Lost Soul

Chapter Five

     One of the frail bones in Sans' lower arm is snapped clean in half when the dog squeezes too hard. The wound starts to gush blood immediately. Sans does scream this time, clawing at the dog's grip with his other hand. The tears finally escape and run down his cheeks as fire burns up his arm. The dog lifts him off the ground by his injured arm and growls in Sans's face.

"Don't come back to Snowdin. I'll kill you!" they snarl. The dog then tosses Sans onto the ground. He lays there, curled into a ball, as the three stronger monsters leave.

Why? Sans did what they wanted, so why would they do that? He curls around his broken arm and tries to muffle his sobbing hiccups. It hurts worse than any bruise he's ever gotten. The pain is worse than when he got the crack on his cheek. An injury like this is a death sentence for a weak monster like him.

It's not fair! Why does Sans have to suffer just for trying to live? He's so, so tired of this struggle. Every day leads to the same fight. Sans can't take the constant fear anymore. He's finally been pushed over the edge, and he doesn't have the will or strength to get up. It might just be easier to die here, after all. Sorry, Papyrus.

If this were a pacifist fun, Frisk would leave the ruins and find Sans injured and afraid. She would sacrifice a healing item to partially repair his arm, and the two of them would go through the underground together. This is not a pacifist run. Sans pulls his knees closer to his chest, staring listlessly out at the snow. There's no point trying to fight his fate if he's meant to die. There's nothing he can do to stop it. Sans can feel his HOPE dissipating. He lays in the snow for several minutes with these thoughts.

Abruptly, Sans snaps his eyes fully open. Fate. That reminds him of something. Something very important. Sans isn't this Sans. Fate. He remembers playing a skeleton with two gold teeth and a harsh attitude. He remembers dozens of other faces gathered in the same place. All of them were actively changing their fates. This Little Horror Sans' story is supposed to end him here until the next reset. He'll die again, and again, and again in various awful ways without remembering the resets. Is Sans really okay with that?

The Little Horror's determination is gone, but Sans finds that he's not done yet. Slowly and painfully, he sits up. He's never tried to defy his fate before. The paths are supposed to be set in stone. The unknowing-ness of it all terrifies Sans. He's never made his own decision before, and yet, knowing that others are doing it gives him strength.

Sans doesn't want to be in this horrible AU anymore. He doesn't want this Little Horror to be in this AU after Sans is gone. He wants out, and knows that it can be done. Sans also knows that he can't do it by himself. That extra ability that Red has is not accessible by a copy. He has to find help.

Beyond the magic abilities of his hosts, Sans has very little power. Why should he without a body of his own? Sans can't ever remember using his own magic before, but in this moment, he recognizes exactly what he has to do. Sans leans against a tree for support and tries to focus on the part of him that's not connected to this AU. The pain makes it hard to focus.

The magic that's usually tightly coiled in his soul starts to unravel. Sans' own magic can't attack or heal. Instead, he can send it in a wave through the AU's codes, and then beyond it. If he can remember them, Sans can find anyone he needs to. He knows this even though it's the first time he's used this power. Sans sends his magic to find someone that he knows will help. In hazy flashes, Sans remembers another skeleton with sad eyes who looked at him and saw through the form he was wearing. No one has ever recognized him before.

Far, far into the Multiverse, Sans feels his magic delicately wrap around another magic source before dissipating. He waits in anticipation for something to happen. As sure as Sans was moments ago, doubt creeps in. Is this really the right thing to do? Is it okay to defy the Little Horror's Fate? Before Sans can second guess himself any further, a wave of magic enters the AU and, in a sense, bounces and reflects off of his own soul. It's a response to the same sort of "ping" Sans had just sent out. He's coming.