The Reset

The void. Back again. Dr Roman just smiled as he floated within the void it reached for him, and tried to pull him in, but it failed. Every time the world is reset, it momentarily ceases to exist as the void consumes the events that were being removed. They could no longer exist, otherwise the reset could not happen.

But it wasn't affecting him, The Void could no longer touch him. He was free from its clutches forever. He hsteakcumvented everything and nothing themselves.

He just laughed at thend when he felt it look back at him, he laughed harder, feeling the void flinch away from him. For the first time, something existed within the void, and it was him.

Almost as suddenly as he was drawn there he once again appeared, holding his hand over the edge of the railing where he had gone to grab for Chara. His smile faded as he stared down. A feeling of dread washed over him as he saw where she hadwave of panic set in and without thinking twice he sprinted out of the room, shocking a few guards on patrol who considered going after him but decided against it. On his way out he bumped intoAnywaye and nearly fellthat over. The voice calling to him.

"Hey! Watch where you're going-" The voice stopped suddenly as he registered it was Roman. Roman turned to face him and his eyes widened for a moment as he immediately recognized his brother. Dr Gaster.

".Roman? You're…interest the lab… this is" Roman was ready for another lecture from his brother but he saw Gaster smile with pride at his brother. "So good to see… I've been worried about your mental health. It's good for you to get out more. I have some business to attend to, but seeing as you're out and about… we should meet up later. We haven't had a nonwork talk in a while. It will be nice"

Roman was awestruck for a moment but remembered the rules of the reset. He was about to say something when Gaster spoke up again. "Oh by the way. If you happen to see Chara or Samas send them home. Their families are growing concerned. Especially Edrege"

Roman just gave his brother a nod. "yes… let's just meet up later. I also have some business to attend to myself."

Gaster pat his brother on the shoulder. "Let's meet up again at the graveyard okay? For old times sakes"

Roman nodded in acknowledgement to which Gaster patted him on the shoulder again giving his younger brother another smile before heading off to meet Asgore. As soon as he was gone, Romans's mind began spinning.

Chara's death caused a reset, her last save was down in the lab. That would mean she's down there and this is before they had gone through the extensive therapy to repair any mental damage they received during the experiments. That means that they are three weeks before Samas went crazy and bashed his head in. So he had three weeks to prevent those same events from occurring. Gaster, Samas, and Chara. Three deaths that he had to prevent… and that strange machine… it would protect everyone from the full force of the void.

The void was changing. Could it be reacting to him becoming immune to it? Was this an unfortunate effe andt of him breaking free? Was the void adapting, and evolving? No, it was changing, but that shouldn't be possible. How can nothingness evolve? Something within it would have to change, but nothing is not something. So it can't.

This needed more research. He needed to understand what he just saw,. Or maybe he could understand more. He began to reflect on these visions. His first successful invention. A neurotransmitter device that would replace his nightmares with visions of the future. The details were always fuzzy, and much like a dream would need to be deciphered.

But while in his Coma everything was so clear. It made him realize that he could enhance it. Upgrade it, and make even more. Time is linear. What makes peering into the future difficult is the infinite timelines that exist.

Normally it would be impossible to perceive infinite possible futures and understand them all, but now that he understands the void itself and has advanced his capabilities beyond any possible threshold, it should be entirely possible.

First, however, he needed to ensure Chara's well-being and check in with Samas. There's a dark future ahead, but he needed to ensure their safety first. As well as catching up with his brother. So much to do and so little time.

First things first, however, Roman made his way into his Lab to find Chara and Samas. When he got there, he found Chara sitting in a chair, hands over her eyes and sobbing. Stung with a pain of remorse and guilt, Roman approached her, got down on one knebreak-inlaced a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry"

Chara quiAsy wiped away her tears sniffling softly. Trying to speak, but her words just turn to sobs. Without warning Chara jumped at Roman, wrapping her arms around him as she cried harder than before into his lab coat.

Roman was a bit surprised but qu,ickly wrapped his arms around her in return, holding her close and letting her cry. A bit of time passed before she calmed down a bit, and began to speak.

"I-I just don't understand… what came over him?"

Roman, still holding her in his arm on the back, thinking to himself, but he couldn't come up with an answer. "I wish I knew. I do. But I don't. It all happened so quickly… if only I had arrived sooner… or if I was faster… I'm so sorry Chara."

Chara looked up at Roman, smiling for the first time insmiled at himon and laughing a bit. "That's funny. I didn't think you were the type to feel bad for others"

Roman paused a moment before laughing himself, thinking a moment before speaking. "I'm always so focused on my work. I want to make the world a better place for everyone. And I've sacrificed so much of myself to do so. My sanity, my time… my friendships. I used to be close to the royal family. I'd have tea with the king, I'd help out Toriel in her garden, hell, I even helped raise You, Asriel, And Samas for a bit. Not to mention… my best friend, Edris I gave it all up. Because I learned one dark truth… my brother was guaranteed to die after completing the core."

Roman paused for a second, sighing in sadness before continuing. "I just wanted to save him, but I just learned more and more about these dark events… I just want everyone to be happy… to be safe. But… knowing that my research… My experiments… caused so much death. I feel nothing but guilt. Even if they've all been returned. Even though all is right now… you and I are the only ones who will live with this guilt. You and I are the only ones who remember. You can't tell anyone else about this. Okay?"

Chara was a bit shodug-upo hear how much Roman had personally been going through. Her perception of him had been shattered, she always saw him as someone who hpastn Iron Resolve and unshakeable fortitude, but seeing he was just as vulnerable as everyone else, helped her view him in a new light. He was a living being, just like her. So she hugged him again, and they sat in silence for a bit, before Roman broke it.

"Now… I hate to bring this up again… so soon. But… when you fell. Was there anything that you saw?" Roman asked, remembering his vision of Chara at the bottom of a cliff, this must have been what the vision was warning him about. He needed to know if Chara saw anything that could help him.

Chara hesitated, her cheerfulness once again turning to despair… no, it's fear. Roman tried to console her but she flinched away. "Chara?"

Chara took a step back, breathing rapidly. A panic attack. Roman acted fast, helping Chara sit down and getting her a glass of water, setting it next to her. He quickly s?t in front of her again. "Chara, please try and look at me okay?"

Chara nodded quickly, her rapid breathing getting more and more out of control. "Chara, I want you to breathe with me okay? Listen to my voice.

"10."

"9."

"8."

"7."

"6."

"5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1."

Chara's breathing was becoming steadier, but the panic was still there. Roman grabbed a pen and held it in front ofa bit. "Could you follow my pen please"

Chara once again nodded quickly as Roman slowly moved the pen back and forth, ensuring not to make any sudden movements as Chara focused on the pen.

"10."

"9."

"8."

"7."

"6."

"5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1."

Chara seemed to have calmed down for titmost part and she began to speak. "W-When… When I itsfalling… I saw you… but… I couldn't see Asriel… It was just this… dark monster. Dripping with this disgusting sludge… and then, I was back here"

Roman felt his very soul shake as she uttered those words. It was as if his body was crumbling as he stood there. "It's riel?"

***

Samas made her way out of the lab in a panic. Placing a hand on her chest she felt a stinging sensation. She suddenly had flashbacks to her being slashed and cut apart. She had no idea what happened but was terrified to figure it out.

She soon made her way to Snowdin, Kawabata's house. The woman who is trying to take her brother away. She thought her brother might be here so she knocked on the door and waited a bit. After a minute she knocked again and heard something fall over. She then heard a window open, and something falling on snow. Moving to the sound, she was horrified by what she saw and at the same time felt a malicious satisfaction growing within her. A smile crept across her face as she saw Doggo sprinting from the scene.

Returning to the front door she waited until Kawabata opened the door, standing there in her robes and looking down on her. Samas' satisfaction grew with each passing second. "Oh! Samas… I wasn't expecting you. I'm glad to see you. Come in, come in. I was just making dinner."

Samas nodded, walking into the house with a smile on her face, Kaw,abata right behind her. "So what brings you to Snowden? You haven't visited in a while. If you're looking for Edrege he isn't here right now. He's patrolling in Waterfall."

Samas chuckled to herself a bit, picking up a picture on the mantle of Kawabata and Edrege together, causing her to frown. She was glad Edrege wasn't here. That makes this easy "No… Kawabata. I came to see you. I've been worried about Edrege."

"Worried about Edrege? Why, he's the strongest monster there is. Why worry about him?"

"No, but he's kind of stupid, don't you think?"

Kawabata was taken aback by what Samas was saying, how could she be rude? "No uncalled for, he's your older brother!"

"Yeah, well that just means I can be the most honest about him, but you see, I'm not like my brother, I'm not stupid. I'm… oh, sorry you said you had dinner. Let's continue this over dinner."

Kawabata was a bit weirded out, but she made her way to the kitchen. As soon as she stepped in the door, her timer went off. She froze and looked over her shoulder at g up her spine as she saw Samas just staring at her and smiling. It was like she knew.

Her satisfaction only grew, Samas followed Kawabata to the kitchen and made her to the dining room, to take a seat. Soon enough, Kawabata came into the Dining room with two plates of siteak and Asparagus, setting one in front of Samas and then sitting down herself, across from her.

"Now, as I was saying. My brother is stupid. He means well, but he's not interested. He's observant though. Socially he's a bit of a genius. The opposite of me, but you see, sometimes he just has a hard time seeing what's right in front of him. His senses aren't as sharp as mine. I was born with poor eyesight… very poor."

She took a moment to readjust her glasses and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I think the term is blind. Despite this blindness, I found a way to build these glasses. They were much poorer back then. But, can't expect everything from a blind person. Anyways, the point is, they made me see better than anyone. Defying logic, I allowed myself to see at 20/0. An illogical level of eyesight. Since then I've upgraded them of course. Made them look nicer and such. The wonders of science at only age five. That's when Dr Roman took an interesting in me"

Looking down at the steak in front of her, she picked up the knife meant for cutting and stood up, making her way to Kawabata, and standing behind her, tracing the knife against Kawabata's shoulder. "But, because I was born this way, my hearing was really good. So, when I came to your home and heard strange noises, then the crunching of snow. Then I saw Doggo running from just hopping out of your window, I was a bit delighted"

Kawabata was frozen in fear of Samas, and the horror of what Samas had seen. "Samas… listen"

Before Kawabata could continue, Samas put the knife to her throat. "Ah, ah, ah. I'm not finished. I have very good deduction skills. I know you'll try and make an excuse, but seeing all that, and then you opening your door in a robe. I'm not stupid. Do you know why Edrege wears that armor? It's not to protect himself, it's to protect everyone around him. His magical power is so immense that if it were allowed to flow freely… the entirety of the underground would f, all to his might… who do you think made that kind of contraption? Did you think Dr Roman made me his assistant because I was an idiot? For royal favor?"

Kawabata felt her mouth grow extremely dry. She didn't know what to say, there was only panic. "What do you want?"

Samas laughed a bit, tapping the knife against Kawabata's cheek "So there is a brain in that skill after all. Listen, I know you're pregnant."

Kawabata's breath grew shallow and panicked, desperate for a way out of this conversation, but she didn't have it. "Here's what you're going to do. You're going to come with me to the lab, and we are gonna have a little appointment. We are terminating this pregnancy and th,en you will never, EVER show your face around me or my brother again"

With a smile, Samas traced the knife down to Kawabata's stomach, pressing the tip of the knife against it. Kawabata's face went pale. With every passing moment her panic grew, she couldn't let this happen. In one sudden movement she slapped the knife away, causing it to fly out of Samas' hands.

Taking this opportunity, Kawabata tackled Samas. Pinning her to the ground and proceeding to punch her in the face repeatedly. "You psycho bitch!"

Once she was sure Samas wouldn't be getting back up, Kawabata made her way to the counter to grab her phone. Pulling up contacts, she went to call Edrege when she felt something wrap around her neck. The cincture from her robe. When she broke Samas… that bitch planned this.

She felt a strong tug and began to choke, trying to grab Samas who stood behind her, holding the cincture that was wrapped around Kawabata's throat and pulling it. Soon, she fell to the floor, feeling Samas' feet against her back and pushing. She felt the bone in her neck weaken, tears streaming down her face.

That's when she heard it, the front door open. Hope filled her when she heard a snap. Her neck broke. The light quickly faded and it all went dark.

Samas in a panic quickly dragged Kawabata's body out of her room and into her bedroom. In an attempt to cover her tracks further, she made her way to the window and hopped out the same way Doggo did. Smashing the window behind her with her elbow to make it look like a break in and then following Doggo's steps. She smiled at him.

Ash she made her way from the scene of the crime, she began to hear loud panting. It was coming from the overhang. Where people like to fish. The footprints lead there too. Good, now there would be absolutely no connecting her to the crime.

"Hey Doggo."

The dog man quickly turned but he couldn't see anyone, but something was moving. All he saw was pure white, but it was getting closer.

"Waitis's there"

Because forward but felt something push against him. Heard a splash. Felt the freezing cold overtake him and all went dark.

***

Gaster stood alone in the graveyard, looking up at the cave ceiling and sighing. He couldn't bring himself to look down. Not at this time. He heard footsteps approaching and turned around. Roman was here.

Gaster gave him a smile and walked towards him, as soon as he was in range, he wrapped his arms around Roman in an embrace. "Roman… I know"

Roman was in shock, in all their years his brother had never shown this much affection to him. "Gaster? What's going on?"

"I know that I died. It's… strange. I had theorized about these resets some time ago, but it was just a theory. I didn't believe it at first. But this reset was different. I remember it so clearly. Edrege killed me and dropped my corpse into the core. Maybe that's why. I felt my atoms… My very existence being split between time and space. I still feel as though I've lost so much of myself."

Roman was at a loss for words, looking down at his elder brother he just gave an awkward smile. "Resets? Gaster, did you hit your head?"

Gaster's smile quickly faded into a bit of annoyance. "Roman, I'm not called a genius for nothing. I know about your experiments. Everything you've been working on. Even the void. The end of all things right?"

That's when Roman realized the Irony of bringing him here. "You know the void is coming. So you chose to discuss it with me where it all began."

Roman gazed towards where his brother was standing. Two dug up graves.

Grave 1: Here lies Maximoff Whitlock.

Grave 2: Here lies Solomon Whitlock

"Our graves. I don't remember anything from our last lives. Do you, Gaster?"

Gaster shook his head. "No, I don't. Because you aren't Maximoff, and I'm not Solomon. Those are not? ur, lives. Just the lives of our hosts. We held their bodies together and when they passed, when they rotted. We were set free. They were our prison and we awoke in another prison. The underground is just another prison. There's one thing that I know, and it's that our human selves died in the war between monsters and humans. They did not survive and were buried underneath Mount Ebott with the monsters, but the humans didn't bury them. They dumped them into the mountain. They were buried by the monsters. Now, why would they bury the enemy?"

Dr Gaster turned and walked back towards the grave with a smile on his face. "The traitors. They betrayed the humans and fought on the side of titsonsters. Isn't that so fascinating. Even when we were humans we sacrificed everything for monsterkind."

Please was a bit worried for Gaster, stepping up next to him and looking down into the grave he had crawled out of. "A traitor…. Huh. Who would have guessed that?"

"The point is Roman, we must strive and do our best for monsterkind. Whatever this void is, we must find a way to stop it. At all costs."

Roman flinched abit hearing those words. These were his exact words when he first began his experiments. His brother was now on the same path as him. He couldn't allow it. "Brother… finish your work on the core. They need that power… that hope. I'm doing my best to stop the void and I'm really close, but you won't matter if Monsterkind loses itself. Loses it's hope. You bring them that hope. Yes, they all hate me. They fear me. I can't have you become that too. Please be their hope."

Gaster pondered that thought for a while in deep thought. A few minutes later, he sighed. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry for dragging you all the way out here for such a short conversation, but I must finish the core."

With that, Gaster stormed off and left Roman there. Roman continued to stand there for what seemed like hours before he heard screaming and splashing nearby. Sprinting to find the source he saw Doggo floating down the river. Roman didn't even think, he just jumped into the water and scooped up Doggo. Dragging him out of the river and back on land.

After waiting for a bit to relax, Roman built a fire for Doggo to warm up. Once Doggo had stopped shivering, Roman brought up the question. "Hey, Doggo. What happened to you?"

Doggo was silent, not opening his mouth to speak a word. "DOGGO!!! You were injured, you were bleeding. I know you were attacked. What happened?!"

Doggo whimpered, scared out of his mind, but spoke up. "L-Look… times were hard… I wasn't being paid enough… so… I tried to rob this snobby lizard lady. She left her window unlocked so I broke in, I didn't know she was there... So, I hid for hours and tried to escape when she got into the shower, but as I was leaving someone knocked on the door and my leg got caught on something. I ran off… but I think she found me and attacked me. Look… I didn't mean any harm… I just wanted some money."

Roman scoffed, rolling his eyes and standing up to walk away. "Fine then. I'll go check in on her. You need to reflect on your actions. Consider joining the Royal Guard. I heard they're hiring"

With those words, Roman walked away, heading to Snowdin to check in on Kawabata.