(A/N Thank you Dekkasaurus and KarmicRetribution for your reviews! This isn't really very feelsy, so you're all good, FYI.
For now.)
Chapter 21
Sans stared at the kid, starting to wonder what was going on in her head. Though she had told him she was being honest, he didn't really believe her. There was something she still hid behind that smile.
Heh. That made two of them.
Sans shrugged it off. Whatever it was, he figured he'd just let it be for now. At least until all this crazy stuff died down.
"so, i'm guessing you wanna be on your way, huh?" he asked Hope, and she nodded. Then she giggled, glancing over at Lesser Dog.
"Am I the only one who thinks he really wants to be pet?" she asked, smiling widely. Sans grinned. "I mean, he looks so lonely over there all by himself."
"oh, don't worry. he always wants to be pet. all the dogs love it." he answered. Hope stared at Lesser Dog for a moment before asking.
"Can I-?"
"yes, if you want to." Hope giggled, hopping out of her chair and walking over to Lesser Dog. She said something to him, and his tail wagged a million miles per hour. His neck stretched out as she pet him. She laughed, paused, then laughed even harder. Sans just shook his head and looked down. This kid was a lot like her sister, beneath her pain.
Maybe if she stayed here, she could be really happy. It was a lot to hope for, but with time and friends...
"uh, are you done yet?" he asked her as Lesser Dog's head touched the ceiling. He didn't seem to care. Hope looked over at him, cheeks reddening slightly. She laughed.
"Maybe..." she replied, then laughed more. She covered her hand with her mouth and nodded, walking over to him. Sans rolled his magical pupils.
"i hold to what I said earlier. you're way weirder than you let on." he told her, and she grinned. She grabbed his sleeve, and they teleported into Alphys' lab.
Hope stifled more laughter as they teleported away from Grillby's. Maeko had been ridiculing her the whole time she was petting Lesser Dog, and she could barely handle it anymore.
You have a problem. she said, rolling her eyes.
'Yup.' She appeared in Alphys' lab right next to Sans, and she narrowed her eyes. Why did they always have to stop here?
"i just have to run an errand before we go anywhere." Sans explained quickly, and Hope was about to protest when he teleported away. She frowned.
'Why does he always do that?'
Beats me. I'm more interested in what errands he, of all people, has to do. Maeko replied, and Hope shrugged.
'Maybe he's a busy guy?' Hope offered, and Maeko scoffed, 'Hey, he's deeper than you think.' There was a scrambling from upstairs, and Alphys came running down the escalator.
"Oh, h-hi Hope!" she greeted, nervously pushing slipping her glasses up her nose, "What are y-you doing here?" Hope shrugged.
"Uh, well, Sans just kinda dumped me off." Hope replied, scratching the back of her head, "He said he has some 'errands' to attend to." Alphys nodded hurriedly, glancing over at a screen before looking back at Hope.
"O-oh, okay! That's fine..." she muttered, looking at the groud. Hope smiled lightly. She heard audio from the screen on the far wall and glanced that way. The smile dissolved from her face and her mouth dropped into a small o.
"Uh, Alphys...?" she asked, and Alphys followed her gaze. The screen displayed what appeared to be a live camera feed, currently scrolling over an area not too different from that which Hope had seen earlier in Hotland. Frisk was the focus, and she was currently standing in front of a blue monster, talking. Alphys flushed deep red.
"Oh yeah, t-that. U-uh..." Alphys wrung her hands nervously in front of her, examining the ground. Hope's gaze darted over to her.
"I knew you were watching her, but... okay." she started, "I mean, I really shouldn't be surprised. She's on TV, for pete's sake!" Alphys nodded, grimacing. Hope smiled apologetically.
"Um, y-yeah. Sorry." she muttered, and looked off to the side for a moment. Hope shrugged.
"It's fine. Don't be sorry." she assured, and Alphys looked up, "I was just a bit surprised is all." The scientist nodded, still staring at her feet. Hope sighed. Ugh, now she made Alphys feel bad...
Yup, you made things awkward.
'You really need to stop snooping around my thoughts.'
Do you have any idea how hard it is to resist? Maeko retorted, Every thought you have passes right by me, and it's really freaking hard to ignore. Hope rolled her eyes.
"Hey, what kind of work do you do here?" she asked out loud, trying to steer the conversation. Alphys looked up.
She continued to play with her hands, then answered, "Oh, well, I-I'm the Royal Scientist." Hope's eyes widened in awe.
"Royal Scientist? Wow, that's great!" she cheered with an impressed smile, and Alphys smiled shyly, "Isn't that hard?"
"Well, s-sometimes, but not normally." the Royal Scientist replied, not playing with her hands anymore, "I design new t-technology for the Underground. I invented the U-Undernet based off something I saw in an a-anime, and I've done other things too." Hope smiled, listening. Alphys laughed only slightly nervously.
"You also invented this type of technology." Hope pointed out, taking her phone out of her pocket. Alphys nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I g-guess." she looked at the ground for a moment, then jumped slightly. "O-oh, I almost forgot!" She motioned to the device in Hope's hand. "Can I see t-that? There's a feature that needs to be r-repaired." Hope nodded, handing over her phone.
I'll bet a hundred dollars she's going to completely remodel it. Maeko challenged, and Hope smiled.
'I'm not taking you up on that one.' Maeko laughed.
'Cause I'm right. Alphys scampered upstairs with the phone in hand, and Hope sighed softly. Alphys was so cute. She wondered if there was any reason for her nervousness or if it was just natural. It could be either, really. There wasn't really much of a difference between the two.
Well, one small thing.
The smile dissolved from her face, and she was suddenly anxious. She glanced up at the screen. Right now, Frisk was dashing up a long flight of stairs, an exhilarated smile lighting up her face. She tripped and fell forward, catching herself and running again like nothing happened. Hope gasped slightly, then laughed. Her sister was one tough cookie.
Frisk slowed as she neared the top of the stairway, then stopped at the top. She smiled excitedly and bounced on the pads of her feet. Hope gaped.
Sans?
"hey." he greeted Frisk, "i heard you're going to the core." She nodded, and he continued, "how about grabbing some dinner with me first?" Frisk smiled brightly and gave him a thumbs-up. He grinned. "great. thanks for treating me." The little girl giggled and followed him, the two suddenly disappearing in a brief swirl of color and light. The camera cut out for a moment before finding them again inside the restaurant.
So this was his errand. Maeko thought out loud (sort of), and Hope continued to stare.
'Okay, why wasn't I allowed to go with?' she questioned, suddenly feeling rather irritated, 'He's going to see Frisk. Isn't that exactly what I'm doing?' Maeko shrugged.
Maybe he has something really important to tell her? Without you knowing?
'What about the screen?'
Guess he's not very good at planning. Hope pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. She had her doubts about that theory, but it was funny to think about. Frisk and Sans were talking now, and Hope began to listen. She hoped she hadn't missed too much.
"so." Sans began, "your journey's almost over, huh? you must really wanna go home." Frisk nodded, frowning slightly.
"hey. i know the feeling, buddo." Sans assured, looking distant, "though... maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." Frisk stared. "down here you've got food, drink, friends... is what you have to do... really worth it?" Frisk looked down, then back up at him, shrugging. Sans closed his eyes for a moment
"ah, forget it." he shrugged, "i'm rootin' for ya, kid." He looked away, and Hope thought. Was he doing this on her behalf? Reminding Frisk of how good she had it here so she wouldn't want to go back? Frisk slouched forward in her seat and tapped on her legs impatiently.
"...let me tell you a story." Sans said and Frisk grinned expectantly, suddenly excited. Hope smiled. "so, i'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right? i sit out there and watch for humans. it's kind of boring. fortunately, deep in the forest... there's this HUGE locked door, and it's perfect for practicing knock knock jokes." Hope laughed softly. Only Sans would see a giant wooden door and want to practice knock knock jokes on it. Frisk smiled comfortably, the same way she did whenever Hope read her one of her favorite stories.
"so one day, i'm knocking 'em out, like usual. i knock on the door and say 'knock knock.' and suddenly, from the other side... i hear a woman's voice. 'who is there?' so, naturally, i respond 'dishes.' 'dishes who?' 'dishes a very bad joke.' " he grinned, "then she just howls with laughter, like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. so i keep 'em comin', and she keeps laughing. she's the best audience I've ever had." Hope thought for a moment.
'Is he talking about Toriel?'
I think so. Maeko shrugged, I mean, I don't know of any other women who live behind giant locked doors in a forest. Hope grinned.
'True.'
"then," Sans continued, "after a dozen of 'em, SHE knocks and says... 'knock knock!' i say 'who's there?' 'old lady.' 'old lady who?' 'oh! i did not know you could yodel!' wow." Sans' grin widened. "needless to say, this woman was extremely good." Maeko rolled her eyes.
Okay, anyone with Sans' sense of humor is not 'extremely good'. she huffed.
'What about me?'
You make terrible puns.
'You just don't know talent when you see it.'
"...papyrus gets kind of cranky without his bedtime story." Sans continued, snapping Hope back to reality. Frisk and Hope giggled. Frisk didn't actually seem very surprised, which made Maeko laugh.
"but she told me to come by again, and so i did. then i did again. and again. it's a thing now." he explained, "telling bad jokes through the door. it rules." He paused, his grin shrinking slightly. Frisk's eyes began to wander, and she swung her feet the way she did when she was bored.
"...one day, though, i noticed she wasn't laughing very much." Sans started again, and Hope watched intently, "i asked her what was up. then she told me something strange." He looked distant, and Frisk still wasn't really paying much attention. " 'if a human ever comes through this door... could you please, please promise something? watch over them, and protect them, will you not?' " Frisk's stopped swinging her feet, seemingly bracing herself slightly. Hope's eyebrows furrowed. "now, i hate making promises. and this woman, i don't even know her name, but... someone who sincerely likes bad jokes... has an integrity you can't say 'no' to. do you get what i'm saying?" Hope watched, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest as a barrier. Frisk stared at him, like she knew what he was about to say and didn't want to hear it.
"that promise i made to her... you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything? buddy." Hope gasped quietly as his eyesockets went dark. Frisk squirmed uncomfortably. "You'd be dead where you stand." His pupils returned, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Hope stared, just a little scared for Frisk. If he dare lay a finger on her...
"...hey, lighten up, bucko!" he prodded, returning to his normal, laid-back attitude, "i'm just joking with you." Frisk relaxed, fiddling with her hands in her lap. Hope stared intently. "besides.. haven't i done a great job protecting you? i mean, look at yourself. you haven't died a single time." Hope sighed heavily and stared at Sans disbelievingly. Seriously? She had died many times, and he knew it. Frisk giggled and shook her head. Sans quirked an eyebrow. "hey, what's that look supposed to mean? am i wrong...?" Frisk just giggled again.
That dirty liar.
"heh." Sans slid out of his chair and walked a little away from the table. "guess that's all. take care of yourself, kid, 'cause someone really cares about you." Frisk smiled in her optimistic, innocent way, and Sans gave a two fingered wave before disappearing.
Hope stared, eyebrows knitted together, thinking. What was that all about? Why would he tell an innocent little girl she'd be "dead where she stands" if it weren't for Toriel? He must know that could have been scary for her, though she had taken it lighter than Hope had been expecting. The sound of someone teleporting startled her out of her thoughts.
"H-hi Sans!" Alphys greeted him, hurrying down the escalator. Hope turned towards him just in time to see his wave.
"heya alph." he replied. Alphys hurried over to Hope, holding a little device.
"I fixed you phone. You can h-have it b-back now." she said, handing it to Hope. The phone was noticeably heavier. Hope flipped it open to see if there were any new installments and, sure enough, there were two new buttons labelled hand sanitizer and flashlight.
"Hand sanitizer?" Hope read out loud, and Sans arched an eyebrow. Maeko laughed so hard she hunched over. Alphys flushed slightly.
"U-uh, yeah. You know, j-just in c-case..." Alphys mumbled, and Hope bit her bottom lip. Okay, the other options were weird, but this was just ridiculous.
How does the science behind that work? I mean, how on earth do you store hand sanitizer in a phone?
'Same as the Dimensional Boxes, maybe?'
But how do those work?
"Oh. Right." Hope replied, examining the phone with skepticality. Then she turned to Sans, eyes narrowed. "Okay Sans, why did you have to go on your errand to see Frisk without me?" Sans' grin remained firm.
"had some things i had to say." he replied simply, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "the effect woulda been ruined with you there." Hope's eyes narrowed.
"What things? What couldn't you have said when I was there?" she questioned, and Sans shrugged.
"it would've ruined the effect."
"What effect? You mean trying to scare her straight?" Hope scoffed, then shook her head, "She hasn't hurt anyone. I was afriad you were going to hurt her for a second there." Sans chuckled, raising his skeletal eyebrows.
"you worry kind of a lot. you know that?" he pointed out, and Hope sighed.
"Yeah. I've noticed." They both grinned, and Hope shook her head. Sans might have his own weird reasons, but he didn't mean any harm. It certainly might give Frisk something to think about, though...
"so, should we get going?" Sans asked, and Hope nodded. She walked over to him, then smiled back at Alphys.
"Thanks for the phone upgrade." she said, and Alphys smiled lightly.
Oh, no p-problem! Thanks for c-coming by!" she replied, and waved. Hope waved back, then grabbed hold of Sans' sweatshirt. Then, in a motion she was quickly getting used to, they teleported away.
(A/N Sup yo homie bros! Sorry, that's one of my friend's favorite phrases. I had to use it.
Anyway, nice chapter here. I apologize for submitting it a day late. For some reason, this chapter was almost as hard to write as last one. Maybe even a little harder. I kept sitting down at the computer, ready to write, and accomplishing... nothing. I sort of just sat there just staring at the screen, trying to force my brain to make words. That was fun. But today was much easier, so I finished writing and revising and shtuff.
Um, just a warning... next chapter is prolly gonna be pretty intense. This chapter was basically just people talking and Hope going "What the heck Sans." Next chapter is... well, definitely not that.
So yeah, cooleo. But if you like this, please follow, favorite, and review, and happy reading!)