A/N: Sans's POV of "Snail Hunting" and "Before You Hurt Anyone" in TMFF.

Hmmm I hope this is okay.
There may be some mistakes in here. I'll read over the story again when I have fresher outlook so please ignore the errors. (If you finding any really glaring ones, though, please feel free to point them out to me)

Sans was having a pretty good day. Last night he had managed to get a full eight hours of sleep in, he had gotten Papyrus to get at least four hours of sleep in, and he and Alphys seemed have found another batch of anti-time material down in the True Lab that they hadn't noticed before. This morning Sans had woken up to rain, which was just fine with him because Papyrus didn't push him to do much when it was raining. Sans had lain in bed and stared at his ceiling fan lazily rotating because of the breeze his trash tornado made and considered if he even wanted to do anything today.

Hot Cat was laying on his chest completely undisturbed by her owner being awake. Sans was heavily tempted to scare her or shove her off, but chances were that he would just get attacked in the process. So he was even less inclined to move. The pitter patter of early morning rain made him drowsy and he closed his eyes. He didn't quite manage to sleep, but he did fall into a light slumber as his thoughts wound their way around each other. Thunder grumbled in the distance, more of a complaint than a threat.

Sans could probably get some work done today down in the lab, but Alphys wouldn't be joining him. She had been anticipating Undyne's arrival for the past couple of days and wanted to spend some alone time with her. Which was okay with him because he really didn't want to hear details. Also, Undyne wasn't exactly the best lab partner. She was good with heavy lifting, but she got frustrated easily and didn't know what the equipment was...which was a bad combination. So Sans imagined that when Alphys rejoined him in the lab, Undyne would probably be hanging out with Papyrus.

Sans could possibly get Papyrus to join him in the lab. Papyrus, though he didn't know anything about the science that Sans did, was a diligent worker. He tried his best to help out Sans and keep up a steady stream of talking to help keep Sans's stress down, which Sans appreciated. He also had some rather interesting ideas for things that Sans and Alphys could possibly make to help Frisk. Things like weapons or shields made out of anti-time material. The shields could negate Gaster's attacks and the weapons may actually work in hurting him. Frisk would have something to defend themselves with. The problem was making something small enough for the human to carry around daily and what kind of weapon to give them. Sans wasn't even sure if Frisk would want to have a weapon.

Sans hadn't yet suggested the plan to Alphys. The woman was still struggling with her emotions towards Frisk. It was strange and sad to see it on another person's face. Papyrus, unlike either Alphys or Sans, hadn't been around long enough to experience the worst of the genocide timelines. He was spared the memories and the hatred, and that was a small comfort in Sans's mind. He didn't know how Papyrus would've turned out if somehow Sans had managed to save his life. Chances were that Papyrus would've gone to confront the human sooner or later. Perhaps it was better that it was sooner.

But Alphys...Alphys had seen the one she loved killed on the cameras. She had been in charge of evacuating. And afterwards she had disappeared. Frisk had already confirmed the hypothesis that he'd had about those times. And not only were the absolute worst routes remembered, but the half ones too. The ones where Frisk...or Chara...didn't kill everyone but only a few. Too many still, but it was still not everyone. Alphys had more reason to hate Frisk than Sans did. Sans may have the weight of his memories, but Alphys had come to the understanding that her dreams where her loved ones had been killed over and over again in front of her were real. Sans hadn't been lying when he'd said that Alphys had lost a lot more. Sans only had Papyrus, but Alphys had more.

Sans rolled onto his side and then his stomach, throwing Hot Cat off of him. The cat made a noise of protest before she climbed onto his back and laid back down again purring. Sans buried his face into his pillow. The rain sounded a bit lighter. Today Frisk was supposed to be spending the day with Tori. That was great. Frisk needed a break from their routine. Maybe spending the day in Toriel's kind presence will help relax them from whatever was plaguing their mind.

That was another problem. The more days that passed, the worse Frisk seemed to get. Some kind of disease was infecting them...or something more sinister had gotten into them. There were...incidents that Sans had experienced the past couple of days after Mettaton's concert. When Sans wasn't working in the lab or at some of his various jobs, he had taken to following Frisk or keeping an eye on them. It felt a lot like back in the Underground when he had promised to watch over them. Frisk was usually fine and appeared normal. They would talk with their school friends, eat, laugh, sulk over work...all of the usual stuff.

But then.

Then there were the incidents. Incidents where Frisk would be walking and some kind of change would come over their features. They would marvel around them as if seeing an area they were used to for the very first time. They would suddenly break into a run, panicking over absolutely nothing. And they would pick up items like weapons to carry around with them (although they never actually hit anyone, thank god).

Those were worrisome, but not nearly as much so as the sudden violence Frisk seemed to have developed.

One such incident was out on the local playground. Frisk was hanging out with some of their school friends and just having a good time. Sans had stood off in the shadows trying not to appear too creepy (and luckily almost everybody in town knew him so they never questioned him). Frisk was in the middle of playing some kind of game with them. It appeared to be tag with some kind of strange rules. Sans wasn't sure. But one of the children pushed Frisk a little too hard. Sans personally thought the kid was just trying to be a jerk. And Frisk turned to the kid and shoved him down.

Sans knew Frisk and was very much aware that the kid didn't like to fight. They were a pacifist at heart. They would rather find another way to get out a confrontation than to fight back. He had seen it thousands of times before. So then why would they suddenly act out? Hormones possibly, but unlikely. Not with that face. Not with that amused smile as they realized that the kid had scraped his leg up on the ground. That wasn't Frisk.

Sans opened his eyes, no longer in a good mood. Man, he really hated stressing so early in the morning. The rain had stopped. When did that happen? Whatever. His bones were feeling a bit restless, and he realized that he wasn't going to be sleeping anymore any time soon. He lifted his head from his pillow and threw his blanket off of him. Hot Cat, caught in the flurry of blanket, meowed in angry protest as she rolled off of the mattress and scrambled to get out of the blanket. Sans stood up and avoided the swipe of her claws as she managed to get out of the trap. She sulked as she climbed back up onto his mattress and glared at him, tail flicking in annoyance as he left the room.

Downstairs Sans was actually surprised to see Alphys. She and Papyrus were doing stretches in the living room. Sans could see that she still clearly didn't like doing the exercises, but she was keeping up rather well with Papyrus. It was impressive actually.

"GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!" Papyrus called cheerfully, doing a side stretch. Sans remembered how Frisk had asked why skeletons stretch if they didn't have muscles. Papyrus had been baffled by the question because "YOU ALWAYS NEED TO STRETCH BEFORE YOU EXERCISE SO YOU DON'T HURT YOURSELF!" Frisk had left the encounter just as confused.

"heya." He waved to Alphys and Papyrus, skating around them to go for the kitchen. There were some spider donuts on the table courtesy of Alphys. Sans gladly took one to munch on before he rejoined the two out in the living room. "didn't expect to see you, alphys."

"A-Ah, yeah." She panted , trying to touch her toes. She stood up straight and started doing some jumping jacks with Papyrus. "C-Can to, ugh, visit while waiting for...Undyne!"

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT TIME FOR SOME EXERCISE INSIDE! SINCE IT'S RAINING AND TOO WET TO BE OUTSIDE. YOU SHOULD JOIN US." Papyrus said.

"the rain makes me creek-y." Sans joked.

"ALL THE MORE REASON TO JOIN US." Papyrus declared, firmly ignoring Sans's pun.

Sans was preparing to make another excuse when someone knocked rather insistently on their door. Everyone paused and glanced at the door. That was odd. Sans didn't feel like moving, so he just continued to sit in his chair. Papyrus made an annoyed noise at Sans's laziness and went to open the door himself.

"HELLO−"

"Hello, Papyrus, I am very sorry to cut you off but I need to see Sans immediately so please move!" Sans blinked in shock as Toriel all but muscled her way past Papyrus. She had a bundle of clothing in her arms, but her clothes were a mess of mud and water. She had tracked mud right into their house. Sans immediately looked for Frisk, since they were supposed to be with her, but they were gone. "Sans!" She cried in relief. Sans was instantly on his feet.

"tori, what's up?" He asked.

"Please come with me! Frisk has gotten worse and...and you need to talk to them! Please!" She looked close to tears. Sans felt his soul get chilly. What had happened to the kid? No time to ask.

"where?" He demanded.

"Asgore's house. He is currently watching them but...but I do not think it is a good idea to leave Frisk alone with him."

Sans had a couple guesses as to why. Judging by the nervous twitches and the desperate gaze, it wasn't anything personal against Asgore.

"i'll meet you. go on ahead without me."

"SANS?" Papyrus called as Sans hurried back up the stairs to his room. Sans didn't pause. He knew that Papyrus and Alphys (despite her reservations with Frisk right now, they were still good friends) would no doubt follow Tori, so there was no need to discuss it. He entered his room and grabbed his jacket to slip on (yanking it out from under Hot Cat) before he immediately found his way to the shortcut in the room. He took three different shortcuts before he arrived at the one outside Asgore's house. He didn't bother to knock as he entered.

The old King was in the kitchen, not so subtly listening to the sound of running water. Frisk must be taking a shower. Asgore had a familiar sad look in his eyes that cleared some when he spotted Sans. He mustered a smile. "Oh, howdy Sans."

"kid in the shower?" He asked without preamble, joining Asgore in the kitchen.

"Yes. Did Tori...Toriel get you?" Sans nodded.

"she's on her way. what's the story?"

Asgore sat down heavily in one of the large dining chairs. He had a tea pot and cups already set up. Perhaps it was a way to spend his time. His eyes darted back towards the hallway leading to the bathroom. "I am not certain. But I do believe Frisk's...'episodes' are becoming worse. Whatever Frisk experienced shook them quite badly."

The effects were lingering longer, then. Usually Frisk could brush off the episodes. Either they were becoming worse, or Frisk was becoming more frightened. It was entirely possible that the kid hadn't even been aware something was wrong. Both of them had experienced 'flashbacks' during the day before on random occasions, after all. But what was so different about these? Why were Frisk becoming so lost in their thoughts? It wasn't normal. Flashbacks were called flashbacks for a reason.

Confronting Frisk on the matter hadn't cleared anything up. Frisk hadn't been spending the night with Sans often. They were refusing his jacket more. Originally Sans had thought it had been a good sign, but maybe his jacket had just stopped working for them? He had managed to convince Frisk to stay at his house the other night, though. They had stayed up hanging out with Papyrus until they both decided the human needed to sleep. Sans had confronted them while they were particularly sleepy to see if being tired would make them more truthful. It had worked...but Frisk hadn't understood what 'daydreams' he had been talking about. They had told him that they were just zoning out. It was "nothing to worry about".

What utter horseshit.

"what happened to you?" Sans asked as he accepted the tea given to him. He mentally counted down in his head how long it would be until the others would be here. Alphys had probably told Undyne too. Sans also quickly calculated how long Frisk had been in the shower so long. If they were in there for too long, he was going in after them. He could hear movement, at least, so he knew they were still functioning. He wasn't against embarrassing the kid to get answers.

Asgore was silent for a long moment. Sans waited. Finally the old king spoke, "Tell me something, Sans, if you will...Have you ever...felt like you have done something terrible? Something that...in other circumstances...you know would be the route you would've chosen?"

"yeah." Sans admitted. Asgore looked at him with some shock. Sans was rather surprised with himself as well. A year ago he wouldn't have openly admitted such a thing. He wasn't sure how he felt about his sudden honesty, but it didn't feel right to lie to Asgore right now. Not about this kind of thing.

"Oh...really?"

"what brought this up?" Sans pressed.

"Frisk looked...scared upon seeing me. That strange haziness appeared in their eyes...like they were seeing me but not." So Asgore had noticed it too. Sans wasn't surprised. It was obvious to anyone who knew Frisk well enough, after all. "They told me...that they didn't want to fight me." He opened his mouth to continue, but instead closed it and swallowed thickly. He had yet to touch his drink. His large hands curled in response to his thoughts.

Frisk was clearly remembering fighting Asgore. Were they suddenly threatened by his presence? But Frisk hadn't been scared of Asgore since actually being in the underground. They loved Asgore, Sans knew. They wouldn't suddenly be frightened by his presence. Certainly not in that flower-patterned shirt he's wearing, anyway. What had triggered them? Was it just the sight of him?

This was foreboding.

The door opened again to admit Toriel, Papyrus, and Alphys. They were all rather out of breath from running. Asgore looked relieved to see Toriel there. Toriel gave Sans an appreciative glance before hurrying back towards the bathroom. Asgore stood to follow her.

Sans abandoned his untouched drink to join his brother and friend in the living room. Alphys was biting her nail again. "Toriel told us what happened." Alphys told Sans quickly.

"the kid's getting worse." Sans stated bluntly.

"IS THIS RELATED TO...?" Papyrus questioned, leaving the end hanging.

"W-we don't know for sure..." Alphys told him.

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL WORK TO MAKE FRISK FEEL BETTER! ONE GIANT HUG WILL HELP THEM!" Papyrus announced. Sans grinned a little bit more honestly at his announcement, but the smile didn't last long.

Alphys turned to Sans. "I...texted Undyne. She's going to meet us here." Sans was unsure if that was a good choice. Asgore had been a threat to Frisk in the past, so how would they react to Undyne who had been...quite a large threat to Frisk?

not that i'm much better. Sans thought to himself wryly. He had his fair share of human deaths under his bones too.

But Alphys clearly needed the emotional back up. And Undyne was Frisk's friend too. Maybe seeing all of them in one place will remind the kid that they're all there for them. They were Frisk's friends. Hopefully it would help to ground the kid.

Toriel and Asgore rejoined Sans in the living room, and this time Papyrus went back towards the bathroom no doubt to wait for their friend. Alphys bit her lip in confliction before she steeled herself and followed after. Toriel took a seat as Asgore crossed the room. He didn't want to be close to Frisk when the human entered the room. Sans positioned himself so he would be able to see Frisk immediately upon their entrance.

Toriel didn't hesitate to fill Sans in on what had occurred on the snail-hunting trip. Frisk had zoned out badly enough that they had fallen straight into a river. The river hadn't even been enough to shock them back to the present. They had panicked and clung to Toriel looking lost and very confused. Toriel wiped her eyes as she recalled how Frisk didn't seem to know where they were. And when they did finally come back to themselves, they had said some horrifying things.

"Sans please..." Toriel sounded terrified as she begged him, "can you help them?"

Sans swallowed thickly at this weight upon him. He didn't know for certain what was wrong with Frisk. He didn't know how to help them...but maybe this situation finally opened Frisk's eyes. Maybe they could tell him more. He needed to know what was actually happening to them. Was it Gaster, or was it their own memories? Were the timelines in their head crossing? Did Gaster somehow...transport them to their memories? But only in their head? It sounded insane, but Gaster had managed to create a whole room that was there. What were the scope of his powers?

Sans was saved from promising something that he may not be able to keep (god, he hated making promises) by Undyne knocking and entering. Papyrus and Undyne greeted each other before the woman entered the living room. She was frowning. Sans couldn't hear the water running anymore. Was Frisk out?

"Hey." She greeted. "Someone die here?"

"That's not funny." Toriel snapped. Undyne grinned uneasily and scratched her head.

"Sorry! That was...yeah, that was bad. Alphys told me the kid's in bad shape." Undyne and Sans shared a look. Sans nodded just slightly. She scowled and turned to Asgore. "So. Talk to me." She told them. While Toriel and Asgore filled Undyne in, Alphys reentered the living room. Sans glanced into the hallway and saw Papyrus standing alone waiting. The bathroom door was open. Papyrus sent Sans a reassuring grin. It helped some.

A few minutes later Papyrus and Frisk entered the living room. The kid looked...frankly, bad. Their body was littered with tiny scratches and their eyes were haunted. Sans had to briefly close his eyes against the image. They were clearly still shaken. The shower hadn't helped much. He could see some very tiny tremors running through their hands.

Toriel had been the first to approach. Frisk stared at Asgore with clear eyes. The king was clearly giving them space. Frisk looked saddened by it. That meant they actually remembered and understood what had happened to them. It was a step forward (or was it one backwards?). Frisk didn't answer Toriel's question on their state of being.

Undyne joked with Frisk when it happened again. Sans saw the transformation come over their features. Their eyes widened and their eyes became slightly unfocused. All of the blood drained from their face. The others didn't have time to react to the change in demeanor before Frisk cried out and fell backwards away from Undyne. Their eyes were terrified as they gasped with fear. Their entire body locked up but shook with violent tremors. They flinched as Toriel touched them before they threw themselves into their mother's arm.

"Toriel will protect me." They murmured in a mantra, seemingly unconsciously. "Protect me. She promised. She'll save me. She promised."

Sans felt cold at the sight. Toriel hadn't been exaggerating; Frisk was worse. Why were they taking so long to come back to themselves? Sans counted in his head the seconds. Undyne and Asgore held Papyrus back. Everyone was giving mother and child space. Sans glanced briefly at Alphys. He could see the woman was counting as well.

Frisk covered their ears against some unheard noise, squeezing their eyes shut. Then after a few seconds, they gained some control again. Their eyes opened, clearer now. Their breathing was still harsh. They stepped away from Toriel, visibly calmer, and signed in apology to Undyne. Alphys shot Sans a scared look.

Sans stepped forward and tried to put on a friendly smile. He didn't need Frisk seeing him as an enemy. He wouldn't hurt the kid, but they had reacted badly to Undyne and Asgore. Sans was just as bad as them. "hey." He called. They turned to face him. He waited for the episode to start...but it didn't happen. A trembling part of him relaxed in relief. "you...uh..." Shit, his voice sounded weird. He pushed harder to maintain normality. For Frisk's sake, "how you feeling, buddy?"

Frisk looked around them. They seemed wary of everyone. "Not...good." They told him quietly.

Fucking understatement of the decade. "yeah," he agreed, "you look a bit dazed and confused." Maybe his jacket would help. He had grabbed it for that specific reason, after all. He took off his coat and offered it. Frisk didn't reject it this time, gladly taking the clothing and putting it on. They immediately relaxed, which made Sans's soul feel lighter.

"Sans..." They said in their soft voice as they scanned their surroundings again, "We...we need to talk about Gaster." Behind Sans he heard Alphys gasp softly. Sans looked at Papyrus. He could see Papyrus's quiet insistence in his brother's open face. Papyrus had always thought that the Dreemurrs needed to be made aware of Frisk's situation and had been gently pushing Sans to tell them. Sans had only held back on both Alphys and Frisk's account.

However, Sans wasn't about to rehash the whole story. That would take too much time. He needed answers from Frisk now. He could always fill the Dreemurrs in fully later. Toriel would forgive him for holding out a bit longer.

"yeah." Sans acquiesced. "this has been...coming a while."

"Are you sure about this?" Undyne cut in, crossing her arms. "Does it have to do with...well, that crazy reaction to us?" Sans could see her wariness in the situation. Undyne had been against telling the Dreemurrs anything yet. She had wanted Alphys and Sans to have more information on the situation. Maybe resolve it without telling the parents. After all, Asgore had enough shit to deal with. She thought they should know, but she wasn't so sure they should know right now that...another one of their children was in danger. Sans could understand her argument even if he didn't completely agree.

Frisk didn't respond. Alphys spoke up then and agreed that Gaster needed to be talked about. She met Sans's eyes and tugged on her lab coat. There was a reluctant acceptance that the time has come located in those worried depths.

So Sans began to beat around the bush. He tried to steer the conversation through rocky waters to a place where he could confront Frisk. Toriel was displeased with him, and he cringed at the thought of losing her trust. He hated lying to people he cared about. Just another tally mark to add to his "Sans's Fuck-Ups" list.

Finally, though, the conversation allowed Sans to ask Frisk what was happening to them. He needed their point of view on things. He could guess all he wanted about what Frisk was experiencing, but without Frisk's details it was pointless.

Frisk looked mildly alarmed at the sudden confrontation. They looked down, shifting their weight back and forth on their legs before hesitantly saying, "My...I think..." A sweat was breaking out on their skin. Water from their improperly-dried hair was running over their skin and under their clothing. "I think...my mind is...scrambled."

That didn't sound good at all.

"Scrambled?" Alphys asked gently.

"Like...like my..." They motioned to their arm that had the scar on it. "But..." And then they motioned to their head. Sans hoped he was imagining the static ringing in his head right now. He could almost see the glitching extending from their arm to their head. He blinked away the image. "It's...mixing up my...memories. A-and because of that...I think I'm...h-hallucinating?" Their voice broke sudden. Their pupils shrunk and their eyes began to water as their breathing picked up again as their body began to shake. They were panicking.

"aw, frisk." Sans sighed, approaching them. He hadn't realized how bad it had gotten for them. He could only blame himself. He opened up his arms in offering. Frisk looked at him with suddenly hazy eyes. It was the only warning he got before hatred and fury filled their feature. They lashed out at him, barely missing him as he instinctively dodged.

Chara. Sans thought in horror, eyes wide. It was Chara all over again. Magic built up in his body in reaction. No. He didn't want to have to kill Frisk. Not now. Not after all of this time. But it wasn't Chara. This kid wanted to kill him just like they had killed everyone he had ever cared for. This world was pointless. He needed them to quit playing this game. He needed them to stop. He needed to kill them before they destroyed everything. He couldn't allow them to continue. He just couldn't.

His hand began to glow slightly as he readied his bone attack, but something in Frisk changed. Sans blinked, and it was no longer Chara. It was Frisk staring at him with his own horror reflecting back at him. His magic faded as he took in the bloodless face of his best friend. Their LV was suffocating.

Frisk stumbled backwards, breathing sharp and shallow. Their head was slowly shaking back and forth, lips parted as if to deny what had just happened. Papyrus made a small noise and tried to approach them. Everyone looked as if they were going to Frisk but were hesitating to approach. That hesitance gave Frisk the chance they needed.

They fled.

"FRISK!" Everyone called, the human's name bursting even from Sans's mouth. Sans felt like his legs were bolted to the ground. He could feel himself shaking. He couldn't move. He needed to follow Frisk, but if he did they might kill him. He didn't want to die. Dying hurt so much. He couldn't leave Papyrus unprotected. He'll let them leave. He didn't need to follow them. He couldn't follow them. He needed to preserve his own life−

"SANS!" Undyne commanded in a panic, and Sans's body jolted forward. He forced his terror away even as every part of him screamed not to go after them. But still he ran out of the door and through the nearest shortcut. He was the only one that could keep up with Frisk when they had a head start. He just needed to stop them. He couldn't allow himself to think about dying.

This isn't Chara. This is Frisk. It's Frisk. Frisk, who needs help. Frisk, who he can't lose. Frisk, who needed him now more than ever.

you choose now of all times to think selfishly, kid! Sans berated them mentally as he finally found the right series of shortcuts. He saw Frisk, barefoot and fleeing, desperately running. He could only keep pace with the shortcuts. He found himself sometimes ahead of the human, sometimes on the other side of them. No matter how much he called to them, they didn't stop.

They spotted him, eyes crazed with their own fright, and purposely turned towards the mountain. Sans knew he couldn't follow them at this rate. He threw his magic at them, grasping for their soul in a desperate attempt to stop them, but they got out of range before the magic could take hold.

"frisk!" He screamed. The others were too far behind. Frisk disappeared into the forest. Sans fell to his knees, adrenaline fading as his shaky legs gave out from under him. He couldn't stand or run. He could only watch the human leave. He was disoriented from the rapid travel and the stress from the attack still hadn't faded. He could only point as his friends –followed by a few others who had seen their panic− caught up. Papyrus and Undyne, commanding some of the old guards that had been under her command in the underground, immediately went after Frisk.

Sans could tell there were hands on his shoulders, but he felt numb. He'd failed them all again.