Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

Iterations

An Ending

Frisk leaned against the entryway wall of the kitchen, watching Sans as he rolled out pie dough. She shifted, reconsidering the decision she had made. She would miss this. She said nothing as he prepared the pan, fit the dough into it, and filled it with whatever sweet filling he had been craving this time. She could not tell from her position. It was not like she would be there to eat it anyway. Preparation done, he stopped, leaning hands on the counter.

"you gonna stare at me all day?"

"Maybe." It was preferable, at least compared to what she had been planning on doing.

He put the pie in the oven and turned to face her. "sup?"

"... I think it's time I moved on."

While he had not been moving before, he seemed to go unnaturally still.

"oh," he said, scratching the back of his skull with his hand. "how's it ending this time?"

"I don't know," she whispered sadly. "Undyne again, maybe? Asgore? Stat boost or not, those two are hard to dodge."

The rattling of bones as he shuddered was muffled beneath his thick jacket. "i meant, what ending are you gunning for this time?"

She tugged on a loose thread in her sleeve. "I'm hoping for another happy ending. Get to the surface. See the others happy. Maybe even get to see something new before we end up back at the start, you know?"

"sounds good."

The silence that followed seemed endless. They had both known that they would have to progress eventually, but they had liked the way that things were going right now. This stagnation, even with the inevitable reset hanging over them, was comfortable. Their nightly conversations and preparation were far from a waste of time, but they did nothing on their own. It bolstered their hopes– hopes that she would keep her new stats, that whatever was inhabiting her body could be removed, that the negating effect she had on Flowey's powers would persist after it was gone– but nothing could be proven. Not unless they tested it. And the only way to do that was to reach an ending. Sans took in her form, the slight expanding and contracting of her chest with her breaths, and hoped she would find the end the way she was right now. Healthy. Alive. She still did not have the control necessary to force the resets whenever she wanted and he knew the only viable way to trigger them was through the sadistic being within her head or her death. Both options were undesirable. He had not forgotten their talk at Grillby's.

"and next time around...," he trailed off.

"...it won't be me, yeah." He felt as upset as she looked at her answer.

"i'll keep my promise," he reassured her.

She smiled wanly at him and asked, "How messed up is it that I'm relieved that you're going to kill me on sight?"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "about as messed up as the fact that i agreed to do it."

She hummed noncommittally. Then she held out the folded black hoodie she had been clutching to her chest the whole time. He made no move to take it.

"didn't you say you weren't going to give that back?"

She smiled cheekily, affecting more cheer than she really felt. "I'm not."

A ridge appeared on his skull, a skeleton's approximation of raising an eyebrow.

"After getting used to Snowdin weather, Waterfall isn't that cold. And Hotland is, well, hot. I want you to put it wherever you put the things you take with you into the next iteration."

He rolled the pinpricks of lights in his eye-sockets as he took it from her. "You know I could just give it to you normally. I'll have it when we start over."

She shook her head. "But it won't be mine. Not really anyway. I've saved up a lot of memories in this one. The next one won't."

He ruined her folding job as he slung it over one shoulder. "sure, kid. i'll keep it for you until you come back."

She looked much more optimistic. "Good. And since you'll have your own in the next one, we can match!"

His smile finally seemed genuine. "nerd. not happening."

Whatever retort she was going to give was cut off by the ding of the kitchen timer.

"got time for a snack before you go?"

"Butterscotch-cinnamon?" she asked hopefully.

"nah, it wouldn't live up to the one you're thinking about anyway."

"What kind then?"

"peach walnut," he replied as he opened the oven.

She glanced behind her at the front door.

"we've got vanilla ice cream."

Progression could wait a few more minutes.

"Okay."

She had run the short distance from their house to Waterfall, giving the snow little time to seep into her clothes. This time, there was no offer to grab a bite at Grillby's. But she had expected that. She had deliberately chosen to leave on one of Sans' days off. She got the feeling that he was avoiding her too, as she passed by his joke telescope standing abandoned by the wall. Good. That made it easier for her to leave. She wondered if he would be waiting for her when– if, she was not sure if she would make it that far– she reached the final corridor.

She did not.

In the end, it was Mettaton that did her in.

Sans had been sitting on the couch with Papyrus watching MTT. Maybe Alphys had seen her getting stronger through her cameras and overestimated her. Maybe they had allowed Mettaton too much time to prepare for her arrival. Whatever the reason, the questions had changed and Alphys was not there to provide her with answers. When Mettaton appeared, he had a contestant booth and chair ready for her. Frisk, as always, went with the flow.

Higher speed and defense aside, it was impossible to dodge electric attacks when strapped to a chair.

When Papyrus asked why she was shaking so hard after she got a question wrong, Sans said she was excited to meet a famous actor.

When she went still, Sans told him she had fallen asleep.

He had never been more glad that his brother took whatever he told him as truth.

After Papyrus had gone to sleep, Sans went back downstairs. He took the tape out of the VHS, glad that Papyrus always insisted on recording his favorite show. He slipped the video into his black box and updated the journal.

His last entry was:

visiting Mettaton and Alphys

He did not care that it was not healthy. The kid would forgive him.

The world reset.

A/N: Another one up. Poor Sans. I hate doing this to them, truly. We probably won't see Frisk for a bit, so be prepared for that.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time friendlies,

Dfsemina