Frisk kept crying. All those memories… those hauntingly happy memories from previous timelines… all destroyed by the horrors that had just been committed. All those warnings! Why, WHY hadn't they listened in time! WHY had it been SO important to see what would happen?
There was a strange sound, and Frisk looked up to see two familiar figures coming closer. It probably wasn't a good sign that they were here, but at least they were together. At least that one, small bit of good was there to reward them for choosing not to give in to Chara's demands at the last second.
"SANS! THAT DID IT! HELLO AGAIN, HUMAN! DO NOT CRY."
Sans stayed back, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie while Papyrus stooped to pick up the confused human. "What… what are you doing here? Don't you understand? I gave you my determination… you have control, now."
Papyrus nodded. "THAT'S WHAT SANS FIGURED OUT. AND YOU GOT PUSHED OUT OF THE RESET, SO WE HAD TO COME HERE, LOOKING FOR YOU. SANS KNEW SOME SHORTCUTS. IT TOOK A WHILE, AND WE MADE A LOT OF WRONG TURNS, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS, HERE WE ARE!"
Frisk looked over Papyrus's shoulder at his brother, who didn't look quite so forgiving. "I don't understand… why'd you come back for me?"
"BECAUSE I WAS RIGHT! DON'T YOU SEE? YOU DID DO BETTER! YOU COULD HAVE HELPED TO ERASE EVERYTHING, BUT YOU DIDN'T! YOU SAVED ME, INSTEAD, AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS ABLE TO GET THROUGH TO CHARA, AND WIN A SECOND CHANCE FOR US ALL!"
Frisk was still having a stare out with Sans. The shorter skeleton closed his eyes and let out a sigh, then opened them again, seemingly setting everything behind them. *hey, kid.
"Sans, I… I'm sorry…"
The whites of his eyes disappeared for a second as he fought to keep control, then they reappeared, focusing on his brother, and he just shrugged. *ok, kiddo. now then, where was it that you first came here, exactly?
"Where? Um, inside the ruins… on a patch of yellow flowers. There was a corridor that led into the actual ruins themselves, I guess. Why?"
Papyrus walked back over to his brother, Frisk still held securely in his arms, and they both start walking back the way they'd come. "BECAUSE, I WAS STARTING TO GET THROUGH TO THIS CHARA PERSON, AND I JUST KNOW THEY CAN BE A GOOD PERSON, IF THEY'RE JUST SHOWN A LITTLE KINDNESS, INSTEAD OF MURDER-Y INTENT!"
That startled a laugh out of Frisk, and the human hugged Papyrus tightly. "You're the perfect person for the job. Don't worry, you guys. This is it… I promise. No killing. And no more resets. Neither one of you is ever going to have to deal with my 'murder-y intent', ever again."
Papyrus nodded. "I BELIEVE IN YOU."
"I… I know."
Frisk glanced over at Sans, but he clearly wasn't as ready to forgive and forget. It seemed strange that even Papyrus was able to, considering.
Suddenly, they were standing next to the patch of Flowers in the Underground.*heh. never been here before.
"ALRIGHT, HUMAN, WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. SANS SAYS THAT WE CAN ONLY RISK MESSING WITH THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM SO MUCH, WHATEVER THAT IS. BUT WE'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU TO GET TO SNOWDIN. REMEMBER… NO KILLING, ALRIGHT?"
"I promise."
The two brothers walked the wrong way, and vanished. Frisk looked around, suddenly dreading the task ahead. What if Papyrus still had the power to reset? What if he had the power to save, too? What if that's were every last ounce of Frisk's own determination had gone? If that was the case then… one mistake too many, and it was, well, game over.
That somehow put a whole new spin on the phrase 'kill or be killed'.
…***…***…***
After all the shortcuts Sans had taken him on, he wasn't a bit surprised to start to walk into a wall, and end up back at their house.
Well, maybe to be at the house, instead of the sentry station. "UM, SANS?"
His was muttering something under his breath, and it wasn't very friendly. "SANS! THE HUMAN PROMISED TO TRY BETTER THIS TIME!"
*yeah… sorry, pap. i just wasn't expecting… those were the ruins. at least… i think they were. they've been sealed from the inside for a long time, and if we were where i think we were, then there's someone i know there.
"BUT HOW CAN YOU KNOW SOMEONE THERE IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN, AND THEY'RE SEALED?"
*you know that old door in the forest?
Uh oh. "NOT THE ONE THAT YOU PRACTICE YOUR KNOCK-KNOCK JOKES ON…"
*that's the one. there's this nice lady on the other side and…
"SANS! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU'VE BEEN SLACKING OFF, BUT TO BOTHER A KIND LADY IN THE WOODS IS ANOTHER MATTER ENTIRLY! I'M SURPRISED AT YOU!"
*she likes the lousy puns, paps. she's real lonely, and we tell jokes through the door.
Oh. "ARE- ARE YOU LONELY, SANS?"
*course not. i've got you, don't i? but i don't think she's got anyone, and… if the kid started there, and killed everyone…
"SANS…"
*the thing is, if it happens again, i just made it possible. i don't think that's something i'm used to dealing with.
"BROTHER, STOP THIS INSTANT! THE HUMAN IS NOT GOING TO KILL ANOTHER MONSTER, THEY PROMISED! THEY'RE NOT GOING TO KILL YOUR NICE FRIEND, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO KILL UNDYNE, OR YOU, OR THE KING, OR ANY OF THE OTHER MONSTERS."
*what about you?
"I AM GOING TO STOP THEM FROM DOING ANY OF THAT. BUT DO NOT WORRY. I DO BELIEVE IN THE HUMAN, AND I THINK THEY CAN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER."
Sans sighed. *ok.
"LET'S GET BACK OUT THERE TO WAIT AGAIN. AT LEAST WE KNOW THAT THE HUMAN'S COMING THIS TIME."
*right. um… pap?
"YES, BROTHER?"
*you got some kind of plan to protect the kid if everything does go right?
"EVERYTHING WILL GO RIGHT, AND WHY WOULD I NEED TO PROTECT THE HUMAN IF THEY'RE SO DANGEROUS?"
*don't you remember about… right. crap.
"ABOUT WHAT, SANS?"
Another sigh, but this one was more weary. *i guess i never did tell ya about what the king had to do to break the barrier.
"WHY NOT?"
* 'cause i didn't want you to have to live with that burden. the thing of it is, paps, he needs one more human soul.
He winced. "YOU MEAN… HE HAS OTHERS? F-FROM THE WAR?"
*from other humans who ended up down here at some time or other.
The king? The very kindest, gentlest, most wise monster in the Underground? "BUT… SANS… YOU DIDN'T… YOU COULDN'T HELP HIM… DID YOU?"
*heh, that was way before our time, buddy. i may have met a human more times than i remember, but it's the same one. but… after what that human's done… yeah. i think it's safe to say that i made 'em reset a few times. quite a few.
"SANS!" He stepped back in shock. But to fight the human would have been more than just self-defense. His brother had been defending time itself. "BUT… IF YOU KILLED THE HUMAN… WHY WOULDN'T YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE SOUL TO THE KING?"
His brother gave him a strange look, and a dry laugh. *right… 'cause after losing you, i'd be totally fine just waltzing into a new life on the surface. no. i wouldn't fight to break the stupid barrier. i couldn't care less. but if there was a chance that the human would reset, not end the world, and bring you back? you'd better believe i'd send the little brat to the reset point as hard and as often as i could.
Sans's eyes had gone completely black. He put his hand on his shoulder. "CALM DOWN. THE HUMAN ISN'T GOING TO TRY ANYTHING. I KNOW YOU CAN'T TRUST THEM, BUT… TRUST ME, OKAY?"
*… ok…. pap, i, about all that, i…
"THERE'S NO NEED TO EXPLAIN IT TO ME, BROTHER." But maybe Sans needed to hear a reassurance after… that. "YOU DON'T HAVE MURDERY INTENT, SANS. DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHO TAUGHT ME ABOUT MERCY, AND LEVELS OF VIOLENCE? I TRUST THAT WHATEVER YOU DID, YOU DID FOR THE RIGHT REASONS. I FOUND WHERE YOU FOUGHT THE HUMAN, AND IT WAS ALL THE WAY AT THE CASTLE. I KNOW YOU ONLY FOUGHT WHEN THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY, AND I'M PROUD OF YOU, EVEN THOUGH IT NEVER TECHNICALLY HAPPENED."
*paps…
"COME. LET'S PUT THIS MESSY TALK BEHIND US, ONCE AND FOR ALL. WE SHALL BEFRIEND THE HUMAN, AND THEN, WE SHALL PROTECT THEM FROM ALL WHO WISH TO DO THEM HARM. YOU'RE STILL WITH ME, RIGHT?"
*yeah. of course i am.
"THEN WE SHOULD GET TO THAT DOOR, AND MAKE SURE YOUR FRIEND IS OKAY."