What a Nightmare! Chapter 50:


Frisk was sniffling; fighting back tears. Her eyes stung. Asriel rested his cheek on a curled leaf on the edge of his his mug.

"Why are you doin' that?" he asked.

"I thought it would be better!" she said shrilly. She wiped her eyes with her palms and squinted angrily through blurred vision at the grater and onion on the counter ahead of her. With a frustrated grunt, she stumbled off the chair and raced from the kitchen.

Asriel laughed. He leaned over the cutting board to look at the goo she had left, then shook his head.

.

After a few seconds, Frisk dashed back in, dragging Papyrus with her with one hand and pointing up at the sink with the other. He grabbed her around the middle and hoisted her up there. She quickly rubbed water into her eyes.

"Gosh, little sister, what did you do?"

She pointed at the grated onion goo on the counter. Papyrus leaned in and immediately put his palms to his eye sockets.

"Oh! Why did you do that?!" he squeaked. "Why did I do that?!"

"We only had one!" she said. "Mom said if you grate it down you get more flavour. I dunno!"

Papyrus started to laugh. When she held out her arms, he grabbed her and put her back down. "Does that mean you're ready to start?" he asked excitedly.

She nodded and pointed to the bubbling pot on the back of the stove. Her brother absolutely beamed.

.

Together, they got more veggies ready and dumped them into a pot to reduce into goo as spaghetti cooked. They got the sauce smooth, and the pasta was only barely sticky this time when they drained it. Papyrus was just as excited about it as if it were the first time.

.

Sans was half-asleep on the couch. As usual. He hadn't really moved at all since Papyrus had insisted that it was time for breakfast, either. But, he seemed to have gotten a little rest during the night. At least, that was what he had said. He didn't seem as under the weather as yesterday. His spaghetti consumption was in slow motion, though.

.

"Seriously, how much pasta do you guys go through?" Asriel asked as he picked through a plate on the side table. "Where do you keep it?"

"In the drawers, of course," Papyrus said. "Or. Wherever it fits."

"Spice rack. A box under the sink. In that jug that holds the long spoons." Frisk smiled and shrugged. "And I think you have more in your phone, right, bro?"

"I do!" He grinned. "I have quite a large box of it in there! Pre-cooked of course."

Asriel made a face and rolled his eyes. "But why spaghetti?"

"Why spaghetti?! PSHAW! What a ridiculous question," Papyrus said. "Obviously, it is the optimum method for the ingestion of spaghetti SAUCE! And the sauce, obviously, is a mixture of only the most nutritious things, so it only follows that it is a vastly superior food item compared to say, I don't know, greasy burgers and fries." He cut his eyes at Sans.

Unperturbed, Sans twirled some noodles onto his fork and ate them. Frisk grinned.

"And slurping the noodles is kinda fun also," she said.

.

After she finished breakfast, Frisk snatched up her dream journal again and plunked herself down at the table with Asriel to write in it. He watched her curiously, but, slowly, surprise creeped onto his face.

"That's from last night?" he asked.

"Mhm," she said.

"Do you write them all down?" he asked.

"Yeah, now I do," she said. "Sans said sometimes they might predict stuff. His do. Right, bro?"

"Yup, sometimes," he said.

"But… that one, that was a memory, right?" Asriel pressed.

"Yeah. I guess so," she said. "Mostly, seems like the dreams look back. But they look forward sometimes, too."

"How long's that been a thing?" Asriel asked. He shot Sans a look, but the skeleton simply shrugged.

"Dunno, forever?" he said. "Started getting stronger when I was, like, eight or nine, I dunno."

"What about you?" Asriel turned his gaze on Papyrus. "You dream weird, too?"

"My dreams are usually quite exciting and pleasant, actually," he said. "Though, sometimes I've had strange ones. And sometimes they do come true! Like when I dreamed one day I would have cool friends and even Undyne would think I was cool, that came true!"

"I think that might just be your, uh, positive attitude," Sans said.

"Oh! Are you positive?" Papyrus asked.

"Gettin' a little less negative," Sans said.

Papyrus scoffed.

.

Asriel tilted his head and leaned over the pages. He followed behind her pen as she wrote. "It's weird to meet in dreams, isn't it?" he said quietly.

"Used to it," Frisk said with a smile. "It's better this way."

"Yeah right," he muttered but, after going quiet for a moment, he gave her a suspicious look. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'd rather not have to get stuck in imaginary time loops with no control of my body," she said. "I mean. You probably had some control, I bet. But not me. So. I like this more."

He looked thoughtful. He stared over her hand and waited for her to finish before waving his leaves at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I wanna see," he said.

"What? Oh. Okay." She laughed and pushed the book towards him, flipping back to page one. "There. Got it?"

"What, just like that?" he said, and he smiled sideways. "Don't mind me poking around through your memories?"

"Everyone pokes through my memories," she said with a wink. "Don't worry."

.

Behind them, Papyrus had been taking photos of pasta. Spaghetti in his hand, spaghetti in front of the TV; spaghetti balanced on Sans's head. Frisk saw him swiping through the photos on his phone when she snuck over the arm and leaned over his shoulder. He was putting fancy filters and star stickers on them. She surprised him when she put her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh! Hello, little sister!" he said. "Did you see this?!"

"Uh-huh!" She slipped down beside him and cuddled close. "Gonna send to Alphys?"

"Going to send to everyone! Including Alphys," he said. "This is the nicest one yet."

"You say that every time," Sans said sleepily.

"And it's true every time! Practice makes for constant improvement," Papyrus said. "But it takes work! Dedication! Effort. Foreign concepts, I guess."

"Mhm." Sans's eyes were closed but his smile widened. "Like a totally different language, bro."

.

Papyrus scoffed, but Frisk smiled. She crawled over Papyrus's legs and leaned over to look at Sans. He opened one eye and raised a brow as she tilted her head.

"You look better," she said.

"Do I? Huh. Weird," he said.

Frisk rolled her eyes. She shoved her way between her brothers, but grabbed Sans and pulled his already slumping form downwards, so the back of his head was on her shoulder. He looked up at her with confusion and she kissed his forehead and hugged him tight with a pout on her face.

"You're a dumb dork and I love you," she said.

He grinned and closed his eyes again. "That's all a guy really needs to hear, isn't it?"

"Sans, you can't be heading to sleep again already?! You really are unbearably lazy," Papyrus scolded.

"I dunno, Frisk seems to be bearin' it okay," he said.

"SANS!"

"You guys are weird," Asriel muttered.

.

Papyrus got to his feet, shaking his head at Sans, and began to clear the dishes away, grabbing up misplaced dish towels and a mug or two as well. He almost picked up the sock on the floor near the TV, but caught himself and straightened up.

"Sans, your sock is still there," Papyrus said.

"Okay," he said.

"You know it wouldn't be that hard to just bend down and pick it up."

"Okay," Sans said again.

"So you're going to move it, then," Papyrus insisted. "Riiiiight. Now."

"Okay." The skeleton made absolutely no effort to even consider lifting himself out of the cozy spot against his sister.

Papyrus waited, staring, for a long few seconds. He made a squawking noise and stomped off to the kitchen in a huff.

.

Sans rested where he was for a little. He felt the kid start gently poking around his eye socket. He smiled and opened one eye. "It's fine."

"I know." Her checks flushed. "Just having a hard time believing it sometimes."

"Cap did me a real solid there," he said. "No worries."

.

He sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his skull. "Hey, uh. Thinkin' Grillby's."

"What?! Sans! You just ate!" Papyrus protested.

"Kinda lookin' for a ketchup fix," he said with a smile and a shrug. "Kiddo, you in?"

"Yeah, sure," she said. "Az, want anything?"

"Hell no." He seemed enthralled with the book and didn't even lift his eyes from the pages. "I mean. No thanks."

Papyrus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't you take advantage of her kindness, brother!"

"What, bro?" Sans grinned. "That's all I ever do, though."

.

Outside, in front of the house, Sans started to head the wrong way down the road. Frisk scampered after him and latched onto his sleeve.

"Shortcut?" she asked.

"Hm. Kinda." He cut his eyes at her. "I was thinkin'. Before that. You wanna show me that tear?"

"Oh! Yeah, okay," she said. "Wanna go to that save near the magic box thing first?"

"Gotcha."

.

He brought her where she asked, and she quickly clung onto the timeline, just for a moment, until it felt steady. Then, in a blink, they were in front of the door to the ruins. She pointed north and walked to the tree line. She could still see her own shoe prints and the marks of Kid's lizard feet in the snow.

"It's not too far," she said.

.

She slipped through the trees, following her own trail. Sans ambled behind her slowly, eyeing the tall, dark trunks around that seemed to reach upwards forever.

"Haven't been back this way in a long time," he said.

"Oh yeah?" Frisk called back. "Is there more stuff past here?"

"Cliff, eventually," he said. "There's another valley that way."

"And what's there?" she asked.

"Not much. Few houses, I guess," he said. "There's a lift thing. Uh. Across the river, I think. Never used it."

"Wanna explore with me before we all leave, after the barrier goes?" she asked hopefully.

"Explore?" he repeated with a laugh.

"Yeah! I wanna see what's over there." She slowed and grabbed his hand, shooting him a grin. "I wanna see Home, too. And New Home."

Sans snickered. "Welp. I'm sure Paps would be super into that."

"Not you?" she asked.

"Eh. I'm sure you'll convince me to tag along," he said.

When she smiled brightly, it warmed him to his core.

.

It wasn't long until the bright, blue-white light streamed through the shadows, casting glowing stripes along the snow.

"Welp. That looks ominous," Sans said.

"It is a little spooky," Frisk said.

.

As the clearing opened up before them, Sans paused at the edge. He tried to get a good feel for the layout. Frisk was t less cautious; she headed for the light and stopped partway. The tear seemed just as she'd left it.

"See? Kinda blue," she said.

Sans circled it curiously, and shot her a look with his brows raised. "Kinda like the basement one, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, but, like, it was a recording of memories or something," she said. "Maybe a really really old save?"

Sans nodded. "Didn't suck you in?"

"No," she said. "C-Careful, huh? It did kinda knock me over. So…"

"Alright, well…" He touched it cautiously and immediately froze up. "Whoa."

"What d'you see?" Frisk said.

"It's kinda like a save," he said. "Like, that night sky stuff. Huh. Haven't been through one of these in years."

"It's weird, though, right?" she insisted. "Kid could see it when he couldn't see the other stuff. It's bigger. The colour's weird."

"All true," Sans said. "Now, why the hell did he want you here so bad?"

"I dunno. I mean. That white light, maybe?" she said.

"Maybe," he said. "But I dunno what that does. I mean, hell, he dragged you out here twice. It's gotta be somethin'. Unless he's just crazy."

"I dunno," Frisk said again.

.

He pulled his hand out and rubbed the back of his skull. She looked at the light trepidatiously and he shrugged and gestured to it as if inviting her to take a turn. She braced herself and reached for the light. It flashed across her vision and suddenly she was seeing stars.

.

"Whoa, uh… Kiddo? Frisk? Can you hear me?" Sans asked.

Frisk blinked and spun in place. His voice reverberated strangely, like it was bouncing down a hallway, but on the calling end of a radio. She could only see the dark, light-prickled space around her.

"Y-Yeah? Can you hear me? Where are you?" she asked.

"Oh. Okay. I'm, uh. Out here. And you're in there? I guess? Dang. Didn't think that would happen again."

"Hah! Me neither," she said. "Um. But I'm okay, I think."

"What's it like?" he asked.

"Just like you said," she said. "It's like the night sky. I'm, um…? Floating? I think?"

"Do you see a way out?" he asked.

She frowned a bit and looked around. Nothing around her, but when she looked up, she saw a bright tear. "I think so," she said. "I, uh—" She lost her words when a cold hand grabbed hers.

.

She whirled and was staring into a white, smiling face with dark eyes. Just like her drawing.

"Oh my god," she said.

He tilted his head. He looked somewhat pleased to see her.

"Kiddo? What's going on?" Sans asked.

The creature froze and looked up, body suddenly quaking. Frisk gripped his hand.

"Hey, don't be scared, that's just Sans," she said. "You met him, I think. It's okay. Um. Sorry, I… Don't know what to call you. SANS! HEY!"

"What?" he said. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess. Um. Shadowguy is here," she said.

"Oh. Shit. What's he doing?" Sans asked.

"Just kinda standing here with me. I'll let you know," she said. She gently pulled the man's hand.

He looked down at her quickly.

"That okay? I mean. Because I'm gonna forget you after, right?" she asked. "If he can't see you but I just tell him, he can remember for me. Right?"

He looked a little surprised. He nodded. She smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry if I seem nervous," she said. "It's just… we've been trying to figure you out. It's been a total mess."

He tilted his head slightly. Seemed puzzled.

"Well, I mean, we knew there was something we couldn't remember," she said. "Like, um, a missing piece? And, I mean, taking me out of the house wasn't super s-subtle? Subtle, that's the word, right?"

"Got it," she heard Sans say.

.

The man's smile spread a little wider. She could have sworn there was a bit of pride in that expression. He slowly knelt down to her, interlocking his long, bony fingers with hers. The stripes of energy on her skin lit up at his touch. She gulped.

"Are we friends?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I don't understand what's going on," she said. "I… I can sort of remember you. In dreams. I mean. I'm sure I've seen you when I'm awake, too. But I don't remember that. What the heck is going on?"

.

He flinched a little. He stayed silent, though. Frisk tilted her head. Maybe he couldn't talk. Maybe that's what that weird noise on the recorder had been— his voice. Incomprehensible. Cautiously, he reached out to her and cupped her face. His dark eyes sparked with just a little glimmer of light and he touched his forehead to hers. He started to hum, his distorted voice forced into a quiet, familiar tune. A song she'd heard before, just a little. Felt like a memory. Or maybe a dream. She sort of liked it.

"Sans, can you hear that?" she asked.

"Kinda," he said. "…Huh."

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin', keep doin' whatever the heck you're doin'," he said.

She laughed a little and the monster's smiled widened. He pulled away from her and tented his fingers. He looked embarrassed, somehow. Slowly, he pointed a finger at her chest. She frowned.

.

"You…? What? I'm sorry, I don't…" she said.

He put his hand to his own chest. Then, again, pointed to hers.

"Oh, you…? You wanna see my soul?" she asked.

He nodded. She felt a hit of trepidation. Asriel's words flashed through her mind. But, this monster, he'd helped along the way. Without his key to the CORE, they wouldn't even have Asriel. She gulped, but she put a hand to her chest and lit up her soul bright red. He stared, as if awestruck, for a few seconds, before his long, white fingers grazed her energy. He was gentle; cautious. It made it all the more surprising when he grabbed her tightly by the shoulder and slid his hand right into her soul spot. It phased through her form like he was a ghost.

"Oh. Oh j-jeez. Um. Uhhhh… W-Wait, I—" She couldn't help but squeak when a weird pain and a chill went through her entire body. "Oh no. N-No, stop, I—!"

.

The man hurriedly retracted his hand, a white light glowing all across his fingers. As if he'd scooped it back out of her. He seemed enthralled. Frisk plopped backwards, recoiled; covering her soul with her hand as it flickered. The creature stared into that light for what felt like forever. Her heart began to pound and she wanted to run; cling to her brother for comfort. But she couldn't take her eyes off this monster.

"S-Sans. Sans, he… H-He just…" She was shaking and she couldn't raise her voice above a whisper. "I-I'm scared."

.

The monster jerked. He looked at her with wide eyes. Hurriedly, he flowed, serpent-like, towards her, dipping down to match her eye level. He grasped her tightly around the shoulders. He said something softly, but she couldn't understand. His eyes began to run black down his cheeks. Fear took her again, but this strange creature wrapped her in his arms and hid his face against her head. He mumbled to her, and though his voice made her dizzy, he didn't sound threatening. He sounded sad. He was sorry. He hadn't meant to scare her. She puffed out a sigh and hugged him back. He couldn't help being so strange. She forgave him. She relaxed, maybe a little too much. She shut her eyes for just a moment.

.

Suddenly, Frisk was overcome with confusion. Her heart was beating too hard. There was cold all around her. She frowned and moved slightly, and there was a shifting of blackness engulfing her. Suddenly, she was looking into a smiling white face. She jerked back with surprise and let out a yelp, but she started to laugh as who she was looking at clicked in her mind. Strange to see him face to face after only really having her own picture based on dreams to work from.

"Oh! It's you! Gosh, sorry, you surprised me!" she said. "What're you doing here?"

He tilted his head. She smiled bashfully.

"Hey, I remember you just a little this time. I drew you. So I'd kinda remember what you look like. 'Cause, um. I mean, I guess you know about the memory problems? Dreams stick a little, but, um… We've met a few times, haven't we? For real?" she said. "Sorry! Um. Hang on?"

He cocked his head the other way.

"Sans! Hey, Sans?! Can you hear me?" she called.

"Yeeeeeah?" he said.

"I, uh, kinda ran into the shadowguy in here!" she said.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

"What? How? Can you see me?" she asked.

"Nnnno, you already told me that," he said. "Oh. Crap."

"What? Wait. Oh…" She noticed the monster in front of her was looking a little bashful and tenting his fingers. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, I looked away, didn't I? That's how this works, right?"

He simply stared back at her. He was still smiling; couldn't help it. His face was all but frozen. But he didn't seem very happy. He seemed worried.

.

Frisk frowned with confusion. "What's going on?" she asked him. "Why'd you want me to come here?"

He held out one hand. It was glowing with white light. She wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed before.

"Oh! What's, uhh…?"

He held her hand. He seemed insistent. She didn't know what to say or do, but, much more gently, he took her hand and put it on his. He drew the light towards his chest. Frisk wasn't sure what he wanted, but he did it a few times in a row.

"Oh. So. You need help, huh?" she said. "This is… Well. Okay. I don't get it, but…" She let him use her hand against his until it froze an inch from his chest.

He grunted; sounded frustrated, and shot her a look. She still didn't get it, but it seemed to her like the energy was held back by some invisible force. Though she didn't understand that, she was starting to think she understood what he wanted from her.

.

She held his fingers, making sure to cling onto that white light, and she moved it in to touch it to where a soul spot might have been. The energy seeped into him. He shuddered, and as Frisk drew back a little, he touched his hand to his chest. He seemed relieved.

"Is… that what you needed?" she asked. "What was that?"

He mumbled something. His fingers clenched into the pitch black that was his body and, for a few seconds, he seemed to look a million miles away. He cupped his hands like he was cradling something precious and then, very carefully, held it out to her. There was a glimmer of light through the holes in his hands.

.

She leaned closer and peeked in. Between his broken palms floated a tiny red speck, glowing like an ember. She looked into his dark eyes with confusion.

"Are you giving this to me?" she asked.

He nodded.

"What's he giving you?" Sans asked.

"Um. It's like… fire? I'm not sure, I… Oh. Oh!" She put her hand on top on the strange man's. "It's determination, isn't it?"

He nodded.

"Are you sure? Don't you need that?" she asked.

He seemed to insist. Carefully, she reached out for the little glowing spot. She took it in her fingers. It was warm. She had to keep herself from staring at it, instead keeping her eyes on the monster.

.

A strange white light caught her attention, and she almost reflexively turned to look. The man held her cheek quickly, keeping her gaze straight on him. Something around them groaned and growled, and Frisk winced and squeaked.

"What the hell was that?" Sans asked.

"I-I dunno!" Frisk said. "M-Maybe back up?"

Hurriedly, the man cupped her hand around the little spark and pushed it towards her chest. It connected and made her tingle with warmth. It made her feel solid and, in a strange way, whole. He grabbed her hand gently and began to trace letters against the skin of her palm.

Y - O - U - R - S

"Mine?" she repeated.

C - O - R - E - T - O - O - K

"The coreto…? Oh. OH! The CORE! Y-You mean when I…? When I fainted?" she asked, and he nodded. "You were there? You grabbed it for me?"

He nodded again. He pointed up.

"Wait, what—?"

.

Frisk yelped and covered her ears when the rumbling sound turned into a thunder clap. Her heart started beating hard. Patches of the dark flared white behind the black-cloaked monster. Something nearby burst; the man jerked upright and flowed to put himself between it and her. He almost collapsed when a shockwave hit him. She squeaked and hurriedly grabbed him as he quivered and slumped.

"H-Hey! Hey, we should go, right? Come on," she insisted.

He turned his head and gave her a confused look.

"Look, it doesn't matter if I won't remember you, okay?! I still don't want something bad to happen to you," she said. "Come with me!"

.

He smiled. He lifted her up under her arms and stared her in the face for just a moment, before he gave her a hug. The world started to rumble and growl again, and she clung to his shoulders.

"C-Come on. I don't wanna go without you," she said.

He let out a quiet, gentle laugh. Quickly, though, he spun her around, locking his arm over her eyes.

"W-Wait! Wait!" She squirmed, but couldn't turn in his grip. "Wait, I'm gonna f…"

.

Outside in the open air, Sans leaned closer to the light to try to catch Frisk's words, but she went silent. He felt a sinking sensation.

"Kiddo?" he asked.

"S-Sans?" she called. "Sans? I dunno what happened, I can't see, I—"

She yelped at a thunderous crash and Sans couldn't wait a second longer. He locked his hands into the light. It burned. This wasn't going to end well. But he felt for her soul and found it, grabbed it as tight as he could and yanked. The light burst and icy pain shot through every inch of his frame. He stumbled back, quivering, and almost doubled over. But there was his kid, shot from the light. Some consolation at least, until he noticed the tips of his fingers starting to look a little shimmery, like tiny specs of glitter catching the light.

.

Frisk's vision spun with white and grey and brown. She saw a flicker of blue clinging to her soul and heard her brother grunt.

.

"Oh shit. Shit. Shit shit shit," he grumbled.

Frisk stumbled to her feet, heart pounding at a sickening speed. Her head was spinning, but not so much that she didn't see something strange about her brother. He was hunched, back to her, rattling louder than she'd ever heard.

"Sans?" she squeaked.

.

He put a hand to his face; tried to cover his eye. She stumbled through the snow to him but what she saw made her freeze up. There was dust pouring from under his shirt, glimmering like cool, white sand on the snow and over his slippers. His eyes were going, too, the bottoms of his sockets running with gaps like dark tear-streaks despite the light flickering between blue and gold trying to hold steady in his left socket.

"Shit. S-Sorry. Sorry. I-I—" He grunted as a leg gave out and he dropped to his knees in the snow. "Oh. Shit."

"No no no no no no. No. Sans, no." Her voice was shrill; she snapped out of shock to grab him tight. "No no no, Sans, stay with me. Don't do it."

"C-Can't help it, sis," he said, smiling weakly. "Heh. Whoops. Sorry. Don't g-get nightmares, huh?"

"Can I call Papyrus, would that help?!" she demanded. "How much time—?"

"Seconds."

.

Sans's breath was short. His vision was gone. Supposed that meant his eyes were, too. He wasn't worried, though. The falling feeling would stop soon. The kid'd reset and everything would be just fine. Just wished she didn't have to see it. Almost didn't want her so close, too. No one should have to feel their family's dust on them.

.

Heat hit him. In the cold dark, he hadn't expected it. His thoughts stalled. The shaking in his body stopped, as did the vertigo. He could feel her magic pouring through his bones. The determination was warm and steady. He was dizzy. Suddenly, he could see again.

.

His kid was holding him tight, eyes clamped shut and tears streaming down her face, clinging to his head and his chest as if she was trying to hold him together. She was absolutely blazing. The soul in her shone brighter than he'd ever seen it before. It was like fire all around her little body. He wanted to ask her what she was doing, but he couldn't speak. Couldn't move, either. But he could see his fingers— where the tips had started to dissolve had begun to drift back together. Dust that had fallen reversed and repaired his bones. Everything tingled. His energy suddenly clicked back into place and he felt, to his surprise, absolutely fine. He took a deep breath and the rigidity of his spine slackened. He touched his ribcage. Solid.

.

"I'm s-sorry. I'm so sorry," Frisk squeaked. "I'll go back right now, I'll—"

"Wait," Sans said. "Wait, wait. Hey. Look at me?"

She whimpered but did as he asked. She was taken aback. Her jaw dropped and she sat up on her knees, holding his face in both hands.

"Wh-What?!" she yelped. "Y-You… You're…!"

"Alright?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah!" She began to grin and laughed, pulling him in close. "Oh thank god! Oooh man. Oh man. Bro. Big bro. I was so scared! I'm so sorry, I—"

"It's okay," he said.

.

He pet her hair, almost unable to believe that his fingers were even still usable. She sniffled; looked like a total mess. Tear streaks stained her skin and her cheeks and nose were red, certainly not helped by the cold. She tried to catch her breath and wiped her face on her sleeve. He snickered.

"That was trash," he said.

"I thought you were gonna… Oh. Jeez," she muttered.

"Me too. Sorry," he said. "Must've been scary, huh?"

She nodded, but she giggled with relief anyway.

.

"What the heck happened? Why did you…? I mean. How'd you fix yourself?" she asked.

"Uh. You're jokin', right?" he said with a grin. "Wasn't me. It was you."

"M-Me? But I didn't…? I didn't do anything," she said with a confused frown.

"Kinda looked like somethin' to me," he said.

"Maybe it was the light. Maybe that's what it is?" Frisk wondered. "Maybe it does healing? I mean, what else is it—?"

.

There was a sudden thrum of magic and Frisk went rigid, clinging to Sans protectively. The light she saw over his shoulder gave a pulse and recede into itself until it was like it was never there.

"What the…?!" She pointed and Sans turned to look. "Wh-Whaaaaat?!"

"Huh. Weird," he said.

.

Frisk stumbled to her feet and rushed to the spot, racing around it in a circle; waving her hand through the air.

"Nothing?!" she squeaked. "What was the point of coming here then if all it was gonna do was…?! Oh my god." She rushed over to him as he stood. She grabbed his arms, looking up with wide eyes, glimmering with faint tears. "Oh my god, it's not trying to kill you, is it?! I-It can't be. Can it?"

"Uh…" Sans grinned sideways. "Nah, kiddo. Doubt it."

"But then what the heck was that? Why bring me here? What the heck was the point?"

Sans tilted his head. She looked so distressed. He felt a little bad that he felt the opposite.

"Oh. Right. You forgot," he said.

"Forgot what?" she asked.

"Okay. Put it this way. What'd you see in there?" he asked.

"Um. Stars. Then black. Then you yanked me out?" she said. "And then… th-then…"

.

Frisk's eyes began to glisten again. She sniffled. The sight of it startled the skeleton. Broke his heart a little bit every time.

"Oh. Kid. C'mon." He knelt and wiped under her eyes with his thumbs. "It's alright. You're okay."

"I-It's not about m-me!" she squeaked. "You a-almost died!"

"But I didn't. Hey. Even if I did, doesn't matter," he said.

"Doesn't matter?!" she squeaked; she looked horrified. "Of course it matters!"

"Not with you around." He smiled. "Hey. Let's head to Grillby's. Get our stories straight. And get you some ice cream or somethin', huh?"

.

The kid hugged him tight. He sighed and patted her head.

"Jeez. Dude. Maybe sometime we can go more than two days without me makin' you cry, huh?" he said sympathetically.

"You didn't make me cry!" she protested.

"You have a real selective memory, don't ya?" he said with a grin.

"St-Stop it," she said, unable to quell a quiet snicker with her words. She pressed herself against his ribcage, burying herself in under his coat. He could feel her heart beating frantically. "You never made me cry. It's just I super love you and I don't like you gettin' hurt, th-that's all."

"Oh. Kiddo." He put his arms around her and bumped his brow against her head. "You're too good, y'know that? Don't worry. Seriously."

She nodded, but she sniffled quietly. "B-But… But, two days in a row, oh m-man, I'm so sorry…" she muttered.

"Actually." He patted her head again and shot her a grin as he straightened up. "I'm feelin' pretty okay."

"What? R-Really?" she asked.

He shrugged and nodded. "C'mon." He offered her his hand. "Hero like you could use some junk food, huh?"

She scoffed, but she gladly held his hand. He grinned and whisked them to the path right outside of town.

.

His eyes seemed to sparkle as they headed up main street. There was a little shimmer of blue about him. Frisk shot him a puzzled look.

"You look happy," she said.

He began to laugh quietly, his cheekbones flushing.

"What?" she asked.

He shrugged, but his smile brightened. "Well, I mean, guess all that's the bonus of havin' a time god as your little sis, right?" he said, pushing open the door to Grillby's and beckoning her inside. "Don't mind exploitin' it a bit, if that's okay with you."

"But I'm not a…!" She lost her words when she noticed Papyrus was leaning over the counter at the back of the bar, talking quite animatedly. "Uh. Paps?"

"Wuh-oh," Sans said.

.

Like he had the ears of a fox, Papyrus whirled on them, bright and alert, and then dashed over with a frown on his face. He stopped with his hands on his hips and leaned down.

"Where were you two?!" he demanded.

"Um. J-Just taking a walk?" Frisk said.

"I. Felt. Something. Weird," he said, his eyes focussing in on Sans like laser beams. "Something. Awful. What were you doing? Frisk! Were you crying?! What's wrong?!"

"Oh! N-Nothing, nothing, I just, uh…" She smiled awkwardly. "I sl-slipped on the ice a bit! Just, uh… banged up my knees a little; it just stings, that's all. I, um, just look bad because it's so cold out there!"

"Oh. OH! Oh no!" Papyrus's expression softened right away and he wrapped her in a hug. "Are you okay?! Would you like me to heal you?!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine. M-Maybe a little later," she said quickly. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry!" he assured her, and he shot Sans a disapproving look. "Sans, how could you let Frisk fall all over the slippery ground!? What were you even doing near ice?!"

"To be fair, I'm an idiot," Sans said with a shrug.

"Don't say that," Frisk said with a laugh.

"SIGH! You two, I swear," he said, shaking his head as he straightened up. "I can't leave you alone for a minute without something strange and or awful happening. Gosh."

"Hey, bro, where's the flower?" Sans said.

Papyrus's eyes widened. He bolted past them.

"I LEFT HIM ALONE! OH NO, IF HE'S BURNED THE HOUSE DOWN, I SWEAR—-!"

.

Frisk snickered and Sans shrugged as the door slammed closed behind Papyrus. Sans pointed to the front counter. The booths were occupied, but not much else, as they went up to sit. Frisk immediately noticed the whoopee cushion on her stool. She paused and poked down on it a few times, making small fart sounds in quick succession. Sans laughed.

"Nice one, fartmaster," he said.

He sat down and a different whoopee cushion blared. Frisk grinned and he laughed even louder.

.

"Oh, man, I'm so glad you're okay," she said quietly.

"Course I am," he said. "Alright. So. Should we straighten this out?"

"Um. Here?" she asked.

"Oh. Don't worry about Grillbs," he said. "He's pretty chill for a dude made of fire. He's old enough to have seen the sky, y'know. He's heard it all. Kept secrets from all over."

"Oh. R-Really?" She took note of Grillby drying mugs at the other end of the counter, though he seemed to be peering at them over his glasses. "Is th-that okay? Um! I promise we're not trying to do anything bad or anything."

The man chuckled quietly and waved a hand at her. She smiled and, behind her, Sans held up two fingers and then stuck his thumb up. Grillby nodded slightly. He put down the glass and pulled out some metallic oven mitts.

"Thank you!" she said, and then turned back to her brother. "So what the heck even?"

"So your memories reset two times in there," Sans said. "Saw the shadowman thing and—"

"Wait, what?! Really?" she said.

"Yup. Gave him the white energy," he said. "Then something happened. You forgot. Then, he gave you some determination, probably. Said it was yours, I think? Maybe lost it when the CORE upended on your head, not totally clear. Theeeeen, something else started happening in there that sounded like explosions, you said you wanted to bring the guy with you out of there, your memories reset again and I yanked you out and basically died and stuff."

"U-Until the… light? Fixed you?" she asked nervously.

"No, you dork, you fixed me," he said.

.

Frisk stared back at him blankly for a few seconds. "I don't understand."

"Okay, so I'm a mess, right? Total disaster. Dust everywhere," he said. "Then you start glowin' real bright. Red. And suddenly that dust decides it wants to rewind and build my bones again. And surprise. I'm not dead. I mean, not that it would have mattered anyway, but—"

"I still don't get how you can say that," she said.

"Kiddo. Trust me," Sans said. "It's a totally different feeling."

"It is? How?" she asked.

"Got a ten outta ten level of trust between us, huh?" he said. "Back then, if I bit it, or someone else did, what could I do? Nothin'. Just revel in how hard I, uh, screwed up for a few seconds before I'm just gone. I mean. It's still like that, kinda. I can't do a damn thing. But. We have you now. I don't even have to think about it for a second. Somethin' bad happens? Welp. Still not my timeline, but all of a sudden, I'm totally comfortable with that. Don't even have to worry about Paps anymore. Gives a guy a certain sense of, uh, security, y'know?"

"Y-Yeah?" Frisk asked, her eyes brightening.

"No bones about it," he said. He winked.

Frisk blushed a little and she smiled sheepishly. "I'm just glad you're okay," she said again. "But, if it was really me that fixed you… I dunno. I feel like that light had to have had something to do with it, right? I've never done anything like that before. I didn't even know I was doing it."

"Who knows?" Sans shrugged. "Or. Y'know. Could just be that you have wacky super powers that activate when someone's in trouble."

"Just like an anime," Frisk said with a laugh. "I dunno. I just… Ugh." She slumped on the counter with her face hidden in her crossed arms.

.

Grillby slid over and looked at the two of them with a brow raised. Sans grinned tiredly and rubbed the back of his skull.

"Long morning," he said.

"Hmm…" Grillby said quietly.

"I know, right?" Sans said. "You remember, years ago? When I talked about those lines in the Dark Model? And then the red one?" He pointed at Frisk.

Grillby looked over the kid and seemed surprised.

"Yup. Turned out to be super right." He gently tapped her head. "This is the kid who saves the universe."

The man bent down a little and was quietly thoughtful. He put a hand on top of her head. She looked up slowly and he gently rubbed her hair.

"Must be hard," he said softly.

Frisk looked taken aback; her eyes welled up at the corners. She smiled and wiped her face. "I-It is, sometimes," she said. "B-But I have a lot of great people helping me, so… S-So it's not so hard sometimes, too."

Grillby smiled. He slid off and returned to the back counter before he wandered off to the kitchen area behind the bar. Frisk's cheeks went a bit pink and she shot Sans a look. He grinned.

"Told you," he said.

.

Frisk snickered. She puffed out a sigh and rested her cheek on her fist. "I don't get it," she said. "So he… wanted to trade?"

"Hm? Oh. Heh. Guess so," Sans said. "Also."

He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a marker, and then pointed down the counter. Frisk looked and her eyes caught on some napkins. She grabbed a few and slid them over to him. He started scribbling something down and she leaned over to look.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked. "G4-D5-A4? What the heck is that? More weird codes?"

"Welp. Closer to weird chords," he said with a wink. "It's music."

"Music?" she repeated. "From what?"

"I heard what I think was the shadow guy, uh, humming," he said; he wrote down a few more numbers and letters. "I think I've heard it before."

"Oh? W-Would you hum it for me?" she asked. "I don't get how you get music out of that."

"I'll show you sometime," he said.

.

He pointed along with each note and hummed the song slowly. Frisk tilted her head. She stuck out her tongue to wet her lips and cautiously whistled, echoing what she'd heard.

"Hey, there you go," he said.

"That does sound really familiar," she admitted.

"Dig that noise; wish I could do that," he said.

Frisk laughed.

.

When Grillby brought their food and a shake for Frisk, the kid immediately started eating her fries with ice cream. For some reason, that always cracked Sans up. But, he guessed it wasn't that weird. After all, he was the one chugging ketchup like it was water. Her spirits seemed to be lifted a little. He was relieved. Hated seeing that kid upset, especially over him, of all people.

.

Truth be told, he was still shocked. That little dweeb stuffing her face beside him had done something impossible. He should be dust. It wouldn't have been that bad. A little reset— lose twenty minutes— and everything would've been perfectly fine. Sure, maybe dying wasn't great for his psyche, but with Frisk, it wasn't something that bothered him so much anymore outside of those memories where the feelings of helplessness echoed, too. But now, she'd smashed another rule so soundly it was as if she'd taken a hammer to it. No reset, and here he was.

.

He tipped back a swig of ketchup and then rested his cheek on his fist, absently staring at Frisk. How had she done it? He'd have to test it. Maybe not on himself this time. He mulled it over as he rubbed his thumb over his fingertips.

.

He started to snicker quietly before he could help it. Frisk looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked.

She didn't. He grinned and pointed at his own cheek. She quickly wiped her face.

"Naw, a bit higher," he said.

Frisk scrubbed at her cheek again, and Sans pointed to the opposite side of his face. Frisk raised her sleeve, but then frowned and elbowed him. "Oh come on" she said.

He laughed and ruffled her hair. She blew a raspberry at him, but seemed more than happy to snuggle up to him when he offered her a spot under his arm.

.

"We should probably tell Papyrus something a little more true, huh?" she said.

"Hm?"

"Well. I mean. He felt your energy going whacko all the way from home, and I'm gonna have to put this stuff—" She tapped on the napkin. "—and this stuff into my book. Right?"

"Oh. Uh. Shit. Guess you're kinda right about that," he said. "Ah, jeez. Don't really wanna put that on him, y'know?"

"I'll tell him," she said. "Don't worry. I'll tone it down. Won't tell him about the whole dust thing."

"Thanks a million," he said.

"But we should tell Alphys, though," she said.

"I hate that that makes sense," he said.

He slumped on his fist. Frisk snickered.

"We'll… We'll figure it out," she said.

Sans nodded. She was mostly trying to convince herself, however.