Timelines (A Doctor Who/Undertale crossover)

Chapter 13

As the mechanical sounds of the CORE grew closer, everyone's spirits got lower. The farther they walked, the more frequent the cracks were until finally they made it.

"here we are," Sans said. "the quickest way to the center is through the elevator. come on."

The three of them all piled into the elevator and rode all the way to the center of the CORE. Once there, they began to take a look around. The cracks were definitely more frequent there. The Doctor began examining some of the machinery that had been the most affected.

"The cracks here don't seem to affect the function of the controls," he said quietly, more to himself than to the other two. "Meaning they aren't physically intact with the machinery."

"So you're saying they're not actually here?" Frisk asked.

"No, they're still here," he waved a hand over the crack. "And they're getting stronger."

"Stronger?"

He nodded. "Before, you could probably stick your whole hand in one with only mild side-effects. Now, there might be more dangerous results."

"Such as what?"

"No idea." He ran his hand over the crack one last time before turning away. "It might be best to stay away from them for now, though."

Frisk nodded in understanding. "I think we've got enough information. Should we head home? Sans what do you-" they looked over and saw Sans staring at one of the cracks, lost in thought. "Sans? Are you okay?"

Their concern seemed to snap Sans back into reality. He shook himself and grinned. "never been better. sorry, that was just me trying to a-void getting wrapped up into a sciencey conversation."

Frisk suppressed a chuckle, but The Doctor didn't seem very amused with the pun.

"We should start building the machine," Frisk said. "Sans, can you teleport us back to the house?"

"Actually," The Doctor interrupted, "I wanted to ask about that. How exactly do you use those teleportation powers?"

"whaddya mean?" Sans asked, rubbing the back of his skull.

"Are they like a manipulation of space? How do you get from one place to another?"

Sans sighed. "it's... complicated. not really the type of thing i'd like to discuss here, but yeah. that essentially what it is. why?"

The Doctor took another look at the cracks. "Maybe you shouldn't use them anymore."

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The three of them, not wanting to waste any more time, immediately began the walk back to Snowdin. It wasn't too terrible, Since Frisk knew the exact path to get there, but it still took quite a bit of time. They had just passed Temmie Village when the ground began to shake again. Both Sans and Frisk had experienced this before, but the Doctor had been unconscious for all the previous times. The loud, horrible screeching was much louder and more intense than ever before. After a few moments, everything went back to normal.

"What in the world was that?!" The Doctor asked, eyes wide.

"Something really bad," Frisk replied, glancing around. After a few moments, they rushed off towards Temmie village.

"where are you going, kiddo?" Sans called after them, but they didn't respond. The Doctor and Sans followed close behind to see what to issue was.

Once they managed to reach the village, they saw what was wrong. The entire room was covered in cracks and every single Tem had disappeared.

"They're all gone..." Frisk said quietly. "Every single one."

"slow down, kid," Sans said, "maybe they all... took a walk or something."

Frisk shook their head. "No. They're always here. All the time. They wouldn't ever leave like this."

"So you're saying that whatever just happened caused this?" The Doctor asked. Frisk simply nodded in response.

"look, kiddo. i'm sure we can figure this out. let's go build-"

"No."

There was a moment of silence as Frisk turned to face Sans and the Doctor. "I need to do something. We need to put the project on hold. Sans, give the Doctor the badge."

"Sorry what?" The Doctor asked incredulously. Sans pulled the badge out from his pocket.

"here you go, doc." He said, handing it over. "trust the kid. they usually know what they're doing... for the most part."

And with that, both Sans and Frisk walked out of the village, leaving the Doctor behind.

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Without Frisk to lead the way, it took the Doctor considerably longer to get to Gerson's shop. When he did, he was relieved to see that the tortoise monster was still there, and seemed to remember their last encounter.

"Wha-ha-ha!" Gerson exclaimed as he watched the Doctor approach. "The mysterious stranger's back! I though Undyne might've finally caught ya."

"Not quite," the Doctor replied, setting the badge on the desk in front of him. Gerson grinned and picked it up.

"So ya finally managed to get it," he said, examining it with his eye. "Thought it would've been a lot harder. Take the thing. It's yours."

The Doctor grinned and grabbed the piece of metal before bending it and inserting it into his screwdriver. It fit perfectly and the tip began to glow a light blue color.

"Neat little device you got there," Gerson said. "You willing to sell it?"

"Not for the whole universe," the Doctor replied. "Actually, I was wondering. Why did you need that badge?"

Gerson looked down at it. "I dunno. It gives me a good feeling. After all, my memory is failing me lately, so I've learned to hold on to all the things that do that for me. Wha-ha-ha!"

"Thank you, Gerson"

"No problem, stranger."