Chapter Text
He had tried everything. He had tried everything and it still wasn't good enough.
Sans stared down at the jar of dust, his sockets black and empty. How could this have happened? How could he have let this happen? He had killed his little brother. Even if fate smiled upon him just this once and the world reset, how would he ever live with himself? He was a dirty brother killer now. Things couldn't go back, not after this. To make things worse there was still the matter of spreading his dust. With how many times Papyrus had died this was far from Sans' first time performing the task. That being said, Papyrus had never died like this before, killed by the one person he loved most.
Sans paused, considering that for a moment. The one person Papyrus loved most. He had always spread his brother's dust on his prized possessions but, although it wasn't an uncommon practice among monsters, he had never considered spreading Papyrus' dust on a living being.
He let out a soft sigh, running a hand over his skull before giving a sad smile. “Heh, first time for everything I guess.”
Next he had to consider where he would do it. Of course Snowdin was their home, but Papyrus had always been fond of Waterfall. There was a particular little nook off of the glowing path that he liked, filled with echo flowers and soft grass. Maybe that's where he should go. So few people knew about it that it was unlikely Papyrus would be disturbed there. At least, not before the world had a chance to reset. No doubt Frisk would reset it the second they found out Papyrus was already dead. If they didn't then Sans would either beg or, if that didn't work, kill them over and over until they had no choice. Either way he was going to get his brother back but, for now, he was going to give him a proper send off.
He pushed himself up with a grunt before brushing the snow off his shorts. Truth be told he lacked the motivation to walk all the way to Waterfall. Even if he didn't feel that way he didn't want to risk someone following him in and disturbing Papyrus' final resting place. Luckily for him he knew a shortcut.
The pupils disappeared from his sockets and there was the brief sensation of being sucked into a vacuum. The world went black for a moment and, when the light came back, he was standing in the secret cavern. With glowing mushrooms and crystals peppering the ceiling and the floor being carpeted by echos flowers and soft, navy grass it was no wonder why Papyrus had been fond of the secret room. It was breathtaking. Sans shuffled through the flowers, listening to their soft whispers. His breath hitched and tears gathered in the corners of his sockets when he found that the majority were the remnants of his beloved brother.
“Nyeh! No human today, but they'll come soon! I can feel it in my bones, nyeh heh!”
“Sans still won't pick up his sock! What is an amazing, handsome, charismatic skeleton to do?”
“Training with Undyne was great today! Though I have begun to question the necessity of burning down the kitchen...”
“Mettaton came out with a new show today! Nyeh! I'm so excited!”
“Sans may be a lazy bones, but I still love him very much...”
“hOI! im tem! ur boOtyful!”
“I'll be a royal guardsman soon, I just know it!”
Sans stopped, furrowing his brow. He took a few steps back, lowering his skull to one of the flowers.
“hOI! im tem! ur boOtyful!
He sighed and shook his head before starting forward again. “Damn Temmies, I swear they're everywhere.”
Sans stopped when he reached the center of the room and knelt down in the grass. He took one last look around the room, took a deep breath, and opened the jar.
“I love you, Papyrus.”
Sans closed his sockets and poured the jar of dust over his skull. He held his breath and waited for most of it to slide from his bones and settle on the grass beneath him. When he felt that the majority of it had sifted into a comfortable rest, he let out a puff of air through his teeth and nose to clear the dust from his face. It may have been customary to leave the dust on you for a couple of days, but it was also taboo to breathe it in. Not that that was a problem, he didn't mind watching the dust scatter before resting on the petals of the echo flowers. That's where it really belonged, not on a dirty brother killer. Then again papyrus would probably disagree, and his wishes were what really mattered.
Sans stood, rolling his shoulders and letting any excess dust drift to the ground. Now all there was left to do was go home, mourn, and wait for this to all be over.
-xxx-
“tem cav iz thiz wai! iz secroit! hoory up!”
Temmie bounded towards the cave, shivering in excitement. Beautiful flowers! Pretty crystals! Glowey mushrooms! Cushy grass! It was the best cave! Temmie could find Temmie Flakes in the Tem cave! Then Temmie could sell Temmie Flakes and go to Tem college like Temmie in the Tem Shop and get an education! Temmie had the best plan!
“temmie dun wunna run no moar, temmie toired!” Temmie whined, ears drooping. Temmie had been chasing Temmie all day, Temmie has so much energy how is Temmie supposed to keep up?
“tem almoost theere! iz thru heer!!” Temmie slipped through a big crack in the rocks that looks like it's not there in the dark??
“WOA!! temmie not see cav?!?!” Temmie rushed in after Temmie to see the amazing Tem cave.
When Temmie got inside of the Tem cave Temmie gasped. “iz boOtyful!!!1!1”
“tem kno!! tem haz net 2 get teh temmie flakes! Tem wil haz muns 4 colleg!” Temmie squealed. “AND tem haz boOtyful floowrs! floowrs smel prity!”
Temmie leaned in and smelled the flowers! Temmie got weird dust on Temmie's nose and sneezed!
“aaAachuu!!!” Temmie bounced a bit with the sneeze before scrunching up its nose. “tis floowr smelz funnie!”
“temmie wunna smel!” Temmie leaned in to smell it but Temmie stopped them!
“nO! temmie cant smel, tem soid so!” Temmie shoved Temmie away from the flower!
“foine!” Temmie huffed. “dun wunna smel floowr anywai! tem floowr STOOPID!”
“tem--” Temmie stopped, a shudder running through their body. Their front legs collapsed, letting their cheek rest on the floor. “tem dun feel so gud...”
“iz tem okai?” Temmie asked in concern, crouching next to them.
“tem...” Temmie let out a dramatic cough. “tem dyin... tem need... tem need tem dooctr...”
“tem NO DIE!” Temmie cried, leaping up. “tem wait heer, temmie get tem dooctr!”
Temmie bounded off, leaving Temmie alone in the hidden cave. The cave was no longer the best cave, not if it made Temmie sick. Temmie gave a soft whine, burying its face in the cushy grass. Temmie felt sick. Temmie's soul hurt. Temmie wanted spaghetti? Temmie wanted to do puzzles?? Temmie didn't feel like Temmie anymore??!
No, Temmie didn't feel like Temmie anymore. Temmie felt like...
The Great Tempyrus.
-xxx-
Sans sat curled on Papyrus' bed, staring at the wall with black, empty sockets. Papyrus' scarlet cape was clutched between his fingers, covered in a light layer of dust. He wasn't really planning on leaving this spot until the kid came through. Why would he? There was nothing to wait for anymore. He didn't even have anyone to fight this time, not unless he wanted to kill himself. Then again, if he didn't need to stay to beg Frisk to reset he probably would.
A loud crash from the downstairs tore him away from his thoughts. He jolted in surprise before going absolutely still, listening to the sound of broken glass crunching under someone's shoes. With how many times their windows had been broken he was more than familiar with the sound by now. Normally he would just shrug it off and have it fixed later, but someone had to have open hell of a nerve to break in while he was grieving. Sans took a deep breath before pushing himself up. Whoever was down there was gonna have a bad time.
He shuffled out of the room, keeping a tight grip on his brother's cape. Whoever had broken in was now banging around with the pots and pans. That wasn't something any of the dogs normally did and Undyne wouldn't dare to even consider breaking in right after Papyrus' death. If he weren't dust Sans would bet it was Papyrus himself. The taller skeleton would always break through the window when he was locked out.
Sans stopped at the kitchen doorway, sockets narrowing. Oh hell no. There, making a mess in this brother's kitchen, was a Temmie. It was currently trying to put a pot filled with water on the stove, but it wasn't nearly tall enough. It could hardly even pick up the pot with its small, bony paws.
Wait, bony? That couldn't be right. Sans inched closer for a better look. Instead of milky white fur, the Temmie had pale bones and was wearing what looked like a Battle Body. Sans felt unease twist in his gut. Absolutely none of this seemed right.
The Temmie twisted around. A creepy, permanent grin was stretched across its skull.
“Sans!” It cried. “Sans! halp meh get teh pot on teh stoove! NYEH!”
Sans went still, staring at the creature before him. This, this thing, why was it dressed like him brother? Why did it sound like his brother? How dare it imitate The Great Papyrus? The pupils disappeared from his sockets and his voice dropped an octave.
“Look, pal, I don't know who you are, but if you don't--”
“dun be silly, Sans!” The Temmie shouted. “i iz the GRATE TEMPYRUS! ur luvable tem bruther!”
“My brother is dead,” Sand growled, his left eye glowing a bright cyan, “and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anyone pretend to be him!”
The Temmie's sockets widened in terror. “NO! Sans, dun hit meh again!”
Sans stopped, hesitating a moment before speaking. “What did you just say?”
Bright orange tears pooled in the corners of Tempyrus' sockets, its small frame trembling. “i dun wunna be dust again! NYEH! dun hurt meh!”
Sans stood frozen, staring at the supposed Tempyrus in shock. “How do you know about that?”
“Sans, it's ME!” Tempyrus cried. “im not ded!”
What Tempyrus was saying wasn't even remotely possible. Part of his wanted to work everything out and part of him wanted to just curl up and pray that all of this was a really bad, really confusing dream.
However, before he even had time to react, the Annoying Dog leapt through the already broken window and skidded across the floor, eyes glinting with a serious light. Tempyrus barely had the chance to squeal in surprise before the dog opened it's jaws wide and took in the entire of the abomination, swallowing it in one massive gulp. The dog cleared its throat before trotting over to Sans.
“Man that was one hell of a meal, I'm stuffed,” it muttered to itself. It then perked up and spoke in a deep, rich voice. “The threat to the multiverse has been neutralized. No need to thank me, it is my job as your god after all. Just go about your business, citizen.” With that it gave a high pitched bark, wagged its stubby tail, and hurled itself back out the window.
Sans watched dumbfounded for a moment before shaking his head and muttering to himself, “I really have to ask Grillby what's in those damn drinks...”