Exacted Retribution

Ch 1: Losing Him Again

He wanted it to reset.

Why wouldn't the world reset? Why couldn't he reset?

He felt like everything was collapsing around him as his wavering eyelights continued to watch his lover walk away on another person's arm until the crowd finally closed in around the pair and he couldn't see him anymore. Until the only thing that ever mattered to him was lost in a sea of people.

His love.. His soulmate..

He deserved this, didn't he? What he had done to Red had been inexcusable. There was no sufficient explanation to relieve him from his guilt. It was all his fault. It was always his fault.

Sans turned the other direction and began the long trek back home. Every step felt heavy, as if he was wearing lead shoes that weighed him down until he would collapse and never get back up. He could feel his whole soul crying out for its mate. They were meant to be together; he could feel it deep inside his very being. And he knew Red did too.

He remembered the first time they had met. What a chance meeting it had been..

...

The multiverse had been open to other universes for a quite a long time after the barrier in the original universe was finally broken. Monsters from other universes whose worlds had also successfully completed a pacifist route and made it to the surface began to travel to other worlds in search of better lives and opportunities.

Not surprisingly, the original timeline had been the most desirable universe to travel to. Hundreds of monsters from other universes poured into Sans's world to begin new lives. Fell verses especially seemed more likely to travel to the main timeline in search of a more peaceful lifestyle.

That day, Sans had been reveling in the outside air (the sky was so much more beautiful and blue than he had originally thought), sockets glued to the magnificent canopy when he practically ran into him. There was an explosion of flying paper and books as both monsters went down on the sidewalk, Sans's eyelights spinning dizzily with the suddenness of the collision.

He snapped to his senses quickly, apologies spilling past his teeth as he helped to gather the other monster's stuff from the ground.

And then as he was handing the books over, he finally caught a good look at the other monster. He was.. a skeleton. They looked practically the same, except the other had more scars and seemed to be going through an "edgy" phase, a black leather coat with yellowed fur on his shoulders. He was also slightly more bulky and taller than Sans, forcing him to tilt his skull upward to meet the other's piercing red eyelights with wide sockets.

Sans and the other skeleton gaped at each other for a long time, before the edgy skeleton broke the silence. "U-Uhm, hi. Sorry, I wasn't watchin' where I was going. I'm Red?" He sounded nervous as he shifted his books over to one side to offer his hand to Sans with a uncertain smile.

Sans stared at it longer than was necessary, still lingering over the surprising sound of the other's voice. He almost sounded exactly like himself but with rougher nuances and a strange accent foreign to his world.

The little skeleton blinked, pulling himself out of his daydreams to face the new skeleton, Red. "I'm Sans, native to this universe." He smiled easily, taking Red's hand and giving it a firm shake. He reveled in how large it was compared to his.

It turned out Red and his brother had moved in not far from Sans's new house on the surface. The pair quickly became close. With that first interaction, Sans had felt something strange, something different. He felt his soul sync up with Red's almost immediately the minute they met each other's eyelights.

They were soulmates; he knew for certain. And from Red's expression that first day, he knew Red was aware of it as well. It just felt right to be with the rougher monster. So it wasn't really a surprise when they finally got together.

...

Sans finally arrived at his house. The empty rooms made the little skeleton feel even more alone as he plopped down on the living room couch, running a hand over his face.

What was he going to do now..?