"You are going to die [Y/N]. You are going to watch every organ of your body ripped out one by one until you beg for death. But nobody will come. They never do."

The red smile hovered over you. The black tip of a knife ran along your nose, the pressure increasing until a thin line of blood began to pool next to you. "W-Why..." the words could barely escape your lips.

"Because it's fun!" the figure stood up and placed their shoe on your chest. Instantly, you felt the life drain out of you. "This is all a game [Y/N]. And every game needs its players."

There was a brief pause. You were unsure of what Chara intended to do to you in this hellish nightmare, but you knew that it wouldn't be pleasant.

She cocked her head to one side as if unsure of how to properly kill you. "I think we should start with a lung first," she chuckled and pressed the knife point in the center of your rip cage. She melted away into a black puddle that eventually took the form of Sans.

You recognized this version of him as the one that you had grown familiar with in the last timeline. "Help me," you begged, your voice taking on a demonic like tone. Sans continued to stare at you, his white pinpricks showing no emotion. Instead, he got to his feet and extended his hand out to you.

Hope welled inside you and you gratefully took it. Sans whispered something unintelligible. "What was that?" you asked, leaning closer.

"I said..." his voice came out in a sadistic growl. "Get dunked on."

A white bone rocketed from underneath your feet and pierced through your chest. Pain exploded from inside you and you let out a scream. Sans hunched over and began to change into the demented dog version of himself.

He paced around you, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of you. There was a hazy mist that was clouding your senses as your blood continued to spill onto the floor. Any minute I'll be dead... you thought with grim satisfaction.

Before the scenery faded to black, Sans leaped at you, his jaws snapping and sinking into your throat.

You woke with a muffled scream, scratching at your throat. Relief surged through you at the fact that there was only skin. Your eyes flickered down to the spot where Sans had bitten you only hours ago.

How could I heal a wound like that? you wondered and then shook it off. There were more pressing matters to be concerned about.

The front door slowly creaked upon and you jumped back a foot. Sans and Papyrus shuffled inside. "Alphys barely had any supplements," Sans said grimly and sat next to you on the couch. He tensed at the fearful expression on your face and then stared at the table, eyesockets dark.

Sans emptied a paper back onto the table to reveal three small pills. Each had a clear capsule from where you could see red particles moving inside it. "What is that?" you leaned over and examined one of the pills. "Is that... blood?"

"A tiny droplet of blood contains vital parts of the human souls necessary to keep us alive. The first human that fell down here was slaughtered in a hunt. Alphys however, was able to locate a few drops of blood and stored them. She was able to replicate the blood and manufactures it into pills for monsters." Sans held up a capsule and gestured to the floating red liquid.

"Then why did you only get three of them?" you asked, feeling anxiety claw away at your mind.

"The machine used to manufacture them is... malfunctioning..." Sans replied, his eyesockets turning dark once more. "She predicts that in a matter of weeks the entire Underground could go savage."

The thought of attempting to reach the Surface seemed much more distant with the possibility of every monster in the Underground searching for you. You should leave while you still have the chance [Y/N], Chara's voice chided in your ear, causing memories of the nightmare to resurface. Otherwise there may never be a chance to conduct the Final Reset.

Then why don't you let me do it now? you replied bitterly, staring at the ground to avoid Sans' pressing look. He nodded grimly, realizing who you were talking to.

How many times do I have to tell you? I have given you the power of the Final Reset several times over. It's starting to... lose its purpose. You need to earn it.

What do you mean? you asked. Silence followed after your question and you internally cursed that she had decided to leave.

"What does she want now?" Sans asked, rolling a capsule in his skeletal hand. There was almost a predator-like way that he eyed it.

You quickly relayed the details of what a Final Reset was and how Chara was withholding the power from you. You decided to skip over your encounter with Ink and the nightmare for Sans' sake. "We need to get you to the Surface," Sans muttered.

"Don't you understand?" you got to your feet and eyed him angrily. "Do you know how many times I've reset in the hopes of getting a better ending? Every time something goes wrong... I..." You sunk to your knees and let out a muffled sob. "I just want to live my life."

Something wrapped around you. You lifted your head to see that Sans was sitting next to you on the floor, hugging you with his skull resting on your shoulder. "Me too, kiddo."

You looked at him through your tears. "So you're okay with me resetting?"

Conflict flashed through his face and then he replied with a subtle nod. "Always."

* * * * *

You slung your worn leather bag over your shoulder. Papyrus gave you and Sans a weak wave before retreating inside the house. There was a feeling of urgency that flashed through you at the fact of leaving Papyrus alone. Things will be better next reset, you thought grimly.

Sans interlaced his boney fingers with yours and you began your descent through Snowdin. Narrowed eyes looked at you through windows as you nervously passed by houses. "They won't kill you," Sans reassured you. "At least I hope they don't."

You slugged him playfully in the shoulder and gave a sigh of relief as you entered Waterfall. There was an ominous tranquility to the landscape, reflecting much of the pain the Underground had suffered. "As custom, Asgore ordered that all fallen monsters have their ashes scattered in the river," he explained, noting the solemn look on your face.

You decided it best to retreat further from the river. "Sadly, beside the snow from back home, the rivers are the only source of water in the Underground," Sans added with dark humor.

The two of you passed by few monsters. Most were weak and decided it best to avoid a fight, knowing that dealing with Sans would spend much of their needed energy. The ones that did have the courage to stand in your way were cast aside by him.

Monsters are avoiding me now, but what happens if I have to leave Sans? you wondered, noticing that he was starting to keep a distance from you.

You had almost forgotten about Undyne before the spear hit you in the back.