Reborn As A Dust Sans [Undertale Multiverse]

Ch3 - Gloves

Ashe's POV

Seeing your skeletal hands did not elicit the same amount of panic it initially had caused you, but it was still uncomfortable. It made you feel a little disconnected from your body.

It might have just been something you would have to get used to, but maybe you could find a way to make the changes a little easier to endure. After all, signing was your main method of communication, so it wasn't like you could just keep them in your pockets.

'Papy, do I own any gloves?' You signed slowly and deliberately. 'Seeing my hands kind of makes me uncomfortable.'

The spirit tilted his head as he listened to your words. "I DON'T THINK SO, BROTHER... BUT UNDYNE MIGHT! I'M SURE SHE WON'T MIND YOU HAVING HERS!"

You couldn't help but feel a mixture of shock and confusion at his wording. 'She won't mind? Does that mean she is still alive?'

"NO, BROTHER, ITS JUST US NOW. BUT!! I'M SURE SHE WOULDN'T MIND IF SHE WAS STILL HERE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

You felt the small amount of hope you had dash away when he explained. Just like you had suspected, everybody else must have been dust. You were the only living survivor of an underground driven to violence. Not even Papyrus had been spared, since he was a spirit. He... he was so sweet. He deserved better than to die.

"DON'T CRY, BROTHER! YOU DID WHAT YOU HAD TO SO THAT THE MEAN HUMAN COULD BE STOPPED. AND IT... WASN'T REALLY YOU ANYWAY. THAT WAS PREVIOUS SANS. YOU'RE ASHE. SO ITS NOT YOUR FAULT," he comforted.

Raising a hand to wipe the tears you had not even notice begun falling, you gave a feeble nod. You still felt a little guilty, but he was right. You couldn't blame yourself for what the previous owner of this body had done.

And... well, honestly, you couldn't really blame the Sans you replaced either. He had clearly been through hell and resorted to the only thing he thought could end the cycle of suffering. There was no use dwelling on the past anyway. This was a fresh start. A new beginning. And this time, you had a wonderful brother to help you along. You had Papy.

"LETS GO FIND YOU THOSE GLOVES!" He enthused with a cheerful grin. You gave a small smile in return, nodding as you pulled yourself to your feet to begin your adventure.

You looked around at the underground curiously as you walked, the grey hood of your jacket gently covering your skull. The quietness was comforting despite its eeriness. Somehow, it was easy to ignore the dust in the air, to block out the piles of dust that lay stagnant on the ground as you walked.

As it turns out, Undyne did own a pair of gloves, just shoved in the back of a draw filled with eyepatches. The ones you picked up were black and fingerless, meaning the sharp tips of your claws were still visible for all to see, but they were enough to make your hands less disturbing to look like.

'Thanks Papy!' You signed with a grin after. 'You're the best!'

His grin widened at that. "NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE I AM! I AM THE GRE-" he paused for a moment. "I AM THE SPOOKY PAPYRUS NOW, NYEH HEH!"

You couldn't help but giggle at his proclamation. 'The spookiest!'

"SO WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO NOW, BROTHER?"

'Could we go explore together?' you signed happily.

"GASP! THAT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA! I COULD SHOW YOU MY AMAZING PUZZLES AND TRAPS! THEY ARE A BIT DEADLIER THAN WHEN I SET THEM UP MYSELF, BUT THEY'RE STILL COOL!"

With how enthusiastic he sounded, you were keen to learn more about his puzzles. It sounded like it would be a fun way to bond a little more anyway, so you gave a cheerful nod. 'Sure Papy, that sounds like fun.'

"WOWIE, YOU'RE SO MUCH LESS MEAN AND LAZY THAN PREVIOUS SANS USED TO BE!" He beamed, already beginning to float in the direction in which he wished to guide you.

You stopped walking at that exclamation. The old Sans had been mean to his brother? But... Papy seemed so sweet and caring. You couldn't possibly imagine trying to hurt his feelings.

"...ARE YOU OKAY, ASHE? YOU STOPPED WALKING SUDDENLY. YOU'RE NOT GONNA FALL ASLEEP STANDING, ARE YOU?"

You shook your head to confirm you did not plan on falling asleep. 'What was your relationship like with the old Sans?'

"PREVIOUS SANS COULD BE VERY HURTFUL WITH HIS WORDS. I THINK ALL THE RESETS STARTED MAKING HIM ANGRY. I... DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE HIM HAPPY AND HE WOULD ALWAYS YELL AT ME. Sometimes I Thought He Hated Me...."

'I'm sorry, Papy. I don't remember any of it, but you deserve an apology. You... you've been so sweet to me. I don't think I'd be able to handle living without you. You deserve better.'

"I FORGIVE YOU! IT WAS PREVIOUS SANS' FAULT ANYWAY, NOT YOURS!" he said all to quickly. He seemed like the type of person to forgive no matter what. "AND DON'T WORRY! NYEH HEH! THE SPOOKY PAPYRUS WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU!"

'I'll be here for you too,' you responded, eager to make sure that he knew he mattered to you. If the previous Sans failed to be a good brother to him, then you had to be better.

"OH! THAT REMINDS ME! IT HAS BEEN THREE YEARS, ELEVEN MONTHS AND SIX DAYS SINCE THE LAST RESET! I KEPT COUNT EVEN WHEN YOU WERE ASLEEP!"

It took you a few long moments to process that sudden new information. It being almost four years since the last reset meant the kid wasn't going to come back, were they? There would be no resets. No chance to fix the underground.

But there would also be no genocides. And you wouldn't have to pretend to be Sans to everyone else. You could just be yourself. Maybe... maybe you could find a way to leave your world and explore the multiverse? And Papy could come with you too!

Wait. How long were you asleep? He had mentioned it a few times now and it didn't seem like he was talking about a normal kind of going-to-bed sleep.

'Papy... how long was I sleeping? Did something happen?'

"YOU WERE ASLEEP FOR NINE DAYS... THE UNDERGROUND IS VERY OLD AND IS FALLING APART. SOMETIMES PARTS OF THE 'ROOF' FALL DOWN SUDDENLY, ITS BEEN GETTING A LOT WORSE SINCE THE CORE SHUT DOWN NINE MONTHS AGO. DID YOU NOTICE THE CRACKS IN YOUR SKULL? YOU WERE HURT BY ONE OF THE ROCKS THAT FELL..."

Cracks? You pulled down your hood for a moment, hand gently brushing against the smooth bone of your skull. It was definitely more than just cracks. What you felt was more like a windscreen when a rock shatters it. There wasn't a hole persay, but the cracks were like a deep webbing, bad enough that even a light blow to the same area would probably cause it to completely collapse in on itself.

"YOU SHOULDN'T TOUCH IT, BROTHER. YOU MIGHT MAKE IT WORSE."

Pulling your hand away at his request, you decided that it was probably best to keep your grey hood up so the injury wouldn't be so obvious to others. Maybe it would be a good idea to look for some monster candy and see if it would heal it, though you had a feeling you had been asleep too long for the wound to be able to heal any further.

'Thankyou for telling me, Papy. Lets go look at those puzzles you mentioned...'