It had been a pretty good day, all things considered. The new human had continued to keep up their good behaviour, even after the rough time they'd had the prior night. Papyrus was being his usual cheerful self, explaining puzzles and just generally being the best. Even Toriel, who had been suffering terribly from guilt and worry, was showing signs that she would pull through after such a promising day. Despite his pessimistic tendencies, Sans had to admit that things had gone astonishingly well.

That wasn't to say that there hadn't been some rough spots on the way there. For instance, just the night before, Sans had found himself staring down the same human who he now saw dutifully completing his brother's puzzles. He hadn't wanted to attack them, but they'd looked like they were trying to leave, soooo...

Now, Sans might not have been very comfortable with the idea of another human being in the Underground so soon after… the last one, but the new human seemed different. For one they had never been reluctant to talk, which was a relieving change from the usual dead silence. Even though he was able to look into people more than they'd think possible, Sans still appreciated an honest and open personality. His daily observations of the human (which he did just in case) had revealed no ill will or hidden intentions. All in all he really didn't mind keeping them around.

Yet even despite that he still held his reservations due to their species.

Humans had the potential to be dangerous, no matter what their appearance. Humans had Souls that didn't wither after death and bodies that could apparently survive purposeful impalement. Humans could kill any monster they pleased with their bare hands if they simply mustered up enough foul intent for it. Humans had waged a war against- no, slaughtered monsters without warning and trapped the survivors under a mountain. Humans could pretend to be nice... right up until they decided they didn't need to pretend anymore and then they'd start murdering all of your friends, leaving you to suffer with the aftermath because they didn't even have the mercy in them to use their undeserved powers to undo all of their sins.

Sans couldn't just trust a human, no matter how normal and non-murdery they seemed. That was why he had to keep such a close eye on them. He'd almost thought his paranoia proved right when he discovered the new human trying to limp their way through the exit tunnel in the basement. He'd thought that, perhaps, he would have to 'put old yeller down' so to say.

Fortunately for all of them, that hadn't been the case. It only took one look at the disabled human for Sans to see that they were in no condition to fight anyone even if they had been evil- which it really seemed like they weren't. But even if they weren't a murderer they were still acting defiant, so Sans took a different approach.

He only meant to damage them a little- just enough to scare them into staying in the care of Papyrus and Toriel, (Those two were a gift; anyone would be lucky to know them, let alone live with them) but what he hadn't expected was for the human to pass out during their 'battle'. There had been a moment of terror and guilt where Sans was left to watch their unconscious body twitch and convulse painfully on the floor, and he just hadn't known what to do, let alone what was happening. He had even been fighting them handicapped! Sans could only do one point of damage at a time, and since the human had no bad karma to burn through, the grace period between attacks had been pretty big. But somehow he still managed to mess up and hurt them.

Technically human Souls didn't give EXP or LV when their host body was destroyed. Such energies were only gathered from monster Souls when they shattered due to their delicate nature. A human Soul on its own was a powerful enough prize already- but Sans didn't want a human Soul. He had no use for one! All absorbing a human Soul really said was that you had killed someone, just like how LV and EXP made you stronger but also proved you were morally corrupt. And on top of that Sans certainly didn't want the Soul of someone who hadn't even fought back.

In the end Sans had rolled the human over and laid them out on their back instead of their face, holding onto their head and shoulders to try and make sure they weren't going to choke. He spent the longest eighty five seconds of his life sitting in that basement, desperately hoping that he hadn't somehow ruined everything once again despite actually trying the second time around.

Luckily for him the human eventually calmed down and opened their eyes, immediately cursing him out for being so stupid. He agreed with their assessment of course. How could he not, after everything that had happened over the past couple of months?

What had followed had been a surprisingly sobering conversation and, while he hadn't revealed everything to the human nor given them his complete trust, Sans had to admit that he had been unfair and they deserved more of a chance. For goodness sake, the human couldn't even do something as simple as walking without assistance, yet he'd still attacked them and triggered some kind of weird reaction. Maybe he'd finally taken things too far. Hell, he'd already started to realise that he was in too deep when Papyrus of all people not only called him out on his behaviour, but seemed pretty scared about doing it too.

That night had eventually rolled over into the next morning, and finally into the surprisingly wonderful day that the three monsters and their recently 'adopted' human had all needed. Sans had even talked to Toriel about the night's events and was both relieved and guilt-ridden when she took it well. She even went so far as to forgive him when he admitted to his unsavoury tactics, simply asking him to keep it in mind for the next time he was put in such a situation.

He'd made absolutely sure not to accidentally make any promises. He trusted her as an adult who'd had experience with her own problems, but that woman was almost dangerously nice sometimes.

Watching the human spare a random ghost who'd been hiding in the Ruins was like a final sign for Sans. Neither him nor Toriel had expected the sad monster to be out and about that day. Usually they prefered to hide away from everyone and anyone, always fleeing whenever Sans or the others looked vaguely in their direction. No, seriously, there were Whimsuns in the Ruins who were less skittish than that monster. Yet somehow the human didn't just manage to Spare them, but also empathise with them about feeling sad and trapped. The performance had been completely unprompted and the human hadn't even known they were being watched. Toriel became instantly enamoured with their kindness, while Sans added points to his mental tally of their karmic actions... and came to the conclusion that he was a huge jerk.

That was the final push Sans needed to talk to his brother. He didn't really have anything to say to the human (even after their midnight chat he still didn't feel like he wanted to get too close to them), but talking seriously with Papyrus was something he'd been avoiding like a knife to the sternum. For a while Sans had believed- hoped even- that everything that had occurred the last time a human charged through the Underground would be undone. He'd been foolishly convinced that he wouldn't have to deal with the full aftermath of their sins and their mistakes. But as the months dragged on he became less and less confident in that assumption.

All of a sudden Sans was faced with the reality that maybe he couldn't wait things out. The temporary solutions and quick fixes he'd installed in preparation for everything to suddenly return to normal were becoming impossible to keep up. He had to talk to his brother. He dreaded it, but if by some cruel twist of fate Sans didn't end up being the one to tell Papyrus the truth, then… No. He didn't want to think about what might happen.

"Uh, hey, Paps?"

"Yes, brother?"

"Ya wanna hang back for a while? Go over the puzzles again?"

At first Papyrus had seemed nervous and reluctant about the suggestion, but once Sans revealed that they would be going together the taller skeleton immediately perked back up. Another shot of guilt hit Sans as he realised that his bro had caught on to his habit of either distracting him or sending him out of the room when serious things were happening.

It never used to be like that before.

Half a year ago, if Sans had told his brother that there were puzzles to be calibrated, then he would have immediately jumped at the task with enthusiasm, not assume that he wasn't wanted in the room. Was it because Papyrus was becoming more suspicious and observant? Or because Sans was a terrible brother who had lied and manipulated too often for it to go unnoticed? Being in the self-loathing mood that he was, Sans was willing to put his money on both.

"- and this one will require a softer landing than just the leaves themselves! Or maybe I can just adjust it entirely? I'll have to ask Miss Toriel! It's such a shame that the human couldn't take part in many of the falling puzzles! We'll just have to try them out next time! Um… right?"

"Right."

"Right! Next time will definitely happen! And it will be even better than this time!"

It had already been a good couple of minutes since the two brothers had stepped aside to 'calibrate puzzles'. Well, that wasn't actually what Sans had intended to do, but Papyrus had already started eagerly shifting old stones and fiddling with wires which he had actually forgotten the point of, but was sure he could figure out anyway. The longer they stood around, maneuvering around ages old spike traps and their new installments, the less Sans wanted to speak up. Being given free rein over the Ruins and all of its puzzles had really put Papyrus in his element. It would have been easy for Sans to get wrapped up in his brother's enthusiasm and forget why they'd even left Toriel and the human to their own devices in the first place- if not for the costume Papyrus was wearing.

Sans hadn't even noticed when his brother had stopped wearing the damn thing, there was just so much he had to think of and deal with after everything. He guessed it must have been somewhere after the first month when Papyrus had switched back to casual clothes. It made sense because that was when the Royal Guard had really started falling to pieces. Seeing his brother don that old thing again after so long had been a massive shock. On one hand it made Sans believe that things were finally approaching a sense of normalcy again... But on the other, it was a constant visual reminder that he was a liar and needed to break the news of the past four months before it was too late.

"Sans! Sans, are you listening!?"

"Huh?"

Apparently Sans had been lost in thought for far too long because Papyrus was standing above him impatiently.

"Did you even hear a word of what I just said?" he asked, frowning.

"Sure." Sans shrugged, obviously not having heard a thing.

"Ugh! Unbelievable!" Papyrus shouted, not believing the shorter skeleton for a second, "Now I suppose you'll expect me to repeat everything I said! Well the joke is now on you, brother! If you're not going to listen then my plans will just have to come as a surprise! Nyeh heh heh!"

As the taller of the two laughed at the genius of his own plan, Sans felt horribly conflicted.

I should tell him, he thought, I gotta- Well, I don't actually gotta… No. No I have to. I have to tell him about Undyne and Alphys and the other human- Everything. I have to.

But the longer Sans looked at the blissfully ignorant smile on Papyrus' face, the more he hesitated. It was such a nice day. Everything was going well. Did he really have to speak up now? Maybe the bad news could wait 'till tomorrow. Then again, that's what Sans had been repeating to himself for a while now. It just… hurt, knowing that if he started speaking up then his brother's smile could be wiped away. Maybe even forever. He didn't want to be the cause of that.

But he also couldn't keep lying forever. Sooner or later Papyrus would start to seriously question Sans' cover stories. He was already picking up on so much after the past few months. If things kept progressing then Papyrus would either start asking difficult questions or even figure out the answers himself.

If only I'd thought of a better excuse than god damn vacations! Sans inwardly cursed his poor planning, Being on vacation implies that they'd all come back eventually! It was an easy lie at the time. The kid… they made me a liar. They were supposed to- everyone should have come back. I really thought that things would go back to how they were... We- we shouldn't be living through this; shouldn't be remembering this. Was... was I wrong about their powers?

Immediately Sans shook the idea out of his head. There was no way he was wrong about the last human and their abilities. The way they moved, the way they acted, the way they killed- their every movement was practiced and purposeful. If things weren't going back to the way they were after all that, then it was obvious that the kid had more power than anyone could possibly know… and was purposefully using it to make Sans' life a living hell.

"... Um? Do you maybe want to do something else?"

"What?"

Once again Sans found his brother towering over him, though this time looking very concerned.

"It just… you don't seem very interested in this right now," Papyrus smiled weakly, not really making eye contact, "s-so we should just leave this puzzle for the moment! I'm sure the next one will capture your attention even better than it captures humans! Not that we need to capture the new human, but-"

"Paps?"

The taller of the two brothers instantly stopped his rambling, looking at Sans with an expression that seemed too mellow and

complicated for his usually jolly personality. It was like he was worried about something…

"...I think part of it was because of you."

The human's words echoed in Sans' head. His bro was trying so hard, worrying so much, because of him. Sure, when he'd talked with the human about it the previous night, Sans felt pretty great finding out that his brother cared for him that much. But now… now he just felt guilty. The puzzles, his dedication to the human, his recent lack of complaint about the Ruins having no TV or Undernet- Papyrus was practically tiptoeing around him, trying to do anything and everything to make his brother happy, and Sans hadn't even noticed.

He had to tell him. Sans had to explain what had happened four months ago. He had to let his brother know the real reason that the Royal Guard had all but disbanded, why Undyne was on 'vacation', and why TV and Undernet links had been 'broken' for three months before Sans suddenly stopped paying the rent and moved them in with Toriel. He had to tell Papyrus what was wrong, not keep him in the dark and let him believe that cheering up his failure of a brother was his responsibility. He had no idea what effect it would have on his bro's bubbly personality, but that didn't matter.

It… it didn't matter. It didn't.

"Hey… uh, bro…" Sans began, stopping to take a deep breath before he could get to the hard stuff. He couldn't even look the taller skeleton in the eye sockets as he tried to build the courage to spill the bad news, instead staring intently at the ground. Unfortunately Papyrus' boots happened to be on the ground, reminding Sans that his brother was standing patiently over him, naively waiting for what he the worst news that he could possibly hear.

"... Um? Did you forget what you were going to say?"

While he was hesitating, Papyrus had accidentally given Sans an easy out, and by god did he want to take it. But no. No. He was gonna do it! He- he had to tell the truth…

"N-nah. Just… tryin' to think of the right words," Sans laughed even though he knew it was weak and sounded uncomfortable, "You did a great job today. All these puzzles… I was really impressed."

"Really!? I mean-! Of course you would be star-struck by my magnificent puzzle building skills! I AM the Great Papyrus after all!"

"You sure are," Sans smiled genuinely, if not a bit sadly, "You, uh, put a lot of effort in today... I- I wanted to... I mean, there's something I gotta… tell ya…"

Above him, Papyrus was smiling and nodding eagerly. He was even bouncing on the backs of his boots he was so excited to hear what Sans was going to say. Damn it. Not even the ground was safe. Sans picked a point on the wall to stare at so that he didn't have to look at any part of his brother at all.

"It's, um, 'b- 'bout Undyne…"

"Oh! Really!? Did she finally send a letter from wherever she went? I mean, I keep writing to her but she still hasn't- Oops! I'm sorry! I shouldn't guess! That will spoil the surprise of not knowing!"

I really don't think you'd be able to guess this one bro… Sans thought darkly, trying his best to swallow the thick feeling of dread that was creeping over him.

"Paps... bro… you know I care 'bout you a lot, right?"

The question seemed to surprise Papyrus for a moment, followed by one of the biggest, brightest smiles he'd ever smiled. Unfortunately Sans was too busy staring at the purple walls to see it.

"Of course!" he yelled happily, "and I care about you a lot too!"

"That's…" Sans began, releasing a controlled exhale as he just barely stopped himself from cracking into pieces at such genuine words, "great. 'S really great. I'm glad."

But maybe you won't like me so much when you know the truth…

"I- S-so… the thing I wanna tell ya… it, uh… it's-"

"S-Sans! Papyrus!"

Just like that Sans' opportunity to tell his brother the truth was snatched from his hands, thrown out the window, shattered on the street and run over by a speeding car.

... And he'd be a liar if he said he wasn't a little bit relieved.

"Tori, what's...?"

The next few seconds were a blur as Toriel frantically begged a flustered Papyrus to take the human from her. Eventually the taller of the two skeletons obliged her request, taking the (awfully pale looking, know that Sans thought about it) human into his arms and promising to go somewhere safe. She then turned to Sans, almost ordering him to come with her rather than asking. There was terror hidden behind the kind lady's eyes. Something had obviously gone wrong.

As his brother dashed out of the room with the human in his grasp, Sans couldn't help but stare after him. He... had wasted his opportunity. After all of that build up, Sans had still managed to come out a failure.

As Papyrus disappeared around the corner of the purple door at the end of the hall, Sans managed to catch the human's face. They looked pale and drawn, their body curled uncomfortably in on itself and eyes wide with shock. Whatever Toriel was yelling about must have been really bad; either that or the human was close to passing out again like in the basement. It could've been the latter, considering that Sans had seen that face at least twice; one just yesterday and the other ages ago when they'd suddenly curled up and gone unnaturally silent in Toriel's chair.

Should… Should he really be leaving them alone with his brother now of all times?

"Sans! Sans, are you listening?"

"Huh?"

Looking back up, Sans found that Toriel was standing over him still, looking scared and desperate. All it did was remind him about how only seconds ago Papyrus had been standing just as she was, waiting to hear the words that Sans had been too cowardly to say.

Well. Maybe it could wait 'till another day. Just like all the other times.

"I said that something terrible has happened! A-another human has fallen, b-but they're-"

"You don't need to say any more," Sans said quietly, "Just show me where they are."