A/N:
this is my first undertale fic, i hope i'm going to be able to do these characters justice
honestly i have no idea where this is going so please enjoy
-Han
You're having a bad time.
You've been fighting Sans for what feels like days. Maybe it has been. There's no way to keep track, not when you've reset so many times. Sans has killed you more times than you can count and sidestepped everything you've thrown at him, and every time, you come back more determined than ever.
It's not enough.
You're starting to think that maybe this is what you deserve.
It's a fresh reset, and even though you know Sans doesn't remember the other timelines, he looks as worn out as you feel when you approach him.
"hey, kid." His permanent grin looks strained already. "you, uh, done yet?"
It honestly pisses you off a little that he doesn't remember it but you do. You grit your teeth and brandish your knife, taking a deep breath and preparing yourself for his attack.
But it doesn't come. Instead, the skeleton's smile turns crooked. "you look like you've got a real bone to pick," he comments. "what's eatin' you, kiddo?"
You frown, your fingers twitching on the handle of your weapon. You thought Sans had given up on his jokes several resets ago. The last several times, he'd jumped straight into battle.
"That wasn't very humerus," you say without thinking.
Sans blinks. "they speak," he says, sounding bemused. "thought you didn't have a funny bone anymore, what with all the monsters you've killed. I'd have guessed you were pretty heartless by now."
You roll your eyes at the puns, but two can play at that game. "Why are you wasting your time?" you ask him. "Don't you have the backbone to fight me anymore?"
"isn't my laziness tibia expected at this point?" Sans shrugs nonchalantly, but he's clearly exhausted. Dammit, he's exhausted and he doesn't even remember any of the shit you've gone through.
"I guess you just don't have the guts," you taunt him, annoyed with the faint feeling of your conscience pricking at your Soul. You ignore it, even though you can feel your sins crawling on your back. "Stop messing around and fight me, Sans."
His eyes go dark, the white pinpricks of light vanishing, and damn it if that isn't still unsettling every time you see him do it. "are you really that eager to die again, kid? it's been… what, twenty times? thirty?" When you're silent, he adds mockingly, "don't tell me you haven't been keeping track."
Truthfully, you lost count around twenty, but you aren't about to admit it. Instead, you shrug, letting your impatience seep into your body language. "Hence why I'm so anxious to finally kill you and be done with this," you drawl, twirling your knife.
Sans just looks at you with those blank eyes. "look, buddy, i was really hoping we wouldn't have to do this again," he tells you, suddenly sounding defeated.
"What?" Is he - giving up? Surrendering? That was absolutely the last thing you were expecting him to say - and Sans takes advantage of your moment of weakness.
Within a split second, you're slammed against the golden wall of the hallway, knocking the breath from your body and sending pain shooting through you. The knife falls from your hand and clatters to the floor, leaving you defenseless. Sans's left eye is glowing blue.
He sighs, stepping closer to you. "i wasn't lying. i really don't want to do this to you," he says. "but it looks like we're out of options. so i'm giving you an ultimatum, kid."
You cough, sucking in a ragged breath. Your chest is throbbing with a sharp, stabbing pain; your ribs might be broken, but you're still pinned to the wall by Sans's magic, so you can't be sure.
There's a pause before Sans continues. "i want you to reset. not just from that SAVE point over there, but from all the way back to the beginning, when you fell. i know you can do it. you have the ability. delete the current timeline, start over, and bring everyone back."
"Or what?" Your voice is pathetically weak, and you're tempted to spit in his face to add impact to your contempt. After a moment of deliberation, you decide not to, if only because at this point you're completely at his mercy and you don't want to push him toward any rash decisions.
Sans's glowing eye casts blue light over your face, and his next words chill you to - well, to the bone. "if you don't, i'll destroy the SAVE point," he says, his voice calm and completely serious. "i wonder what'll happen. bet you don't wanna find out, huh?"
"You're bluffing," you manage, eyes wide. Destroy the SAVE point? The thought of losing your ability to reset is, quite frankly, terrifying.
"try me." His grin is wider than you've ever seen it, but nothing about his expression is happy.
Desperately, you search for something, anything to say to convince him not to do it. The best thing you can come up with is, "Even if you destroy the SAVE point, I'll still be here."
"heh. that's true," he admits. "but, ya know… that can be easily remedied. killing you is pretty easy, kiddo. think i wouldn't do it one more time?"
He's insane. He has to be. It's the only explanation. You stare at him for a long moment, your mind whirling. You've never felt so panicked before, not since before you fell, anyway, and your breathing gets even shallower than before.
Oh, that's right. Your ribs are still probably broken. You cough again, and you think that might be blood dripping down your chin. You probably won't be conscious for much longer.
Sans's bony fingers wrap around your chin, and he leans closer, tilting your face up. "c'mon, kid. you're tryin' my patience," he says, almost cheerfully. "make your choice, or i'll make it for ya. either you reset and delete this timeline, and when you come back, you don't kill anyone, or i destroy your SAVE point, and…" His smile twists. "I'll end your miserable existence for good."
This is it, then. You've got to make a choice. Can you really allow yourself to go back on everything you've done, undo every sin you've committed, bring back every life you've taken, just because your own life is at risk now? That's pretty damn selfish of you, and part of you wants to accept what you deserve and finally die for real.
But it's no good. Your survival instinct is too strong. If this is what it takes for you to live even just one more day, it's a chance you're going to have to take.
"Fine," you spit, turning your head sharply to the side and jerking it out of Sans's grasp. "I'll reset."
"seriously?" Sans looks genuinely surprised, but he quickly recovers. "i gotta hand it to you, kiddo. you sure know how to take a skeleton by surprise."
"Shut the hell up and let me go, Sans." You strain against your magic bonds, gritting your teeth. You've made your decision, and now you just want to get it over with before you change your mind.
"wait a second." Sans chuckles mirthlessly. "don't i have to kill you for you to be able to reset the timeline?"
You stiffen, clenching your jaw. "Just get it over with," you mutter.
"don't even get to see you put up a fight, huh?" His shoulders slump, and he looks almost disappointed. "guess it's better this way."
"Sans," you say threateningly, although really, what can you do? He's still holding you to the wall with his magic, and you can feel your consciousness starting to slip away even now.
To your surprise, he actually releases you, the blue glow in his eye fading. You slump against the wall, coughing a little and feeling more blood drip down your chin. That's probably something worse than just a few broken ribs, right? You're probably already dying. You can only hope he'll kill you quickly.
The skeleton nudges your knife out of your reach with his foot, but truth be told, you'd forgotten it was even there. He meets your eyes, his expression serious for once. "listen, kid. after the reset… don't kill anyone, got it? if you do, you'll have me to answer to." He sighs, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his blue hoodie, and looks away. "and hey. maybe we can even be friends this time."
You choke on a laugh. Friends? Is this guy kidding?
"yeah, whatever. just try, alright?" Sans looks like he doesn't really believe you can do it. He also looks, you realize (with a slight pang that you try your damnedest to ignore), incredibly tired. "i've always thought that somewhere in you, there was someone i could be friends with. it'd be nice to be proved right for once."
"Cut the emotional bullshit," you say, rolling your eyes. You'd rather be dead than listen to this. "Just kill me already."
"begging for death? heh. never thought you'd be the type," Sans says, a bit of his smile returning. "alright. here goes nothing."
A white bone, massive and sharp, materializes in his hand, and his left eye flashes bright blue. You close your eyes, and a sharp pain rips through your chest, and then…
Nothing.