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Sans stared down at the schematics in one hand, glass of scotch in the other. Ice clinked against the side as he brought the drink to his mouth and he downed the whole thing, briefly shuddering afterwards. He never could quite bring himself to prefer scotch over magically aged bourbon, but it was something. He toiled ceaselessly with the tools at his disposal, only occasionally stopping to recheck the blueprints that he and Alphys had developed. The concoction of ice cubes and scotch gradually grew from a single glass to settle his nerves to three to help him think, to seven to help him stop thinking, and an extra one to help him sleep. He barely registered the time as he stumbled up the stairs. Sans crashed onto the sofa with a groan.

What surprised him, however, was the second groan that came afterwards.

"Augh! Get off me, you oaf!" Chara's muffled voice came out from underneath him. "Your fat uncle body is crushing the life out of me!"

Sans managed to mumble half of an apology as he was kicked to the floor.

"Never do that again!" Chara scolded him.

"You need your own room," Sans frowned as he stood, woozy. "I miss my couch."

"What's so great about a stupid couch, anyway?" they scowled, pulling their legs up beneath their blankets. "It's old, patchy and it smells like beer farts."

"That couch is probably about as old as I am," Sans shrugged as he meandered over to the stairs. "It has loads of sentimental value. And stuff. G'night, by the way."

"It's three in the freaking morning!"

"G'morning, then."

Sans yawned as he quietly trudged up the stairs. He shuffled down the hall to peer into Asriel and Frisk's room, satisfied that both of them seemed to be sleeping better than he was. Even when he was so drunk that he could barely stand he could hardly manage to find proper rest.

Once again he found himself standing outside Toriel's bedroom door, and he paused. A multitude of thoughts that he had been struggling to force down for the last few hours resurfaced all at once, and he froze with his hand on the doorknob.

What, exactly, was he going to tell Toriel when she inevitably found out that he had been rebuilding the phase distorter in the basement? How was he supposed to explain that particular bit to her when she discovered what he'd been doing? Did he really think that he could lie to her about something as potentially life changing as that?

And, if he could... could he even live with himself afterwards?

Sans's hand slowly slipped away from the doorknob.

He stealthily withdrew from the door, quietly sticking his hands back in his jacket pockets and letting out a long, silent sigh. Then he ever so slowly dragged himself back down the stairs. He wordlessly dropped into the seat on the opposite end of Chara on the sofa, where they had resumed watching another one of their favorite television programs. The pleasant buzz and warmth from the scotch had already long since worn off, merely leaving him feeling heavy headed and slightly sick.

"... Let me guess," Chara said without looking up. "You got too drunk and now you can't sleep."

"What gave it away?"

"Aside from the fact that, I don't know, my Sans does literally the exact same thing?" Chara replied with a hint of bitterness in their voice. "Maybe because you positively reek of alcohol, your face is all red and you're acting stupider than usual?"

"That doesn't necessarily imply that I'm drunk," Sans crossed his arms. "Only that I've been drinking is all."

"Do you even drink half as much as my Sans?"

"That's a weird sort of question," he gave them an odd look from the corner of his eye. "How would you even know how much he drinks? Here I was under the impression that the two of you didn't exactly spend a lot of quality time together."

"Why would you assume that?" Chara stared up at him.

"I'unno," he shrugged. "Maybe from the whole 'attempted homicide' thing, possibly."

"We... stayed in Snowdin for a little while," Chara said as they turned their attention back to the screen.

"Is that right."

"It's-it's not like we didn't try," they insisted. However, they still refused to meet his gaze. "I mean, we tried everything else before jumping."

"Really," he said with more than a hint of disbelief. "I find it hard to accept that, what with the myriad of other options available-"

"Fuck you."

Sans blanched at the sudden curse, staring down at the child. To hear it coming from anyone was offputting to him, but to hear it from Frisk – no, from Frisk's lookalike, it was even more disturbing.

"You weren't there," Chara said without looking up at him. "You have... you have no idea what-what it was like. Being forced to relive through the same thing over and over and over again, watching your friends and loved ones get slaughtered at the hands of a homicidal maniac..." they said with a quiet chuckle. "You don't get a say in the matter. We did what we thought we had to. Not because we didn't try."

Sans took in a deep breath through his teeth, uncertain of whether or not he was still too sober for the situation.

"... Kid," Sans let out a quiet breath after a long, uncomfortable period of silence. "I get the feeling you've got some issues."

"Oh, you think?" Chara scoffed, but he noticed that they were furiously rubbing their eyes to dry them. "Gee, I wonder what gave it away."

"Do you still worry?"
"... About what?"

"About losing control again."

Chara stared at him.

"... Why?"

"Answer the question."

"It depends on the result," they answered coyly.

"Answer. The. Question," he repeated tersely.

"... Sometimes," Chara said without looking at him. They instead pulled their blankets a little tighter, narrowing their eyes at the television screen. "Seeing Mom, and Asriel, and Undyne and Papyrus, everyone, it-it's..." they coughed into one hand, masking their face for a moment. However when their head came back up Sans noticed that their eyes were glistening. "I... worry. That anytime I'm not alert, not awake, I might wake up to find out that I've lost control, that... that I've lost everything all over again."

Sans let out another quiet sigh through his teeth, hands clasped together in his lap.

"... I think I might have a solution to your problem."

"Does it involve more gopher work?" Chara asked in mild disgust.

"What? No, no," he shook his head. "I... happen to know someone who has had extensive research into the fields of personality transferrence and possession. Maybe... she could help."

"Are-are you serious?" Chara looked him dead in the face. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah, I'd say it's worth a shot," he shrugged. "We can look into it first thing in the morning."

Sans was nearly bowled over from the sudden hug he received from Chara, and he was uncertain of how to respond. However he eventually let out another sigh and patted them on the back. They sat up watching an old black and white movie about killing mockingbirds until the sun rose.

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"Sans?" Toriel stifled a yawn as she peeked into the kitchen. Sans was busying himself with expertly flipping bacon with one hand while seasoning eggs with the other. "What are you doing up at four in the morning?"

"Because I've lost all control of my life," Sans shrugged. "Might as well admit it and roll with the punches. Y'know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she shook her head slowly.

"I asked him to make me breakfast."

Toriel jumped at the sound of Chara's voice, and she held a hand to her breast to steady her breathing.

"Kindly do not sneak up on me, my child," she knelt to give Chara a kiss on the forehead, which they wrinkled their nose up at.

"Because you have a weak heart?"

"No," she said as she stood, "because I am trained in several forms of martial arts and might not respond pleasantly," Toriel answered promptly. Chara let out a short bark of a laugh before tucking their hands beneath their armpits, looking to Sans for support.

"... Mom's joking, right?"

"Oh, she's deadly serious," Sans eyed them carefully. "She knows kung fu, karate, jiujitsu, tae kwon do, and seven other dangerous sounding words."

"I hope you've had a proper night's rest, my child," Toriel said as she poured herself a cup of coffee in a mug with Number 2 Nose Nuzzling Champs! printed on the side. "Because today, I have a special surprise for you!"

"Is it snail pie?" Chara asked with a hint of reservation. Toriel only laughed and shook her head.

"No, no, nothing so mundane," she grinned. "Today, I am officially enrolling you in the school that I teach at. I've spent the last few days organizing a new curriculum and everything."

"Wait, wait," Chara held up their hands, eyes wide. "SO... I have to go to school."

"Correct."

"But that also means I get to see Undyne again?"

"Every single day."

"This is it. This is the second greatest day of my life," Chara ran a hand through their hair.

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door being forcibly shoved open, and Papyrus marched into the kitchen tracking a trail of snow the entire way.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said with a huge grin.

"... Papyrus," Sans said, utterly oblivious to the fact that the eggs had caught fire. "... Why do you have lipstick marks all over your face?"

"Aren't you going to ask where I got my snazzy new suit?" Papyrus asked a little dejectedly, showing off his striped black suspenders and sleek black jacket, all of which matched his eyepatch rather well.

"Alright Paps," Sans said as he attempted to halfheartedly put out the small fire. "Where did you get the snazzy new suit?"

"All thanks to Mettaton," Papyrus beamed at him.

"... And what about the lipstick?"

"All thanks to Mettaton," Papyrus repeated.

"This is it," Sans said numbly. "This is the second worst day of my life."

"Oh, there's no need to be so dramatic, brother!" Papyrus scooped him up in a hug.

"I take it that means your date went over well?" Toriel asked him slyly.

"Why were you on a date at this hour?" Sans asked as Papyrus carefully put him back on the floor.

"Mettaton is very flexible," Papyrus said with a wide smile. "Graciously working around my hours. So considerate!"

"Yeah, but what were you even doing at this time of morning?"

"... Mettaton is very flexible."

"OKAY, EW," Sans clapped his hands to the sides of his head. "Not a mental image that I ever wanted, thanks."

"Yeah, I think I'm partially scarred from this experience, and I didn't even participate in the conversation," Chara said quietly.

"What's important," Toriel interrupted, putting a hand on Papyrus's shoulder. "Is that Papyrus is happy."

"I know, I know..." Sans said as he placed the burned breakfast on the table. "But... Mettaton? Really?"

"I think that you have an unreasonable hatred for Mettaton, brother."

"It's not unreasonable," Sans crossed his arms, dropping into one of the seats and pouring himself a cup of coffee. "He's loud, obnoxious, attention needy-"

"Suave, handsome, articulate," Papyrus listed off his fingers.

"Arrogant, obstinate, deceitful-"

"Competent, flexible, polite-"

"Paps," Sans gave him a level stare. "Trying to make a case against your ro-boyfriend."

"Really, brother," Papyrus finally showed an inkling of irritation. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with Mettaton. He's a great guy!"

"Yeah, but...!" Sans started, only stopping when he spotted the look that Toriel was giving him.

"... Yeah," Sans hung his head at last, letting out a quiet sigh of defeat. "I... guess he's not... completely awful."

"Well, I suppose that's the closest thing he's going to get to a complement," Papyrus shrugged. "Thank you for making breakfast, brother. The scorch marks are a nice touch!"

"I'm not sure how to process that," Sans let loose a little smile. "Thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome, brother. Although coming from a master chef you should already be overjoyed at any praise I give to your cooking skills," Papyrus gave him a sly wink.

"Gee, I'll take it into consideration the next time I burn breakfast."

"You would be wise to do so, brother."

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"Alphys!" Sans pounded on the front door to Alphys and Undyne's house. "Come on, let me in already! It's cold out here!"

He stood there in the light powdery snow for another couple of minutes with his shaking hands tucked deep into his pockets before the door gradually swung open, revealing Alphys in her labcoat. She looked as if she had never even taken it off, and there were bags under her eyes.

"... Sans," Alphys stared at him. "It is six in the morning."

"Yes," he said breathlessly.

"Six o'clock. In the morning."

"Yes," Sans tried to squeeze by her, only to be stopped by the scientist before he could proceed.

"Six in the morning," she repeated, the irritation plain in her voice. "The very least you could do is call ahead of time!"

"You know, I always forget that I have a phone," Sans mused aloud. "Can I please come in now? I'm losing feeling in my extremities."
"Oh, you are incorrigible," Alphys threw up her arms, allowing him entrance. He rubbed his hands together both out of eagerness and attempt to warm his finger bones.

"Aren't I always?" Sans asked as he blew warmth into his fingers. "So, I've got this little project I'm working on-"

"I said that there is no way in hell I am letting you put the phase distorter-"

"No, no, not that," Sans shook his head quickly. "It's about the kid."

"... Which one?"

"The one back from the dead," he replied sarcastically.

"... Which one?"

"Oy vey," Sans clapped a hand to his head. "Chara."

"Oh," Alphys said eventually. "I was wondering when she was going to come up in 'friendly conversation'."

"They, actually," Sans said as he walked into her kitchen, helping himself to a mug of her coffee.

"No, please," Alphys tucked her hands behind her back. "Help yourself to all my things, I insist."

Sans blinked, warming his hands on the mug.

"... Al?" he asked after a moment. "Are you, uh... you feelin' alright?"

"Sorry, Sans," Alphys rubbed her eyes with her claws. "I just haven't slept in... a really long time."

"I can relate," he shrugged. "Business or pleasure?"

"Isn't it always one or the other?" Alphys asked bitterly.

"Both tend to end in extensive hotel bills, amirite?"

Alphys didn't laugh.

"... Yikes," he shivered as he took another sip of his coffee. "You must be really down if not even that got a chuckle out of ya."

"It's the spike."

Sans did a spit take.

"... What," he said blankly, coffee dripping down his chin.

"My temporal flux readings have been off the charts for the last couple of days," she said quietly as she folded her claws in front of her after taking off her glasses, and Sans truly saw just how deflated she was. "I... wasn't sure how to tell you, what with everything that's been going on."

"I thought we narrowed it down to Lumpy and the phase distorter?" Sans's voice came out sounding hollow and empty. The tightness in his chest seemed to have returned, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Who?"

"Sans," Sans said. "I mean, other Sans; Void Sans! I thought that he was the cause of the initial temporal spike?!"

"So did I," Alphys began to pace back and forth. "At least until I got a better look at the readings."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Alphys looked up at him. "That something else has to be causing the temporal spike. Something even bigger than the last time. This is huge, Sans – I'm talking about a power surge so massive that even attempting to read it could be catastrophic to bystanders."

"Krishna Christ," Sans leaned against the counter, suddenly very grateful for the support. "Did your monitors manage to pick up where, at least?"

"Not that I could get a decent bead on," she shook her head slowly. "I just know that it's going to occur locally within a matter of days."

"... Great," Sans slid down the side of the counter until he was sitting on the floor. "So, we have a potentially world ending implosion of fun little anomalies to look forward to."

"You mean...?"

"It happens in every timeline," Sans shook his head slowly. "Little things out of place. Most people don't even notice them like you or me. But the closer this spike gets, the more anomalies we're going to see, I bet my left hand on it."

They sat in silence for a while. Sans simply stared down at his pink slippers, vaguely wondering why he didn't bother to put on shoes before mentally kicking himself. He had other things to worry about.

"So," he clapped his hands together after a few minutes. "End of the world, yadda yadda yadda. Nothing we haven't faced before."

"Right," Alphys pushed her glasses up her nose, fierce look in her eyes. "We-we can manage this."

"Right," he agreed with her. "It's just a matter of siphoning information off of your monitors and chronophilic probes and detectors and pinpointing where and when it'll happen, then stopping it."

"It can't be that hard," Alphys laughed without mirth. "I mean, it's not like we haven't-"

"Broken the laws of space and time before?" Sans grinned.

"Right!" she nodded with determination, standing. "I-I'll get to work-"

"Oh, hey," Sans blinked as he stood with her. "I almost forgot. Meant to ask you about something."

"About...?"

"Uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So... what do you know about, eh... suppressing homicidal urges?"

"Is this about Mettaton again?" Alphys asked with a slight eye twitch.

"What?" Sans tried to laugh inconspicuously. "No, no, of course not. Why would you even ask that?"

"Because of the obvious."

"It's about the kid," he said at last.

"Which one?"

"Chara."

"Oh," Alphys nodded after a moment. "R-right."

Sans stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at her for a full beat.

"Uh," she tugged at the hem of her lab coat for a moment. "If we're talking about exorcising a ghost from the body of a homicidal child, I'm not sure that I can even do that..."

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Sans frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he shrugged. "What about something that would prevent the kid from, totally hypothetical situation here, potentially losing control and butchering us all in our sleep?"

Alphys gulped.

"I'll... see what I can do."

"You're the best, Al."

"I know, Sans. That's why you keep coming back."

"Hey, that and the free coffee."

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