Reset {UNDERTALE}

Judgement

                The hysteria ebbed after a few minutes, and he was left with...nothing. He laid back on the floor limply, staring dully at his ceiling. He felt...empty. No drive, no anxiety...the static in his head had subsided, but he couldn't even begin to think of a way he could fix this.

Because there wasn't any. Whatever he did would just be undone.

It. Didn't. Matter.

This time he didn't laugh. He merely sighed and shut his eyes, only to grimace as he heard the door open.

"Sans? Are you in here? You weren't—oh my god! Are you all right?"

Sans covered his face. God, he didn't need this. "Papyrus, not now," he said dully. "Just...leave me alone."

The door creaked open more. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"

"Pap, seriously, not now." An edge crept into Sans' voice. Papyrus didn't know about the resets. He didn't know how much time they had lost. He didn't know anything about this. It must be nice.

Papyrus hesitated, and Sans tensed as he heard a tentative step forward.

"Sans, really, if...if there's something wro—"

"Papyrus, GET OUT!" Sans snarled the words out as he finally sat up. Papyrus immediately shrank back against the door, sockets the widest he'd ever seen them.

For the first time in his life, it looked like his brother was speechless.

Sans blinked a few times, his breathing coming in quick pants as horror washed over him. He'd never yelled at Papyrus before. Ever. He swallowed and shook his head.

"P-Pap, I-I..."

"It's okay, brother." The reply was instant and genuine. Of course it was; this was still Papyrus.

A wave of guilt crashed over Sans. He hunched forward, holding his skull again as he shut his eyes tightly. He heard a small creak of bones as Papyrus shifted his weight.

"Do you...do you still want me to leave? Would that help?"

Sans nodded mutely, not daring to look up. He heard the shuffle of Papyrus' feet, then let out a shaky breath as the door shut.

Now would have been a good time for a reset.

~

He let out a gasp as he was enveloped by coldness. He sat up quickly, only to sag as he realized he had just fallen in the snow. He must have dozed off and fallen off his stool. Silly him for thinking that something interesting had happened.

Sans slowly picked himself up and got back to his position at his post, cheekbone firmly planted on his fist as he stared ahead dully. What a waste of time. All of this was a waste of time. The days dragged on—there was no research now, of course, and he couldn't bring himself to do anything remotely close to science after...everything that had happened. Really, if it weren't for Papyrus...

He stretched. No. That was a baaad train of thought.

He wished he could just settle into numbness—after all, it wasn't like there was anything he could do—but the sheer bitterness consuming him kept him from that marginal comfort. He was sure it would have been obvious to everyone if it weren't for his damned grin—he could barely look into mirrors these days; it just reminded him of the hell he had gotten himself into.