Sacrifices (Undertale FanFic) [COMPLETED]

Alrernate Ending: RESET 01.

"...RESET," I clenched my eyes shut as the words slipped from my mouth. I couldn't bear to look at everyone. I didn't want to see their reactions. I didn't want to have to remember. It's not like they would. I felt something hold my hands. When I opened my eyes, Chara and Asriel were in front of me, giving me an encouraging smile.  I made eye contact with both, giving each a small nod. We summoned our soul pieces and the room around us went black. The fragments glowed in front of us. Becoming ghostlike, Chara and Asriel disappeared into their pulsating soul shards. With a warm hum, the three pieces merged together and my soul was made whole once more. I closed my eyes, tears starting to form.

"Thank you," I whispered softly to the fragile item cupped within my hands. To my surprise, I opened my eyes to greeted by a bed of golden flowers. I looked around, confused. A faint tingle went through my mind.

"Our last gift."

It didn't take rocket science to figure out who said that.

"You both are too kind," I choked on a sob, knowing they couldn't hear me. Their final ACT of MERCY was to spare me the expressions on my loved ones faces, whatever they may have been. How they did it, I would never know. I could only be grateful. With a heavy soul, I summoned the loading screen. Once again I found myself in pitch black darkness with two objects lit up in front of me. RESET and CONTINUE. Trembling fingers were placed on the left button. A dialogue box appeared.

Do you really want to RESET?
-Yes
-No

Slowly, but firmly, I pressed down on Yes and in an instant my vision flashed white.

I woke up with a gasp. The smell of dead leaves and sweet nectar filled my nasal passages. Silken petals were being crushed under my clenched hands. Realizing this, I released the poor flowers. The sticky sap released from the inside of the flora coated my palms in patches. With a grimace, I wiped my hands on my pants. I was back. And hopefully for the last time.

The door to The Ruins slid shut behind me. I sighed, having forgotten how emotionally draining Toriel's fight was. But that wasn't what I was worried about. My mind in a haze, I took in the scene around me. Pristine white snow lay all around, blanketing the trees in a soft cover. With every step I took, the meek crunch of snow underfoot could be heard. Soon I came upon the stick. Instead of continuing ahead, I stood there.

"Sans?" I called out, knowing full well he was there, somewhere among the wood. Heavy footsteps sounded from behind. I turned around, facing the one I held true and dear. Sans' face was blank. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking in that moment. Taking a breath, I stepped forward and reached out to him. "Sans, I'm—"

"save it."

His words were clipped. Instinctively I shrank back. Instant guilt for my decision came crashing down on me. Regret coursed throughout my mind. I had expected this kind of response, but I was hoping it wouldn't have been this way. I could see Sans' expression soften. "look, kid... er, Frisk," He started. With a touch of warmth I noted my name remained capitalized. "ya did what you felt you had to. if our roles had been reversed, if you or paps had been..." He trailed off and we stood in awkward silence for a tense moment. "i would've broken our promise, too." Sans shoved his hands in his coat and looked away. "i don't blame you." For whatever reason, his confession didn't make me feel any better. My heart leapt into my throat and I felt tears begin to escape. As he spoke reality hit me.

"How can you say that?" Sans' unexpected forgiveness had thrown me off. I'd been fully prepared to live with him hating my guts. "I threw everything away. The progress we made on the surface, yours, Chara's and Asriel's sacrifices.... All of that gone! Because, I, *hic*, because I was being, *hic*, being selfish." I finished quietly. Ice cold bones took hold of my hands. My head snapped up and I was face to face with Sans. When had he gotten so close? Before I knew it, Sans had pulled me into his embrace. I noted the cyan glow of his magic. He was using it to keep me warm as he had little of his own to offer.

"sweetheart," Sans mothered me, stroking my back calmly until my shaking and hiccups subsided. "sometimes," he whispered, "there's nothing wrong with takin care of yerself for once." I wrapped my arms around Sans, burying my face into the white fluff of his jacket. "besides," his voice sounded distant. "this was a reset after all. a do over. this time we'll make it right." Sans pushed me away some and made me look at him. "together." I frowned.

"B-but Chara! And Asriel... They're gone for good." Sans arched a nonexistent eyebrow.

"oh?"

I looked away. "After you... turned to dust... they offered their soul pieces back so I could RESET."

"the demons actually have a heart? i'm touched."

"Sans!" I cried out, jaw dropping. He chuckled in his easygoing way.

"relax, Frisk. i was joking."

"It wasn't a very good one," I mumbled. Sans apologized with a smile.

"welp, by the sounds of it they did that willingly."

"Yeah, but—"

"no buts. sweetheart, everything is fine." Sans tried to reassure me. I complied so we wouldn't have to go on about it, but I knew he was only saying that for my sake. Underneath all this acceptance and understanding, a subtle resentment could be detected. I had broken our promise, and in a sense, killed my best friends for good. Thanks to me, they had died. Again. I felt terrible. All of that hard work, gone. There was no way of knowing how the next three years would be again. The surface was unpredictable and didn't follow a strict dialogue were certain things to happen. Unlike the way it was in the Underground. However, while the future was uncertain, the only thing to be done now was to put Chara and Asriel's sacrifice to good use. This would be the final run. Everyone would make it to the surface, monsters would eventually be welcomed and accepted by most, and everyone would live out their lives as they should. That's a promise.