Chapter XXV – City-County
A few hours creep by before it's Frisk turn to swim. Even so, Papyrus, Sans, and Alphys still volunteer to time and help out. The meet has been going fine so far; you've had a bit of time to watch the little kids swim. They're so cute: the six and unders typically can't dive very well so they end up either bellyflopping or going in completely wrong. It's the cutest thing ever.
After a few hours, you had abandoned your pants in your swim bag so that you were dressed in your swimsuit covered by your hoodie. That's another thing you love about swimming; it's normal to walk around like this.
Soon, they announce for the eleven-twelves to start lining up in the hallway. You take that as your cue to start migrating over there as well. You start talking to them and encouraging them.
"Coach! You're gonna watch us, right?!"
"I'm so nervous!"
"I'm going to get last!"
"NO YOU WON'T!" you bark, feeling your coach-y side surface. "NONE OF YOU WILL!" Your voice echoes through the hallway. "You all were trained by the BEST COACHES EVER!"
"YEAH NERDS!" Undyne yells behind you. She places a hand on your shoulder before stepping next to you. "THERE'S NO WAY YOU'LL LOSE!"
"And we don't care what you place in!" you add, grinning and crossing your arms. "As long as you do your best and swim hard, we'll be proud!"
"YEAH! LET'S DO THIS, PUNKS! NGAHHHHHHHH!"
You and the kids join in on her infamous battle cry, earning a few glares from the ladies who take 'attendance' along with the swimmers from the other team.
"NGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Dustin passes by and chuckles, sending you an amused glance. The other coaches just shake their heads, unfazed.
"ALRIGHT! Now GO SWIM HARD!"
You and Undyne exit once your lanes start cheering again, both of you laughing.
"Ugh, nerd. I love this job so much!" Undyne cackles.
"I know," you agree as the two of you turn to follow the other coaches to the volunteer area. "It's so much fun. I can't wait to cheer them on."
"Neither can I!" Undyne responds. Since the both of you are pretty tall and have long legs, you manage to catch up to the rest of the coaches quickly.
You can see Papyrus from his red scarf, standing next to Sans and Alphys. Undyne tugs you over to where they're standing.
"There you guys are," you state.
"we heard you guys screaming from out here," Sans states, a knowing grin on his skull.
"YES INDEEDY! YOU TWO ARE VERY GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO!" Papyrus adds, grinning as well.
"I d-don't think the o-other volunteers liked i-it though," Alphys comments with a sly smile.
"Eh, whatever. What matters is that we did the best job of hyping them the hell up!" Undyne boasts, grinning.
Sans looks like he's about to say something before his expression falls and his gaze shifts to something behind you. You turn to see Dustin standing next to you.
"Hey. Um...Warner wants to see us all," he states, rubbing the back of his neck. You nod.
"Cool. Give us a second, if you don't mind," you reply, smiling at him before he nods and walks away.
Undyne's quiet for a second. Alphys seems frozen.
"You guys okay?" you ask, swearing you heard Papyrus quietly 'Nyeh' beside you.
The yellow dinosaur scowls for a moment before nodding; Undyne nods too.
What the hell was that about?
"Uh...anyways. Undyne we should...Undyne?" The sea monster and her fiancée seem to be having a silent conversation. "Undyne!"
"NGAH! Sorry, nerd. Let's go," she pushes you on the shoulder and leads you over to the semi-circle of coaches.
"What's wrong?" you ask, utterly confused.
"Nothing, nothing. Come on!"
…
Coach Warner had just checked in with you all to see how everything was running so far. He informed you all of the layout even though you've worked and swam this very meet for years. After he was finished, you and Undyne start rounding up the first event before you watch them swim. Once they've completed their event, the cycle continues. Your day is caught in a blur of repetitive actions as you progress through the meet.
After the morning session is complete, you and Undyne begin looking for the older kids.
"HEY! EVERYONE IN OUR LANE NEEDS TO GET PUMPED UP RIGHT NOW, 'CAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO SWIM!" Undyne shrieks upon entering the room where your team is camping out. There are a few giggles and frowns before the kids you coach stand and start pulling on swim caps and goggles. Frisk and MK are among the group as well.
Toriel and Asgore also arrived partway through the morning session, it seems as you approach them.
"You guys are back! How'd it go?" you question, smiling.
Toriel smiles upon seeing you; she looks exhausted but happy. "It's good to see you, dear. The meeting went better than we thought it would, thank the stars."
"Indeed. We were able to write an amendment for the Constitution. Now it must be voted on by both houses before the states vote on it," Asgore answers, also relieved.
"Wow, that's huge! I know it'll be ratified before we know it!" you respond confidently. Everything will turn out alright, even if it gets a little challenging along the way.
"We appreciate your unwavering faith and hope, dear," Toriel says. "It really means a lot to know there are people like you who support us."
"I'm glad to hear that," you say, putting a hand on one of your warm cheeks. "I'm honored to support you guys."
…
Frisk steps up on the blocks with you and Undyne on the sidelines. They look around, their goggles and swim cap snug on their head. You see that Sans and Papyrus, and Alphys are still timing along the front of the pool trying to watch too. Asgore and Toriel are both at the end of Frisk's lane, cheering them on while Asgore seems to be recording them.
"Swimmers, take your mark..." the announcer states. All of the swimmers bend over to grasp the edge of the block.
BEEP! The strip of the light attached to the edge of all the blocks flashes green, and everyone is off.
You and Undyne are screaming like madwomen as they propel themselves as fast as they can through the water. They reach the other end and flip turn off the wall, effectively splashing their parents. The two monsters only laugh and continue cheering as Frisk keeps swimming.
Once they touch the wall, you and your sea monster of a friend give one final cheer before clapping and laughing.
…
"Undyne, we're up next, just so you know," you say. Now, you and the other coaches have huddled up and gathered your needed items from the team's room.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she replies. Snatching up your cap and goggles as well, you shrug off your sweatshirt before tucking it away in your bag and re-joining the others.
"Let's do this!" Dustin shouts as you all jog to clerk-of-course.
Coach Warner is already there, also in his suit with goggles in hand.
"They haven't even called us yet," he remarks as your group piles into the hallway.
"I know. We just wanted to get here early," states one of the other coaches.
"Well, I'm not complaining. Anyway, looks like they're about to take attendance for the guys. Good luck, everyone!
…
After a little bit of playful trash talk, you and Undyne fell silent once you two were behind the blocks. You weren't particularly paying attention to anything around you at the moment. Absent-mindedly tugging on your cap, you tilt your head slightly.
The water is alive.
Shoulders tense, you roll them around a bit. A light hum escapes your lips as you stretch out a bit. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear the current heat kicking away.
Once you dive in, it will immediately bare its fangs and attack.
An exaggerated breath escapes your lips once more as you pull your goggles over your head, pressing them to your eyes.
But there's nothing to fear.
Inhaling, you distantly watch as the heat before you finishes. After realizing that they're about done with their event, you walk up, placing your hands on the back of the block. The robotic, fuzzy voice of the announcer sounds, likely announcing the heat and next event.
Then, there are two shrill whistles. You get ready, and then another whistle blows, this one longer and signaling for you to climb onto the blocks. After clambering on top, you give your goggles one last push before leaning over.
Don't resist the water.
"Take your mark..."
Curling your toe over the edge, you bend down and grip the block, muscles tensing and frozen in place for the time being.
…
…
…
BEEP!
Launching yourself off of the block, you immediately fling your arms forward into a tight streamline.
Thrust your fingers into the surface and carve an opening.
Your heartbeat speeds up as your senses by overwhelmed by the element you've come to love. The cool water invades your mouth as you turn your head above the water, its clear horizon the only defining feature between air and water. It swirls against the material of your swim cap which is covering your ears, swishing and sloshing as you tear through the water.
Then slide your body through that opening.
The tile T on the bottom draws to its end as you flip over, arms going into streamline by habit as you push off on your back, making sure to extend your streamline for as long as possible. A burning pressure accumulates in your lungs and muscles as your already-depleted oxygen supply becomes exhausted and you're forced to breathe once more.
Moving your arms, your head, your chest...
You can physically feel the seconds passing by as you barrel towards your final destination. Time is mocking you and it's seriously pissing you off. You pour your last ounce of strength into slamming your hand onto the wall, head surfacing and you gasping for air.
With your heart racing, you dare to sneak a look at the other lanes. You see Undyne beside you, also finished and breathing heavily. From the other side of the pool, you can hear your lane cheering for you along with your friends. You swivel your head in order to look at the big board.
You scan the list of times.
30.17
32.34
30.13
29.43
29.47
Two people got under thirty seconds?! That's pretty damn fast. Who could've done that? You huff a laugh, looking over to the fastest time's belonging name.
…
…
…
It's you. That's your time.
"Dammit, you beat me!" Undyne whisper-yells, slamming her swim cap onto the water.
Blinking, you double check it just to make sure. Did you really win that heat?!
"What..." you trail off, shaking your head and trying to catch your breath. You notice that the next event is already on the blocks, so you huddle close to the wall while they start. After they're started, you climb out.
"Nice job, nerd," Undyne states, smiling tiredly and sounding a bit out of breath.
"Thanks. You too," you reply as you two high-five and continue walking out of the area.
…
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Frisk yells once you two arrive.
"You two were neck and neck the entire race!" Toriel states, smiling.
Undyne growls. "If I hadn't messed up on my flip turn, I would've won."
"Yeah, whatever. Maybe next year," you say with a snicker, dropping your cap and goggles onto your bag and running your hands through your hair.
"HUMAN! UNDYNE!"
Your fishy friend sniggers.
"THE INTENSITY OF YOUR RACE ABOUT KILLED ME! BUT, FEAR NOT, AS I WAS TOO GREAT TO SUCCOMB TO SUCH AN END. NEVERTHELESS, EXCELLENT WORK – BOTH OF YOU!"
"Thanks Papyrus," you say, sitting down for a moment and opening a bottle of water.
"Where's your brother?" Undyne asks.
"SANS? HE WAS HERE A MOMENT AGO. I SWEAR, HE WAS JUST BEHIND ME..." Papyrus looks around before shrugging with an exasperated expression. "YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WITH HIM."
"Eh, he'll turn up. Now, let's go grab something to eat!" Undyne shouts, dragging the younger skeleton away. You sigh, chuckling a bit while Toriel and Frisk copy your response.
"You were right, coach," Frisk says suddenly.
"How so?" you question.
"For a moment, I completely forgot about everything I was nervous about while I was swimming," they confess, smiling a little bit.
Nodding, you chuckle. "I told you. It's weird how that kind of gives you a boost, huh?"
"You both did very well. But what were you worried about, my child?" Toriel asks, frowning slightly.
"That I'd slip up, or mess my turn up, something dumb," Frisk replies. You're kind of surprised that they didn't hesitate there. But then again, they've probably had a lot of practice, too.
A few minutes later, the Dreemurrs bid you farewell for the time being considering that Toriel had to go time.
The rest of the day goes in a similar fashion: you would gather the kids, swim when you needed to, and talk to your friends.
You do notice something odd, though.
Sans has yet to appear once more.
Frowning, you walk over to where Papyrus is still timing.
"Hey, Papyrus. Were you able to find your brother yet?" you question.
"HE TEXTED ME A FEW MINUTES AGO AND SAID THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY AT THE LAB THAT HE HAD TO TEND TO. WE ALREADY FOUND SOMEONE TO TAKE HIS PLACE FOR TIMING, THOUGH," replies the taller skeleton.
"Ah, that explains it," you muse. What could have happened? Did it involve the void?
"HE SAID EVERYTHING WAS UNDER CONTROL, SO I SUPPOSE IT WASN'T TOO MUCH OF AN ISSUE. I HOPE," he adds at your inquisitive expression.
"Well, I hope everything's alright. Did Alphys have to leave too?"
"NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF. DO NOT FEAR, HUMAN! THESE KINDS OF MATTERS OCCUR ALL OF THE TIME WITH THOSE MAD SCIENTISTS! THEY ALWAYS FIGURE IT OUT RATHER QUICKLY!"
Giggling, you nod in agreement. "I would think so."
After that, the relays start and then the first day of the meet draws to a close.
…
With an obnoxious groan, you throw yourself onto your bed, swim bag falling beside you.
"I'm hungry..." you whine, turning over onto your back. You forgot to grab a snack before coming into your room...and now you really don't want to get up...
Then, your phone beeps. It's from Sans.
- ru free rn 4 a few hours. papy told me the meet's over.
-Maybe
- welp if u r then u can come over to the lab 4 a while.
- i think paps told u but we kinda had an emergency here
- Is everything alright?
- ya we just had a scare w the void
- but if ur gonna come then u should come now cuz we're probably going 2b closed for the next few days if everything goes 2 plan
- Okay where should I meet you then
- i can come pick u up whenever ur ready
- Okay give me about ten minutes or so
- k
Sitting up, you start getting changed and ready. You begin by throwing on a comfy outfit and snagging a quick snack. A few minutes later, you hear a knock on your front door.
After opening it, you find your skeletal friend hanging at the entrance.
"hiya."
"Hey," you say.
"i...uh...kinda forgot that you can't exactly go into the void just yet...heh," he states with a chuckle.
"That's alright. Just tell me where to go and I'll drive."
"k, then," he states. "just head towards the underground 'n i'll take it from there."
"Alright." You snag your keys from where you had dropped them. After you're ready, Sans follows you outside. Once you lock your door, you begin descending the stairs.
"So, how many SOUL types have you discovered? Sorry if you already told me, I'm kind of forgetful," you ask, chuckling nervously.
"'s cool. in all honesty, 'm the same way. there are about nineteen souls total, i think. they all stem from the seven main ones."
"Ah. That's going to be cool to look at," you note, unlocking your Jeep and climbing in. Sans hops in the passenger side.
"this is a cool car," he notes.
"I know. Cornelius is a sexy beast."
"you named your car cornelius?"
"Hells yeah," you say, patting your Jeep. "He has a Scottish accent too."
"nice. does cornelius like me?"
"No. He hates everyone but me."
"that's unfortunate."
"Yep."
He chuckles, strapping on the seat belt. You turn on the car and begin heading towards the Underground.
"Okay, so I have a question. Is there a way that monsters organize their system of magic?" you question.
"not officially, but alphys 'n i came up with a relatively-simple chart that has all the basics down. it doesn't go into the higher-level spells, but it organizes the four main types. we actually have it in the lab if you wanna see it."
"Awesome!" you say, grinning. "How complex does that get?"
"the basic magic isn't that bad – 's when you go into your types of energy that it all goes to hell," he admits, laughing.
"What categories are there?"
"the main four are creation, healing or change, elements, and energy. from there, the specific types of magic can be categorized under those four."
"Interesting," you murmur. "What about monster magic?"
"that one falls under healing and change, 'n i'll show you why once we're down there," he says.
"Cool!"
The few minutes of the drive are silent as your skeletal friend lets you concentrate on driving for the time being. Once you've pulled in next to the the mountain, you both get out.
"alright," he says, "let's skele-daddle."
…
Their lab is as dreary as you remember. Upon entering, you spot the desk, which reminds you of when you took the article.
Heh.
"okay. do you want to start with the souls or the chart?"
"Souls, I guess."
"nice. so, here's what i have." He walks over to a messy desk before pulling out one sheet of paper. On it is a neatly-printed picture showing multiple hearts and traits.
"so, not counting the seven main ones, there are fourteen. including the ones that are a little duller along with the hate soul, in the last two lines, there are twenty-two." He sighs. "but here's the thing. i don't think spite, the bad part of audacity, vengeance, compliance, idleness, conceit, and inflexibility count."
"Why not?"
He shrugs. "well, in my opinion, one of the common denominators is that we all have motives, even if they're considered different traits. like, say you had a serial killer. he starts killing because he thinks certain people don't belong in society. he's acting on his own sense of justice, even if many people don't think it's right. does that make sense?"
"So what you're saying is that as long as someone follows their SOUL trait, then opinions of others don't matter?"
"exactly. and in all honesty, i think that those seven don't exist unless someone had a...disorder, of sorts," he admits. "it's rare, but's it has happened in humans."
"How do you know?"
"chara's a perfect example." He pauses for a moment and you feel yourself tense.
I have to tell him.
This is your chance. Taking a deep breath, you nod.
"That would make sense."
He hesitates, frowning. "ok, 'm curious. how do you think so?"
You sigh, hoping you'll be able to ease him in to the explanation.
"He's split," you start, deciding to go with what you've gathered from their story. "Part of him's stuck in the void. The other part of him is locked out of our world. That would mean-"
You observe as his eyesockets widen before he thrusts him arm out, pinpoints disappearing. The light in his left socket is replaced by a light blue. Before you know it, a shrill ding is heard before you're slammed into the wall, an invisible force holding you back. The impact forces the breath inside you out, causing your vision to go wobbly for a second. Your head pounds, pain searing through your mind for a moment before Sans walks up to you, getting up in your face.
"how in the hell do you know about that?!"
Once you regain your breath, you chuckle bitterly. "Let me go and I'll tell you."
He pauses, the fire extinguishing temporarily as he snaps his distal phalanges. The pressure binding you to the wall dissipates instantly. He steps back, friendly expression gone.
"Thank you. Alright, so...remember when I got trapped in the void? Well, my magic unconsciously reached out to Gaster – yes, I know who he is, and I'll get to that - and Chara. From then on, I met Gaster in a dream. He helped me manifest my magic in a physical form. After that, I've been able to talk to him for brief periods of time when he randomly glitches through the void. I agreed to help him get out of the void. You know those so-called hallucinations I've been having? Well, they were actually monsters who gave me pieces of Gaster's shattered SOUL. They reached out to me through the void and managed to give me the shard. I still have them at my apartment. Frisk also noticed that I was acting weird and they told me about their history, along with the timelines and all of that. I've met the good side of Chara, too." You inhale. "I think that's about it other than the plan."
The skeleton stands there, his jaw slack and pinpoints still absent. He's completely speechless.
"I waited to tell you because they wanted to keep you out of this if possible. But something tells me that we're going to need you on our side."
"i..." he begins before stopping himself. "and you didn't tell me about the connection at least?!"
"At first, I didn't realize that there were actually people stuck," you admit. "I thought it was just the void trying to trap me."
"that's what it should have been!" he says. "what the hell? that goes against..." Cutting himself off, he shakes his head, turning.
"I'm sorry," you mumble.
Stepping away, the skeleton brings a hand up to his foreskull.
"i can't believe this...but at the same time, it makes sense," he finally articulates. "i shoulda known chara would try to bust out. but i feel like my magic would have been perfectly able to pick up on a disturbance like lost souls..."
"I might know why."
He turns, glancing at you. "why?"
"Well...it's kind of an empath thing," you note. "I've read that our magic will do that: unconsciously reaching out to people. Even in places where magic shouldn't logically exist. It's what we do."
Once again, his expression screams bewilderedness. "that's...that actually sounds logical. shit, i thought i was the one with a phd in this field." He sighs, a defeated expression crossing his skull before he turns to you. "you said something about a plan?"
"Ah, right," you mumble. "Well, I'm assuming the void disturbances you were dealing with earlier had something to do with what we're up against. You see, Chara and Gaster have been fighting off these weird demon things that are super powerful and are trying to break into our timeline. We don't know what they are, or they're planning to bust out, or why they're there. We're devising a plan to bring Gaster, Chara, and Asriel back while we prepare to find a way to get rid of the demons," you explain.
"wow..." he breathes. "everything you're telling me is making everything fall into place."
You nod. "That's the basis of everything. I can fill you in better with the others later on, but for now I think it's best if we let you process it. Hell, I'm still trying to take it all in."
"yeah," Sans agrees, rubbing his skull before looking down. It's almost like he's in a trance of sorts – his now-visible white pinpoints are hazy and dull. They drift across your figure before he moves to take your hands in his – an action that comes unexpectedly. He gently lays his skull on your shoulder, causing you to feel him exhale.
His bones are warm, and you can feel the magic that binds himself together buzzing in his bones.
"did i hurt you? should i get tori to heal you?"
"No. I'm alright," you answer, tensing at his touch but not necessarily rejecting it.
"'m sorry," he mumbles. "i was scared 'n i lashed out. i have a bad habit of doin' that."
"Thank you. Why were you scared?"
"you don't deserve to be caught up in this mess," he replies. "i've been fightin' it for so long...i've given up so many times...but you're not like that. stars, why won't you think about yourself and give up? i don't want anyone else getting hurt because of this. that would be better for you. you deserve kind people, not a tangled mess of timelines and histories. why are you so damn nice?"
"I care about you guys. You don't have to go through this alone, Sans. I'm here to help however I can."
He sighs, causing his warm breath to puff out on your neck, slightly tickling your skin. "i know i won't be able to talk you out of it. look...be careful, okay? this isn't something to take lightly."
"I know, and I will."
"and please talk to me about stuff like this from now on," he murmurs. You can't see him, but from his tone you can tell his eyesockets are lidded. "'f there's anything i learned from the past few timelines, then it's that communication is key."
"I will."
"thank you." Pulling himself away from you, you watch as his hands leave yours and he turns around.
"...So...are we cool?" you ask hesitantly.
"yeah," he responds with a shaky sigh. "yeah. i understand why you were hidin' it now." He's quiet for a moment before he snorts at something.
"What is it?" you question, the previous mood seemingly having been lightened.
"i'm just gonna pray the alternate universes don't get thrown into the mix."
"Alternate universes?"
"long story that's better suited for another time."
"Ah."
That actually went a lot better than I thought it would, you think, relieved.
Then, he turns back to face the SOUL chart. "uh...we obviously got a little sidetracked. where did i leave off?"
"You were using evil Chara's SOUL as an example."
"oh, yeah. so basically, evil traits stem from..."
The discussion over all of the different SOULs takes about an hour or so. You find yourself listening more often than talking as Sans lectures about the various traits and characteristics. The previous tension has dissipated into nothing by the time he finishes up his rant.
"so what do you think?"
"They're perfect, in my opinion. You gave each trait a fitting name based off its description, and I think that's amazing."
The scientist sighs heavily in relief. "that's good to hear. it took forever to pick out those damned names."
A laugh escapes you. "I would guess so."
"alright, now that that's over..." he walks over to a whiteboard, picking up a black marker and uncapping it. "are you still in interested in the chart?"
"Yeah," you respond, but before you can continue, your stomach decided to growl.
Well that's embarrassing.
The shorter skeleton pauses. "what the hell was that?"
"Uh...that was my stomach," you reply.
"is...is that normal?"
"Yeah, that's just its way of telling me that I'm hungry."
"oh!" He chuckles. "why, though?"
"Well, when we're hungry, that means our stomachs are empty. When we're digesting food, they still make that sound, but when we have food in our systems, it gets muffled so it's not as loud."
"so, when it's empty, there's nothing to muffle so that it's audible," he nods. "that's hilarious. human anatomy is insanely awesome. anyway, 'm actually kinda hungry myself. in that case..." He recaps the marker before walking over to his desk and grabbing a notebook and a few different writing utensils. "grillbz' isn't that far from here. come on, 's on me."
"No."
"yes."
"No."
"yes."
"No."
"yes. i can do this all day. 'm that petty."
"No. I'm even pettier."
"yes. we'll see about that."
…
You're grateful for the chance to escape their eerie lab. You're instantly refreshed by the cool night breeze and the fiery colors of the sky as the sun begins lowering. The walk to Grillby's isn't that far. It's nice to live somewhere where you could just walk everywhere.
Since it's a Saturday night, the restaurant is fairly crowded – you're glad you didn't drive because there's not a lot of parking left. Even so, Sans' usual seat is still free. You can see the vacant spot from the window.
Upon entering the diner, loud chattering greets your ears as the bell above you dings. Sans follows you to the bar.
"Hello, miss," Grillby says your name, "a pleasure to see you again."
"Hey, Grillby! Likewise."
"heya grillbz. this is goin' on my tab."
The fire elemental shoots the skeleton an odd glance, but shakes it off.
You groan. "Let's just split the bill then-"
"Trust me," Grillby interrupts. "Just put it on his tab. It's beyond saving at this point. An extra few dollars won't matter."
"It can't be that bad."
"it is. i'm so proud of it."
"Just trust me on this one," Grillby replies, leaving no room for argument. You huff in annoyance as the two of you hop onto the barstools.
After your orders have been placed, Grillby walks away briskly. Sans then plops the notebook out.
"We can just save that for later if you don't feel up to explaining it as of yet," you note.
"yeah. i might just take you up on that," he replies, pushing it away and leaning his chin on his hand. "man, it's been forever since i've been openly able to talk about void stuff."
You nod. "I didn't mean to get up in your business."
"look, it's alright. i can talk to someone about it now. that'll be nice."
"I bet."
From then on, the two of you are suspended in a pregnant silence. It wasn't necessarily awkward, but you knew you had matters to mull over and that was true for him as well. Neither one of you say another world until your food has been handed out and consumed.
"Thanks again, Sans," you finally state before nods and grins a little.
"no problem. thanks for helpin' us out with everything." He pauses momentarily before looking outside. By now, the sky is completely black.
"hm..."
"What is it?" you question.
"i have an idea. do you still want to learn about the different types of magic?"
"Of course."
"i could show you how it works, how it's all connected," he begins. "do you...wanna see?"
"Really?! Well, if you're up to it, then I'm down."
"cool. the only thing is...we need somewhere kinda secluded and dark."
You frown as his skull morphs from seriousness to worry. Secluded and dark?
"oh, damn, that sounded weird, sorry!" he chuckles nervously, taking a step back. "i-uh, i meant that...well, you know, magic's kinda..."
Laughing, you shush him. "You're really gonna show me how it's all intertwined? Well then, I know just the place so long as you're willing to break the rules a little bit."