Resilience (Undertale: Sans x OC)

Ch15-Scar Tissue

Another month passes by with Amelia in the underground, with nearly no part of the cavern left for her to explore. Now that her journey has come to an end, she has nothing to occupy her mind from the guilt of being alive. Every second she spends with her friends is tainted by shame, knowing that they would be on the surface already if they had collected her soul.

One day, Undyne and Alphys came over to visit the skeleton brothers' house. The group of friends sit on the floor in the living room, chatting away as they watch anime. Everyone has noticed Amelia's drop in energy these past few weeks. She's usually a very chatty and happy person when spending time with friends, but lately she's been rather quiet. She's hardly laughing at her friends' jokes, which is very out of the ordinary.

"Amelia... What's wrong? You've been so quiet lately." Papyrus asks in a softer voice than usual, his tone is serious and concerned. Amelia takes a shaky breath as she gathers her thoughts. She considers lying, telling them that everything is fine. But she concludes that her friends deserve to know the truth.

"I... I've been considering giving my soul up to Asgore." She admits, and sulks when her companions' gasps ring out throughout the room. She can hardly bring herself to look at them, but catches a glimpse of Sans. His pupils have shrunk and his smile slacks, probably the closest to a frown he can develop. That's the most invested she's ever seen him be in her words.

"What?? You can't do that! Why would you even want to??" Undyne almost looks betrayed by her proposal.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you all grow attached to me. I've been selfish these past two months. I was so invested in making friends and going on adventures that I really thought I wanted to keep going. To keep living. But seeing all of you trapped down here because of me, I don't think I can take it anymore." She watches as her words hit everyone like a truck, even Sans. It confuses Amelia, she thought he hated her. Why would Sans be upset about losing her?

"A-Amelia... We d-don't want to live on the surface if it has to be w-without you." Alphys informs her. It hurts Amelia to see how upset her friends are.

"You've wanted freedom long before you met me. I'm sorry, but I can't believe that's true. This has been the entire underground's wish. Everyone wants this."

     "But we don't... Amelia. Your life matters so much more." This is the saddest Amelia has ever heard Papyrus, and it hurts her heart. She looks over to Sans, with his eye sockets void of his usual white pin-pricks. But this time, he doesn't look intimidating. He looks sad.

     "It's just... It's not fair for me to keep living and prevent you from getting to the surface, when I originally fell down here to die." Amelia realizes by her friends' horrified expressions that she's never told them this before.

     "What do you mean...?" Undyne's voice is softer now, with a sting of emotion in her vocal cords.

"My only friend doesn't talk to me anymore and I'm officially homeless... So yeah. There's nothing left for me up there." She mutters matter-of-factly as she stares down at the ground.

"Oh... But what about your family?" Papyrus asks innocently. Amelia sighs, struggling to look up at him. She feels bad dumping all of her pain onto them, but she feels they deserve to know.

"My mom's dead and my dad's the asshole who kicked me out." She finally finds the courage to look at her friends, and their sad expressions bring tears to her eyes. "I gave up. But... You guys really helped me find the will to live again. It just sucks that by being alive I'm keeping you from the surface."

"I'll w-work extra hard on finding a way to the surface. One t-that doesn't involve you dying." Alphys reassures Amelia with a weak smile.

"Yeah, we'll find another way. Just forget that plan, ok?" Undyne pleads in a soft voice. Undyne stands up to give her a hug, which Amelia gladly accepts, standing up to meet her. Alphys and Papyrus join in on the hug, squeezing Amelia tightly. She smiles as she embraces her friends, then glances at Sans and finds herself a little disappointed that he didn't participate.

But once her friends let go of Amelia, Sans approaches her and pulls her into an intimate hug, wrapping his arms around her neck. She's shocked at the gesture. Sans has never hugged her, not even a side hug. She relaxes into his arms with a sigh and hugs him back tightly.

A few weeks later, despite her friends' reassurance, she still can't shake the feeling that she needs to give up her soul. She's lying on the couch, unable to sleep as her friend's previous words circle through her mind.

"Amelia. There is something you should know. Your soul is the final soul we need to break the barrier."

     "That human has the last soul we need! When Undyne finds it, we'll be set free!"

"You! You're standing in the way of everyone's hopes and dreams!"

     "You would be much more valuable if you were dead!"

     Amelia knows her friends would retract their statements if they could. But it's too late, the damage has already been done. Their words echo through her mind, looping endlessly. It's torment.

     Her soul is failing her. She's supposed to have unrelenting perseverance. Why does she struggle to keep going? It's starting to feel like her biggest weakness rather than strength.

     I can't take this anymore. I have to give my soul up. I can't live with this guilt forever. I'll have one last good day with my friends... And then I'm done.

     She commits to her internal promise. She spends the next day with her friends. It feels as if Amelia has come to life again. She's laughing and smiling again, chatting non stop. She's conjuring up fun activities such as having a snowball fight, going to grillbys for lunch, solving puzzles, and watching a movie to end the day. Everyone is happy that Amelia is acting like herself again, everyone except for Sans. He watches her closely throughout the day, knowing that she's up to something.

     Sans isn't a fan of physical affection, at least not with friends. He's reserved and likes to keep to himself. He still isn't too fond of Amelia, but she's grown on him regardless. They may not see eye to eye, but he doesn't want her to die. He makes the difficult decision to overstep his own boundaries. He pulls Amelia in as they watch the movie, letting her lean against him. To his surprise, she doesn't back away. She snuggles in deeper, relaxing against him as they watch the movie. Undyne notices that they are cuddling, and loses her mind. But neither Sans nor Amelia care about Undyne's comments. They continue to lean against each other silently as the movie goes on.

     Sans knows how hard Amelia has been working to become his friend. She's tried getting him to open up so many times, and he's always shut her down. He figures that this small gesture will show her that she has a chance at winning him over. He hopes that will be enough incentive to get her to stay.

     Amelia is facing an internal battle now, all because of Sans. She doesn't understand why now of all times he starts to let her in. Is it possible he's picked up on her plan? That today is supposed to be her last day here? She lets out a breath that she's been holding subconsciously, releasing some of the tension in her body.

     No. As sweet as Sans' gesture is, it won't change anything. She's already made her decision.