HIATUS | Found Family [Undertale / Nightmare Gang]

Ch3 - Mourning

Cherrys POV

Leaving Frisk's body just laying on the floor disturbed you in a way you couldn’t explain. You knew full well that their soul had shattered – you had heard the chilling sound of it, seen the little red fragments explode into hundreds of tiny little pieces – they couldn’t possibly get up and attack you without a reset, but the anxiety persisted.

You skewered their corpse with more bone attacks and left it half popped up, like some sort of messed up scarecrow. If you were using it to ward something away, you didn’t know what. Maybe you hoped to ward Frisk themself off.

The freezing temperatures of Snowdin preserved the body from rot, so even as time passed, there was no sign of decomposition. Part of you thought it was fitting. Of course the demon child couldn’t rot, because a rotting corpse would still bring life to the surrounding flora – and Frisk not rotting meant that would never happen.

Time passed slowly. Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. By the fifth day, you were finally convinced that this was the end. Frisk had always reset within five minutes of dying, never a moment later, so five whole days without any sign of their return made it seem so much more... final.

You struggled with the intense multitude of complicated emotions that coursed through you. Your thoughts ate away at you. It seemed that even in death, the memory of Frisk could still taunt you, the laughter echoing in your skull.

Why had Frisk been such an awful person? Why had they manipulated you, taunted you, killed everybody you ever hold dear? Why did they try so hard to trick you into killing everybody, then laugh at you when you finally caved? Why were they so committed to making you suffer?

There had been a time where you trusted Frisk with your very life, when you truly believed they had good intentions.  Why hadn’t you seen the signs? The monsters that suddenly disappeared, the faint traces of dust on Frisk, the sadistic glint in their ruby red eyes? If you had figured it out sooner, could you have saved everybody?

The first betrayal you remembered was when they stabbed that thing of determination into your soul. You felt so stupid now, thinking back to it. You should never have let yourself be so vulnerable. Even when they laughed as you screamed in pain, you still somehow thought they were good. Why had you been so damn naive?

You didn’t know if there was anything that could have convinced Frisk away from the poisonous path that they had taken. Of course, you had tried to get them to do the right thing, to be better! You had tried over and over and over and... nothing ever changed.

You sighed as you forced yourself to your feet, beginning your meander through the remnants of the underground. You knew that regardless of the outcome, you would always feel guilty for not having done enough. Everybody you ever valued was gone and it was your fault.

You moved to find the first pile of dust that lay abandoned, still lost in thought as you did so. How long was that time loop, that battle with Frisk that continued on and on with no conclusion in sight? Had time actually continued during then, or did the universe think it never happened? If it never happened, why were you still forced to remember?

And how many deaths had it taken for snowdin to become so bloodied? For your very bones to be irreversibly stained crimson, for your clothes to have become so tainted that they would never return to their old pastel colors, for everything to just be so... red?

You hated it. You hated the way your bones looked now, the constant reminder of Frisk and everything they had done to you. Everything they had convinced you to do. Your bones were ugly and red and you hated it.

You let out a sob. How long had you fought, never stopping to sleep, never stopping to eat, never stopping to mourn those who had been lost? How much time had been lost because of Frisk? Was any of it even worth it?

You couldn’t cope with the thought of going anywhere near Papyrus’ ashes yet, so you focused on the other monsters first. You laid each and every one beneath the snow covered soul of snowdin, engraving their names the birch trees using a sharpened magic bone.

Those you knew to be part of a family, you buried together. You felt it was only right to do so. Even Toriel and Asgore were buried close by, though you weren’t actually sure if they would have wanted that. Not that they could complain.

This little woodland area would become their final resting place – a beautiful graveyard, with each tree marking where they lay like tombstones that would outlive the underground itself. These monsters were loved, and would not be so easily forgotten.

It took hours to do, and it didn't really provide you the closure you had hoped it would. In the end, you were left with just Papyrus. And the thought of his ashes still made you feel physically ill. It was so hard... going there meant facing how badly you had messed up.

You moved slowly, the two blasters trailing quietly behind you. They knew where you were going and the reason why. They didn’t try to stop you. When you finally reached his ashes, you had to physically force yourself not to break down then and there. 

“P-papy...” you sobbed out. Your hands were trembling as you slowly lifted his fluffy white hoodie to your chest.

Your version of the underground had been stuck in an eternal winter, so all the monsters had worn pale colors, and papy happened to go with white. It felt odd seeing his jacket without a speck of blood. It was the only thing that hadn't been tainted.

“I-I... I didn’t.... I didn’t mean... to h-hurt you... I...” you sobbed out as you hugged the jacket close to your chest. You had no intention of leaving it behind. You looked to the ashen pile, tears cascading your face. It was just so hard.

Slowly, you stripped off your battle armor and scarf, and put on the jacket that had once belonged to your beloved brother. It was how you wanted to keep him close to you. The fur smelt of sweet chilli sauce, papyrus’ favorite condiment. If Muffet's place still had any, you’d be sure to leave some where you planned to bury his ashes.

The warmth of the jacket against your bones was comforting. It made you feel like Papyrus had his arms wrapped around you, like he was still there by your side. You could almost hear his awful puns.

With trembling hands, you gently scooped up his ashes.  “I-I... I’ll b-bury you by the tree at home. Y-you deserved better... I-I must be t-the worst b-brother ever.... I’m sorry I l-let you down... I... I l-love you..."