To My Better Half- A Sans X Toriel Fanfiction

Chapter 12- Night Terrors

For DavinLanguis

She was just lying there, a pit in her stomach, where her body had already turned to dust. Her eyes were closed, and tears were leaving gray streak marks on her fur.

"Toriel...?" He breathed, falling to his knees in front of her.

She smiled, and tried to speak, but only managed a cough. Sans felt yet another rush of tears flood his eyes, and begin running down his face.

"No... No, no, no! Tori, please!" He sobbed, pulling her crumbling figure into his arms. He was shaking so hard, he felt he might turn to dust himself. She tried once more to speak, barely managing a few words.

"You... I remember-" A round of sharp, hacking coughs interrupted her. "We were... Friends... Were... We... Not...?"

He couldn't respond. He couldn't force words. He couldn't even really think. All he knew... Was that she remembered him. But... How?

"No..." She whispered, opening her eyes. "We... We're more than that... Aren't we, Sans? We... We kissed, didn't we...? And..." She stopped to let out a weak laugh, which morphed into a cough. Nearly half her body was gone. She didn't have much time left.

"I'm sorry... I probably sound crazy... D-don't I? You... Don't even know who I am... How c-could you know?" Toriel let her eyes drift closed once more, her tired features relaxing. Sans held her closer, and gazed at her through the blur of salt water blocking his vision.

"I-I remember too." He choked. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm-" His voice cracked, and crumbled, to make way for more heart-wrenching sobs. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to block out images that were already seared into his mind forever. It took several seconds for him to finish speaking.

"I'm s-sorry... I failed you." He muttered.

She let out a quiet groan of pain, as she shifted slightly in his arms.

"You did nothing wrong..."

"B-but you're-"

"I'm okay... I promise... It's all..." She stopped abruptly. Sans opened his eyes quickly, and looked down, to see that he was no longer holding the love of his life. All that was left was dust. He felt something deep down within his very being snap. It snapped like a rubber band, that someone pulled just a bit too far.

His sadness... His loneliness... His fear... They all morphed into a sharp, burning sensation. A feeling that he knew, only too well. A feeling that few monsters truly understood. He looked down at Toriel's dust, and noticed a fragile, glowing soul. It was, as he knew, Toriel's. He took it gently in his skeletal hands, which were shaking.

He couldn't absorb it. Monsters can't absorb monster souls. But... There was another way he could save it, preserve it, with the intention of reviving her later. Doubts filled him. What would he do if he failed? If he couldn't preserve her soul properly? She would die... And there would be no bringing her back.

He couldn't hesitate any longer. Her life was beginning to fade, slipping away at a rapid pace. He knew what he had to do, to even have the slightest chance of saving her. Steeling his nerves, he took her soul in his teeth, and swallowed.

He felt a strange, warm sensation... And then there was nothing. He unzipped his hoodie, and pulled up his tee shirt, to see a rather strange- yet incredibly relieving- sight. There it was, behind his ribcage. Her soul was circling his in a consistent motion. She was safe. She was okay... But...

"She's gone." Sans breathed. He glanced around, immediately noticing how sooty the air was becoming. He tried to take a breath, but choked on the particles of... What is this stuff...? Sans gazed absent-mindedly at the dust collecting on his arm. Dust...