Reset (Sans x Older!Frisk)

3- Fear

Standing in front of the barred bridge, Frisk was actually surprised when she heard a voice behind her. She wasn't sure he would show up- give her a chance.

"Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

Cautiously, Frisk turned to face Sans, studying him for any sign of wariness or suspicion. Of memory. There was none- just that shit-eating grin that she had grown so fond of.

He had his hand outstretched, looking at her expectantly, and slowly, she extended hers to shake it. As soon as their fingertips touched, he flinched back like she'd burned him. His eye flashed blue, his face momentarily unguarded, and multiple emotions chased themselves over it like thunderclouds across the sky. Suprise. Fear. And a darker undertone- black as pitch. Hate. It settled there for a second, and he muttered, "Kid- you-"

Frisk stumbled back in shock, and he didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. She knew what he was going to say.

Y o u s h o u l d ' n t h a v e c o m e b a c k.

The grin was back within moments, so fast that it could hardly have been considered gone. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton," he stated. His smile didn't touch his eyes- it rarely ever did- and he didn't try to shake her hand. Frisk knew, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, that he remembered. Of course he did. So why was he acting like nothing had changed?

Frisk was staring at him like she'd seen a ghost, but he continued like nothing was out of the ordinary. "I'm actually on watch for humans right now, but I don't really care about capturing anyone. Now my brother, Papyrus- he's a human hunting fanatic. But I mean- you knew that already, didn't you?" The way he said it made chills run down her spine.

Unlike past times, he didn't lead her across the bridge or tell her anything more. It was clear he didn't want her anywhere near his brother. He obviously remembered the last reset, maybe even more. Chara had been the one with the power to seal his memory with a True Reset, not Frisk. She wondered what else she would be unable to do without Chara's help.

Sans started to speak again, jerking Frisk out of her thoughts. "Follow me," he instructed, making a wide arc around her to lead her across the bridge.

"Sans..." Frisk started, as if anything she could say would make the situation any better. She fell silent, as was custom for her, and followed him.

"Listen, kid... Well, I'm not even sure that name applies to you," Sans replied as soon as they had passed the bridge, "I, uh, expected you to be a little smaller. I had this conveniently shaped lamp and everything."

Caught by surprise, Frisk looked down at her hands. They did seem bigger. And, when she hugged Toriel, she had wondered if the goat monster had gotten shorter, although when she thought about it, the idea was ridiculous. Nothing changed in a reset. Except, well... herself, apparently.

She looked around frantically, at her legs, her arms- she had undeniably grown. Sans chuckled, seeming to find her antics humorous. Her reaction had probably affirmed a suspicion of his, which didn't shock her in the slightest after all this time.

The only explanation could be that her physical age had caught up to her mental age. There were resets, in the foggier memories she had, where she had given Chara full control and stayed for months- stalled, stayed with friends, or chosen to stay with Toriel in the very beginning, just to see what would happen. Altogether, that time had to amount to years, spent in the same reset loop. She'd lost so much time that she had no idea how old she really was.

But more importantly- why? Why had she suddenly aged? Was it because Chara was gone?

A trickle of fear ran down her spine, and she tried to reach for her save file.