Jokertale [Undertale AU]

Opposite yet Same

First actual chapter of the collection.

These will more than likely have the curse of having little to no plot, or the luck of having an actual purpose, to be honest. I don't have many ideas as of now, but I'll make sure that what little I have doesn't end up a complete wreck!

Universe: Void
Timeline: [REDACTED]

- - - - -

Floating seamlessly through the vast expense of nothingness, the skeletal Joker hummed a simple tune and fiddled with the intricate, golden pocket watch held loosely on his hand. White specks of light boredly noted that all three iron wrought hands (second, minute, and hour) of the clock had frozen in place, as was common when the tool ever entered the area crudely named Void by the Tower's residents.

"Slow day, isn't it?" Came a chipper, distorted voice from over the skeleton. It echoed through the darkness, yet it was also swallowed and smothered by its oppressive presence.

The other snapped his skull up in surprise, jerking back to put some distance between both. He warily watched the free floating wisp shaped like a flower as he free floated down until they were eye to eye. The deceptively soft, golden-white light the other seemingly exuded contrasted sharply against the blackness surrounding them, along with the dark, white furred coat he himself wore. Ironic, really, he noted dully, that the Destroyer of Timelines looked more welcoming than the Restorer.

"What do you want, bud?" He finally said, answering the question with one of his own after shoving his hands- and the watch- in his pockets.

The flower laughed, sailing smoothly to the right as if circling his opposite. "Can't I ask a fellow Joker a simple question without a hidden motive?" He cackled, finally coming to a stop inches away from the skeleton.

Empty eye sockets narrowed. "No," was all he bit out before moving away from the wisp, his coat tails fluttering in a non-existent wind. "You always have an ulterior reason, Flowey."

Flowey giggled once again. Not to be deterred, he trailed after the Restorer and hummed even if the natural distortion in his voice tarnished the song.

Both Jokers moved around the Void for a while, neither willing to let the other out of their sight yet not willing to confront the other either. They would have kept at it had the darkly clad deity not jerked to a sudden stop. Not paying attention to what the skeleton was doing had the flower crashing face first into the clothed yet still sharp spine.

Flowey reeled back and slapped both leaves that constituted for his arms and hands over his face. "Hey!" He cried in anger. "What gives, Sans?!"

Yet Sans remained motionless. The lighter deity was about to snap again when the more corporal of the two finally turned to look at him. The dark stare and the even rarer frown on the other's face made him stutter and swallow his words.

"Do you feel that?" The Restorer whispered, eye lights flickering back on, but the frown remained. Those same white specks shot around them, scrutinising every little thing they could see with such intensity that they flashed between their neutral white and a burning gold or blue.

"Feel what?" The flower murmured right back seconds before he, too, felt it.

It was such a horrible, gut wrenching feeling that couldn't possibly be inscribed, be it in words or in any way. It was a terrible ache that settled deep within his core, an ache that represented a hollow cavity that needed desperately to be filled with something yet nothing spectral, physical, or mental could possibly staunch it. This was probably the closest explanation to it that he could give at the moment, but oh how this same explanation dwarfed the reality and severity of it by the thousands.

Letting out a shaky breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in, the smaller deity also began to look around them, turning his back to his counterpart and, whether consciously or not, slowly drifting back until his stem once again met the sharp protruding edges of the clothed spine.

"How many?" He hissed, extending tendrils of his golden light that resembled vines and holding them aloft as if they were vipers ready to strike.

"Judging by the intensity," Sans began, swallowing harshly and summoning a wave of jagged bones overhead, floating gently yet ready to maim at the twitch of a finger, and a rarely used sickle on his palm that was used most often for defense and reassurance than actual fighting. "I would have to say a good twenty, at the least."

A mere split second after the words left his mouth and echoed blearily across the vast emptiness, a hideously deformed creature seemingly made of dense oil came rushing out of the enveloping darkness. Its open mouth, or what they assumed to be its mouth as it was nothing more than a gaping cavity with needle-like protrusions, spit more flecks of the thick substance as if it were slobber while it screeched in a high pitched voice. A deadly bone slicing through that yawning cavity instantly silenced it, but the damage was already done.

Within minutes, dozens upon dozens of differently shaped yet equally horrendous oil creatures appeared, summoned by the battle cry of their fallen brethren. Some had spikes extending from every surface, others had something which resembled fur yet clearly wasn't, and others had such a complex yet incomplete form that not even the word lump could be used to describe them.

Overall, Flowey had to hold back a gag at the grotesque visage before him in favour of drilling his vines through the first wave of creatures that came rushing at the pair. The disgustingly wet noises coming from dry bones impaling the dense substance behind him indicated that Sans was now on the defensive as well.

Having past experience and vast amounts of magic on their side, it wasn't long before both Jokers went on the offensive and had cleared the last of the Dark Beings, expelling the oily remains back into their domain at the deepest bowels of the never ending Void. However, neither let their guard down for even the slightest of seconds until the horrible feeling of it finally dissipated along with the last of the dark creatures.

Only when they could solidly confirm that the last monster had been purged did Flowey recede his vines and Sans disintegrate his bones and the sickle. Silence reigned supreme over them until the shorter Joker began to move onward. At the skeleton's questioning gold and blue gaze, he sighed in exasperation and shook his head, swaying his petals back and forth.

"We still need to check the Timelines. Make sure none of them tampered with their flow and end up sending the things into a Glitch," said Flowey, watching as the duo coloured wisps of magic faded from his counterpart's eyes.

A nod and blink of white specks surrounded by emptiness was all the answer he needed before resuming his journey, knowing that his shadow would follow right behind the trail his light left behind.

They may be opposites by definition- one destroyed while the other one restored, one was light and the other was dark, one was alive while the other was not- but by principle...

By principle they were both one and the same, a fact both knew to be true yet never once voiced; not for fear of what the other would do with the information, but rather for a mutual and silent understanding that needed no words.

- - - - -

Such a long time, I swear. Excuse the delay- I had a severe case of Writer's Block with this one, but now that my summer college class (curse you, Anatomy) starts tomorrow, I'll probably have more ideas flowing through

Quick notes! Flowey isn't exactly solid, but since both him and Sans mostly coexist in the Void, they are both tangible to the other. But say, if Flowey were to ever go to Clockwork Tower and one of the Hours tries to grab him, they'd phase right through him, just as he would if he tried to grab someone or something.

Another note! The sickle has a more deeper purpose, so keep that one in mind for other chapters to come!

Anyhow- vote it, comment it, read it again, do as you want until next time!