Undyne stuck close by Alphys's side, chatting away about anime, letting the doctor mostly just listen and nod enthusiastically, which she seemed to be more comfortable doing.
The five of them walked along, together, but apart enough that Frisk could explain to him and his brother what usually happened when they got to Asgore.
He wasn't surprised to hear that they all usually ended up there anyway, but he was shocked to hear that his little flower friend played such a big role.
Frisk sounded concerned. "The thing is, I'm not sure that Flowey will even play by the same rules, now that I don't have the save points."
He'd been thinking long and hard about that, mulling questions over in his mind. He'd formed together several plans that appeared solid at first, but… each held potential dangers.
For instance, he was all for giving the human another chance, no matter what their faults in the past were. It only seemed right that they be given the opportunity to fix those mistakes. However, with the way everything had been going around in circles, Frisk seemed to be having some trouble moving forward. That didn't mean he didn't believe in his little human friend, of course… but… having the reset powers had made Frisk behave as if they were all just… puzzles? Toys didn't even seem to be the right word, because he would never even treat his action figures the way the human had treated them. He still believed Frisk could do the right thing… no matter how… disturbing… they'd been in the past.
He shook his head, still unable to make any sense of it. What exactly had the human thought was going to happen if they killed everyone? He'd never wondered what would happen if he dropped one of his action figures; he'd known it would brake.
He shuddered, wondering if Frisk would have broken their toys to see what the other toys would say about it. He supposed they might have.
No, he couldn't understand it, and he didn't even want to. Wouldn't a power that let you reset make it so that you could be better each time? Wouldn't it let you help more people? Like Alphys… if they had to reset again, then they'd know to help Alphys sooner, so that they didn't hurt her feelings again.
He glanced down, watching his brother take in every word the child was saying. Blaming what they'd done on Sans had been a low blow, and he sincerely hoped the shorter skeleton wasn't taking it to heart. It was hard to tell with Sans. Most times, his brother just seemed to shrug off responsibility… real or imagined. But there had been times where Sans had apologized for things that weren't his fault at all… especially while they were growing up.
So it was hard to say WHAT Sans was thinking about the resets. Aside from how to stop them… that was. He could see THAT clearly enough in those eye-sockets. His brother had a point… they could worry about the emotional toll this had taken on everyone after they saved the Underground.
After all, there was always time.
Frisk rounded the corner, and stopped short, looking everywhere but at Sans.
He didn't have to step into the room to know why. It was the golden, tiled room he'd found torn up just before the reset… it felt like forever ago.
Instead of avoiding Sans, he blocked out everything except his brother, trying not to think of the way the room had looked last time. It was just a long, peaceful, hallway… there were no bone attacks splitting the floor. There wasn't any pile of clothes heaped over a pile of dust…
Sans looked from the human to him, confused at first. When it dawned on his what was making them feel so sick, he actually looked uncomfortable.
"Sans?" Frisk swallowed, still talking too quietly for Alphys and Undyne to hear. "You can go ahead and judge me now."
His brother sighed, and shook his head. *pretty sure you've heard everything i have to say, kiddo. besides…
"He fell ASLEEP in the middle of the battle!"
He tried to focus on what Sans was saying instead of listening to the words that were pounding through his head, but he wasn't just remembering them… it was as if Chara had actually just said them again.
"You know, there might still be a chance for you after all. I just remembered that you only THINK you've seen the worst this room has to offer. But you really haven't seen the half of it."
Images flashed across his vision, too fast to make sense of, at first. As they started to slow, he was able to identify Frisk… still talking to his brother… no… wait…
Sans was doing all of the talking, and Frisk didn't even seem to be listening. But he couldn't hear either. Not over the sound of the voice in his head.
"Frisk gave you the determination, even though you're not using it. Smart choice… considering what that stuff DOES to monsters."
What was going on? What was Chara doing to him?
"Relax. Without Frisk's Exp or their soul, I can't do anything. You know, it was their determination that woke me up in the first place. Since you reset what they did, I'm stuck back here, waiting for all THIS to happen again."
The images grew hazy again, and when he blinked his eyes open, the Sans and Frisk in front of him were exactly where they were supposed to be, and Frisk was doing the talking, but his vision blurred before he could take comfort in it.
Before he could even start to make sense of anything, he was blinded by a white, flashing light. When it cleared, he realized he was watching Frisk dodge bone attacks, trying desperately to hit his brother with a knife that was most certainly not a toy.
Far from looking concerned, Sans dodged to the side in a lazy manner, focusing all his energy into the attacks.
"It took a lot of tries. That lazy do-nothing was almost determined to stop whatever was happening. But it wasn't enough. The poor fool didn't even understand half of what was going on."
He wasn't getting more than flashes of images. Some of them seemed to be repeating… maybe they all were… he was certain Sans had looked far more worn down a second ago…
*what's with that expression? … did i get ya?
Sans chuckled to himself as he dodged a particularly infuriated attack.
"Remember… this was ALL Frisk. No one was forcing them to do anything… even now."
The images skipped by faster… he kept hearing fragments of the things Sans was saying… he seemed to be trying to talk some sense into the human… right as Frisk ran straight into one attack too many, and suddenly, it all seemed to start over again.
He realized that Frisk had reset the fight.
"Yep. He kept sending them back to that same place… hoping they'd give up. I still don't know what he thought he'd gain… he clearly hadn't given up as much as he said he had."
The images blurred again, and each glimpse he caught only heightened the sense of impending doom. He'd watch Frisk die, however briefly, three times now.
"That's not even close to how many times he killed them, but you get the idea…"
He didn't want to get the idea. He wanted to be free of these horrible images. He wanted to rush forward and save the little human each time he saw an attack connect… even though the look they were giving his brother bordered on murderous.
Everything slowed down… seeming to creep along now… or maybe it was normal time, and it just felt slow after the flurry of memories he'd been watching.
He'd never seen his brother so utterly spent before. Sweat was rolling down the sides of his skull. The grin on his face was weaker than normal, and his eyes weren't even trying to smile anymore…
There was no way he could muster another attack… it was obviously taking everything he had to just keep standing there. So this is what Chara had meant.
He supposed he'd known, all along, but somehow, it had been easier to think of Sans just getting bored with the fighting enough to take a nap, rather than slowing sub-coming to total exhaustion, knowing that there was no one out there to save him.
He could almost see the gears still turning in Sans's head. Just a few seconds rest would give him a few more minutes of energy. If he could just close his eyes and recover a bit of strength… he didn't look like he could keep them open much longer anyway…
And Sans fell asleep, in the middle of the battle.
Frisk struggled to take advantage of it, creeping closer silently, knife raised…
Even though he felt like he owed it to his brother to watch, he didn't want to see this. He struggled to look away, or open his eyes, or… something… but he couldn't.
At the last possible second, Sans's eyes popped open, and he dodged to the side, trying to play it like it had been his plan all along to 'pretend' to fall asleep… if anyone knew what Sans looked like when he tried that… it was The Great Papyrus.
But when the knife slashed out a second time, it seemed to startle Frisk even more than Sans… a fact that he almost didn't even register as his brother fell backwards… trying to chuckle off the weight of his defeat.
Sans…
His brother stood, and made one last attempt at humor before dragging himself down the hall with strength he shouldn't have had after a blow like that. He wasn't even able to keep his eyes open.
*papyrus, do you want anything?
He wasn't sure what was harder… watching what he just had, or hearing the sound of his brother dusting.
He stumbled forward, unsure whether to hold his head, or to put his hands out to catch himself as he started to fall.
And then Sans was there, trying to keep him upright before he had to make that choice. *paps? what's the matter? papyrus?!
Frisk was at his other side, helping his brother lower him to the ground. "What happened?"
He tired to answer them, but he didn't know how… and he felt all… noodley all of a sudden. He could just make out Undyne and Alphys racing towards them, before Sans's arm blocked them out.
*easy, buddy… nice, slow breaths, kay? you've had a lot on your plate… but it's gonna be fine. just rest a second.
He nodded to let Sans know that he understood that he had to just lie here a moment, even though he hated it.
Undyne shouted from somewhere nearby. "What's wrong with him?"
Sans sounded annoyed, but kept his tone low. *don't know. just back off, and give him a little space.
"Oops. Look like I did something wrong. Sorry about that. I only meant to make you watch your brother die… not incapacitate you."
He flinched, expecting more memories to be flooded into his mind, but Chara only commented. "Let's see how easy it is to forgive them NOW."
He frowned. Did 'them' mean just the human, or both Frisk and Sans? And should he even be asking something like that? The human had been trying to kill everyone just to see what would happen. He wished his brother had come up with another plan, but time hadn't been on his side… at all.
He tried not to let himself continue that train of thought, but a shudder ran through him as he thought of that knife slashing out again…
A hand squeezed his shoulder, reassuring him that everything was fine. He opened his eyes, and smiled up at his brother.
Frisk and Alphys were trying to drag Undyne away, but weren't making much progress. "Why won't anyone tell me what the heck is going on!?"
*you okay?
He nodded, but only once, since his head still felt like it was spinning.
There were a thousand questions in his brother's eyes, but he didn't ask any of them. Instead, he patted his shoulder, and gave it another squeeze.
He didn't want to talk about it, or acknowledge that it had happened, but… "CHARA'S CONNECTED TO ME SOMEHOW… THROUGH THE DETERMINATION."
Sans blinked, but took the news surprisingly well. *what happened?
He winced as he tried to forget again, and finally accepted the fact that watching something like that wasn't something he'd ever truly be able to forget. Instead, he focused on fighting the urge to demand that Sans shortcut home right then and there. He knew the stubborn skeleton wouldn't leave, and… truth be told, he needed to have him nearby right now.
"NOTHING, REALLY… THEY JUST… SHARED SOME OF THEIR MEMORIES WITH ME, and… I… I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE, SANS."
*…
*crap. did you…? papyrus… i…
He sat up, and hugged his brother, partially to stop him from having to say something when there really were no words, and mostly just to feel how solid he was. "I'LL BE ALRIGHT, BROTHER. I THINK THAT THIS MEANS THAT CHARA IS GETTING REALLY SCARED THAT WE'RE GOING TO SUCCEED. I THINK, MAYBE, DEEP DOWN, THEY WANT TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE CAN BE HAPPY."
Instead of replying, Sans just hugged him a little tighter.
Then something grabbed his scarf from behind and yanked him to his feet, in a surprisingly gentle way. "You feeling better now? What the heck was that, anyway?"
He rubbed his head, embarrassed that the captain of the royal guard had seen him like that. "I REALLY DON'T KNOW… BUT I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW. LET'S GET FRISK TO THE KING."
A/N: Okay, so first off, my sincerest apologies for making everyone wait for so long. This story started out as a quick little oneshot, and then I discovered that I needed to explore it more, because I wasn't willing to let it go yet. It's been growing ever since, and I've been given several wonderful ideas that I've wanted to incorporate into it, and as the story grew, it changed. I hit a point where I just wasn't sure what to make happen next. Hence the longer breaks between posts. I assure you that I have not given up on this story, and I've redetermined where it's heading (with help). Thank you all so much for your patience and encouragement! It's given me the motivation to sit down and work on this when it just seemed too daunting a task, and I appreciate it more than I can say!
Guest (chapter 24): Sorry for the wait, and thanks for hanging in there! I can't answer that without spoilers, I'm afraid, but at this point, anything could happen.
I guest as much: Thanks so much for your review, and your continued support! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!
Guest (chapter 3): I know, right? Both of the skelebro's are just so awesome, but Sans is fascinating on top of that! Even after everything we can find out in the game, there's STILL hints of more secrets he's keeping! Toby Fox is just a genius, and that's all there is to it! (Which hoodie? There's the stained one Papyrus was wearing when he reset, which he was magically still wearing after the reset because... just because. And the hoodie Sans wears for the rest of the fic is the freshly washed new one from that morning.)
Guest (chapter 6): I know, right? I think Sans has single handedly made lazy the new cool, just as long as it's done in a way that lets you get some actual work done, haha. I'm more of a Sans than a Papyrus, myself, and I can use a well meaning shove towards a job every now and again. ; ) (Hey, eating disorders can be rough, but hang in there. My eating habits have been far from healthy, and all I can tell you is to just take each day at it comes, and keep some kind of record of your progress. Change doesn't happen overnight, but every success, however small it may be, is still a victory!)
ThePunnySkeleton: I am so glad that you're loving this story! I'm not sure if this chapter counts as hurting Sans, since it'd already happened, and I really can't make any promises about the future. Even if I could tell you what I'm planning right now, one random thought or idea could derail it all before I even get it written. As for seeing a little more of Sans's potential... well... ; )
And again, everyone... thank you sooooooo much for every view, comment, and idea. Every suggestion I've played with has made this story that much better! Here's hopin' I can get the next chapter up in a more reasonable timeframe! Until then!