No One is Happy with This (Undertale)

11 ~ Just a Tool

After your apology to Sans, the day proceeds pretty normally. Sans seems to have completely accepted your apology, and forgiven you.

That's one of the things you appreciate about Sans. He's so laid back and accepting. He doesn't really get mad. Frustrated and sad, yes, but come to think of it, even that one time... you've never seen him truly mad.

You appreciate that.

And you're sad you can't help him more. And you're still curious about who the brothers' dad is. But mostly you're sad you couldn't help Sans.

All the resetting you did, and every time, you hurt him worse... That's never going to happen again. Ever, ever again.

...

...But... have you ever told Sans that? Does he know you're not going to do that anymore?

... No. So you decide to go tell him.

Sans is lying sprawled across the couch. He's not asleep, his eyesockets are open, but he's not really doing anything. He barely acknowledges you when you climb onto the couch. But, that's normal behavior for Sans, so you're not surprised or offended by the lack of attention.

"Hey, Sans?"

He makes a vaguely inquiring noise. You decide to take that as an acknowledgment of his listening to you.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

For a moment, he doesn't respond. Then he struggled up into a sitting position, and looks at you with a jokingly irritated expression. "jeez, kid, when i told ya to be honest with me, i expected at least a day of peace before you started pestering me with questions."

You laugh a little. "That'a actually not what I wanted to talk about. Well. Kinda. It relates, but not quite."

"heh. well, okay, then, let's hear it."

You take a deep breath. "Well. I was thinking about how I wished I could help you more, and how much I was hurting you by resetting all the time and... and I just wanted to let you know that I'm done. I'm not gonna reset all the time anymore."

You look at him. His face is carefully neutral, only just the smallest spark of hope showing through. "... really?"

You don't blame him for his skepticism. "Yeah. I mean, I'm never gonna reset just for my own amusement again. I can't promise that I'll never reset-"

"and i wouldn't want ya to."

You look at him, surprised. You thought he hated the resets.

He notices your expression and laughs a little. "kid, for as much as i hated being stuck in a loop like that, i do realize that resetting is just a tool. it's a really powerful one, at that, but still just a tool. it's not bad in itself, just how it's used. promising to never reset again..." he paused a little. "that would be like promising to never touch a knife again, just because a knife can be used to stab people." You cringe a little at that, but Sans ignores it. "but just because a knife can be used to stab people, doesn't mean it has to be. it could be used to... oh, i dunno, garden. or cut up vegetables. resetting is just a tool, it's how you use it that makes the difference." He pauses. "like goin' back to break the barrier, instead'a leaving us in the underground."

You grin. He understands what you were saying better than you do. "Yeah! So I promise not to reset just to go back. I promise I'll only do it if I think I can make a true difference for the better."

He reaches out a hand and ruffles your hair. "that's a good promise, kiddo."

You feel like there's something more you should say, but you can't think of what. So you settle for apologizing again, just to make sure Sans knows you're really, really sorry.

He just waved you off about it. "seriously, kid. i meant what i said when i said forget about it. take it from me, no matter what people ask, sometimes remembering things just makes everything worse. sometimes, things are better off forgotten."

You start to smile and nod, but then frown. "Sans!" You say querulously.

"huh? what? what'd i do?"

"You keep telling me to drop it, but then you go and give me a bunch of... cryptic hints that only just make me more curious!"

"what? how'd i do that?"

"'take it from me,'" you say in your best Sans-impersonation, "'no matter what people ask, sometimes remembering things just makes everything worse.' What is that supposed to mean? Did someone ask you to not forget something, and you regret it? What did they ask you to remember?" You pause. "You see? You're only encouraging my cloak-and-dagger sleuthing around!"

Sans snorts a little. "yeah, i guess it sounds pretty mysterious."

"So it wasn't intentionally saying 'I'm trying to hint at something without actually telling you anything'?"

Sans shrugs, a mischievous light in his eyes. "well, if i told you that, it would kinda defeat the point, wouldn't it?"

"So it was meant to be mysterious!"

"i dunno. i didn't even realize how cheesy it sounded until you told me."

You let out a growl of frustration. "Sans! You're not helping!"

"well, of course not. helping means working. i don't like working."

You slap a hand against your forehead with a groan. Then you look at Sans, who's grinning. "In all seriousness, Sans, what the heck do you mean?"

"exactly what i said, kid. this is one of those times that, later in life, you'll be upset you didn't forget." He stands up. "trust me, kid. sometimes it's better to forget. ... welp, i'm headin' to grillbz. see ya later, kiddo."

He walks out of the room, leaving you wondering once again.

§

A/N

I had something I was gonna say, but I forgot.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Comments and votes are my Favorite Things, and every notification I get makes my day!