Oki!! Here it comes! My!! AU!! The screenshot proves that this is, in fact, my writing. !This version has been edited to be eligible for this contest! The full, unedited version is on Wattpad, for you curious peeps.
EDIT: Forgot to link the Wattpad. Here you guys go!
Prologue
Rebound, maybe we should introduce ourselves...before the story!
Aw, but then they'll know us more...
Of course, dummy!
Well, Reader already can tell there's two of us, Lyte...
Can they tell that this is present-day us? No.
The lines in this format throughout the chapters are present-day Rebound and Lyte making annotations to their experiences.
-(Jinx)Author-kun, Re, and Lyte.
CHAPTER ONE
In the dark, there is nothing. Until one by one, little sparkling lights spring up, flickering like flames to a breeze. There were many, but we are only concerned about two. Their code was confused. As the universes formed, they melded partially. You've heard of the great Trees? The Tree of Life, the Tree of Magic, and the Tree of Feelings. Well, in the spaces between the life you stand in now, and your death, grew another. The Tree of Spirit. The universe mentioned before had a single fragment of this tree's code, in the form of a seed. This single seed sprouted into a small, stunted tree. Its guardian was similar to the serpents of human legends; yes, dragons. This dragon watched the other Trees and their guardians through its piercing blue and red eyes. It loved knowledge, and watched all universes in fascination. It learned of the guardian of the Tree of Feelings, and her plight. In grief, it vowed to avoid a similar fate. So, understanding that many forms of violence result from ignorance, the dragon taught the people that appeared in its world of many things. Understanding that its eventual end was inevitable, it turned to a man of science for assistance. It turned the tree into a pure magic, and consumed it, granting the dragon a soul. As it did so, it gained a sense of identity. He called himself Chishiki. At the end of his life, Chishiki tore his soul out, giving it to the man for safekeeping, telling him with his dying words to "Make another being with this soul... two if you have to, but... let them live. Please give them life." And so I did.
Who am I? You may already know my name from a different world. I am Doctor W.D Gaster. With my own DNA, I created forms for these beings. You must understand; at the time, our world possessed two of each character- but no sign of a character such as the "Sans" seen in many other worlds. So I gave them forms of this sort.
Here our story begins...
Rebound's POV
It's so dark. I can't see anything at all. As I hang in this empty, liquid world, words come to me, landing in my mind. Love. Resentment. Happiness. Hate. All these words, bringing their meanings to me like doves freed from their cage. Finally, through my darkness, I open my eyes. I'm in a capsule of some sort, blueish liquid ing my drifting body, caressing lightly. I can see people in white at monitors, busily watching screens. One glances at me, and notices me staring back in fascination, as though they, not I, are suspended in a tank of liquid. They start, staring into my wide eyes. "Guys! It's awake! No, I'm serious! Look!" They all begin to notice. Their attention begins to scare me. Why are they all staring at me? Am I strange? I hold up my arms to see. They're white, ghostly pale, and my vocabulary tells me these are "bones". But... bones are supposed to be on the inside. Why are mine on the outside? Why? I begin to shake in a strange way, bringing gradual comfort to my thrown mind. "Stand aside," I hear. " Doctor, I fear that there is something wrong with it. Look at its behavior." This "doctor" looks at the speaker, who is obviously his underling. "Wrong? No, he's just scared. I certainly would be in his place." In relief, I realize this doctor person is bones and no flesh as well. He places his hand on the outside of my tank. I place my hand under his on the inside of the tank. He smiles. "Go," he tells the others. "I'll release him on my own." The others slowly dissipate to other duties. He smiles, and moves his hand. I follow it under the glass. He chuckles, seemingly pleased. "Aren't you a smart one," he says to me. "You can hear me, right?" I nod. "Good. Your name, little one, is Rebound. I am... well, I guess I'd be your father." He begins to type something on one of the keyboards. "Be ready, Rebound. You're going to be out in a few minutes." I nod, and see the fluid in the tank starts to drain away. I shiver uncontrollably as its comforting sensation drains away with it. Soon, it's all gone. I stand on unsteady legs. The side of the tank opens, and the being identified as my father helps me out. "Let's wash you off now." He walks me over to a tub full of water. Still reeling from the sensory input coming from everywhere, I allow myself to be gently washed off with warm water. As he dries me off, I seize control of my mind. " What..." I whisper, barely able to force words out, "What is... your name?" He looks at me for a moment. "Oh, I get it. You can't identify with the idea of a father yet. My name's Gaster." "Ga...Gaster," I say, letting it take to the air and float away. "That's right," he says. He pulls a light green fabric gown over my head, and helps me into a pair of shorts. "You'll have to stay here, in this facility, for a little bit, just while I make all of you is functional. For example, that both arms have a connection with your brain." I nod, and move both arms experimentally. Gaster laughs. "No Rebound, that was an example. Your arms are definitely functional. I'm more worried about your brain. There might be just one missing or dysfunctional connection, that could theoretically eventually put your entire body in jeopardy. Understand?" I nod again. "Okay, follow me. No, slowly. You still can't walk properly yet." He leads me to a room, with white walls, a white floor, and a pale blue bed. "It's so pale," I note, my voice still wavering, but not stammering. "It's designed to be easy on the eyes," Gaster tells me. "I don't like it," I it in a small voice. "You and me both! And I work in places like this," Gaster whispers to me. I shiver. "It'll only be for a little while," he reassures me. "I won't take too long with these tests." "B-but I don't want to be alone," I whisper. His eyes light up. "I have an idea! Here, maybe this will help." He hands me a small stuffed, fabric creature. "What's this?" I ask, inspecting its long floppy ears and silky material. "It's a toy rabbit. These kind of objects are used as comfort objects for young beings." I fiddle with it, running my fingers over its soft fabric fur. A smile creeps across my face. Gaster smiles too. "Will it help you with being alone for a little bit? I promise I'll come back soon." I hold it to my chest and nod. "Promise?" "Promise," he says. "No, what does it mean, "promise"?" I ask, my eyes fixed on his. "It means a vow of sorts. When you say you promise something, it means you'll follow through, no matter what."
A promise. I only now understand this word.
When the tests finally finish, I leave. I have no way of knowing how long I had been there. It could have been days or months. All I know is the sensation of stepping outside, in normal clothes finally, into bright light, onto green grass. I must have looked silly, because Gaster laughs, his coat billowing with the breeze. "What? Am I... amusing?" I ask, my eyes wide open, looking at everything. He smiles, and takes my hand. "No, you just looked so... amazed, and yet this is everyday for me." "Everyday? You live with all these colors?" I ask, gaping at everything around me. "Yes, all these and more," Gaster says, smiling at me. "Oh... oh!" I exclaim in delight, turning to get a good view of everything. "You okay Rebound?" "Yes, I'm just so... so... There's so much to see!" I say. Gaster's face darkens slightly. "Alright, stay close to me now, okay?" I nod, and hold his hand tightly. He guides me through crowds, along sidewalks. The whole time, I slowly saw people staring at me, some curious, others with shadowed, hostile expressions. "Gaster... why are they looking at me like that?" He looks at me with sad eyes. "It's not you they're looking at. It's the concept of you they're looking at." "Then why are they staring at me?" "Because the concept is all they know, Rebound. Because that's all they get."
But why? Why did they never understand?
CHAPTER 2
TWO YEARS LATER
"Gaster! I'm home!" I call. He turns and smiles at me. "Ah, Rebound. You've gotten so responsible. Actually, I have a question for you." "What is it?" "Do you want a brother?" My eyes widen. "A brother?" "Yes, a brother. Well? Do you think you could be a big brother?" He grins. "No pressure, you can say yes or no." I think for a moment. A brother? A being, to help nurture and love? To take care of? "Yes," I blurt out. "I-I do want a brother!" Gaster looks at me in surprise. "Really?" "Of course!" I say, beaming. "I...I want to help something learn to love," I say. He chuckles, and picks up the bags I had put down. "He should be stable in about a week. I'm not sure the his system is entirely functional right now, but it should be stable tomorrow." "You mean that he's been made like me? " "Exactly like you, Rebound," Gaster tells me, holding up his other hand to reveal another hole. I look at it in dismay. "Oh, don't be so dramatic," he says, dismissing my look of shock. "It's just DNA. Not like I really need that piece of my hands." I find my eyes watering strangely. The liquid drips out, spilling down my face. I try to brush it away, but it keeps coming. My breath comes out in gasping hiccups. Gaster looks at me in a sad and yet happy way. "And they thought you wouldn't be able to feel emotions," he says sadly. He places his hand on my cheek, brushing the water away. "You're so much more than a research project, my son," he sighs heavily. I brush away the drops again. "What are they? These drops of water coming from my eyes?" Gaster seems to shake himself out of a stupor. "Water? Oh. They're called tears. They happen when you're sad. You're crying, Rebound." "But Father," I say, "what is "sad"?" He looks at me with pity in his eyes. "I keep forgetting how new you are to emotions. Sadness is the opposite of happiness. So, you feel like all of your light emotions are being strangled out of you, like you're being dragged to the bottom of an underwater chasm. Got it? Eventually you'll recognize your own emotions for what they are." I nod. I still don't understand, but now I know why I'm crying at least. "And also, although you and your brother were created on the same day, he had complications you didn't." I hesitate before asking, "When's my... birthday?" Gaster smiles. "You've been doing your research. You and your brother were "born", that is to say conceived, on February fourteenth, a human holiday known as Valentine's Day." "A holiday?" "A celebration of love." Love? Humans celebrate love?
Everybody can love. But some precious people love without judgement.
Four days later
Lyte
It's dark and cold. I can't breath! You don't need to breath. I can't move! Stop flailing around. I'm scared... But why" I nod, but inside of my mind, a sound of something shattering was heard. Artificial... that means fake, right? I'm not fake. Or am I? Would I even know?
Here the seeds of doubt and fear were planted, slowly growing within my heart.
Soon after
Rebound
I wait nervously on the couch. Where is he? I knew he said he'd be home late, but it's past midnight. I here a knock,and the door opens. "Gaster?" I ask. "Yes, it's me. Rebound-" "Eek!" A small voice cuts him off; it belongs to a tiny skeleton clinging to Gaster's lab coat. "-this is your brother, Lyte," Gaster finishes. I look at the undersized skeleton hiding behind Gaster. "He may look small, but you are both the same age, and share the same birthday," Gaster informs me. I tilt my head, looking at his big blue eyes, filled with nervous energy and obvious fear of everything. I'm holding my purple stuffed rabbit close to my side as I regard him. He and I are experiments. There's not a doubt in my mind. But as I stare into my brother's eyes, something happened. Something I can only describe as "I fell in love with him." I offer my hand to him, smiling. "I'm Rebound," I tell him, "Your brother." He looks at me, at my hand, and back again. Then he takes my hand, stepping out from behind Gaster shyly. And then, without prompt, he hugs me tightly. After a second of shock I hug him back. "Rebound," he asks, his voice muffled by my chest, "why do you have a bunny on your head?" I laugh. "It's a hat, Lyte." He looks closer, and smiles. I loved that sweet smile from first sight. I wanted to see it again, and again, until we both turned to dust and ashes.
Sadly, I failed that goal.
Three years later
I squeeze through the crowd, carrying a bag full of groceries, as well as a bag of sweets. I was uneasy, a fact not lessened by the fact that no matter where I went, people's hostile looks followed me. They seemed to be unnerved or almost angry around me. It scared me, but what scared me more was their attitude toward Lyte. While they just whispered whenever I was nearby, they became actually hostile toward Lyte. He'd first told me about this the day after our seventh birthday. "Reru," he'd said, "is it normal for people to hurt each other?" I'd shaken my head and asked him why he was asking about it. His eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he took a gasping breath. "Well, you know those really big, really scary boys at our school? The ones who made fun of you for Lula?" Lula is our name for my toy rabbit. The latter information was helpful, seeing as how everyone scared Lyte, and he was still very short, barely topping three and a half feet, so everyone over five feet was very big to him. I had nodded, and clasped his hands in mine."What about them?" "W-well, one day, while I was waiting for you, they.." He paused, and sniffed. "They what?" I had prompted. "They hurt me... like, they kicked at me, and called me things that didn't sound nice." "What did they call you?" I had asked, seemingly calm, but actually completely enraged. How dare anyone hurt my brother! "Well... things like "freak," and um, a bunch of words that mean stupid or defective," he sniffed. I had hugged him close, and whispered, "I'll make sure they regret that, Lyte," as I gently rocked him in my arms. How dare anyone hurt my baby brother, who for all his knowledge of words, was so sensitive that it sometimes seemed his heart took up his whole body and then some? My little, crybaby brother? That wasn't fair to him. He was so sweet, loving everyone until they made him not love them. I nearly bite my tongue as I think about it. For months since then, he had endured abuse at their hands, and I was powerless to stop it. Even Gaster couldn't do much. He was on the brink of homeschooling both of us. Relief came in the form of him telling us that we were going to visit a different timeline for a while. I could hear the whispers. "That's one of Dr. Gaster's projects, isn't it?" "Yeah, look at it. They're both freakin' creepy, if you ask me. The little one is always just staring at everyone, and whenever he gets too close, I feel this weird wave of uncontrollable love for everything." "Yeah, that's weird, but it's the older one that creeps me out. He's always so somber, like everything is a funeral. And you know how you said the little one makes you love everything? Well, the older one makes me resent everything. Creepy little experiments..." I walk over to the speakers. "If you have something to say about me, how about you say it to my face?" I say, smiling pleasantly while my left eye flickers uncontrollably. They both look guilty, and freaked out at the same time. "Listen," I say, "You ever insult, hurt, or condone someone else hurting my brother, ever," without even thinking, I lift both of them up, and hold them in the air by their shirt collars with my telekinesis. My left eye glows bright red as I say, "You'll have a really bad time." With that remark, I drop them and turn to hurry home. My eye aches the entire time. I've never been good at magic, my strength laying in my strange red strings, seemingly manifested from nowhere, and disappearing to the same place. I sigh. We need to get out of here.
CHAPTER THREE
An unknown amount of years later (approximately 3; time es very strangely for Re and Lyte, as well as their timeline)
Lyte's POV
I was cold. The water kept seeping through my slicker, so I opened my umbrella. I walked over, trying to find the other kids, but they seemed to have vanished, or run inside to avoid the downpour. Where is everyone" the only sound I hear is the pitter-patter of raindrops on the concrete and the gentle ting! as they hit metal. Then a thunderclap sounds, and I let out an involuntary shriek. When the lightning appears, I can see the outlines of the buildings, but they're far away from me. How did I get so far away from it? I wonder, before whimpering as another thunderclap rumbles through the sky. I turn, looking for a nearby shelter. There! It was only a bus stop, but I huddled under it in fear, trying to block out the noise of the thunder. Rebound, help! I'm still outside! I pray he'll come looking for me- and soon.
Very few noises scared me, but I couldn't stand thunderstorms.
Rebound's POV
"Where's Lyte?" I ask frantically. Nobody seems to know, and I realize quickly that he must have wandered off and been left outside. As thunder sounds, I jump and in panic how Lyte's terrified of thunder; we always hide in the basement when a thunderstorm rolls in. "Has anybody seen my brother?" I call, trying to get to the teacher to ask to use the phone so I can call Gaster. "I have," a soft voice answers me. I turn to see a human girl, about Lyte's size, with long, silky blonde hair. "He was out near the end of the grounds, close to the bus stop," she tells me. "Thank you! He's scared of thunderstorms... I've gotta find him!" I exclaim. "I'll come with you," she says. "My name is Suki," she adds as we pull on our jackets and run to the teacher. She reluctantly allows us to go looking for Lyte, on the condition that we wait until she s Gaster. When she does, Gaster tells me to focus on Lyte, and connect with him to find him. "C'mon, we need to find him!" I say in panic, tugging Suki with me. She allows me to guide her. "It's the other way," she says, puzzled. "No, he's here," I reply, frantically sensing my brother through the water pouring down on us. I giude us further, until- Vooosh! A car's headlights narrowly miss us. Suki shrieks, yanking me back. "How are we so close to the road?" She wonders. "He crossed it," I reply; I can feel his fear across the street. "How did he not see it?" "He's terrified of thunder; no doubt he just wanted to hide," I reply, waiting for an opening to cross the road. When the cars stop, I dash across the road, Suki following closely. "Lyte!" I call, fighting against the wind to see. "Lyte!" Suki s me, and we call out until our voices are hoarse.
Lyte's POV
Through the sounds of the storm, I hear a voice. Faint, but growing louder. "..te!...yte!...Lyte!" I jerk my head up. Rebound! "R-Rebound?" I call. "Lyte!" This time it's yelled from closer to me, followed by a girl's voice, also calling my name. "Rebound!" I see a blurred shape moving at the entrance to my shelter, and then my brother embraces me, stroking my back while whispering, "You're okay now, I'm here...keep blocking the sound, I'll guide you..." And he takes my sleeve and guides me through the rain.
*Once they returned to the school*
"Reru," I ask, "Who is she?" The question is directed at the young, blonde girl Rebound had been searching for me with. "Oh! Lyte, this is Suki. Suki, Lyte. She's the one who confirmed that you were still outside." "I should thank you, then," I say to her. "No, I was just doing the right thing. The other kids ran inside when you got close; they're scared of you two," she says. "And you're not?" She looks me right in the eyes annd says, "A monster saved my life when I was very little. I think you already know him.""Dad?" Rebound guesses. "Yes. So I won't be scared of you guys; in fact, you probably are less threat to me than most humans are." She shrugs. "So... they all left because... they were scared of me?" I ask in confusion. She nods. "But...if you want a friend, I'll be your friend." "Really?" I ask, my voice planitive. "Of course! I don't have many friends either..."
Friends are wonderful, treasured things. A pity when you don't deserve them.
And then...
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CHAPTER FOUR
Rebound and Lyte are now about 140 years old to the outer world, but only 14 within their timeline. For those wondering, Suki is the same age.
Lyte's POV
"Suki," I ask, "Is it strange that my eyes follow you when you walk?" She turns to face me, her hair loose in the breeze. "Do you think it is strange?" "Not really," I it. "I watch you because you're beautiful. And because...I think I'm in love with you," I confess. She smiles warmly. "Oh, Lyte..." And she leans forwards and gently kisses me.
She...loved me. How did I miss it for so long? We were happy.
Rebound's POV
Hello? Can they hear me?
They never pay attention. Or at least they didn't when Gaster explained that Lyte was the one thing stabilizing our world. He told me that he could also tear it apart, though. Did it matter? No. He's my brother, and I love him. I watch him slowly drift away from me...and begin to love someone else. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't want Lyte to look upon somebody other than me with those loving eyes, that gentle expression. He was the only one I had. And until Suki, I was the only one he had. He loved her though, so I watched from afar, and with each minute he spent without me, I could feel my heart break a little more, a little further, approaching an inevitable shatter. At least, that's what I thought.
Then she fell ill.
"Dad!" Lyte's voice shatters the calm of our home. He pushes open the door with his shoulder, carrying Suki in his arms. She looks like a fallen angel; blond hair splayed over Lyte's arm, skin ghostly pale and her long lashes dark against her cheeks. "Sh-she just collapsed! It was a little cough, but it, it kept getting worse, and then she was coughing so hard, and she, she just fell!" Lyte sobs, and in that moment, I regret wishing Suki ill. How stupid could I be? My brother could love the entire multiverse and still have room for more. He cries as Gaster comes over and gently takes Suki from him, and lays her down on the cold medical table. He cries more when Gaster tells him Suki has pneumonia; he doesn't even know what it is. But he cries the most when she wakes up. She smiles at him, and weakly says four words. "I always loved you." And with that, her fragile mortal life is shattered, and with it, my baby brother's heart...and his soul. When Gaster looks him over the next day, a tiny fracture had appeared in the center. He had given up.
I tried my best. I stayed with him for every second of the time that followed, but brother love couldn't cure heartsickness. He was breaking, before my eyes, and I could do nothing to help. Gaster could though.
About a year later, he revealed that he had kept Suki's soul; a soul of KINDNESS. He had worked for a year to revive her... and succeeded. He had recreated her body as well as her mind. She would be very fragile, but thanks to Gaster, she would never get sick ever again. He mended the rift in Lyte's heart, and my brother returned to life with his love, brighter and more vibrant than ever.
Lyte was back, and he was still in love. He spent as much time with her as possible, and this time I didn't begrudge her. I had seen my brother without her, and he was lost. He needed love, like how butterflies need sunlight. I found one in the shade once. It had stayed for a little too long, and it had gotten cold. I carried the little insect to the shafts of sunlight streaming down, and after a few minutes, it had fluttered away, leaving me watching its delicate wings lift it away; just like now, watching my brother's love for somebody else revive him and take him soaring above my earthbound form. This time would be different. He wouldn't suffer again.
No, he wouldn't. Because the next time Suki died, only I would see it; and she died saving Lyte. Our eyes locked, and in that moment, I forgave her.
2 years later
Lyte's POV
They won't stop! It won't stop! Please stop, stop stopstopstopstopstop!!!
I wake screaming, as Rebound shakes me from the clutches of my nightmare. "Lyte! Lyte, are you okay?" He asks, concern glowing in his crimson eyes. I push him away and curl up underneath my blankets. How would I tell him that whenever I left the house without him, people threw rocks and anything else they had at me? That the only thing keeping me safe was people's fear of my brother? He did scare them; the whispered about him, "the red-eyed demon", and the "dangerous freak". I was the "freak", a "broken empty doll", "pathetic toy"; they always had a new one. I wasn't a demon, I was just defective. Defective and broken, a toy, a doll, a pathetic waste of this world's space. "Lyte?" My brother's uncertain voice cuts through my stupor. "You need to talk about whatever you were dreaming about." "No," I reply, my voice muffled by the fabric. "Lyte...you didn't push me away. You stabbed me," he says, and I throw the blankets off me. Sure enough, my brother's hand is stabbed through by an attack, his bright red blood dripping down off it. "Oh no!" I exclaim frantically, dismissing the attack and wrapping my hands around his, healing him slowly with a pale blue glow. When I finish, he looks me straight in the eyes and says, "Somebody has been hurting you." I shake my head, but he continues speaking, both out loud and inside my mind. "You're lying to protect me, but I was created and given the purpose of protecting you, not the other way around." Then, in a gentle voice only out loud, "Please tell me." I cave. I open my mouth to speak, and a tremor shakes the ground, sending Rebound and I sliding. He hugs me, shielding me from harm with himself, and my resolve hardens. I can't tell him; he'd never let me out of his sight, and he'd only hurt himself more.
As the tremor stills, Gaster dashes up the stairs. "Rebound, Lyte, are you okay?" He asks. "I'm fine," Rebound says. "This is the third tremor in just as many days! I wonder...what could...be ca...using them..." He trails off and stares at me for a second. "Dad?" I ask, worried by the sudden flicker in his eyes. "I think I know what's causing these tremors..." He beckons to my brother. "Come with me, Rebound."
He never told me I was the cause of the tremors. He told my brother, who told me years later, in a blank space we thought we'd die in.
Rebound's POV
"Your brother is causing the tremors," Gaster tells me. I shake my head. "How? He's just...exi...st...ing..." I fall silent as I realize the implications of this. "It's collapsing, huh?" I say quietly. Gaster nods. "He must have been very badly hurt, or hurt a little mentally and physically over time, for the world to begin collapsing. I wish I could truthfully say it will be okay but...as you know, I disapprove of lying. They may choose to cast out you and your brother, knowing he is the cause of the damage. You will have to go with him, understand? You must stay with him." I nod, having heard this before. Stay with him, protect him. I had heard it as a young child, an older child, a young teen, and now as a sixteen year old. "You two could die," Gaster adds softly, almost as though he wants it to fade before I can hear it. I stand straight, and my heart fills with DETERMINATION. "I know, Dad. You don't have to say it. If I am to die, then I'd have it no other way, except Lyte living on happily."
You were such a fool to think it was so simple! Didn't you learn anything from those lessons, Rebound? I see now that I made so many mistakes...all leading to our end.
The "happy ending" read and seen so often doesn't exist. It is a thing of fantasy; everything turns out okay, and they, the hero and heroine, live on happily.
If an ending like that truly was out there, why didn't we get it? Are we the villains, who meet a horrible end without fail? Are we that unwanted?
CHAPTER FIVE
Rebound's POV
Gaster was right. For weeks, we were under siege, until the doors broke and he tried to protect us. He was killed. Lyte sat with him for hours, trying on and off to heal him, but to no avail. He died with both of us sitting next to him, tears in his eyes, a smile on his face, and a whispered apology. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Then dust. It clung to our clothing, got in our eyes, and Lyte threw up after he breathed some in. I hated it instantly. I never wanted to feel that dust again. Lyte cried, for a little bit. We stayed hidden for as long as our food could last. I laughed at the irony; skeletons rationing food. Gallows humor was all I had in those days. Finally, we made a break for it. We made it to the hill to the east of the town, but only that far. They caught up to us, and we were separated. I could hear Lyte scream my name as our hands were pulled away from each other. We were bound, and held in different cells in the jail. Again, irony; the ones who committed no crime jailed by those who murdered. Those days were the worst of my life; hearing my brother crying through the wall, and only able to call false reassurances through back to him. These terrible days wouldn't last long, and I was stretched to the limit by the time we were taken out. They had judged us guilty of disturbing the world's code; I won't begin on the irony here. They were going to kill us, Lyte first, then me. That was before Suki. She snuck over and loosened the ties on my wrists. "Save him," she begged me. "Why are you helping?" I asked her. "Because I love your brother. And your father brought me back from the dead; don't you think those are sufficient reasons?" I nodded, and then summoned my strongest attack; my red strings, snaking out of twin fractures in my palms and strangling at command. They used to strangle me; every time I tried to use them, they snaked around my neck and began to cut off my magic, sucking it out. This time, I channeled blue magic into them, and tied a string around every soul that belonged to somebody who tried to hurt us. They were all at my mercy...until I lost hold. Suki ran to free Lyte. Once she got him away, she returned to me, in the center of the chaos. I was straining to hold my strings and magic.
Finally, I could hold it no more. My strings collapsed, and they were freed from my magic. They began to come after me, wave of pain and destruction. I would have died, but for her. As the first weapon, a common knife, was stabbed at me, Suki flung herself in front of me, and then I was spattered with her blood. She looked at me, and smiled, a true fallen angel. "Please...just save Lyte," she said; then her soul shattered, and her life was gone again, this time forever.
It was what made me go on; she was one of them. She could have stayed out of this hunt, and lived on without Lyte. Instead, she gave her life to let me live another day to protect him. She was willing to die.
So why should I do anything less?
I found him, after a living nightmare of running from things trying to kill me. I held him, and protected him. Finally, they were going to get rid of him, and kill me. "Where will we put the other?" Someone asked in reference to Lyte. "The anti-space," was the reply. A place between nothingness and existence. Between there and here. I knew if he was thrown there alone, he would die. So when the rift was opened, I used all of my strength to break free and run to him. His face shifted through shock, despair, and happiness. We fell through the rift in each other's arms, tangled like my strings. Then it was cold. We lay on the floor, staring at the other's eyes. Then I sat up, and looked around to see...blackness. I couldn't see anything but an endless hall. We were truly all alone. The rift was closed, and we were trapped.
Our world then deleted itself. My memories are only now returning to me, in bits and fragments of color and sound. It was a broken world to begin with, anyway.
CHAPTER SIX
Within the anti-space, time stopped for them. They were there past the fall of Dreamtale, all the way to the beginning of Cross's quest to rebuild X-tale.
All alone. The mirrored walls that only showed us when we moved, our eternal wakefulness, unable to fall asleep even when we should have been exhausted. Empty ceiling that seemed to be a gateway to the Void. Slick floor that had no reflection despite appearing like polished obsidian. It was all there was. Never tired, thirsty, or hungry, we...endured. Until a "visitor" came through, and used us for his experiments. It was a Gaster, but not. It melted, and came in fragmented pieces. It taught us words we had forgotten; pain, agony, hatred. It was within this place that we called each other "Positive" and "Negative". We could barely our world. We had no reason to recall our true names for a long time. We could see the other universes through windows that opened to show things that happened. We grieved the destruction of many timelines...In this place, HATE didn't manifest. Neither did DETERMINATION. Or FEAR, likely. They only could be brought in...in vials. And syringes. Back into our minds...
Negative's POV
He held my soul in his hands. "Don't do it," I begged, but the syringe emptied into my soul regardless. I gasped and curled into a ball; everything hurt! My soul floated back, burning red crack-like veins of the DETERMINATION coursing through the purple of the heart-shaped glow.
"You knew this would happen!" I heard my brother yell. "You said it could kill him!" "P-Positive," I called, before another wave of agony flowed through me. In a flash, my brother kneels next to me. "Negative? Are you okay?" "I-It hurts!" I cry, my frame shaking. He stands by, coldly taking notes.
My brother went through this too. Except it changed him.
The first time, I was scared. He was standing with his back to me, his arms held limp at his sides. "Positive?" I say quietly. He turns, and his eyes are orange, with strange cyan liquid building up in them. Scarlet stripes mar his cheeks, like thin streams of blood curving diagonally from his eyes to the sides of his face. He reaches towards me. "R-Rebound help!" He used my name for the first time in a long time. He began coughing, coughing up a black, congealed substance with red flecks like coals. It was corrupted, I could feel it. When I tried to clean it up, it burnt me. My brother coughed for ages, and ages, until he finally lay silent on the ground, his eyes returned to normal.
The next time, he flickered into a form where his entire body was black, like a color negative filter, and collapsed. He coughed again, the same horrible process ending with him splayed like a discarded toy on the floor.
The final time, he once more stood with his back to me. "Positive, are you okay?" I ask. It isn't a true question, more a habit. He begins laughing. Without a warning, I'm slammed into the wall, and with a sickening cracking noise, a fracture opens above my left eye. "What are you doing?" I ask him. He turns, revealing his cracked skull. It's a gaping wound in his forehead, and inside it's empty. I blink, and realize I'm bleeding; but instead of flowing down my face, it sprays into the air as a mist. "Reru-I'm sorry-" he breaks off laughing. The use of the childhood nickname is a blow. He had corrupted too. A silvery-blue flame glows in his palm. "Do yOu liKe to pLay wIth FirE?" He asks, his voice broken and disted. At this moment, I knew; this wasn't my brother anymore. It was someone else. Suddenly, my vision blanks out as a searing pain overwhelms me. "FuN, rIghT?" The broken voice says. "You cOulDn't sAve me. I wAs hUrt sO mAny tImEs, aNd yoU cOuLd do nOthiNg. NOTHING!" The pain returns, and this time a scream rings in the air. It takes me a moment to realize I'm screaming. "It huRts, rIgHt? Yes iT dOes. And yOu caN do nOthIng aboUt it!" The pain keeps returning, each time more intense, until I no longer scream, just whimper and cry. If anything happens, get rid of him. The words suddenly come to mind, and reach out, my strings sliding out. He told me that. I feel the strings wrap around something, and I fling my arm up, sending the thing that once was my brother into a dark place, another layer between the void and here. "I'm so sorry!' I whimper as my strings return to me...empty. Now he's gone... "And that issue is dealt with," I hear, and in blind rage turn to him, and strangle him in my strings. I slowly crush him to bits. His fault. This was his fault. Finally I see; I'm going completely insane.
When I finally can't see any of him, I crawl to his kit, and and bandage my head. My magic was leaking out. If a monster loses enough magic, they will go catatonic and then die. All alone now, I cry, and don't stop.
I'm all alone...alone! He's gone, gone, gone...bye bye, bye bye...My mind spirals into chaos, and I'm still and silent for a long time.
When I recovered, I began watching AUs. I was determined to escape. I would, but it took more than just me to free myself. And Lyte...lived on in a gray prison, watching me for the rest of our time in our prisons.
I was truly broken. My soul was destroying itself, and I was running out of magic. Sooner or later, I would die, all alone, in this void of pain. I was sure I would die, just like my brother. Until I grabbed a person from outside and pulled them in.
The anti-space is where you go when you teleport. For not even two seconds, you through this place. In that second, I was able to grab the soul and bring them in. If they were not scared, I would be able to ask them to teleport me out.
Freedom called.
FINAL
We're both free now. Lyte is still alive, and we're happy. I met a girl, as striking as they come, and fell head over heels. Both literally, and in love. Lyte had some more hardships to face, and was very fragile and shy at first. Now he's happy too, and depending on the timeline, either making eyes at A CERTAIN SANS, single, or being all cute to aforementioned CERTAIN SANS. Yeah, he likes him. They were kinda meant to be in a way. In the few timelines where THAT CHARACTER is still alive, he's happy; with those few he loves. And Lyte- HEY! You can't take over- Yes I can! This is Lyte. So, my brother fell in love, hard and fast. That girl's an assassin, better watch it! I learnt how to dance, and it became a strong ion. Rebound sings. We both are different than when we first started out. And Rebound, what did you say about me and HIM?...
And so the younger brother chased his foolish older brother out of the epilogue, and had an ending that could be happy...except that their story is still continuing, with every moment. Stories never have an end.
They just have pauses along the way.
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