Don't trust Frisk. That was something Sans had said, Jane later confirming. There was something wrong with them. Whatever he did, don't trust Frisk.

Except that wasn't Frisk, was it?

Sans had warned Jeff the next day, telling Jeff to stay away from the child. Which was fine, because Jeff knew that wasn't Frisk. No, that was someone else.

Because Frisk was right in front of him.

There, with the inkly black of emptiness crawling across the bleakness of nothing, was Jeff. It felt cold whenever he was here, gripping his fingers together. Before, the voice was mute, weak. Now, he could hear them.

"Your soul is getting stronger."

Jeff couldn't make out who stood there from the glitches, just a short figure, with strong yellow eyes peaking out of the mess before him.

"If you regain all of your determination that you lost, you might be able tor reset," The figure, lost to their universe, spoke.

"Regain my determination?" Jeff asked.

He wasn't in his body, he was in the void. In his soul. Here, he didn't have his injuries. No burn marks, no cut smiles, just... just him. He wasn't a zombie, he wasn't infected with a fungus here.

"When you were infected, the fungus took your determination to feed off of," The person said, "But you've been gaining it back. I wouldn't be surprised if you had the power to reset after I lost it."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked, "What does reset mean?"

He took a step forward, legs shaking on the blank canvas. Why did he keep having these visions? These weren't memories, who was this person?

"I made a mistake," They said, "I had a power. A great power. It was something unrivaled. I could control people, and it made me feel special. I knew I could bring them back to life, so... I was stupid. Just because I could, I did. I never had that control before, so I thought I could fix everything with my power."

"Power trip," Jeff grumbled.

The being chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say so. I was so dumb. I didn't even enjoy the first time I swung my twig. A Froggit was killed that day. Do you know what it's like to take another persons life?"

Jeff opened his mouth, ready to say no, but-

"Go to sleep."

His hand, white as paper, scarred from the fire, pressed down against a mouth. This was so much fun. It was exhilarating! He was the one in control for once!

"No no no-" The person sobbed, choking on their tears.

"Shut up," Jeff said.

"Wait-" The figure said.

"Shut up shut up SHUT UP-!" Jeff started to chant, covering his ears and closing his eyes.

"No, I'm trying to warn you!" They said, "That person in my body isn't-"

"SHUT UP!" Jeff screamed.

"(Jeff!)"

"(Shut up shut up-)"

A hand, one more real was placed on his back. Jeff tore open his eyes, finding himself no longer in the void, but standing on the street. The person who was standing next to him was Ben, with a hand firm on his back. Supporting him.

"(Hey, calm down,)" Ben said, "(You okay now?)"

"(I...)" Jeff said, looking around.

"(You promised to go help me pick up a few games, remember?)" Ben asked, "(Then you just sorta zoned out.)"

"(I was just... um, thinking of some cool games we could play!)" Jeff said quickly.

Ben blinked. "(You're such a terrible liar.)"

"(Shut up.)"

Jeff crossed his arms, looking to the side. His head hurt, a lot. The dull ache of his chest was nothing compared to the intense pounding of his head, like Jane at the door when she wanted to wake him up in the morning. She was brutal when she wanted them to wake up.

His arms, shaking, with a searing pain across his cheeks. He persisted, ever so determined, dragging the knife through his skin. Blood leaked, profusely, but it wasn't the first time he's seen blood from his own body. It was fine. He was making himself pretty.

"Jeff?"

His Mother's screech was so loud, causing Jeff to turn, the knife giving him a sense of power he never had before.

"Don't I look pretty?" He choked on a sob, grinning widely. "You said my burn marks were ugly, that I should smile now. See? I'm always going to be smiling!"

"(If... If you had the power to turn back the clock, would you?)" Jeff asked Ben.

"(Like a video game reset?)" Ben asked.

"(Yeah, like that. But in real life.)"

"(No.)"

Jeff, caught off guard, looked over. "(Why not?)" he asked.

"(It wouldn't really change anything,)" Ben said, "(Like in Zelda, whenever I reset my save, it might reset the progress, but it doesn't change anything. The characters are all the same, and there isn't much I can do to change them. Sure, you can save some lives and destroy others, sometimes your own, but think about it. I have... well, I had horrible parents. I don't remember everything, but I've been getting some good hints. If I were to try and reset them again and again, they'd always be horrible people. I can only control my own actions, in the end, going back in time wouldn't change them. Not to mention, I like our little group we have now. Sure, Jane is sometimes mean, and Sans is really lazy, but it's nice. Better than what I had before.)"

Than what he had before.

Jeff and Ben couldn't remember everything they had before, but from what Jeff does know from his brief memories, he didn't have much.

But that wasn't why he was scared. He actually enjoyed what he had now, and...

What if that human kid ruined it all? Would he need a reset? Is that actually an option?

And what did determination have to do with it? Would that power only ruin his life like it did that persons?

Suddenly, Jeff was leaning over, pressing a hand against his mouth as he coughed. It was only brief, and didn't bring any pain, but when he pulled his hand away...

There was a black, ink like substance sticking to it.