Cover Art: FairyFan94 from Deviant Art


Prologue

Sans ever so present grin faltered as he watched the little teen girl walk out of their home. He had known all these years they had lived happily above that she had never been fully happy. Heck he could spot the guilt in her eyes like ketchup on his white bones. Of course there were times even he didn't see the tiredness or the guilt. Times where she smiled and laughed whole hearty. He loved these times. Especially since growing up under Toriels care had influenced her already corrupted, like Papyrus dubbed it, sense of humor. He could always make her laugh whenever he cracked a silly pun.

But he knew the moment the girls eyes went dull this morning that something had been wrong and having followed her up onto Mt. Ebott , into the underground and deep into the ruins he knew something wasn't set straight in the girls mind. At first he really thought that the other timelines were still bothering her. He was ready to step out of the shadows. Sans even was prepared to give her a speech about how she and Chara were two complete different people. But the moment she kneeled down before a flower that screeched at her, shouting insults and that it was going to kill her had Sans stunned.

Frisk had told him countless times that her nightmares were over, always with a smile. She even repeated her promise to him to never reset ever again every time, which he fully believed because of the determination in her eyes the first time already and by all means he was not trying to guilt trip her. Yet these things were never full cause of the guilt in her eyes. It had been this flower, apparently one of the last living beings in the Underground.

He knew that this flower was Flowey. Frisk had told him that he was the one she would meet first every run she didn't stay in the golden flowerbeds and wait for Toriel. There were scattered parts of information in her stories about it. Yet there was never a full explanation who and what Flowey was.

"Are you going to let me kill you? Over and over and over again?" The flower yelled and Sans eye-sockets went pitch black. 'Over and over and over again?' That was the first time he heard about that. Frisk had clued him in on all timelines and memory holes... she did clue him in fully right? There weren't things she was hiding from him right?

Still slightly confused Sans watched how Frisk patted Flowey and pulled a flower pot out of the dimensional box Alphys had installed on her phone before carefully putting a little earth in it with a small gardening shovel. The skeleton couldn't help as his eye-sockets gained back their light and his ever so present grin softened. "You really are a kind soul." He mumbled to himself unheard by the other two.

"TOUCH ME AND I WILL KILL YOU!" The flowers voice was gaining volume and Sans really was getting irritated by that little thing.

He was ready to tell the flower off as suddenly his vision became static, turning into a mix of little white and black dots. Not only that, but even a static noise bleared in his ears. Then it stopped. Everything was back to normal.

The skeleton looked to where Frisk was and saw her helping up a goat monster. 'Wait a moment...' Sans thought, taking a closer look at the kid/teen goat monster. 'Is that... Asriel?'

"Let's go home together Asriel." Frisk soft voice was heard and the skeleton watched how the goat monster teared up before he gave a small smile with a nod... until his expression went horrified and he shook his head. Asriel locked eyes with Sans. He held a pleading look and mouthed "I am sorry. Please stop Flowey." The goat monster turned back to Frisk ripping his hand out of hers and taking a scared step back, before his expression turned into an evil smile.

Right at that moment static noises bleared in Sans' ears and his vision tuned once again into a mix of black and white dots. Before everything fully cleared to a normal sight again a familiar pain filled scream tore through the statics he knew all too well from his night terrors and Sans could only stare wide eyed at what he saw the moment his vision turned normal.

Frisk was hovering only a foot above ground. Red drops were slowly forming a small puddle under her. A wine was piercing through her chest. '...no not only her chest' Sans realized. 'It goes through her soul too'

"YOU IDIOT! I TOLD YOU IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED!" Before the skeleton even fully registered his actions he blasted the demonic flower with his Gaster-Blaster and was right next to the young girl, cradling her in his arms.

"Frisk?! Come on buddy stay with me here!" He pleaded, his voice wavering as blue tears formed in his eye sockets. He could see the cracks in her soul and all that blood wasn't a good sign either.

The girl only smiled weakly up at him placing a slightly bloodied hand on his. It awoke a little hope in Sans and he looked around for one of the shortcuts. If he was fast enough he could get the girl to Toriel or Papyrus or anyone with decent healing magic.

"It's... okay..." Frisks weak voice reached his ears but Sans shushed her mumbling that the human girl needed to save their strength.

"Don't... rattle your bones... bout... this..." She continued and in all honesty Sans wasn't in any mood to hear any puns right now no matter how good or bad they were. He needed to save his dear friend right now.

"Too... late... Guess..." She was getting weaker and Sans knew it. The cracks in her soul got deeper. He was losing time. Finally he spotted the right shortcut and lifted the girl in his arms carefully to walk in its direction.

"I promised... no resets..." The skeleton froze and looked at the smiling girl in his arms.

"Come one buddy open your eyes... If you don't want to reset then just load a save or something..." His voice cracked slightly. Frisk only shook her head, she mumbled something but her voice was too weak for Sans to understand it. Then her body went limp. With horror he noticed that her chest wasn't moving anymore and her soul was no longer, parts of it were fading away.

"No! No no no no no no!" Sans panicked. He shook the girl in his arms lightly in hopes to get any kind of reaction from her.

"Girl, this better be a bad joke..." Blue tears were streaming out of his eye sockets down his boney cheeks.

"Frisk... Please don't do this to us... to me..." His voice was gradually getting weaker as the girl in his arm didn't move. A peaceful smile was on her face yet it caused nothing but pain to Sans.

"Please... no..." Sans pleased effortlessly his eye sockets turning pitch black before his right dimmed in a light blue.

"Please... don't be death..." He whispered a last time before a blazing blue flame erupted from the dim light. A new feeling familiar yet like nothing he felt before. Tears were still escaping his eye sockets as the blue flame burned powerful in his right one.

Sans was filled with a rush of DETERMINATION.

Light returned to his black eye sockets and Sans stared at the ceiling of his room. Blue tears were slowly forming in the corner of his eye-sockets. His room was just the way he remembered it to be. Pure chaos. Yet it wasn't that familiar to him. He covered his face with his boney hand, his ever present grin faltered and the light in his eye sockets died down again.

The day had started so good. Like every other day in Aboveground had. He would have cracked some good old puns. Papyrus would have gotten mad. Toriel would try to suppress laughing. King Fluffybuns would chuckle along. Undyne threat to throw her spears but ended up giving Papyrus a cooking lesson. Alphys nervously trying to stop her girlfriend. And Frisk? Frisk would have gone along with his jokes.

But it had all gone wrong.

Slowly sitting up Sans reached for a box under his bad out of habit but stopped mild movement. He didn't need to. This time was different from all the other times. To different. All his memories were intact. There was no hole in them, not a piece missing and he knew why.

He had done what he never had before or even thought he could.

He was the one who reset.

Standing up Sans pushed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. A blue magic flame flicked into live in his right eye-socket. The strange feeling was still there but it was fading. Sans was now fully aware that because he was the one resetting, this would be true fully their very last run. And he had to make it count.

This time... he would keep his promise to Toriel. He would make sure Chara won't get a chance to influence their Frisk in any way. He would not let her die even once knowing there was no comeback this time around. And most importantly... he would keep that damned Flower away from his Frisk even if it was Asriel to some point...