"You're not.. really Sans, are you? You're not my brother."
He bit back the ache he felt upon hearing those words, the brother that was and wasn't his sitting limply upright, empty container and fork nearly falling out of his lap.
"...Not.. not really. Yes, but no." He admitted.

The frail one regarded him sadly.
"Is he dead?"
Classic blinked. "No. I know that much. He's just out of reach."
They sat in silence, neither wanting to turn on the lights.
"Who are you really? Where is this?"
He stared over at the kitchen, not sure how to respond to that.

"I.." Classic sighed, facing Papyrus.
"Do you remember all that science-y talk about a Multiverse and timelines? Versions of the universe where one thing went a little differently leading to greater changes down the line or other universes where core values are simply different?"
"...A little."
"Well.. it's true. And it's possible to travel in-between them as well."

".... You're Sans, but from another world?"
"Timeline." He corrected absently, picking at the arm of the couch.
"Everything's the same except for you.. Frisk came through and then left you behind. Maybe tried to forget everything. And the Core. Eventually.. failed. And couldn't be repaired. That's not what happened for me." He shrugged, not wanting to elaborate in case it hurt the other too much.

"Frisk? Is that the human's name?"
"Yeah."
"..Is human Frisk okay here?"
Surprised, Classic looked up, meeting shrunken, lightless sockets. "You care about Frisk? After everything you went through?"
Papyrus glanced away abashedly. "I knew they were trying to be a good person. They just had no choice if they wanted to leave the Underground.... How could they have known what would happen?"

He started to quietly laugh, the sound hollow in the quiet house.
"You'll never not be too good for me."
"But you're not really my brother.."
Classic fell silent, sighing. "Kind of."
Staring at the slight snowfall outside, he tried to explain.
"The thing about timelines as opposed to alternate universes is that, at the core, they're the same. All that really sets us apart is the fact that for you, Frisk went through the Underground and left, while for me, they somehow broke the Barrier. Events just continued to cascade beyond that separation, but.. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I both am and am not your brother. Either way, I couldn't leave you like that when I found you."

The living room was quiet for a while before Papyrus whispered achingly.
"The Barrier is broken here?" He asked, understanding where he was at last.
"..Yeah."
"Can I see the sky?"
"Of course. Do you want me to carry you?"
"I think.." He grimaced as he pushed off the couch, wobbling as he put weight on his legs.

He abruptly cried out and collapsed, almost colliding with the couch before he was held up with blue magic, gasping at the overwhelming sensations.
"What hurts? What's wrong?"
"Ee- f-" He winced as fresh blood was flicked out from his teeth and shakily indicated his worn boots.

Classic winced at the sight, gritting his teeth and carefully sliding off the shoes, unable to control the gasp that escaped him then. He set Papyrus back on the couch as delicately as cracked glass, slipping off the other boot, a bit of dust raining down.
"How.. how long has it been since you last ate?" He couldn't stop the wobble that crept into his words. "...Two.. months? I think..?"

"Paps.." He whispered, feeling a little sick at the partially dissolved bones, the feet looking utterly mangled. "Let me.." He grimaced as he summoned forth a weak green, doing his best to heal the damage.

Tԋιʂ ιʂ ԃҽҽρҽɾ ƚԋαɳ ƚყριƈαʅ ɯσυɳԃʂ.
ェ 𝗄ηoԝ..
Yσυ ɯιʂԋ ƚσ ʂҽҽ ƚԋҽ ԃαɱαɠҽ υɳԃσɳҽ.
He paused at the swirling energies in his core.
𝐶ɑη 𝘺oս? He found himself asking.
Destiny did not reply, instead a sense of blue flowing outward, darkness freckled with stars appearing and fading away, blue leafy vines flashing into existence briefly before the light blinded him.

There was a choking gasp from the frail skeleton, seizing upon the couch as Sans leapt up and hugged him, not knowing what else to do.
Papyrus whimpered, clutching him and burying his ruined face in the jacket.
"It's okay. It's okay. It kinda hurts but it'll be okay. Just hang on.. hold on."

The seconds ticked by at an achingly slow pace, moment by moment as the tall one was consumed in light, his tight grip loosening as his gasping eased.
When the light dimmed and he sensed a faint satisfaction from Destiny, Sans quietly asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Mmh-hmm." He nodded weakly, rubbing at his worn gloves. There were holes in the fabric.

Glancing down, Sans held back a sigh of relief at the sight of bony feet returned to wholeness, flexing experimentally. "Feeling better?"
He watched as Papyrus sat up, trembling slightly.
"It doesn't.." His voice was notably stronger.
"It doesn't hurt." He cautiously touched his teeth, jerking back in surprise as the smaller lit up.
"My face!"

He turned abruptly, leaning to the side to look at the window that dully shone with its reflection of the room. "I'm.. how? You. When did your healing become so..?" He touched his healed- though pointed- teeth.

"Similar reason for how I traveled between timelines." Sans explained softly, unable to help the smile from the sheer relief the other exuded.
Papyrus started standing, pushing off the couch and swaying briefly before he let out a breathy laugh.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I.."
"I'm still your brother, Paps. Just a timeline over. It's a brotherly obligation." He chuckled weakly.
Turning with a slight stumble, his face fell.
"But where is he? Why couldn't he come back?"

He glanced to the side, debating how to answer.
"As far as I know... did you know where he would leave to get food?"
"No.. he just said it was so much worse than home."
"With what he had to do, it was." He understood. He didn't like it, but he understood the necessity. It wasn't like Ink was going to do anything to help.

"He.. had to hurt others." Sa- Classic began.
"I know." Papyrus said solemnly.
Blinking, Classic rubbed his neck vertebrae.
"A lot of people. He was working with a god that wanted to cause chaos and suffering. Part of a balance between Negativity and Positivity, his brother wasn't keeping Positivity in check, so.. the god, Nightmare, enlisted help from universes that would help him. And you guys were desperate, so.."
"Throughout a.. Multiverse?"
"Yeah."

Bouncing up and down, Papyrus considered this, frowning slightly.
"Did he fail this Nightmare?" He asked nervously.
"No. I don't think so. I think...." He trailed as images flickered in his mind. Destiny had watched them. Watched for a while. Classic saw them, saw his own face, but changed by events he shuddered to imagine.
He saw the one with the hole. Always tired. Always fighting. Cooking because it had become a comfort when he had felt the sting of constant hunger. Classic glimpsed it in moments, struggling to process it all before he gave up.

"Nightmare wasn't really evil. At first, yeah, but it didn't stay that way. What happened is they had enemies. That kind of work isn't done without obtaining enemies, no matter how noble the reason. One of them-" He saw it happening, felt the rush of fear and loss at the sight of the figures falling, saw the warping shadows of another layer of reality behind the figure he'd grown to despise, the memory of sheer disbelief from spidery, incorporeal and otherwise invisible strands that rushed to wrap back around their puppet-
He shook his skull, clearing the scenes from his mind.

"They were sent to a place outside the Multiverse against their will. There's no way back, and the Multiverse is beginning to collapse without them maintaining the balances that keep it stable."
He winced at the glimmer of fear in the other's sockets.
"Eventually everything's going to collapse, and we're going to follow them, whatever the place is."

"No dying?"
"No. No one's dead yet. A lot of weaker universes though, they won't make it." He sighed.
"Can we not reverse.. anything?"
"No. It's beyond us now. I'm sorry."
Papyrus sat back down then, wincing slightly as he rubbed his femurs. He was healed of the worst things, but he was still too thin. Too weak. His bones were greyed, a sickly yellow discoloring the dark grey chips. He looked ill.

"Can we save the other monsters, at least?" Papyrus finally asked.
Classic hummed briefly, considering it.
"...It won't be easy... it'd be complicated. But yeah. I think we can do it."
He flinched as he was wrapped in a hug.
"They can't go to the Surface, though." He realized, sifting through the information flooding his mind.
"Why not?" Papyrus pulled back.

Gaze still distant, he frowned. "The.. the attitude towards humans. It's dangerous. Humans can wipe us all out if they decide we're a threat. Many believe we are here still. They don't remember the war or the Barrier, they just see us as different and many are scared. Your timeline- they'll give humans a reason to be scared. They can't be allowed to interact with humans. Not as they are."

Papyrus huffed, understanding and thinking.
"I suppose.. telling them about the Surface can wait a little.." His shoulders fell.
"I'm sorry, Paps."
"It's alright. Just bringing them here will help so much. How can we do it?"

"I'm not sure yet. I can't be mistaken for your timeline's.. me?"
"You're Sans, but not really mine.. other Sans?"
"Eh.. others have started calling me Classic if it helps."
"Really? Why?"
He shrugged, not willing to get into the details.
"I know they called yours Horror. Probably on account of the horrible-" He was indicating his skull when Papyrus groaned, turning away.
"You're obviously my brother."
At that, he laughed.

They approached the door, both pausing.
"Everyone else.. here is on the Surface, aren't they?"
"...We moved out, yeah."
"When we are done here, can I still see it?"
"Of course."
"Can I meet myself?"
He snorted at the strangeness of the statement. "Yeah. It'll be weird, but if you want."

Papyrus opened the door, leaning on the knob. Snowdin was dark and quiet, only a few stray lights left on to give the still functional Core something to power. He winced at the cold, then glanced towards Waterfall.
He sighed in relief, then faced Classic.
"We should turn on more lights."

Raising a hand, he snapped his phalanges with a click and all the streetlights crackled, flaring to life with an electrical hum.
"...Sans."
"Yeah?"
"How did you do that?"
".... It's a bit of a long story."

Backing up, Papyrus closed the door, back in the house. Facing Classic, he raised a nonexistent eyebrow.
"Eehh.. fine. Fine. This is like the hundredth time I've had to explain this today, by the way." He went and plopped into the couch.
"There are beings higher than gods connected to the Multiverse." He began.

Sitting beside him, Papyrus nodded.
"They're called deities, and they don't have physical bodies. They like to have them, but it basically requires that they possess someone with one. Inanimate objects don't work. They don't do that often, but right now all of them are scrambling to find vessels before the Multiverse collapses, otherwise they'll die with it."
He glanced over, seeing that the other was still following.

"So.. that's basically what's happened. One of them liked me. It's mutually beneficial, Destiny gets to live in whatever the next world is and sometimes borrows my body, and I get.. a lot. Weird stuff. Like that." He chuckles nervously.

"You have.. a really strong ghost inhabiting you?" Papyrus squinted in confusion.
"Eh.. why not. If the shoe fits." He shrugged.
"Does this.. Destiny speak?"
"Yeah. It's just weird."
"I would like to meet this Destiny- but later. We have more important business." He stood, still looking puzzled, but Determined.

They headed out to the middle of the street, whereupon Papyrus slowly spun in a circle, drinking in the sight. Classic was thinking, debating how to go about this.
"I have.. a crazy plan."
"You do?"
"It basically tells everyone they're somewhere else from the get-go, but it might be too much."
"If it saves them.."

Those words decided it for him. All or nothing. They had likely only months before the Multiverse collapsed and most of the risks were pointless anyway. The monsters in this timeline likely had only days.

The air in the middle of Snowdin began to twist, collapsing inward as a tear formed, rippling with blue light and moving darkness, pulsing as though alive. The tear widened, becoming circular as it stretched across half of the street, the movement slowing. Papyrus stared in amazement.

Classic came closer, then hesitated.
ェ'm ʈoo ઽimiІɑ𝗋. Տɦoԝiηց ս𝗉 ԝiІІ сoηfսઽᥱ ʈɦᥱm ʈoo mսсɦ. ェ'm ηoʈ ցoiηց ʈo 𝗉𝗋ᥱʈᥱηⅾ ʈo ᑲᥱ ʈɦᥱ ઽɑmᥱ. ェ'm ηoʈ. He internally regarded Destiny, knowing she must have something, even if it was just another idea.
Dσ ყσυ ɯιʂԋ ƚσ ƈԋαɳɠҽ? She asked.
Ƴoս mᥱɑη ʈɦᥱ ઽԝiʈсɦ ʈɦiηց 𝘺oս ⅾiⅾ?
There was assent.

ェ.. ɑɦ ɦᥱІІ. ʍiઽʈɑ𝗄ᥱη iⅾᥱηʈiʈ𝘺 iઽ ԝo𝗋ઽᥱ. He pushed through the ream, teleporting halfway between timelines and finding himself in an ancient, decrepit hall of purple stone, red leaves scattered about. There was a certain withered feel about it that told him exactly where he was, all light absent save for his eyelights, shining brighter to better see his surroundings.

He winced at the sensation of something greater flowing into him, leaning on the crumbling bricks as an intangible force congealed into mist, swirling around him as his bones cracked, muted by the blue clouds. Classic tore off his jacket, groaning as silvery light pulled itself from the gashes opening in his radius and ulna, curling around them like vines. It hadn't been painful the last time. Though then he had been completely dazed with Soul-stopping fear.

His breath caught as he felt his own body contorting, form altering under the will of a being he could not hope to fight should its desires conflict with his. It was a terrifying thought to have as he became something he was not.

. • ° ° • .

She shivered, the plant scanning the hall tensely as it led her through the maze of spikes. Strange sounds echoed through the halls, sickening and crunchy. She was terrified of what might be making those sounds, the ideas in her head almost getting the best of her.

Flowey suddenly stopped her at the end of the spikes, his eye flicking around nervously.
"Wait here. Let me check out what that is." He dove underground, leaving behind a tiny pile of dirt.
She sat down, hugging her knees and waiting.

The girl flinched violently at the scream that rang down the passageway, bouncing off the stone walls. She scooted backward, recognizing it. She was scared. So scared. What happened to him? Was she next?

Something slid across dirt, and a faint blue light shone on the aged walls around the corner in the darkness, and she ducked to the side, curling against the wall to appear as small as possible, shuddering as a massive glowing shape appeared, the air around it faintly silver.

It stood low to the ground on four legs, bones visible beneath its blue-white skin. Slightly darker tentacles rose from the back of its head, waving about. One of them was curled around an uprooted yellow flower, its vines waving and recoiling as they were struck with bolts of electricity.

Its endlessly black eyes peered at the spikes, glowing white irises flicking about. The creature then slowly turned its head, staring directly at her.
Aliza gasped, backing up and slipping into the stagnant water beside the spikes, already running, trying to figure out where, where can she hide, suddenly feeling a cold tentacle coil around her waist. She screamed, kicking wildly.

She kept kicking, clawing at the tendril despite it being too slippery to dig her nails in. She dangled in the air for a minute before slowing, realizing nothing was happening. Aliza hesitantly turned, shivering at those inhuman glowing irises with cat-like pupils. They abruptly vanished, leaving dark sockets with stars inside as a voice sort of appeared from it.
"You need not be afraid, human. You are not in danger."

The irises returned as soon as the voice stopped talking, stars also disappearing.
"What are you? Where did you come from?!" Flowey demanded, eye squinting in an attempt to appear unafraid.

"We are here to rescue you from this dying timeline." It seemed the irises were replaced with stars every time the voice spoke.
"Even you, Flowey."
He scoffed, then winced as a root was electrocuted again. "What about the human? What are you going to do to her?"
It looked between Flowey and then Aliza. There was not a reply, only uneasy silence.
"...I don't want to die.."

"You will not die. You will return from whence you came and rest easy. Monsters are not evil. The ones in this timeline are only desperate and dying." The pupils returned and the creature suddenly began to fly, calmly floating over the bed of spikes and through the tunnels, emerging in the entrance from which she had fallen. It began rising, heading towards the Barrier.

"How exactly do you plan on taking her through the freaking Barrier?" Flowey demanded, glancing nervously at the thin white film that indicated its presence, filtering out the yellow hue of the sunlight.

He gasped in shock as the magical being simply floated through it as if nothing was there. The plant was mute as they touched down, long tail dragging along the vines as it emerged from the cave onto the grassy mountainside, dotted with wildflowers. One of the vines suddenly shone blue, shifting until it was completely uprooted, three yellow flowers lifting their faces upward from it, now hued green from the glow.

The blooms then shifted into a silver, the creature setting Aliza down on top of it.
"Take this gift. Your family will be safe."
She awkwardly picked it up, roots dragging along her skin as she backed away from the ethereal being.
"Do not fear the monsters, child, for they fear you just as much as you do them. Show them kindness. Look past their long claws and sharp teeth and you will see they are good."

Intensely glowing blue eyelids snicked over the dark eyes for a moment.
"What.. is your name?" She asked, looking up at Flowey for a moment as she hugged the coiled vines.
"I am Destiny, child." Destiny lifted back up, butterfly wings parting on her backside as she drifted back into the darkness, where the bones beneath her skin became visible again.
"Farewell, Aliza. May we meet again in the new world." With that, she fell, disappearing through what looked like jagged stalagmites when she knew it was an illusion, a Barrier caging a strange race beneath a mountain.
Aliza peered at the dimly glowing vine in her arms. She wanted to plant it.

. • ° ° • .

The uneasy monsters stood warily around the tear in reality, many still staring at the somehow healed Papyrus. He was walking in and out, trying to convince them that it was safe. It was better than here.
Several of them were wondering if they were hallucinating or just dead.

It was then that the flying creature was spotted, waving its body through the air as it glided on butterfly wings. It landed yards away, sliding through the snow before lifting itself on four legs. Tentacles lifted from its head, four in total that waved around. The creature exuded more energy than most could remember feeling, comforting as it washed away some of the constant ache.

Its eyelights locked on Papyrus for a moment, something familiar in them before they vanished, replaced by distant stars like the images from a telescope as it spoke in a voice they felt against their Souls, filled with whispers.
"You are dying in this place. You have been for some time. On the other side lies a familiar place, one in which you may recover and heal. One in which you may find food. You can escape your pain if you find it within yourselves to step through. So ask yourselves. Which is it you will choose?"

An Icecap found the will to enter the portal then.
Seconds later, the vicious looking Ice Wolf gingerly entered. Nearly a full minute passed before the wolf returned, gesturing excitedly.
Bear and Redbird followed, cautious. The avian quickly poked his head back through, breathing heavily as he waved the rest. More monsters began filing through, disappearing from the withered place. Grillby was among the last to depart, holding hands with his stumbling niece, Fuku.

When the town was devoid of residents, Papyrus stared at the strange being.
"Who are you?"
It turned its gaze on him, and he recognized those whitish eyelights before they vanished.
"I am Destiny."
He leaned back. "But then where is Sans? Or other Sans, I mean."

Her head tilted slightly, head tentacles waving, lined with suckers.
"He is here." She replied simply.
"He feared the complications of recognition. I gave him a choice. He has chosen." The stars spun in the void black eyes, winking out as the irises replaced them. The white lights shrank, morphing into familiar dots.
"It.. takes getting used to. A lot. Of getting used to." Sans's voice echoed, Destiny's tones just beneath his own.

Papyrus hesitantly reached out, holding the giant face in his hands. The blue creature went limp, letting him hold up its head as its shining eyelids lowered.
"How?"

The eyes snapped back open, eyelights focusing before vanishing into the void of stars.
"She can just do that. Apparently all deities can. Now can we move on to Waterfall?"
Papyrus paused, glancing at the enormous frozen wall of ice separating Snowdin from Waterfall.
"There's no one left in Waterfall." He said dully.
It tugged its head out of his hands in surprise.
"No one?"
"They're gone."

It stared at him with wide eyes, then at the wall for a long moment. Then its eyelids slid shut, glowing vivid royal blue. There was the distinct feeling that it could still see as the tentacles slowed in their dreamy movement, then fell limp around its head.
"...I.. see...." Shaking its head vigorously, it regarded Papyrus. "Let's clear out what's left of Hotland."

"I'm sorry. They won't trust me. Snowdin separated from the rest of the-"
"I know, Papyrus."
"You do?"
"I have watched for a long time." Destiny answered, drifting upward.
"Come. Let us empty out this place as was intended."
Papyrus flailed in surprise as he was lifted up, finding himself placed behind its head as it flew over the wall, entering the lightless ahead. The crystals had dimmed, the echo flowers having been eaten long ago, grasses withered and streams dark with long-dead algae.

The darkness was only cut back by the light from the strange being, ghostly and ethereal.
They eventually approached Hotland, the dead air rapidly becoming stifling hot, a heavy, volcanic breeze passing by. When they crossed into the glowing chamber, they could see that it was far brighter than before, the magma higher than it had ever been before. The Core no longer kept the forces of the mountain in check, leading the long dormant volcano to slowly fill with the blood of the earth. It would erase the Underground and all traces of what lifted in it if given time.

Destiny drifted down, the broken doors parting in her presence, volts jumping off as the sheer energy set the long dead lights flickering, buzzing and crackling.
Something slapped against the floor and a goopy creature with a massive maw of teeth appeared, the face looking freakishly like a moldbygg regarding them. Papyrus gasped at it, clinging to the tentacles emerging from the back of Destiny's head.

"Lemon Bread.. You need not suffer here." They spoke, the world warping into a strange portal.
A gasp interrupted them, and both Papyrus and Destiny turned to see an incredibly thin Alphys with red eyes, lacking glasses. She was squinting at them, leaning on the wall as her entire frame shook with each wheezing breath.

Destiny turned away from the gargling amalgamate and drifted closer to the scientist.
"Who.. what are you?" She rasped, stumbling away.
"What happened to you?"
She flinched at the voice, trying to back up.
"What are you? You taking me away? Like Undyne? Take me away or kill me, take, take, take.." She drifted, mumbling maddeningly, shaking. Papyrus had his hands over his teeth, partially out of habit, largely out of horror at the broken monster.

"Much has happened to you." Destiny stated, before Classic continued.
"We can take you away. We can take you where there's food and the Core is working and you won't be trapped in this dark place anymore."
Alphys abruptly shrieked with an obscene cackle.
"Kill me? Going to kill me? Who will set up power then? No one! Nobody can! Everyone dies! Dies, dying, dying, we're dying and she's just goooonnneee, I should have jumped, she jumped, she was going to jump, hahahahah!" Her crazed laughter shifted to sobs as she tugged on her horns, each breath sawing in and out as she whimpered pathetically.

It was a pitiful, wretched sight. She had completely snapped. Was it even possible to get her back to any semblance of sanity?
The entity drifted down, one of its tentacles curling around to touch one of her horns.
Its eyes were still shut, but that didn't appear to hinder its vision, sighing softly.
"Don't cry. You don't need to cry. You don't have to stay here. Come with us. It won't be long before you have to worry about any of this again."

"I can't die. Can't die. Need me. They need.." She shivered, claws dragging over her snout. That explained the jagged scars.
Two tendrils darted forward and wrapped around her hands.
"It is not death." Destiny explained. "It is not yet your time to move on from this stage. It is simply time to leave this world. It is failing you."
"But they need me!"
"They are departing with you. There will be no monster left ere we leave."

"Come with us, Dr Alphys. It is better there." Papyrus offered.
"Wh... Papyrus? How did..?" She squinted up at him, not quite seeing.
"I've been here. Please. I think it's time we let this place go. There is another choice. We can live again! All of Snowdin has already gone through!"
She recoiled. "Snowdin? No. Can't do that. Your b- your brother hates me. I messed up. Messed up badly. He'll kill me, he'll-"
"No." He sounded more present, pulling away.
"You're not going to die. Mistakes happen, and tensions made everything worse. Come with us, Alphys. Everything will be explained if you just join us."

"..Sans..?" She tried peering around Papyrus, likely expecting to see him there.
"That's me." She recoiled from the sigh that followed. Biologically, the creature shouldn't even have lungs, but it did.
"I'm just not the one from your timeline. That's where you're going, Alphys. Where everyone is going. We're taking you to my timeline, where the Core never failed and there is food."

Much of the mania in her eyes abruptly died, replaced by clarity.
"But.. timelines can't interact. It's impossible to even cross over into another timeline.... And what about meeting yourself? That could destabilize-"
"That theory has been proven false. Otherwise, the Multiverse would have already destroyed itself. The me in this timeline regularly met with the others living in three more timelines, but now all of them have been removed from the Multiverse. I.. I'm the only one left in all our timelines." He seemed to realize.

He cast it aside, backing up to reveal a tear in reality. "Go. We have to escort everyone else as well."
She hesitated, stepping forward. Glancing back, she cautiously approached the darkness, flinching at the sight of Lemon Bread diving through with a guttural snarl. There was an uneasy silence before their head poked back through, angled eyes open and blinking at her.
"The lights are on." They rasped in amazement.

The lights flickered, electricity dancing from the deity as Alphys finally went through.
Destiny then drifted through the lab, portal opening into darkness. There was a pause.
"... Papyrus, this is going to take a while. Would you rather help the others acclimate?"
"I don't know. Will you be alright?"
"We'll be fine. You should go with Alphys. She needs help. I can't think of anyone better at that than you."

Sliding off a bit awkwardly, he moved over in front of the glowing figure, doing his best to hug its large head. "Thank you so much. Again."
After a moment, it peeled back it's eyelids to regard him softly, then pressed it's forehead to his.
"I couldn't leave you all like this now, can I?"

Classic and Destiny watched as Papyrus headed for the rift, pausing to smile at them before vanishing for the other side.
He finally slumped, tension leaving.
ェ 𝗃սઽʈ ԝɑηʈ ʈo ઽІᥱᥱ𝗉...

Dσ ყσυ ɯιʂԋ ƚσ ɾҽʂƚ?
𝐶ɑη 𝘺oս fiηiઽɦ ʈɦiઽ ԝiʈɦoսʈ mᥱ?
Yҽʂ.
𝛵ɦᥱη ցo ɑɦᥱɑⅾ. ェ сɑη'ʈ ʈɑ𝗄ᥱ ʈɦiઽ mսсɦ Іoηցᥱ𝗋, iʈ'ઽ 𝗃սઽʈ ઽo.. ⅾ𝗋ɑiηiηց. He trailed off, relinquishing control to the deity that understood this form infinitely better than he did.

Blue eyelids slid shut, then paled to a whitish hue, floating somewhat higher. Destiny faced the darkness, seeing the eyes glittering within.
Fαƚҽ ɯιʅʅ ԋσʅԃ ყσυ ɱσɾƚαʅʂ ɳσ ʅσɳɠҽɾ. She spoke, the first thought she had ever spoken as far as her ancient memory could reach.
Having a Voice really does change a deity.

. • ° ° • .

The furred dragon was truly massive, orange and blue horizontally slitted eyes regarding them critically.
Lowering his head so that his curled horns would not brush against the ceiling of the cathedral-like space, the dragon king peered at the fish monster atop her alternate's head.

Long, curly locks of hair shifted around, hanging from his chin and flowing behind his ram horns down his neck.
"How can we be sure you are not sent from humankind to fool us?" His voice was deep enough to shake the air.

"Your Majesty, I mean no offense in this, but do I seriously look that much like a human to you?" She asked while bowing her head.
The goat dragon hummed, a deep rumble like an earthquake as he pulled away. "Nay, I am not offended. Merely.. intrigued." He tilted his head to the side to better look at her, slitted pupils widening to large, glassy discs that studied her. A few loose golden hairs hung inches from her face, swaying with his breath.

"What are dragons to you in your world, then?" He asked, single blue eye staring unblinkingly as DragonDyne shifted somewhat awkwardly as her head was essentially reduced to a platform for the monster.

"As far as I know, they may or may not have existed alongside monsters before the war. They either died out, vanished, or never existed in the first place."
He tilted his head, tucking his chin on a pillow of his own beard. "I see."

Retreating a fair distance, he spoke.
"It seems there is but one true way to know for sure that you are not human. We must see your Soul."
Undyne hesitated, then shrugged. "I mean, if it'll get you to stop calling me one, then okay." She promptly summoned it, tense as her center was left exposed. The white inverted heart hovered in front of her chest, bobbing serenely.

The giant furred dragon shuffled his golden feathered wings, eyes wide.
"I see. You speak honestly, young monster."
She returned it to it's natural place, shivering slightly at the exposure. Monsters were not meant to bare their Souls so physically.

"Do I need to do th- do that too?" Alphys asked nervously. Her dragon counterpart recoiled just as much as her as the rest focused on them.
"No. You do not resemble a human quite so much as your partner, and I am satisfied knowing that there is not a human in disguise."
They tried not to think about the literal human and flower they had left in the lab.

"Will you trust us, then?" Undyne asked, leaning on the horn beside her.
"That you are from another world like ours?" One of his ears flicked, thwacking against the horn curling around it.
"That too, but I thought we had cleared that already. I meant the stuff about the Multiverse and everything?"

He snorted, blowing smoke through flared nostrils. "I suppose there is proof enough that you speak the truth." He began, raising his head. "But even so, what is there that can be done about it? We have lost a member of our kind, one of a dying race, and soon we will follow him to a world none may recognize. Is it truly possible to prepare for such an event? A warning may only serve to cause panic and pandemonium. Do you have any remedies for this?"

She paused, considering how to respond when her dragon counterpart spoke.
"We could sstrive to maintain what ssetss uss apart from the otherss. I have not heard much, but what I have heard hass made me think. Other universsess are sso different from ourss already. If our thingss stay with uss when we are taken acrosss, then we should take advantage of that. Keep our valuabless on uss, sso it comess with. Even more important iss our ecossysstemss, ass no other world hass them. We should collect them. Otherwisse, how can we know the nec-sst world can even ssusstain uss?"

Eyeing her, the great fluffy dragon hummed, pleased. "You are wise for your age, young Shen. Very well, we shall gather dragonkind within the capital for the announcement. Perhaps there is something to be done. Go. I will make my own preparations. Send the order through the ranks for the gathering tomorrow. May I see you two again, Small Ones." He bid them farewell, raising his great gold wings of shimmering feathers halfway. The others bowed, swiftly departing.

Through the vast, dragon-sized corridors, DragonDyne spoke uneasily.
"Thiss iss going to causse a lot of chaoss."
"I know. This is just.. unprecedented. How does anyone prepare for just losing everything?"
"I think the king will know how to reduce panic. I think? He's really good at, uh, at talking. To the public. Unlike me..." The golden dragon scrunched in on herself.
"Not everyone is good at public speaking, there's nothing to be ashamed of there." Undyne reassured before the dragon could.
"She'ss right."

"Hhhhnnnnn.." She hooted to herself, speeding up when the wingless lizard whispered to her.
"You're right, you're right." She was trotting alongside the serpentine dragon. "I've got stuff to save too. A.. a lot of stuff." She chortled nervously.
"I don't." DragonDyne proclaimed. "I burned it already!" Her short laugh was more of a rough bark.

"Oh that reminds me! Can you breathe fire or are you more of a water type?" The fish monster quested excitedly, crouching down. By then they had emerged onto a wide walkway, turning to just fly off. DragonDyne snorted in amusement, turning her head and firing a blast of whitish cyan flames, the heat searing. Undyne whooped in excitement, still half-blind as Alphys clapped.

Then the dragons took off, one casually sidewinding as the other glided on enormous, leathery wings.
"I legit don't think any other universe can top yours. This is so awesome." Undyne grinned wildly. Her dragon counterpart chortled beneath her, pleased.
This was the weirdest, but best day of her life.

. • ° ° • .

Outer blinked at his shadow. The shadow blinked back. They stared at each other for a minute, the luxurious voice in his mind reaching out and contacting others, something he was distantly aware of. They continued to stare at each other, one a flat shape on the ground and the other a skeleton standing on said ground.
"You don't feel evil." He noted softly. It shook it's skull.

"I assume that means you're not evil." It nodded.
"What exactly are you?" It glanced down at his feet, where it formed from as if it were stating the obvious.
Outer scoffed. "Well I see that, but normally shadows aren't alive. Can you even speak?" He asked. The shadow with faintly glowing eyelights that took up a disproportionate amount of it's face paused, raising a hand to it's unseen jawline- presumably, given the hand disappeared when overlapping the rest of it's form. Like a shadow.
It shook it's skull.

"Is there any way I can talk to you or..?" The shadow raised an arm, pointing in a random direction. Outer hesitantly started walking that way, the shadow being a shadow and mirroring his steps while it's upper half kept looking between him and what lay ahead.

He finally stopped at the edge of a still pond, clear enough to see the silt below. "Are we going past this or..?" He blinked as it finally went towards the light, essentially defying physics and leaving a paler, normal shadow behind as it went into the pond, vanishing.

"Uh.." He still faint the wisp of the eerie presence, then recoiled as shadows formed in the water, resolving into letters, then words.
Ｉ ａｍ ｙｏｕｒ ｓｈａｄｏｗ， ｂｕｔ ｙｏｕ ｍａｙ ｃａｌｌ ｍｅ Ｌｉｍｂｏ．

"Oh.. well Limbo, did you want something with me or just company?" He shifted to one side.
The words melted and reformed, the resulting sentence something that made his sockets go dark.
Ｉ ｗａｓ ｄｒａｇｇｅｄ ａｃｒｏｓｓ ｔｈｅ Ｖｏｉｄ， ｂｕｔ ｍｙ ｎａｔｕｒｅ ｆｉｎａｌｌｙ ａｌｌｏｗｓ ｍｅ ｔｏ ｃｏｎｔａｃｔ ｔｈｅ Ｍｕｌｔｉｖｅｒｓｅ ａｇａｉｎ．

"What is on the other side?" He questioned, finding himself taking the conversation much more seriously.
Ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｉｓ ａｔ ｗａｒ． Ｔｈｅ ｂａｌａｎｃｅｓ ａｒｅ ｒｕｉｎｅｄ， ａｂａｎｄｏｎｅｄ ｂｙ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｇｏｄｓ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ｎｏ ｎａｔｉｖｅ ｄｅｉｔｉｅｓ． Ｓｏｕｌｓ ｄｏ ｎｏｔ ｅｘｉｓｔ ｈｅｒｅ ａｓ ｗｅ ｋｎｏｗ ｔｈｅｍ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ｈｕｍａｎｓ， ｂｕｔ ｎｏｔ ａｓ ｗｅ ｋｎｏｗ ｔｈｅｍ． Ｍａｇｉｃ ｉｓ ｎｏｔ ａｓ ｗｅ ｋｎｏｗ ｉｔ．

It was painfully difficult reading shadows on water glinting with streetlights, but he managed.
"What about those that were sucked through?" He asked, concerned.
Ｒｅｌａｘ， Ｅｘｏｔｅｒｉｋóｓ． Ｔｈｅ ｃｈｉｌｄ ｏｆ ｙｏｕｒ ｕｎｉｖｅｒｓｅ ｉｓ ｓａｆｅ ｗｉｔｈ ｔｈｅ ｅｌｖｅｓ． Ｌｉｆｅ ｗａｔｃｈｅｓ ｏｖｅｒ ｈｉｍ ａｎｄ ｈｅ ｌｅａｒｎｓ ｔｈｅ ｍａｇｉｃ ｏｆ ｔｈｉｓ ｗｏｒｌｄ．

"My name's not Ex.. I'm not pronouncing that. I'm Outer."
Ｙｅｓ， Ｅｘｏｔｅｒｉｋóｓ．
".. Whatever. Look, what is this war you're talking about?"
A new voice jolted him into spinning around.
"Describe this world, Shadow of the Void."
There stood the faintly glowing humanoid figure of Eve. At some point he had to ask how she had a physical form when deities didn't have those.

Ｙｏｕｒ ｃｈｉｌｄ ｉｓ ｈｅａｌｉｎｇ， Ｅｖｏｌｕｔｉｏｎ． Ｈｅ ｓｔｒｕｇｇｌｅｓ， ｂｕｔ ｉｓ ｂｅｃｏｍｉｎｇ ｗｈａｔ ｈｅ ｏｎｃｅ ｗａｓ．
"I can feel the progress, yes." She waved dismissively. "And I am eager to see my little Soul once again, but that is not important at this moment. Describe this world for us."

There was a pause, then the words shifted.
Ｍａｇｉｃ ｉｓ ｒｕｌｅｄ ｂｙ ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ ａｎｄ ｏｒｄｅｒｅｄ ｂｙ ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ， ｔｈｅ Ａｎｃｉｅｎｔ Ｌａｎｇｕａｇｅ． Ｉｔ ｉｓ ｎｏｔ ｒｕｌｅｄ ｂｙ ｔｈｅ ｄｉｓｔｉｎｃｔｉｏｎｓ ｏｆ ｏｎｅ＇ｓ Ｓｏｕｌ ｌｉｋｅ ｏｕｒｓ． Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ， ｏｕｒ ｏｗｎ ｓｔｉｌｌ ｆｕｎｃｔｉｏｎｓ． Ｔｈｅ ｍａｇｉｃｓ ｃｌａｓｈ ｓｏｍｅｔｉｍｅｓ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ｍａｎｙ ｒａｃｅｓ， ｎｏｎｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅｍ ｌｉｋｅ ｍｏｎｓｔｅｒｓ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ｂｅ ｈｕｍａｎｓ， ｅｌｖｅｓ， ｄｗａｒｖｅｓ， Ｕｒｇａｌｓ ａｎｄ ｄｒａｇｏｎｓ ａｔ ｔｈｅ ｆｏｒｅ． Ｔｈｅｒｅ ａｒｅ ｏｔｈｅｒｓ， ｂｕｔ ｎｏｔ ａｓ ｎｏｔａｂｌｅ ａｓ ｔｈｅｓｅ．

Outer strained to read the words, then sighed. "There isn't a better way to communicate with you, is there?" He asked hopefully. A pair of pale, wraith-like eyelights peered at him from the water before the words formed.
Ｉ ｄｏｕｂｔ ｙｏｕ ｗｏｕｌｄ ｌｉｋｅ ｉｔ．

Sighing, he glanced at Eve, then back at the water. "I've been dealt with a lot today, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that bad."
The shadow stared at him, blinking once. The words formed.
Ａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｓｕｒｅ？
"No, but go ahead before I lose my nerve."

It darted across the pond, and the next thing he knew were shadow hands appearing on his legs, dragging themselves up despite it being completely 2-dimensional. He yelped in shock before a cold sensation enveloped his Soul and another presence weighed on his mind.
He stumbled, Eve catching him with cold but soft hands.

ֆɦօա ʊֆ աɦǟȶ ʏօʊ ӄռօա, ֆɦǟɖօա օʄ ȶɦɛ ʋօɨɖ. Peace spoke in his thoughts, and an echoing voice began wearily.
𝕀 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕣𝕪.

With that, he saw grassy hills, then a city. He specifically recognized it as not being of the current time period, looking as though it had come straight out of medieval times, an army approaching it. He recognized skeletons riding Blasters hovering over the army, then an enormous blue dragon swooping in, something upon it's back.

He saw the city getting absolutely pulverized by Blasters, monsters- mostly skeletons- fighting each other as soldiers that seemed otherwise human fought in the streets and rubble. He glimpsed Error fighting someone with similar, though darker strings and a white hood.

The scene vanished, and they flew backwards over miles, seeing other cities recovering from destruction. They then crossed into a vast hellscape of bruised earth, old blood coating the earth, ashes heavy in the air, flames spurting from great gashes in the ground.

The place vanished, and they continued on, moving faster and faster until cities were just a dark blur- then spun around and stopped, facing mountains of truly unimaginable size, greater than anything he had ever seen throughout the Multiverse.

They moved on, weaving through the peaks, slowing to regard a city on the side of the mountain, made of stone and populated by unusually small and stocky humans- dwarves! They were real here! Yet there was no time, they had already passed, zooming by, darting through the mountains before zooming into a valley.

Outer flinched as they dove into a rockface, now in a long, dark tunnel. They rushed along, phasing through another set of doors and appearing in a truly vast cavern, a hollow mountain far greater than any Ebott he knew, in the center sat a glittering mountain closer to the size of Ebott, gleaming in the vast shaft of sunlight pouring in from the opening in the top.

He stared in amazement before it all vanished, mountains disappearing as they raced along a river, surroundings blurred until they stopped at the edge of a vast forest, only long enough to see it before continuing, soaring over endless trees. They stopped at what appeared to be more forest, before dropping to the forest floor and it revealed itself.

Buildings grown from hollowed trees, vaster than any he thought possible. A figure strode elegantly on what looked like an animal trail, and he saw something.. unusually angled for a human in their features.

They were zooming again, too fast to understand, yet he felt Peace grasping what he could not.
They slowed briefly at mountains, these more normal, then went on past the range and over the sea. They stopped long enough to view an enormous island of mountains, then away.

It was then that the presence in his mind felt strained, the vision becoming grey.
ֆȶǟʏ ֆȶʀօռɢ ʄօʀ ʊֆ, ֆɦǟɖօա. Peace spoke as they crossed mountains and over prairie, slowing at a glittering army.
𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗. Limbo explained.

They abruptly jolted, appearing in front of an odd tree, before Outer realized it had a face.
Eyesockets opened to reveal greenish yellow and purplish blue eyelights, and he felt as though they saw into him.
𝔸𝕕𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕤. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣. Limbo explained, and moved on.

They witnessed Error sitting on one of his Blasters, silently knitting with his strings, wearing glasses. 𝕃á𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕘𝕦𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕨𝕝𝕪 𝕦𝕟𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕞, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕠. 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕟. By now his voice was fading fast, the vision flickering.

It flickered back to a random human, and Outer gasped as he recognized Blue talking to him.
𝔼𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣, 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤. ℍ𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕊𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕌𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕃𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕪 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕛𝕠𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣.. 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥... 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕟..

Limbo was but a distant echo, but Outer remembered what Destiny had said to Papster and knew who was with the Berry.
𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟.. 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕥. ℝ𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣... 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕝𝕒𝕘𝕒ë𝕤𝕚𝕒, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤.. 𝕛𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕎𝕪𝕣𝕗𝕒í 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕪𝕒, 𝕥𝕙𝕖... 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.. 𝕀𝕝𝕝𝕦𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕥...
Limbo was gone.

Outer coughed, still processing everything as Eve leaned closer.
"Will you let Peace tell me what you know?"
"Uh. Yeah. Please, I'm still.." He shook his skull.
"Yes."

"Thank you. It was fortunate that Limbo found a way to cross. Only the Shadow would be able to do such a thing." She shut her eyes, and he felt Peace making a silent contact again, sharing information over a plane of thoughts. It was fascinating, and somewhat unsettling.
"How?" He finally asked. "How can he come back when even deities can't?"

"Because he was never fully across." Eve replied. "As long as the Multiverse still exists, and as long there are alternates of you, an alternate of Classic, exist, he too shall."
Frowning in confusion, he questioned.
"What is he?"

"He is a shadow of the Void. He is you, and every other Sans. The Void lives in you, in the gaps of your being that should otherwise not be."
"Why?" He was slightly disturbed.
"Because of Gaster." She explained. "When the first fell into his creation, which tore a hole in reality to the Void, this rippled across the Multiverse. Nearly every single Gaster of every single universe was subsequently removed from existence, leaving only traces. The results are irreversible, and have left their mark on what remains. Even though not all AU's have Gaster related to you and your brother, the core code remains unchanged and each Sans and Papyrus is not entirely whole. Those pieces that you would otherwise have are what is known as Limbo."

"He's pieces of me?!" He straightened.
"And every other Sans, held together by part of the Void." She nodded.
"But.. what does that actually make him? He didn't feel like an amalgamation or anything. Just.. cold."
"No one can truly understand the properties of the Void, Outer." Eve explained. "All we can truly know is that he has become something of his own person, simply formed of the many pieces of others. I can only worry for him."

"Why? He seems fine." He glanced off to the side in remembrance.
"Outer. He is part of each and every Sans in the Multiverse. Even the trillions of copies. They are collapsing by the thousands, each one a part of him. He is not like our kind. He is but a combination of fragments held together by the Void itself. A piece of him dies with each and every universe."

"...Oh." He went silent at the thought. How much pain was this living shadow experiencing every single second? Or was the pain more emotional, feeling himself dying slowly? The idea scared him.

He looked to that sensation he felt across his link to the deity currently silent within him. He felt her being pushed around, her link to what felt like stars vanishing. He knew it wasn't stars. He pondered how Limbo felt these connections, for his were not like the shadow's.

Being connected to a deity was such a strange experience. He felt he was no longer the same. He could not entirely tell when his sense of self ended and Peace began, only that their minds were distinct.
How strange.