Chapter 3: The Wonderful Doctor

Sans leaned back against a pillar, Frisk curled up in his lap after crying themselves to sleep. Considering what the kid had been through, the skeleton was content to let them sleep in peace. Sans didn't have all of his memories from the past timelines. There were bits and pieces of the more important events, most of them fairly traumatic to say the least. A few random ones would float to the surface at times, something silly like a pillow fight or watching Mettaton on TV with his brother. A voice every now and then, usually a scream but sometimes it was something encouraging in a kind or gentle voice. He never remembered much in the first place, but the toll of the past hundred or so timelines had worn him down so he could recall even less than usual. His notes didn't hold much beyond simple facts, there was no emotion in them. Everything was clinical and plain, no jokes or anything beyond the straight forward. Precise letters printed neatly in a language only he knew, one that could never be deciphered coherently without his knowledge, filled each page with dates and grim reality. It was how he kept anything straight when a RESET would happen. He couldn't afford to mix feelings in with his notes, it made them too questionable. Even so, there were notes about various monsters and humans that he had met so he could see if they remained consistent. One of the attributes of Frisk that he had recorded was that they were neither clingy nor needy. They were a completely independent child, fully capable of handling themselves. A kid of few words, they made their way through life with confidence and determination. Another note was that they rarely cried and that if they did then it was never much. A few sniffles, some crocodile tears, and then on life would go. The Frisk he held now was no longer the same child.

After they had crumpled to the ground in exhaustion and pain together, Frisk had not stopped crying. They sobbed out apologies, whimpered incoherent explanations and bawled harder whenever he would move so much as an inch from their embrace. They told him that they understood if he couldn't stand them, that it was okay if he wanted to leave and never go near them again. He did his best to assure them that he didn't hate them and that he wouldn't leave but it didn't halt their tears. They keened softly, mourning all those that had died in one overwhelming delayed reaction. They had always been this way, at least. Blaming themselves for the misdoings of another, convinced that it was their fault for not being good enough to keep it from happening. They were real hard on themselves. A distant memory floated up from the base of his skull.

Monster Kid had a black eye from some asshole human kid at his school. Frisk had run to his rescue so that the monster could escape, consequently having the pulp beat soundly out of them. The bully had apparently decided that nearly killing Frisk was satisfying enough, and had left before Sans found them on the ground, struggling to pick themselves up from the dirt. Monster Kid had found him first, the little dinosaur frantic with worry for his human friend. When they managed to get Frisk home and healed up enough for them to function, they started crying at the sight of their friends abused eye. Forget the fact that they were covered in their own blood and bruised all to shit, they insisted that they should have been faster to save him, taking full responsibility for his injuries. When the skeleton pointed out that they were wrongfully taking the blame from the bully, they told him that the kid was just scared because he didn't understand and he shouldn't be held accountable for something like that.

"People do silly things when they're afraid," they declared. Therefore, being the calm one that intervened, they were at fault for not being quicker to break up the fight. Sans had never been so frustrated with his little friend.

Sans shook his head, how could a kid like that not be completely torn apart at the prospect of hurting, let alone killing, another being? The answer was that they were. Frisk was now completely and utterly broken, never thinking to place guilt in the hands of the rightful owner. It broke his heart to see the innocent one accepting the burden of the death of an entire race when it was not theirs to claim. He tried to convince them otherwise, presenting obvious evidence to support his argument, but they were having none of it. They held themselves accountable and that was that, end of discussion. They had been asleep for awhile now, though Sans wasn't sure exactly how long. Lacking any kind of clock made it hard to tell time in the Underground, and the Judgement Hall had an ever present appeal of dawn. As far as he knew, it could be deep in the middle of the night, or perhaps it was noon the next day already, half the day eaten up by the stressful fight and the inconsolable human child in his grasp.

Sans laid his head on top of Frisks, thoroughly exhausted and yet unable to sleep. Even with his eyes closed he did not feel the usual call of slumber. He felt only disquiet. Yes the enemy was defeated. Yes they had won the grueling fight and he had been correct about Chara not being able to RESET with Frisk around. Yes, he should be happy, basking in his well deserved triumph over evil. He didn't. Despite having won and protecting those that were left of the monster race, Sans just couldn't bring himself to feel good about it. People had died and there was no getting them back. His once loving family and friends had been wiped from existence with the swipe of a weapon that he couldn't stop. His ever loving brother would never nag him again, he would never smile behind his hand at Sans' puns when he pretended to hate the shorter ones jokes. He would never have to eat that barely edible spaghetti again. The short skeleton wanted nothing more then to eat that terrible pasta right now, ask for thirds and just hug his taller brother until the end of time. Papyrus wouldn't complain, he'd easily carry Sans around with him all the time if he was allowed. He chuckled at that thought. The idea of the tall skeleton carrying around a short one 24/7 was pretty hilarious. He would never eat at Grillbyz if that were the case though; Papyrus said that the food there was too greasy and unhealthy, he said it was the main reason Sans was so lazy. Oh, if only he had known the real reason for his laziness. Pap would have stopped smiling if he knew and he couldn't allow that.

"S-Sans?" A timid, shaky voice stuttered out, pulling Sans from his musings. Opening his eyes, he grinned at Alphys. Standing a cautious ten feet away on the other side of the hall, the lizard monster fidgeted, eyeing the human he held warily. He waved slowly in greeting, too tired to talk unless necessary. She swallowed and visibly steeled herself before opening her mouth again. "Why... Is that th-thing in your... your l-lap?" she asked nervously, frightened of the answer. She looked a little angry. It was subdued by her fear and uncertainty, but it was deffinetely there. As far as she knew, the slumbering child in his arms was the murderer of everyone she had ever loved and swore to protect. The woman she loved dearly had died trying to kill said child. Of course she would be seething under those yellow scales. However, Alphys was still Alphys and she could not stop her inherent nervousness from getting the better of her.

"It's okay Alphys," he sighed, not feeling up for the questions he was undoubtedly going to get. "This is Frisk. Everything that happened wasn't their fault," he explained, suddenly feeling protective. Once upon a parallel, Alphys and him had been pretty good friends. In this thread however, they had barely spoken after he had left the lab behind and moved to Snowdin. She didn't know anything about him besides what she had seen on her monitors and what Undyne and Papyrus had told her. It felt a little wrong that he knew so much about the woman. In this parallel, he had only Frisk. He'd be damned if he was going to let something happen to them now, after everything they had both been through together. No, he wasn't letting go of this particular person. Not now, not ever. The lizard balked and demanded a complete explanation from him with an intensity he associated with one that had nothing left to lose. He sighed and gestured towards her vaguely. "Just watch the footage, Al. From when they walked into the Hall, should explain enough," he laid his head on the childs, really not feeling capable of dealing with another soul right now. He couldn't give his old friend back her most loved person and knew what would happen if she was left alone without a purpose. She was a lot like Frisk, simply taking responsibility for evil acts that weren't hers. He just couldn't understand it. The monster tired to get him to talk but after being ignored for several minutes, she huffed and took out her phone to watch what had happened. The advanced technology had a large enough screen to view videos comfortably, buttons designed specifically with her claws in mind and could wirelessly connect to her computer within seconds. He remembered an explanation about how that last part worked but he couldn't quite get the details from the memory so he shrugged it off. It wasn't important anyway.

He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds from the cell. It was surprisingly good quality but of course it would be. Alphys didn't have the patience for crappy tech. She gasped when Frisk dropped the knife, muttering about how it didn't make sense for them to do that. When the kid started to talk, he was surprised by how... destroyed they sounded. He heard a distinct, yet still quiet, "that's bullshit" from Alphys at the childs pleas. Sans couldn't hold back his protective growl as he hugged Frisk just slightly more firmly to him. The monster seemed to be too caught up in the events of the battle to hear him. By now he could hear the laughter of the demonic ooze as they introduced themselves and mocked him with a terrible pun. She remained quiet through Chara's ramblings about desolation and death, condemning themselves without restraint despite how Sans held their very existence in his bony fingers. When the screaming started to raise in volume, he placed a careful hand, padded with his jacket for added effect, over Frisks ear. They didn't need to hear that again. Alphys made a confused and startled sound when silence hit the handheld device. Even through a playback it seemed so sudden, so heavy, to the skeleton. He could practically feel the lizard holding back screams of bewilderment when Chara's voice creaked out of the speakers, seeming too quiet after the terrible howls from a moment before. He felt the shift from innocent, lost child to demonic whore-monger the moment it happened. The vile creatures hysterics washed over him and he checked to make sure Frisk was still asleep. They were. When his voice finally came again, he was shocked to hear how calm and rough it was. He had been in utter turmoil that he barely managed to suppress that he wasn't sure how he managed to sound so confident. Like a judge sentencing a criminal to death without mercy or remorse. He huffed at his analogy. He was a judge, they were in the Judgement Hall. Of course he'd sound that way. The voices of his Blasters, however, were mildly disturbing. They spoke with or just after him, echoing his words in ominous, grave voices that were just as detached as him and yet somehow not as dangerous. They were merely deaths scythe, finalizing his penalty upon the guilty party and nothing more. Although they sounded frightening, he could feel Alphys' eyes trained on him as his final words rolled out of the device, the final sentence to the demonic child. She was seeing him in a new light, one that even the other Alphys' hadn't seen. And she found him terrifying. The whines of his weapons had to be muted, the monster muttering about blowing the speakers with the hideous noise. The sound came back when he collapsed into tears with the innocent kid that wouldn't let him go. He waited for her to speed through the rest, looking for anything suspicious or dangerous. An audible click, followed by silence, was his sign that she was done.

Tension built atop itself but Sans was too drained to break it with a joke. Instead he sat and waited for Alphys to gather her courage. When she did, it was to express her confusion. The skeleton considered asking if she could deal without an explanation until he felt better but decided against it. As a scientist, not knowing something was the bane of her existence. He could relate, and so readied himself to delve into as much explanation as the lizard would require.

"Al, do you understand the theory of time travel and parallel universes being connected?" he asked, pushing down old feelings of regret. Now was not the time. He gazed at the monster until she gave him a nervous affirmative nod. After a deep breath, he continued. "It's not really my secret to tell, it's the kids, but I know they planned to tell you anyway so it should be fine," he was rambling, he knew. He couldn't help it. How did you look someone in the eye and tell them that some random human kid could travel through time and never, ever die? Just because they had the unwavering will to live and move forward? After another moment of quiet, Alphys walked a little closer.

"U-um, you don't have to give d-details, I just want t-to understand..." the monster explained, trying to give him an encouraging smile. "I-I can always ask th-them later, for the d-details I m-mean, since it's their th-thing?" she seemed uncertain but he could tell she was trying her hardest to make this slightly easier on him. With a heavy sigh, Sans told her about the RESETS. He didn't tell her everything, just the basic knowledge of it. The kid fell down and had so much will to live that they could do something called SAVE and LOAD. They could also RESET if they felt the needed to. He resolved to not tell her how many RESETS happened, nor exactly why. Like his notes, he needed to keep everything very cold.

"A SAVE is a fixed point in time that they can return to," he explained when prompted. "A LOAD is when they return to the most recent SAVE they had made. For example, if they died," Alphys cringed, already putting the pieces together. Sans pretended he hadn't noticed. "They would wake up at their most recent SAVE point. Between the time they die, and the time they LOAD however, there is a second where they can choose to RESET, which returns them to their very first SAVE when they had fallen into the ruins," Alphys nodded along, understanding the childs ability with ease. It wasn't a complicated thing really, it sounded insane but it wasn't difficult to grasp. "From what we figured out, their determination is what allows them to do it. You know that the red soul of determination is the most rare and that about 0.01% of the human population has such a soul. They are the first human to have their ability, and hopefully the last," he grumbled, not wishing to ever meet another creature capable of such a thing. It started with a flower, the weakest piece of garbage he had ever known, and then it was this child. A small part of him felt humiliated for being tortured by such innocent little things. Another was relieved that they were naive and simple. The skeleton did not want to think about what a fully grown, evil creature would do with that sort of power. "Some things can survive through the, uh... Rewinds," he groaned inwardly at his word choice. Really? Rewinds? That's too cheesy, even for him. "There is a specific element that can withstand it and somehow remain the same. Something made with this element can age like the time never went back. There are also memories. Ever have nightmares, Al? When you'd see people die, or feel yourself be cut up, before any of this ever happened?" When she started to fidget, the skeleton nodded. "Memories survive, but the conscious self is not capable of withstanding the knowledge, so it hides deep in the mind for most people. I still remember other timelines, but they're broken up and hard to see. Like trying to remember what you had for breakfast when you were two, and you're now ninety," the monster moved closer during his explanation, focusing on his words. Eyes fixed to him, she didn't seem to notice that he'd be able to touch her if he leaned forward a little. Sans didn't point it out.

"Okay but that doesn't explain the other child..." She muttered, deep in thought. "What was their name?"

"Chara," the skeleton provided with a shrug. "A long time ago, they were the adopted human kid of the king and queen. You know about Asriel right? Chara used to be his sibling," Alphys jumped, glancing around her in fear. With no threat to be seen, she looked unnerved rather than relaxed. He couldn't blame the monster. "It's a human thing I think, the whole coming back as a murderous creature thing," he chuckled, humour twisted and disgusting now that he had lived for so long and been through so much. That being said, he still didn't find it funny, just ironic. "Figure it's part of how their souls last after death. Whatever they felt as they died can translate into something else if it's strong enough. Chara felt betrayed and vengeful, and because of that they managed to give a shadow, their shadow, a solidity to cling on to. It was pretty smart honestly, since shadows are everywhere. They waited for years for someone like Frisk to fall down the hole and used them to take revenge," Sans shrugged, leaning his head back against the pillar to take in the vaulted ceiling of the Hall. It was strange to feel so familiar with this place. If he actually thought about the proper timeline, he'd only stood judgement maybe twice before Frisk showed up. He had always found it rather pretty and inviting, a calm place with the colour scheme designed specifically by Asgore himself to signify beginnings and ends. Something new could blossom hear as easily as an end. Just took the right person to handle that new start. It all seemed somewhat dull now. To his eyes, empty or bright, it all looked so... old. He felt old. Just a pile of bones, bleached white from weather, aged and tired. "Their soul was taken by Asriel though, so when he died then their soul should have as well, but it didn't. It just disappeared. Still don't know why," he frowned into the high shadows. They had solved so many mysteries, but the reason behind the existence of that flower, Chara's soul surviving all these years and the lack of notes on such a thing irked the skeleton. He hated not knowing something so important. Maybe the kid knew? He could ask them later.

"O-okay but... Why this one? There w-were other humans that fell, why n-not them?"

"Because," Came a soft, timid voice. Sans' head snapped down to see the kid sitting up, looking at the lizard with a small, sorrowful smile. "I... I can't die..." they murmured, head down to stare at their upturned hands. He hadn't even felt them move to sit up, when had they done that? "Would you... Pass up... An opportunity like... that?"