How much would you devote to your significant other? What would you give to save their life?
What would you be willing to go through for them?
BANG!
A gunshot rings through the air. A terrifying sound that signifies someone's possible death.
On the ground, someone's body lies there on the floor. Bleeding.
The monster ambassador's body lies there. Frisk Dreemurr, the savior of monsters.
A screech of pain goes through the air alerting someone close-by.
At that moment, pain flooded Frisk's senses. The world seemed to slow down. That moment of pain, that moment of assured death to her. It felt like an eternity. She had died many times before, felt pain on levels higher than this. But this seemed like her last line, her last life. She had cheated death many times before.
Darkness grew, calling Frisk to sleep. It was so tempting, just to let it happen. They had their happy ending after all. An ending where everyone was on the surface. She was about the accept her last and final death.
Sans, however, looks on horrified by the events that had just occurred. His hope, the one that had saved him from his fate at the hands of the anomaly, Frisk, laid there bleeding.
His significant other, the one he would have been willing to be his mate in this life. The one he would have devoted his entire being to.
He howled in pain, in the realization that the one he loved was dying.
He would have done anything to deny it. But as he looked on, he quickly realized this was no dream. It was a reality he now had to face.
Memories long past came flooding once more, his own brother's death at the hands of a talking flower. One about a father figure that was long forgotten. His curse of determination, binding him to remember tragic and terrible events.
These memories on top of the current events summoned an unbridled fury in the skeleton monster. Emotions that he had felt long ago rushing back once more.
Grief, pain, hatred, vengeance, fury.
These emotions surrounded Sans. At that very moment, he wanted to shout. He wanted to scream. He wanted to ask to whatever god was listening. Why?
Why him? Why did he have to suffer so much? Why couldn't he just have had his happy ending?
Was the world so cruel? Was this truly how it ends? Him in pure despair?
However, he could not act. A horrifying revelation had him paralyzed in fear. His emotions begged for release and yet, he could not provide it even if he wanted to.
Frisk — quickly noticing Sans' despair — was filled with determination once more. She would say one last thing to Sans. She would make sure of it.
"I'm sorry."
This did not calm the skeleton in the slightest.
Those words reinvigorated Sans' fury raising it to new heights. He had never felt such hatred before. Hatred for the person that hurt his Frisk.
Feelings previously undiscovered came to Sans. A hatred so thick it was palpable. This feeling was LOVE.
He had never felt so intense as he had right at this moment. His hate growing to newfound heights. He had never understood why people found LV so addicting. He had just thought that they just wanted to, the people he had judged had been too lost after all. But at this very moment, he understood the feeling of megalomania. A feeling so intense, he felt that he could rule the world.
He obviously knew he was already strong enough to defeat every monster in the underground without breaking a sweat. But this feeling, amplified by his own ungodly levels of determination truly put things in perspective.
With these feelings, his magic started to flare and started releasing without manifestation. Blue and yellow dust, the colors of his magic, swarmed the air surrounding him and Frisk. His magic required something of him. Begging its master for a release. Reacting to the level of emotions, the pain he had suffered. It demanded one thing of him at that moment.
It demanded Judgement. It demanded his judgement, the Judge's judgement. He felt too inclined to give in to his instinct. But before he could lose himself further to such a terrible influence. Frisk released a yelp of pain bringing Sans back into reality. He, of course, reacted to it accordingly and decided that revenge could wait.
He had to get Frisk safe. He'd do anything for it. He'd sacrifice everything just for her. He'd do anything to save her, no matter the cost. No matter the hardship. He'd do it, all for her.
How far would you go to save someone you loved dearly?
Summoning the power of the endless void. An abyss that could never be filled, its power due to the fact it was outside reality itself.
He willed a shortcut to manifest, tearing through space-time itself to generate a rip. With his magic, he pulled himself through this newly generated rip allowing him to do something similar to teleportation.
Darkness powered by the void filled his very non-existent veins. Pulsing him as he walked the edge of space and time. A place where the laws of physics barely applied.
Suddenly, that feeling stopped. Now in the hospital, Sans screamed out for anyone to help the one that he loved so dear.
The doctors were extremely and understandably freaked out by the sudden appearance of a skeleton who saw that he held a human in very critical condition.
They disregarded their very fear of the monster that had just suddenly appeared, letting their love for saving lives take over. Slowly, they took the human from the obviously distraught skeleton.
They took them into surgery, leaving a depressed skeleton to wallow in his self-deprecating thoughts.
The thoughts he had long since suppressed for Frisk were bubbling to the surface. In face of this new fear, Sans suffered a relapse of epic proportions. Self-deprecation in its full form.
'You couldn't save anyone, could you?'
'You don't deserve her.'
'You always were a failure!'
'She would have lived if it weren't for you?'
'You don't deserve hope.'
Thoughts that were beating his very soul hit him. Attacking him with relentless fury. His soul cracked for the second time in his life in reaction to such a terrible predicament.
The Judge had suffered so much and yet this is what caused a crack to appear once again. If the irony wasn't in reaction to such a terrible situation, he would've laughed.
However, he could not. He could only think about what could happen to the human he so desperately loved. The one he allowed to hope for once again. The one he let into his cold, dead, and non-existent heart.
Sans knew that some of these thoughts (whatever these voices were saying) were not true. But it did not lessen the pain of the words that were being said to him. He never knew where these voices came from. But they were here to torment him and it was working.
During the resets, he had always heard the voices. Beating his soul to the point where his HP, his hope, went down to 1. He barely knew why he was even alive. Though he attributed it to his determination.
His HP was lowering at a severe rate. His HP was recovering after all this time. But now, his HP was dropping.
From ten, to nine, to eight.
It was slowly dropping. Another harmful thought went into his non-existent brain that harmed him once again. 'She would be disappointed in you seeing your soul now. Maybe you don't deserve to be saved. Maybe she was doing this for pity. Such. A. Shame.'
Slowly but surely, his soul reached a 'critical point' for most monsters. But darn his determination, it prevented him from dying. Holding himself together.
Hopeful words swarmed once more in his darkest moment. Something positive to reinforce his soul, the light within fighting the darkness that plagued him so for so long.
And a long-lost entry from a time long past swarmed his thoughts.
entry number 18
it's been two days since the core meltdown incident.
the void ate everything in its way.
it has consumed me, but has allowed me power beyond my wildest dreams.
however, the darkness seems to be imposing my light.
it seems the opposing powers of karmic retribution and the power of the void are fighting.
it is taking quite a mental toll.
i am starting to hear voices. i hope this does not continue.
otherwise, this is getting quite interesting.
but that was true the last time, our search for power had blinded us.
i will not fall to the crimes of my past.
experimentation will now cease. i cannot in good conscience continue.
i'm sorry, dad. but this is for the best.
i hope you can forgive me.
He had remembered something. Something the void did not want him to remember.
Something it made him forget so he could not impose the growing darkness in his soul.
In light of this new information, his light, his karmic retribution won once more. The one that was truly him. The one that offered him a gift. A gift to Judge.
With this reinvigorated peace, he had found out that whatever these voices were saying were not true. Karmic Retribution had won. After eons in limbo through the resets, it had won.
This hopeful revelation helped him in ignoring the voices.
As time passed, Sans grew impatient (despite his soul trait) waiting for Frisk. While he hoped for the best, there was still a part of his soul that threatened his newfound stability and light.
And when the doctors came, his worry became justified.
What would you do to fill the emptiness that encompasses your soul?
"What- what are you saying?"
"We are saying that Frisk Dreemurr doesn't have long to live. I would encourage you to say your goodbyes. We are sorry for your loss."
"Stop. Stop saying it like she's already dead."
"We're sorry, sir. There's nothing we can do."
"Nothing? Nothing?! There's always something you can do. Always!"
Sans breaks down. Loss and grief are what are felt throughout the room. His magical presence making everyone feel the feeling he feels.
"There is ALWAYS something you can do."
The doctors feel a terrifying feeling. Sans in his endless sadness had triggered his ability of Karmic Retribution.
The power to make people feel guilt.
The doctors were impaired by this ability feeling every sin they had committed doubling back on them.
Their sins crawling on their very backs.
Sans' eye lights flaring to their magical color. The colors of Patience and Justice growing ever more prominent.
The doctors look in fear but are however paralyzed by the feeling of guilt.
Sans sees their sins. But he can also see that they are telling the truth.
That thought breaks him.
He can't see distrust or lies within their souls. And everyone knows that a soul cannot lie.
Everyone knows that. Everyone includes him.
He would have loved to be ignorant at that moment. Ignorance is bliss after all.
But Sans was never that kind of person. He loved to know and he hated confusion and lack of knowledge.
A curse that had haunted him since that beginning of time. And he knows he would rather know than forget.
But somewhere he wants to believe that, it would be better to forget. But feeling that makes him feel guilt. Why would he dare feel such a thing when Frisk is dying?
How DARE he.
He suppresses his judgement magic. And cries in utter pain. His eye lights no longer visible. His eyes, a true representation of his current mental state.
Emptiness. He feels nothing and yet everything.
Pain, yet hollow.
All these feelings are tied to one thing. Grief. One common occurrence, one common link.
The emptiness that enraptures his very soul. It makes him feel so lost.
He feels so empty.
He feels so painful.
He wants to feel yet can't. Not through some kind of choice. Rather, he feels empty against his will.
He would do anything to feel once more. To love once more.
But he wouldn't dare replace Frisk. He either goes with Frisk or have nothing at all.
But knowing that Frisk doesn't have long to live breaks him even further.
Another crack is heard, Sans' soul. It cracks with the pain of knowledge. Many assume knowledge is power.
However, with great power comes great responsibility.
And sometimes, power can be a curse in itself. Knowledge is both a gift and a curse.
It's up to you to decide what it is.
And right now, Sans feels it is more of a curse, a burden than a blessing.
The fact that he has to make one final goodbye to Frisk makes him feel a bit of comfort.
But it is a minuscule one if anyone saw one. Many do not get to say goodbye to the people they love.
He can.
He should be happy, right? He should feel happiness?
But he, yet, doesn't feel. It is indescribable, the emptiness. The pain that doesn't seem to exist. Yet it does.
He has known grief many times over. But the fact was, he never got to process it. He only ever cast judgement on the guilty. He gave them a bad time.
Now that he can see grief for what it truly is. It hurts, it's something new. And he hates it.
Thinking back, he finds something that gives him a sense of hope.
Even if he knows inside that it never was true. Even if he wants to say that it is real.
People will drag on. Telling themselves lies in order to comfort themselves. It is usually unconsciously. There is no escape from the fog of grief and pain. No matter how much your pride blinds you so.
But he seeks to believe in it anyways. Even if he knows it ends in heartbreak. Even if he has to tell lies to himself in the end. Even if it will pain him when the truth is revealed.
Reset, Load, Save.
Three things that have cost him great pain before. Could they possibly give him a sense of comfort?
Because right now, they do. No matter how fake this comfort is. No matter if it is built on lies and is destined to fall. He wants to believe.
Even if he has to do everything again, he'll be okay. Cause he'll have Frisk. He knows it's selfish to wish for such a thing.
But he has been suffering for so long. Been in pain for so long that he cannot see why he cannot be selfish just this once.
"I'm sorry, Sans. But I can't end our happily ever after just for us."
"Why not? Please?"
"I'm sorry. *cough* I can't. Without death, life has no purpose, Sans. I can't just reset every time something goes wrong."
"Can you give me one last kiss, Frisk," Sans says defeated. Knowing that once Frisk has made up her mind. You cannot change it.
"Okay, Sans."
Slowly but surely, her life drains out of her. The couple's one last kiss. A tragedy.
Would you sacrifice a happy ending for the sake of love?
A flatline beep can be heard in the hospital room.
Sans is distraught, crying over how Frisk didn't reset. He didn't care about anyone anymore, he'd do anything to save Frisk. He'd kill for Frisk. But he knew inside, that it wouldn't fix anything.
He's been crying for an hour by now. The doctors had rushed in to attempt to resuscitate her.
It didn't work and now the only one left is him.
The doctors have been watching the skeleton, not meaning to disturb him due to his grief.
They feel sorry for not being able to save this person. While they have seen many deaths. They haven't seen anyone fully engulfed in guilt and grief as the skeleton in front of them. They truly saw how much the skeleton cared about her.
Sans cries out mumbling several words. "SAVE, LOAD, RESET," he mumbles repeatedly like a mantra.
While people would stop him in fearing insanity, nobody stops the skeleton from saying these words. His magical aura makes people near him feel guilt on a level unseen before. They couldn't stop him, no matter how much they tried.
An unbearable emptiness fills Sans. Knowing that hopelessness has won in this fight.
But something — as always — prevents him from giving up. A feeling that he hasn't truly felt for so long.
Something primal in nature. Something that wants him to keep going.
It's determination.
Suddenly, something fills Sans to the bone. His magic shifting to red due to the higher amount of determination his soul has gained.
Red magic has never been seen before. Not in this way.
But Sans feels its power. Feels it and knows how much power he has gained. His determination strengthens due to his resolve to save Frisk.
Something glows within the room they stand in. A place of grief.
A yellow glow— a SAVE star manifests.
Sans, not knowing what to do, reaches out to the SAVE star.
Something appears.
SANS LV 1 KR
True Laboratory, DT Extractor
At that moment, Sans knows what to do. He knows what he'll need to sacrifice. For the first time in this skeleton's life, he is filled with True Determination. Natural determination, not the injected one that fills his marrow.
This was real and it came from himself, not from some messed up experiment he did on himself for some empty promise.
He reaches out, calling out to the Void to access something Frisk called the 'save screen.'
He knew it was a hidden part of the Void that only determined being could access. It was on the border of both powers. While he did not understand it. He could feel that he could access it.
Determination and the Void working in tandem. Destruction and creation.
For one final time, he accessed the powers of the Void, but instead of walking through the mere ends of the endless abyss.
He embraced it. Embracing the darkness and mixing it with his own light.
Karmic Retribution and the Void meeting. While they fought again and again within his own soul. He could access the abilities of both places.
And so he did.
The darkness was darker, darker, yet darker. The shadows cutting impossibly deep. A place that ate all light.
So much that they couldn't detect any reflected photons when sending out a light beam to this world.
A pool of darkness grows beneath Sans. Goopy mess attempts to swallow every bit of his body. It was void magic.
Something he never dared use in fear of what would occur. But right here and right now, he didn't care a bit.
He was determined and he'd save Frisk or die trying.
Everyone looked in awe and fear at what was happening. They shouted to the skeleton to stop whatever he was doing.
…
He didn't listen.
The Void consumed him whole and he saw the SAVE Screen.
Three buttons lied there. The fruit of his impulsive but worth it move.
Reset, True Reset, Continue.
He didn't want to press the reset buttons. No, he didn't know what would happen if he pressed those considering that he had no idea how far he would go.
He was naturally determined, explaining his high DT tolerance. He wouldn't know when he was first able to load and reset.
Flowey's testimony stated that you'd have to die to be able to find out about this power and he hadn't died in all of the timelines. He was too determined to die. In his darkest hours, it kept him going. But the questions were too much of a risk.
Would he go back all the way to his birth? Would he forget everything, forced to relive this cycle over and over. He wouldn't dare put himself through some kind of hell and not save Frisk. He was done with risking things for empty promises, he had done that already and he learned his lesson.
He had also learned that a thirst of power and knowledge only brought bad things. Might it be with Gaster or Flowey. Megalomania brought consequences no matter your intentions.
Deciding on a button, he chose the safest choice. Continue.
In the empty abyss of the void, a bright yellow light grows bigger and bigger. The full form of a SAVE star is seen. Slowly but surely, a transition plays and the world is engulfed in white color.
* FILE LOADED
"This next experiment seems to be very, very interesting."
A beep sounded over the room, finalizing the entry. The last entry he would ever make.
"Sans? Are you okay?"
Snapping out of his thoughts after loading his save file, Sans looked at the man saying those words with concern.
A man long forgotten. A man long since erased. A man Sans had failed was standing right behind the machine that contained entries. A man he couldn't believe was right in front of him.
W.D. Gaster.
The forgotten scientist.
A man who he would have to watch die. To be erased. He could save him right here and right now. But he wouldn't dare jeopardize his future with Frisk.
And anyways, the Void doesn't like people taking what it once owned.
There would be consequences for such an action. He'd learned that lesson long ago after all.
"I'm fine. I'm more than fine, G. Never been better," he responded with no hint of sadness despite his mind betraying his tone.
He could live in this moment anyway. Thanks to Frisk he had the long-lost optimistic view he had long ago. The one who saved him and now he would return the favor.
The thoughts of Frisk and the journey ahead made him do something he had to do. To not forget why he was doing this.
Pausing time, he accessed his pocket dimension. A place safe from the resets of time itself. A place he kept his most important items.
He pulled out an image of a happy Frisk and Sans. Looking at it with such a loving gaze, people could assume he was in love with the picture itself.
That was not true in the slightest and after meeting Frisk again, he could give her the love she utterly deserved. Not the fate she had fallen to in the last timeline.
Preparing for the mental journey ahead. He ended it with one final thought.
'I am truly sorry, Gaster. I hope you can forgive me.'
Finally, I have one final question for you.
Is love all that important? Is it worth all the trouble?
Some would argue yes, some would argue no. But for Sans, there is only one answer to that question.
Yes. Yes, it is.