Sans x Magic! Reader x Chara: Under the Surface

Determination

Frisk held the straps of their school bag as they walked alone in the soft pitter patter of rain without an umbrella.

Normally Sans would pick them up from school or they would hang out with Chara and go home with Toriel but now no one came.

"Check out this snail!" A boy picked a mollusc with a single spiral shell off the side of the damp footpath.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" The girl he was sharing an umbrella with asked as she curiously eyed the strange creature.

"Actually, snails don't have genders because they are both male and female." Frisk shyly spoke up.

"Yeah, so are you..." The boy rolled his eyes as he carelessly tossed the snail onto the road. "Is that why you like snails so much?"

"It's that weird kid, Frisk." The girl spoke before she turned to them. "Did you ever take off that gross bandaid?"

The two kids laughed as they walked ahead, leaving the lone child behind to look at the small shell in the middle of the road as headlights could be seen from a distance.

They gasped and ran onto the road to save the helpless snail as the blaring sound of a car horn honking loudly alerted them to roll out of the way just in time to be splashed by a puddle as the car passed.

Seeing the snail was safe in their hands, they were filled with determination.

「Y/n POV」

Sans would bring you books from the librarby everyday and it wasn't long until you had read everything on the shelves. There weren't very many books with the lack of motivation monsters had to write or even finish the books they started. Some were actually pretty good, and it was always sad to see a note at the end that the monster had given up writing.

Every monster has a soulmate but not every monster is able to find their soulmate. Once a monster meets their soulmate, the monster will feel a connection as both souls pulse in sync.

"Whatcha reading there, kiddo?" Sans appeared behind you and peered over your shoulder to see the passage on the page.

"Nothing." You slammed the book shut out of embarrassment as you blushed uncontrollably.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me." He hummed and caught a glimpse of the cover. "Soulmates, huh?"

"I was... curious." You looked away from his amused pinpricks, hugging the book closer to your chest. "I've heard of the term before, but I don't know much about it."

"Heh, it's nothing to be embarrassed about." Sans chuckled and winked. "Paps likes to call himself an expert in soulmates, so if ya wanna know more you can always ask him."

"SANS, GET DOWN HERE!"

"Welp, I'll be right back."

"SANS, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS? I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU." Papyrus held up an eviction notice he had discovered in a torn envelope earlier that morning. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR LAZINESS HAS GONE THIS FAR."

"I just forgot about it... Heh." Sans shrugged it off with his usual permanent smile, but the way his pinpricks shrunk revealed how he really felt about the situation. "I told you I got the bills covered, Paps. Don't worry about it."

"WHAT BILLS HAVE YOU COVERED IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS? THESE ARE ALL UNPAID."

You stood on the second floor directly above them, tightening your grip on the railing with your bangs covering your face.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN, SANS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU CAN'T JUST TRUST ME. I'M YOUR BROTHER FOR GOD'S SAKE."

"I do trust you, Paps." Sans said as he got serious, curling his phalanges into fists inside his pockets and turning to leave the kitchen, stopping at the entrance with his back turned to him. "I just need a break."

"Haven't you taken enough breaks?" Papyrus responded in an uncharacteristically quiet voice as his brother left him there.

You felt a skeletal hand on your shoulder seconds after and a low voice spoke. "Hey... you didn't have to hear all of that. Times are getting a little tough, that's all."

"Sans..." You turned to face him. "I think I should go to the capital."

"Don't say that, Y/n. If you think this is your fault, it's not." Sans sternly said as his pinpricks stared right through you. "You're just not ready."

Over the days, you would wander near the front door but whenever you got too close either of the two brothers would drag you away.

"Heh, you don't need a door to be a-door-able." Sans took you by the hand with a wink and led you back to the living room.

You tried again, only to be caught by Papyrus who carried you back to sit down on the comfy couch and handed you a sheet of paper with astrological readings.

"HUMAN, I DON'T LIKE THESE GAMES YOU'RE PLAYING. WHY DON'T YOU SOLVE THE HOROSCOPE WHILE I COOK YOU SOME SPAGHETTI? NYEH HEH."

The more they stopped you from leaving, the more you felt something growing inside of you and getting stronger each day. It was something in your soul that made you want to keep trying no matter the outcome.

"She will... Undyne will kill you." Sans said as he closed his eye sockets and heaved a suppressed sigh. "And so will anyone else that sees you because of the laws."

A n y   h u m a n   t h a t   f a l l s
w i l l   b e   k i l l e d .

You took off the heart locket and gently set it down on his desk that night before going downstairs and waking up the snoozing flower.

"Are ya ready?" Flowey looked up at you as you scooped him out of the pot and nodded, looking back up at the bedroom door at the end of the hall one last time.

_______________________________________

Y/n cannot hide in Sans and Papyrus' house forever, like Frisk hiding in Toriel's house. We have to leave eventually when we feel ready. The skeleton brothers are like Toriel blocking the way for Y/n. We could just teleport but we feel something about exiting the door. DETERMINATION doesn't always need a logical reason explained by Sans in the genocide route, you just do it because you can. Y/n is developing DETERMINATION as they try to get past the door with Sans, Papyrus, and their own FEAR as obstacles.

"Did you ever take off that gross bandaid?" The girl said this to Frisk. This is a reference to something Sans says at the end of a neutral run if you wear the bandaid the whole game.