Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

Iterations

Faith Part 1

Frisk did not seem to be getting any better. Since their run-in with Grillby and his daughter, she had been sluggish and weak. She was barely able to float around anymore. When he had begun tucking her into her mug and leaving her behind more often, her frustration had been obvious. But he had just wanted her to rest. He had hoped, being unpracticed in dealing with a soul in its purest form, that rest was all she needed. Papyrus had agreed, just as worried about their friend. On one of their scavenging missions, the taller skeleton had brought back a radio. After three days of listening to the Best of MTT CD, Sans had mercifully brought her a couple of audio books from their next excursion. Now, they both brought her something new every time. While she enjoyed the gifts, she grew increasingly worried as Sans kept her apprised on the world outside their home. Between hearing about them moving stray infected into quarantine, finding Alphys, supply missions, and fending off the increasingly violent public, she had frequently pleaded to be taken along. Sans, of course, had denied her. Lately, however, she had begun sleeping more often. She slept the day away, scarcely even asking to accompany them anymore. Neither of the brothers knew what to do.

Sans had a rude awakening this morning. As he changed into a new shirt, he had found that one of his ribs had warped, no longer the smooth curve it should have been. One of his vertebra had melted into the one underneath it, making it agonizing to bend in certain ways. The small amounts of magic that he was pulling on was impossible to use without a gratuitous use of determination. He was paying for it now. Gritting his teeth, he pulled on his hoodie, ignoring the pain that shot through his body. He needed to see Undyne.

She led him to an area where they could speak alone as he requested.

"So, what did you need to talk about, Sans?" Undyne asked.

"the scavenging unit needs to take a break."

"What?" she exclaimed. "We can't afford that! We don't have enough as it is!"

"don't you think i know that?" he retorted through gritted teeth. "it's too much. especially for just us."

"I gave you the authority to recruit members of the guard. And from what I heard, you've taken me up on that offer. Request denied."

"it wasn't a request. we're tapping out for a bit whether you approve of not. we. need. to. rest."

Anger blazed in her eyes and she wound her arm back. He dodged easily and she reduced a convenient boulder to pebbles instead. She took in a deep, frustrated breath before turning back to face him.

He regarded her impassively. "pal, you really oughta work on that temper."

"Screw you! You're a selfish bastard, did you know that?"

His eyes went dark and he ducked his head. "yeah... i know."

She cursed, anger fading away immediately though the frustration remained. She ran a hand through her hair with a huff. "You know I didn't mean it. Anger issues, remember?"

"doesn't mean you aren't right."

She looked off into the distance where the Royal Scientist's tent could be seen. "We all get a little selfish sometimes. But at least you aren't hurting anyone."

Silence.

She shook her head and turned back to him, calmer now. "What's this really about?"

"nothing."

She huffed and glared at him. "I may have to work on my temper, but you've got to work on talking to people. I'm your friend, you know?"

He gave her a skeptical look.

"Hey! We may have only become friends because of..." she faltered. A darted glace into the distance. "Because of... Papyrus but we're friends now."

He knew what she had really meant. He had accepted her because of his brother. She, on the other hand, had accepted him because he had worked with Alphys at the time. He nodded in agreement regardless.

"So, are you going to tell me or what?"

It seemed he had no other options.

"...don't tell papyrus." He murmured as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and hoodie and lifted them.

A gasp of horror. "Oh," she said, the statement not enough but all she could offer in response.

"yup. told ya i was tired."

She gasped sharply. "That isn't tired, Sans! That's... that's..."

He shrugged. There was not really anything he could say.

She turned away from the gruesome sight, swallowing the bile that was clogging her throat. "I get it. I do, alright? But we can't just stop doing supply runs. Take a break, Sans. But your unit still needs to go on without you."

"no."

They glared at each other, his eye-sockets dark while her eye blazed with resolve. The unit could not risk doing supply runs without being teleported. At least, not without the risk of leading the human back to the tunnels. While Papyrus had been providing the majority of the magic, he was still not as practiced as Sans, needing him to advise him through each trip. The younger brother was inefficient, getting everyone there but expelling more magic than needed. More than once, Sans had to call upon his own magic as a supplement to stabilize their trips.

"he's my little brother, undyne. he's the only family i've got left."

She seemed to think for a moment. Then she looked him in the eye and promised, "I'll take care of him."

He blinked. "what about–"

"It's not like y'all are gone all the time. I can shove my duties here onto a subordinate during those trips. I'm a warrior at heart, Sans. While I've gotten pretty good at this policy crap, I've always been meant for the front lines."

He stared at her, overcome with appreciation. Though he appreciated how she served as a role model and friend to his brother, he had never felt truly fond of her. He choked down the lump that was suddenly in his throat. He wondered how he had never realized how, in her own way, Undyne had always protected his brother.

He took in a trembling breath and said, "okay."

Frisk had barely woken up at all in the last few days. The dim glow of her soul and the occasional soft pulses of emotion that she still broadcast were only mildly reassuring. Her exhaustion was perpetual. The only positive feelings he got from her seemed to be fleeting glimpses of fondness as he tucked her or a new audio book was played and firm waves of determination. But nobody could live off of determination alone. Confusion and disorientation rippled through him, as the first time in so long, he placed her into his pocket. He patted her comfortingly as he walked away from their home. He wished, not for the first time, that he could send her kind feelings back as she could in her current form. He hoped the feeling of his hand caressing her through his pocket was calming enough. He walked quickly, head low and covered by the oversized hood of his jacket. He had long began to wear pants and sneakers so none of his bones were visible. If he was careful and lucky, few monsters would recognize him, the idea preferable to being clawed at by everyone that needed aid. His magic, never before pushed to the point that it was impossible to muster, had been slow to return. The fact that he continued to use the scarce amount he managed to recover immediately out of necessity had been incredibly trying on his body. He hoped, with the leave he had been granted from Undyne, that he would be able to recover his magic soon.

A/N: So, I'm back. Sort of. Things have been crazy but I'm here. Gonna be a rough time for a while. I truly hope I'll be able to work on this more. Cheer me on, yeah? I could use the positivity. Writing this story makes me happy but it would help to hear if y'all are still with me and enjoying this.

Important things set up here in this chapter. It seems like this iteration is all about getting insight into the heads of our favorite monsters (or my headcanons about it, at least).

Until next time friendlies,

Dfsemina