You Are Sans Now

by Greyshi

A twist of fate? The path set by destiny? Or some kind of a prank played by the gods? For one reason or another, you've lost everything yet gained so much more. You have the knowledge and the power to change the world, so use it wisely. Follow your heart, seek out the answers and don't forget - you are not alone.

11. Calm before the storm

Slowly and reluctantly you're getting away from your post. After every step you turn around to throw another suspicious glance at the door as your tired mind pictures it mocking you in return.

'geez. stop freaking out for a second, will ya?' The image of Sans shakes his head. 'dontcha think that they would've come out by now if they wanted to? it took them just one day last time...'

'I don't kno-o-ow...' you whine mentally. 'And this is driving me nuts!'

Stopping to gather your thoughts you fiercely scratch the back of your skull in an act of confusion and frustration. Good thing Papyrus didn't notice, because he's left you a little bit behind. His pace is just too quick for your short and weak legs.

'I...' You sigh. 'I honestly don't know what to do now...'

You look at the tall skeleton ahead of you, and he turns around and waves with a cheerful smile on his face. You feel a tad bit uncomfortable. Did he sense your gaze? It seems that being mysterious runs in their family.

'Should we tell everything to Papyrus? To anyone..?' you ask with uncertainty in your inner voice. 'I mean... That I'm inside of your body, along with you? And that there is a crazy human on the loose?'

Sans shakes his head dismissively, without a second thought. 'bad idea.'

'Why? Why is asking for help a bad idea?' You demand an explanation.

'huh, well, you know how i hate to worry paps about anythin', right? he...' Sans voice suddenly sounds strained. 'he can't fix this. he can't hurt anyone... he's incredibly kind and forgiving... but it didn't stop that little...'

'Shh, Sans...' you coo, trying to calm and reassure him, while feeling both sadness and warmth inside of your soul. 'He is safe now. We won't let anything bad happen to him, alright?'

Sans lets out a deep, heavy sigh and echoes back, 'a'right.'

'Okay. So we're not going to tell your brother, but what about the others?' You think, livening up a little. 'Having Undyne's assistance in a fight might be very useful and Alphys may think up a solution for our... rather sticky situation. You know, with us being... glued together.'

Sans chuckles in response. 'well... if you really wanna find a non-violent solution, then undyne is the last for the case and as for alphys... i bet she knows as much 'bout fused monster and human souls as anyone else. which is nothing.'

'sides… do you really think anyone will trust ya?' he adds bitterly. 'it took me so much time to start to trust you and i could read your thoughts and emotions all this time... can you imagine how hard it would be for the others? and don't forget that they can't hear me from 'ere. you could say that i'm with ya, but will they believe you?'

You don't know what you can say to that, so you just start to walk again to not fall back from Papyrus completely.

'and one more thing... i dunno if you know, but undyne is crazy with that human history or whatever. she keeps tellin' everyone that humans can control minds, so she'll definitely think that i'm under control... and y'know, after that fight we had… heh...' Sans closes his eye sockets. 'she might not be that far from the truth.'

You tried to bite your lip, forgetting for a second that you don't have any and let your doubts slip from your mind. 'When Chara took control of me I really thought... It might... Maybe they took control because I started to enjoy the battle...? To have power...'

'don't be silly.' The little skeleton cuts into your rambling and stares at you. It feels like he can see right into your soul. 'you enjoyed that even less than i did. i felt that much.'

'anyway...' He doesn't give you any time to argue. 'even if everyone did believe you... believe us. i'm pretty sure we have to reset this timeline... as much as i hate to do that, but...'

'Tori...' You finish for him, as you feel your soul trembling with all kinds of bad feelings.

'yeah...' A heavy sigh escapes Sans again.

'and after that... they'll just forget everything... damn resets...' He hisses through clenched teeth. 'ugh. i hate to do that to them and i hate to give my all to just go back to zero.'

'Me too...' You hang your head. 'I just hope that we will have a chance to talk with everybody... I don't like to lie and I would love to become their friend.'

'and this is the human that dares to tell me they are bad, heheh.' Sans laughs at you. 'stop being so sweet, geez. you're giving me cavities.'

You pout. 'This is just who I am!'

'i know...' He sighs and gives you a strange look. 'i know...'

As you chat with Sans in the usual silent manner, your path takes a turn and you can't see the damned door anymore. Far from eye, far from heart. This fact, the conversation with Sans and also the calming sound of crunching snow under your feet finally lets you relax a bit after all these days of stress.

'he-he. talking about something sweet.' Your imaginary depiction of Sans points forward. 'this guy is selling nice cream over there. wanna try?'

'i heard those are great for the nerves. after all, if you flip stressed backwards it spells desserts.' He chuckles in the back of your head.

'Oh! Oh! I would love to!' It may just taste like regular ice cream, which is good too, but maybe it would be something entirely new.

You approach a sad blue bunny in a colorful clothes who's leaning on his stand. As soon as he notices you his mood improves drastically.

"Hey-hey-hey!' He chants, smiling so wide that it's kind of contagious. "How about some Nice Cream, friend? Just 10 gold for the first customer of the day!"

"Or... a week, actually..." And he is sad again. His ears fall down along with the corner of his smile.

"Slow business, huh?" you ask the poor guy who is obviously not very good at picking the right spot for his stand.

"I keep relocating my store, but no one ever buys anything... But!" He suddenly flips his huge ears up and returns to cheerfulness in a matter of seconds. "I will not give up! Nothing is better than a sweet treat topped with a sweet smile!"

"You know what? You are damn right!" You return a wide smile back at him. "Gimme the nicest of your creams."

Nodding excitedly, he and opens the freezer for you to choose for yourself. Examining the wide assortment of multi-colored wrappers you decide to ask Sans first. 'What's your favorite flavor?'

'i don't usually eat those so you pick.' He shrugs.

'Huh? You don't like nice cream? How come?' It's surprising for this foodie to not like sweets.

'they're just way too small and disappear so fast that i can't even understand what it tastes like.' Sans chuckles in response.

'It's coz you need to lick ice cream, not shove it into your mouth!' you say like an expert.

'whoops. no tongue.' He laughs while you suddenly feel dumb.

'Oh... damn.' So much for an expert. 'Sorry, i totally forgot...'

's'okay.' He shrugs and you're about to move along, when suddenly one thing comes to your mind. It might quite possibly be the silliest of your ideas, but now you really want to give it a try.

Your gaze lingers for a moment before you snatch a nice cream in a pink wrapper and it turns out to be strawberry flavored.

After passing the money to a smiling bunny monster you take a look around. Papyrus is tinkering with the maze puzzle not too far away and you stroll a little further, positioning yourself back to him for a good measure.

You feel so giddy it's no wonder that Sans picks up on your emotions. 'so excited to eat that, huh?'

'You could say that, yea-a-ah...' A Cheshire Cat-like smile crosses your face. 'Say, Sans... You said that I can imagine just about anything and then make it real with magic, right?

'yep.' He nods.

'So... Don't mind if I try something?' You can practically taste the sweetness of your trick.

'huh?' He pulls his brow up in confusion. 'sure...? i guess.'

Of course it could just fail. Your knowledge of magic is limited to brief instructions from Sans, but you just have to give it a try. It's way too fun not to.

You attempt to recall all that is left of your memory about being human and about humans in general. What it was like to be squishy and fleshy, to have eyes in your eye sockets and to have a tongue inside of your mouth. You concentrate on the last thought in particular, filling your mind with every little detail and then letting magic flow into your imagination, turning it into reality.

A flick of blue light between your teeth and a sound of confusion from Sans later you open your mouth and stick out a cyan-colored tongue.

'Oh my god it looks like jelly!' You can't help but start to giggle looking at what you have created.

'what in the world...' Sans is dumbfounded and you can't contain your laughter.

'You complained about the lack of tongue? Now I gave us one!' You proclaim proudly and Sans mumbles something unintelligible in response.

You can't stop laughing at his reaction and Sans gives up and starts to laugh too.

'dang, pal... snort... this is genius, alright? go-ho-ho-o-d...' He laughs so hard that tears well up under his eye sockets. 'how... how did you come up with this…?'

'Well, I'd be lying if I said that it's my idea, but anyways...' You stretch out evasively. 'Let's give it a try, shall we?'

Getting rid of the wrapper you shove it into your pocket and sniff the the ice cream. It smells like sweet milk but sadly, not like strawberry. Gingerly you dare to lick the pink substance and... you feel the taste.

You are overjoyed. Turns out you have successfully created a fully functional magical analogue of a human tongue. This is so bizarre, yet so amazing! And the nice cream tastes alright too. Maybe a little bit too sweet for your liking, not the least bit sour, but the sweetness of your treat and of your success is filling you with energy and positivity.

On top of that, it also stirs something in the deep corners of your mind. This flavor… could it be that you liked it before? That wouldn't be much of a surprize if you did, but the very thought of recalling something from your past is so exciting, that at this very moment you decide for yourself that strawberry is your favorite kind of flavor.

'have i told you that you are somethin' special?' Sans shakes his head, still struggling with laughter.

'Yep,' you reply, enjoying your meal.

'well, it's 'cause you are.' He chuckles.

'let's, uh, ask what my bro's up to. when you finish here, i mean,' he suggests to you.

Doing just that you quickly finish eating and walk to Papyrus who's staring intently at the empty space in front of him, lost in thought.

"Sup?" You ask, looking where he's looking, but seeing nothing.

"WELL... I WAS THINKING OF A WAY TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE." He answers, scratching his bony chin. "BUT THE PROBLEM IS... HOW CAN ANYONE SEE HOW GREAT IT IS, IF IT'S INVISIBLE?"

"Well, that's the whole point, right?" Papyrus' logic is sure something otherworldly.

"NYE-EHS..." He stretches out, still thinking. "BUT STILL..."

You ponder for a bit and came up with something. "Hey."

"I think this puzzle is amazeing as it is," you say with a sly wink. "I bet anyone who steps into it will be stunned by how good it is."

"WHY THA-" He freezes in the middle of a word and gazes at you with a strange expression. Slowly, he hides his face in his gloved hands and you hear a muffled snicker followed by a muffled scream. "THAT WAS HORRIBLE!"

You also hear Sans laughing again.

"And yet you're still smiling," you remark, relishing in the amusement of two cool skeletons at once.

A few more horrible puns, a little chat about nothing and a nice walk around the snowy landscape later you stand near the bridge to Snowdin in a field of snow poffs.

One of the snowy lumps moves and you decide to investigate it closer. Suddenly, you are being attacked!

"Wh..." You didn't have time to even say anything as the pile of snow in front of you bursts, releasing the white hurricane that was hiding inside of it all this time. It takes you by storm, making you fall.

"Heeey, big dude. Easy now!" After the initial shock is gone you can't contain your smile as a white dog stands above you, breathing at you with warm breath. He licks your face with a big, wet tongue and you giggle. "How about you let me stand up?"

The dog jumps away and now it bounces around, barking excitedly, eyes somewhere on a level of your chest. This dog is flipping huge! Well, compared to Sans it is.

"Ah, you wanna be petted, don't you? Who's a good doggie? Who's a good doggie!?" Like he was waiting just for that the dog flops on his back exposing his warm fluffy belly.

You scratch the cute monster's tummy and he shakes his leg, gaping his toothy mouth in a big happy smile. His tail wags so intensely that it creates a little snow blizzard around itself. 'Awww, how adorable! Is this one of your friends Sans?'

'he-he, yeah. it's the greater dog.' He chuckles, enjoying the show.

'Wha...?' You are confused, you thought that he would be a lot bigger. 'Oh wait... Ahaha, I didn't even recognize him without his armor!'

'yeah, i can imagine that.' Sans nods, smiling.

While you play with the huge puppy Papyrus is casting you disapproving looks from afar.

"MAYBE IT'S ENOUGH PETTING FOR TODAY?!" He grumbles, coming closer and looking at the Greater Dog with suspicion.

"Hah, Papyrus, are you jealous?" you ask, surprised to see him acting like this.

"W-WHAT!? NO!" the tall skeleton shouts, looking away. "I AM WAY TOO GREAT TO EVER STOOP TO SOMETHING AS PETTY AS JEALOUSY!"

The dog monster barks at you one last time and bounces away to his doghouse. You follow him with your gaze and then look at Papyrus, who is still pouting. God knows how you can tell it by looking at his face, but somehow you can.

'Sans, are you thinking what I'm thinking'? you ask, filled with a wave of playful emotions.

'go for it pal...' You hear Sans' chortle. 'just go for it.'

"C'mon, bro." Your smile turns mischievous. "Do you wanna be petted too?"

"I...!" He freezes, looking unsure. "MAYBE...? I MEAN... I CAN'T BE LESS PETTABLE THAN ANY DOG!"

"Then come here!" You beckon.

Slowly, he comes closer to you. "And bow down your head so I can reach it."

He did what you asked and, dying from inner laughter that is echoed by Sans' laughter, you pet Papyrus.

You stroke his smooth head with a swell of affection. It's just so silly and bizarre, but on the other hand, it's pretty cute too.

"WOWIE! THAT WAS WEIRD..." Papyrus exclaims, straightening himself after you're done with your shenanigans. He seems conflicted. "I DON'T KNOW WHY DOGS FIND THAT SO EXCITING."

"I MEAN, RUNNING FOR STICKS I CAN UNDERSTAND!" he shouts out with a smile. "BUT PETTING IS JUST OVERRATED!"

"Maybe I'm just not good at it?" you say, still trying to suppress laughter.

"NYEH HEH HEH! THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE! I WILL ASK UNDYNE TO PET ME! I'M SURE SHE IS A LOT BETTER AT THIS!" You almost fail to not laugh out loud this time. Sans' laughter in a back of your mind doesn't help either.

'He can't be serious!?' Or can he?

'i'm pretty sure he is.' Sans sighs with a note of pride in his tone.

'Oh god, what have I done!' You are both terrified and highly amused.

It's getting late by the time you're back in front of the skeleton brothers' house. Sans persuades you to stop wasting your life and mental condition away by sitting in front of the door and one can only be grateful to him, as well as to Papyrus, for such a fun day.

You take a deep breath of a chilly air and call out, "Hey, Papyrus."

"YES, BROTHER?" He turns his head to you.

"You were right. It is really nice to stretch your bones after sitting and doing nothing." Your smile is pretty sincere right now and your soul is closer to being at peace than is has ever been the entire time you've spent in the Underground. "Thank you for taking me with you."

"YOU REALLY THINK SO!?" You see a glimpse of something like sparkles in his eye sockets, but just for a moment, and you assume that you're seeing things. "AHEM... I MEAN... OF COURSE I AM RIGHT! I'M ALWAYS RIGHT! AND... YOU'RE WELCOME! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Before going into the house you recall something and take the nice cream wrapper out of your pocket. You smooth out the crumpled paper and suddenly your souls are filled with warmth.

The phrase written on a wrapper says: "Never forget that someone cares about you.'