#dust!frisk | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

revisedgre · 1 year ago

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The pile of sickening white powder crumples beneath Sans’ weight, as he traverses the desolate war zone that had become of the Ruins. There were hardly any monsters left, even with Toriel and that freak included. He stops. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it: A white mass, hastily running around the corner. He pauses, reflecting. Only needed a few more EXP, then… He would be strong enough for her. He can’t linger, lest the demon catch up and cut his plans short, so he blinks around the corner, blaster at the ready. Poor Froggit didn’t even know what hit them, before they became a dark, sickly stain on the ground.

Sans grows stronger. 3 LOVE… He swiftly heads to the Ruins exit, her home, taking the briefest of detours to grab the plastic weapon that had been stowed away. It feels light in his hands, yet excruciatingly lethal; It isn’t metal, yet for a fraction of a second, he swore he could see his reflection in the blade. The dust covering his face, and his left eye, shining a vibrant purple with an intimidating red at its center. But it was a trick of the light, as no matter what angle he looks at it now, his reflection is obscured. His grip on the knife tightens. One left...

He enters her home the soon-to-be-abandoned house. It didn’t take any time at all; Barely even a fight. The woman confronted him at the exit, questioning him about the killer he’d mentioned. She realized far too late what Sans had intended, as the knife sliced through her like butter. She drops to the ground. Before she can mutter anything toward Sans, make him feel more guilt for his actions, a bone pierces through her chest. Her SOUL shatters instantly.

Sans inspects the knife. Briefly, he considers dropping it, as he knew where to find a better weapon up ahead. But he heard the demon enter Toriels’ home, up above. He couldn’t let them have this. So he stores it in his inventory, pulls his hood up, and blinks through the door to Snowdin. He knew that what was coming would be the hardest part of this, but he needed resolve, he needed Determination. That’s how the demon was so strong. It doesn’t take long for him to find a group of monsters, bullying an Ice Cap. They had stolen its hat, and were playing keep-away with it, taunting the poor defenseless monster.

When Sans gets close, the sound of his feet crunching gets the kids attention. They all turn to him, the bullies in fear, while the Ice Cap grins. The lack of immediate conversation perplexes the group, who had encountered Sans a few times in the past, and know his pension for annoying those who deserve it. The one on the left, Snowy a Snowdrake speaks up, “Uh- Sans! It’s, uhm, cool to see you here! Heh… Heh……” Sans raises his hand.

The Snowdrake backs up a little. “H-Hey, you don’t gotta use your magic on me, I-I-I can go! Uhm- Here, have this!” Snowdrake hands Ice Cap his hat back, before running away. He doesn’t get far, his dust hitting the ground before he could even realize a bone had pierced through his skull. Ice Caps’ expression of joy turns to terror, as he fumbles with his hat, inevitably dropping it and leaving it to meld into the snow. He doesn’t get a word out before he meets the same fate as the Froggits in the ruins: Ash.

The sound of a bag crinkling catches Sans’ attention. He turns to see Jerry, using something rectangular with a screen, and eating MTT flavored chips out of a big bag. He’d almost forgotten Jerry was here, but it didn’t matter. A blaster is summoned in an instant, eviscerating Jerry. He lasts far longer than anyone else has, having incredibly high defense. But his sins are innumerable, and KR takes KaRe of him. Sans almost laughs at that pun. But it wouldn't feel appropriate.

He hears the door to the Ruins slam shut. It was coming. And from the opposite direction, he could hear his boisterous brother calling for him. He decides he’s not ready to face the Demon, nor Papyrus, just yet. Instead, he blinks away, to find more strength. Doggo is dead before he could realize Sans was there; The only inkling anything was amiss being the cold wave of terror that washed over him, moments before his life had been extinguished. The same applies to the other dogs; Sans didn’t have time to waste on their bone-chasing antics. Not this time.

He takes yet another detour, down to the room that looks like it was taken straight from Waterfall. There was a monster here, despite what it seemed, that Sans knew of. And he knew where it was hiding. He walks over to the door, eyeing it carefully, briefly pondering just blinking inside and leaving Glyde for later. ...No. He can't afford even a moment of hesitation. Not giving Glyde any time to react, a bone stabs out of the door and hits him away. He had been camouflaged against the wall, almost perfectly. The self-proclaimed “radical” monster didn’t go down in one hit, like most of the others; His defense is in the negatives, but his HP is high, and his tally of sins is, to the surprise of Sans, next to zero.

“Hey, man, what gives?? Can’t a Cool Dude(™) take a nap in peace?!” A blasters’ laser crashes down into Glyde from above, doing ten damage, leaving him on two-hundred HP.

“Ohhh, I see! You finally got jealous o’ me gettin’ all the ladies, huh? Well sucks to be you, ‘cause I’m not sharin’!” Glyde starts attacking back, firing a shotgun blast of star-shaped projectiles in a predictable pattern, his aim following Sans’ movements. Sans dodges this easily, just walking and occasionally teleporting when he does get backed into a corner. The attack ends, with Sans sustaining not a single blow.

Glyde doesn’t seem amused. “Unradical, broski! Don’t you know what your mama taught you?!”

No matter how strong he gets, Sans knows he should never just “sit there and take it”. If he can avoid getting hit, he can stay in the fight longer. He considers offering a retort, but… No need to relay info to a soon-to-be dead man, he reasons. He summons a cross-shape of blasters, all four making their mark and dealing a bit more damage than last time. Glydes’ two-hundred HP has been depleted to just one-thirty, and it shows. He hovers closer to the ground now, unable to sustain flight as well as before.

The same attack Glyde had just used greets Sans, though this time with a bit more variety. Larger star-shaped bullets appear on either side of him, slamming together and creating a decent-sized explosion. The strategy is the same as before, except now, he has to walk diagonally backwards. Once again, Glyde didn’t land a single blow. He’s fuming. “All you haters are the same. Can’t see true handsomeness even when it’s hovering right in front of-!” He’s cut off by his soul turning blue. Glyde falls to the ground, letting out an audible “oof”, taking one point of damage. A platform rises below Sans, lifting him up to avoid hitting himself when bones impale through the floor, covering the whole bottom of the room. Platforms appear from the side for Glyde to jump on, but... he doesn’t have legs.

Glyde, not being able to escape, takes damage rapidly, until his form dissolves to dust. He lets out one last “not radical”, before finally biting it. Sans sighs, dismissing the bones and lowering himself back down. Glyde gave him plenty of EXP, just enough to shoot up another LV. Sans now sits at LOVE 7, feeling the power coursing through his very SOUL. He steps past Glydes’ dust, inspecting the door that doesn’t seem to have a way to open it. There’s no switch around where he is, and he’s never been inside, so he can’t teleport in like he wanted to… He considers breaking the door down, until he hears it. The sound of snow-crunching. The rhythmic pace was… All too familiar to him. It was the Demon.

The snowy steps turn to stony echoes, as it enters the room Sans is in. He turns around, looking at what once was a human. Its’ face now contains a permanent red grin, devoid of life. The Demon reaches to their side, performing an action Sans has seen before; They were saving. Although this time, he briefly catches a glimpse of… Something. A golden star, spinning in the palm of their hand. It’s gone before he can focus on it. The battle begins.

The Demon rushes forward, slashing at Sans with all their might! He side-steps it, seriously considering if fighting them is worth it. He’s not ready… He’s not…- The humans’ grin widens, as if they'd heard his inner-monologue. Upon seeing this, he knew what he had to do. Ready or not, he has to prevent anyone else from having to suffer at the hands of this... Abomination before him. Then he peers to the side, at the entrance to the room. He suddenly had a far better idea than facing this freak head on.

Sans blinks away, to the opposite side of the room, near the entrance. He summons two blasters, each aimed at the ceiling, giving an ironic peace sign as they fire. The ensuing lasers shatter the cave ceiling, beginning what would become a massive cave-in, but Sans doesn't have time to waste. He disappears, blinking away back to Snowdin, leaving the human to rot. He knew, deep in his SOUL, that this... Would not stop them. Either they would find a way out, or RESET, and do it all over again.

But assuming they choose option one, this bought Sans plenty of time, that he spends wisely. The town has yet to evacuate, thanks to Sans swiping the orders from Dogamy and Doggaressa, so there's plenty of EXP to be had. The shop-sisters don't last a second, letting down their defenses in the face of someone as typically-jovial as Sans. He gazes up at the sign for Grillby's, dust covering his hoodie and flowing through the breeze.

Truthfully, Sans doesn't know how to go about swiftly killing a fire elemental. Sure, there's water, but... The thought of dunking Grillby and watching the life fade from him sent chills up Sans' spine. Even when he remembers hesitation leads to his own failure, he just. Can't. Go through with it. Oh god, how was he going to handle Papyrus...? He realizes he'll have to work that out sooner rather than later, as he recognizes Papyrus' footsteps, even through the snow distorting the sound.

"Brother, there you are," Papyrus exclaims. Sans freezes.

"Ah, I should've known I'd find you staring longingly at this sign... But you must resist, brother! You still have a duty to uphold! What if a human is walking right past your sentry station right now?! You'd be missing it! And then, with how large Snowdin is, there'd be no way to track it down... Oh, this simply won't do; Come, brother! Back to your post!" Papyrus struts away, heading to the far side of Snowdin, but... Stops. His brother hasn't moved a (non-existent) muscle.

"Sansssss, you can't waste your time here!" Still nothing.

". . . Sans? Are you- Are you upset, brother? Did you... Have another nightmare...?"

Sans' shoulders slouch, somehow, even further. His head droops. "I need... To get stronger."

Papyrus tilts his head, now kneeling by his brother's side. "Sans... You're already strong enough, for the both of us! And on top of how strong I am, there's nothing to worr-" Papyrus, with his admittedly impressive reaction times, leaps backward, dodging a bone that Sans had thrust, in an attempt to slice his head clean off. "MISS" appears in the air, hanging, taunting Sans.

Papyrus is stunned, but stands tall, more annoyed than anything. "Sans, now is not the time for roughhousing! If you wish to fight, we will have to wait until after our shifts are over!"

"Papyrus," is all Sans says to get his attention. "Stand..." He looks up at his brother, his purple-colored eye barely peaking from under his hood. "...Still!" Sans launches another bone from the ground, aiming to pierce Papyrus' battle body chest. His brother, however, deflects it with a handheld bone of his own, looking baffled.

"Sans, what are you-"

Sans cuts him off. "Stop talking, you're only gonna make this harder!" He thrusts his hand forward, turning Papyrus' SOUL blue and flinging him back! To greet Papyrus is a blaster Sans had pre-charged, which fires immediately upon him getting close. Thinking quickly, he summons a wall of bones that both acts as solid ground for him to land on, and a shield against the laser trying to scorch him.

He looks up, seeing his brother glaring daggers into his skull; His left eye is purple, same as before, but there's a flickering red glow in the opposite socket. Papyrus gives a concerned grimace, leaping up and creating platform after platform to leap to, treating the floor like a wall he has to scale. Sans, of course, doesn't stop with just one blaster, summoning three more: Two on either side of Papyrus, and one above. The taller brother creates a bone-shield above himself, stabbing the blaster to his right with bones, which takes care of two out of the three.

But he wasn't able to devise a solution to the third one in time, the laser enveloping him and knocking him off of the platform he was on. Sans packed more of a punch than ever, taking a sizable chunk out of Papyrus' HP with that move; A quarter of his health was missing, in fact, which came as a great surprise to both himself and his brother. Sans' eye sockets are completely hollow, now, as he realizes the implications. Dealing as much damage as he did could only mean Papyrus' will to fight him... Was practically zero.

This moment of reflection gives Papyrus enough time to focus on his SOUL, and return himself to normal. He approaches Sans, ACTing.

"Sans... You know, as well as I do, that we don't have to fight! I'm sure there's no problem in the world that could require this! ....And if that is not the case... Then please; What's wrong, brother?"

Sans reaches up and grabs his hood, instinctively pulling it further over his face, though not by much. "It's... The humans' fault... They made me do this..."

"A human?" Papyrus questioned. "In Snowdin?? Why did you not say so earlier, brother?!" Then Papyrus remembers the severity of the situation. He clears his throat.

"What does... This human have to do with you attacking me?" Papyrus steps forward, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm Sans down.

"They've done this... So many times, Papyrus. I just- I couldn't take it. If you knew how many times they... H-How many times they slaughtered us... You would've done the exact same thing as me."

"How many times they... Wh-What do you mean?"

Sans grits his teeth even harder than he's already forced to. "They control it. Time... The underground... They can do whatever they want, and undo it, at will! And all they use this power for?! They.... They kill us. Over. And over. And over again. It wouldn't even be the worst, if I didn't remember! But I do, Papyrus! I recall each. And every. Time. That they've killed you, Undyne, Mettaton, me..."

"Brother, I-" Papyrus starts, but doesn't know where to go with that. What can someone say, when confronted with such... World-shattering information?

"I-I-I- ...I understand. Truly, that must be difficult to deal with, but... What part of that would lead you to attacking... Me?"

Sans stammers, clenching his fists tight enough to draw blood, were it not for the gloves he was wearing. "T-To get... Stronger. LOVE, EXP, I need it! If I can just get strong enough, maybe I can... Usurp their power? Fix everything, rewind time and... A-And nobody would have to suffer! I've already started, Papyrus. Snowy's dead. The dogs, too. I..." Sans tries to say "intend", but simply can't force himself to. "...planned for you to be next. I've committed murder, Papyrus, I-I-I can't... I can't stop here! I may be a demon, a-and the ends might not justify the means, but I can't let the human win! That would be a worse fate than anything I could do to you, I promise!" Sans' face is now completely obscured by his hood.

Papyrus is swift to embrace his brother, despite knowing the risk that poses, patting him on the back. "Sans... You're no demon, you're my brother! And no amount of heinous acts will change that fact. However... You know I can't agree with what you're doing. We can show this human you're talking about that we're real, living, people, and that what they're doing is wrong! Surely, they have a conscious we can appeal to! Do you... know where they are now?"

Sans goes silent. Papyrus had let his guard down, it would be so, so easy to just summon a sharp bone behind him, and... End it. Magic pours into his fingertips, threatening to do exactly as described, and yet... Nothing. The magic fades from his hands. Instead, Sans replies. "The cave. The one that... Looks like W-Waterfall. I caused a cave-in."

Papyrus' eyes bulge out of his sockets! "You did WHAT?!"

Sans glances to the side, his face a lot more visible than before, but his expression still... Guilt-ridden. "I thought it would buy me some time, to, you know..."

Papyrus calms down, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "To think, you'd have such a criminal mind." He claps his hands together. "Well, there's no time like the present! Come along, Sans, we have a human to rescue!" Papyrus walks away again, this time grabbing Sans by the arm, to ensure he comes with.

But Sans refuses, pulling his arm back. "Papyrus! We- I-I don't think we can..." He knows trying to get Papyrus to forsake saving the demon would be an impossible task, so instead, he goes with something else. "I'm... I've killed a lot of people. W-We can't just- Overlook that."

Papyrus nods, solemnly. "Yes, that is... True... However! If what you said about the human being able to control time is true, then they could bring those people back!"

Sans' eyes grow hollow. "They aren't going to help us."

"Sans." Papyrus kneels down in front of Sans, grabs his hood, and slowly pulls it down. "They will."

"You don't-" Sans' expression grows manic, in an attempt to keep calm. "You don't know that, bro."

"Sans..." Papyrus pulls Sans into a hug. "We... Are brothers. Throughout our lives, nothing has been able to stand up to the two of us, when we combine our might! This is no different! We'll walk right up to that human, and ask them: Please. Stop."

"And you really..." Sans begins to tear up, the white pinpricks in his eyes slowly returning. "...think that'll work?"

"..." Papyrus is, for the first time in a while, quiet. "I don't think it will... I know it will, brother. It has to! Nobody is purely evil, and we'll show the human that they don't have to do this! I believe in us, Sans. Do you?"

Sans is just as silent as Papyrus was, mere moments ago, except his silence lasts so much longer. The air goes still, and even a few of the residents in town have started staring. "I... I-I-I..."

Sans embraces his brother, holding him tight, as if it would be the last time he'd ever have the chance to do so.

"...I do."