Alone

"Hey, enjoying the view over there, Paps?"

His eyes gazed upwards at the glistening ceiling of the Waterfall caverns, where tiny pinpricks of blue light served as 'stars'; a million tiny pinpricks of light that helped to illuminate the dimly lit room in which he sat. The sound of rushing water nearby filled the air, adding to the sense of tranquility, not to mention the vast expanse of Echo Flowers that littered the area, which only added to Waterfall's exquisite beauty. It was breathtaking, simply breathtaking...

If Sans hadn't known any better, he might've confused this for the surface...Might've even assumed that he was seeing the stars again for the second time in his life, that he was on the surface yet again with his brother. His beloved brother and best friend, Papyrus.

However, as gorgeous as those blue flowers and fake stars were, they held something dreadful; the flowers were sprinkled with dust particles, and the stars themselves were reminders of a failed promise, the shattered remains of something that once represented hope, a dreadful reminder of a bittersweet tragedy...

Whenever he had visited Waterfall in the past, these dusty flowers had helped him to cope, and to keep a tender memory alive. A memory of happier times and thoughts, of peace and security, of love and comfort. Now however, said flowers only served as a memorial, a remembrance of past lives almost, a crescendo of wisteria.

As morbid as the scene was, it was nonetheless, miraculous.. Oh, what he would give to go back to before this all started. Just once, he wanted to hear that jovial laugh again, see his brother's smiling face, if even for only a moment...

Sans lowered his head, closing his eyes and biting back the emotion that caught in his throat as he glanced at a nearby telescope. Heh, how foolish of him-sitting in a field of echo flowers, staring at a cavern ceiling that was covered in fake stars, talking to it as if THEY would respond back....

The comedian opened his eyes, forcing himself to gaze upwards at the ceiling once more. The stars were still there like they always would be, glimmering brightly. It triggered a thought, no wait-...not a thought, but a memory. A damned memory that now promised to haunt and mock him for the rest of his life...

'HM, IF I SAY MY WISH, PROMISE YOU WON'T LAUGH AT ME?'

'Of course, I won't laugh.'

'SOMEDAY, I'D LIKE TO CLIMB THIS MOUNTAIN WE'RE ALL BURIED UNDER. STANDING UNDER THE SKY, LOOKING ALL AROUND...THAT'S MY WISH.'

'..........'

'H-HEY! YOU SAID YOU WOULD'NT LAUGH AT IT!'

'Sorry, it's just funny; that's my wish too.....'

Sans inhaled deeply, trying to clear his mind, to suppress the memory as he had attempted many times before. It didn't work, It never worked... The memory was too strong, it was too prominent. He was drowning, drowning in a sea of painful thoughts and feelings.

'Bro?'

'YEAH SANS?'

'You know how stars are born, right...?'

'MHM, WHEN A MONSTER DIES, IT'S SOUL TURNS INTO A STAR, RIGHT?'

'Yep, and new stars are always brighter then the rest.'

'REALLY?! WELL, WHEN I DIE MY STAR SHALL BE THE BRIGHTEST! IT'LL LIGHT UP THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND! NYEH HEH HEH!'

A low chuckle came from Sans, a sad and mournful laugh at a painful, bitter memory.

'Really now? Well you're not dying anytime soon. No need to PLANET ahead...heh..'

'SANS!!!'

'That was funny and you know it. C'mon, you're smiling...'

'I AM AND I HATE IT!'

He blinks once at the memory. Twice. He feels the wetness running down his cheeks. He was crying, wasn't he...? His hand snaked up to brush against his eye sockets, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall-Heh, how did skeletons even do that...?

He stared at the cavern ceiling again; at the small dots of fake stars in the distance. They seemed to be moving, just like the real deal. That might've just been a hallucination though....The stars suddenly blurred together...he couldn't see anything through the tears anymore....

With a sigh he leaned back ever so slightly, gently laying in the patch of Echo Flowers. His eyes closed, a slow breath leaving his nose as he opened his eyes to look at the stars one last time.

"He'll come back..." His breath was shaky, a quiet sound that was almost inaudible to his own ears. "Hehehe...." He could barely make out an echo flower in front of him, a crimson and blood-stained scarf wrapped around it's stem and leaves, a light layer of dust coating it as well.

"Papyrus..."

The name rang in his head like the chime of a bell. He soon spotted another flower close by, this time with a scientist's lab coat draped around it, that same layer of dust coating it.

"Alphys..."

Another flower, carefully protected by three spears that had been hurled into the ground around it. The flower had an eye patch draped over it.

"Undyne...."

A crown had been carefully placed in front of the flower that was next to Undyne's, along with a chipped tea cup and saucer.

"Asgore..."

A purple robe embedded with the Delta Rune sign laid next to the crowned echo flower, a representation of the two fallen monarchs...

"Toriel...."

A smaller flower sat in front of these two, and instead of dust, the echo flower had been sprinkled with the shredded remains of a certain golden flower...

The stem and petals of the golden flower had been mutilated beyond recognition, but Sans could recognize that flower anywhere.

"Flowey..."

"H-hey....what do you guys think of the surface..?!" Confusing this for the surface? Yep, he really was hallucinating now....

The 'stars' appeared to shimmer brighter then ever now, bathing everything in the cave in a blue light.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?! See, I-I told you would be!!!!"

The echo flowers simply repeated after him.
"It's beautiful isn't it?! I told you it would be!...."It's beautiful isn't it?! I told you it would be..."It's beautiful isn't it?! I told you it would be..."It's beautiful isn't it?! I told you it would be..."It's beautiful isn't it?! I told you it would be!"

Bowing his head, the comedian sighed in defeat. Here he was, surrounded by multiple dust piles, a melancholy of sadness, desperate for the company of at least one other person, the sole survivor of a genocide route. Hell, even a Jerry would've been nice to talk to! "I'm pathetic, aren't I...?" He whispered to himself as he looked at the dusty flowers again.

"Hehe, I'll see you guys in the next run, o-ok...? "

"D-don't wait up for me..."

~~~
One of my first ever UnderTale stories I wrote, the cringe is real.