((You ain't ready for this one, lads.))

Sans blinked, staring up at the long shadows on the ceiling high above. The charcoal rock was painted in streaks of gold from the setting sun beyond, glittering faintly in the fiery light.

Then he sat up. He could hear distant voices, but he distinctly remembered that every time he woke up before, they would be standing around him, not far off.
So he got to his feet and followed the voices to their source.

It was.. an argument? Toriel pointing angrily at Asgore as said king was on the defensive, looking almost panicked as Undyne inserted herself between them, Papyrus trying to calm everyone down as Alphys stood awkwardly to the side, glancing at something on the ground in the middle of their cir- Chara?

The.. whatever they were anymore was laying curled up, inert in the fetal position, back to him.
So he did the only thing he could think of; he strode over, looking to see what was going on.

Alphys saw him approaching, waving wildly for him to stop, but since he didn't know why, he kept coming, pausing near the group as something electric and cold brushed through his arm.
"𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢'𝚛𝚎.. 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖... 𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢."
"No, thanks for letting me know. Wanna help with that? I'm gonna try to talk to them."

Napstablook seemed almost delighted for a moment- as much as he could be.
"𝙾𝚔𝚊𝚢."
The ghost slid into place, a comforting barrier between himself and immediate death from just a single misplaced prick.

Sans quickly bent over the human, ignoring as both Papyrus and Undyne immediately noticed and shouted for him to back away- too late to prevent the flashing blade from lashing out, a blind jab that only cut a slice through his shirt.
Undyne then placed her hand on his shoulder, gripping tightly to yank him away, only for Sans to whip around and grab her arm, shooting her a dark look.
"Let me deal with this." He stated calmly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sans, they just attacked you. You could die." The captain warned.
"No. Trust me, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just need to talk them outta this. Okay?"
"Sans." Papyrus spoke, afraid. "Please? Can I talk to the human instead?"
"I'm sorry Paps, but this is something I gotta do. Okay? Can we give them a little space? Kid's a little overwhelmed right now."
He glanced at Asgore. "Please?"

The king studied his expression for a moment, then sighed, stepping away.
"Come. I have known Sans. He is very good with children- better than myself in things such as this."

"Of course he would be better than you with children." Toriel quipped, turning and guiding Papyrus away, despite the skeleton's arguments. Asgore gave Undyne a look, and she scowled, mostly baffled at how the king would personally know a simple sentry and comedian of Snowdin. She released Sans, about to stalk off when Alphys caught her eye, trying to distract her from the moment.

The last of them left, giving the pair (technically trio) a wide berth as they retreated to the edges of the room, closer to the place where the Barrier had previously stood.

"Hey Chara." He started, crouching beside the other. "What happened?"
"Go away." Their voice was hoarse, very little energy put into it. Sans sighed.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I would leave."
Chara twitched slightly. Sans shifted to a seat, bold with understanding.
"You see, I get the feeling that you don't really wanna be left alone. And since the others aren't really helpful given our situations, then it's probably safe to say that I'm your best bet to talking it out."
"I'm not talking to you." They hissed.

"Funny. You just did." He remarked.
"Go away, comedian."
"Nah. I'm not gonna stop bothering you until you explain what's gotten into you."

"What, is this your revenge? Is that it?" Chara snapped, red eyes leaking darkened tears as they shot him a look.
"Just to torment me in secret until I break?"

Sans scoffed. "If only." He sighed, glancing up the slope beyond the Barrier and the vivid sun outside.
"But luckily for you, I'm a nice guy. I don't want to bother with trying to make you endure every ounce of pain and suffering you inflicted upon me. No. Even if I wanted to, I'd never be able to even come close to what you've done. What I want is to move on, kid. And, part of me hates to say it, but that involves snapping you out of whatever this is. So tell me. What happened while we were out?"

The red eyes stared at him for a long moment, before slowly, Chara curled back in on themselves. He didn't miss the film of tears that appeared before they hid them, no. He saw it.
Sans leaned in closer, voice soft but concerned.
"Was Asriel mad at you?"

"No!" They burst, hiccuping as they broke down. "He was anything but!" The knife slid out of their grasp as they gripped their hair.
"He apologized! It wasn't his fault! It was never his fault! It was mine! It was me! I- I killed us.... I just.. I just wanted to… I don't want to go." The words groaned out of the child, agonized.
"I don't want him to go… Azzy.. why.. please." Silent, heartbroken sobs wracked their frame.

It made sense now. Sure, Flowey might be a part of Asriel, but he was an empty husk, a cruel visage of a kind, loving child.
That's what it was.
Not killing monsters and befriending them into Flowey's vines brought back Asriel for a brief moment, but he had always followed whatever lines he had said with that first time…

But just like they obviously noticed the details of Sans himself knowing about the Resets, they must of noticed that it hurt Asriel to be brought back in some way.
So they would commit several Genocides to keep Resetting, then go back to befriending them all again just to see…
Oh.
Oh no.
It all made sense now.

A horrible, perfect kind of sense. Even if Chara hadn't quite known why themselves, it was because they missed Asriel.
It was cruel for everyone involved, wasn't it.

Sans stared up at the ceiling, grimacing as it set in, then sighed, forcing down his unwanted distaste for the human and leaning forward.
"Kid, just.. c'mere."
They ignored him, choosing to curl up in place and cry inconsolably.

Twitching slightly, Sans reached over and shifted the human into his arms, rocking them back and forth as they automatically turned to cry into his shirt, clinging helplessly to the fabric.

"Az, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Don't leave me. Don't go. Please don't go. Please. P..lease.." They whispered fervently, shaking.
"Shhh. It's okay, kid. It hurts, I know, but it's time to move on."
"I can't. He was all I had. He's the only one who understands. Azzy.."
"I know. I know. Brothers are like that, especially the kind ones. I'm sorry it's gotta be like this, kid."
"Why. Why me. I just.. I just wanted… Az..zy…." Chara hiccupped, a low wail emanating from them.
"I can't take it anymore."

He pet their head softly, hair sifting around his phalanges, smelling of sweat and golden flowers.
"It'll be okay, kid. Things get better with time. It'll never be the same, but it'll be okay."
"Not. It's not okay. He's gone. He's gone. He left me. He left me again. It's my fault. My fault. I can't follow him, I can't, I can't, I'm stuck to this stupid…"
As they sobbed, Sans sighed, thinking.

"Maybe you can try?"
"W-What?" Chara sniffled, rubbing their nose.
"Flowey." He offered.
"That's not him. Never was. That thing isn't him." They hissed, stiffening.
"I know. But it has him. You can try to bring him back some way with Flowey…" He trailed, considering possibilities as Chara quieted down.

"I.. maybe.. once, I could have, but.. I can't. Leave. Frisk. The stupid shards of whatever my Soul is anymore, they're.. they're stuck on Frisk's." Their voice was wobbling, but not outright crying as they started talking, summoning the red Soul so that it's crimson glow illuminated both faces.

They picked at something he couldn't quite see on the side, peeling off a translucent piece of some shell that was stained a dull red, hidden by the light of the Soul itself. They let the flap go and it snapped back into place, no longer visible against the vermilion heart.

"You can't just peel it all off?" He whispered.
Chara hesitated, collecting their thoughts amid their emotions.
"No, I.. uh, I have to force them to stay off, and I start losing control when I try. Frisk doesn't do anything..I… I think he's braindead. He doesn't do anything, not even think anymore. He won't help."
"Oh."

Sans was surprised- and saddened- to know that the human he really cared about was gone, whatever braindead meant, but it also sent the gears in his own mind turning.
It was a bit morbid, but… it worked.
"I might have an idea."

Chara glanced up at him, a desperate hope gleaming in their red eyes.
"You're not toying with me?" They questioned severely. He shook his skull.
"No.. but it requires something on your part."
"...Fine. Tell me."
"You're gonna have to turn down the ambassador offer. And Tori's."
"I.. why?"
"You wanna explain to them that you're actually their dead kid puppeting another human's.. corpse? It's called corpse?"

"No, braindead isn't dead dead, it's.. like a human version of Falling Down, I guess."
"Oh." Sans shifted somewhat awkwardly before sighing.
"Still. You get what I'm trying to say, right?"
"Yeah. I don't like it, but yeah. Where do I have to go?"
"I think the other entrance by the Ruins should be fine. On top of Ebott."
"Are you planning on pushing me in??"
"... Frisk's body has to go somewhere it won't be found." He muttered, disgusted with himself to even be thinking this.

Chara went mute as they saw his face, surprised at what he was suggesting already.
"Okay. I.. I will. I don't know why you're being so nice to me, but.. I don't really care anymore."
"Sounds like I've infected you." He chuckled drily, scooting away from the human, who mirrored him.

"So, you good now?" He asked them. Chara nodded, though a little hesitantly.
"I guess." They rubbed one arm awkwardly, still on edge from their recent breakdown.
Sans just flashed them a smile, standing up.
"Then let's all look at the sunset, alright kid?"
"...Yeah. Okay."

. • ° . • ° . • °

Sans watched as everyone started making their way down the mountain, sitting in the shadows, waiting. Chara glanced back at him, then started climbing.
"𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚜..?"

He flinched, having forgotten Napstablook.
"Yeah, buddy?"
"𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.. 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.. 𝚋𝚊𝚍?"
"Not.. necessarily? It's pretty illegal, probably a terrible idea, but it's with the best intentions. And I think you're gonna have to stay behind for this part."
"𝙾𝚑?... 𝙾𝚑. 𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢.."
"Don't be. It's more for your protection. Less you know, the safer you are. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"
"..𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝. 𝙸 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.. 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢."

The ghost split from him then, glancing back with both sadness and longing. Sans just smiled at him.
"Hey, it'll be fine. Maybe you can hang out with your loved ones for a bit, I'll be back later if you want."
Napstablook considered this, seeming to like the idea.
"𝙾𝚔𝚊𝚢."

He drifted away, looking back periodically before he'd floated out of sight. Sans kept his smile until Napstablook was gone, then sighed, teleporting away.

It took some finding, given that he'd never actually been there before, but it was a place he knew no one visited when the Barrier was broken.
It was also the place, he knew, that Flowey often frequented.
It worked out for the dark beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

Almost an hour later, Chara rounded the corner, huffing as they leaned against a tree. They noticed him blinking at them, waiting.
After they caught their breath, Chara scoffed. "Really? You could have helped me, but you just sat there and waited?"

He put his hands up. "In my defense, I needed time to think. And I forgot that you'd probably have some difficulty."
Changing the subject, he pointed down the pit. "He should be down there, right?"
Something flashed in their eyes, then they retorted.
"What, didn't check?"
"Not really. I'm a bit paranoid 'n stuff."
Chara hesitated, then looked away.
"He's there."

Sans took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. "I'm probably gonna have to kill you for this to work."
"Again?" Chara stated drily, noticing his anxiety.
He shrugged, blinking. "Yeah, I'm not a fan of this either- though definitely not for the same reasons."
"Yeah, you love killing me."
He chuckled. "Maybe a little bit."

Then Sans stepped closer. "I'm not ready. You also not ready?"
They paused, then scoffed with a faint smile.
"No, I'm not. But I don't care."
"Don't worry, I think I've got enough for the both of us." Sans muttered as he tugged on their Soul.

He pulled it over to his hand, staring at it's scarlett glow before glancing back up. "If you lose control, you should probably find someplace to sit."

With a hesitant nod, Chara picked their way over to the pit, sitting down and leaning on a small boulder at the edge. Sans stared at them for a moment longer, then snapped his attention back to the enchanting light in his hands, forcing himself to keep thinking.

"How will I know when I've got all the pieces? I can't see them on it."
"There's 47 of them. And they're delicate, the Soul itself is actually more like a water balloon, so probably when it stops feeling like a turtle shell or something."
"... I'll just go off of the number of pieces."
"That works, too."

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, then sighed. His breath caught on the faint mana dancing all over the surface of the Soul, twisting it away like a flame in the wind.

He brushed his phalanges across it, searching by touch for the edges that had to be there, finding one crack by ease.
Pulling it off was a bit more difficult, the skin, shell, whatever it was, stuck to its' surface, every part that was pulled away just magnetized towards it.
A bit frustrating, but what good was blue magic but for situations such as this?

As soon as he turned to magic, it became loose, as if it needed magic of some kind to keep it stable- actually, that thought made a lot of sense.

It became almost easy to find the others, the already separate shards just hovering in their bubble of magic next to his skull, mostly ignored until he'd found all but four pieces.
Sans paused then, shaking his skull to clear his mind and peer at Chara.

They looked for all the world to be asleep, but he could tell it was more than that. He glanced up at the shards he'd collected- they had taken the shape of a broken human Soul. He blinked, surprised. Sans spun it around slowly, noticing the faint holes numbered up to four.
It clicked.

He started searching those areas of the Soul itself for the missing pieces, finding them with considerable ease, peeling them off and returning them to their place on the hollow shell. As the last shard snapped into place, the entire thing flashed, the muted red coming briefly to life before wobbling.
A Soul needed a vessel, otherwise it was going to break all over again.

A momentary hope sprang up in him, Sans hopping up and offering the still unbroken Soul to the body on the ground.
It just dropped, sliding down to the side as it's pulse sped up, a crack sounding from it as a brighter ray of light shot out from one side-
"Frisk!"

Almost before his mind could catch up, Sans was cradling it against his sternum, afraid of losing the person who had shown him and everyone he loved nothing but true kindness. In his closeness, it stopped breaking, pulse slowing back to something more relaxed.

There was no doubt now. Frisk's body was dead, left uninhabitable by the invasive spirit- and probably the stress of all the Resets as well.
"Damnit." He muttered to himself, glancing out at the fading sunlight.

He glanced down at the pit, thinking about the flowers down there as he peered at the vibrant Soul in his arms. Chara had to go to Flowey, so it wouldn't help Frisk to give that Soul over too.

But he couldn't just steal one of Asgore's Soul Jars either. That area was kept under surveillance, not to mention the absence would be discovered, his involvement immediately seen- unless he wiped the cameras, but that would just make the situation worse as people expect the worst- damnit, damnit, damnit.

There was one option, though.
No, he couldn't do that.
He didn't even know how.
Sans turned to pace around, starting to panic.
He didn't like the options, especially the fact that he'd put himself in this situation.
He'd said he'd do it- in a roundabout way, but he'd said it- but the idea of doing it was now staring him in the face.

"Oh fuck this." He shook his skull, slipping the Soul in his pocket, bringing the cracked one and pocketing it on the other side, jumping into the pit.

He teleported the rest of the way down, landing softly amid the golden flowers asthe pale child sitting there flinched, recognizing him.
"Sans."

He nodded softly, ignoring his roaring anxiety almost habitually.
"Hey, kiddo. There's someone here who wants to see you."
Hurt twisted his soft features. "I.. I can't."
He winked, bringing out what was Chara's Soul.
"But what if you could?"

Asriel- or rather, the fading spirit of Asriel- stared at it in shock.
"I.. how?" Green eyes met white eyelights.
Sans shrugged.
"They weren't ready to leave yet- and a lot less willing let you go."
The Soul floated down into cupped paws, the child staring in tearful reverence.
"..Thank you."

He smiled softly.
Asriel deserved a second chance.
And even Chara- if only to redeem the lifetimes of hurt they'd caused in their own pain.
The smile faded as he remembered the Soul in his other pocket.
"Sans?"

He sighed, revealing the far more vibrant Soul.
"I don't really want to let Frisk die just yet. They.. he didn't deserve what happened." He brought down the limp body from above, leaning it against the wall with blue magic.
"It won't take back the Soul." He explained.

Asriel held a hand to his mouth. "Oh… Frisk.. Frisk is dead."
"Dead?" He winced, staring at was now definitely a corpse.
The goat child nodded, even though Sans didn't see it.
"It's what happened to Chara. If his Soul doesn't go to somewhere stable, he.. he'll be gone."

Sans stared at the Soul in his hand, conflicted and mortified.
"Kid.."
"I, uh, do you really want to keep Frisk alive?"
"Kiddo, you know I do. They were a good human. And if the Resets have taught me anything, it's that there's not enough of those out there."
"Okay. Okay."

Asriel pushed the Soul he was holding into his chest, where it flashed and disappeared. The kid stumbled backward, tripping and falling on his butt, a light suddenly enveloping him in entirety before fading almost as suddenly as it had appeared.

Sans stared, still processing how quickly that had happened as he noticed something.
Asriel was staring off into the distance, but his eyes were no longer green, but red. Glowing red.
"That was anticlimactic." Sans commented, not knowing what else to say.

The child blinked, then stumbled to his feet.
"Yeah, I guess. It hurts a lot worse when you already have a Soul." They explained a little shakily as they approached him.
"Kid? What are you doing?" Sans asked, tense as he took a nervous step back. He didn't like how the Determination was suddenly gleaming in those eyes.
"Asriel, what are you-"

Paws clasped around the Soul hovering in his hand. He snatched at it, only to flinch away as Asriel faced him with it.
"Wait, wait, don't do what I think you're- kid!"

He was frozen in place, caught between protecting what was left of Frisk and fleeing it in terror.
So instead of teleporting away, he was pressed against the wall as Asriel pushed the red heart towards him.
"Stop. You might kill me!"
"Please. Just trust us."

"No!" He panicked, grabbing the arm that was pushing it towards him- but in his fear, he forgot the other one, the red just suddenly phasing through his shirt, a sight that made him shriek, clawing at the fabric before pain exploded from within.

Sans abruptly collapsed to his kneecaps, wheezing as something in him just burned. It was like magma had been dropped on the very core of his being, searing away everything in it's path. He couldn't breathe with how it forced him to scream out whatever air he had. Everything was a red, blurred haze.
His mind then winked out like a candle.

. • ° . • °

He woke up groggily, something soft brushing his face. Sans blinked, feeling confused.
There had been so much pain, yet now he felt.. nothing.
Nothing hurt, that was, but something felt different. Then a face leaned over his, red eyes gleaming benevolently.
That felt disturbing somehow.

He jolted upward, skull smacking into muzzle as the memory crashed into him.
"What the hell, kid? I told you not to!" He yelled before facing him. Sans hesitated then, seeing Asriel clasping his nose in pain. He calmed down, just simmering instead.
"Why didn't you listen to me?"

Asriel hesitated. "I.. I don't know. I just suddenly had to. I could hear you, but I couldn't really.. hear you?"
He glared at the kid long enough for the other to flinch and look away.
"I-I'm sorry."

After a beat, he sighed, rubbing his face. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to consider how whatever was left of Frisk was now..
No.
No.

"C'mon, kid." Sans spoke wearily, struggling to his feet. Asriel followed, nervous.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." He joked, looking away as he realized he was standing a whole foot taller than the kid.

"Let's just not talk about that back there."
"But.. what do I tell the others?"
"Something. You can figure it out. The truth, not the truth, it doesn't really matter. You don't have to tell them everything at once."

"Oh.." Asriel blinked as he realized they were suddenly outside the mountain, the sky full of stars and the last hints of the sunset. Sans leaned on him, a little dazed.
"Sans, are you okay?"
The skeleton blinked himself, straightening. "Yeah. No. I'm good, kiddo. Just tired. Been a long day. Let's find Tori before I check out."

Asriel smiled shyly, wrapping one arm around Sans as he helped support him, heading down the mountain.
They walked in companionable silence for a little while before Sans drowsily spoke up.

"How's Chara in there, anyway?"
"Uh, Chara? They're kinda tired. And we're both kinda trying to get over it."
"Over what?"
"This! I.. I'm me! And I'm not.. not going anywhere this time. And Chara's with me and.. we're okay." He sniffed, wiping his face.
Sans chuckled weakly. "Heh. I'm glad, kid."
"Thank you."

A few minutes later, they walked into the clearing where the others had gathered, staring at the stars or discussing the matters of human society.
Then Papyrus spotted them.
"Sans! There you are! Who is that tiny Asgore next to you?"
That was when everyone else saw them.
"ASRIEL?!"

Both of them flinched at the sheer volume and pitch Toriel's voice went.
"Holllyy crap." Sans whispered, blinking from the harpy shriek as both Dreemurs charged over, everyone else following in the confusion.

Asriel flinched as his mother grabbed him, checking him over and already crying in amazement and disbelief.
Sans was already starting to fall asleep on his feet, skull tucked in and hands in pockets before Papyrus noticed, scooping him up and tucking him under his arm like nothing as the whole group gathered around the should-have-been-dead Asriel Dreemur.
He smiled through his tears.
It was okay.