Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Hello everyone! Floof here! Before kicking off this story, you kinda need to know a few things.

The first being well.. This is actually a roleplay on Discord! That said, I will do my best to keep each player's style somewhat equal but I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference either way. But what that also means?
Right now entrance into the roleplay is closed. If you want to join, keep an eye out!

Secondly, to make a complicated system simple- we do combat through dice. Which means you never know what could happen. Every hit, every death is completely at random. Sure makes things interesting, doesn't it?

Thirdly... Tragedy has struck. I've already said this in the chapters several times, but I may as well should say it here. So, the beginning of this roleplay started on an app called Geeking. itsapieceofabsoluteshit and as a result- there are MASSIVE amounts of our story missing and absolutely no way to recover them. So for the first parts of this story, things will be very... Choppy. Even if I do my best to remedy it- I deeply apologize for that... I still hope you are able to enjoy it and- stick around for a little while and the problem will be solved. Promise.

The set list~

Sadie as... Storyshift!Asriel AKA Rei, Undertale!Asriel, Chisk AKA Discomfort, Jelly Pup, Sage (OC) and Kira (OC)

Flame as... Storyshift!Chara and Kittyshift!Chara

Fox as... Glitch!Alphys, Quantumtale!Asgore, Science!Sans and Underkeep!Muffet

Viebe as... Underswap!Sans

Wheat as... Ink!Sans

Floof as... Underfell!Sans, Mobtale!Grillby and Handplates!Gaster

Weirdo as.. Lyrictale!Frisk and Philotes (OC)

Masterchief as... Fresh!Sans

Bean as... Paperjam and Seraphim!Sans aka Toucan

Ice as... Storyswap!Chara aka Sprinkles

Doctor as... Crossertale!Papyrus

Characters we have a history with:
    -'Lucky' MT!/Mobtale! Papyrus            
    -'Lil' Pup'  MT!/Mobtale!Frisk 
    -'Big Shot'  MT!/Mobtale!Sans
    -UT!/Undertale! Gaster
    -US!/Underswap! Papyrus
    -Trent Broski (Malcor)
    -Quantumtale... Gaster, Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, Undyne and Alphys

Deceased characters: Unfortunately can't add that due to spoilers vv;

Chapter Text

The magic swirled in the center of his palm- the heat concentrating  into a brilliant white light that  began to tingle even in his hand. With one swift motion the molten blast impacted the cold  metal. Blasting sparks and chunks of partially melted metal in a spray. The electrical inside  squealing- a buzzing sound surging forward and cracking with a loud POP. The tendril of  coiled cables and electrical spasmed underneath the incoherent babble of interrupted coding. The elemental drew his hand back. Smirking at the sight of at least one small victory. But with  a pained cry and the sight of a small, white-furred figure hurled into the wall- it was short lived.  He lurched forward but instead words were replaced with a faint whoosh of his flames loosing  oxygen. A powerful force slammed hard into his chest and sent him into the wall.
Time slowed, if only for a brief second, by the new surge of adrenaline. Just enough to see the  human in a green hoodie dash for his downed brother. Only to meet the same fate as he had. A  small white dog didn't let it go unpunished as it collapsed to the ground a moment later. The  yellow lizard remained pinned to the wall as the small skeleton protecting her was knocked  backwards. His legs giving out from under him- dumping him carelessly onto the ground. Enough was ENOUGH. What was he thinking!? His knuckles always worked. Always.  The surge of anger sent him roaring back into the fray. Around his knuckles- the temperature  increased to a point where they burned white. He'd melt this thing into a puddle if that's what it took.
Both hits landed, setting the metal ablaze. Just a few more hits. Just a few more- Like a vine the  thing twisted, it's metal plates snapping together- making itself into a spike. It twisted around-  stabbing at him. The elemental twisted his foot, narrowly avoiding the attack. It whipped  backwards. He moved to dodge but his muscles locked up. His body hadn't forgotten the pain  from earlier, regardless if he was healed. The blow sent him stumbling and wide open to be  slammed into the wall once more. Molten blood flew from his mouth as he was crushed  between the two. The elemental let out a deep growl as he rose his hands- trying to beat down  against the damned thing. No damnit- NO. He raised his head at another shriek.
On the ground. The familiar visage of a grenade. He sucked in a sharp breath. A skeleton  dove down ontop of it.
The room erupted into a brilliant white light.

"PFFFFFFF AHAHAHAHA-"
"Sans! You swore you wouldn't laugh!!"
"Ahhhh, yeah-" The small skeleton sighed and wiped a tear from his eye, patting his friend's  shoulder. "Sorry, G. I think I'm gunna vomit cuz these typos are making me [sic]. Check your  words, phrases and punctuation. I mean, did ya even notice they're in court waiting to be  sentenced?" ".... Red." "Geez for an elemental its so chilly in here. Just look at all these  drafts." The elemental sighed, rolling his eyes, resting his cheek in his palm. "....You done?"  "One more? One eensy little one?" Another sigh and a small wave of the hand.
"What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?" "Hm?" "A cat has claws at the end of its  paws, while a comma has a pause at the end of a clause."
Finally the blue flame cracked a smile. A low chuckle rumbling from his chest as he looked up  at the skeleton in front of him. Unlike him, the only thing he had to tell him apart from the others  was the scar over his eye. Sure, they hadn't met another blue Grillby but by no means did he  put it out of the realm of possibility. The flame doubted they'd ever find another skeleton like  Red, though. Even if he still had the collar and furred jacket everyone knew him by- the golden  tooth and right half of his skull were lost a long... Long time ago.
"Helloooooo- earth to elemental here. Just as I was complimentin ya, too-" Red made a sharp  clicking sound. "Well I reserve the right to remain disgruntled." Grillby huffed, turning back to the  blinking cursor 'and nearly-empty document glaring at him from the computer screen. It had  taken the children such a long time showing him how to use the damn thing- and an even  longer time convincing him it would be any better then a typewriter... But here he was. This  whole thing started with the flame trying to help everyone. 'Write down our stories', he said, now  he was beginning to realize why no one had gotten around to it. The wall of empty void was  just about as daunting and ominous as it was to put everything into something... Tangible.
"-Anyway. You're actually doing pretty well, Grillz. Dunno why you started there but- meh-" The  skeleton shrugged, tilting his skull when the other sighed. "That's the earliest thing I can  remember clearly, if I'm honest." "Pff, what? Gettin' smashed into a wall a thousand times?"  "What?" Grillby huffed again "No! That happened a lot, anyway- It was the first time  you-" The room went deadly silent. Red's eyelight flickering out, his permanent smile drooping.  Suddenly looking very.... Very tired. The flame winced, moving to say something when the  skeleton stirred back to reality.
"Well... That happened a lot, too." Red stood up straighter, shrugging and slipping his hands  back into the pockets of his hoodie. "Musta been all the drugs that bitch pumped ya full of." "I  suppose..." Grillby rubbed his arm nervously but a small nudge from the other's foot forced him  to look up. The skeleton smiled just a little wider and gave the flame a quick nod. Though it still  held a hint of sadness- the other returned it as well. "Right. Hows about I help ya?" "H-huh? I  thought you said- oh what was it- 'I don't do good with 'feelsy shit' but I'll be rooting for you on  this nice, comphy, don't-gotta-do-nothin' couch'?" Red snickered at what must've been some  inside joke."Heh. Yeah. 'nyway- changed my mind. 'Sides. I hate stories that don't explain  what the hell's going on. And besides Blue, who's off doing who-knows-what, I'm the only one  who can tell it from the beginning." The skeleton turned around, his foot catching on the leg of a  chair not far off and pulled it forward. Slumping into it like a sack of potatoes and propping his  feet up onto the desk. Grillby gave him a harsh stare but the other just gave him that good old  shit-eating grin. Knowing full well he could get away with it since he was 'helping'.

"Welp. I gotta say it's a bit hazy up in this here noggin-" Red raised a hand intending to rap his  knuckles on his skull like a door-knocker- but only finding thin air. As if he 'casually forgot' there  was no skull there to knock on. "Red-" Grillby was hushed by a wave of the other's hand and  a small chuckle. It never seemed to matter how many times he told the other that he shouldn't  make jokes like that.... But he never ceased to find it infinitely entertaining. "Oh- I hope you're  ready to type all this down, G. Cuz I ain't." "Oh really now?" Red smiled even wider as he  shrugged yet again. "Too much work. 'Sides. There's no escape for you, Grillz." He held up  his hand and there- between his phalanges- was a small, black, 'esc' key. The elemental  blinked for a couple seconds, having to do a triple check at the keyboard for him to realize-  "Oh... That's what was there. Wait." He shot the skeleton a skeptical look "Red, please stop  removing the keys, how am I suppose to remember what was there?" "Pshh you'll be fine. If you  need a refresher- oh wait- you can't." That grin only grew wider as he held up the F5 key.  "Red!" "Ouch, sorry. I'm just out of control now" The 'ctrl' key rested in his palm. No matter  what, it was always the third pun that seemed to break Grillby- even if he tried to choke down his  small fit of laughter. "Now honestly- did you remove those JUST to make a few puns?" In  horror, the skeleton gasped. "What? ME? You underestimate me, Grillbz." "Sci will have your  head for this one, you know." "Well shit- hope he got the half off deal," "RED!" Grillby  actually reached out to give him a bit of a shove... Even if it just made the other start laughing  harder.

"Alright, alright. Stars help me. Enough of that. C'mere you." The old flame grabbed the  arm rest of the chair and pulled him closer, turning back to the accursed keyboard. "Now focus  and help me out with this damn thing." "Awww, not letting yourself have any charcoal until it's  done, huh?" Grillby squinted suspiciously at the other, eyes flicking away as he muttered  "....Maybe." "Oh damn." Red raised a brow, looking genuinely surprised "Well shit, man, that's rough. Let's get this done then.  From the beginning?"

Chapter Text

"Well..?"
"Ah gimme a minute old man, I'm thinkin-" The skeleton tapped his phalanges on his jaw, expression fixed into one of concentration... Trying to choke down the urge to light a cigarette just as hard as he was searching for a good place to start.
"Hm.... Well, what's got you hung up?" The flame asked, tilting his head curiously as the other pretty much glared holes into the wall. "....Words." "Red, seriously-" "Yeah! Seriously!" Red waved his hand a bit, looking over at him "I mean- duh. It started at my sentry station with little boy blue. I can't remember what he said, though. I just remember thinking 'wow, this guy's a moron'. Aw don't give me that look, G. Could ya honestly blame me? A blizzard just then starting to kick up and what do I see? Another skeleton- who looks like, y'know, ME, bounding up. All shouting 'let's be friends'. As if you WEREN'T expecting a knife in your back at literally any moment in time." Grillby sighed, honestly a bit sadly and he nodded, sitting back in his chair. "I suppose that is only fair. So then- what made you want to help him?" Funny how a single question like that changed the other's demeanor entirely. Eye socket widening as he put his tapping hand down. Allowing his skull to roll back and stare up at the ceiling.
"Well-" The skeleton heaved a sigh "His smile, I guess. Yeah, yeah, cheesy. I know. I dunno, man, just the way it was. Bright. Happy. REAL, y'know? It just- didn't belong in that shit stain of a world. And after that fish bitch showed up-" "Undyne?" Red tilted his head over and gave a short nod. "What happened with her? I mean I know-" The skeleton drew in a long breath and let it out slow. "You don't gotta say it. 'Sides that was in Waterfall. No, no, she musta been on Blue's trail because just as I was dragging the guy off the damn road- boom. Now her words I remember-" Red cleared his 'throat' as he tried to impersonate her voice.
"Hey shit-for-brains." Well, he actually didn't do so bad. "Man- right then I swore my heart was going to explode. I remember ripping off Blue's scarf and tying up his wrists. Not tight- just to make it look like I captured him, y'know? I held a finger over my mouth, in that 'shh, be quiet' kinda way. I KNOW I did that- but did he listen? Oh HELL no. He looked up at her- she's like. Twice his height. Blue fish-bitch covered in scars in what she called 'armor'. 'HI NEW FRIEND! LOOK AT ME! I'M TONIGHT'S DINNER, AW SHUCKS I'LL MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU AND STAND EXTRA EXTRA STILL SO YOU CAN FUCKING MURDER ME!" Red really put his all into that, moving more like a cartoon character, even batting his eye at Grillby. Of course, until the last three words and his face twisted into a snarl. The skeleton didn't even need to see the other put his hands up in a way to say 'calm down'. He felt the words. Crossed his arms and sat back in his chair with a huff.
"Yeah-" He sighed "Yeah. I'm chill. It's fine. It ain't his fault, I know. It's just how he is. But...." He clenched his jaw and looked away. " 'Teach him a lesson. Apparently this little shit has no clue how to respect a royal guardsman.' Word for fuckin' word. I was TERRIFIED, G. Ya gotta understand I wasn't no hero. I'm NOT a hero. And the last time I 'disrespected' that hunk of sushi, ya wanna know what happened-" Red was cut off by a warm, soft hand on his shoulder. Damnit. He didn't even need to look to know what the look on Grillby's face was going to be and every stubborn bone in his body hated that. He still forced himself to look over, but not without a small growl.
"I'm fine, Grillby. Really. It's just- ugh- the look on his face...."

I was scared. Shaking so bad I can still hear my bones chattering but I wouldn't let it show. Couldn't. Even as I turned to him... That little ball of blue, not even moving or trying to run like he didn't know what was going to happen. Even when I summoned a bone dagger- nice and splintered. Sharp. I was gunna do it. Not that deep, just... Enough. Get that kid to wake up- make him realize just how deep in shit we were and get Undyne off my ass. I thought maybe, if we can keep playing this out he'd just be our 'prisoner'- I could play as long as we needed to get the hell out of there-
"I dunno where yer from kid. But do ya know ANYTHING 'bout respect. HUH!? But this ain't how we do things here. This 'ere's one a the best fighters in the underground. Yer lucky you're gettin someone like me instead. Cuz she won't go easy on you next time ya open yer trap." So I raised that dagger. Aimed it right for his cheek... And then... I saw those eyes. Those lost, confused eyes staring back at me.... I pulled that dagger even higher, twisted on my heels and it sank right into that fucking sardine. I yelled for Blue to run- grabbed the weak end of the 'restraints', ripped it off. Still. Nothing. Even when I grabbed his wrist and barreled, full throttle, into the forest, he could barely keep up. I heard Undyne roar behind us, my knees locked up and we stopped dead in our tracks. We weren't that far away but we were far enough that if he could just kick his butt into gear I could hold them off long enough for him to hide.
"Fuckin RUN kid!!" I screamed, threw the scarf back at his face and shoved him. Nothin. I still don't have a single, damn clue why our heads WEREN'T mounted on spears yet. I summoned two more bones, still shaking, I was going down but- damnit- I wasn't going down without a fight. But he still didn't move.
"Keep going. I-i dunno who'll help ya. Maybe Grillbz if you can get there. Or... Or Muffet if ya got enough money." I shook my head. "But...but.... JUST GO! She'll dust me in no time but I'll.knock her down as far as I can." ....But he was frozen in place. F R O Z E N. I think he made some sort of noise when I turned around and grabbed him again- there was no hope for this dumbass to move on his own so I just... Ran. No direction. No nothin. Just. RAN. Hoping I wouldn't feel a goddamn spear in my back. Hoping I wouldn't look down to find I was dragging a goddamn corpse behind me.
It was so....Quiet. I don't know how long we ran. I just felt the cold bite into my ribcage with every breath. Even with the howl of the wind and the crunching of our feet, it was like the snow ate all the sound... Nothing but white and the black of the trees. All just kind of... Fading into one. Like the storm itself was eating us whole. So... When I saw this circle of black towards the ground- I stopped. The black circle of tree roots was this cave. Didn't once occur to me 'hey that's someone's home'- I just thought 'Hide'. It was like a little den.... A small canopy in the dirt made by the tree roots, the center ones were chewed out and filed down and the others- it was like the tree just... Grew around that space. Holding up all the snow and pine needles. It was comfortable, or, at least it should've been but shoving the three of us-

"The three of us-"
He stopped dead. Mid-sentence. Looking just as shocked at his own words as Grillby was, when he looked over that was. "There was a third guy, I-I don't know where the hell he came from but he- he was a skeleton. I know he was a skeleton! I think it was another Bo-- er- P- papyrus- but I- agh!" He suddenly slammed his fist down onto the arm of the chair. "Red, hey-"
"IT'S OKAY!" The skeleton's head snapped over to the elemental, his tone bordering on a snarl. "I KNOW you're going to say 'it's okay. Calm down. Focus.' I am focused and it's not okay! It's not fair that the universe can just-- make us forget! They deserve to be remembered, y'know!? Like- AGH- what if he needed us, huh? What if he was just whisked away to star's know where, he could be dust and I can't even remember his face. But noooooo. They got thrown into my universe and sucked right out again and no one remembers a damn thing. HELL. Who knows how many more people we actually had and just- just can't remember!? Why- why does that have to be-" Red fell silent by the feeling, once again, of gentle hand on his shoulder. With a sniff he wiped his eye. Looking over at the other. Forfeiting the battle as his shoulders slumped and he looked down at his own now-fidgeting hands.
"That's why we're doing this, Red. You and Alphys both told me those drawings you made in Waterfall were the reason you remembered the first Gaster. And Trav-" "Trent." Grillby nodded, point proven. "It was-" "A point that stabilized their residual 'energy' in the multiverse. Magic. Soul. Memory. Whatever the hell you want to call it, yeah. A piece of them was left behind and that kept it there. I just... Wish.... We figured it out sooner." Well, there went another lost battle. Red flipped open the package of cigarettes and pulled one out.
"Can I get a light, Grillz?" The elemental sighed, rolling his eyes out of habit more then anything and gave him a hard stare. Normally he'd chide the skeleton for his smoking- even moreso indoors- and doubly so for using him as a walking lighter but... The elemental pressed a finger to the end of the dried tobacco and paper, watching patiently as the other took in a drag. The two of them simply content to watch the swirl of smoke rise into the air and slowly fade away.
"I remember thinking.... How strange it was. C'mon, G, don't give me that look. I'm good now. Really. The two of them didn't even say a word. Maybe it was the shock of everything... But not a single peep. It was cramped as hell- the little den. But quiet. And warm....."

He turned around, using his hands to kick dirt and snow up and over the entrance like a rabbit. There wasn't much space, but just enough to curl up. There was no way he could let his guard down- if they were found 'like shooting fish in a barrel' felt far too accurate for his comfort. So, at least when they were found he could at least use himself as some sort of bony shield. It couldn't have been long, not long enough for any of them to start to say something at the very least, when a dusting of dirt flowed down along with a LOUD step. Red tried to shrink as tiny as he could, burrowing his face into the fur of his hood. Squeezing his eyes shut and shivering. A few more steps. But then a howl.... A HOWL. Right above them. He just about lost it. Making some sort of muffled squeal in the fabric of his hoodie..... And then... The footsteps faded away. He held his breath- at least for a solid 5 minutes it felt- just listening. Waiting. Poised and ready to bolt. But they were gone. That realization seemed to thaw his bones enough to send them into slightly-clicking tremors. They had an opening... Something else caught their attention, whatever that poor bastard was. They could go. Go to where...? Wait... Wait. How did he forget. Grillby could possibly keep the danger at bay but the flower. Of course! That damn talking flower might get them BACK. He always talked about crazy shit like this right?
"W-w-we need to move. N-now." He spoke, setting to work on unburying them. He paused just as the tip of his phalange broke out into the surface, feeling the biting wind of the blizzard. "Grillby's. Plan B. First. Plan A." He glanced back at them. "Both of you stay on my tail. If shit hits the fan just watch my shoes. And NO running off. If you do you are on your own. Do yo-" A scream tore through the forest, nearly sending his skull through the dirt. Stars no. He couldn't even identify the species or gender. It was just... Pain.
"NOW." With a final push, his legs sent him through. Only checking twice. Once to see if they both had crawled out. Then a few seconds later to see if they were following but that was it. With as much energy as he could muster- he was running full tilt. Red could faintly recall the flower's hiding place... It's all he could bank on...... All they could bank on. Faster. Faster. Faster. Finally, he could see it. Just the outline in the forest and snow. Just a bit further. Just-
Next he knew, he slammed into a wall of snow hard and he dropped like a stone.Hitting the ground hard. For a few moments- he lay there. Panting and wheezing, reveling in the fact that somehow he wasn't dead. That relief was instantly shattered with the tip of a sword. The sword pointed only inches away from his skull. The skeleton flailed, flipping himself onto all fours and baring his teeth. Spine arching like a cat. Backing away until the edge of his shoe bumped into something not more then a foot away. Shit. They were in a dome of packed ice. An igloo? It was small but- his sockets grew wide when he finally saw the hand attached to the sword. Pale skin, brown hair, blue eyes, dark green jacket. FUCK! A human!? And flower. Flower!
"F-flow-!" "Jumping Jesus it's a skeleton!"
Red flinched back, and let loose a low growl, his sockets only narrowing into a death glare. Trying his hardest not to break eye contact with this new opponent. Trying not to look at the entrance of the igloo. Trying not to think of the thousand and one reasons why the other two weren't there yet. He moved himself onto his feet- slow and deliberate- trying not to provoke an attack but still trying to look intimidating. Missing the small tremble in the human's hand, eyes only focused on the weapon he was just now realizing to be a cane. The sword must've been hidden inside. Smart.
"S-stay back!!" Wow. How menacing, Sans. "I came here for the flower but I won't hesitate to kill you, human." At least a low growl kept him from stuttering. "J-just." Red let loose a outright snarl. "Leave us be!"
"I won't hesitate to jam tranquilizer in your eye socket... Man! I mean skeleton! ...And you're not going to hurt this flower either."
"FINE! Put me down then! Ive HAD IT with this fucking day! I'm DONE with all of this!" Red snarled underneath the vicious onslaught of his own mind SCREAMING at him to get up. To look strong. To scare- to BEAT this human into submission! But DAMNIT he was so.... Tired...
"S-stop!"
Vines shot up from the ground between the two, green and red spikes dotted their surface and that of the short wall it formed. It wasn't much, but enough to silence the human and Red to press himself into the wall as he could. Just narrowly missing as the other two skeletons came tumbling into the igloo. Without a moment's hesitation- Red threw himself in front of them and summoned a wall of bones over the entrance behind them. They were thin, cracked and frail. It wasn't much but it blocked the cold air and could hold off Undyne for a second. But that was a single second more.
"We're ALL staying right. HERE. GOT IT!?" The skeleton snarled and, with that, he plopped down onto his butt, pulling his jacket over himself. "Ya know you two are luck I decided to SAVE your asses!" He growled underneath his breath. Eyelight quickly flicking over to the human. He could've laughed at the way that guy looked, staring at the vines and bones as if he'd never seen magic before. Hah.

Chapter Text

"Well- believe it or not - I ain't here ta kill ANYONE."
Red peered over at the human, who looked like he was one second away from blowing a gasket. The human in question was wearing an all-green sweatshirt, regular jeans, brown eyes, brown hair, and carried a black cane. Red made sure not only to note the sword inside but also whatever the hell that 'tranquilizer' was as well... His eyes narrowed on the damn thing suspiciously and he forced a low laugh. "Heh. What. Never seen magic before? " The skeleton grumbled underneath his breath and the vines disappeared back into the ground. Flowey's face was suspicious at best but...
"Hey flower. Recognize their faces? Yeah. Apparently that one's another Sans and that's another Boss. Oh, and if ya couldn't tell- they certainly ain't from 'round here... Blueberry there even tried to talk to Undyne- TALK!" He forced out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, no. We got a spear to our faces and now she's got those mangy mutts, too... Oh! Haha!" He threw out his arms in a wild gesture. "And look . A human, too! Fucking hell..." With a 'hrmpf', the skeleton crossed his arms. The fluff on his jacket even seemed to bristle with his ever-increasing bad mood. "We were headin’ ta Grillbz place... But that'd only keep 'em alive for a while. You told me about timelines and crap before, didn't you? You know something, right? Hey, yo, Underground to talking flower-" Red waved his hand in front of the plant, eyes fixed in a glare. Of course this guy was gawking at the other two skeletons, but it wasn't like he was able to stew in that fact, now was he? No, they needed a plan .
“U-uh... A-all I know i-is that those t-two aren’t f-from this t-time-“

Crunch.

"SHH!!" The skeleton was suddenly on his feet. Any flustered noises of protest from the flower were silenced when he caught sight of the blade in his hand. Red pressed himself up against the wall of the igloo, even holding his breath to listen.

Crunch.

That was definitely a footstep. Closer he crept up to the entrance, silently dispelling a few of the bones barring the door. Crunch crunch. They were close... Crunch. With the speed of a cobra- his hand shot out into the blizzard- turning the corner and grabbing the first thing he felt. Cloth. With a sharp yank- he hauled the figure inside. In one fluid motion he covered the entrance and dumped them onto the ground.
"WHO ARE Y-"
The skeleton snarled and stopped dead . Like fear itself had it's grips over his throat the moment his brain processed what he was seeing. On the ground in front of him was a familiar yellow lizard girl. Clad in a stark white lab coat, a black short-sleeved shirt underneath... Glasses clattering to the ground as she sputtered out noises of shock and surprise. Fuck. No. No. SHE was the one who was surrounded. THEY had the upper hand on this bitch. Even if they were dealing with Alphys- well. The skeleton smirked. Now they had leverage, didn't they? And who's to say he couldn't have a little revenge for the years of her torment, ey?
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Red snarled, pulling out the bone dagger and stepping up to her, hand aching to bury the sharpened edge into her neck. One that... Didn't wear the black and red striped turtleneck sweater. One that wasn't covered in scars. His eyelight flicked towards the glasses on the ground. Normal. Like everything else about this lizard. Normal. "What the fuck were you planning to do here, HUH!? Take us all in like fucking animals and whatever the hell you want? Inject us with ACID? Tear our limbs off!?" Every word was spoken with venom, malice,nd hate. He was clearly one move away from putting a fist into her face.
    Alphys panicked and let out a high yelp as all of a sudden she was dragged into the confined space. She didn't have much time to react- barely enough time to look around at the others inside- they looked familiar, yet different. All of a sudden, the skeleton started talking, the one that was acting out angrily with a knife pointed at her. She was starting to think about where she had gone. This definitely was the underground, right? So where was she? She shook her head and focused, eyes wide, still watching that knife and feeling a sense of menace from it.
"Uhh y-yeah you're right, don't worry, I won't inject acid or anything in you or anything, I promise… …re you supposed to be.... ....Sans¿"
    "Good." Sans started with. Somehow, he still managed to keep up his demanding, deep voice, but again; he was terrified... Obviously, obviously this lizard was different but... The stories he heard- Alphys's 'limb reattachment' experiment (just how many monsters were mutilated, limbs broken and downright torn from their bodies and reattached to others- not even in the right places) and unfortunately he was there to personally witness her research on 'element exposure'. The monsters he saw freeze... The monsters he saw burn. He actually gulped, trying to remind himself not only that this wasn't 'THE' Alphys, but that she was helpless right now.
"You are in the underground- just not YOUR underground... I uh. Think." He adjusted himself on his feet, relaxing just a little bit, only a little. "And yeah. That's a human." He motioned to the human and he could've laughed at the wide-eyed expression on his face. This guy sure as hell was in for a bad time if he couldn't get used to this, and quick. Hell with what was going on right now even he- Red winced, snapping back to focus- and Alphys.
"I'm Sans. So is he." He motioned to Blueberry, hesitating just for a second as he saw the look on his face. He honestly looked not too far off from a panic attack. Red quickly shook his head and turned back to Alphys. "To make a long story short; there's something like... Timelines or universes or some shit. Bottom line is; you’re in MY territory now. And here it is 'Kill or be killed'. You're free to leave, but I ain't saving your ass." He huffed a little. "...Otherwise, we're searching for a way to get you guys home." He sighed. "You guys just don't belong here..." He mumbled.
    Alphys looked surprised, but then recovered her composure. "Oh gosh, a-alternate univ-v-verses¿ No way, but then…" Her expression turned to a real thought provoked one as she was starting to realize that she was a lot farther from home than she initially thought. Alphys then looked over at Blueberry Sans. It was really odd to see a second Sans that seemed to be so opposite, but she nevertheless waved to him. "So we don't have a way to get home just yet¿" That one question worried her the most.
    "Yeah. Y'know, I woulda found that hard to believe if I didn't just, y'know- MEET MYSELF." The small skeleton huffed, looking away. "No. We don't. That's why I came to talk to you , Flower-" Whatever else he was going to say was lost under a small mumble. He looked down to realize it was Blueberry.
    "I don't know who you all are... But..." Blue was staring at the floor, blank and deep in thought. Upset at, well- everything. ' HIS WORLD WAS ENDING, AW CRAP. No pap? No chill, no nice cream? This place is soooo lame, and hurtful... Man, I can still feel the place he hit me. Pap said it’s not nice to hit, or throw... Why am I here? I wanna get out so bad, I wanna be free, everyone’s so evil here. Undyne was so much fun where I'm from! I wanna give this new one a piece of my mind! Naa, Sans would hit me again... Ha ha… I have… No real way out of here… Huh... '
"I don't know what to do anymore... I'm sorry, you know, for running off. Pap usually lets me know when I need naps. I hate those... But I stay out of everyone's way." The skeleton leaned against the cold igloo wall and tried to relax... Kinda... Sort of... Taking a few breaths. ' This is real crazy. I should know, I been called that lots... I need candy... And paps...'

Tap tap tap .

"Yeah, no. Sorry, old man-" Kira spoke, staring at the igloo in the distance, untrustful. It was convenient... Too convenient. Plus, it smelled like monsters were inside it. She glanced over at the skeleton beside her, clad in a long black coat, gray turtleneck, and with cracks running down below his right eye socket and up through his skull over the left. She, herself, was a small white dog. Even when standing on two paws, she was still only about 3 feet high, wearing a black hoodie with a crimson heart over the front. Her weapon, a baseball bat, rested on her shoulder.

"I don't trust that igloo. I smell other monsters in there and I bet they'll kill us as soon as we get near it." She said, glaring at the igloo. It wasn't an uncommon trick, waiting in shelter when a storm came and killing anyone looking for shelter from the cold. Sure, she could defend herself, but she wasn't so sure about Gaster.

"My dear, this is the only way I think we will be able to get out of this weather alive." Gaster chuckles. "And if you’re worried about my safety, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself." The skeleton spoke as he began to walk toward the igloo.

"Ugh! Fine!" Kira angrily sighed, hesitantly following Gaster. This damn skeleton was insane! She was NOT happy about this idea at all! It was an idiotic, dumb idea that'll get them killed! She didn't even KNOW this guy for, what- more than half an hour after finding the idiot wandering around in a storm like this. As he approached the front of the igloo, he made his presence known to those inside by lightly tapping on the structure of bones closing off the entrance. Kira stayed silent, letting Gaster speak, though she tightened her grip on her bat just in case.

"Hello? Is anyone in there? If so, I would like to humbly ask if me and my friend here could wait out the storm here in this igloo. We won’t cause you any trouble, it's just until this blizzard passes."

"Pap? Pap? Are you SER-" The skeleton froze at the voice behind him, whipping around with his small bone dart poised to attack. How could he let his guard down!? Was that- no, no, no he was DEAD! But that voice and-- Alphys, though she could hear someone outside and she couldn't quite make out everything they were saying, curiosity got the better of her.

"Wh-who is it¿ If y-you're hostile then don't bother, we seem to have an angry sk-skeleton in here who may h-hurt you." "NO NO NO!" Red screamed out, mainly sounding desperate than intimidating. About to tackle Alphys to the ground, he found out it was too late. The door was open. The small, angry skeleton whipped around at the sound of his voice.

"Oh heavens, no! We mean no malicious intent to any of you, just a place to stay warm and wait out this blizzard." Gaster spoke with a smile, sticking his head into the igloo.

"Oh my gosh, Gaster, you're here¿ Yes, this is excellent! Quick, get in here." Alphys was completely shocked- but then an excited grin manifested on her face as she beckoned for Gaster to come in... Alongside a small Kira, sticking as close to him as she could. The taller skeleton seemed to have noticed this and turned back to face her.

"See? I told you being kind to others can get you places." Gaster smiles as he walks inside the igloo. Once inside, he looks at Alphys. "Ahh, Alphys. It's good to see you again. I trust the lab is doing well?-"

"NO!" Red snarled, not caring who he was interrupting as he stepped towards Kira, hand gripped around his dagger. He was absolutely terrified . That WAS Gaster. Sure as hell not Wing Dings. And yet- that was a small comfort in comparison to the great big RED FLAG when he saw Kira.

"Not HER!!!" Looking her dead in the eyes, staring right at her but addressing them as the words came out in a rumbling growl.

"She'll get us killed!!" He snarled, "I can't let you LIVE either, mutt... You'll sell us out in a heartbeat." "Come at me! I dare ya!" Kira bared her teeth in an attempt to look intimidating, despite her small jump at the sudden hostility from Sans. Wait a second... This is the skeleton Undyne wanted! Another growl rumbled from her throat as she raised her bat up, ready to defend herself.

"H-hey, both of you calm down, let's not start a fight right n-now." Alphys cut in, looking nervous as all hell. "Don't worry Sans, Gaster will be able to help. He is the b-best at science like this after all, he’ll get us home." She slipped her hand into her satchel and rested it there, just in case she had to stop a fight or protect herself from anyone.

"Well, if it isn't Sans- well, you’re not my Sans- but still Sans nonetheless." Gaster's eyes fell on Sans, surprisingly stepping into the situation. He paused, looking at Kira. "Try to avoid starting a fight. I imagine we’re all in the same boat so please, control yourselves." The elder turned to look back towards Red. "Same goes for you, my boy. Don't cause any trouble, please."

Unfortunately that didn't mean the smaller took his eyes off Kira, not even for a second... But... He wasn't up for a fight, even against this runt... With Alphys AND Gaster asking for peace? This was just too damn surreal. All of this was just too damn surreal.

"... Alright." He lowered his arm but he still didn't peel his eyes off of her or release the dagger. "I'm too tired for this shit. It's cold. You ain't got a choice in staying here. But... As long as you don't try anything, I won't tear your throat out." Sans stepped out of the doorway and glanced back at Gaster with the look of 'You gunna get her or should I?' With a small nod, the message seemed to have been received, smiling that same... Weird... Smile that Red never thought was possible on any Gaster's face.

"Alright, come along Kira, make yourself at home. Also, Alphys, I have some things pertaining to our situation that I wish to discuss." "Of course." Said the lizard, immediately responding with a nervous smile... A small bit of doubt crept into her head. Was this her Gaster- or not? How was one to even tell?

"Discuss anything you wish sir, I'm ready to help however I can."

"Well, this certainly makes things a tad harder, but I have a theory." Gaster settled himself on the ground before turning to the other scientist. "Alphys, I believe that each of us, maybe more, have been involuntarily dragged to this dimension for some unknown purpose. That leads me to 2 probable causes. A, there is a disturbance in space time creating a hole between dimensions, or B,  someone has discovered dimensional travel and specifically brought us here for a reason I'm not sure of. Are you able to comprehend what I'm saying?"

"Of course I understand sir. Those are very sound theories, although I really hope it's not B. I uh, actually came here after my experimental teleporter lost control, and that would mean someone may have possibly interfered with it." Alphys looked worried. hat type of power could the culprit in theory B possess if they could do something like that? Gaster must've been thinking the same thing, judging by the serious look in his eyes and a small 'hmm..'

"If that's true, then theory B is definitely of high probability. But that leaves us with 3 more questions: How did they do it? Why did they do it? And who is behind all this? " With a sigh, Alphys agreed with a nod. "Perhaps the best place to start would be learning how everyone got here in the first place, surely there would be some differences or even perhaps a clue. How did you get here, or what events lead you here, sir¿"

Gaster gave a small nod of agreement although he paused,scratching his head to try to recall what had happened. "I simply went to sleep in my lab, then when I woke up, I was in the snow of the forest during a blizzard. Though... I was working on multi-dimensional theory at the time, maybe that had something to do with why I'm here?"

"I see-" Alphys hummed, "Although, from my guess, I can't imagine everyone else here has been working on multi-dimensional travel, so if B is correct, then they don't necessarily have to have a source like a teleporter." She gave a passing glance towards everyone in the igloo. "Well that's one way to put it. But remember two of them are from this dimension- but the others could be test subjects, or maybe he just sent them here to throw us off their trail and make it look random. In all actuality there are many different reasons it could be, but those two are the most likely to be the true reason." Gaster chuckled "Well played, my unknown friend. Well played indeed. This, my dear Alphys, is a battle of wits. Provided all of what I am saying turns out to be true."

"It certainly seems so sir-" Alphys spoke through a nervous smile. "Of course, assuming it's B, would you reckon the person would originate here, or would it be another ruse to throw off his actual location¿" Needless to say- the thought that someone could send her to an alternate universe on a whim was an uncomfortable feeling. "This most likely isn't their dimension, but we can't throw out the possibility that it is either. No one should control something as immense as this. They could throw reality itself into chaos by ripping open dimensional holes. If they certainly do exist, we must find them and quickly put a stop to it." Alphys nodded with a determined look.

"Of course, I'm sure if anyone can find them it would be you, sir." A look of doubt crossed her face. "Although, first we should probably look for a way to travel through dimensions ourselves before we work out the how's of our unexpected travels." "Yes, we certainly should, but I'm sure if we put our heads and research together, we'll come up with something." "Well, after this blizzard dies, I'm sure we'll be able to find somewhere to set up shop and get to work."

"If this place is anything like my dimension, or even your dimension, then what about your lab? Granted, we'll need access, and I'd doubt they would just let us in." "Ummm sir, the Alphys in this universe, um, isn't very nice. I mean, even this universe's Sans seems to be frightened of her, something about injecting acid and other horrible things of the sort." The lizard did her best to ignore the low growl that emanated from the corner at that sentence. Gaster somehow seemed entirely unphased by both of those, simply acknowledging it with a small nod.

"I never said we would need her permission, but we'll definitely need access to those resources if we want any hope of leaving this dimension. Even if we were to solve multi-dimensional theory without that lab, we’re still stuck here."

"Yeah, you're right-" Alphys took a deep breath and hesitantly nodded. "I'm sure we'll be fine, plus I have a minor self-defence measure if things turn bad." She sighed as she wished she brought some of the more offensive soul orbs.

"Then it's settled. It's a priority that we get into that lab." "Yes sir, um... So do we have any way to deal with… ....Opposition? This universe in general seems to be fairly hostile." She knew the Gaster from her universe could hold his own, but this Gaster was obviously different.

"Well," Red spoke up, there was a small click as he flicked the lighter closed after lighting another cigarette. "I can answer one of your questions." He took in a drag of his cigarette, eyes trained on Kira the whole time, but he was still listening. He may get a lot of shit from- well- everyone, but he DID work in the lab once upon a time and when he tried they honestly made perfect sense. "Whoever sent you here- did it to try to kill you." The skeleton nodded to himself. "Again. I don't know where the fuck you all came from or your universes but I know mine... And honestly, I'm all for getting you guys home. BUT! You're gunna have to listen to me." He looked around. "All'a you." He sighed, rubbing his temple. "The only way we're gunna do this is quickly and quietly. I won't lie, either. Worse comes to worse you- we- whatever could turn ourselves in. The King will get you home... But that don't mean you'll be getting back in one piece, and whatever he does to your universe... Alphys, on the other hand, may actually help us and keep her trap shut... If you're up for being a guinea pig." He huffed and looked away. "Yeah, we ain't doing that."

"Will you shut up! " Kira finally snapped. Clearly, she was overhearing the conversation and had reached a breaking point in her annoyance. She was already in a bad mood and just wanted some peace and quiet for once in her damn life! Not to mention, she knew fully well she'd be dusted- or worse if she was caught 'allying' with the monsters they were supposed to capture. Undyne and the other guards would have her head on a spike when all was said and done.

"Oh ok then, no need to be so rude." Alphys huffed. Red, on the other hand, let out a low warning growl.

"Ey. If you gotta problem, I can make it so you CAN'T anymore." He growled, death-glare locked on the small dog... Wait. Focus. " 'N look, mutt. Yer gunna help us out now- unless ya want me to end it now-" He shrugged but then looked her in the eyes. "After we get 'em home, you'll be free. So the faster we get this figured out. The faster you're gone. Got it?" Sans turned to Gaster now, letting out a little sigh. "We can break into the lab if we gotta. But look at this group? Even with her-" He pointed at Kira "Help, there ain't any way we can move unnoticed. So the next move's gunna be all or nothin." Sans actually forced out a laugh now. "Cuz I ain't gunna lie- I don't make much of a 'meat shield' or 'trading pawn' or whatever here. Alls I can do is hold 'em back." He sighed, stubbing the last bit of the cigarette into the snow.

" 'Nyway. We're all stuck here till it passes so might as well get comphy I guess."

Chapter Text

"Red? Wait, what's wrong? Red!? RED!!"

Grillby stood quickly from his chair, turning around to grab hold of the skeleton's jacket- but he was already gone. Damnit.

'Gimme a minute, old man, this part gets a little fuzzy. Lemme think.' Whatever he thought of was clearly enough to get him to flinch, drop his cigarette on the floor, and leap from his chair. The door slammed behind him before the elemental could catch a glimpse of his face. With a small sigh, Grillby plucked the burning tobacco from the ground and closed the lid of the laptop. 

Program terminated- Restart? Y/N ..... Searching....... Updating Backup_Files.... Success...... Merging Observer.dll... Success.... Initiating Reboot.....

"Are you sure, though...?" "Holy shit- YES. Just- start the damn thing already!" "Red-" "Grillby." "Okay... Okay."

The screen of the laptop flickered back to life. Now fully illuminating their faces in the dark room. Red couldn't help but to wince a bit, finding the blue glow of Grillby's flames a lot less harsh then the apparent glaring sun that was the computer screen. He had a headache, damnit, his nose felt all stuffy and no matter how hard he rubbed- the streaks down his cheeks just couldn't go away fast enough. Grillby himself looked a lot more tired, too. It was pushing midnight but-- the old man was right. There wasn't a chance in hell he could get any sleep with this on his mind. The skeleton bit down a soft chuckle at watching Grillby struggle to startup the computer again. "What the... Why won't it... Now where's the... Ugh, Red I think-" "It's not broken." The elemental glanced back at Red, but with a small motion from him- he turned back towards the screen. Lo and behold, there was the document. Cursor still blinking right where they left it. "O-oh." "Awh, no need to sound so disappointed, Grillz. Even if that one bit the dust, the kids will just force ya to learn another one, y'know." The small huff that came from the other was enough to finally bring forward a small laugh. "You'll get it one day, old man. 'Nyway. Where'd we leave off?" "Hm..." Grillby squinted at the screen, giving it a small nod "Everyone was settling in the igloo, it seems.... What?" He turned back at hearing Red's short hiss. "Ugh.... Nothing. Kinda. The PROBLEM is nothing, I mean. I don't remember hit. AGAIN." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he didn't have to hear the words or see the look to hear the other's concern. To know he was about to ask 'are you sure' for the millionth time. But if they just skipped over all the shit they had been through then what was the point of this whole thing, anyway!? Even still, he looked up, and the look on Grillby's face pulled a sigh out of him.

"Okay... I remember.. We all agreed on the lab. The blizzard starting to die down and it was morning so we made our way out. I... Can't remember if we tried to head to Grillby's- er- y'know- my- er-" "Underfell Grillby, you mean?" The flame corrected politely, smiling just a little at how Red nervously scratched the back of his skull. "Yeah... Him..... I think we tried, got to the forest, right about the side of town. Uh. Snowdin, I mean. But I know- I KNOW we were stopped. Dogamy and Dogaressa. I know it was them cuz, I remember thinking- 'weren't they Kira's cousins? Were they her parents?'- I... Still don't know, actually-" Red furiously shook his head "It- doesn't matter now. But THAT'S the strange thing. They attacked us. I know for a fact they attacked us but I don't remember a damn thing about what happened. Someone was hurt, yeah. Kira was stabbed somehow. I think maybe even I was cuz- I had Trent's jacket on for some reason. I think someone convinced them to let us go, that or we knocked them out. Or-" Red paused, the frustration continuing to mount. "But I was exhausted by the end of it. I was exhausted and so when---" The room fell silent, just like the expression on Red's face. The previous frustrated energy that fueled the small skeleton faded and he sat back in his chair, closing his mouth and looking away. Grillby sat there, allowing the silence to settle in. He honestly would've been just fine to leave it at that- but the longer he watched, he came to realize a panic attack starting to rise. The rapid tapping of his fingers. The quick rise and fall with each breath. Even in the way he seemed to look more angry but refused to look over.

"Boss, right? Your bro-" "Yeah." Red cut in sharply, sliding down a bit in his chair, allowing the fluff of his jacket to hide his face.. Even if it was only a little. "We can just skip-" "No, Grillz. No we can't. I still can't even find the words to tell PJ- so- y'know what. Maybe you can. LOOK-" He felt a sharp pang of guilt, not meaning to send a harsh glare. At least, he must've, watching as the flame winced and glanced down. "..... It ain't even. The worst thing he's done, either. Just what he said." There was a pause and he heaved a sigh, looking away once more. Hell, Red was almost starting to think that, after a few minutes in the silence, Grillby actually wasn't going to ask the question.

"So then... What did he say....?" Another pause, Red let out a long sigh and looked away.

"Do NOT interrupt me again." "Y-yes boss." Red glanced up, an almost pathetic expression on his face. They weren't that far off from the clearing, still trying to catch their breath, some still nursing their wounds. They couldn't rest there- easy prey just begging to be eaten.... He should've known it was Boss who would sniff them out. Now he was frozen in his clutches, singled out from the rest of the group not more than 100 feet away. Unsure what to expect as Boss stared out at the rest of them- he couldn't have gotten off that easy. Red could feel a shift, something in Papyrus' head. In his expression, in his posture snapped.

"Now." Boss cleared his throat and the next thing he felt was the bark of a tree on his back. Papyrus' fist around his throat. Feet scrabbling uselessly to find solid ground. "WHAT did you think you were doing!? After ALL the work I'VE done. To get SAVE your worthless ass, to THROW THAT AWAY!!! OVER A STRANGER NO LESS!!" "I-i didn't..." "Oh you DIDN'T HUH!?"

"UNDYNE!!" Red squealed out, trying desperately to breath but knowing better than to touch the hand that held him. "S-she was gunna- gunna kill me.... I-i was gunna give him over.... I was-" His sentence was cut off by a single twist of Papyrus' wrists. "LIAR." The taller skeleton roared. "All of this and you had the AUDACITY to not respond to my texts. I GAVE you your chance than, but you squandered that." Red locked eyes with him, tears beginning to form. He didn't even think to look at his phone. "I.. I am.." "Tell the TRUTH now."

"F... Fuck you..." Papyrus yanked back and threw him against the tree. Red didn't even have enough breath to yelp, giving in and desperately trying to grab at the hand. No punishment would even matter if the black spots that dotted his vision too over."These m-monsters.... Don't belong i-in this shitstain of a world..." He gasped "T-t-they didn't do..... Anything...." "Ohhh I see.... It was COMPASSION. Well. BROTHER. Do you know what kindness get you, hmm?" There was that glint in his eyelight. That curve of his smile that made his whole body freeze. "N-n-no..." Red squeaked, tears forming in his sockets. "P-ple-"

SNAP.

The world went black. His throat locked in a literal strangled screech. Body spasming. The side of the borrowed hoodie was now soaked in blood. The now-worthless rib bone dropping into the snow, along with its owner.

Papyrus wiped the small amount of dust and blood off his claws nonchalantly. Turning now to the others. Four bones, all the length of a bat, cracked, splintered and blood red shot up from the snow. "Look at all of you.... No wonder my brother was intimidated enough to serve you. No matter." His eyes narrowed, walking towards the group now.

"I, PAPYRUS, CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD COMMAND YOU TO LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS." The skeleton's voice boomed through the forest.

"That's it. We're done."

The lid of the laptop snapped shut again, causing the small skeleton to flinch hard enough to nearly bring him off his seat. Every bit of Grillby's expression betrayed the stern tone in his voice- no matter how hard he could try. "W-what!? No no- it's fine- I told you- it's fine!" "No. No it's not. Red-" "What the hell old man!? How many hours did we talk through all of this!? We already went through all of this and it's FINE, damnit!" Red felt a pair of warm hands grip his shoulders, but everything was still too blurry to see.

"Look at you, R-" "What ABOUT me!?" The small skeleton snapped, flinching when his vision suddenly cleared up and he felt a warm droplet land on his hand. His eye grew wide as he glanced down. Wait- was he- "Goddamnit not again- why the fuck am I crying!? I'm fine, damnit, I'm FINE." "No, you're not. Your shaking. C'mon, take a deep breath for me." "No- I don't fucking WANT TO- don't-" The small skeleton let out a tiny squeak when he felt his chair move forward. The hands holding his shoulders pulled him forward into a gentle hug. "D-damnit... Let... Let go of me, asshole..." "No can do.... Dumbass." The room fell silent for a moment or two... The elemental's flames providing the only light in the room and the soft rattle of bones the only sound... Well, until Red's smile perked up and he finally gave into a small laugh.

"D-damnit, where did that even start anyway..?" "Hmm?" It was as if he could hear the relief, and a bit of a smile, in the flame's voice. "Oh, I have an idea, but truth mainly." "Oh so I'm a dumbass, huh? Thanks assho-" This time, it was Grillby who cracked up. That sentence the very definition of point proven. "Wha- oh- pffffff- sonofa-" It didn't take long for him to be dragged into the laughter as well. It lasted for good few minutes. Red's own laugh being the first to die down, content to at least sit there and listen until his mind inevitably retreated to the memory again. "Hey-" A soft pat on his back caught his attention. "What's going through that skull of yours?" "Hmm... Trying to piece together what happened next, it's all... Hazy again.... 't least I have an actual excuse for this one, ey?" Red's eye light flicked up, looking at Grillby just as he let out a little sigh. Probably trying to determine if it was even worth it to try and continue to the fight. ".... Got a long road ahead of us, y'know... A lot more difficult things to talk through...." "Well, yes but-" "You won't let yourself skip over them." "No but that's not-" "That is the point, old man." "But are you-" "I'd feel a lot better knowin' I got two bottles of mustard waiting for me." Red smirked lightly laughing as he glanced up at the flame and his hesitant smile. "Alright, sure. You've earned it." Grillby sighed, softly patting the skeleton on the head.

"Looks like I'm good to go, then-" He paused, feeling the brief moment of concern from the elemental as he tried to find his words. "I was.. In the snow still... Bleeding... Kinda a lot. It hurt so bad I couldn't see straight but... I think they fought. I.. Can't remember any words and I didn't know it at the time but Alph kinda saved our asses. Y'know those orbs she had? Green I think that one was- where it puts up that bubble-shield thing? Well- she managed to trap him inside. Someone asked if I was okay. And I saw Trent, I was surprised he was alive so-- so I guess he got hurt." Red drew in a large breath and let it out in a sigh, shoulders slumping as if in defeat. Prompting a few more head pats from the other.

"...Yeah. Next thing I remember..."

"SANS!"

The voice tore through his thoughts- the command was heard. Without hesitation, even the pain in his rib going entirely unnoticed as the smaller skeleton hobbled over to the bubble. Though truth be told he pretty much smacked into it, having too much momentum to stop himself. "I see you've com to release me." "Boss that's-" "That was an ORDER." Red flinched back from the bubble, staring down.... He intended to shake his head, even a little, but he just.... Couldn't. "SANS." He felt a chill run up his spine and his phalanges curled into the 'palms' of his hands.

"B-boss I can't-" "EXCUSES." Papyrus hit the bubble hard enough to make a loud THWACK. "Now stop your snivelling and do as you're TOLD." "I CAN'T- I'm not-" Sans made the mistake of looking up, flinching as if he had been hit, choking down his words.

"WELL." "Boss, I just wanted to say-" "WHAT. That you're going with THEM. You're trying to 'HELP' these so-called 'FRIENDS'? Both of you have already bought into their LIES. Alright then. Go ahead, stick your neck out even further. Make it easier for them to slit your throat." Papyrus' voice rumbled out, a deep, unyielding tone. And yet.... The smaller skeleton only sighed. Wanting to say 'you don't know them' and 'that's not how it is' but it would do no good. So all that came out was a soft mumble of- "....I know..." Red's fingers gently rested on the surface of the bubble. "I came to say goodbye." "Goodbye. GOODBYE!? How DARE you. You're MY pet, MY property! You have the nerve to disobey ME!? RELEASE ME NOW OR SO HELP ME I'LL-" ".... Goodbye bro..." Red mumbled just barely above a whisper and turned to walk away. He knew full well it was coming and yet he still cringed when Boss spoke up again.

".... Look at you. Pretending you can be their 'HERO'. You KNOW they'll leave the moment they learn who you really are." Sans stopped, only making it a foot away while Papyrus stood tall, a grin seeping with malice on his face. "You disgusting, worthless piece of shit.... Sans, the one who'd rather COWWER and BEG instead of fight." "Please... Don't..." "Sans, the one who can't even KILL without SOBBING." "...Please." "Sans, the one who SOLD HIMSELF for a couple of FRIES."

"SHUT UP!!" The smaller skeleton roared out, one fist slamming on the side of the bubble. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! AND I KNOW I FAILED! I KNOW I'M PATHETIC! DISGUSTING! WORTHLESS!" With every sentence he slammed on the bubble again. "THEY'RE GUNNA KILL ME! AND IF THEY DON'T YOU WILL!" "Then. Give. It. Up. Sans! You take your punishment with stride, be THANKFUL and LIVE." "NO! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE! I NEVER ASKED TO LIVE!" Red's voice cracked as his arm swiped through the air. "I'm TIRED of hurting, I'm TIRED of being scared!!" "You truly ARE a coward." Red surged forward, both of his fists slamming into the bubble this time.

"I'm doing this for YOU, Papyrus!" Red wailed out, watching as Boss flinched back at hearing his name. "How DARE you! I'll-" "NO. This is MY turn! I'm doing this for YOU! For how YOU used to be!! YOU used to ALWAYS want to help! You were always so kind! Giving everyone a second chance-" "UNTIL YOU FAILED ME!" The taller roared out with enough ferocity to cause the shield to shake.

"I KNOW!!" Red sobbed out, voice cracking. "So just let me do this...!! For you! For me! For THEM!" The smaller skeleton was trembling and yet- no tears fell....Perhaps, if you looked close enough... So was Papyrus. "Just... Let me do this, bro...." He whispered, his skull made a slight 'tap' as it rested on the bubble. Papyrus backed up away from him, falling quiet for a few moments. With the passing of every moment, Red began to realize nothing else was going to be said. That was an answer in of itself, he supposed. Of course Boss wasn't even going to get close to him and he... Didn't blame him.... "So this is goodbye then..." Red began to turn away, they couldn't stay here any longer. "Sans." He stopped mid-step heard a voice behind him, maybe he was just hallucinating, maybe he was grasping at invisible straws but... It sounded sincere.

"Next time I see you. I will kill you. You aren't Sans anymore. You are dead to me." "I-" Red stared up at the taller skeleton with wide eyes. Voice nothing but a high pitch squeak, breaking as tried to speak through the burning in his chest. "I was only trying my best, Papyrus...." Gently, he rested his hand one last time on the bubble. Hoping for something... Anything. But all he got in return was his brother stepping away again.

"No. You weren't." The three words packed with more venom and malice then anything he had said before. Red stumbled, the bubble was the only thing to keep him upright as his legs gave out. covering his mouth, hiding his eyes in his sleeve- trying to hold back the tears...

"You're disgusting you know that." The small skeleton nearly let out a yelp at the sudden voice beside him. Flinching and cowwering. covering his head and expecting to be hit. "You talk down to your brother like you're god's gift even. You're really not. I don't think you even know how small you really are." After a moment, he peered up.... Trent....? Staring, eyes locked on Papyrus with gritted teeth. Returning the skeleton's glare two fold. "Unlike you- Sans cares about people, gets to know them. Doesn't make assumptions about people. That makes him more of a person than you will ever be. You don't even have the right to be his brother. You don't deserve his love... You don't deserve anyone's. You deserve the worst fate that you can come across, you deserve to die alone." It was a small change, as Papyrus continued his deadly gaze, but as he continue.. The maniacal grin began to fall. "You're a heartless creature both physically and metaphorically. A skeleton husk of what it means to live. Be thankful it is not my place to be judge, jury and executioner."

"Don't-" Despite everything, almost by instinct, Red whipped around. Gripping Trent's collar and yanking him away from the bubble. A fist raised to strike. "D-don't you talk to my brother that way..." Red tried his best to sound threatening same as he tried to keep the fist raised. "He deserves EVERYTHING this world has to offer..." The skeleton's head drooped down. "I know he still loves me...." The words barely even a squeak. Boss simply however rolled his eyes and stepped up.

"Tch. Sans. Release him." Who, of course did as told. "I thought I made it clear. I AM God's Gift. So. Come at me then, human. Let's see if you can handle another blast." "Trent, don't listen to him-" Another voice spoke up, this time Alphys. The lizard tugged on Trent's sleeve, shaking her head lightly with a spark of panic in her eyes. She must've realized Papyrus was attempting to egg him on enough to attack. Enough to damage the bubble and set him free. "Let's just go, we're done with him right now, and if we don't hurry up, more danger could come and he'll catch up to us later." Her eyes quickly flicked between the trio, trying to ignore the glare from Papyrus. "We're going to head to Waterfall to hide out, so it's a decent trip before we get there. So let's get going. Please." After a few tense moments, Trent scoffed and stepped back.

"Look at him... Even after everything you put him through he still loves you. That's a wonder because of I were Sans... I would never see you again " With a smirk, he slipped one of his hands in his pockets as he leaned on his cane. "Nah, a small creature such as yourself isn't worth my time. But if you're this 'divine decedent' as you claim smite me... And if you lay another hand on Sans I'll make an exception to my judge, jury and executioner role." A low chuckle rolled from the human. "If you're not going to smite me then- sit there and think about what I said O' 'divine decedent'" Trent said as he raised his arms from his sides backing up to retrieve his medical pack.

"Oohh..." Papyrus gave a sly chuckle, he wasn't about to let Trent have the final word. "I see. You're screwing him then." The words turned the marrow of Red's bones to ice. "....paps..." "Haha! That explains EVERYTHING!" As meek as it was, all Red could do was tug a little on Trent's sleeve. A flash of anger and Boss slammed his hands against the bubble, getting a small yelp out of the him. Any amusement in the sight turned just as quickly into anger.

"Hurry up then; Use him. Kick him to the curb. Make him REALIZE how this world works. But stop this pathetic charade." His eyelights flicked to Red. "Then you'll come crawling back to me. You always do. Now LEAVE you ingrates... 'Get a head start', I'll find you and I'll hunt you down. One. By. One."

"He's a whole lot better looking than your raggedy ass." Trent huffed, tossing his pack over his shoulder. "Hurt any of us, though, and I'll show you how small you're really are."

".... And that's it."

Red sat back in his seat, having broke the hug right around describing when Trent stood up. At least at this point the tears were gone... Even if his chest still burned and it felt like his collar was just closing in around his neck.

"That's... It?" "Yeah. We just.. Walked away... Dunno what else he said. What anyone said. My head just kinda...." Any amount of expression on his face just-- fell flat. "Blank. I just... Hurt. So... Yeah, next thing I remember.... Kind of remember was Waterfall." "And that was when..." "Nah- not. Yet. Anyway. No first it was Muffet, Underfell Muffet, I mean. See we-" The skeleton tilted his head a bit when Grillby raised his hand, the faintest hint of a smile.

"Stop right there. That's the perfect place to pause if I've ever seen one. Besides, someone was promised a bottle of mustard, if I do recall." "You mean two?" Red said through a squint, eyeing the other suspiciously... Surprised as all hell when Grillby smiled a little wider, reached over to pat his head and nodded. "Woah... R-really?" "Yes really." The flame stood, offering his hand to help him as well. "You've earned it." "Aw gee.. Don't forget your damn charcoal, too." Red took his hand and stood. Smiling a bit at the laugh he seemed to bring out of the other. "Oh I had no intention of doing so."

Grillby reached over and clicked the lid of the laptop closed.

Chapter Text

"Ugh."
There was the soft sound of the chair cushion compressing underneath Red's weight as he slumped inside it. "So we're back at this again, are we?" The skeleton let his head fall back- staring back at the now-upside down image of the blue fire elemental.

"Seems like it." Grillby said offering a small, almost timid smile. Gently patting his head as he moved forward to take a seat beside him and starting up the laptop. "Hmm? Well that didn't have a whole lot of spark to it." Red flipped his head back up, giving the flame a suspicious look as he tried to hold back a quiet chuckle. "Of course you had to." "Gee Grillz, figured I'd worry ya if I didn't." The elemental began to say something- only to pause, tilt his head a bit and nod. Realizing he had a pretty good point. It didn't seem to even take a moment for him to become transfixed by the screen- but the way the flame pursed his mouth shut all but earned a narrowed stare from Red. He wasn't just reading what they had wrote last week- now was he?

"...Hm. You ain't worryin' again are ya? C'mon G-" He gave the other a playful shove but it didn't get much of a reaction beyond a quick glance. Red let out a long sigh "How many times do I gotta tell ya? If you're gunna worry this much now I'm scared for what happens later. 'Sides- we don't even know if we'll even get there or not. And hell unlike most of our stories- he can come in and tell it for himself. Even he would be fine doin' that too." Grillby finally looked over at him, clearly wanting to speak what must've been the thousand and one things going through his head. Instead, he simply sighed and nodded in compliance. "Grillz. We've been over this and I'll stick to my promise, a'ight? 'ts all good, see?" Red stretched his grin even wider for a moment, earning a small laugh from the elemental. "Ah-hah! Gotcha." "Uh-huh and what's that supposed to mean when you're always grinning?" The skeleton gasped as if he were offended. "Are you IMPLYING that MY smiles are FAKE?" Grillby sighed softly, reaching out to gently pat his head. "There it is.That's the real one."

"H-huh!?" Red squeaked, taking a couple seconds to process what he said and letting out a sharp huff. "Oh- goddamnit Grillz! Now I'm gettin all self conscious and shit!" He gave him another playful shove even if it only made the flame laugh harder. "Isn't that my job, though?" "N-no! Maybe! Ohmygod shut up! Stop with the look already, c'mon let's just get to this!"  With one last resounding laugh, Grillby finally turned back to the computer and pulled his chair up closer.
"Alright, alright... Hm... Looks like we left off-" "Just leaving Snowdin, yeah?" The elemental gave a nod in confirmation. "Yeah, things are still pretty hazy there but I uh- I don't think anyone said much of anything after that. There wasn't a chance in hell we all could've hid in the house- or at Grillby's and it looked like our best shot was at the lab so... To Waterfall we went. See, uh, I knew of this cave, right? Kinda... Somewhere I went to hide out when things got too... Uhh... What's the word? Dicey?" Red waved a hand and shrugged

" 'Nyway I lead everyone there and I can remember Trent going around treating everyone's wounds...."

"Damn that's a deep cut...I've dealt with worse, don't worry." Trent assured the small dog monster. Kira, with a reluctant nod, decided stubbornness wasn't going to get her anywhere and laid back. Trying not to look over at the blood oozing from her stomach.The human wasted no time, pulling out his first aid kit  and a cloth thereof. "Not going to lie, this is going to hurt some." He said, pouring a bit of hydrogen peroxide on the cloth- not giving the small dog much time to dwell on the warning before pressing it to her wound.

"Just get it done and over with!" Kira hissed through gritted teeth, wincing at the sensation. God damnit that stung! After that- Trent swiftly went to work- pulling out the stitching kit and began to close the wound. "Now I have to wrap the bandage." He said after tying off the thread and cut it. Explaining each step of the process as he went on with it. Kira just forced herself to lay back and try not to cry out. Red winced just watching it. This wasn't good. Well- alright- no shit it wasn't good. Nothing about this whole damn universe was good- but things sure as hell could've been a whole lot better then this. Even worse yet- they were in his care and who the fuck in the history of ever thought THAT was a good idea? What's done is done, he guessed, but still. What were they supposed to do now? How could he ever hope to lead them through this? He didn't know the way- Red flinched with a sudden realization. He didn't know the way but-

"Flowey!"  Red hissed, tapping the ground lightly, glancing around to see if any of the others had noticed. Being certain to keep his voice low and back turned towards the others. The flower looked like he was about to doze off but his name being called seemed to startle him awake enough. Almost disappearing into the ground only to pop back up beside him again.

"Y-yeah, Sans?"  "Uh.. Sorry, uh, for waking ya'." The skeleton glanced over his shoulder and back again, "I just needed to ask. Do you know of anything, any shortcuts or... I-i dunno, something to help us out here?" Red nervously picked at his ulna "W-we don't even got food here... They're hurt… Would it still be worth it to see the riverman? Maybe a sewer line? S-something! Anything!" He stopped himself dead. He could feel the panic rising in his chest. Stop. Refocus... Reset. With a sigh, he managed look the flower in the eyes now. "Y-you have to swear to me, man. When shit hits the fan- you'll take them and run. Do you understand? Look I-i don't CARE if I make it. But they have to- they HAVE to! Please, Flowey, swear to me!" The skeleton was shaking now, expression a strange mix of anger- as if he were trying to intimidate the flower- and desperation.... When realized he had let that emotion slip- he recoiled as if he had been hit. " 'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He sighed sadly,looking down. "I know you have more power then you let on, Flowey.... That's why I'm asking you... I-i mean, you feel it too, don't you? They can't die here.... Not here..."

Surprisingly, Flowey listened as the skeleton spoke, feeling a bit.. Sorry for him. Having no problems in giving him a small nod. "I-I'll do what I-I can, Sans..." The flower responded, starting to think of any short cuts or maybe even another hiding place for the group. Neither of them saw as Alphys opened her eyes- she had after running through some nice thoughts in her head to calm her nerves and it seemed she finally gained the courage to stand. Slowly walking over to the cave entrance, over to them, and looked out at the puddles of water that dotted the area.

"Is there a place we can like steal food or something¿ Because it would probably help us recover if we weren't starving, or even thirsty for that matter." Red unintentionally flinched at the sound of her voice. Forgetting not only there were people behind him but that they could talk.... Shit. Did they hear....? Damnit... He ducked his head down, just nodding a little. She was right. They were all hungry and thirsty and yeah, Trent had food, but it should be saved if it could. There were two options. The Nicecream man. Food was kind of cheap. But two problems. Red figured he didn't care for politics and wouldn't rat them out. But under threat? Hah. He'd sing like a bluebird. Not to mention they could be seen in that area. Second; Muffet. NO ONE fucks with her, so long as they were the highest bidders, no leaks. Her... 'Home' was also in a hidden-ish area... But the biggest problem of all...? It was still MUFFET. Red gulped at the thought, pulled out of his head by Flowey.


"I-I... I think I kn-know of o-one short cut.... B-but I haven't used it i-in awhile... I-I'll need to scout it o-out first b-before we use it..." He spoke up, expression showing he was clearly in deep thought, still thinking of another shortcut just in case. There it was. Two causes to get the hell out of this cave.  "O-okay..." Red began, trying to shake the jitters out of his bones as he turned to the group, those his eyes stayed on Flowey. "I'll help you scout. And." He looked at Alphys.

"You're right. We need food and we have two options. The Nicecream man, he doesn't care but he could rat us out. And..." He scratched his skull nervously. "...Muffet. Our best bet is her but... She's one crazy ass bitch. We pay her enough though, make a fair trade, I think we can do it. I'm gunna have to ask for any gold anyone has. 'nd before anyone even THINKS it- I ain't gunna cut and run with your cash." He huffed, borderline growling that last part before turning to the human. "Ey Trent? Do you still have one of those sodas?"

Trent didn't say much, simply picking up a can and tossing it towards the skeleton. Alphys did much the same, immediately beginning to dig through her bag. She made sure she had her remaining six soul orbs left, not that she really wanted to use them for trading, she hoped to only have to save it for UF Alphys or a more dangerous opponent. In the end she managed to find about 10 dollars, human currency and passed it over to Red. Well. They LOOK weird enough to maybe be worth something.  Good. That'd probably make the whole thing even more enticing.  "Here's all I have, hope she likes it."

 "T-th-" Red paused as if trying  to remind himself of how to say that "Thanks Alphys-" He spoke, the words still feeling just as foreign as the coins in  his hands. "If there's any left I'll be sure to give it back." Red let out one last sigh. "C'mon Flowey. Let's scout out that shortcut first." He said, beginning to leave. Alphys following slightly, not realising that Red didn't realise she was planning on coming. Until he paused and looked back. "Ey. I'll be back in let's say, 2 hours. If I don't come back, it means Im dead. So don't you come looking for me. Just make it to the lab, capisce?" He said, pointing a finger before moving to actually leave now. With that said- Flowey nodded, disappearing into the ground and popping up a few meters in front of  him.

"I-I'll lead the w-way." The flower stuttered, disappearing into the ground again and popping up around 12 meters away. Once the skeleton caught up he'd do the same thing again, leading the way. Red continued onwards, following as Flowey popped up ahead. Forcing himself out of his mind to concentrate, listen, comprehend the area around. Unfortunately some of the echo flowers gave him quite a scare but somehow he only had to duck and hide once. Despite all of this- neither of them even noticed Alphys trailing quietly behind. "H-here it is." Flowey announced, having lead them to what seemed to be a dead end. Nothing but a solid wall and a great big boulder. Thankfully, the flower didn't give Red enough time for a nasty comment before summoning a few vines up from the ground. It took a burst of strength- but he managed to move it to the side to reveal a secret tunnel.

"See, Flowey. You're stronger than you think." Red said quite bluntly, giving the flower a bit of a dirty look. He crept forward into the cave, only to back out when he realized he couldn't see a damn thing in there.... Still, he was amazed he didn't find it sooner but if he did, this wouldn't be a good route to take, would it? Strangely enough, his mind came up with a quick enough of a solution. Walking off to an echoflower but surprisingly- he didn't straight rip up an echoflower, Instead, simply digging his hands into the soft ground beneath and gently tugged up the roots. Now with a 'candle'- he continued into the cave. Alphys waiting outside for a couple of moments. She assumed she would be able to hear anything that echoed through it, but the lizard wasn't sure if it was true or not, since she could barely hear Red’s voice and she couldn't at all hear what he was talking too. With a sigh, she moved to the entrance of the cave and looked in carefully.

It wasn't more then 5 minutes when movement caught his eye. In a second, he dropped the flower and lunged out it.... Trapping a spider within his hands. "GOTCHA!" The tiny thing squirmed and he swore he felt a bit of a pinch as it tried to bite him. It was hard to understand the tiny thing, spiders always had such high, distorted voices but he could gather it was 'release me' or 'please dont hurt me'. "Stop squirmin ya bugger." Red growled "I ain't gunna hurt you. Hey. HEY." Now it stopped scuttling around in his hand. "I'm not here to hurt ya. I'm here to offer a trade." Now he seemed to have the spider's attention as it stopped. Even when he removed one hand to take out one of the human coins. "I want to talk to 'your mother'. I've got more, straight from the surface.... And information." He set the spider down gently.

"Near the statue. Let's say, 10 minutes."  With that, the spider took off. It always creeped him out, but Red was willing to bet somehow, someway, he was speaking directly to her. Now, he picked up the echo flower again and finished scouting out the tunnel. It looked all clear so... Now, the deal. After a couple more minutes of walking- he exited the cave, echoflower still in hand. He stooped down to replant it- telling himself the reason he did that in the first place was to not anger Flowey. The damn flower repeating 'Let's say 10 minutes.' still in his hushed tone. The skeleton leaned close to it, speaking as quietly as he could. "I love you, Papyrus." He sat there for a few moments, gently rubbing one of the petals between his fingers. The thought occurred to him.... Maybe they could set up a trap in case the hunting party was closing in on them.... Yeah. When they all passed through here, that would be perfect, wouldn't it? He would have to shout, sure, and the others would have to be quiet if they passed but... That would be perfect. He almost nearly thanked the damn flower, but as it repeated his words back to him it was enough to yank Red back to reality and stand again.

"It's all clear Flowey. You can go back to the others., if ya want. You are the only one who can find and open the entrance so uh.. They need ya." He paused, "I secured a meeting with Muffet. And the same thing goes. If I'm not back in an hour, you know what happened." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his borrowed hoodie; sneering at the bloodstain. Of course the one thing someone was actually nice enough to give him- he just had to go and immediately ruin it. Red shook his head as if trying to dispel the thought and began  to walk off... Only, his foot stalled. "Thanks Flowey.... For...Yeah. You know." With that, he finally turned and began to walk off. Flowey nodded slightly, watching as Red made his way to the statue. Feeling rather quite torn on what to do Maybe he could... No. That'd be weird and rude. But.... Ok fine. He decided to follow him from a distance, just to make sure nothing horrible happened.

"Woah, hey, Red. Red?" Grillby suddenly spoke up, he didn't even realize it until he started to hear a soft rattling noise and looked over to see Red shivering. It took the skeleton a couple of moments to pull away from his memories, which certainly didn't help his concern.

"Huh?" The other spoke up, this time it didn't take him long to pick up on the tense atmosphere "What? What did I miss?" "You're shaking. Really bad." "Huh? Ugh." Red looked down at himself and rolled his eyelight, though where his annoyance was directed the flame wasn't sure.

"Well DUH. The hell did you expect? Muffet is fucking terrifying, man! And trust me when I say that sure as shit ain't a weakness to admit. It's goddamn common sense." Well, Grillby couldn't help but to smile a little at such an open reaction. At least he knew it wasn't much to be concerned with-- but it seemed Red took that as some sort of doubt.

"I'm SERIOUS, G! When I said she's one crazy ass bitch, I meant she's one crazy ass bitch!" "Easy now-" Grillby said, stifling a small laugh and putting his hands up in surrender. "I'm not denying anything here." The reaction just got an exasperated huff from the Red. "But- no- like- AGH- DUDE. Our Muffet, she's uh, okay I guess so you wouldn't know. Fell Muffet, though?" The skeleton shuddered- his bones making an even louder rattling sound as he did "She controlled everything and I mean everything. If there was a rumor on the street- it was because she wanted it there. Oh and she'd let them go  too, especially about herself. If someone got it in their head that she- I dunno- would kidnap you and make you into a great big egg sack?" Red huffed, a noise almost like a laugh but not quite. "Oh yeah, she'd make sure everyone knew it. Worst part is?" The skeleton pointed a finger at Grillby, who could honestly only raise a brow in response. Looking more... Concerned than anything else. "We didn't have a SINGLE fuckin' clue if it was true or not. At least with Alphys. Stars no I don’t mean our Alph. Fell Alphys. Not to speak ill of the dead or whatever bullshit-" Red waved his hand “At least with her you KNEW you were gettin’ fucked over by her. But Muffet? Oh HELL no. You’d spend the rest of your life never knowin’ who or even why.”" He sat back in his chair, though perhaps it would be more accurate to say he threw himself into it. Crossing his arms now.

"Hell, even when I walked into that cave I still saw bodies. Wrapped in web, still wrigglin' too and I don't have a SINGLE doubt in my head how they got there, neither. 'Course I'm scared. Back then I was terrified, Grillz. So by the time I got to the statue and I couldn't see her? You better fuckin' believe I was near about to bolt. And y'know what? I still think she could smell the fear on me or somethin', because that giggle. That fucking giggle when she came crawlin' down from the ceiling....."

Chapter Text

A giggle could be heard nearby as Muffet slowly lowered herself down from above the statue. Sitting oh so casually in a small hammock made of webs. She looked up as she put down the tea she was drinking on a small plate.

"So its you, Sans. I hear you and a group of other people have been particularly... Naughty recently." She watched the skeleton as he outright jumped at the sight of her. Which only seemed to put a knowing, sly smile on her face. Her spiders had informed her of what he potentially may be offering her, and she was definitely interested, although she didn't let her interest show what's so ever. "So tell me dearie, what type of assistance could I provide for you¿"  

"Miss Muffet." Red actually gave a quick bow, rather sloppy bow. He was glad he didn't actually have skin- otherwise it truly would be crawling. "I see you've got my message." He  slowly knelt down, making absolute certain she could see his hands as he took out one of the cans of soda. His eyelights flicked over at the others spiders before carefully rolling it over to her. Trying not to show any possible signs of aggression.

"Things are.... Complicated." He mumbled, pausing, taking a quick breath to steady his voice. "Food.... Food..... Information... And above all else; silence." Red nodded, just a little. Daring to look at Muffet in the eyes- only if for a moment. "Gold. More drinks. And even more of that money I gave to your..... Child. But before I show what all I've got- I need YOUR word." The skeleton pointed to the spider but only for a split second.

Muffet immediately went straight business in her head, she knew she had potentially two weapons at her disposal to drain as much as she could from the loser. First, she decided to try and increase his uneasiness if not fear of being around her. Anxious people tended to make rash decisions, after all.Setting her tea down on the plate, the spider crawled off her hammock, and with her hands behind her back she walked to the skeleton until they were only just a meter apart. As she closed in, Red tried to cover a shiver by shifting his weight onto his other leg but he knew she could see right through him. Especially at the toothy grin Muffet gave him, stopping in her advance. This was close enough, it seemed. So the spider decided to see if she had her second weapon available
Desperation.

"So Mr. Skeleton, why come to me? Why not to the shop in Snowdin? Or even the nice-cream man? They certainly would be cheaper than me. And closer. I'm not sure you can afford my services." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the skeleton's face for any sign of a lie.  "I think you know very well why I came to you, ma'am." Red paused. Trying his hardest to refocus himself, having to check his own determination and desperately fight off the urge to run. So, he thought of the scent of blood on the snow. The shouts. Each strike as they landed on his companions.... His.... Friends. Red raised his head a bit higher, his back straightened. He could not afford to fail.

"You know just as well as I- anyone else would sing like an echo flower the moment any pressure was applied. I cannot tolerate that." For once he almost wanted to thank Papyrus and his stick-up- the-ass attitude. It made a good template for this forced politeness. "Not to mention, no one else in the underground can see the real value in things. And, pardon my language, ma'am, but no one fucks with you. NO. ONE." Perhaps he should mention how good her food tastes, but that would be kissing too much ass, now would it? He was here for a deal. Not to grovel. And so, the skeleton forced himself to meet her eyes. "Even I. That's why I'm offering a fair trade. Food and perhaps a few snippets of what your children have seen. They are everywhere, everyone knows that." Sans gave a quick nod. "And that's it. Deal is done. I do expect you'll keep confidentiality, same as I." He paused. "What do you say, Miss Muffet?"

Muffet chuckled lightly, she didn't expect the skeleton to hold his ground so diligently, and she decided to at least give him some credit for that, most that were desperate enough to come to her were cowering weaklings. She noticed a spider on the ground walking towards her. Muffet picked it up and quickly listened before putting it down again. Little did Red know- it was that little spider told her of a certain two individuals playing hide and seek on the skeleton. She was just trying to work out where exactly they were hiding Muffet really hoped this wasn't a double cross.......For the guests. "Well dearie, I like what you got there, I just want to know, is there a specific type of info you want. I do get quite a fair bit, as you know. I'll happily give some that might be relevant to you." Although she didn't show it, the spider was racking her brain as she thought up some of the better info that she could give the skeleton. While doing that she clicked her fingers and loud scuttling could be heard in the distance, the sound of a large amount of spiders moving away. A sound that Red had to resist another full shivver."Your goods will be coming in shortly, just let my children get them for you." "Thank you, ma'am." Red spoke as he gave another short bow. Actually meaning it this time. That's when he noticed the spider's eyes weren't trained on him... But behind him. Instantly a pang of panic and adrenaline as he whipped around.

"What- what's there?" Red spoke quickly, oh god we're they getting attacked!? "D-Don't answer that!" Red quickly snapped. For every answer there came a price and he just needed to get his deal done and over with. "P-please." He corrected. Cursing the slip in his tone and trying to make up for it by straightening out his posture once more, taking a second to choose his next words. Carefully. "The information I need..." The skeleton took in a deep breath to calm himself once more. "The hunting party, how close are they? And the Lab. Is there a way in? I do know that is some expensive information so as much as that can buy." How could he ask the next one? How much information did he want to give her? ... And just how much information could he expect from her? "Finally... Those in my party. You... Know they're different." No denying that. There were two of him after all. "Are there more? More we haven't found yet? I can at least trade information for information on that one." He dug inside his pockets and pulled out all the other sodas and the collection of coins he had. "This is what I have to offer." For some reason- this only made Muffet giggle.

"Well here's some of that info you want. The hunting party has entered Waterfall by now, that's all I know of them. The Lab doesn't have a secret entrance... Per se, but you could use the sewer system, however I don't know where that enters in the lab." The spider grinned now "Of course, finally, the most important part. All I'll tell you for this abundance of info is that you haven't found them all, there is maybe one or two." She shrugged, pretending not to know. "So tell me Mr. Skeleton what did you plan on telling me in exchange for that¿" Muffet looked curious as she wondered what he could possibly know that she didn't.  But her patience was only met with silence as Red stood rigid. Panic rising in his chest. Just how much time did they have left...? The sewers? Did he know where the entrance was!? It took every ounce of willpower not to blurt out each question- he figured with each one the spider would give them less food. But the last one struck him just as hard as the first. There were MORE!? Who knows who they were or where they're from but to leave without them....!? Red let out a small whimper, looking at the ground. No,  no he couldn't afford to think like that. There was no choice but to march on. He couldn't risk the others. It may already be too late.

"Right. Uh." Red glanced up. Shit. Would she already know this? No no NO. He couldn't AFFORD to doubt himself. Not now. "My group. You may or may not know but.... There's another me, another Sans. Bo- er.... Papyrus. Alphys. They're like us but not...." Red sucked in a sharp breath, trying to push down the rising fear. What if Muffet just thought he was spouting bullshit? "They're from another universe. Crazy I know." He couldn't give the source... Perhaps the equation? "I am going to pick up a rock and write something down. You can watch my every move. I will go slow. Okay...?"

"Equation?"
The sudden voice from Grillby probably startled him just as much recalling Muffet did. The old man couldn't help but to let out a sad sigh, it wasn't as if he could blame Red. The only sounds that had been in the room were the soft typing of keys and his own voice and- at this point- he was beginning to catch 'the look'. Sure everyone had their own way of recalling memories, going back to them to some extent.... But it honestly was as if the skeleton were one step away from fully reenacting them and that thought made the old man wince. Was he going to do the same when his turn came? It didn't matter, this time it was Red startling him from his own thoughts.

"Oh uh, yeah, I think it was that equation that Alph put into her own machine. Y'know, right before she exploded and wound up in the forest. Y'know, I actually uh..." Red's expression shifted, almost to annoyance for a second as he scratched his chin.. Eventually shaking his head a bit. "Yeah I don't actually know. Wow. I uh. I can't actually remember what kind of machine she was even trying to make. Wow uh, I really gotta ask her about that, huh?" The skeleton chuckled, hand moving to the back of his skull now. Well... Until he caught the look on Grillby's face.

"What? Didn't I already go over that part?" A shake of his head and Red's eyelight suddenly flickered out. "O-oh." His face dropped and so did the rest of his posture- but another small shake of his head and he stopped the elemental from apologizing and desperately assuring him it was okay to move on.

"Yeah-" Red heaved a sigh "Yeah I know why. We spent a decent amount of time in that cave, before I went to go meet with Muffet. I... Kinda talked with everyone, and by everyone uh... I think.... Kira, Trent, Alph, Blue... Uh.... Blue's uh... Bro. And.... Yeah no, I-- I don't remember anyone else." "Wait, what about Gaster? And you said there was even another Papyrus with you?" Grillby didn't even try to hide his surprise at hearing those words and Red just-- shook his head again. "See- I- I dunno. And I swear, I swear there were even more people there, Grillbz. And even more? I KNEW I was forgetting them. It was that cave that I made those drawings. Of everyone. I knew I needed something to remember them. What if they died? That was like--" The skeleton had to pause to catch his breath, not even realized he had gone off like that. Grillby started to reach out, probably to pat his head, but he just made the simple signal to stop. He was still fine... Right? "That was like their memorial, y'know? I think that's how we still remember Gaster, at least. And I thought that's why I still remembered Blue but-" Both of them let out a sad sigh this time. Knowing the words well enough they didn't need to be spoken.

"Uh... Yeah. I remember Alph was off in the corner, mumbling a bunch of shit. I think I overheard her, some sort of theory or something' and I corrected her on it. We actually.." Red's expression actually softened to a gentle smile now. "It was actually kinda fun as fuckin' nerdy as that is. I can't remember the words but we were throwing theory after theory at each other. Trying to work out the who what when why and how's, y'know? And just as I was sayin'. What would happen if- y'know- and what could be happening in the universes. Did everyone there like, get replaced? If Blue was there, how come I was still there too? ....Yeah. Yeah Alph noticed people were gone too. I remember cuz we agreed that meant they just went back home. That's why they poofed, y'kno-" Red glanced up, stopping dead in his tracks when he realized Grillby was giving him 'the look'. That one expression that was something between sympathy and 'Proud Dad Mode'. "Agh.... Stop with that look already..." He reached up to nervously scratch the back of his head again, looking away.

"Sorry-" It was as if Grillby was trying to stifle his smile but certainly didn't work "Sorry. Please, keep going. Whenever you talk about science, I swear I can almost see you glow." "G-glo-!?" Red squeaked out, face completely lighting up in a blush. Instead of trying to hide it, though, the skeleton huffed and lunged forward- shoving his hands in the old man's face to turn his head away. "Gh-! Red! Red stop!" "Nu-uh! Not a fuckin'  chance old man! You wipe that grin off your face!" "Haha, a-aw why?" The elemental stuttered, trying to move free but without avail. "And I can't see you happy?" "NOPE. Not allowed! Nu-uh!" "Pff, then why are you smiling?" Red froze. Finally allowing the other some freedom to actually move his head- even if it was only to be met by a narrowed glare.

"I will throw you, old man. Out the goddamn window." A sly smirk only crossed Grillby's face, a raised brow that said 'Try me.'  "Uh-huh. Let's see it then." There was a silence. The two of them glaring at each other. Neither willing to back down... Well, until they both erupted into laughter. The sound filled the room for at least a couple of minutes before Red decided to be the first one to stop, wiping a small tear from his eye. "Ahhhh goddamnit, Grillz. You do that too well." "H-huh?" He stammered in between another laugh, even if it only took him a couple more seconds to regain full composure and straighten out his face. "What?" "Pfff. That. 'Nyway, on a scale from right on the train tracks to off a cliff- how far off track did we get?" "Uhh..." Grillby glanced back at the computer screen and chuckled. "I think it's safe to say we made it to Mars." "Oh really?" Red grinned, looking more proud than anything. "Aw shit, that's a whole new record. Hell yeah." "Uh-huh. And is that supposed to be an achievement?" "You bet your ass it is. 'Nyway c'mon. I was right at the point where I was writing down the equation, right? Yeah, so. I grabbed this rock and I had to make extra fuckin sure she saw EXACTLY what I was doin' and how I was gunna do it. I sure as hell wasn't gunna risk her mistaking it for an attack so..."

"Don't ask me what it means, I don't know-" Red spoke. Ensuring Muffet could see no signs of aggression, the skeleton scratched one equation into the wall. Just one. Alphys'. Without the right understanding it was just gibberish, not to mention they knew they were missing the key point... But it was information nonetheless. "But Alphys assured me it was important and now you have something only three of us in the entire universes know. Is that fair enough, ma'am?" Turning to look back at her. Muffet had her head tilted slightly with slightly curious expression. Finally showing interest for once.

"Well my spiders did tell me that they did look similar to you people, but I assumed it must've been a mistake, at least now that's out of the way." Obviously she didn't understand the equation, but she started to memorise it for later use anyway. The spider was on the verge of saying it wasn't enough until Red mentioned that only three people knew about it. He wasn't blind to that, either. "Trust me when I say, they- we- they are the same people...  Guess its not 'kill or be killed' in every underground." Red huffed, a little bit of venom in his voice... Or perhaps jealousy. " 'ts gunna get them killed." He muttered, but the spider didn't listen really. Simply waving her hand. "Alright, I accept your deal." Scuttling could be heard and a large group of spiders brought a box full of her baked goods to him.

"Hopefully this shall suffice, but don't tell your brother about this. The Royal Guard aren't very fond of me in the first place and if you give them an excuse to come knocking on my door.... Let's say my pet hasn't had anyone to play with for quite a while." Muffet gave the skeleton a serious look as she said that. "Oohh no no no. No need for threats, Miss Muffet. If they hear anything it sure a shi-" Damnit, watch your fucking language,moron. Red silently chided himself. "They ain't gettin' anything outta me." He blinked and his eye sockets went pitch black. "No matter what they do to me.... And I'll assure you." He lowered his head a bit, hoping she realized just how heavy that statement weighed and how much he meant it so he decided to throw in one last statement. "Your pet will give me a quicker death then they will." The skeleton had to force the feeling of dread away and his eye lights returned. "Yeah. They won't get anything out of me. And as an act of good faith, I'll share one last thing with you." Red took in a deep breath "When I die. At my sentry station. There's a collection of objects stashed underneath the stool. You are allowed to have whatever you please in there- HOWEVER. There is a photo album and another book in there. Those belong to Bo-- er- Papyrus." With that, Red gave a quick bow.

"I thank you kindly for your generous offer and especially for the food. May I take my leave?"  "You may leave, and watch your back a bit better, you seem to have been  followed by two of those visitors." With that she walked over and got onto her web hammock and sat back on it, she started to finish the tea, although she still didn't take her eyes of the skeleton. "WHA-!?" Red began to shout but his jaw snapped shut the moment Muffet began to speak again.

"One last thing from me, if you happen to find a way to travel to these other so called.....dimensions, I would pay very, very handsomely if you gave it to me~" She grinned and casually waved her hand, as if shooing him away. "Sure thing, Miss Muffet." Red spoke as pleasantly as he could, but his grin was beginning to waver, just itching to turn around and let whoever the fuck followed him have it.  "Thank you, ma'am." The skeleton tipped his head as if tipping a hat and turned sharply on his heels, trying to leave calmly. Flowey, probably, he could accept the flower had been following him. But who else? As soon as he cleared earshot-

"C'MON OUT!" The skeleton snarled out, hearing a little mutter. It was hard to  make out. "W-was there really a spider watching? No way..." Oh he knew that voice for sure. "Ohyoulittle!" The growl rose up from deep within his ribcage, fingers digging into the box,  looking around for the hiding place. She did pretty well, considering, it was the small corner at the bottom of her coat that gave her away. But skill sure as hell wasn't going to curb his anger. Thankfully he had the good mind to put the box down before rushing in at her. Gripping her shoulders. Hard.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? YOU KNEW THAT WAS DANGEROUS!" Red screeched out, shaking the poor lizard in his grasp. "You could've been hurt! OR  WORSE! ALPHYS! YOU of all people CAN'T RISK THAT!"  "I-I'm sorry, I won't do th-that again..." Alphys squeaked, about to say her reasoning for coming along, but decided it was best not too... She looked frightened as all hell. Barely holding in the shivering she could feel rising as he yelled. Red was trying. Oh was he trying to be angry. Genuinely angry. She would have ruined the deal! She could have given them all away! ....but. In truth.... He couldn't be. Even his voice threatened to break on him. He was just... Too tired for this shit, Red told himself, letting his head droop down.  "Stars... I just CAN'T understand you people..." He half-sighed, half-growled. Finally releasing her. "Alphys.... Don't do that again. And I'm not saying that for you. Or me. But for THEM. Without you there'd be no way home, okay?" He brushed a hand over his skull, trying to ease the tension from himself with another sigh but there wasn't a chance in hell it would work. Not when he looked up and saw the fear in Alphys' eyes..... Fuck...... He knew that look, damnit..... And it was one that was one he never wanted to receive. Damnit- he couldn't blame her, either. It was that fact that only twisted his stomach into an even tighter knot.

"Hey..." Red called out, shoulders slumping and reaching out for a moment- only to quickly  pull his hands back again. "Dammit, I'm sorry for yellin', Alphys. I didn't mean to scare ya.... And I ain't angry, either. Ya just.... Scared the HELL outta me, y'know....? I didn't.... I didn't mean to do the same to you." The skeleton tried to glance up again, meeting her eyes. Just for a second. Hoping she saw he really was sincere.... But he immediately looked away again. Going quiet as he silently cursed his inability to deal with this 'touchy feely bullshit' when he remembered the flower.

"Flowey! C'mon out, I know you're here too." Red called out, walking over and scooping up the box as they waited for him to surface.... But now, he tried to smile, even if it was only a little bit as he popped the lid of the box. "Your human money worked. We got food." He looked at Flowey "And now with your path, I think we can make it." The skeleton tipped the box back towards Alphys. "Hows a 'bout what. You get first pick outta this box? After all, you're pretty much the one who bought it  anyway." He tried to say as gently as possible. It was shit in the way of an apology but... Who didn't like food? Alphys seemed a bit calmer now and shook her head. Giving Red a still sad but understanding look.

"It's fine, I forget I'm the one with the whole p-portal thing, just.... I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to h-handle yourselves in a fight, I mean you took an insane beating from your brother and Flowey might h-have trouble going at it alone..... I won't be so reckless next time." Red's eye twitched, his grin straining for a moment as a bolt of anger rushed through him. But before he could make any remarks, another emotion- was it guilt?- doused that fire like a bucket of freezing water. Truth was, she was correct. Maybe she was wrong about Flowey. He KNEW there was a lot of power there that he never let show.... But she was right about the beating. Red shifted uncomfortably on his feet, sighing, shrugging a little.

"No, you're.... Right." Red said, gritting his teeth a little. The hit to his pride was far less painful then the stabbing pain at the mention of his brother. "I uh.... Don't understand why the hell you guys care but.... Thanks." He huffed. "How's about we head back? I'm bone tired.... Heh."

Chapter Text

"Red, is there something wrong?"

"Hm?" The small skeleton glanced up only to be met with a concerned expression on Grillby's face, just the same as it had always been. "You went quiet." "Did I...? Shit." Red ran a hand across the good half of his skull and sighed "Sorry, Grillz. Yeah, I'm fine. Just... Not sure how to do this, y'know?" With the way he tilted his head, clearly he didn't. Guess he really couldn't blame the guy but-- how to even word this explanation? "Well uh. First, everything's kinda.. A blur here. It all happened so fast- I couldn't tell ya who threw a punch where; I just remember running. But also. I won't lie, it's a lil weird seeing your face." "Mine...?" Grillby's expression was somewhere between concern, guilt and sadness and Red's let out a noise close to a hiss and arm dropped.

"Aw geez, G. Stop with the look, will ya? You didn't do nothin' wrong.... Neither did he now that I think 'bout it. Kinda. It was the other Grillby, y’know?" It was a bit surprising to see just how shocked Grillby was at those words. Complete with a small flinch and everything. "R-Really? Me?" "Psh. No. Not you. Trust me Grillz, I don't think any other Grillby's can hold a candle to you." To which, this Grillby simply rolled his eyes "You understand when you say things like that, I can't tell if it's a genuine compliment. Or just an excuse to make another pun." Red seemed content to chuckle with that sly, mischievous smirk on his face clearly without intention to clarify his words. Although, after a moment, his mind returned to his current battle and that smirk dropped a bit.

"Seriously, though. That guy was a dick. Douche. Asshole. I think you can pretty much fill in the blank there." Red waved a hand and the elemental nodded a bit. "Sorry, often times I do forget there are other...  'Me's." Red outright snorted "HAH. How do ya think I feel? At least you guys have all sortsa colors to tell ya apart. I mean like, just how many Sanses does this world need?" "To be fair-" Grillby tried to stifle a small chuckle "I don't think there's another Sans quite like you, Red.... And the world only needs one." "Hah. Thanks. I'm actually taking that one as a compliment." Red chuckled again, taking note in the small nod from the other and his motion to continue on.

"Oh uh, right.... So. We got back from meeting with Muffet, I remember thinking how surprising it was she gave us so many donuts and- hah- trust me, it wasn't 'from the goodness of her heart' that she did. I dunno if she did it as payment for the info I gave her, or as a 'future investment'. Hoping to keep us alive just so she could keep all thousands of eyes on us and learn more...

"C'mon. Grab another. You need it the most."

Red spoke up, standing in front of Kira, the lid of the box flipped open and giving it a small shake for emphasis. Staring down at the small dog- she really could use it the most. The bandages wrapped around her waist were beginning to bleed even through the bandages. He felt a pang of guilt sink into him- sure- he could try healing magic but more often than not he either did more harm then good or simply nothing at all. The human seemed to know what he was doing far better than he ever could. Not to mention- everyone had already gotten one and there was still a few to spare. They could afford an extra one or two more. Kira eyed him suspiciously- he couldn't tell if she was starting to trust him or if she was simply too tired to fight- but either way she gave in and took another. Satisfied with that, the skeleton sat the box down towards the center of the cave and returned to his niche in the small cave. Picking up the rock that he had been using to scratch the rough pictures into the wall, starting to write. Besides the quiet noises of that rock- it didn't take long for everything to fall to silence. Red could feel the exhaustion beginning to creep into his bones, sleep threatening to drag him under and it wasn't just him, either. He could see it, feel it in everyone. Almost as if the cave itself was exhausted. Slowly, his arm began to still, drooping. Sockets sliding closed as he curled up into the warm pocket of air that surrounded him.

Then there was a little cough.

It almost sounded like Alphys but when he opened his eyes to look- all that he felt was burning. The sudden sharp pain caused Red to flinch up, smashing the back of his skull against the roof of the crevice. His sharp gasp only invited more pain. He tried to force his 'lungs' to draw in more oxygen but it only ended in a sputtering cough. The air itself was hot.  He realized the reason he couldn't see was wasn't because his eyes were closed. So when the skeleton felt a wisp of cooler air brush against his bones-

"THIS WAY!!"  Red twisted around, struggling to form the shout as he scrambled against the loose rock. The ground dipped down, throwing him to the ground and rolling out into the light. He felt another rush of air right beside his skull and a sudden blast of heat. A yelp escaped the small skeleton, flailing to find his footing but he only accomplished dumping himself into a pool of water. The water did nothing to ease the burning as one unfortunately time gasp sucked in a good amount to his lungs. A shot of adrenaline fueled panic finally forced his eyes open and he finally took a gasp of fresh air.

The world froze.

There. In front of his face was the pin-striped slacks and polished leather of Grillby's shoe. He didn't have time to look up at his face. Red could see the entrance of the cave he had just been in. The neon blue spear that had just barely missed his skull. The black mark of the fireball that passed over him.... The royal guard surrounding the area. Undyne's arm. Raised. Spear in hand and poised for a strike..... And the small ball of white fur that came tumbling out of the entrance. He tried to say something. Perhaps he did, but all sound was swallowed whole as the spear came down. It happened so fast- Red wasn't even certain he saw it. The other skeleton, the blue scarf around his neck, pushing forward and throwing Kira away.

CRACK.

The sound of crunching bone. Red saw the tip of the spear burrow into the skull. Every hairline fracture that spread across the ivory like webs. The bone at the back of his eye socket exploded forward. Cracking it open like an eggshell. The spearhead only stopped by the ground. A flash of yellow tumbled out from behind the skeleton's body. Along with another. Red could see Undyne's jaw move as she swore loudly. Her boot stomping down on the skull as she yanked the spear. Twisting. Cracking. Chipping away at the bone to free it. Each time her foot would come down- the bone bend inwards. Threatening to cave in altogether. All the while it's owner just laid there. Limp. His empty socket staring back at him. Finally, with a twist, the spear cracked the bone and the head was torn upwards and out the back of the skull. Spraying blood and dust along with it.  Red didn't realize a shoe baring down at him until it forced his head down into the water. A hand gripped his arm and wrenched him upwards.

"GO!!!" The skeleton's shoulder slammed into the ground, catching a glimpse of the purple elemental's face.

"He threw you?"

Red flinched, not expecting to hear the elemental speak up. Hell, he forgot Grillby was even in the room. Much less spoken in the tone that he did. He sounded borderline angry, although his face.... Well it wasn't often that he couldn't read the flame and it honestly unnerved him a bit. Now that he thought of it- he didn't have a clue why Grillby hadn't stopped him while he was describing Blue, either. Still...

"Uh... Yeah. I mean. I sure as shit wasn't moving. I didn't realize it at the time, but Grillz. He saved my life. When I fell out of that cave, I just about ended up like Blue. Well. Heh. Wouldn't have mattered anyway, considering." Red made a motion to the missing half of his skull, but it was pretty clear with a low "Sans." that Grillby wasn't having any of it. The skeleton heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair. "Right uh. Sorry. 'Nyway. He tossed a fireball, threw off her aim. I completely froze up after I saw, y'know,so he threw me. Guess that was what caught Undyne's attention. Didn't know that the whole reason I was able to grab Blue's scarf and book it the hell outta there. All of us, really." Red sighed once again, a pang of guilt starting to settle into his chest again. "He was still a dick. But I guess he was still kinda like you, too... Guess we know what happened to him now." Red turned, gaze settling on the floor, not wanting to push the other into thinking of a response. Not really wanting one. Sure, he prepared himself to revisit these painful memories-- but not those ones. So he was quick enough to pick up on the story once more.

"I turned around, just hoping everyone managed to get out. Man I just barely managed to grab Blue's bro on my way out... He was just-- on the ground. On his knees. Couldn't imagine watching that. He saw the whole damn thing." "Well...." Grillby spoke up, Red almost thought he had trailed off entirely in the way he went completely silent. But, after about 30 seconds, he continued on. "I suppose we know what happened to him, too." The skeleton heaved a sigh, just, slightly nodding. Fighting off a shudder when he remembered the smell.

"Yeah... Again I didn't know what happened until, shit, Quantumtale? Turns out they got him right there. Right as we were running and I split off-" "You left?" "Wha- no no, Grillz... Don't say it like that... If I stayed, I would've just...." Red winced and turned away "... Wouldn't have made it. If he came with me, they would've gotten the rest of the group... Look-" He looked up at Grillby again, borderline desperation and panic on his face, tears threatening to form in his sockets. "I don't KNOW, okay!? I don't know what woulda been the best way, maybe I shou-" This time, the small skeleton was interrupted by a warm pair of arms, wrapping him in a gentle hug. Red tried to growl at the elemental but really to no avail. "Shh, that is not what I meant... And you know he made it out. He survived." "HAH. If you call that surviving!" "I call that recovering. Come now-" Grillby pulled back from the hug, hands still on his shoulders, giving him a solid nod.

"Finish the story. Where did you go?" Red stared up at the elemental, trying to read his expression for any signs of doubt... How, after all this time, was he able to think so damn positive...? The skeleton winced, wiping his socket and nodded- mind fighting to crawl up from the rut it had fallen into. "Right uh..." He sniffed "So... Remember the echo flowers?"

Red bolted down the familiar pathway, foot splashing into a puddle. He could feel as the water soaked down through his shoe. As his chest heaved with every breath. They had Flowey. He knew where to go even better than he did.  Some 1 HP piece of shit monster didn't matter, but at least this one could be useful for once. Just make it to the boulder. That's all he had to do. He'd find a way through. Throw off the scent. Give them more time. He tried to shout in different tones and voices, poor as they were, it gave off the illusion well enough as the whole cavern ringing out with the voices of the flowers. He couldn't fail. He couldn't fail.

There it was. There was the boulder!! Red slammed into it nearly full force with his shoulder, his feet digging into the ground as he pushed. No, dammit, no! The flower made it look so damn easy. Maybe there was a crack, just enough to squeeze through, maybe- Red's breath hitched and he froze.

It was quiet. Even with the echo flowers repeating his words back to him, it was still quiet. The skeleton didn't even look behind him, simply dashing towards the first niche in the cavern wall that he saw. Pressing himself up against the rough rock while holding his breath and.. And..... And nothing. He had no idea how long he waited but it should've been long enough. Even if the guardsmen were bickering. If Undyne were chasing- he would've heard her. That. Or the moment he stuck his head out of the crevasse would be his last..... With a sharp gasp of breath and a moment of simple stupidity- he popped his head out from cover.

Turns out, it wasn't his last breath.

The small skeleton looked back and forth- any relief was immediately replaced with dread.... He.... Failed. FAILED. No no no-  those guys couldn't stand a CHANCE against them! No it was over. They were DEAD. Or- or maybe, just maybe- NO Red shook all thoughts out his head. He couldn't dwell on it now. No fear. No hope. Just GO...... And so he did. Ignoring the soft rattling of his exhausted bones. Though he didn't know every nook and cranny of Waterfall, he knew enough.... Or well, his gut did. As if something were guiding him... Lost memories maybe? No matter. The skeleton found himself approaching the statue. Of course, there were still leftover webs but no Muffet- thank stars. Off in the distance he heard a sharp yelp from Undyne. SHIT. There was fighting!  But.... Why didn't he hear anything now...? Red rounded the corner, pressing himself once more into the rough surface of the cave wall, listening. But the battle only lasted a few seconds. There was a loud CRACK and he could hear Undyne's voice clear as day.

"Take him away."

Red winced, whatever had just happened there... Whoever the hell that was, probably just saved their asses. At least he knew that couldn't have possibly been everyone... Right...? Surely they would've lasted a few more seconds at least........ Right....? The skeleton tried to shake the thought from his mind, he wasn't far off from where Flowey told him the entrance to the sewers were. He just had to hope to whatever the hell was listening- that he would find the other's there.

"Sewers?"

"Ah- shit-" Red hissed out quietly, scratching the back of his head a bit "Yeah, sewers. I was afraid I forgot 'bout that. Damnit. When did I forget this much!? I mean, yeah I got a lil more than a concussion but holy shit-" The skeleton was cut off as Grillby placed a warm hand on his skull. "Calm down, Red. It's fine, it's just called getting older." To which, Red scoffed, rolling his eyelight "Uh-huh, just who you trying to make feel better? Me? Or you?" The elemental huffed, but it wasn't without a slight smirk. "Whichever will make you feel better." Red made some noise between a scoff and a gasp, lightly punching his arm "Oh get right on outta here with that shit, man! You can make some good syrup with all that sap." "Aw, would you like any cheese with that whine?" "HAH. Well clearly  you brought enough for us both." The two finally broke down into a small fit of laughter that hung in the air for a good while, honestly. Allowing the tension to ease, at least a little. At least for a moment. But eventually, and surprisingly, it was the skeleton who first broke it. Sighing slightly as he refocused.

"Right uh.. To explain a bit better. I dunno when, maybe it was on our way back or before I fell asleep.. Maybe it was with Gaster. Was it Flowey?  Alphys?" Red let low growl, pressing a few fingers against his temple. "I-I can't remember. I just know when we discussed the lab we couldn't go through the front door. So. Someone pitched the idea of the sewers. No cameras. Easy access. Hidden. Y'know? We decided to go there and, whoever the fuck knew about it, told us where to meet. So that's where I thought they'd go. And there they were... Well.. Mostly... Everyone."

"So... That scuffle you heard..." "Swap Paps, yeah. Guess the Guard didn't fall for my trick. Guess it saved my life... Same as I guess... He probably would've found some way to get himself hurt no matter what he did. He prolly told them to keep going, thinking he'd get his revenge for Blue or straight up die... But neither actually happened, now did it?" His eye light flickered out but all Grillby could really offer was a sympathetic expression. "If I knew what they were gunna do to him, man, I would've never walked away." "... And that's just it, Red. You wouldn't have walked away. What's done- is done-" Again, a warm hand clasped his shoulder. "You know the end to that story. There's no use in regretting it now, my friend. Please, let's keep moving on. Just a little bit further and we can give it a rest for the day." The skeleton wriggled free from the hand, his eyelight fixed on the floor. Trying his hardest to keep a pouty expression on his face but it didn't take long at all for it to crumble.

"Agh, it pisses me off when you're right." "Well, no wonder you're angry all the time." Grillby chuckled, sticking his tongue out at him. A response so unexpected, it left the other sputtering for a couple seconds and he let out a hearty laugh. "WOW! Since when did YOU become such a sassy lil shit!?" "Oh, since you made it too much fun." "Pffffff.... FINE. Fine. You win that one, fair and square. Alright, alright. Yeah,  'sides. You'll like this next part. It's when Chara joined us." Just as expected, the old flame's eyes lit up at the name, not helping but to smile as he did.

"Chara!? Wait.... Which--" "Uhh... Storyshift...? I think that's what they called his universe. Y'know, with his bro Rei 'n all." Red chuckled a little, sitting back in his chair and waving his hand slightly. "Woah, calm down there buddy. You might burn the seat." A sharp POP that came from Grillby only made his pouty expression all the more entertaining. "I am PROUD of my children, thank you very much." Red outright snorted "Your children? You know they got parents, right?" "Well-" The flame sputtered for a few seconds and the sound like a screaming tea kettle most certainly didn't help Red to keep a straight face. Had he seriously forgotten? In any case, he rolled an eyelight and gently punched the elemental's arm again. "Lighten up, old man. 'm just messin' with ya. I know you're proud of those tykes. 'n yeah. I am too. 'Nyway, that's not the point. Though uh-" The skeleton huffed

"Dunno what the actual point IS. Cuz, surprise surprise, there's another huge-ass chunk missin'. I can't remember what was said. I met back up with everyone.. Well. 'cept for Stretch. Maybe there was a 'oh you're safe' or 'damnit he's back', heh... Nah. I at least know I didn't even ask what happened. Didn't want to know. And I didn't let us stall, neither. We were about near the entrance to the sewers when we saw Muffet. Muffet of all monsters. Even more surprisin? She had a kid with her. A HUMAN kid, y'know? 'Nd he WASN'T tied up. That last time just blew. My. Mind. Just fuckin' strolled up to us. Chara didn't say much, I remember...."

"....Fine."

The skeleton heaved a sigh as he spoke the word. Eyes were narrowed at the figure that stood in front of him. In front of all of them. An action in which she returned in kind. He just didn't know that- behind those eyes- she was... Intrigued her to wonder how her small help here could alter their success or even failure. Delighted how this one action, HER action. would change their fate. While at the same time- Red was outright internally flailing. The hell were they supposed to make of THIS!? Was this a trap? Was this guy some sorta psychopath she paid to stab them in the back? He hadn't remembered putting THIS in the deal.... But at the same time, no answers came without payment. It was that fact that had kept Red's trap shut. Even in the heat of Hotland and under the wave of exhaustion that had started to settle over all of them. The silence didn't last long, though. As the spider dubbed she had already lingered longer than preferred.

''Alright, well I'll be going now, you all enjoy your little party. It's not going to be simple I imagine with that lab of hers, won't be no sneak attacks or anything that get past her careful eyes. Might be some other things besides her to watch out for than just her... not everything are robots I imagine.'' Muffet started to walk away but stopped as she thought of a way to gain a bit more if things went differently. ''Oh and if it's heard that you attacked the lab and fail, all of you survivors from it... well let's just say you may find Royal Guard constantly right on your back until you're nothing more than blowing in the wind... sure the captain would pay a high price for info.'' With a last grin she laughed and walked away, eventually leaving their sights.

Red narrowed his eyes as Muffet walked off. Not daring to say a single WORD until she was gone. Yeah, maybe what she said was supposed to be threatening but the real threat? She was simply stating facts. Sans shook the growing unease from his bones; it didn't matter. One less worthless 1 HP backstabbing skeleton didn't matter. Anyway, the spider bi- even in his own head he was too scared to insult her. It directed his attention to the new addition in the group, though. A human kid, brown hair, pale skin, green hoodie with a yellow stripe across it. The hood pulled up and over their head, not revealing much more than their almost glowing red eyes.

"So uh- got a name kid?" Red asked, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. Most certainly not expecting what he heard next. "Does it matter? Look. I just need to find my brother. Can you help me? Or NOT?" The kid snapped with enough venom to take out an entire army. Despite the tone, one that caused him to raise an eyebrow. This kid had guts. He could appreciate that... Still didn't mean he wouldn't spit back with some of his own venom. "Seriously kid? Look I- ugh-" Red growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Fuck it. "Sure, yeah, whatever."

"Good. " Chara snapped, turning and almost beginning to walk away. "Let's go then." "Uh-uh. C'mon. Up front with me, kid." Red said, half tempted to pull the teen back by the arm- but he stopped himself. Chara seemed to listen well enough to stop and that gave him a pass... This time. So, the skeleton looked back at Alphys next.

"Alright. Just say the direction. I'll take the head. Who knows what kind of traps this bitch laid." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing back at the new guy. "Show me you can hold your own in a fight, kid. Now let's go." Honestly, a part of him did want to fuck with this guy- who the hell was he to threaten him? But mainly, he actually felt a bit of.... Hope for him. If he could rile him up, if this human was a good fighter? Well shit. That gives them, even if it's only a little, a higher of a chance of surviving.... And what could he say? Sans almost felt relieved at the introduction of something familiar. No more emotions. Touchy-feely crap. He would almost call it a God-send, if a statement like that didn't give Muffet far more satisfaction then it should've.

It didn't take long, Alphys leading them over to the sewer entrance with ease from there. Yeah, it may be a bit too close to a lava pool then he found comfortable, but the entrance was large. Bars they could almost all squeeze through and- most importantly- lead straight into the labs. It only took a few hits by a heavy rock to break open the lock and lead everyone inside. Red counted as they went in... Alphys, Kira, Chara, and Flowey. As they passed through into the tunnels- into the stench- Red's eyes soon began to adjust to the darkness.

"Alright." He started, looking down at Chara and waiting to see a sign he was listening before continuing on. "Now that we're clear from... Her. I'll give you a run down, but I'm only going to say it once, capesse?" The skeleton stepped over a hunk of.... Something he didn't want to know what the hell it was. "For some reason, a whole bunch of.you guys- who aren't from this universe- got thrown down here. I dunno.... A week ago? Whatever. The only time we've seen two from the same place is with Boss over there and-" Red's sentence ended almost as if he were choked. Realizing the guy he pointed to wasn't even there. ".....We...." He cleared his throat, trying to shake it. "....Lost some. We had more people here, we KNOW we did but it was like they... Flickered away, just gone and our memories of them fading away shortly after." Red glanced back at the others, bringing his voice lower. "Only.... One of us was.. y'know." Back to his original volume as he took a look around the tunnel. It was quite large, considering, constant running water and constant wretched smell.... He caught a glimpse of a disembodied arm, bloated  and pulsing with maggots and walked faster. Hoping the others didn't see it.

"We can just assume they went back 'home' or whatever." Red shrugged. "Anyway. We have a theory. Alphys was working on a teleporter, the last thing she remembered, at the time. It shouldn't have had the power to cause this. The equations simply don't match up. But we think it has the power to take you guys back. A little adjustment here, tweaking there, and a small push from this 'flickering' things should right themselves. I think that is what the universes are trying to do anyway." The skeleton motioned to the tunnels ahead, shuddering as his foot hit something within the water. But hey, at least it didn't bite back. "That's why we're here in this shithole. If the teleporter doesn't pull through, Alphys back there will find a way." He couldn't understand it himself.... Why he did it... But he looked back at her and gave her a small smile. No one could deny her intelligence, though.

"Which reminds me." Red continued, looking Chara in the eyes now. "I don't know what your place is like. But here? It's kill or be killed. I am NOT joking." The skeleton nearly tripped when something caught his foot. With a short yelp, he gave the object a swift kick. He had no idea WHAT it was. But it was moving. And it popped underneath his shoe. Sending a splatter of blood along the wall. As if nothing happened, he continued on. "And this Alphys?" He shuddered "She's an insane bitch. Had no problems hacking monsters apart and sewing them back together. Under Asgore's permission. Fucking cunt had no problem injecting me with acid, shit burned through my bone like it was nothing. Just laughed when I screamed f-" The skeleton's steps falter. Eyes widening. WHY did he say that? What the HELL was wrong with him!? "Fucking f-forget it!" He snapped, shoulders raised as he sunk into his hoodies and continued trudging forward. "WHATEVER. She's crazy and we gotta get past her. So yeah. Be ready for a fight and fight with EVERYTHING you've got." He paused in his footsteps. Everyone was probably listening to him, huh? Shit. "Which." He spoke louder, now making sure everyone could hear him. "We can't SAVE everyone. Whatever we see in there- our OWN survival is important...... Any monster in there...." He sighed "It's too late for them."

Chapter Text

The room was silent. Dead. Silent.  

The elemental was leaning forward on the desk, head in his hands. While the skeleton was leaning off to the side, pinching the bridge of his nose. The only sense of movement within the room was the smoke of the cigarette slowly rising from his other hand. There was no telling how long they had been there but- suffice to say- the atmosphere was tense.

".... Shit. What are we gunna do, Grillz?" "I.... I don't know. I'm... I'm sorry, perhaps I really HAVE  gotten old-" "Nu-uh. Don't you start in on that. If I remembered any better then you, we wouldn't be here right now." "It's just that- so much-" "Happened right then, I know, I know." Red took another drag from his cigarette and leaned forward, gently patting the other's shoulder as he lowered his head down to rest on his arm.

"So, we got bits and pieces. That's alright. Hows about we start from the beginning? C'mon, Grillz, chin up. Last thing you remember. Go." The skeleton nudged him a bit again, trying to ignore the groan one could almost mistake for agony as he slowly sat back. Running a hand through his flames with a long sigh. "... My bar. That's the last thing. Lucky came in, looking for Big Shot, you see. I remember... I remember thinking that was odd. When we were still underground, that was almost routine. Y-you know, Red." Of course, the skeleton chuckled. "What, Boss havin' to come around and drag my ass outta the bar? Yeah, guess us 'Sanses' aren't all that different." Grillby gave him a small nod, sitting back fully in his chair now. "Yes, well. When we made it to the surface, he.. Changed a bit. Sure, he'd swing by on a daily but he knew what was going on and when. So, when Lucky came around, I thought he was just doing it for old time's sake. He wasn't much one for jokes, sure, but every now and again he'd try." Grillby tried to ignore Red's bitter mumbling of 'well that's a shock.' and continued on. "I didn't think anything of it at the time. He had done it so casually. It took all the way up 'till I told him. No. I hadn't seen him. He thanked me, turned and walked out the door..... But the moment that door was closed- he sprinted off down the street. Damn near went after him, I swear the way he moved was like a man getting shot at. That's when I realized. He was being so calm and casual as to not raise any alarm bells. Coming out and asking me was a big risk-"

"How come?" "Hm? Oh, yes well. I never turned away a customer, Red. Didn't matter which gang you were in. You were welcome. I only ever had one rule; Everyone was equal. Whatever happened out on the streets- stayed on the streets. It kept the violence between everyone down. Well. For the most part." Grillby waved his hand, dismissing the subject "Anyway. People from all over were at the bar. And the leader of one of the three major gangs in the city just went missing. Now just how many of them would've LOVED to know we were ripe and ready for the taking?" The elemental sighed and shook his head, noticing how the other had tensed up. Clearly he had bared witness to several coup d'etat, though he could only wonder just how different one in Underfell looked. He was not about to ask, though. "He took a big risk, asking me. And I only realized it after the fact. I had to wait. The whole day so as to not raise suspicions. I only really got to call Undyne. Lucky had gone to her as well and, just like me, she had no clue what was going on." Grillby paused, looking at the skeleton next to him. Who looked intrigued, but still a little lost. "I shut down. Grabbed my coat and had just closed the door behind me. I was going to go to HQ. Figure out what I could learn no matter how many people I had to burn through to find out.... That was the plan, anyway. The moment that door clicked shut- everything went black." Now, Red had perked up, his eyes growing wide for a moment in realization. Not even needing to ask the question for Grillby to give him a slight nod of confirmation.

"The world stayed dark, too. I couldn't be sure how long it took me to realize I was awake again. How long I stayed in that damn tube. I couldn't even sit down it was too small. I didn't understand why I couldn't see. Why my arm burned with pain. I think I could hear the sound of something pounding on metal, though it was quite muffled." Grillby paused, smiling, just.. Ever so slightly. "The next thing I saw was Rei, Chara's little brother. Standing at the door and holding the bag that had been put over my head. I remembered he smiled. Such a kind boy-" "Aw c'mon Grillz. We both know you can go on for hours talking about the kids." "They are my PRIDE and JOY, thank you very much." Red chuckled, finding great amusement in the borderline pouty expression on the elemental's face. "Oh no need to get fired up, Grillz. Just sayin' we should keep going otherwise we're gunna be here all night... Again." The other sighed, unable to deny the logic and so- he motioned over to the skeleton.

"Alright, so what was the first thing YOU remember?" Red instantly regretted saying anything at all. Grumbling something as he snuffed out the cigarette. Sitting back and shuffling down into his seat as if trying to sink into it. "Uh..." Red gritted his teeth, having to choke down a growl as he did, looking away. "Fuck. I. I dunno, okay? We uh. We made it through the goddamn sewers. I know that much.  I know Alph and Chara were chatting away, but I never really tuned in.And the lab was dark. Creepy as all hell and littered with cameras. We uh. We had to take it slow. We even found the bitch, too.... Yeah, yeah we found her the first time. It was in this long room. There were these beds. Restraints and all that, a bunch of those surgical table things, scalpels, forceps, you name it. And the whole right wall, nothin' but mirrors. I couldn't tell ya what she was doin' in there, cuz the moment we saw her. BAM-" Red hit his fist into his palm, instantly feeling bad that the sudden noise made Grillby straight up jump. "S-sorry." "It's fine, it's fine. Keep going." ".... Mmkay, well.... Yeah. I think she panicked for a moment. Summoned up about 10 or so robots, they looked just like that piece of shit Mettaton. Y'know. His calculator form or whatever and the bitch took off runnin'.  We tried to chase her, but the bots cut us off. All I can really remember was stabbing one of them with one of those scalpels after one threw me against the mirrors. Glass. EVERYWHERE. And I was pissed. Somehow when I stabbed it, the whole thing just went up in this great big fireball. Maybe... Actually maybe THAT'S when I got smashed into the glass. I uh. I dunno." Red scratched the side of his skull a bit.

"But uh. Either way. They didn't last very long with us. We got hurt, sure. But nothin' like later on." Red paused, apparently for so long that Grillby had began to wonder if he was going to drop off there entirely. If the look on the elemental's face said anything about it. Red raised a hand, using it signal 'one second' and then to scratch his chin in thought. "I think I remember an explosion. Or maybe it was Alph using one of those Soul Orb things, I dunno. But I'm pretty sure... Agh, no, no I'm not. I think I tried to go after that bitch but- someone stopped me? We stopped, anyway. Maybe made sure everyone was okay. Not that it lasted very long. Well. YOU would know." Red glanced up at Grillby, as if it were suddenly some sort of queue, but one that the elemental had clearly missed.

"You all were already fighting by the time that I made it." "Yeah for like- 3 seconds." The skeleton huffed, sitting back in his chair once more. "That bitch-" He stopped for a moment, catching onto the other's sigh. No matter how slight it was. "I know, I KNOW. Don't disrespect the dead. I get it. But look? She? She was NOT Alphys, Grillz. Couldn't ever BE Alph. I ain't calling her by that name. So I'm just gunna stick with 'Bitch'." There was a pause as Red stared at the elemental in search of any sign or signal of opposition. Waiting just a few more seconds in disbelief that there was none before he decided to carry on.

"....Well anyway. We were goin' down this corridor. Real small considering our number. I guess I didn't see the camera or- or something. I dunno. But she decided to just nail us with these bombs. I dunno, everything was that real dark shade of blue. Flowey and Chara were right in front of me... Or behind me. It was kinda hard to tell when everything went white. I felt this pressure right in my chest. I dunno how I got thrown where I did- but I remember watching Chara just FLY into the other wall. It looked like it hurt pretty damn bad. He couldn't move for a second but I still remember thinking 'that lucky sonofabitch'. I don't think he lost ANY HP to that one. While Flowey popped right back into the ground before the blast. He was the first one to act, I think. Cuz by the time he was back up again, he summoned those bullets and this vine- with these red spikes? Yeah. Yeah I think he managed to get the bitch to pull back her weapons or somethin', cuz instead she got on the loudspeaker. Not a single clue what she said- but I got the gist. 'You useless ingrates, I'll kill you, yadda yadda... Wait until you meet my new PETS.' That part, hah, yeah that stood out pretty well. I should say- she wasn't even THERE. Of course she didn't eve have the balls to attack us herself. No. She dropped those bombs from the ceiling. Talked to us- through the ceiling. Hell somewhere in there I swear she even shot lasers at us. From the ceiling." Red crossed his arms over his chest, huffing and stewing in his own anger. Outright almost forgetting where he was in the story. Well. Until Grillby made a 'carry on' motion with his hand.

"Ah- uh- right-" He lit up another cigarette and scratched the side of his skull in thought again. "Oh yeah. Chara ditched us. I didn't realize it at the time and, well, I'm glad I didn't. He was looking for Rei, after all, but that doesn't mean it woulda saved him from my wrath. Nah. I was too distracted by the fuckin monstrosity from down the hall. Another Chara. That green and yellow striped shirt, glowing red eyes, that grin that I swear was dripping blood. Oh yeah, but don't forget the goddamn tentacles fuckin'- I don't know what HELL that thing crawled out of but- eugh-" He actually paused as a shudder wracked his whole body "Guess we learned later they were called Horror!Chara. Guess he was one of her 'pets', but then again, I guess all of you were supposed to be. I mean, it didn't take you very long to make it towards us, right?" He waited for a nod of confirmation "Yeah so uh. Guess why she let you guys out." There was a pause and Grillby sighed.

"Making us fight her battles...." He mumbled, glancing away for a moment. The skeleton not failing to catch the slightest wince on his face as he did. "Rei removed the bag from my head. And I do recall seeing Asgore there, too. He was very nervous, I mean, we all were. But he was absolutely set on finding his trident again. I honestly believe those were his first words to us- 'Have you seen a trident?' before he took off down the hall. Well, he most certainly found it again and I think he even told me once that he had to go through a security robot to get it-" The flame chuckled, a fair amount of fondness in recalling it. Red couldn't really be sure why but he wasn't going to rush him either way. There wasn't much of a need as the old man seemed to sober up pretty quickly. "The other Chara was there, too. I don't mean Horror, well, I think I did see movement when Rei took the bag off my head but- I couldn't be sure. I mean..." The old man glanced away "Chara. From your universe." A sigh and a raised stopped Red from reaching out. Grillby decided instead to keep going. "Well. You were right. Chara did find his brother, but I can't be certain when. I was still a bit delirious, I think. But he lead us back to everyone-"

"And you sure did walk in on one hellofa shitshow, huh?" "Yes, you can certainly say that... I think the first thing I heard.... Yes, it was Kira. I remember she yelped." "Right when she got stabbed in the arm?" Grillby nodded. "Yeah, yeah she was hit a few more times before that. Her HP was getting pretty damn low, too. I actually think she passed out after that. It was being all the way up against that saved her, I think. And... And yeah, that's when Chara joined the fight again. I was surprised Rei let him. But Horror! Chara had more than enough knives to go around. He tried to dodge, but he got caught in the arm. Fuckin' growled when it sunk in. Yet he didn't give a shit, just pulled it right out. I swear, I SWEAR I saw his eyes glow red, too. And y'know what he did? He threw it. THREW it, right at the other guy." Red huffed a bit, a slight smirk on his face.. But he couldn't ignore Grillby's raised brow forever. "What? C'mon. Of course I remembered that. It was fuckin badass. You can't tell me it wasn't. 'Nyway, at the same time, Flowey got stabbed too. I remember watching it go right through his stem. Y'know, I never DID figure out if that actually hurt him or not... But his face said so. He struggled with it for a second or two, but in the end he got it out. Summoned another one of those vines and swung right at the two Charas. Wait." Red narrowed his eye a bit. "... Shit. There were three Charas right then, weren't there? Yeah. Shift. Underfell. And Horror. Shit dude. Yeah, yeah and my Chara was attacking us to. Flowey went after the two of 'em." He tossed Grillby a curious look. Head tilted and everything.

"Why DID he attack us? Like... Did that bitch tell you anything? Like- a threat or somethin'?" Grillby sighed and shook his head "No... No I don't believe so. But. She didn't need to." The flame subconsciously brought a hand up to his arm, squeezing it right by his elbow and wincing in pain. Red couldn't help but to do the same, in his head he was struggling to think of something that could comfort the other. Head pats were kind of his thing and surely a hug would've been too strong of a reaction, right...? He didn't have enough time to settle on anything in the end, anyway. When he looked up from the flame's arm- he was only greeted by his eyes. Trained right on him with a certain intensity that almost conflicted the gentle smile on his face... Almost.

"That's when I met you." Red's smile was more of a wince then anything, the way he backed into his chair, unable to hold eye contact. "Yeah. And what great fun that's been...." "A lot." The immediate reply got him to glance over, just long enough to be captured by the other's stare again. "C'mon Red, don't be like that." "But I STABBED you, Grillz. Right in the gut. I remember I summoned this blaster and took a shot at that one Chara. Gave a shout for the other's to duck and then I turned around so damn fast I dunno if you even expected it. I think I made this like. Bone club or somethin- I swung and stabbed." "And I dodged, Red." The skeleton snorted, almost sounding like a growl as he did "Yeah and you still looked at me with those big ol' eyes. You called out my name. You... Even called me 'Boss'." The two of them tensed immediately at the word. It was almost comical how they both winced and looked away almost in almost perfect unison. Trying to avoid looking at each other only  to meet face to face.

"You thought I was him, right? Your Sans?" Grillby nodded "And it was because of that word that you-" "Yeah." Red shifted uncomfortably "... Yeah. I hit you with a whole flurry of attacks and you only ever went in for an uppercut." "Left my side wide open, didn't I?" Grillby actually managed a small chuckle, lightly punching the skeleton in the arm. Who, tried to return the smile at least. "G-guess you were askin' for it then...?" The words were hollow, though he got a small pity laugh from the elemental. It didn't last long, though. "...Well, I gave you a good kick in the chest, didn't I? I got even..." He sighed "Alright, you. Stop with the face." Grillby leaned forward, wrapping the other in a hug for a second. "It's alright. I'm not angry at you. Neither of us knew and that..." He winced again "That wasn't even the most painful thing that night." The elemental pulled back. Only feeling a little bit bad when he realized that Red had tried to cling onto him, just for a second there. "Okay?" Red sniffed, but he at least managed to nod a little in return. Both falling into silence...

"I think we both took a potshot then. You threw a fireball, I threw a bone.. Right?" "Yeah, but I don't think either did any damage. Thank stars." "Y-yeah... I... Yeah.. I remember I was on the ground. On my back. Wide open. And I remember thinking 'when's this guy gunna attack me? Why ain't I dust yet?' But you... Heh... You just kinda stood there. We locked eyes- like- just both trying to figure out 'is this guy gunna hurt me?'. I.. I think I shook my head. And you nodded. And somehow-" Now Red cracked a little smile, Grillby filling in the last of the sentence. "Somehow we just knew." The two of them sat back in their chairs, the flame nodding ever so slightly. They would've been content to leave it just at that... But eventually it seemed to press on them to continue. There was still a great deal left to write, afterall. Though it was Red who broke the silence first with a sigh. Then a pause. And then he began.

"Yeah I even turned my back to you. Which doesn't sound like a big deal-" "But it is, I know. I know." "Yeah.. Yeah so. I think I was outta magic by then? Couldn't tell ya what the hell I was doin' before then. Fighting, I know that. But landing any blows? How the fuck should I know. It's kinda weird- all these little flashes just-" "Strung together. Not even a second at a time. As if everything was in slow motion." If the skeleton was trying to hide the shocked expression on his face- he did a very poor job of it. But Grillby gave him a smile. One that said just a little more then 'me too'. Some foreign knowledge hidden behind it that took Red a second to realize. "War?" "That's the way of it." ".... Damn. It just kinda-” "Fades away with time, yes." "....Shit. I hope I'll be able to remember the rest then-" He shook his head just a little.

"Well.. I can't say I remember much more of it. I turned around. I saw Shift!Chara dodge another knife, I guess Horror! kinda zeroed in on him. I remember he was still lookin' around, STILL making sure everyone was okay as he was going at this guy. H got distracted, though. Oh and I DEFINITELY remember being so surprised when Alph- ALPH managed to trip the guy. Gave Chara and me the perfect opportunity to rush in on there. Cuz even if I was goin' down, I was going down fighting, damnit! I shouted out to him and I remember sinking my teeth into one of those fuckin' tentacles. What about you?" Now it seemed to be Grillby's turn to scrunch up his face in distaste, probably self directed more than anything as he tried to drum up any memory at all. "Underfell Chara was down by then.... Yes. Yes and I remember Rei- not once throwing a punch. I think he might've tried to tell everyone to stop fighting.... No. Despite everything, all he did was try to heal everyone's wounds. So... He was stooped over Chara and there were some stray attacks here and there. So I stood with him. Soon enough I figured out you were all just fighting Horror!Chara. So, I threw a... Couple... Of..." The old man's expression changed, face dropping from one of intense concentration so wide eyed... Nothing. Borderline blank. The only other queues Red could gather was in the way his flames were suddenly dyed in a deeper blue. The slight shake of his left arm.

"Hey. Hey old man. C'mon. Grillz." Red leaned forward, gently shaking his shoulder "Grillby. GRILLBERT." The last one finally managed to do it, literally jolting the elemental back to reality. "There we are. Where'd you go, old man?" "S-sorry. I'm sorry." "Don't be. Now, where did you go?" "Hm? Oh-" Grillby winced in pain, pointedly looking away as he did. "Not. Not far. That was just. That's when 'the bitch', as you say, realized I wasn't... I wasn't going to fight for her. I found out why there was a pain in my arm-" He paused, rolling his shirt sleeve up. To anyone who didn't know, the scar wasn't all that visible. Nor that strange either. On his forearm, near the crook of his elbow were several lines. On a human, that's where the basilic vein would've ran through. Grillby's told a different story. The vein like lines were a darker shade of blue, almost black where the injection point was and Red winced. Trying to look at him, to ask the question but it wasn't needed. "Water. That's all I can think it would've been. She put this device in me that injected water. It had to be more than that, though. It was cold. I can't tell you how unnatural that feels, Sans. Or how it didn't evaporate. Not immediately. It was cold and it BURNED." Red had to hold himself back from throwing out several theories- but it wouldn't offer anything in the way of comfort. Not with the way Grillby's arm still shook slightly- but even if he were to try to reach out, the other stopped him again with a simple motion of the hand as he rolled his sleeve back down. "It floored me. I hit the ground and..." In an instant, the pained expression on the other's face was suddenly replaced and Red most certainly didn't expect the sudden intense gaze to be directed right at him. So much so that he jumped a little, back straightening up instinctively.

"W-what- what's with the-" "And when I looked up again. You were attacking everyone." If there were a way for a skeleton to go pale, well, he most certainly found it now. Eye socket wide and even his eternal grin just about disappeared. The shock of it allowed his jaw to go slack just enough to drop the cigarette, which had burned halfway down the filter. The burning material fell to his hand yet it still took a second for the sharp pain to jolt him back to reality. "Shit." He hissed, turning away and snuffing it out in the ashtray and holding his wounded hand tight. He didn't need to see it to know Grillby reached out to him but he turned his head away completely. "Don't. It's... Fine." "Red-" "Shh. Just. Shh for a minute." Though the elemental couldn't see it, the small sniffle was enough to tell well enough what was going on.

"I. I don't know, okay? I don't. I don't remember. Maybe. Maybe it was when you called me boss. Maybe. The bitch said something. Maybe it was the fighting. I. Don't. Know." "Let's stop for a-" "No.  No Grillz. I'm. I'm fine, a'ight? Lemme finish. I don't wanna repeat it. Okay?" The skeleton peeked over his shoulder, just for a second. Maybe it was in the almost childlike nature of the movement, or maybe he understood the sentiment. In any case, Grillby sighed and nodded. There might've been a muffled 'thank you' but Red seemed content to remain with his back to the other. Pressing his finger into the burn, using the bite of pain to keep himself grounded in a way. "I dunno what set me off. But I didn't... I didn't see anything but... But the Guard. I was back there. Back in Snowdin. Back in one of Boss' 'DEMONSTRATIONS'. Fuckin'-" His voice pitched higher for a moment "Well. At least this time I could fight back, r-right? Fuck." Red's voice squeaked, curling up in his chair, a few more sniffles could be heard. "Red-" "NO." The voice came in a harsh enough of a snap to make the other jump. "Hell no. NOT right now. And we sure as SHIT ain't gunna fuckin' type it into this." The room was silent and honestly that surprised Red just much as his snap surprised Grillby. Thankfully, the silence didn't last, though as the skeleton rushed to get it over and done with. "....It was you guys, though. You couldn't have directed me to the real enemy if you tried.... Well. I guess you tried, didn't you?" The queue was there- but Grillby seemed to take a few seconds to respond. Perhaps having to realize that a nod couldn't be heard.

"You were... All fighting together... I couldn't understand what happened... But.. I knew how you fought. I can't... Actually remember why I did it. But I didn't... Didn't want to get injected again. I figured I could keep you at bay, from them. From me. Still make it look like I was fighting-"  Red finally turned around, eye wide. There weren't any tears, but the streak was still there. Grillby couldn't hide the slightest smile, in relief that he finally turned back... But also in the almost awestruck expression on his face. "... That's why you never hit me?" "Of course. Why? What did you think?" Red's smile came back, just a little. Sheepish as it was and he sniffled again "...I uh... I just thought you sucked." Grillby faked a dramatic, offended gasp and it actually managed to pull a nervous chuckle from the skeleton. "How dare-" The flame shook his head a bit, unable to finish the sentence without chuckling as well. "No. No, Red. I was just trying to distract you. Well. Until Alphys caught on." Another look of pain crossed Red's face, along with a sniffle. "Y-yeah... She used one of those green orbs. Trapped HER in with ME. That was... Really dumb but...." Red dug his finger into the burn and he looked down. "She wanted to help..... And I attacked her. I still attacked her. A few cuts and bruises but it... It wasn't as bad as when I bit her. Right on the arm. I can... I can still taste her blood in my mouth and I--- she---" He went to turn away again, but this time, a soft grip on the arm of his chair stopped him from doing so.

" 'Stop feeling sorry for yourself and help those getting hurt right now'. I still had my teeth buried an inch and a half in her arm and she said that with this look on her face. She... She didn't look scared. Disappointed, maybe but- but not scared..... Snapped me back and I just. Let go. The shield fell and I could see everyone. Kira was down. Shift!Chara was outta magic but still fighting. Rei was healing the other Chara. I didn't... I didn't see you. And I can't remember if Alph stepped out.”

Red sat there, thinking. Going silent in his concentration. Trying to recall the details. Something.... Something more definitive then this but- nothing. "Nothing except-" Red hadn't realized the words escaped his head in a soft mutter. Not until Grillby's soft 'hm?' "Oh uh... Yeah I just... UF!Chara was down. Somehow everyone else figured out who's side you were on. So it was just H and.. And I think they went down pretty quick after that. Our Chara I guess finished him off-" "No." "No?" Grillby shook his head slightly "No... No his first- well it- wasn't until later. I can remember THAT vividly." Red nodded, easily accepting that.. But it still left the question hanging in the air. "I dunno who, then. But I know Shift was right there, I know he held his hand. 'Take her down.' I think is what he said... At least that was the gist of it. He wasn't mad at us. Not spiteful. Even though we killed him-" The skeleton shook his head and sighed "... Yeah. He only blamed her... And that still confuses the hell outta me. But-" He looked at the other with something of a helpless expression on his face and a weak shrug.

"I... I dunno. I guess that was it? I was just seething at this point. If we had time to talk well, I never took it." Red's whole face seemed twisted in a discomfort of some kind as he tried to think. "No, I don't think we did. Not enough to get through 'where did you come from', but I do believe Alphys got my name and it was understood we were 'friendly'." He paused, looking at the other but the only input was a small nod. "...Wait. I think I do remember something. I think it was you, Red. Who recognized the Chara from your universe. Of course, I'm sure Rei was vouching to bring him along, but I do believe you had the final say." "Did I?" The skeleton asked, tilting his head and scratching his chin "Well. Yeah okay, I recognized him.... Kira was out so. Guess she couldn't have done it... And I never did figure out what the deal was between him and the flower so- yeah- yeah I guess it had to have been me." His smile faltered for a second "... Yeah. Knowing he had to live with the King of all monsters... Yeah. I guess I felt some sort of, whatsit. Kinship? Empathy? I dunno. But I guess no one could really protest, I mean, leaving a kid to bleed out on the floor? Yeah no." Grillby nodded slightly in understanding. "Yes.  Even if we didn't know it at the time, he was either forced into fighting... Or scared out of his wits." The elemental sighed, expression settling into deep melancholy. Sure Red knew precisely why it was there, but it didn't help the small ache in his chest whatsoever.

"You remember anything else? I mean, before 'The Big Battle'?" He asked, slightly tilting his head again. "No, I'm afraid I don't. Perhaps we spoke of where to find her. I was a bit surprised I was captured by Alphys of all monsters. And... And I believe you may have asked her to lead, as it was her lab. But how we found her after our Alphys, well... I suppose that's a story for next time, isn't it?" Grillby raised a brow, the  groan of pain from the skeleton was a little lackluster when he fully anticipated a whoop or a cheer from him. Concern almost immediately settling in... Even though there was no real need.

"Damnit, Grillz. We missed so much though. I just know it. I can feel it." "We can't help what isn't there, Red. Don't beat yourself up for it." "But-" "Nu-uh. We did good work with what we had. Now, it's time for a break.... At least let me bandage the hand." Red glanced down at it, the black mark on the bone was almost forgotten by then, almost. He should've known better than to think it would've gotten past Grillby, though. "Ugh, alright. Alright. Make sure to save that then. I'll meet you upstairs." "I'll see you then. Just give me a minute to figure out this darn machine again." The elemental feigned annoyance. Making it convincing enough to pull a snicker out of Red while simotaniously rushing up the stairs to escape before he was pulled into helping him again. Little did he know- the old man was simply waiting for the sound of the door clicking shut. Turning back to the screen and that same, damned blinking cursor. A few seconds of silence passed by. The white of the LEDs surely burned a hole into his retinas by now. Staring at the single sentence left on the page.

Are you still there?

Chapter Text

"Ooookkkaaaayyyy..." Red sighed out as he slumped back into his usual chair, casually putting his feet up onto the desk with a loud thud. He felt Grillby's eyes narrow from behind his head but it didn't hinder his tilted grin in the least. With a sigh of his own, the old man settled back into his chair and flipped the laptop open. The screen resting on the desktop, a blank document off in the corner of the screen but he paid it no heed, swiftly typing in the words 'Chapter Nine' across the top before turning to look over at Red again... Who was already flipping open a lighter to light the cigarette between his teeth. The elemental let out an almost offended huff, plucking the tobacco from his mouth. What surprised Red was the fact that he actually took a drag from it. It was definitely the look on his face that finally pulled an amused chuckle and even a wink from Grillby. After a solid few seconds of sputtering, the skeleton huffed and decided to just pull out another one.

"Aw what, you gunna pay me for that?" "Oh hush you, you have a whole pack. Besides, we're both going to need it by the end of this." There was almost a pip to Grillby's voice and he reached forward, pressing his finger onto the end of the other's cigarette until it finally caught fire, sharing the same blue hues, even as the small fire settled into the dried paper and leaves. "Heh-" Red chuckled with a raised eyebrow. "Oh don't tell me you were jealous of a lighter ?" "Ah see, but I made you laugh, didn't I?" Perhaps for the extra bit of flare, or simply to try to make the other's head spin, the elemental pressed a finger to his 'lips' as if to say 'shhh'.

"Hah. Sure. A'ight then, old man. Let's get this over and through. Shall we? You wanna start? Or me?" Grillby considered the question for a minute or two, sitting back in his chair, hand on his chin. "I'm not sure... Do you even remember what happened? As far as I remember, you rushed in there at mach 4." "Eheh... Heh… Uh. Ya got a good point there. Hey, I at least remember when the first bomb went off. What do you remember?" "Well- for one- that bomb was aimed for me..."

At the time, everything probably happened within a few seconds. But thinking back onto it gave the scene a whole other atmosphere entirely. The silence, the darkness of the hallway they stood in made it almost deafening, but every. Single. Beep that the keypad made underneath the skeleton's tapping fingers felt almost like a claw, rending the silence open. The soft red LEDs positioned underneath the soft rubber of the keys faded in and out of the darkness like blinking eyes. Leaving behind the soft thrumming, the energy of anticipation rising as the door let out a low hiss. Decompressing itself and pulling backwards to reveal the darkened room behind it. All it took was a few steps, just long enough for the elemental, the last member of the party, to take a step inside.

The change was instantaneous. Several of the 'tiles' of the flooring pulled backwards with a sharp BANG. Metal could be heard twisting, whirring, writhing to life as three tendrils shot up from the opening. All comprised of darkened metal, the movement of hundreds of cables could be seen just between the plating. Grillby's mind could hardly make sense of the two yellow objects in the back of the room. Not realizing that one figure was pinned to the wall by a giant, metallic claw from a side panel in the wall. How they were squirming around in it's grasp, not just in pain, but in desperation for their freedom.

In a flurry of movement, the tendrils shot forward, the floor parting for them without hesitation as they took a swing at their three nearest targets. Chara's eyes glowed a pale red, low on magic but the glimmer of fury beneath them kept the knife in their hand solid. The human ran forward against his attacker, slashing through the opening of the plating and giving way to a flurry of sparks as the cables were cut. The shape of a tiny goat flashed by, being thrown into a wall by the second one. And Red had his eyes locked onto the hulking machine. Ducking from it's attack. Jumping. Feet landing solidly on top it as it went to swing backwards, launching the skeleton forward. Movement tore the elemental's eyes from the others, eyes that grew wide as the realization struck. He didn't have time to move from the small sphere. Words suddenly seem to pierce through the noise- ringing out clear as day.

"This is where you die, you vile scum."

He could hear the grin in her voice as all other sound was drowned out. White exploding into his vision, stealing it away en masse... And then the pain struck .

"Wait. Woah. I actually did that?" Red chirped, his wide eyed stare enough to cut off Grillby's train of thought, who smiled ever so slightly at the sight of it. "Yes. I... Always thought that was intentional. The way you jumped up. I thought you were trying to get it to throw you. Was it not?" "Yes...? No...? Yo, honestly I can't remember. I don't even remember there being one of those damn tentacles, actually. I just thought it was the blast that knocked me forward. Cuz I tell ya, my soul was pounding like a fuckin' war drum right then." It was Grillby's turn to stare at the other, almost entirely awestruck.

"You panicked ?" "Well YEAH , ya great big dumb dumb!! Weren't you ?" "I---" Whatever words the elemental had quickly fell apart to ash. Red taking that as point proven and making a wild gesture with his hands. "SEE!? Hahah, yeah, hell no was I any sorta calm. 'Specially when I hit the ground."

Red flew through the air, hands outstretched towards a small glimmer of light. Towards an assortment of tools laid out on a metallic surgical table. His phalanges just barely caught onto something as he hit the ground on all fours. Skidding, nearly losing his footing. The room was entirely white washed and he felt a solid 'THUMP' in his ribcage as the pressure from the blast flew out at him. The world stood still for only a moment, long enough for the waves of pain shooting through his arms and legs to begin to fade.

The first thing that broke it was a loud clatter as the surgical table hit the ground, spilling it's contents in the process. The skeleton twisted around, brandishing whatever it was he had in his hand and realizing nobody had followed him through. He was alone... Save for the tendril rushing forward at him once more. Red let out a snarl, his eyes focused on his target. Lurching forward, he slashed across its side, barely making a screech, let alone scratch as the metal in his hand skirted over the plating. Red spun the object and went to stab down into the cables- when it shattered. Shattered . It wasn't the scalpel he thought it was. It was a goddamn syringe !! The skeleton snarled, leaping backwards and just narrowly avoiding the impact of the metallic beast.

He scoured the floor, desperately searching for a weapon. Any weapon. His eye caught another glimpse of metal and he scrabbled toward it, feet floundering on the slick tile for but a moment. It was just enough to force him to pitch his body forward into a roll, narrowly avoiding the tendril yet again. His hand found the metal, and he took the extra second to make certain that it was a scalpel this time. And right in front of him? The two lizards. Glitch!Alphys, pinned to the wall, gagged and using every ounce of her strength to fight against the claw’s grip... And then that maniacal grin on her dopplegangers face. That damn grin . Standing right beside her, reveling in the destruction around her. The small remote control pressed into her gloved hands was all she needed to cause it. Red pitched himself forward, the blade aimed first at Underfell!Alphys, cleanly slicing the flesh of her arm open. The skeleton twisted around, scalpel pointed toward the cloth gagging his friend. His hand froze mid swing as suddenly he found himself looking at his own face.

"Wait. Wait one moment, Red. Is that when-" "That one random-ass dude suddenly fuckin' appeared in the middle of battle? Hah. Yeah." Red scoffed, rolling his eyelight... But it wasn't without a hint of a genuine smile worked into his eternal grin. Grillby nodded, a small smirk playing on his face as well, taking another drag from the cigarette.

"That was..." "Undertale Sans. Y'know, Classic. Hah yeah, I know . Just how the hell is it that he always shows up at the most random fuckin' times?" "...Or when we need him the most." Grillby's soft-spoken sentence was enough to bring Red to a thoughtful silence. Grillby broke it. "We never did get an answer from him, how he got there, how he knew what he did-" Red waved his hands. "No no, that's not true. At least, not with this one. He told me that he was just kinda dumped there by you-know-who.” Red scoffed. “Apparently, which I didn't fuckin' know, sometime between when you came in up to what we were just talking about- Alph snuck off. She thought she could convince the bitch to give it up. 'S how she got captured." "And then he overheard-"

"DON'T ATTACK! JUST LISTEN!!" Classic stood in the middle of the fray, his blue eye ablaze with magic. Two summoned blasters slowly circled around him, prepared to fire at whoever became the first to make a move on him. "IF YOU KILL ONE ALPHYS, THE OTHER DIES, TOO!!"

"Who the fuck invited you here!?" Underfell!Alphys screeched out, yanking the pin out of a grenade and lobbing it at the new skeleton. In a flash of light,  all of his hopes to defuse the situation were blown along with the bomb. The new Sans was gone-- and so was the tendril. But it gave Red a few spare seconds to cut the gag. The poor girl hardly had enough time for several breaths of fresh air. "Y-Yes he's right. Just get me out of here!" Alphys looked terrified. Though she couldn't quite be certain, it felt like with each injury her counterpart sustained the more that the grip on her tightened. Red's eyes flicked up to her, his mind still reeling with the information. If she dies, they both die... But that didn't include maiming, now did it? There wasn't a chance in hell he was going to get that claw off so, whatever it was the bitch was using to hold Alph, there he was going to find it or die trying. Red gave Glitch!Alphys a solid, stern nod, just to let her know that he understood.

The skeleton twisted the scalpel in his hand, directing the sharp edge outward from himself as more of a defensive standpoint before he whipped around- eye sockets locked dead on his target. Red threw himself forward, only making it a couple steps before something slammed into his side, throwing him like a ragdoll. Any attempts to recover merely ended with him on his knees... Clutching his side, he could feel the marrow from his old wound- the missing rib- begin to ooze. Red whispered a sharp curse, he knew he was low but- no. No time. It didn't matter. He needed to stand. To fight . Phalanges dug into the honeycombed center of the exposed bone in his attempt to release more adrenaline into his system. With a low snarl he was up on his feet, running right at Underfell!Alphys, tearing and slashing as fast- As hard - as he could.

The lizard screeched underneath his onslaught, fighting to maintain control on the tendril, watching as the constructs began to fall. It wouldn't be long before the others would be on her, and trying to avoid the skeleton in front of her was proving to be too much. She was getting desperate . She pulled the pin from another bomb and went charging at him, aiming to smash into his shoulder. The force knocked him to the side, and he sucked in a quick breath, realizing what was in her claws. Without a second thought, he wretched it free from her hands, curling it into his stomach and hitting the ground.

...This is a good way to go out, isn't it?

"Stop."

Grillby's voice was so sharp, so loud that it jolted the skeleton forward, his feet finally leaving the top of the desk. Red's head snapped over to the source of the voice, wide-eyed and, admittedly, a little scared, expecting to feel some extra heat from an angry fire elemental... But as he turned, he only saw his friend whose flames had fanned down to a deep blue color; not even looking at him but... The soft sizzling was a telltale sign that several molten tears had managed to escape him. Red opened his mouth, and the elemental must've seen it, because he raised a hand to silence him.

There they sat, taking a few moments. Red remembered that he had a cigarette left, though he spend most of the time trying to clean up the ashes that had fallen. Forgetting it amidst the recounting of his tale. Now he was just waiting patiently, listening to the sound of his friend slowly bringing himself back from wherever his mind had taken him. Eventually, that patience was rewarded with a deep sigh from the other, finally looking over.

"Sor-" Grillby started, but Red quickly shook his head. A small, sympathetic smile on his face. "I got too far ahead, you didn't even get to tell what was happening on your end of things." It was small, and quite frankly a little pathetic, but the offer extended to Grillby to save at least a little face earned him a sad smile and a nod. There were a few more moments of silence as the elemental worked to continue calming himself, although if asked, they both would've said he was simply gathering the memories together. The flame took in a deep breath, then began.

The pressure of the blast nearly blew his flames down clear to his core. The pain of the sheer force rending away at his very being, almost as if he were being torn apart by his very own element. His HP was struck away from him and, for a moment, he felt the bending of his legs and the force against his knees as he was brought down to them. No other sound beyond a high pitched ring managed to get through. At least the blinding white finally began to crumble. streaks of jet black, almost like veins, crossed through his vision. It took a few moments to realize his eyes weren't just closed but that he was staring off into the darkened room. Staring right at a slightly brighter color of a green hoodie; Chara. On the ground, but already picking himself up. Several cuts and bruises already began to form, but he simply dusted himself off.

A dazzling orange light flared up off in the distance, illuminating the lesser fray around it. Asriel was still flattened against the wall by the metallic tendril, with the small light of his fire attack leaping from his paw. It's flames flattened against the metal, enough to make it recoil but hardly leaving a trace on its surface. Another blur of white fur- Kira- had their bat in hand, closing the distance from across the room. Any sign of her dazed confusion had been struck clean as the wood crashed down on the tendril. Perhaps the fire had already weakened it, but the metal crumpled underneath the blow, forcing it to release the small child. A smile from Asriel and an eye roll from Kira was all the interaction they got before another tendril headed straight for him .

By sheer power of will, the elemental found himself on his feet, counting on every single impact of his feet hitting the ground, unable to shake the feeling that at any minute the floor would fall away from them. He moved at a speed well beyond what he could process, his flames letting out a sharp hiss as the black metal of the tendril came into range. The elemental's knuckles burned white-hot as they went crashing down against the machine. Molten droplets sprayed out and he cursed himself for every wave of pain that ran up his arm. Of COURSE that wouldn't work. Grillby's foot twisted and he leapt back, funneling every spark of anger into a fireball. The magic swirled in the center of his palm, the heat concentrating into a brilliant white light that began to tingle even in his hand. With one swift motion, the molten blast impacted the cold metal.

Blasting sparks and chunks of partially melted metal erupted in a spray, unable to handle the sudden rise in temperature. The electrical insides squealing- a buzzing sound surging forward and cracking with a loud POP. The tendril of coiled cables and electrical wires spasmed underneath the incoherent babble of interrupted coding. The elemental drew his hand back, smirking at the sight of at least one small victory. Another flash of orange caught his vision as Asriel directed a fireball at the towering machinery. The flames licked away at the surface, but it was hardly enough to melt the metal. The tendril spasmed, twisting. It was already too late before he realized where it's swing had focused. A pained cry erupted as the sight of the small goat child was snatched away, the figure hurled once more into the wall. Grillby lurched forward, but any words were replaced with a faint whoosh of his flames losing oxygen. The powerful force reeled back and slammed hard into his chest, sending him into the wall with the very same motion.

Time slowed, if only for a brief second, by the new surge of adrenaline. Just enough to see the human in a green hoodie dash for his downed brother. Every swing of the knife was weak, though. The moment he swayed on his feet was the moment the human met the same fate Asriel had. Chara didn't allow himself to be down for long, though, almost instantly falling in line with the small white dog. The two of them bringing the tendril down to a writhing heap on the ground, sparks sputtering out from between the plating. It's last dying cry came in the form of a puff of smoke.

It was his legs that brought the elemental's attention forward once more- legs that had dumped him carelessly onto the ground. Anger surged through him like a bolt of lightning... The little tyke got hurt… In HIS care. Enough was ENOUGH . What was he thinking!? His knuckles always worked. Always. And most importantly- why was he still on the ground? The surge of anger sent the elemental roaring back into the fray, targeting a different one this time. Around his knuckles the temperature increased to an almost blinding white. He'd melt this thing into a puddle if that's what it took. Both hits landed, setting the metal ablaze. Just a few more hits. Just a few more-

Like a vine the thing twisted, it's metal plates snapping together, making itself into a spike. It spun around- stabbing at him. He swiveled his foot, the elemental very narrowly avoiding the attack. It whipped backwards. Grillby moved to dodge, but his muscles locked up. His body hadn't forgotten the pain from earlier, regardless if he was healed. The blow sent him stumbling and wide open to be slammed into the floor once more. Molten blood flew from his mouth as he was crushed between the two. Grillby caught the faint glimmer of a blue trident, a familiar grin on a face far too young as they dashed forward to aid Chara and the others.

Grillby let out a deep growl as he rose his hands, trying to beat down against the damned thing. His energy was rapidly dwindling and the molten white was replaced by a dull blue. The metal creaked and groaned but showed no signs of letting up. No dammit- NO . Tremors of pain wracked his body, tearing away at his strength as his lungs failed to bring in enough oxygen to fuel his flames. There was another shriek. Movement not far away caught his eye as the familiar visage of a grenade bounced onto the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath. Shit... Shit shit... SHIT . Adrenaline flooded his system and his flames were washed in white. He huffed and squeaked, trying anything- everything to move. To escape-

Time froze. His eyes landed on the grenade. The internal time in his head screeching. A skeleton dove down on top of it. Curling around it. For a second, he saw a rabbit in Red's place.

The room erupted into a brilliant white light.

"You'll make it, won't you?"

Red almost regretted letting those words leave his mouth just in the way Grillby's head snapped towards him. The flame looked .5 seconds away from beating him into the ground... If it weren't for the molten tears that had finally managed to drip free from his eyes. The skeleton winced, finding it far too painful to look anywhere but the floor.

"That's what I was trying to tell you. We.. We were both on the ground. I thought you saw me I-" "I DID Sans! Of COURSE I saw you- you- and that damned GRIN of yours! Why on EARTH were you smiling!?" The small skeleton shrunk back, well, even then he was smiling- and that grin was tight. Tense, daring to glance back up at his friend but only for a second. "W-Well I'm- I'm always smiling, ain't I?" "That is NOT what I meant and you know that." There was a sharp edge to the elemental's voice. One that it took every iota of willpower to keep him from finding literally any excuse he could to escape. But.. He didn't.

"...Yeah... Yeah okay. I was smiling, a'ight? 's cuz... Cuz I thought I was gunna die-" Red didn't need to see the look of horror to know it was there; the sharp flinch from the corner of his eye was all that was required. With a nervous gulp, he somehow found a way to reiterate the sentence. "Cuz I thought I was gunna die as some sorta hero. Y-Y'know? Like... I already knew I wasn't gettin' out of this alive so... I thought, y'know, what a great way to go out. Finally done something' with my life worth-" Instantly Red's sentence was cut off by a soft warmth wrapping around him. Two strong arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him forward into a soft hug. He could hear the soft sizzling of the elemental's tears dripping onto his coat, almost instantly burning up and forming hard droplets almost like lava. Honestly, Red was surprised he wasn't doing the same. With a small sniffle- he awkwardly tried to pat the other's back.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how I made it..."

At first, it was simply the feeling of warmth that washed over his bones, as if the white flash enveloped him... But the burning began. It began to choke, not hold, the force of the blast throwing pressure like a wall against his ribs. He felt them compress and begin to crack underneath the force. Sans felt his mandible open, emitting something that should've been a scream but it only was some sort of empty rasp, even as he hit the ground once more. When had he even left it…?

Everything was like a snapshot; a single image, perhaps two. The other Sans with the blaster turning to the tentacle. If he thought hard enough about it, perhaps he could make out the words 'Guess I gotta take this thing back to the sea.' With a flash of light, both him and the tendril were gone. Kira and Azzy. Turning their heads. Alphys, trying whatever she could to struggle free, tears running down her face. He hadn't a clue that she was blaming herself for every cut- every bruise- on him. Red wasn't even able to hear as she squeaked out the words "W-What have I done..." The skeleton’s eye sockets were squeezed shut as he curled in on himself, watching as his phalanges began to crumble... Fuck… It hurt... It hurt... It hurt... The high-pitched whine in his ears began to ebb away, hearing Underfell!Alphys dusting off her coat. Her cackle… And her taunting.

"Regret coming up against me now don't you? Your brother was right, you were an idiot." Red felt her foot come down on him and... Any other time he would've laughed. This was so fitting, wasn't it...? Almost as if Paps was there... The skeleton curled as tight as he could on himself, his vision fading in and out. Begging his body to crumble faster. C'mon he was dead wasn't he? Hurry it up dammit...!!

"I'm gunna enjoy killing you slowly, very slowly and very painfully~" Alphys taunted her counterpart, anger seething from her voice. She was out of bombs, low on magic, but she made the mistake of assuming the rest were already done for. Her hand reached up, giggling as her earpiece glowed. The grip around Glitch!Alphys began to work tighter and tighter- she swore she could feel her ribs cracking underneath the pressure. Alphys let out a scream that clawed away at her throat. There was a clatter of wood on metal as Kira threw her bat away, charging in at the maniacal lizard. Her fangs bore down into any piece of flesh she could reach with the ferocity any wild animal would be hard-pressed to duplicate.

Red's consciousness quickly began to fade, only able to feel a pair of furry paws touch him. He tried to snap at them, but clearly missed- only able to feel a warmth seeping out and into his bones, beginning to ease the pain. No... He watched his phalanges, the crumbling pieces pulling back together... No... The skeleton raised a hand, gripping Azzy's wrist and squeezing. No... Stop it... His head fell limp as his vision faded until all he could hear or see was nothingness.

The flame froze. For how long, he hadn't a clue. His mind reeled to try and process what he had just witnessed. Trying desperately to discern whether it was hard tile against his back or mud. A skeleton. Or a rabbit. The crushing weight of the blast or... The crushing weight of the blast. The elemental flinched up- mind snapping to reality.

"ENOUGH!!!"

Grillby roared out, channeling one last fireball into his palm. Instead of throwing it, he slammed it down onto the shadowed metal. Again. Again. Again. His muscles began to seize up and he had no choice but to throw it, hurling it right for the claw holding Glitch!Alphys in place. Then, with the last of his magic, the elemental slapped his hand down onto the ground. An inferno catching and zipping a few feet away, forming a protective ring around the small goat child and barely living skeleton. The flame waited, expecting the full weight of the tendril to bear down on him and crush him, unable to do anything more than watch...

But all he watched was Alphys squeeze her eyes shut as the fireball landed right beside her. It wasn't much, but the claw was damaged enough for her to begin crawling out. Asgore quickly came to her aid- using all the strength in his small body to pry it open. Halfway through, the claw's grip began to tighten, Alphys screeching in agony, feeling her ribs finally begin to give out with a final, sickening snap . It was with one final push that the poor girl fell to the ground, weak, but with Asgore's help and assurance... Standing. Somewhat safe.

The scream of another kind caught Grillby's attention- the other Alphys. The Alphys that had just been laughing as she watched the chaos- her chaos- swirling around her, was now backed into a corner, claw still on the earpiece. Her eyes wide- but not in fear. Even as Kira tore apart her arms, even as she stumbled, crumbling dust beginning to fall around her.

"Fuck, Fuck FUCK , why won't you all just DIE!! " The lizard snarled, her tone quickly twisting to something desperate and pathetic. "Damn it, DAMN IT , THIS ISN'T OVER, I'LL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH IN THE END-" Kira only continued to rip away at her. "Undyne will get you and bathe in your dust. Every. Fucking. One. Of. You. " The small dog's onslaught slowed, her rage had now been replaced with disgust, nose curling in it. Her words were... Quiet. But with enough venom for the lizard to freeze.

"Oh would you shut it, bitch? You're done for..."

Kira's fangs closed down around her throat, biting down through to her trachea, and with one final snap- the lizard collapsed. Her body, her throat convulsing as it struggled for oxygen. The elemental had no clue Chara was still fighting one of the tendrils and watching the battle from afar. He’d seen their Alphys had been freed... And set his mind on his own revenge. Upon reaching her, the human stood over the downed, mangled lizard.

"It IS over." Chara raised the knife. "Burn in hell, bitch ." It came down, sinking into her chest with a sickening pop as her collar bone dislocated. Stab. Kill . Home. The knife was wrenched free, splattering blood against the wall beside them while more from the wound seeped into her clothing.. She was finally dead. Right...? Again, it was pulled free- and plunged in. A second spray of blood was sent up through the gash in her throat. They were... Safe...? One last time the knife dove- stopping about halfway as it caught on bone and again- it was wrenched free. He had enough. She was dead . The teen sighed. Standing up onto his feet, shaking with adrenaline. The green hoodie was now splattered with blood. His hand slowly released the blade.

There was a small plume as the knife fell into the dust. It didn't make a sound.

Chapter Text

So, an email recaptured my attention for this little project.

First and foremost- I forgot I was actually able to reach 10 chapters of this. Really the idea just baffles me that I was able to push through so long. I am sorry to say, however, if any of you have actually managed to reach this far....

There aren't going to be any more chapters.

It's ironic, too. See, this original roleplay was written on a horrible little app called Geeking. What you have read so far has been a combination of little snippets that were saved in anyone and everyone's notepads. What little memories we were able to scrounge up. And a dash of creative license that allowed me to string them all somewhat into coherence.  It's funny that this just so happened to drop right at the shift I had from when we moved to Discord and thus had literally every reply word for word. (ie all I would need to do is some reformatting) You would think that such a thing would make it all the more easy for me--

However, it has not. A combination of:

• The sheer amount of work and stress it required to pump out as long a chapters as I was, on time.
• The severe lack of response to this story, hardly no views even from those who were involved.

And... Perhaps most sadly of all; 

• The death of this story.. Without an ending.

The daunting task of having to conjure up the MASSIVE finale I had originally planned. Having to breath life into characters that aren't mine when every single one of them had a tailored, extremely emotional endings... Well, it has outright drained all inspiration and will I had to complete the project.

But have no fear.

If anyone happens to stumble across this little story of ours-- Though I can't promise a finalized version. I would be more than happy to provide the transcript of how the roleplay progressed so that you can read it yourself. Or, even just ask, honestly. I would be more than happy to give a summary of it all. Also, if any of you wish to roleplay. Honestly, that would be quite lovely. 

If you find any need to contact me, feel free to do so through here.

Email: [email protected]

Tumblr: https://moonsymptom.tumblr.com/

Discord: Floof#8053