Sans stared at the reports on his phone. He’d been staring at them for hours over the last week, unable to get them off his mind.

That tiny little gap, that little blip. It could be nothing. It was such a little thing.

But it really looked like the end of everything. Of their entire universe, or full timeline, or… something.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

Frisk’s idea had been haunting him nonstop this last week. Where was it? Where was the end of everything? Was it in this timeline, something in the distant future if nothing was done? Was it in the other timeline, the one Frisk was thinking of creating?

It had appeared in the reports the day they fell into the underground. It had something to do with them. They were so gentle and kind, though, so tender and sweet.

And from the sounds of it… Chara wasn’t.

He sighed.

Frisk and Sans had argued last week. They’d suggested the most ridiculous idea, of resetting to the day they’d fallen, of going on a murder rampage, to draw out Chara and learn more about them. What the hell kind of idea was that?

But he’d seen it on their face. Their fear, their desperation.

He had no idea what to do about Chara. He and Alphys had tried various sensors and nothing had picked Chara up - they had no clue how to help Frisk with this.

If that fear and desperation got worse, if they slipped further into this panicked madness… maybe that’s what led to the end of everything.

Or maybe it was encouraging Chara to become stronger, and then Chara takes over, and that’s what destroys everything.

He sighed.

He had no fucking clue.

What he did know was that he didn’t want this timeline to be erased. Life had been good, and he’d let himself hope that it’d stay that way. That Frisk wouldn’t need to reset anymore. That he could actually start to believe in the future.

He knew better than to let hope take hold of him. He'd been a fool.

And he’d thought… he thought that there was something real with the kid. With him. That their friendship really mattered.

“You realize you’ll lose everything you’ve done, everything you’ve gained, everyone's memories, if you take that path,” Sans had said. “It’ll all be erased.”

“There isn’t anything I can’t get back,” Frisk had said dismissively. “Nothing that matters, anyway.”

It obviously mattered more to him than Frisk. Because if all they cared about was the superficial things, the laughter, the jokes, the goofing around… then yeah, they could get that back. It wasn't that deep of a connection with the others, but he'd thought it was different with him.

He was the one who'd stood by their side from the beginning. Who'd seen them as a timid, shy kid who needed to feel safe before they'd share that sweet little smile. Who had watched them learn to stand up for themself, to fight, to strive for things they cared about. Who heard them laugh at his jokes even when they were afraid, and cry with joy and relief when they thought he wasn't looking. Who watched as it looked like they healed a little every time he stood by them. Who had encouraged them to develop an unshakeable confidence and faith in themself, to discover a will of steel beneath their fear.

He had spoken more honestly and earnestly with them than most anyone else he'd met, as their sweet innocence and dedication to doing what was right had grabbed onto a part of his heart in a way he'd never expected.

No future Sans would ever have that, ever know that. He'd thought it mattered. That wasn't something they could just “get back.” And they had to know that.

So that’s all he was to them. The comedian. And he was an idiot who’d thought there was something more.

Maybe it’d be better if they did this. Maybe the other Sans wouldn’t be suckered in so hard.

He sighed.

Or maybe he was wrong about that, and he was right in the first place - that it did matter to them to some degree. But in the end, either way, it mattered less than their fear. So even in the best case, how much could he really mean to them?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Look, maybe we can strike a balance,” Sans had said. “Maybe we can try to get me to remember the resets first, and then I can support you, help you out with the whole Chara thing. Help make sure you don’t lose yourself.”

“No, no, that’d be terrible, Sans, I don’t want you to remember that!” Frisk had said. “No, it’d be better this way. We can try to help you remember afterwards. I’d rather not have anyone see me like that, not anyone who remembers. Other than Flowey, I guess, but he’s… different.”

He looked at the reports again. His friendship with Frisk obviously didn’t matter. But Papyrus did. Preventing the end of everything mattered. But which path held the danger? Frisk was falling more into madness every day… this timeline wasn’t stable, unless something could help the kid, but he had no idea what to do.

His phone buzzed.

Frisk: Hey Sans. Can we talk?

He had a sinking feeling in his gut.

Sans: yeah. im at the lab

Frisk: Be there in ten minutes.

He closed his phone, closed his eyes, and sat in the darkness.

He heard Frisk open up the door and pulled himself to his feet. He didn’t want to see them, but he had to know.

One look at their face told him everything.

He closed his eyes again.

“you’ve decided,” he said in a low tone.

“Y-yeah,” Frisk said.

“i can’t talk you out of it, can i?” he asked pointlessly, looking at their anxious expression.

“Is there a better way?” Frisk asked.

He couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Then I guess not,” Frisk said after a moment. “It’ll be okay, Sans. I’ll learn what I can and then I’ll fix everything.”

“yeah,” he said, looking down.

That was it, then. This timeline was ending and everything he’d done, everything he’d hoped for, everything he’d tried to accomplish… it was all going to be undone. This version of him was going to be erased. Killed.

Destroyed by someone he’d honestly believed he could trust.

He took a slow breath.

It wasn’t really that. Frisk was honestly trying to fix things. And maybe they were right. He didn’t have any idea. He glanced down at his pocket where his phone was, where those damned reports could be seen. Maybe they were right. Maybe this was the only way to save Papyrus.

In this moment, in his last moments… the fact of the matter was, all his mental flailing aside, he did care about Frisk.

“c’mere,” he said, looking up at them.

They moved forward and he hugged them, holding them to his chest.

“you know i don’t agree with this,” he said, and felt them nod. “but i know i can’t stop you. no one can. i get that.”

He took a breath and they trembled in his arms.

“i wish… that you would choose differently, but i understand. and, frisk, you need to know, you need to remember. i believe in you. you know that, right?”

“Y-yeah,” they managed, sounding on the edge of tears.

He had to do whatever he could, in these last moments, to help them keep themself. To not fall to Chara’s darkness. He was afraid, but he knew that they loved Papyrus. Surely, they wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Not for real. Maybe this was the best path. If they were taking it… god, he hoped so.

His grip trembled a little, but he pushed on.

“don’t go too far,” he said. “you have to remember what you’re fighting for. you have to hang on to who you are. you can’t lose yourself, that’s the most important thing.”

“I… I won’t, Sans, I won’t,” they said brokenly.

“don’t forget what matters, okay?” he said. “don’t… don’t forget me.”

They choked out a sob at that and he felt his own composure slipping.

“you have to stop, as soon as you’ve found out what you need,” he said. “you… you have to make sure you don’t go too far. please, frisk.”

“I p-promise, Sans, I promise,” they sobbed out, crying into his jacket.

It sure as hell sounded like they cared about him.

But not as much as their fear.

“I will fix everything,” they said. “It’ll be okay, Sans, I promise, it’ll have never happened, it won’t mean anything.”

It would mean nothing. Just like everything else. His grip tightened for a moment, and he pulled back a little to look at their face. It took them a moment to meet his gaze and they whimpered once they did. Tears were falling from their cheeks as they stared at him in agonized fear.

One last thing he should do, before everything ended - for this version of him, anyway.

“g-good… good lu-” he tried to say, but his voice broke. He closed his eyes and turned away, taking a rough breath.

A broken whimper from the most unstoppable creature in the world was the last sound to exist in that timeline. And all that that Sans had become, all that he knew, and all that he was, was lost.