His brave, super cool human friend hit Sans just before the attack did, taking most of it themself. They both toppled onto the ground, with Frisk draped over his brother, both very much alive as they stared at him in growing horror. Even Chara paused to watch.

Asriel's attack was ready.

But it didn't come.

Instead, it dissipated as the boss monster dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I don't understand… I dusted you so many times, I lost count. Why can't I do it now?"

Now that immediate death wasn't threatening, he glanced back over. Frisk was still draped over Sans, and a seething Chara was launching another attack behind them.

Sans's arm shot out, sending Chara tumbling straight into a bone wall. His brother had that huge, goofy grin in place as he realized that believing in Asriel had paid off.

Frisk scrambled off of him, and he got to his feet. He ruffled the human's hair as he handed Frisk something from his pocket. Frisk ate it, getting their hp back up.

It was all the time they had before Chara was back, and they were both dodging again.

He needed to get over there and help them. But first…

He walked over to Asriel, and put his hand on his shoulder. "IT'S ALRIGHT."

"No it's not. I- I don't know what to do."

"THAT'S EASY! JUST DO THE RIGHT THING!"

"I… I c-can't fight Chara!"

"THEN JUST HELP US STOP THEM, INSTEAD. IF I WERE ON A MURDERY RAMPAGE, I'D WANT SOMEONE TO STOP ME."

"But Sans will… I can't help him hurt Chara."

"YOU JUST LEAVE SANS TO ME. I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GET HIM TO PICK UP ONE STUPID SOCK, BUT STOPPING HIM FROM KILLING THE PERSON THAT WANTS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING IS ANOTHER MATTER ENTIRELY!"

Asriel gave him that look that people got when they didn't understand his reasoning, but, as usual, it didn't phase him. Asriel would see soon enough.

"COME ON!"

They both hurried over to the fight, where Frisk and Chara were locked in combat, the stick somehow not breaking as it held off the knife. "SANS, QUICK! DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING LEFT TO HELP ASRIEL?"

Sans chuckled, handing each of them a hotdog, eyes still trained on the human, magic at the ready.

He didn't know how Sans had managed to keep two condiment covered hotdogs in the pockets of his hoodie and have them look freshly made, and he didn't really care… well, he tried not to care as he forced himself to eat it to get his hp back up.

The hotdog healed better than it should have. Sans must have packed it with extra magic.

Frisk broke away from Chara, and came back to stand with them, the four of them staring the child down.

"You think this makes a difference? This is what I already SAID was going to happed, traitor. I'm not going to let any of you stop me. Not again."

Asriel flinched a step backwards, looking more like a sad little kid than a boss monster with infinite attack.

Sans didn't look away from Chara. *what's the plan, bro?

He wasn't sure what Chara need to hear, but he knew what they deserved hear. "FRISK? ISN'T THERE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO CHARA?"

Frisk took one step forward. "I'm sorry."

"You think that makes a DIFFERENCE?!"

Another step. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry that I tried to blame you. I'm sorry for what I turned you into."

"Being SORRY doesn't matter! It doesn't CHANGE what you've DONE! I'm not like these whimpering idiots. I'm not going to fall for those empty words."

"I'm sorry for what I made you watch. For what I did to your family. Most of all, I… I'm sorry for doing such horrible things that… you felt like you needed to erase the world to protect it from me."

"WELL DONE, FRISK!"

"Oh was it? What do you YOU think, Sans? Does it make a DIFFERENCE? Do a FEW good deeds even matter after mass genocide has been committed?"

Sans glanced at Frisk for just a second as he answered Chara. *so what you're really asking is, do i think someone can decide to be good after turning on their own family? that wanting to do better could somehow make up for the things the weed pulled before the human got here? do i believe that even a kid who falls into the underground and discovers unimaginable powers, and decided to use them to kill off all their friends, can come back from that? are you asking me if I believe that anyone can change? that anyone can be a good person, if they just try?

*heh… yeah. i'd have to be a special kind of idiot to not believe THAT.

Somehow, Chara hadn't been expecting that. "WHAT?! Hypocrite! You might believe that while your brother's standing next to you, LISTENING to you, but let me assure you that at the end of the day, when you've FINALLY decided to get off your butt and DO something, it's clear what you REALLY think of Frisk. I'll give you a hint… your thoughts aren't exactly MERCIFUL."

Sans shrugged, not the slightest bit fazed. *believing that somebody can be good, and that somebody willare two different things. i'm the first to admit that papyrus is made of stronger stuff than me.

"FRISK, PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO SAVE THE OTHERS?"

Frisk nodded, running off to find them.

"It's NOT going to matter. NONE of it. It will all start over again. Even if you defeat me now, there will ALWAYS be another reset, for me to try again. You're only DELAYING the inevitable! It might not matter to you, but I'm going to have to WATCH."

Asriel had other pressing concerns… "Wait… where did Frisk go?"

"TO FREE THE OTHERS. YOU DIDN'T JUST TRAP SANS AND ME HERE, YOU KNOW."

"But that would mean…"

"Asriel? Chara? M-my children!"

Chara shrank back as the beardless Asgore clone raced up to them, tears streaming down her face.

Asriel just withdrew into himself. "M-mom? I… I didn't want you to see me… not like I was… or… like… this."

"Did you really believe it would matter? Chara… please… my child, come here."

For just a second, he thought Chara was going to obey. "It won't MATTER. You won't even REMEMBER this in five minutes."

Asriel shrank, slowly, into a little baby Asgore in a green swiped sweater. "Mom… you… you don't know what I did."

"What matters is that you are here, my child."

A louder, booming voice asked, "Asriel? Chara?"

Chara turned, and ran.

He was right on their heels.

*papyrus! And Sans was right on his.

He wanted to laugh at his older brother, but he was feeling so… drained. Even though his hp was back up, his magic was all but spent, and he still felt strange from carrying Frisk's Determination for so long. Sans's concern about him running after a scared, hurting child just didn't seem all that funny right now. Maybe later they could have a good chuckle about it.

He darted around Chara so that he was in front of them. "WAIT… JUST… LISTEN TO ME, PLEASE."

"If we all listen to you, they're going to DIE. Over, and over, and over. It's not going to matter much to you. You're going to forget this ever happened. You're going to go back to stupidly and naively believing that it's the first time you've ever seen a human. But your brother isn't that dumb. He might even remember bits and pieces of this. He'll go back to faking smiles, and hiding behind awful puns, and keeping secrets that are slowly CRUSHING him, as he watched everyone around him DIE until it's practically too late to do anything anyway. Do you REALLY want that? Don't you see that THAT is what you're fighting for?"

Chara ran past him, and he had to chase them down again, sliding to a stop in front of them.

"BUT… IT ISN'T. I KNOW THAT IT, could HAPPEN. BUT… EVEN IF IT DID… EVEN IF FRISK IS LYING… HOW CAN YOU EXPECT ME TO AGREE THAT SANS WOULD BE BETTER OFF NOT EXISTING AT ALL? YOU'RE NOT JUST GIVING UP ON THE HUMAN. YOU'RE GIVING UP ON EVERYONE. ALL THE MONSTERS YOU CLAIM TO WANT TO HELP… AT LEAST FRISK GIVES THEM A FIGHTING CHANCE."

"There's no sense TALKING to you. You'll NEVER understand. You always die BEFORE them. It's easy for you. Either you 'save' the day by changing the human's mind once in a while, or you die trying, and leave the one person who CHOSES to associate with you, and your pathetic excuse for a brother, to morn you until THEY die. I wonder… how much does Sans remember? Ha… does he know when, and where you're going to die? Is he even surprised when it happens? Do you think he locks himself away in his room? Or has he seen it all so many times, he just goes NUMB?"

He felt the blow to his very soul. So much pain. He really didn't know which it hurt less to believe… that Sans had to experience it fresh every time, or that he was being beaten over the head with it, over, and over, and over again.

Chara slipped away while he pondered this. He caught up more quickly this time. "YOU'RE RIGHT. I WANT TO HELP MY BROTHER. I DON'T WANT HIM TO KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS, MEMORIES OR NO. BUT ERASING HIM ISN'T GOING TO MAKE HIM HAPPY AGAIN. IT WOULD BE TAKING AWAY EVERY CHANCE HE HAD TO EVER SMILE FOR REAL, EVER AGAIN."

As Chara tried to dart by again, he caught the little human up into a hug. "PLEASE STOP RUNNING AWAY. THEY'RE YOUR FAMILY, AREN'T THEY? YOU NEED THEM."

Chara struggled against him without using any real force. The knife clattered to the ground as they grabbed his wrist, trying to get free. There was the tiniest catch to their voice. "NO! Let me GO! It's all lies, and tricks, and it's just going to HURT."

"BUT… THEY'RE HERE. THEY MIGHT NOT REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAY, BUT… YOU WILL, WON'T YOU? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO REMEMBER RUNNING AWAY INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THEM? OF TELLING THEM HOW MUCH YOU CARE ABOUT THEM?"

Sans caught up to them and shoved his hands into his pockets as he slowed to a walk, then stopped a couple feet away, standing there like he hadn't been worried in the slightest.

"CHARA… YOU NEED TO TALK TO THEM. FAMILIES SUPPORT EACH OTHER. JUST LOOK AT THIS LAZYBONES…" He smiled down at a brother who didn't look nearly as discouraged or hopeless as he had then this had started. "RUNNING AFTER US LIKE A TOTAL DORK."

Sans's grin widened. *ouch. heh heh… hey kid, you can't ignore a 'cutting' remark like that.

Chara glared. "Don't start with me, comedian."

*it's always 'knife' to know someone new finds me 'humerus'.

He couldn't stop his own smile from growing. "SANS, YOU REALLY USE THAT LAST ONE TOO MUCH."

*not like it's the 'bonely' one, bro.

Chara covered their ears. "STOP!"

"YES, THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH FOR NOW." He started walking back towards the others, while the child in his arms pouted.

Sans was able to keep up with the slower pace much easier.

They got back to the others, and found the former queen waiting for them. She trembled as she came forward, and took Chara out of his arms with a grateful nod.

The child curled up with a sob that was just broken. "Oh, my child… I never thought I'd see you again.

Sans tugged his hand, leading him away from the reunion. He supposed it was a bit rude to stand there and listen at that.

Asgore and Alphys were talking to Asriel, and Frisk was finding more monsters to save.

He turned to say something to Sans… after all, they had a lot of things to say to eachother. He still had to tell him how proud he was of him. Sans mostly had explaining to do, though… he supposed, his brother would find a subtle way to acknowledge the achievements of The Great Papyrus as well.

But for right now… words weren't needed.

It was enough to just stand there beside Sans, and watch.

A/N: Sorry that took so long! I had half of the chapter written before I even posted the last chapter, but I ran into technical difficulties. Chara wasn't behaving the way I wanted. It was sloppy, and inconstant, and I'm much happier with this version of the chapter. Thanks again for the help, Agent B Tiger! =D Without it, I'd still be sitting in front of my computer wondering what else needed to be tweaked.

ThePunnySkeleton: I think you're talking about one of Zala's comics? It sure sounds like it, and if that's the case, then I HAVE seen it, and it just about broke my heart! And yes, that's my personal head cannon for Sans, too. He knew he had to try to talk them into changing, because just killing them over and over until they got bored might just make them leave. But if he could get the kid to CARE. To reset, and not do it over again... And yeah... his 'cheats' are just awesome! XD Burgerpants is pretty funny. His facial expressions get me every time.

I guest as much: Thanks so much! =D I hope this chapter ended up working as smoothly, even if it took a bit longer to get here! ; )

Mighty Dreamfinder: I'm just now remembering that I could have responded to your review before posting this update. Sorry about that! And sorry again for the cliffhanger... I really didn't think the last half of the chapter would take as long as it did! Yes, Papyrus is wonderful to the very core of his being, and no, Asriel wasn't fond of that remark at all, was he? Haha, you can't compare everyone to Sans, Papyrus! (Naw... you totally can. It's adorable! ; )

Thanks for all the support, guys!