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t was about the twelfth time that they had Respawned. It was quite obvious that they weren't going to give up no matter how many times they died. Sans was still there at the end of that hallway, waiting on them, grinning. Just like he always did. Every single time. He chuckled. "That's the look of someone who's died twelve times."
Chara pulled out their knife. "Still going to fight?" The kid stepped forward and Sans shrugged, his eye turning blue. "Fine." He shrugged, easily sending Chara to 1 HP. But this time around…this playthrough, it was different…They started to cry. "Kid?"
They were on their hands and knees, crying – no – sobbing. They looked like a trainwreck. Tears were falling down their face, snot coming down their nose, they were choking on their own spit. What was this? Sans stopped, completely confused. It hit him. "F-Frisk?" It had been a while since he had seen them. He was so caught up in trying to kill Chara that he had forgotten about Frisk. But how could it be Frisk? It wasn't them the past twelve times.
"S…Sans." They whimpered. "It's Chara. They keep…keep making me come back. E…Every time you kill me…they just start over again. They're making me do it! Every time, I let you…let you kill me…they…Chara…makes me come back! Again and again!" Sans, for once, was speechless. All this time, he thought it was Determination keeping this child going. Death after death. But it wasn't that. Nor was it Love. No, this was a whole new thing. It was Desperation. Frisk wanted death. Permanently. They wanted to be with all of their friends. Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel, everyone. He felt bad for them, really. "No matter how many times you kill me…we'll come back…and they'll let you kill me. Over and over again. Sans! You…You have to destroy the True Reset! So they can't come back!"
Destroy the True Reset.
If he did that, then there would be no chance of him getting his brother back. He saw the pain in Frisk's face. If he didn't do it, then they'd be stuck here for eternity, fighting each other. "Kid…I'm…I can't. What about you?" What about Papyrus?
"Oh yes. What about us? We're the ones you're really concerned about!" Chara laughed.
Sans growled. It was true, he didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to kill Frisk, either. Not like this. Not with their dignity out the window. Not with them begging for death. He didn't want Frisk dead. It was Chara he wanted.
There was no way around it. He had to kill them both if he wanted to save the Underground. And they had to stay dead. His gaze went over to the sparkling save point. No. That would only stall them. He needed to find the True Reset. It would be easy to destroy.
Chara grinned. "You think you can make it before I kill Asgore? Before I kill you once your back is turned?"
Sans shrugged and started laughing. "All this time, humans called us the monsters…when you're the one who killed us without reason. The one who kills for fun. I think it's safe to say that you're the monster." Sans narrowed his eyes. "And do you know what people do with monsters like you? They put them in their place!" He destroyed the Save Point and Gasterblasted Chara. It was a race against the two. Sans, who was going backwards, destroying all of the Save Points, towards the very beginning of the game, versus Chara, who was trying to get to the closest Save Point, just to win.
Sans was the first to the True Reset. He stared at it. Was he ready to give up his brother? Undyne? The woman behind the door? Maybe…he could press the button…things could go back to the way they were…He could press it and kill that damned kid. Everything could be fixed.
No, that's selfish. He promised that woman he'd take care of the human. And Frisk wanted that Reset button gone.
"So, are you going to do it?" Chara mocked. "Or do you not have a backbone?"
Sans chuckled a little. "You know, kid. I hate when kids start feeling a little out of…Chara -cter." He shot the True Reset, seeing it shatter to pieces. As the pieces of the True Reset flew around his face, he felt every glimmer of hope disappear. There was no turning back. He couldn't bring his brother back anymore. No more knock-knock jokes with the mysterious lady behind the door.
It was just him and Asgore now.
And Chara. That little psycho. The one who had taken advantage of his moment of weakness to stab him.
Damn it.
He had forgotten about them.
He looked down, seeing their knife right through him.
Sans let out a laugh and pulled the knife out, dragging Chara by the arm and throwing them. "You might have forgotten. Stuff like that goes right through me."
His eye turned a bright blue and he caught a glimpse of Frisk smiling at him before he shot at the ceiling. Everything came crumbling down. Chara tried to find a way out. Sans? He just stood there. Knowing that there was no way out. It felt…calming. Knowing that that kid was getting what they deserved. He knew this would be the way Frisk wanted to go. With a friend.
Thank you.
He looked at the small child, not sure who it was in control anymore. They had a smile on their face. A calm, peaceful smile. Frisk, definitely Frisk. Sans looked at the beam of light shining from the top of the mountain. It was getting bigger as everything kept falling apart.
It was kind of funny. They went through all of that work, just to have it end like this. He looked at Frisk. Maybe that's what Chara wanted. To take him out on their own terms. So he could die here with the Reset and Chara could do whatever they wanted without facing him again. He let out a laugh. "Well-played, kid. Well-played." He narrowed his eyes. Not this time. Chara was not getting away again. He shot a blast, blowing a hole right through the child, not caring whether it was Chara or Frisk or whatever the Player wanted to name them. Tears streamed down his face as the mountain was becoming less and less stable. The child was a bloody mess and Sans had finally stopped their genocide run. He laughed under his breath.
"Don't worry, Papyrus. I'm coming home."