔p̫̫̠e ̟̭̞I͔̼ co̟͇͉u̺̮͓l̠d̜̦ b̮͓͍e s̜a͚ved̳͖.͕”

He looked back up at them, his expression twisting to a pleading, desperate visage.

“But ț͙̗hi͖͚s ͓̯exis͚tenc̥e̪̠͎ ͕̜̫i͕̙s ͖̺no̟̟ṭ̠̳hi̬ṉ̦̲g ͕w̥̤͓o͉̱ͅrth͙̳ͅ ̙̳l̮i̻̫̜v͇in͎̠̝g.ͅ Ḭ̠ͅ wish f̳or͉ it͍͙̮ a͍l̫ͅl ̙̱͔t̞͍o ͓͔̠end.͈̣̻ ̳͈̳So̖͈ p̩ͅl̦̰eas̩̥̮e.͉͎ G̘r̬̹a͕n͕̘t̮ ̻͙̩me̹̰̙ ̬̼th̪͇ͅi̟̳s ͕̜o͍̠ne la̭̱̼s̗̩̮t ͇m̳͕ercy͚̰. L͔͚̭et my ̺̻̞e̝̙̰xi͖s̫t̼e̩n̳̮c̮̲̥e͉ enḓ͙̲. An̜̜̻d͖̲ m̪͙ay̗͓̺ m͔y la̻st m͖̭omen̝̗͕ts be ̜̗̖in̰͎ s͍͖͔erv̱̰̥ic͚͚̙e̫͓ to̗̜ ̥a gr̭͕͈e̩at͍e̱̯͉r͚ ͇̳͎g̖̞̠ood. Y̦͔̜oṵ͈̤ ͖̘nee̹̼͔d̫ ͖̹n͔ot do̲̲̬ ̲͈t͍̱̬h̬̗i̭s f̞ͅọṟ ̗m͕̪e.͖͚͇ ̺̙̰Do ͇̤̬i̲̝̖t̬̰ f͉͙̼or͙̲ ̪̰y͙̳o̟͖ṵ̳ͅr̫̼s̭ẹlv̟̙̰es̤. Yo̘͇u ̘̤a̗l͖l͔ deserve ͉͇̻a h͉̮ͅappy̠ ̫en͖̯di͉n̮̞̱g͇. J̱̰̪u̹̩̘st̠ l͙͎̠et̟͕ ̥͔͔m̥̞͚e̯̮̳ ̜͓. ̪.̥ . e̯nd.̝̼ ̙̞Pl̩̼e̻a̯͚s̫e̺.̫̖”

Papyrus turned to the others. He was afraid that their own anger would blind them to Gaster’s suffering. But how could they not see how miserable he was? This place Gaster found himself in? This existence? It was agony.

Papyrus’s heart ached for the poor, wretched monster.

Undyne let out a slow, reluctant breath. “We are not doing this for you,” she snarled. “We’re not doing this because you deserve mercy. We’re doing this because Papyrus doesn’t deserve what happened to him! So it’s the least you can do to fix it!”

Gaster bowed his head, awash with gratitude. “Tẖan͈̬k̤̘̖ ̲̗̺y̲̪o̟u.̲̲”

Now all turned to Sans, who had remained mostly silent during this whole confrontation. But he was too wrapped up in his own emotions, too busy battling his own rage to even think about speaking. But here Gaster was, funnily offering him a solution to two problems he faced.

He could undo Papyrus’s past, and he could make sure Gaster was gone for good. Two birds, one stone.

A lazy sack of bones like him knew a good deal when he saw one.

He shrugged.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

Papyrus pumped his fist excitedly. “Yes! I knew you’d see reason! I guess the only question left is, how exactly do we do this?”

“R̥et̤̲u̜r̭̦͚n͎ ͙̜̥t͙̬o ̮̰̼y͎͉o̜ur lab ̯̠̹and ͔͇u̲̤s̮e the̼ t̘i̘̟me mac͙h͎i̘̲̙ne̞,̤̟” Gaster instructed. “G͈o ba̹̘c̳̰k̞̠ ̭̟ͅa͔̯s ̗̼ͅf͕͔ar ͉as you͚͙ ͇c͉̜a̝n.̻̱ Ẉ̤̟h̼en̪ ͕͎͙yo̻u h̹͎a̩ve re̜̠͓a̗̖che͍͚d a̲s ̖f̳̭aṛ̠̻ ̩͔as͔̬ ỵ̖̳ou ̖̮̜c̣a̞̮n͓̹ g̱o,̞̮ ̮I̲ will̬͇ ̖be̼ ̜͙ther̹͈̙e͖͉͇ t͖o̗̤̺ ̪brea͕k th͖r̖o̥̝͉ṵg̦̺̫h̺̮.”

“Except last time we tried that, I almost got my entire back singed off!” Undyne growled. “You got a better plan that doesn’t involve leaping to our deaths?”

“I̲̙ ̦̹̙will n͈͍͈o͕̘t le͔̰t ṭ̲͔ha͇t̥͕̳ ̪̘ha̰̯͓p͍p̯e̗̰ͅn̳. You̝̮̫ wị͈̭ll ̗̲̰b̳e ̝s͈̯͎af͇͙e.̫ͅ”

The last thing Undyne felt around this creep was safe. This all still felt like one big elaborate plan just to catch Papyrus and Sans in some convoluted “Eff you” plot. But for Papyrus’s sake, she’d persevere.

“Fine. Let’s go back to your place. I guess we’ll see you soon?” Undyne said.

Gaster simply dipped his head, and vanished from the room. The door appeared in front of them, and Undyne rushed to it, eager to get the hell out of there.

When she opened up the door, she found she was right outside Papyrus and Sans’s house.

“Ok, what the fuck,” she sighed. She was starting to grow numb to all this time-travel, teleporting bullshit. “I really hate that guy.”

“He seems eager to get this over with,” Sans commented nonchalantly, guiding them both around the back and down into the basement. “No time to waste, huh?”

“That guy has all the time in the world to waste!” Undyne said. “I still don’t like this! I still don’t trust this! We’re supposed to just trust him to swoop in and save us?!”

“I know we have little reason to trust him, but I do,” Papyrus pleaded earnestly. He reached out his hand to her. “Please. This is our chance. All three of us can do this together! We just have to believe in him! It’ll all work out! I just know it!”

Undyne wished she could be just as bright-eyed and optimistic. But if Papyrus had faith in Gaster . . .

The least she could do was have faith in Papyrus.

She took his hand, exhaling deeply. “Ok. Fuck it. Let’s do it.”

Sans nodded silently, powering up the machine. And Undyne could only imagine the mental turmoil he was going through. He probably had just as much doubt, if not more. But maybe he too was holding on to whatever meager scrap of optimism that Papyrus endlessly exuded.

He needed this to work, too.

Papyrus, seeing his brother’s inner turmoil, took his hand too and gave it a squeeze. He smiled.

“It’ll work,” Papyrus said. “It’s going to work.”

Sans looked up at him. If after everything he’s been through, he could still have that much hope? Then Sans could, too.

He powered on the machine, typed in a few commands, and the machine hummed to life, a rainbow of colors spilling from the opening.

“Here goes nothing,” Sans said, and hand in hand, all three leaped through the time machine together.

The journey was very much like before, minus Flowey’s insufferable presence. The visions and images that flashed before them were also different, seeming to focus all on Sans.

Made sense, they were traveling through his timeline, right?

Undyne tried not to think too hard about it. This science stuff was way over her head.

And just as they were being ripped and pulled through time and space, Undyne could sense them fast approaching another “wall.” She braced herself, clutching Papyrus’s hand tightly–

When suddenly that wall shattered into a million pieces, revealing a gaping black void. Two hands reached out, ripping apart the seam of reality.

And Undyne felt all light and sensation fade as she fell through.

They were engulfed in total darkness. It was an abyssal black that was incomprehensible, and worst still was the sensation of nothing. They felt no air around them, no floor beneath their feet, no sensation of temperature or pressure. It was like they were truly in nothing.

Undyne tried to reach out to grab someone–anyone–but her hands scrambled over empty air. She opened her mouth to shout but her breath was snatched away from her in an instant.

I̱̭͈͂͆̉tͭ̂̄ ̲̣is̤̺̱̏͊̆ aͭ ̪̤̒́mo͓͒s̭̟͒ͭt̮ͦ ̃̌unp͔͒l͇͒e̟̋a̳̠͇ͮ̔ͣs͕̗͖̿̃̃á̻̳͎̿ͥn̗͖̹͋͌ͪt ̯s̺͙̐̔en͇̺̐̂sat͉͇̼i̮̘͚o͓̘ͩͫṇ̜͋̓.̭̇ ̻̥̐͌Bu̫͈̺t̖́ f̲͉̈́̾e̜̟ar ̰̯ͅṇ̓oͨͨ̊t̥͙̎́. I̊ ͮ̄amͧͥ ͑͛her͇͉͂͊ḙ̂. ̃͌

I͕ am̻ͣ ̺͙̆̈́ͭͅE̝VE̟RY̫̼ͭ͒Wͨ̔H͎ERE̤.͗̑

If Gaster was trying to reassure her, it was not working.

She tried to hold onto herself. Feel her own arms and legs, her face, her hair, something, but she could barely even feel her own hands! It’s like she couldn’t even sense where her own body was! And such a deprivation of her senses was starting to drive her crazy!

How could she stand to be in this–this nothing and not totally lose herself! How could she remember herself when there was nothing but her own mind!

. . .

Was this the Hell Gaster was truly trapped in?

S͎ͩa̫n̟͙s͙ͭ,̗ ͇͈͑͑f̺̙͋͑o̫̅c̮͇̫u͖̮s̿̆.̼͙ͅ ̄B͙̱̯r̰͎̈́ͭi̼̠͓̒ͬ̍ng ̼̣͋͋̓ͅus̟̤̣ͧ̈̋ ̯t̪̻o͚̟ S̺̫͑̑nͦͤ͊ow͈̓ḍ̅in̺̆.̹̫ ͔̇Br̖͈͊̾ing͎͓ u͕̤̪ṣ̑ to̰͑ ͍͈th̪̟͚̿̌́at f̦̻ͫ͆a͗͛t͍͒ef̯̪uͅlͯ ̬͙͂̈́d̖ͤaͮy̭̠̯̑ͥ̽.

That’s right. She wasn’t the only one here. She was here with Papyrus and Sans. She just needed to hold on and wait for her friends. Her friends were here, they were right here, they’d all get through this together–

She just had to hold on a little longer–

But when? When was that? What was a moment in a place where time didn’t even exist? An eternity could pass and they wouldn’t even know, or a second could feel like a million years!

She couldn’t think like that! She just had to keep focus and keep thinking about why she was doing this! She was here to help save her friend! And she would endure whatever it took to help him!

And in that moment, she felt something. Something grabbed her arm and began to pull, dragging her forwards–or backwards, it was hard to tell. But she felt herself falling, faster and faster. She could feel wind on her face! She could feel the sting of cold harsh wind whipping at her scales as a sudden blinding flash of light greeted her–!

“Undyne!”

She blinked. She was laying on absolutely freezing ground, so cold it was like she was laying on a bed of knives. She instantly sat up, hugging herself and teeth chattering.

She glanced around, recognizing she was in Snowdin. Sans and Papyrus were at her side, helping her up to her feet.

“Are you ok?” Papyrus asked urgently.

“Y-yeah, doing just fine!” She shook her head, trying to regain her senses. “Ugh, time traveling sucks!” She paused, looking around. “But it worked, right? We’re . . . back?”

“Yeah,” Sans said, giving her a nod. He hardly looked like he believed it himself. “We did it. We’re back.”

She shuddered harder. It didn’t seem real, but here they were.

Papyrus put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off with a toothy smile. “I’m ok! Just f-forgot to bring my coat, is all!” she said, laughing weakly. Damn it, why didn’t she think about bringing something warm to wear?! She shook her head, trying to shake off the cold. She had to remain focused! They had a mission!

But standing behind Sans and Papyrus, to her immense surprise, was Gaster. Gaster was here?! But closer inspection indicated he was in far worse shape than when she saw him before, which was saying something. His form was even more unstable, the edges glitching out more and more, like at any second he’d fall apart into a million pieces. It looked like it was taking all his will and concentration to keep him together as he was now.

She looked questioningly at Sans, who just shook his head. He looked like he was holding his breath for that moment when Gaster would finally fall apart.

“Come on, we need to move,” Sans urged. Needing no further prompting, Undyne followed after Sans, racing into town to where the inevitable confrontation between the human and Papyrus would take place.

Papyrus and Gaster also followed, though Papyrus lagged a step or two. Concerned, Gaster slowed, turning inquisitively towards him.

“Sans told me what I said to you back at the labs,” Papyrus said. “And I want you to know that I mean it.”

Gaster stared.

“I forgive you.”

There was a long pause, and Gaster smiled. He would have laughed if he could, he would have laughed until he cried if it didn’t hurt so much just to exist. But he dipped his head, allowing one last fleeting smile.

“̤͈͔̈̾ͫI ͙ẁ͂i̘̯ͪ͗l̲l̏ ̇̽n̻ͅev̈́̈́ͦer͙̂ und̔er̠͍st̥̲͚̉̀̉a̲̓n̯͍̍͒d̯̈ ̓̂̔y͌ou̪̎,̼̘̈́͋ P̝ȧ̜̲ͩp͐͌̓yr̤̜us͂ͥ,̽̿”̞̫ he said. “̣͕̬A̠nd ̮I h̹̠o̖p̙͎̗e o̤̩̰n͖̬͕e d͈͕̖a͖̙y ̠̤͎you̥̹͚ ̻̲w͓̥̰i͍̫͇l̤̜̱l̜̥̤ f͎̪ͅi̩n̘̖d t̠he͕̼͎ ̺͈̝s̠̥am͓̮e ̤̝pea̲c̜̞e yo͎u ͉̤̗h͓̦ave̫̫ ̻b̭e͉̲e̻n͎̲ ̦̤a̬̰ble̱͎ t̞̼o͎̜ ̲̠giv͉̼e to m͎͖̦e͍.͖”͖̰

They shared one last final moment. And then, they were off, racing to save their timeline.

Racing to save themselves.

#what are friends for #waff #undertale #papyrus #undyne #sans #gaster #dr gaster #dr wd gaster #gaster blaster au #gb au

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ichiwashername-o · 5 months

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I really don't know what my team mates are thinking sometimes . . .

My big climatic fight with my Paladin's sworn enemy was hindered because I couldn't see the fucker the entire fight. And the one person who could break the invisibility just . . . absolutely refused to use her spells to help out? Because it was more important for her to go Big Monkey and punch things, I guess.

The good news is that we did manage to beat him, and I still got a few decent swings in, even with disadvantage.

Live and learn, I guess.

#dnd #dungeons an dragons #thelus #paladin #ichi draws #i love my team #but sometimes you cant help but get frustrated

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ichiwashername-o · 5 months

Text

Nightly reblog!

What Are Friends For Ch. 24

An Undertale fanfiction.

Written by ichiwashername-o

Summary: The skeleton brothers begin to construct their time machine! But, of course, time traveling is very rarely a simple endeavor . . .

Rating: Viewer discretion advised. Contains swearing, trauma, and psychological horror

Cast: Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, W.D. Gaster, Grillby and others

WE'RE BACK, BABYYYYY! And to kick it all off is a doozy of a chapter! I really hope you all enjoy!

[CH.1] [CH.2] [Ch.3] [CH.4] [CH.5] [CH.6] [CH.7] [CH.8] [CH. 9] [CH.10] [CH. 11] [CH.12] [CH. 13] [CH. 14] [CH.15] [CH.16] [CH. 17] [CH.18] [CH. 19] [CH. 20] [CH. 21] [CH. 22] [CH. 23]

AO3

With no time to waste, with neither brother wanting or needing sleep, the duo headed downstairs to the basement, a room Papyrus hadn’t personally entered for some time. It was much like how he remembered it; dusty, with parts and blueprints strewn all about, a massive blue tarp half-covering some sort of strange metallic contraption. And for the first time in a very long time, Sans stepped forward to tear it off.

A great cloud of dust billowed in the air as the tarp was removed, revealing an arc-shaped machine, half-constructed with metal plates torn off, exposing the wiring and skeletal structure underneath.

“The time machine?” Papyrus ventured.

Sans gave a lazy half-shrug. “Was supposed to be. All the math checked out ok, but theory and practice are two different beasts. Could never get it to work right, and never figured out how. I suspect the human kid had something to do with it. Interference, or something.”

Papyrus gave a cautious nod. He was vaguely aware the human has— had —some strange influence over time. “But now the human is . . . not here anymore—”

“No more interference. So, maybe it’ll work this time,” Sans finished. Hey, it was the best they got. Anything was worth a shot if it meant they kept Gaster well and out of their lives. Let him rot in whatever purgatory he found himself in.

Bastard deserved a lot worse.

“Let’s get started.”

Sans dug through the drawers, stuffed with an encyclopedia’s worth of blueprints and schematics. Initially, Sans was tentative about showing all this to Papyrus. This was complicated stuff, and the last thing he needed was to confuse his poor brother. But, to his delighted surprise, Papyrus took to the blueprints like a fish to water. It seemed all of Papyrus’s extensive knowledge of fabricating his own convoluted traps proved to give him exactly the experience he needed to read the blueprints. He had quite the mechanical eye, Sans would learn.

It really was impressive how quickly Papyrus picked up on things. With something to do, something for him to physically work on, Papyrus dove in with vigor and enthusiasm Sans hadn’t seen in him for a long time, not since the kid, that was for sure.

“Could you hand me that crescent wrench?”

“Sure thing, just pass me the terminal plates while you’re over there—"

“You want 12-gauge or 9-gauge wire for this?”

“Well, our current voltage is going off 240, and depending on the load, I say we err on the side of caution and go bigger—”

“-Green to ground, white to neutral, red to hot—could you hand me that black wire, this motor is three-phase, oh, we might have to change out the fuses, those aren’t nearly big enough—”

The hours flew by, both skeleton brothers working in tandem, getting their bones and clothes covered in dust and grease and wire shavings. And it was . . . fun . Sans had no idea how much fun it could be building something with his brother. Why hadn’t they done this before? The two of them had their fair share of joint projects, but either Sans’ slacking off made the end result a joke, or Papyrus’s endless ambition and enthusiasm caused it to blow up in a spectacular fireball before the final piece was finished.

To be fair, they were very spectacular fireballs.

But now, with the two of them working with synchronized fervor and purpose, they were making more progress than either of them could ever dream of.

Which proved to be to their detriment, they would find. So engrossed in their work, so captivated by a tangible mission and something to throw all their energy into, they . . . might have lost track of the time. And only were reminded of petty things like eating and sleeping when Papyrus stood a little too fast and nearly fainted.

Sans caught him before he could crack his head on a table. “Alright, um, I think we need to put a pin in this And I ain’t talking about the pins and needles in my legs from kneeling so long,” he chuckled.

“Clearly, we do need a break,” Papyrus noted sourly. “Because your jokes are becoming truly insufferable.”

Retreating up from the basement, they made their way to the kitchen where Papyrus began to pull out various food bits from the pantry in an attempt to cobble together some sort of breakfast—actually, what time was it? Papyrus glanced at the clock and his eyes widened. Ah, not breakfast, he decided. More like a dinner. A very, very, very late dinner.

How the time flies.

And how he hoped they’d make time fly at their own discretion when they were through, he thought wryly.

Soon enough, Papyrus, with Sans’ help, (or interference, depending on how you looked at it) he had made a nice dinner of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. So, he did end up making breakfast. But only because he hadn’t gone shopping in a long time and they were starting to run out of food! That was next on the list! Going to the store!

As they ate, they continued to talk about their project and how the time machine was coming along. Progress was going smoothly. If they kept up this pace, it’d be done by the end of the week.

“The hardware’s not the issue, though,” Sans said, jabbing the air with a fork. “It’s the programming. If you think plotting out a series of coordinates in 3D space is tricky, try doing it with another dimension mixed in there.”

Papyrus stuttered for a response. Yes, he was more than capable of handling the mechanical side of their little project, but the mathematical side? Not as much. “Well! Surely you have a good idea of how to do it! Or at least, where to start.”

“I do, but it’ll take a while,” Sans shrugged. He speared a rather crispy piece of bacon where it crumbled under his fork. Shrugging again, he squirted a dollop of ketchup over it and nibbled up the pieces. Papyrus gagged.

“Seriously, how on earth did I end up with such a defunct brother,” he sighed, shaking his head

Sans snickered. “I’m gonna swing by Alphys’s lab tomorrow and run the numbers by her and see what she thinks. She has a great eye for this sort of complex stuff.”

“Good idea! I need to go grocery shopping and refill our pantry! And then we can have a proper dinner!”

“Why, what’s wrong with eggs and bacon? It’s a classic,” Sans says as he takes another bite of a ketchup-slathered slice of bacon.

“But that’s breakfast food, and we’re having dinner!”

“Huh, funny, because we’re eating it for dinner, thus making it a dinner food.”

“UGH! Sans! You know what I mean!”

“I defy your conventional food standards and declare myself a culinary rebel.”

“Not as long as I’m the one in the kitchen, mister!”

“Ah, then I better go get my own.”

“Maybe you should! Then you can commit all the sacrilege against your daily sustenance that you wish!”

They shared a laugh, and in that moment, it was like their life was right back to normal. No longer did shame and guilt haunt Papyrus, and no longer was Sans writhed with fury and indignation. Determination filled them both. Determination to set things right. And knowing his brother as well as he did, Sans had all the confidence in the world that it will be done.

The brothers departed their home, both traveling on the boat together to Hotlands, further discussing construction plans and Sans waxing theories too complex for Papyrus to understand. But the younger brother didn’t mind in the least; he was more than happy to be someone Sans could think to out loud. Stepping off the boat, they split off, Papyrus running to the store and Sans veering towards the Hotland labs.

He knocked on the door, but there was no immediate response. He knocked again, and veering on the side of caution, he also opened up his phone and shot the good doctor Alphys a text.

Hey, you around? I wanna run some numbers by you, he wrote.

He didn’t get a response back to his text, but the doors did crack open, revealing the little yellow lizard. Alphys had certainly seen better days. Her eyes were lined with dark circles, her scales were dull, her clothes absolutely filthy. But there was a brief spark of life in her eyes behind those dusty scratched spectacles that lit up when she saw Sans.

“S-S-Sans! W-What a surprise!” she said, her voice quiet and scratchy. Sounded like she had a sore throat. “I w-w-wasn’t expecting you.”

“I wasn’t expecting me, either,” he joked. “You got a moment? I’d like your input on something.”

“O-Oh, do you? I’m n-n-not sure what input I’d even give you–”

“You don’t even know what I’m working on yet,” he said gently. “C’mon, ain't you a little bit curious? I can promise ya, it’s real juicy.”

Alphys’s lips twitched in what Sans assumed–-or at least, hoped-–was a smile. “O-Okay, b-but p-p-please don’t be mad, the l-l-lab’s a total disaster.”

“Why would I judge? It probably looks exactly like mine,” Sans said, earning an actual laugh from the doctor. He stepped inside, casting a brief look around the lab. Honestly, it wasn’t that much worse than the last time he was here to look at the camera footage of the fight. Maybe the garbage pile was a little taller and more instant ramen cups were scattered about.

Alphys cleared a small space on her desk, swiping away reports and food wrappers alike off into the overflowing trash can. On the trash was a small sticky note that simply said, “Me.” Sans frowned.

“S-so, what are you w-working on?” she asked. She tapped her claws together nervously.

“Paps and I are building a time machine,” he said simply. He produced a folder, opening it up and showing off all his blueprints and notes.

Immediately, Alphys’s interest was piqued and she leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. She picked through the papers, reading them over eagerly.

“Y-you are?!” she said, the excitement in her voice palpable. Sans shrugged, his grin growing. He figured this was just the thing to break through poor Alphys’ stupor. “B-but I thought you totally gave up on this project–”

“I did, because the human kept interfering with it,” Sans said. “But now with the human gone . . .”

Alphys deflated. “Y-yeah, that’s a good point.” She chattered, her entire body shivering as her stuttering grew worse. “But there’s–there’s s-s-still s-someone else wh-who can control the t-t-timeline . . .”

Sans paused. “Flowey.”

Alphys nodded.

Well. Shit. In all the excitement, he completely forgot that one tiny little hiccup.

Sans tried to hide his frustration, but it was hard not to be discouraged. He was so sure this would work, only to find out that–once again–his plans and work all amounted to nothing.

“Ah. Well, in that case, I better get out of your scales,” Sans said, taking the folder out of Alphys’s reluctant hands. “Sorry to bother you.”

He turned to leave. Now how in the world was he going to break the news to Papyrus–

“Wait.”

Sans paused. He turned around. Alphys was still hunched over, but from her frown and the way one claw was raised to her lips in deep thought, he could see the gears churning rapidly in her head.

“W-what if . . . what if Flowey was . . . willing to help us?”

Sans stared. “And why in the world would that little weed wanna help us ?”

“Because he’s bored !” Alphys said. “H-h-he was talking to me recently, a-a-after he m-m-made me–”

“What,” Sans asked sharply. “What did Flowey make you do?”

“It’s not important,” Alphys dismissed. Sans knew better than to push her. “But what is important is that he was telling me how bored he was now! He told me how much he hated how things worked out! Nothing’s fun for him anymore!” Despite what she was insinuating of the little flower’s psychotic behavior, she was smiling. She looked genuinely excited.

“I-If we told him we were w-working on something to fix the timeline, I think he’d help out!” she went on. “N-Not because he’d want to help us, o-of course, but because the one thing Flowey hates more than anything is being bored. And this timeline is really, really boring for him!”

Sans hated to admit it, but Alphys had a point. He remembered all of Flowey’s rants and taunts about how much he liked to play with them. How much fun he was having torturing them. And he recalled very distinctly how furious Flowey was when the fun had run out for the little beast.

“Well, that’s an idea,” Sans said slowly. “But it’ll be hard to convince him. He can be pretty stubborn and egotistical. Maybe if we make it seem like his idea instead of us asking him directly–”

“L-Leave it to me,” Alphys said, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. “B-Being s-stuck with him for so long, I know how he thinks.”

“Just be careful,” Sans warned. “And if he does anything to hurt you–”

“D-Don’t worry about me, he w-won’t hurt me,” Alphys said. Her voice lowered. “He . . . he enjoys playing with me t-t-too m-m-much to hurt me too badly.”

Sans stiffened.

“I got this!” Alphys added in a rush, putting out her hands. “J-Just trust me! P-Please?”

Sans let out a reluctant sigh. “You got my number handy. Just promise to call me if he does anything funny . Cuz that’s my job.”

“Promise,” Alphys swore, drawing an x-shape over her chest. “O-Oh, and Sans? I ran your calculations through my head.” Once again, her eyes sparkled.

“It’s going to work!”

–---

“Let’s see here–spaghetti noodles–always an essential–and sauce, and bread to make Sans’ favorite sandwiches, and milk ! Don’t forget the milk!”

Papyrus cruised up and down the isles of the massive general store, appropriately called The General Store, loading his shopping cart with food. If they wanted to build the time machine, they needed plenty of energy! And for that , they needed food to make plenty of tasty meals!

As he shopped, he hummed a little tune to himself, not paying too much mind to the surrounding shoppers. If he was, he might notice them giving him a wide berth, which just made shopping that much easier since he wouldn’t have to snake the big bulky car through the throngs of fellow patrons!

The humming also drowned out the whispers and the mutterings. All for the better.

As he proceeded to the check-out, he was surprised to see a familiar blue flash of scales and crimson hair. He brightened, waving over at Undyne. Undyne caught sight of him, jerking in surprise herself, before she smiled and hurried over.

“Hey, Paps, whatcha doing?” she asked gently. She hadn’t seen him since the funeral for all the Snowdin residents and sentries, but he looked so much cheerier . Which was a very good thing!

“What does it look like? Shopping, obviously!” Papyrus said, gesturing to the cart of food. “Our food stores grew dangerously low, so I thought it most prudent to restock!” He glanced at the basket in Undyne’s hand. “I’m assuming you’re doing much the same?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I was running low on tea and seaweed,” she said, hefting the basket stuffed so full it was a miracle nothing was spilling out and over. Or that Undyne could carry it all effortlessly in one hand. “Um, you look . . . good.”

“I am, and I’m feeling much better, too!” Papyrus said. He leaned forward and whispered in a voice that was only barely quieter than his usual bombastic voice–

He was speaking loud again!

“Sans and I are building a time machine!” Papyrus said excitedly, barely able to contain his own excitement. “Isn’t it great?! We’re going to go back in time and fix everything!”

Undyne stared. Now, she had seen plenty of animes with time travel shenanigans, and it always seemed to go . . . poorly . To say nothing if it was even possible.

“Oh, is that so?” she asked, trying to gauge if this was some sort of ruse. But no, Papyrus looked completely serious.

“Indeed! My brother is visiting Alphys as we speak! He’s running the calculations by her to make sure everything’s up to snuff! We’ve already got the machine built in our basement!”

Oh. Oh, wow, they were serious .

“That’s–that’s great, Papyrus,” Undyne said, but her head was reeling. Darn it, she didn’t have the head for all this complicated science crap! She knew Sans was smarter than he let on, but smart enough to build a time machine?!

“Hey, you know what? I haven’t visited Alphys in a bit myself. Let’s swing by and say hi!” she suggested. She needed to see all this for herself. It was too crazy to believe! Time travel, of all things!

“Okie-dokie!”

Papyrus quickly paid for his groceries, loading himself up to the elbows with bags. Undyne helped. They made their way over to the labs, which wasn’t too far of a jaunt from The General Store. With their arms so full of groceries, they didn’t have anything free to knock, but the door was slightly ajar, so they let themselves in, figuring Alphys and Sans were just inside.

“Hey, Al! Sorry for barging in, we just wanted to say hi–!” Undyne shouted, but her voice stopped cold when she saw the lab was a wreck . It was more than the usual mess of papers and food wrappers and trash; furniture was toppled over and computers smashed. Vines snaked their way out of cracks in the floor and walls.

Both she and Papyrus dropped the groceries. They only shared one brief and horrified look before they took off, scouring the labs.

“ALPHYS?! ALPHYS!!!” Undyne shouted madly, panic and anger rising up in her soul. If anyone hurt a single scale on her girlfriend’s head, she’d destroy them!!!

They rounded a corner, getting a brief peek of more carnage before Papyrus grabbed Undyne’s arm firmly and pulled her back. He placed a finger at his mouth, signaling her to keep quiet. They both leaned around the corner together.

Beyond, in a room, similarly destroyed, with vines coating nearly every inch of wall and floor, was Alphys, wrapped up in thorny vines as a little yellow flower scowled viciously down at her.

Teeth grinding together, Undyne summoned a spear. She was going to KILL that thing–!

“ Wait ,” Papyrus urged, pulling her back again.

“What– why ?! That stupid weed is hurting her!” Undyne seethed.

But Papyrus held firm, simply gesturing to hold back to watch and listen. The scientist and the flower, not noticing their presence, continued to talk.

“And you just thought you could sneak around like this, behind my back, and I wouldn’t know?!” Flowey was saying.

“I w-w-wasn’t trying to t-t-trick you,” Alphys insisted. Though she was shaking and completely trapped, she didn’t look . . . scared . In fact, she looked quite focused and composed. This was enough to get Undyne to pause, much to her regret. “I’m j-j-j-just the m-messenger.”

“So that sneaky little trash bag thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t he?! Bet he thinks he’s even smarter and more clever than me, huh?”

“W-w-well, he is very s-smart,” Alphys said, shrugging as much as her vine prison allowed.

“Enough! No more smart retorts from you! Tell me! What’s that trash bag up to?!”

“M-m-me? Or him?”

“DON’T PLAY STUPID WITH ME!” Flowey roared, and the vines tightened around Alphys, making her wince.

That was it. Undyne didn’t know what was going on, but she wasn’t going to let this stupid flower hurt her friend!

She stepped around the corner, and she saw Alphys’s gaze flicker over to her. And she swore she saw Alphys mouth “No.”

No?! No what ?! No to saving her from this monster?!

But Alphys turned right back to Flowey, acting like Undyne wasn’t even there. “S-Sans is working on something. A big machine. He sh-showed me some notes . . .”

Undyne felt her phone buzz with an incoming message. Instinct told her to answer it. She pulled it out of her pocket, hardly tearing her gaze away from the scene in front of her.

It was from Alphys. It simply read, Don’t.

Undyne didn’t understand. What was Alphys doing?! She looked harder, and between the layers of vines, she could see the glow of a cell phone clutched in Alphys’s hand. Her thumb moved as she typed, all while keeping her attention focused solely on Flowey.

“It-it looked like . . . like . . .” she stuttered.

“Like what ?!” Flowey demanded.

Another text from Alphys. I got this.

“A time machine.”

Trust me.

Flowey paused. “A time machine?! Really? HA! That proves it! That trash bag is as stupid as ever!” He puffed up smugly.

Undyne deflated. That proved it, didn’t it? Time travel just wasn’t possible–

“No one can control the timeline but ME!!!”

Wait, what?! Undyne thought.

Alphys’s eyes widened in horrible realization. But it looked . . . forced? “W-what?! Oh no! That’s t-t-true! H-How could I have forgotten?”

“That’s right, my scaly little friend!” Flowey cackled manically. “You of all people should know the extent of my power! Silly little scientist! My DETERMINATION won’t allow just anyone to mess with my SAVE!”

“W-Well, I guess it’s not much of a loss,” Alphys sighed sadly. “Not much of a SAVE, if you ask me . . .”

Flowey froze. His smile slowly turned from gleeful to enraged.

“Would you like to repeat that?” Flowey hissed, dragging Alphys close. Alphys, despite herself, couldn’t help but squirm.

“I-I-I’m just s-s-saying what you said!” she pleaded. “W-Weren’t you the one who was s-s-saying how you weren’t having fun anymore?”

Flowey paused, grumbling, growling to himself. “Well, it’s pointless anyway! I can’t go back past the stupid human’s death!”

“Not unless you had some help , maybe . . .”

“I don’t need anyone’s help! And certainly not the help of that dumb trash bag!” Flowey protested fiercely.

“Right, of course, of course,” Alphys backpedaled quickly. She then sighed again. “I guess that means we’re stuck in this boring, dull, not-fun timeline. Forever.”

Flowey scowled, barely able to speak.

“Yeah, yeah ! That’s right! You’re all stuck here! With me ! Because no one has control of the timeline but me ! SO DON’T YOU DUMB SCIENTISTS EVER FORGET THAT!!!”

And then, Flowey was gone. The vines slithered back through the walls and floor, dropping Alphys on the ground as Flowey slinked away.

“Alphys!” Undyne raced up to the scientist, pulling her to her feet and looking her over. Papyrus joined her, coming out of his hiding place. “Are you ok?!”

Alphys, despite the terrifying encounter, was smiling, looking quite pleased with herself. “Y-Yeah! I’m fine! I’m ok! I w-wasn’t expecting you! What are you two doing here?”

“Checking in on you, ya big nerd!” Undyne said, breathing a sigh of relief. Alphys was unharmed, thank the Angel above. “Are you going to tell me what all that was about?”

“W-Well, long story short, Sans is building a time machine,” Alphys said. She looked at Papyrus. “You told her, right?”

“I did! But I am not sure how Flowey found out! Or why was he so angry!”

“Oh, th-that was me!” Alphys explained.

“WHAT?! WHY?!” Undyne cried. “Flowey’s crazy evil, why would you tell him?!”

“Undyne, it’s ok! It was all part of my p-plan!” Alphys explained quickly. She adjusted her glasses, which now had a hairline crack through them. “Sans and I figured out that the time machine won’t work because Flowey’s power wouldn’t allow it to work; he would override the machine Sans is building.”

Undyne stared back and forth between Alphys and Papyrus. “Wait, are you actually telling me time travel is real ?”

“In a sense. But it’s very situational, and only beings with incredibly high Determination can do it,” Alphys said. “Beings like Flowey and the human.”

Papyrus smacked his forehead. “Oh, of course! How could I forget that?!”

“To be fair, Sans forgot, too,” Alphys giggled. “And if we want the time machine to work, we figured we needed Flowey’s help. B-But, of course, Flowey being . . . who he is, we couldn’t just ask him for help.”

“So, you set this up?” Undyne asked.

“This was all a most clever ruse into tricking Flowey to help us!” Papyrus said, putting together the pieces. “Well done, that was incredibly clever of you, indeed!”

Alphys blushed.

“And incredibly stupid . He could have hurt you!” Undyne protested.

“I k-know, but it was a risk I had to take,” Alphys said. “A-And besides, I think I know Flowey well enough to know he wouldn’t do anything too terrible to me. I-it would mean one less friend for him to p-play with.” She laughed, but she couldn’t suppress a shudder.

Undyne got down on one knee and wrapped Alphys up in a tight hug. “Alphys that was . . . so brave of you. But you shouldn’t have done something so dangerous without telling us!”

“I knew what I was doing. I had everything under control!” Alphys assured. “Besides . . .”

She pulled out her phone, pressing a button on it. Two things activated at once: first, a magical bubble barrier popped around Alphys, shielding her from harm, and secondly, machines in the room they had just been standing in began to activate. Out of the wall panels, gears and pistons whirred to life, revealing a mess of pipes that extended from concealed holes in the walls from every angle. The pipes sputtered to life, belching out a torrent of roaring flames that engulfed the room.

Alphys grinned. “I had a back-up plan.”

Undyne stared at the booby-trapped flamethrower room, lips slowly pulling back into a delighted smile. “Alphys, you are the coolest person ever.”

Alphys beamed.

–--

Sans didn’t have to wait long.

In fact, he was barely back in his basement, setting aside his notes, when a most unwelcome visitor barged in, springing up on Sans and wrapping him up in vines.

Sans sighed sarcastically. “Hey there, Buddy. But, I thought you knew better by now to try this trick on me,” he said as he seamlessly teleported out of the vines, standing right back on the floor.

He stared up at the mess of tangled thorny vines that had inexplicably grown in the corner of his basement lab, and front and center was Flowey himself, grinning sinisterly. But Sans also knew Flowey fairly well, and he could see the flower’s frustration and anger behind the mask of sadism.

“It’s still fun to remind you how easily I could crush you to dust!” Flowey sneered. “And besides, it’s been a while since I popped in on my faaavorite trash bag.” A vine extended and poked the machine. “And lookee here! Someone’s been busy.”

“Just a little pet project of mine,” Sans shrugged.

“Don’t pretend I’m stupid!” Flowey scowled. “Oh, I already visited your bestest friend, Alphys, and she squealed allll about your secret project! I know what you’re working on!” He closed in, his grin growing. “And I can tell you, it’s not going to work! I won’t let it!”

Sans allowed his smile to fade. But from his point of view, his and Alphys’s plan was going perfectly.

“You forget, little trash bag, that as long as I’m around, I’m the only one with the power to SAVE! I can decide when we get to keep going, or if we get to start alllll over from the beginning–”

“Well, not the very beginning,” Sans interjected unhelpfully.

Flowey’s voice cut out, spitting in frustration.

“As powerful as you may be, you’re not as powerful as that kid. There’s only so far back you can go,” Sans reminded him, trying to suppress his own satisfied grin.

“Well, you know what?! NEITHER CAN YOU! Not with this dumpy, stupid hunk of metal!” Flowey protested, smacking a vine against the machine.

“Still doesn’t change the fact. I think we’re both getting fed up with how current events played out, aren’t we?”” Sans pressed, shrugging casually. “It would be real nice if we could go back and prevent any of this from happening.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t ,” Flowey fumed.

“Not with that attitude we can’t.”

Flowey paused, turning to Sans very slowly. Sans could practically see the flower swallowing his massive pride to maybe, maybe humor the idea that it might be beneficial to actually work with him. Just this once.

“Keep talking,” Flowey hissed.

Sans stepped up to the machine, tapping where Flowey smacked it with a vine. There was a scratch, but it was superficial. “This time machine replicates the power of Determination. And we know from past experience that Determination is a multiplicative power–”

“Use English!”

“It means, if you use your power in tandem with this machine, your power multiplies significantly. You’ll be way more powerful than you are now.”

“Powerful enough to override that brat’s SAVE?” Flowey ventured hopefully.

“It just might.”

Flowey chewed it over. It was true, he hated being stuck in this timeline more than anything. It got boring so quickly seeing Papyrus mope about and cry. He wanted Chara–-Frisk, whoever back again so they could keep playing together.

But he couldn’t let Sans know he was actually contemplating this. “Or I can just take this machine for myself, harness its power, and take over the WHOLE Underground! With that sort of power, I can easily defeat Asgore, take his soul, and take the rest of the human souls he has hidden away!” he cackled gleefully.

“Great plan, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that,” Sans said casually.

“What?”

“It’s a lot of science-y mumbo-jumbo, but the crux of it is that this machine only works on the time travel part of your Determination. Effectively just enhancing your ability to SAVE.”

Flowey blinked, confused. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Yeah, like I said, it's a lot of complicated science. You try to do anything outside of travel around the time stream, it won’t work. Sorry.”

Flowey scowled. “You could be lying to me.”

“I could be.”

They stared each other down, but Sans’ expression was the completely unreadable mask it always was. Finally, with a defeated huff of frustration, Flowey relented.

“Fine! FINE ! I’ll do it! But it’s not because I want to help you! In fact, first thing I’m gonna do when I bring back that brat is torture your brother even MORE! I’ll find even more sick, twisted ways for you and your brother to go feral! I’ll make you go on a feral killing spree! I’m gonna make you kill the WHOLE Underground! Hee hee hee hee!”

Sure, you do that,” Sans said calmly. He wasn’t concerned in the least. He knew a bluff when he saw one.

“I will!” Flowey declared triumphantly. “Now just tell me what I have to do to get this hunk of junk working!”

“Well, first, we need my brother here.”

“Fine, fine.”

“And then we need to activate the machine, and when the machine powers on, I go through and–”

“You’re not going anywhere!” Flowey protested furiously. “I will be the one to go back in time! I will kill your rampaging brother! And the human brat for good measure!”

“Sorry, you can’t.”

“WHY NOT?!”

“You can’t exactly time travel if you’re the one powering the machine, can you?”

Flowey dissolved into a furious sputtering fit of rage. “That–that’s so unfair!!!”

“Sorry, it’s just the way it works.”

Flowey sputtered more barely comprehensible obscenities. “ARGH! This isn’t fair! This sucks! YOU suck!”

“Sorry.”

“NO, YOU’RE NOT!” Flowey continued to rage. But his desire to go back trumped all else. “UGH! FINE ! I’ll do it! But if you’re tricking me in any way, I’m going to make you and your brother suffer! As well as Alphys!”

“That’s fair.”

Flowey stood there, fuming. And with that settled, Sans made some phone calls, and within a few minutes, Papyrus was back home, dropping off his groceries in the kitchen before heading downstairs. With him was Alphys and Undyne. Undyne glared at Flowey. Flowey stuck his tongue back at her, and Alphys desperately avoided eye contact with anyone.

“So, we’re all filled in on what’s going on?” Sans asked. “With Flowey’s most generous assistance–” Flowey grunted. “--we’re going to power on the time machine, go back in time, and stop the human from falling to the Gaster Blaster beast.”

There was a nod amongst everyone, all looking grim and determined. Save Flowey, who continued to pout.

“Our priority is making sure the human soul isn’t destroyed,” Sans went on. “So that means preventing the Gaster Blaster from fighting the human. Our optimal option is to prevent Undyne from turning Papyrus in the first place.”

Undyne squirmed uncomfortably.

“If that doesn’t work, we need to take out the human.”

“Or take out Papyrus,” Flowey said with a cruel grin. “Killing either of them prevents all this mess, doesn’t it?”

Sans frowned, not immediately responding. As correct as Flowey was, he wasn’t going to just suggest killing his own brother!

“Aww, what’s the big deal? He’ll just come back. If everything goes to plan, that is,” Flowey continued to taunt.

“We’ll play it by ear,” Sans dismissed. “You just focus on keeping the timeline open and sending us back.”

Flowey just swayed back and forth, grinning unsettlingly.

“Alphys, stay here and keep an eye on things. Papyrus, you too. Undyne–” he paused, settling his eyes on her. “You come with me.”

Undyne jumped. “Wait, you want me to come back in time with you?!”

“You’re pretty tough. If we need to fight the human, I’m gonna need your help,” he explained.

Undyne understood. Papyrus was strong, but his fighting spirit was completely shattered. If they needed to fight–and based on the unsettling feeling she was getting in her gut, that was very likely–Sans needed a fierce and determined warrior at his side. And knowing what the human would do to Papyrus, what that human subjected them all to, Undyne would find no qualm in her conscience about putting that human into the ground.

“Alright, everyone, let’s begin.”

Everyone got to their stations. Alphys stood at the controls, typing up the commands to power it up. Flowey wrapped his vines around the machine, sinking into the cracks to get at the “meat” of the electronics so he could feed his own power into it. Papyrus stood back, offering his assistance where he could. And Sans and Undyne stood before the gate, ready for anything.

“Powering on!” Alphys called out.

The machine whirred on, lights blinking on, electricity humming. At the same time, Flowey’s own magic pulsed, flooding his Determination into it. The roar of motors grew louder and louder until it was a constant thunderous rumble. Sparks ignited within the circular gate, the sparks coming faster and faster until lightning arched at a constant flow. And with a sudden crash, the sparks split across the gate, creating a vortex of light. The light became a cyclone, a fierce wind whipping up and pulling them towards the vortex. Sans planted his feet, bracing himself against the wind.

Beyond him was a swirling kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. It played tricks on his mind, blinking away the stars that were flashing in his eyes as he struggled to comprehend what he was even seeing. But he knew this was it. The time machine was powered on. It was working .

“Readings are stable!” Alphys cried out over the deafening noise. “GO!”

Giving one last nod to Papyrus, Sans jumped in, followed closely by Undyne. They stepped into the vortex, and suddenly, they were pulled and stretched and thrown about, two tiny insignificant beings battered in the incomprehensible stream that was time itself. Beyond flashing lights that blinded them and shapes that defied definition, they saw images. Fragments of moments in time as they were buffeted about. Some they experienced themselves, some experienced by others, and some they couldn’t tell when they happened, or if they happened at all.

And strangest of all was the overwhelming feeling of a presence with them. Sans felt a hand grab his hood, and he turned to see Undyne clutching onto him fiercely, her eyes wide with awe as she struggled to take all of this in.

Having fun? A familiar voice called out.

“Flowey?!” Undyne scowled. “Where the heck are you?!”

“All around us,” Sans reminded her grimly. “This is his SAVE. We’re flowing through his timeline.”

Hee hee! Perhaps we should make some little detours!

“Not now, you punk! Just take us where we need to go!” Undyne cried out. But her protests were ignored as a memory played in front of them. It was the day Papyrus woke up from his extensive sleep after the human died, where he found out . . . what he did.

Helpless, they could only watch as Papyrus broke out in tears, crying in sheer anguish–

“This is old, Flowey,” Undyne growled. “Could we all just get this over with already?”

But don’t you feel just terrible about what you did to your very best friend? I mean how could you do something so hideously awful to him?

“No shit , Sherlock, why do you think I’m here right now?!”

Flowey scowled, clearly discouraged by Undyne’s lack of a reaction. Well, how about you, trash bag? Shall we relive some savory moments for you?

“Sure, it’s not like I can stop you,” he shrugged passively.

Huh? Flowey said, stunned. There was a brief pause and a stutter as Flowey found his voice. Ha! That’s right! You can’t stop me! I can do whatever I want! Show you whatever horrible memories I choose!

And he did just that. He showed the two of them the worst memories he could think of, from Papyrus’s anguish to the way the townsfolk spoke of him with fear and revulsion. He showed them how miserable Papyrus was, lamenting in his grave sin.

Through it all, San did not react, and following his lead, neither did Undyne. They couldn’t give Flowey that satisfaction. They couldn’t let him know he was getting to them.

Clearly frustrated by this, Flowey tried harder. And with a wicked burst of inspiration, he dug up the memory of him in the lab with Alphys, forcing the scientist to watch the video of the bloody carnage over and over and over again, punishing her if she dared to look away and laughing cruelly at her sobs.

Undyne stiffened, rage billowing in her chest. That horrible little thing! She wanted to lash out and hurt him for daring to torment her friend, but Sans was there, gripping her hand tightly. He gave her a subtle shake No.

Don’t give him the satisfaction.

Undyne swallowed the hot lump of rage in her throat. And she scoffed.

“Yeah, like I care.”

The images paused and then slowly began to fade away.

You two are so boring!

“Just take us to where we wanna go,” Sans said.

Reluctantly, and with much belly-aching, the timeline swirled around them, bringing them further and further back. They could almost sense approaching the fated event–

Undyne screamed in shock as she was suddenly slammed against some invisible wall. Her reflexes kicked in and she hugged Sans close to her chest, preventing him from striking that wall. But still the billowing force of the timeline bore down on her, pinning her to that “wall,” like being trapped against a drain under a tumultuous downpour of water. She could barely move. And worse of all, she felt a static energy burn all along her back as it was pressed against the barrier. It seared her skin, burned her flesh, setting her teeth on edge as she felt lightning course through her body.

“FLOWEY!” she screamed. “What are you doing?! MAKE IT STOP!”

We’re not there yet! He protested. It’s right there, it’s right there , we need to get there!

“There’s a wall!” Undyne cried. “There’s a wall! I can’t! It burns! IT BURNS!”

Stop your complaining, I can get it! I just need more–! More Determination! I need to get past that wall!

A foul acrid smell filled her nose. The burning turned to an ice-cold chill. The rest of her body still seared from the constant surge of lighting flowing through her. Her muscles clenched so hard she thought her teeth would crack.

“Sans!” she called out.

We’re almost there! We’re right there! Just hold on! This was your idea!

Sans saw the state Undyne was in, but beyond that, he saw the wall. It was made of an energy Sans knew all too well.

Determination. But not just anyone’s Determination.

The kid.

Even with all that extra power . . . it wasn’t enough.

I can get it! Just hold on!

Sans looked back to Undyne. She was barely hanging on. They didn’t have time to spare.

I–I–I can . . . ! Flowey protested. His voice cracked. I can’t! It’s not working!

“GET US OUT.”

And just like that, everything . . . stopped.

Undyne cracked open an eye. She was laying on the lab floor, Sans standing above her. Alphys and Papyrus rushed to her side, while Flowey was still wrapped up in the machine.

Papyrus was the first to come to her aid, looking worriedly at the burns all over her back. “Oh my goodness, Undyne!!! What happened?!”

Undyne was too rattled to speak. Papyrus didn’t hesitate before putting his hands on her and cast his healing magic. Like a soothing salve, the ache of the burns dissipated and her skin began to slowly heal. She sighed in relief.

“Thanks, Paps,” Undyne muttered. She shook her head and stood on uneasy feet, Papyrus helping her up. “Seriously, what the hell happened in there?!”

Flowey wouldn’t look at them. He stared at the machine, shaking with frustrated rage as his vines wrapped around it. “We were so close! We were so close !!! Why couldn’t you just hold on for a little longer?! I could have broken through!!!”

“No you couldn’t and you know it,” Sans said, his voice level but fierce.

Flowey didn’t look at him. Because as much as he hated to admit it, Sans was right.

The kid was far more powerful than they thought, if even all this didn’t work.

“So . . . what now?” Undyne pressed. “That’s it? It can’t be it! We can’t give up! There has to be another way!”

Sans and Papyrus shared a look. They both knew of one more option, but Sans refused to humor it.

“That’s it.” Sans said, locking eyes with Papyrus. “That’s the only plan we got. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t believe you,” Undyne said.

“I can’t give you the answer you’re looking for,” Sans replied.

“Yes you can,” Papyrus said, startling Sans. “You just don’t want to.”

“What are you talking about?” Undyne pressed.

“We have one more option,” Papyrus said, turning to Undyne. Sans sunk into his jacket. “We’re going to ask Dr. Gaster for help.”

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ichiwashername-o · 5 months

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What Are Friends For Ch. 24

An Undertale fanfiction.

Written by ichiwashername-o

Summary: The skeleton brothers begin to construct their time machine! But, of course, time traveling is very rarely a simple endeavor . . .

Rating: Viewer discretion advised. Contains swearing, trauma, and psychological horror

Cast: Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, W.D. Gaster, Grillby and others

WE'RE BACK, BABYYYYY! And to kick it all off is a doozy of a chapter! I really hope you all enjoy!

[CH.1] [CH.2] [Ch.3] [CH.4] [CH.5] [CH.6] [CH.7] [CH.8] [CH. 9] [CH.10] [CH. 11] [CH.12] [CH. 13] [CH. 14] [CH.15] [CH.16] [CH. 17] [CH.18] [CH. 19] [CH. 20] [CH. 21] [CH. 22] [CH. 23] [CH. 24] [CH. 25]