Reset {UNDERTALE}

Experiment

               They were making steady progress with the time machine. Alphys had managed to get a small prototype up and running, and one of Gaster's crab apples had the proud honor of being the first to travel in it. Well...at least the first to disappear in it. Given how there weren't any changes in the time shift gauge, it really just...disintegrated. The three of them promptly got back to work.

Sans had a feeling most of the failure was his fault, but it was just so hard to focus with the looks Gaster and Alphys kept giving him. Given how they still hadn't told him the results from the scan...well, it was just a teeny bit stressful.

Finally, a few days after the test run, he set his pen down loudly enough to get the others' attention. He looked between the two, meeting each of their gazes seriously.

"All right, be honest with me. Am I about to dissolve?"

The two scientists stared at him, and Alphys broke into a sweat.

"W-what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You guys have been walking on eggshells around me, and neither of you have brought up the scan since it happened. So what's wrong with me?'

Gaster and Alphys looked at each other for a moment, and the skeleton sighed.

"No, you are right. We should be upfront with the results." He set his pen down and steepled his fingers as he looked at Sans. "You are not in....immediate danger of dissolving, but...your HP has been halved, and your defenses are even lower."

Sans' brow furrowed. So...yeah, that wasn't great news, but he really wasn't surprised. "So what else aren't you telling me?"

A long silence passed. Finally, Alphys clearly couldn't handle the tension anymore.

"We found Determination!"

Sans' sockets widened, and he let out a nervous laugh.

"That's, uh, that's a real laugh, guys. Tickled my funny bone."

Gaster shook his head. "It is not a joke, Sans," he said quietly.

Sans stared at them. "But...but that's impossible. Determination is only found in humans."

"Not, erm, not necessarily," Alphys said, wringing her hands. "We've...we conducted some tests, um, before what happened with the Amalgamates. It was a limited pool of study, but...we did find one monster with naturally-occurring Determination."

Gaster nodded, then smiled wryly. "The captain of the guard. Since you have met her, I am sure that does not come as much of a surprise." He shrugged. "Certainly, it is not nearly so much as a human has. As we have learned, monster souls cannot handle that much. Of course, now that we know, it does make sense with you."

"Does it?" Sans asked, voice tight. "Because I'm really lost here." What did having Determination mean? Would he end up like the Amalgamates, all...melted? Was he in danger of falling apart any minute?

Gaster looked up, and he quickly walked over to set his hands on Sans' shoulders. "You are fine, Sans," he assured quietly. "This Determination is not new. Nothing changes aside from what has happened with the resets. In fact, I am more than certain that it is the reason you were able to survive two of them. It gives more, er, substance to your being."

Sans grimaced. "But not enough for another reset."

"Probably not, no." He let go of Sans' shoulders to tap his jaw thoughtfully. "But..."