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Description
Chapter 24. Departer

Deep in a snowy forest where the air nipped and the walls were dark, a distant echo illuminated the void. Muffled sounds gave life to an otherwise dead cavern. Passing the trees and the mounds of frost, two figures trudged through the thick snow.

An ivory monster had made his way through a mysterious passage, one that enabled him to traverse large distances throughout his prison. Enough to flee an imminent threat, but not enough to escape the Underground.

By his side walked a small human, their short legs struggling to get through the tall mounds of puffy ice. Deeply, they shivered, having a minor regret in wishing to come here, at least in comparison to their previous environment.

After several minutes of their trek, the young human perked up. “Where are we going?” Frisk asked politely, trying not to sound whiny. The small child was once again donning a pair of fuzzy slippers and a thickly lined hoodie-- armor for the winter that although it helped, was still not proper attire for this sort of weather.

“chill out pal, we’re almost there.” Sans replied, cracking a little joke along the way. His friend giggled at this, and he looked down at them, internally congratulating himself. “still got it.” He whispered to himself so quietly that not even his friend had heard it.

The pair had finally made their way to a small clearing, one that began with a sign that was just barely held up by its posts, as its fabric had many cuts throughout. “Welcome to Snowdin” could be read, despite what it had been through.

Just further up, Frisk could see familiar structures towering in the distance. “Oh, oh! I know this place!” They spouted, the name of where they were at the tip of their tongue. Two connected buildings came into focus, and Frisk could read their signs. “This is where we first landed,” They continued, pointing at a useless pile of snow on the ground. “And that’s the Inn where you slept for a while!” The energetic child gestured.

“heh heh,” The skeleton nodded. “good memory, kid.” He said, ruffling the human’s short hair.

Frisk ran up ahead just a few feet in front and turned around, walking backwards as to still converse with their friend. “So where are we headed? Is it the ‘Librarby’?” They prodded, making a little jab at the misspelled sign.

Sans could not help but crack a tiny smirk at the child’s antics. “we’re heading over to my place to pick up a couple things. you’ll see.” He insisted.

The two figures trotted along with a pace much faster than before. Together, Frisk and Sans passed several more buildings, all of which Frisk had familiarized themselves with, and all of which had external damage from a sharp object, including the aforementioned ‘Librarby’.

The human and skeleton stopped at a small residence. At his front door, the two entered the wrecked house, the locked door only opening for Sans. Groping the wall with his bony hand, the light switch somehow worked only for Sans as well. The main room lit up. Dirty clothes, broken furniture, and torn up bits of couch still decorated his home living room like a family of training dummies lived here. Loose cotton and evidence of knives included.

Sans let out a rather long and deep sigh. “i am way too tired for this.” He groaned, beholding the great mess that was now his. “alright. i’ll admit it.” He glared down at the floor right in front of him where a pair of socks lay that appeared to be in better condition than the ones he was wearing. “i’m also way too lazy to do anything about it, either.”

Even to the human, the room was quite the dreadful sight. Frisk reached up and tugged on his white t-shirt to acquire his attention. “I’ll help you clean up when you’re ready.” They smiled upward, weakly. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t like doing chores, either.”

The ivory skeleton chortled softly. “thanks, buddo.” He said sincerely. He gave the human a quick hair-ruffle before hobbling up the stairs. “i’ll be just a second.”

Frisk waited patiently as Sans expended effort climbing the stairs. The child observed the home in a new light-- literally-- and all the cuts and bruises throughout the walls appeared less scary to them. The couch still did not look that great, however. It was possible that the furniture was beyond repair.

Sans made his way inside the locked room on the far right of the hall, whose door had a frightening, gaping hole in the middle. The monster shut the door behind him. Frisk moved their head around trying to see inside through the big hole, but there was not much to see from that distance.

Some ruffling noises emitted from the mysterious room, but that was about it. Sans dug through junk hidden away for several minutes, and Frisk had no idea what it was that he even needed. Sheepishly, the child glared down at a piece of couch. It was just a corner, but it appeared rather comfy. Frisk sat down and thought. It’s just as comfortable as it looks.

A rattle of a door knob. The human jumped at the abrupt sound. Promptly, the chubby monster had gotten what he needed and was all ready to head out. The skeleton shut the door a little louder than intended. “i got a little something for ya to keep you warm.” He started up. Sans came down the steps almost excitedly and presented a crimson piece of fabric, one that was rather tattered and worn, and also a touch dirty towards the edges. The innocent one stood up to see what the fuss was about. The ivory monster got up close and wrapped it around the child nurturingly, the red scarf proving to be quite warm.

The little human stroked the fabric, testing its soft textures. Frisk beamed. “It’s really cozy!”

“i’m glad.” Sans began. “it was my brother’s. i know he would want you to have it.”

Clenching the scarf tightly, Frisk looked up in disbelief. “Really?! Are you sure…?” The skeleton closed his sockets and nodded gently. He could not have been more certain. “Thank you, Sans.” They mumbled shyly. “I love it.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

The wind was howling, and the winter air was vastly more cold than anywhere else in all of Snowdin. The icy trail was narrow and surrounded on both sides by a rushing river. The air fell thinner in this part of the Underground, and the fog was so thick that the child could barely even see the bluffs on either side.

Leading the way, the ivory monster came to a halt. He stared at the ground for a moment. It was difficult to read him.

The small human shuffled in their stance. Frisk could not see very far from the little clearing where they stood. Clumps of snow blew through the air causing many flakes to get caught in their short hair. They imagined that they were likely sparkling in the mysterious winter scene. Still, the child wondered, why the two of them were out in the middle of nowhere where it grew more frigid.

Sans did not look up from the ground. He breathed in loudly. “so frisk...” The white monster started up mysteriously. “what do you know of funerals?” He subtly cleared his throat. “the traditions, i mean.”

Frisk was confused by the random question, but then they felt a sort of gripping sensation in their chest. They were getting an idea of what was going on. “Not much.” They replied uncomfortably. “I’ve never been to one myself, so I can’t say for sure.” They looked down at their slippers in deep thought. “People get put in a box and…?”

“well forget all that.” Sans interrupted. “we’re doing it the monster way.”

“S-so...” Frisk stuttered, trying to get a clear picture. “Is this… where...” They focused intently on the ground as Sans was. They tried to find the words, terrified they might bring up a sensitive topic.

“yeah.” Sans began to finish the sentence. “this is where he died.” Sans’ matter-of-fact statement hung in the air for a solid minute, the Underground’s temperature dropping rapidly. The skeleton exhaled suddenly as if he were holding his breath the entire time. The human most certainly was. “this is where we will hold the ceremony. it won’t be very much, though, i’m not good at these sort of things.”

Frisk shifted. “I’m sure he would appreciate whatever you have planned.” The child assured, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

Sans pulled out a small object from inside his rib cage. It looked like a flower pot. “well, kid,” He began, winking suggestively at his small friend. “monster funerals, technically speaking… are cool as heck.” The human emitted a faint smile at this. The white monster continued. “when a monster passes on, their bodies turn to dust.”

Sans reached in and revealed a few more random items, laying them on the ground. The first one was a small cube, its surface adorned with geometric stickers in a variety of colors-- an object that the monsters certainly must have gotten from the Surface. Frisk recognized the puzzle block-- it was a rubik's cube. Next, Sans gently put down a children’s book with an image of a fluffy bunny on the cover, followed by a container of frozen leftovers, and a couple of action figurines that looked like dinosaur superheroes. Lastly in front of them all, he set up a standing picture frame which had an old wooden border with grains and knots. Behind the frame’s glass was an image of a monster that was quite tall and skinny, though it looked a lot like Sans. The monster’s smile was bright and true.

“we take that dust and spread it on that person’s favorite things.” The objects below were already coated in a fresh layer of snow. Sans placed one bony hand inside the flower pot and pulled something out-- a fistful of silver dust. “and then that person’s essence will live on in those things.” Ever so gently separating his phalanges, Sans cast out his arm so that the silver dust could fall down upon its final resting place.

A sharp, bubbly sniff cried out a few feet away. Frisk was in tears.

“h-hey kid!” Sans spat out when he finally noticed the human trembling uncontrollably. The child was desperately trying to hide their reddened face with the crimson scarf. “kid, what’s the matter?” He pleaded, setting the flower pot on the ground to attend to his friend. He gently held the child’s shoulders.

Frisk sniffed harder than before, but more openly. “I d-didn’t even know him… b-but… I feel like I d-do...” Their words growing less intelligible as they went on.

Sans looked down at the snow beneath his bony feet. “well, kid, i think he knew you. the real you. and i know he’d be really proud of where you are today.”

Shaken, the small human looked up, clearly in need of blowing their stuffed up nose. “R-really…?”

He nodded his round skull. “i know it, frisk.” He comforted. Sans took a step back, picking up the flower pot once more. The pot was nearly empty. Most of its contents were already rested securely where it belonged. Sans smiled with certainty and raised the pot just above his head and turned it upside down. The remaining bits of dust fell atop his skull in a short puff. He laughed to himself quietly. “wow.” He exhaled in deep relief. “i never thought i would ever get to do that.”

Rubbing their chilled arms, Frisk tilted their head curiously. “Do what?”

“have papyrus’s funeral.” Sans stated, somehow at ease with the words. “all this time, since he died… i had to do what i could to protect what was left of the underground. it all went by so fast! everyone i knew disappeared, their dust slipping away from my grip before i even knew what happened. i had to be ready to stop the mass murders before it was too late.” The skeleton looked down at where his palm would be, its surface coated in silver dust. “and then the resets began. the not good kind. every morning i would wake up, ready to give that monster my all. ready to take back what was once mine. weeks. i hadn’t had sleep, i hadn’t had rest… my fate would have been doing that over and over for an eternity until i finally turned to dust. it was hell.”

Silence filled the room, the misty air went through the pair.

“until...” The skeleton ventured on. “i found you.” Sans laughed to himself weakly, white specs still fixated on the ground. “i suppose i have flowey to thank for all this, too… but you?” He tilted his skull up, just a bit, to look at Frisk. “you gave me hope. i can never thank you enough for that.”

“You’ve just been...” Frisk began. “Too busy to hold the ceremony.”

“yeah.” Sans concluded. “although. i bet that if i were the one who died… papyrus would have done the same.” He took a little moment to meditate on the thought. “heheheh, it would be well planned and extravagant, that’s for sure!” The two chuckled to each other at the notion.

Sans placed the pot on the ground in finality. Leaning back upward, the skeleton took notice to the large clumps of silver dust still clinging to his white shirt. Reaching up, he grabbed what he could and pointed it towards Frisk. The child smiled, covering their face with the already dusty scarf. Sans playfully flicked the lump of dust at the small one’s hair, and they giggled from the soft impact.

“he always believed you could do the right thing.” The monster assured the small human. Frisk jokingly shoved him away. Sans gazed longingly at his new friend, a being filled with so much innocence and purity. It reminded him of someone. “heh. he always believed in you.”

End.

Description
Chapter 24. Departer

Deep in a snowy forest where the air nipped and the walls were dark, a distant echo illuminated the void. Muffled sounds gave life to an otherwise dead cavern. Passing the trees and the mounds of frost, two figures trudged through the thick snow.

An ivory monster had made his way through a mysterious passage, one that enabled him to traverse large distances throughout his prison. Enough to flee an imminent threat, but not enough to escape the Underground.

By his side walked a small human, their short legs struggling to get through the tall mounds of puffy ice. Deeply, they shivered, having a minor regret in wishing to come here, at least in comparison to their previous environment.

After several minutes of their trek, the young human perked up. “Where are we going?” Frisk asked politely, trying not to sound whiny. The small child was once again donning a pair of fuzzy slippers and a thickly lined hoodie-- armor for the winter that although it helped, was still not proper attire for this sort of weather.

“chill out pal, we’re almost there.” Sans replied, cracking a little joke along the way. His friend giggled at this, and he looked down at them, internally congratulating himself. “still got it.” He whispered to himself so quietly that not even his friend had heard it.

The pair had finally made their way to a small clearing, one that began with a sign that was just barely held up by its posts, as its fabric had many cuts throughout. “Welcome to Snowdin” could be read, despite what it had been through.

Just further up, Frisk could see familiar structures towering in the distance. “Oh, oh! I know this place!” They spouted, the name of where they were at the tip of their tongue. Two connected buildings came into focus, and Frisk could read their signs. “This is where we first landed,” They continued, pointing at a useless pile of snow on the ground. “And that’s the Inn where you slept for a while!” The energetic child gestured.

“heh heh,” The skeleton nodded. “good memory, kid.” He said, ruffling the human’s short hair.

Frisk ran up ahead just a few feet in front and turned around, walking backwards as to still converse with their friend. “So where are we headed? Is it the ‘Librarby’?” They prodded, making a little jab at the misspelled sign.

Sans could not help but crack a tiny smirk at the child’s antics. “we’re heading over to my place to pick up a couple things. you’ll see.” He insisted.

The two figures trotted along with a pace much faster than before. Together, Frisk and Sans passed several more buildings, all of which Frisk had familiarized themselves with, and all of which had external damage from a sharp object, including the aforementioned ‘Librarby’.

The human and skeleton stopped at a small residence. At his front door, the two entered the wrecked house, the locked door only opening for Sans. Groping the wall with his bony hand, the light switch somehow worked only for Sans as well. The main room lit up. Dirty clothes, broken furniture, and torn up bits of couch still decorated his home living room like a family of training dummies lived here. Loose cotton and evidence of knives included.

Sans let out a rather long and deep sigh. “i am way too tired for this.” He groaned, beholding the great mess that was now his. “alright. i’ll admit it.” He glared down at the floor right in front of him where a pair of socks lay that appeared to be in better condition than the ones he was wearing. “i’m also way too lazy to do anything about it, either.”

Even to the human, the room was quite the dreadful sight. Frisk reached up and tugged on his white t-shirt to acquire his attention. “I’ll help you clean up when you’re ready.” They smiled upward, weakly. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t like doing chores, either.”

The ivory skeleton chortled softly. “thanks, buddo.” He said sincerely. He gave the human a quick hair-ruffle before hobbling up the stairs. “i’ll be just a second.”

Frisk waited patiently as Sans expended effort climbing the stairs. The child observed the home in a new light-- literally-- and all the cuts and bruises throughout the walls appeared less scary to them. The couch still did not look that great, however. It was possible that the furniture was beyond repair.

Sans made his way inside the locked room on the far right of the hall, whose door had a frightening, gaping hole in the middle. The monster shut the door behind him. Frisk moved their head around trying to see inside through the big hole, but there was not much to see from that distance.

Some ruffling noises emitted from the mysterious room, but that was about it. Sans dug through junk hidden away for several minutes, and Frisk had no idea what it was that he even needed. Sheepishly, the child glared down at a piece of couch. It was just a corner, but it appeared rather comfy. Frisk sat down and thought. It’s just as comfortable as it looks.

A rattle of a door knob. The human jumped at the abrupt sound. Promptly, the chubby monster had gotten what he needed and was all ready to head out. The skeleton shut the door a little louder than intended. “i got a little something for ya to keep you warm.” He started up. Sans came down the steps almost excitedly and presented a crimson piece of fabric, one that was rather tattered and worn, and also a touch dirty towards the edges. The innocent one stood up to see what the fuss was about. The ivory monster got up close and wrapped it around the child nurturingly, the red scarf proving to be quite warm.

The little human stroked the fabric, testing its soft textures. Frisk beamed. “It’s really cozy!”

“i’m glad.” Sans began. “it was my brother’s. i know he would want you to have it.”

Clenching the scarf tightly, Frisk looked up in disbelief. “Really?! Are you sure…?” The skeleton closed his sockets and nodded gently. He could not have been more certain. “Thank you, Sans.” They mumbled shyly. “I love it.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

The wind was howling, and the winter air was vastly more cold than anywhere else in all of Snowdin. The icy trail was narrow and surrounded on both sides by a rushing river. The air fell thinner in this part of the Underground, and the fog was so thick that the child could barely even see the bluffs on either side.

Leading the way, the ivory monster came to a halt. He stared at the ground for a moment. It was difficult to read him.

The small human shuffled in their stance. Frisk could not see very far from the little clearing where they stood. Clumps of snow blew through the air causing many flakes to get caught in their short hair. They imagined that they were likely sparkling in the mysterious winter scene. Still, the child wondered, why the two of them were out in the middle of nowhere where it grew more frigid.

Sans did not look up from the ground. He breathed in loudly. “so frisk...” The white monster started up mysteriously. “what do you know of funerals?” He subtly cleared his throat. “the traditions, i mean.”

Frisk was confused by the random question, but then they felt a sort of gripping sensation in their chest. They were getting an idea of what was going on. “Not much.” They replied uncomfortably. “I’ve never been to one myself, so I can’t say for sure.” They looked down at their slippers in deep thought. “People get put in a box and…?”

“well forget all that.” Sans interrupted. “we’re doing it the monster way.”

“S-so...” Frisk stuttered, trying to get a clear picture. “Is this… where...” They focused intently on the ground as Sans was. They tried to find the words, terrified they might bring up a sensitive topic.

“yeah.” Sans began to finish the sentence. “this is where he died.” Sans’ matter-of-fact statement hung in the air for a solid minute, the Underground’s temperature dropping rapidly. The skeleton exhaled suddenly as if he were holding his breath the entire time. The human most certainly was. “this is where we will hold the ceremony. it won’t be very much, though, i’m not good at these sort of things.”

Frisk shifted. “I’m sure he would appreciate whatever you have planned.” The child assured, trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere.

Sans pulled out a small object from inside his rib cage. It looked like a flower pot. “well, kid,” He began, winking suggestively at his small friend. “monster funerals, technically speaking… are cool as heck.” The human emitted a faint smile at this. The white monster continued. “when a monster passes on, their bodies turn to dust.”

Sans reached in and revealed a few more random items, laying them on the ground. The first one was a small cube, its surface adorned with geometric stickers in a variety of colors-- an object that the monsters certainly must have gotten from the Surface. Frisk recognized the puzzle block-- it was a rubik's cube. Next, Sans gently put down a children’s book with an image of a fluffy bunny on the cover, followed by a container of frozen leftovers, and a couple of action figurines that looked like dinosaur superheroes. Lastly in front of them all, he set up a standing picture frame which had an old wooden border with grains and knots. Behind the frame’s glass was an image of a monster that was quite tall and skinny, though it looked a lot like Sans. The monster’s smile was bright and true.

“we take that dust and spread it on that person’s favorite things.” The objects below were already coated in a fresh layer of snow. Sans placed one bony hand inside the flower pot and pulled something out-- a fistful of silver dust. “and then that person’s essence will live on in those things.” Ever so gently separating his phalanges, Sans cast out his arm so that the silver dust could fall down upon its final resting place.

A sharp, bubbly sniff cried out a few feet away. Frisk was in tears.

“h-hey kid!” Sans spat out when he finally noticed the human trembling uncontrollably. The child was desperately trying to hide their reddened face with the crimson scarf. “kid, what’s the matter?” He pleaded, setting the flower pot on the ground to attend to his friend. He gently held the child’s shoulders.

Frisk sniffed harder than before, but more openly. “I d-didn’t even know him… b-but… I feel like I d-do...” Their words growing less intelligible as they went on.

Sans looked down at the snow beneath his bony feet. “well, kid, i think he knew you. the real you. and i know he’d be really proud of where you are today.”

Shaken, the small human looked up, clearly in need of blowing their stuffed up nose. “R-really…?”

He nodded his round skull. “i know it, frisk.” He comforted. Sans took a step back, picking up the flower pot once more. The pot was nearly empty. Most of its contents were already rested securely where it belonged. Sans smiled with certainty and raised the pot just above his head and turned it upside down. The remaining bits of dust fell atop his skull in a short puff. He laughed to himself quietly. “wow.” He exhaled in deep relief. “i never thought i would ever get to do that.”

Rubbing their chilled arms, Frisk tilted their head curiously. “Do what?”

“have papyrus’s funeral.” Sans stated, somehow at ease with the words. “all this time, since he died… i had to do what i could to protect what was left of the underground. it all went by so fast! everyone i knew disappeared, their dust slipping away from my grip before i even knew what happened. i had to be ready to stop the mass murders before it was too late.” The skeleton looked down at where his palm would be, its surface coated in silver dust. “and then the resets began. the not good kind. every morning i would wake up, ready to give that monster my all. ready to take back what was once mine. weeks. i hadn’t had sleep, i hadn’t had rest… my fate would have been doing that over and over for an eternity until i finally turned to dust. it was hell.”

Silence filled the room, the misty air went through the pair.

“until...” The skeleton ventured on. “i found you.” Sans laughed to himself weakly, white specs still fixated on the ground. “i suppose i have flowey to thank for all this, too… but you?” He tilted his skull up, just a bit, to look at Frisk. “you gave me hope. i can never thank you enough for that.”

“You’ve just been...” Frisk began. “Too busy to hold the ceremony.”

“yeah.” Sans concluded. “although. i bet that if i were the one who died… papyrus would have done the same.” He took a little moment to meditate on the thought. “heheheh, it would be well planned and extravagant, that’s for sure!” The two chuckled to each other at the notion.

Sans placed the pot on the ground in finality. Leaning back upward, the skeleton took notice to the large clumps of silver dust still clinging to his white shirt. Reaching up, he grabbed what he could and pointed it towards Frisk. The child smiled, covering their face with the already dusty scarf. Sans playfully flicked the lump of dust at the small one’s hair, and they giggled from the soft impact.

“he always believed you could do the right thing.” The monster assured the small human. Frisk jokingly shoved him away. Sans gazed longingly at his new friend, a being filled with so much innocence and purity. It reminded him of someone. “heh. he always believed in you.”

End.