Who Says You're the One in Control?

A 'True' Reset

"Chara, can you just get this over with?" He asked, looking at the floor.

Chara waited. Their smile daring him to say another word out of line. He knew it would be a mistake. He obeyed their unspoken command.

"it's a beautiful day outside..." Sans' voice cracked twice during the monologue. Each time it did, he paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "on days like these, kids like you...."

The last words choked in his throat. Saying them would throw him back into a world of torment. Back to fighting Chara over and over and over. He couldn't stand that.

"Chara, please..." He knew he would regret speaking out of turn, but the way he saw it, he would regret it either way. "why does it have to be like this?"

Chara's smile didn't falter in the slightest. "You're the one who did this. You were the one who threw my file into the CORE."

"i..." What could Sans say to counter that? What could he do to make Chara forgive him? "i just wanted you out of my head."

Chara chuckled. "And your wish was granted." They put a slight tone of pure, sadistic enjoyment into their words. "You got a 'true' reset."

This was not a true reset. This was Chara's way of getting back at Sans. They nodded at him to finish his speech and start the fight.

"kids like you... should be burning in Hell." He ended up barely whispering it. He pushed all his pain into the first attack. He knew it would have to be a good fight, or Chara would get bored.

Training with Gerson had taught him a lot about using the time skips as a surprise factor. He fought his normal attacks for several runs, then when Chara was comfortable with them, he switched them drastically. They fell for it.

"Good boy!" They praised when they came back. Their face radiated pleasure.

Sans felt lower than scum, succumbing to Chara on such a drastic level. Disobeying her was a terrifying thought, however, and one Sans dared not think. One thing he had learned, things could always be made worse. He dared not let that happen here.

He was on the verge of tears constantly, yet he was afraid of crying in front of Chara. Doing so would show how weak he was. It would annoy them. Sans had the feeling it would be as bad as disobedience.

The fights wore on for longer than Sans had ever thought he could bear. His nerves were at their end. Yet he fought to survive. He knew he would die, but he dared not stop.

He was exhausted. All his exhaustion carried between resets. He also stayed wherever he was instead of going to where he had been before the reset. He wondered if it was the same thing as to why he still had the glasses.

His despair grew and grew till he couldn't bear it anymore. "when does this end?" He finally asked, taking Chara by surprise. "even if i die, you'll bring me back, won't you?" Their smile confirmed that. "so when does it end?"

They shrugged. "When I get bored of hearing you beg for mercy, I suppose."

Sans slumped to the floor. He was too exhausted to stand anymore. The weight of Chara's words pressed him down further. He leaned against a pillar, and focused on breathing. He was so close to tears, he was afraid to even look at Chara.

They waited for him. He calmed down enough to get some rest, but he dared not sleep. Sleep was seconds away, yet he forced himself awake.

"Sans, I'm getting bored." Chara's smile was drawn.

Despite the rest, Sans felt as if fighting, or even standing, was completely beyond his mental and physical capacity. He shook his head to tell Chara so.

They sighed. "I suppose I can go find you some motivation. You owe me, though." They left with a giggle.

Sans leaned his head back, and cried. With Chara out of the room, he finally let his tension release. He was useless to stop them, and now he was nothing more than their favorite toy.

~

"Sans! Are you alright?" Sans woke up to see Papyrus shaking him awake. Chara was nowhere to be seen.

"Papyrus?" Sans barely breathed the name. He had definitely not gotten enough sleep, but seeing his brother pushed his exhaustion aside.

"I heard you needed me. Are you alright?" Papyrus looked his brother over in concern.

Sans took in a ragged breath, and let out a big sob in response. He felt every emotion known to the world in that moment. Love for his brother, hate for Chara. Joy at seeing him, dread for knowing what came next. Comfort at the hug Papyrus gave in response, and fear at the unknown mind of Chara.

It was overwhelming. He couldn't bear it anymore. He gripped his brother tightly and cried like a lost child. Papyrus comforted his brother in complete silence.

Sans ended up curled into the fetal position in Papyrus's lap. His breath catching sporadically from his crying. Papyrus was still silent. He rubbed Sans' arm comfortingly.

After several hours, Papyrus finally spoke. "Sans.... is there anything you want to talk about?"

Sans didn't move. He didn't want to talk about Chara. He thought over his life. From beginning to end.

"remember what i said about our home on the surface?" Sans finally asked.

Papyrus blinked in surprise. "Mostly, why?"

"can you tell me what you remember?"

Papyrus nodded. "I still don't have any firsthand memories, but I remember you telling me about Italy. The land of pasta."

Sans gave something similar to a chuckle. It was more like a soft snort. Of course Papyrus would remember Italy.

"I remember you telling me about the stars. How they move? And the sunshine. And how I fell from a tree when I was a kid, and I broke my arm clean through."

Sans listened as his brother recalled all he could about the surface. Talking about clouds, and animals, and butterflies, and the moon. It was a nice distraction for a while.

Chara came in after a while and ruined it. Sans had sat up by now. Papyrus stopped talking when Chara started down the hall. He looked put off by them. Sans stood defensively in front of Papyrus.

"Feel better?" Chara chirped. Their smile was proud. They expected a thanks. Sans wasn't going to give one.

Sans was forced to hope. Despite everything, he wanted his brother to live. Chara had known that. That was why they had allowed Papyrus to come. They knew Sans would fight forever if only to save his brother.

"hey, Papyrus." Sans glanced back at his brother, who had stood by now. "don't get involved, okay?"

Papyrus looked utterly confused. "What?"

"i mean it. even if i get hurt, even if i die, you don't do anything. i want you to promise me." Papyrus fumbled for words. "please..."

After a second, Papyrus nodded. "Okay." He was shaking. "I... I believe in you, Sans."

Sans felt as if he had been stabbed. He swayed slightly, his grief taking over for one second. He and Papyrus were just dead men talking, in the end. Chara saved, and faced off against Sans.

"it's a beautiful day outside."