The journey back to the capital building took longer than you expected, having to dodge bands of rogue humans that had assembled during the time you were gone. It was to be expected that the humans would form a rebellion of the sorts in your absence, given that their leader had been killed and they wouldn't spend the rest of their time living in anarchy. You were still on edge after your conversation with whatever skeleton creature prowled the depths of the underground lab.

You had wanted to deliver the counter-serum to Sans and Undyne personally, there was nothing more to it. Even if they did not yet remember it, they had been your friends in countless timelines before this one. They were just your friends, what else did you expect Sans to be to you? It was quite apparent that he didn't remember the timelines before this one, the timelines where you had slaughtered his brother Papyrus before his very eyes, where the two of you often spent nights tucked away within Waterfall, watching the gemstones glisten like stars above.

You wanted more than anything to remind him, to let Sans know that your fates intertwined far beyond this realm for reasons unknown, but there was a fear that kept you back. Your relationship with him was complicated in the least. You had torn through the Underground, slaughtered his family and friends without reason other than simply being bored, only to then turn around and serve several pacifist runs as if nothing had ever happened.

It was this that made you hesitant. Sure, maybe Sans would accept you with open arms. He could also flip, turn on you with a wave of Gaster Blasters as he had done in the Judgement Hall so many times before and lay waste to your corpse. There was no telling how he would react.

Maybe this was the final timeline and you would no longer be caught in this endless loop of jumping from one timeline to another, but something told you that this would not be the case. You were sure that once you died, your soul would not disappear into the Void, but go to a completely new universe with a different Sans, different world, different everything. Of course, the Sans in each varying timeline was still Sans, often harbored the memories of previous timelines before that and your complicated relationship persisted.

But sometimes Sans didn't remember the history with the two of you, blocked for some unknown reason and he was a completely different version of himself. You shuddered at the vague memory of pleading for your life as a demented form of the comedian, eyes scarlet red and skull cracked wide open, dragging an axe against the freshly fallen snow. You had begged for any sign of remorse but were given none and so the axe fell, ending your life in that wretched timeline. The horror you had felt then...

You had lived a thousand times in a thousand different worlds but for some reason this felt different. Maybe you were no longer afraid of death knowing that there was some life after this world, but a part of you wanted to stay on this waste-barren world, where it was quiet, but there was also the potential for something new. Here there was the possibility for humans and monsters to actually live in peace, both sides realizing that conflict would only lead to each other's utter demise, so peace would be the only logical path to follow. There was hope here.

So you wouldn't tell Sans. You would keep your quiet and start anew, not risking the possibility of triggering some mental reaction from him and resulting in your death. If the tides of fate deterred you to remain only as mutual friends than so be it, for you would rather walk beside him than kneel before him on a yellow-tiled floor, blue light the last thing you saw before the world went cold...

Or perhaps there was a chance for something more.

"It doesn't matter," you whispered to yourself, inclining your head slightly at the rev of a truck engine in the near distance. A slight smile spread across your face as city-issued trucks roared down the street you had been walking on for near a day now, yellow beasts that glistened in the rising sun, containing the counter-serum they were scheduled to deliver.

Everything is as it should be, you reflected and stood at the base of the capitol building where you had struck Mayor Grimes nearly two days ago, her rotting head still visible at the top of the flag poll. You felt satisfaction at the sight, the same satisfaction you had felt during those genocide runs where your victims had been reduced to a shell of themselves, cowering, knowing they had no escape other than at the blade of your knife. The two syringes of the counter-serum you had personally collected clinked happily in your coat pocket, urging you onwards.

The power had gone out to the building and the rest of Chicago, which was to be expected due to the lack of leadership and stability within the city. As you climbed the first flight of stairs, you smiled lightly at the drones that were dispersing the serum to the infected crowd of humans that still remained motionless at the base of the tower, eyes glazed from the poison that blazed inside. But that would change, within a matter of minutes as the drones carefully dug various needles into the arms of the infected humans and monsters.

You skirted past Asgore's body, knowing that you would give it a proper burial after this was all said and done. You still didn't know what had happened to Toriel, the queen of the monsters that had been used as a puppet, one of the first to be infected with the serum. She would be sought out after things were settled, though if she was still alive, it remained uncertain. There were more pressing matters, such as your looming battle with the King of the Void that lay in the horizon.

Where the hell was Ink when you needed him?

Ink, you smiled lightly to yourself at the thought of him. The painter had always held a special place in your heart, one you had known since forever, flitting encounters with him as you strolled through the Void on occasion. Your paths had collided more than once, from what you could remember, sometimes having to battle Error and whatever plan he had cooked up to destroy the multiverse. But yet he was more a brother to you than anything and you felt that he saw you the same way. It was a mutual understanding that none bothered to address. Perhaps once Ink had been a Sans through and through, but years, millennia in the Void had changed him entirely. He may still have the physical appearance of any other Sans, but his personality had been reshaped and remolded.

You pushed such thoughts aside as you stood over Undyne's crumpled form. Memories flashed, blue spears digging into your heart, lamentations from the yellow dinosaur from afar as you had struck Undyne down in the field of battle...

Without a second thought, you plunged the first of the syringes into her bicep, watching as she stirred once and gave way to a fit of violent convulsions. Fear gripped you, what if you had made a mistake? What if this was all a trap and you had sentenced Undyne, everyone, to a long and painful death? What if -

"[Y/N]?"

It was the voice you had never thought to hear again, not sense it had cursed murder at you when you had unwillingly converted Undyne in the first place. And you remembered naught of murder and savagery, but of the countless times the two of you had spent in the kitchen, labouring fruitlessly to cook that goddamn spaghetti. Undyne was not your enemy, she was your friend. Maybe the only one that you had left.

Undyne let loose a laugh, though the sorrow in her voice was evident, nightmares of the past plaguing her mind. It was what you had feared, the aftermath of this catastrophe as Undyne would soon have to come to terms with killing Alphys. But she hadn't known there was a cure, no one had known. There was nothing they could have done at the time...

"I'm so sorry." And you meant it as you pulled Undyne into a hug, holding her close to you as her chest heaved with sobs, murmuring Alphys' name from time to time.

"Go to him," Undyne said at last, recollecting herself and straightening up. "I'll be fine, I promise."

You cast one wavering glance at her, drinking her in. The hollow rim around her eyes, though they were not glazed and lifeless anymore from the serum, still seemed to be devoid of all hope and knowing, grief still gnawing its way through Undyne. But there was nothing that could be done, you had no power over the reset or this timeline. That was left only to Frisk who had disappeared years ago.

You crawled your way over to Sans who was but feet from Undyne, his skull drooping at an awkward angle. It reminded you of one timeline, though it had been so long ago and the memories were fading. You had spent your life in some underground laboratory with Sans and Papyrus, test subjects to some scientist whose name slipped your grasp. But there had been pain, so much pain. And sometimes Sans had come back from the torture sessions looking as he did now, devoid of life, emptied of everything.

I'm not there anymore, you told yourself, forcing the memory aside. This is all that matters, right here, right now.

With the last syringe in hand, you placed it at the base of Sans' wrist bone and carefully dug it into the bone marrow. You pushed the base of the needle down until the last of the serum had entered him, reminding you eerily of the time not so long ago when you had been converting him into the mindless slave he was now.

I forgive you.

A minute passed and anxiety was beginning to stir you. Undyne's reaction had been almost immediate, so what was taking Sans so damn long? The warrior watched in silence, saying and offering no words. She had transfixed herself by looking at the concrete wall as the hours grew long and dark, making you wonder if you had really done her a favour by returning her memories and freedom. At least with the serum, it had numbed out all pain, made you forget everything that bothered.

"C'mon," you whispered, shaking Sans lightly by the shoulder as an hour went passed. He had not stirred or convulsed as Undyne had, black eyesockets devoid of life that stared at a transfixed point in the distance. There was no way he was dead, was there? He had still been under the influence of the serum, so his systems must be in working order otherwise he would be nothing more than a pile of...

A lump caught in your throat and you turned away.

Thirty more minutes passed.

Outside, the last of the humans and monsters had stirred from their comas, looking in bewilderment at where they were. It seemed as if they had blacked out after they were infected and held in a dream-like state, waking up only now for the first time. This brought you some relief, seeing that there at least had been a victory won today. But when you turned around and saw Sans, still the same, motionless, you looked anywhere but at him.

"What are we going to do?" Undyne asked as you sat beside her, refusing to acknowledge Sans' current condition. You inclined your head slightly, indicating that you had heard her but had no answer to offer.

"Asgore is dead," she continued, with little to no emotion in her words offering any indication of what she was thinking. "The monsters can't know, not now at least. We have to pretend that everything's okay, at least for a little bit..."

Her voice trailed off but you knew perfectly well what Undyne was talking about. One of the first stages of grief was denial.

"The humans won't last long without a leader of their own. Kudos for tearing the bitch a new one," Undyne smiled in approval, a weak attempt but a small glimpse, spark of her former self. Perhaps there was still hope for her after all.

"I'm not going to lead them, if that's what you mean," you replied quickly. "I'm not meant to lead them, I don't think anyone is. The same with the monsters."

Undyne tilted her head slightly, not understanding what you meant.

"Things will be better if we go the better way, a more diplomatic approach. Nothing will get done if the monsters have one leader and the humans have another. We need something that will unite both species, a type of government that will favour none if it is equally represented," you explained. It was something you had thought of vaguely, but paid no attention to until now. "What if there are no more monarchies or kings, but just a democracy? A group of fifty persons, twenty-five from the monster races and twenty-five from the humans. No one would be favoured, everyone would be represented fairly."

A grunt sounded from behind you. "I don't really approve of political jokes," Sans huffed, getting to his feet. "I've seen too many of them get elected."

You and Undyne turned around to face the comedian, staring at him in shocked silence.

"Geez, don't kill yourselves over me," Sans chuckled, though his laugh sounded force, drained just as Undyne. You felt a pang of remorse for the two of them, they had both lost loved ones during the conflict. You wondered where your adoptive family had gone in the midst of the chaos and fighting, but you had an odd twinge that you didn't want to see Todd again, one of the last things you had seen from him was the dust, the way he seemed to have played in it, enjoyed killing whatever monster he had slaughtered.

You jumped from the ground and embraced Sans in a tackle-hug, catching him by surprise and knocking the comedian to the ground. Undyne laughed and you felt your spirits lift, the vague hope of living a normal life here, with Sans, after you had conquered the King on his throne of black in the Void without name, becoming closer in your reach.

~ It's Raining Somewhere Else ~

Todd was angry.

The monsters were back and that damn sibling of his, if he were to even call [Y/N] that name, had already begun talking of peace between the monsters and humans. But that would never happen, not if he was alive to say and do something about it. He was strong, that was what the voices told him. It was what his King told him, told Todd that he was a warrior, that his soul was strong and good.

Todd didn't know what his soul had anything to do with this. All he wanted to do was kill and slice and burn. He didn't need his soul for that, only a knife and the strength of his own hands. Todd had killed a few monsters with his hands, it was becoming a fun game to him. They weren't that hard to kill, not if you knew where to kick them and cut them.

Oh yes, he was going to kill the monsters, every last one of them. [Y/N]'s false promises of democracy and diplomacy between humans and monsters would shatter when Todd went to work. He wasn't afraid to stand up against [Y/N], even if they had powers that made his King stir sometimes. He had never met his King, but his King had spoken to him through whispers and pictures inside his mind.

The King told Todd that he lived in a Void, a palace of white that stretched on forever. Whenever Todd's King spoke, his voice was sometimes scary, glitched and frightening. But Todd was a loyal servant so he stayed strong, even if his King seemed mad at times, talking of deleting universes and whole worlds. Surely his King was a god, for only gods can have the power to alter worlds entirely.

So what chance did [Y/N] stand against his King, his god?

For some reason his King seemed distracted, he wanted Todd to go to the alleyway where he had killed that one goat boy a few weeks ago. He wasn't sure why his King wanted him to go here, but Todd knew that there was a plan, his King always had a plan. So Todd trusted the King's words and went to the alleyway at the time of sunrise exactly as he had been instructed. Todd was a good boy, he knew he was going to be rewarded.

Your soul is good, Todd, the King whispered inside his head. I can see your soul gleam within your universe, it's quite a pesky little thing. Some would even call it a glitch.

Todd's breath caught in his throat. Surely his King was not angry? What had Todd done to anger his lord, his master who he fought so valiantly for?

"I am your servant, my King," Todd bent to the ground, pressing his lips upon the earth. He didn't know if his King could see what he was doing but it mattered not, Todd was a good mercenary, a loyal one, and he would always bend for his King.

A good one, yes. His King paused for a moment, still lost in thought. Todd wanted to ask what was bothering his mighty lord for surely no mortal troubles could bother him! He was a god, a god that could obliterate entire universes! You would do anything for me, would you not?

"Yes," Todd whispered, shaking all over. "I would kill the sun if you so asked it my lord. Anything."

Your soul is good and strong Todd, his King repeated that line again which caused Todd to be a little uneasy, wondering why his lord kept talking about his soul.

"I don't need my soul!" Todd protested. "I'm big and strong, I only need my muscles and my knife and I could kill anything for you."

That is why you are curious, my dear. You are detached from your soul, you could live without it. Human souls are unique in the way that they influence consciousness and decision, the reason why your species can be kind, so to speak. If I were to remove your soul, you would still live Todd, and you would be my servant in full. You would no longer have to worry about guilt or pain. Someone could rip out your organs and yet you would still fight for me, oblivious to everything. Will you do it Todd? Will you give me your soul?

Todd hesitated for a moment, but he could feel his master's excitement even through their mental link. "What would you do with my soul?" he asked, wondering if he had gone too far, asked too many questions.

A certain soul I have collected from the very corner of the Void itself is now in my grasp. In order for me to bring him to this world, I need a soul, your soul Todd. Together the two of you would be unstoppable, his master answered.

"O-Of course!" Todd exclaimed. "Only, what is his name?"

You knew him once as Asriel, the King explained. He was the one you killed, the goat boy. But he was weak, influenced by Frisk's sacrifice to return him from a flower back into his original self. But as a flower, Asriel, who went by Flowey, was ruthless. When souls die, they lose their vitality, which allows them to ascend to the Void. Asriel's soul is like this, empty and ready to be molded. I intend to awaken the monster that has always slept inside of him, a monster that we can awaken together. Are you ready Todd?

Before the boy could answer, he felt a wave of icy cold wash over him. For once, Todd felt nothing. He was invincible, immune to all thought and emotion. The only desire that burned inside him was the instinct to kill, cut and burn every living thing in his path. His soul was no longer within his body, and what a joy that was!

Todd watched as a black knife shimmered into view, ebony in color that seemed to shimmer with a thousand stars. It was a gift from his king, a blade to strike down everything, including [Y/N].

He turned his head slightly to where a single buttercup flower sprouted from the ground, a flower he had paid no attention to until now. Todd watched as his soul, one that was strangely scarlet, meld with an empty upside-down heart that hovered over the flower. The two mixed until the souls became one and implanted itself into the buttercup.

A minute passed and Todd stared in wonder, contemplating that perhaps his master had done something wrong, this was only a flower -

Until the buttercup turned its head and winked.