Narcissism

Chapter 13 - With Only Myself By My Side

“Don't look like Boss was here yet,” Red stated when they had made it to the sentry post.

“I'm gonna find him so I can start training to be in the Underfell royal guard!” Swap announce proudly.

Red grabbed his forearm and pulled him close to his body. Teasingly nuzzling his cheekbone,  “If you couldn't hack it in your touchy - feely universe… what makes you think you can make it in mine? Undyne will eat you alive.”

Swap snickered as he pushed away from Red. “Papy and I got that human, I'm sure he'll help me train.” He waved excitedly as he walked away from the post.

“And what about you?” Red asked Sans as he settled into his post.

Sans climbed into his lap, “I'll stay here.” He ran his phalanges over the wood of the sentry post. “Feels natural.” He wrapped his arms around Red’s shoulders, while resting his face against Red’s skull.

Red returned the embrace by encircling Sans’ hip bones in his own arms. The maroon  and black Sans heaved a heavy, long sigh. “This is nice.”

“What is?” Sans asked as he petted and fluffed the fur Red wore. His white as snow pupils watching the other as he rubbed a kneecap.

“Having someone here to talk to and keep me warm. I don't feel so bone-ly.”

Sans laughed, kicking his feet. He clicked his teeth against Red’s skull. Red replied with a chuckle, leaning into the skeleton kiss. “Red! Red!!” In an instant the love scene ended when they heard Swap crying out for Red.

Leaping from the sentry post, Sans and Red hurried in the direction Swap had left in. He was only several feet from them. On his knees in the snow. Sans reached him first, grabbing him by the shoulders. He was crying. Huge, heavy azure tears flowing freely from his empty sockets. In his hands he held the red scarf.

Red lost all use of his legs as they wobbled. His knees buckled, forcing him to sink slowly to the snow. With trembling hands he took the scarf from Swap. “Boss?” He breathed deep in through his nose hole before doubling over, screaming in fury into Papyrus’ scarf.

It takes nearly 5 minutes for Red to calm down enough to think. He paced angrily before the sentry post. “A human did this. I can smell it’s evil. I told Papyrus it wouldn't work. I told Asgore it wouldn't work!” An occasional maroon tear would ooze from his eye socket, catching and gathering in the crack etched across it.

“What are you talking about Red?” Sans asked impatiently.  His head following Red back and forth.

“We tried to create our own timeline!!” Red screamed in rage.

Sans and Swap gasped simultaneously.  “You can't do that! That's not possible is it?” Swap retorted, holding the neatly folded scarf to his ribs in a tight hug.

“It isn't possible,” Sans stated in a  matter of fact tone. “What would have lead you to think that it was?” He sounded more like his scientific self than the comedian.

“The AUs. Alphys found out about the multiverse and we watched the same thing play out over and over again in every AU. No matter the theme. It was the same three scenarios.  Pacifist, neutral,  and genocide. We studied them. Learned from them and tested them. We even figured out a method that allowed the main characters to retain their memories from each reset.” Red stopped pacing and gazed at the others. He had never looked more dark or dangerous to them.

“Main characters?” Sans asked with a scoff.

“You know, the monsters that appear in every AU. Like the three of us…” Red waved Sans’ question away. “Alphys and Papyrus plotted out this whole timeline... saying it would stop the genocides forever. Coming up with these stupid extractors for the explicit purpose of making this timeline a reality!” He slapped the mangled device off the sentry post. “We thought we stopped it when we took out the first human capable of reset… but it was…”