Frisk stepped into the snowy fields of Snowdin. They took a deep breath. They had to find Sans and talk him out of his genocide. Luckily, hundreds of forced runs meant they knew where to look. They just had to get there.
They walked through the path in the forest, taking time to observe the trees. It had been so long since they had been able to look with their own eyes at what they wanted. When Chara had been in control, they had been forced to be content with the edges of their vision. But now they could swivel their head and eyes to look at whatever caught their fancy.
Eventually, they came to the "gate" Papyrus had built. It was supposed to bar anyone from crossing the bridge, but the gaps between the bars meant that they could easily walk through it. They did so, stepping into the clearing that Sans' sentry station was placed. As always, the lamp that they could hide behind was broken, pieces scattered all over the ground.
It was a solemn reminder of what they had to do to fix things. They would fix things and end this nightmare for good.
"SANS! SANS?"
Frisk looked up as Papyrus entered the clearing.
"OH, WHERE IS THAT SKELETON? WHY ISN'T HE AT HIS POST?" the tall skeleton wondered. He then noticed Frisk's presence. "OH! HELLO!" he greeted. "I WAS LOOKING FOR MY BROTHER, SANS. HE'S BEEN ACTING STRANGE LATELY. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?"
Frisk wasn't sure how to answer. The truth would probably hurt, if Papyrus believed it, that was.
Papyrus then squinted as he looked them over. "WAIT A MINUTE. HMM. FORGIVE ME FOR ASKING THIS, BUT WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU?"
It took Frisk a moment before they realized they could answer that question this time. Chara wasn't here to keep them from speaking. But what could they say? Papyrus wouldn't hurt them, but if they told him the truth he would waste time trying to befriend them when he should be watching out for his brother. But they had to say something, perhaps warn him of the danger.
Unfortunately, Frisk took too long debating on what to say.
"YOU'RE A QUIET MONSTER," Papyrus said. "THAT'S OKAY. ANYWAY, I MUST BE OFF. I NEED TO FIND MY BROTHER." With that, he left before Frisk could utter a single word.
Frisk sighed sadly. They wouldn't be able to catch up with him. But that was okay, they could talk to Sans and stop him first. They continued onward, touching a nearby SAVE Point to be safe.
They briefly wondered where Flowey was before he popped up beside them. "So, what's the plan?"
"We find Sans, corner him, and convince him that Chara is gone and that he doesn't have to kill anybody after I Reset," Frisk explained.
"That's it?" Flowey asked skeptically.
"Well, I haven't exactly had a lot of time to think," Frisk defended.
"You've had hundreds of runs," Flowey ignorantly said. "All that time and you haven't –"
"I never thought I'd be free," Frisk stressed. "I've been trapped in this loop for so many runs I had given up hope of ever doing anything on my own again."
"Oh," Flowey said, tactfully dropping it. "Well, you're gonna have to think through what you're going to say. I doubt he's just going to believe you."
"I know," Frisk admitted.
"Well, I'll deactivate all the puzzles I can," Flowey offered. "The sooner you talk to Sans, the better."
"Thank you," Frisk said.
Flowey froze before vanishing, looking at Frisk in surprise. He then went into the ground, disappearing.
Frisk continued onward. They'd convince him. They had to.
Frisk navigated Snowdin, the path engrained into their memory. But the further they went, the worse it got. There were piles of dust almost everywhere, a sign of Sans' continuing rampage. Each one was heartbreaking to Frisk. They tried to assure themself that their deaths were only temporary. When they Reset, they'd all be back, none the worse for wear; all of this just some crazy dream.
Eventually, they walked through a particularly dense cluster of trees and once out the other side, they saw Sans walking down a particular path. This was it. They followed him, heading to the cave he had gone into. The cave was empty, save a few mushrooms and an old door with the Delta Rune on it.
Sans was standing before the door, hood still up over his head. Hesitantly, they walked closer, hand brushing over the gold SAVE Point, just in case.
Sans turned and faced them, surprise in his red eyes. "no. not now. i'm not ready. i… i don't have enough…" he muttered.
"Sans, it's okay," they said soothingly. "I'm not here to hurt you." They put their stick down to emphasize that. They kept their hands open and up, showing they were not a threat.
Sans scrutinized them, the lights in his eyes looking them up and down. "what is this?" he asked.
"It's okay," they repeated, taking a couple steps closer. "I just want to talk."
"talk, huh?" Sans asked, his voice skeptical. "what could a little killer like you want to talk about?"
"For one, I haven't killed anyone," Frisk began. "Check my LV. It's still at one."
Sans squinted, his red eyes boring into them. "so, what exactly is your plan, kid?"
"You don't have to do this," Frisk said.
"do what?"
"Kill them," Frisk answered his question. "It's over, Sans. The genocide is done. I'll never do it again, I promise."
"really?" Sans questioned, his tone implying he didn't believe them.
"Yes, I'm serious," Frisk said, taking another tentative step closer. "I intend to break the Barrier after I Reset, so we can all escape. You just have to not kill anyone in the next timeline."
"really?" Sans pressed, something about the red glow in his eyes becoming unsettling as he said that.
"Yes. I'd do it right now, but everyone has to be alive for that to happen," Frisk explained.
Sans eyed them, his glare making them shiver. "and what prompted this change in attitude? why are you suddenly done killing them?"
"That wasn't me," Frisk said. "It was the first few times, but every other time, it's been a demon controlling my body. Forcing me to kill everyone. But now they're gone. I don't hear them anymore. I'm in control of my own body again. I can make my own choices. And I choose to get you all out of this place. I intend to go down the path that leads to the Barrier's destruction, and Monsterkind standing on the surface once more. But that can only happen if you don't kill anyone."
Sans hummed. "and how did you know my plan was to kill them all?"
"W-well," Frisk began.
Sans glared at them, something dark flashing over his face. "this isn't the first time we've had this song and dance, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "so, how many times did you make me kill them all?"
Frisk was taken aback. They didn't want to think about the answer to that. It had been… so many times.
Sans' glare became harder. "so, you've reset this world, making me kill everyone i ever cared about. just so you could see something new? wow. you're a real freak, you know that."
"That wasn't me," Frisk insisted. "It was Chara. Please Sans, believe me."
"I don't."
That was all the warning Frisk got before a pair of Gaster Blasters fired at them. They let out a panicked shriek as they dove to the side, avoiding the dangerous beams.
"Sans! I don't want to fight you!" Frisk pleaded.
The murderer said nothing. He just summoned a barrage of bones and sent them at Frisk. They dodged them as best they could. But one bone jabbed right through their arm, causing them to shout in pain.
Frisk had only a moment before they had to dodge again. That had hurt. Far more than normal. That's because my HP and LV are low. I don't have the defense to withstand his attacks. With that, a horrible revelation struck them. That one bone probably robbed them of most of their HP. One more hit was probably all it would take to kill them.
They jumped back as a mess of bones shot up from the ground below them. They nearly tripped over their own feet as they did.
What was going on? They had managed against Asriel's attacks well. Why were they having difficulty?
But that had been hundreds, potentially thousands of Resets ago. They hadn't moved their own body in so long, their brain was having trouble telling their limbs what to do.
And Sans' attacks had been hard to dodge before he killed a bunch of Monsters.
"Sans, wait!" Frisk begged.
The skeleton didn't listen. He just raised his arm, summoning his gravity magic. Frisk felt their feet leave the ground. They let out another terrified shriek. When they looked at Sans, they saw the look of a predator about to pounce on his prey.
"Sans, please! I'm sorry!" they cried in desperation.
The skeleton hesitated for a moment. But then he shook his head, preparing to snap his fingers.
Just before he could, several white pellets struck him. They didn't do much damage, but they did scare him. With that, he teleported away.
Frisk fell to their hands and knees, taking heavy, panicked breaths.
Flowey popped out of the ground next to them. "Golly, that was close!" he said.
Frisk grabbed their injured arm, looking at the bloody hole in it. The injury itself wasn't as shocking as one would expect. After all the wounds they had sustained in all the timelines, this was rather tame by comparison. But it still hurt.
Tears began falling from Frisk's eyes.
"Uh," Flowey hesitantly said. "Are you –"
Frisk cut him off with a tear-filled glare that clearly told him to not finish that sentence.
"Sorry. Obvious," he apologized.
"He didn't believe me," Frisk muttered. When they said the words, the meaning behind them sunk in. Sans didn't believe them. Which meant he was going to keep on killing them all. And Resetting wouldn't make things better. Without him, they'd never be able to get the Monsters out. They'd be trapped down here… forever. And the nightmare would never end.
With that revelation, Frisk broke down. Tears flowed freely from their eyes as they cried.
Flowey looked at them, feeling… something for them. It reminded him of a time with another human who had fallen into the Underground.
He didn't know why he did it, but he gently wrapped a vine around their arm, before leaning his head on their side. Almost immediately, Frisk wrapped Flowey up in a hug, crying their eyes out.
They stayed like that for several minutes, Frisk weeping on the sentient flower.
After Frisk's sobs died down, Flowey spoke. "So… talking to Sans didn't work. Do you have another plan?"
Frisk took a moment to compose themself. "Not really," they admitted. "If he doesn't stop killing them, we'll never get the perfect ending."
"Well, come up with something," Flowey insisted. "We gotta convince him to stop the genocide somehow."
"I know, but I'm not sure how if he won't listen to…" Frisk trailed off as an idea came to them. "Papyrus."
"What about him?"
"We could get Papyrus to convince Sans," Frisk explained. "If we find him, and become his friend, it'll show Sans I'm being sincere."
"And how do you plan to become his friend?" Flowey asked.
"Are you kidding? Papyrus is desperate for friends. I'm sure all I have to do is ask and he'll agree," Frisk answered.
Flowey couldn't think of anything to say in retort, merely nodding his head.
"Only problem is Sans will try to kill him, too," Frisk realized. "We gotta find him, fast."
"Then I'd get to the town as quickly as you could," Flowey suggested.
Frisk stood up and ran, keeping their feet under them. They had to move fast, before it was too late.
Frisk reached Snowdin Town, running for the other side of it. If Papyrus was going to be anywhere, it would be on the path to Waterfall. They just had to get to him before Sans did. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, their lungs already heaving from the lengthy sprint. Papyrus was probably their only hope. They just had to get to him before his brother did.
They ran. They ran past the inn and the shop next door. They ran past houses, past the Christmas tree, past Grillby's, past the Librarby, and past the skeleton brothers' house and shed.
It was only when they were on the road to Waterfall that they heard the sounds of battle. Dread filling them, they continued on, and to their horror, they found they were too late. Sans was already fighting Papyrus, a bone through his brother's chest, Gaster Blaster pointed at the taller skeleton.
"No!" Frisk shouted. They tried to reach them, but a cage of bones appeared around them. "No! Sans, stop! You don't have to do this!" Stick in hand, they bashed at the bones, trying to dispel them to escape. But Sans kept conjuring more bones to slow them down. They desperately tried to escape to intervene in some fashion. They didn't know what they'd do, they just knew they had to do something.
"SANS! HOW COULD YOU?" Papyrus pleaded.
"no… no, the human," Sans said. "they've killed you before. they killed you before… so… they won't stop… they'll kill you gain and again… so… uh, i'm here to stop that."
"SANS, YOU CAN'T…" Papyrus begged. Sans fired his blaster, damaging Papyrus further.
"SANS, THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! WE CAN TALK TO THEM! WE CAN TRY TO MAKE PEACE WITH THEM! IF WE JUST BELIEVE IN THEM, I KNOW WE CAN GET THEM TO CHANGE."
"this… this will be better, bro. better if i spare you from…"
Sans fired again, destroying Papyrus' legs. "SANS!" Sans fired again, causing more of Papyrus to disintegrate. "PLEASE!" Another blast. Papyrus was little more than a grey skeleton now. "SANS, I… I UNDERSTAND. IF THIS WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY, THEN… THEN I'M READY."
Frisk saw the final blast charging in the skull's mouth. They couldn't bear to look. Just before the beam fired, they closed their eyes and looked away as Papyrus was destroyed by the beam. They continued to keep their eyes closed, but they couldn't block their ears. They were forced to listen as the last of Sans' sanity left him.
"no… bro…" the skeleton said sadly. "why? this… this is the human's fault! they drove me to this! they made me do this! its their fault. its their fault!" After a moment, they heard Sans chuckle, which turned into a deranged laugh. "oh, that's hilarious!"
Only when they felt the bones vanish did they dare look again. Sans was gone, and where Papyrus once stood, a pile of dust now resided, alongside a somewhat goofy costume and scarf. Slowly, they walked over to the remains, mouth open, tears falling from their eyes. They looked over what was left of the kindest skeleton they had ever known. Their lip quivered before they fell to their knees, scooping up the dust in their trembling hands. They watched as it drained from between their fingers.
While they were mourning, Flowey appeared. He took one look at the scene and realized what had happened. He looked over at Frisk, unsure what to say. He knew "I'm sorry" wouldn't even begin to cover it.
Frisk grabbed Papyrus' scarf, holding it up in their hands. They buried their face in it, crying into the fabric. They curled up, letting out tiny, pathetic sobs. He didn't have to die. No one did. They could all be friends, enjoying good times. But instead, they were trapped in a nightmare, watching all their friends die. All because they got curious.
Sans was right. This was their fault. And now they were paying the price for it. Everyone was.
Flowey just remained there, waiting as Frisk mourned, doing what he could to console them. It wasn't much, but he did what he could. They would continue and come up with a new plan, but after they were done grieving.
End of Chapter 2
