The Kid Might Be A Bit Weird Arc Chapter 52:


"Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god."

That didn't sound good. Sans felt small, soft hands desperately patting his skull around his eye sockets. Wondered if he'd blown one out again. Wondered if he was even awake, actually.

.

He forced his left eye open and set it alight, and almost instantly sent his kid sister squeaking and skittering back like a frightened mouse. He sat up, brushing his thumb under his eyes as he got his bearings. Her face was a little gaunt and she looked shell-shocked.

"Sup, kiddo?" he asked groggily.

.

Frisk stared back, her eyes darting over him quickly. She trembled and huffed out a deep sigh, putting her face in her hands. "Oh god," she muttered.

"Uh. Frisk?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm… s-sorry, I…" She shook her head and pulled her fingers through her bangs in frustration. "I didn't mean to wake you up, I j-just—"

"Chill out," he said. "Breathe. Then talk."

"I thought… Oh jeez." She sighed and slumped, and seemed frozen as she shook. "S-Sorry."

Sans tilted his head. She began to stand up, but he gripped at her soul and pulled her over, staring at her with puzzlement. She gulped, and she clung to his sleeve, unable to meet his gaze.

"Oh," he said. "Bad dream, huh?"

She nodded.

"Just a dream?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah," she said.

"That's good," he said.

Frisk grimaced. "Not so much," she said quietly.

.

Sans winced at himself. He put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer, and she gladly leaned against him.

"Sorry. That was shitty of me," he said. "Rough one, huh?"

"I… I thought it was real for a minute," she said. "I went out for a save and came back and the h-house was quiet, like the other day, b-but then when I came into your room, you were there, and y-you… you were just… gone. And I reset and reset and it was always too late to stop, a-and—"

"Oh, kiddo. C'mon. That's nothin'," he said gently. "Never happened."

"Wh-What if it does though?" she squeaked. "What if I—?"

"Nothin' is gonna happen to anyone," he said. "Can't. Not with you here. You're too strong."

"I'm not!" she insisted. "I'm j-just… I'm scared."

.

He hated the sound of that. Made his chest ache. Sans put his back to the wall and lifted her into his arms.

"I j-just… sometimes I just… I s-see you hurt when I close my eyes and I… I c-can't lose you, bro, I just can't," she squeaked.

"Got you," he said. "S'okay. Nothin' to be afraid of."

.

She sighed and settled in close, curling up and clinging to his shirt. Her heart was pounding. The way her shoulders shook; he knew her bones would be rattling if she'd been a skeleton. She let out a high, tired sigh. He curled a leg under his poor little nerd and pulled her closer. He preened the back of her head with his fingertips, and, slowly, her shaking subsided. Her soul started to stick to his and he smiled. He ruffled her hair.

"Hey," he said. "There you go. You trust me, don't ya?"

"Y-Yeah, always," she said.

"Then don't worry about that kind of crap. I know. The way we are, sometimes our dreams are just complete garbage. And it feels like you're sure it's real. I had one just a bit ago. Thought my ribs were cut open; couldda sworn it was real. But it wasn't. And you gotta remember, it stays in here." He tapped the side of his skull. "Can't come out. Doesn't matter about the dreams. Out here, kiddo, you're the strongest thing in the world. I know you don't buy it, but it's true."

"Then why d-do I feel so… small?" she asked quietly.

"You're a little kid," he said with a laugh. "It's okay. You don't gotta be on top of things all the time."

"I knooow…" She huffed, but there was a tired laugh in there. "I just… It's just a lot. That's all. I guess."

.

She slumped and her brother lazily rubbed her back. Slowly, the kid relaxed, her breathing levelling out and her heart's beat not pulsing with quite so much speed. Sans rested his chin on her head and she gladly cuddled closer. She sighed softly. He let the glow in his eye fade, but he could still see a faint shimmer of red shining through her shirt.

"I'm…" She sighed again. "I'm sorry, I w-wish I wasn't so—"

"Hey. Don't bother. Okay? It's fine," he assured her. "I know, things aren't easy. You can feel however you feel. I'm just here to make sure that, y'know, you're not alone or whatever."

Frisk laughed quietly. "You're a really good brother," she said. "Thanks Sans. Love you."

"Love you too, you little nerd," he said.

.

She finally relaxed. She was starting to fall asleep, in fact.

"Hey. Paps still up?" he asked.

"I dunno. I think so," she said. "Didn't see him."

He grimaced. She needed Papyrus right now, not him. She needed his endless positivity. If Papyrus told her things would be fine, she'd believe him, wouldn't she?

"Alright," he said. "Want me to tuck you back in?"

"Dunno," she said quietly. She still sounded choked up.

He hated it. That the thought of something bad happening had thrown her for such a loop— that it was specifically about him— it was hard to shoulder. He didn't want her to feel that way. He wasn't worth that.

"Hm. Okay." He pulled back a little and cupped her face, brushing some stray tears from her skin. "How about we cover a chapter or two of that Trident book? Better?"

"Ooh. Yeah," she said.

"Alright, meet you at the couch or somethin'," he said. He patted her head when she nodded and he went to Papyrus's room.

.

The nightlight gave the place a subtle orange glow, and as Sans went to get the book, he took note of Asriel asleep between action figures. He had curled himself into a spiral and settled into the dirt snugly. Reminded him of a snake. He had Frisk's phone near him and Sans quietly swiped it. He heard the kid's soft feet pass the room by and a faint creaking of the stairs. He went back to his own room in the blink of an eye and turned the lights on.

.

He plopped down on his mattress and rubbed his eye sockets. He looked at the phone and raised his brows. Maybe…? He swiped through Frisk's contacts and found what he was sure she needed. MOM.

.

It was late, and the phone rang for a while. Then, a click.

"H… Hello?" Toriel's voice, though she didn't sound groggy; sounded like she had something in her mouth. "Frisk, sweetie?"

"Heh. Nah, me again," Sans said.

"Oh! Oh, Sans!" He heard her gulp. "Um, hello! How are you?"

"Fine. Late night?" he said.

"Yes, a bit. I apologize, I just was chewing something, um—"

"Oh yeah, whatcha havin'?" he asked.

"Well, it's a salad, with some snail, and a bit of walnuts, and a vinaigrette made from this lovely cider the spiders here make, but, um, it doesn't do well to ask what's in it, apparently," she said.

Sans laughed. "Sounds about right," he said. "Glad I didn't wake you up."

"Oh, it would've been alright anyway," she admitted. "I've been… Well. I've slept better."

"Mhm. Hear that," he said. "Kinda why I'm callin', actually."

"Oh no, did something happen?!" she asked shrilly.

"Eh. It's just, the kid, she's been kinda having bad dreams for a bit," he said. "Since she, uh, got sick. I was just thinkin', might help to talk to you, y'know? But it's not like it's an emergency."

"Not an emergency? Nonsense! If my little girl is having nightmares, then who better to chase them away? You may not know this, Sans, but I was quite the fighter back in the day. No dream beast is a match for me," she said.

Sans grinned. "Exactly what I wanted to hear, dude. Thanks a ton."

xXxXx

Sans really enjoyed being right, sometimes. When he told Frisk who was on the phone, the kid's tired face instantly lit up. He lurked in the kitchen, making some cocoa, listening as she chatted to her mom. She sounded almost perky. It was good to hear. He brought her a mug, and then jerked his thumb back up the stairs and raised his brows. Frisk grabbed his sleeve and shook her head. He snickered quietly and plopped down with her.

.

She leaned on him and he dozed off. Felt like he'd only been out for a second when she gently nudged him with her elbow.

"Sans?" she asked quietly. "You awake?"

"Kinda," he said. He opened one eye.

She smiled sheepishly and looked down at the phone clutched in her hands.

"Thank you," she said.

He shrugged. Her cheeks flushed. She already looked a little better. He sat up and popped his spine.

"Still up for a chapter or two?" he asked.

"Oh! Y-Yeah! Are you?" she asked.

"Mhm." He flipped through the book, searching for where they'd stopped the last time. "You up for followin' or do you just wanna chill?"

"I wanna follow!" she said.

Without even looking, he grabbed her soul and floated her into a spot in his lap where she'd be able to see.

"Thanks, Sans," she said. "Um. For everything."

"No problem, I basically did nothing," he said.

"Pffft, as if," she laughed.

.

The next chapter of the Trident of Vengeance closed in on the hero, Sylph, battling a giant beast as she tried to rescue some villagers it stole. She rescued the monsters but, much to Frisk's dismay, the beast was sent into a rage and knocked the hero unconscious and caved in part of the cavern. When she awoke in the next chapter, there came the hard realization that one of Sylph's wings had been crushed and she was trapped in the cave. Only near the end, did she manage to escape the rubble and confront to beast again. It was almost too tense for Frisk, but she couldn't just leave it like that. One more chapter, Sans agreed.

.

Papyrus finally returned from his walk midway through the chapter. He gladly sat in on it, snuggling Frisk and assuring her that things would be okay. Sylph was a great hero! A broken wing wouldn't stop her. The story seemed to disagree, though, because the avian monster raced from the cave, leaving the beast to continue its rampage. When the townsfolk she had saved asked for her help again, she shrunk away. It was unlike her. But it seemed her confidence had been crushed with her wing.

.

Frisk knew it'd be okay. That was just the type of story it was. Plus, there were three more books after this one. She wanted to read more, but she was too tired to pay much attention and gave up. She fell asleep cuddled up in a small pile of skeletons.

xXxXx

Overnight had seen snow blanket Snowdin again; a little more so than was the average. Tracks were faded and filled— a clean slate. No surprise, then, than what little trace of that strange light in the woods was completely gone, too.

.

Sans prowled the clearing, hands shoved deep in his pockets, frowning slightly under his fuzzy hood. Despite the lingering curiosity, he was glad he hadn't been able to see what Frisk had. Then, they would have both been left in the dark. He did wish he could've seen that strange vision with the man who had called this place 1-S, though. He wondered if there might be a 2-S, somewhere out there. Had he recorded his memories anywhere else? Who the hell was he? Some scientist?

.

Sans had been so sure no one had been able to save before him. And now that Frisk could, it had seemed like all the others were overwritten. Except this one. It was probably the nature of that kind of tear in the world, where the light seeped through blue instead of gold. Something that stuck where it shouldn't have.

.

He absently booted a small mound of snow and wondered what it could mean. From what Frisk had heard the guy say, it had to have happened before the CORE ruptured. Over ten years ago, he supposed. He hadn't exactly been a kid back then, but he had been so busy with his own research and taking care of Papyrus that it wasn't out of the question that something like this had slipped by him. It was just a little perturbing, though. He was tired just thinking about it.

.

He took a shortcut home. Papyrus and Frisk were still clinging to one another, cozy and snoozing on the couch. They always looked so relaxed when they were together. Yet another great thing about Papyrus— when he'd said he always had good dreams, he wasn't exaggerating. That kid hadn't had a nightmare in a long, long time. He hoped it might wear off on a certain little squishy skeleton, at least a bit.

.

Of course, his first inclination was to just flop back down somewhere and close his eyes for a while, but, instead, he swiped Frisk's phone again and checked the time. Too early in the morning for him, but it was a little past Papyrus's usual wake-up time. He raised his brow.

"Bro, you awake?" he asked quietly.

"Mhm," Papyrus replied.

"You, uh, sleepin' in?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not sleeping at all, brother." He opened one eye and pointed at Frisk. "She needs this, I think. Her energy was all wonky again. I'll stay with her."

"Oh. Heh. That's nice of you," he said. "Be back soon?"

"Alright."

.

Sans's next stop was Asgore's house. He knocked on the front door and stepped right in.

"Howdy!" Asgore called from somewhere. "I'll be right with you!"

"No rush. It's just me," Sans said.

"Oh! Sans!" He heard a clinking of china and Asgore immediately came out of the doorway to the left, garbed in a cushy, tacky sweater and grinning widely. "Hello, my boy! You're up early!"

"Hey, your, uh, Highness," Sans said, holding in a laugh as the huge monster gave him a tight hug. "Long time no see."

"I was just about to say! I'm glad those boys from Hotland found you," he said. "I was starting to worry."

"Oh. Uh. Sorry about that," Sans said as he was placed back on his feet. "Been busy."

"I heard! How is your sister doing?" he asked. "Oh! I just put the kettle on, would you like to sit and chat?"

"Uh, sure," Sans said.

The King nodded, smiling brightly, and beckoned him farther inside.

.

The large dining table had two open boxes of teacups on top, along with some brown package paper. Sans just caught Asgore's tail end vanishing into the kitchen.

"She's okay. Gettin' better. Thanks for asking," he said.

"She's getting plenty of rest? That and some good food is really the only cure, after all," Asgore said.

"Yeah. She's been perkin' up," he said.

"How old is she? Oh, sit down, sit down! It's still six sugars?"

"Yeah, that's great. She's around eleven, I guess," he said as he took a seat.

"Eleven! Ah! That's a wonderful age," he said. "Just beginning to understand themselves. Getting a little more independent. Children are fantastic, aren't they?"

"Uh, yup," Sans said.

.

Carrying two pastel, flower-patterned teacups, Asgore returned and joined the skeleton, daintily placing one before him before sitting down. He carefully moved his packages aside so as not to obstruct Sans's view.

"So, tell me, where did she come from?" he asked. "It's rare for a monster that young to be on their own and under the radar. Did you know her parents?"

"Nah. Y'know. She doesn't like to talk about it," he said. "If they fell, or somethin' like that, it was a long time ago. She's been on her own a while. Picked her up near the Ruins, actually."

"So she was from the valley?" he pressed.

"Couldda been," Sans agreed. "She's alright now, though. Real clingy. But, that's fine with me. It's good to have her."

"That's excellent. Oh!" His eyes went wide. "Did you need me to increase your salary? If you're supporting two other monsters, then—"

"Don't worry about that, we're fine," Sans said with a laugh.

Asgore made a bit of a face, his ears pinning back slightly. Sans grinned.

"C'mon, y'old goat, don't worry so much, huh?" he said.

.

Asgore chuckled bashfully. He tilted his head slightly, opened his mouth, but then closed it and frowned to himself.

"What?" Sans asked.

"May I ask you something?" he said. "I-If it's confidential, I understand, but—"

"Dude, you're the King," the skeleton said with a laugh. "Confidential-shmonfidential, am I right?"

Asgore snickered. He shook his head.

"No, it's alright, I don't mind. Some things are sensitive," he said. "But I was just wondering about Alphys's developments. You must've been in contact with her, right? She said your sister was part of a plan to dismantle the barrier."

"Oh. Yeah. That," Sans said. "Yup. It's goin', uh, somewhere, alright."

"Is it true, we might be out soon?" he asked. "I mean, not that I doubt Alphys, of course, but—"

"You want a second opinion?" Sans said. "Honestly, I dunno. I think her, uh, plan, it's probably gonna work. Hope it won't take much more time than she thinks, but it seems like it's really gettin' there."

"It's not too dangerous, is it?" he asked. "I would hate for anyone to get hurt. Especially someone so little as your sister."

"It's, uh… Welp. There's been some rough patches," Sans admitted. "My kid, she's kind of… determined. Hard to tell her to slow down when she thinks she can help. S'not always great for her health."

"I see. Please, keep her close," he said. "Losing a child is… Well…"

.

The King went quiet. His eyes seemed to glaze for a moment as he stared into the golden liquid in his teacup. Sans only knew that he could never understand what Asgore was feeling. He could sympathize. But, losing a brother and realizing he'd come back— it wasn't quite the same. He sipped his tea and the great monster snapped out of it. He smiled.

"Is it good?" Asgore asked.

"Always is," he assured him.

Asgore nodded and his ears pressed forward, perking a little. "That's sweet that you call her that."

"Hm?"

"Your kid," Asgore repeated. "For a child without parents, that must've been very important to her."

"Oh. Heh. Yeah." Sans smiled fondly, tapping his fingers on the table. "Y'know, first time I did it, it was kinda half a joke. But she just looked at me and started blubberin' and gave me this huge hug. Didn't realize it'd mean so much. So, I just kinda kept it up."

"That's so sweet!" The King's face lit up. "Sans, you must be a very good brother."

Sans shrugged. "Kinda try to be," he said. "Papyrus turned out pretty great, so…"

Asgore laughed, a big, warm smile spreading on his face. "Bring him by sometime," he said. "Bring them both by, if they'd like."

"Will do," Sans said.

.

He finished his tea. Asgore seemed pleased and he pointed at the cup.

"Would you like another?" he asked.

"I'm alright. Thanks," Sans said. "I actually need to ask you somethin'. If that's alright."

"Yes, of course, anything," he assured him.

Sans tented his fingers. "I want to know about the Royal Scientist," he said. "The one before Alphys."

"Before Alphys?" Asgore tilted his head. "The… Royal Scientist before Alphys."

"Yeah. They must've just up and left sometime, right?" he said. "I don't remember there being one in the lab when I was a kid. Definitely not when I worked there."

"Hm." Asgore nodded. "That's… Hah. That's strange. We've had many great scientists moving through the lab up until you and Alphys started in there together. But a Royal Scientist, I can't… um…"

"We found some stuff we thought was theirs," he said. "Basement. Quantum physics stuff."

"I'm not sure I can really speak too much on that," Asgore said apologetically. "It's… It's just been so long. I'm sure one was appointed when we were forced below the mountain, but for the life of me, I can't recall who it was. Maybe To… Maybe it was the Queen, back then, who appointed them. She might know, but she's still…"

"Missin'," Sans said, nodding. "Right. Think ol' Gerson might have a clue?"

"I doubt it. Gerson resolved himself to making the mountain the best it could be," Asgore explained. "Never bothered with trying to find a way out. He had a sort of distain for all the scientific stuff we were doing in Hotland. In a way, I think it's good he always found a way to make the most of what happened to us. But I'm not sure that he would've paid any attention to that at all."

.

Sans rested his chin on his fist. "It's a mystery, huh?"

"I'm very sorry," Asgore said.

"Don't be," Sans said. "Ah, well. I'll work it out."

"I'm sure you will," the King said brightly. "You are very clever, you know. Why exactly are you looking for them?"

"Just lookin' for some answers," Sans said. "Oh. Hey. By the way. Weird question. You plannin' on using your TV or radio in the next couple days?"

"Hmm… No, I hadn't planned on it, why?" he asked.

"It's just, Alph was developin' a new type of receiver that should be a bit more efficient. I was thinkin' I could take your stuff to her, get it updated. Since I'm here."

"Oh! That's lovely, Sans, thank you," Asgore said with a nod.

He got to his feet and hurried from the room, straight for the hallway of bedrooms. Sans slumped a bit and sighed to himself. Was it technically stealing if Asgore gave them up willingly? Maybe more like suspicious borrowing. Nope, citizen of the year he certainly was not.

xXxXx

"Jump, and jump, and slide, and…!" Papyrus clapped, grinning wide as Frisk dodged and skid under a flying bone attack, and then froze completely to let a bright blue bone sail straight through her. "And now…!" He raised his arms and dual rows of alternating coloured femurs appeared, surrounding him like rows of soldiers. "Get ready!"

"Throw 'em!" Frisk said.

.

With a flick of his wrists, the bones raced towards Frisk, bobbing up and down with quick, irregular movements. Frisk skipped backwards, slowed a little by the snow, and sprung over an attack, then slid under another and came to a halt to let a blue one pass through her body. She doubled back to get momentum, bounded up and launched herself off a low bone as it rose to get enough height to clear the next one. She tumbled on the jump, though, and the next one plowed into her, knocking the wind from her. She had to duck under another, almost shoving her whole body into the snow to get out of the way.

.

Blue, then white, then blue again, and she was done. She grinned, panting as she heaved herself out of the powder, and Papyrus whooped and cackled. Her soul was clutched in his blue magic; he used it to lift her and whisk her into his arms before letting it fade back to red.

"You did so well!" he said proudly. "Just a little tumble! Did that hurt?"

"Only a little." She laughed as he pulled off a glove and immediately touched his shimmering fingers to her neck. "That wasn't as bad as last time."

"No, not at all! It was very good! You only had four and a half fumbles in total!"

"What's a half-fumble?" she asked with a laugh.

"Well, you tripped over a bone early in but recovered quickly, I think that's a half," he explained.

"Ooh. Yeah. Forgot about that, it all happens so fast!" she said, and she stuck her thumb up. "Gettin' my game back a bit!"

"You are! Do you feel a bit better?"

She nodded. He laughed and nuzzled her head.

"I'm so happy to hear that, little sister," he said.

.

He bent his head as the wind picked up a little. Snow began to fall from above and they looked up. Frisk blinked into the dark of the cave ceiling, watching a blanket of magic mist starting to billow. A cold flake landed on her nose and the stuck her tongue out to catch another. Papyrus seemed surprised and he looked up and opened his mouth. He almost immediately cringed and shook his head.

"Why did I do that?" he asked.

Frisk snickered and shrugged. Papyrus scoffed, tossed his scarf dismissively, and carried her back towards the house.

.

Not one TV but, strangely, two were on inside the living room when Papyrus and Frisk returned. Confused, Papyrus plopped his sister to the ground and surveyed the room, only to let out a scoff and put his hands on his hips.

"Sans, what on earth are you doing?" he asked.

"Iunno. Watchin' TV?" he said.

"Double screens," Asriel said. "Pretty rad."

"Don't encourage him!" Papyrus scolded.

Frisk laughed and, after kicking off her shoes, scampered over to Sans with a big grin on her face. He looked a bit like a puddle, the way he was slumped back so far on the couch that he was almost laying down, but he smiled when he saw her.

.

"You're back!" she said brightly, hopping up beside him. "Where'd you go?"

He pointed at the second TV. Smaller than the first, much older, and on the floor. It didn't really explain too much, but she nodded. She reached over him to snatch up Asriel, smooched the little flower's head, and then copied her brother.

"Honestly, you two, that can't be good for your spines," Papyrus said, striding up to the television and eyeing it suspiciously. "And where did you get this?!"

"Stole it," Sans said.

"Stole it? From who?!" his brother demanded.

"The King?" he said.

"You STOLE the King's TV?!" Papyrus squawked, eyes widening as he clapped his hands to his head. "Are you CRAZY?! Oh, no no no, you're going to get sent to the dungeons for sure unless we bring this back right now and apologize!"

"Nah," Sans said.

"You know we don't actually have a dungeon, right?" Asriel said. "That's not a real thing."

"I can't believe it, my own brother, a… a thief!" Papyrus was pacing, shrill and exasperated. "Oh, gosh. I'll have to be an accomplice. You'll never survive on your own. We'll have to go on the run! WE HAVE A LITTLE SISTER, SANS! What kind of life for a little kid is that, going on the run with a pair of criminals?! Why did you steal it?!"

"Welp. I mean. I asked. I just lied about why I wanted it," Sans said with a shrug.

.

Papyrus's jaw dropped. He pointed at Sans accusingly, scowled, groaned, and put his face in his hands. "Whhhyyy?" he whined.

"Don't want him to watch Mettaton's show," he said, grinning. "Ah, c'mon, Paps, I'll give it back once that crap's over, okay? Promise."

"SIGH. Okay, okay okay." He huffed. "I'm sorry I doubted you, brother."

"That was pretty good though, he said he'd go on the run with you and everything," Frisk said, smiling.

"He's the best, right?" Sans said.

"Loyal," Asriel agreed. "Pretty great."

"The greatest," Frisk and Sans said in tandem. They looked at each other; Sans snorted, grinning, and Frisk laughed and rubbed her brow.

"You nerds," Asriel said.

"Uggghhhh," Papyrus groaned. "Okay. Fine, yes, I'm a wonderful, loyal brother, who does not have to go on the run over a stupid television, but. Sans. WHY don't you want the King to see Mettaton's show? I mean, it can't be that bad. Right?"

.

Sans shrugged. He pointed at Asriel. The flower shrugged, too, but he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"I guess it's for the best," he said.

"What is?" Papyrus said.

"Paps," Frisk said gently, "the King, he's Asriel's—"

"Asriel's dad," Papyrus finished with a nod. He seemed to suddenly get it. His eyes went wide. "Oh. God. Right. Um. Okay, yes, Sans, actually that was a very good idea."

"Heh. What can I say? Got a few of them back in here somewhere," Sans said as he tapped the side of his skull. "Hey, kiddo. You see a TV or whatever at Tori's?"

"Umm… She has a radio," Frisk said. "Is that a problem?"

"Depends on the signal, I guess, but maybe," Sans said.

"No problem, I'll just go mess it up," Asriel said. "I can get in."

"Or just ask to borrow it," Frisk said. "Like Sans did."

"I like that your first reaction is to just break your mom's crap," Sans joked.

"Shut up, it's not like she'll need it for much longer anyway," Asriel said with a sly smile. "Once we're out, we'll just buy her a new one."

"Now, that is the spirit!" Papyrus said brightly. "I'm glad you're feeling a bit more confident! But please try to avoid breaking mom's things, I'm sure she wouldn't like it all that much."

"Ah, jeez, okay okay, I'll just, uhhh… carry it away?" He shrugged his leaves. "Yeah. Pfft. That makes sense."

"Dimension box," Frisk said with a smile. "No worries."

"Problem solved, then!" Papyrus said.

.

He pranced off into the kitchen, instantly upbeat again. Sans snickered. He reached over and brushed his fingers through Frisk's hair a few times.

"So scruffy," he joked.

"Yeah, I fell over a bunch," she said.

Her brother sat up and gently preened the back of her hair, pulling a small twig out from behind her ear. "Every time," he said.

"I know," she said. "I was kinda slow today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm. It's like… I dunno. I just feel heavy or something," she said.

"Too much blue?" Sans asked.

Frisk shook her head. She pouted, holding Asriel a bit closer. He looked up at her with his brows raised.

"Weird," he said. "You were pretty on-point when you fought me. Like, backflips and everything. Is it the snow?"

"Ummm… I don't think so," she said. "Usually I'm okay in the snow."

.

Sans frowned slightly. "Hey, Paps," he said. "Frisk glow at all?"

"Tiny bit of gold, brother," Papyrus called.

"Did you lose it?" Sans wondered.

Frisk shrugged. He turned her and cupped her cheek to match where he expected the blue markings to be. With a flare of his magic, there they were, as usual. Asriel stared, jaw dropping.

"Wh-What?" he said. "Dude, what the hell are you doing to her?"

"It's, uh, a long story," Sans said. He winced and shook his hand out as he pulled away.

Frisk tilted her head.

"What the hell was that?" Asriel pressed.

"In the old timeline, in the part nobody remembers, Sans put some weird magic imprint on my face," Frisk said, pointing at her cheek. "It has some people's memories in it. Usually, if they touch it, they get some stuff they forgot back."

"That's weird," he said. "Dude, why'd you mark up her face, though? That's weird."

"Dunno. Figure it was kinda impromptu," Sans said with a wide shrug. "Welp. It still works for this. I think you were doin' something in fights with it before, but now that I'm thinkin' back, I don't think I've seen it go on its own since you came out of the CORE."

"Great," Frisk sighed.

"What'd it do on it's own? That's weird, too," Asriel said.

"Well, one side, it, um… it lights up if I touch one of Papyrus's attacks," she said. "The other one, the blue one, it seems like that's the one that holds the memories. And it goes sometimes when I'm in a fight and I'm jumping around, I think? It just kinda, um, helps me see better."

"And by see better you mean…?" Asriel raised his brows and glanced over at Sans. "Oh. You're a cheater, too?"

"Is it cheating if I'm not making it happen on purpose?" she asked with a laugh.

"So that's what happened with the first time I ran into you," he said quietly.

.

"Why?" Papyrus asked; he came back in and passed out plates of reheated spaghetti. "What happened the first time?"

"So, I was totally gonna try to kill her, and—"

"WHAT?! Why?! Asriel, that's awful!" Papyrus said shrilly.

"Yeah, but I didn't have any soul or anything, I was a total ass," Asriel said with a shrug. "Anyway, I was gonna try, and she just looks at me and apologizes, and before I can do anything, mom totally whacks me into the cave somewhere with a fireball. You saw it coming, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but not for that reason," Frisk said with a bashful smile. "That happened to you every time in my timeline. I'm surprised you didn't remember."

"Oh. Well. That's weird, too," he said, but he laughed. "Don't tell her that was me, huh?"

Frisk smiled and shook her head. "Definitely won't."

.

She put him down beside her so he could eat his breakfast and she cast a glance back at Sans. "What'd you get?" she asked.

"Nothing interesting," he said. "Not a surprise, really. You seen my day to day?"

"Too bad you aren't just able to pick and choose," Papyrus said.

"Oh, my god, tell me about it!" Frisk said. "There was a lot of cool stuff that didn't even happen anymore! Like, most people we know had really fun birthday parties, and we saw the ocean, and when we went back we were getting ready for the big solstice parties and everything where we all get each other gifts and—! OH! Halloween! Ugghh, Halloween was the best, and now that's gone too and it's such a bummer."

"Halloween?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah! I think it's an old human thing. I dunno where it comes from but in the fall, um… Oh, jeez, you guys haven't even seen fall. Um. So. Basically, what happens is that humans dress up like spooky things or movie characters or whatever and give each other sweet food. We spent a ton of time making these cool costumes, and the whole city had this big party, and there were even humans from out of town coming in and everyone was so excited and it was super awesome."

"Wowie, that does sound fun!" Papyrus said.

"Yeah! Mom told me it came from a really old thing from small areas where monsters and humans were friends, back before the mountain thing," Frisk said. "Humans would dress up to look more like monsters and monsters would give magic favours to humans they thought looked super cool, and everyone would have a big meal together with a ton of desserts or something. She said she used to really like it, but everyone stopped celebrating it since under the mountain it didn't really make any sense. And everyone was mad at humans or scared of them now. She said that it was a really big deal to do it again on the surface."

"Sounds like it," Sans said. "Sorry."

Frisk shook her head. "We're just gonna have to do a lot of sewing."

"Oh, well, no problems there, Sans and I are great at that, aren't we, Sans?" Papyrus said. "Why, we made my battle body in just a few days!"

"Oh shit," Sans said suddenly.

"Well, that's a bit of an overreaction," Papyrus said with a frown.

"No no, it's just…" Sans laughed and rubbed his brow. "Mettaton."

"Mettaton what?" Asriel asked.

"If he asks any of you nerds to ask me to sew for him, tell him I died or something," he said.

"Sans," Frisk scolded, laughing as she nudged him with her elbow.

.

He grinned and shrugged, and, much to her surprise, he scooped her up under her arms and pulled her against his chest. She was more than happy to be held, if she were honest.

"Lookit you, not even choked up," he said; he sounded proud.

Frisk tilted her head back, puzzled for a moment before it dawned on her. She smiled bashfully. "Yeah, I'm kinda okay," she said.

Her brother chuckled and gently touched his brow to hers. Her cheeks flushed but she grinned brightly.

"Oh! You're right, Sans! Little sister, you talked about the lost time and you didn't even sniffle a little!" Papyrus said. "I am very proud of you."

"The lost… Oh. Right," Asriel said. "That's rough."

"Mhm. It is," Frisk said. "But, now, I kinda think this is better."

"What?! Better?!" Papyrus's face lit up and he bent down to hold her little shoulders. "Frisk! That is some serious development! Are you on the current-timeline-is-best-timeline train for good now, too?! What changed?"

"You guys!" Frisk said brightly.

"Uh. But you had them before, right?" Asriel said.

"But now we have you, too," Frisk said with a wink. "Plus, the way everyone pulled through for me this time, it's… I mean. It's nuts, how nice it is. I mean, I still get kinda messed up about stuff sometimes, but this is good. Even if I'm not so good, still."

.

"Oh, Friiiisk!" Papyrus held out his arms and Sans let him take the kid and hug her close. "You're SO good! And… And things are still going to get even better! You'll see! We'll kick our training up notch! And we'll get your shield back and your blue glow and it'll be amazing and we'll be the best team anyone could imagine!"

"Aren't we already?" she asked.

He cooed loudly and nuzzled against her, and she laughed and kissed his head. Asriel made an exaggerated gagging face, but Sans poked him in the head and he stopped to flail his leaves at him.

"Oh, you're just the cutest little human in the whole world," Papyrus said. "Hey! Are you up for some puzzles? What would you say to making some new theoretical ones with me?"

"Love it!" Frisk assured him.

He grinned and offered a hand to Asriel. "What about you, Asriel, care to join us?"

"Better than sittin' here watching this garbage," Asriel said.

"Whoa, that's a little harsh. I prefer useless junk," Sans said, putting a hand to his chest.

"I wasn't talking about you, you freakazoid!" Asriel snapped.

"Let's tone down the trash talk a little, huh?" Frisk added.

"Oh my god," Asriel groaned as Papyrus let out a sort of displeased humming sound.

"You left an opening a mile wide!" Frisk said.

Sans grinned. "Thatta kid."

Asriel scoffed as Frisk stuck her thumb up, and he beckoned to Papyrus. He quickly scooped him up.

"Well. You're welcome to join us, Sans," Papyrus said.

"Might a bit later," he said. "Kiddo, phone?"

Frisk tossed him hers; he stuck his thumb up, and then Papyrus whisked the kids away to the bedroom.

.

Sans twirled the phone in his hands absently. He rested his eyes for a minute or two. He really would've preferred to sleep, but there was something nagging at him. Frisk was so close, but her confidence was still shot. He wondered if she was stuck in a loop— she couldn't feel better because she was too unsure; she was too unsure because she didn't feel better. Made sense to him. He'd been there. It was a hard cycle to break.

.

He opened his eyes. He could hear laughing and Papyrus's familiar, disbelieving squawking sound. He smiled. This new dynamic with the flower kid— it wasn't as bad as he worried it might be. Was starting to feel a little normal, even.

.

He rolled off the couch solely for the reason that he didn't want to fall on his tailbone when he shifted himself. He moved to the basement and flicked the lights on. He pulled out a stool that he'd shoved against a wall near some old machinery at some point and plopped back down on it. He rolled it over to his counter and drawers and fished out that old drawing again. He stared at it with a frown. He was a crappy artist on a regular day, but this picture was even worse than his usual handiwork. Still, those lines on the face of the tall guy were familiar now. What the hell did he want with his sister?

.

"It is you she's seein', isn't it?" he said quietly. "Who are you? Scientist, I bet. Same guy who saved his memories at 1-S. But I still don't get why. Don't get your game-plan."

He suddenly felt a chill against his neck. Like there were eyes boring into the back of his skull. Couldn't be sure if he was just imagining things or not. He guessed it didn't actually matter. Finding the answer to that question would mean forgetting it right away, anyway.

.

He flipped the picture and opened one of his drawers. He still had that calculator, the one that had his name scratched in the casing. He pulled it out, along with a pen. Cautiously, he fiddled with it. He popped off the front, and then the battery housing, giving it a once-over before clipping it all back together. He hadn't seen the thing since he was still working in the lab. That was ten years ago.

.

He took the drawing and scrawled 1-S on the back. Then, after a moment, added, probably the scientist, before he stashed it all away again, along with the old calculator. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out another piece of paper, tore off some old notes on the side, and began to make a list. Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, New Home. Wrote 1-S under Snowdin. Marked in:

Blue save — memories older than 10. White energy = got. Shadowman determination trade. Burst. Closed.

Under Hotland, he didn't know the label of the one they'd seen, but he called it 1-H*.

Blue save. Kid goes in less than 1 min, mentions shadowman for 1st time. Comes out w arm patched and notes in old skele?

.

It all had to be linked, didn't it? If he could just find more of those blue saves, maybe he could find answers. He stashed his new note in his pocket. Resting his cheek on his fist, he poked the keys of Frisk's phone and dialled for Alphys. It had barely had to ring before he heard her pick up.

"H-Hello?" she said.

"Hey, Doc," he said.

"Oh! W-Wow, Frisk, your impression of S-Sans is getting really good!" she said.

Sans snickered. "You caught me."

"S-Seriously, Sans. I'll g-give you a phone," she said. "I d-don't mind."

"Maybe later," he said, folding his arm and slumping on the counter. "You busy?"

"N-No…? Why?"

"Where you at?" he asked.

"I'm at Undyne's, but—"

"Mind if I pop in?" he said.

"Oh, n-no, I'm sure that's fine," she said.

.

Sleepily, he stood up and hung up the phone before shifting himself to Undyne's doorway. Alphys met him with a smile and gave him a hug. He was a little surprised.

"Hey, Doc," he said.

"L-Let me see you." She puts her hands on his cheeks and he could feel her magic tingling into his bones and squinted into one eye and then the other. "Y-You look o-okay."

"Hey, better than usual," he joked.

"Th-Thank god." She hugged him again and let out a deep, warbling sigh. "S-Sorry, I… I didn't want to f-freak out in front of the kids, but oh my g-god."

She deflated and slump against him. He patted her shoulder until she let him go. She wiped one of her eyes tiredly and held out a hand, as if inviting him to the table with her. She sat down and he lazily followed.

.

"How's stuff?" he asked.

"Ummm… W-Well. It's okay," she said. "Mettaton's r-really taken off r-running with this show thing."

"I'm sure he'll get far, with legs like those," he said with a wink.

Alphys snorted out a high-pitched laugh. "Y-Yeah, I guess so! Kind of wh-why I'm here, though," she said.

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

Alphys nodded. "Mhm. Y-Yeah, he, uh, kind of took over the l-lab making props and whatever," she said. "Oh, b-by the way, I was going to, um, t-text but I just didn't yet? B-But he wants to talk to at least, um, F-Frisk and Papyrus at the l-lab tomorrow afternoon? If th-that's okay?"

"Uh. Guess so." Sans grinned wryly. "What, he too big now to text himself?"

"Oh, you know h-him. He's just, oh m-my god, so busy," Alphys said, doing air quotes with her fingers. "Ah. Oh w-well, I guess if th-this works, it'll be w-worth it, won't it?"

"Guess so," he said again.

"He, um… H-He already has m-most of the script done, and h-he was talking to, um, Undyne about the m-music," she said. "She s-seemed okay with it, but, um… Well…"

"She's still exhausted, huh? Sorry," he said.

"No no no no, don't be," Alphys said quickly, waving her hands at him. "Sh-She was p-pretty happy to do it. A-And besides, today she's doing an, um… She called it an attunement? Sh-She said Gerson taught i-it to her. It's supposed to be good f-for that kind of thing. I've, um, never actually used th-that much of my own magic like that, s-so I've never tried it."

"Oh yeah?" Sans tilted his head slightly— guess that's why Undyne hadn't made a sound. "Where's she doing that?"

"Oh, um, I'm n-not sure, exactly. I think it's a cavern k-kind of near here," she said. "Where the water glows? She mentioned, uh, a w-waterfall, I think. Why?"

"Dunno, just curious, I guess," he said.

"Don't worry," she said, her tone suddenly somewhat motherly. "Y-You don't think we h-haven't noticed how rough i-it's been for you the last l-little while, do you? And, jeez, what you told me about yesterday—!"

"Don't worry about that," Sans said. "I'm sure we'll, uh, figure it out at some point."

.

Alphys went quiet. She clenched her teeth and stared at the table. Sans's brow furrowed.

"Doc?" he asked.

"I'm not w-worried about that, I'm w-w-worried about y-you!" she said.

"Oh. Okay. Don't," he said with a smile. "But thanks."

"D-Did, um…? D-Did you try again? With F-Frisk, I mean?" she asked.

He shook his head. "She's still kinda off, and she's having nightmares again," he said. "Just normal ones, though, which I can't actually do anything about."

Alphys pouted, folding her arms tight. Worry was written all over her face. "Oh, n-no… Poor kid. Wh-What happened, is she okay?"

"Well, she did just have to see me kinda collapsing in on myself. Couldn't be pretty," he said; he knew his eyes had gone dark the second he said it. "Had to make it as traumatizing as possible. As usual."

"So, she actually s-s-saw…? Oh, S-Sans. I'm s-so sorry that happened to you two," she said.

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Actually, I'm great. Honestly? It was reassuring as hell. I'm just kinda worried about my little nerd."

"Y-You're crazy," she said with a quiet laugh. "I f-feel like if that h-happened to me, I'd just… I d-dunno, have and e-existential crisis and n-never get out of bed again."

Sans chuckled. "Sounds about right," he said. "Speaking of existential crises. Talked to Asgore."

.

Alphys squeaked. "Oh! Oh, okay, um, a-about what?"

"I took his TV. Told them you invented a new thing, had to install it in there." He shrugged. "Just thought I'd fill you in."

"O-Oh! Um. O-Okay," she said; her face flushed a little and she started to look a little sweaty. "Um… OH! Oh, god. Yeah. Y-Yeah, alright, th-that makes sense. Th-Thanks, Sans, I think I would've r-remembered t-too late. Wh-Which, I mean, technically might n-not have been a problem because of t-time travel, but st-still, g-good thinking."

"No prob," he said.

She sighed with relief and puddled on the table. Sans snickered and gladly copied her.

.

"Do you think Asriel's g-gonna be okay?" she wondered.

"Dunno. Probably?" he said. "You can come over and see him more if you want."

"I… I know. I j-just… I just don't w-want to smother h-him, you know?" she said. "H-How, um…? H-How's that new a-arm and stuff working for him?"

"Great. He seems a lot more, uh, independent," he said. "Still likes sitting with the kid, though."

"Aawww! That's sweet," Alphys said with a smile.

"I guess," Sans said.

.

"You're a good person, Sans," she said.

"Where'd that come from?" he asked with a laugh.

"It's just, w-with everything, and A-Asriel and… Anyway. Gosh, I'm s-sorry, I didn't even ask why you called," she said hurriedly. "W-Was…? Was there something you n-needed?"

.

Sans slumped onto his fist. He tapped the table with his other hand. "I think… I think I'm startin' to get who this shadowman guy is. To a point," he said.

"What?! R-Really?!" Alphys yelped. "What?! H-How?!"

"I think he might be an old scientist," he said. "Someone doing time experiments who maybe screwed it up. I'm not sure."

"Wh…?! W-Well… Well that w-would kind of make sense, I guess, if Frisk w-was right about it b-being the same person who was s-s-sending me those, um… Th-Those bug f-fixes and stuff. Right?" she said quickly. "B-But… But how the hell…? Why i-is he f-following Frisk? What d-does he want from her?"

"Still not sure what he wants," Sans said. "He left her a note that basically said he thought she should find her hum. That means tuning her soul. Which, accordin' to your stuff, she might've already done."

"R-Right, right…"

"Also said she wasn't strong enough for something. But that she was gettin' there," he said. "No idea what that means. But it seems like he might be connected to those tears that she can save in. Maybe he just, uh… I dunno, saw her or something and thought they could be pals, I dunno."

"Ugh, it's so confusing," Alphys groaned, but she laughed. "Jeez. Can't c-catch a break, huh?"

"Not really," Sans said tiredly. "Welp. Could be a lot worse, so… Not bad."

.

He pushed himself to his feet and tapped his toes back into his slippers. Alphys tilted her head.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I should get goin'. Before they notice I'm gone," he admitted. "Thanks for the talk. Just kinda wanted to get that into someone else's head. You know, just in case."

"Oh." Alphys laughed. "O-Okay."

Sans shrugged. His brow furrowed and he cast a curious glance back at her. "Hey, where did you say Undyne was again?"

xXxXx

The place was still when he got home. Quiet. He grabbed some of that weird pie from a few days ago and ate it— it was still pretty terrible— before taking a look around the house. He suspected the others were out, but when he opened Papyrus's door, the skeleton was stretched out on the floor, head on his folded arms, dozed off soundly as Frisk read a thin book in one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other. She looked up and shot Sans a smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Did you know, if you rub Paps's neck, he just falls right to sleep?" she said. "I guess it really is pretty sensitive! Or he was really tired."

"Heh. Nice," Sans said. "Where's the plant kid?"

"Out," Frisk said. "He said he was going to grab some sun again and do something to get mom's radio. Or, try to. Whatever works for today, I guess."

Sans nodded. He sat down with her quietly and couldn't help the fond smile on his face.

"So, was it botherin' him, or…?"

"Hm? Oh. No," Frisk assured him. "He's fine, I just thought he'd kinda like it, since he said it's a sensitive spot."

"Heh. That's sweet, kiddo," Sans said. "Guess he needed it."

"Should we tuck him in?" she asked.

.

Sans gently grabbed his brother's soul in blue and lifted him onto the bed. Frisk grinned and dragged the covers over him. She kissed his head gently, and they slipped out of the room quietly.

.

"So what were you doing?" Frisk asked.

"Nothin' much," he said.

"You weren't here though," she said.

"Heh. Caught me," he said; he passed her back her phone. "Just talkin' to Alph."

"Everything okay?" Frisk asked worriedly.

Sans chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Chill out," he said. "But… Okay. Hate to ask. But maybe you could do me a favour?"

"Yeah, of course, anything," she assured him.

"Great. Got this by accident." He held out an envelope with Undyne's name written on it. "Was wonderin' if you could catch her and give it over?"

"Oh, um, yeah, sure," she said, taking the letter. "What is it?"

"Not sure. Was in a pile I got," he said. "Sure that's alright?"

"Mhm! Undyne looked so tired yesterday and we didn't get to hang out much, I'd love to see her again. It'll… It'll be fine," she said; she handed him back her phone. "You'll need this, maybe. Paps's is with Asriel. So, um, you'll come get me if I call, right?"

"Duh," he said.

She grinned and stood on her toes to smooch his cheek before turning on her heels and running downstairs. He slumped over the railing to watch her.

.

"Okay, see you soon, then!" she said as she pulled on her shoes. "I'll call from Undyne's if I need something, okay?"

"Noted," he said. "She's supposed to be at a waterfall in that place where the water glows, beside some of those, uh, echo flowers. That sound familiar to you?"

"Oh! Yeah, I think I know where that is," she said. "Got it."

"Have a good time, huh?" Sans said.

She stuck up her thumb, tossed her scarf around her neck, and was out the door quickly. Sans smiled to himself and rubbed the back of his skull. He really needed a nap.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said. "Hope this works."