By the time Undyne and the others reach the regular lab, Chara has passed out again. Alphys notes that it's a good sign that they woke up again at all, but still asks Undyne to keep an eye on them once they all lay the child out on her pull-out box bed. After Alphys sets up a device to monitor their health and take a few initial readings on automatic, just to make sure they aren't going to drop dead - and if they come in danger of that, will beep loudly to alert everyone - Undyne volunteers to make everyone a cup of tea, too. Since the amalgamates had come up with everyone, there's quite a bit of tea to be made, and Alphys gratefully takes her up on her suggestion. Papyrus helps wrangle the amalgamates, and Sans hangs out with her as emotional support as she makes the necessary calls. Truth or no truth, talking on the phone is still hard for Alphys.

But before everyone can go home, there's much the four of them have to discuss.

"Okay," Alphys utters, breathing out a sigh as she hangs up on the last call, this one to Asgore. "That's all done, then."

"You did great, Alph," Sans tells her, hands in his pockets. "Tomorrow's going to be a hell of a day in the Underground."

"Y-yeah, no kidding," she says with a nervous laugh. "But we're not done yet."

Her gaze turns towards the up escalator, and his follows. The health reader hasn't beeped and Undyne hasn't hollered, so no news is good news, but they both know that's no cause to celebrate or breathe easy.

"So what do you think's going on?" Sans asks.

"I have a couple of thoughts, but... let me get some more data before I share them." She meets his eyes, mouth pursed. "How about you? Are you doing okay? You just kind of... shut down for a while there."

"Oh, yeah." He rubs the back of his head and glances over at Papyrus. "Sorry about worrying you. I'll be fine now."

Fine for Sans, anyway, as both of them implicitly understand. "About Dr. Gaster..."

"You still remember him?"

"Y-yeah. Well, my memories are a little hazy, but... I remember being his protégée, and all of us working together..."

Maybe it's her imagination, but Sans looks a little happier at that. Papyrus picks that moment to approach, waving jauntily at Endogeny as they gnaw on some bones before he faces the two of them.

"All right, everyone's settled in!" he declares. "What do you need me to do next, Dr. Alphys?"

"Oh, um, actually, there were some questions that I wanted to ask you. I bet Sans does, too," Alphys replies, glancing over at the other skeleton. "About the mirror, and Dr. Gaster?"

"I heard you got trapped behind a gray door, bro," Sans adds. "What's up with that?"

"Ah, yes! Let me tell you about my adventure..."

And so Sans and Alphys listen as Papyrus describes how the door had slammed shut on him and the room had come apart, about how Gaster had saved him, and what the two discussed about the Player and her schemes, particularly as regards Chara and the human.

"Frisk," Sans cuts in at that point.

"Sorry?"

"That's their name. Chara told me."

"S-so you knew the whole time who they really were," Alphys remarks. It's not a question.

"Well, I knew they aren't the human we all know and love. Beyond that..."

She purses her lips and nods once. "Fair." She looks back at Papyrus. "Sorry. Keep going."

So he goes on about Gaster's low opinion of the Player and the incident in the Waterfall corridor, of teleporting to the true lab and watching Chara's memories with "that tiny clone of Asgore!" as Papyrus cheerfully puts it, of his fear when Sans had been about to fall down, and finally how he'd tried to entreat the Player for her help and had instead gotten grabbed by Chara.

"And the rest, you guys know," he concludes. He glances down, his usual grin drooping. "And about how, you know... we couldn't get Dad out."

Sans glances away. "...Yeah."

Alphys nods once gloomily. "I don't think that could have been helped, though," she says. When the skeleton brothers stare at her, she blushes and adds, "I-I mean, I think he got before any of us that what we were doing was hurting Chara's, or rather, Frisk's body. They're in bad shape as is... I'm willing to bet that if we'd committed to saving Dr. Gaster, it would have ended up killing them."

"Dad..." Papyrus murmurs.

"You're probably right," Sans admits. "But... well... that doesn't make me feel better."

"It's okay!" Papyrus's grin revives. "Dad might still be stuck in Nowheresland, but at least we all remember him now! And I know I wouldn't be happy if Dad got saved only for someone else to end up dying! I think Dad wouldn't be either!" His eyes droop. "...He didn't think I could escape, you know. Maybe he thought... as long as I got back, that'd be enough."

"That's probably the best thing he could've done for Sans, yeah," Alphys agrees.

Sans shuffles his feet for a few seconds. Then, not quite looking directly at Papyrus, he asks, "Hey, bro... did... did Dad say anything about me?"

"Huh? Hmm... now that I think about it, no. I'm sorry. Everything happened so fast."

"Oh."

"B-but you heard him just before he vanished! He talked to you first. I'm sure he's been thinking about you a lot, Sans!"

It wasn't your fault. "...Yeah."

"And hey, maybe we can't see or hear him anymore, but I'm sure he's watching over us like we were over you when you came to save Flowey and the hu - I mean, Frisk! When you think about it like that, Dad's not really gone. And he never has been!"

(Gaster, who stands next to his sons, smiles a little and bows his head.)

Sans's expression softens. "...Heh, true. Thanks, Papyrus."

He beams at his brother, then at Alphys. "That goes for you, too, Doctor! You might've melted a whole bunch of monsters together (and that's admittedly super-weird), but you've still made a lot of cool stuff that made people's lives better, and Dad knows it!"

She blushes. "Y-you think so?"

"I know so! You heard what he told you, right?"

You've done well. "...Y-yeah. Hehe. Yeah, you're right. That makes me feel a little better about all this."

"What about you, bro?" Sans asks. "You finally reunited with Dad, and you've already been literally torn apart. How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine! I'm not worried, and I'm not sad!" Well - maybe a little worried and sad, he doesn't admit. He doesn't want to worry them. But: "I already know he's proud of me!"

"Gosh. I wish I could be as optimistic as you," Alphys says.

"It's easy! All you have to do is be the greatest, and never ever forget how great you are! And since you're the greatest scientist, that should be a cinch! Nyeh heh heh heh heh!"

Sans laughs while Alphys blushes and stammers with a smile. "You really are the coolest, Papyrus."

"NO WAY, I'M THE COOLEST!" Undyne roars from out of nowhere, making all three jump. She peers at them when they crash. "Uh, what're we talking about?"

"O-oh, Undyne, you're back!" Alphys gasps, clutching her chest. "W-we were just discussing Dr. Gaster..."

"Dr. Who?"

"Gaster. W. D. Gaster? Y-you know, the Royal Scientist before me?"

Undyne stares at her. "There was a Royal Scientist before you?"

"Don't worry about it, Alph," Sans remarks as Alphys hesitates. "This is just how it is."

"How what is?" Undyne asks.

"Eh, nothing important. Just nerd talk. Hey, is that tea for us?"

"Yup! Drink up, nerds!"

"You're pretty good at that," Alphys observes as they each accept their drinks.

"Comes from years of practice," he replies.

"Good at what?" Undyne asks.

"Holding tea cups," Sans lies. "How's the kid?"

"Ugh... Honestly, I'm not sure. They're still breathing and they seem to be doing okay? But... I dunno. They've been acting weird all day," Undyne replies, settling down to sit cross-legged on the floor. "This is just the cherry on top."

"Oh, that's because they're not the human you're used to knowing," Alphys says, carefully kneeling down along with Sans and Papyrus. "Um, I didn't get the chance to tell you before, but... they're Chara."

"Wait, what? As in THE Chara? As in Asgore's human kid?"

"Asgore had a human kid?" Papyrus echoes.

"Yeah, they fell down ages ago like the human did," Undyne replies. She then launches into a basic explanation of Chara's history with the monsters, concluding with, "But it turned out they didn't get sick, they poisoned themselves. Either way, they died a long time ago, so how can the kid be Chara?"

"I-I don't really know," Alphys says, watching Sans, who stares off into space. "But they are. I'm... I'm pretty sure of it? They mentioned Asriel before we ever watched those videos..."

"Dr. Alphys is right, as always!" Papyrus declares. "I don't know how it works either, but Dad showed me some of Chara's memories, so I know it's true!"

"O-oh!" Alphys utters, blinking rapidly. "Oh, wow... Th-thanks, Papyrus."

"So when was that?" Sans wonders as Papyrus cackles with satisfied glee. "When they mentioned Asriel, I mean."

"Oh, um..." Alphys explains the incident in the flowerpot hall, still watching Sans; she takes the time to also fill in Undyne on some of what she missed in the previous conversation, including Frisk's name. Her diligence is rewarded when he startles and stares at her.

"Wait. Are you trying to imply that Asriel is the vessel you tried to make?" he says.

"T-technically, Chara made that implication, not me... Why?"

"...Nothing. Just that this explains a lot." He pauses. "What's that look for?"

"So when are YOU going to explain what you know?" Alphys says pointedly.

"Hey, yeah! You were looking for the human's SOUL, right? How'd you end up getting roped into that?" Undyne asks.

"Hmmm... When you were asleep on the stairs... Chara wasn't upstairs, by any chance, were they?" Papyrus wonders.

"You saw right through me, bro," Sans says, winking at him. "Yeah, you're right. I, uh, kind of just stumbled across them and brought 'em back to our place. Then they woke up and wouldn't you know it, it was the wrong kid. Once we got the misunderstanding straightened out, we talked a bunch and I agreed to help 'em recover Frisk's SOUL." He drains the teacup and sets it down on the floor. "...Wish I'd done a better job of it." He pauses. "Something on your mind, Undyne? You've been scowling for a while."

"I'm not scowling, I'm just..." Undyne makes a face, arms folded. "I said some pretty rotten things about Chara while we were watching those videos. I kind of assumed that they were just another lousy human after all. And the human freaked out! I didn't realize it was because they were Chara. I feel pretty bad about that now."

"Really? Why?" says Sans.

"'Cuz they're awesome, duh!" Undyne crows. "If it weren't for them, Alphys and me would never have hooked up! And they saved Papyrus! It's still messed up that they tried to make a kid kill, but thinking about it, they were just a kid too. And what else would you need six human SOULs for if you didn't want to use them and your own SOUL to break the barrier? So now I think I judged 'em too fast. Maybe they're some kinda weirdo, but hell, aren't we all?!"

"I'm not!" Papyrus protests. "Papyrus is charming and normal in all things!"

"Hey, how am I weird?" Sans asks.

"You chug ketchup straight from the bottle! Don't try to play innocent with me!"

"She has a point," Alphys chimes in, smirking.

Sans scoffs. "Everyone's a critic."

"But anyway," Undyne continues, "I don't really get that kid, but... I want to give 'em another chance. See what they have to say for themselves before I go sock 'em one."

"S-so you don't mind that they almost stabbed you?" Alphys wonders.

"Wait, what? When did they try to stab me?"

"Um. During the fight? When you got between them and the flower? I-I, um, I tackled them to keep them from doing it..."

"Ohhh, so THAT'S what you were doing! Seriously, don't jump into a fight like that again, Alphys. You nearly scared the piss out of me."

"Ew! Incontinence is so unglamorous!" Papyrus declares.

"Since when do you care about glamour?!" Undyne demands.

"Mettaton cares about glamour!"

"Since when do I care about Mettaton?!"

"U-um! I think! Something! Was wrong with them!" Alphys interrupts. "Undyne, d-do you remember that weird shadow that shot over to them?"

"Oh, yeah, that happened, didn't it?" She folds her arms. "It kinda went into them or something."

"It went into them?" Sans echoes, an uncharacteristic sharpness to his tone.

"Oh, that was the Player," Papyrus says, waving a dismissive hand. "She tried to do that earlier in the freezer room, but Dad hit her with a magic attack before she could get close to Chara." He plants his fists on his hips, indignant. "Rude!" A pause. "Sans, are you okay?"

"Just fine, bro," Sans replies, eye sockets dark.

Papyrus and Undyne both give him quizzical looks, but Alphys bites her lower lip hard.

"S-so, um," she says, "I-I'm worried about their well-being... What happened almost definitely took a serious psychological as well as physical toll on them."

"Not to worry! I shall woo them back to mental wellness with my rippling musculature as I befriend the Player out of her petty cruelty!" Papyrus declares, flexing a humerus.

"Let's maybe not try to talk to Chara about the Player right away, Papyrus," Sans suggests. "It might be, uh... stressful."

"Hmm... I suppose you're right," he admits. "There will be other opportunities!"

Alphys ducks her head for a moment. When she looks up again, her smile is pained. "I-I agree. I know Chara's maybe not the nicest person, a-and I know I'm just speaking for myself, b-but... they kind of remind me of, um, myself. And, um... that probably doesn't say a lot of good things about them, but... if I want to forgive myself and turn my life around, I ought to treat someone like me with the same kindness, right?"

Undyne blinks at her. Then she nods thoughtfully. "Huh... Yeah!" She grins and slaps Alphys on the back, nearly bowling her off her tail. "Attagirl, Alphys! You're a real inspiration!"

She blushes, a goofy grin spreading like a sunrise glow across her face. She and Undyne lean in together for a cuddle, and the skeleton brothers share a knowing smile.

"Oh!" Papyrus utters, hitting his palm with a fist. "I just realized something!"

"What's up, bro?"

"Flowey made this remark today about the human - Frisk, I mean - that it was good they were much chattier before! But he and Frisk acted like they'd never met before! But if that were true! How could he have known that they were chattier compared to before?"

"Th-that's a good point," Alphys says. "It doesn't make a lot of sense."

"I got the impression from Chara that they'd seen that flower around," says Sans. "Enough to know who he really is, at the least."

"Why would they lie about that, though?" Papyrus wonders. He frowns severely. "Especially to me, their cool friend!"

"Good question. You'd have to ask 'em, I bet," says Sans.

"Good idea! I'll do exactly that once we get Flowey to give Frisk's SOUL back!"

"Uh... do you really think he's going to just give it back?" Alphys says, blinking.

"Of course! I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding, just like with Dad and Frisk!" Papyrus says brightly. "We all just need to talk it out! And then possibly hug it out!"

"Hell yeah! I'm a great hugger!" Undyne declares. "I'll hug all of you straight into the ground!"

"Uh... I think that's called suplexing," says Sans.

"Please don't suplex the skeleton," Papyrus pleads.

"Weenies," Undyne grumbles.

A loud beep ringing from upstairs draws everyone's attention then. The various amalgamates lift their heads, some plural, as well.

"Th-that means the automatic scanner is done," Alphys explains, wobbling up to her feet. "I'll have to analyze the data and run some more tests, possibly... It might take a while."

"Not to worry! Your lovely girlfriend, Undyne, will keep you company!" Papyrus declares cheerfully with an audible wink.

Undyne blushes, then grins a wide grin full of teeth and hooks an arm around his shoulders. "Fuhuhuhu! And so will the great Papyrus! C'mon, nerd! Let's settle who's the human's bestest friend, once and for all!"

"Wait, but Chara is a totally different human from Frisk?"

"THEY'RE STILL A HUMAN!"

Sans chuckles as Undyne all but drags Papyrus upstairs, then turns to Alphys. "Welp, guess it's your time to shine."

"Y-yeah. I'll do my best." She pauses. "Um... Sans?"

"Yeah?"

"There's more about Chara, Frisk, and Asriel that you aren't telling us, isn't there?"

"What makes you say that?"

Alphys shoots him a flat stare. He chuckles wryly but still only shrugs instead of responding.

"You don't have to keep everything to yourself, Sans," she murmurs, frown turning concerned. "We're all your friends, and we're here for you. If there's something you're holding back for personal reasons..."

"Heh... Sorry. Old habits die hard. I'm not really ready to explain, though."

Alphys peers at Sans. Then she leans back and nods once. "...Okay. But, um, whenever you are... I'd be happy to lend an ear. Maybe we can figure it out together? Like we used to?"

His usual smile crinkles with sincerity. "That'd be nice." He looks up. "But for right now, the kid needs looking after."

No argument from her there. Together, they head up to join Papyrus and Undyne. Alphys settles in at her work desk to run tests and analyze the data she receives on the human's condition, and the others sit around their bedside to watch over them.

When Chara wakes up again, they're lying on a bed they don't know. Soft chuffing noises invade their ears, and they can tilt their head enough to catch sight of Alphys's work desk, at which Alphys is seated, and that weird machine that makes the pink goo. Oh. They must be lying on her pull-out bed... They try to sit up, but they only manage to rise a couple of inches before they collapse, panting and in a cold sweat. Their gaze sweeps across Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans as they drop, and the first two get to their feet.

"Hey! You're awake again!" Undyne says. Her grin fades quickly. "You don't look so hot. You gonna be okay?"

"Would you like something to drink?" Papyrus suggests. "Oh, if you're hungry, Undyne and I could make you a piping plate of spaghetti!"

"If they're sick, solids might not be a great idea, bro," Sans intercedes. His eyelights flick to Chara's face. "Might be better to keep it simple, like hot tea and dry toast."

"I'm on it!" Undyne declares before Chara can say anything, then vaults downstairs.

They blink slowly over at Papyrus, who watches them with bright eyes, and Sans, whose expression is unreadable. Alphys's back is to them and she seems hard at work on some device. They decide to settle their gaze on Papyrus.

"Hi," they croak.

"Hello!" he declares. "It's nice to finally meet you properly, Chara! Thank you for always looking after my excellent friend, Frisk! And thank you for saving me!"

Shock jolts through them. Oh. Everyone must have had a long discussion while they were out. Still, they're too exhausted to care about that. The irony of Papyrus thanking them for anything takes a somewhat higher precedence. I still believe in you, he'd said last timeline. I know you can do better.

They're not sure if he was wrong or right.

"Sure," they reply.

"I'm sorry you and Flowey had a fight," he contines. "Flowey has always been a very kind friend to me, and I hate to see my friends not getting along!" He poses dramatically. "'But wait!' you may be thinking! 'You and I are not yet friends, Papyrus!' Fear not! The great Papyrus has a heart as wide as the sea and twice as deep! Therefore, the friend of a friend is also my friend! And you're the friend of two of my friends, so there! Nyeh heh heh heh!"

Chara had been wondering about that. They smile a little despite everything. "Thanks."

He beams at them. "So don't worry! I'm sure everything will work out fine! Just tell Flowey that you're sorry for trying to stab him and I'm sure he'll forgive you!"

Chara's smile strains. "Mmh."

"So hey," Sans cuts in with excellent timing, "I wanted to thank you, too. You helped save Papyrus, just like you said you would. That means a lot to me."

They slide their eyes his way.

"So, uh..." He glances away and slides a hand over his scalp. "Thanks. I was wrong about you, Chara. You're a better person than I thought you were."

"There! That was easy, wasn't it?" Papyrus declares, hands on his hips.

Sans elbows him, grin affectionate. "Aw, shut it."

Chara stares at them both in a mild daze. They should be happy about this, so why aren't they? The wisp of amusement that curls up inside them - amusement that doesn't belong to them - gives them a clue.

What's so funny? they demand of the third one.

Sans Certainly Seems To Like You Now. You're Practically Friends Now, Just Like You Wanted. Wasn't It Good That You Were Able To Save Papyrus?

...What are You trying to imply?

You Said Before That You Wished Frisk's Friends Could Be Your Friends.

A pit of ice freezes in Chara's gut. Did... did You orchestrate this?

And If I Did?

How? Why?

"How" Is My Little Secret. As For Why... Didn't I Tell You Before? Because It Would Be Interesting! What Other Reason Is There?

Shut up! Don't give me that! You gain nothing if Sans or anybody likes me!

That's Patently Untrue, But You Can Believe What You Like. I'll Admit I've Been Lying To You About Some Things, Anyway.

Chara shakes, hands curling into fists. Some things. 'Some things,' They say. Papyrus leans in and speaks, brow ridges furrowed, but they don't pay him a whit of attention. Tell me the truth. What do You want from me? What do You hope to gain from doing all of this?

A Better Question At This Juncture Would Be, "What Is To Be Done About Asriel?"

The ice pit becomes a frozen tingle that shudders through Chara's borrowed body. What about Asriel?

He's In Your Way. We Both Know Your Usual Method Of Dealing With Those Who Are In Your Way.

They don't respond.

You Need A Soul, Chara. You'll Learn Shortly Just How Much. When You Do, I Trust You'll Make The Correct Decision. Until Then, I'll Be Waiting...

The third one's consciousness recedes to a corner of their mind but doesn't wink out. The knowledge that They remain within them, watching and waiting in the shadows for Their time, makes Chara feel sick to their stomach.

"HEY, PUNK!" Undyne roars.

Their nerves seize up, but they suspect they look quite calm as they look over at her. It seems like she's been standing there for a moment; she's got a steaming cup of tea and two blackened pieces of toast on a small plate. She shoves them at them, and they struggle to take a sip and a bite, but instead they end up spilling everything all over the bed and themselves.

"Oh no! Are you all right, Chara?!" Papyrus demands, already at their side and dabbing away the tea with the sheets. "That tea must be scalding!"

"Whoops. Sorry about that," Undyne says sheepishly.

But Chara stares. "It's not hot at all," they say blankly.

"Huh? But I boiled the HELL out of that tea water!" Undyne protests.

It's not hot. It's not cold. It's just... wet. They pinch themselves, but even when they twist the skin, they don't feel a thing.

"I can't feel my body. What's wrong with me?" they mumble. Besides the obvious, is their first mental self-jab, followed by Way more than anyone can name.

The three monsters look at each other, then over at Alphys. After a moment of being too absorbed in her work to notice, she startles.

"O-oh, were you asking me? Um. You, um. Well, um... You've b-been walking around without a SOUL, haven't you?" she stammers.

Chara doesn't respond. It doesn't seem like the thing that needs an answer.

"B-but, uh... you've still... felt emotions... haven't you?" she adds. "Which is, um, unusual. To say the least. Theoretically, without a SOUL, your ability to feel emotion should be... um... stunted."

This rings true, based on what Flowey - Asriel - has told them. They start to get a bad feeling about this.

"I-I have two different hypotheses. The first is that since F-Frisk's SOUL wasn't destroyed, and their body is still technically alive, there's feedback from their SOUL to their body, allowing you to still feel emotions and sensations via this link. But this feedback has either been degrading over time or it was never very strong to begin with, a-and your senses have been growing numb as a result.

"The other hypothesis is, um. That being human changes what happens when you exist without a SOUL. When it comes to monsters, um, monster SOULs are supposedly made of compassion and love, so without a SOUL, a monster can't feel those things. B-but it's uncertain what human SOULs are made of. I-I do know that a human SOUL is the source of their determination, s-so, um, not having one means... that lacking one affects not your ability to feel but your ability to, um. Survive.

"Either way, y-your body is steadily, um... breaking down. This was exacerbated by, um, your fight, and, um, whatever you did with Papyrus, a-and, um, Frisk's SOUL getting absorbed by another body." She pauses, then concludes in a rush, "In short, you're dying."

The news affects Chara less than it probably should. Maybe it's because they've perished so many times. Maybe their emotions have finally expired after all. Either way, they just blink once and say, "Oh."

"What?! No way!" Undyne shouts, leaping to her feet.

Papyrus is right there with her. "Dr. Alphys, isn't there anything you can do?!"

"I-I, um, I don't know," she admits, wringing her claws and not looking their way. "The obvious s-solution is to, um, return the human's SOUL to their body. That should, um, theoretically reverse what's happening. B-but, um, th-that's not a guarantee. It might be that the body has passed a critical threshold and is going to, um, pass away no matter what..."

"Oh," Chara repeats, thinking of Frisk. So not only did they get them kicked out of their own body, they also wrecked it, possibly irreversibly, while they were gone - for less than a day, at that. It's so funny, they have to laugh. It sounds crackly and hoarse to their ears. The monsters all stare at them, but let them judge. They're not wrong to.

"Hey, let's all get some rest," Sans suggests. "We've all had a rough day and we're letting it get to us. Some shut-eye will do us all good. We can tackle this problem in the morning with clear heads. How's that sound?"

Undyne gives him a funny look, but nods. "Yeah... I hate waiting around and doing nothing, but you've got a point." She grins toothily at Chara and punches a fist into an open palm. "But tomorrow morning, we're gonna kick that flower's butt and get Frisk's SOUL back where it belongs! Got it?!"

I knew you had it in you! Flowey had jeered when Frisk had brought the knife down on him. Chara fakes a smile and nods.

Papyrus is slightly less enthused but still cheerful. "It'll all work out if we just talk to him! I know it will! So don't give up hope, Chara!" he reassures them.

Chara already talked to Flowey. That's how they ended up in this state in the first place. They give him a pretty little smile and nod, too.

After Papyrus finishes cleaning up the spilled tea and gets them new sheets, he heads down the escalator with Undyne. Once they're gone, Alphys trundles over. She gives Sans a curt nod, then looks over at Chara.

"Um," she mumbles. "I'm... I'm really sorry."

"Is this body really going to rot away?" they wonder quietly.

"U-um, t-technically, it's... already started to? Ehe... ehehe..."

"Oh."

"S-sorry," she repeats, and then rushes away. She pauses at the top of the escalator and looks over at Sans. "U-um, are you...?"

"I'll be down later," he replies. "Someone's gotta watch out for the kid."

"Oh... right, okay..."

And then she's gone. The only one left is Sans, and he stays right in his seat. They meet each other's eyes, and for a moment, neither says a word.