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ENTROPY


Chapter 7: The World Keeps Turning

Warnings: Chapter contains body horror and medical trauma.

They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves.


Alphys called Sans one day while he was napping at his sentry station.

"Al? Something up?" She almost never called him during work hours. They talked regularly, but Sans hadn't actually seen her in about a month now. Ever since graduating she had thrown herself into her "secret project," which she had mentioned several times since they had started working together, but never elaborated on. All of her waking hours seemed to have been devoted to this project, whatever it was.

"Hey, uh. Sorry, is this a bad time? Y-You've got that 'just woke up' tone."

"Nah, I was just taking advantage of my union-required break time."

"Okay. Well, I'll be quick...I know um, hehe, how important your work ethic is t-to you. I just wanted to say, uh...heh...I've got a thing happening tonight, and...well, I couldn't get you an invite, cause it's scientists only. O-Or at least, current scientists only, and I didn't know how to explain about you without getting into all that stuff, so-"

"Slow down, Al. Heh. Maybe start over?"

Alphys took a shaky breath on the other end. She sounded nervous, but not her normal brand of nervous. This was something else. There was excitement in her tone usually reserved only for her favorite anime or for scientific breakthroughs in engineering and robotics.

"Okay, yeah, sorry. So, it's kind of like this little conference? I'm gonna be unveiling...something. And some scientists are actually...interested? Like. Like really interested? Like apparently this is a bigger deal than I thought it would be? Like there's g-g-gonna be...um...TV people there? Haha. M-Man. Um so, I guess the bottom line is...uh, if you can...you should definitely watch the news tonight at eight!"

Sans was quiet for a moment, then a slow grin spread across his face.

"You finished it, didn't you? Whatever that secret thing you've been working on is."

"I have! Yeah! It's-it should be really cool, so…"

"Hell yeah. I'll be watching. Sorry I can't be there in person."

"No, no, it's my fault! I should have, um...it a-all kind of happened really fast."

"Well, at least I can support you through the screen. Just imagine you hear me cheering."

"Hehe! I don't think I've ever heard you cheer for anything or, l-like, even be loud at all."

"That's why you gotta imagine it."

Alphys chuckled. Sans glanced up as he heard footsteps approaching. A guardswoman was passing by on her patrol.

"Anyway, I gotta get back to work. Or at least back to sitting around looking like I'm doing work."

"Okay! I'll, um, I'll try to call you after this conference thing. Bye!"

She hung up and Sans hid his phone under his station counter before the guardswoman could spot it. He flashed her a grin, and she returned it with a small wave.

"Hello, sentry. Any news?"

"I saw a Moldsmal. Does that count?"

The guard snorted. "Only if they're wiggling evilly, probably."

"What would an evil wiggle actually look like?"

She chuckled, heading on past his station. "I don't think I want to know. See you."

"See ya."

Sans waited until she was out of sight. Then he sighed, leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the counter. He surveyed his domain-the same boring stretch of cave as usual, dotted with echo flowers and water sausages along the creek. It took a lot for Sans to actually get bored, but boy did this job manage it. Sans could take long naps or outright leave his post for up to an hour before anyone noticed. It amounted to hours and hours of sitting and doing nothing, staring at nothing. Sans could only reread Betas's notebook so many times before he memorized it, and after that he could only play so many games of solitaire before he felt like he was going out of his skull. He could have brought books with him, but he'd sold almost his entire collection last year to pay the rent. Every G was going straight into savings. Sans was running out of ways to kill time.

Fortunately, at least today, his shift was almost over. Then he could go home and find out what that call from Alphys had been about. What kind of project warranted media attention? The average monster didn't really care about esoteric scientific advancements, so whatever this was, it had to be big.

Sans decided to finish up his nap in the time he had left. There was nothing else to do, and naps were the only way for him to actually get restful sleep these days. Gaster had been...busy.

He was drifting off when someone shouted his name.

"SANS, WAKE UP YOU LAZYBONES!"

Sans jolted a little and tipped forward. His face hit the counter with a dull clunk.

"Ow."

"SANS!"

"Yeah, bro, I'm awake," Sans said without lifting his head.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Papyrus said from somewhere close by. "THIS IS THE THIRD TIME YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING ON THE JOB THIS MONTH!"

Sans picked himself up enough to prop his chin on his hand. He grinned up at Papyrus, who was standing in front of Sans's station with his hands on his hipbones.

"Yeah, well. You know me. I'm so good at sleeping, I could do it with my eyes closed."

"UGGHHHH." Papyrus scrubbed at his face. "Sans, you're going to get in TROUBLE one of these days! What if someone from the Royal Guard catches you?"

"Guards have caught me before," Sans said with a languid shrug. "They don't care. No one cares about the Waterfall stations."

"I CARE!"

"Yeah, but you care about everything. What are you doing all the way out here, anyway?"

Papyrus's whole demeanor shifted abruptly from annoyance to excitement.

"They said I could go home early! I thought I'd stop by and check on you before heading home. I have EXCITING news, brother! I'm being transferred!"

Sans blinked up at him. "That's exciting?"

"YES IT IS! Because I am being transferred to a station near SNOWDIN!"

"Oh, huh." Sans grinned. "Hey, congrats."

Now it made sense. The sentry stations around Snowdin were considered much more important than the ones in Waterfall and Hotland. All of the humans that had come through the Underground so far had come from somewhere near Snowdin. Probably the Ruins, was the general consensus. Sentries positioned at Snowdin would be the first to spot a human, and therefore the stations there were very high-priority. Working there was considered to be just a step below actually being a member of the Royal Guard.

"NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus puffed out his chest. "FINALLY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS STARTING TO GET THE RECOGNITION HE DESERVES!"

"You're on the up-and-up, bro."

"They're saying that I'm the best and most thorough sentry they've seen in AGES! Because unlike SOME PEOPLE WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS…"

Papyrus gave Sans a very pointed glare. Sans stifled a laugh.

"...I actually fill out proper reports and STAY AWAKE through my whole shift!"

"I keep telling you, you're the only one who fills out those reports."

"And that's why I'M moving up the ladder!"

"Heh. Fair. So you're replacing one of the dogs?"

"APPARENTLY Doggo Sr. is retiring. Doggo Jr. is taking over his area, and I'm taking over Doggo Jr.'s. Tomorrow Doggo Jr. is going to show me around!"

"Well, hey, bro. I'm happy for you. Seriously."

Papyrus beamed. "Thank you, brother!"

"On the downside I guess this means you won't be able to come over and yell at me for falling asleep anymore," Sans said with a wicked grin.

"THAT IS WHAT CELL PHONES ARE FOR, BROTHER!" Papyrus said with an equally wicked grin. "I suppose the commute is going to be longer than usual, but that is nothing that the GREAT PAPYRUS cannot handle!"

Papyrus rubbed his chin, no doubt calculating when exactly he would have to leave in the morning to catch the ferry.

"Heh," Sans said and paused. Now was as good a time as any.

"That reminds me. Bro, what would you think about...like, if you had to live somewhere other than New Home, would you be okay with Snowdin?"

Papyrus frowned, looking taken aback.

"Are we in trouble with the landlord again?"

"Heh, when are we not? But nah, this is more hypothetical. Remember we talked about maybe moving awhile ago? If you had to pick some other place to live…"

The apartment had become suffocating over the past year. Too many memories, too many bad nights. Sans could barely stand to be in his own room anymore. And Sans hadn't told Papyrus, but the landlord had increased the rent in the last few months. He was actively trying to drive them out, and Sans was sick of it. He was sick of the whole neighborhood, of all of New Home.

If Papyrus wanted to stay, though, Sans would just deal with it.

Papyrus looked thoughtful.

"Well, I DO like Snowdin! The snow is nice. I've NEVER built a snowman before! And now that I'll be working there, it'll be much easier to also live there. Waterfall is okay too, I suppose. It's VERY damp. You know what, brother? So long as it's not Hotland, I think I would be alright with living anywhere!"

Sans chuckled. "You really hate Hotland, don't you."

"Hotland is GROSS and TERRIBLE! What about somewhere else in New Home?"

"That's an option too."

"HMMMMM! What a difficult decision! I think if I could choose ANYWHERE IN THE WHOLE UNDERGROUND...I think I'd choose Snowdin!"

"Okay. Cool."

Sans grinned. He had a plan, and with Papyrus's new job, now was the perfect time to move on it. Now before anything else happened or the landlord decided to raise the rent again.

"Sans...everything is okay, right?"

"Everything's great, bro, really." He gave Papyrus a lazy thumbs-up. "Better than great. Why don't you head on home? Enjoy your couple extra hours of freedom. I'll see you tonight."

"ALRIGHT BROTHER," Papyrus said, apparently convinced. "I shall see you then! AND DON'T FALL ASLEEP ANYMORE!"

"I make no promises," Sans said with a wink.

Papyrus made an aggravated noise, spun on his heel and was off.

Sans propped his elbows on the counter and smiled to himself. This was nice. Something was actually going right.

He spent the last few hours of his shift napping, making some calls and arranging a few things. The plan would probably take a couple more weeks if not a month or two, and Sans was hoping he could keep it a secret for that long. He wanted this to be a surprise. Something nice for Papyrus to make up for the chaos of the last year.

He was also quietly hoping that Papyrus hadn't just been humoring him.

Finally, Sans closed up shop and teleported home. He was just in time for the evening news. Papyrus called a greeting from the kitchen, then went back to humming and cooking something that smelled like burnt cardboard.

The news was the usual fare at first-reports from the Core, updates on what King Asgore was up to, traffic reports, the latest in crime (some Icecaps had stolen each other's hats and caused a short-lived feud). Sans was about ready to nod off when the newscaster finally said something interesting.

"And now, our top story this evening-robots!"

This had to be it. Sans made himself wake back up and pay attention. Of course it would be robots. He wondered what Alphys had built.

"We now take you live to the University of the Underground, where scientists are about to unveil a robot they say will change the world...forever!"

"SANS, DID I HEAR SOMETHING ABOUT ROBOTS?"

"Yeah. Maybe they built a giant one that's gonna punch the mountain in half. Heh."

The scene showed a lecture hall at the university, one Sans recognized. Alphys was up on stage, looking incredibly pale, surrounded by other people who had to be scientists and professors. The lecture hall was buzzing with noise. It had to be almost full.

One of the professors patted Alphys's shoulder, smiling faintly. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the podium.

"Um…"

There was a whine of feedback from the microphone. Alphys squeaked a little and leaned back.

"S-Sorry." She cleared her throat. "I...I would like to present t-to you all...my life's, uh, work. A living robot. A…" She glanced at the scientists around her as if uncertain. "A robot with a soul."

The lecture hall went dead quiet. Sans leaned forward on the couch.

Alphys turned and extended a hand toward a curtain at the back of the stage.

"His name is Mettaton."

A metal hand swept the curtain aside and a robot appeared.

Sans wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but a rectangle with two arms and a single wheel was not it.

"Thaaaaaat's right, ladies and gentlemen!" The robot yelled in an appropriately robotic voice. He spread his arms wide and rolled up next to Alphys. "A robot with a soul, the ultimate achievement in robotic engineering! Our own Dr. Alphys has done it! Isn't she great?"

The robot named Mettaton slung an arm around Alphys and hugged her tightly. Alphys looked poleaxed.

"Always knew she could do it! Let's all give her a big hand!"

Mettaton started clapping and the word APPLAUSE scrolled across the screen on his front. A few monsters tentatively joined in.

"Wowie!" Papyrus appeared from the kitchen with a plate of something black. "What a COOL robot!"

"Yeah…" Sans said, barely noticing as Papyrus sat down beside him.

"Now, I'm sure everyone has an awful lot of questions for our dear Dr. Alphys and for yours truly. No, no, don't tell me! 'Mettaton, what are you going to do now that you're alive and here and looking so very good?' Why...I am here for you, my fellow monsters! I am here to bring a bit of light into this dark, grim, nasty place we all live in! What the Underground needs more than anything is an entertainer! And that's what I'm here for! Dr. Alphys here-"

Mettaton patted Alphys's shoulder. Alphys flinched and forced herself to grin.

"-has programed me with all the very best! Acting! Singing! Reporting! Drama!"

Mettaton pressed the back of his hand to the top of his rectangular body and feigned a swoon.

"Finally, the Underground has the star it truly deserves. I'm excited to be here with you, Underground. I can't wait to bring a little light and joy into each and every one of your lives!"

Mettaton bowed to the best of his ability. There was another round of applause, this time louder and more genuine, without the robot needing to flash the word. He clearly knew how to play a crowd.

The announcement apparently over, reporters rushed in to shove microphones toward Alphys and Mettaton, clammoring for attention. The scientists on stage were also talking animatedly amongst themselves, occasionally pointing toward Mettaton and Alphys. Everything past that was mostly noise.

"He is VERY charismatic!" Papyrus said. "I like him! And he is RIGHT-the Underground really DOES need an entertainer! Humans have those...what are they called? CELEBRITIES! AHA, YES! It seems the GREAT PAPYRUS will have a fellow STAR to shine alongside him!"

"...Yeah," Sans said after a moment, remembering that he was supposed to...say something. Anything. He grinned up at Papyrus. "Though he's definitely not as great as you. Heh. It's not even a competition."

"OF COURSE! NYEH HEH!"

Sans stared at the television, though there was nothing new aside from excited reporters and Mettaton's hammy responses. Alphys practically vanished into the background behind the other monsters.

A robot. A robot with a soul. Alphys had created a robot with a soul.

He knew she was brilliant, but this was on an entirely different level. She had done what Sans, Gaster and Betas had assumed was impossible-she had created an artificial soul.

Why hadn't she told him? Clearly she had wanted to keep it a secret, had wanted to surprise the entire Underground. But she had to know what this meant-she had to know what this could mean for Sans, for both of them. If she had created one artificial soul, she could create more. She could create enough to power the machine.

They could have an endless supply of artificial, bodiless souls. There would be no limit to what the machine could do.

It was a little confounding. She had created an artificial soul and had decided to put it in a robot meant for...entertainment? It seemed so superficial. It seemed almost unlike Alphys entirely. Or then again, maybe this whole "celebrity robot" thing was actually genuine. Mettaton had a point-life in the Underground was rather dry and colorless. All the best media and entertainment came from the Surface, and even then it wasn't like monsters always had the best frame of reference for what passed as entertaining to a human. Enjoying human media required a bit of research, which wasn't necssarily very fun. The idea of having a source of entertainment here, underground, designed specifically for monsters...it could bring a lot of joy and hope to people who very desperately needed it.

It made sense for Alphys to come up with something so odd and yet so nuanced.

Still. That soul. Sans stared at Mettaton, still front and center on the screen.

Sans had to talk to Alphys as soon as he could.


The following day, Sans tried calling Alphys. No answer. He tried again three more times over the day, but she never picked up. That was fine. Alphys probably didn't exactly like the limelight, but if anyone deserved some recognition, it was her. The whole Underground now knew how brilliant she was. Even the average monster understood that it was, until now, impossible to create an artificial soul.

It made sense that she would be busy.

Sans tried the next day. And then the day after that. She picked up that evening and started talking before Sans could say a word.

"S-Sans, I'm so sorry, I know you've been calling me but I've been so incredibly busy, so many things are happening a-and I really want to talk to you but I-I just have no time, everything's so...haha it's just crazy. I'm sorry, I h-have to go but I promise I'll call you in a day or, or maybe two, I'm sorry!"

"W-"

She hung up. Sans put his phone down with a sigh.

He stopped calling her and settled into the idea that he would have to wait. Not like that was anything unusual. Another day went by, and another. He saw Alphys on TV one more time. Mettaton, on the other hand, seemed to be the only thing on TV at all. According to Papyrus, Mettaton already had at least one show going. It was, as Papyrus put it, "THE BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION EVER!" Sans wasn't too sure what the show was actually about, despite watching it once or twice.

Sans could only handle Mettaton in very small doses. The robot was dynamic and completely insufferable, but in a sort of endearing way.

The effect Mettaton had on the Underground was immediate. He and his show were all anyone could talk about. It seemed like everyone who came by the sentry station had to comment on Mettaton, on the latest gossip or what had happened on the latest episode of his show. Sans found it all rather baffling, but it was nice to see monsters actually excited about something.

A week went by. Sans sat on his thumbs.

Halfway into week two, Alphys finally called him.

"H-Hey. It's me. I-I'm really sorry this took so long. It's been-hah. It's been nuts."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I understand. You're kind of a celebrity now, huh? Bet you haven't gotten a decent night's rest in days."

"Haha, sleep? What's that?" Alphys chuckled. "No, but...I'm not the celebrity. That's deeefinitely Mettaton."

"Well, you created him. Everyone knows your name now. Must be…kind of overwhelming."

"Heh. You have no idea."

Sans leaned back in his chair at his sentry station, hoping none of the guards decided to show up. The vast majority of them were very lax about what the sentries got up to, but Sans didn't really want a lecture right now if he could help it.

"Are you free now? Can we talk?"

"Um, yeah, I was hoping to see you actually. A-Are you at work?"

"Yeah. I could probably get away, but-"

"No, no, it's fine, I, um, it's all quiet right now and, m-man, I've really missed quiet! Um. But I'll be around this evening? You think you could swing by?"

"Sure. You wanna get coffee or something?"

"Nooooo…" Alphys wailed gently. "I've been r-running around getting coffee with people and doing interviews and answering questions and showing people my r-research notes and signing stuff and m-meeting with...r-really...important...people? Th-The point is, I've been out of my apartment for, like, it feels like a billion years. I-I really just want to stay in right now. I-Is that okay? I-I'm sorry, I hope that didn't sound rude or anything…"

Sans laughed a little. "Nah, Al, it sounded more bone tired than anything. I probably would have collapsed days ago if I were you."

That got the laugh he was hoping for.

"I'll come by this evening and we can chat."

Sans napped through most of the rest of his shift, catching up on some much-needed sleep. Last night had been a Gaster night, and the nonexistent doctor was as intense as ever. Gaster was clearly frustrated over how long it was taking to break Sans.

Sans hadn't forgotten the gray monster's warnings. He couldn't let his guard down when he slept, not for a second. Gaster hadn't become any less persistent over time.

No one bothered Sans through his nap, either, not even Papyrus. It was strange to see so little of his brother so suddenly. Papyrus left in the morning before Sans did, so the only time they saw each other lately was in the evening. At least Papyrus was enjoying his position in Snowdin. If Sans was feeling a little...lonely, then that was his own problem. Sans had no intention of ruining this for his brother.

Eventually Sans packed up his station and teleported to Alphys's apartment. He knocked on her door. For a few long moments, there was no answer-then he heard her voice from within.

"Sans?"

"Yeah."

"Come on in, it's open."

Sans went in and found the apartment dimly lit. It was much tidier than normal; Alphys had likely been forced into one or two panicked emergency cleaning sessions during the last week and a half. Alphys herself was in her living room, sprawled on her couch and watching Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. She muted the sound when he walked in and gave him a vague wave.

"Man," he said, looking her over. "I thought you sounded tired, but you literally do look like you haven't slept in a week."

"God." She scrubbed at her face. "I think I-I've maybe slept a total of...two hours? Since the conference. I think I've talked to half the monsters in the Underground."

"Heh. Well, everyone's real excited." Sans took a seat at the other end of her couch. She scooted her feet down to give him more room. "Mettaton is really blowing up."

"Would you believe it if I told you that I kind of...I kind of had no idea this whole thing w-would end up being this big? It was just kind of...a, um...a pet project."

"You created a robot with a soul. That's not just big, it's huge."

Alphys gave a nervous chuckle and curled her tail over her legs. She was staring at the TV, not at Sans.

"Y-Yeah. I...um, I guess I did."

"Al, how come you didn't tell me?" Sans tilted his head at her. "I mean, an artificial soul? I had no idea you were working on something like that. Can you replicate it? Because if you can...I mean, that's the answer right there. That's how we get the machine working again."

"Oh." Alphys covered her face briefly. "Oh, jeez. No, no, it's not like that. It wouldn't work. It's-uh-it's not really-it's not like a monster soul or a human soul. I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it was...k-kind of a...secret? And I didn't even r-really know what I was doing. I didn't...heh, I didn't think a-any of this would work, really."

Sans frowned. "So he, what, he doesn't actually have a soul?"

"No, he does. He definitely does. It's just not-um. It's not really-literally a soul? I guess? It's complicated. It's-haha, you know, it's engineering stuff! Really complicated. Yeah. It's-imagine if you could make a soul o-out of...machinery and circuitry and monster magic. It-I mean, if you do it right, I guess-you end up with an actual soul. A soul enough to make a machine come alive and think and feel. But it's not, um...it's not like, really, a physical thing like a human or monster soul, it's-it's a machine's soul! So it's...it's like ninety percent code and stuff like that. I-I'm sorry I'm not better at explaining it, it's just, you know, it's engineering stuff, it's, it's computers and...and software and...and all that junk. So y-you can't use something like that to power your machine. I'm sorry if it got your hopes up, Sans, I'm really-I-I never intended any of this, really. If you were going to use souls to power that machine, it would have to be human souls. Even monster souls wouldn't work. K-Kind of like the barrier, in that sense."

Sans was quiet, leaning back in the couch, watching Alphys talk. He hadn't gotten his hopes up, not really. Of course not. That sinking feeling in his ribs had to just be something else.

It made sense. You couldn't artificially create a soul-it was like trying to artificially create life. People had tried in the past, even people who weren't Gaster-monsters and humans alike. You could come close, but anything you created would merely be an approximation, the next best thing to the genuine article.

And yet...something still didn't seem quite right. Alphys was more nervous than usual. Her explanation sounded legitimate, but Sans got the distinct impression that she was trying to hide something from him.

Strange.

"Alright," he said after awhile, shrugging to himself. "Guess I was jumping to conclusions. Still-even if it's not exactly like a monster soul, it's a pretty incredible achievement."

"Yeah." Alphys rested her head on her arm and closed her eyes for a moment. "Everyone sure seems to think so."

"You don't sound too happy."

"I just. I dunno, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just...tired? It's all been really overwhelming. I'm not used to having people...c-compliment me or...or think I've actually done something...worthwhile? It...just feels like...I dunno. Like I didn't really earn it…"

He gave her a patient smile.

"Al, you've been working on this thing for how long? Of course you earned it."

She buried her face in her arm and made a muffled sound. Sans reached over and patted her foot. It made sense, he supposed. It was overwhelming to suddenly have the world focused on you. And for someone with the sort of self-esteem issues that Alphys had, it would be pretty easy to tear oneself down and assume all your achivements were unearned or not a big deal.

Sans understood. He was a bit like that as well.

"You'll probably get used to it pretty soon."

"I guess I'll have to," Alphys said, lifting her head enough that she was no longer muffled. She looked away from the television, staring at Sans with an almost nervous look.

"Can I...tell you something, if you promise to keep it a secret?"

"I'm not too good at promises, but sure."

"You really can't tell anyone about this, though. Not yet. It's-It's big. Th-There's gonna be an official announcement sometime soon. But I just-I really want to tell someone."

She looked like she was trying very hard to hide a smile.

"...Sure, Al. I won't tell anyone."

"Okay. So." She took a deep breath and pulled herself up into a sort of sitting position. She drew her knees up to her chest and turned to face him on the couch, tail draped over her feet.

"So, everyone has noticed Mettaton. The whole Underground. I-It's like you said. Even if I don't... feel like it's a big deal, it still is. It's...huge. And. Well. A lot of important people have been talking to me. In...Including, um. K. King Asgore."

Sans blinked at her.

"Whoa."

"I know!" She threw her arms up. "It's crazy! Oh, man, Sans, you should have seen me. He, he summoned me to the palace and...and I'm just standing there freaking out because it's the king and I'm s-s-standing in his throne room and I'm just, just casually having a heart attack while I wait for him to show up-and then he walks in and-"

She clutched at her face, blushing fiercely.

"Ohmygosh, he's so handsome up close! I had no idea! I mean, I've only seen pictures or seen him from a distance, and I always thought, wow, he's a good-looking monster, but up close, oh man, I made such a fool of myself, I was just standing there staring because he's so big and fluffy and handsome ahhh I'm such trash."

Sans couldn't help laughing a little.

"Sounds like he really got your goat."

"Sans, oh my God!"

She thwapped his side with her tail, but that just made him laugh harder.

"Shush, you-punny bone monster! I-I'm trying to tell you something important!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, continue."

"Anyway." Alphys took another deep breath, still blushing. "I could barely pay attention to what he was saying, I was so flustered. But then he says something and-and I kind of froze up and-and then everything happened really fast after that."

She fell silent, clutching her face and at a spot on the couch cushions. Sans waited, but she didn't continue.

"...So? What did he say?"

"He." She looked up at Sans again. "S-Sans, he wants me to be the new Royal Scientist."

Sans went still. For a minute, neither of them spoke.

"That's…" A smile spread slowly across his face. "Al, that's amazing. Dude, congratulations!"

"It is amazing!" she said, grinning nervously. "But it's also really not amazing! I-I don't deserve to be the Royal Scientist! All I did was make a robot!"

"A robot with a soul. And a personality almost as big as my brother's, which is saying something."

"Yeah, but-but I didn't really mean to do that! And-it shouldn't be me. I-I'm a mess, I'll just mess it up, I know I will. It's so much responsibility. It should be you."

"Pfft."

"I'm serious! You-you actually worked with Doctor G...Ga...whatever his name was."

"Gaster."

"Right, yeah. It's...so easy to forget. You actually worked with him. I-I tried to tell King Asgore he had the wrong monster, but...instead I just...said yes."

"Al, I'd make a terrible Royal Scientist, trust me. I can barely manage to be a sentry. But you, you'll do great. You'll be able to accomplish so much."

"It's just so much responsibility...it's...so much is changing so fast." Alphys rubbed at her face, looking exhausted again. "Everyone's gonna look to me to lead the scientific community. What if I mess it up? I just d-don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Al, you'll do great. And hell, if you ever need help, I'm always here."

"That...does mean a lot to me, Sans. Thank you." She ducked her head. "I'm just so tired and overwhelmed. And, heh, Mettaton isn't making it easy either. He's pretty needy. He already wants me to make updates to his body. I...guess if I'm the Royal Scientist...I'll have access to all kinds of resources. I'll be able to give him the body he really wants. I just...I'm really worried. It's one thing to f-fail on your own, but it's so much worse to fail when everyone's watching."

Sans smiled reassuringly.

"It's gotta be a lot of pressure," he admitted. "But I think you'll be okay. Just...be careful, and take things slowly. Don't try to accomplish everything all at once. No one can tell the Royal Scientist what to work on or how fast to work."

"Except for Asgore," she pointed out. "And p-public opinion."

He waved his hand. "Nah. You have to set your own pace. If you try to rush it, try to appease everyone, or…"

He trailed off for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just...so long as you take things slow and don't cave under the pressure, you'll be fine. And...think before you do anything. Don't get…" He smiled faintly. "Don't get desperate."

Alphys watched him for a moment, concern in her features.

"He got desperate, didn't he? That's...why everything went wrong, right?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

She sighed, gaze settling on her knees, eyes closing halfway.

"Still...it's big shoes to fill. And I don't even wear shoes."

"I believe in you, Al. You'll do fine."

She smiled without lifting her head.

"You're a really good friend, Sans."

"Heh. Same to you."

"Maybe Asgore will let me work with the human souls someday. Then maybe...we could really fix the machine. Well, haha, then I guess if it all went right, I wouldn't be the Royal Scientist anymore."

"Nah." Sans shook his head. "If it all did go right, I wouldn't let him within five feet of a Bunsen burner ever again. He's done. One way or another."

Alphys studied Sans for a moment, though Sans was looking away. He couldn't see her expression.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if…" She shook her head as he turned to look at her. "Never mind. You know, they're going to set me up in that old laboratory in Hotland. That's where the science division used to be, right? They're gonna renovate the whole place."

"Oh. Thanks for the heads up. I'd better move the machine somewhere else. It's still in the basement over there."

"Yeah, heh. Wouldn't want them stumbling on that. Ugh. Anyway...I guess I should try to get some sleep for real. Gonna...gonna have a pretty wild life ahead of me, huh?"

"Heh, that's for sure. But you'll be okay."

"Thanks for talking to me, Sans. It really helped calm me down. Maybe...maybe it'll all go alright."


Sans dreamed of Gaster that night.

He found himself in an endless black void. The exact same darkness that had once lain beneath the Core, churning, demanding.

Sans sighed and sat down in the dark. Gaster was as intense as ever these days, but he was losing his creativity when it came to dream landscapes. Even this void didn't scare Sans as much as it used to.

"Two in a row? You must be pissed about something."

Sans had a good idea as to what it was, though he was never quite sure just how much of the real world Gaster was able to see. From what Sans had pieced together over the last year, Gaster's perception of the world-and of time and space in general-was as shattered as he himself was. A year ago, Gaster had tried to warn Sans that something was coming. He had warned him of the same thing twice since then, though he never managed to clarify what the something was, or when it was coming. Sans took that to mean that Gaster was seeing something in the future, and that in Gaster's shattered state, he was unable to make sense of it. If Gaster was technically everywhere, then that meant he was also seeing everything, at every point in time. It was pretty standard quantum physics, really.

Sure enough, he appeared not long after Sans's comment, or at least his avatar did. Tonight he was taking the form of Alphys-so that answered that question. Her entire head was obscured by glitching static, but Sans could tell it was her.

"The world keeps turning, Doc," Sans said, leaning back on his hands. He was too tired for this. Two nights in a row. Gaster had never done that before.

"We're getting further and further away from how things were. It's leaving you behind." Sans chuckled. "Maybe it's leaving me behind, too."

A whole year now. Over a year. Sans wasn't even sure when the anniversary had been. It wasn't exactly a day he liked to remember, after all.

Alphys took a step forward. Sans didn't move, staring up into the static of her face. He could hear it, as always-rushing, hissing. Almost like distant water.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Same old, same old. You try to break me, I don't let you, around we go. You must be furious. Being replaced-unable to do a thing about it."

The hissing of the static increased in volume and the void churned around Sans. He winced a little.

"I know. Shh. Hey. Why don't you sit down? Not that you can sit, or...anything at all, really. I know. But just. I'm tired, Doc. You must be tired too. How long are we gonna keep this up?"

Alphys-not-Alphys seemed to regard him for a few moments, face crackling. Sans watched her-him-carefully. Gaster liked to try to get the drop on him, catch him off-guard while his focus was elsewhere. There were probably shadows aiming for his back this very moment.

To Sans's surprise, Gaster sat down.

"Yeah. Sitting is nice, right? Always did like-"

True to form, the scene changed. Light poured into the void, making Sans flinch and squeeze his eyesockets shut. There was a rush of discordant noise and Sans felt the dreamscape shift, felt a room come into existence, heard the noise settle into comprehendable sounds. The sounds weren't pleasant-distant moans of pain, muttered words, the beep and hum of medical equipment. Sans smelled disinfectant.

"Oh boy."

He opened his eyesockets and found himself strapped to some kind of operating table. A bright light hovered above him, making his eyesockets hurt. Next to him was a medical tray, decorated with surgical tools. They glinted in the harsh light.

Sans sighed heavily.

"This one again? Didn't we do this one last month? Listen, bud, if you're just gonna break my bones again I'm gonna bore myself awake."

He gave a cursory attempt to move, but it was no use. He couldn't even turn his head. His eyelights took in the whole room. It was a pretty solid depiction of a medical room, but one of the walls bent slightly to the side. In a far corner was a patch of darkness, where Alphys was still sitting, her face still obscured with static.

"Doc, it's been a year now. Can't we just-?"

There were footsteps approaching. Sans's eyelights slid in the opposite direction to see another Alphys walking slowly toward him from an open door. This one looked more genuine, though her glasses were bright and opaque, hiding her eyes. Sans had never seen Alphys look so blank.

"Alright. Two Als. Kinda liz- hard to see where you're going with-"

"YOU THINK. SHE. WILL REPLACE ME?"

Gaster's voice came from the Alphys in the corner, his voice popping with white noise. He had gotten slightly better at communicating over the past year, but he wasn't quite there yet.

Sans looked at the Alphys standing over him.

"She already has. She'll do a lot better than you."

"This has to work," Alphys said in her own voice, glasses glinting. "I-It has to work this time. I just have to keep up the dosage and...a-and it has to work. I can't fail again."

She was holding a syringe filled with red liquid. Red...red...why was that significant?

Sans squirmed against the bindings.

"SHE. WILL MAKE. ALL THE SAME. MISTAKES."

"She's better than you," Sans said, eyesockets widening as Alphys raised the syringe. The needle was long and wide, the kind usually used for extracting bone marrow.

"She's-she's better than you. She's-Al, hey." It was stupid, it wasn't real, she wasn't real, there was no point in talking to her, but Sans couldn't stop staring at that needle. "Al, you know I'll help you, right? You just-have to talk to me. I'd never let you go down the same path he did."

"IT IS TOO LATE. HAS HAPPENED. HAPPENING. WILL HAPPEN."

"I-I know you're scared," Alphys said, voice wavering. "But this is the only way to save you. This-this might hurt."

"THIS WILL HURT," Gaster said, almost in a singsong.

"Try to hold still."

Alphys lay a hand on his hip, claws gripping the upward curve of the ilium.

Sans squeezed his eyesockets shut.

"Okay." He tried to breathe. "Okay. Okay. It's a dream, you're fine, you're fine, you're fine…"

He repeated it like a chant until he felt the needle go in.

Sans screamed.

His hands balled into fists, his toes curled, his left eyesocket snapped open and came alight, yellow-blue light spilling into the surgery room. Nothing could have prepared him for pain like this, the relentless pressure of the needle, the sudden flood of something bright and sharp and searing and red coursing through each of his bones.

Red. Now he remembered.

"DETERMINATION," Gaster said from close by.

That was enough. This was too much. Sans called up his magic, tried to shape it. He just needed to get off this table, maybe punch Gaster in his nonexistent face and then make himself wake up. If he could just wake up, this would be over.

The magic came, but it was all wrong. Red overtook the electric blue, bled into the yellow. Red sparks jumped from his bones. Sans gave a sharp cry as his magic failed entirely, spilling uselessly into the room as uncontrolled sparks and flashes of light. His left eyesocket went red, and Sans felt something liquid pour out of it.

"Gaster, stop! Stop, it's a dream, it won't change anything!"

The lights in the room went out. Alphys vanished, most of the room faded into darkness, lit only by reddish light. He could still feel it roaring through his bones, trying desperately to escape. A new sensation came over him-not painful, but doubly horrifying. He looked down at himself to see that some of his bones were starting to melt.

"Please-"

Something unseen seized his jaw, forced his head upward.

"IN ANOTHER LIFE. I DID THIS TO YOU."

Glowing white hands appeared in the dim light, each holding a syringe.

"ONE INJECTION AT. A TIME. UNTIL YOU WERE. PERFECT. UNTIL YOUR BONES. SHIFTED INTO. SOMETHING ELSE. MY WEAPON. MY SCIENCE PROJECT."

Sans couldn't feel his legs anymore, only a mass of viscous liquid where his legs should have been. He closed his eyesockets again. He wouldn't look at it. Feeling it was bad enough.

"Not this life."

"IN ANOTHER LIFE. I CREATED YOU. CARVED FROM. PIECES OF MYSELF. YOU. YOUR WORTHLESS BROTHER. KEPT YOU HIDDEN. HURT YOU JUST. TO SEE. IF I COULD."

"Ghhh hhh, not this life."

"IN SO MANY LIVES. I HAVE BROKEN YOU." Gaster's voice dropped to almost a whisper. "OVER. AND OVER. AND OVER. AND OVER."

"Not. This. Life."

He couldn't feel anything anymore. He tried to call on his magic, but only red came out, sparking painfully.

"IN THIS LIFE-"

"Fuck's sake, shut up!"

Sans couldn't tell where he ended and the darkness began, where Gaster began. Gaster was trying to overtake him.

"Shut up, god, just shut up! I stopped you. I stopped you over and over and over and over."

Gaster said nothing. Sans grit his teeth, only they weren't really teeth anymore.

"I'm so done with this," Sans snarled. "A whole goddamn year and you still can't get past all that stupid anger. You know, I've. I've actually been delicate up till now. Been-been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. But nah. I'm done."

Gaster almost seemed to withdraw slightly, but Sans didn't let him. He couldn't move-didn't really have a body left to move-but he pressed out with his mind, the false Determination, grabbed onto Gaster and didn't let go.

"Your science project," Sans spat. "Yeah, sure, I bet there's a billion timelines out there where that's the case. I bet there's timelines where you won, that night on the catwalk. Destroyed the whole world, brought us both back to the beginning. Turned me into whatever you wanted. Sure. You can be real proud of yourself. All those Gasters out there who succeeded! But you know what? This life? This timeline? I won. For once in my goddamn life, I fucking won. Broke down and cried like a stupid baby and got you to hesitate. Or did you forget that part in all this-this bullshit trying to break me, trying to do whatever that poor guy who isn't Betas told me you were going to do? Do you remember him, too? Do you remember how goddamn horrified you were when you realized he was going to die because of us? Cause I saw the look on your face as we were all falling, Gaster. I don't remember everything from the old timeline, but I rememember every second of that night. You hesitated. You stopped. You got scared, you got horrified. The very last thing you did was save my worthless damn life. No, hell. The very last thing you did was put a broken timeline back together, patch it all up with duct tape, because you knew you'd done wrong."

Gaster cringed, wilted. Sans gripped tighter.

"S...SAVE…"

"Yeah, that's right, asshole. You saved me. You saved a timeline. A timeline you broke in the first place. You know what, Doc, maybe you do deserve this for what you did. All this-this miserable, endless nothing. Maybe this is the fate of all those Gasters, and good riddance. So, sure. A bunch of alternate Gasters, jerks who have hurt me even worse than you ever did. But guess what, Doc? You haven't broken me. You never did. Cause you hesitated. You can pretend all you want that you're just this-this stupid, voidy mass of hate and anger and jealousy. But I know the truth. You hesitated. I won. And tonight? Heh. Won again."

Sans let go and withdrew. Gaster shrank back, the void seeming to compress around him, almost as if he wanted to make himself smaller.

The scene changed again, an image flickering into existence as if from a very old movie projector. Sans in a heap on the catwalk at the bottom of the Core, Gaster-Gaster as he was, still a monster, still alive-clutching at his own face, eyes wide with horror.

There was a sound like a tape being rewound and then Gaster spoke in his old, true voice.

"What have I done?"

"A lot." Sans pulled himself back together with a long, exhausted sigh. Gelatinous ooze hardened into bone again, red faded into electric blue. The pain dimished into a distant ache. Sans hugged his knees.

"A lot of bad. Some good."

The image faded, leaving darkness again.

"SHE WILL. MAKE MISTAKES."

"Everyone makes mistakes. That's the point, Doc. People are too complicated to be just one thing. We're not one-dimensional." Sans cast a tired look out at the void and chuckled softly. "Though, heh. This place? It's gotta be at least five dimensions. Maybe six."

There was a long silence.

"AMUSEMENT."

"Mm?"

"A...MUSEMENT. THAT. WAS ANOTHER THING." Gaster paused and made a nondescript sound. "YOU. AMUSED ME."

"Heh." Sans smiled. "You'd groan at the puns, but sometimes I'd catch you smiling."

Gaster was silent for longer this time.

"MIS. TAKES. I WILL. CONTINUE TO. MAKE MISTAKES."

"Yeah. Like I said, everyone does. Best we can do is have someone there to remind us that we're more than just our mistakes. Paps is there for me. I'm there for Al. You used to let me be there for you."

"TOO. MUCH. TOO MUCH TO. ASK."

"Well. Still got a timeline to fix, don't we?" Sans shrugged. "I can't give up just yet. Plus, if you think I've forgiven you yet for all the shit you've pulled-here and before-then, man. You're more of an idiot than I thought. I'm not stupid. I know this isn't over. You're still gonna be a petulant asshole, aren't you?"

"AS I SAID. MISTAKES."

"Pfft. Mistakes. Yeah. Strapping me to a table and injecting me with Determination, that's. That's sure a mistake alright."

Gaster didn't answer, but Sans thought he felt the void shrink back again.

"Still. Progress is progress. Well." He looked out at the void. "Not gonna ask you to promise not to pull this shit again. You broke every promise you ever made to me."

"I. AM. SORRY, SANS."

Sans froze.

"...Really?"

"YES."

"Heh. Haven't heard that from you in awhile."

"IT IS. TRUTH."

"So guilt now too, huh?" Sans sighed, unable to help but feel relieved. "Good."

Sans surged awake. He clapped both hands over his mouth. He didn't scream, but he did inhale sharply. His sheets were tangled in knots and soaked in sweat.

For a second he just hyperventilated and stared at the ceiling, watching the faint glow of magic color the ceiling. Electric blue tinged with yellow. Not red.

Sans slid out of bed and tumbled to the floor, curling up on his side and gritting his teeth. His hipbone ached where the imaginary needle had gone in. He felt along the ilium, but there were no marks, no holes.

It was just a dream, a dream like always, but Sans had to be sure. He pulled himself to his feet and padded down the hallway as quietly as he could to the bathroom. Once there, he flicked on the light and examined himself in the mirror.

He was a mess. His left eyesocket was still blazing. Sans squeezed it shut and let the magic die; when he opened it again, the usual white eyelight was back. He was trembling. He had actually gotten through to Gaster, had finally had a modicum of success, but everything that had happened before that…

Sans checked his pelvis. No holes. Nothing at all. And yet it still ached.

He let his eye come alight again. Yellow and blue, no red. He summoned a single bone, though his magic struggled against his hold like always. It had gotten easier, but he was nowhere near perfect, not by a longshot. But the bone was white, wreathed in electric blue. Normal. No red.

The bone vanished and Sans let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He braced one hand against the mirror and rested his forehead on the edge of the sink.

"Just a dream," he whispered. "He hasn't gotten you yet. Heh. Hell. Looks...more like you got him."

It had been easy to stay calm in the dream, to just use his anger and pain and fear to force his way through, to finally make Gaster listen. It was just like that night in the Core, really. But here, awake in the middle of the night, hip aching from a wound that had never happened, it all felt...too real. Too much. The bathroom felt all at once tiny, like a mouth about to snap closed. Claustrophobic.

There wasn't a single room in this apartment that hadn't been touched by Gaster's influence. Even Papyrus's room. A few months back, Sans had awoken after a dream in which Gaster had showed Papyrus dying a thousand different ways. Sans had crept into Papyrus's room just to make sure he was still alive, and had ended up dozing fitfully while curled up in a corner. Papyrus had been very concerned the next morning.

"Can't stay here," Sans said, voice muffled by the edge of the sink. "Can't keep this up."


A week later, a day after King Asgore had announced that one Dr. Alphys was to be the next Royal Scientist, Sans went out to Snowdin to visit Papyrus at his station. It was the first time he had been out to actually see it. Papyrus had built the station himself out of cardboard, as the old one had been taken over by Doggo Jr.

"SANS! WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE!" Papyrus said when he spotted Sans. "IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING SO FAR FROM YOUR STATION? GET BACK TO WORK, YOU LAZYBONES!"

"Don't get all hot under the collarbone, bro," Sans said with a wink. "I got the day off. I figured your shift was almost over, so I thought I'd come out and see the place. Nice digs. I like the sign."

"NYEH HEH! The Great Papyrus DID work very hard on it!" Papyrus beamed.

"I can tell. Nice view, too." Papyrus's station was settled near the forest, overlooking a small cliff. "All I can see from mine is the creek and water sausages."

"Water sausages are NEAT to look at, though! I like when they explode into puffballs!"

"You know, I've always wondered if you can eat those things," Sans said thoughtfully. "They're called 'sausages' after all."

"EVERYTHING IS EDIBLE IF YOU JUST PUT YOUR MIND TO IT!" Papyrus said, pumping his fist.

"You about done here, bro? I can walk you to the ferry. Got something to show you."

Papyrus gave him a very suspicious look. "You? SANS? WILLING TO WALK SOMEWHERE? I am MILDLY concerned."

"Nah, I think you'll like it." He hoped Papyrus would like it.

"Then...very well. Let me gather my things!"

The walk back into the town was nice, leisurely even. Papyrus was always good to walk slowly so Sans's short legs could keep up with him. It was harder than usual in the snow. Sans had once sunk up to his neck in a snowdrift out here while he was practicing magic. He'd had to teleport himself out.

They chatted about their day. Sans told a few puns that made Papyrus groan and hide a smile behind a gloved hand. Papyrus told Sans about how he and Doggo had struck up a conversation about light blue magic.

"He is good at it, but I am even better!" Papyrus declared. "Well...that is possibly because his eyesight is so bad."

"Heh, still. I'm not surprised. You've been good at light blue magic for years now. Everyone been treating you okay out here?"

"Oh yes! The dogs are VERY friendly! I like them a lot! Although…" Papyrus sighed just a little. "None of them have exactly become my...friend? I have tried, and they are very nice! But they mostly just hang out together."

"Well, they are pack animals."

"STILL! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL NOT GIVE UP!" Papyrus howled as they entered town, making a nearby bunny monster give the skeletons an odd look. "I will make friends! I will make SO MANY FRIENDS!"

"A googol of friends."

"A-what?"

"It's a really, really big number."

"Oh! Then, YES! THAT MANY FRIENDS!"

Papyrus made to turn as they neared the short jetty where the ferry stopped, but Sans kept walking straight.

"Uh, Sans? We passed the ferry."

"Yeah, I know. Said I wanted to show you something, right? It's not far. Just up ahead."

"UGH, FINE! But if we miss the ferry, I blame YOU!"

"That's fair."

"Is it the Librarby?"

"Nope," Sans said as they passed it. "Man, they're never gonna fix that sign, are they?"

"Perhaps I will make that my next project as a sentry! Fix that TERRIBLE sign! And maybe see if I can't convince Grillby to move his entire restaurant to Hotland…"

"Aw, bro, no. Grillby's is the best part of this place."

"AS EVER, WE MUST AGREE TO DISAGREE."

They walked another block, passing a few houses. Papyrus made impatient noises.

"SAAAAANS! WHY DO I FEEL YOU ARE LEADING ME ON A WILD TEMMIE CHASE? Can't you just TELL ME what you want to show me? We're going to miss the ferry!"

"We're here," Sans said, coming to a stop in front of a house. It was a good size for how small Snowdin was, but was otherwise relatively nondescript.

"Here? What's here?" Papyrus peered at the house. "Do you mean the house? Does one of your friends live here?"

"I mean. One of my friends might life here, so to speak." Sans walked up to the front door, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. Papyrus hovered back on the street, clearly confused.

"Come on, bro," Sans called to him as he unlocked the front door. "Wanna check it out?"

"SANS, AS A MEMBER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, SORT OF, I MUST INFORM YOU THAT YOU ARE TRESPASSING!"

Sans grinned at him and twirled the keyring around his finger. "It's not trespassing if you own it."

Papyrus frowned. "I...do not understand."

"Just come inside, bro. Check it out."

Sans went on in, certain that Papyrus's curiosity would get the better of him. The inside was relatively normal as houses went. One and a half floors, two bedrooms upstairs, a kitchen and a large living room downstairs. The carpet was rather violently colored, and the walls were a somewhat alarming shade of maroon, clashing horribly with the carpet. Sans kind of loved it. The place was mostly unfurnished, except for the occasional endtable.

Sure enough, Papyrus followed Sans a few moments later, looking uncertain and out of place.

"It's...empty? This is VERY strange! Oh, but I like the carpet!"

"Well, I would hope it was empty."

"Sans...I don't understand. Whose house is this?"

Moment of truth. Sans reached up and took Papyrus's hand. He opened his fingers and set the ring of keys in Papyrus's palm.

"It's yours, Papyrus."

His brother stared at the keys.

"I mean. Technically I had to put my name on the lease. But it's yours. Everything's taken care of. Down payment's squared away, rent will be fine so long as my job doesn't change. They said in a couple years you can probably pay it off and buy it, if you want. If you, you know. Like living here."

"I…" Papyrus trailed off. Sans couldn't remember the last time he had seen his brother speechless. Papyrus's fingers curled around the keys and he stared at Sans.

"It's...mine?"

"Y-Yeah." Sans rubbed the back of his head. "If you want it, I mean. I just figured...you said Snowdin was an okay place, and I know you...don't like our apartment much more than I do. And, you'll be closer to work here, so. I mean, I know you like getting up early, cause you're weird, but. You know. This way it's at least easier. You can get stuff done in the morning without having to rush off. And, um. There's a big kitchen. I mean, it's pretty big."

Sans was rambling and Papyrus was still staring at him.

"And, the second floor is nice. I know it looks kind of weird from here since it's set back so far, but it's, you know, it's spacious. The rooms are pretty big. Bigger than your room at the apartment. So, um. You can finally get that racecar bed you wanted."

Sans laced his fingers together behind his back, wringing his hands slightly.

"C-C'mon, bro, say something. Don't leave me hanging."

Papyrus finally looked away from him, turning to fully take in the house.

"How did-how did you manage to afford this?"

"I-It wasn't that hard actually." Sans scuffed at the carpet, toeing at a set-in stain. This could be going better. "Sold some stuff, saved up for the past year. Rent's crazy cheap out here. It's mostly just furry folk who have been here for years. Not many people move here, so. So it wasn't too bad."

"Sans…"

"And listen, if you don't like it, you can just say so. I-I can talk to the realtor. There's other places I can find. Or if you don't actually want to move out of the apartment, that's fine too. I. Heh. I really screwed this up, huh? Man. Heh. It was stupid to try and surprise you. I just figured, i-it's been a pretty crazy year, and I know I've put you through a lot lately, and, I dunno, I just wanted to do something nice I guess, but-"

"SANS!" Papyrus stepped up to him and clapped both hands on Sans's shoulders. "I LOVE IT! THIS IS-THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE GIFT, BROTHER! I LOVE IT! THE CARPET! THE SPACE! THE KITCHEN! LOOK HOW BIG THE KITCHEN IS!"

Papyrus let go and bounced away into the kitchen, cackling like a mad skeleton.

"IT'S HUGE! IT HAS A FULL SIZED REFRIGERATOR! I CAN COOK ANYTHING I WANT!"

Papyrus came tearing back out of the kitchen and ran to stand in the middle of the living room, arms spread wide. Sans stood there watching him, slightly dazed and incredibly relieved.

"AND LOOK AT THIS AREA! WE CAN PUT THE TV RIGHT HERE! AND THE COUCH OVER THERE! OH, AND MY FAVORITE LAMP CAN GO IN THAT CORNER! AND CAN I REALLY GET A RACECAR BED? REALLY?"

"Yeah, bro." Sans beamed at him. "Heh. You can get as many racecar beds as you want."

"NYEH HEH! SANS, THIS IS AMAZING! A HOUSE! A WHOLE HOUSE! I LOVE IT! THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE APARTMENT! THIS IS A HOUSE WORTHY OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

"Heh, I'm really glad you think so. You had me worried for a second."

"I WAS MERELY OVERWHELMED! AND-AND I MAY HAVE CAUGHT SOMETHING IN MY EYESOCKET FOR A MOMENT AND NEEDED TO COMPOSE MYSELF!"

"Oh yeah?" Sans grinned. "What did you catch?"

"NOTHING! NEVER MIND!" Papyrus folded his arms under his chin, staring gleefully around the house. "Sans, I love it, I really do! You are truly a WONDERFUL brother!"

"Heh." Sans tried to hide in the collar of his hoodie.

"Oh, but! Where will you sleep?"

"There's a second bedroom down the hall up there," Sans said, pointing. "But, you know, that's only if you want me here. I've looked at some smaller places in Waterfall that could work. I just know I'm not staying in New Home."

"Wait...what?" Papyrus looked caught off guard. "Only if I WANT you here?"

"Well, yeah." Sans shrugged. "I mean, well...you know, we're both adults. You're probably gonna join the Royal Guard eventually."

"DEFINITELY!" Papyrus corrected.

"Definitely," Sans said with a grin. "Meanwhile, I'm-"

Sans honestly hadn't thought about it. He would keep being a sentry, but then eventually he would fix the machine, and eventually he would set the timelines straight again. But that was far away. He hadn't given much thought to his own future.

He shrugged again. "I'm just doing whatever, I guess. So, you know. We don't have to keep living together if you don't want to."

"Are you...saying you don't want to live with me anymore?" Papyrus asked in a small voice.

"N-Nah, that's not...I just mean…" Sans scratched at his skull, looking away. "I know I'm not easy to live with. I just figured...you know, it's your house. It's up to you."

Papyrus stared at Sans for what felt like several minutes, his expression unreadable.

"Do you WANT to keep living together, brother?"

"I mean...only if you wanted m-"

"Just give me a straight answer, Sans, please."

Sans was quiet, tapping his fingers together. It felt wrong to admit to wanting anything. Selfish. He didn't want Papyrus to feel obligated to keep putting up with him.

But...Papyrus was asking for honesty.

"I, uh. Yeah. I mean. I want to. If you were o-"

Sans didn't finish because at that moment Papyrus scooped him up into a tight hug.

"THEN OF COURSE I WANT TO KEEP LIVING WITH YOU, BROTHER!"

"Ah, heh, jeez." Sans laughed into Papyrus's scarf. "You're squishing me, bro."

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS SO LUCKY! AN AMAZING JOB, AN AMAZING HOUSE, AND AN AMAZING BROTHER!"

"Aw, bro. If anyone's lucky, it's me. Every day, I'm asking myself, house did I end up with such a cool bro?"

"NYEH! EVEN YOUR PUNS WON'T RUIN THIS TOUCHING MOMENT, SANS!"

"Hey, bro?" Sans hugged him a little tighter. "Thanks. Seriously."

He'd been worried. So worried that this wouldn't work, that Papyrus would hate the place, would think it was too much. Or that he'd love it and still ask Sans to leave. Even the coolest of brothers had to push their siblings away eventually, right?

Papyrus gave Sans a squeeze.

" And thank you too, brother."