The Time Before (Undertale)

57 ~ Keeping a Promise

Sans woke, as usual, to Papyrus's embrace.

In the last however many weeks (Sans had honestly stopped bothering to even try to keep track) this had become something of a normal occurrence. In fact, the brothers were both pleasantly surprised when Sans went an entire night without waking up from a nightmare.

Of course, Sans was never sure anymore if he was waking up from just a nightmare, or if the world had just been reset again. He just couldn't tell.

His dreams, his nightmares were just about the timelines. The Bad Times.

His latest dream, or memory of the last timeline, he really couldn't tell, had been filled with green and gold. Sharp pain in his bones, sickening snap accompanied by screaming laughter. "Fight me, you smiley trashbag! Fight me!" "What do I have to do to get you to fight me?!" That wide grin, like a decaying face, sharp teeth poking through a twisted lip, I don't care how many times I have to reset, I'll get you to fight me!

And, strangely enough, the image of a flower. A flower with a face.

But. It didn't matter. On one hand, it was just a dream. On the other, it was just another timeline, another reset, and it didn't matter if he figured it out or not, because it would all reset again anyway.

~o0o~

When Sans reached his sentry station later that day, he froze.

There it was. Right in front of his station. The same golden flower from his nightmare, grinning up at him.

So... probably wasn't just a nightmare, then.

Sans was, to be honest, a little glad he was permanently stuck grinning, because he was sure that, otherwise, he would have had his face twisted into an expression of utter horror. As it was, with his frozen grin, he more had a look of bemused confusion.

He shook himself out of his shock, covering it with a small chuckle. "well, what do we have here? i'd be--"

"Dandylyin' if you said you weren't aster a few answers about my origins?" At the flower's words, exactly what Sans had been planning on saying, Sans froze, his eyes betraying his fear. "Puh-lease," the plant continued, "like I haven't heard that a thousand times."

Sans blinked, then took a step forward, slowly. "how-..."

The flower bobbed back and forth, grin widening. "That expression..." he laughed. "That's the expression of one very confused skeleton, eh, Sans?"

Sans' soul skipped a beat.

"Lemme guess. How do I know your name? You've told me your name. So many times, as if I didn't already know. But of course! You don't know I didn't already know. How could you?"

Sans blanched. If this flower was implying what he thought it was...

"Now, let me guess again. Your next question is "who are you?" Right?"

Sans blinked a little.

The flower took that as confirmation. "Of course it is! That's what it always is. Always has been. Because it's always the same, over and over and over." As the flower spoke, his face became twisted into something awful, a horror that belonged in-...

In a nightmare. Sans' nightmare. Not a nightmare. This thing-...

There was a moment of silence, and that horrifying face snapped back to a cheerful smile. "But that's why I'm here! Sans, I want you to help me!"

Sans frowned, the edges of his grin turning downwards. "how exactly are you wanting me to help you?"

-No matter how many resets-