The night was cold and Frisk thought they would feel warmer in Snowdin still.

"...HUMAN?"

Despite the dark, they could easily make out the silhouette of the tall skeleton. Papyrus was standing in the doorway, eyes wider than usual and flicking between Frisk and the room as if unsure whether looking at them was appropriate or not.

"I HEARD A NOISE AND CAME TO CHECK IT OUT IN CASE I WAS NEEDED TO PROTECT SOMEONE."

Frisk released a shaky breath and drew their knees close. "Sorry for waking you up," they said quietly, hoping not to wake anyone else, although if anything they would be awoken by Papyrus' naturally strong voice. "And there's nothing here, no protection needed."

Papyrus' eyes cast over the room before resting on Frisk, seemingly searching for something. "DID YOU HAVE A BAD DREAM?" he asked in a way that gave Frisk the feeling he already knew the answer. "I SOMETIMES PROTECT SANS FROM BAD DREAMS SO HE CAN SLEEP BETTER. I KNOW BAD DREAMS CAN BE SCARY, BUT ONCE YOU REALIZE THEY'RE NOT REAL IT GETS A LOT BETTER," he explained, arriving next to their bed.

"How do you protect Sans from bad dreams?" they whispered, staring at the ground in front of Papyrus.

"THAT'S EASY," he answered. "WITH HUGS AND MY AMAZING ABILITY TO SCARE OFF ANY MORE BAD DREAMS JUST WITH THE HELP OF MY MAGNIFICENT PRESENCE."

There was a smile pulling at their lips for a moment, but it was dampened by the memory of their dream and the very real implications it held. Papyrus must have noticed for he went ahead and climbed onto the bed, pulling Frisk into a hug that really shouldn't have been this comfortable, given that he was literally just bones. But it was and they were overwhelmed by the feeling of safety, of stability, of strength.

And yet- Frisk could nearly feel how just that moment was so incredibly fragile. Their entire reality was hanging on by a thread every single day and Frisk held the scissors in their hands, blades opened on either side and ready to go snap-

"HUMAN? ARE YOU CRYING?"

Frisk wanted to say no, but realized he was right when they lifted a hand to their face and disrupted a pair of fresh tear tracks that covered their cheeks. Something stirred in their memory, a scene from another time, a moment that didn't exist. Not anymore. And now it never would, no matter how often the nightmares made Frisk remember the rush of resetting. The pain that followed always had them crashing to the ground.

"I didn't do it," they breathed, face buried in Papyrus' chest. "I didn't do it."

They didn't see Papyrus eyes blinking in confusion. "DIDN'T DO WHAT?"

Undeterred by the question, Frisk kept clinging to the skeleton's shirt, sobbing and mumbling the same words over and over, trembling so much it must have made Papyrus' bones rattle. Frisk tried to focus on the present, but couldn't quite keep the pictures from resurfacing in their mind, glaring at them with the same clarity as in the moment they had first seen them. The black void, the grinning, golden flower in front of them, face morphed in a way it looked nothing like the innocent monster its dust had once belonged to. Worse than all of that yet, were the words echoing inside the seemingly endless darkness.

"One last threat."

Even the echo of those words sent shivers down their spine, ice cold tendrils reaching just short of their deepest center, their soul.

"One being with the power to erase EVERYTHING. Everything everyone's worked so hard for."

The implication had plunged them into freezing air that had done nothing to satisfy her lungs. Ideas and thoughts racing through their mind at blinding speeds, calculating, searching, hoping-

"You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

-only to stop at the ultimate solution. The only threat that still possessed the ability, the power to destroy all the happiness they had fought for-

"That's right."

...

"I'm talking about you."

-was them.

Papyrus was still talking to them, going on about how everything would be okay and the dream wasn't real and it's only in your mind- but-

"YOU still have the power to reset everything. Toriel, Sans, Asgore, Alphys, Papyrus, Undyne... If you so choose... Everyone will be ripped from this timeline... and sent back before all of this ever happened. Nobody will remember anything. You'll be able to do whatever you want."

But it had happened and the thing that actually scared them about it, the part that tortured them every single day, the part that had them standing in front of a mirror and shatter it, the part that had them freeze every time someone felt they remembered something that just happened and caused them to nearly tear their hair out trying to remember if it had been their fault, the part that had them standing near the edge of the cliff, knife in hand, raised directly above their chest-

"That power."

They didn't think they could stand doing it again. Not after...

"Not after that."

"uh... bro? what's going on?"

"SANS!" Frisk didn't look up, though their sobs had receeded and been replaced by shaking and sniffling, clinging to the skeleton almost more in favour of hiding their tear-stained face than anything else. However, it was easy to imagine the scene without actually seeing it - Sans standing in the doorway, usual grin in place, expression unreadable and possibly misleading. "THEY HAD A BAD DREAM," Papyrus informed his brother. "BUT THEY DIDN'T ACT THE WAY YOU DO WHEN YOU'VE HAD ONE. DO YOU KNOW WHY, SANS?"

The comically loud shuffling sound indicated that the shorter skeleton was moving farther into the room, obviously trying not to startle them by appearing close without making any noise, as he often would. "not everyone reacts the same after a nightmare, bro." Sans said and Frisk was sure they could feel his eyes on their back.

Suddenly the strong arms loosened, before disappearing entirely as Papyrus scooted away from them. Feeling colder than before in just their think sleepwear, Frisk wrapped their arms around their middle, looking at Papyrus with an expression that could be described as something in between longing and confusion.

They refused to look at Sans in the first place.

"hey kid." he said.

"SANS, I DON'T THINK THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT-"

"could you give us a minute, paps?"

Frisk watched Papyrus' eyes go back and forth between them and Sans, mouth open as if to protest. They nodded shortly and his theeth clattered closed. "ALRIGHT. BUT I'LL BE WAITING IN THE LIVING ROOM IF I'M NEEDED!" With an unnecessary 'Nyeh!' to accentuate his departure (and to lift the mood?) the taller skeleton walked backwards out of the room.

As much as Frisk liked Sans and as much as they knew he cared about them, the tense atmosphere caused by the conversation that was coming made them feel trapped.

And guilty.

Like-

"That's then... Now. You will be judged-"

Closing their eyes, they pushed away the memory, making themselves as small as they could against the headrest, creating aome space between them and Sans. If he noticed, he didn't show it.

Frisk was sure he noticed.

They were sure he understood.

If they directly looked at him, they would see him stare right at them, like he was trying to bore into their very soul.

"didn't do what?" he repeated what Papyrus had asked not long ago, obviously having heard them from out in the hallway. Frisk shook their head, gaze focused on the mattress in front of them. The silence seemed to give Sans enough information. "this is about resetting."

His tone made sure there was no mistaking his words for a question and to Frisk it felt like the worst accusation - like they had but they hadn't and now they never would-

"you still have it." Sans grin didn't grow any smaller, nothing indicating that he was upset about this, but they knew better. "you didn't lose the power to reset after leaving the underground." Frisk shook their head, still too fearful to actually meet the skeleton's eyes. "are you gonna make use of it again?"

This time their head snapped up to look at him, fear of Sans' judgement overshadowed by the fear of their own possibilities. "No," they whispered, but their words were strong in their meaning because no, they didn't want to and they couldn't, not after that.

But.

What if someone made them do it?

"I-I have to make sure I never will," they said and Sans's eye sockets widened. "I'm scared, Sans," they admitted, but at the same time they suddenly didn't feel quite as frightened anymore. They had a plan - one that would ensure no one could ever hurt her friends anymore.

"There's nothing left to worry about."

"kid, you're not gonna-" Sans stopped, seemingly unable to speak the words. Frisk wasn't sure they had ever seen Sans look scared before.

Now he did.

"I have to- have to-" Frisk scrambled off the bed in a haste, not thinking clearly but one thought clear in their mind. "I need to stop this-"

"Take a deep breath."

"stop what?" Sans had grabbed their wrist, halting them in their movement, like they were frozen in time.

"One last threat," they breathed and called out their soul without even trying to break free of Sans' grip. Faster than they could blink, the hold on their wrist disappeared on its own and Sans was in front of her, one eye ablaze with a blue and yellow light.

"sorry, kid," he said and Frisk thought they noticed him hesitate for just a moment. "but someone's gotta knock some sense back into ya."

Their limbs grew heavy the moment their soul turned from bright red to deep blue, a pull commanding them onto their knees. Shadows danced across the room, chasing each other in a sea of fire and ice. Frisk struggled to move, looking up at Sans desperately, eyes glistening and wide. "W-why?" they asked, working their mind to run through anything and everything and yet not understanding. For a second their surroundings flickered, showing a long hall and shimmering sunlight that gave everything a golden touch. Sans was still where he had been, looming above them, but his grin held only cold indifference, the floating skull aimed at their soul and fully charged. Clenching their eyes shut, they waited for the blast to hit, taking them away. They had to ignore the voice, ignore the melody of calming determination floating throughout the endless void, ignore their soul's need, ignore, ignore, ignore-

When they opened their eyes, Frisk was back in their bedroom and dropped onto the floor entirely, as the light died down until only a few bright rays entered from the hallway. Their soul, red once more, flickered and disappeared from view, safe again within their center. Whatever just happened, Sans didn't tell them. Instead, he did what Frisk hadn't expected him to ever do after finding out - he mimicked his brother, pulling them into his arms.

No tears came, but they shook and shivered and trembled and just let go because Sans didn't hat them, Sans didn't want them to do this, even if it meant living in fear of losing all he cared about.

And maybe, just maybe, he didn't fear anymore because just maybe he believed them and just maybe there was another way to end all this.

No more threats.

Not after this.