Author's Note:

Hey! Sorry this chapter took so friggin' long. Things have been nuts on my end.

Honestly, it was gonna be quite a bit longer, but I eventually realized that I'm at a good stopping point and I didn't want to keep you all waiting.

We'll have to see how long the next chapter takes me. I have no idea when it'll come out.

Before I forget, in case you didn't see it earlier (as in, months and months ago, apparently), I updated Chapter 9 and added a segment to the end. It is crucial to understanding this chapter - be sure to read it before you start this one!

Warning: This chapter has an intense scene featuring death. Viewer discretion is advised.

Love you all! Take care!

Deep breaths.

"Are the blasters set up?"

"Yes. We're ready."

Deep breaths.

you got this.

"You ready, Sans?"

The room was too dark for them to see his grin. "yeah."

"Very well. Beginning the test."

It was quiet.

Sans stood in the darkness. He listened carefully.

ooooo

"pretty sure my magic doesn't work like that."

"In the past, there've been monsters with similar magic to yours who developed the ability to teleport instantaneously. We think you could develop that same potential if you were pushed far enough."

"pushed in what sense?"

"Nothing that would physically harm you. We are well aware of your specific limitations. We just need to provide an incentive for you to move fast enough."

They had started with Nerf guns and foam pellets.

This was a top secret, classified experiment. The idea that they were using toy guns was almost insulting to Sans. But they had to start somewhere.

Sans hadn't expected it to work. He'd expected to disappoint them.

And the first few times they did it, he'd only dodged physically.

But then…

ooooo

Click.

The left wall.

Sans easily dodged the magic attack.

Click.

Behind him.

Sans dodged again, this time teleporting to the far corner.

This process repeated multiple times. Each time, Sans managed to get out of the way.

Eventually, the attacks stopped.

"Phase one complete."

"We have the data?"

"Yes. It's loading right now." Pause. "We've got it."

"Good. So, Sans… ready for round two?"

Sans smiled and cracked his neck. "you b-"

Click.

Sans just managed to dodge an attack from one of the corners. He glared in the direction of the viewing window.

"Nice work. Let's see if you can keep it up." They just sounded amused.

damn them.

Multiple clicks sounded at once.

There wasn't time to sulk. Sans continued to dodge the attacks.

ooooo

Sans got to the point where he could easily dodge most of the foam pellets – out of about sixty, he would only get hit once or twice. That was impressive on its own.

Still, these foam pellets weren't for fun. They were stand-ins for bullets. It would only take one to kill Sans. So it was decided that he needed further reason to dodge – punishment for failure.

Sans was physically weak, though. They had to get creative.

They did multiple things. Sometimes, they fed him something called "gross pills", which tasted like they were fished out of the dump. Sometimes they gave him chores, or other things to do. Sometimes, they sat him in a chair in an empty room and played people screaming at him for ten minutes straight.

Honestly, Sans didn't think the punishments helped much, at least when it came to dodging. He improved his technique, however, and didn't run into punishments as often.

Of course, his training only got harder and harder.

ooooo

The attacks stopped again.

Sans slowed his breathing. He had to admit, all the teleporting was starting to catch up to him.

"Should we stop, Sans?"

"nah." He straightened up and took a few more deep breaths. "let's keep going."

"All right."

Sans heard the sound of panels opening in the walls and ceiling. the targets. This part was fun. Something about being able to get his aggression out.

"Beginning phase three."

Silence.

Click.

Sans dodged out of the way and sent an attack back at the source.

Thunk.

He'd hit something, at least.

Click.

ooooo

Of course, there was more to Sans's training than just dodging.

Instead of going to school, Sans came to the lab. His schedule was made up of multiple "exercises". There was dodging practice, which happened at least once every day. There was target practice, which had only recently been combined with dodging practice. There were a couple of really fucked up activities meant to desensitize Sans to the kinds of things that would happen while fighting – activities involving explosions, surprise attacks, simulated blood and dust. Those were always fun to go through.

Then there was the intellectual side – physics, math, biology, first aid. Things Sans might need to know to use his powers, or remember in the heat of battle.

Some of it was useful, and fascinating. Some of it was boring.

Other things…

Sans stared dully at the teacher.

The teacher looked back at him, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Sans's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds longer, then flicked over to the screen.

Projected on the screen was a large anatomical drawing of a human male member.

this is what my training has led me to.

"So," the teacher finally said. "Any questions so far, Sans?"

"why the fuck am I learning about this?"

"Multiple reasons!" The teacher paced near the screen. "The most obvious reason would be for interrogation or distraction purposes. Most studies indicate that torture doesn't work – however, you might need to capture a human for information purposes, and you may not have many methods available to you. So, one potential way for you to harm a male human without permanently disfiguring him – and this method can work on some monsters, as well…" The teacher pulled out a pointer stick. "Is to aim for-"

"yeah, yeah, okay, I get it." Sans ran a hand down his skull. "sheesh."

"Another reason," the teacher continued. "Is that it's important to know your enemy. In general."

"don't think I need to know them this well," Sans muttered.

"Sans." The teacher grew solemn. "Humans are living beings. You'll be fighting them, but you'll see other parts of their lives, too. They're not just ruthless killers. You must understand this."

"and you're doing this…" Sans's eyes flicked back to the screen. "by showing me-"

"Yes," the teacher cheerfully replied.

They stared at each other for a while.

Sans rolled his eyes. "you sure this isn't 'cuz you don't want me in this program and you're trying to scare me off?"

The teacher was silent. "This is Your choice, Sans," he finally replied. "I can't Take it Away from You. BUUU_ _+++t I can make sure that the choice you make is an educated one."

educated, huh? He didn't think this really counted as "education", at least when it came to fighting humans. whatever. if it gets him off my back, I'll deal. Sans sighed. "yeah. okay."

"Good." The teacher started walking over to the computer. "Now, let me go over the female human anatomy and some of its unique weak points."

There was a knock on the door, then a scientist entered. "Hi, sorry to interrupt, but I really need-" They stopped. "Uh."

ooooo

A row of clicks sounded along the wall.

Sans dodged all of them and, with one sweep of his arm, sent attacks flying toward them.

He waited for the next sound.

Nothing.

"Lights on."

The lights came on.

The test was over.

Sans blinked, the light burning in his sockets. damn, that always gets me. No matter how many times he did it, he was never prepared for how bright it was afterwards.

The door opened, and a couple scientists came through. "Congratulations, Sans," one of them said. "You've had the best reaction time so far. And not one of them hit you."

Despite his exhaustion, Sans grinned.

"Excellent work." The booming voice came from the doorway. King Asgore strode over to the three of them. "You are clearly making progress. It is good to see such improvement."

"wh-" asgore? when did he- Sans spun to look at the two scientists.

"He wanted to see your results directly," the other one explained. "We thought it would impact the results if you knew ahead of time, so we didn't tell you. Sorry."

"uh, okay. no problem. good to see you, your majesty." Despite cussing in front of him when they had first met with no backlash, Sans still felt nervous around the king.

"Indeed." The king turned to one of the bullet dispensers built into the wall. "What is this device?"

"It shoots magic bullets, Your Majesty. It was designed by one of our interns. If it hits, it won't injure the target, but it'll turn their soul blue."

The king's brow furrowed. "So. There is no real danger, then?" His voice had something on the verge of disapproval.

"Yes," the first scientist said, then quickly added, "Of course, we've been using many methods of simulating danger. We've used several measures for desensitization, and the speed of the magic, while not quite the same as that of a metal bullet, is still significant…" They trailed off.

The king waited until it was clear the scientist was done. "That is all very well and good. However, Sans cannot be relied upon as a soldier if he does not hold under pressure. That includes the presence of actual danger." His voice was soft, but firm. "He must have experience of danger firsthand. I will let you decide when that is, but I advise against putting it off."

"We understand, Your Majesty." The scientists bowed.

Sans tried not to scowl. presence of danger? how about every fucking day of my life? Still, he knew the king had a point. I'm doing this for whimsun and the others. A fierce grin spread across his face. "I hear ya, your majesty. don't worry about it."

The king held Sans's gaze for a long time, then nodded, turning away.

Despite the king's criticism, Sans couldn't stop a bit of pride from worming its way into him.

getting there.

not there yet, but I'm getting there.

They had changed a few things after the king's visit.

For one, there was a new simulation called silent mode. In them, Sans couldn't rely on his hearing, his sight or his magic – he had to sense nearby attackers using just his other senses. It was both easier and harder for Sans than the others – easier because he didn't have to dodge bullets, but harder because he had to use different methods that he didn't usually rely on. Still, he adapted.

In addition, with much reluctance, they started using harder ammunition, stuff like BB pellets or paint balls. Sans had to admit, he was a lot more prone to freezing and skittishness, even if First Aid was nearby. Knowing that they would hurt if they hit him made it harder to move, apparently. Sans fought against it as much as he could, but it was difficult.

As time went on, more and more pressure was heaped on Sans to succeed, and it was getting to him. Sure, he was doing this for the sake of the monsters who had passed, but that inner rallying cry only worked so many times when he had to use it daily. His anxiety got worse. I have to succeed at this. I have to get this right. what if I don't? I'll be a huge fucking disappointment. The scientists were fairly easygoing outside of the exercises, and most of the time Sans was able to hold it together, but he didn't know if he could last.

He might not have been able to, if it weren't for one fateful evening.

It was after hours.

Sans had finished the last of his exercises about forty-five minutes ago. But he wasn't ready to go home – he had fucked up badly at the very end, and nearly had a mental breakdown because of it. He knew if he went back, there would be the usual conversation – "you know, it's okay to step out if it's too much", "no, I've got this, leave me alone"… he couldn't deal with it this time. So he was hanging out in the cafeteria, flicking a straw across the table.

His cell phone buzzed, and he groaned. He couldn't type out a response now. But he knew he had to get home eventually. Sighing, he stood up and walked out into the dark hallway.

As his footsteps echoed throughout the empty hall, he tried to think of things that he could say. His mind came up blank. fuck. I don't want another argument, I just wanna lie down and forget about everything for a while. That wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Click.

Sans teleported back and summoned a magic attack.

The door near where he had been opened, and a long yellow snout poked out. Its owner turned to face him, and it wrinkled with a snort. "Wow, were you seriously gonna brain me? Rude."

Sans lowered his hand, his face flushed with embarrassment. "uh, yeah. could have made an effort not to startle me so much. who are you?" He remembered seeing her somewhere, but he couldn't recall exactly.

The snouted one pushed her glasses up. "Please. If you're going out into battle one day, you could at least make an effort to know the rest of your team. We met once, remember?"

"you…" It slowly came back to Sans.

ooooo

"Sans, I'd like you to meet the intern responsible for designing the machine used in your exercise." The top scientist gestured to a short lizard woman in a lab coat. "I have a feeling you two will get along well with each other."

"nice to meet you." Sans stuck out a hand.

"Likewise." The lizard woman shook his hand. "Sorry if my hand feels slimy. I forgot to wear gloves in the lab today."

Sans flinched back in horror.

"That is a huge breach of protocol-" The top scientist began saying.

The lizard woman smirked. "n00bs. I was joking. Anyway, my name is-"

ooooo

"Alfredo," Sans said.

It didn't entirely sound right.

The woman looked at him in disgust. "It's Alphys, dumbass."

Sans scowled. "whatever. what are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing. You should be long gone by now." Alphys peered at him. "What's keeping you?"

"just felt like sticking around," Sans muttered.

Alphys stared at him a moment, then let out a bark of laughter. "That's right, you screwed up, didn't you? Talk about embarrassing. Good luck going home after that."

Sans growled at her, then made to leave. He had enough problems without this asshole making fun of him.

In the darkness of the room behind Alphys, something glinted.

Sans stopped, his head tilted. "what's even going on in there?"

His view was blocked by a lab coat. "None of your business." Alphys adjusted her glasses again.

Sans gave her a half-lidded look. she can't be a very smart scientist if she thinks that'll stop me. He teleported into the dimly lit room and immediately recoiled in shock.

Humans.

Humans everywhere.

Well, technically, human merchandise. Human posters, human films, DVDs, VHSs, all neatly stacked against the far wall. In the middle of the room were several metal folding chairs, and projected onto a screen was a still image of a human's head exploding.

Sans stared at the bizarre surroundings.

"the fuck?"

The door closed behind him and Alphys rushed in front of him. "You can't tell anyone about this," she said. "If you do, I-I'll- I'll-" She winced at her own stutter.

Sans ignored her, staring at the scene. "how the fuck did you even get all this? human media is banned."

"The ban was lifted a month ago. Don't you follow the news?" Alphys didn't sound very confident.

Sans almost laughed. Honestly, he couldn't give much of a fuck about someone owning banned media. but… He walked over to a shelf and picked up a DVD. On the front was a man in red walking up to a motorcycle. why would anyone even watch this? Because it wasn't allowed? Humans were cruel and merciless beings. The things they made – at least creatively – couldn't be all that good. So why would anyone watch them?

Sans had to admit… he was curious.

"Look." Alphys sounded irritated, but Sans didn't look up to confirm. "What do you want to keep quiet? Gold? I've got about forty gold pieces on me if you want th-"

"I want in."

Alphys didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then… "What."

Sans took his eyes away from the DVD. "sure, people might collect this kind of shit just to break the rules. but that's not why you're doing it. you like watching this stuff. for some reason."

Alphys looked uncomfortable. "Maybe. What's your point?"

"so, I want in." Sans grinned. "on whatever this is. that's my price for staying quiet."

Alphys's snout wrinkled in dismay. She seemed to think about the idea, though. Finally, she said, "Fine. But if you blab about this to anyone…"

Sans shrugged. "I'd be out of the club, too. I don't want that either."

Alphys's eyes weren't really visible from behind her glasses, but he had a feeling they were narrowed. "I'll have to start the episode over, then." She gestured to the screen. "Unless you want to watch something else, Your Highness?"

Sans held up the DVD. "what's this?"

Upon seeing it, Alphys relaxed a little. "That's a good movie." She smirked. "Lot of human death."

"Violence?"

"Oh, yeah. Tons of it."

Sans looked at the cover again. "I wanna watch this, then."

"Okay, but let me make some ramen first. That's what I was doing before you tried to brain me." Alphys went over to the door and, with one last glance backwards, exited through it.

huh. well, this is one way to occupy myself for the evening. Sans wasn't exactly sure why he was doing this. Boredom? Curiosity? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he'd soon be fighting humans, and he thought this would give him a better idea of what they were like. He guessed it didn't really matter right now. He pulled out his phone and fired off a text: won't be home for a while. hanging out with a friend. Alphys wasn't a friend, but it was easier to explain than ally-formed-in-crux-of-moment. He pocketed the phone. He wouldn't be returning home as a disappointment.

He had a movie to watch.

Those evenings with Alphys were one of the most important parts of Sans's day. It gave him something to genuinely look forward to. The exercises all had things he could enjoy about them, but they could drive him to the fucking brink. With Alphys, however, he could just sit back, relax, and laugh at whatever grisly death was depicted onscreen. It was also a challenge to Sans – sometimes, he could feel himself relating to the characters struggles. If he could distance himself to the point of laughing at their deaths, well… one step closer to being a better soldier.

In addition, all the nights he spent with Alphys had made them closer, to the point that he could almost call her a friend. He'd never do it to her face, of course, because she was a shitstain and she'd probably just laugh at him, but it was a relief to have someone to shoot the breeze with that wasn't quite as attached to the project.

It wasn't too long before they were found out, however. A scientist walked in on them between episodes. But to the surprise of both Sans and Alphys, they were given permission to continue, as part of "human research." Sans had a feeling there was another reason, though.

In any case, it didn't matter.

All he knew was that, in a weird way, the movie nights kept him sane.

Things were a little different tonight.

Alphys hadn't been able to acquire the usual violent anime or thriller that they usually watched. There hadn't been anything like that at the dump, and there wasn't anything that Sans wanted to rewatch. So instead, they'd put in an older movie, a type that Sans hadn't seen before.

Two of the main characters, cowboys, were hurrying across the desert after blowing up a bridge.

"Ish movie ish too duamn long," Alphys mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

"yeah," Sans muttered. Still, he couldn't quite take his eyes off of it. Even though it was packed with action, there were a lot of quiet scenes where not a lot happened. He found it weirdly intriguing.

Things were quiet now. The two characters had approached the ruins of a building. One of the characters, however – the one Sans happened to relate to the most, even if he could be kind of a fucking idiot – had shifty eyes, and was clearly planning something. He walked away from the other and disappeared behind the crumbling walls.

if blondie doesn't catch on quick, he's gonna lose all the gold, Sans thought with a grin.

Then the grin quickly turned into a frown.

Blondie wasn't hurrying to go anywhere. He was approaching a man inside the ruined building – a dying soldier with a gray uniform. Not long ago, Blondie had been helping soldiers with blue uniforms when he blew up the bridge.

that man's definitely dead. Blondie would probably put him out of his misery, or something.

But he didn't. Blondie was draping his coat over the man, and sharing a cigarette.

what? Sans's brow furrowed. That didn't make any goddamned sense. now I know what I'm watching is fictional. Humans were killing machines – if there was anything Sans knew, it was that. Sure, Blondie had done one or two more good things, but there had always been a benefit. This was nonsense. "what a load of bullshit. a human would never do something like that."

"Not necessarily."

Sans glanced over at Alphys, surprised. "Huh?"

Alphys shrugged. "Humans are a lot like us. They're both good and bad." She stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth, chewing and swallowing it before continuing. "It's not completely ridiculous that he'd do something like that."

Sans stared at Alphys as if she'd grown another set of eyes. "are you seriously defending humans? humans, who trapped us down here in the first place?"

"Hey, I never said they were all good." She ate another handful. "A couple bad apples ruin the bunch. So it doesn't matter if there's some good in them. They'll all succumb to their worse natures, in the end."

Sans's frown deepened. What she said had made a lot of sense, but… fuck no. I refuse to believe that there's even an ounce of good in any creature who would trap monsters underground for millennia. Still, her words stuck in his mind, bothering him. He was silent the rest of the movie.

He didn't really pay attention to the ending.

It had all happened so quickly.

The first thing he remembered was that there had been alarms ringing throughout the whole facility. It had been in the middle of an exercise – it had startled him so much that he nearly ran into the path of a bullet.

The experiment had quickly been shut down, and the lights had turned on.

There were scientists behind the glass – they were approached by more scientists. Sans could see them talking through the window – they looked frantic, eyes wide.

shit, what happened? did the core malfunction? The thought made Sans's insides crawl with dread. If there was a Core malfunction, the consequences could be catastrophic. There were countermeasures meant to prevent it, but…

The door to the test chamber opened, and a scientist ran in. "Sans, there's no time to waste! We have to hurry!"

"what happened?" Sans gritted his teeth. "is it the core?"

"Nope." The scientist's eyes flashed. "We got one."

Sans stood in a different test chamber, trying to use every technique he was familiar with to keep his breathing under control.

A human had been captured.

And Sans was on his first test run.

Fuck, it had taken so much to even walk into the test chamber. Every inch of him had been trembling in fear – fear that he thought he'd driven out of himself a while ago. It had been Asgore's words that pushed him in there – it hadn't taken the king long to arrive to the facility.

"Sans, you may wait here as long as you like. But you will have to face a human eventually if you wish to help all monsters. I will leave the choice to you."

The king's eyes were dark, somehow.

The words had woken Sans up.

I'm doing this for Whimsun, and all the monsters trapped Underground.

He strode into the chamber.

And now he stood in place.

Waiting.

Sans didn't look over to the scientists. They were probably still preparing. Which was fine with Sans – he'd take every extra second he'd get.

"All our preparations are finished. Sans, are you ready?"

fuck, they're already done?

They were waiting on him to answer.

"yeah." no. "just do it." Sans took a deep breath.

"Beginning sequence.

A hole opened in the middle of the chamber, and there were the sounds of mechanisms coming from the hole.

As he waited for the platform to rise, he lied to himself. I'm not scared. I'm excited. That's why his limbs felt shaky. all I've ever done has come to this. He remembered Whimsun. everyone's gonna be free, soon. He was going to be facing a human – he had to be ready. He summoned a bone attack and aimed for the hole. I'm not gonna let them even get a foothold. It would be over before he even knew it. His eye was glowing a blazing red.

The platform reached the top…

And just as soon as that light had entered his eye, it immediately died.

His hand fell from its raised position.

He stared ahead, confused.

It…

It was just a kid.

It was a little boy. He was dressed up just like Blondie from that movie.

Sans stared at him. He didn't get it. This… this had to be a mistake, right? all humans are dangerous. He knew that, but this…

"Sans. What's the holdup?"

Sans jolted upwards. "n-nothing."

The kid was holding a gun.

A metal revolver.

that kid's gonna grow up to become a killer. He would grow up to be selfish and awful and probably kill other human beings, just like all the others. He'd probably killed some monsters already. Sans raised a hand to summon a bone attack.

But he couldn't quite manage it.

The kid was looking around now, movements jerky and sudden. The gun was pointed at the ground. The kid's eyes flicked over to Sans.

He was just as scared.

Slowly, Sans let his hand fall.

The kid was startled. He pointed his gun at Sans.

Sans held both his hands up. "whoa. hey, hey, hey." the fuck am I doing? This wasn't any part of his training. He should be attacking right now. it's what I'm supposed to do. Still, his hands were both in the air. All of his attention was on the boy.

The scientists were saying something over the intercom, but he didn't hear it.

The boy held the gun up for a few more seconds, then lowered it. He was sweating, a cautious look in his eyes.

Sans's hands lowered to his sides. fuck. He didn't know what he was doing, but everything seemed a bit… calmer.

A loud sound pierced the air.

Sans teleported to the side instinctively, eyes darting around. the fuck was that? He looked over at the boy.

The boy was pressed up against the wall. He was looking around as well – the sound hadn't come from him.

"Attempted breach!"

"What? By whom?"

"It's – sir, it's-"

The intercom shut off. Sans looked up at the observation window.

The scientists were speaking frantically again. Some of them were working frantically at the console. In the back, Sans could barely see the king's silhouette, leaving the observation room.

There was another loud sound, and the chamber door opened. It was one of the top scientists – he leapt through the door, and it immediately closed again. "This can't go any further!"

Sans was so shocked, he couldn't even speak.

The intercom crackled. "Doctor, leave the area immediately. It's not safe!"

"No. I'm not leaving until this stops." The scientist crossed his arms. "This is too far! We can't keep going like this! Not with him, not with Anyone! We have To STOP."

Sans looked away from the scientist for a second.

His breath caught in his throat.

The kid's face was contorted in a frightened grimace. His hands were shaking. The gun was back up.

And it was pointed right at-

"get down!"

There was movement, and then

.

.

.

.

Red.

An entire sea of red.

And floating above it…

A glowing, yellow heart.

Sans stared at it. He was numb. Too numb to say or do anything.

The heart floated in front of him.

And then, it was behind glass.

Then it was gone.

Things were blurry now. People were saying things to him. He couldn't hear them. He just stood there.

He didn't want to look down.

He couldn't look down.

"I'm sorry."

Those were the two words he could understand. Someone was saying them over and over. He didn't know who it was – it came from right next to him.

There was no yellow now. Just red. Seeping across the floor.

Red…

A large, warm hand rested on Sans's shoulder. It woke him up. He looked at its owner.

It was the king. His eyes were dark, just as before. But it was only this time that Sans saw the pain in them. "It is hard, I know." His voice was low, and soft. "It gets easier over time." He paused – he seemed almost as if he didn't believe the words himself. Eventually, he turned and walked away.

easier. It would get easier. Sans didn't even understand the meaning. He turned his attention back to the scene, not looking directly at it. Gradually, though, his eyes were drawn downward.

The gun was lying on the ground.

Slowly, he picked it up.

It wasn't even loaded.

He simply stared at it, holding it in his hands.

He would have stood there for hours if someone hadn't led him away.