The Reprieve Chapter 25:
Papyrus didn't hate the milkshake.
xXxXx
On the way home from Grillby's, Frisk hung back behind the rest of the group as they headed inside. She snuck back behind the mailboxes, but the mug was still there, still filled with what was now a chocolatey slush. Frisk frowned and pouted a little, and then picked it up. She looked around, just in case.
"Asriel?" she asked.
.
She waited for almost a minute before letting out a sigh and heading for the door. It opened right before she got there.
"Oh. There you are," Sans said. "Thought you mightta taken another snow nap."
"Hah, nooo," she said.
He took note of the mug in her hands and didn't need to ask any more.
.
In the main room, papers scattered across the one table, Alphys hovered, pen in hand, staring at mathematical equations intently. Frisk darted back to the kitchen to try to deal with the slush. Undyne paced the room with a big grin on her face, staring at her phone. She ran over to Sans and showed him UnderNet. She was scrolling too fast, but there seemed to be photos she was interested in showing him.
"Look, dude! We're making waves!" she said brightly.
"…Huh?" he asked blankly.
"Our fight! Dudes were taking photos and crap!" she said. "Someone took a video, even."
"Oh good."
"I KNOW, IT'S GREAT!" Undyne said loudly.
"Can I see?" Frisk asked.
Undyne tossed the phone at her, and the kid's face lit up when she scrolled through the images.
"So cool," she said.
"Dude. Why didn't you ever apply for the Guard?" Undyne asked.
"Didn't appeal to me." He grinned. "Can you imagine me tryin' to patrol in full armour? I'd look like a garbage can. Who am I gonna intimidate?"
"Um," Frisk said with a laugh, "college students?"
He snickered.
"Well, I don't get that reference," Undyne said, "but you know what I think?" She poked him in the shoulder and grinned. "Nice guys are the ones who are scariest when they get mad."
"Well, by that logic, Papyrus should be downright horrifyin'," he said with a laugh.
"Hah! He's the exception, Papyrus doesn't get mad," Undyne said with a laugh.
.
"Hey, my auditory meatus is burning, someone must be talking about me!" Papyrus said as he bounded down the stairs. "What are you guys doing? Sans, did you know, you're all over the UnderNet!"
"I heard," he said.
"You should take a look! There's at least a dozen posts, you know," Papyrus said.
"Sounds exhaustin', dude," he said.
Papyrus smiled bright. He hopped over to Alphys and leaned over her shoulders.
"What on earth are you doing, Doctor Alphys?" he said. "Shouldn't you be relaxing?"
.
Alphys started to sweat. Papyrus tsked and picked her up to move her away from the table.
"H-Hey!" she protested. "N-No, wait, I—"
"Come on, now, Doctor, this no work day was specifically for you!" he said.
"B-But I…" She flopped in his arms. "Okay."
.
When Papyrus turned back, intending to plop Alphys onto the couch, he saw Sans was already napping there. Frisk, too, was pretty clearly done with being awake. She had already settled in close to their brother, holding onto his arm. Though Papyrus's first reaction was to wake them, he held back, scoffed, and then tossed Alphys to Undyne. Undyne laughed and put her phone away.
"Hey! Alph, you bring that dragon robot anime?" she asked.
"I did!" she said. "O-Oh, but… they're asleep? I w-wouldn't wanna—"
"Don't you worry, Doctor, Sans sleeps like a very lazy log. Frisk, too!" Papyrus said.
"Well! W-Well, okay!"
.
Papyrus brought down one of his puzzle planning books as they put on the DVD. It was explosive and still in Japanese, and Undyne was trying to keep her cheering low-key. She and Alphys had some cushions and sat on the floor in front of the couch— Undyne keeping one arm casually around the little lizard, whose cheeks still went red just at the proximity. Papyrus was quite glad to see them both so happy.
.
He was about to set up behind them when he noticed there was a little bit of a blue glow through his brother's t-shirt. Curious, he tilted his head and knelt down. He felt his own soul resonate and smiled as Sans's soul did a little pulse as if in response. He felt a sting of confusion, though, when he saw a faint glimmer of red under his arm. He frowned and gently readjusted Sans. His eyes went wide and he put his hands to his mouth.
.
"Oooh my god," he said quietly.
"What?" Undyne asked.
He just pointed. Undyne leaned over and looked. She stared too, and quickly nudged Alphys.
"Dude, is that normal?" she asked.
Papyrus didn't answer, but he started beaming. Alphys got up check what he was looking at and her jaw dropped.
.
Frisk's soul was lit up, too. Like a skeleton's might be. In sync with Sans's, it looked like. Alphys gawked; babbled something mostly incoherent. Undyne couldn't help a laugh.
"So I guess it's not normal," she said.
"O-Of course it's n-not! She's a human!" Alphys said, whispering loudly. "Okay. O-Okay, b-breathe, Alphys." She put her hands up as if to steady herself and sat back down with Undyne. "I'll ask him when he wakes up."
"It's getting a bit late," Undyne pointed out. "Hey, Paps, should we get out of your, uh…? Hair? …Skull? No, that doesn't work."
"Nyeh heh heh, no, no, don't worry about it," he said, still grinning. "This show is fun, I'd like to keep watching it with you two, if that's alright!"
"Definitely," Undyne agreed.
.
He carefully snuck up onto the sofa with his siblings and could feel his own soul start to mimic theirs. He put his hand to his ribcage and smiled fondly. He disregarded his puzzle book; put his arm around them instead and cozied in to watch as space robot dragons sped at light speed towards glowing planets that were also giant robots. He really had no idea what was going on, but he was quite content anyhow.
xXxXx
The streets of Snowdin were uncomfortably quiet. Old memories told Sans this was a bad one. He didn't see anyone around, not even when he peeked into the store run out of the inn. He checked around behind the counter, just in case there was someone hidden there. The till was open; empty.
"Great," he grumbled.
.
Out on the street, he was reluctant to proceed forward. He rested his back against the building and closed his eyes. He tried something a little different. He reached out his energy for Frisk. He could feel her there, somewhere, but she wasn't within view. Wasn't super sure how to find her, either.
.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned off the building to keep going towards home. He took a look inside. It was quiet in a way that made his bones ache. Weird feeling. He thought he felt a spark of magic and he turned quickly. Nothing within view, though. A note of panic hit him as he realized: the dream might be forcing Frisk to fight Papyrus.
.
With hurried steps, Sans went out into the blowing snow that masked the path towards Waterfall. He could hear something. A faint commotion. He went a little faster. He kept to the tree line towards the south and peered through the distorting white. He soon picked out red. Papyrus's scarf. Then his boots and gloves, standing out brightly against the snow. Papyrus was standing in front of a faint, kid-sized shape. It was more of a shadow than anything, but it hadn't taken a proper form. He hadn't seen that before.
.
Even so, the memory of his brother must have acted out that fight. He was huffing. A little shaky. Arms held open in the offering of a hug. The shadow seeped closer to him. Sans winced. His left eye began to blaze, and he braced himself to attack.
"Sorry, kiddo," he muttered.
.
Before he could make a move, though, something strange happened— like a shift in the air. The shadowy shape that might've become one of those kids became solidly, and unequivocally, Frisk, with what looked like a knife in her hand. She yelped loudly and the Papyrus that stood before her drew back and yelped, too, as if her cry had legitimately startled him.
.
The kid threw the knife to the ground almost immediately. Began cursing and kicked it through the snow as Papyrus watched in puzzlement. Sans started to grin.
"No way."
.
"Get! Get out of here!" Frisk kicked the knife with a stumbling, desperate fervour until it splooshed into the river. "Like, who does that?! Crap!" She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands for a second to try to steady herself.
"Um… Are you okay?" Papyrus asked worriedly.
Frisk perked up and whirled on him, eyes wide. "Ohmigosh. Papyrus. I didn't…?! We didn't…? I didn't hurt you, did I?! Are you okay?!"
"Pfffft! Of course I'm perfectly fine! As always!" he replied brightly. "Though I'm not exactly sure what we are doing out here, Frisk."
.
"Um…" Frisk stared back at him blankly. "…What d'you mean? We weren't… fighting?"
"Mmno, I don't think so," he said. "That would definitely be very weird, I'm sure I'd remember that. And. Also. I'm not even sure why I'm outside, actually. I must've completely lost my train of thought! Very out of character! I could've sworn I was just inside on the sofa, wasn't I?"
"Wh-What?" Frisk said shrilly.
"Hmm! And also! Why is the air so quiet? And why is the water so quiet? And why is the cold not very cold at all? And why on earth did you have a weird knife?" he wondered. "This is all very confusing, I must be missing something, give me just one moment, because I'm sure there is something a bit amiss here!"
"B-But—!"
"Not to worry, Frisk, leave it to the great detective Papyrus!" Papyrus paced and doubled back up the road towards Waterfall, muttering to himself very quickly.
Frisk could do little more but stare in shock as the blizzard faded.
.
"Hey." Sans appeared over her shoulder, but she was too busy watching Papyrus to even feel surprised. "So, uh. You broke it again, huh?"
"Uh-huh." She pointed down the road. "Dude. Um. I think, uh… I think that might be Papyrus?"
"Well, yeah, obviously," Sans said. "Why, what're you seein'?"
"No, no no, I mean, like, real Papyrus," she said. "Not memory Papyrus."
"Oh. Oh!" Sans's eyes went wide. "No kiddin'?"
"How? How is that possible? Please tell me you know how that's possible?" she asked quickly.
.
He watched Papyrus wander up and down, taking off his mitts and testing the snow and the water with curious fingers.
"Well. Uh…" He scratched the back of his skull. "Maybe? I mean. Okay. I'm linked to him. Now me and you, we're linked in a different way than before. So maybe that means you're linked to him too, and that does… this? Whatever this is?"
"M-Maybe?" she said. "Oh my god, Sans, I don't want this dream thing to make me hurt him. I don't want him to feel that."
"I, uh… I don't think it will," he said. "I thought maybe you just broke the hallway, but I think you might've just broken, uh, all of it?"
"Y-You really think so?!" she asked, her eyes wide.
"You didn't get in another anomaly's head this time, right?"
She shook her head.
"It started in a bad memory, sure, but when I came to things about to go down between you two, all I saw was a stand-in until normal you popped in. And then you assaulted a knife and drowned it in the river, no big deal."
"Pfft. Hah. Okay." Frisk took a deep breath and rubbed her head. "Okay. Okay, okay. Let's just… Oh man."
.
She jogged down the road towards Papyrus, passing a confused looking vision of Asriel beside a repaired mug on the way. Her brother was still carefully inspecting everything around him.
"Paps?" she asked.
"Yes Frisk, what do you need?" he asked, whirling on her. "Something the great Papyrus can do for you?"
"Y-Yeah. Um. Are you asleep right now?" she asked. "Did you fall asleep?"
"Fall asleep?! Nyeh heh, how could I have?! That show with the dragon robots was so action-packed!" he said brightly, but then he frowned to himself and cupped his chin. "But then again, I was feeling quite warm and snuggly, and…! Oh! Did you know? Your soul and Sans's, you were glowing together just like he and I do! It was very adorable."
"Y-Yeah?" Frisk asked. "So… Um. Papyrus. Can I tell you something weird?"
"Of course, Frisk, you can tell me anything!" he assured her.
"This is a dream," she said. "I mean. I'm real. Sans is real. You're real. But the rest of this isn't. I, um… I think."
.
He stared back at her blankly for a long few seconds. He leaned to look over her shoulder, where Sans waved at him from farther down the road. He frowned skeptically for a few seconds and then his eyes went wide. "Oooooh, that explains why I just completely lost a full day and ended up standing in the snow like a goofball in the middle of the afternoon with no recollection of how I got there! Well, that's weird! Isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah!" she said, and she whirled and waved to Sans. "It's totally him, dude!"
.
Sans appeared closer and looked up at Papyrus, grinning a bit. "Welp. Hi. This is, uh… different."
"Yes, absolutely! I don't think I've ever dreamt this lucidly before, not to mention literally seeing the both of you here," he said. "Now… Hm. I wonder, can I…?" He picked Frisk up. He tilted his head. He pulled her in close to hug her, and she snickered and clung tight to him. "Oh wow. You feel very real actually." He put her down and looked thoughtful. "Brother, is this how you normally dream?"
"Pretty much," he said, shrugging.
"No wonder you are always so tired!" Papyrus said shrilly.
"Nah, I'm just lazy," Sans said with a wink. "This is actually not that bad."
Frisk nodded. Sans patted her shoulder.
"Holdin' up?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I feel… normal," she said. "Honestly? I don't know what the heck is going on with this anymore."
"Heh. Yeah," he said.
.
"So, what do we do here exactly?" Papyrus asked. "Should we… wake up? Can we do that? I'd much rather just see you both in real life, honestly."
"I'm with you there, bro," Sans said. "But, uh… Sometimes it's hard unless the memory kinda plays out."
"Ooh, right, like those ones you get stuck in, right?" Papyrus said. "Hmm… Well, this is a pickle, because usually I'm outside to pull you out, aren't I?"
"I think I know," Frisk said brightly.
"I'm not blastin' you," Sans said.
"Hah. That's okay, I got a different idea," she said. "I'll wake you two up?"
"Sure," Sans said.
.
Frisk stuck her thumbs up and then ran over to the river. She looked into the water, and it went black before her eyes. It began to stretch out into an ocean. She gulped. She heard snow shifting and, for some reason, Asriel popped up beside her. He tilted his head.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked.
She gulped, took a few steps back, and then ran and jumped into the water.
.
It was freezing. She felt like all the air left her lungs. Then, suddenly, she was looking at the TV. It was stopped on a DVD's menu loop for that dragon robot anime. Undyne was snoring.
.
She was sort leaning on Sans, holding his hand, and she noticed also that Papyrus had his arm around both of them and had drifted off with his head resting on top of his brother's. She thought it was kind of adorable.
.
She blinked hard and rubbed her eyes. She squirmed to get her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. It was actually almost ten at night. She shifted herself, grabbed Sans's shoulders, and shook him gently. "Hey, bro," she said. "Wake up, dude."
He didn't seem to want to, but when she shook him again, he opened his eyes. "Oh. Hey. Nice job," he said.
"Thanks," she said.
Sans's eyes darted over to Papyrus and he grinned to himself. He nudged him gently with his elbow. "Papyrus. Dude. Get up."
.
"Nyeh… Nyeh!" Papyrus jerked, waking up quickly and looking around frantically. "Where—?! Wh-What?! Nyeh!"
"Welcome back," Sans joked. "Doin' okay?"
"Y-Yes! Yes of course!" The tall skeleton put a hand to his chest. "That was certainly jarring. You both go through that a lot? Together?"
Frisk nodded. Papyrus smiled.
"Well! Strange and weird as it might be, I'm happy to come along!" he said brightly.
"Seriously?" Sans said.
"Well, yes!" he said brightly. "You two will do much better with me there! I mean, who doesn't want to dream of the great Papyrus?"
Frisk snickered. Sans nodded.
"True." He didn't seem to notice, but his eye lit up blue.
Papyrus chuckled and hugged him close. "That's a good look on you," he joked.
Sans grinned and slumped comfortably.
"Sans! Don't just fall asleep again!" Papyrus insisted, holding him back by the shoulders.
"Then don't be so cozy, bro," he said.
"Impossible!"
"Well then."
.
Papyrus got up and stood on the sofa very abruptly— Sans flopped awkwardly back and Frisk caught him and tried not to laugh. Papyrus cast his gaze around the room. He looked at Alphys and Undyne and hmmed for a while.
"What're you doin'?" Sans asked.
"Well, we can't just let our guests sleep on the floor!" he said. "Should I prepare the guest room?"
"Not the garage," Frisk laughed. "It's too cold."
"Ah. Right you are, Frisk," Papyrus said. "Hmm. Alright!" He squatted down and leaned over Undyne's head and poked her on the forehead. "Captain Undyne," he said. "Captain? Would you maybe prefer to—?"
.
Before he could finish, Undyne grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him straight off the couch, over her head, and slammed him to the floor in front of her. Alphys yelped and rolled away, fumbling to put her glasses back on. They all stared at Undyne in shocked silence until Papyrus started clapping.
"That. Was. Amazing," he said.
Undyne blinked down at him groggily, seemed to take a second to realize what she had done, and her cheeks went dark. "Oh. Shit. Sorry, dude. Didn't mean to, like, almost press slam you."
"No no, that's fine!" he said. "Nyeh heh heh! Sorry to startle you."
Sans started laughing. Undyne rubbed her head and puffed out a sigh. She let her hair down. Alphys's face went red.
"Phew," she said. "Sorry to pass out. Think those fights kinda tired me out a little more than I thought. Might go home and clock out."
"Oh! I was just going to suggest that we have a sleepover!" Papyrus said brightly, quickly sitting up and turning to face her. "Sans has what seems to be a never ending, bottomless and confusing supply of blankets, I was thinking if you wanted to stay… Maybe you could see my puzzle routine in the morning! I'm confident you'll be very impressed."
.
Undyne tilted her head. Her ear-fins perked. "I'd, uh… You know, I'd kinda like that, dude. Alright! If that's okay?" She turned to look at Sans.
He shrugged. "Whatever you want, doesn't bother me a bit."
"Great!" Undyne said.
"Ooh!" Papyrus grabbed both her hands and jumped to his feet, pulling her up with him. "Let me show you the plans Frisk and I have been working on! They're really going to be something fantastic, I promise." He was grinning; so enthusiastic that Undyne couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, alright," she said.
"Frisk, come too, these puzzles are at least a third yours," Papyrus insisted.
Frisk beamed and Papyrus scooped her up and raced the three of them upstairs.
"SANS, DOCTOR ALPHYS, COME TOO IF YOU WANT!" he shouted.
.
Sans, instead, flopped on his back on the couch. Alphys edged up to look at him.
"Y-You okay?" she asked.
"Hm?" He looked at her with a brow raised and then smiled. "Yeah, just fine." He rolled off the couch onto his face, stayed there for a few seconds longer than seemed to make sense, and then got up.
Alphys smiled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his skull and ambled upstairs. She followed him, and before he reached Papyrus's door, she took him by the shoulder to stop him.
"Could we, um…? C-Could we talk?" Alphys asked quietly.
Sans already looked half asleep. "About what?"
"Um… W-Well…" She tented her fingers. "T-Time travel stuff?"
"Oh. Really?" He put his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the wall. "Professional or personal?"
"I… I'm… I just want t-to know. I mean…" She sighed. "You were right. Your theories, your m-models, everything was right. The anomalies. All of it."
"Close. Not quite," he said with a wink.
"W-Well… Yeah, n-no one could've guessed that they were p-people, you know?" she said. "I never expected that. S-Some of them were so r-random and destructive that it never e-even occurred to me."
"Yeah, I hear that," he agreed. He moved forward off the wall and wandered towards the stairs.
"Where're you g-going?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"Welp. Not gonna stand longer than I have to," he said. "C'mon."
.
Her eyes lit up and she scurried after him. He headed for the kitchen. He strained to reach up for an ancient percolator on one of their shelves and clunked it down on the counter.
"Want some?" he asked as he fished some coffee grounds out from the back of another cabinet.
"You drink coffee?" she asked, eyes wide.
"Nah, can't stand it," he said. "Feel like I might kinda need it for this, though."
"…Oh. Okay. Y-Yeah, sure, I'll take some," she said.
He held his hand out towards the table and she nodded and hurried over to sit down
.
He joined her after a few minutes and slid a cup of coffee filled with sugar towards her. She nodded gratefully and took a sip. She shuddered.
"Not great," Sans concluded.
She laughed. "That's okay. Th-Thank you."
.
She took a deep breath and drummed her fingers on the table. She was trying to gather her thoughts. Sans also took a quick sip of the unfortunate beverage and blinked hard.
"There, um… there was one thing, first?" Alphys said.
"Mhm?"
"While you were a-asleep, your soul w-was, um… It was glowing?" she said.
"Oh. Yeah. That's a skeleton thing," he said. "Or. I mean. At least it's a me-and-Papyrus thing."
"But F-Frisk was glowing with you," she said.
"Right." He smiled. "Started doin' that the other day after the whole barrier thing."
"B-But she's human," she said softly.
Sans grinned and shrugged.
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Upstairs, the bedroom door banged and Frisk came out, looking over the from the second floor. "You guys coming?" she asked.
"A bit later, kiddo," Sans said.
"Can I steal some blankets from your room?" she asked.
"Go ahead."
"Thanks!"
.
"S-So, um…" Alphys said, lowering her voice as Frisk began to run back and forth between the rooms, "S-Sans. So. Um. I g-guess I just want to know a little more a-about the other t-timelines, m-maybe?"
"Uh. Okay. Sure," he said.
"I r-remember three v-variations before now," she said. "But… th-the way you talked, and from our, um… Our o-old models, there were so many m-more, weren't there?"
"Yup."
"S-So why don't we r-remember those, if you do?" she wondered.
"I'm, uh, pretty weird like that," he said. "Don't worry about those."
"B-But—"
"Listen, you wouldn't wanna remember that crap anyway," he said.
Alphys was about to protest, but she shut her mouth tight as Frisk scampered down the stairs.
.
The kid looked between them and and smiled bashfully. "Oh, whoops, sorry, serious time?"
"O-Oh, um, w-well…" Alphys stammered, and she looked at Sans for help. "W-We were just, uhh—"
"Just takin' about some time travel junk," Sans said. "No big deal. What you're doin' is probably way more interestin'."
"You need any help?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nah. Have fun." He grinned. "Hey, look at me, being responsible or somethin'. My favourite."
She snickered. She stood up on her toes and gave him a quick smooch on the cheek. "You're good at it sometimes!"
"Heh. That's what you think," he said. He ruffled her hair.
She grinned. She hugged him, and then hugged Alphys, too, before going back upstairs to Papyrus's room.
.
Sans had a dopey grin on his face longer than he realized. Alphys smiled, and then took a deep breath and a sip of the somehow bitter coffee.
"She's s-sweet," she said.
"Yeah, she's a good kid," he said.
"H-Have you ever…? I mean… This soul stuff? It's new, right?" she asked.
"What, the thing with the flower kid?" he asked."Yup. Never tried it this way before."
"D-Do you think he m-might… help us?" she wondered. "I mean, if it's a-all for him?"
"Wouldn't trust anythin' to do with me in a million years," he said. "And you don't want him close to you while he's like this. Trust me."
"Wh-Why wouldn't he trust you?" she asked.
"Aside from the fact that he's just kinda generally a hateful little punk? The fact that I remember makes me a royal pain in the ass for him," he said. "He held the timeline before Frisk did. So, jumpin' back in time was a thing he could do, too. Say if he got in a fight he couldn't win. You see where I'm goin' with this, right?"
Alphys nodded. "So… So it really has been going on for a long time, huh?"
"Sorta," he said, shrugging.
"Was that why you quit?" she asked.
"Nah," he said. "So, what did you want to know?"
.
"I want… W-Well, is it too much to say I w-want to know everything?" she said, and she laughed quietly. "I… I want to know m-more about Frisk. I w-want to know more about wh-what happened to you. Y-You've been living with t-time travel stuff for so long." She looked sad. She traced circles on the table with her finger. "M-Maybe I just feel, um…? I j-just feel guilty. L-Like…" She sighed. "Like I should've b-been there for you. I knew s-something went down in the CORE. I… I sh-should've followed up. B-But I… I was s-so caught up in m-my own garbage that… I don't know. I d-didn't realize how bad it was. I'm s-sorry, I'm a t-terrible friend."
Sans leaned his cheek on his fist, looking amused. "Dude, that was like ten years ago. Forget it."
"B-But what if I could've helped?!" she asked.
"Helped with what?" he asked.
"Any of it!" she insisted. "J-Just… been someone to t-talk to, even. E-Even if I didn't feel it, you know I'd believe you, r-right?"
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Sans smiled. "Thanks. But, to be honest, it wasn't too bad until the Prince. And then those things before Frisk, that's where it really went nuts. But I guess, if I try to force myself to, uh, think in a linear way about that? The worst of it hasn't actually been goin' on all that long."
"…A-About, um… About Asriel, um…" she stammered.
"You brought him back?" His smile turned sympathetic when her face dropped with horror. "I know. Frisk found out in your lab."
"Oh my god." She put her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry… I d-didn't know this would happen, I—"
"I know, dude, I know. Chill out. No one couldda guessed that."
.
"S-So…? So h-how many were there, exactly?" she asked. "B… Before Frisk?"
"Oof. Um…" He grinned embarrassedly. "No clue. Honestly, couldn't tell ya. Too many? Waited for that kid for what felt like forever."
"But that was bad," Alphys said. "Before her, it was… b-bad, though, r-right?"
"Mostly, yeah," he said. "I mean, there were a handful in there that weren't the worst ever, but there were a lot of them that just wanted to burn the world down. Dunno why. Don't care. And then some of 'em would come in like Frisk, all cute and nice and shit, and then reset and start stabbin' people. That was almost worse."
"H-Holy c-c-crap… Why?" she said. "Wh… Why would a-anyone d-d-do that?"
"I have no clue, dude. It's like… I dunno, killin' us makes humans stronger or something. It's kinda like they just see it all as a game, sometimes, I dunno. All I knew was I was stuck with 'em and most of the time they were too incompetent to even try to erase my memories right when they hopped off the world— however the hell they do that— if they didn't decide to kill everyone. So even when I ended up back where it started, they looped in my head. Never figured that bit out."
"Th-They… They could erase y-your memories?" she asked softly. "H-How?"
"I guess it's just the backtracking. And if you can backtrack everything, stands to reason you can backtrack someone's memories," he said. "But, I guess they weren't super focussing on me most of the time. So, even if they almost got it, I'd remember their bullshit eventually. And if they did get it, welp, guess I wouldn't remember, would I?"
"But Frisk s-stopped them," she mused. "Y-You called her an anchor, right? She'll h-hold the world steady. Th-That's what you said, r-right?"
He nodded. She frowned.
"Wh-What does that mean, exactly?" she asked.
"What it sounds like," he said. "Frisk's…. Well, she's good. She's… ours. She's not gonna leave us. That's what being an anchor means. Being the last anomaly a timeline gets and blockin' any chance of other ones."
"B-Big responsibility for a l-little kid," she said quietly. "I'm… Okay, n-now that I know that, I'm… I'm k-kind of even more c-confused at how you started to t-trust Frisk. If she's a time anomaly, l-like you said, then…"
.
Sans tilted his head. "She's… She's not just that. Kinda hate to admit it, but that's where my mind was when I first met her, but… nah. No. She's… Heh. She's my kid sister. Might as well always have been."
"R-Really?" Alphys asked, eyes wide. "I m-mean… I got that you two were close, but… Wow. Th-That's a big deal."
He shrugged. "Kinda started with Paps, honestly. The way she is with him. Really won me over."
"O-Oh yeah? Th-They… They are r-really cute t-together," she said with a bashful smile, and then quickly raised her hands. "P-Platonically! Totally platonically."
Sans snickered. "So, I mean, she just fit in real well with us is all. And we all kinda ended up needin' each other, so it was good she stuck around. Do you remember the red line?"
"What, in the s-simulations? Yeah. W-Why?"
"That's her," he said.
Alphys rubbed her headspines shyly. She took a breath. "I th-think I get it," she said quietly. "And… A-And that must've been nice for you, huh? I mean… She's such a good k-kid. And… And sh-she understands a-all this time travel stuff, huh?"
.
"Maybe it sounds weird, but she was actually the only one I could talk to about most of this crap," Sans said. "I mean, I kept it minimal. I didn't want her to deal with all my bullshit. Guess there's no choice now, but, uh… I dunno. Don't get me wrong, Paps was great, too, but he never actually had to go through this, thank god. But with Frisk, since I remembered her timelines, she'd come to me when she had problems and I could relate. Turns out, for some reason, she ended up legit kinda likin' me?"
"Aw, c'mon, Sans, y-you're a great friend," Alphys assured him. "She was l-lucky to have you. F-From everything I've seen, y-you're a great older brother! I mean, you always h-have been. T-To like, everyone around you. S-Sure, you might be asleep half the time, but y-you're still always there for everyone!"
His cheekbones flushed and he shrugged. Alphys smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
.
"Um… One… One thing, though, th-that I'm confused by is the first time F-Frisk showed up," she said. "Th-The barrier didn't break that time. And… A-And Asgore, he… he died. And she vanished from the u-underground, right? What happened in that version? And how did she get back? How d-does one of these time travellers redo things? And why d-did she come back, I thought m-maybe she wanted to go to the surface, right?"
"That's complicated," he said. "Maybe don't tell her I told you, huh? It's… It's not that she'd mind, it's just that she hates thinkin' about it."
"O-Oh… Poor Frisk," she said. "B-But, still, you know the most. I'd be interested in knowing."
Sans looked thoughtful. He nodded and began to explain.
xXxXx
He prefaced the story by explaining his dreams— how they worked to the best of his knowledge. Reliving the anomalies, seeing them out of order, even predicting some. He had seen Frisk, too, long before he ever met her.
.
He saw a kid that greeted him with a hug at the bridge near the Ruins— a babbling thank you for saving them. A kid who made pasta with Papyrus and dumb skeleton puns. One who napped under his arm as he read his brother's favourite storybook aloud to the two of them; who sat with him on the edge of a cliff in the light of a real sunset. He didn't know why, but he felt like, whoever that human was, they were the key to ending this. The world's anchor. He passed it off as wishful thinking at the time, but the more things degraded, the tighter he held to that one little glimmer of something until he couldn't bear it anymore. He let that hope turn to dust.
.
At the start of Frisk's time, Sans remembered waking up in a new timeline and realizing where he was with a mix of relief and dread. He'd died in the one before. World might have ended. Wasn't really a fan.
.
Waiting for the new anomaly, waiting to see who'd come through that door— it was always one of the worst parts. Honestly, they all looked like kids. And they were all kind of cute at first, unless they came out covered in dust. And this one, it didn't show up right away. Left him on edge for about two weeks before that door cracked open.
.
His plan was the same as all the other times. Be friendly, treat the human well, and hope that they weren't a psycho as he kept an eye on them. That they didn't want the power that came with hurting others — and that the ghost of a kid in the Ruins that so often lead them astray hadn't sunken her claws in. And even if they were a bit messed up, maybe seeing how friendly monsters really were would make them happy, maybe change their mind. It was the only thing he could do. Attacking one just caused a temporary reset or his own removal from the story. And these anomalies, they could go backwards indefinitely. There was no point in trying to stop them. He had learned that the hard way. Wait it out, wait for the reset— for them to wreck everything, or get bored, or get what they wanted— hope the next one wasn't as bad. That was the cycle.
.
When Frisk came out of the Ruins, she was shy, at first. Didn't talk much, but after he had introduced himself, every time he popped in to check on her, she greeted him with a hug. Her eyes would light up when she saw him. She actually seemed excited. Definitely strange.
.
Papyrus brought her home after he had failed at "capturing" her, but she hadn't really wanted to leave. In fact, rather quickly, Papyrus insisted she come to live with them. Sans couldn't explain why, but he couldn't bring himself to turn her away. Maybe it was how happy she made Papyrus. He absolutely adored her, and she seemed to love him right away, too. Sans guessed both of them really needed a friend. The first time Frisk had slipped up and called Papyrus "bro"— probably mimicking him, if he were honest— Papyrus had cried like a baby and didn't stop carrying her around for hours.
.
She had stayed for a few days the first time, and despite logic advising him against it, he was getting attached. That was the thing about monsters: that trust and want to bond was in their nature. In his head, Sans knew better, but this kid was gently but surely tapping away at his guard. She always wanted to hold someone's hand, or watch them do what was just regular stuff, or try to help out around the house. Kid didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. It was a first for him. He started to think that maybe, with someone like her holding onto their timeline, everything would be okay. And yet, still, she wanted to meet Asgore.
.
He had watched her time travel. Seen everything she tried. Some of these kids, he'd seen them kill someone just to see what would happen before darting backwards in time. Frisk never did. Her resets were sparing as she got the hang of them. She did it almost exclusively when she was the one who wouldn't make it. She never even raised her hand. For the most part, didn't even carry anything to defend herself with, either.
.
When he met her in that golden hallway on her way to the castle, he had tried to convince her to turn around. Had asked her if it was all really worth it. She had insisted she just wanted to make all the monsters happy. He wasn't sure what that meant, but a few hours later, Asgore and all the souls were gone, and so was their kid. She couldn't have done that, could she? It didn't seem possible. It had to have been someone else. Asriel was the first one who came to mind. But there they were, stuck again with no human souls, and the kid he had actually liked was nowhere to be found. He didn't know what to think.
.
Toriel had emerged from the Ruins and took leadership, seemingly from nowhere, but she seemed melancholy all the time. He didn't need to ask why. Everyone seemed to miss the kid. He knew Papyrus did— kept asking when she was coming home. Started counting the days; crying to himself a little when he thought no one was watching. Sans didn't know what to do. Even Undyne started asking about her. Something about that kid stuck with them in a way that had never happened before. He'd called a few times, but her phone seemed to be out of service.
.
The day he finally got through on Papyrus's phone, he didn't want to admit how happy he was to hear that she was out there, somewhere. Things didn't usually go like this. Things didn't usually end with almost everyone alive.
.
Even thinking about it put him right back there.
xXxXx
He had been hanging out in the garden in the throne room at the time, as the others chatted to the kid on the phone, and somehow, he expected that to be the end of it for now. Instead, Papyrus had appeared through the doorway, cellphone in hand, a sort of bashful smile on his face.
"Hey, Sans?" Papyrus walked up through the flower patch and held the phone out. "It's the human! She'd like to talk to you again, if that's alright?"
"Uh, sure, no problem," he said.
Papyrus smiled and nodded, but the expression on his face was a little strange. Like there was something worrying him that he couldn't quite place. Sans took the phone and put it near his head as he began to slowly wander.
"Hey, kiddo, what's up?" he asked.
.
She didn't answer, at first. Instead, all he heard was strained breathing and a weird choking sound.
"Uh… Kid?" he asked. "You still there?"
"I… I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."
"Whoa, kid, uh," Sans said, eyes widening, "what's wrong?"
She whimpered. Couldn't get words out. A sinking feeling struck him.
"Hey. Hey, don't cry," he said quickly, lowering his voice. "Kid, don't cry, you're okay, right? You're out, aren't you? That's what you wanted."
"N… No it wasn't! It wasn't…" she said. "I n-never wanted… I w-wanted to… I wanted to stay."
.
Sans felt the cold sting of shock. He took a quick look around. Papyrus had already left, but he could hear chatter just beyond the doorway. Quickly, he shifted himself to the quiet of the golden Judgement Hall.
.
"Kid, what're you talkin' about?" he asked. "You… didn't want to get out?"
"N-No…" she said softly.
"Then how the heck are you outside?" he asked.
"I… I d-don't know what h-happened, I j-just… I w-woke up outside a-and I d-don't know," she stammered. "I'm so s-sorry, I didn't… N-Nothing I did h-helped anyone and now A-Asgore is… oh my god. I t-tried… I couldn't give him my soul. I just… I couldn't, it wouldn't w-work, and… and that flower, he… he took them all, and… and…!" She choked, coughed, and he could hear her trying really hard to hold it together.
He put his back to one of the columns. He didn't know what to say. "…Kiddo—?"
"I'm so sorry. You counted on me and I couldn't… I… I didn't w-want to die." Her voice was weak and cracking. "B-But I j-just… I thought… I'm only one kid. M-Maybe I could help everyone if I just—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "You…? You're sayin' you tried to let Asgore kill you?"
"Y-You guys, you were all s-so nice to me, and I love you all so much, but… you'd be happier o-out here, huh?" she said. "M-Me, I'm not important. B-But… in the end, th-the souls are gone, Asgore is d-d-dead, I… I'm so… so sorry."
.
"Kid," Sans said, rubbing his eye sockets. "No. No, you can't think like that. Sure, we wanted to get out, but… if I'm totally honest, I think most of us would have rather just had you stick around, you know? Wait for the next one."
She sniffled. "What? Y-You mean it…?"
"Yeah, of course," he said. "You know, you made a lot of monsters real happy, right? That's not nothin'."
"…Oh. B-But… But…"
"Kid, listen, I haven't seen my little brother smile that big in years," he said. "He loves you to death, y'know? Means a lot to me, too."
"Oh… Oh, man, I…!" She sniffled; her voice went shrill. "I l-love him, too. S-So much!"
.
Made him stall to hear that. Felt a weird twinge through his bones. He took a deep breath. "C'mon, kid, look on the bright side, you got a whole world out there for you, huh?"
"B-But I don't want that!" she insisted. "I… I just want to c-come back! I just want to be with you, and Papyrus, and mom, and… and—!" She broke down. The kid was full-out bawling.
Sans cringed, and his eyes watered in sympathy. He didn't know what to say. Took him a while to gather his thoughts as the kid on the other end of the line sobbed and heaved for breath.
.
"Kiddo," he said quietly, brushing his eye sockets with his thumb. "C'mon. Kiddo, talk to me. Hey. There has to be something worth it out there, huh? You're young. You got everything ahead of you."
"…N-No. E-Even if there was, I'm n-never going to make it," she said. "I'm st-still on the mountain. I… I have nowhere to g-go… Sans, I-I'm s-so scared. I… I just wanna come home."
.
It took him a moment to realize what home meant to her. He was struck with this weird feeling. Like his heart broke. Hadn't felt like that in a long time. And, all of sudden, it was like a light had flicked on. He could see what had been right in front of his face. The kid wasn't just some anomaly disrupting the timeline. Not even close.
.
He put a hand to his mouth for a moment and felt a tear slip down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away. "Then… Then come home."
"I d-don't think I can climb anymore. I don't even know where the d-door is." She sniffed, hard, trying to catch her breath. "…I'm gonna die out here, aren't I?"
"No. Kiddo. Listen," he said.
.
He wasn't sure what he was thinking. But there wasn't any other way, was there? Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe this was the best he could do for their world. But the more he listened to her, the less he could stand the thought of her stuck out there. If they had to be trapped underground, as long as she held the timeline, it couldn't be so bad, could it?
.
"You can go back," he said.
"I'm… I'm so tired. I c-can… I can barely walk, dude."
"Not like that," he said. "Look. Kid. I know what you can do, alright? I know you can go backwards."
"You…?! Oh! Oh my g-god. I knew it!" That was the first time she'd sounded like she was smiling since he'd picked up the phone. "I… I thought you d-did, I just didn't wanna ask just in case…"
"I, uh… Look. We can talk about it later," he said. "What I need you to do is just focus, and go back to that last star, okay?"
"The last…?! Oh… I tried. I tried, I can't, it's not…" She gulped. "The flower, he… h-he did something. I can't… I can't."
Sans grimaced. "Alright. Fine. Then, do this for me. Focus real hard and go backwards as far as you can, okay?"
"Wh… What?" she squeaked.
"Go back to the start of all this mess," he said. "See your mom. And… And then come find me, okay? We'll figure something out. You and me, and Papyrus, and Toriel, alright?"
.
She went quiet for a while, but he could still hear her trying to catch her breath.
"Kid?" he asked.
"I… I'm here," she said. "You r-really think I can?"
"Yeah. C'mon. Stay determined," he insisted. "And… And then, come home. It's… Heh. It won't be perfect. Hell, not even close, but I'll do my best to keep an eye socket out for you, alright?"
"S-Sans, I… I d-dunno what to say," she said. "Th… Thank you. That's o-one of the nicest things anyone's e-ever said to me."
"That's pretty bad, kiddo," he joked, smiling tiredly. "Hey. Just occurred to me. Never actually got your name."
"Oh! O-Oh, you didn't—?" She actually started to laugh quietly. "I'm sorry. M-My bad. I'm Frisk."
"Frisk," he repeated. "Cool. Alright, Frisk, what d'you say? Come home, we'll go to Grillby's, get some milkshakes or somethin'. It'll be good."
"…Okay. Okay, I'm going to try," she said softly. "W-Will, um…? Will you stay on the phone with me?"
"Yeah. Sure thing," he said.
"Thank you so much. You're the best, S-Sans, really. I hope I see you soon."
"You will."
xXxXx
The next thing Sans knew, he was staring groggily up at his ceiling. He heard Papyrus calling him from downstairs. It was one of the few times he's gotten out of bed at a reset and not felt a thump of worry deep in his bones.
.
Things went quiet for just a little while, enough for him to get a feeling of uneasiness settling down on him. He checked the sealed door to the Ruins, but all was silent for four days. On the fifth, early in the morning, those ancient double doors rumbled open and a kid stepped out into the snowy world beyond. Sans saw from afar and appeared behind her, walking slowly and cautiously as she proceeded rather determinedly ahead down the path towards town.
.
He hoped it was her. After all that, she wouldn't ditch, right? It had to be.
.
She slowed as she neared the bridge. She cautiously stepped over a branch in the path and then started glancing around. Sans shifted to the tree line when she turned to look back down the path the way she'd come. She doubled back just a little, and then continued on her way east. The scrawny build and brownish skin seemed right. He hoped.
.
As she reached the bridge, she cast another glance around. She was definitely looking for something. He plucked up his courage and got closer.
"Hey, kid," he said.
She spun around at the sound of his voice, eyes wide. She looked so familiar. Had to be Frisk. She began to grin immediately. He recognized that way her eyes sparkled.
"Sans!" she exclaimed— yup, he'd know that voice anywhere. She threw her arms around him tightly.
He froze, shocked. Tried not to show it. But there she was.
"Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you!" She was talking real fast. "I…! I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're here! And… A-And oh my god, thank you! You were super right! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You saved me. I love you so much, dude, thank you!"
.
Sans's body went ridged. The déjà vu hit him like a truck. There was a sort of ache in his chest when she pulled back to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. He had seen this before. Seen it exactly, word for word. Had seen what came next, too; knew exactly who this girl was. It all clunked into place abruptly.
.
He must've started making some sort of face, because the kid looked worried and got a little closer.
"S-Sans, are you okay?" she asked.
He tried to grin, couldn't do it, and his vision blurred with tears. His bones started to rattle and his knees gave. He huffed, and couldn't help but curl up as his shoulders started to shake. It was like every bit of pressure that had been forcing him upright crumbled. His mind raced. He couldn't believe it, but he knew to the core of his being that it was true. It was finally done. He'd found his anchor. Or rather, his anchor'd found him.
.
He heard the snow crunching and, after a moment, he was taken aback when that tiny kid gently slipped in close to him, putting one arm around his shoulders and holding the back of his skull with the other hand. She didn't say a word, just rubbed his head gently. He lost it; grabbed her to him, a quaking mess, and hid his face against her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" she asked quietly.
He started laughing through the tears— couldn't believe what he had heard. Kid was a comedian. "No." He huffed. "No. Heh. Definitely no."
.
He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but when he finally managed to sit up and catch his breath, the kid gently let him go and gave him a concerned, but understanding, smile.
"Better?" she asked.
"Much," he assured her. "Heh. Whew. Didn't expect to just go down like that. Sorry, kid."
She shook her head. "Don't worry. Everyone needs to sometimes, I think. Can I ask? What happened? Did you have a bad morning?"
He smiled. "Nah, actually, I had a pretty good one," he said. "It's just… something was freakin' me out for a long time. But now that you're here, it went away."
"It did?" she asked with surprise.
He nodded. "Yup. You scared it off. Maybe I'll tell you more about it sometime."
She looked puzzled, but she smiled anyway. "Well, I'm not sure what that means, but I'm glad you're happier, now!" she said brightly. "S-So, um, you remember me, right? M-My mom, she didn't, but we're, um, we're still friends, right? You remember who I am?"
"Course I do," he said. "And… if it's up to me, I think we'll always be friends. That is, if that's what you want, too, kiddo."
Frisk beamed. She hugged him again and he held her close.
.
He touched his brow against the top of her head and was quiet for a long time. She didn't seem to mind at all. She cozied into his jacket and he felt the hum in his soul speed. It was strange: a feeling that had been reserved, exclusively, for Papyrus. It struck him, then, that this must be the right path. This kid, she was all alone, wasn't she? Maybe she needed them as much as they needed her. Maybe that was the way this all had to play out. The more he rolled it around in his mind, the more snugly it fit.
.
"Look, uh, Frisk…? The others, they won't remember you," he said quietly. "But Papyrus still loves you to death, okay? You wanna just play along? Then we can go home."
She nodded. He patted the kid's head gently. More words stuck for a moment, heavy in his mind but, to be honest, he was too tired to bother trying to play it off.
"Love you, too," he said.
"Y-You do?!" she squeaked.
"…Yeah." He pulled back and gave her a bashful smile. "Hope that's not weird."
She emphatically shook her head and the smile on her face made him grin a bit wider.
.
"I… I still want to help," she said. "Maybe I-I can figure out the barrier. A different way."
"Hey. Kiddo. Whatever you do," he said, "it's fine by me."
"Y-Yeah? So, um, w-would, um…? O-Okay, maybe it's… Maybe it's weird to ask, but, um… Would it be o-okay if I… stayed?" she asked. "E-Even if we do get outside? I, um…" She took a deep breath, eyes flitting down uncertainly.
Sans tilted his head.
"I don't… I don't really have anywhere else to go," she said.
"Nobody's waitin' for you up top?" he asked, puzzled.
She shook her head quickly, wincing. He felt instantly bad that he was overwhelmingly relieved to know that.
"Dude, of course. Don't have to ask," he said.
"I can? Really?" she said, eyes going wide.
"Like I said," Sans assured her, "you're home now. Alright?"
The kid gritted her teeth. She threw her arms around his shoulders again, clinging tightly. "Ohmigod, I love you," she squeaked. "Dude, I-I love you so much, thank you. Thank you for e-everything."
"Kiddo. C'mon, you're gonna get icicles all over your face," he joked.
"H-Hah! Speak for yourself!" she said with a snicker.
.
He finally managed to get to his feet, and she stood up with him, wiping her eyes. He grinned and patted her head, and then cast a glance back towards the old bridge.
"Hey. Got a weird-ass lamp with your name on it," he said. "What d'you say? Mess with Paps a little? Do some puzzles? That alright with you?"
"Y-Yeah!" She grinned. "Oh man, I can't wait to see him again!"
"He'll be happy, too. Hey." He ruffled her hair gently. "Welcome back, huh?"
.
He felt strange. Whole. This was the kid who made the universe right. And she was warm, and funny, and she loved his brother; she loved him. He almost couldn't believe it. They were safe. Everyone was safe. And this kid… Everything else didn't matter. She was the anchor. She was perfect.
xXxXx
After that, Frisk had a new sense of confidence about her. Once Papyrus knew her again, the three of them had really been like a real family. Something inside his brother seemed to know how important she was to him— it was quickly like they had never even been apart. It hadn't been for very long, but it felt like normal almost immediately.
.
Papyrus was "bro" again within a day, and she, tentatively at first, began to call him that, too. He liked it. It became quickly irrelevant to him if she could break the barrier or not. She was the one who could keep everyone safe, and aside from that, he loved her as if she had always been there; had always been family. A new little sibling, plunked right into his life as if he'd brought her up himself. He'd never expected that.
.
Even when the kid had to reset to the start for what they had planned for to be the last time— what had been intended to be the time the barrier was destroyed and they saved Asriel, too— they had worked together as best they could. It had barely felt like a reset at all, even though saving Asriel, ultimately, hadn't worked.
xXxXx
He tented his fingers and stared at the table. Alphys bit her lip and wiped her eyes under her glasses. She put a hand on his shoulder.
"That… That all sounds like it was so hard for you," he said.
"Actually," Sans said, grinning, "it's kinda the happiest I've been in years."
"R-Really?" Alphys said shrilly. "B-But—!"
"Think about it," he said. "I'm there expecting someone to come screw with the timeline again and start killin' people, instead I get Frisk. And we get to keep Frisk."
Alphys smiled. "That's a g-good point. You got a l-little sister, huh? She must've been so h-happy."
"Yup. Once Paps took her in again, didn't see that kid without a big grin on her face for quite a while," he said. "It was weird to me. I thought for sure that when I found the anchor, it would be a big thing to convince them to stay to keep the world steady. Instead, this kid basically just jumps me and begs me to let her stay. As if it were even up to me. Heh. I guess it was always meant to be her."
.
He somewhat unconsciously put his hand over his soul spot. "When we… When we fused. There wasn't ever a moment where our energies fought each other. It was perfect," he said. "It was like… she was… made for that? That sounds creepy. But our souls match in that way. Maybe because we both time travel. I dunno. I'm not big into believin' in destiny or whatever, but whatever happened, I feel like she was meant to be here."
"Mhm. Maybe not destiny, but like… L-Like… Like a puzzle piece," Alphys said quietly, and she smiled. "Like she always belonged. She was just missing f-for a little while. Thanks f-for t-telling me all that. That was… r-really personal."
He shrugged and grinned a little. "If I've learned anything recently, it's that it's actually good to talk it out sometimes," he said. "I'm just usually way too lazy. But, since you asked…"
"Thanks f-for trusting me," she said with a smile.
"Course. We've known each how long?" he said with a grin. "At a certain point, you're, uh, basically family, y'know? Don't sweat it."
Alphys blushed instantly, but she smiled wide. "Th-Thanks, Sans. Th-That means a lot. I'm… st-still a little surprised about all that stuff with Frisk, though."
"Which part?" Sans asked.
"W-Well… Well. I guess, m-mostly why she was so upset to b-be outside at all. I mean, b-before you adopted h-her. P-Poor thing…"
.
Sans paused to consider his words carefully. He could see the whole thing from her perspective now. It was much worse than he had thought. She had hurt herself pretty badly looking for the way back. Upset wasn't quite the word for it. When she found herself out there, alone, he couldn't describe her aching feeling of loss and horror. In the underground, for the first time, she had felt like she had a family, and to have it all torn away so quickly— there weren't words for it. Not to mention the feeling that lingered of being ripped apart by Asriel, over and over, severed from the starlight that was her gateway through time, even if it had only been for a little while. She had nightmares for weeks. That wasn't something he needed to share out loud.
.
"She never wanted out," he said. "There was this human ghost in her head. Tried to guide her to Asgore. She honestly thought it would be better for everyone if she gave up her soul to him."
"W-What?! No way," Alphys said. "You told her no, right?! You told her we all t-totally love her, right?!"
"Obviously," he said.
"G… Good," she said. "I w-wouldn't… I wouldn't want t-to be free if i-it meant F-Frisk had to die. I c-couldn't stand it."
"Like I said, she couldn't die even when she tried. But I tried to stomp out that whole self-sacrifice junk real fast, or else the guilt'd drive her up the wall. And to be honest, I stopped givin' two shits about the surface a long time ago," Sans said. "With all these overlappin' timelines, memories, garbage, I figured it's more important to be with people you care about than where you are, you know? Maybe that's, uh, sappy, or crap, or selfish or whatever, but it works for me, I guess. Better than goin' crazy."
.
Alphys gave him a tired smile. "I'm s-sorry you had to go through all this alone until now."
"Well, what can you do?" he said with a grin.
"W-Well… you knew what to do, right? In the future. That's… I mean, that's obviously your magic on Frisk. The stuff that h-helped the rest of us remember. I've never even seen anything l-like it."
"Me neither," he agreed. "I guess future me isn't a total bonehead. But I have no idea how I did that."
.
Alphys nodded. She looked troubled, and after a moment, she got up and grabbed him into a hug.
"Alphys, I'm okay," he assured her. "Thanks, though."
"H-Hah! Okay like I'm okay, or actually okay?" she asked.
"Somewhere in the middle, I think," he said.
She smiled and nodded, and pulled back slowly to wipe her eyes again. "Y-You really think all this'll work?"
"It has to, right?" he said. "Frisk's not gonna stop until she fixes the kid. I don't think we have a choice, here. He doesn't get a soul and we all lose everything again. You heard her. Everyone dies."
"U-Um… Unless… S-Someone stops him?" she said quietly, taking her seat again. "W-Was there really nothing that could be done? I-I mean, Frisk's smart, b-but she's still just a kid. She was p-probably terrified. You know what she saw, d-don't you?"
Sans frowned. He looked thoughtful.
.
"In her memories," Sans said, "I saw a giant plant monster wreckin' a city and takin' tons of human souls. Way more than seven. I think he was tryin' to get the timeline, but… I guess the determination wasn't enough to overcome Frisk's. Huh. It's… weird to see myself from the outside like that. She saw… oh." He rubbed his skull. "It gets real bad."
Alphys put her hand on his reassuringly. "Please?"
"You and Mettaton tried to help, but Undyne gets killed. Then she somehow rebuilds herself and keeps fightin', but even that isn't close to enough," he said quietly.
Alphys's eyes were wide. Her scales were a little pale. She took a deep breath and put her face in her hands. "Okay. S-So I guess we really do need to do this." She sighed and forced a smile. "A-Alright. I m-might have an idea. I need to think about th-this a little, though. J-Just let me finish with the math, and… A-And I think I know our next steps."
.
Sans nodded. He looked up at the sound of a door cracking open. Frisk wandered downstairs, half asleep, eyes barely open at all, and headed for the sink. She bumped into the counter instead.
"Crap," she mumbled.
Sans took her carefully in his magic and lifted her up.
"Oh. Thanks, dude," she said. She pawed around for a glass and got some water before he let her down.
"Need some stilts?" he asked.
"Maybe Mettaton will let me borrow his legs," she joked, rubbing her eyes. "Isn't it pretty late?"
"Sure is, I'm practically asleep already," Sans said.
"W-We were just talking a little, that's all," Alphys said. "We'll, um… We'll come up soon."
"Oh. Well… While you guys were doing important talks, we made a blanket fort upstairs," she said. "So it's cozy. If you want to come hang out. Everyone's asleep though."
"Blanket fort?" Sans repeated. "That might be literally the best thing thing I've ever heard."
.
Papyrus's room was only lit by the slightly golden glow of a small desk lamp— the colour distorted as it shone through some of the thinner, blue, or pink, or white sheets that were draped over chairs and piled up to make what was essentially a tent over almost a third of the room. Frisk pulled back one of the sheets to reveal that the floor was covered in pillows, duvets, and a patchwork of more sheets and quilts. Undyne was somewhat upright in a pile of pillows, but was clearly asleep, and Papyrus was slumped near her, cozy under even more blankets.
.
Sans's eyes were all but glittering. "Oh my god." He started to beam. "Yup. This is perfect."
"I know, right?" Frisk said.
Alphys looked a little awkward, but Frisk ushered her inside. She wrung her hands hesitantly, and the kid gently pushed her towards Undyne. "B-But she's asleep!" she whispered shrilly.
"Yeah, totally get cozy!" Frisk insisted.
Hesitantly, Alphys tiptoed over to Undyne and, with an awkward expression, sat beside her. When she shifted a little closer, one of Undyne's arms dropped onto her and her scales turned bright red. She slumped and relaxed, and Undyne's eye opened just a crack. She grinned to herself and hugged Alphys close.
.
Sans had already flopped down next to Papyrus. The two were a little like magnets. Even though Papyrus was dead asleep, he latched onto his brother right away. Sans was absolutely aglow. He took Frisk in his magic and whisked her over to cozy her between them. She snickered as she pulled up the duvet, and snuggled into his arms.
"You okay there? Get comfy because I'm gonna be asleep in like ten seconds," Sans said.
"Totally great," Frisk assured him— her voice was soft as if she was already gone.
He was actually out in six. She was out in twenty.