The world is on a never-ending repeat.

We're back at this place again.

The mouse hole. The coffee. The ketchup, still in your pocket, without a crack. You clutch the blanket around you tightly, the one Alphys gave you a lifetime ago.

It was too much. You didn't want to know. If that machine lifted up and there was nothing left of Sans except dust... it would be worse than never knowing. A reality where Sans took your place in that cursed machine... you didn't want that.

How many times? How many times have we been at this same spot? This is the fourth. The first time, you were the victim. The second, you became the assailant. The third, Sans was sacrificed. What is there even left to try? You need to pick one. Stop redoing time; because doing the same thing over and over again is crazy. Pick which one becomes the true timeline. Pick up the knife.

You shake your head. Your knuckles have become white, gripping the blanket so tightly. You run out of the break room, even though you know what you'll find. It's the same hallway, you only have limited time before Gaster finds you, you're all alone-

A door some distance down bursts open. You remember that's where you first found Sans, working on the time machine. Well. It's Sans, you think. His form looks familiar. But he's covered in what looks like a grainy blue flame. You can't see his eyes; they're just black sockets.

Your breath hitches. There's an immense pressure upon your chest, and you think it's because your heart is pounding. The ketchup bottle begins to slide away from your pocket. No, it's not because of your pounding heart. Something is affecting the world.

Whatever happened in that last timeline. Going back didn't fix it.

You were just starting to understand the rules; to know what to expect. Now this. Now the world's breaking them.

The moment ends. The blue flame extinguishes. The pressure subsides immediately, the ketchup slipping back in your pocket comfortably. Sans is still there, panting. But otherwise, it's like nothing ever happened. He's watching you, and you're completely frozen in place, not daring to move a single muscle, lest the blue flame returns.

"kid. you ok?"

Are you okay? You're not the one who was just enveloped in a blue flame, or just had some weird residual effect from time travel. Whatever messed him up in the last timeline wasn't fixed. You're still frozen in place, barely daring to breathe.

"you look like you've seen a skeleton, or something," he laughs at his own joke. It's not funny. "didn't mean to scare you. just thought i saw like, four of you, or something. must've been a trick of the light."

Four of you? Like four repeats of time? You wonder if this Sans is the same one you left behind in time moments ago; if he can remember himself on death's doorstep. It feels like he's waiting for you to do something, or say something, but you can't. Where could you possibly start?

"um, where'd alphs go?" He asks the same as before, looking around the hallway. The question seems irrelevant considering the last timeline's consequences.

Alphys isn't here. But someone else is walking down the hallway. You've spent too much time goofing off already; your time limit is up. Noir skeleton has come for you.

"Where were you," he chastises, the same intonation and expression from another time line ago. That was then. Now... Sans is here. Gaster's gaze inevitably drifts to his brother. "I suppose that question hardly needs answering. Sans, I know what you're thinking. But we picked up some strange determination wavelengths today. We need to know if the doll can reset time."

Sans has already moved next to you protectively, one hand on your shoulder. "i still have a day left to figure things out." You haven't even asked him for help yet, but he already wants to protect you. "uh, i think? it hasn't been a week yet, right?" He scratches his skull.

"There was no real 'time limit' anyway. It's dangerous, Sans. In a worst case scenario, it's already manipulating time to create a reality that wouldn't normally exist."

"but if it's really alive, then-"

"It's not alive, it's a doll."

"then the actions they take, the emotions they show-"

"-Are nothing more than a residual effect of its displaced soul!" Gaster practically shouts, his calm facade ruined. "These random outbursts of self-independence, pain or joy, these individual traits you pick out as being representative of a 'person' are woefully incomplete! If this thing was truly alive, it would remember and react to more than just pain; it would remember the good as well as the bad. What you see is nothing more than the after tremors of the former soul's emotions."

Sans looks momentarily taken aback. The argument he'd had so carefully prepared, his plan to offer himself as a sacrifice... You think that it hinges upon you being a person. If you are not a person, then you are nothing. An artificial creation. An empty container to house a displaced soul.

"b-but, even so..." He starts, still trying to defend you. Still wanting to believe in you. You already know that he's trying too hard.

You grab the edge of his shirt, tugging lightly. You take his attention from Gaster, to you. You can't make your face form the proper emotion, because you're not sure what you feel to begin with. But, you don't want him to die again. Even if something is different this time around... you don't want to risk him dying.

"It'll be okay," you tell him, with a smile. Because those are the words he told you when you needed help, because that is the face he made for you when he took your place.

Both of the skeleton brothers are watching you. You know that Gaster is depending on you too... even if he doesn't remember. He wanted you to take care of his brother. Even if the two of you don't like each other... you have Sans in common.

You stop hiding next to Sans, and walk up to Gaster. Noir skeleton is so tall, you're not even half his height. So you have to stretch, to offer your hand, knowing that he wants to take it... knowing where he wants to lead you.

But you don't understand... when you're the one to initiate it like this, it makes it look more like an invitation, or that you're accepting a deal. Maybe that's what this really is. You've accepted this fate. In the end, the one you ran away from the most... it's the one you choose to live.

"frisk..." Sans actually uses your name. That is your name, isn't it? "he didn't even say you needed to leave. you don't need to do this if you don't want to."

You want to, though. If it means saving Sans.

Gaster takes your hand. You think that he should be happy, but he's frowning. "It's not dangerous," he promises. "You're not going to die."

You can't remember if he's ever talked to you before. He's told you to do things, but he isn't telling you what to do now.

You nod. Holding his hand, you follow him. He walks slower this time. You're not being dragged by your feet. Sans walks a few paces behind too, refusing to leave you, even if this is your choice.

You reach the cursed door and room, but you're not scared this time. You chose to be here. The skull-shaped machine waits patiently for your return. Sans gently removes the blanket wrapped around your shoulders, and the bottle of ketchup protruding awkwardly from your pocket. Not like you need those anymore.

"i'm sorry," he tells you, because he's failed. You're back here again. Nothing has changed.

You think everything has changed. You're still smiling as you lay on the table, Gaster helping you through the steps. You're injected with something.

You see the machine falling down upon you, as your consciousness slips. This time, you refuse to go alone. This time, you're taking me too.

Notes:
We're out of the time loop for real this time. And I am excited to write the next chapter.