Infront of me is none other than Underswap Sans, though they look worse for wear. They were wearing a blue scarf, a blue and silver battle body, blue boots, and blue gloves. They have a large crack above their left eyesocket and their teeth seem to have been damaged. I hear Reaper and Nightmare gasp. I hold Chara closer. "HeLlO SaNs, I HaVE A SpEcIaL DeLiVeRy FoR YoU AnD YoUr BrOtHeR." I say trying to keep things lighthearted.
The Sans gasps seeing Chara in my arms, then winces at the movement to their jaw. They then stand aside and gesture me to enter. I nod and walk in. The first thing I notice is Swap Papyrus on the couch either asleep or unconscious. They seemed to have suffered from a skull injury. This simply confirms that the Au was heading on a Horrortale path. Though, it's still salvageable. Once the monsters start to eat humans, that's when there is no return.
I walk into the living room as Sans heads over to his brother. I give Sans a moment to try to wake Papyrus up. When that fails, he leads me to the kitchen. Once there they pull out a chair for me at the table and I sit down. Sans seems deep in thought. "ArE YoU AbLe To TaLk SaNs? I noticed it's painful when you move your jaw." I say, clearing my voice of glitches.
"Yes. I Just Have To Speak A Bit Carefully." They tell me. I nod.
"Well, I'm sure your wondering who I am. You can call me Error. I noticed the problems in your universe, so I came to fix it before it was too late. I'm sure you heard of the multiverse and alternative timeline theories with your science background. I have a sort of job to make sure that all the different universes are stable and safe. Sometimes that means getting my hands dirty, but for the most part it just means I act as an anti-virus or repair man to keep things running. Your Core's instability and human going missing is causing your universe to try to split. Most of the time that's not an issue, but because of the type of universe this is it could cause massive damage to the balance. I'm not sure how much you know, but your human Chara has a DETERMINATION ability called Reset. This allows them to go back to the point they originally fell into the underground. No one will remember any of what happened either. Well, except for your brother. They don't work properly on him. I'm not sure how much you will remember, other than flashbacks and dreams. If I'm correct you have a scar your don't remember getting across your neck." I say. Sans looks at me trying to process the info dump I said. Then removes their scarf. Low and behold a faded scar can be seen across their neck.
"The Nightmares Are Real And They Gave Me The Scar?" Sans asks me. I sigh.
"Yes, but you shouldn't blame them. Chara and Frisk are just keeping the balance of good and evil. You see, the way the multiverse works we run on a set of checks and balances. Good and evil. Life and death. Positivity and negativity. And finally, creation and destruction. Other than good and evil that Chara and their counterpart Frisk keep in check, the others are supposed to run themselves. Due to outside interference that is not the case anymore. I myself will likely be force to act as destruction if things continue as they are with creation not being held in check. Despite representing the yin of a balance, that doesn't automatically mean we are truly evil. It's more of a job we are force to do." I explain.
"Why Are You Telling Me This If I Won't Remember?" Sans asks me. I give them a sad smile, as my eyelights begin to glow brighter.
"There will come a time where you will be given the choice to stand up for your beliefs and take your destiny into your own hands. When that time comes, if you follow through, you will recall all that you have forgotten. It will forever change you and there is no going back, so you must choose wisely.While you will forget, your soul will remember for you." I said my voice taking on an echoy tone. Once I'm done speaking, my eyelights go back to normal.
Chara starts to stir in my arms. I look at them to see their eyes looking clearer. "What's going on?" They say slurring a bit.
"I just rescued you from the mental institution and brought you back to the underground. Try to take it easy, they seemed to have heavily medicated you. Once your feeling a bit better and I will leave, and you can reset. I don't know how much you understood, but it's better if I wasn't here when you reset." I tell them.
"What Do You Mean Medicated And A Mental Institution?" Sans asks, concerned for their young friend.
"Well from what I understand, they thought that Chara was crazy when they came to ask help to free the monsters under the mountain. They believed that the time spent trapped here caused them mental trauma, and they gave them medication that only effected them negativily. Once they reset they shouldn't have any issues with the medication and treatments, but they will likely have received some mental trauma due to the experience. The place didn't treat them well, if their current condition is any indication." I say as I pull Chara's file out of my inventory and hand it to Sans. I then start to untie the straps on Chara's straight jacket.
Sans looks through the file with an upset look on their face. Ya, I hadn't gone through it, but what I read from the code wasn't pretty. The place should be shut down. The place was closer to an old fashion sanitarium with their treatments and protocols. I was lucky they hadn't done a lobotomy yet. And yes, I said yet. In the very few Horrortale Aus I had the displeasure of seeing, the Frisk or Chara is usually lobotomized.
Since they aren't dead and they are no longer able to feel emotions as intensely, combined with the medication, they can no longer reset. That was the thing about the ability. They needed to make the conscious thought and strong emotions to use it. Otherwise they're just a soul. Mind, body, and soul are intrinsically connected. More so monsters than humans, because our entire being is made of the magic of our souls. A human can go on without their soul given certain conditions. The Chara spirits and their alternatives are made up of mind and leftover soul magic, so they attach themselves to their counterparts. Humans have been known to keep going without a soul, as long as there is enough leftover soul magic in their body. This is thanks to their mind. Floweys and their alternatives are also an example of mind and soul magic keeping a body going. All these require the mind with its emotions to be possible.
"What A Lobotomy? It Says They Were Scheduled To Receive One Next Week." Sans questions. Despite the betrayal of Undyne and Alphys and the current circumstance, I'm glad they feel comfortable enough to discuss this with me even if they're quieter.
"It's a horrible treatment that severs part of the front of the human brain. It can leave the person a shell of their former self. They often become apathetic and have a decrease of emotions, among other effects. It would have left them unable to reset thanks to the damage to their mind." I explain disgusted, while Sans looks at me in horror.
"They would say that I was too aggressive when I was trying to get them to stop. They didn't believe me, so they just gave me the medicine. Even then, I would lash out. They had been trying to give me more and more serious treatments. All I wanted was to get the souls needed to break the barrier, why did they do this to me?" Chara says, crying. I hold the kid close trying to comfort them.
"Alot people are like that. It doesn't matter what species, human or monster. People fear what they don't understand, won't believe what they think isn't real, and will fight against anything different than their own sensibilities. While monsters are more compassionate and understanding, they are not excluded from that. Anything with intelligence is capable of doing horrible things given the right circumstances or incentives. You two should understand this with your experience. No one is perfect, and not even higher beings are exempt from that." I tell them. Sans looks at me deep in thought, while Chara is calming down.
"You Know I Don't Think Anyone Has Ever Treated Me Like You Do In A Long Time. Usually Everyone Sees Me As A Child And Tries To Protect Me From The Truth, Even If I'm The Older Brother. I Know That Alphys And My Brother Didn't Want To Put Me In The Royal Guard Since They Saw Me As Too Kind. And, My Brother Still Doesn't Think I Know About Him Being The Judge." Sans tells me. Chara is surprised at what Sans said.
I'm not nearly as surprised. Papyrus alternatives don't get nearly enough credit as they deserve. Despite not remembering resets like their brother, they are extremely perceptive. While they are definitely extremely peppy and positive people, they developed that behavior to help support their more depressed brother. They can be more innocent or even naive, but that doesn't make them stupid. Swap Sans was once a scientist with their father Gaster, even if the memory of that time is spotty for them thanks to Gaster falling into the VOID, so that was a given. "Why would I treat you any different? Your a grown adult. I wouldn't treat a new friend like they were lesser than me. You are perfectly capable of making your own decisions and opinions on things. A friend should treat you as an equal and support your goals. Sure I can tell you that something is a bad idea, but that doesn't give me the right to stop you." I tell them.