It was two days before Honey gave up on fixing his brother. He'd tried everything he could think of. He'd brought the Rabbit Squad to see him because petting them usually made Berry happy. Berry tried to vacuum up their fur. He'd tried calling Spike and TNT to wake him up in a more... sensual way, but neither of them responded and he couldn't find them anywhere. That was when he started to worry. Where were they? They usually responded right away if it was about Berry. They'd never waited days. Were... stars, please, let them be okay.

It was only when Alphys failed to show up for the weekly briefing with Queen Toriel that Honey knew. She'd never missed a briefing. Never. She had to be dead, and that meant- that meant-

Honey didn't want to face what that meant. He didn't want to face what it meant that he was now the one feeding the Amalgamates. He didn't want to face his brother's nonstop cleaning. Most of all, he didn't want to face what he knew he was going to have to do next. So, he did what he did best. He procrastinated. He talked to Taz. He tried to work on the machine. That only bought him another day, though.

He sighed as he forced himself to admit it to Stretch. The other was watching TV, flipping through channels, unable to settle. It didn't seem to be helping that Berry kept walking in front of the couch. That had to be torture.

"stretch... um, there's something i need to do, and you're probably not going to like it, but it needs to happen. nothing is going to change if it doesn't, and i can't handle this. okay?"

Stretch turned to face him. Honey couldn't recognize the expression on his face at first. Then it eased into a reassuring grin. "hey, it's okay. whatever you need to do to cope, right, honey? i really don't mind. i'll even help you."

Honey felt like the entire weight of Mt. Ebott had been lifted from his shoulders. "thanks, stretch. i know it's gotta suck to be away from your brother longer, but i can build the machine faster once chara RESETs. dad always comes to visit at the beginning of a run, and he's a genius with machinery. we'll get you back to blue in no time."

Stretch froze. Once again Honey couldn't read his expression. It was almost angry, and it reminded Honey of when he'd snuck into the jail to see the monster who raped his big brother. Dr. Rivers was scary as shit. Stretch looked even scarier.

"nyeh. guess i can't argue with that. i said i'd help you, didn't i? lets go find the kid and get this over with."

=====
The voting went well, all things considered. Blue hadn't known there was a mechanism in place if the King and Queen both died without an heir. He was happy that there was. Scratch that, he was relieved. He hadn't even considered if helping them revolt would hurt their... his Underground. He felt so giddy about even thinking that. His Underground. He hadn't felt like he'd belonged in his birthplace for almost two decades. Here, he felt at home.

The only problem Blue had been around for was when Felldyne insisted that he get to vote. Almost nobody knew him, but that wasn't all that uncommon here, apparently. It was the stares he got from Red and Edge that scared him. He didn't know what they meant. That scared him.

Eventually, after he'd gotten registered, blinked incomprehensibly at the list of names he didn't recognize, and voted for the ones he did, Blue found himself walking out of the voting booth with a shiny sticker on his chest. He couldn't help but run his phalanges over it. It was real. It was really real. He'd really voted for the future of his new home. He couldn't be prouder or more scared. He still hadn't talked to Red and Edge about staying. He knew he should, but... he didn't want them to get mad at him.

Blue was so wrapped up in his fear and pride that he walked right into the objects of his thoughts. He cringed, stepping back and gripping his hat tightly. Then he realized who he'd bumped into because they wrapped their arms around him. He froze. He still hadn't gotten used to that.

"hey, nice sticker, blue. you wanna come get drunk at our place while we wait for the count to be called? we've got tomato juice. i know you swap sanses love tomato juice," Red said, nudging him.

Blue blinked at him, then at Edge, who was rolling his eye lights at his brother's antics. That looked fond rather than annoyed, and he wasn't saying Red was wrong, was he? That must have meant it was okay with Edge that Blue might come. But... if he did, he'd have to talk to them. But... tomato juice! He loved tomato juice! Wait.

"THERE'S OTHER SWAP SANSES LIKE ME?" Blue asked, real fear edging into his voice. Oh, stars, he hoped their brothers weren't hurting them like his had. That would be-

"kinda. what'd'ya know about multivere theory, blue?" Red asked.

Blue couldn't help it. A star lit up in his left eye socket. His right was still hidden by the hat. "OH, I KNOW THAT ONE! DAD LOVES THAT ONE! FOR EVERY DECISION THERE'S A POSSIBILITY OF THE UNIVERSE GOING EITHER WAY DOWN THE TROUSERS OF TIME!"

Red was gaping at him, his sharp-toothed mouth hanging open in shock. Edge chuckled. "GOOD WORK, BLUE, YOU SHOCKED HIM. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. FOR EVERY LITTLE CHOICE THAT THE UNIVERSE MAKES ANOTHER CAN GO A DIFFERENT WAY. THEY DON'T ALWAYS, THOUGH. IT TENDS TO BE REALLY BIG EVENTS FROM WHAT WE OBSERVED, LIKE THE ACCIDENT AT THE LABS IN OUR TIMELINE. WE'VE MET A LOT OF DIFFERENT USES. WELL, THE SAME IS TRUE WITH YOUR UNIVERSE. WE MET A PAIR OF SWAP BROTHERS NAMED HONEY AND BERRY LAST TIME SOMEONE VISITED. THEY'RE NICE. MAYBE YOU'LL GET TO MEET THEM SOMETIME WHEN THEY VISIT. BERRY LOOKS A LOT LIKE YOU."

Red took over the narrative when Edge stopped to breathe. Ah, the joys of a soulbond. "i think i know when your timelines went differently. you said you got raped by your dad's boss and that the rules turned you into a rulebreaker for being in the hospital, right? well, berry mentioned that his dad's boss was put into jail by their queen when she learned how badly he'd hurt a child. he said it was a wake up call to her. i bet that's where it went different. she paid his hospital bill and made their dad, dr. gaster, into the royal scientist. that didn't happen in your world, did it?"

Blue shook his head. He couldn't believe it. There was a world where Dr. Rivers got arrested and Dad took over? He couldn't imagine what that would have been like. "NO. DAD HAD TO LEAVE WORK TO TAKE CARE OF ME. HE ONLY WENT BACK WHEN HE RAN OUT OF MONEY. THEN DR. RIVERS CAUSED A HUGE ACCIDENT THAT... HURT MY DAD. HE'S..." Blue gulped, trying to think how to phrase it, "...HE'S AN AMNESIAC WITH AN OPEN HEAD WOUND THAT NEVER GOT TREATED BECAUSE OF ME. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONVINCE STRETCH TO LET ME TAKE CARE OF HIM AND HEAL HIM, BUT STRETCH DOESN'T REMEMBER HIM, EITHER. HE DOESN'T WANT TO WASTE THE MONEY WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE SO LITTLE."

Now that Blue thought about it, Stretch was probably lying. He must have known how much saving their dad meant to Blue. It had to have been something he did on purpose.

"y'know," Red said, grinning slowly, "we figured out that the machine can pull someone out of a world just as easily as it can put them in. we can bring your dad here along with your brother. you'll have lots of money here. everyone's been chatting up a storm about your healing abilities. the only person who hasn't said they'll make you royal healer is jerry, and, honestly, fuck jerry."

Blue was pretty sure he'd managed to hide his wince when Red said they were going to bring his brother here. It was probably for the best if they made sure he was put in jail. Blue really didn't want him hurting anyone else.

That hiding business distracted him from the rest of the speech... right up until Red said the bit about being a Royal Healer. Then shock overtook caution and his mouth gaped.

"I... REALLY? PEOPLE... WANT ME TO HELP THEM? FOR REAL?"

Red snorted. "no, blue, i'm lying. of course they don't! who would want a monster who can sedate an lv 50 monster in one go in their-"

"RED," Blue heard Edge say through his rattling, "I THINK YOU NEED TO STOP BEING SARCASTIC FOR A WHILE. BLUE DOESN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND IT VERY WELL YET. I CAN'T BLAME HIM. I DOUBT MANY PEOPLE WERE SARCASTIC AROUND HIM IN A JOKING MANNER. WERE THEY, BLUE?"

Blue shook his head numbly, staring at Red's contrite face. "fuck. sorry, blue. we'll teach you, okay? sarcasm is the gods' gift to monsters in a bind. i wasn't lying to you. everyone wants you."

Blue gulped and apologized, "SORRY FOR OVERREACTING IN PUBLIC. I DIDN'T- SORRY."

"STOP APOLOGIZING FOR THINGS THAT YOU SHOULDN'T, BLUE. YOU'VE BEEN ABUSED BY YOUR WHOLE UNDERGROUND, CORRECT? YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE AFRAID AND LACK SOCIAL SKILLS. I'D BE MORE WORRIED IF YOU WEREN'T. REACT AS BIG AS YOU NEED TO, OKAY?"

"you know what ptsd is, right blue? that's a thing in your universe, right? well, you've got every right to have it. anxiety and depression, too. we can get you on the list for a service dog if you want. my meds are usually on backorder, so i wouldn't recommend starting there." Red offered. Blue gaped at him again, a breeze blowing the hot air of Hotland into his open mouth. He... could have anxiety and ptsd? That was allowed? Wait. He went through the mental checklist for those conditions. He met all the criteria. That actually made a lot of sense. "yeah, we're getting you a dog. everyone loves dogs. there couldn't be anything cooler than a doctor with a dog."

"RED..." Blue stared at him, "I CAN FIX THOSE THINGS WITH SOUL SURGERY, DEPENDING ON WHAT CAUSED THEM. NOT ON MYSELF, BUT... I CAN HELP YOU, AT LEAST. WOULD YOU LET ME? WHAT CAUSED THEM?"

The brothers stared at him. Then Edge sighed. "NONE OF US ARE DRUNK ENOUGH FOR THAT CONVERSATION. LET'S GET BACK TO THE HOUSE. WE'RE BREAKING OUT THE WHISKY FOR THIS."