Chapter Text
over and over
Dust billowed throughout the Underground, spreading the massacre until every corner was tainted.
Over and Over
The memory of joy fades as agony and mourning take root in the deserted towns and homes, echoing each time he closes his eyes.
Over And Over
A red scarf lays atop the snow in a clearing of trees, softly flittering in the breeze as a figure watches from afar.
OVER AND OVER-
Sans opened his eyes in his room. The mattress squeaks beneath him as he sits up in yet another timeline. A long sigh drags out into the silence, punctuated by a knocking at the door.
“BROTHER WAKE UP! IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GO TO OUR POSTS!” Just as he always does, Papyrus comes to rouse Sans from his slumber. Too bad he’s been getting less and less of that lately.
“Comin’ bro.” Sans groans as he finally stands, hobbling over to pull on his jacket. “And so it repeats again” he mumbled to himself.
He opened his door and began his descent on the stairs, not needing to look up to know Papyrus was standing by the door with a grin on his face. After all, he’d seen this same scene more times than he could be bothered to count anymore.
“HURRY UP SANS! I HAVE A FEELING A HUMAN WILL FALL TODAY, I JUST KNOW IT!” Heh, Papyrus had always tried to be the more positive one and look forward to every new day. Sans used to hope that Papyrus’ “feelings” would come true just to make him happy, but now, he couldn’t think of anything he’d want more than for Papyrus to be WRONG.
“Sure bro. You’d better be on your way then. I’ll catch up with you later, I know a shortcut.” Sans caught the tail-end of Papyrus’ groan as he teleported away. He stepped out of his shortcut in front of the Ruins doors, sitting down and waiting for the tell-tale sounds of fighting.
It’s been like this for awhile now. He used to get a sense of deja-vu as he woke up, bits and pieces of familiarity as he went through the song and dance.
Until one day he woke up, and he REMEMBERED.
Every last detail of the day was ironed into his memory as it continued to repeat. And it was always the same.
The Human came, they killed, he fought, he lost, rinse and repeat.
EVERY TIME
They started small with most of the main figures around, then began to kill more of the smaller monsters, until they did full-on Genocide. And once they started, they never STOPPED.
OVER AND OVER, they killed everyone in the Underground, and Sans was forced to watch, to REMEMBER.
It gets tiring after awhile. Sans was so TIRED.
A thump from behind the door signaled what Sans already knew would happen. Toriel was dead once more.
He got up from his spot on the ground and short-cut to the surrounding trees, waiting for the Human to emerge. The door slowly opened as the small figure stepped out into the Underground for the umpteenth time.
Sans followed from the trees as the Human strolled through the snowy woods, stopping at the bridge like he knew they would. The Human spun on its feet to face him as he stepped up behind it.
“Why are you doing this?” He forewent his usual spiel in favor of cutting the conversation short. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time the Human would hear it. “Why won’t you just STOP ALREADY?! What more could you possibly do that you haven’t already tried?!”
The Human laughed as it pulled its knife out of a pocket and began to play with it. “Oh Sans, haven’t you figured it out by now? I’m not doing this for a reason, I’m doing it for FUN!” The wicked smirk on its face just raised Sans’ ire.
“FUN?! Killing everyone is fun to you?!” The Human stepped closer, continuing to laugh until they were about two feet from him.
“That’s part of it sure, but it’s more fun to see you react every time!” Sans gritted his teeth as he took a couple steps back, anything to get some space between him and the Human.
He launched some blue bones toward the Human, managing to trap it in place. “I won’t let you keep doing this. I will stop you.”
It just continued to grin as it ripped itself free and continue down the path toward Snowdin. “You say that every time, and yet, nothing has changed. Just accept the fact there’s nothing you can do.”
He watched the Human go until it walked out of sight, then continued on to play the rest of his role, its words echoing in his head. He didn’t say anything more to it during the run, just repeating his old moves like nothing had changed.
When he woke up in bed again, he came to a conclusion. He’d tried a lot, but not EVERYTHING. He still had one option at his disposal.
It’s a terrible, horrible idea, but it might be his only remaining path. His only remaining choice.
He did a couple more runs in silence to really consider this idea, and build himself up for the action that would change everything.
He will defeat the Human. He will make the resets stop.
The Murder has begun.