Othertale

Undertale AU

Sans centered

Rating: PG-13

Rated for plot and character deaths


Summary:
Undertale is nothing more than a dream; a dream that slowly becomes a nightmare as time passes. Unlike the game, our main character is Sans, Sans the Skeleton, and, sadly, he is our dreamer, living reset after excruciating reset in Undertale till, at last, he wakes. Mind filled with nothing but what he lived in Undertale, Sans struggles to regain the memories he had lost and return to the person that everyone remembers. Thing is, the world he has awoken to is nothing like Undertale.

Othertale is a two part story written when time permits and is unbalanced between the two parts. Undertale is the first half, Othertale the second, the two separated by where Sans is: Undertale, a dream becoming a nightmare, and Othertale, the reality forgotten. The majority of the story will occur in the Othertale portion.

Part 1: Undertale | Chapter 1 - Chapter 2
Part 2: Othertale | Chapter 3 - final chapter

Notes:
Please note that a large part of this first chapter is direct script from the video game and that the repetition in this chapter is on purpose. Not all of the repetition is word for word. We slowly ease out of it in the next chapter as well.


Part 1: Undertale

Chapter 1

It felt like a miracle he was even waking up with how bad his head was pounding. He was pretty certain he was either stupid lucky he hadn't cracked his skull on the floor or that someone had found him rather quickly after he had collapsed. He grumbled lowly to himself, shifting against the mattress. He had known he was going to pass out. Why did he have to fight it?

He frowned. Weird. Why did it feel like he was on a mattress with no sheet?

He pushed himself off the mattress enough to look even as every bone in his body complained at the action. Sure enough, he came face to face with the bare mattress he had been face down on.

Something was wrong. He looked to the side, finding himself in his room, buddle of sheets and blankets at the foot of his bed looking like a boulder as usual. Except, this wasn't his room nor – to his bewilderment – the room he expected to wake up in. But it was his room and there was no reason why he should be waking up anywhere else. The whole duality (or, in this case, triality) was really not helping the pounding in his head as it sent a wave of vertigo through him.

He settled on the edge of the mattress as he attempted to will his headache away. The sound of footfall outside his room then the sudden pounding at his door did nothing to aid his attempt.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans the Skeleton flinched, but smiled warmly at his brother's voice even as a sense of wrong went through him. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out in return, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. Sans chuckled. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied, getting up. He regretted it instantly. His entire being throbbed painfully but he pushed it all aside as he grabbed whatever was closest and dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away was enough for him to clue where his brother was heading. He attempted to deny the sense of wrong that had come with the thought of his brother's destination.

He attempted to deny that the feeling had been associated with the jacket he had grabbed, blue with a fake fur lined hood that seemed to be too bright in color, as if it wasn't even real.

He tugged on a different shirt and cleaner shorts, though cleanliness was more relative in this case. When had he become such a slob?

The scent coming from the kitchen was foreign and familiar as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him. The fresh wave of vertigo was accompanied by nausea and it took all he had to manage his way down the stairs.

Every part of him was screaming WRONG and yet there was nothing wrong. Everything was as it should be. There was nothing out of place, nothing incorrect. But, no matter how hard he tried, he came to a stop at the kitchen door, gripping the doorframe for support as he tried to keep from shaking.

Before him was his brother, back turned to him as the taller skeleton tended to something on the stove, battle body on like always. Sans found it equal parts easy and difficult to recall why the taller was wearing the strange attire that wasn't strange at all.

His headache pulsed painfully behind his left eye and he pressed the heel of a hand to the socket, willing the headache away.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," Sans urged playfully, though there was no honesty to the emotion. It was like he was sprouting memorized lines and, as he settled into a chair, he found that this whole situation felt like an act in a play. It was a very strange analogy, one he wasn't sure he knew the origin of.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed and Sans was grateful the other was too busy focusing on cooking to have seen the flinch at the volume. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

To say that he was startled when a plate of spaghetti was placed before him was an understatement. He had been expecting something else, something completely different to be placed before him but, when he tried to remember what he had been expecting, it slipped through his fingers like smoke.

The scent of a specific cigarette assaulted him long enough for him to register it but not to pinpoint the memory it dredged up.

He hid his shudder by grinning at his brother, commenting, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly experiencing all this? Papyrus always made spaghetti. Heck, he was pretty sure his bro didn't know how to make anything else. But there had been that scent as well, whatever that scent had been. It had been brief, it had been so potent, like he should know what it had come from and should have remembered what it was but, just like the sudden expectation of a different kind of food for breakfast, he couldn't figure out what it had been.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the bitterness and the wrong washed over his senses. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, shuddering at the taste and willing his body to retain it. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noticed that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. Sans let that ease his smile bigger. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house was probably worse than him stepping out of his room. Vertigo washed over him and the breakfast spaghetti nearly made an encore as he stumbled in the snow. He couldn't breathe as his gaze snapped around, horror sinking in.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. It was all wrong! There was-this was all-No! This was wrong! This was-

"BROTHER?!" Sans jerked, finding his brother's hands securely on his arms. Sans felt like screaming. "BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus released him and Sans almost reach out towards him, fearing he would fall face first into the snow. Thankfully, he didn't. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

"Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind but it was weird. The sense of wrong hadn't left and it was just getting stronger the longer they passed through town. There should be more homes, more people, different people, but Sans knew this had always been who had been here, that the buildings were as they had always been. The library with its misspelled sign, the path that led to the few houses north and the dog that chucked ice to keep the core cool, Grillby's on the other side of the path. It was all as it should be but it was all wrong.

He looked up and wished he hadn't.

Sans shoved the sudden claustrophobia away as his magic reacted, yanking at the world around him and depositing him behind Papyrus. He nearly stumbled face first into the snow as he suddenly appeared on his brother's heel. This time actual panic rushed through him. Teleportation was a thing he did naturally but what he had just done was not what he normally did.

His head pulsed painfully.

He felt like screaming in frustration as his head pounded and just teleport back to his room and stay there. This was not right, not fair! Why was he feeling like he was suddenly not right in his own bones? This…this was….it just….

He came to a stop at the bridge as a sense of apathy settled over him. It was foreign but welcomed as he focused on his brother already halfway across the long bridge. He took a second, grounding himself in the sudden apathy.

All the wrong fell away.

When he opened his sockets, Papyrus was nearly cross the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but Sans only gave him a lazy grin and continued to follow.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans went with the motions, speaking words he didn't even have to think about. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, the apathy did as well. With his brother out of sight and being so far from another living soul, Sans found it hard to even keep the apathy in place.

He was reacquainted with the breakfast spaghetti but, thankfully, it was through expelled magic rather than half digested food. He shuddered, his bones rattling at the force. He didn't even want to know where that knowledge came from and hoped he forgot about it as he had everything else that morning.

He frowned.

No, he could remember that morning, but it was hard. He remembered that something at breakfast had startled him but he couldn't remember what. He remembered that waking up that morning had been weird but he couldn't…..couldn't…

He came to abruptly, finding himself slumped forward in a chair, head resting on the counter of the sentry station in a clearing with an interestingly shaped lamp. He rubbed his face as he sat up, frowning. Odd…he couldn't remember making it to the sentry station let alone falling asleep at it. He looked around. Nope, nothing strange beyond the lamp. Pulling at the world, he stood at the edge of the clearing, barely making out an interesting structure farther down the path in the fog. It took nothing to take a shortcut closer and he found himself coming up on a ravine that had an old bridge crossing it, a massive wooden structure that looked more like rectangular arches than a gate. He chuckled, passing through the gate. Leave it to his brother to create the most interesting of things. He sporadically used shortcuts, only moving as far as he could see.

It was probably the wisest thing he had ever done because he would have ended up teleporting into a door and he much preferred not being a permanent addition to the underground's historic structure. He pressed a hand to the stone door, a smile tugging at his face. Exhaustion pulled at his bones again and Sans went easily with it this time, teleporting to a high branch in a nearby tree.

He settled in to nap only for a low rumble of stone grating against stone to fill the quiet forest.

He sat up, his gaze automatically locking onto the door set into the wall. He watched as a tiny human stepped out. Oh, he knew the figure wasn't a monster. It was very obvious the tiny person was not a monster.

He slipped from his branch and the world bent and stretched around him as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid – it had to be a kid – had walked around. Spend magic dissipated quickly and the surprise the sound seemed to cause in the human was amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily and tasted familiar but that was nothing new. The kid turned around slowly. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a confused giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere, even from this distance through the light fog. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, worry marring their expression. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

It was a breath, a moment that allowed Sans to watch as the kid's worry turned into determination, before the kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. Surprisingly enough, the oddly-shaped lamp that had always been next to his station was suddenly conveniently-shaped and very useful, especially with his brother heading their way. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a hesitant smile before they hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice still at its loudest volume. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today." He winked. "A skele-ton."

Papyrus bristled. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid wandered out from behind the lamp, cautious but clearly happy. The kid walked right up to him without a worry and Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid smiled at that, but said kid didn't look like they were planning on leaving any time soon. Sans's smile fell a bit. "What's the holdup?" The kid returned their attention to him, inadvertently showing their worry to him. He kicked his smile back up, offering honestly, "Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked, trying to get the kid to lighten up as an idea started to form in the back of his mind. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid's face twisted up in conflict and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else. Which could mean…

"Actually, hey," he called out. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with a curious expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous," Sans quickly informed the human, already seeing the worry reach into the human's expression again, "even if he tries to be."

There's a pause before the human nodded in agreement. Sans felt a part of his soul ease at that. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his renewed story off. Sans watched Papyrus, already knowing who was approaching. The kid's footfall was pretty unique. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, though, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans supplied in a stage whisper.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother race off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eye socket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. Sans found his smile slipping when the battle was started, watching as the controls and HP bar popped up for the human. Again, the sense of wrong washed through him but he ignored it for the most part. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever worry Sans had about the human being dangerous was laid to rest. With a smile returning to his face, Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans tailed the kid like he had promised, though he didn't try overly hard to constantly keep the kid in his line of sight; seemed a bit much and way too much effort. He did keep with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. After that, it turned out the kid didn't need him and Sans backed off, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus. There were only two times that he met up with the kid purposely. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Thankfully, thankfully, he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he let the kid be. He teleported away, finding himself shaking, bones rattling. He wrapped his arms around his torso, not understanding the sudden reaction to whatever was going on. He hadn't reacted like this to anything else.

He jumped when his phone rang and he fumbled at it. He let out a sigh, catching the familiar sight of his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with…shin-gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans forced the smile on his face to remain. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to pass through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them, but Sans couldn't help the disappointment that wafted through him. He tensed, gaze quickly flicking towards the side. He thought he had seen a mass in the shadows but it seemed he was seeing things as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus…you called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans honestly hadn't thought about that and glanced at his brother. "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden apprehension seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the apprehension grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was suddenly trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked easily, the words flowing without him even needing to think about it. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans wasn't quite sure how supportive that was.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Sans believed that they actually had a chance of getting out of this. But then the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

He blinked, finding himself face down on a sheetless mattress. Panic flooded him as he bolted upright. What?! No! They had made it out. They had to have made it out! The kid had destroyed the barrier; they had all seen the light at the end of the cave.

Right?

He warped the world around him, pulling at it in desperation even as he couldn't sort out the memories in his head. It had to have been real. He just accidentally teleported back home. Right?!

He hit the ground on his side, a tangled mess as he shifted an arm to push himself up enough to look at where the exit was.

The barrier was still there.

A sob shook him as his hand met resistance against the barrier. He covered his mouth, eye lights gone tears gathered in his sockets. He crumpled to the floor as he tried to muffle the emotions rolling through him.

This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair! He could not dream a dream like that only to wake up!

Magic exploded from him and the sudden unleash of magic combined with him drowning in emotions startled him enough that no damage was caused to the surrounding architecture. He shuddered, huddling against the barrier as he stared towards the only entrance into the space.

But nobody came.

He pulled at the world around him and returned to his bedroom. There was a dull thud as he missed the mattress and landed on the floor instead. He rubbed his sore shoulder as he moved to the mattress. Teleporting while emotionally compromised was not the wisest thing to do. It left him drained and more exhausted than he already was.

A dream.

He flopped forward onto the mattress, knees still on the floor by his bed. That it had been so real, so absolute; for him to wake up from it hurt the most. That kind of hope was dangerous. And to lose it…

He rubbed his face into the mattress, grateful as parts of the dream faded from his mind.

The sudden pounding at his door made him jump.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans stared at the door in shock. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out in return, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. The chuckle that left him was almost involuntary. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied, getting up. The smile in his words didn't show on his face. He grabbed whatever was closest and dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away was enough for him to clue where his brother was heading. He stilled as he frowned down at the blue jacket in his hand. He couldn't help but feel as if something was missing at the same time he was experiencing a very odd sense of déjà vu. Deciding to worry about it later, he tugged on a different shirt and cleaner shorts, though cleanliness was more relative in this case. When had he become such a slob?

The scent coming from the kitchen wafted to him as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him. As he made his way to the kitchen, the déjà vu didn't leave, nor the feeling that something was really missing.

He stopped on the threshold of the kitchen, taking in his brother's back as the taller skeleton tended to something on the stove. He frowned. Was that the only thing his brother wore now?

His frown deepened. Surely it wasn't.

But even as he tried to rack his brain for something else his brother wore, nothing came to mind

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," Sans urged playfully, though there was no honesty to the emotion. It was like he was sprouting lines and that thought alone stopped him in his tracks. Hadn't he used that analogy recently, regardless of its oddity?

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed and Sans was grateful the other was too busy focusing on cooking to notice Sans's sudden mental distraction. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans poked at it with his fork. He frowned, almost expecting a scent to touch him but none came. He grinned at his brother, commenting, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head. Something was missing. Even with it being early in the day he could tell something was off but, no matter how hard he thought about it, nothing came to mind. Just the really weird dream he had last night. He vehemently ignored the dream's ending. No need to dredge that back up.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the bitterness washed over his senses. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, shuddering at the taste. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noticed that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. Sans let that ease his smile bigger. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house only made him feel hollow and the flicker of a faint memory of vertigo made him tense automatically. It was faint but there was a phantom sense of wrong that settled in his soul as he turned to follow his brother. The sensation of his brother's hands securely on his harms made him shudder.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Sans blinked, looking up at Papyrus. He hadn't realized he had come to a stop in the snow. "Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. He glanced about, once more getting the phantom sensation of wrong but this one was much fainter than the last time and he easily pushed it away. There was nothing wrong. His dream just messed with him was all.

Sans pulled at the world around him, stepping up to his brother's heel. He stumbled slightly, frowning. Odd. Why had that felt unnatural, like he was doing it wrong? He looked at his hand out of nothing better to frown at. He turned his hand over, racking his brain for anything that could shed a light on this sudden revelation but, as he went searching for information, horror started to settle into his bones. There were massive gaps in not only what he should know about the world around him, but in his memories as well. He had vague impressions of some things but, when he tried to think what he had done in the last few days, all that came back was his dream.

He came to a stop at the bridge as a sense of apathy settled over him, accompanied by déjà vu. It was foreign but welcomed as it stilled the oncoming panic attack. Even if breathing wasn't a thing they needed to do to live, he took a deep, calming breath, grounding himself in the present so as not to tempt another panic attack. He focused back on his brother, spotting the lanky skeleton nearly cross the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but the spent magic had already dissipated and Sans gave him a lazy grin as he continued to follow along. The apathy slowly seeped from him but the panic didn't return, much to Sans's relief.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans greeted them with words that came easily. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, he let out a sigh and started to trudge down the path. He paused at his station as the strange sense of waking suddenly without knowing how he had gotten there. With a shrug, he continued on passed the oddly shaped lamp. He pulled at the world in increments but found that the walk was rather pleasant.

An interesting structure was barely peaking out of the fog further down the path. Sans's peaked curiosity was enough to take a shortcut closer and he found himself standing beside a ravine that had an old bridge crossing it, a massive wooden structure that looked more like rectangular arches than a gate. He chuckled fondly as he passed underneath. Leave it to his brother to create the most interesting things. How could he have forgotten such a masterpiece done by his brother?

He found himself face to face with a stone door and exhaustion pulled at his bones as he pressed a hand to the structure. Looking about curiously, he picked a high branch and teleported to it, settling down with his back against the trunk and eye sockets sliding shut.

A low rumble of stone grating against stone filled the quiet forest. His gaze automatically drifted to the door set into the wall as his brain worked to wake up from his nap. He watched as a tiny human stepped out. Oh, he knew the figure wasn't a monster. It was very obvious the tiny person was not a monster. But something about the human nagged at him, like he should know who they were.

He slipped from his branch. The world pulled around him, bending and stretching as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid – it had to be a kid – had walked around as spend magic dissipated quickly; the surprise it seemed to cause in the human was amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily and tasted familiar. The kid turned around slowly and he shuddered as déjà vu raced through his bones. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a confused giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious." He ignored the déjà vu as the words just tumbled from his mouth. "I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, worry marring their expression. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

It was a breath, a moment that allowed Sans to watch as the kid's worry turned into determination, before the kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. Surprisingly enough, the oddly-shaped lamp that was always next to his station was suddenly conveniently-shaped and very useful, especially with his brother heading their way. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a smile, trusting his word, and hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice at its loudest volume as it always seemed to be in. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today." He winked. "A skele-ton."

Papyrus bristled. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid came out from behind the lamp and walked right up to him, grinning. Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid beamed and the words flowed freely from Sans. "What's the holdup? Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid giggled and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination and glee on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else.

"Actually, hey," he called out without prompting. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with an almost expectant expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

The human quickly nodded in agreement, giving Sans a thumbs up. Sans shifted his weight lazily. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his story off. Sans watched Papyrus, already knowing who was approaching. The kid's footfall was pretty unique. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, though, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans supplied in a stage whisper.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother race off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. He watched as the battle started, the controls popping up for the human. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever concern Sans may have had about the human's wellbeing was laid to rest. Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans kept with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. It was fun watching his brother's reaction to the human. After that, Sans sporadically tailed the kid, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus if he lost the kid for a bit. He found it was easiest to just be at his stations. There were only two times that he went out of his way to be with the kid. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he grinned at the kid, oddly proud. He teleported away, feeling mildly odd. Strange. Why did it feel like something was missing?

His phone rang and he pulled it out, catching his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh, anticipation rolling through him, as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with…shin-gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans found it surprisingly easy to keep the smile on his face. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to break through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them and Sans merely gave a grin back. He tensed, suddenly on guard as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus…you called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans glanced at his brother, trying really hard not to reach out like he wanted to. What in the world was causing him to suddenly be expecting an attack? "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden dread seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the dread grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was suddenly trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked, the words flowing without a thought to them. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans was tempted to roll his eyes good naturedly at her not very supportive comment.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Hope warred against the dread still grasping at Sans's soul. A part of him knew it was pointless to Hope. Things were only going to get worse instead of better. Sure enough, the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

Sans let out a groan, startled yet somehow not surprised to find himself face down on a sheetless mattress. The familiar panic flooded his system but he pushed it down as he shoved at the mattress, gaze snapping around the room. This was all too familiar to be a coincident. His supposed "dream" was too crisp for it to be a mere "dream", especially now that he could distinctly recall waking up the same way from a very similar "dream" already.

He frowned and pulled at the world around him. He staggered on his sock covered feet, not quite awake enough to handle the sudden change in position mid shortcut, but at least he didn't end up on his face.

The barrier was still there.

Grief washed through him but this time no sobs ripped themselves from his chest as he took in the barrier. His knees gave out as he touched it, the grief he was feeling almost nothing compared to the phantom grief he could feel echoing it. He looked about but there seemed to be no evidence to what Sans had been experiencing. Feeling exhausted, Sans teleported back to his room.

He rummaged through the belongings in his room, looking for anything that could be of use. He found a small notebook buried underneath a mound of clothing and he sneered at the mess. When had he become such a slob? He flipped through the pages. All but the first few were blank and what covered the first pages looked to be complicated notes. He frowned down at the equations scrawled across the paper. It looked like high level math and there were notes scrawled in the margins and the rest of the page around any math that appeared. From what he gathered, it looked like some sort of science. Most likely theoretical but he wasn't sure how much of that was just him pulling answers out of thin air. Maybe if there was a workspace of some kind-

Sudden pounding at his door made him jump.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans blinked at the door. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. The chuckle that left him was involuntary. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied. The smile in his words didn't show on his face as he dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away informed him his brother wasn't hovering. He stilled as he frowned down at the blue jacket in his hand. Déjà vu was probably the closest thing he could put towards what he was feeling but it wasn't quite right. The "dream" wasn't fading and seemed to only increase his remembrance of the previous "dream". He needed time to write all this down. Shoving the notebook into a pocket of the blue jacket, he frowned at the shorts he was about to tug on. Cleanliness was certainly a relative term in the case of his clothing.

The scent coming from the kitchen wafted to him as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him out of apparent habit.

He stopped on the threshold of the kitchen as if anticipating something, but, seeing as he remembered his "dreams" and that these "dreams" were too much like the present, the only thing he was anticipating were his brother's words.

He briefly noted his brother's attire, the same outfit he had seen at least twice now.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have." The words were playful and urging but they lacked any real thought to them. He hadn't even been able to recall his response till the words had left him. He was starting to question his own sanity, even as he could have parroted Papyrus's next words.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans poked at it with his fork. Yep, same as last time. It even looked the same. He mentally groaned. This was weird. He grinned at his brother nonetheless and commented, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head. He discretely touched the notebook in his pocket, wondering if what he had in mind would even work. If he kept "waking up", would that mean that what he wrote would be erased? Or was he in some sort of temporal loop and the notebook would be dragged along with him?

He shuddered, grateful when it seemed Papyrus hadn't noticed. If he was in a temporal loop and what he was experiencing was a sort of resetting, he needed to figure out why it was resetting to him waking up face down in a sheetless mattress.

He also needed to figure out when he became such the scientist but that was a low priority. If the notebook was anything to go by, he's had some dealings in science for quite some time, meaning he may have a workspace. He just had to find it.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the familiar bitterness washed over his senses. It somehow seemed less revolting than the last time. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, still shuddering at the taste. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noted that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. His smile grew bigger on its own. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house, Sans took the moment to look towards the underground's ceiling. There was still a sense of claustrophobia scraping at his soul but this was the first time in two resets he had looked up so he may just be getting used to the ceiling seeming closer than normal.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

Sans blinked, looking up at Papyrus. "Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. Despite it all, his brother's reactions were a familiarity he hoped would never change, even if the jokes were the same, horrible taste.

He came to a stop at the bridge as mild weariness pulled at him. Aw, so that would explain the apathy last run. Apparently, he didn't have much stamina and, while he hadn't used as much magic as the last run, physical action seemed to be just as draining as emotional turmoil. Great. Another thing to add to his list of things to keep in mind. He focused back on his brother, spotting the lanky skeleton almost at the other end of the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but the spent magic had already dissipated and Sans gave him a lazy grin as he continued to follow along. The weariness didn't leave and, while Sans had every intent of spending what little time he had before the human showed up – if his growing suspicion that this was a temporal loop was true – he may end up napping without his own consent.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans greeted them with words that came easily. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, a stronger wave of weariness rushed his bones. He leaned heavily on his station, taking the moment to collect himself and push through the very strong urge to sleep. He had things to do and very little time to do it in.

Pulling at the world around him once more, he landed on a high branch and settled down with his back against the trunk. He didn't even get a chance to touch the notebook as sleep overtook him.

A low rumble of stone grating against stone filled the quiet forest. His gaze automatically drifted to the door set into the wall as his brain worked to wake up from his inconvenient nap. He watched as the human stepped out. Despite having a hunch that he was in a temporal loop, he could not remember the kid's name or their face.

He slipped from his branch. The world shifted around him, bending and stretching as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid had walked around as spend magic dissipated quickly; the surprise it seemed to entice – whether out of anticipation or true surprise – was still amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily. The kid turned around slowly but it was clear that the kid wanted to just whip around and take his hand. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a happy little giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere and would always be glad to see it. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, at ease. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

The kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. The conveniently-shaped lamp was still by his station, awaiting to be useful. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a smile and hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice at its loudest volume as it always seemed to be in. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. He caught the soft sound of giggles. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a ton of work done today." He winked. "A skele-ton."

Papyrus bristled as another soft round of giggles came from behind the lamp. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, BACKBONE INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp, spotting the kid peaking out at him. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid came bounding out from behind the lamp and right up to him, grinning. Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid beamed and the words flowed freely from Sans. "What's the holdup? Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid giggled and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination and glee on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else.

"Actually, hey," he called out without prompting. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with an almost expectant expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

The human quickly nodded in agreement, giving Sans a thumbs up. Sans shifted his weight lazily. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his story off. Sans watched Papyrus as the kid approached. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans returned.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother run off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. He watched as the battle started, the controls popping up for the human. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever concern Sans may have had about the human's wellbeing was laid to rest. Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans kept with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. It was fun watching his brother's reaction to the human. After that, Sans sporadically tailed the kid, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus if he lost the kid for a bit. He found it was easiest to just be at his stations. There were only two times that he went out of his way to be with the kid. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he grinned at the kid, oddly proud. He teleported away, feeling mildly odd. Strange. Why did it feel like something was missing?

His phone rang and he pulled it out, catching his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled, already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh, anticipation rolling through him, as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with…shin-gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans found it surprisingly easy to keep the smile on his face. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to break through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them and Sans merely gave a grin back. He tensed, suddenly on guard as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus…you called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans glanced at his brother, trying really hard not to reach out like he wanted to. What in the world was causing him to suddenly be expecting an attack? "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden dread seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the dread grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was then trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked, the words flowing without a thought to them. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans was tempted to roll his eyes good naturedly at her not very supportive comment.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Hope warred against the dread still grasping at Sans's soul. A part of him knew it was pointless to Hope. Things were only going to get worse instead of better. Sure enough, the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

Sans wanted to tear the mattress beneath him to shreds.


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