Reset (Sans x Older!Frisk)

4- Guilt

Of course, finding Flowey proved to be easier said than done. In all of her resets, Frisk couldn't remember ever purposely seeking out the flower- he came and went as he pleased.

So, Frisk did the only thing she knew how to do.

Kept going forward.

Through all of Papyrus' puzzles, Sans watched warily, cracking the occasional joke here and there to lift the mood. Even after Papyrus would leave, Sans stayed, well... keeping an eye socket on her. But he didn't even try keep up the friendly pretense, and she knew that it was only for Papyrus' sake.

It wasn't until Frisk had reached the tile puzzle- which, for some reason, didn't turn out quite so conveniently this time- that she dared to say something.

"I'll admit, I'm a little puzzled," she joked, looking up from the tile at her feet.

She could swear Sans' smile grew just a little more genuine, and he responded, almost as if he couldn't help himself, "You can take a break if you get tiled."

She laughed out loud, hearing Sans chuckle as well, and felt a warmth filling her chest.

No, maybe it wouldn't change anything in the long run. He clearly still didn't trust her. But... maybe someday.

Baby steps.

"THE TWO OF YOU ARE TERRIBLE," Papyrus complained, but he was smiling as well, grudgingly.

Eventually, though, Frisk would have to face Papyrus. That's the way it went in every timeline. She wouldn't hurt him no matter what, but she doubted Sans would believe that. He probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her. He'd done it before. The thought had never hurt as much before, either.

By the time she reached Snowdin, Frisk was exhausted, dragging her feet through the snow. It was nearly sunset, and she knew she would need to find a place to stay soon. But before then, she had something she needed to do. Over the course of the day, her desire for answers had only grown, like a nagging itch she couldn't reach.

And, if she was honest, she needed an ally. She needed help. And no, she didn't trust Flowey as far as she could throw him (which wasn't far at all- how do you throw a flower?) but he was the only resource she had.

Frisk headed back out of town, even though her feet ached in complaint, and kept walking until she was far enough that she couldn't be overheard. The wind was picking up, whipping her hair and shirt. It brought a barrage of snowflakes with it, and as it got darker the temperature dropped rapidly. Damn it, why hadn't she bought a coat in Snowdin? Her impatience was going to cost her.

"Flowey!" she shouted, barely able to hear herself over the scream of the wind. "Flowey!" If he didn't show, she would turn back to Snowdin. This was a stupid idea- she'd wanted to make sure nobody would follow her, but it wasn't worth freezing to death for.

"What do you want, Chara?" The voice came from behind her, and she whipped around. Flowey had popped up out of the snow behind her, and was glaring like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world. "This better be important. I hate it here- it's cold and I have to deal with that smiley trashbag."

Frisk decided to skip straight to the punch. "I'm not Chara. Chara is gone."

A look of mild disbelief crossed Flowey's face- the closest thing to sadness that Frisk knew she would probably ever see out of the tiny flower. "What do you mean Chara's gone?"

"I- I mean-" Frisk struggled to find a logical explanation, but gave up and let all of her confusion and fear pour out. "She's not in my head anymore. She's not controlling me. And- and I'm older, and I can't save or load or reset or anything- it's just all gone!"

Flowey was silent for a long moment, then grinned. "If you didn't have any power, that would make me the most determined creature in this world again. Do you really think I would have just let you wander around Snowdin like you did? Where's the fun in that?"

"If I still have determination, why can't I use it?" Frisk pleaded, "Please, I don't know anyone else who can help me."

"You felt bad, didn't you?" Flowey taunted, smiling maliciously. "You subconsciously locked yourself out of your own power, just to make yourself feel better. Because if it wasn't your power in the first place, all the terrible things you did with it weren't really your fault, right?" He giggled. "But it was always your power. And your fault. And if you die this time, you'll be dead for good."

"You're right," Frisk said, a slight tremor in her voice, "It's my fault. I'm weak, and I don't want to die, but I will if I have to. I owe it to all the monsters I've hurt."

Flowey sneered. "How noble. Get out of here before I decide to kill you myself and save us all the trouble."

"Thank you, Flowey," Frisk responded, trying to smile and ignore the death threat. She turned and began the walk back to Snowdin, teeth chattering from the cold.

"Oh, and Frisk?" Flowey called from behind her, and she glanced back, barely turning her head. For a moment she was shocked that he knew her name, but she had learned long ago not to be surprised by anything Flowey did.

He let out another creepy little laugh. "Just because Chara's out of your head doesn't mean she's gone."

Frisk's vision went red, and she fell forward, but before she could hit the snow reality spun dizzyingly away, and she felt herself tumbling into the abyss. She didn't scream, just squeezed her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, she was standing on a bed of flowers, the only light shining down on her. The rest of the room was in murky darkness. She was facing a child who looked exactly like her younger self, but with unnervingly bright red eyes. She'd never seen Chara before, only heard her voice, but somehow she knew that this was her.

Hi Frisk.

The voice came from the kid facing her, but she didn't move her mouth, just smiled sweetly. There was something off about the smile that made Frisk's skin crawl.

Wow, you've gotten so old. No wonder you're no fun to play with anymore.

Frisk tried to step back, but found herself locked into place. This was a dream, she knew that, but the danger felt very real.

Why won't you let me be in control anymore? I thought we were partners.

Frisk opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Instead, there was a sharp pain in her head, and her vision started to fade at the edges.

It looks like this is the only way I can talk to you now, but this is enough. Chara's grin grew wider, grotesque. I'm sure we can come to an agreement eventually.

Once again, the room spun out, and she was back in the Ruins, holding up a knife and facing a horror-struck Toriel, giggling. In one quick motion, she cut her down. Frisk was screaming inside her own head as the scene changed, and it was Papyrus she was facing.

She was powerless to change it, because it had all already happened. These were Chara's memories.

Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore, Sans. Even Flowey. She watched herself kill them all, crying and screaming and unable to do anything within the cold, empty shell of memory. All the while, she knew her body was slowly freezing in reality. She would die here, trapped in the hell of her own head.

Nothing less than she deserved.

It seemed to go on forever, and she understood what Chara had meant by saying it was enough. It was enough to drive her to insanity- to make her consent to doing these things again.

Eventually, she screamed herself awake.