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"Hey Sans!"
"Yeah, Papyrus?"
"Wanna know the coolest part of being in the Royal Guard?"
"Shoot."
"Have you seen them flying into the sky and turning into those super cool forms?! It's awesome seeing them in those flying forms!!"
"You mean the Zephyr Form? I heard that form can be achieved through high determination, letting you fully manipulate your respective weather and adapt to it."
"THAT'S RIGHT BROTHER! I CAN'T WAIT FOR CAPTAIN UNDYNE'S TRAINING SO I CAN FLY AND REACH THE STARS!!!"
"Reach for the stars?"
"Captain Undyne said that there's a form higher than the Zephyr Form. I think it's called the Zenith Form? It allows you to reach the highest point through determination. It's like you can go above the atmosphere and beyond! No one has reached that stage yet, but I will be the first to become a Zenith!"
"I see. But what about the stars you're talking about?"
"Because when I achieve that Zenith Form, the first thing I will do is go to the sky and reach the stars and bring one down, so everyone can see the Great Papyrus of the Snowdin Peaks! Nyehehehe!"
"... Hehe. I'm sure you will, Paps. I'm sure you will."
...
"Do you enjoy the stars?"
Rain snapped her eyes open at Orel's voice. She wasn't in the Snowdin Peaks with Papyrus anymore. Looking around, she realizes she is in Outertale. That a while ago was just a memory of what is long gone.
"O-oh, Orel, I didn’t see you there." Rain replied as Orel approached her.
She'd recently joined Orel Sans' group a few months after she left Undertale Birthstone. It was a chaotic start aside from those... restored memories, as she meets more Sanses like her: Slash Sans, Silver Sans, Echo Sans, Xio Sans, and more.
"You’ve been out here for quite some time." Orel said as he sat down to join her, looking at the fire. Rain nodded at what he said.
"Yeah I… I can’t sleep."
"I get it; sleeping is hard…"
"Mhm."
It was quiet between the two. Only the crackling of the fire filled up the silence.
"I enjoy the stars, you know." Orel spoke up.
"It’s hard not to." Rain replied to him. The stars from Outertale is truly a majestic sight now that she saw it in person.
Orel smiles a bit, speaking passionately. "Heh, you know, one day, I will reach for the stars! And they’ll shine for us, just as we stare in awe for them!"
Rain's heart thumped at what he said. That memory from a while ago flowed back into her mind. Along with it comes a slight feeling of bitterness... But it was accompanied by a faint feeling of butterflies in her stomach.
The air was filled with a heart-filled, gentle laugh as Rain chuckled. It sounds silly to her, especially when Orel, a depressed emo boy, is saying that.
But she can sense something genuine from what he said to her. Rain doesn't know how that lie detector ability started, it was probably from that... incident. But ever since, she can sense if someone is honest or not.
In this case, Orel said it so genuinely, despite how cheesy it sounded. He was so passionate about what he said that she thought that he will actually do it.
Orel smiled at her. "It’s… something that you deserve."
It was quiet once more.
"Deserve?" Rain finally spoke. "I... wouldn't say deserve."
"Oh...?" Orel became curious from what she meant.
"... It's more of a... need." Rain began.
"There are times the stars come and the stars go..." As she spoke, memories of those... timelines... flow into her mind, and Rain could feel her head ache from the pain. All those memories of warmth, laughter, and pain... All deleted by a reset, all back to the start, leading to a different timeline that still reaches the same fate, and then it repeats.
"It leads to a moment where I may need to see them. For... Comfort." Rain concluded. Her voice trembled as she spoke. The stargazing moment is common in every timeline she went through. And from what she remembers, it's the calm before the storm. Rain knows that something will happen later - and she and the gang wouldn't like it.
Even if watching the stars bring her comfort, it felt more like a warning of what terrible things will come. She can't help but wish this peaceful moment will last forever, and that feeling of impending doom will disappear, unable to take away that peaceful feeling of watching the stars.
But she know that wish wouldn't be granted, no matter what.
Orel listened her solemnly. Then he spoke after. "If the stars aren't around, Rain, there is still one shining ever so brightly... And I can see it so clearly." He stares at Rain with a curious look.
Rain tilted her head with curiousity. "And where would that star be? Where would you be looking at...?" She looks at Orel back.
The air is filled with silence yet again. Then Orel chuckled, his gentle laughter breaking the silence.
"... Orel...?" Rain become confused. Why is he laughing?
Orel chuckled as he explained,"Isn't it obvious? The star is right infront of me."
Rain looked confused for a second, trying to process what he meant.
Then her eyes brightened from the light of the stars, realising what Orel meant. The butterfly effect returned once more, except slightly stronger.
"Haha," Rain chuckled, smiling softly at Orel. "It's funny hearing something so sweet from you, you know?"
"Well, I mean what I said, don't I?"
"I know you mean it. I really do."
...
Another memory again.
She opened her eyes once more, finding herself flying into the skies, the flapping of the wing-shaped scarf and coat taking her into the realm of stars.
She had never thought about actually reaching the stars, even especially after she achieved the Zenith form, one she thought was impossible to reach.
But here she is, up ahead, finding herself surrounded by the stars. Reaching out to one, she finds herself caressing a ball of light, then flying across the sky, dancing with the stars.
She'd always hear someone wanting to reach for the stars. And she is the one who is actually doing it.
"I did it." She said as she caressed what is the brightest star out of the bunch. "I finally reached the stars."
Memories of her beloved friends and family came into her mind. Most of them are gone. A few have started their own journey. And she is part of the few. Tears of blue determination ran down from her right eye as she whispered.
"I reached the stars. For them."