IMPORTANT A/N: to make the chapters line up, this one is officially "Chapter 9" - there have technically been 8 chapters before this, but to fill in some gaps I had previously retro-added a "Chapter 6.5" before Chapter 7. Since I'm cross-posting this to Ao3 and so I can get back to matching up the number count in the chapter index, I'll go ahead and match the chapter numbers back up with the proper full count from here on out - making this chapter 9 for that reason. Nothing will be missing, it'll just look like there's a jump in the chapter titling from "Chapter 7" to "Chapter 9."
Anyways, back to our story! Thanks for reading, and I'll be back with weekly updates from here on out. :)
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Less than two minutes had passed and Frisk was bent over, clutching their chest and gasping for breath. They scowled at the ground, straining to get enough air. Their eyes screwed as they tried to focus, knowing full well that the issue was less to do with their lungs and more to do with the nearly non-existent spark sputtering in their core.
There was a shift of space a few feet behind them. Frisk had started to recognize the odd feeling of space restructuring itself to place Sans in it. It tickled their shoulders, weirdly enough.
Frisk ignored Sans as they tried to let their core catch up with the rest of them. Dying didn't seem to help their reserves of energy, Frisk considered with a wry grin.
"what's so funny, kid?"
Frisk tilted their head to the side, their hair falling away and allowing them a clear field of vision to stare back at Sans. He had bent a little to one side, hands in his lab coat, head cocked with his usual grin. Interestingly, there was an odd pull to the brow bones above his eye sockets.
[Worried about me, Sans?] Frisk signed. With a flash of their eye, they tucked their hand into a fist and shot out a punch towards Sans. He dodged as little as he could, grinning.
"well, y'know, the science must go on and all," he replied with a noncommittal shrug. He straightened up - or as much as he usually did. His comfortable slouch remained as he stepped out of the way of Frisk's left hook. "i've got data to process anyways, so i could always knock you out for a bit," he added, rapping the knuckles of one hand lightly on the head of his skull with a wink.
Frisk grinned and rolled their eyes, stepping back for a moment. [You're not very good at playing the bad guy, are you?]
"all that evil laughter seems like a lot of work, honestly." He shot a hand out towards Frisk. They dodged - just enough.
[Yeah, but it opens up a lot of possibility for a whole new realm of evil puns.] They slipped to the side, stepping out of the way of the next slash of Sans' lightly glowing hand.
Sans considered this for a moment as Frisk rolled their shoulders. "i am pretty bad to the bone," he said slowly, skipping a step to the side as Frisk moved to punch him again. Their breathing was labored, and there wasn't much energy behind the move. Still, they flashed another smile at the skeleton as they relaxed their pose to breathe.
[Solid. 7 out of 10?]
"i'm always villain to work on some more material," he replied with a wink.
Frisk bit back a laugh. [Now you're talking!]
Sans bowed at the waist, his grin stretching. Frisk gave him a thumbs up, then looked down the corridor and tried to slow their heartbeat, dropping one hand while the other slipped to rest over their chest. They felt like every muscle in their body was twice as heavy, and every pump of their heart was a fight against a deep sleep. Sans didn't move to keep the fight going, and they stood there together. Despite their fatigue, Frisk felt oddly at ease.
It was almost peaceful.
[You're not the bad guy, Sans.]
Sans regarded Frisk with a heavy look. "that's a nice thought, but some things just aren't true."
Frisk looked at him sardonically. Sans looked away. A few moments passed, and Frisk opened up their stance, spreading their arms wide despite the exhaustion weighing them down.
[Alright, then. I'm done. Have at me.]
Sans' head whipped back towards them, brow bones furrowed and a frown on his face. Unwavering, Frisk met his gaze. In the distance, there was some sort of low hammering noise.
Finally, Sans sighed, and what little blue glow was left faded out.
"what happened to all that determination, huh?" He slipped his hands into his labcoat and shifted to lean on one leg, looking at Frisk as they lowered their arms.
They smiled brightly, ignoring the heaviness of their limbs. [I'm still going to give you a run for your money to get outta here,] they clarified. Pausing for a moment, they stared at the palms of their hands. Seconds passed. [I just wish I knew why I couldn't shake this exhaustion,] they admitted at last. [I feel like… like coming back to that- that save point, after I die... Shouldn't I at least match that level of energy?]
Sans eye sockets were dark. Frisk looked at their hands again, nose scrunching slightly as they frowned.
"each time you come back to a save point, what do you feel?"
Frisk looked at him in surprise. He waited.
Slowly, [Confused. Overwhelmed. Like I'd just been hit by a train.] A train powered by humanity's experimentation in their magic, but a train nonetheless. [I feel kind of… darker, inside, I guess.]
Sans stared at them - or rather, at their hand resting on their chest. Frisk felt a tug below their hand, and looked down in alarm. Their heart resumed beating normally after a moment, and when they looked up Sans was looking away.
Getting tired after whatever experiments Sans had been running made sense to Frisk. They probably weren't getting any true rest, or at least not enough before they were fighting him again. It was different with coming back to where they had last...
Frisk's breath hitched in their chest, realization hitting them like an avalanche.
[... Sans.]
He wasn't looking, but he saw the gesture of their hand. He glanced back towards them, brow bone raised.
[How do you know that I've saved more than once?]
His eyesockets went dark again. Neither moved. Frisk narrowed their eyes.
[You said "each time." But… No one else remembers. I fought Undyne several times before passing out, which was the only thing that kept her from killing me again. They don't even seem to realize that time looped.] Frisk shifted slightly, stepping a fraction closer to Sans. [Sans, how do you know that I can Save?] They felt the beginnings of a tingling against their shoulders. [And don't try and teleport, or whatever! I'm not going to forget this part. Even if you try, I already came back to a Save - I'll just figure it out again.] The edge to their motions matched the tight feeling in their chest. Then, more softly, [... I'm determined, remember?]
The white pupils returned to his eyes. His grin had pulled downward, close to an outright frown. He stared at them, and Frisk stared back, fully aware of the determination written across their features. At last Sans sighed, leaned against the wall behind him, and slid into a lounging sitting position on the floor. He gestured across from him. Frisk took the cue and sat cross legged against the opposite wall. After rummaging briefly in a few pockets, he pulled out a joint, and raised a brow bone again with a slight extension of his arm. Frisk looked between it and him.
[... weed? You can grow it down here?]
Sans huffed a laugh. "eh, it's something similar, anyways. grows at the edge of Waterfall and Hotland - anxiety medicine, really. helps keep me from getting my bones rattled too much."
Frisk nodded. Made sense, from what they knew about him already. [Fair enough. I'll pass for now though, thanks.]
The skeleton nodded, and with a small flash of magic he lit it and took a deep drag. Frisk watched, intrigued, as no smoke appeared around his skull while he inhaled… then, as he exhaled, it flowed outward from his mouth and drifted serenely in curling wisps before fading. Partway through, Frisk saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards again, and suddenly the smoke curled and drifted out of his eyesockets as he blew out a last puff. Frisk's eyes widened in alarm briefly before Sans chuckled and shook his head, freeing the last wisps from his skull. Frisk scowled at him and rolled their eyes.
Sans settled back with a little bit of his grin back. "what's the matter, kid? don't like it when i look like a dragon?"
Frisk snorted, but the corners of their mouth tugged upwards. They shook their head. [C'mon Sans, stop stalling.]
He looked away, face twisting wryly. "i guess it says something already, that i'm sitting here making conversation with you when i oughta keep figuring things out." He looked back at Frisk. "we talked sometimes, too, y'know. you didn't always run."
Frisk nodded. Their head hurt if they tried to think too hard about it, but their gut never really led them wrong. And they knew Sans… even if they didn't fully remember.
In the distance, they heard something hammering again - a little louder. Looking off towards the direction of the sound, Frisk's brow furrowed.
Sans was looking away again. "they're pretty close to getting in."
[You mean…?]
Sans nodded. "yeah, they've been up to something fishy for a while."
[And you didn't stop them.]
He shrugged and took a drag. As he exhaled, "i've got measures in place. it's taken them this long, after all."
Fair enough.
"anyways... yeah. i remember everything."
The frown was back on Frisk's face. They rolled his statement in their head for a moment, catching on quickly to his knack for saying things that meant .
[... Everything?]
Their gazes locked. "yeah."
The breath rushed out of Frisk's lungs. The air felt heavy with the weight of his confirmation.
Frisk didn't know how to respond. The years following the night the vines had taken everything played rapidly in their head - the frustration, confusion, desperation, excitement, everything, all of it, how much had occurred and brought them here- they had moved forward, even through it all, but for the monsters in the Underground time had repeated in smaller bursts… But not for Sans.
"... i'm just tired, Frisk. how many years has it been now? not that it matters. hasn't for a long time."
[... over 15.]
Smoke swirled in front of Sans' face. When it cleared slightly, Frisk could see the scowl openly twisting his expression. "15 years. taken, so easily. taken from all of us."
Frisk stayed still. Small curls of smoke slipped through the still air of the hallway, and a bead of sweat dripped down Sans' skull. What had he seen? What did he remember, that everyone else at most only had nightmares about?
The hammering continued, closer, closer, steady, like a pulse.
"you're determined, Frisk. is that a human thing? to be so determined, that you won't die - or is it that you can't?"
They stared at one another, the painful tightness in Frisk's chest aching. They lifted their hands to sign… and the whole lab shook as an explosive sound reverberated through the halls.
Frisk fell into a ready crouch as the lab resettled, looking around wildly before staring at Sans. He sighed.
"looks like your pals are here, kid," he said. He pushed himself to his feet, taking one last hit from the joint before making a strange gesture that made it disappear. His eyes flickered down the hall, towards the source of the explosion, where voices were now echoing.
[Sans, wait-] Frisk struggled to their feet and stepped towards him, arm outreached. [Just hang on, we can-]
He shook his head and looked at them. They just barely caught the sad flicker to his grin. "i can't. i know you don't get it yet-"
[You work for the king, don't you?]
He froze. Frisk reached out, grabbing his shoulders - gently, but firm. After a beat they quickly signed, [I don't know what he's got on you, but please, Sans. Don't give up. I'll help. We'll get Alphys and even Undyne to help - somehow - just… just-]
Sans stepped back, shaking his head. "it's not just that. you're smart - figure it out. please."
Frisk's heart felt frozen as they met his gaze. Something dark had taken over his face, and he was sweating. He was desperate.
[Sans, I-]
"GET YOUR BONEY HANDS AWAY FROM THEM, JERK!"
Undyne rounded the corner spear-first, and Frisk jumped back. She was followed by an exhausted but triumphant Alphys, and - was that a robot?
Frisk gaped at the group, before swiveling to look back at Sans. His left eye was glowing again, and his hands were tucked into his labcoat. His lazy grin was back, but Frisk knew it was strained.
"what's up, Undyne?"
Undyne roared. Sans put one pinky towards the side of his skull - where an ear would be on a human. Frisk stared at him, torn between wanting to push him and wanting to laugh.
"I can 'ear you just fine, y'know. you could be a little quieter," he observed nonchalantly. Undyne's face was wild. Frisk moved to sign something, but Sans cut them off. "how's it goin', Alphys? you respect a little science, right-"
Frisk shot Sans a baffled and frustrated look just as Undyne threw a spear at him. He stepped to the side, faster than Frisk's eyes could follow, his lab coat fluttering as the spear nearly grazed it.
"Don't you fucking speak to her, traitor," Undyne spat out. Alphys stayed behind her, eyes unreadable behind the glare of her glasses.
Sans shrugged. "sticks 'n bones, captain. or i guess it really is just Undyne, huh?"
Frisk turned to Sans completely then, anger making their motions jerky. [What the hell, Sans? Why are you-]
Sans lifted his hands out of his pockets in a full shrug. He caught Frisk's gaze. "but oh no, my evil plot. been thwarted, and all that. ahhh, curses."
He took a step back, shifting his weight casually as another spear slammed towards him, grounding itself directly where he had been. "hate to be the guy to experiment and run," he continued, shifting sideways as a spear whizzed by, "so i'll just avoid that mess."
A ghost of a shiver brushed across Frisk's shoulders and without a second thought they lunged forward, reaching for Sans. He stepped to the side as they came close, eyes meeting theirs for a lingering moment as everything seemed to slow down. His grin was almost... apologetic. Their ears registered a shout behind them but they didn't think about it. Frisk dragged their hand over, trying to grab him before he could disappear. He reached towards them, and Frisk's eyes widened.
Sans' hand splayed across their chest, over their heart. His eyes went dark as he shoved them, an impossible amount of force behind the contact as everything sped back up. Frisk slammed back into the wall and stars shot across their vision, making the sight of the electric blue spear passing through where they had just been all the more jarring. Before they could recover, Sans took a step and the space around him twisted and pulled - and he was gone.
Undyne cursed vehemently. Alphys ran up to Frisk, hands hovering awkwardly as she tried to scan for injuries.
"F-Frisk - are you, are you okay…?" She said, worry lacing through her voice. Undyne stamped up behind her, shooting dark looks towards the spot Sans had disappeared from. "I-I mean that's a stupid question, of c-course you're not okay, you've been trapped here for days, w-weeks-"
Frisk shook their head as the stars finally cleared their vision. [No, no. I'm okay. Tired, but fine.]
Alphys breathed out a sigh of relief, and even Undyne looked relieved.
"That's right you little punk, you gave that bag of bones a run for it, huh?" She reached over and punched Frisk's shoulder affectionately, almost sending them to their knees. They winced but shot her a smile.
Alphys glanced around, looking down the hallway that led deeper into the lab. "S-so, what did he-?" She stammered to a stop as Undyne's hand rested on her shoulder. Frisk didn't miss the slight shake of Undyne's head. "No, okay, yeah. P-plenty of time f-for that later. Or not!" She continued, sweating slightly as her cheeks flushed. Frisk chuckled weakly - the time that had passed had finally started to hit them. They had missed the two monster women.
"Well, darlings, can we please head to somewhere a little less… disgusting?"
Frisk's gaze shifted to the robot leaning against the corner the trio had come around. He almost looked like a calculator, Frisk thought wildly. He rested on a single wheel, and was observing the tips of his gloved hands. Intrigued, Frisk was now trying to figure out how he managed to look repulsed when the only discernible feature of his blocky screen was a bright 'M'.
"Hold on for a minute, gotta check things out- uh, if that's okay?" Undyne glanced at Frisk for a reply. She was being uncharacteristically thoughtful - then again, Frisk considered, maybe not so uncharacteristic. They nodded.
Undyne nodded her head once back. Her face was grim, and she strode further down the hallway.
Before she could make it 10 feet past where Frisk stood, she ran directly into a barrier, her hands splaying as she stumbled back with a grunt. The translucent wall shone a soft blue and rang dully at the impact.
"That little…"
Frisk bit back a surprised laugh as Undyne summoned a new spear and leveled her aim directly for it. Alphys dashed forward then, jumping to grab Undyne's arm just before she could throw it. She dangled comically from the woman's bicep, and Undyne turned to look at her in surprise, her cheeks a dark blue. "Alphy, what the-?"
"W-we don't know what he's set up, Undyne," she said quickly, face ducked to hide even as she hung there. "B-besides - I think we should really get out of here - for Frisk's sake, and ours…"
Undyne regarded her for a moment. Then, her spear fizzled out and disappeared. She reached down to set Alphys on the ground gently. "Yeah, you're right," she replied gruffly as she straightened up.
"Thank you," the calculator huffed grandly from the corner. Frisk looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"O-oh yeah! Frisk, this is Mettaton," Alphys offered as she determinedly did not look up at Undyne. "I, I uh-"
"Alphys was lovely enough to give me a body," Mettaton cut in. He rolled over to Frisk, offering a hand. "Enchanted, I'm sure - quite fascinating! You really are a human, aren't you?" Frisk looked at Mettaton's hand, extended palm down, as if expecting a kiss. They took it and shook it instead, biting their lip at the disgruntled way his screen bent slightly.
"Yeah, yeah, our own human, kidnapped by a mad skeleton and tired as hell - so let's get going already," Undyne said, grabbing Frisk and Alphys and dragging them down the hallway and forcing Mettaton to roll along quickly to catch up.
After rounding the corner, Frisk no longer wondered how they had made their way in - next to what looked like an elevator door was enormous hole, metal edges bursting outwards and surrounded by enormous rubble. Mettaton rolled over the debris with ease, defying the tiny wheel he stood on. Undyne climbed past a few pieces, offering a hand down to pull Alphys up, then again for Frisk. They took it, stumbling slightly. Once they were in the hole in the wall, Frisk looked up at the far-away light that filtered in from above.
Weakly, they signed, [How long did this take…?]
"Well, it took us a few days to figure out what happened to you at Grillby's," Undyne huffed. She sounded less than pleased at this. "And another few days for Alphys and I to try to find a way down."
"Th-then Undyne had the idea to get Mettaton!" Alphys added, pride flushing her face as she smiled up at her. Undyne flushed dark blue, looking away as she rubbed her neck.
Frisk grinned, and looked at Mettaton. [So you're best with… what, explosives?] They gestured to the hole in the wall and the twisted passage above them.
Mettaton laughed, waving a hand at them. "Oh, human! So flattering! I am the best," he replied. "And I know how to make an entrance," he added mysteriously. Frisk decided they didn't want to know what that meant.
"We had to be careful, though - the whole place is wired with weird sensors and magic triggers," Undyne growled. She shook her head.
"S-some of that is m-my fault," Alphys said. She fidgeted.
[What do you mean?]
Alphys quickly translated, then continued, "W-well, I…"
"She's a big nerd, is what she means!" Undyne said with a grin, looking down at Alphys with pride written across her features. Alphys flushed even further. They might both combust with the heat at this point, Frisk thought wryly.
"I- I used to be the Royal Scientist," Alphys admitted. "B-but when things went… well…" She trailed off.
[You resigned once everything started happening with the king, right?]
Alphys nodded as she explained Frisk's words to Mettaton and Undyne. "It's a little fuzzy, b-but yeah. When the vines came, I think."
Frisk nodded. [And you had help set up some protection for the lab.]
"Y-yeah. A lot of it is from the former Royal Scientist, and Sans added his own… t-twist," she added, shaking her head. "S-so there were layers we had to get through - normal stuff, then magic tech, then magic traps and triggers…"
"I got to punch through some of it," Undyne said with a grin. "And Alphys was brilliant and broke through the traps and stuff."
"And I made the rest possible," Mettaton said. "So can we leave, now?"
Undyne snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I actually agree for once, at least on the second part. Ready, guys?"
Alphys and Frisk nodded. [So how do we get back up?]
Alphys translated, and looked to Undyne. Without a word, Undyne scooped up Alphys and held onto her bridal style, making Alphys squeak. Mettaton offered an arm to Frisk, who took it with a question on their face. Undyne turned, and scowled at Mettaton. "You better grab hold of 'em, Mettaton."
Mettaton rolled his eyes - ones that had blinked into existence on his screen. He reached out and picked Frisk up, surprisingly gentle. "As crude as she is, she's right. This is a little jarring," he said. "Hold on, darling."
Before Frisk could ask, Undyne lept upwards with Alphys, jumping up the impossibly tall shaft in bounds as she made contact with rough portions of its walls. Frisk heard a strange mechanical noise from Mettaton, and suddenly they were in the air, force dragging Frisk closer to Mettaton as jets sparked into life. With the roar of the flames, they shot up and towards freedom.
