Chapter Text
And all the kids cried out,
"Please stop, you're scaring me."
I can't help this awful energy
Goddamn right, you should be scared of me
Who is in control?
-Halsey; Control
"Hello?"
The little boy's, tiny, voice just barely broke the silence looming in the air. The night was late, and it was far past his bedtime. He made his way down a long corridor, while clutching an, old style, lantern. The soft breeze from an open window waved around a metallic and musty stench. It was so quiet, it was almost unbearable.
Something was terribly wrong.
He eventually approached an old, wooden, door, that seemed to be covered in a wet, sticky, substance. It was slightly ajar, which emitted a, very small, crack of light, out and into the corridor. Completely engulfed with fear, the boy slowly lifted his free hand, and brushed his fingers against the door. The sticky substance stained his, pale, fingers red, as the door fell back to reveal a large sleeping chamber.
The little boy hitched his breath at the horrific scene he suddenly presented with.
Blood.
There was so much blood.
It was all so overwhelming—
From splattered walls, to glistening puddles, seeping into the floorboards, the room was truly a nightmare.
But the most disturbing part were the bodies.
The bodies of slaughtered children, tossed in every part of the room.
Some appeared to have their throats slit, while others were stabbed, profusely, through many parts of their body.
The boy stumbled backwards, but was obstructed by something.
No—someone.
The lantern fell from the boy's, sweaty, grasp, shattering against the rickety floor. He flew around to meet a pair of fiery eyes.
It was a girl, no older then eleven years old. Her chestnut hair was disheveled, while her ghostly skin, and raggedy dress, were splashed crimson. Held tightly in her hand, was a, single, sliver kitchen knife, completely drenched in blood.
The boy stumbled backwards, away from the girl. Pieces of glass, from the broken lantern, cutting his bare feet in process.
"Please—Chara, I—" he pleaded, but Chara's poisonous voice didn't give him the chance to speak.
"I don't have time for your excuses."
And with one swift motion, she slashed the knife forward, causing a large gash across the boy's throat.
Blood poured out of the wound, soaking the boy's clothes instantly. He clutched his throat with his hands, as if he might be able to stop the bleeding, but instead, he fell to the bloodstained floor with a, THUD. The life, slowly draining from his eyes.
His breathing dissipated, and the silence returned. Chara cracked her neck, while her lips opened in pleasure.
"Much better."
I woke up, breathless, the smell of spaghetti and cigarette smoke hit me in waves. I sat up straight, my hair was soaked in sweat, and my clothes clung to my overheated body.
I squinted my eyes, to see that I was still in the skeleton brother's living room. I was lying on the, rundown, green couch, and was covered by a blue, fleece, blanket.
What the hell kind of nightmare was that?
I felt Chara, stir in my mind.
"It wasn't a nightmare, sweetheart. It was a memory."
I pushed myself to sit up straight, my mind was in so many different places, all at once.
A—memory?
" My memory."
Wait—but—
"bad dream?"
Still on edge, the sound of his voice made me jump. I glanced over to see Sans sitting in the corner of the room, lounging in a recliner. His feet were positioned up on the, small glass, coffee table, while he held a newspaper in his skeletal hands.
His eyes met mine and the corners of his mouth turned upward. I peeled the sweaty, fleece, blanket off of my body, and tossed it to the other side of the couch. Looking up, I noticed that Sans was staring at me, his bone brow raise in a concerned, yet amused, manner.
"you alright, kid?"
"I'm fine." I said defensively, "Just kinda thirsty."
"i'll go get you something." Sans immediately put the newspaper down, and proceeded to walk, lazily, into the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight, I then turned my attention back to Chara.
What did you mean by, YOUR memory?
I heard a sigh, as if my question was annoying to her.
"Have you forgotten that we're connected? You have just as much access to my memories, as I do to yours."
I bit my lip at her response.
But if that was a memory, YOUR memory, then that means—
—You murdered all of those children.
"....."
"They deserved it."
Before I could respond, Sans returned back to the living room with a cold bottle of water. He cleared a spot on the couch, and sat down beside me. His scent alone, calmed my nerves, almost immediately.
As he handed me the bottle, I grabbed it, almost desperate, to feel the cool water soothe my, dry, mouth.
I chugged it, to say the least. Water falling from my mouth and dripping down onto the , already damp, couch. Eventually, I pulled the bottle away, as a breath escaped from my lips.
"you weren't kidding when you said, thirsty." His pupils, pulsing, with every word.
I felt the heat creep up into my cheeks. I turned my head away from him, in hopes he wouldn't notice my pink flush, and shifted uncomfortably from my damp, sweaty, clothes.
Chara's clothes.
I was still wearing her green sweater.
I suddenly wanted, nothing more, then to rip it off. After seeing what she did—what she's capable of—I felt as if they were soaked in blood, rather then sweat.
"Oh please, you're such a baby."
Ignoring Chara, I turned to Sans and asked, "You wouldn't have any extra—uh, clothes....would you?"
"Uh—" Sans stopped as his eyes wondered over my body. I saw something flicker within them, like a sudden spark of electricity. For a moment, his left eye almost looked blue. "not anything that—uh, would fit you."
I grimaced at his answer, before he continued.
"there's actually a shop, right in the center of town. they sell all kinds of stuff, i'm sure you'd be able to find something there."
Sans stood up from the couch and looked down at me, as if an idea just popped into his head.
"i can take you, if you want?"
I pushed myself to a stand, my eyes still fixated on him. "Isn't that kinda risky? I mean—"
"—don't worry," Sans cut me off, a low chuckle escaping from his mouth. "i'll make sure we keep a low profile." Sans held out his hand, a wide grin spread across his face. His eyes were dim, and somewhat alluring. I returned his gaze, and slowly, moved my eyes to his, outstretched, skeletal hand.
"How many times do I have to warn you about him before you get yourself killed?"
I could hear Chara's voice, echoing somewhere in the back of my mind.
I silenced her and grabbed hold of Sans anyway.
Almost instantly, I felt the world spin around me, fast and unexpectedly. Electricity flowed through my veins, just like the night before. I felt Sans pull me close, his body pressed into mine. My vision was blurry, but I knew my face was only inches from his. I could feel his hot breath as he spoke.
"don't worry, i got you."
Seconds later, the world came to a standstill. I could feel that my feet were now planted, firmly, on the, cold, earth. My eyes slowly opened, to see Sans' soft, white, pupils staring back at me, while his arms were wrapped around me. We were no longer in the house, but now standing in the middle of the, cold, forest.
As much as I wanted to stay like this, pressed up against him, I felt a twinge of annoyance surge through me.
I pushed him off of me, and shot him a glare. "What the fuck, a little warning next time?"
Sans chuckled, and his eyes sparked brighter. "where's the fun in that?"
"You pulled that same shit last night! What—how—" I stumbled over my words, flabbergasted on how he was able to transport us, without moving. It was absolutely bizarre, I had never heard or experienced anything like that before.
"maybe i'll explain it later," he said as he slowly began to walk away, down one of the pathways. Then, without warning, he turned around and gave me a wink. "if i'm feeling up to it."
I shot him another glare as I jogged up next to him. "I'm gonna hold you to that."
Sans chuckled again, this time really low, almost like a growl.
It was actually kind of sexy.
Before I even had time to comprehend my own thoughts, I realized we had walked right into a brightly, lit, village.
It looked just like something you would see on a Christmas card. Quaint houses were set up on every other street corner, covered in, thick, blankets of snow. Pathways were lined with lanterns, while locals hurried down the, icy, streets. There was huge banner that hung from a wooden post. In big letters it read "Welcome to Snowdin." The atmosphere of the town was so joyful, it reminded me of how the surface us to be.
"Oh my god!"
A little voice called out from behind. Sans and I swept around and were met with a small, yellow, child Monster. He beamed as my curious eyes met his.
He was so adorable.
"So it is true! There is a Human in the Underground!" He shouted, causing some of the surrounding Monsters to turn their heads and gawk. I could see some of them whispering among each other, making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. Sans tensed up next to me, and pushed me slightly behind him.
"can you keep it down, kid?"
The child Monster backed away, suddenly, as if Sans had scared him. "Oh, I—I'm sorry S-Sans. I didn't mean to be loud, I was just excited."
Ignoring the child completely, Sans then grabbed my hand and lead me further into the town. I looked back to the child Monster and gave an apologetic smile, then turned my attention back to Sans who was, basically, dragging me by the hand now.
"You didn't have to do that, he was obviously, just curious."
"you need to stay undetected, for as long as possible. word travels fast in the underground." Sans let go of my hand, as we were now standing in front of a large, wooden, hut. He reached into his sweatshirt pocket, and gave me a handful of gold coins. "here, you'll need this. this is the shop i was talking about."
He placed the coins in my hands and I did my best not to drop them. I looked at him with cautious eyes. "Ar—Are you sure?"
Sans smiled and leaned up against the wall. He reached into his pocket again, this time pulling out a small box. He flipped open the top and pulled out, what appeared to be, a cigarette.
But. He's a Skeleton.
He doesn't have lungs, how can he smoke?
My eyes, narrowed, questionably as Sans popped the cigarette into his mouth and lit it with an electric, blue flame, emerging from his fingers.
He took a drag and looked over to me, blowing his smoke in the opposite direction. "don't worry about it. you go ahead, i'm gonna wait out here and keep an eye on things."
"Alright-if you say so." I grabbed the door handle, the knob was cold to the touch. I looked back at Sans once more, who shot me a soft (yet confident) smile, before turning the handle and pushing into the shop.
The door shut softly behind me, while a light, bell, rang throughout the hut.
"Hello traveler!"
I turned my attention to the Monster walking towards me, her hips swaying from side to side. She looked like bunny, with her floppy ears and brown fur. Her mouth curved up into a pleasant smile, while her, green, eyes examined me curiously.
"How can I help you today?"
"Uh—" I stopped, searching for the right words. "I—um....I'm looking for some.....clothes." Feeling awkward I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly remembering how dirty Chara's sweater was.
Luckily, the shop owner didn't seem to notice as she immediately went into a salesman stance. "Oh! Not a problem! The clothing racks are this way!"
She walked away hastily, towards the back of the store. I followed, reluctantly and cautiously. The store was surprisingly big, and was filled with various different items. From delicious pastries, to cute, little, trinkets, the shop reminded me of some of the boutiques, I often visited, up on the surface.
It felt like ages ago, now that I think about it.
"All of the clothes for sale are right here," she called over her shoulder, pointing to a few large racks. "Just call out if you need anything!"
I was surrounded by all different types of clothes. From business jackets, to oversized sweatshirts I was conflicted on what to get. I couldn't even remember the last time I actually got to go shopping. I looked around for a bit, roaming the isles, up and down. Eventually I chose a pair of blue jeans, a plain, cotton white, t-shirt, a new pair of black boots, and a sleek, black, leather jacket.
Walking up to the counter, now in my new clothes, I already felt so much better, being out of that gross, sticky, sweater. The shop keeper shot me an impressed smile as I approached her.
"Wow, you clean up nice! Great choice, that will be 70 gold."
I reached into my pocket and handed her the fistful of gold Sans had given me. While she was picking through the coins, counting quietly to herself, the front door suddenly burst open, slamming up against the wall.
I jumped, as did she, from the sudden, loud, noise. I turned to see Sans rushing through into the shop, a look of panic splashed across his face.
"we gotta go." His voice was rough and urgent.
"Wait, but—" Before I could finish, Sans grabbed my shoulder and the world began to spin again. The dizziness hit me hard and fast, although, this time felt different. I could feel that we were moving, significantly, much faster then any of the other times. Within seconds of my dizziness, the world became steady and I was able to regain my balance. I opened my eyes to realize that, once again without any warning, we had relocated from the shop, back into the icy forest.
I pulled my shoulder away from Sans, harshly. "Son of a bitch, will you stop doing that!?"
Sans looked at me apologetically, but still on edge. "sorry, i had to get you out of there."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why? What was—"
My words were quickly cut off by a swift, flying object, cutting through the air, flying just inches by my face. It landed in a tree behind me, sticking straight into the bark. I could see now that-
It was a glowing, blue, spear.
"fuck." I heard Sans mutter.
Before I could even ask what was going on, my attention was, quickly, drawn to a new voice was presented in front of me. It was smooth, and maybe even a little bit too cocky.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
As the figure came into view, I recognized her immediately. The sound of her heavy, metal, armor echoed throughout the forest. Her yellow eyes were set ablaze, and her red hair was whipping, furiously, in the wind as she crept forward.
Undyne the Undying
She smiled a huge smile, revealing her sharp, jagged, teeth as she sneered, "I guess Papyrus was right. There really is a human in the Underground."