Long ago, two races ruled over the earth: Humans and Monsters.

One day, war broke out between the two races.

After a long battle, the Humans were victorious.

They sealed the monster underground with a magic spell.

Many years later, on Mt. Ebott.

Legends say those who climb the mountain never return.

The mountain claimed seven children.

Until one defied the legend.

Their name was Frisk, a child of an unknown past.

They traversed the Mountain, befriending the monsters.

Through hardships, they set the monsters free.

All but one.

His name was Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Underground.

He was killed young, by humans who did not understand.

He broke the barrier, realizing the error of his soulless ways.

But his revelation would not last, and he lost his way again.

With the last one unsaved, Frisk moved forward with their friends.

Leaving the Underground behind and moving forward to the Surface.

But something within Frisk could not leave well enough alone.

And the others had to live with their choice.

Another reset, all to save the unsaved.

Goaded by Chara, Frisk brought it all back to zero.

But Asriel's determination won through, corrupting the reset

Asriel was alive again, but the world was different.

Monster turned to spirits, monsterkind divided.

Asriel journeyed through the underground.

Battled with the human who caused it.

And set everyone free.

Three weeks later...

Sans slowly opened his eyes, his empty eye sockets staring up at the darkened room. He told himself not to move, not yet anyways, he wanted to savor what he was thinking, that he was still on the surface, with his brother and his friends, and not sucked back down into the underground having to relieve everything all over again.

Sure, Asriel seemed happy to be with his family again, but some people are unpredictable. What if he wanted to save Frisk, save Chara, even? What if parts of Flowey were still in Asriel and, just to mess with everyone, just to mess with him.

The anticipation was beginning to send a chill down his bony spine, fear beginning to develop as he let his thoughts take over, but then he heard loud footsteps approach him. He shot awake with a gasp as he saw Papyrus enter.

"Nyeh heh heh! Typical lazy bones! SLeeping in when we have a busy day ahead of us!" Papyrus proclaimed, as he did every morning back underground. Sans couldn't help but chuckle, it seemed like he was right, he was back underground.

"Yup, another day of trying to catch a human…" Sans said, undoing the sheets to his bed and getting out, Papyrus looked at him quizzically. Sans looked to him and noticed he wasn't in his battle armor yet, which was surprising, considering he never took it off.

"Capture a human? Not anymore! Now hurry up! Everyone will be here soon and we may partake in the human celebration known as Giving Thanks Day! So stop your boondoggling and get ready!" Papyrus left his room in a hurry, leaving Sans to register everything that had happened.

Asriel didn't reset anything.

It took Sans a moment to start breathing again, and he started with a sigh of relief, but for whatever reason, his breathing was still short and rigid. He grabbed his old blue hoodie and grimaced, he noticed the stab holes from when they were underground. He couldn't be bothered to get a new one, he slipped it on and went out the door.

Asriel awoke to the light knocking on his door, yawning softly and stretching his body out as he rubbed his eyes with his paws, "Come in," he muttered softly, watching as Asgore and Toriel stepped in, beaming brightly.

"Good morning, Asriel," Toriel said in a soft, soothing tone "Did you sleep alright, was everything okay?" Toriel asked.

"Mmm, yeah, I slept great." Asriel finally opened his eyes a little more, seeing his mom and dad more clearly as he yawned. They nodded as Asgore left the room and Toriel sat in the bed beside Asriel.

"I'll go and make breakfast," Asgore said in a chirpy tone.

"Okay, dear," Toriel said before turning back to Asriel "You should get up and get ready soon, we're going to be going over Sans and Papyrus' house today." Asriel nodded as Toriel walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Asriel sighed happily, what a perfect way to start the morning.

'Almost too perfect' Asriel mused as fear began to creep up on him. Was this a joke? Was it a dream? Was he going to open his eyes again and be back underground, as a flower?

Asriel reached for his side and pinched himself, praying that he was not dreaming, that it was all real, like he wanted it to be. In his zeal, he pinched too hard, making him yelp and jump a little in his bed, which made him feel a lot better, now he knew that it was all real to him. He got out of bed and began to get ready for the day, looking into his closet he saw an assortment of striped shirts.

Maybe he could go clothes shopping with his parents later, he was getting sick of striped shirts.

However, seeing the shirts made Asriel think about Frisk and Chara again, the two humans that meant so much to him and the others, even if they did almost ruin everything again. It made him think of the power of determination, to save. He hadn't even thought about it since coming back, everything here was so perfect. He had no reason to, but he couldn't help but wonder.

Could Asriel still do it? Could he summon a save point? Could he revert back to an old save state?

Asriel concentrated hard, doing what he could to try and recall a save state, or how to make one. But try as he might, no matter what he did, he couldn't bring himself to make one, literally. Everything he tried led to nothing, and for that he was eternally relieved.

There was no going back now, this was his life, with his family and friends and he loved it.

"Breakfast is ready!" Asriel could hear Asgore call from the kitchen, he beamed brightly as he ran out to eat with his family.

Papyrus opened the door to see Alphys and Undyne, splitting between carrying an assortment of cooking supplies, they stepped in as Undyne took Alphys stuff and stormed off to the kitchen with Papyrus, while Toriel was already in there waiting for the two of them.

"Okay! Alphys and I did a ton of research on how to bake a turkey and we got all the stuff we needed. This is gonna be the best damned turkey you ever tasted!" Undyne proclaimed as she slammed her supplies down.

"Nyeh heh! It is too bad spaghetti isn't part of the Giving Thanks Day! Otherwise it would be the best spaghetti you have ever tasted! So I will assist you two anyway I can!" Papyrus said.
"I got dessert, the humans commonly have different pies this time of year: pumpkin, apple, it all sounds delicious!" Toriel exclaimed.

"So let's get to it!" all three said in a giddy tone as the three got down to cooking.

In the living room, Alphys joined Asgore, Asriel and Sans; while Asgore and Asriel greeted Alphys happily, Sans seemed to be distracted and simply waved at her.

"H...How are we all doing?" I know the last few weeks were pretty hectic, trying to get everything back to normal... B...but at least it's all over now," Alphys said, earning a nod from Asgore and Asriel. Sans continued to respond minimally.

"We've never been better," Asgore said, patting Asriel close to him for emphasis "I haven't been this happy in a long time. And I think I can speak for Tori and Asriel when I say that," he continued, making Asriel chuckle a little with a nod.

"Mom and Dad have been helping me train. I can use my fire and sword a lot more reliably now! I know we don't use it, but I wanted to at least know how to use it for fun." Asriel added. Alphys looked to Sans for an answer too.

"It's great." was all Sans said, the others uneasily checking it off to Sans just being Sans.

"Mom's been really excited about me going to school. But I think it's gonna be weird having my mom as my teacher, haha," Asriel admitted, making the others chuckle "But I'm gonna be starting in a couple days. It'll be great learning new things, meeting new friends, I'm actually excited to start school."

"and if you got bored of it?" Sans asked almost out of nowhere, the others looking to him in surprise.

"Sans? What do you mean?" Asriel asked.

"I'm just asking what happens when you get bored of school. What are you gonna do then?" Sans continued asking.

"Sans, what's wrong? Why are you asking something like that?" Asgore asked, holding Asriel a little closer now.

"You're not gonna be happy? Are you gonna reset, like Frisk did?"

"Sans!" Asgore finally snapped, slamming his paw down making the others go quiet, even the kitchen was quiet as Undyne, Papyrus and Toriel looked into the living room.

"Is that what you think, Sans?" Asriel looked at Sans and much to Sans' dismay, Asriel looked hurt, offended almost as Asriel looked back to Sans "Why would I ever go back?"

"I…" Sans was losing confidence in what he was thinking "I'm so used to…-" Sans looked to Asriel one last time "Just...just tell me when...when are you gonna reset?" if one looked closely, they could see tears forming in the corner of Sans's eyes "No one's gonna remember it, but then there's me, right?" San stood up, there was that draft again "I...I can't relax...knowing one day you're just gonna…" Why was it so hard for him to talk like this? Was it because he was so close to a happy ending, he wanted to keep it? "Just...just tell me when you're gonna do it, kid...just let me know...please…" Sans finished in a begging voice, tears more prominent as the others in the room were torn between looking to Sans and Asriel.

"Sans...I…" Asriel shook his head, tearing up from being yelled at "...even if I wanted to, I can't access save files anymore. What happened down there, that was our last time. We can't go back. Aren't you happy with that?"

For some reason, the news hit him like a knife in the back. He grabbed his head and went red in the cheeks, feeling beyond embarrassed for his outburst. He was so sure, he thought he was ready, why was he thinking like this? Did a part of him...WANT to go back? Sans looked to them once again before stumbling and running out the front door.

"Sans!" Papyrus tried to call out to his brother, but it was too late, he had already slammed the door.

"Since when did his hoodie have those cuts on the back?" Undyne asked.

"I've never seen them before...I thought he promised to stop keeping secrets..." Papyrus said with concern. The rest of the group was in shocked silence. They took turns between looking to the door, each other and Asriel.

"Asriel?" Toriel came up behind, placing a shoulder on his shoulder as Asgore held him closer. Asriel wiped away his tears and hopped to the ground, following Sans out the door. Toriel tried to follow, but Asgore held her paw.

"Sans?" Asriel stepped outside, seeing Sans huddled over himself at the first step. He could see the blue hoodie in all its worn glory, including the stab holes from when Chara attacked him in it.
Is that why Sans was having such a hard time letting go?

"I'm sorry, kid," Sans said, rubbing his temples as he sighed "I'm just so used to that kid...screwing with everything...I wanna be here with all of you… but it's so hard without thinking one day someone's gonna just take it all away." Sans looked out over the street again, a few monsters casually walking about on the chilly afternoon. Asriel walked to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sans looked up at him, only to be surprised to see Asriel take the hoodie off of him, leaving him in a dirty t-shirt "Hey…-!" Sans said trying to grab it, but as Asriel took it off, he could see the stab marks too, and it clicked in his head why he was having such a hard time letting go.

"What happened down there...that's not leaving anyone for a while...maybe not ever." Asriel threw the hoodie aside "But there's no going back anymore, it's just us...I think about my time down there too, but I also think about what's going on here, and I think...y'know...that's enough for me. You don't have to face all of that alone."

Sans slowly began to smile and then break into a laugh, which made Asriel smile. Sans stood up and exhaled much more peacefully, breathing easier now. He looked to Asriel and smirked "You're a pretty smart kid, y'know?"

"Heheh, I've had a lot of time to think about it."

Everybody's head snapped to the door as they heard it open again, tense to see Sans and Asriel again but the smiles on both of their faces made the rest of them feel easier.

"Hey, I know it's short notice...but y'think maybe we can go clothes shopping?" Sans pointed to Asriel holding his old hoodie "I gotta 'hole' lotta problems with this one," making Toriel stifle a giggle, but Papyrus scream.

"Oh my god! You would!" Papyrus sighed, a relieved smile forming on his face "Come brother! I will take you to the Supermarket of Wal!" Papyrus walked out the door and held it open for Sans.

"Uh, i think it's just called 'Walmart', bro," Sans said before the door was promptly shut behind the two of them.

The rest of them sat around, still waiting for dinner to finish, trying to move past the strange outburst. An hour or so later, Sans and Papyrus returned, Papyrus entered first, blocking the view of Sans.

"So, let's see it," Undyne said, the others waiting excitedly to see Sans' new hoodie. Papyrus stepped out of the way and revealed his brother in a white hoodie with black fur.

"It looks like that hoodie is 'al-white' with you, Sans," Toriel giggled, making Papyrus scream more.

"Nyoh hoo, not you too! The puns he said coming home…" Papyrus stormed off into the kitchen, Undyne and Toriel taking the cue to finish the cooking for the day. Sans sat down with Alphys, Asgore and Asriel.

"S...so, Sans, feeling better?" Alphys asked, making the others look at him for an answer. Sans merely chuckled and flipped his hood onto his head. He looked at his friends, his house, all on the surface, where he was going to say.

Sans smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." Sans' smile faded, looking to Papyrus "I just gotta take care of one more thing.

Sans, Papyrus, and Asriel walked back through the Underground, already making it into Snowdin, back to the skeleton's house.

"Thanks for letting me tag along, Sans." Asriel said "Y'know I never managed to get back there in all my playthroughs. It'll be nice to know what's back there."

"Yes indeed. Another room that Sans neglected to mention. Locking it up for no good reason!" Papyrus added, mixing his usual perky tone with an accusatory tone.

"Yup, bro. That's why we're going. I said no more secrets, so no more secrets." Sans said, reaching into the pocket of his white hoodie and unlocking the back door. The three stepped inside to an incredible sight, what appeared to be one quarter of a room, with lavender tiles and periwinkle walls, a large curtain hiding something on the other side of the room. The rest was wreathed in darkness.

"Wow… I wonder where the rest of it is?" Asriel asked, surprised to not get an answer from Sans, who went straight for a couple of drawers. Papyrus looked over Sans shoulder as he held out a couple of items, a couple of notebooks, and a couple of photos.

Papyrus looked them all over, he was surprised to see himself in these photos, he was in a professional lab coat, alongside many others he had never seen before. He looked to Sans, hoping he would say something, an explanation, anything.

"This is why I was keeping secrets bro…" Sans said, averting his gaze "I'm the only one who remembers Doctor Gaster and everything he did...and tried to do. After his last experiment went awry. Even I wanted to forget everything… but I can't lose everything." Sans shoved his hands in his pocket "You're my brother...and you're my last connection to this whole thing. I can't sacrifice that."

Papyrus knelt down, looking over everything one more time before dropping it all and placing his hands on Sans shoulder, his face held an unreadable expression.

"Wowee! I used to be a scientist! That's so cool!" Papyrus jumped up, excitedly looking over the contents again "I can't wait to read everything, I'll be as smart as you by then, bro!" Papyrus picked Sans up as well and spun.

"Eheh, something like that…" Sans chuckled uncomfortably.

"But wait!" Papyrus stopped, dropping everything, including his brother "Why don't I remember anything?"

"Maybe all those resets?" Asriel offered, but Sans shook his head.

"It was the last experiment before Gaster vanished and fell into the CORE. It was about to meltdown. We were able to stop it but…" Sans paused "A lot of things happened. Gaster vanished, you lost your memory, and that's how I got my powers. It's probably why you can do it too, even a little bit."

Papyrus looked over everything once more, nodding slowly, a far cry to his typical outbursts "...Thank you, Sans." he picked it all up, his usual giddiness returning "I'm gonna read it all. See if I can't become the scientist I once was!" and with that Papyrus rushed out the back room and back into Snowdin.

"Looks like Papyrus took it well." Asriel smiled, looking at Sans, the two of them walking to catch up with Papyrus "So what happened to Doctor Gaster?" Asriel asked.

"If I had to guess. That blast finished him off. No more doctor, the CORE basement isn't even there anymore, like he was the last part keeping it all together. So I don't think we'll be seeing him again." Sans shrugged, which seemed to be enough for Asriel

"...While we're here, there's something I want to do too. I'll meet you back home." Asriel nodded as he walked deeper into the Underground, back towards the Ruins. Sans nodded as he hung by the door frame to the back room, looking over everything one last time. He told himself that this would be the last time he came here, there was nothing left for him down here, only on the surface now.

With a sigh and a smile, he turned off the light and closed the door. Leaving the room in darkness.

Asriel didn't have much of a reason to be down here anymore, most of the monsters had found homes on the surface, parts of the underground had been turned into a cultural museum, but one part was kept out of the museum program; their old house. Asriel opened the door and crept inside, he wanted to be quiet, even if no one else was here.

It all felt so fresh in Asriel's mind, Frisk coming down to free everyone, kill everyone, then free them all again. Chara resetting the world to bring them all back, then a corrupted reset changing everything, bringing Asriel back to finish what they started. Asriel walked through the old house, nose sniffling as the dust assaulted his nose; not being part of the museum's itinerary meant it was mostly left alone, it had been a while since they dusted, it seems. Nevertheless, Asriel quickly moved through the house, stopping at the door to their old room for a brief moment. Pausing before going back down the main path, stopping out on the front lawn, where a sizable tree had grown by now.

"Hey Chara." Asriel managed a smile, clenching his satchel as he sat down in the shade of the tree "I know we didn't exactly end things on the best terms...what with you stabbing me…" Asriel shuddered at the morbidity of that "Mom and Dad don't like talking about you anymore, and Sans…" Asriel whistled "But...I still care about you. You were my first friend, my only friend really. I mean I have friends now but…" he looked back at the house "What we had, I'll always remember that...I'll always cherish that." Asriel closed his eyes "Maybe that's why I'm so willing to forgive you..." Asriel felt the gray soul within him pulse

"That said, I think this is the last time I'm gonna come here." Asriel said, sitting up "I love what we had together, but there's no more denying what you did to me and everyone else. I just wanted to pay my respects, one last time…" Asriel reached into his satchel, pulling out two chocolate bars "This is the brand that Mom and Dad used to find for us. They don't make it a lot anymore, so this was a hard find." Asriel laid the second beside the tree as he unwrapped his and ate, bitter yet sweet, just like he remembered, the taste of chocolate dull, but just present enough to get you that tingly feeling.

Asriel finished his chocolate, picking up the satchel and his hoodie. He placed his paw on the tree one more time, then leaned in, forehead to rough bark "Goodbye, Chara. Goodbye Frisk." He leaned back and slowly made his way outside of the underground and back towards his life on the surface.