AN: This was inspired by "Stronger Than You (Sans Parody)" by djsmell which can be found on Youtube. I'd suggest checking it out, it's quite catchy. The genocide run of Undertale was heartbreaking for me, I've never had a game emotionally affect me like this before. This is my idea if things turned out a little differently.

It should also be noted, that if you haven't seen/played the genocide run, most of this probably wont make sense. Enjoy.

~.~.~

Chapter 1: Made of L.O.V.E.

A bead of sweat rolled down Sans' cranium as he stared back at his opponent. Frisk, or as they should now be called, Chara, smiled back from underneath their bangs. One electric blue eye clashed with glowing red ones.

The pause didn't last for long as Chara dashed forwards and slashed at Sans with their knife, growling in frustration as he dodged yet again. For a moment, blood hung in the air from where it had slipped off the knife, the blood of his fallen comrades.

The countless innocents.

Tori.

Undyne.

Muffet.

Mettaton.

…Papyrus.

"This is your 37th attempt, kid. Time to give it a rest," said Sans, absentmindedly running some of his power between his fingers. "Friendship… it's really great, right? Let quit fighting." Sans held his arms open, offering to spare the misguided child.

Chara remained strangely silent, scowling at the offering. They didn't fancy getting dunked on again.

"No? Pity. There's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. The memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been…"

"You're a fool. Just like your brother," the grating voice interrupted Sans. Chara's sickly smile dimmed Sans' fake one. "He believe there was good in me until the very end, as his body turned to dust and blew away."

The room chilled. "Enough," hurt laced Sans' usually cheerful voice. "Lets go, dirty brother killer!"

He launched a series of attacks at his opponent, undeterred as he initially dodged. The luminescent bones speed further, spurred on by San's unleashed emotions. A miss calculation was Chara's downfall as a they were grazed by a Gaster Blaster beam.

"Good riddance," he mumbled to himself, watching the body in front of him crumble. Holding his head in his hands, Sans concentrated on the save file that was loading. His years of research with W. D. Gaster had allowed him to go past mere awareness of the save file. While he could not access it himself, he could remember what had happened in the various timelines and react accordingly.

However, it had come at a price. Their initial experiments had included Alphys. Her experiments involving the unknown power of 'determination', had not been humane to say the least. The dying monsters bodies just couldn't handle the concentration, and while it extended their life for a short time, it also cause them to live in constant pain, their veins burning inside out until they eventually melted under the strain.

While Sans had never been given the injection, he was the one administering the concoction while Gaster and Alphys worked in the lab. It was already too late once they discovered 'determination' had radioactive-like qualities when exposed to monsters. Determination had slowly infected Sans by just being in its presence, altering his body type.

In a way, it was a success. It achieved what they had originally sought. He could wield the power of determination and with more experimentation, could possibly access the gate to the human world. Harvesting the souls of humans would no longer be necessary.

As the days went on, Sans found himself becoming more and more fatigued, even the simplest jobs tiring him out. He hated lying to Papyrus, but he couldn't bare the thought of corrupting his little brother's innocence by admitting the sins he had committed in that lab. Instead, he feigned laziness, his naps becoming a much need break from the various jobs he held around Snowdin along with his research in his workshop.

After seeing the effects of determination, he had abandoned Alphys' work and instead focused on his new powers. The fabled 'save' point was one of his first discoveries. When traveling through Temmie village to gather supplies, he noticed a shining light like that of a star.

Despite his lazy demeanour, Sans' curiosity got the better of him and he touched the heavenly beacon. His body was promptly engulfed in azure flames and he passed out from the overdose of determination.

He was careful in the future not to touch the save points, instead he studied them from afar. When mentioning it in passing to Grillby, he had been cut off and sent home. Sans quickly learnt not to bring up the save points no one else could see. Luckily, Grillby passed off the incident as ketchup induced delusions and not genuine madness.

His eye was another discovery, when practicing with his power he noticed a faint blue and sometimes yellow glow in the room coming from himself. A hurried visit to the mirror both cleared up his questions and opened a slew of new ones.

A pulse of power flew through the room, sending Sans backwards a step. Towards the end of the hall, he watched as Chara stepped out of the save point once more and dug through the box beside it. Just keep reseting, kid. I'll always be here to beat ya'.

"You can't dodge forever!" Chara called out as he came to stand in front of Sans.

Ignoring the comment, Sans replied, "Let's just get to the point. Here we go."

"It's a beautiful day to burn in hell," Chara remarked casually while dodging some flying arrows.

"Less talking more dying, kid."

Another predictable swipe of a knife and Sans launched his next attack. His eye blazed as he lifted Chara with telekinesis and threw him at the wall.

Chara jumped in time to miss the spikes, but the impact left them winded and they quickly devoured a legendary hero burger. "You keep telling me to give up, but I'll always revive with my determination. All I need is one lucky hit!" The last sentence was punctuated with an attack for each word.

Sans barely dodged in time and lent forwards, bracing himself on his knees, puffing from exhaustion. He was nearly out of energy. Even if the fight ended right at this second, he was sure wouldn't be able to move for a good couple of days.

"Determination?" he laughed. Not his usual 'heh heh heh', but a dark chuckle full of malice. "You know nothing of determination, you're made of L.O.V.E. Any pure determination you may have once held died with your human self." Sans got to his knees and took a step forwards, pushing Chara backwards slightly. "You need friends in order to have determination. You, you have nothing," he spat, blood mixed with saliva splat on the floor. "I am their mercy I am their vengeance. I am DETERMINATION!" he roared.

Taking the initiative, Sans flung himself forward and physically engaged with the child. A right hook here, an uppercut here and Chara hissed in pain.

However, the brazen attack left his defences open and Sans fell to his knees, clutching the knife that was lodged in his ribs. Chara stood above him, battered and looking worse for wear, but triumphant.

"I didn't even get a chance to use my special attack…" Sans coughed, collapsing at his assailant's feet.

"Good riddance," Chara muttered. Turning on their heel, they began to walk away.

The white pupils in Sans' eyes faded away. He saw a flash of blue, then a flash of yellow before being blinded by brightness.

As the brightness eventually cleared, he sprung to his feet feeling invigorated in a way he had not in years. Looking around, he was startled to note he was in Temmie village, but it was eerily quiet. Only the Tem shopkeep was there, but even she was hiding behind the counter.

Looking over his shoulder, it finally clicked. The save point.

"But, it doesn't look like I've gone back in time…" Sans' head snapped up. Those thoughts could be saved for later, for now he had to stop Chara.

Focusing on his destination, he was startled when his power easily followed his command. With a quiet 'crack' he found himself at the end of the hall, his eyes focused on Chara's retreating form. Turning to his right, Sans noticed the save point and quickly set up a cage around the marker like the cage when he dunked Chara.

With everything set, he called his power, watching as the determination sparked around him, crackling with energy. "Hey, kid. We're not done," he called out. With one arm he directed the current at his adversary. The determination shot forwards with lightning speed, not allowing Chara a moment to dodge. The shock sizzled through his system, overloading his senses. Sans watched dispassionately as Chara's HP rapidly deteriorated, before he eventually collapsed into a pile of dust.

A moment later, the save point next to him fizzled and sputtered out a disoriented Chara who was squished against the sides of the far to small cage. The bones lowered his HP once more and he popped out of existent, only to respawn once again. This happened a few times before an agonising cry reverberated through the hall. With a final shudder, Frisk's body melted onto the floor and dissipated for the last time. All that was left was a small heart calming glowing beside the save point within its confines.

"Frisk?" Sans asked after a moment of hesitation.

The Soul seemed to wilt under his stare, but bobbed up and down as if nodding.

"Calm down, I don't blame you for this, kid. It's nice to see ya' after all this time, I just wish it were under different circumstances," Sans explained with a tight smile.

Picking up the bone cage, he was surprised when the save point and Frisk also moved along with it. He had expected them to slip through the cracks.

~.~.~

"It's the only way," stated Asgore, looking sternly at the cowering soul that resided on Sans shoulder. The little heart was faintly shaking as it did its best to hide in the folds of the bulky jacket. "We need the soul, Sans. There is nothing left for the remaining of us down here. We could start life afresh on the surface, like they would have wanted…"

"That's cheap. Blackmail, oh great king? I worked for you during the experiments and look at whats become of me." Sans gestured to his still blazing eye and the electricity that hissed between his bones.

Silence reigned for a moment before Asgore whispered, "He killed Toriel."

"No, Chara did. You think I don't feel Tori's death as well? This is Frisk. You want to sacrifice another innocent!" Sans hissed, his determination buzzing around his body and Frisk defensively.

Asgore didn't remember, no one else seemed to, but they were friends. This was his friend and he wanted to just carelessly sacrifice them.

"Use me instead," instructed Sans. He had no one left. He couldn't control his determination. It was better for everyone. "We've wasted enough time, lets just get his over with."

Asgore did not seem pleased at the suggestion, but was desperate. With a sad sigh, he motioned for them to follow him through to the gate.

They made a stop off at the bunker that held the final survivors. The group was depressingly small. While the monster world has certainly not been a metropolis, there were barely enough people to fill up the houses in a single cul-de-sac.

"Your sacrifice will be remembered, Sans," mumbled Asgore as he looked over his people.

Sans looked up to the king and shrugged. "Heh heh. No big deal," he answered and continued on to his destination.

The impressive, ebony arch was the only thing that stood between the monster and the human world. The gate's looming figure seemed to shine under the harsh light of the torches that ran along the walls. Embedded the in edge of the gate were seven glass canisters. Each held a different coloured soul except for one in the centre which lay empty.

Sans' determination seemed to take on a mind of its own as it caressed the empty chamber, but shrunk back when it sent out a pulse. The power emanating from the gate was tantalising like forbidden fruit, beckoning Sans to relax and just give in.

A distant chime brought Sans out of his trance. Once he came back to himself, Sans noticed the noise had emerged from the save point in the cage dangling from his finger tips. He reached into the cage with a determination coated hand, encasing the save point in a swirling sphere.

The people behind him looked on curiously as he seemingly grabbed nothing, but did not interfere. Setting the save point beside the gate, he decided to let it rest there. No one else could see or utilise it, so he figured there would be no issue.

Frisk peered at the save from behind the hood of Sans' jacket. The small heart-shaped soul was conflicted.

"Off ya' get, kiddo," Sans said gently, cupping the soul in his hand. It seemed unaffected by his determination. "End of the line," he joked with a grim smile and placed the soul beside the save.

Asgore nodded and stepped towards the gate, arms outstretched. "This is your last chance to back out, Sans," he stated, talking to the skeleton over his shoulder. "We can do the extraction because of your determination, but the pain of having your soul ripped from you body is not something to take lightly. Once your soul is separated from your body, you will be placed in the unbreakable canister. From there, there is no pain, but there is no going back. Once I begin, I cannot stop."

Sans nodded. "I understand. I'm ready." He closed his eyes and awaited his fate. This isn't how he imagined going down, but he was at peace. He wasn't scared, because while he cared for Frisk, he was doing this for selfish reasons. He wasn't sacrificing himself for the group. Getting to the surface didn't appeal to him anymore. He was tired. He was doing this so he could be with his brother.

Hesitating for a moment, Asgore nodded back and motioned for Sans to stand beside him. He placed an arm on the sacrifice's shoulder and let the other hang, outstretched towards the arch. "Sacrificate sacrificium solvere anima ex anima," he began to chant.

In that second, Frisk had made up their mind. This wasn't right. It swiftly climbed the arch, using the last of its energy to hoist itself into the glass canister.

San's eyes opened to see the movement, but was too late. Frisk watched as San's mouth opened in anguish from within the soundproof chamber. I may not be able to reset like you begged me too Sans, but I can still save you…

Asgore had also noticed the action and immediately let go of Sans. The ritual couldn't be halted, instead he would have to continued with Frisk's soul. "Octo octo generat. Solve vincla imposuit nobis. Bonus Dominus liberabit nos."

Asgore fell to his knees and gazed at the still sealed gate. Then, a small crack appeared, snaking through the stone like the veins of a leaf. All at once, it seemed to give way, shattering into thousands of tiny shards. Light flooded the once dark corridor, and hisses of pain could be heard from the monsters as they shielded their eyes.

All that was left was the casing of the gate with the canisters embedded in them. Where they had once buzzed with energy, they were now silent, empty apart from a dusty residue each matching the colour of their previous forms.

"Frisk… Why?" Sans cried, magical, burning tracks dripping from his eye sockets. "I was ready. I don't want to be like this anymore!"

"Sans," stated Asgore in a stern, but weary voice, "Get ahold of yourself."

His determination was spinning wildly around his body like a cyclone. It cracked and fizzled threatening at those around him as he crouched down on the stone floor. His body shook from grief, anger and shock all at once. He couldn't control it.

With a yell, the power flew from his body pushing everyone around him away and up against the wall. The underground seemed to shake and Sans got to his feet. Scooping up the save point, he tucked it into his jacket and fled into the outside world.

Even after he left, the ground continued to shake and the remaining survivors followed in his footsteps, just escaping the cave before it could collapse on top of them. The monsters watched on bittersweetly as the dust settled. They were free, but cut off from their home.

In the distance, Asgore watched as Sans fled over the horizon, only visible by the blue lightning that struck the ground around his feet.

"God, like… what's his problem?" asked one of the monsters, drawing attention to Sans' vanishing form.

"We're saved and he's free now, but that was totally scary and stuff."

~.~.~

AN: Reviews are always welcome. Preferably constructive ones, but hey, send me a flame if you want. I'm feeling accommodating. Let me know if you guys want more and I'll see what I can do.

With the latin translation, I won't bother saying what I originally typed. I used google translate, so trying to convert it back is sketchy at best of what I originally said.

Also, if anyone has any advice, I couldn't decide whether or not to type as Sans does (without capitalisation etc.) It would be in character, but know personally that reading it that way for a long period of time would annoy the hell out of me. I can go back and change it later if need be.

Cheers,

Misericorda