By sheer luck Frisk wasn't skewered in the first attack. While stumbling away from the mist figure her ankle caught on an unseen root and she tumbled to the ground. The sword passed harmlessly through the space she had occupied only moments before. Her scream died away in the frigid air.
"Get up, get up, get up!" Flowey howled. Frisk rolled to the side and scrambled away as metal hissed through the air behind her. She could see Sans running across the path, dodging between trees as the wolf nipped at his heels. Frisk's heart missed a beat as their eyes met. His expression was terror. Whole, undiluted, heart-wrenching terror.
"Maybe you can lose it in the trees!" Flowey shouted in Frisk's ear. She bolted perpendicular to the path, away from Sans and the two monsters who had attacked. A muffled thud and a quick glance over her shoulder told her all that she needed to know. Sans was on the ground wresting against the armored wolf. A splintered bone was wedged between its salivating jaws. The mist creature was gone, replaced by another wolf in dark armor. A scar marred its enormous snout.
Frisk ran. She ran faster than she had previously thought possible. Death snapped at her heels, warning her of what would happen if she stumbled for even a moment.
"Cliff!"
Before she realized what was happening Frisk was tumbling through empty air. Is this the same cliff I fell down the first time? Is my luck that bad? For a moment she caught a glimpse of the snowy mass beneath her. At least it's not the river, but this is going to hurt.
If the wolf doesn't get me first.
Snow exploded through the air and cocooned Frisk in its frigid grasp. She flailed helplessly, slowly clawing her way to the surface. As soon as she was free her eyes sought out the wolf. It stared down at her through impassive eyes on the lip of the cliff. In the time within a blink the wolf was gone, replaced by a monstrous bird. It launched itself into the air and dove.
"How are we supposed to escape a creature like this?" Frisk cried as she broke into a run. Her legs burned with equal parts cold and exhaustion. How much longer can I run? How much longer until Sans finds us? Can he even do anything against a shapeshifter?
Brute force rocketed into Frisk from behind and threw her to the ground. It was already too late. Flowey had been thrown from her shoulder due to the force of the tackle. She could barely see the misty figure above her, sword raised.
Old fashioned execution. Can't say I've experienced this kind of reset yet.
The sword swung down as Flowey's shout split the air. Frisk clenched her eyes shut. Something soft brushed against her face in the silence that followed. She risked opening one eye.
A flower rested in the snow beside her face, split savagely in two. The seam of the rip glared a blinding red, droplets mixing with the white snow. Golden petals littered the ground around it.
"Flowey…" A lone tear escaped to fall in the snow. The mist figure raised its sword again.
"HEY! I've got a bone to pick with you! I hope they hurt!"
The mist figure had no time to react as bones materialized in the air and descended with rapid and deadly accuracy. It was over in a moment. Gray dust drifted down, mingling with the golden petals and red snow. Footsteps crunched and Frisk crawled to her hands and knees.
"Whoa!" Sans called, hurrying forward. "Take it slower, flower girl. You… you got hit pretty bad."
"What are you talking about?" Frisk croaked. "The red isn't me. It's Flowey. He's dead, Sans. Flowey's gone."
"Monsters don't bleed, Frisk."
As she watched, Flowey's body dissolved into gray dust. Only the red remained, and a growing pain in her back. The world began to darken around her.
"Lucky shot." She coughed, lying down on the snow. The cold didn't bother her as much as it had. "See you on the other side, Sans."
"What? No, don't reset on me! We were so close!" His grabbed her shoulders and glared at her.
"I've done this before. I'm as good as gone. Will you… be there?"
"Don't talk dumb, you're not gone."
"Will you promise me?"
Sans hesitated. His grip softened. Something in the depths of his eye sockets flickered.
"Course I'll be there, flower. I told you that you needed a real monster."
The world melted into burning darkness and searing pain.
It hurts! Why does it hurt so much this time? What changed?
The pain bit into her sides, clawing at her, growing in intensity wherever golden flowers broke the skin. The darkness was absolute and commanding.
"Stay," it called. "You're so tired of going back. Why try?"
But Frisk could not reply. She was already gone, unconscious long before the darkness had melted back into the familiar shadows of the Ruins. She could hear two familiar voices speaking nearby.
"Have you made up your mind about us yet?" That one was Flowey. She would be able to recognize it anywhere. But who was the other?
"No."
"Even after everything I told you?"
"I already knew you could reset. I've seen it enough times. But what I want to know is if she really does reset too. And for that I need to talk to her personally." There came a lengthy pause. "Does it always take this long?"
"No. Something's different this time. It looks like a big part of the glow of her Soul is gone."
"Sucks to be her."
"I can't believe we actually want your help!"
Frisk forced her eyes open. For a moment the brightness blinded her. Then her eyes adjusted and she could see Flowey and Sans, side by side just beyond the patch of golden flowers. Sans was wearing his jacket once again, along with a scowl.
"So now she's up," he growled. "Not a word from you, Flowey. I want to make sure that her version of events matches yours."
He began to pace back and forth, occasionally pausing to glance Frisk's way and mutter. How much does he remember? Frisk wondered. He can't reset, so this is an entirely new Sans we're dealing with.
"I'll cut to the important part," he finally announced. "I've been watching the timelines like I always do. I know I've killed you a bunch of times. I still mostly want to kill you." Mostly. He said mostly. That's good.
His scowl deepened. "But then there's this funny business in one of the timelines about me helping you for some reason. Now I don't know if this is my imagination, or I accidentally saw an alternate timeline that could have occurred. So I'm here to see how much is real… and how much is fake."
"Ask me anything," Frisk offered. "I was there; I remember everything we did."
"That's great and all, but the flower could have drilled you on what to say beforehand. No, I want something foolproof. So tell me… what's the code word I gave you?"