ClockTale an Undertale AU

Timer Part 1

"No, what other name do you go by?" Somebody else asks and suddenly like ten other Skeletons were in my line of sight.

"I dunno, idiot?" I ask, I'm not sure what they're asking for. I've never been called anything other than Sans, No nicknames have ever been given to me unless they mean the name calling, which I'm pretty sure they don't.

"Let's just do the introductions first." They say. "We're all named Sans but we have nicknames, like my name is Ink." They say, and I note they're holding a big brown paintbrush with black paint on the tip.

"My name is Dream." Says the one next to Ink dressed in Yellow.

"Horror." Says one with a cracked skull.

"Dust." Says the one who brought me here.

"I'm Killer." Says another with a target in the center of his chest.

"I'm Cross." Says the one next to Killer wearing all black and white with a red X on his cheek.

"Err-ror." Sighs the next in a robotic voice which I follow since I didn't see anyone say that. I look up to see a black boned Skeleton hanging from the ceiling by odd blue strings. They all turn to a black and dark murky green octopus looking thing.

"Ugh, fine." They roll their non-existent eye "I'm Nightmare."

I look around at all of them, analyzing them and putting them on a mental list of who looks most likely to kill me, with Blue at the top and Killer at the bottom... I mean, that small blue skeleton is kinda sus.

"So what should we call you?" Ink asks.

"And by the way, we all go by he/him." Dream adds with a sweet smile.

"Timer?" I offer. That was the first word that came to mind.

"Timer it is! Now let me explain why you're here.."

***

"So basically we're all different versions of this one Skeleton named Sans, and you guys protect the Multiverse." I point to Ink, Dream and Blue. ".. And you guys destroy it." I point to the rest. "And for some odd reason you had the urge in bring me to your meeting about saving the Multiverse?!" I put my hands to my skull. This is a lot of information to take in at once.

"Basically." Ink nods.

***

From then on they bring me to their 'peace meetings' once a week even though I don't do anything but stare at them as they talk about Gaster knows what.

I don't know why they even need me there. I've asked if I could leave, not come, and why they need me... but the only thing Ink ever says is, "Every Sans is important, some more than others." Then he'd turn to the others and forget my existence -not that I'm complaining or anything. I hate attention, I'd rather lock myself in my office and work on fixing and creating Clocks.

It's been three years now since Dust took me to my first meeting and no Resets have been issued, thank Azgore. It seems like a Pacifist or Neutral route has been chosen and is destined to be finished. The human seemed very excited about that when they realized. I'm mostly forgotten in my world which makes life easier on both ends.

I feel my right arm vibrate and I check my watch. The Green, Lime green, Olive Green, Pear Green, Pickle Green, Fern Green, and Seaweed greed hands are all pointing to different numbers which is normal, the Forest green arms circling around the face of the watch below the others like usual but the emerald green arms are both pointed to 7 and look slightly darker then it should.

Not good.

"Pap!" I exclaim shooting to my feet making the others jump.

"What's wrong Timer?" Ink asks not looking up from their blueprints.

"I need to get back to my AU!"

"No you don't, you're fine." Ink says.

"No, I'm not! I need to get back, NOW!" I could feel my magic pulsing through my skeletal frame but I push it back down, now's not the time.

"No you don't. Sit back down!" Dust barks.

"Fine." I sit back down pulling the watch off my left arm and dismantling it and rebuilding it over and over again, trying to ignore the constant vibrating of the watch on my right arm and anxiety coursing through my body. Though I couldn't help but glance at it now and then.

None of the arms were moving. Not even the forest green one. Is it broken? ..But if it was broken it wouldn't be vibrating like this... And I'd also probably be dead.

Constantly I look up at the other Skeletons standing around a table hoping for at least one of them would realize I need to get back now and get Ink to create a portal for me but that never happened.

"We need Fresh and Reaper's input." I hear Dream sigh.

"I'll get them." Ink says.

"Ooh! Can you bring Geno too? I haven't seen him in a while!" Blue adds.

The same time Error complains "Why the p-ara-arasite?" quietly.

"Sure." Ink glances over at me and I have a sudden hope he'll bring me home but he looks away and brings his brush up in front of him making a slash in the air which creates a portal to the other dimensions.

I have a non-existent gut feeling I should really be in my AU as Ink returns with three other skeletons:

One, bright and hippy looking with dark tinted glasses with words showing up on the lenses that could be best friends with Azgore, one with a black cloak with their hood up and a scythe in their hand that could be Satan's secretary, and the last in white and red, glitching like Error, with a bleeding slash in their stomach and a small trickle of blood dripping from their mouth. Nobody mentioned anything about the blood or wound so I didn't either.

"Timer, meet Fresh, Geno, and Reaper," Dream says, pointing at hippy guy, bleeding dude, and creepy boi. "Guys this is Timer."

"Yo dude! Cool name!" Fresh says.

"Thanks" I say quietly, turning back to the dismantled watch in front of me when a splitting headache hits me and the watch on my arm starts vibrating violently, shaking my arm with it.

"Ink your Timer friend don't look too good," I hear Nightmare say as I cradle my skull in my hands.

"Oh my, you're right." Ink says walking over to me. "Timer?" He ask. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with his watch?" Dream asks. All the hands are spinning as fast as they can making it look like they'll pop off any second now.

"Reaper, is he dying?" Someone asks with hope in their voice. I assume it's one of the former 'Bad Sanses'.

"No.." I assume it was Reaper who answered.

"Something's not right.." Dream says. "I'm feeling way too much negativity coming from him. What do you think, brother?"

"Yeah. A lot more than he usually feels." Nightmare agrees.

"Maybe we should send him back to his AU." Ink says thoughtfully.

Finally! But it's too late. I can feel my body start to glitch. How did I not see the red flashing numbers at the top right corner of my vision?!

"What is happening?!" Ink asks me again.

"The Reset has begun.." I whisper in a scratchy voice.

Word Count: 1891