Archive of Our Own ^beta

Dream was in the library reading again. Today he had felt like reading something more sad and subdued today. He had woken up feeling a little down and didn’t care enough to try brightening up his mood. On top of the less than stellar mood, he was tired. Not physically of course, he hadn’t done much other than reading for the last few days while he was visiting his brother. No it was something deeper than that. Something that cut deep into his bones, made his eyes heavy and turned breathing into a chore.

The short skeleton moved very slowly that morning, using the thought of a good distraction book to force himself to keep going. In the end it still took almost an hour before he stepped foot in the library.

He ended up spending a little longer than usual trying to find the type of story he was looking for. Moving around from this section to that section looking for the right thing. Eventually he finished up however and moved towards his usual spot in the window.His arms ached a little at carrying the stack of books. As he went, he furiously blocked out the little thoughts that kept bombarding his mind.

Reasoning with the seemingly random impulses to do stupid things didn’t really help much to stop them. They did help Dream not to actually do anything, so it counted as close enough to a win in his book.

Sitting down on the cushioned window sill, he let out a small sigh. It was going to be a long day.

**********

Dream was on his second last book. He’d been reading sad stuff all day, but this one in particular really hit home for him. Too close really.

The story made him so sad it physically hurt his chest. It felt as though there was a lump in his throat, making breathing even harder than before. He knew it’d probably be for the best if he put it down. And yet, he couldn’t look away. It had managed to totally engross him in the story despite the distress it caused him.

He was so focused on the book and the feelings it caused him that he hadn't noticed Nightmare coming in to check on him.

“Um, Dream?”

But the positive guardian was far too deep in the story to hear him. With a sigh his brother moved forward. It wasn’t the first time he had found his brother like this, dead to the world. It was nice seeing his twin enjoying the same hobbies as him, even if his brother preferred reading about real lives rather than fictional ones. After another few attempts at calling for him, he gave in and tapped him on the shoulder.

Dream startled at the sudden contact, pulling him completely out of the story. He had been leaning his forehead against the window which forced him to awkwardly maneuver himself to face whoever it was that was looking for his attention. Standing over him was Nightmare with what seemed to be a cup of tea.

“Oh, erm, hey, Wispy. What is it you want?”

There was an awkward atmosphere settling in and he could see that Dream didn’t have enough energy to try fix it himself. He just sat there glancing back at the book impatiently.

“Brother, are…” Nightmare shook himself to regain focus, “are you okay? You’re crying?”

Dream brought a hand up to touch his face, when he found that it was wet he looked surprised as if he hadn’t noticed.

“Huh. It seems as though I am.” came his younger twin’s response with an eerily hollow laugh.

“Is there a reason why or…?” the older twin asked, probing cautiously.

“I was reading something that reminded me of an old friend.”

The negative guardian saw the other’s eyes flick over to the book and back up at his face before deciding to continue.

“Who’s the friend?”

Nightmare was a bit unsure on what to ask, but he wanted to get to the bottom of what was making his little brother so upset (he was also a little curious, but who wouldn’t be).

“It was someone from a very long time ago. They were a Dusttale AU’s Sans, but it was quite a long time ago so a few details are a little fuzzier than others. It was definitely a Dust AU though.”

A small sad smile flitted across his face for an instant.

“Wait, why are you using the past tense? Did something happen to them?”

“Yeah… They-they're dead.”

“Oh... do you… maybe want to talk about what happen?” Nightmare spoke softly. He found this revelation quite jarring, that his brother used to be friends with someone like one of his boys. If you looked at his friends now you almost wouldn’t believe it. Except now he was getting to know his brother better it seemed at least somewhat likely.

Dream paused for a good minute. He seemed to be debating whether or not to tell me everything. It felt like weighing something while doing complicated algebra. Finally, he appeared to have come to a conclusion.

“Are you sure you want to know what happened? It’s a long and not very happy story.”

“I’m sure. If you’re willing to share, I’m willing to listen.”

“Okay then, don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Does this count as ‘ dealing with my issues’ I wonder? Pfft- anyway. Here we go.

“I came across my friend’s universe one day, only twenty years, give or take, after escaping statudom. I had come across an AU with surprisingly little positivity while running around. It was back before I learned to check the names before entering a new AU and I knew nowhere even near as many AUs as I do now. So, I decided to take a look inside…”

**********

Stepping out of the portal, Dream looked around. He had been aiming for this world’s Snowdin, but this couldn’t be it… right? There were no people anywhere in what was usually such a lively and bustling town. There was something unsettling in the air, but the little skeleton couldn’t figure out what it was.

‘Perhaps this is a genocide timeline?’ Dream reassured himself as he made his way through Snowdin towards Waterfall. But that didn’t seem quite right. In his, admittedly rather lackluster, experience the human would normally have reset by now. Something just wasn’t adding up.

When he finally managed to trudge through the thick layer of snow that covered the usually well maintained paths, he was greeted by a Waterfall in a similar state of disrepair. The same sense of wrongness and unease that made the atmosphere feel almost suffocating was just as uncomfortably present here as before.

He decided to continue walking in hopes of finding out who was left here. After all he knew there must be at least one survivor. He had sensed something faint before venturing into this strange world. The feelings were why he came here after all. There’s no point wasting time in AUs where no one lived where he couldn’t make the lessons Mother burned into his mind mean something .

The small skeleton moved forward through the perpetually damp area in boots that were getting soggier and soggier by the second. Squelching noises followed him, disconcertingly loud in the echoing silence. The feelings he had sensed, though still faint, seemed to grow clearer than before. With that realization, he began to follow this feeling through the desolate landscape. He didn’t really want to stay in this world, but in the name of helping others he pushed through and pushed down any discontent attempting to make itself known.

‘Mother would be proud of you putting other more important people before yourself.’

Dream didn’t know where that thought came from. He forcefully ignored it and any mixed feelings that might have come with it. ‘Think positive.’ The feeling he had been following was becoming surprisingly clear for how faint it was, but it definitely seemed closer in any case. ‘There, now focus on the hope. Focus on ways to help whoever you find like Mother taught you. Now. That’s better.’ he lied to himself.

Turning a corner into a cave, he spotted a hooded skeleton with what looked like a ghostly Papyrus. The new skeleton, upon hearing movement, whipped his head around quick as a whip. Upon noticing another monster was there he summoned a vast number of bone attacks along with an odd looking gaster blaster. There was no time for Dream to move out of the way of all the attacks.

Throwing his arms up in a last ditch effort to lessen the damage, he braced for impact. But the impact never came, instead he felt an odd sensation as if the attacks were passing straight through him. He looked down expecting torn clothes at the very least, only to find that there was an almost semi-translucent look about him that was now apparent in the light from the stranger’s luminescent magic.

**********

“It’d be another while longer before I realised why I couldn’t interact with all universes fully.”

**********

The attacking skeleton looked at Dream in surprise.

“How the fuck-”

“LANGUAGE BROTHER!”

The probably-Papyrus quickly on before his -probably- brother could get a word in.

“NOW STOP ATTACKING. WE DON’T NEED THE EXP ANYMORE. THE CHILD’S DEAD NOW. YOU DON’T NEED TO KILL ANYMORE.”

The guardian was left even more confused than before now. ‘Well, at least whatever caused this to happen is gone now.’ Dream thought to himself. He refused to let a violent greeting deter him from trying to help in some way. “Oh stars, I haven’t introduced myself yet, how rude.” Mustering up some courage, he spoke.

“Hello, I’m Dream, the guardian of positivity. Nice to meet you.”

“‘guardian of positivity’ what’s that supposed to mean?”

‘Oh dear, I think that I’ve just confused him more.”

“Well, I’m the Guardian of Positivity.Basically I umm.. I travel around the Multiverse protecting and spreading positivity? I uh- came here because the positivity was faint and I... wanted to find out why. But if you’re the only person left then that’d explain it.”

“Hey, don’t forget about paps.”

The definitely-Papyrus over the probably-Sans’ shoulder nodded. He seemed rather put out at being ignored.

“But anyway, the multiverse? that’s only a theory we were unable to prove.”

“Well it’s real. Though it seems I am not fully present for some unknown reason. It’s never happened before.”

“whelp, i’m either hallucinating or you’re right. whelp, i have nothing to lose either way so i’ll go along with you for now.”

“That’s fair I guess. But if you don’t mind my asking... where is everyone?”

He had an idea, but he wanted to be sure. Can’t help someone if you don’t know what’s wrong after all. Distantly, he heard Mother’s voice berating him for being too direct.

“i do mind, actually.”

“Oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to upset you or anything, I just wanted to know. I can leave if you want me to.”

“eh, it’s fine. not like you could have known it was a… touchy… subject.”

“Would you maybe want to talk about something or play some game? It could help you take your mind off of it? ...Or not..Sorry, it was a stupid idea anyway…”

“jeese, you sure like to apologise a lot. didn’t even give me time to answer.”

“Sorry.”

“there it is again. but to answer your question sure, i want to learn more about this supposed ‘multiverse’ anyway”

“Wait really!”

“I haven’t spoken to anyone new in months, of course i do.”

Dream beamed. It’d be nice to have a friend after being alone for so long.

“Yay!”

“now, why don’t you tell me about your supposed multiverse.”

“Sure! Now where to start…”

And so began a long discussion about different worlds in the Multiverse. Dream did most of the talking, while the Sans asked questions every so often when Dream mentioned something he didn’t understand. Meanwhile Papyrus sprinkled in a rare comment or two, seemingly content to just listen along. It ended up being surprisingly fun. He shouldn’t get attached, it’d only end badly.

All too soon Dream had to leave. Before leaving he asked one last question.

“I just realised I never asked if there was anything you’d like to be called? I know your name is Sans, but most Sans’ prefer to be called something else since there are so many different versions that it can get more than a little confusing. It’s a lot easier to just make up a new nickname for yourself.”

“I think i’d rather stick with just ‘sans’ if that’s alright with you?”

“That's no problem. It’s not like there’s anyone else around here for me to get you confused with. Actually, why don’t I try showing you?”

Sans’ face lit up with the idea of seeing all the strange things Dream had told him about. Raising a hand up and creating a portal he ushered the other towards it.

“I’m not sure how well this will work since your attacks went right through me earlier, but t’s worth a try.”

“If it works it’ll be better than being stuck here the rest of my life.”

With a deep breath, Sans walked into the portal… nothing happened.

Sticking his head through to make sure the portal was working, he turned back around to face his new only friend. He proceeded to spend the next several minutes opening and reopening portals, just trying to make one that his friend could get through. However every one ended in failure.

“I wish I could take you with me and show you the Multiverse, but it’s just not working. I’m sorry. But I swear to you I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m sure things would end up feeling a little lonely if it was only the two of you with nothing else.”

“thanks buddy.”

“No problem- oh shoot, I really should really get going, as much as I’d like to stay duty calls and all that.”

“well then, see ya tomorrow i guess.”

“See you tomorrow Sans.”

Dream really didn’t want to leave without the other, but he had no choice. He needed to leave if the sudden drop in positivity near a cluster of Underfells told him anything. He hoped it wasn’t his brother, but knew in his heart of hearts that inevitably would be. Well, at least Sans was in higher spirits than when he found him. He must always do his job.

Turning around to give a final wave goodbye, he stepped through his portal to where he was needed.

**********

In no time at all, it had become a daily occurrence for Dream to go visit Sans. It was just so much fun talking to the other. In fact, Dream would go so far as to say that he was his best friend.

Slowly, he had managed to get the other to open up to him. The other’s story was a sad one. It had taken everything Dream had to stay positive when he heard it. He, in turn, opened up to the other about how he couldn’t allow himself to feel negative no matter what and how he thought that maybe his new aura could be influencing others. The secrets they had shared fully solidified their friendship as something unbreakable, but he didn’t deserve it.

Papyrus wasn’t very talkative, preferring to merely watch over the two, mostly just intervening if they tried to do something too dangerous. Actually, Dream had noticed after a while that the ghost appeared to be fading somewhat. He didn’t want to say anything about it since it wasn’t all that noticeable. It was probably just his eyes playing tricks on him anyway, it wasn’t important.

Right now wasn’t the time for thinking about all that pointless stuff though. It was finally time for his daily visit. It only took a moment before Dream was right next to his best friend.

“Hey, how’s my favorite chaos gremlin doing?”

“eh, about as shitty as usual. how’s my favorite ghost of destruction doing?”

“You know how it is- wait a second, destruction?”

“do you not remember what happened when we found mettaton’s explosives?”

“Shut up, explosions are cool.”

“alright, alright. I still have no idea how you managed to do that, but anyway, any new tales from the wider worlds for me today.”

“I’m afraid not, unless you want to hear about me healing some sick people, where the most interesting thing that happened was some kid throwing up before he could get to his basin.”

“gross. you should stop letting them use you for that kinda stuff, they have healers don’t they.”

“They needed the help.”

“suuure.”

“Sans.”

“fine, i’ll leave you be. ooh, since there's nothing to talk about, do you wanna go burn some stuff?”

“Fuck yeah!”

With that they began to make their way over to Snowdin from their normal spot in Waterfall, joking and laughing all the while. Despite how little changes down here, they always found something interesting to talk about.

“and that was the story of how I convinced paps that gerson was actually a time travelling mystic.”

“I’M STILL MAD ABOUT THAT YOU KNOW.”

“i know paps.”

“WELL, I SUPPOSED I DID GET YOU BACK FOR THAT WITH UNDYNE. YOU WERE SHAKING GLITTER OUT OF YOUR SKULL FOR WEEKS.”

“heh, i think i still find some in there every so often.”

“To be fair, you messed with Papyrus first, it was only fair he got you back.”

“you might be right, but that doesn’t mean i have to like it.”

“You’re a terrible influence. But then again, if you weren’t, Papyrus would have never found his love for explosions and wouldn’t that have been a shame.”

“so much property damage...”

The conversation continued on like that until the three of them reached Snowdin forest with a pile of random flammable things they had ‘borrowed’ from the unoccupied houses along the way. All the effort collecting the items and gathering firewood was made worthwhile when Dream saw the brothers’ eyes light up as he set the pile ablaze. Their surroundings were lit up in beautiful patterns where the firelight reflected off the snow onto the trees.

However none of it could compare to the positivity coming from his friend. The calm and contentedness that came from Sans and the excitement that came from Papyrus made the shorter skeleton actually feel real happiness for the first time since before the Incident. The knowledge that he had been able to help his friend even just a little made him feel as if he was worth more than his job as a guardian. Even if he knew that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

“Now,” Dream said, shaking himself out of his little reverie, “Sans, truth or dare” The conniving grin he got from the other ensured that the day would not remain peaceful for long.

“Dare.”

**********

“so, you aren’t feeling anything right now, not even a little bit?” Sans sounded vaguely concerned, not enough that he would do anything, but concerned all the same. He was used to this sort of random emotional upheaval from the other after all.

“Nope, not even a little bit.” Dream replied with false cheer. “It’s a little annoying to be honest, but it’s not all bad. Since I can’t feel anything I can’t screw up!”

“WELL THAT’S CERTAINLY ONE WAY TO PUT A POSITIVE TWIST ON THINGS.” The wall behind Papyrus seemed a little more transparent than usual.

“Thank you.”

“d’you think some explosions will help get some kinda reaction outta ya?”

“Maaaybe. You wanna try it.”

“absolutely.”

“I SWEAR TO ASGORE, YOU TWO ARE SO IRRESPONSIBLE… CAN WE TRY THE THINGS THAT EXPLODE IN A STAR SHAPE?”

“Of course we can paps.”

Dream watched as the other two discussed which explosives they wanted to use and was almost, but not quite, jealous of how good their relationship was. Sometimes, he wished he and his brother were more like that. Alas, as things stood that would never happen, so he pushed the thought to one side and refused to dwell on impossibilities. He let himself hope though. Hope that one day he and his brother could reunite. It helped him get through days when staying positive as Mother expected of him was hard.

“hey dream! you still with us?”

“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment there. Are you ready to make a move?”

“yup.”

“Then what are we waiting for. Let’s go!”

The walk to the MTT Resort was quick thanks to Sans’ surprisingly extensive knowledge of actual shortcuts. Once there, the bigger skeleton carefully picked out the fireworks they were after. This was their first time actually setting them off on purpose. It would have happened before, but Dream didn’t want to risk hurting Sans when he couldn’t heal him. When he got the chance, the little skeleton spent time learning and researching time Mother would’ve wanted him to spend that time doing more important things fireworks and explosives (for when they inevitably ran out of fireworks). 

Now with some newly acquired fireworks, the trio made a second journey, this time to the most open space in the Underground. Causing the place to collapse would not be good after all.

It was actually surprisingly fun teaching Sans how to not kill himself with dangerous explosives. And once Dream was sure that no one tangible would be getting blown to smithereens, the fireworks were let loose.

He had seen pictures while studying them of course, but seeing them in person was something else. The dazzling colours, the shocking bangs, the bright lights, it was all better than he could have ever imagined. Well, the bangs actually hurt his ears after a while, but that felt so much less important than the sight before him.

Tearing his eyes away, he looked to his best friend. The larger skeleton looked awestrikenly at the fireworks, seeming to just revel in what he had let loose on the world. It wasn’t long before he was setting off the next round. For a moment it almost looked like his eyelights had turned into stars.

The fireworks seemed to last forever and for no time at all. But all good things must come to an end.

“that was…”

“Incredible…”

“yeah…”

They spent a moment in silence, just basking in the experience.

“So what do you want to do now? I have a little longer before I need to get going.”

“how about we just sit and chat for a little.”

“That sounds great.”

Together they walked in a comfortable silence to the nearest house they found. They spent a few minutes busying themselves with the fireplace before sitting down in front of a nice and warm fire.

“That was brilliant.”

“yup.”

“Can we do it again please?”

“is that even a question?”

“Haha, fair.”

“you feeling better now?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“that’s good.”

“Hey, can I ask a question?”

“you just did, but go on.”

“Your AU always seems to be getting a lot less positive after I leave and it’s been getting worse recently. I just wanted to know if you were okay?”

“i’m fine dream. i just get a little lonely when you leave, that’s all. the place is actually pretty empty incase you didn’t notice. ain’t that right paps.”

Beside the Papyrus gave a little nod. The poor skeleton seemed almost half asleep.

“Okay. Well in any case, if something is wrong you can always talk to me about it, I’m here for you, you little cretin. Okay.”

“Okay, but the same goes for you. i’ll always be h ear to lend an ear for you if you need me to.”

“Pfft- okay that was actually a pretty good pun.”

After this the conversation became more lighthearted, until Dream once again had to leave and do his job. He felt comforted by the knowledge that his friend was doing okay and that he would tell Dream if something was amiss.

**********

The shouts of two skeletons echoed around the Underground as they playfully chased each other.

“Tag, you’re it!”

“fuck.”

Papyrus gave Sans a disappointed look at the curse.

“sorry paps.”

However the moment spent apologising allowed Dream to make his escape. Letting out a mirthful laugh, Sans chased after his best friend.

Unfortunately, said best friend had found something to hide behind, thus starting a long circular chase around the object. The next good while was spent running circles around it. Dream unable to break away in case he got caught and Sans unable to get to Dream before he managed to move opposite him again.

It took a good half an hour before either of them tired themselves out. In the end it was Sans who lost the battle of endurance. He didn’t have much stamina compared to Dream even with all his dangerous LV. They decided to call a truce, leaving the smaller skeleton as the temporary victor.

They chose to simply spend the rest of their time looking up at the false stars, lying down next to each other. Their antics had Papyrus shaking his head in fond exasperation. They were two grown skeletons chasing after each other like they were still just babybones, but neither of them cared. It didn’t matter how silly it was when it was just them.

Dream glanced over at Papyrus from his spot on the ground as the other caught his breath. The ghostly skeleton was looking startlingly transparent and hadn’t said anything in a good while. He honestly seemed to be fading away. He had theories as to why, but would never bring them up. The positivity dips after his departure seemed to be getting worse and he didn’t want to upset his friend while he was having a good time.

“so-huff- do you-puff- know anything about the ceiling stars?”

“No, why? Is there something special about them?”

“yeah, you can-huff- making wishes using them, or so the stories go.”

“That’s cool. How does the ‘making wishes’ thing work with them?”

“basically, you close your eyes and open them again and whichever star you see first, you make a wish on. there might have been something you say along with it, but i can’t remember for the life of me what it is.”

“Neat. We should do it.”

“okay. at the same time?”

“At the same time.”

“ready?”

“Yup.”

“okay. three.”

“Two.”

“one.”

The world turned dark as Dream closed his eyes, before being flooded with light a moment later. It took a few seconds before Dream could see clearly again. Above him he locked his eyes onto the first star he saw. It was once of the bigger ones and a luminescent purple in colour.

‘I wish that... uhh… that… that one day I’ll be able to get along with my brother again and that Sans stays okay.’

“you finished your wish?”

“Yeah, and you?”

“yep.”

“What did you wish for?”

“i can’t tell you otherwise it won’t come true, you silly goose.”

“Meanie. I don’t know the wish rules.”

Continuing in line with the childishness of the day, in lieu of an actual response Sans stuck his tongue out at Dream. Dream, the mature skeleton that he is, stuck his tongue out at his friend right back.

Papyrus’ fond exasperation at their silly antics was back. He watched as merely sticking tongues out at each other turned into play wrestling. Neither hurting the other and the rules of their game a mystery to everyone but them.

For a while when they were together it felt as though nothing else mattered and all their worries and stress fell to the wayside in favour of just having fun enjoying each other’s company.

**********

Dream was happy (or at least cheerful) as he opened up the portal to the spot where he usually met up with Sans. Papyrus had recently completely disappeared and Dream had been helping him deal with it as best he could. It had been hard going, but they’d been making progress. He had even bought a therapy book to help himself understand what was going on better and more ways to be there for his best friend.

He was extra excited to visit Sans because something actually interesting had happened and that usually helped lift the larger skeleton’s spirits more. Except when he arrived in his friend’s world, their meeting spot was deserted.

Deciding that his clock had probably been wrong or something similar, he decided to go looking for his friend. They’re spot was by the ruins door. ‘Thank the stars I won’t need to double back on myself.’

Putting his best foot forward, he methodically searched for his friend.

It took a fair amount of time to cover the whole Snowdin area due to the woods. Before moving on, Dream decided to go back and check the spot. It was a little time wasting consuming, but it was worth it. By now it was well past their meeting time, so if he had accidentally shown up early then Sans would likely be there waiting for him.

It was empty.

‘Stay calm. He probably just got lost in his head and didn’t realise it was time to meet up. Just go find him and then everything will be fine.’ It had happened once before, so he figured this was probably just what was going on. Marching onwards a little faster than before, Dream sought out his dearest friend.

He was beginning to tire out by the time he reached the Dump. As much as Dream hated that he was going to have to work his way through the mountain of a task that was searching through the hills of rubbish like him . He also knew that it would be a good place to find Sans, as the bigger skeleton often looked through there to find various different odds and ends.

With that in mind, Dream trudged through the water that covered the ground here. His boot would be soaking, but after the first time he went through here he realised that he would likely have to go through a lot more Waterfalls in the future (he had no idea why it took so long for him to realise (Sans actually had to point it out to him for him to think of it, but that wasn’t important)) so now they were waterproofed.

He had a good old laugh at past him as he searched. The distraction helped take his mind off the fact that his friend was nowhere to be seen.

He had started at the point furthest from the edge and worked his way out. A good while back he was walking through here with Sans and they ended up kinda close to the edge. The other had told him how the edge had always made him nervous, so he generally kept his distance from it.

Dream was almost ready to give up like he always did and move on to the next area, when he heard soft cries. They were coming from right on the edge, hidden behind a large trash pile he had overlooked. What he heard next froze him dead in his tracks.

“heh, dream’s probably here by now. c’mon, hurry up and just do it before he tries stopping you. he’s better off without you anyways, you’re just dragging him down with you.”

‘No! He’s not-’

“you know i never really liked looking down from the edge here, but now it’s almost peaceful. a place to bury the last of this world’s demons. no more resets, no more pain, just peace and quiet.”

‘Oh stars, this is really happening.’ Dream forced himself to move again, but quieter. He didn’t want to prompt Sans into jumping before he could try stop him. He didn’t want to watch his only friend die.

“i’ll miss Dream, but he’ll be better off without me. i’m probably giving him so much more work being this fucked up. heh, pap would have given out to me for swearing there, I wish he was still here. well, i guess i’ll be seeing him soon anyway. dear asgore, i miss my little bro. the bedtime stories he always got me to read. I didn’t realise until now, but that was to get me home in the evenings, wasn’t it? i spent so long at grillbz that i never spent any time with you except for the. fuck, i’ve been a terrible big bro, haven’t i?

“guess i can ask you when i see you again.”

Sans started to put a foot over the edge before- “WAIT!!!”

“Sans, please don’t do this. Please.”

“i’m sorry, but it’s for the best.”

Dream held Sans in a hug as best he could, praying to anyone who was listening that his best friend wouldn’t go through him. He knew the other would though, he wasn’t good enough for anything else.

“No it’s not! Please! It’s not worth it! You deserve to live! You deserve to go on!”

“no i don’t, can’t you see? I’ve hurt so many people. i’ve killed so, so many people. at least this way the world can finally be put to rest. no more genocidal kids, no pain, no more suffering, forever . this stupid world could forever be free from that with no chance of a return.”

“Don’t say that! You’ve already stopped that bastard! You might not have been perfect, but what you did was an attempt to end the cycle of pain everyone you cared about was trapped in. You have a good heart and you want to do good too. You’re so much better than you think.”

“no, i’m not. i’m a shitty person and i deserve to die. i don’t deserve to live on when everyone else died. the people i killed deserved better than what i gave them. They all deserved better. Please, let me go and let me do this. the world would be so much better without me in it. Please, just let go...”

“Look at me. You. Are. Not. A. Shitty. Person. You are the most amazing person I know. You deserve to live so, so much. You are incredible and care so damn much about others. I won’t let you go! I refuse to let yourself believe these utter lies when you are so important! I won’t!”

“please, you’ll be better off without me dragging you down. just let me go. you don’t need to pretend that i’m a good person. just let me die, please, just let me go!”

“Never! You mean so much to me I can’t just let go of you! You are one of the best fucking thinks in my life! I won’t just let you throw yourself away! Please! Just stay with me! Please just stay!”

“I need to go, i need to die, can’t you see? i need to go! i need to do this! why can’t you understand?! i’m doing this for you! all i am is a weight dragging you down! if i go down i refuse to take you with me! so just let! me! go!”

“I can’t you mean so much to me I can’t just let you do this! Don’t you see?! I care about you! I care about you so fucking much! Please, hold on. just hold on and stay for me.”

“i wish i could, but this has to be done! if i don’t then you’ll just keep holding on until we both drown! i can’t let that happen to you! i can’t! i’m sorry, but it just has to be this way!”

“NO!!!”

In Dream’s arms, he felt Sans move through him. He uselessly desperately clawed, trying to get a hold on him, but he slipped right through him into the abyss below. Dream stared after him. Tears were streaming down his face as he cried for the first time.

The small skeleton let out an anguished scream into  the depths of the abyss.

“NONONONONONO!!! PLEASE NO! HE CAN’T BE GONE, HE CAN’T BE DEAD, HE JUST CAN’T BE! THIS CAN’T REAL, PLEASE! THIS HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF TRICK! OH Hell he’s really gone, isn’t he? He’s… gone. He’s gone and he’s never coming back. shit, he’s really gone. no more resets. no more second chances. he’s dead and he’s never coming back. my Best Friend is actually dead. we’ll never have a stupid chat about nothing again. we’ll never play some ridiculous game like a stupid babybones again. we’ll never set of the fireworks he loved so much again. we’ll never make ourselves a bonfire out of shit we took from the empty houses again. i’ll never eVER SEE MY BEST FUCKING FRIEND EVER AGAIN! I’LL NEVER FUCKING SEE HIM AGAIN AND I WON’T EVEN BE ABLE TO KEEP HIS DUST! HE’S GONE FOREVER!! ”

Dream was kneeling on the floor wailing. The cascade of tears grew as it really sank in; his best and only friend was dead without even his dust left behind.

It felt as if he had been crying for hours. Everything else fell away, the only important thing was the friend who killed themself right before his eyes. In reality it had only been about half an hour. Suddenly, his mind felt flooded by the realisation of what he had done.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

“YOUR HURTING EVERYONE!”

“HOW MANY ARE DYING?

“ HOW MANY ARE ALREADY DEAD?! ”

“NEED TO STOP BEFORE YOU KILL THEM ALL!”

“YOU’RE A MONSTER!”

“A FREAK!”

“ALL YOU DO IS HURT OTHERS!”

“THIS IS WHY YOUR BROTHER HATES YOU!”

“THIS IS WHY YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO GET CLOSE TO PEOPLE!”

“YOU HURT EVERYONE YOU LOVE!”

“YOU’RE THE REASON PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT GET HURT!”

“WHAT IF YOU HADN’T BEEN HERE?”

“PAPYRUS WOULDN’T HAVE DISAPPEARED IF YOU HADN’T SHOWN UP!”

“ MOTHER WARNED YOU!”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO MOTHER!”

“IF YOU HAD LISTENED TO MOTHER NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!”

“̛̜̣̪̹͎̠̈̄̑̎̅͢ͅ“̥͚̟͔̰̄ͧ̏̆͂ͨ͟W͚͓̣ͣ̎̃͐ͥ͂H͇͎͕̬̦̮ͥ͐͆̕Ẏ͖̯̠͇̲̲͎͋̋̊ͩ̐ͭ̌́̕͢͡ ̖̣̳̙͓͚̖̣̂̾̓D̨̛̰̘͔͚͍̮͍̲͓ͨͭ́͘I̴̶̞͙̼͓̟̍̅̎ͦ̾͌ͮͮ̐ͅD̷̡̻̪̳̲̘̣̱̗ͭ̅̾̎N̛̞̰̼̜͍͎̔̏̇ͥ̽͊̎̆̕ͅͅ’̡̨͓̲̹̲̠̘̘̃̍̿̎̌̌̀͠T̶ͨͮ́͑͏̥̮̫̰̞͉̼͡ ̞̠͓ͯ̃Y̡͎̥ͤͦͩ̐ͭ̉͝Ỏ͔̬͛͞Ư̸̻͓͉͚͗ͯ̓ͪ̈́ͮ̈́ ̸̠̭ͧ͋̓͂͘͞L̛̗̲̭̺͉̳̯͚̩͒̊I̜̬̥̮̰̬̳̬͈͊ͩͪ̈̄̈́͛͂͞S̻̺̍̊̅̄͑̃͆ͦ̕͟͜T̵͎̞͔̻̈́ͭͧ̀̑ͭ̎͛͘ͅĘ̼̪̄̉͛͒̈́̆̾N̴͓̩̳̖͉͔̓̈ͤ̑͝ ̞͖̟̞͕ͪ͋ͩ̃Ṫ̠̘̄͒ͪ͌O̠̬͍̯̩̲̤̰ͮ̿ͅ ̷̟̳̫̖͓̓͐̓ͦ́̈́̐͂̚M̪͍͎͌̊̚͢ͅO͎̬ͣ͊͡͞T̬̦̻̒ͦ͞H̐̐͗͘͏̘̹̣̥ͅE̝̱̜̳̰̤̦̰͐̽̓ͩͥR̻͔͓̟̦ͮ̎͛ͤͩͯ͞͝?ͫͩ̾ͪ̒̊͏͓͇̦̜̻͖!̶̑̎̓̎ͩ͏̫͉̭͚͉”͓̖͙̎̌̉̕ͅ

Dream couldn’t take any more of this. Yellow tinted tears stained his face. Despite not needing air, he felt suffocated. He felt trapped. Everything felt too much, all at once. His clothes felt like they were burning him. The ragged sounds of his desperate cries and the harsh words of the voices deafened him so that his ears felt like they would burst. He clamped his eyes shut tight as the dim light felt like it was burning his eyes. The smell of the garbage surrounding him made him feel violently nauseous.

And then everything stopped.

**********

When Dream came to again he felt… nothing.

The closest thing to a feeling he could find was emptiness and a hollowness in his soul. He forced himself up. He remembered everything before he passed out in miserable detail. The vivid memory replayed itself every time he closed his eyes.

And yet… nothing.

He found himself incapable of feeling anything for the death of one he held so dear.

In bland recognition of what he was now needed to do, he stood up and opened a portal to the most positive universe he could find, in the most private place possible. With measure steps, he passed through the portal into a spare room of that Underground’s Royal Castle. Once he was on the other side he began the process of assessing the damage his wayward emotions had caused.

In the same way Mother ingrained in him all those centuries ago, he looked at the AU he came from as a focal point. The AU was now considered dead, the Underground was uninhabited and the surface world had never needed to be built.

For the next step he took the large paper he knew would be nearby along with a pen. Closing his eyes, he used his focal point to draw the positivity onto the page with practiced and precise motions. Weak levels of positivity, presumably from various critters living in the earth. Surrounding that for far to long was a blank emptiness, only broken up by a meagre amount of tendrils connecting to his focal.

The AUs skirting the edge were completely drained and were only noticeable by the remnants of the tendrils that had been attached to them.

Dream would need to visit them first. A little farther out the AUs had small amounts of positivity that would require recultivation. Tendrils severely damaged.

Moving out again there were AUs with low positivity. They would require the same treatment from Dream as the AUs in the category above. Tendrils badly damaged

Things continued on in this fashion for the rest of the AUs. On the back of his map, Dream wrote out the list properly with a short footnote at the bottom:

*While most AUs are predicted to survive, approximately eighty percent of Tier One AUs will survive.*

Standing back up, Dream folded up his map and left. He had work to do.

**********

“That’s basically it. I stayed blank until I finished repair work and then went through a period of just being unrelentingly happy and bright to try compensate for what I had done.”

Nightmare had moved up onto the window sill so they could both sit and lean on each other for support. Nightmare had wrapped Dream up in a big hug using his tentacles as well as an arm. His other hand was being used to wipe his little brother’s tears away. They sat side-by-side with the sun on their backs.

“Are you okay, brother?”

“I-I’m fine. Or at least I think I will be.”

“Someday is better than never. You don’t need to be okay right now, that was hard.”

“It’s just that- even-even after all this time, I s-still missed him s-so much. I was n-never able to- think ab-bout it, but n-now that I-I finally can it feels just-just as b-bad as the day it hap-pened.”

“Brother, it’s okay that it hurts so much. You weren’t able to process it for so long, maybe that’s why it feels so bad now? It’s okay if you need to cry, it was a terrible thing that happened, okay? A terrible thing that wasn’t your fault.”

“O-Okay Wispy.”

“Do you need me to hug you for a little longer?”

“Please?”

“Okay.”

And so the twins stayed that way, Dream crying over a long-dead friend as Nightmare comforts him.