Me and Papyrus stopped by our old place as we passed through Snowdin. It was as empty as we had left it, except for that sock. I assured Papyrus I would pick it up when we came back through.

I got the feeling he didn't believe me. Heh.

The town was pretty eerie without anyone around. You couldn't even call it a ghost town, because they didn't live there either. Kinda sad to see the place abandoned after spending so much time here, even if was the same few days over and over again...

The snow seemed a bit deeper to me as we were later walking through the forest. My shoes sank into it with every step, making them a bit soggy. I guess with no one walking through it for the pass few years the paths must have snowed in. Heh. Not a few minutes later, I gave out from trudging through the deep snow, it was taking a toll on me. I let myself collapse into the powdery snow, my whole body sinking into it like a fluffy bed, and nearly fell right asleep. Papyrus put me up on his back and carried me the rest of the way to the Ruins through the forest, letting me get in a good nap along the way.

My bro's so cool.

He woke me when we reached the door. It was still wide open and unsealed from when Toriel came out to help Frisk. Man. The jokes we use to tell here. I got to get that started with her again.

"So Flowey's in the old ruins?" Papyrus asked.

"Yup. Frisk told me he lives at the end of the ruins, where they fell in." I told him.

"Oh, Ok!" he said joyfully. "But, why doesn't Flowey live on the surface with the rest of us?" he then asked.

"He must be anti-social." I said, knowing that probably wasn't the case.

"Well than this visit will have a twofold goal! You will talk to him about our parents, and I will encourage him to come to the surface!" he stated proudly.

"Yeeeeah, not sure how that will go, but it's worth a try I guess." I said with doubt.

"I'm not going to try Sans. I'm going to DO!" he replied.

"You do you than bro." I said with a bit of admiration.

He was always looking for the good in others no matter their background, making friends, helping people walk the straight and narrow road. I've tried that. And it worked with Frisk because there was good in them. But Flowey? I could remember when I tried to change his mind about the resets once, but nothing got through to the little stinker. As for looking for the good in him, I couldn't think of a single thing good about Flowey. Expect that he keeps to himself down here, far away from me. Papyrus didn't know what I knew about Flowey though, so he just saw him as another friend in need.

Bad memories are already resurfacing in my mind..

Papyrus groaned as he carried me through the ruins, disappointed at my laziness and unwillingness to walk another step. He had no idea how beat I was, or maybe he did, as he gave me a look of concern at one point. He has started to show more concern than disappointment toward me lately, which only made ME more concerned.

That's a sign of brotherly love I guess.

We ran into some old puzzles along the way, no doubt set up by the monsters who built this place over 1,000 years ago. Papyrus was quick to figure them out and open the way forward, his puzzle solving skills having been sharpened over the years. He was pretty impressed with them, but still said his were better. I agreed. These puzzles didn't have nearly enough fire and spikes. I thought about how many times Frisk must have walked through here. Wonder if it got to the point where they could solve these puzzles by instinct? That would makes things pretty boring after the first few resets. Toriel must have gotten bored with them too, having to live with them day after day.

"How far do these ruins go Sans?" Papyrus asked at one point.

"Dunno. This place was sealed off for years, so I've never explored it myself." I told him as I leaned on the top of his head.

"I doubt you would have made the walk by yourself. This is far to far of a walk for you! You would never have made it this far in without me, The Great Papyrus!, to carry you around!" he said in reply.

"You're my hero Paps." I told him with a pat on his head.

"Yes. But you have got to get over this lazy attitude of yours Sans! Even The Great Papyrus can only carry you around so much at a time!" he told me with a bit of strain in his voice.

"I'll work on it."

"Really? That's gre-"

"Tomorrow."

"Never mind..."

It turned out to be a pretty long walk, the ruins seeming to go on forever in this part of the underground. I did give Papyrus a break at one point, the both of us resting at what seemed to have been the old town square. Water canals flowed through the town still, between buildings, under bridges, beside the roadways- It was a nice design choice.

"So if this is Old Home, is this where Grandpa Semi grew up?" Papyrus asked me as we walked through the crumbling town at a slow pace.

"I think so. He was always talking about it like he did." I answered, memories of Semi telling me about all the misadventures he got into as a kid coming to mind.

"I wonder what that was like. No cell phones, no internet to chat with friends-" he paused. "Wait, did they even have regular phones?!" he then asked.

"I.. Think so?" I replied hesitantly, not sure of the answer.

"That.. That would be terrible! How did monsters keep up with each other?!" Papyrus asked in a bit of panic.

"Letters Bro. Good'ol handwritten letters." I told him.

"Oh yeah, I love getting those! But it is not nearly as fast as a text!" he replied.

We kept asking questions like this as we made our way to the other end of the town, trying to imagine life without today's conveniences. Both of us agreed that I never would have made it with the lazy attitude I have now.

Despite the happy rumblings, I found myself looking down every shadowy alleyway along the way with a little bit of caution. Did Flowey know we were coming? It felt like he was watching us, skulking around in the shadows..

Dang weed better not try anything. And he better have some answers when we finally reach him.

We eventually reached a small open cavern at the end of the ruins. A patch of grass was growing in the center of it in the faint sunlight coming in from above through crumbling rock. I stopped and looked up through the cracks as we walked through the room. This was once the most we monsters got when it came to sunlight. For Frisk, this would be the last they would see of it as they headed into the underground from here.

I caught up to Papyrus, who had walked on without me, and we walked into the next room through an old stone archway with the Delta Rune on it. It was so faded I almost didn't notice it.

As we made a corner I saw another patch of grass resting in the sunlight, the cavern walls around it being fully lit by the setting sun outside. This patch was filled with Golden Flowers. The same kind me and Alphys had used in our experiments, creating the flower I was about to talk to.

"Wait here Papyrus." I told him as I stretched my arm out to stop him.

"What? Why?" he asked with worry.

"Just wait." I told him.

I cautiously walked up to the patch of flowers. The sunlight coming in from above gleamed across their petals, making them all blur together due to their bright golden hue. I looked them over carefully..

Which one was Flowey?

"What are YOU doing here?" I heard an all too familiar voice say.

"I came to ask you about something." I answered.

Flowey popped out of the ground in the middle of the flower patch, his expression showing his confusion at my being here.

"Did Frisk send you down here? I told them I'm not going to the surface world!" he spouted angrily.

"Nope." I told him.

"Than why are you here?" he asked, lifting a leaf to his face. "Oh Wait! I know! You've come to gloat haven't you? To rub in my face that it's all over!" he said, his face getting uglier by the second. "Well it won't work!" he shouted, his face returning to normal. "I'm already over it!" he said with pride.

"What the heck does that mean?" I said, holding back my anger.

"Look! When Frisk.." he paused. "When Frisk saved me, I realized something." he started as he wilted a bit. "I could feel compassion while I had the human souls, I could FEEL again! And I realized that.. That I was wrong. When Frisk saved me and refused to give up on saving their friends.. On saving me.. I regretted everything I had done. They showed me how to care again. And even though I can't feel compassion or love like that now, I don't plan on going back to the whole "kill or be killed" philosophy. Now it's, "Be kind and receive kindness"." he explained to me. "That's what Frisk said, not me. They came up with that." he added in a slightly annoyed tone.

A burning anger started building in me. After everything he had done, all the monsters he killed, the horrors he unleashed, the pain he put me through- That was it? That's all he had to say about it? Frisk sparing you doesn't make it all okay!

I took a deep breath and tired to calm myself. Hold it in Sans. Answers first.

"So, I guess you've turned a new leaf, huh?" I told him.

"Yes. Yes I have." he replied, ignoring the pun.

"Heh. That's good to hear." I chuckled. "Frisk really did a number on you didn't they?" I added.

"Yeah, haha, they sure did. The kid was determined to get the monsters out of here. Even though I.." Flowey started, trailing off as his gaze turned to the ground. "Look, Sans, since your here, I might as well take the chance." he started again. "Frisk asked me a question once. One I couldn't answer at the time, but, I feel like I can now." he said in a somber tone.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked.

"Frisk asked me, "You do ever feel regret?". They asked me that after telling me about a timeline they went through where, well, they made some decisions they weren't too happy about. I told them I'd never thought about it. All those timelines I lived through, created, abused, it got to the point where I just didn't feel.. anything. But, ha, you know that already. I guess I felt regret the first few times, but, I just ignored it and kept going. But now, sitting here alone these past few years, I've come to realize just what it was I really did. To myself, to my par- Uck, um, pairs of friends, and to.. you." he explained.

I remembered seeing Flowey like this before, it was right before he jumped me in a surprise attack. Did he really mean all this or not?

"I guess what I want to say is.." he started.

My body grew stiff, my instincts telling me to prepare to dodge.

"I'm sorry Sans." he said with his head hung low.

A slight breeze blew around the room from the opening above, ruffling the flowers and my jacket. In the silence I could hear Papyrus behind me, not that he wasn't there already this whole time.

"I don't expect you to forgive me for all that I did to you, but, at least know I am sorry." Flowey said, still hanging his head down.

"Frisk has that effect on people." I forced myself to say.

"They do." Flowey said with a smile as he looked up.

"Well!" I shouted, making Flowey flinch. "Since you're all nice and stuff now, I'm sure you won't mind answering the question I came here to ask you." I said in a forced happy tone.

"S-Sure. A-Ask away..." he stuttered.

"Alright." I answered.

WHERE ARE MY PARENTS YOU DIRTY FAMILY KILLER?

Flowey flinched back in surprise, sweat falling from his face.

"W-What? I-I dunno! What makes you think I know where they are?!" he stuttered in fear.

"You killed them in multiple timelines, that's why!" I shouted at him. "What did you do to them in this timeline?!" I asked, my magical energy building inside of me.

"Nothing! They weren't even home in this timeline!" he told me.

"Liar! You did something to them! Where Are They?!" I yelled.

Flowey gave me a somber look, as if he was just as confused as me. He had to know something I didn't though. I planned to beat it out of him if I had to.

"Look, Sans, I really don't know. I went to their house to find you but there was no one there." Flowey told me. "It was right after I had reset so they must have left as soon as the timeline reset!" he explained.

"That's It?!" I shouted, my magic wanting to burst out of me in an angry fury.

"It is! I swear!" he shouted.

"Are you sure?" I asked as I summoned a Gaster Blaster above me, pointed right at this little dinky weed.

"Yes Yes! I went straight there and the house was empty! I don't know where they went! I even went looking for them and asked around!" he said in fear, summoning vines between me and him.

I raised my hand up, ready to give the signal for the blaster to fire. Sorry or not, this weed had sins to pay for, and I was ready to execute the judgment.

As I got ready to throw my hand down, someone grabbed it and stopped me. I turned to see Papyrus beside me, holding back my hand. I'd forgotten he was here somehow...

"What are you doing Sans?! He says he doesn't know anything else!" he said to me in a panic.

"What if he's lying Papyrus?" I asked him.

"What if he's not?" he shouted at me. "Just, let him go!" he told me.

"You don't know what this flower's really like Papyrus. He's done horrible things throughout all the timelines he reset!" I told him, his hand still holding mine back. "He killed our family more times then I can remember! And that's because he killed ME!" I told him, fear mixing with my rage as I realized what I had just said.

"I don't doubt that Sans. Not after what I just heard." he said, his tone changing to a sad one. "But, he's sorry for it and is willing to help us out to make up for it! Right?" he added as he looked at Flowey.

"Sure! Whatever! JUST DON'T LET HIM SHOOT THAT THING!" Flowey cried out.

"See? He's going to do his best to help us figure this out! Even a soulless homicidal flower can be a good person!" Papyrus told me with his usual big smile.

I stood there, Papyrus holding me back, Flowey cowering before me, the Gaster Blaster getting tried of waiting, memories of the timelines I had lived through flashing by my mind, the pain, the anxiety, the worry- it all hit me at once. It was like it was all still happening.

Then another memory appeared in my mind, blocking out all the rest...

"What is it kiddo?" I asked Frisk as they sat beside me on the cliff side with the sun setting in the distance.

Frisk opened their backpack and pulled out a small, but thick, joke book.

"Kid, I make up my own martial. No joke book in the world can beat my originality!" I told them with a wink.

Frisk laughed and handed it to me anyways, urging me to look at it. I sighed sarcastically and took it, noticing a slight bulge in the pages. I opened to the page that held the item creating the bulge. It was a pocket watch.

"So you'll always know time is moving forward!" Frisk said happily.

I put the book down, taking the watch in my hand by it's golden chain. It was ticking away at a steady pace. It even had clock faces showing the day, month, and year on it, all of them steadily moving forward. Kid knows how to shop.

"Thanks Frisk." I told them.

Frisk gave me a big hug and told me to never give up. If they could find a way to break the Barrier, I could move on with life on the surface.

"Just forget all the bad times and focus on the good times ahead." they told me. "Make a new start, with yourself and everyone else. Without resetting of course!" they laughed.

I hugged them back, feeling myself relax for the first time..

Back in the here and now, I was still literally caught at a crossroads with Papyrus holding me back. I heard a chain jingle suddenly. I glanced down and saw the watch from Frisk hanging out of my jacket pocket. I looked down at it, the time still ticking forward.

"Just forget all the bad times.. Make a new start, with yourself and everyone else.." Frisk's words echoed.

"Sans please! Don't do this!" Papyrus shouted, slowly pushing my arm backwards away from Flowey. "I know you are upset! But that's no reason to.. Kill, Flowey! Please Sans! Don't be like this again!" he pleaded.

Another scene flashed through my mind, of Papyrus holding me back from hurting someone else when we were both much younger. He was pleading with me to stop my attack, even standing in front of me to block it.

Promise me..?

Never again..

I snapped out of the memories and jerked my hand from Papyrus' grip, recalling the blaster. Frisk was right. And so was Papyrus.. If I was going to move on in this world, I'd have to move on completely from the past. Even if it meant holding back much deserved revenge..

I'd spare the flower for their sake. To keep a promise..

Still, the reality of not knowing anything more then I did before.. If this was really all Flowey knew.. It was all anyone knew. The search I just started, was over. And here I thought this was all going to pass as the years finally started to go by. Guess time doesn't heal every wound. It just seems to make more in my case..

"Sans?" Papyrus asked as I walked away.

I walked out of the cavern back to the one before, standing in the sliver of sunlight that was fading along with the day. The darkness in the room seemed to be creeping toward me as the light faded away. This feeling.. After all this time, it was still here..

I felt… So alone…..

I eventually fell asleep against the columns making up the doorway, getting what felt like a full nights sleep, which only made me feel more tired. I woke up to Papyrus' voice echoing around the cavern. He was being as loud and boisterous as usual in his tone. The same tone he usually used when speaking to a friend.

I got up, letting out a yawn, and walked back to the other room. I saw Papyrus sitting in the flower patch with Flowey, the two chatting away under pale moonlight coming in from above. Papyrus was deep in thought over something, and Flowey was talking away about something important by the look on his face.

"So they were just.. gone?!" I heard Papyrus ask.

"Exactly. When I saw they weren't there, I went looking for them all over New Home. It was weird! Every time I had reset the timeline they were there, but this time, they were gone! It was one of the few things that were different from all the other timelines." Flowey explained.

"So.. Any ideas on where we could look for clues?" Papyrus asked him.

"Ha! Are you kidding? I have no idea where to start looking for those two!" Flowey replied.

"There must be SOMETHING somewhere though! A note, a footprint, a lost shoe, a residual time space distortion!?" Papyrus suggested.

Wait. What did he say?

"Trust me I've checked for all of those things! Well, maybe not that last one. The only device that could tell you anything about that is locked up in the lab." Flowey said.

"The lab?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, ya'know, the one Alphys worked at." Flowey told him.

"Oh yeah! In Hotland!" Papyrus quickly understood. "There's a device that can detect time space distortions there?" he then asked.

"Yep! Ask your brother about it! He built it after all!" Flowey told him with a wink.. toward me.

Papyrus looked up and quickly spotted me in the shadows.

"Sans! Is this true?! You actually ACCOMPLISHED something?" he asked me straight faced.

"Yeah bro. I wasn't always this lazy, remember?" I told him as I stepped into the light.

He grabbed me up in a hug, his face beaming with pride.

"I knew it! You do have potential! It's just buried under years of laziness mold!" he shouted as he crushed me in his brotherly embrace. "I, The Great Papyrus!, will help you wash away this lazy mold that infects your mind and body brother! Until the day you are wiped clean and shining with more physical wellness than the sun itself!" he proclaimed.

"That sounds.. Tiring." I replied.

"Forget the run around the house Sans!" he told me as he held me out in front of him. "Your new exercise routine starts now!" he said happily.

"It can't wait until we're finished solving this mystery?" I asked, trying to stall his plans for me.

He thought about it for a moment.

"Holy Cow, just go already!" Flowey shouted angrily.

"No yet poppy face. You're coming with us." I told him with a glare.

"What?! Why?" he shouted in defiance.

I jumped out of Papyrus hands and walked over to him.

"Something might jog your memory along the way." I told him as we had a stare down.

"Good idea! And I know just the way to transport him!" Papyrus said confidently.

"Bro. He can travel through the ground, we don't have to "transport"' him." I told him.

I was too late though. Papyrus had already summoned a sharp bone and started digging Flowey out of the ground.

"What the heck?! What are you doing?" Flowey shouted as he was lifted out of the ground. "Put me back!" he snapped.

Papyrus promptly spun me around and I felt a sudden weight on my back. I turned back around an immediately noticed Flowey right behind me out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting in my hood, which was now full of dirt and weeds.

"What?! Pap! This isn't gonna to work!" I told him.

"Of course it will! Just don't pull your hood up!" he replied.

"But.. It's getting my jacket dirty-" I started, trying to find an excuse

"SINCE WHEN DO YOU CARE HOW CLEAN YOUR JACKET IS?!" he shouted at me, his anger greater then when he complained about that sock. "You hardly ever wash the thing Sans! We will clean it later! Now come on! We got a device to find and a puzzle to solve!" he shouted at me, shoving me back the way we came in.

"Wait! Bro!" I yelled.

"No waiting! Either you accept working with your old enemy or accept working with your new friend!" he told me sternly.

"There's not a third op-"

"NO! Now move you lazy bones!"

I ran for the doorway back to the ruins, Papyrus putting a whole new kind of fear in me. I ran as fast as I could, Papyrus right behind me and gaining fast with his longer, and much more fit, legs. It was just like old times when we were kids playing tag! Only it was WAY more exhausting then I remember it being..

"Just so you know Sans, I don't particularly like this idea either." Flowey said to me from behind.

Needless to say, this made me VERY uncomfortable.

"But! If there's a chance of finding out what happened to your parents than know that I AM willing to help. I'm curious to find out myself." he told me. "It might explain some things.." he then mumbled.

What things? I wanted to ask. But all my breath and energy was going into staying ahead of Papyrus.

"Come on Sans! Work those lazy bones! You can do it!" he shouted to me in a completely opposite tone from before.

Oh. I see what he's done.. And he says he hates pranks.