Sans woke up, annoyed and hung over as he flipped over the sheet in frustration.
"Uh…" He grunted, "…shouldn't have taken that extra shot last night."
Clutching his skull with one hand, Sans snapped his finger and the light went on.
He trudged forward, and somehow managed to stumble, hitting the ground ungracefully.
"Damn it." He cursed, blaming everything on that homemade brandy from last night.
It tasted wonderful, but he doesn't feel wonderful right now.
Sans managed to keep steady and walked toward the door, opening it with a click.
"Sis? You're here?" He shouted but got no response.
'She must have gone to work. Probably with Alphys.' Sans thought, walking toward the stair and their kitchen. He cast his eyes upon the note on the fridge.
'I have some urgent task I need to do, so you probably won't see me in the morning. I did leave some pasta on the fridge for you, though. Eat well.
Money is under that plant pot by the stair, spend it wisely.
Your one and only, little brother.'
He rolled his eyes at the cheesy message, as he crumbled the note in his hand, throwing it into the trash can. Opening the fridge, he took out the infamous Frisk's pasta. The texture looked nice, but he can't say the same about the taste.
Still, it's better than being hungry. The taste is indescribable as always, but at least she tried.
He finished the pasta cleanly and left it in the sink. Frisk will get it cleaned when she gets home.
He used his power to get his red fur coat, putting it on hastily. Also, he took a little money, just enough for the traveling fee today. He could use his power, but it honestly gets exhausting at times.
He locked the door carefully, wore his spiked shoes, and walked into the snowy town.
Well, he still got jobs to do at Grillby.
Sis will probably come back by the end of the day.
Sans has finished his shift, bored out of his mind. Those dogs scuffle with each other every day, it was getting quite tiring.
Are they supposed to be royal guards? Because he thinks the whole underground is doomed.
He ignored the thought, focusing on taking a walk—a good way to relieve stress.
It didn't last long, seeing how prone to meeting trouble he was.
"Would you look at that..." He smirked upon seeing an armless lizard sitting on the bridge, eyes fixed on the glowing waterfall "Hey, MK!"
She flinched upon hearing his voice but didn't respond.
"What, you didn't hear what I said?"
"Fuck off, Sans." He could almost hear her teeth gritting together.
"Oh, how scary."
MK stood up, turning to look at him with swollen eyes. It's understandable, MK has always been a crybaby, but this seems like a particularly bad day for her.
He doesn't care, though.
"Just…leave me alone for today. Please."
"Come on, just a walk with your old pal. Are you shy?" He said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.
MK is his…lackey, the one that follows him around when he's bored. Or well, the one that's forced to be around him on his bad day. Granted, he was being an asshole most of the time, but that was the price for his protection. The Underground could get dangerous at times, after all.
Who was he kidding? It's just because he found her gloomy expression amusing.
"Go somewhere to fuel your superior complex."
"What did you say?!" His eyes flared with an intense, and for a moment, Sans saw terror inside her soul.
"I said…" She composed herself, and glared at him with such intensity that made him feel a little shocked "That I think you, Sans, are a self-entitled brat."
Before he could even realize it, his anger took hold of him, and he used his magic to choke and slam her into the wall, his face turned into a snarl.
"Say that again, I dare you."
For a moment, she didn't say anything and Sans dismissed his magic "As expected-"
A breath of flame came his way, almost turning him to ash if he didn't teleport away. MK was panting, but her expression remained resolute.
"I can never understand, how someone like you grow up in such a way." She said, "Your sister, she's kind, compassionate, and strong."
MK said with great difficulty as if she was on the brink of a breakdown.
"She loves you with all her heart. Why do you feel the need to terrorize people, when you're the lucky one with a family that cares about you?!" MK sighed "Perhaps because you are given too much love because she gives you everything that makes you become such an imbecile. You would have died hundreds of times without her."
Then she ran, and her figure disappeared into the tall grass.
Sans could only stand there, frozen in shock.
He clenched his fist in frustration.
Well, that went his mood.
Sans opened the door to the house gently, peering inside to see only darkness.
"Sis?" Sans called and sighed when he got no answer. He moved on to turn on the light, only to find the house still in disarray.
Usually, she would get home before he did and clean everything. But he guessed that didn't happen tonight. Well, not like it's the first time she has been busy.
He'd better clean up lest she screams his eye sockets off when she comes home. Wordlessly, he picked up the dirty clothes strewn around the house and threw them into the washing machine. Also, he cleans the dishes from the morning, good as new.
He can be responsible when he needs to. She wouldn't dare to call him lazy now.
He didn't need to eat dinner, considering he was still full from eating that cheeseburger Grillby gave him. He took heavy steps upstairs, and flopped down his bed, sighing.
With a wave of the hand, he closed the door and turned off the light.
For a moment, Sans just decided to lie there, his thought kept swimming to what MK has said earlier.
Why has it bothered him so much?
Sans grasped the golden star-shaped necklace, dangling in front of him, it has a warm golden glow. His father gave this to his sister, and she gave it to him on his recent birthday.
He hated this. He hated anything to remind him of his father, but perhaps he has lashed out rather harshly on that day. But like always, Frisk didn't seem to be offended, stating that it was fine if he didn't want to wear it.
A stubborn soul like Sans didn't take kindly to that. He threw the necklace to the floor and quickly regretted it seeing Frisk's solemn face.
'Go to your room, Sans.' She has said, voice soft yet filled with frustration. He didn't dare to argue with her after that.
Sans woke up the next day, finding the necklace laid neatly inside a gift box on the nightstand, a little chip was spotted in the corner.
Gosh, thinking back, he felt so guilty. However, Frisk didn't seem to take it to heart, and just act like everything is normal.
'You are an adult now, Sans. Just try to be more responsible next time, okay?'
She said with such a gentle tone, and that made him feel even worse. Yet, he didn't even apologize, too high on his pride to do that.
"I will give her an apology…when she gets home." He reassured himself, before drifting off to sleep.
The feeling of uneasiness kept growing inside him...
He didn't hear the sound of his phone buzzing under the bed sheets.
He woke up the next day, opening the door again to find that his sister wasn't home yet. There was no mark of her snow shoes on the doormat.
He felt uneasy in her absence, the moment they spent together every morning eating pasta in the kitchen has become a familiar experience. A moment that they could relax, regardless of the depraved world outside.
Sans shook his head, not willing to think further.
Well, the good news is today is his day off. Grillby needs to visit his cousin, so the bar's closed for now. That meant he has time to laze around.
Oh…the snow outside is getting nasty, though. Not a good day for a walk.
Perhaps he should watch some TV today. But Mettaton's show is honestly disgusting on the watch.
"…Mettaton is not available? What the hell?!" Sans cursed upon seeing the announcement. A technical problem is waiting to be fixed? Since when that was a problem for Alphys?
He threw the remote on the couch, and proceed to wander around the house, finding work to do. Well, there are still some ingredients left on the fridge, so he probably can make something edible.
Just don't feel like eating, though.
Eventually, he wandered to Frisk's room, finding the door strangely not locked. Usually, she uses some contraption that hurt his hand every time he touches it. Guess she gets sloppy every once in a while.
Sans pushed the door lightly as he peers inside, seeing a clean room with blue wallpaper. He hasn't been here in a long time.
On her bookshelves are countless romance novels, and some books about quantum science theory. Frisk wasn't a genius, but she remembered everything she read, so she would get bored after a while.
Sans attributed her unusual memory to the fact that she's a human. Not forgetting where you left your key yesterday would be convenient.
He looked at her bed and found a blue hoodie lying there.
Ah, his old hoodie. He could never understand what she saw in such a small thing. It was useless, and Sans found himself annoyed just looking at it.
He has thrown it away, but she held onto it.
'I like it, the shade of blue.'
Sans could never understand.
But the weather was getting worse, she should at least have something to wear. It won't be fun if she catches a cold. He brought the hoodie with him and grabbed his phone.
He checked his message, just in case.
*23 missed calls from Alphys!
"Shit." He cursed and quickly dialed the yellow lizard.
"SANS! Please, I need-I..." Her terrified voice carried through the phone.
"Alp? What's wrong?"
"Y-your sister, s-she, I don't...help!"
At the mention of his sister, Sans immediately flinched.
"Where are you at?" He asked in a fearful tone, his mind rang in alarm.
"The lab in Hotland, please come quickly!"
Wasting no time, he used his magic to teleport there, a pit was forming on his non-existence stomach.
The scenery changed, and he saw Alphys there, clutching the phone with a panicked expression.
"OH! Sans, thank Asgore you're here!" She expressed her relief "I have been calling you all night, but you didn't respond, and I thought-"
"What's wrong with my sister?" He asked, breathing heavily
"S-she has gone to the Secret Lab." Alphys stammered "I think-gosh, I don't know what to do-"
"Focus, Alp! What's she planning to do?"
"I don't know…but I think it may be because of the DT extractor. We have been working on this project for a while, but-" She calmed herself down "It's a machine that can extract determination from a soul."
"Such a thing…"
Sans felt as if his whole body went cold.
"Please, Sans, don't let her do anything stupid! Please, go and save her. We can wait a little longer to get to the Surface, there's no need to…no need for this. Gosh, I can't…I can't-"
Sans looked behind to see Mettaton trying to break down the door with little progress.
"Yeah, I got it." He willed himself to teleport into the lab.
'I can't let you die.'
He quickly looked around the lab, and it didn't take long for him to find Frisk.
She stood so quietly in front of a machine, her expression unreadable.
"FRISK!" That got her attention, as she turned back to look at him in shock.
"Sans…what are you doing here?" She asked, her eyes wide
"Trying to stop you from doing something stupid, sis!" He ran toward her, but she didn't move out of the way. He immediately crashed into an invisible wall and got thrown back. Shimmering golden light covered the space around them.
"Sans, please." She pleaded, looking at him with sadness in her eyes.
"You're planning to...extract determination? You will, y-you will-"
Frisk turned away, not meeting his gaze.
"What?! Are you that eager to die? What would Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, and your friends say? What about them?" He choked out in desperation "What about me?"
He summoned sharp bones, throwing them to the barrier to no avail.
"There is no other way…"
"There is always another way. Please, dismiss the barrier and we will find it together."
"You don't understand, do you?" She said "The CORE…it won't last for much longer. It's getting more unstable by the day, and we can't find any solution. When it collapses, so will the Underground."
"There must be something we can do!"
"I tried time and time again. But there's no solution to be found." She gritted her teeth "You think I would need to resort to this if there are other ways?!"
"Sis…"
"I want to save everyone, I just want you to live the life you deserve, Sans!" She said, "If the price is my soul, then I will gladly take it."
Sans pounded the barrier helplessly as Frisk laid down inside the machine, the engine started to rumble as it closes, trapping her inside.
"Shit, shit." He desperately summons his magic, but the barrier won't budge. "Blasters!"
He summoned the gift his father gave to him, and he was hopeful seeing cracks started to appear, but the barrier stitched itself together despite his protest.
"No, no…Frisk! Open the barrier, right now!" He punched it desperately "Please…I beg of you!"
After what felt like ages, and lots of screaming, the barrier finally fades away and Sans stumble forward. But he stood up quickly despite the pain.
"Frisk, frisk…" The machine opens, and Sans took her weakened body and laid her down "I'm here…I'm sorry…please wake up."
She opened her eyes wearily.
It has lost its golden hue. In its place was only a dull gray.
But the smile she gave him are still as gentle as ever.
"You have grown…Sans. Be more responsible when I'm gone, okay?"
"I will become responsible. I will try, so please stay." He sobbed "Please, I can't deal with this. Not again. You're all I have left."
Frisk looked at him, then tears started to slide down her cheeks.
"I'm…so sorry, Sans." She whimpered
"Save your breath. You will live, and then we will go to the Surface together, okay?" Sans reassured his sister, but her warmth was fading, reminding him of the inevitable.
"I'm scared, Sans." She admitted "I'm terrified, yeah...because I won't get the chance to watch the stars."
"Why not? We can do that, yeah? Hold on. Alphys will come, she will make you well again. Hold on, just for a little longer."
"…I want to be kind...want to be happy with everyone...I want to watch you be happy." She breathed out "I want…to live."
Sans widened his eyes, as the two siblings hug each other, pain spread upon their heart
"I'm proud of you, Sans…so is Father." She said weakly "Free…everyone, let them…have their happy endings. They deserved it."
"What about you, stupid?! What about me? I can't…not without you."
"Hah…I'm happy. Seeing you care for me so much… makes me very happy." She forced out a smile "So s-smile for me…won't you? You poor sister…wouldn't want to see you sad."
"Y-yeah. I'm smiling, Frisk. Your numbskull is smiling, right here you see?"
"I…love you…you will always…be my…little brother."
"I love you too, sis."
"…"
"Sis? Can you hear me?"
"…"
"Of course, sleep well. I will take you to the surface. We will then see the stars, together." He whispered, holding the corpse of his sister, tears wouldn't stop leaking from his eye sockets.
...
The ghostly figure of Frisk stood behind him, in her heart was a terrible ache.
'I'm sorry it has to come to this.'
The pain of separation is unbearable.
Yet there was nothing she can do. She has done all she can, for his future.
It was cruel of her to leave him like this, but eventually, he will move on.
Sans is strong, he will get up. That is her firm belief.
Frisk closed her eyes and faded into nothingness.