Fairytale - An Undertale AU

Chapter 24 - Moving On

Sans looks at me, eyes wide. Looking down, I rest a hand over my heart, the capsule of the soul. Nightmare remains unmoving and I let out a long sigh. The painting of the woman fades away, leaving empty space.

"So, that girl was . . ." Sans says, trailing off.

"Anna, yeah," I respond, smiling sadly. He turns away, nodding slightly. "Her soul remained after death, and would travel through the worlds Ink created. When she met me, I guess her she followed me through it all. And when I was about to die, she healed my soul with her own, forcing mine to absorb it," I continue. Sans's eyes widen, as he looks at my soul, then at me.

"But, that's impossible! A human can't absorb another soul!" Sans exclaims.

"Exactly. That's why it was so impossible, why no one could believe it. But the reason humans can't is because the strength of a human soul. It's too powerful, and can't stand the power of another," I say, looking at him and smiling. He sits, eyes wide, smile faltering. "After Flowey attacked me last time in Fairytale, my Sans took me to Alphys's. At that time, I had only a tiny bit of Anna's soul in me, and the majority of it outside my soul, floating through time and space. When Alphys injected me with the determination infused monster blood, it allowed me to absorb the rest of Anna's soul, expanding my soul to fit her power in," I continue. "And when Undyne, my Undyne I mean, was attacked, I felt her power. That's what allowed me to defeat Error at the time. Anna cared about Error, so much so that she used the last of her power, the power I couldn't absorb, to speak with him through me. My body was the vessel, and she inhabited it," I finish, sighing.

"Well, I guess you could say that your two souled," Sans says, turning to me with a goofy grin. Rolling my eyes, I let out a little laugh. God, what a nerd. Sans chuckles and turns back to Nightmare. "When I was younger, Gaster taught me all about human souls and their power. He studied the human souls that we had captured at the time, which was only five," he says. "We would look at the way they reacted in the compartments, but we were never allowed to directly interact with them. It was too risky. But, as time went on, Gaster grew . . . reckless. He thought he could build us a way out," Sans trails off. I look down.

"He fell in. I know, I was there," I whisper. Sans looks at me, eyes wide. Looking up, I gasp. "Not when yours did, but when mine did!" I add. Sans sighs, nodding. Shaking my head, I sigh. "Time is complicated. This is complicated. When I was younger, I never had to worry about any of this. I had a home, somewhere I could go when things got rough. Now, with Error, and Nightmare, and Ink, I don't even know who I am or who I'm supposed to be," I say, pulling my knees to my chest. Tears start running down my cheeks and Sans rests his hand on my shoulder.

"I know the feeling," he says. Leaning my head on his shoulder, I let out a long sigh and close my eyes. "It sucks. I know. But trust me, someday you'll look up and realize that maybe, just maybe, it's gone," he says, looking at me with a sad smile. Smiling back, I wipe tears from my face and sigh.

"You know, for a skeleton, you really have a lot of heart," I say. He laughs.

"Is that a pun I hear?" he says, poking my hip. Rolling my eyes, I giggle.

"I suppose," I say. We sit in silence as my tears dry. "It's strange, to think we were made, brought into existence by Ink. He's like a god, I guess," I say. Sans shrugs and I sit up, looking at him. "It's almost like you all are gods. I mean, you're all so much more powerful than any other monster in your world, even more so than the king or queen. And Asgore has the power to destroy the mercy box," I say. He laughs, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I gue-"

"Urgh," Nightmare groans. Our heads twist to look at him as he struggles to sit up. My eyes widen as I look at all the things Sans drew on his face and how they move with Nightmare's facial expressions. His eyes land on us and he looks around at the cage. "Huh? How the hell?" he murmurs. Sans and I look at each other and burst out laughing. "You pathetic beings! I should have infected you a long time ago!" he cries, moving towards us. He falls off the crate we propped him on, smacking face first on the ground. Sans and I continue laughing as he squirms, grunting. "Oh, fuck off!" he growls.