AN: A bit longer this time, and a lot more explanation-y. Get ready for some oddly phrased exposition!
'Open Directory: Library'
'Open Folder: Application Support'
'Open Folder: Steam'
'Open Folder: steamapps'
'Open Folder: common'
'Open Folder: Undertale'
'Open File: Undertale'
Sans wasn't entirely sure how this place was still around. After all, even their old house seemed to have disappeared, along with everyone and everything to do with the old man. Nonetheless, here it was, hidden behind walls in the Core only someone who knew the place inside and out would have noticed seemed conspicuously unused.
To say it looked like Alphys's lab would be an understatement. It basically WAS the same lab, just with a few extra rooms and about 23% less liquid monster on the beds. There were, of course, smaller differences; the computer instead of the TV and VCR, the DT extractor being to the east, instead of the west, and a few pictures scattered about of three happy looking skeletons. Other than that, though, it was largely identical, and Sans doubted that was a coincidence.
ERROR: Files cannot be opened without Admin permission
And there it was again. He couldn't so much as look through folders without some hole in the code to wriggle through. Still, at least he could watch and work out how exactly the creep running this show went about their business.
The game had been started up. Sans noticed the clock on the top-right of the screen move a lot quicker, as seconds became seconds instead of frames. Oh well, the kid had barely made it past Napstablook. He had plenty of time to get to his post.
They were apparently going for a neutral ending this time-or at least, they hadn't bothered to grind out the monsters in the ruins before fighting Napstablook. Who knows, maybe this time the kid'll spare Toriel and Papyrus. He could only hope.
The creep had deleted some file in some folder a while back. Sans was fairly sure that was supposed to keep track of whether or not they'd done a certain run, but he wasn't sure which one, since, again, he couldn't actually open any files for himself. Still, he remembered, Paps remembered, and his journal remembered, so that was all that mattered.
It was about time to head out. He had a few gold to hide in a Snow Poff.
As he got ready to leave, he noticed the desktop wallpaper on the creep's computer. (The desktop itself was absurdly messy, but that was hardly the creep's worst crime.) It was a pic from when the gang got together up on the surface. Apparently, the kid kept it, and Tori called him a week later and mentioned that Frisk had scribbled over everyone's face except their own, where they had drawn a creepy smile. He pointed out that the smile only looked creepy because everyone else had been de-faced, and the kid had probably been trying to give them smiles but got frustrated when they messed up.
He didn't believe a word of that, but Tori had believed it, and that was good enough for him. At the very least, the kid didn't have a chance to do anything before they went back to the start, so they weren't a very effective murderer outside the underground. Assuming they intended to do anything to begin with.
Wait. He looked back at the computer one last time.
The desktop was some generic galaxy wall-paper that probably came with the computer. Why did he think it was the picture?
He shrugged it off. It was far from the craziest thing he'd ever imagined seeing.
It was the girl that had convinced him to leave.
She was related to Dr. Tate, he believed. A niece? A cousin? Whoever she was, she didn't deserve this sort of treatment.
He'd stormed in while the doctor was making another mindless entry about the results and given him an ultimatum; stop the experiments now, let the kid go home, and give up this notion of "undoing past mistakes", or Sans was out. It was…less effective than he would have preferred, but at least he could still look himself in the mirror and say he was a good person.
After he left, he heard a series of assistants came in to replace him. Some big, some small, some thin, but all unprepared. They apparently left as well, after they realized what all the doctor was doing.
The only one who stuck around was Dr. Tate, and she had her own issues to deal with. Still, considering how things turned out, she was the lucky one, since at least she was still around after the "accident". Of course, maybe if HE had stuck around, the "accident" wouldn't have happened at all.
He doubted it. Programming was always Alphys's wheelbarrow, not his. It's not his job to make sure the subject doesn't clip through the floor.
It was a long night, that first reset.
Or rather, it was a long morning. Day, even, since the kid showing up just drove home that this was really happening.
The talked for hours about various subjects, though it always revolved around the same pachyderm. "What happened after I died", or "How do we remember this at all", or just "I'm so happy you're alive". It didn't help that occasionally, out of the corner of his eye, Sans would see that damn demon holding the glove that took his brother from him.
Still, let bygones be bygones, especially since the kid was extra merciful this time around. If Sans didn't know any better, he would've assumed that they were trying to atone for their past mistakes.
Of course, he did know better, and two runs later the kid had killed everyone yet again. He was tempted to break the cycle and just kill the brat as soon as they left the ruins next time, but he knew that wouldn't help anything. They'd just come back, only now they had reason to attack him.
Besides, unless the kid was a real quick maniac, he wouldn't be able to do much damage to them anyways. That's the problem with calculated Karma: it doesn't really account for possible futures.
Ah well. At least now he knew, if they did kill his brother, he'd get a chance to see him again outside whatever afterlife awaited them.
AN: Like I said, a bit longer this time. In case it wasn't clear, the Karma system in this fic is related to the accused's LV, so someone at LV 5 would be less damaged than someone at LV 19.
Also, the sections are more than a little out of order, but Sans's whole life is pretty out of order, and I felt like this flowed a little better. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Lastly, the picture appearing as the wall paper? Yeah, that's meant to be a legit hallucination. The man's tired and traumatized, what can you do?
