Work Text:
“Come on you stu- There we go!” Sans internally cheered, as the control panel snapped into place. He stepped back, sliding his glasses closer to his face, admiring the completed machine. Months of work and it was done. Looking at the bench, he reviewed the charts and the data that rested on it. “It has to work this time…” He muttered, biting the tip of his thumb.
The dreams had gotten worse, the man in the shadows taunting him. For the first time in his life, the last thing Sans wanted to do was sleep. If he couldn’t sleep, what was left for him to do? Since Frisk had saved everyone in the underground and taken them to the surface, Sans had had trouble finding a place to fit in. When the dreams started and he had come to realize what he needed to do; he actually felt happy, alongside sleepy, at having a purpose.
“I’ll save him… then everyone will have their happy ending…”
The sound of his phone going off startled him. He answered it quickly, recognizing Papyrus’ ringtone. “Hey, Bro. You really rattled me by calling so suddenly. What’s up?”
A groan at the bad pun was the first reply, “Really, right as you pick up?”
“What can I say? It’s in my b-“
“NO!” Papyrus interrupted, clearing his throat, “Where are you right now?”
“The house in Snowdin, you know that. Why?”
“Just checking…” There was laughter in the tone of his voice. Muffled sounds in the background could be heard. “How long will you be?”
“Uh, I’m not sure…” He glanced at the finished project, “Not long, just got to run a few tests…”
“Good! Do me a favor and grab something from the house for me when you are heading out!”
“Sure thing bro, what ya need?”
“Something!” Papyrus replied, hanging up.
Sans chuckled at his brother’s weirdness, pocketing the phone. His attention returned to the machine. Again he reviewed the charts, the numbers seemed right… All the simulations he had run showed positive results…
“Okay. Let’s do this.” He flipped a switch on the panel, the machine churned to life. Its gears turning, lights blinking, the coolant made a hushed whoosh as it slid through the piping.
He waited, expecting something to go wrong; a circuit to fry, a gear grinding to a halt, or a fire to start. Nothing happened though. The machine finished powering up and it waited for him to input the needed information.
It was working.
He let out a triumphant laugh, “Yes. Yes. YES! I did it! I told you I would get it to work, Alphys!” He yelled, though he was alone in the workshop in the back of the house. He considered what to do next for a moment, to turn it off and try later or to take the plunge and do it now.
“Screw it.” He said, starting to input the needed data in the controls. “Papyrus said he wanted me to bring him something from home… what better something than our dad.”
He took a deep breath, triple checking his inputs and slammed his hand on the button to start the processes.
The machine started whirling loudly. At the bottom and top of the large gap that resided in the machine, the several prongs that protruded crackled with electricity. A bolt shot from the top to the bottom prongs, then back up. Repeating over and over in seemingly random sequences.
A howl of wind filled the room, a small ball of darkness starting to form in the center of the gap.
“Yes. Yes!” Sans chanted as the ball grew, “It’s working! It’s- NO!” He cried out, as the screen on the control panel started flashing red and yellow. Across the screen the word ERROR flashed brightly.
The machine began to shake violently, he could hear wires inside snap. The bolts of electricity shot out from the gap, cracking against the walls. The ball of darkness started conforming in various shapes as its stability was lost.
“Shit!” Sans jumped forward, slamming down on the shutdown switch. The machine whirls slowed, the shaking halting. In the gap, as the power died, the ball of darkness shattered and disappeared. As the room calmed, a small strand of smoke started rising out of one of the vent on the machine.
“Damn it!” He cried, kicking the side of it. “Why won’t you work!?”
Sans put his head between his knees, rocking slightly. Months of work and the damn thing had broken down… He stared at the thing, listening to the crackle of electricity form snapped wires. The screen still flashed, the word error screaming for attention. What had gone wrong? What had caused the error to occur? He groaned, not wanting to deal with it right then, fixing the machine would take ages and he’d have to find what caused the malfunction.
Had it been a glitch in the system? A loose wire? An error in the coding? It would take forever to examine the code…
After a few minutes, he stood and brushed himself off. Just keep smiling, he reminded himself. He looked at the faded drawing on the bench, the crude picture of three smiling figures.
“Sorry Dad…” Sans said, taking off his glasses and shoving them in his pocket. Giving the machine another swift kick, Sans teleported out of the room.
~*~
“Gah!” Papyrus yelped as Sans appeared in the living room, jumping back in surprise.
Sans was just as shocked to see his brother at the house, “Bro? What are you doing here?”
“What have I told you about teleporting in the house!?” Papyrus said in reply. Before Sans could answer, his attention was grabbed by the giggling child sitting on the couch.
“Oh, hey kiddo.”
“Hi, Sans!” Frisk replied, giving a wave, the large coat the wore to deal with the cold of Snowdin flipped as it covered their hand.
“He’s here?!” Another voice cried out from above, “Hey dork, you’re supposed to use the door!” Undyne yelled, running down the stairs. Alphys followed closely behind, laughing.
“Woah, everyone’s here. Well, almost. Did I miss the party invite?”
“You didn’t need one! You’re the guest of honor!” Papyrus replied, wrapping an arm around Sans and picking him up. “You see, I, The Great Papyrus and Most Amazing Brother, have noticed that you have been very sad lately. So! I got all our friends together to surprise you! Sadly Toriel and His Majesty could not join us.”
Frisk jumped off the couch, running to stand at Papyrus’s side as he held Sans, “Yeah, Mom had to do some stuff at the school and Asgore wanted to help out!”
“Cool.” Sans replied, as his brother set him down.
“Cool?! That’s all you got to say? Papyrus was really annoying about getting us all here!” Undyne slapped his back, “You should be grateful!”
“Oh, I am. I got the best brother ever.” Sans stated, gently poking Papyrus with his elbow.
“Nyeh-heh!”
“So, what were you doing in your workshop?” Frisk asked.
“Y-your workshop?” Alphys eyed him, “You weren’t working on-“
“Nah.” Sans replied, lying.
“Oh good. Cause that could have been d-d-dangerous.”
Frisk looked thoroughly confused. “What could have bee-“
A large explosion racked the house, sending everyone flying. Debris flew everywhere, pieces of wall and stairs.
Sans was thrust onto the couch, his head ringing as it registered what had happened. The moment he regained his senses, he jumped up. “Papyrus!! Are you okay?!” He looked around wildly. He spotted his brother in the pile of what had been the dining table.
Papyrus groaned, rubbing his head, “I’m- I’m okay… I think. What happened? Oh, no! Frisk!”
Sans attention shifted to the child, who was laying on the ground, unmoving. Sans was closer, so he reached Frisk first.
“Hey, kiddo, come on. You okay?” He patted their cheek, trying to wake them.
“Come on… wake up…” Papyrus pleaded.
A groan escaped their lips, their eyes fluttered open. “Wh-what happened?”
“I don’t know.” Papyrus replied, “Sans, do yo-“
“ALPHYS!” Undyne’s voice cut through the air, thick desperation. She held Alphys in her arms, tears running down her cheeks, “No, no, no, no. You’re okay, come on. Please be okay.” She said.
Sans felt cold as the smoke started to clear, as Alphys came further into view. A large wound on her head was gushing blood, but it was the beam from the staircase handrail that was speared through her chest that drew the most attention.
“Come on. You’re strong. You can-“ Undyne’s words cut off, as Alphys’s form faded, dust gathering in its place. “N-n-no.” She pulled the lab coat close, “This can’t be happening…”
This was his fault, Sans realized, his view shifting to the large hole in the wall, where his workshop had been. Smoke still filled the hole, obscure his view. He hadn’t properly shut down the machine, he had left it in a dangerous state. This was his fault.
“M-my s-side hurts.” Frisk said, breaking Sans thoughts.
“Let me see.” He said, hoping it wasn’t bad. Frisk nodded, shifting to pull up the side of their shirt.
“S-Sans, what is that?” Papyrus asked.
He looked up, seeing where his brother pointed. It was back at the hole, where the smoke was starting to fade. He expected to see a crater, the snowy woods on the other side. Inside, all he saw was darkness. Pitch black. What’s more, the darkness was spreading. Moving along the walls and floor, devouring the house. It moved in the strangest way, not like liquid but more blocky, as if digital.
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Sans said, picking up Frisk, who winced at the pain. “Come on, Bro!”
He nodded and ran up to Undyne, “Undyne, I knows it’s hard but we’ve got to mo-“
“You!” Undyne yelled, grabbing Papyrus by the scarf, “This is your fault! If you hadn’t wanted to do this stupid party, Alphys would still be… would still be…” Her voice cracked.
“Let him go Undyne, it’s not his fault.” Sans said, walking up to the pair, “It’s… it’s mine…”
Her gaze turned to Sans, her grip on Papyrus breaking. “Y-you. You did this?” Her eyes widened, “You did that thing, the one she told you not to… It’s your fault…” Her fists shook at her side violently.
“I can fix this! I mean, Frisk can… right?” He looked at Frisk, begging them. It was horrible to ask, after they had finally stopped resetting and gave them all their happy endings, but this…
“My side really hurts…” Frisk groaned in reply. They looked really pale. Sans set them down quickly, pulling up the side of their shirt. Dread filled him when he saw the wound.
A piece of drywall was embedded in their side, but it didn’t look deep. No, the dread wasn’t from the debris, it was from the blackness that was slowly spreading across Frisk’s torso, moving towards their soul.
“Kid, you need to reset. Now.”
‘I… I can’t… it hurts to much…”
“What’s happening?” Papyrus said, fear coating his voice.
“I-I don’t know.” Sans replied, his view shifting between Frisk and the growing darkness. It was crawling outwards, devouring everything, leaving an empty void in its place. Its pace was increasing, its reach extending. The sound of static started to reverberate from it.
Frisk yelped in pain, “It hurts!” They cried out, clutching their chest.
“Kid, I know it hurts but you need to reset. It’s our only hope.” Sans stated, begging.
Frisk only whimpered in reply.
“…” Sans considered his options, coming up with the only one that could work. He raised his hand, bones appeared in the air above them. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I really don’t like hurting you when you’re good…”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Undyne jumped Sans, pulling him from Frisk and slammed him against the ground. “You already killed Alphys! Now you want to kill Frisk!? What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Y-you don’t understand-“
“I don’t need to! I don’t know what happened, but you’ve clearly snapped!”
“Stop!” Papyrus cried out, Undyne slammed against the ground beside Sans. Papyrus’s blue magic holding her down. “Friends shouldn’t be fighting! Especially not now!” He cried, tears running down his cheeks.
Sans stood up, ignoring the ache in his bones, “Thanks, bro.” He started towards Frisk but Papyrus stepped in his way.
“I won’t let you hurt Frisk, Sans.”
“Papyrus, you don’t understand-“ Frisk sudden cry of pain cut him off. They started to shake violently, clasping their chest.
“Frisk!” Papyrus yelled, got down on his knees, holding them, “What’s wrong,? Please, I don’t know wh-“ His eyes went wide as Frisk stopped shaking, their hand falling limply from their chest. “F-Frisk…?”
Sans hated the feeling of relief at seeing that, but now that Frisk had died… they could reset. All of this would stop, everything would be okay- “Oh no.” Sans eyes went wide, as he saw the blackness engulf Frisk’s candy colored soul. The moment it did, Frisk’s body dissolved into blackness. Leaving only the coat behind in Papyrus’s hands.
That had not just happened. The darkness had eaten Frisk’s soul!? Panic spread through him, that wasn’t what was supposed to happen. They should have reset by now. He ran forward and grabbed Papyrus’s arm. “We need to go, now!”
“F-frisk… where did…”
Sans focused, trying to teleport but couldn’t. Something was impeding his magic. He didn’t waste time thinking, he pulled on Papyrus, heading to the door. His path was cut short as the darkness had spread to block his path.
It was everywhere, it surrounded them. He heard screaming from outside, but could see nothing through the black covered window. It was attacking the town. There was no way out and he couldn’t teleport. “No, no…” Sans muttered, clawing at the side of his head. This wasn’t possible. He knew the risks of the machine, but this was beyond anything he had imagined.
Why hadn’t Frisk reset yet!?
This is all your fault…” Undyne groaned, standing up. “Alphys, Frisk… who knows who else is going to die now thanks to you…”
“I didn’t mean to…”
“Fat load of good that does now!” Undyne yelled, walking over and grabbing Sans by the collar, slamming him against the wall, “I should kill you now! At least I can die satisfied!” She planted a punch on the right side of his head. He felt his skull crack, his eye screamed in pain.
Papyrus swiftly slid in between the two, pushing Undyne away, blocking Sans from her view. He held out his arms, acting as a shield, Frisk’s coat clasped tightly in his grip.
“Papyrus…”
“Can you fix this?” He asked not looking at Sans, his voice heavy. “You said you did this… so… you can fix it… right?”
Sans eyed the darkness as it crept down the walls and across the floor towards them, devouring their home.
“I…” It reached their feet.
“Alphys, Frisk… They were my friends…” His brother said, looking over his shoulder at Sans, his eyes begging. A cold pain started crawling up Sans's legs as the darkness moved up.
Tears ran down Sans cheeks, “I don’t… I can’t… “ He felt the darkness as it crawled over him, moving towards his soul. He watched in horror as his brother and Undyne were consumed.
His brother's begging tone shook through him, his brain frozen in panic and terror, how could he fix this? They were going to die, because of him. All the resets, all the fights, and it was Sans who had doomed them. His mind flashed, trying to think of something, anything he could do... and all he could think of was the screen flashing on the machine, taunting him with its warning.
His brother dissolved into nothing. "I didn't mean..."
Undyne followed with a glare that could kill. "This wasn't what I wanted..."
Darkness filled his vision. “It was just a stupid error…”
~*~
This is new…
“Huh…”
He’s not supposed to be here…
“Who… who is that?”
Can he hear us?
“Yeah… what…” Sans eyes opened slowly, squinting at the bright white. He sat up, holding his forehead, “What… happened…?” He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. There was nothing though, just blinding white. His mind felt heavy.
Pain shot through him, his right eye screaming. He cupped the side of his face, squinting through the eye, everything was blurry. Why did his eye hurt so much? He blinked, staring at his hands. His white bones now a mixed palate of black, red and yellow. What was going on?!
Does he know where he is…?
“Who’s there!?” He stood quickly, looking around. No one came into sight.
I think he can hear us.
“Where are you… where am I?” Sans screamed, into the emptiness.
You’re no where.
You’re with us.
How did you get here?
A thousand voices echoed through his mind, he grasped the sides of his head, trying to block them out. They kept coming. Asking and saying so many things.
A single sentence rang loudest. Which universe did he come from?
“U-universe? What do you mean?”
He doesn’t know.
Should we tell him?
Yes.
No.
Why not?
“Would you all shut up and tell me what the hell is going on!? Where am I!? Where is my brother!?”
He doesn’t remember.
He doesn’t remember.
How sad, I wanted to know.
We should tell him.
Sans screamed sudden pain, as images flooded his mind. Images of him and his brother and his friends, but different. He acted different, they looked different. It wasn’t him, he didn’t know them. Who were these people?
The multiverse. The voices echoed in unison. Billions upon billions of worlds, just like your home, but not. Do you see yours?
“N-no…”
Maybe it’s gone. They laughed Maybe you’re all that’s left.
“S-shut up.”
They have what you lost
You must hate them
Yes… he hated them… All those versions of himself that were happy… They were ugly, disgusting things…. Living abnormal lives…
“No…” He shook his head, “No… they have… nothing to do with me… I just want to get home…”
You can’t go home
You’re stuck here
Welcome to the family
“I’ll get out…” He reached into his pocket absently, maybe hoping for an idea or a key or something. All he found was his glasses. Why were they in his pocket, had they always been red? He stared at them, his eyesight hazy, his right eye heavy. He slid them on, a little relief as his sight improved. He swallowed, “I will get out…” He repeated, starting to believe his words…
Pain shot through him, he curled over grasping his head. Thousands of words filled his sight.
ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR
The words repeated, filling all his senses.
Scenes flashed through his mind.
An explosion.
Crying.
Dust.
Death.
"You did this!" A familiar voice screamed.
"No... no... it's not my fault..." Sans whimpered, fighting the visions.
The segment passed, and he blinked, confused. The scenes forgotten.
“What… what was I doing…”
The others.
You hate them
“R-right…” Anger grew in his chest as the thoughts of all those who had what he didn't. What made them better? Why should they get, what he lost...
“I… no, I want out…” He shook his head trying to throw out the fog that clouded his mind, pushing back the anger. He adjusted his glasses, “I just… want to go home… “
Don’t leave
Stay here
Stay here, Sans
“Don’t say my name! I don’t like the way it sounds when you say it!” He yelled.
What should we call you then?
He blinked, staring at his hands, the hands that didn’t seem like his. The yellows and reds…
Yellow and red… an image entered his mind. A single word flashing on a screen, in red and yellows… The word that filled his mind and made him unable to think…
“Error… Call me… Error…”