Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.
Iterations
Not Alone
There were days when Sans felt like he was so alone, that he wanted to just give up. Undyne had evacuated everyone she could at his urging months ago. He had free, undisturbed reign of the entire abandoned Underground. When the string of bad runs started, he had tried to get through them as quick as possible. He had thought that maybe if he just kept his promise, brute forced the bad iterations no matter how the count climbed, she would come back. He had murdered the demon over and over, not bothering with other trivialities. But Frisk had not come back. With the marathon of bad iterations just shy of triple digits and a death of his own under his belt, he had known he needed to do something else.
The day this current iteration had started, he had honestly thought that she was gone for good. He thought that surely, with all her determination if she was still around she would have wrested control back by then. He had packed up Papyrus' bags, gotten Undyne to stage an evacuation, and planned to sequester himself in his lab for the rest of his life. For the first time since the run that started this whole messed up genocide loop, he set foot into his lab.
...and had been rewarded with the sound of paper crinkling beneath his foot.
He had shut the door behind him, locking it. The human body being more resilient to that of monsters made it easy for monsters to fall to their attacks, but unlike monsters they had no magic to get through physical obstacles. He would be safe here. He had sat at his cluttered desk and smoothed the crumpled paper flat. It read:
Sans,
It's been a while since it's been me, hasn't it? I'm sure you've been counting how long I've been gone. I know I have. Number 97. Well, I'm in control now, though I didn't start this one that way.
You've been dead for a month now. It tore through the Ruins, cut down Toriel, and, finding you at the other side of the door, cackled as it murdered you in your sleep. And then it let me have my body back. Just like that. Apparently, it was trying to prove a point. It doesn't like us being friends.
I lied to Papyrus. I thought it was the right thing to do. He was, as always, really excited to meet a human. He looked for you. So I told him that I had already met you. I told him you had taken his advice and gone back to dentistry school. He was really proud. I told him it was really far away so we couldn't visit. He misses you. I do too. I picked up the shifts at a few of the jobs you left behind. It's enough to keep up on the rent, so don't worry. I'll take care of him for however long this one lasts. But it's only a matter of time before it gets bored and resets. I don't think it's going to be me next time around either.
Sorry. I'm rambling, aren't I? All I really wanted to say was, I'm still here. I'm still determined. And we will find our happy ending. Stay safe. Stay positive. And don't give up. I believe in you.
Frisk
If he had not found that letter that day, he was sure he would not be here. He would have stopped trying by now. As it was, this empty Underground was not a nice place to live. No Papyrus or Undyne to liven things up with their well-meaning destruction. No other monsters to fill in empty spaces. It was just him. The Underground went silent.
He spent the majority of his time in Alphys' lab now. Though she had left with everyone else, the monitors had stayed active. So he sat and watched. The demon, it seemed, was making good on its promise to take its time. It had yet to venture passed the western part of Waterfall. It whistled as it frolicked around these areas, weeding out all the hidden monsters that had been left behind by the evacuation effort. Sans watched as it found those who had no choice but to stay. If they ran, it gave chase, cutting them down from behind. More often, the terrified monsters did the only thing they thought they could do; they triggered battles, the turn-based system giving them their best chance. Though some were lucky enough to land a few hits, all lost in the end. He watched, observed, but did nothing to help.
He was tired of doing nothing but watching.
Sans took a break. He went through the day doing no work, watching no monitors, and writing terrible morbid jokes that were appropriately inappropriate for the situation. He went to sleep with the usual nightmares but woke up more rested than he had been in a long time. He went over the videos with fresh eye-sockets. While the sinking, hopeless feeling was still there, he sat up straighter as he noticed something felt off in the battle scene recordings. It was just a feeling, he could not isolate what was causing it, but it was more than he had before. He needed a second opinion.
He had known, of course, where the monsters had moved in their retreat. Undyne made sure of that. But he had never actually been there. In previous iterations, he had stayed to try and put down the threat. This would be the first time he went to the new zone. The Outskirts, they called it. It was an area that the Royal Family had deemed unlivable long ago, when humans had first banished them to the Underground. It, too, was underground. But it was deeper and much more dangerous to live in. It was not really a city at all. It was more like a series of tunnels, like mines that were poorly structured. The air was thin and dusty, easily fatal to the monsters who needed to breathe. They were conspicuous by the masks that covered their faces. It was dark. There was no luminescent snow, or glowing rocks, or bright lava, or lightbulbs to illuminate the underground darkness like the established cities they had fled. Lights had surely been the last thing on everyone's minds. Little orbs of fire magic were everywhere like fireflies, but they flickered, weak and sickly like the monsters who had been down here much too long.
The new climate was also a terrible change. Cold and damp like Waterfall without the clear water, the monsters of Hotland were struggling to stay warm enough to survive. They clustered around the larger orbs of fire and warmer monsters. He was sure he had seen Grillby down one of the tunnels surrounded by Pyropes and Vulkins. An octopus-like monster was laying on its side. It was breathing heavily. Shyren sat leaning against one of his tentacles. He could hear her whisper, "It's alright, Onionsan. Aaron will be back soon with a shovel. He's going to make the tunnels big enough for you to sit in." Water was dripping on the aquatic monsters from pipes above them. Little droplets that he did not think would keep them alive for very long. His gaze followed the line of pipes.
"The pipes go through all of the tunnels. The water comes from Waterfall. We drilled upward until we were able to access enough for everyone." He turned to see Undyne standing behind him. She was looking at the dried up water monsters. "...maybe not enough for everyone."
"hey."
"Hey. Any luck?"
"not much," he admitted. She did not look surprised. "but i think i may have found something."
"Yeah?" The hope in her eyes was painful.
"nothing substantial." He ignored her face falling. "just a feeling i have."
"Just a gut feeling, huh? A fighter's got that. Usually, it saves our lives," she said, giving him an appraising look. "Though I never would have pegged you as a fighter before now."
He merely shrugged in response. He was not explaining anything to her. "i need to see alphys. she around?"
She held his gaze for a moment, pressuring him to say more. He returned the look coolly. She shuddered then sighed. "Yeah. Follow me."
He followed closely, critically memorizing the paths she took. After a few minutes of silent walking, he spoke. "How's pap?"
"He's... quiet. Well, as quiet as Papyrus can be, I mean. He asks about you all the time. You should go see him."
He shifted the bag on his back uncomfortably. "i don't think that's a good idea. i'll have to go back out there. it's kind of cruel to come back and then leave again, don't you think?"
She glanced back at him. "...your call, I guess."
Shortly after, they reached their destination. All it was, was a large white tent that hid little from outside eyes. There was a large bike-like contraption beside it. He could easily make out Alphys' silhouette skittering about. The flashing lights of electronics was also obvious. Undyne reached out to pull the fabric to the side, gesturing at him to go in first. He complied. Undyne slipped in after him. Aside from the electronic equipment that he was unfamiliar with, there was a long table, glass beakers and test tubes scattered along it. Some black sludge was bubbling on a burner.
"yo."
Alphys whirled around, glass beaker slipping from her hands. Undyne saved it with her quick reflexes. Alphys' eyes went wide as she saw him. "S-sans! You're alive!"
"yup. whatcha working on, doc?"
"O-oh. I'm t-trying to find a way to k-keep everyone warm. This black stuff radiates h-heat, but i-it also gives out a t-type of gas that makes it hard to b-breathe."
"sounds good. mind if i talk to you for a bit?" He meaningfully swung his gaze to Undyne before looking back at her.
Her eyes widened in understanding. "U-undyne, the power's getting kind of l-low. Would you mind...?"
Undyne's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked between them. She gestured to a meter on the wall. "The power storage is half full, Alphys."
"Oh. I just, uh, don't want it to go o-out during the night!"
She huffed. "Whatever. Talk about what ever you need to."
She stomped out. Sans watched as she walked around the tent to the bicycle contraption. She hopped on and started pedaling. The lights in the tent got brighter and the meter she had pointed out earlier started filling up slowly. Sans left eye went blue and soon the inside of the tent was coated in blue magic. No one would be able to hear them speak now. He pulled a tape out of his bag and handed it to her.
"i need you to watch this."
A/N: Still no Frisk, unless you count the letter. But she should be back in a chapter or two...sorta. As it is, we are moving slowly forward. Getting deeper into this thing and such on. Hope you liked it.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time friendlies,
Dfsemina