A/N: Before we get started, I just want everyone to know that this is a tragedy. If you love Papyrus, Sans or Frisk, or if you can't stomach downer endings, I'd suggest skipping this. Just a fair warning.
Note: I did take a bit of inspiration from BlackRazorBill's Soul Dichromatism (Chapter 18) for the first part of this story. I'm not trying to plagiarize from an author who's more talented than me, but the scene that he wrote did help me to convey my intentions into the dialogue.
This takes place from Sans's point of view.
A World with No More RESETs
It was raining heavily a few hours ago, but not now. It's a shame, really. It would have been a more appropriate atmosphere for a gloomy funeral, like in those cheesy human films.
As you stand on the muddy ground of the local park, you can't help but feel annoyed by the mud that's made its way into your pink slippers, squishing its way between your bony toes.
Heh. You could probably make a joke about that. Mud is a constant factor of life. It's gross, useless and ever present, just like you and me. Mud's not to like?
After wasting your thoughts on yet another lame pun, a large shout from Undyne grabs your attention.
"ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" The fish monster bellows, standing above a podium. "GATHER UP AT THE PRECIOUS PILE, BECAUSE THE SPREADING WILL BE STARTING SOON!"
She's wearing her armor for the sake of military respect. It's certainly more effort than you would have given, seeing how lazy you are. You're just wearing your jacket and slippers again, like a homeless bum.
Slowly, Toriel walks forward, approaching a small circle of monsters and carrying a box of bones. She's the Queen, so the others respectfully part ways to let her through.
Asgore fidgets from your left side, too nervous to approach his ex-wife.
You can't imagine what the old lady feels. She's lost all her children to bad luck, and now this happened.
Toriel sets the box down on a pile of the unlucky monster's favorite things, which include a pirate flag, a set of action figures, a bag of dog treats, a box of dinosaur-egg cereal… and a plate of cold spaghetti.
Everybody here knows that when a monster dies, it's only natural to scatter their dust all over their favorite junk. It's way cooler than a human funeral. Sure, the humans think it's a bit morbid, but those fellas often cremate their death for the same reason, so what do they know?
You feel someone nudge you in the shoulder. Turning to your right, you see that Alphys is giving you a dirty look. She's holding a large box in her stubby arms, and she clearly wants you to take it.
You don't see why you need to. You suck at heavy lifting, and it doesn't matter who spreads the dust in the end.
Seeing the look of apathy in your eyes, Alphys grunts in frustration before making her way to Toriel's side.
"NOW, LET THE SPREADING BEGIN!"
Reluctantly, Alphys opens the box to reveal a large silver cup filled to the brim with dust particles. The scientist chokes and nearly loses her lunch, but she stops herself before her weak stomach betrays her. Better her than you, after all.
Taking pity on the poor lizard, Toriel gently scoops some dust in a smaller cup and heads to the pile. She stops before it, raises the cup, and speaks in a calm, yet stern voice.
"For your kindness, for your love and affection, I thank you. Now, be free, be happy; just as we shall be!"
Toriel spreads the dust on the pile, and the other monsters began to clamor.
"Be free, be happy; just as we shall be!"
All around you, monsters are chanting, with huge smiles on their faces. Now, the average human would be incredulous, but this is how your people honor the dead. Monsters honor the fallen with joy in their souls, not sorrow in their hearts.
"Be free, be happy; just as we shall be!"
If anything, your lack of joy makes you the odd one out, even though you're a monster as well. A few people have asked why you hardly feel joy these days, but they're never satisfied by your flimsy excuses. It doesn't really matter what you say. They haven't seen what you've seen. They don't know what you know.
"Be free, be happy; just as we shall be!"
But despite that, you smile. You force yourself to put on a big smile all the damn time, just to hide your apathetic, terrified, disillusioned self. You're the only person here who knows how pointless this funeral really is, and you really don't feel like explaining that to anyone. They wouldn't understand, anyway.
Once the last remain of dust is scattered, the chants stop, and the real festivities begin. There's plenty of food to go around, but you don't feel particularly hungry.
As some monster musicians bring out a few guitars, you begin to walk away as the other monsters begin to dance and laugh. You don't think they'd appreciate your bad humor, anyway.
But before you make a clean break, you notice that Alphys is watching you with ire in her eyes.
She's standing a few feet away, and her fists are clenched.
"Going somewhere, Sans?" she hisses.
"heya, alphys." you calmly reply. "i was just heading home, 'cause the show's over."
Alphys's jaw drops and she begins to yell.
"I can't believe you, Sans! Papyrus is dead! Your brother is DEAD, and that's all you have to say!?" the lizard shrieks, causing a few people to look in your direction.
"you know me, alphys. i'm not the kind of guy who enjoys these kinds of parties. too crowded and noisy."
You were afraid of this. Alphys is an old friend of yours, and that means she observes you more closely than most people. She thinks that there's something wrong with you, and now you're going to have to convince her otherwise.
"alphys, take a deep breath. people are staring."
Slowly, she counts to ten, taking deep gulps of air. Then, she continues to poke at your façade.
"Sans, why are you so… relaxed? Shouldn't you be wailing, crying, or doing anything other than act like nothing's wrong?"
"alphys, we're all monsters here. you know how we're supposed to honor the dead. that's why i always smile and laugh." you huff.
"Sans, stop bullshitting me." Alphys curses. "Everybody else is smiling and laughing, but you're not. You're not happy or sad. You're just… apathetic. I should know, because I've sensed your happiness back when we were in college. Why are you like this? What do you know that I don't?"
You continue to smile, but your eyes narrow at this. You've been trying to put that part of that past behind you, and he she is, thinking that she can understand everything about you with a quick peek at your soul.
"alphys, if i explain everything, will you kindly get off my back and leave me in peace?"
Alphys firmly nods.
And so, you begin to explain the utter meaningless of this world's reality…
Walking down a city street, you to distract yourself from your loneliness.
As you expected, when you told Alphys about the kid's ability to SAVE, LOAD and RESET, she called you a liar. Even when you pulled out your old reports that went into details about temporal anomalies, she shoved them back in your hands and stormed off in a huff.
And now, you find yourself approaching your new house, hoping to find something to do with your shitty self.
Frisk is there too, leaning against your front door with their arms crossed.
This damn kid, honestly.
Most folks would see Frisk as nothing more than an ordinary fourteen-year old human, but that's because they haven't seen the kid's crimson soul, the soul that gives them the power to bend time to their own wishes. You'd say that you were afraid of this power, but that's a bit fat lie.
You're still afraid of their powers, and if they've been waiting here since the funeral began, then it means they're up to no good again.
"So, how did the funeral go?" Frisk asks, sardonically.
"meh. i've seen better." you sarcastically reply. "it's a shame you weren't there. you probably would have enjoyed spilling my brother's dust again."
You've fired the first shot. And now…
"So, we're going there, then. We're actually going there." Frisk spits, before straightening up. "I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm not. You really are a piece of work, aren't you?"
"…says the kid who came close to ERASING the fucking world!" You shoot back.
You and Frisk have a long history.
When the kid first fell into the Underground, you were worried about what they would do. And then, they started killing every last monster they could find just because they could, proving that those human bastards haven't changed a bit.
Inevitably, this led to a final showdown in the Judgement Hall, where you made sure to tell this kid how much of a murdering bastard they were, slaughtering innocent people for shits and giggles.
In response, they told you to shut up, ranting and screaming about all the times that they were attacked, how the old lady in the Ruins kept burning them over and over. Apparently, they died and they died until they were tired of trying.
For once in your life, you gave it your best effort, even though you knew it was completely pointless. Frisk killed you, before moving on to Asgore and the world itself.
But apparently… Frisk found a way to avoid ERASING the world, by refusing to play ball with the Fallen Child.
In your reports, you've seen that thing kill the universe with a tiny knife, over and over.
Apparently, the Fallen Child wanted Frisk's permission to ERASE the world, just to mock them either way…
And then Frisk calmly triggered a RESET.
They befriended everyone, and they helped to break the Barrier.
Then, they told you what happened when you interrogated them, before vanishing into the city for a whole month.
And now, you're afraid that they're going to something horrible.
"kid, when are you gonna RESET?"
"I'm not going to RESET." says Frisk, shocking you. "I didn't come here to cause trouble. I'm just here to tell you that I'm moving to another city."
What, what?
"You were probably expecting me to RESET again, but I don't see the point."
"really?" you ask.
"Really. My mom just got an offer for a new job, and there's nothing left for me here. I'd rather not spend ages trying to get through the Underground through silly pacifism again."
This changes things. On one hand, the kid's not going to RESET. On the other hand, since the kid's not going to RESET…
Apparently, Frisk sees the realization in your eyes, because they smirk.
"That's right, Sans. If I don't RESET, then Papyrus stays dead for good." the bastard chuckles, walking away.
You decided to use your blue magic on the kid, slamming them to the ground and rotating them around to face you.
"What's the matter, Sans? Don't tell me that you're really thinking of killing me. You're far too lazy for that." Frisk spits in defiance.
You'd love to prove this kid wrong, to give them a bad time and kill them where they stand… but they're right. You can't force yourself to do that. It took the threat of the mother-fucking apocalypse for you to break your promise to Toriel and fight the kid. It's not in your nature to fight them over the death of one monster, even if that monster is your own brother.
Slowly, you let them go.
"That's what I thought… You fucking coward." Frisk sneers. "Look at you, all high and mighty, acting like you're the greatest person in the world when you're really the worst. And besides, I didn't even kill Papyrus this time. It was just some random punk with a gun."
You say nothing, trying to intimidate this foolish kid into feeling remorse, but they don't budge. In the end, you have to genuinely consider the possibility that you've just lost your brother for good.
"kid, you've gotta RESET. There's no point in letting my bro die if your selfish curiosity is just going to bring him back." you plead.
"Maybe, but I was never motivated by curiosity."
Oh, god.
"The first time I fell into the mountain, I acted out of hatred. Because you bastards kept killing me over and over again. When I told the Fallen Child to screw themselves and did things differently, I acted out of frustration, because I just wanted to go home. And now, there's no reason for me to stick around. I'm willing to move on with my life. But are you?" Frisk laughs, pointing a fat finger in your face.
You'd love to yell at this kid. You'd love to scream and cry and make this murderer pay, but you won't.
Because that's not who you are. Because you're a lazy, apathetic piece of shit. You know it, and they know it.
Frisk begins to walk away.
"Oh, and by the way, I'm keeping my promise to you, Sans. No more RESETs. So congratulations, you bastard." Frisk cheerfully smiles. "You got exactly what you wished for. You get to live alone, apathetic and miserable, because you insist on keeping all your dumb knowledge to yourself, just so you can bitch and whine about how unfair your life is. Farewell, Sans… may we NEVER meet again." Frisk tips an imaginary hat before turning around a corner, vanishing from view.
Once you step inside the house, you can't but notice how empty the house is.
It's much quieter when your brother isn't around to nag you for your lazy habits and your bad puns.
There are dirty dishes in the sink. The floor needs to be cleaned. But you have never put effort into anything ever since you realized how pointless your life is.
And so, you lie down on the couch and go to sleep, keeping your thoughts to yourself.
You'll leave today's problems to the Sans of tomorrow, and he'll leave them to the next Sans, and the next, and the next… FOREVER.
THE END