Aeris really was not photogenic.
Sans reclined on his bed, propped up by the sheets balled up in the middle as he stared at the crumpled flyer in his hands. Despite the fact that this picture couldn't be that old, it looked nothing like Aeris—the eyes in the photo lacked the spark that Aeris' eyes usually carried, and her smile, which was sometimes barely there and sometimes on full display, was nowhere to be found in the photo. If Sans didn't know any better, he'd say this photo was of a dead woman, and would've tossed it aside. Really, he didn't know why he was still hanging onto it. He should just throw it out…
His eye sockets spied the contact information at the bottom of the flyer. There was an e-mail address as well as a phone number listed under two unfamiliar names: Clifton and Helena Crown.
Aeris' last name was Crown. The irony made Sans snicker out loud. He really, really wanted to tease her about it, but then he'd have to explain how he knew her last name, since she never told anyone…and, well, that was a can of worms that was best left unopened.
Sans shifted to his side, propping his skull up with a hand as he stared at the contact information. So these people were looking for their daughter, huh? Then they couldn't be as bad as Aeris seemed to think, could they? True, Sans knew nothing about them, but if they were bothering to hand out flyers with her picture on it, looking to see her safely returned…
Suddenly, Sans found himself wondering what Aeris' parents looked like. He only saw humans from a distance when he could help it, but he knew that offspring often took on some physical traits of the parent. Sans couldn't help but wonder which of her parents Aeris looked like.
The short skeleton eyed his computer. It could be considered an invasion of privacy, what he was planning to do…but, then again, who would know?
His mind made up, Sans got up from his bed and moved over to his computer, a jiggle of the mouse bringing the screen humming to life. Only two things were open: a new quantum physics formula he was working on, and a script for his next stand-up comedy. He minimized both those documents and went to the web browser, pleased at least that the human internet was a lot faster than the monster internet. He typed in the names of Aeris' parents and hit enter.
More links than he was expecting popped up. Curious, Sans opened a couple, browsing through the information. Aeris had neglected to mention that her parents were well-known in the human world: her mother was apparently a famous doctor, her father a renowned pharmacist. Quite a combination. How cruel it was for them to have a daughter that they apparently couldn't cure.
Sans clicked on another link, bringing up a web page for missing persons. Aeris' cadaver photo flashed at him again, with the same contact information as on the flyer. There was new information here, though, a reward to anyone who found her, the sum of…wow. Sans didn't even use human money and he knew that was a lot. Her parents were really using every resource available, weren't they?
Sans scrolled down, finding a picture of Clifton and Helena Crown together. Neither of them looked like they could take a joke: their faces were stern, eyes screened by identical frameless glasses. Aeris' father had her thick dark hair, with liberal gray streaks through it, and icy blue eyes. He looked familiar for some reason…Sans chalked it up to him and Aeris having the same face.
Her mother's hair was dark brown and cut short, and she, too, had gray in it, but it ran down the length of one strand of her hair, tucked behind an ear. Her eyes were the same color as her daughter's.
Sans was wrong—though they shared physical similarities, Aeris didn't look like either of her parents. And, just from their expressions, he was beginning to question his judgment on whether or not they were good people. No wonder Aeris didn't want to return to them.
…But still…if they could help her…
Sans realized he had moved the mouse. The pointer was now hovering over the link that would go to the Crowns' e-mail address. Hypothetically speaking…he could send them a message, letting them know their daughter was safe. They wouldn't be able to trace it—Sans was too good at covering his tracks by now—so it wouldn't lead back to Aeris. But would it truly give them peace of mind to know that Aeris was alive, without knowing where she was or who she was with?
The short skeleton stared at the screen, debating, his forefinger poised over the right-click button of his mouse—
There was a gagging sound from somewhere downstairs. Sans glanced down at the time in the corner of his monitor. It was half past three in the morning. Surely no one else was awake at this time?
The gagging noise came again, followed by a series of coughs.
Shit.
Sans quickly left his room and paused in the hallway, overlooking the living room.
Aeris was leaning forward, her body trembling. He could see her spine through the t-shirt she slept in, and it shuddered as she coughed and hacked. Cursing under his breath, Sans hurried down the stairs just as Aeris fell forward, onto the floor.
"Aeris!" Sans shouted, dropping to her side. His hands hovered, hesitant to touch her, yet wanting to help in some way. Blood was dripping through her fingers, and she took a shuddering, gasping breath.
"I'm—" A cough interrupted her, and she tried again, "I'm fine, Sans. G-go back to bed."
Sans could only stare at her. Her mouth looked like a horror show, completely covered in blood. The sight would've made his stomach turn, if he had one. But it brought on an onslaught of emotion he had no idea he could feel all at once instead. Why was this happening? Why did Aeris have to suffer like this? What had she done to deserve such a cruel, senseless death sentence?
Aeris must have been embarrassed by Sans' staring, for she turned away from him, as if ashamed. "Seriously, I'm okay. Go back to sleep."
"You are not okay." Did Aeris hear the way Sans' voice cracked there? Or was he imagining it?
"I'm fine." The stubborn edge was creeping into Aeris' voice. She turned her back on him, beginning to mop up the blood with the pack of tissues she always kept near her. "Don't make such a big deal out of—"
"It is a big deal!" Sans abruptly burst out. He didn't realize he was angry until he was on his feet, his hands balled into shaking fists. He was so sick of this, so sick of Aeris brushing off her death like this, when it was doing nothing but killing him a little more every day, watching her suffer and knowing she didn't have much time left.
And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
Aeris turned to him, her eyes bewildered, but it was nowhere near enough to calm him.
"Here you are in the middle of the night, spitting up blood like you're some kind of demonic fountain! But all you can say is that you're 'fine'? Stop screwing around! I'm sick of you treating this like a joke!"
Aeris just stared at him. Sans stared back, breathing hard. He didn't know where this sudden fury was coming from, but it was all-consuming, and it was all Aeris' fault for letting herself get this far gone. He watched, gritting his teeth as she slowly got to her feet, towering over him.
"A joke…?" She quoted him, her eyes flashing. "You think this is funny to me? You think I like having to live like this?"
"Well you're sure as hell not doing anything to fix it, are you, Princess?" Sans pointed out, his grin grim and tone condescending. "All you do is sit around and suffer through the fits, and you just smile afterwards like it's not a problem, but it is! Do you even realize what you're doing to the people who care about you? You're forcing them to watch you die!"
"I didn't ask for this!" Aeris cried, her voice reaching a hysterical pitch as she threw bloodied tissues to the floor in frustration. "I didn't ask to be forced to live like this, Sans! But what else can I do?! I have no other choice!"
"You do have a choice!" Sans shot back, his left eye beginning to glow in his anger. He was losing control of his powers—he had to calm down— "If you'd stop being so stubborn for one second, you'd see that the way you're living isn't 'living' at all!"
"Then what is?" Aeris challenged, taking a step forward, apparently not intimidated by the blue fire lighting Sans' fists. "Spending what's left of my life doped up on drugs that are supposed to 'help' me, but just make me walk around in a haze, not knowing what's real? Don't talk to me like you know what it's like, Sans! You have no idea what I've had to go through, so just. Shut. Up!"
"You're unbelievable," Sans growled, his grin twisting in disgust. "You claim you want to live so badly, but all you're doing is sitting here, waiting for death, and making the rest of us wait along with you so you don't have to be alone. Pathetic."
Aeris slapped him. The sound seemed to echo through the living room, leaving deafening silence behind. Sans' head had snapped to the side, and now he stared blankly at the blue TV screen, which Aeris liked to leave on while she slept.
The slap hadn't hurt him. If anything, it had probably hurt Aeris more than him, because hitting straight up bone had to be painful. But the intent behind the action—the intent to hurt him—was felt very clearly, and it cut through Sans like a bone saw. Something wet was on his cheek. Reaching up, he ran a finger over it, bringing the mystery substance into his line of vision. It was Aeris' blood.
Slowly, the short skeleton turned to look at Aeris. She was clutching the hand she'd slapped him with, proving him right—it had hurt her more. Physically, at least. She stared back at him, the expression in her eyes conflicting, clashing between guilt, defiance…and pain. Tears were beginning to sparkle in her eyes. Hating the sight, Sans looked away. Neither of them said anything for a minute, the silence spiraling horribly.
"…Sans? Princess?"
Sans looked up. Papyrus was at the top of the stairs, in his race car pjs. He shifted uneasily, looking between Sans and Aeris and back again. Sans made the mistake of glancing at Aeris, and then wished he hadn't: tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"…Maybe I should go," she said, her voice low and throaty, like a Froggit's croak.
Sans stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "Don't bother. I'm leaving."
"Sans?" Papyrus called, but Sans was already heading for the door. He waved a hand over his shoulder.
"I'll be back later, Papyrus," was all he promised before he slipped out of the house, shutting the door quietly behind him.
'Welp. That conversation could've gone better,' Sans reflected to himself, walking through the snow, his destination uncertain other than that he wanted to be away from Aeris. He wasn't even angry anymore—just miserable. Sans wasn't sure why he had lost control like that…maybe seeing all that blood had driven him crazy. It did bring up bad memories…
Sans dragged his bony hand across his cheek, his bones beginning to stain red with Aeris' blood. A part of him was still in shock that Aeris had actually hit him…but maybe he had it coming.
He took out a tissue, wiping his cheek clean of her blood. He wanted no trace of her on him.
After trashing the used tissue, the short skeleton pulled out his phone. He didn't want to be alone right now—it seemed dangerous, somehow. He knew now where he wanted to go, and he had someone in mind to tag along with him, but, considering the late hour, it was a stretch to believe that anyone else would be awake right now…
'What the hell.' Silently hoping that tonight was one of her odd-hour nights, Sans pressed the appropriate number on his speed dial and held the phone to his non-existent ear, listening to the phone ring, waiting…
"H-hello?"
She picked up. Thank god.
Sans loosed a sigh. "Hey. I know it's late, sorry. I just wondered if you could help me with something."
Science was always a good way to distract Sans. Comedy came naturally to him, so he barely had to think about it, but science was always evolving, and what worked once wasn't guaranteed to work a second time…at least, not in the branch of science he worked in.
Alphys was a good lab partner to have around. She knew what she was doing, so every time Sans asked her for a tool or to perform an action, she had it covered. It was relaxing to be with her when they were both completely absorbed in what they were doing, speaking only to report changes as they came.
"Oh, Sans, there are fluctuations here…"
"Oh? That's a good sign. There aren't any strange spikes of power in the reactor, are there?"
"No, everything looks good so far…"
"Then we can proceed. Hand me that soldering gun, would you?"
Often, as he always did when he found himself down here, Sans found himself beginning to hope that something would change this time around, that he'd be able to finally fix this blasted machine, that he'd be able to somehow go back, and warn himself of the things to come, to stop this disastrous trip from ever coming to fruition, to maybe talk some sense into the person he admired the most…
It in the exact moments that he began to hope the strongest that it all tended to blow up in his face.
Abruptly, red lights began to flash, and a metallic beeping sounded throughout the room: a warning. That wasn't good.
"I-it's the reactor! I was watching it, but suddenly—!" Alphys yelped, backing away hastily.
Sans didn't need an excuse right now. What he needed was action.
"Hit the deck!" He warned, but he didn't wait for Alphys to heed him—he tackled her, and they flew over a work desk, scattering pieces of machinery and tools everywhere. Sans had only enough time to flip the desk over, making an impromptu shield, before the explosion occurred. A shard of metal embedded itself into the wood of the desk, exactly an inch from Alphys' face. She blinked in a terrified way at the metal, and Sans sighed, standing up and lifting his goggles, squinting through the smoke.
It looked like the only thing they succeeded at was blowing a good chunk of the machine off. Great. One step forward, ten steps back. This was exactly what Sans needed right now.
Sighing again, Sans tugged his goggles off his head and threw them to the side. He was just so done with everything right now.
"You okay?" He managed to remember to ask Alphys, who seemed to be stunned, sitting on the floor still staring at the piece of metal stuck through the desk. Sans offered her his hand, and she blinked, appearing to snap out of it before laughing nervously and pulling herself to her feet with his help.
"Y-yeah. It's just…I didn't expect it to explode like that…"
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either. Glad you're not hurt, though."
"Th-thanks…" Alphys eyed the machine, which was still faintly smoking. She gulped. "Um…w-what now? Should we, uh, start from square one…?"
"Nah." Sans took up the fire extinguisher and sprayed the machine thoroughly, just to be safe, before pulling the sheet that always hid it from view back over it. "That's enough for tonight. I've kept you out long enough."
"Oh wow!" He heard Alphys yelp behind him, "it's already almost seven!"
"Sorry," he apologized, giving the covered machine a long look before he turned his back on it. Alphys appeared embarrassed by the apology.
"Oh n-no, it's not a problem! I mean, if you hadn't called, I probably would've stayed up all night last night anyway, watching this new show Undyne and I started watching the other night…oh, but don't tell her that! I-I'm not supposed to be watching without her…but I got so excited that I just couldn't help myself! Oh…I'm going to have to tell her I skipped ahead…she's gonna be so mad…"
Sans just watched Alphys agonize. What he wouldn't give to have problems as simple as hers…
Alphys met his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. She seemed to want to say something, but how to ask was apparently becoming a struggle for her. Finally, she just went for it.
"Er…Sans? Not that I don't like hanging out with you, but, uh…is everything…okay?"
Was it ever?
Sans patched together a grin, this one the least sincere of his usual ones. "You don't need to worry yourself about me, Alphys. I'm just dandy."
Alphys waited, seeming to expect something. But when Sans didn't make some kind of pun, her expression grew even more worried.
"Um…I may be the last person you want to talk to about this, but…does it have to do with…y'know…Aeris?"
Sans felt his grin disappear. "I don't want to talk about her, Alphys."
Alphys blinked and blushed. "Oh, r-right. Ha ha. S-sorry for, um, prying, then. I guess this isn't something you'd want to talk about with me…"
Still doubting herself, even after all this time. This time it was Sans' fault for imposing his bad mood on her. Sighing, the short skeleton stepped forward, patting Alphys' shoulder.
"You've done enough by keeping me company tonight. Seriously, it's appreciated. More than you know. Thanks, Alphys."
Alphys flushed a deeper red at the praise, but she gave Sans a smile. "Anytime, Sans."
Returning her smile a little, Sans gestured with his head that they should get out of there. He headed out of the shed, flicking off the lights as he went, with Alphys on his heels. Before he exited, he took Alphys' hand, and teleported them straight back to the surface world. It was convenient to be able to teleport just to avoid the long trek from the surface world to Snowdin and back, at least.
They were right outside Alphys' surface lab. After agreeing to move in together, Alphys and Undyne had solved the dilemma of where they'd live (because Undyne didn't much fancy living in Hotland) by building Alphys a new lab on the surface. It was a lot smaller than the one in Hotland, and Alphys always retreated there to do the big work, but so far, her work of making robotic toys for children was going pretty well. Monster children loved them, and Alphys even did steady business exporting the figurines she made to the human cities—an export trade that Undyne ran with relish. They had a steady partnership both in their professional and private lives.
The sun was peeking out over the tree tops already, bringing just a little warmth to the chilly day. Alphys let out a big yawn.
"Well, I'd better get some rest. I've got a lot of work to do, later…you sure you're all right, Sans?" The triceratops wanted to check one final time.
Sans put his hands in his pockets, trying to figure out how best to lie to that question. His hand brushed something in his pocket, and Sans pulled it out to reveal the balled up missing persons flyer he'd been inspecting hours ago. He hadn't even realized that he'd stuffed it back in his pocket.
Just then, when the short skeleton believed that he had no plans today, he suddenly had several.
"Yeah," he replied, putting the flyer away and looking over at Alphys. "I'm fine. Go on and get some sleep. Just don't get too much…"
Sans grinned and winked, "or you'll get deep rest."
Alphys sighed. The punny skeleton was fine. Wishing him good night (or, er, good morning…?), she hobbled back into her lab for some much needed rest. Which left Sans to yet again retrieve the balled up flyer from his pocket, smoothing it out and staring down at the contact information.
It was a dick move, what he was considering. Aeris wouldn't like it…but she wouldn't have to know it was him. Besides, even if she suspected, she'd never be able to prove it.
Sans had to do this. It was for her own good. Then maybe, once she was gone, he could finally get some peace.
The short skeleton tried very hard to convince himself that getting Aeris help would grant him the peace that always eluded him as he teleported away. It was a slow-going process.
Sans hated human cities. He didn't like the way they smelled—of pollution. If he wanted to smell that all the time, he'd go live in the dump in the Underground. And the humans always seemed in such a hurry, so much that they constantly bumped into each other and didn't even apologize, just giving each other rude looks and coarse words. What was so great about them?
Sans kept his hood low over his skull. No one was looking at him, shaded by this large tree, but he didn't need to risk anyone glimpsing him and causing a riot. He had enough problems to deal with at the moment, anyway.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. Any second, they would arrive…
Just as he thought that, a silver, fancy-looking car pulled into the parking lot across from where he stood. Sans shrank further into the shadows, peering out with one eye socket as the doors opened, and a severe-looking couple exited the vehicle. Sans watched as the man checked his watch, while the woman glanced around, silver eyes searching up and down the sidewalk. Neither of them looked in his direction.
As the minutes ticked by, the man was growing steadily impatient. He huffed a lot, checking his watch and running his hands through black and silver hair so thick that Sans had to wonder multiple times how his fingers didn't get swallowed by the mass. The woman stood still, her gaze flickering to every human that passed by them or near them, something like hope glimmering in her eyes when someone got close, only to dim when they passed by, without a word.
Still, the couple waited.
And waited.
And waited.
…But nobody came.
After thirty minutes of this, the man huffed. "This is pointless, Helena."
"Don't be so impatient, Clif."
"It was another prank. You see that, don't you?"
"Not this time. He—whoever he was—sounded genuine. He knows our daughter. He knows where she is."
The desperate strain in the woman's otherwise clipped tones made Sans feel horrible. He had gotten her hopes up, and now she was waiting for a stranger with a friendly face for good news. There was no way he could show himself now, despite trying to talk himself into it for the last thirty minutes.
The man scoffed. "That's what you said about the punk who wanted the reward money before he would tell us anything. And the woman who tried to pass off her own daughter as ours. And—"
"Well I don't see you doing anything!" Aeris' mother flared up at once, her eyes flashing angrily at her husband. "All you do is stay locked up in your shop all day, peddling your migraine pills! Our daughter is missing, Clifton!"
"And whose fault do you think it is that she's gone 'missing'?" Aeris' father quoted with a nasty sneer. "I told you you were smothering her, and now look! She's not missing—she's run away!"
"You're as much to blame as me for force-feeding her all those pills that turned out to be useless!"
"It's not my fault! You misdiagnosed her!"
"Oh, of course, because your precious pills could never be faulty, could they?!"
They were causing quite a scene. Passerby eyed them warily; mothers chivvied their young children away from their side of the street. Sans couldn't blame them—the way those two screamed at each other like that…it was hard to believe they were married. …But, then again, maybe it wasn't. After all, only people who had spent so much time together knew how to hurt each other like this, didn't they? No wonder Aeris had left home.
The fight went on, getting steadily louder and more personal until a man in a black uniform with a badge was forced to break it up. He told the couple to either take it inside or lower their voices before going on his way, and the couple glared at each other for a long while after, both fuming silently about their personal feelings. They finally turned away from each other in a huff, giving the other their backs with their arms folded. Sans knew now where Aeris got her temper from.
After a moment, the woman reached into her expensive-looking purse, retrieving a slip of paper from its depths. The back of the paper held a black square, the outline of the edges white—a photograph? As Sans watched, her expression slowly faded from furious, changing into an expression that was even harder to look at: one of heartbreak. The man turned towards her, mouth open angrily, as if he were about to shout, "Another thing!" and continue the argument. But the sight of the photograph distracted him, and his expression softened, too. He stepped closer to his wife, a hand hovering above her shoulder, as if he meant to comfort her, but couldn't quite seem to face it.
"…She isn't Alexei, Helena," he said in a tender voice that surprised Sans; he was so sure the man could only speak in frost and fire.
The woman sniffed. Sans was further startled to find her crying. "I know that," she said, her voice sounding as if she had a bad head cold. "But we've already lost our little boy…I don't want to lose Aeris, too."
Sans' eyes sockets widened. Aeris had a brother? He remembered her distinctly saying that she didn't have any siblings…but then he remembered the way her eyes tightened at the mention of siblings, the way her tone closed the subject when it was brought up.
She had had a brother, apparently. And, if Sans was hearing correctly, something had happened to him. Something tragic.
The mania her parents seemed to have about curing her suddenly made a lot more sense.
Sans watched as the man hesitated a second longer, before his hand finally came down on his wife's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"We will find her, Helena." His voice was low and assuring, and Sans almost found himself believing him, too. "But not today—I have to open the shop, and you're on call."
As if he could predict the future, not a second later, a ring tone sounded from the woman's purse. Swiftly getting herself together, she reached into and pulled out her cell phone.
"Dr. Crown," she answered, her clipped tones making a swift comeback. "…A triple bypass? I'll be there shortly." She hung up and turned to her husband. "You're right. Coming here was a waste of time. Let's go."
They both climbed back into the car. A second later, it was thrown into reverse, speeding out of the parking lot. Sans stepped out from behind the shadow of the tree, feeling like a failure. Here he was, just a couple feet from the distraught couple, carrying all the answers…but he'd said nothing. He'd done nothing. He wasn't any better than Aeris, just sitting around and waiting for Death to claim her. He was pathetic.
Pulling his hood lower over his skull, Sans turned to go…but something fluttering in the wind caught his eye sockets. It looked like a picture—the same picture the woman was holding a moment ago? Had she really just dropped it without noticing? Or was it on purpose, in an attempt to rid herself of painful distractions?
Sans didn't know, but he didn't want it getting away. Checking to make sure that no one was looking, the short skeleton darted into the parking lot, managing to pin the picture down with the toe of his slipper. He stooped down, snatched up the picture, and retreated to the shadows, where he was safe. Slumping behind the large tree, he glanced down at the photo.
It was a photo of Aeris and a boy he didn't know. Aeris looked almost as he imagined her as a young girl—a tangled mess of dark hair, large silver eyes, but her skin was a little more healthy-looking than it was now. And the boy beside her—
Sans felt his breath stop short.
The boy was the spitting image of his father, only much younger; he couldn't be much older than Aeris in the picture. He had dark, thick hair, just like hers, and was grinning a cheeky grin at the camera. His eyes were the color of ice, a light blue that pierced through you—
It was the same color blue as that boy from a long time ago, who had fallen to his knees, clutching a beat up pink glove as blood trickled down his chin, a bone impaling his abdomen.
"Wh—why…?" Sans remembered the child choking out, just before the light left his eyes, and his soul, the same piercing blue as his eyes, ripped in two. Before it could go anywhere, however, Sans had encapsulated the soul, to be delivered to the capital.
'Why bother asking 'why'?' he remembered thinking to himself, staring down pitilessly at the child's broken body. 'You wouldn't understand anyway…Soul Number Six.'
The caption at the bottom of the picture read "Aeris and Alexei, Christmas 2000."
Sans had met Aeris' brother before he even knew she existed.
And he had murdered him.
Chilling fingers of his sin began to crawl down the skeleton's back.
