Corruption: Not Quite Home

Return(?) to Snowdin

AN: Before you begin reading, I just wanted to let you know that this does not begin exactly where Ari left off. This chapter begins right after you, Frisk, exit the portal. With that said, I hope you enjoy!

You're laying in something cold and wet. You feel the softness of of snowflakes settling on your skin. You take a deep breath. The air is icy, yet refreshing to your lungs. You scoop up a handful of snow in your hand, letting it freeze your fingertips. Core Frisk must've sent you to Snowdin. You blink slowly, the blinding light of the portal still lingering in your vision. You rub your eyes gently, and it resides. You sit up from where you're laying, looking around at the snow covered buildings surrounding you. The warm lights illuminate the windows. There's an aura of coziness in the air, despite the chilling cold. For a moment, you finally feel calm. But you're quickly snapped from your peaceful trance by a sharp, sudden gasp from behind. "Oh my gosh!!" You shake the snow from your hair, quickly turning toward the voice. You see a short stubby skeleton with a strong resemblance to Sans standing before you, his eyes sparkling. "Sans?" You say with uncertainty. "You know my name??" He backs away suddenly in surprise. "Well," he clears his throat, "That's to be expected, with someone as Magnificent as me." You tilt your head in confusion. The bright blue highlights in his outfit are different from Sans' usual dark blue, and he sports a shiny grey battle-body instead of a sweatshirt. He points a gloved hand at you. "Paps, you lazy bones, look alive! There's a human in our town!" Another skeleton approaches, this time tall and stalky like Papyrus. He's wearing an orange sweatshirt. "Would you look at that. It really is a human," He says while lighting a cigarette. He grins at his brother, who's eyes are gleaming with excitement. "Human!" Sans yells, his hand illuminating to a blue tinge. "You will not pass this area! I, The Magnificent Sans, will capture you!" He laughs proudly, and the ground crackles under your feet. A wall of bones springs up from the ground in front of you, making you jump. Sans sweeps his hand threw the air, and the bones follow his movement. You duck and dodge, trying your best not to get hit. From what you can gather, you were sent to another AU where Sans and Papyrus have swapped personalities. This means that the first person you should talk to is Papyrus. Maybe he can help? In your timeline Sans is aware of the Resets, so maybe this Papyrus is aware of AUs? You get lost in thought, and trip over a short bone, bruising your knee slightly. Sans pulls you up by the back of your sweater. "Mwheheh! I have caught you human!" He proclaims triumphantly. You decide to go along with it and he "locks" you behind the wooden bars in their garage. The bars are easy to fit through, but you think it would be better to stay and figure things out before you move on. You fiddle with the toy mouse Sans put in your cell, lost in thought. Did Core send you to the wrong AU on purpose..? You bite your cheek, not wanting to assume the worst. You suddenly inhale a puff of smoke, snapping you back to reality. You cough and turn your head towards the source of the smoke. Papyrus is propped up on a stool in the corner, cigarette between his teeth. "So," he leans against the wall, "How did you get into Snowdin? I guard the entrance, and nothing gets past me." You perk up. You explain to Papyrus that you're from the original Undertale timeline, and Core Frisk sent you here by accident. He listens carefully, puffing his cigarette periodically. He admits that he's aware of AUs, and that he knows Core. "They like to visit once in a while. They're a good kid."  He blows a stream of smoke. "I don't think they sent you here on purpose. It doesn't add up." Papyrus sighs, offering a hand to help you up. You take it. "So, what should I do?" You ask as you brush off a bit of dust from your jeans. "You'll come with me to look for Core. Don't worry about Sans, I'll take care of him." You nod, and Papyrus gestures for you to follow him out of the garage. But before you can reach the exit, you bump into Sans. He stumbles back a bit in surprise, spilling the cat food he was holding. "Papyrus! What is the human doing out of their cell??" Papyrus chuckles and pats Sans's shoulder. "Calm down, bro. I was just taking them for a walk." Sans squints suspiciously at Papyrus, but nods. "Very well, I shall allow it!" Papyrus sighs in relief. "Take care of the human Papyrus!" Sans gives a quick wave before taking off. You smile to yourself. Even though he's not your Sans, it feels nice to see him so energetic. You turn to Papyrus, and he offers you his elbow. You take it, and in a blink, the snow disintegrates under your feet. Bright light fills your eyes, and your mind goes a bit dizzy. You stumble back and land on the floor. You blink, and Papyrus's face is suddenly above your head. You jump in surprise, and he chuckles. "Sorry, forgot to warn ya." He helps you up. When you look around, you realize you're not actually in a dimensional room, but a void. There's no ground or sky, just white. "Where are we?" You ask, tapping your foot on the non-existent floor. Papyrus takes the cigarette out of his mouth, holding it between two fingers. "I thought I teleported to the Omega Timeline, but uh..." He trails off. You swiftly turn to look at him. "But?" Papyrus rubs the back of his neck. "It's not normally this empty." He looks around, but there's no sign of life. He shrugs. "No worries, I probably just went to the wrong place." There's a slight orange sheen that illuminates his right eye, and he extends a hand to you. You take it, preparing yourself to teleport once more. The world disappears, but when you open your eyes, your still in the same place. Papyrus's hand flinches away from you, and he falls to his knees. He lets out a pained groan and grasps at his eye. You quickly crouch down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Paps?" Your fingers have barely grazed his sweatshirt when a wave of shock flows through your body. You jump back, the word "ERROR" filling your vision. You shake your head and rub your eyes, trying to claw them from your sight. You can only see bits of white through the letters.  Through the crevices, you can barley make out a figure. "Sans!" You call, blindly reaching out your hands. Suddenly, something wraps around your wrists, slick and thin like wires. It curls through your fingers like a snake. You try to shake them off, but they hold tight. Another wire wraps around your mouth. You feel a rough tug from your wrists, and in a flash, you're pulled off the ground. You try to yell, but it's muffled under the coils. Your eyes dart around the white void, your mind a jumble of confusion. You pick at the wires with your nails, desperately trying to free yourself. You hear a cackle from above, and you snap your head up. It's the same short figure as before, the figure you thought had to be Sans. His grinning teeth are yellow, and he seems to have blue cables running from his eyes. The same wires are curled around his boney fingers, adjusted as if he were dangling a dainty puppet. "My, my. Look who stumbled in." His voice sounds like several voices talking at once. He twirls around you, swinging from the cables above him. You curse at him, and he gives you a fake offended look. "Now, there's no reason to be so rude." His voice glitches and stutters along with his rigid movements. His left eye flashes, and you feel a sharp pull in your chest. You can feel your heart pounding against your rib cage. "What a pretty soul you have..." The red shine of your Soul reflects in his eyes.
"I think I'll take it."
Before you can process what's happening, you feel an intense pain in your chest.
And your Soul is thrusted from your body.