Despite everything, you had a surprisingly good nap. Perhaps you should add ‘sleeps through storms’ as part of your Frisk-brand traits.
…You kinda needed it anyway. All those late-night trainings bit you in the back.
How long had it been? You sure hope that it wasn’t a full night.
You looked around to get your bearings. The room’s changed a lot from what you remembered. The glass cage had vanished into thin air, and there’s now fancy maroon wallpaper all around you.
You got off the bed. Your shoes tapped on white marble tiles.
Above your head, you heard blocks clicking together. Stone? Steel? You can’t quite tell, but something’s happening.
There’s a sticky note stuck to the table. It’s written in Sans’ terrible handwriting.
‘Meet me upstairs’.
Curiosity got the better of you. Strange. You should be wary. And yet, you behaved as though you’re in your own house.
Maybe it’s the lack of restraints.
You headed to a flight of stairs. No doors? No gates? Really?
There’s nowhere else to go but up.
The first thing you noticed was the vast emptiness of the Void. It stretched over your head like a starless, cloudless night.
When you got on the last step… you found yourself standing at the edge of an arena.
Sans imbued bone after bone into the ground’s central platform. He noticed your presence, greeting you in his classic casual tone.
“Hey kid. How are ya feeling? Gimmie a moment. I’m almost done.” Once he had set in place the last bit, he dusted his bony hands.
You asked just what the heck he is planning.
“Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to cross the Barrier without a sacrifice?”
Uh… you told Sans it would be great to have a bloodless way out, but you’re not sure if it’s possible.
“Pretty unknown territory, huh? Yup. That’s what I thought too.”
There ‘were’ times when the gang tried to do that. Though, Dad died for sure.
“We did, huh? After everyone realised that humans could be good, they didn’t want to kill anymore. Nice to know. Well… what if I told you that a clean method is possible?”
What does he mean?
“You’ll see. It’s the final theorem I want to confirm before the ‘big jump’. I’m waiting for the last component to arrive. In the meantime, we have more important things to talk about.”
Such as…?
Sans showed you his pinky finger. “This is where it all started. Right here. With our pinkies. I hate making promises because I know myself: takes a lot for me to give up on something that I choose to commit to.”
………
He slipped his hands back in his pockets. “I’ve not forgotten my oath to you, Frisk. I’m going to give you exactly the life you wish for.”
How?
How?!
You won the Trial of the Crimson Hall! Ebott’s adoption is pretty much guaranteed! Sans is THE culprit for causing this current chaos! He’s taking you further and further away from the damn promise!
Sans being Sans, was completely unfazed by your outbursts. He instead explained: “That’s just the journey to get there.”
You heard something roaring in the distance.
His left Eye flashed cyan. “About time. Guess the message finally arrived. Feel free to walk around, kid. Just don’t stand inside the Gram. Don’t wanna turn you into a human Gaster, k?”
Wait, Sans. What is he talking about--
Too late. He had teleported off to goodness knows where.
You’re starting to regret making that promise.
…No point moping about it now!
In times like this, it’s better to explore and observe. Stay calm, and keep your five senses peeled. Maybe his slop accidentally left behind a way out.
You thus checked the central platform.
The complexities of this Gram made your eyes spin. All you could tell was that it had eight-points. That’s… familiar.
Better stay faaaaar away from that spot.
Back at the edge of the arena, the stone walls stood about as tall as your chin. Safe, but cumbersome. It's impossible for you to look over the edge.
So, if you’re Sans, you’d… make sure you’re in an inescapable yet comfortable prison. Even if there might be something, it’s most likely a trap to reroute you back to your room.
Unless…
You went downstairs to look for items. Maybe you’d have your adventure game moment there. Combine item A and B to create C, then use C on object X to unlock a secret passage.
How about a makeshift mirror for your edge predicament? Any transparent or reflective surface will do.
Hmm… the plastic from water cooler is too clouded for any use.
Paper cups, nah.
Okay. Moving on.
You could technically make a cloth rope with the blankets and bedsheets. But, you’d first need find a place to attach it to.
Oh hey, it’s the chair you tried to smash your way out with. It still exists.
Eureka! You didn’t need to make anything convoluted after all. Just take the chair to the roof and stand on it. That should give you all the height you need.
You lifted the unbreakable piece of furniture over your head and sped up the stairs. Plunked it down on the nearest flat ground. Climbed it. Adjusted your height so you could peer down without the risk of falling over.
Things weren't looking good. You’re on top of a really tall cannon-lined stone tower. Worst of all, no windows. It’s built like a fortress.
Assorted Undyne-level expletives flew across your mind. You’re looking down at a planet full of puzzles!
AN ENTIRE PLANET!
It cannot get any more anime than this! Straight out of some mahou shoujo show or something!
Just when you thought you had seen everything, Sans proved you wrong.
A small quake rumbled through the maze. You hurried to get off the chair before you accidentally tripped to certain death.
Then, there was a great flash of light.
It’s quite a while before your eyes finally stopped stinging.
You think you lost an entire minute in a blank stare, trying to comprehend the magnitude of your predicament.
Pulsating opaque energy ebbed close to the top of the tower. It’s cutting right beneath your ‘bedroom’.
It’s the Barrier.
It’s none other than the Barrier.
HOW THE BLOODY HELL IS THE BARRIER HERE?!?!?!?!?
WHAT MAD SCIENCE IS THIS????
There’s absolutely NO way he nabbed seven human SOULS! Does he even know how to cast the spell?
Fakes? Fakes. Please be fakes, otherwise you’d have yet another seven murders to deal with. The Six is bad enough!
Power corrupts, right? So this is what a corrupted Sans looks like. Good freaking riddance.
You want to get out.
You want to get out of this tower and kick some sense into Sans’ skull!
SOUL Magic radiated from your chest.
You’re feeling it! You’re getting closer to that high when you had to stop the God of Hyperdeath.
C’mon c’mon c’mon c’mooooon!
You are DETERMINED!
There’s that shine! The light condensed into a yellow star right before your very eyes.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Huh?
Why are you making that unstable Mark again? This is not the time for that!
Wait a minute. It looks… Calm. You don’t remember it being this way.
You reached out to touch it before anything else happened.
SAVE.
File saved.
A sudden blast of magic pierced your being. Warmth filled your SOUL.
That’s strange. You ejected your Psychia from your chest to take a closer look.
It's Yellow now?! And the star had turned red…
You’ve absorbed its colour, huh.
…Memories of Mezil’s gunshots returned. He’s a Yellow Minor, right? If that’s all it took to do such cool Mark tricks, what does this mean for you?
Your thoughts were interrupted by a ‘zing!’ If this was a comic panel, your head-hair would have stood on ends.
The star vanished.
You turned around. The central Gram erupted into a tornado of cyan, purple, and yellow.
Aren’t those Sans’ colours? What… what did he make?!
When the rush poofed into the air, at the center of it all stood… Sans himself?!
“Phew,” he said. “The failsafe worked at least. Took me a few tries to get it right. Need more testing to guarantee a smooth ride.”
You stood there with your mouth slightly agape.
“Kid, I know you have a ton of questions. But I’m kinda in a hurry at the moment. Since the Barrier is up, I can't use my usual space-cutting techniques so… gotta go back the same way I came from.”
The Gram activated. The tornado returned. And just like that, he’s gone.
Was that a wormhole? Or a teleport pad? How does it work? Explain? Please? Anyone?
Huh?
The power of Determination formed before you again. The red star returned.
Something… isn’t right. You remembered that Mezil had a ton of issues with your accidental competition for the Keys of Fate.
A dreadful hunch rose in your heart. It’s too early to say for certain. You need Sans to come back from whatever he’s trying to do.
The Gram activated once more.
When the silhouette of Sans turned visible, your SAVE star vanished.
Oh no.
This is bad, bad news. There is something on Sans that’s overwriting your power!
Sans appeared to be too distracted by the success of his invention to notice your mixed feelings. Fingers crossed.
“Heh. Guess it works two-ways now. The Surface’s SOUL science sure is something else.”
He looked at you. “Amazed?” he asked.
You nodded many times. This is gonna solve the world’s transportation problems! Imagine all the instant travel. No more stupid long hours for flights. You’re sick of those from your world-travelling timelines.
…Provided Sans lets you out of here first.
“About that… Sorry kid, but I’m not handing this tech over to the Surface. It’s gonna be for the Dreemurr people. Emergencies only.”
Huh?
“Still can’t explain yet. Things are getting really heated downstairs. I want to get at least three more rounds in before anything happens. Be right back.”
There he goes.
You’re starting to notice a trend. Your star will only spawn in his absence.
It’s quite… unsettling. It made you wonder if Mezil felt the same. He had his butterfly for a good chunk of his life, and then it went poof because of you.
After the fifth try, Sans didn’t come back. You’re getting worried. What’s happening down there? Did the rescue team arrive and he’s trying to intercept them?
What happened to Mom and Dad?
Tsunderjudge?
Cenna?
Everyone?
You tried to LOAD your SAVE. Maybe you can jump on Sans on the first notice. Plant a no-move Mark on him!
You brought up your interface but… it’s not legible. At all. It’s written in hands, and even that was glitched into fragmented squares.
The sense of dread intensified. What are you gonna do? What CAN you do?
You ended up wandering around on the platform. Maybe you hoped that you’d stumble upon a chance to escape.
That didn’t happen.
How long had it been? An hour? Seems like forever. You could feel the damning hands of the clock ticking ever onward.
When you least expected it, the Gram activated once again.
This time, you had to double-take to comprehend what’s going on.
Sans didn’t come back alone. He brought along Papyrus.
The one and only Great Papyrus.
Your tall, loud, and immensely warm skeleton friend wasted no time to hug you.
“HUMAN!” he said, “YOU DID SPECTACULAR IN YOUR TRIAL! YOU SEE NOW? THIS IS WHY THE GREAT PAPYRUS BELIEVES IN YOU!”
He saw everything?
“YES, OF COURSE! I HAD THE AWESOME PRIVILEGE OF BECOMING LADY LUCIDIA’S STUDENT. IT’S NOT OFFICIAL YET, BUT SOON IT WILL BE.”
You hugged him tight and apologized. Added some tears too. Can’t hug him without those.
Papyrus didn’t ask why. There was no need for that. He comforted you with some gentle pats on your back.
“I’m usually not the one to interrupt,” said Sans. “But we have six angry people left behind at ground level. Not sure when they’ll reach up here. They’ll make too much noise. We should get down to business.”
Ok. Shoot.
“It’s gonna get a bit technical, Frisk. Hope you can comprehend the majority of it. Alright, first things first. Do you understand why The Core Incident happened?”
Kinda? Doctor Gaster tried to condense the entire Underground into one SOUL to replace the seventh fallen human. And Sans… put a stop to that.
“That’s half the story. Yes, I wanted him gone. But things didn't quite go according to plan.” He stepped aside to show you his masterpiece. “The real cause? A feedback loop between Gaster’s mechanical Chronograph and my wormhole Gram.”
“Living Chronographers such as Papyrus and Lucidia would have instinctively adjusted their powers to the circumstances. The machine we had? It couldn't do that. Too primitive, not enough failsafes. The resulting chain reaction caused a massive meltdown.”
“Now for the next part.”
Sans rolled up his… right sleeve. What happened to it? Boy, it got shredded.
No. Don’t let that detail distract you from the big issue. You’re looking at a very high tech gadget: the one that’s holding your Trap Harvester hostage.
“I call this the ‘Seraph System’. This is the ultra-secret project that I hammered together over the week. A DT-Extraction Machine, a Fake Aspect manager, and a weapon. All rolled into one. It can hijack the controls of any Living Victory I target.”
Right. Determination’s greatest weakness is Determination itself.
That’s why he stabbed Judge Thyme and stole the Trap Harvester?
“Yup. That little magic watch has a battery as limitless as The Void itself. With it, it becomes possible to store up enough Determination to rewind entire years.”
“Determination is person-specific, though. If I wanted vast quantities of raw DT, I would have picked you. But I need more than that. I need the old man’s SAVES. Which one, you wonder? It’s this.”
Sans summoned a holographic screen. It’s in red and black with some graphical glitches. Streaks of lightning covered the background…
Your eyes tried to focus past the mess.
The Persona? Isn’t that… Mezil’s epic final boss battle against that jerk?!
“Read the time.”
The timestamp read: 1200 Hours. Noon.
10 years ago?!
“Look, Frisk, I found the death certificate of your parents over many timelines. Their time of death was roughly around 1520 Hours. 3.20 PM. Three hours later…”
In other words, Mezil had a SAVE where your parents were still alive.
“It messed me up hard. So hard. That’s because I realised they died because of my idiocy. Now, I’m gonna give them back to you.”
Your biological parents…
I-is Sans for real?
Papyrus rebutted with a warning. “SANS, MISTER MAGUS MIGHT DIE FOR REAL! IF THAT HAPPENS, THE WORLD WILL BE IN CHAOS AND FRISK WON’T HAVE A HAPPY LIFE AT ALL!”
“Are you sure about that?” Sans asked again.
“YES! THE MASS EVACUATION OF LEMURIA CONTINUES TO HAUNT ME TO THIS HOUR.”
“Bro, bro, bro… you’re looking at the worst possible outcome. That’s like saying Frisk’s presence in the Underground will always result in a mass murder. That didn’t happen, right?”
“Ask yourself, is Mezil Thyme really the lynchpin keeping civilization together? I think not. What if he survived? And even if he didn’t, others will pick up the slack.”
Sans winked at him. “You’re the Chronographer now. Why don’t you take a peek at Frisk’s life instead?”
Papyrus’ Eye lit up. You see his concerned expression soften into wonder.
What did he see? Please tell.
“I SEE…” he muttered. “BLUE SKY. GREEN GRASS. SOME FARMS. LUSH FORESTS.”
And?
“I SEE A BABY HUMAN WITH TWO ADULTS, LIVING IN A QUIET VILLAGE. I THINK THAT’S YOU! OH WOWIE, YOU’RE SUCH A CUTE TINY BEAN. I CAN SEE WHERE YOU GOT YOUR FEATURES FROM!”
Really…? How… how did they look like?
“YOU SHARE MORE WITH YOUR MOM THAN YOUR DAD, INHERITING HER EYES AND SKIN TONE. BUT YOU HAVE YOUR DAD’S HAIR!”
“I’M SEEING YOU AS A TODDLER NOW.” He giggled. “LEARNING TO WALK IN YOUR BLUE ONESIE. OH MY GOD, YOU KEPT THROWING PEAS AT YOUR DAD! YOU’RE SO DETERMINEDLY NAUGHTY!”
You laughed along with him.
Papyrus, tell more!
“LIVING SO FAR AWAY FROM TOWN MADE IT DIFFICULT TO GET ANYTHING. BUT! YOUR DAD SOMEHOW MANAGED TO ARRANGE A SHIPMENT FOR A PLUSH TOY ON YOUR EIGHTH BIRTHDAY!”
“IT’S A CUTE GOAT IN A STRIPED SWEATER. A SPITTING IMAGE OF OUR PRINCE. YOU TOOK THAT PLUSH EVERYWHERE.”
Your eyes felt a bit moist. Your biological parents sound like great people.
“OH! LOOK! YOU’RE ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS WE KNOW YOU NOW! LOOKS LIKE THE COMMUNITY IS PLANNING AN EVENT.”
What were you doing?
“YOU’RE GOING TO JOIN THE OTHER VILLAGE KIDS FOR BERRY PICKING. EACH OF YOU HAD A CUTE BASKET! AND THE ADULTS TOLD YOU HOW AVOID POISONOUS ONES.”
“…YOUR MOM IS HOLDING YOUR HAND. YOU LOOK FORWARD TO SOME FUN TIMES.”
“See?” said Sans. “You survived the apocalypse. With your family intact too. No Core Incident, no accidental deaths.”
You had your parents.
You had friends.
Not to mention an entire village taking an active role in caring for each other.
It’s a dream come true.
“Yup. Great, isn’t it? There's but one issue: Mezil’s Determination. It's filling up too slowly for my liking. Distance and dilution, y’know.”
Sans stretched out his arm. “But you can speed that up without a hitch.”
You have more questions first.
“Go ahead,” Sans answered.
What about the Underground? How is he going to convince Doctor Gaster not to use the Soul Stealer?
“Oh, that’s easy. I planted a Memory Mark on myself while you were asleep.”
He showed his SOUL for a brief moment. The symbol of the Seraphim lay plastered right on top, as he had claimed.
“And with that, I’ll rebuild the completed wormhole Gram. Show Doctor Gaster that it actually works. Then, we’ll have a nice walk on the Surface. Gather intel. Bring it all back to the Underground and convince King Asgore to abort his plans. Really don’t wanna emerge in a world with nukes, ya dig?”
Nod. Nod.
“We’ll of course be needing proper infrastructure for long term stay. I already memorized the circumference of the Barrier and the nearby water tables. All easily accessible with some drilling. An aquifer will solve a whole lot of our current issues. Plus, now that I know how much real estate we really have, we can also start digging around for extra housing. It’ll alleviate the overcrowding problem.”
“Now, if for some reason the bunkering plan fails, we can use the same Gram to evacuate the Underground. Maybe teleport to some remote island to begin anew. Or a different underground.”
“Long story short: we’ll be fine, kid.”
You asked Papyrus check for Sans’ success.
He nodded at you. You saw a flicker in his Eye as he switched focus.
“HE… DID EVERYTHING RIGHT. THE UNDERGROUND IS SAVED FROM ALL THE BAD ENDS OF DROUGHT AND PLAGUE. EVERYONE STOPPED OBSESSING ABOUT THE SURFACE. HAPPINESS RETURNED.”
What about Mom and Dad?
“I THOUGHT HUMANS DON’T GO TO THE UNDERGROUND?”
No, no, your OTHER parents! The furry ones.
“OH, RIGHT. THEY… THEY’RE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. AFTER A LONG WHILE. SANS HAD TO CAREFULLY EASE QUEEN TORIEL BACK INTO THE NEW KINGDOM.”
Undyne?
“SHE’S STILL THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD. THEY’RE NO LONGER GEARING FOR THE WAR EFFORT, BUT THEY STILL NEED TO APPREHEND THE OCCASIONAL SWINDLER.”
Alphys? Mettaton?
“PART OF THE TECH TEAM. LEAD MECHANICAL ENGINEER TOO! SHE HELPED METTATON BECOME HIS GLAMOROUS PINK SELF IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS.”
What about Papyrus?
“I’M… A SCIENTIST?! WORKING TOGETHER WITH UNCLE GASTER?!?” It’s a scenario that Papyrus himself couldn’t believe.
Sans chuckled. “Yeah. I’m thinking of letting the Doc teach you. As long he agrees to keep you Sealed, that is. There’s no longer a pressing need to turn you into a Chronograph in the new future. If we need to check anything, we’ll consult the machine. Or send some good ol’ scouts.”
“You understand what this means, Paps? You will get to live a fruitful life free from weird visions. No hero’s burden. No sudden horror trips. All this diplomatic headache will be a thing of the past.”
W-what about Asriel and Chara?
Papyrus replied: “I SEE TWO FLOWERS GROWING SIDE BY SIDE IN KING ASGORE’S GARDEN. ONE IS COVERED IN MONSTER DUST. THE OTHER ISN’T.”
“Ah, those two kids,” sighed Sans. “Since, Asriel would never become that tortured soulless brat, we save ourselves from a large chunk of the drama.”
“Chara? I’ll dig out the possessed Cheater and transplant it next to the prince. If they’re moved out from the drop-zone… they won’t latch on to some unfortunate Red Child.”
Eternal rest for the departed…
You can’t think of anything better.
Everything does sound ideal. Almost too peachy.
You want to trust Sans. You really do. Papyrus wouldn't lie: so far, it’s all been brilliant news.
The choice is yours. Sans is offering it without force. All you needed to do was to grab his hand and channel your Determination into the Seraph System.
You can finally ‘save’ Asriel from a soulless existence.
You won’t need to deal with complicated interracial politics.
You won’t need to worry about any more genocides and riots.
You don’t need to deal with the high-level Floweys of the world.
You get to grow up with your rightful family, living out your life in peace, at the very place where you belong.
Everyone will be happy.
Everyone will stay happy.
Therefore…
You… RESET?