Wait, my clothes are...oh crap.

Before long, the River Ferry had reached its destination and Frisk disembarked on the north side of Snowdin Town. Strangely, the Ferry still worked without any Ferryman to operate it, no doubt the work of magic again. Like many of the Undergrounds inhabitants, he must have made for the surface already.

The frigid drop in temperature hit Frisk fast and hard. If anything, the change in climate coming from Waterfall to Snowdin was even worse than Hotland. Wet clothes in a frosty place like Snowdin made for one very cold Frisk before long, and she was shivering within seconds. She reflected back on an earlier thought that crossed her mind in Hotland, now of a different tune.

On second thought, definitely glad I have the long sleeve.

Not perfect, but better than nothing. Frisk knew she was getting closer now and picked up the pace, both because she knew time was running out and because staying in motion would help her body keep warm. The way forward was south, past the large black dog monster chucking blocks of ice from the conveyor belt...

...only he wasn't there anymore.

I guess the CORE doesn't need cooling anymore...sure hope the place doesn't explode without all that ice.

It wasn't long before Frisk found herself in Snowdin Village, housing the major establishments of the region it was named after. Dogamy and Dogaressa were probably still in Grillbys, practicing for the likely-now-defunct Nose Nuzzling Championship, defunct at least for the Underground. Frisk wondered if those two still carried their axes now that there was no real need for the Royal Guard. Those two were especially memorable to Frisk for being some of the first monsters she befriended, but mostly for the weird way in which she had to do it.

Rolling in the dirt. Dogs petting other dogs. What a strange world.

Though the memories were pleasant to recall, there were other, not so pleasant memories from her first visit as well. Tired from the long journey since leaving the Ruins, Frisk chose to spend a night at the Inn, for a ridiculous rate of 80g, almost all of her money at that point. In the end, she only stayed about two minutes, noting that the tenants in the room next door were snoring too loud for her to sleep. Thankfully, she got a full refund, the concierge noting that she looked like she got quite the nap in those two minutes.

Must be my eyes...

Putting the memories aside, Frisk had no business in the village or the time to visit anyone, and simply kept walking past everything, leaving the village through the west entrance, leading to Snowdin road.

The path was fairly straightforward for the most part, but the puzzles Frisk had solved before brought back some irksome memories, especially the ones involving turning X's to O's.

How many times did I slide off the last one?

And with that thought, Frisk also wondered if Papyrus and Sans snowy replicas were still there...or whatever it was that Sans had made. It was nothing more than a lump of snow in Frisks eyes, and given Sans laziness, maybe that's all it was to him too.

There were many landmarks on the way in the form of little hou...no, that's not accurate. Not houses or even homes, even though that was their main purpose, more like little vendor shacks that belonged to Snowdins various inhabitants. They weren't even well sheltered from the cold, but seeing as so many of the monsters either had fur or didn't have any skin to worry about, Frisk wondered if that was even a problem for most of the Snowdin population.

Dogamy and Dogaressas shacks, or houses, or whatever the hell they were, were on the way, both of which had signs on the front which simply said 'His' and 'Hers.' And soon Doggos shack came into view as well, belonging to the almost blind dog monster who could only see moving objects. Sans could probably make an entire day out of pranking Doggo because of that, but Frisk felt bad for the poor canine and couldn't imagine having to go through life without being able to see.

Frisk heard movement from behind. She turned on a dime.

"Is somebody there?"

But nobody came

She scanned her surroundings but noticed nothing unusual.

Frisk turned again, shrugging it off as nothing. Maybe a branch collapsed and fell into the snow or something.

Before long Frisk reached a telltale fork in the road. The "box lovers" box was still there, along with its foreshadowing sign, and further down the North path Frisk could see the fishing rod still anchored to the edge of the water. Frisk remembered using the rod the first time she was here, and it pulled up a photo of a monster along with their phone number and the note "Call me!". She never did call them, but the number was still attached to the fishing line.

I wonder if someone would answer if I were to dial that number now.

Frisk was curious to see what would come up this time if she cast the line into the water again, but time was short and Frisk knew that this particular juncture was very close to her destination. She continued down the West path, and before long a familiar sight came into view. The place where she met Sans and saw Papyrus for the first time after leaving the Ruins.

First it was the conveniently shaped Lamp that was PERFECTLY shaped like Frisk if she stood behind it at a certain angle, and in fact allowed her to hide and evade capture from her first encounter with Papyrus. Then...

The bridge! Almost there now...

And suddenly Frisk heard another noise from behind. Again she spun around to see.

There was nothing.

What's going on here?

But there was something familiar about it. It felt like...

And then it hit her. This wasn't the first time she had felt like someone was following her before. Frisk was in this exact same position many times throughout this adventure, and it was always...

And she suddenly wondered why she didn't pick up on it before.

"Sans. I know you're there."

Frisk turned around again, certain that he would be there.

And he was, hands in his pockets, playing it off as if nothing was going on.

"you're good. most people are too clueless to notice when someone is following them, but you even knew who it was. bravo, frisk."

Frisk suddenly felt a little bit annoyed. How long had Sans been following her? WHY was he following her to begin with? She didn't want anyone to know where she was going, something she had made quite clear when they last spoke, and now here he was, tailing her so close to her destination.

"Why are you here, Sans?"

Frisk said, not sounding quite as irritated as she felt.

"just felt like going out for a walk."

Sans said. His hands were still in the pockets of his jacket and his eyes were 'closed', something that was hard to tell at first because of the exposed sockets. You sort of just had to pick up on it.

"A walk? Just where I happen to be at? Where I happen to be going? Cut the crap, Sans. You've been tailing me for a while, I know. I just didn't pick up on it right away."

Sans opened his eyes and looked at Frisk now, and shrugged.

"damn. i'm losing it. guess i'll have to try harder next time."

Frisk was getting pissed at this point. She didn't know why Sans was following her and she didn't care. There was a far more pressing matter to attend to at the moment.

"Look Sans, whatever this is, I don't have time for it. I've got to hurry."

She made for the bridge, pushing past Sans, not even trying to hide her frustration.

But just before she reached the first wooden plank of the bridge...

"afraid the dead prince won't be there if you're late?"

Frisk felt an icy chill run down her spine and she froze in her tracks as soon as the last word left Sans mouth.

He...he knows! HOW IN THE HELL!?

"yeah, i know who you're going to see, frisk. i know who your 'friend' is. took me a while to piece it together too."

Frisk turned to Sans now, the icy chill making her feel completely numb. She could barely lift a finger.

"...How?"

Sans had his hands in his pockets again. He moved a little closer to Frisk.

"it's my job, frisk. i've pretty much tailed you on every step of your journey."

Frisk said nothing, still numb.

"i've been watching you this whole time. every encounter, every friend you ever made down here, i witnessed from the shadows. i made a promise to look out for you, remember?"

Frisk recalled the promise he talked about, the one he made to Toriel. She had only been talking about it moments ago with Toriel herself

"I remember."

"so when you said 'I still have someone I need to see.', i was initially thrown off. i thought, 'wait, i've seen every friend she's made down here. who the hell was she talking about?' and i was completely dumbfounded at first."

Frisk was still unable to move. Her will to act had been completely sapped by Sans staggering revelation.

"and then it hit me. the way you were acting after you regained consciousness, how worried you were. how you didn't want to say anything when i asked if you knew what was going on. i didn't understand why at first, but now i do. it's so clear. you know exactly what's going on, you know who broke the barrier, because you've already met him. and if you know who it is and wouldn't tell us, that means 'they' don't want us to know who they are. and there's only one reason i can think of why that would be the case."

Frisk was finally able to speak.

"And that is?"

"maybe because they are already dead, and it would only cause more pain if they were to suddenly reappear now."

"He's still alive! Don't say that about him!"

Frisk shouted defiantly. Sans shrugged again...

...and then he realized who it really was. Toriel mentioned it earlier but wasn't aware of what it really meant, but Sans knew, because he had seen it once before, or rather, someone else had. Papyrus had once before told him about...

"now i understand. the flower, the one that was talking to my brother a while back, the one that toriel mentioned. it was him all along. but, how...?"

He shook his head. It didn't matter how, what mattered was what Frisk was planning at this moment. She could not hide her feelings. Her expression told Sans everything he needed to know.

"no, it doesn't matter how. i don't even want to know."

Sans was deep in thought, as if it pained him to have to say what was about to follow.

"he died a long time ago, frisk. if he is indeed who i think he is, the flower...i dont know when or how he obtained that vessel, but his original body turned to dust when he died, and his SOUL vanished along with it. but you know this already, don't you? you've read the placards around waterfall. you know what happens to a monsters SOUL when they die. even a boss monsters SOUL can only persist outside the body for so long, a few minutes at most."

Frisk was unable to respond again. Sans was right, about all of it, and he knew it now. The look on Frisk's face told him everything he needed to know. She spoke out now, and what she said next took Sans by surprise.

"Yes, I do know. You're right. But it won't be that way for much longer. I am going to save him."

Now Sans was the one reeling in surprise.

"save him?"

"Yes. I know what I have to do now. It took so long to find the answer, but..."

Sans was momentarily confused.

"so long to find the answer...?"

And instantly Sans was struck by a moment of clarity.

"...aha, so that's the reason. that's why you reset the timeline so many times."

Now Frisk was the one reeling in surprise.

...Is this guy clairvoyant or something?

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THAT TOO!?"

Sans crossed his arms in disappointment.

"you're not giving me enough credit, frisk. i told you, this is my job."

Frisk looked down now. She knew she was about to get a mouthful from Sans. And boy was that the right word for it.

"i've known since the first time it happened. i can't remember much of anything from the last reset, but i'm aware of WHEN it happens, nevertheless. my initial thinking when you first reset the timeline was 'she's just like all the others, can't help herself, has to see what will happen if she does things differently.' i think you know what i mean by that."

All the others?

Did the other kids have this power too? Was he talking about Flowey? Frisk wondered, but said nothing.

"...but i was wrong in that assumption. you did everything the exact same way. you saved and spared everyone again. and again, and again, and again, and again, over and over. i couldn't figure out your angle, i thought it was some sort of sycophantic drive that led you to keep reliving the same scenario over and over, because i saw how much you cherished the happy moments every time you relived them. but i saw something else at the time too. "

Frisk still said nothing. Big words were being flaunted here, but Frisk was wise beyond her years, a product of reliving everything so many times. Still, she really didn't know what to say.

"i thought about stopping you because i thought what you were doing was cruel, forcing everyone to relive that grim experience over and over, but i did nothing. i SHOULD have stopped you, to be honest. that's my job. but i couldn't do it. i was never able to bring myself to hurt HIM when HE kept resetting the timeline, and i'm well aware of what HE did each time, so how could i ever bring myself to hurt YOU, even if toriel never swore me to that oath? i'm just not that kind of person..."

"Sans..."

"...so i did nothing. i let this hellish nightmare unfold over and over again, because i saw how happy they were, your friends, when you bonded with them, even as you did it again and again. even i felt that happiness, again and again. but more than that, i could see it was hurting you as well, on a deeper level, each time you ran the circuit again. and i thought 'why would she keep putting herself through this if it was causing her so much pain on the inside?'"

Now Frisk looked at Sans again.

"but i see now what was really happening. you kept resetting because you were looking for something. you were looking for an answer. a way to 'save' him."

Frisk finally spoke up, acknowledging everything Sans had said.

"Yes, and now I know how..."

But Sans mocked her, looking down towards the snow, his arms still crossed.

"it's impossible, frisk. he has been dead for a long time. his SOUL is gone. the flower, what remains of him now, what you know him as, is nothing but an empty husk."

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT HIM! IT'S NOT TRUE!"

Frisk shouted in defiance. Sans never even raised his voice.

"frisk, stop, please. i want him back too. you don't know how it was when he died. you weren't around back then. everyone lost hope, EVERYONE, even me. it broke his parents in every way imaginable."

What he just said indicated that he was much older than he looked. Frisk couldn't put that possibility past him since he obviously knew far more than anybody else about...well, everything. It was incredibly suspicious, even if it was 'his job.' Suddenly she wondered how old Papyrus really was too, and Alphys and Undyne as well. Did monsters age the same way as humans?

But furthermore...

They lost TWO children, actually. Wasn't he aware of Chara too?

"none of us can ever even begin to understand their pain. you've seen how it affected toriel and asgore already. they don't even AGE anymore. can you imagine what that feels like? a parent having to live on forever without their child? i would never even bring his name up in front of them, knowing how much it would hurt, forcing them to relive those memories. no parent should ever have to outlive their child."

"I know...I saw it in their eyes."

"then believe me when I say, nothing would make them more happy than to see him again, but his SOUL is gone, frisk. it's gone."

Frisk clenched her fists in defiance, breaking her gaze with Sans.

"there is nothing you can do, frisk. no way to save him, short of you going back in time, or maybe even giving him your own S..."

...

And suddenly Sans looked up towards Frisk, who was staring down at the snow herself now, her fists still clenched tight, unwilling to make eye contact.

"...no, it can't be. you CAN'T be considering..."

She looked at Sans again, and her face said it all.

Sans took a step forward now, shaking a bony fist at Frisk.

"YOU'RE INSANE, FRISK!"

"You can't spell Frisk without 'risk', Sans. Remember?"

Frisk muttered under her breath, making a poor attempt at humor. Her pun fell on deaf and angry ear sockets.

"DON'T MAKE JOKES ABOUT THIS, FRISK! THIS IS YOUR LIFE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS!"

"I can and I am. If this is the only way then so be it."

Frisk was speaking with a level of certainty and confidence that she had thought herself incapable of considering the decision she was faced with. She liked how she was thinking at this moment. Sans, however, was the one in a panic now, and he made no effort to hide it.

"I KNEW IT! i knew something was wrong the moment you regained consciousness at new home, REALLY wrong. i felt it even when we talked things over the first time in the mtt, and even when you took that walk with toriel. i knew you were crazy frisk, you have to be to do the things you've done, but i never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that you would be considering something like this. IT'S SUICIDE, FRISK!"

"Sans..."

Frisk tried to reach out to him, but he backed away from her. He was clearly upset at Frisk for even thinking about doing such a thing, but he was more upset at himself, perhaps for not seeing it sooner.

"it uh...it all makes sense now. that walk you took with toriel, makings amends with her, everything that was said. it was more than that, wasn't it?...it was 'goodbye.' you knew it was your last chance, the last time you would see her."

"So you were eavesdropping there too, huh?"

Now Sans was staring at Frisk again, and she expected him to flash a look of anger and disappointment, and it might have made things a little easier if he had.

Instead, his face held the look of desperation.

"frisk...you've done so much for everyone already. you've made so many friends down here. think about all the people that would mourn you if you did this. all the people that would be heartbroken to lose you now. you would really do that to them?"

Frisk shed a few tears upon hearing that. It made her feel even colder in Snowdins frosty climate.

"I am thinking about them, Sans. You don't know how hard it was for me to come to this decision."

"THEN DON'T DO THIS, FRISK!"

He screamed in raging protest.

"you've done so much for everyone already. you DO NOT need to throw your life away to save one more person!"

"Yes, I do Sans. I have to do this."

Sans stood his ground, adamantly refusing that answer.

"but why, frisk? WHY!?"

Now Frisk took a step forward to Sans, who gave just the slightest flinch in response.

Was he afraid that I might hurt him?

It was hard for Frisk to imagine what exactly Sans was feeling at that moment, and she wonders how she herself would feel if this scenario were playing itself out the other way around. But Frisk was utterly incapable of doing such a thing willingly and would never hurt anyone, not unless she were forced to. Violence was only a last resort in Frisks eyes.

Instead, she took one of Sans bony hands into her own and gave it a gentle pat, and he seemed to relax a little bit. But only a little.

"Asriel felt the love you all had for me when I confronted him. It helped him to regain his own ability to feel love for others, and it was because of this that he was willing to give up everything, EVERYTHING, to make sure everyone went free, knowing he would be doomed to a fate worse than death for doing so. An empty existence where he would be unable to feel love or compassion for anyone or anything for eternity. And he still did it anyway. That's why I have to do this, Sans..."

Sans didn't move or give any change of expression.

"...why?"

"Because he's the same as me."

"...what do you mean?"

She smiled now.

"That little furball has had it worse than anyone and he was still willing to give it all up, his chance at happiness, for us. So we could have OUR happy ending. And all he ever wanted was his friend back, to not be alone. It's why he did what he did in the first place..."

Sans said nothing.

"...no, why FLOWEY did what he did. Those things were not Asriels fault. They are not the same person, and I don't hold Asriel accountable for the things that Flowey did. I can't let it end like that for him. I won't. He deserves better than that, a chance at his own happiness. And Asgore and Toriel deserve a chance to see him and share in that happiness with him, to have their son back, to be free of this torment."

There was even more to it then that, but Frisk felt no need to say anything more. Maybe it would have made things a little easier if she did.

Sans backed away again, clearly unsure of what he should do, knowing full well that his friend was about to do what Asriel had done hours earlier, give up everything for the sake of another.

"and you think they won't be in torment to lose you now? you're basically trading one hell for another...the pain of losing YOU."

Frisk looked away from Sans again. She knew what he was telling her was right, but still...

"you don't even know if this will work. you're throwing your life away on a dice roll, frisk. you may not even be able to reset again if you go through with it."

Sans wasn't aware that Asriel already had his body back, albeit temporarily. That's why Frisk was so pressed for time. Frisk gave Sans a sheepish smile, knowing that he was conveying a very realistic possibility. But she didn't care.

"You're right, I don't know if it will work. It could all be for nothing. But...there HAS to be a reason why I was given this power. Maybe this is it. I have to try, Sans. I'm NOT going to give up on him now. He needs me...and I need him."

Sans wouldn't let up.

"and what if he doesn't want it? what if he won't let you go through with it? what if he doesn't even want to see you?"

Frisk hesitated for a moment, the weight of Sans words causing her substantial worry. What if he was right about this too? What if Asriel didn't want anything to do with her this time. He hadn't turned her away yet, but still...

Frisk shrugged it off. Even if that were the case, so what? She wasn't about to let that possibility stop her. She wasn't going to give up now.

"I'll worry about that when I get there."

Sans was completely dejected by this point.

"you're really going to do this, frisk?"

Frisk calmly responded without reservation.

"I am."

Sans pulled away from now Frisk now, into a pose looking like he was ready to fight, his hands now at his sides, clenched into bony fists again. Suddenly one of his eyes lit up, glowing a bright blue. And that meant...

"...and what if i tried to stop you? right here, right now? i could knock your looney ass unconscious and carry you out of this damned mountain myself. that's what i SHOULD do..."

Frisk steeled herself upon hearing that. She didn't want to fight Sans, she didn't want to fight anybody. Violence was a last resort in Frisks eyes, but she would use it if she was left with no other choice, and at this moment it seemed as if it was going to be the only option.

However...

"...but i'm not going to."

"Huh?"

The glow from his eye faded. Frisk relaxed her guard a little now. Sans looked away, his hands in his pockets again, sighing heavily.

"...i really don't understand what possessed you to make such an insane decision, but you obviously feel very strongly about it. if i were to stop you now, i wouldn't be able to live with myself, being the one who stood in your way when you were trying to save the life of someone you loved, doing what you feel is right. i may be a monster, but i'm not a MONSTER."

Frisk cocked her head, but Sans wasn't finished.

...you've prepared yourself for the consequences of what you're about to do, so the only thing left is for me to do the same. i'm not going to get in your way."

"Sans..."

"besides, i don't want to get chewed out by toriel for giving you a black eye."

Frisk howled with laughter at that remark and took another step towards Sans. She wanted to just divebomb into the pudgy skeleton and hug him with all the force she could muster, although he probably wouldn't think much of it, he just wasn't that kind of guy. And she probably would have done so right there.

Except...

"Footsteps?"

Frisk spoke aloud, looking past Sans.

The pugdy skeleton turned on a dime, in the direction the noise came from.

"it's toriel. she caught up quickly. i hope she didn't hear that."

"What!?"

Frisk sounded surprised.

"What's Mom doing here?"

"she was really concerned about you after you left the hotel to come here. she asked me to keep an eye on you and make sure you were safe. that's partly why i was following you to begin with. i didn't think she'd come all this way though."

Frisk started panicking, not sure what to do.

"i'll distract her and buy you some time. hurry, go and see him. you don't have much time left."

Frisk hesitated for a few seconds, but brought herself back into focus.

"A...alright. Thank you, Sans. For everything."

She started walking the other way, across the bridge. And when she was halfway across...

"Sans."

She turned back to the pudgy skeleton, who turned to her in response.

"...Promise me something."

Sans hesitated at first, as this sort of thing was clearly not in his character, and he admitted as much in the past.

"...i don't like making promises, frisk."

Frisk looked dejected, but she couldn't exactly blame Sans for feeling that way. She had no right to ask anything of him at this point.

"...what is it?"

She quickly snapped her head at Sans, the feeling of dejection turning to optimism.

"...if this works, watch over him for me, okay? This is my choice, and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about him. Please, don't judge him for the things he did as Flowey. They weren't his fault. Look out for him, and make sure everyone else understands when it's all said and done. Can you do that for me?"

Sans shrugged, sighing to himself.

"...you don't make things easy, do you? alright, frisk. i know what hes done, but if YOU can forgive him, i don't see how i can't. i'll watch out for him, i promise."

Frisk nodded.

"Thank you, Sans. Take care of yourself too."

Sans nodded and turned back towards a fast approaching Toriel. Frisk slipped away before she came in view, across the bridge, towards the Ruins.

To the place where it all began.