Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sun.

He steps out of the cool cave, feeling the heat go straight through his bones. The brilliant light is causing everyone except himself and his brother to shield their eyes, cries of amazement ringing throughout the party, each in their own unique way. He casts a look at Frisk, who's smiling faintly at the scene. Toriel remained suspiciously close to the human, as if ready to catch them should they slip and fall... well, considering Frisk's entrance to the underground, he can hardly blame her.

He can't quite remember if he's seen this before or not. But the fact that he might have already experienced it dampens the initial shock, unlike the others, even if it is the first time.

“HEY, SANS...” Papyrus interrupts his musings. “WHAT'S THAT GIANT BALL?” His eyes narrow. Apparently the others' assessment isn't good enough. He needs to hear it from his bro.

“we call that 'the sun,' my friend,” he chuckles a bit. This is still Papyrus's first time seeing the sun, so at least he can experience that initial amazement in his stead.

“THAT'S THE SUN?! WOWIE!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!!!”

The rest continue to talk, their thoughts soon turning to the future. Frisk agrees to be the ambassador between humans and monsters. Papyrus gets it into his head that if Frisk is the ambassador, then Papyrus has to be the mascot, and runs off into the wild. Who knows what humans might think upon meeting a skeleton as their 'mascot'. Probably not good things.

“welp. someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble,” he winks. “see you guys.” Instead of going after his brother, instead of exploring the new world that all his friends are dying to see, Sans returns to the underground. He's not in a rush to see the new world. Someone else can watch Papyrus for a bit.

i probably won't remember it anyway.

He's back in the tunnel, beneath the cool earth. Takes a deep breath of the familiar air. A few seconds tick by. Soft footsteps behind him. He turns.

Frisk. The human is expressionless, but with wide, child-like eyes.

“what's up, buddy?” At first he's surprised the human has returned so soon – after all, they'd been trying so very hard to reach the surface. Going underground now... seemed like the last thing they'd want to do. And then he remembers... “you said you wanted to talk, right?”

Frisk stops. “Why do you say that?” They tilt their head curiously, eying him.

It catches him off guard. Why does he say that. Frisk had never asked him to talk before... Sans had always been the one asking them if they could talk. But for some reason....

Frisk ran down the underground tunnel. They hurled themselves against Sans's chest, tiny arms wrapping around his jacket.

“whoa. calm down, kid.”

Frisk was talking, but he couldn't understand a single word that's being said.

“slow down,” he returned the hug, gently patting Frisk's head. “don't let whatever it is get under your skin, kid. nothin' gets under mine.” The faintest of smiles crossed Frisk's face. Skeleton jokes never got old. Jokes were an indication of the condition of someone's soul – if they couldn't respond, then something was seriously wrong... but right now, whatever bad thing had happened, wasn't enough to make them immune to his jokes. Slowly they wiped some of the tears away, hiccups becoming less. “that's better. now what's wrong?”

“i dunno. thought you'd want to take a grand tour under the sky, not walk back here just to humor some old bones.”

Frisk walks closer. More calculated, measured, than their previous mad dash in the same hallway, in another timeline. Their tiny steps, so quiet. They're looking straight at Sans with a strange expression. Sans can't remember if he's seen it or not, but... suddenly he's uneasy. Something's not right. He realizes that Frisk didn't even smile at his joke.

“I just...” Frisk's voice cracks. They stop, tears welling beneath their eyes.

Whatever doubt was in his mind immediately erases. Sans is at Frisk's side instantly. “kiddo... ya don't need to shoulder this by yourself. whatever's bothering you, i'm here to listen. that's what friends do.”

Frisk nods, arms reaching up for a hug. But as their sleeves slip away, Sans spies the faintest glimmer. Metal. A knife.

Frisk's arm drops, the knife quickly swiping for an attack. They're impossibly close, and for a brief moment, Sans has let his guard down. No normal being could have dodged in time. Thankfully Sans could make more time. His eye glows blue, the room leaping back abruptly. He teleports a few steps away, where he'd been standing prior, just enough for Frisk's attack to meet thin air.

Frisk wiped the tears from their eyes. “I made a horrible mistake,” they told him. “I thought... it would be like any other time. That I could go back, make it like it never happened. That... I was above any kind of consequence. There was a voice in my head... Someone like me but not me...”

“Chara,” he hisses, remembering the other's name...

Frisk – Chara – doesn't look concerned at the other's ability to dodge. No frustration, no smile at the true name, nothing. Their arm retracts back, knife gripped tightly, void eyes slowly turning to Sans. “Calm down,” they repeat Sans's words from another timeline. “I was just trying to get your attention. If I really wanted you dead, you would have died already.”

“heh. just for me? i'm flattered,” his smirk never falters. “so what d'you want, outside of my attention?”

“I only wanted one thing. Another chance to do it right... a chance to make everyone happy. So... I gave up my SOUL. But when we finally made it above ground, I realized there was no true reset. The voice was just playing with me... And now that I got the happy ending I wanted, they'll use me to kill everyone.”

“Sans, you're the only one...” They say.

“Please, Sans, you're the only one...” They said.

“...Free from this never-ending rail of repetition.”

“...Free to make a different choice each time.”

“Just a little bit different each time, to curb my boredom of seeing the world repeat.”

“You can save everyone.”

“I'll kill all of them in front of you.”

“wow, you really do know how to make a guy feel special,” he chuckles a bit. Both Chara and Frisk have some kind of fixation on him. For Frisk, it's a loneliness factor; only Sans knows about the resets... but for Chara, it's simple entertainment. He's not like them, but he's the closest one they can find.

He actually had no way of knowing where the one ended and the other started. Maybe Frisk never existed at all – had never existed – and it was all just an elaborate game. Sans might not have made up his mind about Frisk/Chara, but he knew he wanted to save his friends. To save Papyrus. He would suffer through a thousand of their deaths, if it meant he could save them one time. And he'd make that one time count.

“...i made a promise,” he knows, even if he hasn't made it yet. “i hate making promises, because i always keep them. so no matter what happens, no matter what you do or how much you think you've already won... i'll stop you.”

Chara actually breaks their impassive staring to laugh. “Maybe you'd stand some small chance. If you can actually remember this conversation and who I am.”

“I know you hate making promises that you can't keep. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I don't want you to remember that you fail. That's why...”

“I'm going to LOAD. This never happened.”

~~~~~~~~~~

He opens his eyes, feeling the sun on his bones.

“WOWIE!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!!!” Papyrus blares so loudly it hurts his ears, and he doesn't even have ears.

Sans cast a look at Frisk. The human remains extremely close to Toriel, nearly glued to her side. Frisk seems to notice Sans's gaze, and smiles faintly. Sans smiles back.

too bad for you, kid. that's not how this works. i remember.

His gaze turns back to the sun. Yeah. There were times where he remembers the timeline, like it just happened. And other times, it's so fuzzy, he can barely make it out. He thinks it has something to do with when or how the human resets.

and i'll never forget. well, at least not for very long. i'm keeping my promise.

He couldn't afford not to care. Not this time.

Chapter Text

When he opens his eyes, it's to the familiar darkness of the underground. Actually, to the familiar ceiling of his room. Yeah, leave all that exploring to the people with energy. He yawns. It isn't like the world is going anywhere. When his bro had raced off to be the 'mascot', Sans had returned home for a quick nap. Now he's watching a speck of dust on the ceiling. Vaguely he wonders if he should get up and do something – it kind of feels like he should. Maybe just a few more minutes of sleep...

“SANS?”

He hears the all too familiar voice of his brother, but it is faint, as if far away.

“SANS? SANS?? SANS????”

But getting louder. No, just getting closer. Sans groans, hugging his pillow. He thought the surface would distract his brother at least for a little. He can already hear the door to their house opening.

“SANS?! SANS!! YOUR SOCK IS STILL HERE! ARE YOU STILL HERE?”

He rolls out of bed, knowing that Papyrus would be knocking at his door soon if he doesn't get up now. He can at least spare himself the headache. Sans opens the door just wide enough for him to step out, closing it behind him immediately. Habit. Guess he'd never grown out of his teenage years and never wanted others to even peak into his room.

“sup, bro,” he grins, well actually he was always grinning, even when he sleeps. “bored of the overworld already?” If this is the underworld, that has to make the land above the overworld, right?

He pauses. Next to his tall skeleton of a brother, is the human. Frisk, nearly half the height of Papyrus, so tiny and looking up with such innocent eyes.

yeah. can't fool me.

It's good that his smile can't fall off, because he probably would have given away his memories. That human... It might be wearing Frisk's body, but that isn't his friend. He instantly tenses, realizing just how close the fake human stands to his brother. If Chara makes a move, it would be difficult for Sans to reach and stop them in time – even if he teleports.

“DON'T YOU 'SUP' ME, BRO! YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT'S UP THERE!” Papyrus's eyes narrow a bit. “EXCEPT YOU DON'T, BECAUSE YOU LEFT AS SOON AS WE GOT UP THERE. WE FINALLY MAKE IT ACROSS THE BARRIER, AND YOU COME BACK HERE TO -SLEEP-?!”

Oh, brother. Papyrus knew Sans too well. “well, you can tell me all about it, then,” he casually walks down the stairs, closer to the two. Not out of any desire to humor his brother this time, but just to be closer in case Chara acts. The human is watching the scene quietly, but Sans doesn't see the vacant gaze that normally accompanies Chara – which considering their last encounter, could just be Chara acting. “what's different up there than here? outside of the sun.”

“FOUR-WHEELED BICYCLES,” Papyrus responds instantly. “THEY GO CRAZY FAST! IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH TWO MORE WHEELS MAKE A DIFFERENCE.”

Sans stops. Four-wheeled bicycles? What in the world is that? “wow. that sounds pretty great.”

“YEAH! ALMOST AS GREAT AS ME! AND BOY, DO THEY -LOVE- ME UP THERE! I ALREADY GOT SCREAMING FANS!”

From what Sans knew about humans, he has a pretty good feeling they weren't screaming out of sheer joy when they saw Papyrus. “heh. might want to take it a bit slower, pap. I don't want all this fame sinking into your bones.”

“NO WAY! I NEED TO WORK HARD TO GET THE RECOGNITION I DESERVE, SO I NEED TO GET FASTER.” He poses, the small cape behind him fluttering magically without wind. “THAT'S WHY... WE GOTTA GO GET ONE OF THOSE FOUR-WHEELED BICYCLES TOO!”

“our bicycle already goes pretty fast, pap.”

“NOT FAST ENOUGH! HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ONE!” Papyrus's fluttering cape stops as he abruptly slams his foot down. Sans can't really understand why his brother is getting so worked up. Is being fast really such a big deal? Probably not as big a deal as standing next to a homicidal sociopath. He really, really, really needed to separate Chara and Papyrus.

“uh, you got it,” Sans agrees, more just to pacify Papyrus. “why don't you go on ahead, and we'll meet you top-side?” He grabs Frisk by the shoulder, pulling them a bit roughly to his side. Frisk stumbles a bit at the movement, the human looking between Sans and Papyrus, seemingly confused by Sans's not-so-subtle action. Papyrus looks like he's about to protest, but Sans interrupts. “hope you don't mind me borrowing our friend. i gotta things to pick up before getting to the surface, and wanted to try out a few knock-knock jokes.”

Papyrus's face immediately goes from confusion to disgust. “UGH. I'LL SKIP ON THAT, GLADLY.” He's already running out the door, before he can hear the first line of 'knock-knock.'

Leaving him alone with the human. Sans is smiling. The sudden silence from Papyrus's departure is pretty extreme. … But now with his brother finally out of the way, Sans is a little less tense. A little. Frisk curiously pulls his head back, the two locking eyes. Is it Frisk? Is it Chara? Sans seriously can't tell.

“you're awfully quiet today, kid,” Sans breaks the silence first. Not that silence is particularly unusual for them. It already feels like it's been another lifetime. Like the last time Frisk was at the brothers' house, Frisk had been trying vainly to move a chunk of frozen spaghetti to a microwave. Except it was glued to a plate, that was glued to the table. The spaghetti was so cold it had caused the air around itself to freeze. When Frisk attempted to lick it, their tongue had gotten stuck on the block of ice.

“.....” Frisk's eyes dropped. They took a small step backwards, a more comfortable distance from Sans. Their gaze wouldn't quite meet his.

“knock-knock.” He tests the only way he knows how.

“Who's there?” Frisk finally looks up, hesitantly.

“boo,” Sans winks.

“Boo... who?”

“don't cry, it's just me.”

The faintest of smiles flickers on Frisk's face, but they can't seem to keep it. Neither can they meet his gaze for more than a few seconds. He thinks it's probably Frisk.

“really though, you look like somethin's eating up your soul,” he settles on having a conversation instead of smacking Chara around with threats. Except then he realizes his previous question came out a bit wrong, considering how Frisk got in this circumstance. He regrets his choice of words almost instantly. Frisk bites their lip, gaze already back on the ground. Their mouth twitches, but they don't seem capable of speaking.

“my bad. that came out wrong,” he scratches the back of his head. “but seriously kid, give me an estimate. how much in there is you, and how much is the other one?” He can't even bring himself to say Chara. Like it might somehow summon the fiend's presence into Frisk's mind.

“Um,” Frisks's eyes widen, looking up at Sans.

“what, don't tell me you think i forgot.”

Frisk really does look like they're going to cry now. Tears are welling up beneath their eyes. It's some strange combination of hope and fear. They shake their head, perhaps not trusting themselves to speak.

Sans sighs. “any hints? something that might help me so i know what to expect?” He still believes in them, at least a little. Maybe it's just that he wants to believe, that Frisk and Chara are two separate entities. His friend Frisk has to be real...

Frisk is biting their lip again... They take a deep breath, looking Sans straight in the eye. “I think... if I don't want to come back when I die, I won't.”

Sans pauses. So they're saying...

“Please....” Their voice wavers, despite the strong gaze. “Um.” They squeeze their eyes shut. “...Kill me, Sans.” Such brave words, but their body trembles faintly.

Kill Frisk. Would it really be that simple? “you've died uh, what... five or six times in the past?”

The peaceful face Frisk is trying so hard to maintain breaks with a snort. Their face contorts into something like a scowl and smirk at the same time, but enough pain for Sans to still recognize it as Frisk. Looks like he said something bad again. He thought it couldn't be that many times, if the other is still afraid of dying.

“my point is, i don't think that's gonna work, kid. you keep coming back. and if that monster's really taken your soul, then they won't just wanna die. their determination will bring 'em back... not you.” If anything, it might just be a fast-track to reviving Chara's consciousness. God knew how that works.

“But... it might work, right?” It sounds like Frisk is begging. “So in that case... while I'm still me...” They hang their head, as if awaiting an execution. Their body is trembling again.

...There isn't any harm in trying, right? One life... in exchange for the lives of so many. Logic said it was worth the shot. Dang, they were just a kid. Sans couldn't get over it. Watching Frisk tremble like that, there's no way...

“...i can't kill you when you look so scared of dying, buddy,” a bead of sweat drops on Sans's bony forehead.

Frisk looks up sharply. “I'm not scared of dying!” There's such determination in their words, Sans blinks. But the moment passes quickly, and soon they're back to biting their lip, head drooping again. “That's... that's not it...” They gulp. “Besides, you've... killed me so many times already, this really shouldn't be hard for you... right?”

...He doesn't know what universe Frisk is talking about, but it's one he doesn't want to imagine. Frisk is the one who gave Papyrus happiness again, a goal to live towards, a new friend. Frisk recognizes the good in all monsters, even those that wished nothing but ill upon them, like Undyne. Frisk teaches confidence, a firm acceptance of love and friendship that made Alphys grow. Frisk is just a little kid who likes eating hot dogs and gets their tongue stuck to chunks of frozen spaghetti.

“nah... you're my friend, kiddo,” he decides. The decision is final. “i'll not only save everyone. i'll save you too.”

Frisk finally stops trembling. And a real smile is upon their face. “We... really ARE friends.” It sounds like they never believed it until this moment.

Yeah... there had to be a happy ending somewhere. Sans just needs to find it.

Chapter Text

Papyrus can't sit still at all.

Rows of cars, yes cars, fill the room. The 'four-wheeled bicycles' that Papyrus had mentioned were actually cars. Which was somewhat confusing in itself, because Sans knew that Papyrus knew what a car really is. Heck, his bro had one for a bed. So why did he keep calling them 'four-wheeled bicycles?'

“MAYBE THIS ONE? OR THIS ONE?” Papyrus runs back and forth between each car, examining it for a few moments, before dashing off to the next, only to return to a previously viewed one to look some more.

It had taken some time to both scale down the mountain, then figure out how to buy a car in the first place – though they had a lot of help from Alphys via social networking. Thank goodness the humans had internet too – Sans couldn't imagine a world without internet.

The human follows Papyrus at a more leisurely gait, while Sans watches from the corner of the showroom. Frisk is like Papyrus's lazy tail. The lightning-bolt Papyrus practically zig-zags all across the floor, only stopping for a few moments at each car, while Frisk follows in exact footsteps – almost like a kind of game.

After Sans's little heartfelt talk with Frisk, Sans knew he had to come up with some kind of plan. Easier said than done. However, locking himself in his room wouldn't make answers come any faster. For now, the best he could do was to keep a close eye on the human... especially when they were out with his friends. Even more when they were with his brother.

“AH-HA!” Papyrus stops at one particular car, a red convertible. Even though he's acting like this one caught his eye immediately, Sans knows for a fact that Papyrus had stopped and looked at it at least twice already. “THIS ONE'S ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR A COOL SKELETON DUDE,” he runs a few more circles around it, checking each side to make sure everything is symmetrical. While running around in place, Frisk manages to actually catch up with Papyrus. “WHAT DO YOU THINK, HUMAN?”

Frisk seems to pause, one finger upon their mouth as they gaze curiously at the red convertible. And then nods decisively.

“I KNEW IT,” Papyrus grins wildly. He opens car door, sliding into the front seat. Wait...

“bro, you know how to ride that thing?” Sans is getting a little worried about this idea. “and you know what a car is... right? i thought somewhere between your bed, the internet, and my car magazines you'd recognize a real car when you see one.”

“SANS, PLEASE. ONCE YOU RIDE A BIKE, YOU NEVER FORGET! THEY'RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME THING!”

Sans quickly checks his pockets to see how many hot dogs he has on him. He has a feeling a certain brother is going to need more HP soon. Papyrus's bike-riding experience wasn't going to transfer to car experience.

“uh pap, even if that's true, i'm pretty sure these are just for display. so you can't-”

VROOOM VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Papyrus turns the ignition before slamming down the gas peddle. While the car is in park. Mainly, it's just making a lot of noise.

“NYEH HEH HEH! HOP ON IN, HUMAN!” Papyrus sticks his head out, ushering the human child to the passenger seat.

Frisk doesn't seem particularly scared or amused, but still gets in the car anyway. Papyrus's actions would have brought one of the sales reps running, if they hadn't all abandoned the store upon seeing the two skeleton brothers. (More fans, Papyrus had explained.) They actually weren't supposed to be out in the human town at all now, as requested by Asgore. But hey, Papyrus really wanted his four-wheeled bicycle, and it seemed important enough for Sans to go along with it.

Papyrus accidentally puts the shift stick to 'reverse'. The car abruptly lurches a foot back, the two bobbing from the sudden movement. Realizing his mistake, Papyrus stops the car as he configures it again, this time finding the correct 'drive' shift. The car lurches again, this time forward. Through the glass window separating the showroom from the outside.

The glass shatters loudly, but offers otherwise little resistance. Frisk shields their face from the shards, and Papyrus actually stops the car completely to check on the human. “ARE YOU OKAY?!” Papyrus seems to have realized his mistake. Frisk peels off some shards of glass from their head.

Sans is already next to the car in the blink of an eye. Literally. He teleports as soon as the glass shatters. Fortunately, neither his brother nor the human seem injured beyond a few scrapes. The car's front, on the other hand... well, better the car than his brother or Frisk. The front end of the car is smashed up a bit. But...

“WELL, IT WORKED OUT. NOW WE'VE CLEARED A PATH TO CONTINUE OUR ADVENTURE!” Papyrus is already thinking of the next steps, after seeing that his friend and himself are uninjured... “ALL THAT REMAINS IS FINDING A HIGHWAY TO SNOOZE ON. I MEAN, CRUISE ON!! IT'LL BE WAY BETTER THAN IN MY DREAMS.”

Sans thinks about lecturing Papyrus for his careless. ...But, he just can't really bring himself to care enough. It's not like this will kill Frisk or his brother. If they get out with just a few scrapes from goofing off in a car, it's probably fine. Monsters die when something had the desire to kill them, due to the nature of their souls. Accidental deaths were very difficult to come by. And Frisk, well. Frisk is never in danger of dying, at least not permanently.

So that just left the matter of all the damage they were causing. Sans checks how much money he has on him. If they're... 'buying' a car, and paying for the shattered glass that Papyrus just caused, the price would be expensive. Good thing money never was an issue. From his coat he produces an extremely tall stack of dollar bills. The money is part of his alternate-dimensional time travels. It didn't matter the amount or kind of currency; he'd always have enough to pay for anything.

He leaves the stack of bills to the side of the shattered glass, like an apology letter, minus the letter and a lot of money. The shop deserves some amount of compensation at least.

“AND THEN, WHEN WE FIND A HIGHWAY...” Papyrus is still lost in his own thoughts, not even noticing while Sans takes responsibility for his own actions. “WE'LL NEED TO FIND A SETTING SUN TO MAKE IT PERFECT... THEN FINALLY, MY DREAM WILL BE COMPLETE!” Papyrus had always wanted to drive a car down a long highway... the dream had started when he got the car-bed. Sans might have helped with a story or two too. Papyrus is already grinning widely at the thought. “COME, SANS, AND WE'LL ALL FIND THE SUNSET TOGETHER!”

“hmm.” Sans thinks he has a better idea than riding in the back of a convertible. “you go on ahead in your fancy bicycle. our two-wheeler is gonna feel left out if someone doesn't ride in it.” He steps over the glass to the outside corner of the dealership, pulling out their old bicycle.

“YOU'LL NEVER KEEP UP IN THAT!” Papyrus guffaws.

“of course i can. this thing's great. i bet i could even beat you in a race with it,” Sans chuckles back. There's fewer joys in life than poking his brother for a reaction.

“THERE'S NO WAY!” Papyrus looks something between shocked and determined. “BUT IF YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN... THEN FINE! A RACE IT IS!”

Papyrus manages to drive over the glass and into the street, actually slower this time, probably due to his last accident with the glass. Carefully he aligns the car to the street's edge, before motioning for Sans to follow. Sans hops on the old bicycle. The wheels squeak loudly as he rides it next to Papyrus’s stopped car.

Sans already knows how he's going to win. Or at least give Papyrus a pretty good run. Either way, he thinks he'll enjoy his brother's reaction to the race. He looks to his brother, waiting for the start signal. Behind Papyrus, Frisk's head barely peeks above the windshield. Isn't there an age limit for riding passenger side?

“be sure to buckle up. you wouldn't wanna lose any bones, would ya?”

Papyrus slams the seatbelt down with powerful conviction. Sans can't quite see what the human does. “OKAY, ON THE COUNT OF THREE... ONE... TWO.....” Papyrus floors the gas pedal as he joyfully shrieks, “THREE!!”

The car flies off impossibly fast with screeching tires. Sans laughs quietly at his brother's enthusiasm. Well, maybe just a little head start is fine. He mentally counts down three seconds while watching the red convertible slowly get smaller. Then Sans leans back comfortably on the bike, pedaling at a leisurely rate.

The convertible comes back into view. Sans makes sure to keep his glowing blue eye opposite to the side of Papyrus, so his brother will be none the wiser. By using his teleport magic continuously in very short distances, Sans can make the bicycle appear to be going much faster than what he actually pedals. If there was ever a reason to use teleportation and time-altering magic, certainly this is it.

Papyrus is already posing in the car, cape fluttering behind him dramatically. The highway runs and runs on, seemingly endless. There's a small bump as the road alters slightly into a bridge, the highway stretching into the distance. From between the bridge railings is a body of water, far larger than any in the underworld, practically stretching on forever. Then Papyrus notices his brother next to him.

He audibly gasps as Sans casually pedals past. Sans tries hard not to laugh too loudly.

“WHAT?! HOW?! IMPOSSIBLE!!!” Papyrus shrieks.

Sans casually takes his hands off the steering, arms holding his head as he leans back. Yeah, the wind rustling through his hair... the sunshine on his skin... it all felt great. Heck, he wasn't human and actually didn't have any of those features, but it felt pretty nice.

Behind him, tires screech loudly – then crash. The bridge shakes beneath the impact. Sans slams his own brakes on, the teleport magic ceasing instantly. The fear in his heart is unreal. “papyrus?!” he prays that sound isn't what he thinks it is even as he turns around.

The red convertible visibly smokes, its front smashed by the bridge's rails. Better than the whole car going completely over and into the water. Sans runs to the smoking vehicle, his only hope that Papyrus and Frisk are okay. He'd been too careless – of course Papyrus didn't know how to drive.

Sans practically tears the front door off to get to his brother. He only takes a second to note that Frisk isn't in the passenger seat – he'd think about the implications of that later. For now, he grabs his dazed brother and drags him out of the car. That smoke could indicate a much more serious problem...

Papyrus groans. Sans sees some scratches and bumps over his brother, but nothing life-threatening. Taking a deep breath, Sans manages to calm himself. His brother has a talent for getting beaten … or something like that, at least not dying. Reaching in his pocket, Sans takes out a hot dog.

“eat this and feel better, bro...” Sans puts it to the other's mouth. Papyrus takes a bite... His eyes widen. In two more seconds he devours the whole thing.

“AH-HA!” Papyrus leaps to his feet, posing dramatically. The cuts and bumps have disappeared! The amazing power of good food! “IF YOU DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE A SMILE ON YOUR FACE, I'D ACTUALLY BE TEMPTED TO THINK YOU WERE -WORRIED-, DEAR BROTHER!”

Sans opens his mouth to make a joke about skeletons. When-

A slash cuts through as if from nowhere. The power strikes Papyrus to the core, his whole being shaking from the impact. His face construes into shock and pain. Sans freezes, the moment turning surreal. His brother lets out a cry, collapsing to his knees. An incredible desire to kill... not one speck of compassion or mercy... a lethal blow that reveals the intentions of its owner.

Behind Papyrus stands Frisk. Chara. The demon wearing a human as its body. Absolutely expressionless, no joy or malice as Papyrus falls. In their hands is the knife. They run a finger across the metal of the blade, soul-less eyes watching Sans, as if to say 'what will you do now?'

Chapter Text

Papyrus gasps for breath, already on his knees from a single attack. The cut line is painfully obvious, running down the center of his body. No one could possibly survive such a blow. Papyrus begins to fall, but Sans catches him before he hits the ground. For a brief moment, Sans's eyes flicker angrily at Chara. They stand apathetically, knife still in hand, watching with void-filled eyes. Sans's mind splits between caring for his brother and defending against Chara... but precious few seconds remain of his brother's life.

“pap...” He holds his brother close. It might be just a show for Chara, but every second counted for Sans. He thinks of all the things he should have already told his brother... about the world's forgotten timeline of W.D. Gaster... about Sans's ability to manipulate space, his awareness of shifting realities, that Papyrus's unbridled emotion kindles Sans's resolve, or that he'd been lying when he said Papyrus made great spaghetti. There's so much to say that Sans says nothing...

“BROTHER...” Papyrus must know his time is imminent, too... He lifts his head far enough to look at Chara. “HUMAN... YOU HIT ME...” His voice is oddly calm, simply acknowledging the result. “I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT... SINCE WE ARE FRIENDS, I KNOW YOU MUST HAVE HAD A GOOD REASON.”

“pap, no,” Sans can't believe he's hearing Papyrus right. His brother was just stabbed in the back by a friend, and even while dying, pronounces his forgiveness. “that's... that's not something you say to your murderer.”

“DON'T BE ANGRY, SANS...” Papyrus turns his head back to his brother. “FORGIVE THE HUMAN... AND... HELP.... THEM..... THROUGH........ THIS................”

Papyrus's body disintegrates into dust, coating Sans's hands and lap. Sans still holds out his empty hands, trying not to tremble. His brother... Papyrus was the most important person to Sans in the world. Even if Sans could stop Chara right now, a world without Papyrus... it just wouldn't be right...

“Happy now?” No words. Just thoughts. Sans speaks without a voice, into the human's mind. He lets the dust fall from his hands, rising to his feet. Chara has remained impassively in place throughout the whole ordeal, never batting an eyelid even with Papyrus's instant forgiveness and death. Just because Papyrus told Sans not to be angry... didn't mean he could just forgive Chara instantly. Or Frisk. The line between them is so blurry that Sans can only see both of them accountable.

“my brother... he's always been really cool. he's a saint.”Sans takes a deep breath, but he can't calm down. Everything he said to Frisk just moments before... it already feels like an impossible dream. “i guess that's what it means to have no level of violence... you wouldn't get it.” 

He doesn't know if he can keep his promise to Frisk this way. Right now, he can barely stand looking at the human. “frisk...” He can only think of one way out of this that could be a happy ending. “buddy... if you're still in there... go back!” He's pleading and he doesn't care... when it comes to Papyrus, there's no reason for pride. “i... know you can do it.”

Sans waits. This is the only option... he won't even think about a world without Papyrus.

~~~~~

“SANS?”

He hears the all too familiar voice of his brother, but it is faint, as if far away.

“SANS? SANS?? SANS????”

Sans groans, hugging his pillow. Just a few more minutes of sleep... wait...

He sits up suddenly, back in the confines of his room. Papyrus... for some reason, Sans has a feeling that something horrible will happen to Papyrus. There's been some kind of time shift; Sans can feel it. His memories of it are like a dream, with plenty of fuzz and holes. Hastily he rolls out of bed, his eye glowing blue as he opens the door to his room. In a split moment realities shift, and instead of opening the door to his room, he's instead opening the front door to the house.

Papyrus also has his hand on the opposite doorknob, tripping as it suddenly opens for him, and straight into Sans. The two collapse into the living room. Behind the two skeletons, Frisk watches innocently, hands behind their back.

“bro,” Sans wheezes in relief, but also Papyrus's weight is somewhat crushing. Papyrus quickly flips back to his feet.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LOUNGING AROUND THE HOUSE?!” Papyrus seems upset. Maybe not upset, just energetic like normal. “WE FINALLY MAKE IT ACROSS THE BARRIER, AND YOU COME BACK HERE TO -SLEEP-?! DON'T EVEN TRY TO PRETEND THAT YOU WERE DOING SOMETHING ELSE!”

Sans has never been so happy to see his brother. It seemed that whatever he thought was going to happen – or perhaps already did happen, in another timeline – the crisis had been adverted. Yet nudging into his mind slowly, practically taking over his joy in seeing Papyrus... Sans's gaze turns to the human, still standing awkwardly in the doorframe.

“pap... you go on ahead, and we'll meet you near the barrier. i need to talk to the human.” He can't let this go when he knows something is so wrong.

Frisk fidgets with their hands, brow creasing, suddenly looking extremely uncomfortable.

“ER...” Even Papyrus can sense the tension. He looks between Sans, the human, Sans. “AS LONG AS YOU DON'T MAKE ME WAIT TOO LONG!” He nudges past Frisk at the doorway, before taking off running in the snow.

As soon as Papyrus is out of the way, Sans grabs the human's arm, pulling them a bit roughly into the house. Maybe a bit too rough, because Frisk lets out a little yelp and stumbles forward. Simultaneously Sans kicks the door shut.

“Alright, kid. You got some explaining to do.” Sans's eyes disappear completely, the black sockets staring into Frisk, as if he can see into the other's soul. He knows that Frisk has done something, something horrible. Only so much could be blamed on Chara.

Frisk pulls away from Sans's boney grasp, eyes wide. “Wh-what do you mean? I... I reset for you!” Their whole body trembles, seemingly terrified by Sans.

Reseting isn't anything new, but apparently Frisk thinks that Sans owes him something. Maybe there's more to Frisk in there than he originally thought. He lightens his gaze, eyes returning, no longer trying to peer into the depths of the human's soul. “seriously kid, give me an estimate. how much in there is you, and how much is the other one?”

Frisk stops trembling. They look at Sans, as if just seeing him the first time – that or he'd said something really off. “You... don't remember?”

“don't tell me you think i forgot,” Sans shrugs. He knows that Chara has a grip on Frisk's soul; remembers how Frisk begged him to save everyone. “any hints? something that might help me so i know what to expect?”

Frisk still stares at him with that bewildered expression. Laughs once, then hangs their head. Sans doesn't get it. Sans feels like something is really wrong, like he's missing something... from another timeline. But he can't guess Frisk's thoughts. All he can do is try to stop Chara, in any way possible.

“There's one way that might work,” Frisk is oddly calm, voice suddenly steady. But still won't look at Sans.

“yeah?” Sans knows he needs it to protect his brother...

“I think that if I die... and I don't want to come back... then, I won't be back,” Frisk finishes.

Sans thoughts freeze. “so you're saying...”

“Kill me,” Frisk confirms.

…

Could it really be that simple? “you've died uh, what-”

“No,” Frisk interrupts firmly, shaking their head. They don't want to hear whatever Sans was about to say. “Do it. There's no harm in trying at least, right?”

…

It probably won't work. Frisk has died multiple times in the past – although Sans could only phantom the number. Whenever Frisk died, they just... re-appeared. Their ability brought them back moments before their death, allowing them to alter reality. But apparently that depended on Frisk's determination. There is a chance, slim though it might be, that Frisk might not come back.

One life in exchange for the lives of his friends and brother. There... couldn't be any harm in trying, right?

…

Sans notices that Frisk is starting to tremble again. Even though the other acts brave, they must be afraid. Yet even so... to seriously suggest such a thing... Frisk had the right determination to make it a reality.

“alright... we'll try it,” he agrees, practically whispering. It kills him on the inside. But the thought of losing the others... especially of Papyrus... Sans knows he needs to cut his losses.

Frisk nods, the movement so small that Sans barely catches it. They squeeze their eyes shut, hands locked in front of them, head bowed like awaiting an execution.

Well, that's what it is. Sans has no illusion about what he's about to do. “it'll be painless, kid.” He lifts his hand, eye glowing with his power.

A bone appears from the ground, arching straight into Frisk. The sharpened end propels itself into the child. It's over in seconds. Frisk gasps from the impact, body shuddering for a moment.

“well, as painless as i can make it. this is a mercy,” Sans whispers, more to himself, and swallows hard. If this is the reality that becomes the true timeline, he promises to make a memorial for Frisk … and never forget the other's sacrifice.

…

He feels like maybe his choice is a mistake.

The light fades from Frisk's eyes.

Chapter Text

“SANS?”

Something must be really wrong. Groggily Sans raises his head from the pillow. The air feels heavier. The world is a bit fuzzy. Time has been reset to this point, multiple times, he thinks at least twice.

“SANS? SANS?? SANS????”

He knows that Papyrus will be knocking on his door, if he doesn't get up soon. So Sans rolls out of bed, shuffling forward. He opens the door just wide enough for him to step out, closing it behind him immediately. Habit.

Papyrus enters below on the first floor, almost at the same time that Sans leaves his room. “sup, bro.” Any further thoughts about the surface world and his brother die almost instantly.

Frisk. Sans doesn't understand how it works. But when he sees the human, he knows. Frisk has the look of someone who has died. What makes them different? It's not a physical difference. Like normal, Frisk seems somewhat deadpan, little expression on their face. For Sans, maybe it's more just a 'feeling' that the other has died...

“THE HUMAN SAID THEY WANTED TO TALK TO YOU,” Papyrus explains.

“what's up, kid?” Sans goes down the stairs to meet the two, a lot more apprehensive than he sounds. The disorientation from the resets, Frisk's 'been killed' expression, the quiet human actually wanting to talk to him... something had to seriously be wrong. Is it even Frisk? It could be Chara. If that was the case... could Frisk be interfering with Chara's plans with resets? There are too many different possibilities from potential alternate timelines.

“Alone.” They say. Quietly, but determined. “I want to talk... alone.”

Papyrus gasps. “SECRETS?! OOH! LET THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN ON IT, TOO!”

“bro...” Sans sweats a little. His brother has little tact and often fails to pick up on social cues. Clearly whatever Frisk wants to say, it has to be important. “we'll uh, tell you about it later. why don't you go ahead to the barrier, we'll catch up soon and do some surface exploration?”

“HMM...” Papyrus looks torn. “WELL, I DID COME HERE TO DRAG YOU TO THE SURFACE, SO I GUESS THAT WORKS. DON'T KEEP ME WAITING TOO LONG!” Papyrus leaves the two, shutting the door behind him.

Just leaving Sans alone with the human. They're glaring at him. Kinda murder-y. Well, being killed wouldn't put them in the best of moods. He can only guess.

“...If I said the only way to stop everyone from dying was to kill me... would you do it?” They speak after a long silence. Watching with eyes that seemed like they'd be quicker to murder him than let him do the killing part.

Which seems strange to him, because... “if i kill you, that kinda ruins the whole 'saving everyone' part, right? you're still part of that everyone. but...” He doesn't want to kill Frisk, not really. Killing actually isn't something he wants to do at all. He wants to believe there's at least a shred of goodness left in the human somewhere, but... “that's not what happened last time, huh.” It isn't a choice he'd pick now, but something had happened and he had taken it last time. The human's face flickers into a frown briefly, before returning to emotionless.

“chara.” The other's not even trying to hide it, so he acknowledges it. “so what's up? you grew a conscience and decided you want to stop treating life like a weird game?”

“I have this policy,” Chara ignores the question, which probably makes the answer 'no.' “You told me to keep track of how many times you killed me.” Hmm. Yep. That sounds like something he'd say. “So... I do. For each time you kill me...”

For some reason, when Sans had encountered Chara in the tunnel right before the surface... Sans had assumed that Chara was determined to kill everyone else before killing him. Chara had claimed they wanted to make him watch and suffer, or whatever. But clearly that had been a faulty assumption. Why would Chara need any kind of rules with the ability to reset time? To figure out where Chara is going with this 'talk', he doesn't need to be a quantum physicist. But he's one of those anyway.

Maybe he's supposed to feel torn about the decision. Like all the time he spent with Frisk, the care Frisk had shown to his brother and the others, is supposed to make him hesitant to attack. It doesn't. The decision comes almost immediately after the realization of Chara's intent.

His eye flares to life, shocking Chara's soul to blue. Sans raises hand and slams it down just as quickly, the blue soul bound to his rules of gravity. Chara's body bangs against the ground, and as soon as their chin hits the floor, Sans summons bones from the ground to impale the demonic child.

It doesn't work. Chara jumps out just in time, avoiding the lethal bones. And the subsequent bones that close in from the ceiling and floor, expertly weaving through them like a maze. And the blasters, the multiple bone heads that appear and blast energy at Chara. And again. And again. And again.

Chara dodges all the attacks like it's some kind of practiced dance. Sans sweats a bit from the crazy display of power, quickly catching his breath. Chara actually looks amused. “Looks like you already know. For each time you kill me, it's my policy to kill you two times that.” They shrug. “Wow. You didn't even second-guess that attack. Even after everything that's happened... we're not really friends, huh.”

Sans chuckles a bit, still forever smiling. Kind of weird that Chara is hung up over the friendship thing. Doesn't that sound more like Frisk? “i dunno kid. you tell me. are you actually friends with anyone?” Chara grasps the knife so tightly that their fist gets white. “i'm gonna go out on a bone and say nope.”

He dodges Chara's attack to his soul, his teleportation so fluid it makes him look like he's just dodging it normally. The way Chara moves against all his attacks, it's like they've got it memorized. He wishes he could remember that experience. Then he could change things up. There's no way this can end well, but he can't meekly accept death.

~~~~

God, he's got such a pounding headache. Sans stares at the ceiling, laying on his bed. He knows he's been killed. It's a weird feeling, like all of his bones aren't put together quite right. And that headache. It's only going to get worse when Papyrus starts shrieking his name. Sans rubs his eye sockets.

…

Time must have reset to this point a few times now if he's thinking about something that hasn't happened yet. And what with how the underground has become more peaceful... the only one who could have killed him is Chara. Nothing else would make sense.

…

Kind of feels like Papyrus should already be yelling. Sans actually gets a little worried. Maybe he's already messed up the timeline, and Chara is just doing whatever the heck they feel like to make his life hell. At least before he'd had some kind of weird rules to play by. It doesn't quite work if Chara breaks them or gets bored and decides to pursue a different game.

He rolls out of bed, leaving his room.

knock knock

He's not even halfway down the stairs when someone raps twice on the door. If it had been his brother... Papyrus would have already entered his own house. “uh... who's there?”

“Boo,” a voice calls out from the other side. Sans stops his trek down the stairs. It sounds kind of like Frisk. Or wait, is it Chara? Who had probably just killed him? Wait, Chara didn't like jokes. Wait... God, this headache is not helping his thought process. “You're supposed to say 'boo who,'” the voice on the other side sounds annoyed after waiting...

Still confused, he decides to humor them anyway... “boo wh-?”

The door crashes open, sliced into pieces. In comes the human, dagger in hand. Looking pretty happy. Sans prefers when they look more emotionless, because their smile just looks creepy. ...He can tell that the human has died. He's died. The human's died. Sans chuckles. This is just great.

“Aww, crying already, Sans?” Chara mocks, raising their dagger.

i think you worked a little too hard to try and make that line work. It's almost like they had to try and make that joke specifically, so maybe it meant more to them than to him.

Sans is kind of in awe. “welp. i must be doing a good job of something if you're so pissed off, kid,” he winks, keeping his good eye on Chara, in case he needs to attack. “what happened to that 'kill everyone before killing me' thing? got bored of it before it even happened?”

“You started it. You lied,” they're back to that deadpan look, pure malice in their voice. It's hard to defend himself against accusations in timelines he can't remember. “Real friends? Yeah right!”

“hmm,” Sans is surprisingly calm despite the other's blatant intent to murder. “you're right, kid. real friends don't kill each other.” The human actually freezes. So maybe Sans is on to something. “so you're here to kill me, huh. let me ask you something. the whole frisk and chara thing... is that even real?”

“....What?” The human stares at him.

“i dunno, the whole 'good frisk, evil chara' thing... it just seems... awfully convenient, you know?” He decides to let his doubts surface. The murderous intent actually falters. “like, if there's one thing i know about frisk... it's that they're a perfectionist. refusing to fight no matter what, subjecting themselves to eating pap's spaghetti, sending temmie to college, carrying a piece of snowman to the end of the world, getting me to put 29 hotdogs on their head...? it's kinda freaky, actually. and if there's one thing I know about chara... it's that they're a perfectionist. the murder absolutely everything, leave not one thing left that can move, kind of perfectionist, but still...” he shrugs.

“you've got friends that would give up their lives for you. would do absolutely anything for you. and for me, well... i thought some good food, some bad laughs, some nice friends would be enough. but that's the thing with perfectionists, right,” he hopes that the human will give him some sign, some way of telling him that he's wrong... “...they're not ever really satisfied. you can't appreciate how things are. because you can always go back, and make it better. or just screw it, and make it hell. so...” the human is still being oddly quiet, which makes him wonder if he's guessed the truth...

“...you've got everyone wrapped around your finger, kid. they'll do whatever you want. and me, well. i dunno, i was more content to just watch. let you do your thing. but for some reason, that's made you obsessed. i already know that 'chara' can turn on the waterworks easily enough, so maybe 'frisk' can act too. how do i know this isn't just some weird game to make me care? not that i didn't care before. just that... it's a different way than the others, and you don't like that. or more like, you can't figure it out, and you want to see what happens.”

...They're still quiet. Watching him. It was a long speech. But one he had to get off his chest. Because... if that's the truth, he wants to know. Maybe this whole Frisk/Chara thing is just made up. ...Even if it is, there's only the slimmest chance that he'll remember after time resets. But even so... if just for one moment... he wants to know the truth.

“You don't understand anything,” they say finally. They swing with their dagger, Sans quickly teleporting out of its way.

He takes a deep breath. “welp. i tried.” He really did, and he hated trying.

~~~~

He's got such a killer headache. He feels like he's died two times. When will this reset hell end?

“SANS? SANS?? SANS????”

He rolls out of bed.

It's Papyrus and the human. The human remains oddly quiet while Papyrus blabs on and on about the surface and four-wheeled bicycles. ...Sans can tell that the human died once, too. But he won't bring it up if the other doesn't.

Chapter Text

Sans drags Papyrus out of the flaming vehicle. It was probably a miracle that the other managed to drive down the highway at all, considering Papyrus's only experience with a real car was in his dreams. With a little bit of hot dog, Papyrus recovers instantly. Frisk has stayed silently glued to Sans's side after escaping the crashed car.

“IF YOU DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE A SMILE ON YOUR FACE, I'D ACTUALLY BE TEMPTED TO THINK YOU WERE -WORRIED-, DEAR BROTHER!” Papyrus poses dramatically like he's some kind of super hero.

Sans sighs. Looks like he had worried over nothing. Frisk didn't even need any healing at all. Sans knew the other's evading skills are impressive, but managing to get out of a car crash without a single scratch... kind of weird, but Frisk has talent in the weird department.

Sans takes a better look around them. They're out practically in the middle of nowhere, stranded on a bridge that crosses a large body of water. No other cars pass. Even if they did, would they stop to help some skeletons? Most humans would probably be freaked out by monsters. King Asgore had forbidden anyone from leaving the underground yet, until they worked out a sort of peace treat with the humans. ...Of course, they had ignored the King's request to go on Papyrus's errand. Not like the King actually cared enough to post guards at the barrier to stop entry to the surface.

“I HOPE YOU BROUGHT YOUR WALKING SHOES,” Papyrus grins widely at Frisk. “OR YOUR BALLET SHOES! YOU DID BRING -SOME- KIND OF SHOES, RIGHT?” Frisk holds up a foot for Papyrus to inspect, proving that yes, the human does indeed have shoes. But not ballet shoes. “YOU'RE SO WELL-PREPARED! I'M PROUD OF YOU, HUMAN.”

Walking a few miles just to go back to town does not sound like fun. Sans still has the bicycle, but the car smolders in a decisively unsafe manner. That's okay, Sans knows a better way out of this mess. “hey guys, i know this shortcut-”

“No shortcuts!” Frisk interrupts, almost frantically. The child has been acting unusually aloof, sticking to Papyrus closely to the point that Sans wonders if they're trying to avoid him. And now this. Something is definitely up with them.

“THERE'S NO SHORTCUTS ON THE PATH OF LIFE, SANS!” Papyrus backs up the human's opinion. “BESIDES, CAN'T YOU SEE HOW WELL-PREPARED THE HUMAN IS TO TREK THOUSANDS OF MILES?! IT'D BE A SHAME TO LET THEIR SHOES GO TO WASTE!”

Sans rubs his head. Sometimes he thinks he gets more progress talking to his pet rock than trying to reason with these two. “ok. maybe i'll wait for you two up ahead...” he considers leaving them to their journey of a thousand miles, and all that. Except Frisk watches him so carefully, it makes him a little nervous to leave Papyrus alone. “...if it takes too long.” He rests his hand on his bicycle, ready to wheel it as they walk, since riding would easily overtake the two. He supposes he's won the race against Papyrus, but decides the victory isn't worth bringing up.

“WELL, WE BETTER MOVE QUICKLY THEN!” Papyrus takes off running along the highway.

“wait, that's not what i meant...” Sans tries, but the other has already gotten a head start, leaving him with Frisk.

Frisk has their hands folded neatly in their lap, watching Papyrus's running, but apparently not feeling the need to take off after them. Maybe this is the best time to find out how Frisk is doing...

“so... how's it goin', kid? still hanging in there?”

Frisk nods once. Maybe yes or no questions aren't the best way to make them open up.

“Do you like the surface?” They ask back a question of their own, surprising him.

He looks to the sun, the water glittering below the bridge beneath its light. “yeah, i guess so. it might not be new to people like us, but seeing my bro get so excited... well, i'm happy when he is. i'm a lot more simple than you'd think.” He pauses, thinking. Frisk continues to watch him. “how 'bout you? or are you bored already. you said you had places to be; don't you want to at least visit your family?”

“Toriel is my mom,” they say it so naturally, without hesitation. Sans thinks that the other might really mean it. “And you and Papyrus, kind of like brothers...” The child looks up to him sideways.

He couldn't help but notice that Frisk had ignored the bored question. There's an awkward pause after their words, as if Frisk is waiting for Sans to say something. The sincerity of Frisk's words is difficult to read. Does Frisk really think that? Saying and doing are two separate things. It almost feels like a statement just to get Sans to agree and just have him say the same thing back. Which makes Sans wonder if it's a bit.. manipulative?

“....” After a moment, Sans reaches to pet Frisk's head. The human flinches but doesn't back away. Then relaxes when Sans just rubs their head. “We should get you back to Toriel. The ambassador thing can wait, when the King figures out what he wants you to do, anyway. You know you'll always have a home with us, buddy.”

Frisk nods slowly.

...A faint melody stirs in the air...

Music? Out here?

Frisk casts a questioning glance at Sans, apparently hearing it too. The song gets louder. Papyrus actually stops running in the distance. Above them...?

A box-like shape flies in the sky. Getting closer, carrying with it the melody. Closer until the shape becomes recognizable. Flames behind it as it jetpacks towards their little group. Sans mentally groans. Mettaton. His body has apparently been repaired, back to his original box-like form, with fully charged batteries. The robot holds a flamboyantly pink umbrella, as if this somehow gives him the ability to fly. (It doesn't.) More than just the umbrella, in his hands he's carrying... a familiar yellow dinosaur. The music comes from his body, and sounds suspiciously like gameshow music.

Mettaton lands a few feet in front of Frisk and Sans, the dinosaur none other than doctor Alphys. The robot sets the doctor lightly on her feet,who already looks flushed and bothered before any words have been exchanged. Papyrus has already changed course, running back upon witnessing his idol, but it will take a few moments to catch up.

“*Welcome, beauties, to today's game show!” The robot waves happily, apparently to the invisible audience. Sans suspects cameras either in the robot's body, or wouldn't put it past Alphys to somehow have rigged cameras on the surface already.

“Uhh, King Asgore told us to go look for you guys,” Alphys sweats, playing with her hands, as if she's somehow inconveniencing them greatly.

“*Drama! Romance! BLOODSHED!
*You DON'T want to miss the premiere of this show, folks!” Mettaton continues to wave. Forever.
“*You'll help by being one of the participants, right, gorgeous?”

“Mettaton thought that we could do a promo in the surface, since most of the monsters aren't allowed up here until later,” Alphys attempts to explain. “Then we heard you were already up here, so... a-anyway, if it's not too much trouble...”

“bloodshed sounds a little like trouble,” Sans points out. If there's anything good about the situation, it's only that Frisk looks a bit curious. Randomness does that, sometimes. The first time.

“*Ratings always skyrocket with a little bit of violence!” Mettaton proclaims happily. Even if he doesn't wish any ill on humanity, apparently he'll do anything for ratings.

“*Besides. Any monster who doesn't help with my show but sneaks up here on the surface... King Asgore said they'll be thrown into the dungeon!”

Hmm. That doesn't sound much like Asgore, although technically Sans and Papyrus shouldn't be wandering the surface world...

“*You'll help your friends avoid that fate, won't you, darling?” Mettaton asks Frisk. Before they even respond, Mettaton speaks again.
“*Great! Knew I could count on you. Let's get this show started!”

Chapter Text

Did Mettaton purposely make even simple matters confusing? The robot's incessant chatter makes Sans's ears ring. Or maybe the world had just reset so many times that all problems felt twice as aggravating.

Alphys had abandoned them to set up the show, which made Sans wonder who thought this would be a good idea. Mettaton wanted to film a live TV show in the human world... in the middle of a highway? A show on the surface that featured Mettaton, instead of all the new things in the human world? Yes, that's precisely what Mettaton wants, apparently.

Papyrus has literal stars in his eyes upon meeting Mettaton. “OH MY GOSH METTATON!” Papyrus clutches his own face like it might fall off. “METTATON, I'M ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS!”

“*Yes darling, who isn't?!” Mettaton loves attention, of course.

Sans rolls his eyes, as his brother rolls around the ground happily. Thanks to Sans's brother being a number one fan, Papyrus had never missed a single episode of Mettaton's shows. Even the repeats. And the repeating timeline. Made it repeat. Repeating the repetition. Possibly, it's one of the worst parts of repeating history.

“*Ah-ha! You!”

Sans freezes. Was the robot actually observant enough to catch his eyeroll?

“*You're another fan, aren't you? Yes! You have a comedy act at my MTT-resort!
*What an AMAZING day for you both! I have such a talent for making others' dreams come true!”

Sans chuckles. Actually, he'd picked up that job because it was one of the travel hotspots of monsters. He had made it a point to know every single monster in the underground by name, and all their families. “ya caught me. im a bone-a-fide fan.” He says it more for his own protection than to spare Mettaton any feelings.

“*Gorgeous, hit me up sometime after we finish this film shot. I have a feeling both you and your brother would make excellent MTT agents!”

...It sounds like another version of hell.

“...Th-there!” Alphys finishes her handiwork. She stands up straight, admiring her work proudly, as the others also look.

It's the infamous puzzle game that doctor Alphys had invented, that Papyrus once tried to use against the human, and Mettaton had used against the human. Alphys had carefully placed individual tiles on a stretch of the highway, which were ready to be assigned colors with the flip of the switch.

Does Sans even want to know?

“so... we did establish that no one's actually trying to kill the human anymore, right?” Sans feels like he has to ask. The puzzle is somewhat known for its pain level.

The human looks completely unconcerned about the whole affair.

“This thing can't k-k-kill anyone,” Alphys blanches visibly at just the thought of death.

“YEAH! THE ELECTRIC SHOCKS AND BITING PIRANHAS ARE MERE SETBACKS THAT CAUSE MILD TO SEVERE DISCOMFORT!” Papyrus glares at Sans. “BROTHER, ARE YOU SO LAZY THAT YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE PUZZLES WE'VE USED IN THE PAST?!”

Well the version that Sans and Papyrus owned was actually a simplified replica, that Papyrus had ordered after seeing it on MTT-TV. So no, Sans had never really cared enough to learn all the rules... just that red tiles were walls, and pink tiles did nothing. That was all that Papyrus's puzzle machine could make.

“*Darlings, darlings, PLEASE,” Mettaton gestures wildly until the rest of the crew stops stealing his spotlight.
“*This isn't another one of those maze games. Oh no. It's...” He pauses dramatically, before subtly nudging a button on his metal body. Confetti flies out of his robot body, covering the ground in multi-colored glitter.

“*A... DANCE FLOOR!” He claps. “An extremely perilous dance floor, where a single misstep could cause pain or even ruin the whole choreography.
*You know, it's recently come to my attention...
*That it seems like EVERYONE dated the human at some point, except a certain someone...
*This dance is a way to bring Frisk and that special someone closer!”

Sans suddenly sweats a bit. Somehow Mettaton had heard about Alphys's date (unsurprising) and even Papyrus's date (more surprising). Sans is the only one who never went on a date with the kid. Because, he'd always thought of them just like that... a kid. Occasionally he thought of them as a more powerful entity too, neither human nor monster. Neither were very romantic. But if Mettaton was dead set on getting them together, who knew what could happen?

“WH-WHAT?! THAT DATE... I'M STILL ACTING LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED! YOU'RE MISTAKING ME FOR SOME OTHER COOLSKELETON95!” Papyrus suddenly becomes very shifty-eyed. Alphys also blushes.

...Ah, Sans does recall a certain internet blog his brother wrote about dating the human.

“*Then it came to me... what better drama than having all the ex's compete with Frisk, before Frisk finds their one true love?

*Yes! All past rivals must be defeated before finding true love!” Mettaton proclaims.

This sounds like too much. Sans already tries to think of some kind of excuse to bail out of this crazy show...

“*And that one true love... the star of this show... is none other than...




*...me!”

...Of course. Sans actually feels a little egotistical to think that Mettaton was talking about him. Sans sighs quietly; crisis averted.

“OOH, SO EXCITING! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO BE ON ONE OF METTATON'S SHOWS!” Papyrus catches Sans in one arm, and Frisk in the other, pulling both in a great hug. The unexpected hug causes the shorter skeleton to stumble a bit, but the human has already started to return the hug before Papyrus finishes bringing them closer.

Mettaton directs them into pairs, having Frisk face off against Alphys, while Sans and Papyrus duke it out, at the same time but in different sections of the tiles. Apparently Mettaton is the king of the dance floor, so he's saving himself as the 'boss'. And the two skeleton brothers are 'fated to fight each other, as brothers are apt to do.' And Alphys and Frisk … wouldn't it make more sense for Frisk to be waiting for the winner, instead of Mettaton? Logic seemed to take a backseat behind entertainment for the robot, and Mettaton would always be the star.

Sans and Papyrus wait on the tile-covered highway for Mettaton to turn on the switch. Sans thinks that the situation would have been a lot more funny to watch if he hadn't been somehow roped into participating. Maybe he should let his brother win... it would be a lot less effort.

Nah, who was he kidding. This could be a great opportunity to troll his brother.

“hey pap. i don't really remember all the rules to this thing, could you help your skelebro out?”

“UN. BELIEVABLE. THAT'S A JOKE, RIGHT?” Papyrus glares at Sans, apparently trying to figure out if his brother is a comedian or just lazy. “WELL EVEN IF YOU'RE TRYING TO BE FUNNY, FOR YOUR SAKE BROTHER, I SHALL REPEAT THE RULES. RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE. GREEN FORCE A FIGHT. YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC. ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. BLUE TILES-”

“sorry bro, i wasn't paying attention. could you uh, start at the top?”

“WH-? YOU ASKED ME FOR HELP, THEN DECIDED NOT TO LISTEN?! OPEN YOUR EARS CAREFULLY, BROTHER!” Papyrus slams his foot down, clearly agitated. “GREEN TILES WILL MAKE YOU FIGHT. YELLOW TILES ARE LEMON-SCENTED. PINK TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE- WAIT, UHHH, RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE. ALSO I SAID THE LAST ONE WRONG, YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC-”

Poor Papyrus already sweats bullets. Sans wonders if he's a bad brother for finding Papyrus so funny to tease.

“*Here it comes, beauties! The amazing, completely randomly-generated dance floor!” Mettaton flips the switch. The tiles begin to alternate rainbow-colors, while Papyrus continues to babble on about the rules. Yeah, maybe Sans feels slightly guilty now. He sticks his hands in his pockets and waits.

Mettaton presses a button on his body, music bursting forth as if he's a juke box. It's an obnoxiously loud beat, nothing else – Sans wonders if it can be considered music.

“*Now follow along~ And do as I say~ The amazing, amazing, rainbow dance floor~” Mettaton sings to the beat.

Sans decides he liked the song more before Mettaton started singing. The changing tiles finally settle, a spread of different colors and effects.

“*Listen carefully~ By the time I count to three~ Find a tile~ that smells as sweet as me~”

Despite Sans's earlier comment about not paying attention, he had actually been listening to Papyrus. A scented tile? While Mettaton started the countdown, Sans lightly stepped on an orange one.

Zap!

Papyrus's skeleton glowed with electricity, having chosen a yellow tile. Sans flinches for him. Looked kind like 'severe discomfort.'

The rest of Mettaton's singing instructions have them cover a few colors. The only one Papyrus manages to get correct is Mettaton's favorite color: pink. But the score is clearly in Sans's favor, having 'danced' to the correct tile each time. He looks across to the other two contenstants.

Alphys shakes, hugging a red tile like it might be the life of her. Even if she made the puzzle and knows the rules by heart, she has no sense of cordination. ...Sans doubts she managed to move more than one or two tiles during the whole dance. The human is grinning, seemingly enjoying the dance. Or the victory. Maybe both?

“*The winners are clear! The comedian and ultra MTT-fan, and the human!” Mettaton announces with more confetti, the puzzle temporarily deactivating.

“SANS... I'M SO PROUD OF YOU... ACTUALLY PUTTING WORK INTO SOMETHING!” Papyrus glows, no bitterness about the defeat at all. “BUT NOW YOU MUST GO ALL THE WAY!! TAKE FIRST!”

“i'll see what i can do,” Sans is (always) smiling back. “frisk sure loves games, so it might be hard to win.”

Frisk bounds towards them happily, leaving the defeated Alphys behind. (The red tile she had been previously clutching left her hugging thin air.) Yeah... the human wants to win, Sans can tell. They look up at him expectantly with those big eyes.

“sometimes a break from the serious stuff can give all our bones a rest, kiddo. let's just worry about the world tomorrow, okay?” He thinks that if this will distract them, even for a moment, it might give him more time. Although personally, he would prefer relaxing with pizza and a movie – but he knows they would get bored of something like that. And the world might very well depend on the level of the human's boredom.

Chapter Text

Frisk bounces up and down impatiently while Mettaton monologues about fate, dancing, and multi-colored tiles. Actually, Frisk's impatience seems to make Mettaton speak faster, and faster, until the robot's words are barely comprehensible. Sans chuckles quietly at the human's enthusiasm; Frisk really wants to play this game apparently.

“*The winner of this will face the King of Dance, METTATON!” Mettaton proclaims.
“*But my one true love, I know will win faster than my heartbeat!”

Papyrus keeps Alphys company on the sidelines. No longer part of the game, they're content to watch the rest of show play out. “YOU CAN DO IT! YOU CAN WIN!” Papyrus cheers. “BOTH OF YOU!!”

They can't both win, but Sans appreciates the sentiment. Mettaton flips the switch, signaling the start of the round. The tiles change, settling into their respective randomized colors. The pattern is different than when Sans battled Papyrus, so Sans tries to remember as many colors as he can.

“*My cell is unlisted~ But if you love me~” Mettaton starts to sing. As soon as he starts, Frisk has already taken off towards a tile.
“*You know which tile~ Will call me~”

Sans has no idea which color is the correct answer, but Frisk apparently knew the answer already. Which meant following Frisk is probably the best way to at least tie. Frisk hops gleefully on a green square, Sans right behind them. His pudgy stomach bumps into the human, both of them standing on a tile clearly meant for only one person.

“Cheater,” Frisk frowns indignantly. “Get your own spot!”

“me? cheating?” Sans laughs. “im not the one running my bones to the answer before the question's finished.”

Frisk opens their mouth to protest, but then seems to realize that Mettaton is already halfway through giving the next tile direction. Whatever they were going to say gets temporarily forgotten, rushing over to the next answer.

Sans follows them again. Earning another glare from the human. And follows them again for the third one, the human moving again before Mettaton has finished.

“ya know... kid...” Sans thinks he should probably put it out there. Reverting timelines just for the sake of a game seems like a trivial use of power. “it's okay to make a mistake once in a while, and just take things as they are. not everything has to be so perfect, you know?”

Frisk stomps their foot with unusual force on the correct tile. Their back is turned to him, little fists clenching abruptly. Not quite murderous intent (yet?), just suddenly hostile. What just happened?

“I've got you figured out, you know,” the human turns around halfway, glaring.

Uhhhhhh. Sans feels like he's accidentally stumbled on a trigger word or something. Who is he talking to? Frisk? Chara? Both?

“You loop too. Like the others, but in reverse,” the human continues bitterly. Timeline terms? Sans has an idea on what the human could mean, but not the specifics. It puts him instantly on guard. “You decide based on what will happen from last time, while everyone else decides based on what is happening. In the end, you all fall into the same fifty-fifty though.”

It kind of... pisses him off. The human has him 'figured out'? And everyone else, for that matter? They've created terms, classifications, to neatly place all of them in. That's not how friendship works. That's not how people work.

“heh. that so.” The game they were playing has already been forgotten, the two staring at each other. “people are just people, buddy. it matters less of what they do and more of what they are.” He has more to say, but...

“*Darlings?!” Mettaton shrieks, waving his arms wildly. The colored floor turns off, leaving it a dusty grey.
“*You can't just both GIVE UP while on live television! Or if you are, at least give me some warning!”

The tense moment gets suspended. Sans takes a few steps away from the human.

Mettaton sighs. “*Well then. This is unexpected. You both have the same amount of points, so I suppose that means you're both tied.”

Papyrus cheers loudly behind them. Sans had been wrong – they had both won, after all. Or both lost, depending on perspective.

A cell phone rings. Actually, Mettaton rings like a cell phone. He pushes a button on his chest. “*Hello?! I'm kind of in the middle of a show, here …. …...
*What do you mean, none of it got recorded?!” He cries, loud enough for the whole world to hear. He slaps the button again, a beep indicating the call has ended.
“*This is unacceptable! Alphys, dear; to me! We're going to STORM into the MTT HQ and demand to know what went wrong!”

“Y-you mean my lab?” Alphys seems confused. Sans doesn't recall hearing about an MTT-HQ in the underground, either.

“*Away we go!” Mettaton picks up his pink parasol, then Alphys, and jets into the sky.

“*Toodles, my beauties! Let's try this again when the recording's all fixed!” The robot flies off...

They're gone just like that...

Ring, ring...

Another cell phone...?

The human fumbles with their keychain, taking out their phone. “Mom...?” The child mainly listens as a voice talks on the other end, only occasional sounds to indicate they are still listening. Sans can't hear the words, but recognizes the voice as Toriel. After a minute, Frisk clicks the phone off, looking between the two skeleton brothers. “...I'm going to go home, now,” they say.

Even after reaching above ground, apparently Frisk would rather stay with Toriel, instead of finding their own family.

“IT'S BEEN A LONG, ADVENTURE-FILLED DAY,” Papyrus agrees. For some reason Sans feels like the day has been much longer than what it actually was. The sun is already low in the sky. “IT'S TIME WE RETURN HOME AS WELL, BROTHER. BUT NEVER FEAR! WITH THE BARRIER GONE, WE CAN RETURN HERE ANYTIME!”

Sans wonders if he should tell his brother that they're not supposed to be above ground until the King works out the monster-human relationship, but decides against it. No reason to burst his bubble yet. And actually... if there's anyone who knew the most about Frisk, it might be their surrogate mother. Especially after Sans's last conversation with Frisk, he doesn't seem to be making any progress. If it's not a problem he can solve by himself, maybe others can at least give him information he needs to help Frisk and stop Chara.

“actually kid, you mind if i come with you to tori's?” He asks. “i got some new jokes i'm sure she's dying to hear,” he winks.

Frisk looks curious, but simply nods.

“I THINK I'LL PASS,” Papyrus looks unimpressed. A good way to make his eager brother go away was to simply mention jokes or puns, and the taller skeleton would practically run out the door.

“don't worry pap, i'll be back in time to read you a bedtime story,” Sans promises. He knows his brother won't sleep until the deed is done, so he can't take too long.

Chapter Text

Sans had always imagined Toriel's house looking something like this, ever since they first started telling knock-knock jokes through the door. A cozy little house in the ruins, with a pleasantly warm fire, books lining the shelves, and so many plants. When Sans and Frisk enter, the entire house smells like butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

In the kitchen, they find Toriel, still wearing an apron and baking mitts. Keeping Toriel company is Undyne, who is not wearing baking mitts, but has cake batter lacing her hands. There's also a smashed bowl that had once held batter, likely from Undyne's cooking 'help.' As soon as Sans and Frisk enter, Frisk runs into Toriel, hugging the woman's legs.

“Oh, my child,” Toriel smiles warmly, enveloping Frisk in an oven-mitted hug. “You will be forever welcome to stay here, as long as you want. You know that, do you not?”

Frisk pulls back, looking up at their mom, before nodding solemnly.

“And you too, Sans,” Toriel looks up to the skeleton. “You and your brother are welcome to stay overnight, anytime.”

Seeing Toriel and Frisk like this, makes Sans want to forget about the whole Chara thing. If the child truly retains the goodness in their heart, then surely this moment must be proof that they still exist in there, somewhere.

“aw, thanks, tori. but i think one child is enough to take care of without addin' me and papyrus.” It's a kind offer, but unlike Frisk, Sans and Papyrus actually have a home. “i just came for a friendly chat for a bit tonight.”

“You 'n me both! The Queen was just helping give me ideas for what to do with the rest of the Royal Guard,” Undyne says. “I mean, we're all disbanding, but I don't just wanna leave 'em in the cold with their jobs.”

“We'll need plenty of help to build a school for all the monsters,” Toriel looks pleased. “I think we'll have a fine arrangement.”

“Hey punk,” Undyne motions to Frisk with a batter-covered hand. “You ever tried raw batter? It's like, better than the pie itself. I think we still got a spoonful left.”

Frisk turns curiously to her.

“No!” Toriel suddenly becomes stern. “Do you not know that raw batter will make you sick? Children are especially susceptible.”

Undyne rolls her eyes, but acquiesces to her wishes. “Sorry kid, better listen to what yer mom says.” She turns on the sink and starts to wash the batter from her hands.

“Oh, Sans!” Toriel is quickly back to being joyful. “I've been working on more jokes. What happened to the ship that sank in the sea of piranha fish?”

He's actually heard this one before, but decides to humor her. “dunno, tori. what is it?”

“It – it came back a skeleton crew,” Toriel giggle-snorts halfway through her own joke's answer.

“ha, good one. How about this: why did the skeleton run up the tree?” He's good enough not to laugh in the middle of bad puns. Toriel thinks very seriously about it for a few moments. “because a dog was after his bones,” he delivers with a wink. Toriel promptly starts to laugh gracelessly.

“GOD!!” Undyne rolls her eyes. “C'mon kid, these old people jokes are making me get older by the minute. Let's move to the living room and I'll show you some cool new moves I saw from Alphys's anime!” She drags Frisk by the arm, out of the kitchen.

Leaving just Toriel and Sans alone.

Toriel peers into the oven to check the pie, but doesn't open it yet. Keeping every last speck of heat inside the oven while the pie bakes.

Now seems like potentially the best time to have a real conversation. Sans knows that Toriel is the type to worry very easily. They had talked a lot more through the door than just exchanging jokes... Sans had told her much about Papyrus. Toriel had told him much about Asriel. Even though they hadn't met each other face to face until recently... they had been close friends for a long time.

“hey tori...” He hesitates.

This is going to be an awkward conversation no matter how he does it, but he wants to do it in a way that won't make her worry about Frisk. She's already looking at him with concerned eyes just from his more serious intonation, and he hasn't even said anything yet.

“what are you and frisk gonna do now, with the barrier gone and frisk being the ambassador?” He decides to start lightly, maybe an idea of the future can help him expect when Chara wants to strike.

“Hmm,” Toriel's expression lifts a little, as she ponders the question. “Well, I want to start the school, of course. Frisk will likely attend too, as traveling above ground would be a rather long trip from here. As far as the ambassador thing goes, I'm not really sure. I don't know if Asgore even properly thought that one out,” she frowns. “It might be dangerous, a lone child trying to represent monsters. Well, I suppose Frisk will always have one of us with them on such occasions. But I am certain they will try their best.”

“i was surprised when frisk agreed to being an ambassador. it's a huge responsibility.” He's not surprised at all. Frisk loves challenges. It's to lead into his next question... “the kid's so quiet all the time, it's hard for me to guess what they really want. they'd ask if they needed something, right? what d'you think frisk needs?” If he can find the cure to their boredom, Chara will stop destroying his friends, just because they can.

“Frisk needs our love and support,” Toriel's answer comes easily. “Frisk asks for little, but that does not make me want to give them less. More than simply sustained or satisfied, I want Frisk to be overcome with joy.”

Typical motherly response. Sans pauses that train of thought. Maybe Toriel has a point, beyond just the motherly aspect. Pure brute force could not possibly be the answer, not with someone who could unlimitedly rewind time. Reasoning with Frisk, Chara, both of them... it required more. But what could he possibly teach such a being? Frisk is already surrounded by loving people who would do anything for them. If Frisk hasn't learned that yet... what would make now any different?

He wants to just talk with Frisk. But lately, he feels like his words go straight through the other. There's no point to it if he can't get through... It's probably why he's talking to Toriel instead of Frisk now.

“Can I ask you a question now, Sans?” Toriel opens the oven, lifting out the butterscotch-cinnamon pie. She sets it on the counter to cool; it will be too hot to eat for a while.

“i suppose i can allow it,” he jokes. But really, it catches him off guard... Even though a question for a question seems completely fair.

“What will you do now?” She flips his same question back to him.

Such a simple question, but one he hasn't put much time or thought. The world was always in danger of being reset. The world is still in danger of being reset. The world is in danger of being completely wiped out still.

He still doesn't know what to do about all of it. Outside of love and hope that Frisk can remain in power, Sans can't stop Chara from killing everyone or resetting the timeline. He can love and he can hope, but inside he knows his chances are slim. This precarious balance of peace is determined to fall.

“i dunno,” he answers after a long pause. “honestly, i enjoy the simple things in life. the surface is cool and all, but i'd happily just eat some pizza and watch movies instead. although, i guess i'll have to help my bro with his job - i got a feeling he'll need some help with how things work above ground.”

“Maybe you'd like to be a teacher at the school we're building, then,” Toriel offers.

The suggestion takes him off guard. “me? a teacher?” He chuckles, only because the image seems completely ridiculous. “dunno what i could even teach the kids. plus, it sounds like an awful lot of work.”

“You could teach science and physics,” Toriel smiles. “I think you would get along very well with the children. You just need a firmer hand when it comes to discipline, but I think you could adapt very well. It is good to have a dream or goal to aspire towards.”

If the world stops catching fire, maybe he'll consider it. Otherwise, there's little point in goals. “hmm. maybe if you don't mind me putting on educational movies for kids for a few lessons, instead of me doin' the teaching part. thanks, tori. i'll think about it and let you know.”

A dream of a better tomorrow, huh. A dream... and hope? He feels like he's on the verge of remembering something important.

It was when Papyrus had insisted they all get together, to stop the kid from fighting Asgore. When Sans first met Tori face-to-face. There's a point in time where he can't remember what happened.

The world is ending.

A flower, and bright light. Someone who could also alter reality, the ability to travel timelines and form the world the way they saw fit.

Another with Frisk's power, who wasn't Frisk or Chara.

Someone who understands and can even combat the human's power...

If such a person still existed, wouldn't they be Sans's best hope to stop Chara?

Sans can't stop the human by himself. And whoever once stood in the human's way, clearly their strength was less than the human. But... maybe together, they could find a way to stop Chara.

Even if the unknown entity turns out to be evil.

…

He needs to find this person. It's a desperate hope, and yet the best lead he has. How does he find someone he doesn't even know?

Toriel has taken to wafting the pie, in an effort to cool it down, while Sans was thinking. “It's getting late, and it's still not cool enough,” she sighs. “I think I'll just save a piece for Frisk, and send them to bed. Would you like me to put some tea on for us?”

There's a golden flower sitting neatly in a vase, next to the pie. The King really liked those golden flowers, too – a great garden in the courtyard was just filled with them. Didn't Sans see some of those flowers outside Tori's house too? That flower that had appeared when Frisk nearly fought the King... it had also been a golden flower.

“naw,” he declines her offer, thoughts still elsewhere. “think i'll take a quick walk before heading back home to pap.”

“Certainly. You're welcome to return any time, Sans,” Toriel smiles.

They both leave the kitchen to the living room. Undyne poses dramatically while Frisk watches curiously. The former head of the royal guard shows the human all the moves she can think of, from anime to wrestling to knightly poses.

“Frisk, my child, time for bed,” Toriel says soothingly, offering her hand. Frisk jumps up and rushes to Toriel's side, taking the offered hand. “Say good night to your friends, dear.”

“...G'night,” Frisk smiles very softly, voice barely audible. Toriel leads the child away, towards their room for sleep.

“Guess it's time for me to head back and sleep too,” Undyne yawns. She's been crashing at the skeleton brothers' house ever since her own home burned to the ground. Sans has already started walking away. “YO! Yer goin' the wrong way,” Undyne glares at Sans suspiciously, who's walking towards the door towards the ruins, instead of the forest where his home lies.

“i'll catch up with you later, undyne. tell my bro i'll be back soon, ok?” Sans winks. He's already out the door, hearing a yeah whatever from Undyne. Sans walking the wrong way or taking many shortcuts is perfectly normal for him.

If Toriel likes the golden flowers as much as the king, then Sans suspects there might be a garden somewhere in the ruins. It's a small lead, but the best one he has right now – and if this doesn't pan out, he can check the throne room one last time.

The mystery person who can also control time... he needs to find them, and convince them to help save Frisk.

Chapter Text

Faint moonlight leaks from cracks in the ruins, the ceiling far above. Sans passes piles of decaying leaves, a reminder of what exists above. A few froggits blink lazily as he walks by; this is possibly Sans's only unfamiliar territory of the underground. He would need to revisit and become friends with the other monsters here at some time... he made it a point to know every monster in the underground personally. But tonight, he's only looking for one.

He needs to find the flower. He needs to find the one who can alter time and reality, to combat Chara's own powers.

but didn't they fight before?

The thought is terrifying. The unknown entity had attacked Sans. He had felt the pain; knew they were all in danger, but...

i believed in frisk. the kid would save all of us, so they didn't need my help.

But things are different now. Simple belief wouldn't save all of them. But if this entity had been willing to attack Sans and all of Frisk's friends... they couldn't be a good person. Some force might be need.

He clenches his fist, his eye flaring blue briefly just at the thought of combat.

He's pretty damn strong; he knows that. He was created to fight. Just, in the face of anomalies that could bend time, giving them infinite attempts to win... well, what use is strength then? His only hope is that he can make them give up. Get bored of failing.

After a long walk, he finds the garden of golden flowers – or, maybe just a small patch would be more accurate. They seem almost out of place, surrounded by barren ground. More out of place is the person standing next to the flowers.

Sans knows it's a child because of their striped shirt. They turn around slowly at his approach.

“Howdy, Sans,” the child speaks.

If Sans had blood, it would have been very cold. He's never seen this person before. “do i know you?” And at the same time, he hopes that this is who he was searching for...

“No. But I know you,” he practically confirms Sans's suspicion. “I'm Asriel.”

Asriel... Sans knows that name, even if he doesn't know this person. And the way the child looks, it has to be... “toriel's son? geez kid, if you're still alive, you really need to let your mom know about it.” He'll never forget the woman's weeping on the other side of the ruin's door, as she told the story of how her son had died. But if Asriel had been alive this whole time...

“I'm not alive,” Asriel frowns, gaze lowering. “And besides, I... I can't stay here much longer...” Even as he speaks, his form flickers. Sans's eyes widen. Asriel's lower body flickers uncertainly, as if it might melt from existence at any moment. “Please... promise you won't tell her about me,” he wipes his watering eyes with the back of his sleeve.

Toriel's dead kid is talking to him. And apparently he's not actually alive, and will fade out soon. The situation is clearly more complex than Sans wants to know about right now. “ok. i won't,” Sans promises, even though he usually hates it. This one is okay. There's no reason to break Toriel's heart. “but listen. you, or at least your flower buddy, can alter time, right? i actually came here to look for you. it's kinda complicated, but-”

“It's Chara, isn't it?” Asriel interrupts.

The fact that Asriel knows everything beforehand is throwing Sans off sync. But if Asriel knows about Chara...

“then... it's really true? frisk and chara... chara's actually possessing frisk's body?” He's too confused to feel guilty for doubting his friend.

“It's more complicated than that. But Frisk and Chara are two separate entities,” Asriel confirms.

Sans has been dying to know the truth, ever since his double encounter with Frisk then Chara after the barrier was first released. Frisk had begged Sans to save them, and then Chara threatened to destroy all of their friends.

“If you recognize Chara's name, then it looks like my gamble paid off. The six human souls... I used part of their power to let you remember, at least for a little while.” Sans must look as confused as he feels, because Asriel laughs lightly. “You never wondered why you could remember the times immediately after the barrier broke?”

Sans is speechless. The times the barrier broke? Yes, there were definitely multiple times. First, Frisk had begged him to save the world from Chara. The second, Chara had revealed themselves as a villain, throwing Sans into this twisted game. The memories had been hard to grasp, but he never forgot his promise, or his goal – at least not for very long.

“When I released all the souls I had taken, I remembered...” Asriel looks positively miserable, like he might burst into tears at any moment... “...I remembered everything Chara had done through Frisk. I... I wanted to believe in Frisk, that they had really found a happy ending, but...” He shakes his head. “Just in case Frisk failed... that's why I left you a small part of your memory.”

Asriel opened his arms. Six multi-colored hearts, the souls of the humans, floated around him. “When all the other souls left... these ones came back to me. Maybe because they don't have a body anymore to return to.”

“why me?” It doesn't make sense. First the human, now this other kid. Children really seemed to think he's something special. “if you were expecting me to do something like saving this world... dunno why you picked me, kid. if you can actually affect the other timelines, seems like you'd be your own best shot.”

“I'm not strong. Not like you,” Asriel continues to look miserable. The way he says it, Sans feels like the other knows his strength from personal experience. “And of course you'd fight for this world. You've already done it before. So you'd do it again this time. When I took everyone's souls... I could feel everything. The people closest to Frisk, I felt them the strongest... I felt your feelings, Sans,” he tries to smile. “You wanted to be friends, but you were scared of them. You took them to Grillby's, just because you wanted them to see your friends – that monsters, even ones Frisk had fought with, were still people. And that if you told him how cool your brother is, maybe they'll look up to him – because if there's a role model for patience and compassion, no one could be better than your brother.”

Having someone he barely knew tell him his motives from the past... well, it's kind of weird. Sans is smiling, but it's awkward. “ok, kid... i'm not a saint, so maybe your memories of my memories got a bit distorted.”

“So maybe just love and kindness isn't enough. I mean, they have the power to undo time. They could be cruel, not to be evil – just to see what happens,” Asriel continues anyway. “One day, they might even try to kill your brother. So you can't use the same methods as him, not all the time. Maybe, just a few times... a healthy dose of FEAR will stop them from becoming too curious. And it's not like you wouldn't actually do it if you had to. If my mom hadn't asked you to protect the human, you would have killed them the moment you met.”

“ok........... did i mention how freaky this conversation is? you're really rattling my bones, no lie. can't we go back to either skeleton puns or the saving the world part?”

“Frisk and Chara...” Asriel finally stops.

Sans tries not to sigh too loudly in relief.

“They're two different people in the same body. The desire to kill, the want for things that didn't belong to them... it started with Chara. But Frisk wanted everything too. Frisk wanted to see what would happen. So they let Chara do everything. And one time, well... it went too far. Frisk never thought they'd face a choice they couldn't undo. To bring the world back, Frisk gave up their soul. It wouldn't save the world... it was too late for that... but it would at least give the world a little more time to survive.” Asriel shrugs, still smiling sadly. “Frisk doesn't fight it. If they do, Chara can just take over, anyway. So instead, Frisk has... accepted it, I guess. Trying to enjoy whatever Chara lets them.”

The friend that Sans really wanted to genuinely exist... Frisk actually exists. The fear that Frisk might be some kind of sociopath, just doing things for the sake of doing them, had been bothering him... But Sans understands what Asriel is saying.

Frisk feels hopeless. Instead of kicking and screaming against their fate, or even crying about... they were trying to enjoy what was left of them. Or maybe they had fought, in the past, but eventually gave up.

...It sounds... really messed up.

He wants to save Frisk. Even if Frisk barely remembers who they really are at this point.

“how do i separate them,” he swallows.

“You can't. I'm sorry. And even if you did find some way... Chara has Frisk's soul. Frisk would be pushed out, leaving just Chara in their body.”

“there has to be something,” he can't accept this. “even if we gave up on frisk, we can't kill them – they'll just come back. can't trap them – they'd just reset time. so why did you let me remember, if i can't do anything about it?!”

Everyone's hopes and dreams hadn't been enough. Sans's power hadn't been enough.

Please, just please. There has to be something. Some way.

“There's one hope,” Asriel practically whispers. His eyes flicker with determination. “But, it's a one-time thing...” Sans doesn't care what kind of plan it is... he'll do anything.

“One hope?”

A hauntingly familiar voice.

Sans freezes. Light footsteps sound from the ruins. The human emerges, shadowed by the overcast moonlight. Their sleeves are too long, dangling over their fingertips, so Sans can't tell if they're holding a knife or not.

Feels wrong though.

Definitely Chara.

“isn't it past your bedtime, kid?” Sans lets out a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He had gotten worked up, talking with Asriel. But he couldn't let this kid see him lose his cool.

“Sarcasm's not funny, Sans.” Chara stops between Asriel and Sans.

Asriel stares at Chara with a difficult expression to discern, as if he could peer into their soul. “Chara...” Asriel growls warningly.

But Chara has their eyes set on Sans, that eerily familiar deadpan look that just doesn't match Frisk's face. “You were talking about me,” they note, Sans catching just the slightest inflection that betrays their interest.

“yep. your favorite subject.”

Chara stops hiding the smile, exaggerating a shrug. “So do you have it, then? One hope.”

“haven't heard the plan yet. but even if i hadn't... yeah, i'll always have hope. stop you. save frisk. save the world. someone's gotta do it,” he returns the shrug.

“The only reason you have hope... is because I've let you be too happy,” the human proclaims.

A sinking feeling has been growing uneasily in Sans's stomach, but that hasn't stopped him from glaring fearlessly.

“Don't do it,” Asriel warns, like the human might actually listen to him.

“We'll be back before you know it, Az,” the human says, expressionless again. “Then you can tell me... if there's any hope left.”

So that's how it's gonna be, huh. Chara will time travel right in his face. Knowing Sans can't stop it, and that he has no way of remembering this moment. He chuckles darkly. “i'm not giving up, kid. and there's nothing you can say or do that'll change that... even if i die.”

“Let's find out what you say next time.”

Sans mentally accepts the challenge.

A journey to hell. He's ready for it. He wonders if being ready now will help him be ready in the next timeline.

The world ceases to exist.

~~~~~

He's not as forgiving as his brother.

Papyrus is dying in his hands. The slash wound is brutal, intended to kill in a single stroke of hate. And Papyrus's soul, who loved the human so, desired nothing but friendship. Papyrus had never stood a chance.

Next to them, the crashed car smokes. The human, Chara, waits with those devilish eyes, knife still in hand. There are no words, but their soul-less eyes seem to speak: what will you do now?

“DON'T BE ANGRY, SANS...” Papyrus struggles to speak. “FORGIVE THE HUMAN... AND... HELP.... THEM..... THROUGH........ THIS................”

He struggles not to let his tears fall. Papyrus's body turns into dust, coating his hands and lap. His hands tremble. Just a moment he was holding his brother, and now... There's nothing left. His brother... is the most important person to Sans.

“Happy now?” He grits his teeth, finally looking to the human with black eye sockets. He's not as forgiving as his brother. He can't just forgive someone who murdered his brother. Slowly, he takes a deep breath. Trying to calm down.

“my brother... he's always been really cool. he's a saint.” So much stronger than him.The world... Just won't be the same without Papyrus. “i guess that's what it means to have no level of violence... you wouldn't get it.”

There's only one chance for a happy ending...

“frisk... buddy... if you're still in there... go back!” He will beg as much as it takes, if it brings back his brother. Pride... there's no reason for such a thing. He just wants his brother. “i... know you can do it.”

A few awful seconds tick by in silence. The car still smokes next to them. There's a pile of dust on his hands and lap. The human has trace amounts of dust on their hands too, and their knife. Just staring at him.

“...But nobody came.” The child's face flickers to a smirk.

...Nothing happened.

Sans rises slowly to his feet, dust cascading to the ground.

Time could not reset and save him.

Chapter Text

Talking had failed.

Sans waits, hopes, that this timeline will end. He'll wake up back home, his brother will scream at him for leaving his sock on the floor, and they'll all go off on some crazy adventure. That is a dream. His brother just died. This is reality. Crying about it won't help. He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand.

But screw this, his brother didn't die, he was murdered.

His teeth clack together, the surge of emotion threatening to overcome him. He glares at the human. Chara, Frisk. The line between them is blurry. Does the line even exist? He thinks he's supposed to care, to process that somehow, that Frisk isn't actually the one who did it. But thinking and feeling are two very different things, and Frisk doesn't feel innocent. It feels like he barely knows this human at all.

Knife in one hand, flecks of his brother's dust on the other, the human takes out their cell phone.

Ring, ring...

He can hear the dial from the other side. And all the while, the human stares at him with such a blank expression, as if nothing has happened at all. It feels surreal.

“Ah... Mom?” The human speaks with a perfectly delicate intonation; the child that hates to ask anything from their parent.

Sans's pupils disappear. what in the actual hell. He's somehow both completely unnerved by their complete normalcy after murder, and the sudden fear that Toriel is next on their list.

“Me 'n Sans are going to drop by soon, is that okay?”

He sputters. “you've got a sick sense of humor, kid.” Like they could just stroll down the street as if nothing happened.

“Thanks, Mom.” The human clicks the phone off.

Sans doesn't know what course of action is best. Fight the human? Run and warn the others? Does anything even matter in a timeline he's already failed? He's still trying to process the last few events but having a hard time.

When the sound of obnoxious music plays overhead. It's a familiar tune, one that Papyrus loved so much... A game show song?

“*Oooh, yes!” Mettaton descends from the skies, holding Alphys and a pink parasol in each hand.
“*Welcome, beauties, to... to today's....”

Even the metal robot can tell that something is seriously wrong. His normally perfect stage presence falters. The human's will – the intent to murder – is palpable. It weighs like a heavy cloud, oppressing the very air itself. Mettaton gulps.

“I-i-i-i-is that d-d-d-d-d-dust?” Alphys gnaws on her nails, trembling as she sees the small pile near Sans.

Sans feels extremely tired. This universe has no happy ending. To try and warn them... to fight and save them... they would only be confused, and he would fail anyway.

The human barely takes a step forward. The knife slashes. It's not that the knife or even the child are particularly strong, physically. Just their intention to kill makes up for any sloppy mistakes when it came to skill. A monster's SOUL is like a magnet for their enemy's hatred. Chara's strike cuts the metal like butter, slashing through the metal construct and striking even deeper, the human-like body beneath it losing its soul.

Sparks fly off the robot, and it hits the ground – soul already shattered.

“Mettaton!” Alphys screeches, for once her fear actually outriding her normally nervous stutter. And then her eyes, to the attacker. “Wh-why?”

The human takes a step closer to her.

Alphys casts a pleading look to Sans.

Is he really just going to stand here, waiting for her to die?

no!

His blue eye flashes, his form teleporting just a fraction of a second too late. Alphys's body tears behind him, the human in front of him moving as if in slow motion, the trajectory of their arm already finished with the killing strike.

“Y-you... hate me after all?” Tears well up in Alphys's eyes. Sans turns his back to the human, not caring if the other attacks him or not. His hands catch Alphys in time to break her fall. “I... deserve this after everything... b-but Mettaton....!”

“no one deserves this,” Sans tells her quietly.

“I'm s-sorry.” She cries, her soul breaking apart. More dust on his hands.

Slowly he turns to the human, who has stopped once again just to watch him. “...and you just... don't even bat an eye, huh?” There's no compassion in those eyes, or any feeling at all. Whatever demon is left in there... there's nothing left of Frisk.

“You could have tried harder to save them. But you didn't.” They say, and it's true.

“what a strange thing for the murderer to say,” Sans slowly slides his dirty hands into his pockets. This must be the 'game' Chara had threatened to play. This is the timeline they make their threat a reality. Their only goal is to make him feel horrible... and it's working.

Or break him... he couldn't break yet. As long as the others lived, there was still hope. If Chara continued to follow their 'game', they would not kill him until the others died.

“then.. i'll just have to stay one step ahead of you.” He might have lost Papyrus, and failed Mettaton and Alphys, but there are still others. Fighting against the human to stop them would be pointless, as they would just rewind time, even if he won. Maybe his words would work better. He can still warn Toriel.

His eye flares with power as he prepares a teleport, a much longer distance than his normal short jumps. The spell will stretch his body's limits, but he will need all the time he can get, to properly convince her and get her to safety. He has to at least try.

Right as he's about to release the spell, he feels a body slam into his chest.

It's too late. The magic has already gone through.

The impact and his own magic send him crashing through space, the human entangled in his body from the physical contact, as well. They tumble straight into Toriel's bedroom, probably the last place Sans wants the human to be.

How did they know he was going to teleport right at that moment? Or that he'd even be going to a place like Toriel's home?

...What stupid thoughts about a time traveler. He feels silly even thinking about it for a few seconds. Well he's made a mistake and they're here now. But that doesn't mean he's lost.

Roughly Sans shoves the human off him, scrambling quickly to his feet. His bones are laced with cracks, blue magic visible beneath them. His breathing hitches as the effects of the spell catch up to him – that was a long jump from the surface to the ruins.

The human also rises. In the mad crash, their knife has fallen a few inches away from their form. It's the perfect opportunity.

His body creaks with power again, shocking the human's soul blue. He moves his arm sharply, the human's own gravity following the motion of his bones. They slam heavily against the wall, far away from their accursed weapon.

“Now, buddy, new plan,” he breathes with black sockets, his arm trembling from the effort of keeping the human's soul bound to the wall. Slowly he inches to the human, mainly to ensure that he's too close for them to try anything – and to put himself between them and their knife. “We're going to sit here, FOREVER, until you reset time.” It hurts. A lot. His bones ache from all the magic; his heart begins to catch up with the death it's witnessed.

The human opens their mouth.

And does the last thing Sans ever expected.

Tears stream down their face. Their voice lifts, crying loudly.

Sans has no idea how to even process what's happening. Has the human somehow reverted to being Frisk? Is this some kind of elaborate trick to make him lower his guard? There's no way he's letting the human go; the only answer for them is to go back in time.

The door bursts open before he can even finish thinking properly.

“My child?! Sans?!?” Toriel covers her mouth in horror.

Sans looks between the human, Toriel, the human, Toriel – and still, he won't, he can't release the human from the wall.

This looks bad.

“tori, i want you to stay calm,” Sans attempts to reason, even as the human's wails continue to grow louder and louder. “this isn't what it looks-”

He doesn't finish speaking. She takes two steps and slaps him across the face.

No, slap would imply she's hitting him with the palm of her hand.

She smashes her fist against his face. His hold on the human is instantly shattered as he's sent tumbling to the ground, again.

The human runs to Toriel, burying their tear-laced face within her robe. “Ohh, my child, do not fear any longer,” she envelops them in a hug.

Shakily Sans manages to stand up again. This can't end well. The human shoots him an evil glance from the folds of her robe, before burying their head again.

“toriel,” he tries to reason with her again. His bones sting, but the pain has become secondary. He needs to change his plan, again. Desperately, he just needs Toriel to believe in him. “that's not frisk. please take my word on this... that human only wants to hurt you.”

Toriel looks at him with some mixture between confusion and anger. He can only hope that by some small chance, she'll believe him – or at least enough to doubt the child in her arms.

“Sorry, Mom....” The child looks up to her. “I... I did something wrong, so now Sans is mad at me. It's my fault.”

“Oh, no, no, Frisk,” Toriel's grip tightens on the human. Her face contorts back to pain, and Sans knows he's lost in the war of trust. “It's not your fault, child. Whatever happened does not matter. Sans was not justified, bullying such a young and innocent one such as yourself. A true friend would have chosen another action like talking, rather than resort to fighting.”

She glares at Sans one last time. “Get out of my house,” she hisses, and he knows there's no reasoning with her.

It feels like a lucid dream, where the murderer is standing in the room and he's the only one that knows it, and yet no one believes his words.

The realization has left him in a somewhat stunned state. If he leaves, the human will kill her. If he attacks Chara, then the person he's trying to protect will intervene in the fight – and he would likely end up hurting her.

He's trapped.

The human has already demonstrated prior knowledge of his plans. Every point of defense he raises, the human twists into their advantage. It doesn't matter what decision he makes, because even if he wins for a moment, they will simply return in time – reliving the moment and warping it into what they want. They know the decision he will make before he even comes to a conclusion. He's always known what they could do, but knowing and experiencing are very different.

They want him to break? He's starting to break.

He has no solution to stop what will happen.

“Get out of my house,” Toriel repeats again, darkly, because he hasn't moved a single bone.

Slowly he complies, the fight within him dying. Toriel holds Frisk especially tight as he passes, the human watching with completely blank eyes. As soon as he passes the doorframe, the child darts to where he'd once been, only to retrieve their fallen knife.

He doesn't wait to see what the human will do now. He's pretty sure that if he turns back, they'll resume their murdering spree just to spite him. So he keeps walking. There is a distinct lack of screaming, so the human must have plans of continuing later.

“Yo...” Undyne waits awkwardly in the hallway. “Did something happen?”

He keeps walking. At this point, she's just another casualty. Toriel and Undyne are dead in his mind before the deed has been done. Maybe some people would want to say something significant to their friends, knowing it would be their last time together. But to Sans, their presence is just imminent failure. Not to mention, the human would likely interrupt any attempted heartfelt moments. So the best path he can take to get hurt the least – is to do nothing.

“Sans?!” Undyne becomes alarmed by his uncharacteristic silence. He's still trying really hard to ignore her, but she's started walking with him. “What happened?!”

He stops. Tiredly, he actually looks at her for the first time. Even considers, for a moment, that he should ask for her help in containing the human.

Her face twists abruptly in pain. The knife, already halfway through her form, dying her scales red. He's holding her body as it melts, sticking to his hands and mixing with the remnants of Papyrus's dust. He doesn't remember catching her, but here she is, dying in his hands.

Someone is screaming, loudly. Weeping, and crying out a name for a person who no longer exists.

don't look, he thinks, and looks anyway.

Toriel bleeds through her robe, her hands and mouth also stained the same, halfway collapsed on the ground, with eyes only on the human.

Toriel keeps asking what's wrong.

Their journey is over, she says.

They don't need to fight any longer.

Monsters and humans can finally live in peace, and she and Frisk can be family.

So why now? What possessed them to kill their friends and mother?

She's dying anyway, but the human shatters her soul, because they don't care to listen to whatever else she had to say.

There's dust everywhere, and it's clouding Sans's eyes.

The human, still holding the knife, turns to him.

That's it, then. Everyone's dead and he's failed. This is the timeline where they make their sick threat a reality. Everyone dead, with him as the only witness, before...

“There's still one left,” they say.

...before they kill him.

They step through Toriel's dust. Towards him.

He doesn't want this to be the world's reality...

His body consumes itself in a black void, using what little power he has left to teleport. It doesn't matter where, but for a moment golden flowers flicker in his mind – and he's brought to a small garden patch of golden flowers.

Faint moonlight leaks from cracks in the ruins, the ceiling far above. Finally, alone, by himself, he collapses to his knees and screams.

For his friends, himself, all the monsters, all the humans he's never met, the world that nearly had a bright future, for the human he once thought of as a friend, and especially for his brother.

“Sans...” A child he's never met says his name. Sans had been so distraught, he hadn't even noticed that there was another in the ruins.

“...do i know you?” He wonders since they know his name. He made it a point to know everyone underground, yet this child looks unfamiliar.

“...Asriel,” the child introduces himself, his face as pained as Sans feels. “There's still hope, Sans... hope to save your brother, everyone, even Frisk.”

This person is someone he's been looking for. Maybe not in this timeline, but... certainly in another. And now Sans has found them, so... that must mean something. He needs to trust them. His heart stirs with just the faintest hope.

Chapter Text

The child has introduced himself by the name of Asriel. The child's appearance, plus their name, it can't just be a coincidence.

“toriel's son?” Sans wonders. Toriel's dead son, except not dead, apparently. If only she was still alive... he can't imagine her joy upon finding her son still alive. The weight of her death, of Papyrus and everyone, weighs heavily on him. The child had spoken of hope, and names that Sans knew but the child should not, like he knew everything that Sans had just endured. “....” He's so tired, he's not sure he has the strength to endure much longer, even with the faintest glimmer of 'hope.'

Light footsteps sound from behind him. Damn, they caught up fast. Sans pulls what remaining strength he has left in his heart, forcing himself to face them. The demonic human emerges, shadowed by the overcast moonlight. Their sleeves are long, dangling over their fingertips, but Sans can still see a glimmer of light from the tip of their knife.

“...Why does he recognize your name, and not mine?” They ask, just the slightest inflection betraying their interest.

After killing everyone, all they can think about is themselves.

“I guess it just means that Mom talked about me after we died, and not you,” Asriel sounds remarkably calm, and doesn't seem to care about making them angry, despite facing a demon. “You lied, Chara. That took a long time. How many times did you LOAD?”

Chara stops, a few steps from Sans. Still looking at him, despite talking to Asriel. They shrug slowly. “Does it matter? I got it right this time. After I kill Sans, I'll finish the humans on the surface.”

Sans waits for the human to start the fight. At the very least, he can make them work for their victory. And perhaps, there's a slim chance that Asriel's plan could work...

“And yet you're still talking about 'hope?' I'm not going to bring anyone back. Even though you've failed, do you think there's any chance you can win, Sans?” They watch him carefully.

“i mean...” Sans doesn't have the mental stamina to keep up with all of Chara's games. They warp the world just to see his reaction. The stronger his reaction, the more likely they are to mess with him. “dunno if it's about me winning at this point, but just stopping you. and at this point, if this kid here thinks he's got something to do that, i'm not ready to give up yet.”

They actually grin lopsidedly at that. “Yes, of course. You promised you would 'stop me.' Winning was never part of the equation.” The human actually looks at Asriel, for the first time since entering the ruins. “Az, why are you helping Sans, anyway? You hate Sans. Or are you just messing around, too?”

Sans backs away from both of them, letting them face off. He'd be lying if he said Chara's words didn't make him nervous. The two beings clearly knew each other, and likely had the same ability of time control. It could be an elaborate trick designed to give him false hope.

Asriel shakes his head. “I really hate him,” he admits. “But together, we can stop you. So it has to be Sans.”

“You hate him,” Chara repeats. “I did, too. At first, he was just an obstacle. A real wall that I just couldn't seem to break. But each reset, I made a scratch on that wall. Each time I died, I hit just a little harder. Until finally, those scratches became cracks, and I eventually won. I... at that moment, when he finally died, I was so happy. I had to do it again. And... somehow, unlike the others, he knew I'd already won once before,” they giggle hysterically, talking about a different Sans than him. “Killing him the second time was so easy, I didn't get how I'd died so many times before that. You were right, Az – being a god is great, but it's not fun if no one realizes it.”

Asriel looks at him in a way he doesn't like.

“You never got that chance though, Az. So I can give it to you. Kill Sans. Or don't, just have fun. He might be stronger than you, but he's not stronger than me. I won't let him kill you.”

A few seconds tick by as Sans waits for Asriel's answer. He has no defense to offer – cannot speak for another Sans in a different timeline, who apparently was a 'wall' for Asriel. But if Sans's last option leaves him, then he really can't stop Chara.

“I...” Asriel hesitates. “No! I'm not like you, Chara.”

Chara and Sans both sigh almost simultaneously, both for very different reasons. “Az, come on... don't pretend like you've got a soul.”

Asriel shakes his head vigorously, hands clenching. “At least I remember what it's like to have a conscience, and feelings! Besides, you... you'd probably just kill me, anyway!”

Chara shrugs. “C'mon... I would have let you kill him... the first time,” they grin maniacally. “And I feel plenty of things. You're right – we're not alike. I have a soul.” They raise their knife, taking a step forward-

Sans slams the human's soul away, to the wall. His entire body creaks with blue magic, worn out from earlier encounters. “now would be a great time for you to do your plan thing,” he half-shouts to Asriel, keeping his eyes pinned on the human.

They're already collecting themselves, escaping his weakening magic, so he can't keep them pinned there forever.

Asriel gulps audibly, nodding his head. “I just need a little time!” He lifts his hands, six rainbow-colored hearts appearing around him. The six human souls.... Sans's eyes flicker to what his 'partner' is up to, but the human is already moving, so he can't afford to watch for long.

“I'm going to LOAD! And undo all the destruction Chara has caused!” Asriel squeezes his eyes shut, the souls around him resonating with power.

Chara runs towards them with their knife. Sans can't tell if they're after him or Asriel, so Sans flings them back with his magic again.

“Load?! This is my world!” Chara shrieks as they hit the wall. “You can't do that! And even if you could, what would be the point?! You won't even exist to SAVE! I'll just overwrite over whatever you think you can do!”

…

Nothing happens.

The souls behind Asriel stop resonating. “...What?” Asriel holds out his hands helplessly. “Even with the power of the human souls, I can't... why can't I...?”

The human rises again. And this time, around them appears the same rainbow-colored souls. They hold out their hands, as Asriel had, as if to beckon to them. Sans half turns around, only to see Asriel with the same souls, though they quiver as if uncertain of their existence.

“twelve human souls?!” Sans's eyes widen. Only six human souls have died in the underground. He's certain of that. And yet... somehow, Asriel and Chara have matching human souls surrounding them.

“Can't you count?” Chara says. Sans looks again, and the human is right – the souls that Asriel holds have one key difference. Chara has a red soul in addition to the six others.

Frisk's soul... The seventh and final soul that was supposed to set all monsters free...

In some alternate timeline, the human must have taken all the other human souls. But in this world, Asriel has also taken them.

But two of the same existing, in different circumstances, is a paradox. The world itself cannot come to terms with something within it that originated from a parallel universe. And so, one of them must break...

“No...!” The human souls surrounding Asriel shatter, leaving just Chara's seven.

Not just that, but the monster child's own form begins to waver uncertainly, as if becoming a ghost. The human souls, which house unbelievable power, had been the key to his existence. Without them, he... whatever kind of being Asriel is, Sans figures Asriel will no longer be able to exist. The child clutches himself as if he might shatter at any moment... and he probably will, too.

“what's plan b, kid?” Sans says with surprising calmness. If Asriel only has a few moments left, Sans needs him to stay calm in case they have another way to defeat Chara.

“There's no other plan!” Asriel screams and falls to the ground, unable to match Sans's composure.

“You can stop pretending to be someone you're not, Az,” Chara walks slowly towards them. “Asriel hasn't existed for a long time, anyway.”

The souls around Chara flicker.

Chara stops, looking at them.

The six human souls, all except Frisk's, inch away from Chara. They fade out, and then... the souls re-appear next to Asriel. They surround the kneeling child, rotating slowly. Asriel's form stops shaking. Hesitantly, he looks up to the human souls.

“Impossible... the human souls...” Chara stares. “They... they belong to me, you can't just...”

Asriel rises, holding his hands as if praying. His body glows, like the souls, a strong magical power radiating through him and the souls. “I can feel it... Sans!” He smiles joyfully at the skeleton. “The human souls... they understand what we're trying to do. They want to save the world, too!”

Sans grins, the first real smile in a while. For the first time in a long time... hope floods back into him. They can win. For once, something isn't going according to Chara's plan. And... he can feel it, too. The desires of the human souls flood into him. The peace and happiness that they failed to obtain... they can at least help the rest of the world.

“It doesn't matter,” the human has regained their indifference. “There's nothing you can do that I can't undo. So kill me, and I'll come back. LOAD, and I'll overwrite your SAVE. Don't you both get it? This still means NOTHING.”

“No...” Asriel shakes his head slowly, still smiling. “There's one place Frisk can't return to, no matter how many times they reset.”

Chara's eyes slowly widen, seeming to realize what Asriel is up to. “No, you can't do that.”

“Sans! I'm going to send you back in time...”

“Reset!” Chara shrieks. The world fills with static, but remains in place. The human SOULS refuse to let the human use their power. “LOAD! RESET! Reset reset reset reset reset reset reset-”

They fling themselves crazily at Sans, knife swinging. Sans pushes them away with a blast of gravity again. If they're actually scared of Asriel's plan... then it must mean it will work.

“monsters... humans... everyone's hearts are banding together to stop you,” Sans's smiles patiently at Chara. He's filled with an unbelievable strength; the hopes and dreams of the human souls.

“...Now. I'll send you to the one point where you could have stopped Chara. Only this time, you'll have all the memories you need to succeed!” Asriel cries.

The souls burst with power, washing over Sans and the world....

The world fades and ceases to exist.

But he can feel it... There's more. Memories he had forgotten in other timelines begin to come back to him...

Chapter Text

It started with just a simple desire.

I don't want to die.

Who could blame them for that?

When they first fell to the underground, a flower masqueraded as a friend, before trying to kill them.

They said some words that didn't mean much at the time. They were just scared – scared of dying. That one interaction had tainted the rest of their interactions with the underground. Everyone and everything could kill them. They just didn't want to die.

They kept thinking that Toriel had an ulterior motive to help them. That at any moment, the monster would turn on them, like the flower. If they didn't act a certain way, if they did one thing she disliked, she would kill them. The two talked about snails and education for three whole days, before they worked up the courage to ask Toriel about leaving.

When she tried to destroy the underground, they thought they were right about her. She just wanted to keep them there, trapped. Yet still. Even in the face of a murderer, they refused to fight. Their knees were shaking as they endured her 'test.'

It wasn't until Toriel had whispered words of encouragement and left them with a hug, did they truly understand.

She loved them more than their real mom.

The realization came too late. They had already gone through so much, just to get her permission to leave. If they had known sooner, they would have stayed in the ruins longer. They tried very hard not to cry when they left, stomping miserably through the snow.

When they met him.

Yeah, he remembers this, too.

The long-sealed ruins had finally opened. He could sense they were more than just a human – they were the time anomaly. They were the hope for all humans and monsters.

They could also use their power to destroy everything.

...He had no idea what kind of being they were. Were they good? Were they evil? Why would they mess with time? Maybe they were just lonely. Maybe if they got what they wanted, they'd stop messing around with the timeline. For the sake of the world stopping its infinite repeat... he would endure any outcome. Even if the anomaly ended up killing his brother.

He knew their power before they knew it themselves.

His original plan was to threaten them into doing good. So he stalked them. With enough finesse to purposely let them catch glimpses of his shadow, leaving telltale signs of his presence like broken branches, but never waited long enough for them to know what they were dealing with.

When they started to run through the forest and cry, he remembered a promise. That if a human ever walked through that door... he'd protect them, and watch over them. And maybe, he felt a little guilty.

They weren't human, though. They were something in-between monster and human. So his promise didn't really apply.

...But still. Watching them cry. He thought maybe they still had some humanity left. And if anyone was going to approach this being and steer them on the right path of life... wouldn't it be better if it was him? Than someone who might bring them harm? ...Even though he knew he'd probably fail.

So he approached them with the not-so-simple, overly agonized thought of friendship.

“Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?”

They never took his hand.

They lost their knees and practically melted in the snow, weeping hysterically.

Apparently, skeletons in human culture were supposed to be really scary.

He felt kind of silly, and yet it was comforting in a way. They were both just terrified of each other. ...But with a few jokes, a patient smile, and encouraging words... Sans actually managed to calm the human. Enough that they actually trusted him.

Really trusted him too, not like how they'd originally feared Toriel.

They were scared of Papyrus at first, too. Especially when Sans had called them a 'human-hunting fanatic,' they nearly hyperventilated. ...But. Sans had them hide at first, so they could listen to the conversation with his brother. Proving that the other wasn't actually dangerous, even if he tried to be. The puzzles just showed that more.

So that when they inevitably fought his brother...

They could see the good in him, and never once tried to fight back.

But not all monsters were as innocent as Papyrus, or as patient as Sans.

The first time they died, it was to Undyne.

I don't want to die, they thought.

Then they were back, just minutes before she'd skewered them.

It wasn't strange at all.

They just hadn't wanted to die, so they didn't.

They didn't realize that they'd just defied the impossible.

And that's how they journeyed through the underground. They never killed, but they were killed plenty.
Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel, Asgore – they made friends with them all.

Sans trusted them, even.

“... but you. you never gained any LOVE.”

He'd found a friend in the most unlikely of places. Someone who had the power to destroy the world – but didn't.

They even became friends with Asriel. And, with his power, were able to break through the barrier. So that monsters could be free, no longer trapped underground.

Great. Everyone's hopes and dreams were realized. Everyone was happy.

Everyone except them.

There had to be something wrong; something that they missed. If they could make everyone happy, couldn't the same be true for themselves? This wasn't really a perfect ending.

A flower told them that they had the power to go back and do it again.

So they did, because they didn't want to say goodbye, not like this.

The differences started out innocent. They told Toriel that they preferred cinnamon over butterscotch.

They weren't scared this time, knowing which were real threats, and which were not. They didn't burst out weeping when they 'met' Sans this time. Instead they actually took his hand before he could offer, bursting out giggling at the noise of a whoopee-cushion.

He didn't get it, but he could still appreciate a human with a sense of humor.

Actually, the worst thing they did was with him.

When Sans had asked them what they thought about his brother. They gave him a sly sideways glance.

“Uncool.”

He laughed it off and told them sarcasm wasn't funny. Honestly, he couldn't tell if they were being serious or not.

They felt bad about it for some reason, so they LOADED from their last save. And assured Sans that his brother was plenty cool.

That was the first time they used their power for a different reason instead of dying, or reaching The End. They wanted more.

They took time to enjoy the small things in life, like kicking around a snowball into a hole, chatting with a snowman who wanted to travel the world... Finding out that Sans would put hot dogs on their head if their pockets were full...

They reset. A lot. What would happen if they did this? What would happen if they said this instead? What would happen if they won this game? What would happen if they lost?

They were at the end all over again, back on the surface, too soon. But weren't they still missing something? So they went back.

They decided they wanted to know what would happen if they were a jerk. They said Papyrus was a loser, and didn't LOAD this time. They told Alphys they didn't want to watch Mew Mew Kissy Kitty. Oh, and they didn't give Undyne any water when she collapsed in the hotlands.

Later they heard she had heatstroke.

That made them wonder... what would it be like if Undyne had never existed at all? What about the others?

They remembered what the flower had said, at the very start...

“In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED.”

But wouldn't they just refuse to die, like them? No... the flower had talked about how they were special. Maybe their will would be stronger than the others' will to live.

...It started with Loox. They never did like that bully. The first time in the underground, the monster had picked on them. More than a few bruises and scrapes.

It was surprisingly easy. They knew how Loox would attack before it happened, of course. So it didn't take long for them to corner the monster and hit it a few times, before it turned to dust.

They sat by his ashes for a bit, waiting for the monster to come back. Or maybe they'd wake up, and it would be like it never happened.

After a few minutes they got bored and went to Toriel's house, where they enjoyed a piece of pie.

Well, maybe things would change if someone they knew died? But... if everyone died, it could get pretty lonely.

If you don't like it, you can just reset.

It didn't really matter what happened. So after they finished eating the pie, they killed Toriel first. Maybe they didn't like this idea. They went back. Somehow, someway, she picked up that something was wrong. Had their face betrayed their regret? Or... were they actually getting somewhere, seeing something new?

They went back and killed her again. They'd already heard everything she had to say. So it was kind of long and a little annoying. She didn't really get what they were doing anyway, so none of it mattered. When they reached The End, the underground suffered as a result of their choices. But it was different. Their choices had affected the world around them. They wondered how much of the world could change? Everything seemed to revolve around them. The monsters always made the same choices.

They still wanted more. Their pockets always had to be one item away from full, in case they found something really cool. They didn't really need the money, but collecting it became something like a trophy. They started to count how much EXP they got, and how it increased their HP and LV.

That's how they changed.

What would it be like to have perfect EXP?

A perfect score. It was just a number. There was absolutely no malicious intent as they cut down every breathing creature.

Well, there was one thing that bothered them.

Why didn't monsters bleed? Whenever they got hit, they had cuts and bruises and blood. Monsters just turned into dust. Maybe it was because their weapon wasn't sharp enough? Was that it? If they just had a real weapon instead of a stupid stick.

Where are the knives?

The rummaged through Toriel's kitchen because it just wasn't fair. All they could find where some cookie cutters in the shapes of Christmas trees and snails. They still wanted to see something bleed so they pressed it against their own skin. The edges were pathetically dull, as if they'd been filed down on purpose... or maybe just overused and ancient.

Toriel walked in and spewed concern, practically suffocating the child in a hug and promising that there was no need for pain. They asked her how they could go home, and killed her again a few minutes later.

Even Sans knew something was seriously wrong with the human. They shook his hand before he finished speaking, triggering the infamous whoopee cushion. He laughed.

They'd already seen this and he was just a future number to their EXP, so they didn't so much as blink.

He was left awkwardly laughing by himself so he stopped. Made a few puns. That didn't quite work either. It made him a little nervous.

Everything they touched turned to dust. He tried to be patient, he really did, encouraging them to find other activities like puzzles to distract from their mass-murdering spree. But clearly his brother would confront the human soon. Clearly the human intended to kill anything that stepped in their way.

He told them they were gonna have a bad time. Then watched from afar as they killed his brother.

That lone threat drove them crazy. He was just EXP. Numbers couldn't threaten them.

Sans couldn't watch the rest of their 'adventure.' So he waited in the golden cathedral, counting the minutes before they arrived. ...Their hands were as dust-covered as he'd feared. They'd eliminated everyone who called the underground home.

This was the timeline that would cause everything to stop. This was the one reality he couldn't allow to happen. So even knowing that they were basically immortal... knowing that they could just travel back in time...

He was their wall. For the sake of the world, he couldn't afford to break. And maybe, just maybe, they weren't as patient as him.

It started out bloody, and monsters don't bleed. Each time they came back, he tried to mix it up. If reason couldn't work with them, maybe tricking them would. He'd try to change it up each time, stopping what he was thinking of saying and just attacking instead.

The problem with always trying to be unpredictable, without actually remember what happened before, meant he could only be unpredictable so many times. After a while 'unpredictable' became very predictable, and he fell into a pattern. He killed them so many times that they felt so wrong when they walked through those doors. It was probably a mercy that he couldn't remember everything or he'd have gone crazy. There was no way he could tell how many times they'd died.

They knew exactly how many times they'd died.

One-hundred and twenty-seven.

They got their wish when he died. A monster that bled. They honestly believed that he bled because they wanted him to.

They didn't believe he'd really died at first. Kept thinking he'd be back, playing some kind of trick on them. Even as they watched him crawl away and talk to a nonexistent Papyrus.

Perfect EXP.

Still not enough.

They went back and killed him again. And again. And again.

They hated losing. They couldn't be better just once. They would kill him twice as many times because that was their new goal; that was the game they had set. And he... somewhere in the deepest part of his mind, he knew it was torture; that they were just messing with him. Even if he couldn't remember what happened, he could feel enough. Anything about friendship had died a long time ago.

So on the 381^st LOAD of the same fight... which was supposed to mark his 254^th death...

He's kneeling on the golden pavement before they even enter to kill him again. His breathing is uneven, his mind reeling from everything he's just seen.

They lose their soul when he loses, becoming a pawn of a being they never knew existed, one that'd silently been encouraging them and morphing them with the simple promise of more.

Sans has always known Frisk could reset. He'd figured that they had probably used their power quite a few times, possibly reaching the triple digits. But they were way past that. Even without killing everyone... they'd done everything at least a few thousand times. Whatever initial joy they had with their friends had died, because they were only interested in whatever new experience they could find. No wonder they'd gone insane. Could anything of that once frightened child, who'd wept upon seeing a skeleton, actually exist?

They want everyone's love, they want everyone's hate. They want everything. They want to be the victim, the hero, and the villain.

“buddy, who are you, really...” he whispers. Hoping that what they've become is not truly what they are.

He can see everything after the barrier was broken, too. How he refused to kill them. How he changed his mind with the feeling of Papyrus's death. How they came back and killed him twice. So much death... they don't think twice about it, because they can change their mind at any time.

All those resets... all those extra days... it didn't make them any older. No, one becomes older by gaining life experience. Actions and choices have consequences. A kid who eats a container of ice cream gets sick before going to bed. But they never had to experience any kind of consequence. They can just take what they want, and avoid whatever happens next.

For some reason, of all the memories... This judgment hall, the golden cathedral, just can't leave his mind. He can practically feel the tile beneath his bones, the sunlight through the windows, the pain of his previous deaths, the... oh.

He's actually here.

The time that's supposed to be his 254^th death. Asriel has sent him here.

“this place again,” he cracks a smile, managing to find his feet. He knows the kid will be walking in, any second.

Chapter Text

This place again.

It's a beautiful day out. He can feel the sun streaming from above, the sound of birds chirping. Outside, golden flowers bloom. He's just a room or two away from the barrier that kept them trapped underground. Kept... no, wait, it's still there now. The present is just the future's memory of the past. Man, that's seriously confusing.

Sans had seen all of Frisk's memories, of the alternate timelines. They were the one constant which the world revolved. He thinks... he can understand. Not that he can just forgive them for everything they've done... that they were completely innocent or naïve to the process... but that the light of compassion could still exist within them.

Kind of an ironic thought considering he's standing at what's supposed to be his 254^th death. They really were kind of a freak, more than Sans had even realized the first time he thought that. The point, however, was that Asriel had sent Sans a few moments before Frisk lost their soul completely to Chara.

Asriel had said this was the one point Frisk could not return to. Once their soul was gone, they could not gain it back. Resetting time would not help such a process, since they were effectively the one constant while the rest of the world changed.

However, this timeline skip had occurred without the human's power. Which meant Sans is the one constant which the world revolves. His grin has become entirely too wide, because theoretically, this human will have no prior knowledge of their future self. Just how Sans had no recollection of the other Sans-es actions... this human should have no knowledge of anything that happened past his 253^rd death. Theoretically, of course. He'd know for sure when the human walked in. But at least this way, he could plan.

His plan?

Hm, yeah. He still had to work on that. As Asriel had said, this was a one-time deal. If he died, or if the human used their power to change time... he knew he'd be back to square one. Then time would just repeat itself and he'd be in the same predicament as when the barrier first broke – Frisk having evolved fully into a soul-less demon. He needs to find some way to convince them.

Ding.

The church bell rings.

Ding.

The human emerges from the golden archway, murder etched into their eyes.

Ding.

Their hands and knife are coated in dust, the deaths of countless monsters from the past, this present, and his future still within his mind. Sans and the human stare at each other, for a long time. Each waiting for the other to move or speak first. How much does the human know? Can Sans really act freely? Anything they say could be a lie. Besides, whether they're the Chara of the past or the Chara of the future, they're looking for a fight either way.

“well, kiddo...” he breaks the silence first. Actions speak so much louder than words.

He snaps his fingers and the gaster blasters appear, firing X-shaped lasers against the human. They've always expected him to mix up his own words, to sometimes stop his sentences halfway through and just begin the attack, but it had always been the same pattern. Not this time.

The blasters catch the human off guard, especially since he hasn't turned their soul blue yet. They roll in time to avoid dying, but their clothes sizzle from the magical burn, karma clinging to their soul and eating away their HP. He shocks their soul blue and slams them to the floor, only to summon so many bones from the earth and ceiling that his gravity can't possibly keep the human there for long.

They stumble out of the way again, the bones tearing through their legs and blood. They shriek in some combination of pain and rage; he stops a bone just millimeters from the heart because anymore and they'd definitely die.

“huh. you really don't remember, do you.” He feels a lot more confident about this now and his smile is entirely too smug. The 'future' Chara would have expected some kind of crazy attack, but this one seemed to think he'd fall in line with the other golden-hall fights.

They're chomping on a steak, mouth way too full to ask any questions. But their eyes are alit with too many emotions for Sans to properly decipher. Confused, fearful, happy, pissed off. When he doesn't follow up with any other attack, they run at him with a raised knife.

Yikes. He needs to be careful to appeal more to Frisk than Chara, and a challenge is definitely more Chara's alley. His eye glows and he slams them into the ground again, this time the magic around them constricting into a box. His special attack. It's supposed to be a last resort, when he knew he couldn't keep fighting any longer.

But right now...

“let's me 'n you talk, buddy,” he pants, a bit strained. Still, he has more energy than if he'd gone through the whole song and dance of a fight.

“What's this? WHAT IS THIS?” Chara shrieks. “YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT YET!” They roll around in the box of his magic, flailing like a child having a tantrum. Whenever they get a little too close to his weak border, Sans's eye teleports them back to the center. This isn't working so great yet.

“hey, uhh... so, kid. i know this is supposed to be my two-hundred and whatever-th death, but any chance i could talk to the 'other one' for a bit?” Maybe he can just ask nicely about it.

They stop dead, halfway through a roll, looking at him like he's just said the strangest thing ever. “...What?”

“frisk. i want to talk to frisk,” he tells them in the plainest terms possible.

“How do you know my name?” Their voice has suddenly grown very small, still staring at him now in pure shock. “Have you always... do you... remember...?”

Ah, right. In this timeline, he'd never become friends with the human, and so he'd never gotten their name. “i'm like... a different sans than the other ones you've been fighting,” he says carefully, trying to put it in as simple terms that they can understand. “look... the other sans-es, they don't remember. but me... i remember even more than you, kid. that's why i'm here.”

He slowly sits down, getting more comfortable. Wrapped up in his magic, they can't attack him now. Although, they seem to have stopped struggling anyway... He has to make this moment count.

“i'm from the future, buddy. and let me tell you, it's... not a cool place. i know you think that there's no consequences to your actions, that you can just do whatever and then go back, so it's like it never happened at all, but...” He sighs. “that's wrong. just because the world around you fails to remember... doesn't mean it didn't happen.”

He waits a moment for them to say something, to say anything, but they don't. They're still staring at him with wide eyes, and he can't tell how much an impact he's making on them.

“you go through me and past these doors, and you'll really wake that demon within you – and there's no coming back from it, no kind of time travel that can take you back to this point.”

Their gaze has become eerily vacant, like they're tuning him out, and he gulps.

“kid... it really comes down to, you can't have everything. you've got to take what you've got and accept it, and move on from there. cuz right now, what you really are, isn't really a person. people make mistakes and work to become better from it, not changing the world instead. right now... you've got to make a choice. if you want to live and be a person, go back and then live with the consequences of your choices. stop this weird messing of people's lives, and remember to be yourself, a you that you can be proud of.”

Against his better judgement, he releases his spell. If this is going to work, he needs to have them trust him. He needs to trust them. Frisk... he knows they can do it. They stand up slowly.

“you and me... we've never been friends. not really. but i think we could be.” He opens his arms, and steels himself. Whatever happens next... he won't kill them. “let's start now, pal. a goodbye hug, cuz i'm not gonna remember whatever you decide to do. then one last reset, and even without my memories, i know i'll like the real you.”

They step forward. Their eyes are expressionless, and he can't tell what they're thinking. But they haven't dropped their knife.

He takes a deep breath, but keeps his arms out. Waiting. They've closed the gap and just stand there, neither hugging nor attack, just waiting.

One hand reaches towards him as if to accept...

The other hand with the knife lunges forward.

“Maybe I like being a god,” they sneer, mouth contorting into a strange smile.

He could dodge, but he doesn't. The hit strikes him to the core, and he chokes. Well damn. Their hate is unreal. His bones crack from collarbone to ribs, an ugly diagonal slash across his chest. He thought that maybe, he'd weaken their hate or something. Maybe, his words would get through to them. That he'd actually save everyone. And that they could really be friends.

“well, uh... guess that's it. my one time, time-traveling, and i still fail. heh.” He collapses. The pain is surprisingly quick and he's already growing numb, at least this death isn't torture like the others.

“Sans?” The human says with surprising meekness. The knife clatters to the ground, next to his face. “I-I thought you were going to... you could have.... I-I thought you'd just try to kill... me...” They kneel next to him.

He manages to lift his face up just to see the other. And with his dying breaths, he can still see the tears streaming down the child's face. He can feel the dust creeping up his legs, erasing himself from existence.

“why are you crying? you're the one that killed me,” his grin is lopsided. Maybe... Just maybe, he had gotten somewhere after all. With the last of his power, he reaches his bony hand and rests it upon their knee. “don't make decisions you'd regret... kid. you can do a bit better. i believe in you.”

Even now, his last thoughts are of his brother, the same encouragement of Papyrus coming to Sans's mind for Frisk.

“i believe in you,” he repeats, because he must.

He knows they can make the right decision.

Chapter Text

Light snow falls from the heavens, the morning sun obscured by clouds. Another morning, another day. Yesterday could be today and today could be tomorrow. Little changes as a sentry of Snowdin, even less changes when you're repeating a routine. Sans thinks that if time always repeated to this spot, he wouldn't mind, though. It's so peaceful.

He leans with his back to the door to the ruins, sitting in the snow. It's locked, like normal. He hasn't checked today, but he doesn't need to. He just watches the snow and waits, for his knock-knock buddy to get to the other side. Or maybe he's waiting for someone else, he feels like someone different will be there today.

He hears something on the other side, and the peaceful trance breaks. Abruptly he stands, pressing his head against the door, listening. There's voices, but he can't make them out. And footsteps, getting closer, but the pace and weight behind them is different. Not his knock-knock buddy. They're coming towards the exit of the ruins.

He disappears behind a nearby tree. His hands are nearly shaking. Whatever happens next... he thinks it will determine the fate of the world. There's no logic behind it; he just knows.

The doors that have been locked for decades finally open.

It's the time anomaly, wearing the skin of a human.

...He has no idea what kind of being they are. Are they good? Are they evil? Why do they mess with time? Maybe they are just lonely. Maybe if they get what they want, they will stop messing around with the timeline. For the sake of the world stopping its infinite repeat... he will endure any outcome. Even if the anomaly ends up killing his brother.

The doors close behind the human as soon as their feet step on the snow.

And then they run. A full on sprint, arms flailing gracelessly, the snow beneath crunching loudly with each step. White puffs of air escape their mouth from each breath.

There's no way they could have sensed him, right? Did something happen in the ruins? Sans watches them; follows them; but he doesn't get it. They run like their life depends on it. They're getting closer to the bridge.

He teleports a few steps behind them. Better for him to make first contact than the other monsters in Snowdin, so he can figure out if they're a threat or not.

Instead of continuing their mad dash, the human stops. They don't turn around. They can probably hear his steps though, and feel his presence. If they haven't seen this before, anyway.

“Human,” he breathes, practically on their neck. “Don't you know how to greet a pal? Turn around and-”

The human does turn around. But instead of taking his hand, the child launches their entire small body into his frame. Their warm little hands wrap around his form. The whoopee cushion drops both from the impact and his shock; he hadn't expected a tackle-hug. His eyes are wide, staring at the small human who has wrapped themselves around him.

“I'm sorry!” Tears run furiously down their face. The lines run all the way down; they must have been crying for quite some time, and not just when they turned around. Instead of burying their face, they looked up at him, unashamed of their red crying eyes or the snot dribbling from their nose. “You're right I don't want to be like this I'll take what I have and just be a normal person I just want to have real friends and be human!” They're talking so fast he can barely understand them. They only pause a moment to sniffle. “I promise I'll never reset not ever even if I die I'll just stay dead if that will make things right so please, I mean it I'm sorry and I'll fix it!”

They finally stop, looking up at him expectantly. He doesn't get what they're saying and he's pretty lost. But there's a child clinging to him and crying... “uh... uhm...” He knows he needs to say something, likely something in another timeline... but it's hard to do when in his perspective, he's only just met them now... what is he supposed to say?

“...You don't remember me,” the child knows. Their tear-stained gaze drifts to the side. He knows it hurts them, even if he can't do anything about it. “It's okay. I know to you, it's just like we've just met, so you don't know anything about me...” Their arms begin to fall from Sans.

He returns the hug before they drop their hands completely. Sans smiles at them, really genuinely smiles, returning the hug. “it's ok, buddy. all that timeline stuff, it doesn't matter. i know the most important thing about you.” They look up to him in shock.

“you're a true friend.”

That's all he needs to know about them. Finally he extracts himself from the hug, taking their hand instead. “so come on, friend. i'm not gonna let you die. let's make this world the one that counts, right?”

They wipe their tears, and nod.

Sans knows that the journey through the timelines is over. Finally... perhaps for the first time since everything began...

He's actually looking forward to the future.