Sans looked around. To tell the truth, he really wasn't at all interested in the surroundings at first. The RUINS got boring after you'd landed in them a dozen times.
But these weren't the RUINS. Sans got much more interested, very, very quickly.
Frisk was quite intrigued themselves. They looked around and realized suddenly that they were in the sunlight. They were outside of Ebbot. They were on the Surface.
"Sans! How did we get out here?"
"i dunno, kid. but the barrier is right down there."
Frisk looked where Sans pointed. Indeed, the Barrier surrounded Mt. Ebbot, but further out than usual, ringing the foot of the mountain rather than literally inside it like usual. They were inside the Barrier, just like before.
"Oh. So we're still trapped. We just get a bit of light."
"yup. guess that's it. but hey, look up there."
A small distance up the mountain, a small temple of some kind could be seen, surrounded by the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient town, stone houses and other buildings crumbled around it. The temple itself was much like a stonework pagoda, numerous pillars supporting a small roof, about ten feet tall and the same length in diameter.
Sans and Frisk climbed the mountain, slowly gaining headway toward the temple. It was only when they reached even ground that they noticed the being standing inside the temple.
It was a strange creature, humanoid in build. It appeared to be amphibian, sporting green skin and webbed fingers. It wore a bright white robe, from the back of which sprouted two wings. A pair of antennae hung from it's forehead, and it's face was topped off by one massive eye. Falling like a tail beneath it was a single large leaf, and, hold the whole creature aesthetically together, on it's robe was embroidered an unmistakable Delta Rune.
It turned toward Sans and Frisk, staring at them ominously for a moment, before speaking up, in a booming, echoing, but feminine voice.
"Who dares enter the grounds of the Oracle of TORIEL without permission?"
"uh, sans, i guess. and, uh frisk."
"Hey."
"I am the Oracle. What business have you here."
"uh, none, really. we're just trying to find alphys."
"I know not what business you have with Alphys, Sans, but you are not welcome here."
"well, uh, could we at least get some directions?"
"You know full well how to get to Ebbot, Sans."
"yeah, we're standing on it."
"I don't understand why you are being so contrary. I mean the city utop the mountain. Climb the peak, and leave these holy grounds!"
"ah hah. i see. so, uh, i guess i'll just be getting gone, eh?"
Sans grabbed Frisk and teleported a ways away up the mountain with them.
"What was that all about?"
"i dunno, but i got a bad feeling about it."
"The Oracle of TORIEL… that's definitely a new one."
"and a great city of ebbot, on top of the mountain."
"The barrier is outside of Ebbot, not inside it, and… it's facing backwards?"
"yup. so it doesn't keep monsters in, it keeps humans out."
"But it looks like it's fluid, and fluctuating."
"in other words, fallible. if they want to let someone in, they can."
"But if they don't want to, they don't need to."
"so…"
"The monsters are in charge."
"but, uh, the thing is…"
"This really beggars the question…"
"why would any human want to come to ebbot with the monsters?"
"And what's the story behind the Oracle of TORIEL?"
"she said the place was holy ground…"
"She was wearing the clothing of a priestess…"
"and the place looked like a temple."
"So does that mean that TORIEL is…"
"some kind of goddess?"
"Or at least worshiped as one."
"one way or another, this timeline is definitely different from anything we're used to."
"So we've gotta be on our toes!"
"right. let's keep climbin'."
The two of them kept climbin'. From a distance, a hooded figure watched them both, holding his beloved weapon over his shoulder.
"interesting. hm. how long has it been since the error and gaster left, i wonder. two years? three? ten? either way. it's been some time since i've seen someone like them."
He hovered a bit closer to them, and melded into the shadows.
Frisk and Sans kept hiking, kept talking, and kept theorizing.
"so, if toriel is some kind of goddess, does that mean the rest of the monsters are too?"
"I suppose so. That's the only thing that makes sense."
Sans looked at Frisk, a flat expression on his face.
"sense? we're in probably the twentieth timeline so far. you want something that makes sense?"
"You've got a point. Well, for the sake of argument, let's say everyone is, OK? So who are you? What kind of god is this alternate universe Sans?"
"well, let's go over what we know. i'm a skeleton. so, god of death, maybe? then again, god of judgment would work too, all things considered. god of puns? god of coolduditude?"
"That was actually kind of impressive."
"what was?"
"The fact that you were able to string those words together into just one."
"yup. i'm a professional. anyway… so, death, puns, judgment, bad times, good times, ketchup, what?"
"I haven't got an idea. TORIEL seems like she might be the mother goddess. Some sort of creator… along with ASGORE!"
"that makes a hell of a lot of sense. but, uh, anything else. alphys, goddess of weaboos, undyne, goddess of suplexes, papyrus, god of spaghetti, c'mon. we've got to at least get an idea of what we're up against by the time we get up there."
"We're not up against them, Sans. It isn't looking like they're actively attacking us, even if you didn't seem welcome in the temple. We'll be fine. We don't need to FIGHT. MERCY is the answer. It always is."
Sans eyes turned a cloudy dark for a moment.
"not always, kid. not always. either way, fine. we won't have to fight anybody. we'll be real peaceful about this. and who knows, maybe we can get some divine intervention."
"That one wasn't even a real pun."
"you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
[Sorry, internet! I never said I was good at puns!]
"well, either way, no fighting is going to happeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"
"Sans?"
The skeleton simply cringed and pointed to Frisk's back.
Above them floated a phantasmal entity, resembling Gaster's physical form, but with a very clear and recognizable face in it's center.
It was Sans.
"what's the matter? you look like you've seen a ghost."