((And here we witness perhaps the funniest moment in the entire book so far. The Bitch Slap. Enjoy.))

He was taking a long swig of his favorite condiment, leaning against his usual pillar in more anticipation than he had felt in a long time.
Ignoring the semantics of the Resets, that is.

He recognized the faint electricity in the air as the ghost drifted in, regardless of how invisible he was.
"Heya, Naps." He greeted without looking.

"𝙾𝚑, 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝..."
"You're not interrupting anything, bud. I was just waiting."
"𝙾𝚑, 𝙸 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝..."
"Nah, I wait for the human to show up every time, you didn't bother me. Got that? You're okay."
"𝙸'𝚖... 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢?"
"Yeah. You're more than okay, but I can tell you're not ready to hear that yet, bud."

Napstablook smiled faintly, a soft blue gleaming beneath his eyes.
"𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎..."
"... It's the least I can do. Clearly nobody told you that enough."
"𝙾𝚑..... 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚜.."
"You're welcome."

He glanced down the hallway in slight apprehension, then stepped out from the pillar, hand extended.
"The kid 'll be showing up soon. You think you're ready yet, Nappy?"

The ghost glanced down the golden hall as well, studying it with a slight, tense frown.
"𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢.. 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝.. 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎.. 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎... 𝚘𝚛 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎."
Sans grinned. "That's more like my attitude." He commented, chuckling.
"Welcome to the procrastinating club, I'm the president."

Napstablook drifted closer with a slight smile, appreciating the humor.
"𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢?" He asked, still smiling a little.
Sans shrugged. "I know you're not all that confrontational. Believe me, I'm normally that way too. So, you can just make sure I don't immediately die. I can pretty much handle the rest, okay? I'll start off like nothing's changed."

"𝙾𝚑.. 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚍. 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌.. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑."
"That's a start. And I'm pretty confident that you're a lot better at it than you give yourself credit for."
"..𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚎..."
"I guess we'll just have to see, right?"

Napstablook shrugged, his arms melding back with his sheet-like body as he did so. Sans shot him a reassuring smile, hand still extended. He drew back a little when Napstablook drew closer.

He was a little curious how the other would play shield, but then he recognized distant footsteps approaching from beyond the hall.
"You might wanna hurry up and turn invisible, the kid's approACH-"
The ghost had squinched his eyes shut and dived into him without warning.

His legs gave out at the unexpected jolt of electricity flooding his bones, a chill settling in just after.
"Oh-OkAy. ThAt WaS nOt what- not what I was expecting." He stuttered, feeling the shocks die down to a sort of warmth as opposed to the original cold.
"I thought you'd float in front of me, not.. in me."

"𝙾𝚑.."
He felt the words vibrate upon his ribs as Napstablook spoke.
"𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢.. 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜. 𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚘, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗... 𝙸 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚙...."
"Nononono- I can work with this. It's actually ingenious.." He added, peering at a faint shimmer around his hand before waving it. A faint zap reached him, almost inaudible.
"I can still dodge, and you'd get hurt less. Hell, the kid might not even figure out you're involved at all."

"𝚂𝚘.. 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞? 𝙾𝚛.. 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏?"
"I wouldn't call it that, it's more like you're just covering me. I know what inhabiting is, I've spent enough time around Mad Dummy to know the difference in that and possession. This isn't either."
"𝙾𝚑.. 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢. 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠... 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.... 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘.."
"Hey, s'fine. Some things aren't meant for everybody."

Napstablook hummed softly in understanding, the sound feeling odd to the skeleton as he noticed the human entering the great hall.
"... Showtime." He muttered, shaking some of the tingling off his hands before walking out from behind the pillar.

"Heya." He finally called out to the little.. the little fuck carrying the same dusty knife as every other Genocide, that same maniacal grin.
"You've been busy, huh?" He started his monologue, falling habitually back into the same speech.
"...I've got a question for ya."

...Until he decided to change something this time.

"What are you trying to achieve here?"

The human blinked, smile faltering as they realized this wasn't the same. He continued, glancing out the sunlit window.
"I'm sick of all this. All this suffering. All this frustration. The same patterns over and over again. You just won't quit."

He regarded the human again, disgusted by the wide, ecstatic smile that had returned to their face. He didn't let his revulsion show, though.
"Heh. Alright... Well, here's a better question." He slipped briefly back into the classical dialogue.
The human widened their stance, knife at the ready as they prepared the usual step forward.
Except he wasn't asking that question.

"Do you know how sick and tired we all are of this crap? How fucking done I am with your shit? This game you're playing with all our lives, destroying them over and over or pretending to be the saviour just to send us back to this purgatory- or if you feel like it- our hell." He raised his arms to gesture around them.
"What are you playing at here, kid?"

The human only snickered, staring at him as the giggles turned to full-blown laughter, knife slipping out of their hands and landing with a sharp clatter on the tile.

"THIS! It was THIS I wanted all along! I wanted you to break, Sans! I wanted you to step out of the script- because I knew you could! AHAHAHA! You were always so content with playing along each and every time, pretending to be only a little less ignorant than everyone else. But I knew. I knew. You'd look at me different, you would remember. I'm sick of that pathetic, weak, traitorous flower. He was the same each and every time, just like everyone else- but you. Oh Sans. Sans the skeleton. Ever the mystery keeper. The comedian. The one who could pause time. The one who saw everything, but just kept playing his part. I'll get to the bottom of your secrets. I'll tear them out of you if I have to, maybe even take it from your Soul if I think it necessary. I've done it before.~"

He paused, seeing black in their eyes instead of red. It was dripping, not like tears, but blood... black blood. It was disturbing.
"You're not a human, are you."

They snorted, darkly amused.
"I lost my humanity a long time ago. I tried and failed to save monsterkind. And thank God I did. Monsters really are no better than humans. Look at what your king did? He seemed so kind, so good, but of course, it was a lie. That excuse for a father ordered the deaths of 6 children and your people obeyed without question. So yes. I free them. I Reset. I kill them. It is what they deserve. One day, when I have finished my judgement upon your race of false kindness and promises, I will move on to the greater evil. Humans are still worse. I have seen their atrocities, and I am glad to have evolved past such filthy creatures. So yes. Be done with this shit. Because I am going to break you, Sans. I will shatter every piece of your mind, because this world is cursed with the existence of- Gah!"

They slammed into the tile, pinned by blue magic and five bone attacks.
"No." Sans stated flatly.

He strode over, fists clenching in rage. He glared at the sorry excuse for a human child emptily, ignoring the sparks generated by the increasingly nervous ghost.
"That is not what will be happening here." He stated calmly.
"Oh really? And what are you going to do that will stop me, comedian?" The demon snapped derisively.

The skeleton bent over, face blank as he noticed them trying to reach for their knife.
"Here's what's going to happen, Chara." He explained coldly.

"You are going to Reset one last time. You will not harm a single monster. You will free the Underground. And you will leave. Inflict whatever you want upon humanity. But you will stay. The fuck. Away. From monsters."

"Ohohoh. You think you can order me around? I still have this human's Soul. I'm the one with more power here, little funny man. What can you hope to stop me with? A bad time? We have those little sessions every other Reset! What can you possibly imagine-"
"Maybe I'll break our little script further, huh?" He whispered, getting in the demon's face as his hand hovered unnervingly close to the exposed human Soul.

"If it's a human Soul keeping whatever the hell you are in power, then allll I have to do.... Is take it from you. That's not something you want me to do now, is it?" He continued in the same soft, low voice.

Fear flashed through those red eyes, followed by the quick disbelief and then concealed by derision.
"You? Take a human Soul? That's funny, Sans. But I know you. You can't stand up for yourself. Only when every other option is spent and you're left with no choice do you even put the least amount of effort in. You're only doing this because you've finally run out of patience! Guess what? You're only making this more entertaining for me!"

They finally slashed with that dreadful red blade, a cut that went opposite the direction it normally went. Sans flinched, a line of cold electricity radiating out from the injury, but leaving him unharmed.
"𝙾𝚠." Napstablook murmured.
"Sorry." He whispered back as he stumbled.

The demon's grin immediately faded as they realized the attack had resulted in nothing.
"What."

"I told you." Sans stated, closing the distance they had made with a slow walk.
"I'm done with your shit. You will Reset one more time. You will free monsterkind. You will then kindly fuck off. This is not a request."

As he got within two feet of the demon, they panicked and slashed again, bewildered as they backed away. Sans growled softly, recovering his balance as he resumed his steady approach.
"It seems you are not listening to me, kid. What? Do I scare you? I'm a comedian."
"Why the fuck are you not dying?!"

He paused, tilting his skull to one side slightly.
"Didn't I tell you? I'm done with your games. I'm putting an end to it. Now, I'm not telling you again." He glared.
"You will Reset for the last time, Chara. You will not harm a single monster. You will break the Barrier. You will then never bother with us again or so help me God- I will fucking take that little red Soul of yours and see if that stops you."
"You wouldn't."

Without warning, he slammed them back into the ground again, grinning savagely at the crack it produced before sauntering over.

Sans bent over the demon again.
"You know damn well I will. I'm not playing by your little rules anymore." He crouched, reaching over to poke their chest with his phalange, then trailing it towards the red patterned Soul.
"Clearly your parents didn't discipline you well enough. What's happening here is you are being stopped. This time, I'm not taking your crap anymore."

His hand clasped around the Soul, a sudden... hunger rising in him as he felt the energy pulsing in his grip, so much stronger than he could have thought. He ignored it in favor of staring into the demon's red, glowing eyes.
"You listening now?"

"You take that Soul, you're killing Frisk with me." They spat.
Sans regarded them drily.
"Frisk.... That's a name I haven't heard in a while. You know we're long past that point now, right?"
Genuine fear looked back at him.

Sans continued, admittedly pleased by the look.
"I'm sure that if anything is left of that poor little kid, they'd be grateful to be free of you."

He glared pointedly at them, only for it to turn into a smirk as he saw the despair on their face.
"That's what I thought."

He straightened then, Soul still pulsing brightly in his hand.. why did it make him hungry? He noticed the sort of tingling shell around him shifting to reach toward it. Napstablook must be feeling it too. He made a snap decision.
He crushed it.

The red burst like an oversized grape, spilling liquid red brilliance all over his hand as the outer shell cracked and fell apart, shattering in less time than it took for its owner to gasp.

Then Sans found himself standing behind the pillar again.
Scowling briefly, he turned around and strode to the middle of the pathway.
"𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚜.. 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐...." Napstablook murmured as the demon rapidly approached.
"No, it is. They're scared. That's what we want." He whispered back, keeping his face still.

Chara arrived to where they stood before, staring warily, knife gripped tight in their hand.
Sans just chuckled humorlessly.
"Guess you didn't take my advice, huh?"
"What are you doing."

He blinked, a little set off by the inquiry.
"Me? Since when did you think I had to tell you anything? You don't have the right to ask that. You lost that privilege the first time you killed my brother, and that was many, many Resets ago. You don't get to ask questions. Hell, I'm done with mine. We're stuck at a little impasse here, huh? Neither of us can kill the other- not really in a way that matters anymore, that is. It seems to me... that this is a matter of who has the stronger will. And I don't know about you, but my Determination has been building up a lot these past couple hundred Resets. So, I dunno, maybe you should take my advice. Just a suggestion."

He finished his little speech with a Blaster from behind and several bones coming in from other directions. As Chara dodged, he lunged, managing to grab the Soul once again with just a flicker of blue magic.
The demon's eyes widened, then the Soul was crushed yet again.

Back at the pillar again.
Napstablook shifted, sending off a few unseen but very much felt volts.
"Don't worry." He muttered preemptively, glancing back down the hallway, listening to gasps echoing faintly down the hall.
"I can tell it's working." He assured the ghost as he stepped back to his place in the center of the hall.

Chara soon returned, glaring hatefully.
"You wanna dance, funny man? Oh, we can dance."
"Buddy, that only works when I'm playing by your rules." He responded easily.
"I thought you realized that already." Sans explained, kicking the ground lazily before looking back up, dead serious.
"I'm not playing your game anymore."

With a flick of his hand, he sent them careening into a pillar, then to the floor, slamming a bone attack into their gut and pinning them, a Blaster aimed at their face as he headed over.

"Now." He spoke conversationally.
"Have I made myself clear?" He stood over them impassively, hand held comfortably- and menacingly- at the ready, the Blaster's single eyelight flaring as the light in its maw hummed.

"Damn you, Sans! Damn you! Damn you stupid puns! Damn you to hell! I hate you! You hear me?! I hat-" "Okay."
The Blaster fired.

Back at the pillar.

Sans grinned. "This is progress, Naps. Real progress. I wish you could see it." He strutted back to the usual spot once more. Oh, he was having fun with this control over that psycho.

And as they marched angrily back into the chamber, his grin widened. Oh, Chara could see he was enjoying this.
"Hmm. That expression." He began knowingly, mocking them with his own words. They started walking faster, enraged. Sans continued.
"That's the expression of someone who's died thrice in a row."

He easily dodged the slash coming his way, chuckled to himself before regarding them again.
"Alright. How about we make it a fourth?"

He openly teleported in front of them, snatching the Soul with another wisp of blue magic, grunting as they automatically tried to plunge the red knife in his ribs.

The Soul shattered in his hand, splattering his face with it's gore as despair colored Chara's face, falling to their knees as the world blinked-

Behind the pillar again.
Sans found himself bouncing in place.
"We're doing it! We're really doing it!"
"𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑... 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚘." Napstablook hesitantly agreed, beginning to get infected by Sans's excitement.

He took his place again, waiting.
Chara didn't show.
So, he stood there. He can wait.
Sans was patient.
The demon didn't have many options here. They could enter the hall and die again, or, they could turn back and try to buy some time, or lastly, they could Reset.

"𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚜... 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚐𝚘?"
"I don't know. I'm sure they're contemplating what they can do so far, and it ain't much. Only way forward for them is to kill me, but they can't, thanks to you. Thank you."

"𝙾𝚑..." A flush of electricity washed over him, followed by a wave of cool air- cold enough for his breath to mist a little before passing into warmer temperatures further away from him.
"𝙰𝚖 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢.. 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐?"

"Yes, Napstablook. This wouldn't be happening without your help. And I know how hard this can be for you. I seriously can't thank you enough, buddy."
"𝙾𝚑... 𝙸.. 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞.."

Sans chuckled softly, shaking his skull. "We should hang out after all this is said and done."
He paused.
"Only if you want to. No pressure. I get the anxiety. I've had it."

The ghost didn't reply.
He didn't really need to anyway, Sans could understand.
Regardless of the conversation, it was good to have ended. Chara had finally returned, just standing in the doorway at the other end.
"Well?" He called out to the figure.
"You're looking a little on the fence on something. Need help?"
They took a step forward, silent.

Sans was no longer afraid.
This time, he was in control. Even if they Reset and did Genocide all over again, he would be here.
Him and Napstablook.

Chara stopped a few feet away, face hidden by hair.
"You've heard my demands, Chara. Don't make me repeat myself."
"I will break you." They finally whispered.
Sans resisted the temptation to roll his eyelights.
"You're really set on the impossible, huh."

He leaned closer, whispering in kind.
"I told you already. Your game is over. I'm not playing anymore. Are we done?"

Their head snapped up, enraged as the demon lunged and stabbed at him, missing as he dodged and just slapped them face first into the floor.
"You're really Determined, ain'tcha?" He asked.
"Well, that's not really a question, more of a statement of fact. I know how much of a resilient little shit you are. I think that's obvious. But now it really is time to give up. No more of this sadistic torment."

He sighed as he dodged another attack from the growling demon.
"You need to learn when to quit."

Sans clasped the Soul in his fist yet again. Chara collapsed, sliding across the tile as a brief spasm wracked their body from the unwanted contact. They turned to glare fervently at him, but Sans didn't really care.

His gaze slowly drifted onto the pulsing red thing, still held out from when he grabbed it.
Faint rays spilled out from between his phalanges, the gaps between bones, the metacarpals, just fanning out faintly, catching on the dust the wind had blown in from the rest of the Underground.

A faint trickle of glowing mana seeped out of the heart, forming a little stream down the bones of his hand. He could feel the energy burning as it rolled over his metacarpals.

He snapped himself out of the daze and regarded Chara, ignoring the horrified look on their face- the most disturbing part of it being the terrified recognition in their eyes.
Sans didn't like that. They knew something about that he didn't.
He had to stay in control.
He needed them to Reset, needed them to break the Barrier, and for that, he had to stay in control.

"You know.." He began, sounding much more confident than he now felt.
"Maybe I'll just take this Soul myself, see about forcing a Reset. That'd be a fun little experiment, huh?"
"No!" They burst, suddenly much more afraid than before. This wasn't a fear of the unknown, no.. this was something else.

"You can't. A monster can't handle a human Soul. They just can't. It's possible, but it.. it doesn't work out. It ends in a fate worse than death. You think Flowey was always Soulless? Think again, comedian. That flower is all that's left of the great, precious little Prince Asriel. You know that story." The words were bitter as they fell from their mouth.

Sans leaned back a little, thinking. Then he lowered his hand, going so far as to put it back in his pocket.
"Y'know.. that does confirm a few things." He sighed.

"What? Not even a little surprised?" Chara snapped. He scoffed.
"Obviously not. I've had a lot of time to theorize thanks to you and your game. That, and of course Flowey slips up time to time. Hell, he's even left direct hints in the echo flowers. The dude's- heh- got a real knack for subtlety. Sure, I know he's something left of the old Prince. But he's still been a little shit to all of us. I can't help but kinda hate him. Yeah, I pity him, but he doesn't exactly want pity. So let him mind his business. He learned to quit that shit when I was through with him. But you? Heh. Still vying for the 'Biggest Piece of Shit' title."

Chara muttered something irritably under their breath before Sans crouched down.
"But that wasn't really what I was talking about." He added, studying their dark, angry face.
"Oh? Please, do tell. Since we seem to have so much time to chat."

He stood back up, concealing an involuntary spasm in his arm.
"Oh, we do all right." He chuckled just as sardonically.

He moved boldly to their other side, confident in the thought that they weren't intent on fighting.. at the moment.
"Yes, your little explanation didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Oh no. It was the fact that you were so obviously familiar with it. That fear? That.. nearly legitimate concern? Touching, almost. But it definitely confirms it for me. You're the same Chara as the one that forced Asriel into something he shouldn't have been doing. You were an egotistic narcissistic little shit right from the very beginning."

"FUCK YOU!" Chara suddenly exploded, throwing themselves at him. In their abrupt rage, he easily slipped out of the way, the knife catching on his sleeve and tearing the fabric, only nicking the ghost just beneath slightly. He felt the insubstantial spirit flinching away from the sharp jab in a ripple.

The demon was already turning around, snarling as they spat at him, slashing- and missing again as he dodged- as they screeched.
"I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PURE! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE THEM! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD PEOPLE! BUT LOOK AT THEM! LOOK AT YOURSELVES, YOU FUCKING CHILD MURDERERS! THERE IS NO GOOD! THIS WORLD DESERVES TO BE ERASED!"

They literally just stood there screaming, tearing at their hair as black tears ran down their face.
But Sans.. Sans didn't know what to feel.
He was shocked, definitely shocked.
But also disgusted. Insulted. Disappointed. Annoyed... and saddened.
This had been a difficult, tormented- even sadistic- child stripped of their empathy and left with a burning rage.

"Kid."
"Don't you fucking dare call me that, you bastard."
"But you are one."
They clearly noticed his odd tone, but driven by rage they hissed.
"I am not a fucking child. I am dead. I'm a demon, and fuck all who think they can judge right from wrong."
"Have you included yourself in that little opinion, buddy? Because, I gotta say, you're a real big hipocrite for that."

"Excuse me? Mr Grand Judge of the Underground who's just a lazy comedian?"
"Now you're just insulting me. Y'know the laziest schmucks always find the smartest ways to do things. Because we put effort in lazy."
He grinned despite his irritated frustration.

"What game are you playing, Sans?" Chara hissed, eyes narrowed. He sighed.
"I'm not. That's more your thing." He rubbed his face with his free hand before flinging their knife out of their hand. Chara stumbled to catch it, but it was already under his pink slippered foot.
"I can just reload and get it back." They snapped.
"And that little Soul you're keeping hostage in your pocket."

He shrugged. "I know. But I need to make sure you won't just snap and fight me."
"Why."
He regarded them seriously.
"Because clearly you're laboring under a few really messed up misconceptions. And I'm pretty sure lack of real emotion or empathy did nada on helping you either, if the Resets of shown me anything... I should have guessed."

Chara scoffed, incredulous.
"Oh yes! The depressed, weakling comedian decides to play therapist! What a riot!"

His sockets narrowed, though he kept calm.
"Now who said I was playing therapy? No. I know I'm not one to try that crap, but damnit, if someone doesn't tell you how unbelievably wrong you are about how the world works, then what would even be the point of negotiating with you? No one is perfect, Chara! Everyone has flaws, and yes, that allows for bad shit to happen, but that's just the way things are! You can't possibly expect there to be someone out there who is utterly flawless. Hell, that would have to get into what the real definition of perfection is, and that's something that changes with everyone's opinion. Who.. What even put it in your mind that perfection was possible? I-.... No, don't answer that, not yet.... How old were you when you died?"

It was a long moment before they finally reacted to the last question, flinching out of of their oddly blank stance and crossing their arms.
"Like I should tell you, comedian."

"You're not just gonna get out of this. I can go on and on. Even if you do manage to kill me- which would honestly impress me- I know you'll just Reset again. And we'll be back here, no longer playing by the rules." He explained coolly. Chara scowled, unwilling to admit it was true.

"How the hell have you become immune to attacks anyway?"
"That's for me to know. And I'm the one asking questions here. It's about time I put effort in something, right?"
"Please, you've only killed me four times."
"Are you saying you wanna add to that? We can make it 20 real quick if that's what you want. Maybe we can break a record set back in the first few Resets."

They bristled, growling. "I thought you wanted to talk."
"Of course I do!" Sans snapped. "But we can't exactly talk if you're gonna be this damn belligerent!"
"Who are you to think you can tell me what to do?!"
"I'm not telling you what to do other than listen, ya thick-skull! And you can't even do that."
"Because I'm not listening to a filthy child killer like you."

He blanked for a moment, utterly speechless.
"The.. goddamn audacity...." He took a step back, sighing as he held his skull.
"That is your argument? That I killed you? When you literally were just refusing to admit you were a child just a minute ago? Are you listening to yourself? Oh- oh- let's not forget the fact that not only did you force me to kill you by committing actual freaking genocide on monsterkind, or the whole other business of the Resets making that probably over a thousand Genocides on us! But no, you're so high and mighty, you're somehow above all that- is that how you think?"

"Of course not! I do this because of how vile you all are!"
"That's a strong opinion on everyday people- but please!" He gestured at them wildly with both hands, ignoring how much the Soul somehow kept catching his gaze as soon as it exited his pocket.
"Enlighten me, kid! For the love of it all, tell me how this makes sense to you? Or have you just never sat down and actually thought about your logic? Have you ever reflected upon yourself? At all?"

"Of course I've thought! I had more time than you've probably even been alive to think about these things! And you know what I've learned? This world is cursed. Cursed and broken. It's cursed by the wickedness of sentient races and broken because of them. And if nobody will do it, then I will cleanse it. I'll erase this mistake from existence. We should have never existed in the first place."

"...Chara." Sans sighed, pinching the nasal bone between his scrunched sockets.
"Everyone has that moment where they feel like it's better that nothing ever was. But.. just no. No single person has the right to make that decision. This is a thousand thousand lives, and so many of them have seen the good in this world. I think.. what you fail to see is that while there's a lot of messed up crap out there, there's also a lot of amazing things as well. That's just the way things are. You can't have good without the bad, and vice versa. What would be the point if there was nothing to make you appreciate the good things in life?"

He glanced out at the dusky windows, light shining in through the them and the Barrier.
"There isn't any hope of there's no despair to give it purpose. It's just the duality of things. You're over here focusing on all the bad because you've wired yourself to. I mean, your own Resets are proof of the balance of things. You can take the path of never harming a single monster, you can make friends with literally everyone you meet, and with that power you can literally break the Barrier. And we can all be happy.... Or, you can do what you did here. Kill everyone until we meet here."

"What if I only kill one monster, then? What would you call that? Just one monster makes all the difference between breaking the Barrier and just leaving."
"Not everything's black and white, kid. The line between good and bad is entirely indefinite. But just because evil exists, doesn't mean to throw it all away. It just means we can work to improve things. Why.. why else would Papyrus believe anyone can be a good person if they try?"

He sighed, scratching the back of his skull with his free hand.
"I mean, he was never wrong. I believe it's possible that anyone can be good, it's just a matter of if they really want to try. Some people just won't change, and it's not because they can't, but they won't. Why else do you think I ask you that, Chara?"

They didn't reply for nearly a full minute, just staring at the floor with a slightly pained expression. Then their legs slowly buckled beneath them, sinking to the floor.
He couldn't ignore the slowing pulse of the Soul in his hand, no matter how hidden it was in his pocket.
"But why."
It was barely a whisper, but it made him sigh.

He followed them down to sit on the floor, grabbing the knife from it and sliding it up his sleeve before crossing his legs.
"No one really knows why. It just is, kid. Some people look to find their own reasons, and others just accept it as it is. That's a personal decision. The reason why is something you choose for yourself, as long as it doesn't hurt others."

He noticed their shoulders spazz forward slightly, tensing somewhat at the sight. He wasn't expecting them to attack- frankly, they seemed well past that at this point- and he had a safeguard in Napstablook, who was still silently watching this. Who knows what the ghost was thinking in all of this.
No, he was tense because it looked like Chara was crying.

And it wasn't as though he was inexperienced with crying children- absolutely not.
He'd raised his brother, not to mention all the times he'd babysat other kids later on.
No. It was because this was Chara.

The.. demon.. that had put him through so much torment for pretty much their own amusement for so long. And more, they were low on empathy, often rather emotionless.

Clearly there existed fragments of a Soul, because throughout all this, they had been rather emotional- and before then, they were still driven by hate, another emotion anyone could fall victim to.

Part of him wanted to console the other, but at the same time, he wanted to let them suffer as much as possible..
He was a better person than that.

Sans sighed, pushing himself to his feet as he reached into one of his deeper inner jacket pockets, trudging over.
"Back off." Chara snapped, scooting away from him as they stiffened.

Sans sighed, just offering them the brown package in his hand. Chara peered at it cautiously through their tangle of hair.
"Why."
"You need it more than me right now. 'Sides, I'll have it back soon enough."

They hesitantly reached out, then snatched it away, studying the wrapper quietly.
"Since when did you have chocolate."
Sans snorted. "I like chocolate too, y'know. Just less than ketchup."
"You and your condiments." Came the muttered reply.
He shrugged. "What? S'not like I like mustard."
"You know what I mean."
"Fine, sure, let's say I do." He mumbled back as he moved away.

The ensuing silence between them was eventually broken by the silent crack of Chara biting into chocolate. Sans couldn't help but smirk for a moment.
They were just a troubled child this entire time.

The light in the hall was dim now, the sun having set beyond the Barrier, only the magical construct itself left illuminating the place with it's pale white glow. It made everything feel almost unreal, draping a layer of silence over them as Chara finished the chocolate.

It was a few minutes of contemplation before someone spoke.
"I'll Reset."
It took a brief moment before he replied.
"You'll spare them all?"
"I... I will. And leave. I'll leave."
"...."
"What's with that look, Sans?"

He snorted softly, shifting in place. "Nah, just thinking."
"What is there to think about. Just do it."
Sans brought out the Soul, still entranced by it before he glanced back at Chara, hand falling to his side.
"You know... I wouldn't be entirely opposed to letting you stay with monsters at this point."
"What.. why?"

He studied them momentarily, then sighed. "You're.. just a kid. A really.. messed up one, but kids can be like that. You just need.. you need help. It doesn't feel right to just abandon you knowing what I do now. Sure, I hate you, but I don't want to leave you in a world that's already clearly screwed you over before. Why else would you have that idealism otherwise?"

They didn't respond, just standing and staring.
Sans shook his skull, surprised by his conflict.
"Fine. Fine. You don't want to hear that right now. I can think about it later."

He held up the Soul with more hesitation than he ever thought he'd have, looking away as he clenched his fist.

Everything turned black in a single wave, his mind blanking out next before he was waking up again in bed.

He blinked, staring at the other side of his own room.
A faint smile grew on his face.
"We.. We did it..."