-No Rain-

An Undertale Fanfic by Digitaldreamer

Chapter Nine: ghosts in photographs never lied to me


Oh my god. So uh... nearly three months later, whoops.

Hi guys, sorry for the wait. I had a number of life things get in the way. Insane work deadlines. Depression. Tendonitis. Whee. I'm back now and hoping to tie this sucker up in a few chapters. Also this chapter is uh... 31 pages long and is the culmination of quite a bit, so that was part of the reason for the delay. Hope ya'll are ready for some catharsis.

It took a long time, but I'm very proud of it, so I hope you all enjoy. Please comment and let me know what you guys thought, even if it's just to tell me you enjoyed it? The kudos and bookmarks mean a lot, but an actual comment with words means SO MUCH, even if it's just a simple statement that you're still reading and enjoying. Of course, if there's something in particular you liked or disliked, PLEASE tell me.

Uh, I think that's it. Chapter title is from Take Me Somewhere Nice by Mogwai.


Sans slept.

He woke.

He slept. His consciousness drifted, heavy and gray, occasionally breaching into wakefulness as if gasping for air from underwater. His mind was shifting sand, slow half-thoughts that formed before lazily coiling back into nothingness. Occasionally he'd crack an eyesocket open, fighting against the weight long enough to peer at his surroundings. Once his functioning eyelight focused on the familiar cobwebs of his old room in Snowdin, he let himself drift off again. He couldn't help it. Every time Sans had shut his eyes in the past year had seemed counterproductive, as if the very act was inviting a reset while he failed as sentry. There would be no surprise now. Sure, his old mattress was dirtier than he remembered and he only had one straggler left from his sock collection, but it was still home.

Sans slept for what seemed to be a long time. It may have been days or it may have been hours, it was hard to say. Hours was more likely but it felt longer. Finally the drift slowed to a crawl, as if his mind were finally coming to the end of some sort of long journey. Try as he might, Sans could not seem to get back on the train, so with a sigh he opened his eyes.

Yep. Same cobwebs where he remembered them, though they'd grown in the past year. The wooden rafters of his old house loomed over him like a slumbering beast, their comforting weight echoed by the cavernous ceiling above them. Sans breathed in the dust and the frigid stillness, then breathed out, watched the puff of magic-warmed air rise through the empty tomb.

"Well," The skeleton murmured to himself, voice echoing back at him. "Guess I can finally say I've hit rock bottom." Sans let out a hollow chuckle as he rolled into a sitting position, sneakered feet dangling off the edge of the mattress. His gaze drifted absently over the grooves in the carpet left by his old desk and treadmill, the couple of candy wrappers left in a corner. A draft blew in from the window behind him and Sans grimaced, tugging his jacket tighter around his shoulders. The motion made a light tearing sound from the hole Undyne's spear had made in it.

There was a soft curse as Sans exhaled, reaching down to poke two fingers through the hole. Welp. This was what he got for sneaking the thing out of Asgore's dryer before it was actually fixed. Whatever, it belonged in the trash anyway, so down here was perfect, right?

He was starting to sound like Alphys.

After several minutes of staring blankly into space, the skeleton finally got to his feet. Every bone seemed to protest the motion. His legs nearly buckled beneath him, but he ignored them. It wasn't like he could keep laying there forever. Well, he could, that had been the original plan. But he couldn't keep sleeping, so he may as well do something.

Sans exited his room and wandered to the room next door. He ran his fingers over graying caution tape and stickers, then reached up to rap his knuckles against the old wood. "Knock knock," He said, voice echoing through the main room. No response, of course, but he continued anyway as if someone had asked who was there. "Theodore… wasn't open, so I knocked." He let out another wheezing chuckle, imagining the usual groan that would have resulted. Then he cracked open the door to Papyrus' old room, peeking inside and flicking the light switch on reflex.

There was no light, of course, all power from the Core was now being diverted aboveground. Cold winter light peeked in through the window though, illuminating dustmotes and memories. The room was largely empty, the brothers had taken nearly everything with them when they moved. Still Sans could mentally carve the old space back to its original glory, the racecar bed, the pirate flag. He could remember the bookshelf and each individual action figure, how Papyrus had reacted and treated each one like a new friend. His hand clenched on the doorknob. Papyrus, being younger, used to have some trouble reaching this handle, but then he'd gone and shot up and above Sans and well...

Sans just stood there for awhile, taking in the years. Then Sans closed the door, gently. Papyrus had always hated slamming doors when he wasn't the one slamming them.

The skeleton made his way out onto the balcony that overlooked the main room, tracing his fingertips along the guardrail, carving shapes in the dust. Then he made his way down the stairs, listened to familiar creaks, mixed them in his mind with the sounds of yet another Mettaton movie marathon. The smell of burnt popcorn from Undyne and Papyrus' movie nights, the shudder the house would make when Undyne threw the door open and sent the latest snowfall tumbling from the roof. From somewhere in the kitchen came the gentle dripping of the old faucet, a year's lack of use didn't seem to be enough to dry up the leak.

Sans made it to the old couch, a fallen soldier Toriel had insisted was far too battered to survive the trip to the surface. He collapsed onto it with a wheeze of breath, chest tight as if the light stroll through the house had been miles. Upon sitting down, however, there was a lump he didn't recognize.

Brow furrowing, Sans dug past an overstuffed cushion, reaching past ancient pieces of cereal and lint before bony fingers closed around the offending object. He pulled it loose, blinking down at it. Huh. His old phone. Sans had been wondering where the thing had gone, he'd assumed it had been lost in the move.

Flipping it open, Sans took in the familiar spiderweb crack across the screen, the scratches across the number pad. Papyrus had always begged Sans to get a newer model, if only so his brother had fewer excuses to text without punctuation, but Sans always found new action figures and comics at the store more useful than a phone for himself. He pressed a finger against the on switch, then blinked in surprise as the thing beeped to life.

"Looks like we're still kicking," Sans murmured to himself as he watched the familiar Undernet logo flicker behind the cracked screen. The time and date on the screen were all wrong of course, but that had been the case long before he lost the phone. He tapped along the numberpad, pulling up his old contacts list. Yep, everyone was still there, stupid nicknames and all. Cool Bro (with as many exclamation points as Sans could fit at the time), Boss Sushi, Hot Buns (Grillby detested that nickname, naturally), Too Turtley for the Turtle Club, Drunk Bunny. The list covered nearly everyone in the Underground at the time, though no one but Sans would have been able to decipher the in jokes. Except for the most recent entry, Kid, which Sans studiously ignored.

He went from the contacts list to his photos, scrolling through them. The camera on his phone wasn't great, and Sans certainly wasn't a photographer, so many of them were blurry to the point of being illegible. There were a few dim bar selfies, many at the request of his drunken friends, though Sans couldn't help but grin at the couple he'd managed to snag of him and Grillby when he'd been brave enough. Most of the images came from moments that Papyrus would insist be documented, which was fine with Sans. Papyrus opening Christmas presents, Papyrus on his first day as Royal Guardsman in Training, Papyrus listening to storytime at the librarby, Papyrus getting a noogie from Undyne, Papyrus on his first date with the Frisk- both beaming over a plate of artisan spaghetti.

Sans' hands shook as he came across the photos from that final day. They were actually pretty good, he'd taken them enough times to have practice. They would almost be sweet if it weren't for Frisk's redeye, but Papyrus looked so happy, always so happy…

He snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.

The skeleton took a deep, rib-shuddering breath, the sound echoing through the house. Then he curled in on himself, putting his face in his hands.

Fuck, this was so stupid. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Here he was, it had been a year and they'd finally moved on. It had been a year and he had what he wanted, a family on the surface, a life. Time moving forward, his friends getting jobs, things changing when they hadn't for so long. All those hopes for the anomaly to finally, truly change things, all those things he said he'd given up so long ago. Logically, things were better now. Everyone was happier now.

Everyone had moved forward and here he was, buried beneath the mountain.

He'd wanted out. Sans knew he had, even when he'd said the surface held no more appeal he hadn't really meant it. Of course he'd wanted out, wanted Toriel to have her home and family, wanted Papyrus to get that driver's license he'd always wanted, wanted Alphys to finally move on from her demons, wanted the kid to finally grow…

But the tomb was familiar. The tomb had his arms length audience in their usual seats at Grillby's, burgers heated up just so because only certain spots on that old grill worked. The tomb had a routine that made sense, even if it involved repeating certain days over and over again. The tomb had memories, so many memories, buried and forgotten and left to rot. Even the repeats where things went wrong, well, at least he knew what to expect. The tomb was home, and it was stupid, but he missed it.

He could have all the new memories on the surface, but he couldn't go home again. Even if time reset, he'd be different, because time made everyone different. No such thing as a repeat even among reruns. Nostalgia was mourning a lack of stasis.

Fuck.

Sans stayed that way for some time. Finally he managed to uncurl, taking several deep breaths. No, he wasn't going to cry. No. But what else was there to do? Maybe he could head down to the basement and those last monuments to his failure, he could always very literally go lower.

As he went through these thoughts, his eyes flicked absently to one of the windows. His brow furrowed as instead of the usual whiteness outside, he saw a flash of gold…

His soul leaped to his throat. Golden petals.

Standing with shaky legs, Sans stumbled his way toward the door. He had to be imagining things, right? There was only one reason to find golden flowers here in Snowdin, and it never boded well for him or anyone else. But that was impossible, because Frisk had saved those kids, right?

Sans opened the front door.

Yep, golden flowers. Golden flowers everywhere, as far as Sans could see. They poked cheerily up from the snow like coins spilled on the ground, climbed their way up the sides of the vacant buildings. Forgotten holiday lights glittered from within their flower nests like jewels, caught the occasional sharp-toothed shadow of thorns in the thorns weren't always so easy to spot under the beauty, but Sans was well-versed in them.

Thorn-coated vines snapped through the air like whips, scattering the snow where Sans had been seconds earlier. They caught an unfortunate tree instead, snapped it like a twig. Laughter echoed over the roar of his blasters, as if the white hot light was little more than some great joke.

There was a jolt of heat and nausea to join the memory. Sans stumbled out into the snow, clutching at the front of his borrowed shirt. No, no, this wasn't happening, it was in his head, the flower was gone. Golden flowers did not necessarily mean-

"Hey Smiley Trashbag, do you wanna know how many of these it took to kill your brother this time?" Laughter echoed over a hailstorm of bullets. "A lot- turns out he got all the endurance in the family.. Not that it helped him."

Sans slammed a palm against a nearby light pole, the motion knocking some snow free. He took a shaking breath, tried to focus on the cool metal on his bones. These were not the memories he wanted to be visiting on this trip, he had to stop. Focus on the cold already making his exposed bones numb, the way his breath clouded on the air, the way the snow seemed to muffle all sound-

Someone was laughing, and it wasn't him.

It was a subtle thing, soft, light. Sans swallowed, shaking his head. No, just another memory. That was all this was, memories. He had to let them go, focus on the snow, focus on how soft his jacket always felt against the cold, focus on-

More laughter. A chill ran down Sans' spine. Coming down here had been a mistake, but there was no way he had the magic reserves to shortcut. He should get inside, but home had been tainted by the flowers now. He had to be somewhere else, somewhere familiar- old Grillby's, maybe?

He began stumbling in that direction, taking deep, shaking breaths. The walk across town seemed much longer, but he had to try. Maybe it would give him time to get things together. Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, breathe, look at the librarby- no don't, more flowers, don't look there, can't look there-

There was a glint of red eyes out in the trees.

Sans' foot caught a vine and he tripped. He let out a yelp, the sound swallowed up by the snow. The abrupt chill was a shock after the wave of heat and nausea hitting him with the memories- was it a memory? His eye and insides were burning like the red in his bones, too familiar, everything was fight or flight but he couldn't run so-

A sharp-toothed smile loomed over him, too wide, too many teeth. Golden petals wreathed the smile like flames. "What's wrong, Sans? Getting tired? Boy, you're pretty outta shape, aren't ya, buddy? Should have listened to Papyrus and worked out, maybe all these fights would go a little easier for you if you did."

Blasters roared to life at the memory of Papyrus, the scent of charred vegetation joining oozing sap and pollen. Sans eye burned, he clamped his hands over it, grit his teeth against the high-pitched whine in his throat. No, no, no, it wasn't real, it wasn't real, just a memory, it had been a year and there was all this snow and it was summer so-

Red eyes gleaming at him, the glint of a knife catching the light as a small figure approached. "He has a point, you know. Even with all my practice, you still win most of the time. If you'd actually tried, maybe you could have saved him."

"I did try," Sans choked out into the snow. "I did try, I did, shut up, we already talked about this, you're not the kid, you talk too much to be the kid, you're dead, you're dead…"

"Hahaha, you think it'll stick this time? That's adorable!" The flower cackled from above him, vines coiling around his middle. "Here I thought you were a scientist or whatever. Isn't doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result kinda dumb?"

"D-didn't have a choice, there was no other option, nothing else I…" His sentence trailed off, got caught on the bile in his throat. He couldn't talk anymore, couldn't say the words, shouldn't anyway, this wasn't real, they weren't real.

"Don't be mean, Azzy." The child's voice was a laugh. "Besides, don't you get it? He's not expecting anything different. This is what he wants, because this is all he's good for." The edge of the knife pressed against his back, words tickling his skull. "He can't move on, just like us. So we'll be stuck here forever, just us and him, fighting until the end of time, cause that's all any of us are good for."

The skeleton's breath caught, everything spun, was too hot, too warm, too cold, too real, couldn't-

More children's laughter, more vines, fingers reaching up to clutch at his jacket. "Doesn't that sound like fun, Sans?"

Sans blacked out.


A familiar ceiling fan loomed above him when Sans woke. The skeleton blinked blearily up at it- it wasn't running, but he'd woken under it enough times. Grillby's was basically a second home, after all.

Sans sat up, frowning as the damp back of his jacket stuck to him. All right, well, he'd definitely fallen outside, though that still didn't explain how he'd ended up here. Maybe he'd stumbled his way here when he blacked out? He'd certainly managed the way back to his old house while blackout drunk a number of times, so maybe this was the same principle. He glanced around at the couple of tables that had been left behind, dust coating Drunk Bunny's familiar booth and the last remnants of her bottle graveyard. He chuckled to himself, then rose and made his way over to his old stool.

Every motion shook and he did his best to ignore it as he sat- there were no more flowers here, after all. He'd probably feel better if he tried to move on. There was a light tapping as Sans rapped his knuckles on the bartop. "Sup, G. Gimme the usual."

His chuckle died in his nonexistent throat when a bottle of ketchup was slid in his direction.

Sans blinked down at it, as well as the pale hand holding the bottle. Then he glanced up, slowly, taking in a green and yellow striped shirt, going up to spot a heart-shaped locket. The jewelry glinted red in the darkness, matching the fiery eyes above it, the mess of brown hair overshadowing them. "What ails ya, kid?" The child at the bar drawled as they leaned on the countertop.

Sans felt his remaining eyelight dim. "You. Gonna say it's definitely you."

He snapped his fingers, a blaster appearing in an instant. The motion was like a pulling on an already taut string on his soul. His vision grayed at the edges but his body knew what to do. Energy flickered from inside the beast's mouth, a flash of light that lit the entire bar. It only barely snapped on before dimming, however. Once, twice, three times Sans pulled the metaphorical string, and on the third one it finally snapped with a soft 'pop'!

The skeleton let out a gasp as the attack dissipated in a cascade of sparks and dust, clutching at his chest. The room spun, his insides churned and his vision grayed. Sans' head dropped to the countertop with a groan. He curled inward on the stool, a wave of hot nausea running through him for what felt like the millionth time.

"Uh. Whoa. You okay there? You're not gonna throw up or anything, are you?"

"N-no…" Sans wheezed into the familiar wood, breath coming out in hot puffs. "It's… it's fine…"

There was a sigh. Then came a clinking sound and running water. There was a grumbling noise, a splash, followed by more running water. After a minute there was a thud, as well as another splash. Sans looked up to see a dripping glass of water placed in front of him. "Drink it. Or don't, I'm not your mom." The child behind the bar muttered as they glared at him.

"Why, so you can poison me?" Sans growled back.

They flinched at the words, then covered it with a harsh laugh. "Poison's messy. I wouldn't wish that experience on anybody. It's water and it looks like you need it, so drink up."

Sans glared at them for another moment. Then, hesitantly, he reached out to take the glass and downed it. It certainly seemed like water, though the taste was somewhat metallic. Then again, the pipes had been quiet for some time. He made quick work of the liquid, then set the glass down, never once breaking eye contact with the child in front of him. "I'd say thanks, but seeing how you're the one that nearly gave me a soul attack in the first place…"

"It's not my fault you're so jumpy," The child muttered.

It was the skeleton's turn to laugh harshly. "Uh no, gonna go out on a limb here and say that it is, kiddo."

Small fingers clenched on the countertop. "I'm trying to be nice here, you asshole."

"Yeah, I can see that. Then again, your standards for nice are pretty low, anything's a step up after stabbing."

The child flinched, the noise out of their mouth something like a laugh. "Sure, sure, that's fair. Why don't I go ahead and do that again? You're down here because it's familiar, right? So let's come full circle, I'll stab you, you'll punish me, we'll be here forever, just the two of us, because that's all we're good for, right?" Their words came out in a panicked rush, something familiar about them giving Sans pause. But as they grew in ferocity they also became laughter, something high and cold and terrible as red eyes pierced right through him. "I should have known! I should've… fine, fine, let's get back to it right? Let's just get-"

"Chara," Two arms encircled the child from behind, small white paws clutching at their shirt. "Chara, it's okay. Breathe."

The child froze, red eyes wide. They took a deep breath, still glaring at Sans, then let it out. "He started it," They muttered.

"Well, we did scare him first." The second child's voice was warm, matching the fanged smile and gentle eyes peeking over Chara's shoulder. That smile turned guilty as those dark eyes flicked to Sans. "Sorry about that, Sans. Chara and I were just playing around, we didn't know you were here. If we'd known we woulda been more careful."

Chara rolled their eyes as they crossed their arms. "It's not our fault he can't handle kids laughing in their own damn home without freaking out and having weird flashbacks, Azzy."

"Well, it kind of is…" The monster murmured. At those words, Chara slumped more in his hug. "Maybe you could try apologizing? Wasn't that the point of this?"

"Don't tell him that!" Chara hissed, face reddening. There was a few moments of silence as they looked anywhere but the skeleton at the bar. "Sorry we gave you some kind of horrible psychotic break or whatever," The child finally mumbled.

Sans blinked at finally being directly addressed. "Um. I mean it's not cool and we have other problems but uh… sure?"

Chara huffed in response and their monster companion sighed. "Guess we'll take it," Small arms retreated from their hug, though a white paw still reached down to take Chara's hand. The free one waved as the monster came to stand beside their friend. "Here, I'll properly introduce myself. Howdy Sans, I'm Asriel. AsrieI Dreemur."

Sans grinned blankly. "Uh. Yeah. Hi. We've… met. Kinda." He had spent this entire exchange simply staring. Maybe he was still experiencing that aforementioned psychotic break. Maybe he was so low on magic that he was hallucinating. It certainly made more sense than the idea that his worst nightmare was just standing there, being gently bullied into apologizing by the long dead Prince of the Monsters.

"I guess that's true. I'd rather think of Flowey as a different person, but… well, that's not really fair, is it?" Asriel's fangs quirked in a sad smile, so much like his mom. The sadness in those gentle eyes reminded Sans more of the King, however. There was a weight there, one that did not belong on such a young face.

The skeleton gave a hum. "I dunno, kid. You got any thorns under that fur I should know about?" He reached up to tap the top of his own skull.

"I uh… I don't think my horns are ever coming in?" Asriel said, smile growing sadder.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Relax, I was just kidding around." Sans snorted at his own joke.

The boss monster blinked at him.

Chara gave a snort of their own. "Azzy, it's a pun."

"What!?" Asriel sputtered.

Sans nodded. "They're right. You should listen to your friend, they goat a sharp mind."

"H-hey!" Asriel yelped as Chara snorted again.

The skeleton gave a chuckle as he propped his skull in his hands. "All right, all right, I goat plenty more, but let's get down to business. What are you two doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Chara said pointedly, red eyes narrowing into a glare again.

That got a frown. "Uh, no. I have the luxury of still being alive. Last I heard, you two had moved on to greener pastures or whatever. Not to be rude, but you two are way past your expiration date."

"You're one to talk," Chara's voice had dipped into a growl again, drumming their fingers on their own crossed arms. "Also, gonna go out on a limb here and say that 'expiration date' is a pretty rude thing to say to a pair of dead kids."

"H-hey, look, I found chips!" Asriel chirped as he popped up from where he'd been shuffling under the counter. He set a faded bag of chips on the counter, then tugged them open. There was a surprising puff of air as he peeled back the plastic.

Both Chara and Sans blinked. Then, automatically, Sans reached out to take a chip and toss it into his mouth. "Speaking of expiration dates," He crunched thoughtfully, then swallowed. "These are surprisingly good. And not stale."

Chara scowled as they took a chip themself, then chomped on it. "Ugh. Sour cream and onion. You would." They muttered, nose wrinkling.

"Not my fault I have good taste. Juuuuuuust like these chips." Sans shrugged as he took another chip and munched on it. He watched as Chara's nose wrinkled again, so similar to Frisk's reaction when they had to eat something they didn't like. "You don't have to eat them," He pointed out automatically.

The child huffed. "I don't want them anyway. I'd rather have jalapeno." They took another chip anyway.

Sans considered that for a moment as he chewed. "The spice demon who comes when called, huh? Interesting."

Frisk liked spice too.

Chara snickered at Sans' joke. "So what happened to your eye?" They asked as they gestured to their own. "Coulda swore that one only went out when you were killing kids."

They got a shrug in response. "Y'know. Shot my eye out," Sans spoke through a jawful of chips. "Turns out the department store Santa and Papyrus were right. Be careful with toy guns, kids."

"Anyway!" Asriel clapped his paws together, interrupting the banter. "We should probably explain how we're here. You want to know, right?"

Sans nodded. "I mean, it'd be nice. I'd say it's not every day I see kids rise from the dead, but that's inaccurate."

Asriel flashed a slightly pained smile at that but continued. "So um… we… Okay so first we died but then… oh, maybe I shouldn't say that, I don't..." He trailed off, already looking uncomfortable as he looked to Chara. He seemed unsure of how to proceed.

Chara met his eyes. Then they took a deep breath and began to speak."A long time ago… a human climbed Mount Ebott. I should be clear- they were not a good child. This would be a better story if they were a good child, but they weren't. They were born too early, too small, with red eyes like a demon. They were loud, and angry, and they asked too many questions about things they weren't supposed to. Everyone in the village knew the child was bad. Everyone felt bad for their parents. The child was…" Chara trailed off, rubbing absently at their arms. For the first time, Sans noticed faded scars. "...They got in trouble a lot. The child was so bad, they were too lazy to even try to be good. So they ran away, up the mountain, up to the place where supposedly no one ever returned."

"When they made it to the top of the mountain, they found a hole. When they saw the hole, they decided throw themselves down it, to stop existing. If they could not be good, it would be better to not exist. So... they jumped." The words were cold, things that should be cracking with their fragility. But Chara's words were not fresh wounds but scars, old wounds now viewed from a distance. They were echos of the tug Sans felt on rooftops and bridges, had his own lack of throat closing over the familiarity.

"But they survived," Chara continued, not noticing the way Sans had flinched. "They survived and they called for help… and that's where they met Asriel, Prince of the Monsters." Red eyes flicked over to the boss monster and Chara flashed a small smile. "The child met the whole Royal Family and they welcomed the child as if they were their own. They were the family the child never had and Asriel was the child's best friend."

A warm blush flickered beneath Asriel's fur. "Shucks Chara, it's kinda weird to hear you be so nice when I'm right here."

"You deserve it," Chara declared firmly as they they reached out to thread their small fingers with Asriel's paw. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Azzy."

"O-oh gosh!" Asriel sputtered, blush spreading across his entire face now.

Sans snorted as he watched the display. Asriel really was remarkably like his parents.

"Anyway…" Chara looked away again. "You already know this part of the story. The child lived with monsters for a time and they were loved. The whole Underground loved them, even though they were bad. The monsters called the human and the prince their hope- the future of humans and monsters. " A bitter laugh came from their lips. "How dramatic, right? It's a lot of pressure to put on two kids, actually. But it's not the monsters' fault they chose wrong."

The child let out a shaky sigh before continuing, free hand gripping the bottom of their sweater. "The child… knew the monsters were wrong. It was impossible for someone like them to bring hope to the people. But there had one good thing, one thing nobody else in the Underground had, and that was a human soul." Their teeth clicked together on the word, fists tightening on the fabric in their hands. "They had thought… maybe if they died, maybe the prince could take their soul and cross the barrier. Then together they'd… six souls wouldn't be such a bad price if they were from six other bad people, right? Seven dirty human souls are still human souls. So the child thought… maybe…"

Sans' brow furrowed. "So the story about the kid who got sick… that was on purpose, then?"

Chara gave a quick nod, chewing on their lip.

"I'm sorry Chara," Asriel spoke up. "I know I've said it before, but I shouldn't have let it happen, I should have-"

"No!" Chara cut him off, voice hard as they jerked their hand from his grasp. "We've been over this. You did nothing wrong Azzy. Even if you hadn't gone through with it, I still would've…" They were visibly shaking as they trailed off now, a hardness in every line of their young face. "The child would have died. It was all they were good for. And yes, I know it's bad to think that, but I still do." Red eyes flicked down to the dusty bartop. "Sorry."

"So the child poisoned themself on purpose. The child died. Then, as planned, the Prince took the child's soul. Once the souls were united, the child took their body and the two of them crossed the barrier." They were digging their nails into their own arms now, creating pinpricks of reddened skin beneath their sweater. "The child tried to use their power to go through with the plan. It would have been easy, after all. We- they, they were a God. And those humans deserved it, there's no doubt about that. But the Prince refused to fight."

Asriel flinched at their side. "It… it wasn't right, Chara. We couldn't do it. Even if they were attacking us, I couldn't-"

"I already told you, you were right." Chara muttered. "It was wrong of me to put that on you. It was… monsters have always been too good, that was why they were Underground in the first place. It was wrong of me to put that kind of weight on you. Humans can kill. Humans almost always kill. Monsters… I mean sure, they can if they have to, but it takes a lot to get to that point. Heck, they're more likely to kill by accident than on purpose. So of course you couldn't do it and I shouldn't have expected you to."

Sans watched this small argument take place in silence, frowning. This story was certainly not what he'd always been told, but he supposed it was in line with what he understood about both children. "So if it had just been you," He spoke up suddenly, curious. "Do you think you would have done it? Killed six humans, I mean."

Chara looked back at him, face blank. "I don't know. Probably. If you hadn't made that promise to Toriel, would Frisk have ever made it out of the Ruins?"

The skeleton winced at the memory of a small body broken on the snowy ground. "...I don't know. Probably."

That got a nod of understanding before Chara continued. "Anyway. Both children died, but that's not the end of the story."

"I woke up first," Asriel piped up. "Which I think I told you once already."

Sans felt his eyelight darken. "Yeah, uh, that might've slipped out. Somewhere between that time you literally ripped Alphys apart or the fifth time you killed my brother. Raw Determination has some messy results when it's mixed with a dusty, soulless flower, huh?"

Asriel flinched.

"That's not his fault," Chara growled. "You've never been without a soul, you can't understand."

"Uh, no, I think I have an idea. Unlike you, this guy loves to monologue." Sans grumbled as he gestured to the cringing Asriel. Maroon eyes watered and the skeleton grit his teeth as he felt his emotions pushing to the surface again. "Nope, sorry kiddo, it's gotta be said. You couldn't feel anything, and yeah, I get it, that's rough. You were desperate for a change, any change. Hell, I've been there, in a sense. And of course after what happened to you, you'd feel pretty bitter. I can see how something like that would warp somebody. A lack of empathy makes it easy to not see other people as people, hell, you told me that. But it being understandable doesn't make it okay. Your problems are never an excuse for your actions."

"I wasn't expecting it to," Asriel whispered, tears dampening his fur. He reached up to clutch at one of his ears, squeezing it between his paws as he spoke. So similar to his mom but no, no, that didn't matter. "I know I hurt you. I hurt everybody. A lot. I-I just wanted to apologize to you. I knew it was wrong then, of course I did, but I still did it. I know it's not okay and it never will be. If I could take it back I would."

Sans gripped the edge of the bar. The wood creaked. "Yeah? That's nice, kiddo. Hindsight doesn't take back all those little 'games'. You can reset time all you want, it doesn't change anything. You killed everyone and I still-"

BANG! Chara slammed their hands on the bartop, hard. "Stop it! Stop it! You ass, I don't believe you! All that talk about remorse and thinking about your actions, and when Azzy fucking apologizes, you treat him like dirt!?"

Asriel gave a whimper, still squeezing his ear "I-I deserve it, Chara, I-"

"Look at his soul!" The human snarled. They rounded on Sans, hands clenched into fists, red eyes like fire. "Go on, big bad judge, weigh his soul! Do your job before you talk shit about him!"

Sans blinked. Then, wordlessly, he reached out with his magic. A soft 'ping' echoed through the empty bar as Asriel's soul flickered blue from beneath his sweater. It floated in Sans' grip, wavering, shaky, held together by threads of six different colors and weighted with regret.

"Well?" Chara spat out.

"It's clean," The skeleton murmured, releasing Asriel with a wave of his hand. "Way too thin for a regular soul, for sure, but clean. Which is… surprising."

"It's called remorse, jackass. You know, that thing you're constantly preaching about along with your big, scary consequences?" Chara growled as they folded their arms. "Yeah, that's right, we went and did it. Do you have any idea how heavy remorse is for people like us?"

Sans swallowed the memory of snapping bones, of blood and gold. "...I've got an idea of it, sure."

Chara gave a harsh, quick laugh. "Liar. You can pretend to know, but it's not the same. You killed, yeah, but we…" They chewed on their lip for a moment. "We know we hurt people. We hurt a lot of people. We hurt each other. It's… it's a lot, when you stop to realize it. It's worse than dying at first, really, and we would know. It's too mu-" Their voice cracked on the last word, teeth clamping down on the emotion in their throat.

"No, no Chara, it's okay," Asriel insisted as he scrubbed at his face. He flashed Sans a watery smile. "Yeah, I regret what I did. I wish I could take it back. But me regretting it doesn't undo what I did to your brother, does it?"

That got a shaky breath in response as Sans' teeth clicked together. There was a lot he could have said, memories of Papyrus' smiling face, dust in the air, Rants about trust and his brother's long arms shielding a snickering flower in the snow. Tears streaming down cheekbones even as Papyrus insisted this was okay and how could it ever be okay, how could anything ever-

The skeleton shook his head. "Well, you did take it back," he spoke quickly, forcing his smile back into place. "Pretty literally. Pap's fine, better than fine. You should try his lasagna, it's-"

"Sans," Asriel interrupted him, teary face gentle. "It's okay to be mad about it."

The smile dropped.

"It's okay if you hate me," Asriel took a shaky breath before continuing. "I am sorry, I really am, but it doesn't change stuff and I know that. I did awful things to you. Awful things to your friends. Your brother trusted me every time and I still… I treated him like a pawn in this stupid game we were playing. If it weren't for you, I would have stolen the six human souls and ruined everything. I made you stop me again and again. I stole weeks, months, years of time from you. I-"

"Stop." Sans choked out, putting his face in his hands. He squeezed his eyesockets shut against his palms, pushed against them as if he could shove the swell of emotion back. The three of them sat in awkward silence for a moment as Sans took a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again Asriel was sitting there, staring at him with the same teary eyes.

"Ugh. You're just like your dad." The skeleton murmured as he looked away. He broke the tension with a forced chuckle. "That's just not fair, bud, you look like I just kicked a puppy or something."

Asriel let out a bleating, sad little laugh. "S-sorry. Whenever dad got in trouble with mom, she'd get so frustrated with him."

Chara let out a laugh in spite of themselves. "'Gorey, please, I am trying to be mad at you'!" They did an impressive rendition of Toriel's voice, though Asgore's nickname made Sans cringe. "'Stop with that face this instant! I am allowed to be miffed with you, Asgore Dreemur!'"

The three of them shared a small snicker. "She does that with me all the time," Sans murmured. His voice grew fond as he propped his chin on his hands. "'Sans, please, I have asked you time and again to use a coaster!' So great. She and my bro actually care about what happens to the furniture. I'd never even think about it. But y'know, it means things won't look like we pulled them out of a garbage dump five years from now, so I can appreciate it."

Red eyes gazed at him, small fingers picking at a sweater. "Are they happy?" Chara spoke so quietly that Sans almost didn't hear them.

The skeleton smiled sadly. "Yeah," He said as he dropped one hand. He began to trace a finger along the old wood, lazily creating shapes. "Everyone is. Everybody but me."

"...Even Frisk?" The words were so small, so lonely, a hand reaching out to a void that would never reach back.

Sans felt his brow furrow. "Uh, yeah. Of course they are. Are you kidding me? They have the happiest life a kid could ask for. They have this big ol' monster family who loves and adores them, a great school, a cool job as ambassador. They have everything they could ever..." Sans trailed off.

He could argue that everybody had what they wanted. Everyone else was happy because their hopes and dreams had been realized, because they couldn't remember a time when they weren't. The only one who couldn't move on was Sans because he knew it all, right?

But that wasn't entirely true.

"...What did you do?" Chara asked, their words cold.

The skeleton flinched. "I-"

"If you hurt them, I will never forgive you." The child snarled.

That got a snort in response. "Oh, you won't forgive me? Big words kiddo, I-"

Chara slammed their hands on the countertop again. "What happened with Frisk, comedian!?"

Red eyes pinned him in place- or were they black and dripping ichor, the snarl a wicked smile? For an instant, Sans was not the one judging. It was not golden light but the pits of those eyes weighing him down, a self-inflicted and well-deserved infection.

Sans swallowed and looked away, gaze going to the dusty floor. "I… I didn't hurt them, not really. It was stupid. I'm sure you two have noticed that sometimes Frisk still resets- never going back here, of course. It's just little things. Tori got caught in the rain with her pies? Reset, make sure she brings an umbrella this time. My bro has a run-in with some racist assholes at the store? Reset, find a way to distract him. Break some eggs? Reset." Sans let out a bitter chuckle at the last one.

He reached up to run his fingers over his skull. "Logically, I know they don't mean anything bad by it. Hell, it's the opposite, obviously, and it's not like I can blame them. I may partially be at fault, given all those times I asked you guys about responsibility with that kind of power. If you have the power to rewrite things, to make them better, isn't it wrong not to use it?" He shrugged. "Heck if I know. I could argue about facing consequences, but it's not like I have a bead on exactly what should and shouldn't be followed through. If I did, I wouldn't be down here."

Sans let his hand drop to his lap, fiddling with the strings of his jacket. "So Frisk resets. Not all the time, but enough. And it kinda freaks me out, which I think is fair."

"Did you tell them?" Chara interrupted.

A flickering eyelight blinked back at them. "Uh… no, I didn't. But I thought it'd be obvious, right?"

Chara glared at him.

Sans huffed, focusing on the strings of his jacket again. "Whatever. No, I didn't tell them. It doesn't matter anyway, right? It's their power and there's nothing I can do about it, that's how it's always been. It's not like they do anything bad with it anyway, I'm the one who can't let go of when that wasn't the case."

"So what, you're sulking because of that?"

"No!" Sans snapped. "It's not…" He winced. "The other day, Frisk reset. They were baking with Tori, they spilled some flour, they happened to be holding a knife."

Chara flinched. Sans gave a sharp almost laugh through his nostrils at the reaction. "Yep. Just a bad combination, obviously. I uh… kinda freaked out. Like I was seconds away from blasting them all the way back to the Underground freaked out. In front of the whole family."

Asriel let out a gasp, breaking his silence. "Are they okay!?"

"They're all right. I stopped myself in time…" Sans winced. Amongst all the chaos, he hadn't thought much of what might have happened if he'd had less control. The remembered smell of charred flesh turned his insides once again. Add that to the mental image of Toriel's horrified eyes, Papyrus screaming-

"Did you apologize?" Chara broke through the imagined scene, voice cold.

"Uh…." The skeleton's brow furrowed. "I… might've? Probably not. I was in a pretty big rush to get outta there. Didn't want to accidentally fry anybody."

"But you went back and apologized." Red eyes glared at him. When Sans didn't respond, Chara let out frustrated hiss of breath. "Seriously? This was days ago, right? What the hell have you even been doing?"

A nervous grin flashed across Sans' face. He reached up to tap his own cheekbone. "Uh… not much? Visited Mettaton for a bit in Hollywood. Got in a dumb fight with Alphys over the Undernet. Got into an actual fight with Undyne, it was pretty metal. Mostly I've just been drinking a lot of… ketchup. By the way, don't do that kids. Stay in school, remember DARE."

The child across the bar was gaping at him through the whole spiel, red eyes wide. Asriel stood next to them, just looking confused. "Why would you do all that?"

Sans shrugged. "Heck if I know. Poor decisions happen. All I seem to be good for is making a lot of 'em."

"...You idiot," Chara hissed, fingertips clenching the countertop. Their mouth had snapped shut, teeth clicking- no, grinding together, their eyes burning coals. Sans flinched on reflex at the look, his own eye flashing blue. The hands didn't move however, and neither did he.

"Guys," Asriel spoke up. "Please. Aren't we done with this?"

There was a deep breath before Chara forces themselves to release the table. "Obviously he's not," They hissed, eyes still burning holes in Sans' chest. "You haven't changed a bit, have you, comedian? Can't be bothered to say a damn word even when the world's crumbling around you. If you'd talked to Frisk, you could have avoided a lot of this."

Sans gave a growl. "Big words from the End of the World and their best friend. I tried talking, I talked a whole lot back when my biggest problem was a damn weed." Asriel flinched, but Sans didn't back off. "Either nobody believes me or it does nothing to save anybody. Papyrus trusts his new best friend and dies. Alphys and I fight him but she's crushed by her own mistakes. I try to tell Toriel what her little angel would have done and she still looks at me like I'm lower than dirt. There's no winning, so why play?"

"Oh yeah, because I wouldn't have any idea what that's like!" Chara snarled back. "Neither of us would have a clue what hopelessness feels like, it's not like we were missing souls or anything!"

A cold laugh rattled deep in Sans' ribs. "Oh yeah, that makes me feel for you, murderer! You-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Chara abruptly shrieked, tears coming to their eyes. "You don't get it! You'll never get it! I was wrong, I know it was wrong, I knew it was wrong the first time we killed! I was supposed to be dead, don't you get it!?"

Their words hung in the dusty air. More rushed to fill the silent hole Sans was left with.

"I was supposed to die, that was the only thing that I could do, and I couldn't even do that right! I died, I woke up and then I found out everything went wrong! Azzy was ruined and it was all my fault and then we were both stuck on my stupid path!" Chara spat out, their first tears streaking down their rosy cheeks. "I was so mad. If we'd failed, at least he'd be at peace. I had to fix it. I had to save him and there was this thought, this idea that wasn't mine, this stupid curiosity. I… I can't explain it." They reached up to clutch at their head, squeezing their eyes shut. More tears slipped out. "Who am I kidding, it sounds like an excuse, right? Some voice only I could hear? I dunno if Frisk could hear them or not, but I don't think so. They could sometimes be a bit of a brat if I suggested heckling a monster but once we learned it hurt someone, Frisk would say no. Killing… that was a bit of everything, I guess. Frisk's fear. My anger. And that curiosity, that voice that wasn't mine. In the end it all came together, but… it was mostly my anger and that thought."

They let their hands drop, opting instead to scratch at their own arms. Their words tumbled out in a choked sob. "If I'd been more, maybe things would be different. But that's all I'm good for, just anger and a whole lot of sarcasm. And the voice was right, we had to try. I taught Azzy the world was kill or be killed, so what if I got his attention that way? If I got his attention, maybe I could bring him back. Then we could reset the timeline, bring all the monsters back and break the barrier like we originally planned. Start the war." They let out a broken laugh at this, digging harder into their sleeve. "Stupid, right? Monsters aren't meant for war. Dad and Mom knew that. Azzy knew that. I should have listened. But I was so mad, so mad, and every time we killed there was that voice. Killing got so easy. It made me so strong. It loved my stupid jokes and Frisk kept being quiet, so at least I had some company. I couldn't stop. But Azzy…"

"I should have said no. But by the time we made it to you, it was too much. Too much LOVE. Too angry. All I could do was kill. I couldn't reach Azzy, so I put him out of his misery. And then it was just me and the voice and I had to make them understand what I'd done, what we'd done, so I…" They reached up to touch their own head again. Then they laughed. It was a high, broken keen, one that sounded more like a dying animal.

"You'd think stabbing myself in the head would do it. But I came back. I came back and the voice and anger were still there. Hilarious, right?" They glanced up at Sans, wide eyes brimming with tears. "Isn't it funny?"

"...Nah," Sans finally breathed out. "It's the least funny thing I've ever heard. And I hear my own jokes every day."

That got a mucus-filled snort.

"Here Chara," Asriel finally spoke up. He reached over to gently mop away their tears with a paper towel. "Deep breaths, you're okay. It's okay, I'm here. You're okay."

Chara shook their head, voice thick as they continued to sob. "It's not, it'll never be okay, I never-"

"It is okay, Chara," The monster's voice was firm as he took their hands into his paws. "I know it feels bad. I feel the same. But we're different now. We're back now. And I know it's really heavy… but it's okay if we have each other, right?"

Chara shook their head even as they buried their face into his shoulder. "I'm no good for you, this isn't-"

"Shhh."

As the two fallen children of the Underground embraced, Sans felt incredibly out of place. It felt too intimate, too honest. He averted his eye, feeling something thick and gross crawling down his spine. The bar was silent for a few moments, save for quiet sobs and reassurances.

Sans glanced up again as they quieted, blinking in surprise. When the two children entwined he could see it surprisingly clearly- not one soul but two, one translucent white, one a faded red. Both were faint and pulsed in time. Both were held together with six different colors of twine.

"What's with the thread?" Sans wInced when he realized he'd asked the question aloud.

The two children finally untangled, Chara's eyes puffy. The child looked drained. Asriel, however, seemed bashful as he reached up to clutch his chest self consciously. "Oh, that. It's a gift from the other lost souls. They um… kinda came together to help Chara and I. We told them they could go free but they stayed. So they're here too."

"Sounds crowded." Sans forced a casual grin.

Asriel shook his head and smiled. "It's like having a family again. I missed it."

The skeleton considered these words, then nodded. He turned to Chara. "So that's it then? Feel remorse heavier than the weight of the world, buy yourself some kinda soul hybrid?"

Chara shrugged, though their voice was still much more subdued. "Sort of. It's… hard to explain. By feeling remorse, by remembering ourselves… it was a start, though not enough. Souls have some pretty important traits, after all. Patience, Integrity, Kindness, Perseverance, Bravery, Justice. That's why we needed the other souls help. Convincing them was almost as hard as calling out to Azzy, but Frisk's a pretty good talker when they want to be. It was hard, but we did it. We're stuck here, but we're together. We can go anywhere the flowers go… it's not much of a life, but it's something."

"Sounds like a hell of an adventure," Sans murmured.

"Yeah, well, I'm a little storied out, sorry," Chara snorted.

That got a sigh. "Yeah. About that. I… appreciate you telling me what happened. And it sounds real intense. I can't say I fully buy this 'voice' thing, but I'm talking to two time travelers, so what do I know?" He shrugged. "And it sounds like you've got some real demons to wrestle with. It's a cool motive, but it's still murder."

A nod. "That's fair. That's what I liked about you, after all."

Sans blinked.

Chara snickered. "Sorry, stabbing you is a weird way to show affection. But you were the only one who ever really understood. Most monsters are too kind… even Undyne, fighting her had more to do with her being a hero than me. To her I was some unstoppable force to vanquish. But you… you saw me for what I was. You saw me as human, you judged my mistakes and delivered justice. It was such a relief."

Sans felt his brow furrow. "So what, you like me because I kicked your ass? That's, uh, that's a little weird, pal."

He got a huff in response, the rush of breath ruffling Chara's bangs. "Whatever. I just liked you because you had standards, okay? You were consistent. You saw me for what I was and you never let me forget it."

The skeleton frowned. "That's great and all, but it's not like it matters. I gave you every speech I could think of, didn't change a damn thing. Admiring Jiminy Cricket is great and all, but if you don't learn, there's no point."

"I did learn!" Chara protested. "I learned my actions have consequences. I learned even a reset doesn't change things. I learned that just because time could reset, it didn't mean it wouldn't affect me, it wouldn't affect Frisk. I learned…" They trailed off, swallowing, before glancing down at their shaking hands.

"Do you remember why I stopped?"

Sans said nothing. Chara continued.

"I felt so trapped. We'd killed so many times, so many, but it never got Azzy's attention. I lashed out at the voice for pushing us to make violence so easy. I kept Frisk away from them, did my best to show the voice at the end there were consequences for our actions, just like you taught us. It didn't matter. The thought that if we just kept at it enough times, the game would change… it wouldn't leave. We kept going and going. Even when we mixed things up, even when we made it to the surface… we were still stained. I was hurting so bad. I wanted to lash out, sometimes I did, but killing on the surface was somehow an even worse betrayal to you and Frisk than everything else. I was bad. So what was left?"

Chara let out a broken little laugh, wrapping their arms around themselves. "I tried to die. That was all I was good for, after all. I couldn't save AsrieI. I couldn't save anybody. But dying again and again… at least that would be filling out karma, right? So I died and I died and I died… and then one day, you wouldn't let me."

Sans felt his breath catch.

"You spared me. You really spared me. I was so confused. I was so mad. How dare you stop me? How dare you not do the one thing I could count on you for? You were the one thing I could count on, the one person who understood… and just like that, you changed? I screamed. I screamed a lot. But then you said-"

"'I'm tired. Aren't you?'" Sans interrupted quietly. He watched Chara's face as he continued to speak. "I couldn't keep killing Frisk. I couldn't. I didn't know what was up with you, but I knew you weren't them. And I knew Frisk was in there somewhere. And I just… couldn't. Which was stupid, of course. For all I knew, all those times Frisk was kind to my bro, all those lunches at Grillby's, maybe it was all a lie. But even if it was fake, I knew they were capable of it… I knew you were capable of it. And that was important."

Chara flashed a sad smile. "I was so angry. It didn't make any sense. You died or I died, that was just how it worked. I yelled at you for being too lazy to be mad. You just told me you were mad, but it didn't matter. You said I'd paid enough. You said it was done. You said you were trying forgiveness."

Sans snorted as he propped his jaw in his hand. "Yeah, that went well. You just kept saying I couldn't forgive you. What a brat."

The two let out something between a laugh and a sigh. Chara spoke first. "So you do remember, then."

"Sure. I figured it didn't matter, since you stabbed yourself again." He eyed the child's chest pointedly, right where the heart locket hung.

Chara swallowed. "You said I'd paid enough. I disagreed. After all, I killed everyone to get there. It was only fair."

"You don't get to choose what's fair," Sans grumbled.

Chara said nothing to that.

Sans sighed. "What are you getting at? I know that was the last reset. Guess I got through to you, and that's great and all. I forgave you. You used that big emotional revelation to save the Underground or whatever. It's done, what's left to talk about?"

"W-well first of all, you lied. You haven't forgiven anybody." AsrieI pointed out, finally speaking up again.

Sans scowled. "Sure I have. You're both here and kind of alive, Frisk's got a nice cushy life on the surface, isn't that good enough?"

"Saying you forgive somebody isn't the same as doing it, Sans," The boss monster said gently. "I would know. It involves a lot of things… like…" He trailed off for a moment, eyes flicking shyly to Chara. "When we first talked, Chara and I, we both had to admit we were wrong. And I had to admit I was hurt and mad. There's been… a lot to talk about. If I didn't admit I was hurt, if I didn't admit I was mad at Chara or myself… I'd still be Flowey. And even after admitting it, I had to give it time to heal." He fidgeted with his ears as he spoke, voice subdued.

Chara nodded, leaning their head on his shoulder. "It was rough. That was a lot of the final fight was about, actually. Us talking. Us being honest. That's what healed us."

Sans felt his teeth clench so hard they hurt. "Gee, thanks for the life advice. But I'm an adult, I think I can handle my own shit."

"Liar. You never handle your own shit." Chara said pointedly. "That's why you're here in the first place- which is bullshit, by the way. You sure preach a lot about honesty, about responsibility, about being held accountable, but when push comes to shove, you can't be bothered."

Sans felt his eye blink out. "You can't seriously be lecturing me on accountability."

Chara smiled. It was not kind. "I learned from the best. So let's do this judgement thing, shall we? You killed kids, after all. Not just me, don't think Patience and Kindness haven't clued us in on what happened, Mister Dead-Where-You-Stand. What would my mom think, huh?"

Sans said nothing.

"How about all those times Papyrus died?" Chara murmured, cocking their head to the side. "All those times you just gave up? Sure, you have a great motive, and it's understandable. You were tired after all, depressed, hurt. What's the point in trying? I can see why you'd think that but let's face it, if it were me in your place-"

"I never said that was okay." Sans grumbled.

"Uh huh. What about now, hm? Frisk is a child, Sans. A child who admires you and looks up to you. A child who still considers you their best friend because you're the only one who can even kind of understand what they're going through. A child who you've killed hundreds of times. A child who you said you forgave, but you've cut them off from that understanding ever since. Doesn't that seem just a little shitty?"

Sans felt his eye burning again. "You're getting pretty uppity for the brat who triggered all that in the first place, kiddo. What do you expect? Sure, maybe Frisk has some problems, but it's not my job to deal with them! I protect them, I spared them, I have their back. Quite frankly, after everything, that makes me a damn saint. So what if I'm not sitting down having sweet little heart-to-hearts over their feelings!? That calls for trust, and how the fuck am I supposed to trust a damn kid who resets time over eggs!? I can never be one hundred percent sure of my future, you brats took that from me!"

"One hundred percent sure of the future!?" Chara was incredulous. "Oh my god, are you even listening to yourself? Sans, nobody can be that sure of the future.*

"Uh, no, I've got some fancy reads on timelines that say otherwise," Sans grumbled, folding his arms. His eye flickered out again.

Chara rolled their eyes. "You know possibilities. Big deal. Nothing is set in stone. Nobody has a guaranteed future. You could be walking down the street and some dumbass could hit you with their car. Frisk could get really sick. Even little things aren't set. You could plan a picnic with my mom and it might rain even when the forecast didn't call for it. All things are possible, both bad and good."

"That's a bit different from time resetting." Sans pointed out flatly. "Sure, anything can happen in the future, but the idea that I could lose what I have now and have to redo it again is kind of a bummer."

"Has Frisk reset more than a few hours? Since you got back, I mean." AsrieI pointed out.

"...No," Sans admitted slowly. "But it's always possible. Sure, Frisk's acting more like themselves but in the Underground that didn't always matter. Besides, what about that voice? The one that made you do stuff."

Chara grinned at that. "Oh, there's no need to worry there. On the last run, I started giving them new options. They were excited and they followed along. They didn't notice until it was too late that there was a problem. They were tied to one soul- mine and Frisk's. When Azzy and I formed new ones, the voice was stuck with mine since they gave me a name. Frisk's the one who can reset, not me, so as long as we're separate… that voice can't do a thing. Game's over."

San stared at them. "That's uh… that's pretty cool, actually. Weird and hard to believe, but cool."

AsrieI laughed. "Chara's so cool, right?"

Chara blushed. "It was just the only option, that's all. Anyway, I'm sure this doesn't just magically get rid of your fear. That takes time. But of course you'd know this if you'd bothered to talk to Frisk." Their eyes narrowed again.

Sans snorted. "Still on this track, huh?"

"Yep." Chara propped their head in their hands as they spoke. "Your reasoning for freaking out is a good motive. Of course you're still hurt, of course you're still mad. Nobody would blame you for even being paranoid about resets, but you can't let it rule your life. Also you've been real stupid unhealthy about it, and that's not even getting started on how you're lashing out at everybody. You're not even trying to move past it, and that's pathetic. Like… Azzy and I can't leave this place. We can't move on. You not even trying to. How childish."

"I never said it wasn't," The skeleton muttered. "Look, this is great and all, but you're not the first person to tell me to talk shit out. It's not that simple. Telling Alphys about what she did just hurts her. Paps is never really gonna get it. Frisk…" He trailed off, reaching down to absently pick at the lint on his sleeve.

"Do you think everyone wouldn't listen?" AsrieI asked gently.

"No, of course they would. I just…" His non-existent throat was tightening again.

"...Do you think you deserve it? People listening to you, forgiving you?"

Sans shook his head.

A heavy silence hung over the bar for a moment. "Do you remember what you told me at the end? Before we went back to the beginning." Chara breathed.

Skeletal fingers traced across the bartop. "Have you tried forgiving yourself? Enjoying life? You made mistakes, sure, but it's never too late to make amends, especially you. Why not move on?" He glanced up into sad red eyes.

"Why not take your own advice?"

Sans flashed a wry smile. "Moving on is hard. I'm not very good at hard things."

"Yeah? Too bad."

His pocket vibrated loudly.

All three blinked in surprise. "Wow, rude," Chara said, elbows still propped on the countertop. "Why even bother with a silent function if it's gonna be louder than your ringtone?"

AsrieI snickered into his paws.

Sans fished the phone out of his pocket, frowning down at it. Papyrus' name and picture flashed across the screen. "Uh," His eyelight flicked up to the kids. "Sorry guys, I gotta take this."

He got a beam and a thumbs up from AsrieI. Chara grinned. "Go get 'em, tiger."

The skeleton took a deep breath as he glanced down at the phone. Then he tapped the answer button, jerking the phone up to his jaw like ripping off a band-aid. "Yo."

"SANS!" His brother's enthusiasm very nearly toppled him off his seat. "YOU ACTUALLY ANSWERED, OH MY GOD! I THOUGHT- I WAS SO…" Papyrus' voice trailed off, leaving space for the rush of wind and honking cars. "Wait a minute, I thought you lost this phone in Temmie Village."

"Nah," Sans draped himself against the countertop as he spoke. "Guess I didn't cell it after all."

A groan. "Oh my God Sans, please don't tell me you lost your phone there just for that setup?"

"Okay, I won't tell you." Sans was smiling, really smiling. It felt strange.

There was a static-filled, long-suffering sigh. "Where are you, brother? Everyone is out looking for you. We have organised a search party! I thought for sure I would find you quickly with my superior tracking skills! I tried the apartment and when you weren't there Undyne tried Grillby's, but…"

The worry in his brother's tone felt heavy, to say nothing of the mental image of all this fuss over him. "Aw, I'm sorry bro, I shoulda left a note. I'm just out with some…" The skeleton glanced up, only to realize he was alone at the bar.

"... Old friends," Sans finished with a small laugh. Typical.

"Oh!" Papyrus exclaimed happily. "That is such good news brother, I was terribly worried!" There was a pause. When Papyrus spoke again, there was unfamiliar shame in his tone. "I… should apologise, brother. I have been overbearing lately, to say the least. If you want space, the Great Papyrus should be socially conscious enough to give it to you."

"Aw Pap, it's okay," Sans said gently. "I wasn't exactly the healthiest about it. I coulda gotten space without going cross country for it."

"But you may not have felt the need to if I had not pushed so hard!" Papyrus declared. His acknowledgement of Sans not staying in town to job hunt was a casual thing, one that needed no further comment. "No Sans, I must insist you accept my apology on this."

Sans chuckled. "Okay, buddy. Apology accepted."

"And…" Papyrus trailed off. "If you wanted to...Perhaps next time you could take me with you? I understand if you want to be alone, but you have done so many things and I would rather know…"

Sans felt his breath catch. "That so?"

"Yes, like your delightful friend Brittany told me!" Papyrus gushed.

"...Who?"

"Your bachelorette friends!" Papyrus exclaimed. "Frisk and I met them while we were out looking for you! They thought I was your brother, which is kind of racist, but they did apologise and they were right so it's fine!"

Sans blinked. Then he let out a laugh, slapping his forehead. "Oh yeah! I can't believe they remembered. I wonder if they'll still let me deliver the ceremony."

"If they do, I must insist you keep puns out of the speech."

"I make no pun-mises."

"Ugh."

Sans laughed again. It felt good. He'd missed this.

"...Sans," Papyrus spoke after a moment, his voice uncharacteristically subdued. "Frisk told us about the resets."

Sans flinched. He almost threw the phone. He just barely held on, because no, he had missed laughing too much.

"I… I'm so sorry, Sans," Papyrus whispered. " I knew something was wrong but I never…"

"It's okay," Sans spoke woodenly. "I mean, we had this conversation before, it never stuck. It's not your fault you forgot. It's not your fault I was too scared to tell you. It's…" He grit his teeth against the choking noise in his throat.

"But it is not your fault that you are scared either, brother," Papyrus murmured.

"...I let you die, Pap," Sans choked out, voice small, broken.

"And I would always rather have that than have you hurt someone. You know that." Papyrus let out a sigh. "I… am sorry. My standards must have put you in quite the pickle."

"You don't say," Sans said, his bitter laugh only just staving off the sob in his throat. "Well, I killed them anyway. So that doesn't really matter."

"So?" Papyrus asked. "Sans, Undyne told me she has killed children. So has King Asgore. I am not a fool, Sans, I know we had six human souls and I now know how we got them. I… perhaps there was another way. Perhaps we could have broken the barrier without a violence. I wish we… but everyone has made mistakes. And everyone, anyone can be better in the future, if they really try. I believe that. I will always believe that."

Sans felt his breath quickening. His hand shook as he gripped the phone, his eyes squeezed shut against the burning within them. No, no, he wouldn't cry, he wouldn't-

"I will always believe in you, brother. This does not change anything. And I forgive you."

"... I'm so sorry, Pap." Sans sobbed. He pressed his free palm against the first tears streaming down his cheekbones. His body curled inward on the bar stool, small shoulders shaking.

"It's okay brother," Papyrus said gently over the sobs. "I am here. Imagine my voice is the world's greatest hug, which I will most certainly be giving to you when I see you."

Sans let out a hysterical laugh through the mess of tears. "I don't deserve you, bro."

"Nonsense!" Papyrus' insistence was so loud the phone speaker crackled. "You may be a lump of slime, but you are still my brother!"

The skeleton chuckled as he scrubbed the tears from his face. "Yep. Same useless lump no matter what, huh?"

"You are not useless, Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I am done calling you that and I refuse to allow you to call yourself that either! You are depressed. I may not fully understand, but I am determined to help you. You had jobs and a life before, and if you truly want them, I will help you obtain them again. We will just have to take things one step at a time! With the Great Papyrus at your side, you cannot possibly fail! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus' laughter once again abused the speaker. "And of course, I am certain everyone else will help to… if you want, of course."

Sans let out a sigh at that, though he was still smiling. "I uh… maybe. Assuming everyone doesn't hate me now."

"Why ever would they do that?" His brother sounded legitimately confused. "They are our friends!"

That got a grin from Sans, the motion only mildly uncomfortable with drying teartracks on his skull. "... Yeah. I guess you're right. Not to mention monsters are really bad at hating anyone."

"That's right! And if they do, I'll have a… bone to pick with them!"

"Good one, bro." Sans laughed. The action still felt somewhat hollow in his chest, and his skull felt sticky and gross after crying. But he still felt lighter than he had in days, and that was something.

"Anyway Sans, you should really come home. I- OH, MISS TORIEL!" The yell had Sans cringing away from his phone. Even held at arm's length, Sans could still hear Papyrus. "I FOUND MY BROTHER! OR AT LEAST HIS VOICE! I- oh, yes, of course you may borrow my-"

There was a shuffling noise before heavy breathing crackled the speaker. "SANS! Sans, oh stars, are you alright!?" Toriel gasped.

"Hey Tori," Sans drawled into the receiver. "Sounds like something's really got your goat."

"Don't you 'hey Tori' me!" The boss monster huffed. "Sans, we have all been worried sick! I thought- I was worried you'd- oohhh I swear, when you get home-"

"What, are you gonna ground me?" Sans wagged his eyebrows even though she couldn't see them.

"DO NOT TEMPT ME YOUNG MAN!" Toriel snapped into the receiver. Sans felt his grin widen into something just a touch nervous. Welp, it had been a good life. At least he'd probably enjoy his imminent death. Queen Toriel was a treat even if that regal air was a bit scary when directed at him.

He heard Toriel let out a long breath, trying to calm herself. "Well. I am glad to hear you're well enough to make jokes, even if you will not be for much longer. Where are you? For that matter, is Frisk with you?"

Sans felt his eyelight dim. "What?"

"Well, they snuck off shortly after Papyrus took them looking for you-"

"MY APOLOGIES MISS TORIEL! I TRIED TO KEEP AN EYE SOCKET ON THEM BUT MY EYES ARE VERY SMALL!"

A sigh. "It is not your fault, Papyrus. You know how Frisk can be. But now that we've found Sans, I am certain my child cannot be far. They always seem to find their way to him." A pause. "...Am I correct, Sans?"

The hope in her tone hit Sans like a punch in the ribs. "Uh. No. Sorry Tori, I haven't seen them."

"Oh…" Her disappointment was a weight. He'd thought he couldn't sink any lower, he was wrong. "Well, I suppose it was a silly hope. My apologies Sans, you have been through enough without me putting this on you. I am certain we will find them soon enough. The search is still active, after all. Tell me, where are you? You should not be teleporting, I will send Papyrus to come get you."

"YES, SANS RETRIEVAL! I am well practiced at this, Miss Toriel, I promise I will not let you down!"

"Aw, there's no need for that, Tori, I…" Sans trailed off, brow furrowing. The former queen was right, Frisk did always find their way to him.

So there was only one place to go.

"Sans," Toriel's voice was drained, the most tired Sans had ever heard it. "I have had quite enough of this wild snowdrake chase. Please, it is time to come home. Your family misses you. I miss you."

"Don't worry, Tori, I'm coming home. I promise." Sans said as he stood from the bar stool. He quickly brushed the dust from his shorts. "Do me a favor? Meet me at the top of Mount Ebott."

"Mount Ebott?" He could hear shocked confusion in your tone. "Sans, don't tell me-"

"All right, I won't tell you," Sans interrupted. "Look, I gotta go. See ya in a few hours." With those words he hung up and shoved the phone into his pockets. He took a final moment to glance around the quiet bar, eyeing the remnants of the greasy chip bag and the empty water glass.

"Hey," He spoke to the stillness. His voice reverberated off the cobwebs on the walls, floated back to him. "Thanks. I gotta go rescue your sibling now, kay? Don't wait up."

He got no response, but the room seemed pleased. Sans smiled. Then he took a deep breath and vanished in a burst of blue.

He had a kid to save.