Fun fact, Sans is said 90 times in this chapter.
That is completely relevant information we all need to know.
It will stop the world from ending.
Frisk noticed just how cold she had been sitting outside of Sans's room.
Sans was so warm, and she allowed herself to bask in this.
Eventually, Sans stopped crying. He seemed to be trying to force himself, but when that didn't work he naturally calmed down.
Somehow his voice sounded like a human's would after crying or perhaps having a cold.
"S-sorry…"
"So… are you ready to talk now?"
Sans was quiet for a moment.
"… not now, okay? I know you're worried- why you care about an asshole like me I don't know- but you have to wait. I… dammit, I hate making promises… but if we wait for now, and if I promise to come to you when I'm ready, will you take that?"
Frisk closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Fine. I understand. You just nee-ow." Sans had pulled his head back and brushed against her bad ear.
Suddenly, without his support, she felt lightheaded. She nearly fell back, but righted herself by grabbing the doorframe in time.
Sans's eyes widened with concern.
"Are you okay… alright, bad question. Jeez, I should have gotten you help sooner, you're beat up real bad…" Sans was looking her up and down.
Frisk swallowed.
"It's… I just need… a… little rest, is all. It's not that bad."
"Stop. Look at you. You're lucky you're still conscious after all that blood loss. God… your ear looks…" Sans's empty eyes were now on her ear.
"Is it that bad?"
"The things mangled… come on, you need to lie down."
To her confusion, Sans opened his room.
"Why aren't we-"
"A bed is better than the couch. And it's closer. Frisk, you're acting like you're not seriously hurt, but you are. Is somethin' wrong in your head?"
"Probably." She joked. Frisk didn't try to fight him and she followed at a sickening pace. Her body felt tingly and weak. Like it was made of paper.
Sans moved his blanket aside, and motioned to her to sit.
Frisk nearly toppled over.
"Are you sure you want me to sit here? I'm kinda bleeding, and-"
"Better than you dying on the carpet. I'm going to go get the aid kit. Don't. Move." Sans pointed at her for emphasis and then walked out of the room.
Frisk sat for a couple of heartbeats doing nothing but staring straight ahead.
Then she realized that her head felt too heavy for her body.
Lying down doesn't count as moving, right?
Frisk noticed the room seemed a little darker.
She decided that laying her head down wasn't going to hurt anyone.
She didn't anticipate passing out.
…
The next thing she knew it was light again.
Frisk was a little disoriented, wondering what the hell and how long did Sans take?
Then she deduced she must have fallen asleep.
She was still in Sans's bed, covered in blankets. Sans must be on the couch.
She felt bad for kicking him out of his own bed.
Moving her arm slightly, she realized she was all bandaged up as well.
Kinda creepy he did that while I was out but I guess it had to be done. I wonder if-
Frisk's thoughts were cut off as she entered a coughing fit. It felt like something was in her lungs and wouldn't come out. She tasted blood.
That's not good. I'm still coughing it up?
The coughs shook her body, sending jolts of pain everywhere.
Just when she thought it was over, it started again. Frisk sat up and took in gulps of air between coughs.
Ow ow ow ow please stop, it hurts, ow
Sans came through the door.
"You okay? You swallow wrong or something?"
Frisk opened her mouth to say something but ended up coughing instead.
What the hell?
The repeated coughing was making her feel the beginnings of a gag.
Uh oh, need to leave-
Frisk stood up. Sans rushed over.
"Frisk?"
"Garbage bag." Frisk managed between coughs.
Sans's eye sockets widened.
"Oh-shit, I've got a garbage can over here." Sans rushed over and pulled a shiny clean, almost unused garbage can from under his desk
Frisk didn't have time to think as she rushed over to it as fast as her injured body would allow and started to gag from all the coughing.
Seconds later her stomach couldn't take it and it was emptied.
And did it hurt.
For some reason it felt like her body was self destructing, and she couldn't stop the tears that slid down her cheeks.
"Some on Frisk, try to breathe. Come on…"
Frisk felt Sans's hand lightly on her back, rubbing it in long, slow circles. She hardly noticed.
After an eternity of torture, she finally stopped coughing and dry-heaving. The room spun.
She fell back onto her rear end and took short breaths, her chest and torso aching with pain.
Sans had leaned forward and was looking into the garbage can. She would have made a comment about how weird it was to stare at someone else's vomit if she wasn't in so much pain.
Something seemed to scare him. His eye-lights were till dull, probably due to low magic. But they were gone now.
"Uhh… a majority of this is blood. That's not good. At all. Humans aren't supposed to vomit blood, right?"
Frisk wiped her mouth, panting. At least the pain was starting to go away.
"No shit… Sherlock."
Sans turned to her with a frown.
"Not funny. I'm gonna go get Tori. Hopefully she can do something."
Frisk let out a little cough in response.
"There's always… something that goes wrong with me, huh."
Sans ignored her comment and let her lean on him while she went back to the bed.
She curled up under the blanket, exhausted.
But just after Sans left she forced herself up to go change into better, non blood soaked clothes.
Upon looking at the clock, it was rather early. Papyrus was still asleep.
Changing was a huge pain- literally. Her body didn't want to move in the slightest. She was covered in bruises and gashes.
Uno really was out for blood. Literally.
After she got out of her bloodied clothes she collapsed back on the bed.
sucks how I just got better from the infection. This can't be good for my health, getting beat up like this. I've got so many new and old injuries... Guess that's what I get, huh.
She stared blankly at the wall for some time, coughing a little here and there.
She was frightened when the door opened again without warning. She was too spaced to notice the creaking and other sounds that would have signaled it.
"She's in here."
"Oh, dear, are you alright?!"
Frisk looked up as Toriel rushed over.
She didn't sit up.
"Hi, Toriel."
Toriel crouched beside the bed. Her ear fur was messy and she was wearing pajamas. Not typical out-wear.
Toriel's brown eyes widened.
"Oh my god… who did this to you, my child?"
She exchanged glances with Sans.
"Long… story."
Toriel put her paw against her forehead. Frisk realized just how big she was.
"No fever. Do you feel sick?"
"No. My lungs don't feel great, though. And I just vomited blood. It hurt like hell." Frisk let out a weak chuckle.
Toriel's eyes skimmed her over.
"Was your stomach bothering you?"
"No. I just coughed too much."
"You may have an injured lung. You should have gotten help sooner, dear!" Toriel scolded.
"This happened late at night."
Toriel's brow furrowed.
"Still, it is not good that you stayed this way for that long. I am afraid that I cannot help internal injury, at least as fast as I need to in this case. Especially since you have so many other injuries. I am no doctor, just a mother. We need a real doctor for this."
Sans stepped closer.
Toriel turned to him.
"You seem hurt as well, Sans."
"It's nothin. A bite, a few scratches and less magic than I should have. But where are we gonna get a doctor? There's none here, and if we take her to the capital there will be issues. Plus It's far, and we need someone who can heal humans. Which is against the point of collecting their souls." Sans's voice held a bit of scorn, which she had never heard before.
Toriel nodded solemnly.
"This is all true. That is why I am stumped."
"Well…" Sans blinked. "I think… maybe I could ask Alphys if she knows anything about humans? She is the royal scientist, and… I have reason to believe she knows more about humans than she should." Sans's eyes went dark.
Frisk felt a shudder pass through her body.
"Alphys? Do you think she has medical experience?"
Sans looked away.
"Trust me."
Frisk forced herself up, grunting.
She had heard Alphys's name so many times, she was excited to finally meet her.
Sans didn't like her getting up.
"No, no,no. No moving. Look, I know you changed while I was gone. Stay."
"Sans, I can move, it's fine."
"Just cause you can do something doesn't mean you should do it."
"We've gotta go to Alphys, right? So let's go."
"You aren't going anywhere."
"Then I'll sit here and slowly die."
"No. That is not allowed in this household."
"I can't reverse death. What am I, The Dragonballs?"
"Hehe, I get it. Anime reference aside, just don't die. That simple."
"Sans it doesn't work like that."
"It does now."
Toriel cleared her throat.
"Enough, enough. Sans, while I believe she should stay out if what you say is true it's much better to take her there. You have your shortcuts, yes? That way Alphys can work right there." Toriel said.
"But… I don't know if I have enough juice to get there and back. I can't even keep my eyes fully lit." Sans pointed at his eyes.
Frisk noticed his right one was completely out.
The left was rather dull.
He shook his head like a dog shaking it's fur, and the right eye flickered back on.
Huh. Like a broken lightbulb.
"Well, maybe stay there. Alphys can't carry surgical equipment here, and you can't carry Frisk through Waterfall."
"I could, I'm just too lazy."
Frisk snorted.
"Oh, I'm so glad. If I were dying you'd just leave me here because you're lazy. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Remember death isn't allowed in this household. Begone!"
"I'm sure Alphys would let you stay for a little while. She's a nice girl." Toriel said.
"… maybe…" Sans looked at Frisk.
"It could wait till… tomorrow. It hurts, but I'm not… dying at the current moment, so-"
"No dear. It will only get worse. You will have trouble sleeping and even if you do get to sleep you are not guaranteed to wake up again." Toriel's voice went dark.
Sans's eyes widened.
"I'll go. And Frisk, you're going too. Anything you wanna bring?"
"Sans, you don't have too. Really…" Frisk trailed off.
"Hey, Tori, can you leave for a sec? I need to talk to Frisk." Sans seemed so oddly serious now.
Toriel glanced between them and nodded, leaving the room.
"What was that for?"
Sans turned to her.
"Something's wrong. You aren't acting right."
"Huh?"
Sans stepped closer and sat beside her in the bed. Frisk didn't complain about how his arm brushed against hers.
"You're acting like you did after the trap in Waterfall. I don't know if you are doing it consciously or not, or if it's just an overdrive of determination. You're taking so recklessly. I don't like it. Remember, just because you can reset doesn't make you invincible."
Frisk felt a shudder going through her body.
She looked down at her lap.
"I… I don't know… am I?"
"Yeah. Frisk, I know you don't mean it in this situation but you really scare me. You remind me of myself, and you don't wanna know why."
Frisk looked back up.
"… Sans, I'm getting bad vibes. You're gonna have to talk sometime…wh-"
Sans leaned and and pulled her into a hug.
Frisk's tail bristled slightly in surprise, then smoothed down.
"…we've been hugging a lot, you know." Frisk chuckled.
"… I know. I'll talk, remember? Not now. Just watch it, okay?"
"Okay… so, are we going to Alphys?" Frisk asked.
Sans rested his head on her shoulder.
"Yeah. Do you want me to get you a hot cocoa or a coffee before we go?"
"I… don't know… I guess…" Frisk closed her eyes.
"That's a yes. I could use some coffee myself." Sans chuckled.
…
Sans ended up buying a ton of stuff.
Frisk scolded him, but he didn't care.
He had gotten an entire shopping bag of candy, three bags of jerkey, two bottles of ketchup, a container of iced coffee, microwave meals and two fluffy blankets with two pairs of matching socks.
Talk about being prepared for a sleepover.
Sans insisted they brought all of this.
Both Frisk and Toriel thought this was a bad idea.
Sans was not going to be swayed.
So they teleported to the lab looking like the just made a trip to the grocery store.
Walking through the snow was a large pain to her, and it didn't help the coughing.
At least Sans knew to move slowly. He let her lean on him as well.
Frisk realized they had been physically close a lot recently. She had regained her trust with him fast, and it was even stronger than before. How that had ended up happening she didn't know.
But… she liked it.
Hopefully he'd learn to trust her as much too.
The lab was huge and a pale white, paler than the snow. The doors were sliding doors, and they didn't seem touch activated due to the snow. Instead, they opened just as they walked in front of them.
Frisk was blasted with heat from the inside. It almost burned.
The skeletons house was relatively cool, but it seemed warm and toasty compared to the outside. This was hot. It was a major difference and not one Frisk was sure she liked.
It was rather dark inside, and smelled strongly of fur and strawberries. Frisk raised her head and sniffed the air, testing her sense of smell.
Fur, dust, ceramic, keyboard, refrigerator, soda, noodles, heater, computer… cats.
There was a single screen giving off light, the screen of a large computer. As they stepped in, Frisk heard a hiss.
Sans growled.
Uh oh…
"Hey, Al."
She heard the tap of claws on the floor, almost like someone jumped.
"Oh, S-s-Sans! Wh-what a-a surprise, w-what are you d-doing here?"
Frisk saw light reflecting off of a pair of glasses, and seconds later the lights flicked on.
And oh boy, when she said cats, did she mean cats.
There were a ton of them, everywhere. On the desk, on the escalating stairs, on every desk, all over the sofa, on the railing to the second floor. Of all different shapes, colors, sizes…
Cats.
"Jesus Christ almighty, Alphys, how many fucking cats do you have?"
In the spin chair in front of the computer was a lizard-like woman. She wore narrow glasses with purple rims. There was a patch of gray fur on her muzzle, and her eyes were a pale green. She wore a clean white lab coat like the ones Frisk saw in the picture in Sans's lab.
"AWWW, LOOK AT THE KITTIES!" Frisk bent down on the floor, smiling wildly.
A tiny, gray kitten pranced up to her, little blue eyes sparkling.
"Mew!"
"AAAAAAAAHHH OHMAWGOD!" Frisk picked up the little kitten, her body feeling lighter than air with happiness and cuteness overload.
"I've got… I don't k-know… 50 something?"
Sans backed away.
"WHY?! Wasn't five enough?"
"N-no… this is the human?" Alphys asked.
Frisk looked up.
"Oh, hi. I'm Frisk. I LOVE YOUR CATS!"
"I'm d-doctor A-Alphys… I love my kitties too!"
Alphys turned to Sans, who was growling at one of the cats.
"Why are you h-here S-Sans? I saw that nasty fight on the cameras, you should be r-resting."
Sans's expression darkened.
"Well… Frisk is having a little trouble. She's been coughing and vomiting blood. Tori says it's a hurt lung and she can't do anything about it. So we thought maybe you could."
Alphys's eyes widened.
"O-oh! That's not g-g-good! I t-t-think, m-maybe. I don't k-know…" Her voice quivered.
"I know you can. You need too." Sans urged. He was trying to suppress the edge to his voice and it wasn't working. He was bitter towards her for some reason.
Frisk looked up, the gray kitten resting its head on her breast. She shifted her gaze between Sans and Alphys.
"O-ok, I will t-try…"
"Thanks. Oh, and another favor? Can we stay here for the night? I can't teleport back and I'm beat." Sans asked.
Alphys blinked.
"O-of c-course S-Sans, but please d-don't hurt my babies…"
"Yeah Sans, don't hurt the babies!" Frisk held the gray kitten close.
"I hate my life. This is going to be a long night." Sans groaned.
Alphys walked over to Frisk, her hands fidgeting nervously.
"w-w-well, I-I am going to h-have you come with m-me so I can take an x-ray…"
Frisk put the gray kitten down. The kitten mewled unhappily.
"Okay…"
Frisk followed Alphys through her lab, into a small, dark room.
Alphys did her work, then told led her to another room.
This room was large, with a single table in the middle. It looked a little unused.
"Well, I've g-got too do some s-surgery to get the d-debris and drain the fluid from your right lung…"
"S-surgery?" Frisk echoed.
"Y-yeah. I-I will have to put you under sedatives first."
Frisk took a step back.
"… I don't wanna…"
"I'm s-s-sorry, b-but you h-have to…"
"FRISK, JUST DO THE FUCKIN' SURGERY!"
Frisk jumped as Sans's voice screamed down the hall.
She leaned out the door and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"What's got you in a knot?!"
"FUCKING CATS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE! ONE JUST PISSED ON MY FUCKING SLIPPER!"
Frisk looked over at Alphys.
"… I'm sorry about him."
"Me t-too… so… you have to take this shot. It won't h-hurt…"
Frisk sighed and sat on the table.
At least she had the comfort knowing Sans was going through as much pain as she was.
…
Ugh.
Frisk felt like her head was stuffed with cotton balls…
Or maybe fluffy cats.
She giggled at the thought.
Kitties…
Frisk blinked, realizing she was awake.
There was an ache in her chest. But her lungs felt better.
Frisk sat up. She was on a small couch, with one of the fluffy blankets (the purple one) wrapped around her. She realized her torso was covered in band-aids.
There was a TV on the other side of the room, and it was currently playing Family Guy.
Sans was on the other side of the couch, his eyes shifting around the room. He really was keeping his eyes on all the cats. Soon he'd grow more eyes to keep up, she was sure.
"S-Sans?" Frisk rubbed her head.
He looked over.
"Oh, hey, you're up. How you feelin'?"
"My ear hurts. I'm hungry. It's too cold. These bandages make my bra crooked. Great."
Sans blinked.
"There's always gonna be somethin wrong with you."
"Yup."
Sans's gaze quickly found her ear before her looked at the wall.
"… you don't have to be… like that about it, Sans. I know it's all torn up. I don't care if you look at it. Though… maybe I am a little insecure going out with it… I haven't looked at it yet."
Sans's mouth was turned slightly downward.
"I'm gonna be honest, it looks horrible. Alphys patched it up with special stuff, but she said she can't fix it. I…"
Frisk tilted her head. A cat on the other side of the room meowed.
Sans shrunk.
"Hey, I'm sorry… it's my fault we got into that mess. I took you out, then I thought it would be a swell idea to go to the cliff. Then I got myself shot and you…"
Frisk blinked.
"How'd you know? You don't let me think that way, so you aren't allowed to either. I… I know it's hard not too, when something bad happens. But it isn't your fault. It's Uno's. Or, really mine, since I killed Thorn." Frisk looked away.
"But… we can't change that, right?" Frisk finished, swallowing.
To be honest, she has just put Thorn on the back burner. She wasn't over it, and she may never be over it.
Sans sighed.
"I've been thinking about it this entire time. I just… couldn't stand watching that. It was awful. I've seen some nasty things- been through some nasty things. Hell, even done some nasty things. But he was just beating the crap out of you while you were on the ground, and… I just… a part of me meant to kill him and it always will, but there's another part that can't stand that. This has happened before, you know… when I was young. I killed so many things... I never liked it, but a part of me always justified it. That sometimes the only way to end something is to kill the thing on the other side. That death is the only reason life exists. It is, but I killed needlessly. Then I killed humans. I blamed them for everything. I never thought about them having feelings or being good. Actually, I thought the entire world was dark. Funny, how the next thing that got me in a rage was a human." Sans chuckled softly.
"Listen, being a wolf is amazing. But it comes with a price. A knife is sharp, and that can be used against your enemies and yourself. Mess around and you cut yourself. Being a wolf means being a predator. No one likes us… no one likes predators. They see us as savage, and maybe we are. There's truths that may be better left buried in the dust but they are truths. We kill. Maybe not for personal gain. But death is death and no one likes it. Being a real wolf means being able to accept this and have pride in that, and I don't think I ever will be able to deal with that. I'm like a sharp knife. I'm gonna hurt everyone I touch, friend or foe. I just…" Frisk could see tears in his eye sockets.
"Sans…" Frisk leaned closer.
"I… don't know as much about this as you do. Nothing's black and white. I understand why you hate humans- hell, I hate them too. I probably looked like I'd never hurt a fly, but I still killed Thorn, right? We all have that inside of us, wolf or not. And we all make mistakes. I could start listing all of mine and we'd be here for a week. But if I've learned something down here it's that it's best to be like a wolf and live in the present. I'm still not so sure myself… I'll never have the confidence to live by that completely. But I can still try. And maybe you can too. You don't care what others think, right? So what does it care what other people think about us wolves? We might be able to kill, but they can too. It's all a level playing field. The difference is that wolves see what no one else can, and rent represent the true wild of nature. Beautiful but deadly. I think that's cool, you know?" Frisk look down.
Sans was quiet for a little while. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be thinking.
Then he leaned over to gently ruffle her hair.
"H-hey!" Frisk laughed, trying to push him off.
"You really have learned fast. It's amazing how fast you catch on, Snap pea. You really are a handful. Like a goddamn puppy."
"You wanna see a handful puppy?" Frisk pushed his hands away from her head and jumped into his lap, making sure he got tangled in the blanket. Then she leaned back on him and rested her head under his chin.
"What the hell? Get off, you fluffy lump!"
"No. If I'm a puppy I'm gonna act like it!" Frisk leaned further back.
"Uuuugggghhhh, geeeet ooooffff."
"No."
The doorknob turned, and Alphys peaked in. Her glasses reflected the glare from the tv.
They froze.
"O-oh! A-am I interrupting something?" Alphys asked.
Frisk slowly got off of Sans.
"No…"
Alphys smiled.
"W-well, I'm g-glad you're feeling a little b-better! Take it easy, though. A-also, d-do you two w-want to watch some anime?" She asked.
Frisk looked over at Sans.
"I guess…"
"Let me guess, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?"
"Yup!" Alphys said excitedly.
…that sounds interesting… and weird…
Suddenly, something pawed at her leg.
Seconds later, the little gray kitten from before jumped onto her lap.
Frisk broke into a wide smile.
"Awwww! It's the little kitty from before! You're a real friendly fella, aren't you?" Frisk started petting the fluffy gray kitten, and he purred loudly.
"T-that's our newest. I just rescued him from below the MTT hotel a week and a half a-ago… I h-haven't e-even named him y-yet…" Alphys informed.
"I think he likes me." Frisk laughed as the kitten put his paws on her chest and rubbed against her cheek. It's little paw pads felt warm, and It's fur was soft like clouds.
Sans scooted over as far away as possible.
"It does l-look like that! Y-you k-know… if you w-want, you can k-k-keep h-him… He has n-never acted like that. I'd be h-happy knowing h-he is w-with someone he l-likes…"
Frisk looked up, her ears perking. She could practically feel her eyes blazing to life with happiness. Sans face-palmed beside her and groaned.
"Really!? Are you sure?!"
"Y-yeah, if you a-are…"
"YES! Oh my god yes!" Frisk hugged the kitten close, feeling the happiest she ever had.
She picked up the little gray kitten and looked into its wide blue eyes. The kitten mewed and tapped her nose with its paw.
"I think… I'm going to name you Storm!"
we all know Sans is getting those boners
Embrace the boners