Hello, hello ! Here goes the new chapter, and it's a big one. Lot of dicussions and fights :D

Chapter 12 : A thorny question

"It's alright, it's not broken." Toriel comforted them. "The bone was cracked, but I took care of it. Ah… Healing broken bones… It feels like forever since I last did that. I never healed as many bones as during the war. Your species is more fragile than most, but I'm pretty sure I heard you could correct this by drinking a lot of milk. Oh. Sorry, I'm rambling again, am I?"

Papyrus grimaced as the only answer. Laying on the floor, he was holding Sans' hand while the Queen finished healing his leg. The pain was disappearing, but the traumatism of seeing his own leg in the wrong direction was still very strong.

Like the skeleton feared, Flowey ran away. Papyrus had tried to gain some time for Sans to realise something was off, but it wasn't enough to stop him. Flowey tore his leg and escaped, despite Sans' attempt to catch him with a bone attack, which made the yellow flower flee even faster. And now his brother was stressed again and Lady Toriel had to heal him again for the second time in three days. He felt like a failure.

Sure, Sans told him it was alright and that they would catch the flower later, but Sans was his brother and he was just worried and ready to tell anything to make him stop screaming out of pain after Flowey hurt him.

"I am so sorry I made everyone late, miss Toriel." The skeleton apologized with a weak voice. "I promise that it is not a habit of mine to hurt myself this stupidly in such a small period of time."

"Oh, please, dear, do not. You didn't do anything wrong. It's everyone outside who is slowly losing their minds. Do you think you can stand up now? Very slowly, don't hurt yourself more."

The Queen let him go and walked around. She gently pulled Sans' hands away to free the younger brother and hold him under her arms. Papyrus pushed on his valid leg and stood up, while his older brother was watching him with a worried stare. The skeleton whined when his hurt leg touched the ground.

"Slowly, step by step. Your leg might hurt for a few days, but it will be better soon. Sans, can you hold him for a moment? I'm going to grab painkillers."

Silently, the shorter skeleton took Toriel's place. Papyrus glanced at him. Sans still seemed very nervous, despite the fact that the situation had calmed down a few minutes ago. He kept glancing around like a hunted animal and his eyes were still shining a light blue, which meant his magic was still on high alert.

"Sans, please… You can stop now. You're tiring yourself for nothing. He's gone and he won't come back."

"What do you even know? Not even fifteen minutes ago, it pretended to be your friend."

"It's because I know him that I can assure you he won't come back. He's scared of you and he's too weak to fight right now. And for Asgore's sake, I won't dust and I still have my two legs. It's fine now, I promise."

He growled, but made his best to lower his guard to please his brother. His pupils were normal again and he tried to smile to comfort his brother. Toriel soon came back with two crutches, pills and a glass of water. Papyrus swallowed the pills quickly in a grimace, then took the crutches and walked a few steps to get used to them. He needed a few minutes to feel comfortable again, but he was immensely relieved to not have to put his leg on the ground again.

The Queen made sure he was still able to follow them to the royal meeting, which Papyrus assured he was. Meetings needed a voice, not legs, and he didn't want to let Sans face this all alone once again. He refused to say it out loud, but he knew Undyne wouldn't be as harsh with him if the younger skeleton was here.

The small group walked down the stairs to Toriel's basement and continued to the castle where the Council should have started fifteen minutes ago already. As they expected it, all its members were already there.

A long awkward silence took place when the Queen entered, followed by the two skeletons. Papyrus did his best to not cross Undyne's eyes, but it was already too late. When she saw the crutches, the captain jumped out of her seat and rushed next to him, worried.

"What happened? Someone hurt you when you came back home?"

"N… No. I got attacked in Lady Asgore's garden. But it's nothing, I'm f…"

"The hell?! You were supposed to keep them safe!" screamed Undyne to Toriel, angry. "Is this how you protect those who are left under your watch? What a queen you are!"

"Kid, please." begged Gerson. "You are clearly overreacting. You didn't even let the old boss explain what happened. Come and sit here, girl. Let them breathe for Asgore's sake."

The Captain huffed, clearly holding herself, then obeyed and sat back next to Alphys, who immediately grabbed her hand to comfort her.

Papyrus felt guilty. His presence was supposed to help things calm down, and he was already in the middle of a fight. It was definitely a very bad day. He wished it was over already.

The brothers sat down next to the Queen. The younger one blushed furiously when he met Mettaton's eyes next to him. The robot winked and threw him a silent kiss with

his hand, which made him gulp. He forced himself to look at his brother, who was staring intensely at the two of them, frowning. A light growl escaped his throat, but Papyrus hit his hand to make him shut up. Great, now he would have to talk to Sans about this too. He was so tired.

"Good afternoon everyone." started Toriel. "First, I would like to thank you one more time for trusting me despite our differences. I assure you all I will try to be a fair queen for everyone, even those who are not convinced yet. As you all know, this is a hard period in the Underground right now. There has been an attack in Snowdin just yesterday, and a spread of violence everywhere else. I received reports from the Waterfalls, from the Hotlands, and from the MTT Resort just a few hours ago. This needs to stop and quickly."

She looked directly at Undyne.

"In the Underground, we always authorized the plurality of political opinions. I respect it too, and I can fully understand that not everyone wants me where I'm standing right now after what happened a long time ago. But that doesn't make any violence right. What good would a civil war bring to us? We are not as many as we were before, do you really want to live in this small space fearing other monsters you can't ran away from? We are better than this, are we not?"

Several people nodded in the assembly, Undyne included, who looked away, uneasy.

"I will be honest." Toriel spoke again. "I wanted to dissolve the Royal Guard as my first measure, because I don't think soldiers are what we need right now. However, I must recognise they were a very useful hand in the last few days, and that this would do no good for now. Captain Undyne, I wish you and your guards secure the Underground and make sure no violence like those that happened start again. We will then discuss new orders and missions for the Royal Guard. I would like to talk to you in private after the Council. I think it's time we have a real talk. Not only about our divergences, but… Also, about what just happened in New Home. I need you to capture as quickly as we can the monster who attacked Papyrus."

"Very well. I'll see what I can do… Your Majesty."

Toriel smiled. The last two words seemed to have cost a lot, but she appreciated the effort. She nodded, then continued.

"We must talk about the Council too. A few things are going to change, starting with Sans here. I will have Sans assist me in the decisions to come. I know that the current tensions will make some people not understand my decision, but I am trusting his judgements blindly as he proved me to be the most caring soul I have ever met so far. He doesn't believe me right now, I can tell, but I know he will be the best for this role. Trust me on this one, old friend."

Sans didn't look very convinced, but smiled shyly anyway. Papyrus realized they obviously already had this discussion since his brother didn't seem too shocked by the announcement, unlike his younger brother. Sans, the Underground counselor?

That was very new.

"However, his new position means some things have to change in the Council." Toriel continued. "This is why I decided to hire a few new members and shattered some positions to create new important roles, starting with Sans. As a counselor, his workload will increase a lot these next few days. On his special demand, he will still take care of our justice. We don't really have another choice since, as you all know, he is the last Judge Monster still alive. However, I removed all his tasks concerning the social organization of the Underground to give them to another monster who I know is empathic and kind enough and, I'm sure, will do all he can to make things evolve for the best. Papyrus, would you like to fulfill this role? Your brother will train you, of course, but I can't see a better candidate for this."

Papyrus raised a shaking finger to his chest when he realized the Queen was talking about him. He turned to Sans who was smiling brightly, already aware of her decision. Undyne was smiling too even if she was trying very hard not to.

"I… I would love that!" Papyrus beamed. "Thanks Lady Toriel!"

"I know you would. We'll talk about all this soon. Now, I would like to introduce a second new member to the Council. Come in, my friend."

All eyes turned toward the room entrance where Grillby was standing awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and crossed the room to sit on the other side of the Queen, nervous. Sans gave him an interrogative look, just like most of the other members of the Council.

"I don't understand." said Angstablook, the Waterfall mayor. "I don't doubt your choice, my Queen, but is he not that innkeeper in that grease restaurant in Snowdin? How would he even help?"

"That's a very good question." answered Toriel, smiling. "I wanted to put the human question apart, and especially out of the sentries' and the Royal Guard's hands. For this, I needed someone who knew how to deal with humans, and so, a war veteran. Of course, Gerson was my first choice, but he let me know he was getting too old to deal with other responsibilities, which I can understand. So, I chose the only other still alive war veteran monster for this role. Mister Grillby, right here."

"What?" Undyne reacted. "He did the war? But I thought he was as old as Sans! He can't be more than 200 years old, everyone would know it!"

"Actually, I'm 700 years old." Grillby answered, a bit amused.

Even Sans seemed to be affected by the news. The skeleton had known the bartender his whole life and he never knew he fought in the war. It was quite the revelation.

"Elemental monsters live almost as long as boss monsters." Toriel explained, patient. "Grillby was our main mediator between humans and monsters during the war. Like

many, he chose to quit when we entered the Mountain to take care of his family. He was always very good in his role, which is why I asked him to take care and talk to the future humans who might fall in the Underground in the months and years to come."

Whispers started to grow in the assembly as everyone understood where it was going.

"From now on, starting today, no humans will be killed to break the Barrier. As our Captain pointed out, the war ended two hundred years ago. It is time we move on and try new ways to resolve this issue."

The decision failed to receive unanimous support. Undyne tensed on her seat, and a lot of monsters gave each other a concerned look. This announcement would change a lot of things. Toriel simply ignored them and continued. She preferred to end her speech before addressing the elephant in the room. The Queen turned towards Alphys. The scientist straightened, nervous.

"Doctor Alphys, I want the science department to be as important as it used to be in the past. I will allocate a part of our funds to train and hire new scientists, but also to educate our young ones better so they can see all they can do when they get older. This will be our mayor's mission from now on. School will be mandatory for all children, and modernized so that our children can learn why justice, social issues and science are important to our society. This will be our first area of work for now. I hope I'll be able to count on each and everyone of you, in a more active way than what you used to be with my husband."

She lowered her head and her voice softened.

"About Asgore… For three days, we will have a period of mourning, starting tomorrow. His dust will be exposed in the garden for two days, for those who wish to commune with him one last time, then there will be a ceremony for his close family and friends. You are obviously all invited. I know how important he was for all of you, and even if we split ways in the end, I can't forget I was married to that man for 400 years and I raised two children with him. His dust will then join the family gravestone where he will rest next to Asriel and Chara."

Several people nodded seriously. After a long silence, Toriel spoke again. She knew the difficult part was still to come.

"This was the last thing I had to say today. Do you have any questions? Some elements you wish to add?"

The Council members glanced at each other in an uncomfortable silence. Undyne twisted and turned on her chair before noticing that Toriel was already looking her way. The warrior stood up, drawing attention to her.

"I… I don't have any issue to address. At least not one that should be talked about in front of everyone. I… I just wanted to apologize for my behavior during the election.

What I said had a repercussion outside I didn't know I had and I got overwhelmed by everything that happened." She said, turning towards Sans and Papyrus. "I'm sorry bad things happened to people I deeply care about, that was never my intention. I just… I wish we could start again with a clean state, your Majesty, if you are agreeing with that. I won't hide that not everything is convincing me and I won't promise I will blindly agree to everything you just said, but… I promise I'll be more moderate and careful now."

"Thanks, Captain." Toriel answered. "I recognise I was not on my best behavior either. I promise I will do my best to make the handover of power as painless as possible, for you and for everyone."

The fish lady smiled shyly. Next to the Queen, Papyrus not so discreetly thumbed up to encourage their reconciliation. He turned towards Sans. Eye sockets pitch black, the shorter skeleton was not exactly buying her apology. Papyrus stayed positive. With time, maybe things would be better. He believed it with all of his soul.

Some more generic questions fled thick and fast, mainly about the school's budget, which Toriel assured would arrive in a short notice. However, everyone avoided the topic of humans. No one wanted to add fuel to the fire. Not now.

Once the last questions had been answered, Toriel dismissed the assembly and sent away most of its members, only keeping Undyne, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus and Grillby close to her. For more privacy, she invited all of them to New Home, to talk about the heavier problems, but at least around a nice diner. As soon as they entered the house, Toriel and Grillby headed to the kitchen as the bartender was willing to help. The others sat around the living-room table in an awkward silence.

Sans pushed Papyrus so he wouldn't be sitting next or in front of Undyne, which didn't go unnoticed. Though, conscious he just made the situation worse, he was the first one to break the ice.

"So, before we start and all. I have a very important question. A life-or-death type of question actually. Papyrus. What the hell happened with Mettaton earlier?"

Startled, Papyrus' face went from pale to bright orange in less than ten seconds. Alphys suddenly straightened, very interested in what was happening. Undyne looked at everyone, confused and utterly lost.

"What do you mean?" The fish lady asked. "When did you meet Mettaton anyway?"

"O-oh, that's b-because of me." Alphys answered, clearly unable to hide the smile spreading on her face. "I sent him t-to escort P-Papyrus to the C-CORE. There were t-troubles at the MTT R-Resort."

"And?"

"And I d-didn't see w-well on the c-cameras but I swear I s-saw Mettaton giving him a signed ch-chainsaw and P-Papyrus blushing."

"Can you please all stop?" The skeleton whined in a low high-pitched voice, hiding behind his hands.

The others teased him mercilessly, which helped to lighten the mood. Toriel and Grillby soon came back with some sandwiches and joined them. The laughs died down slowly, and in seconds, everyone was silent again.

"First, I would like to thank you all for being a part of this new adventure." Toriel said. "I think you already know each other, so I won't redo the introductions. I wanted to discuss some more private issues with you all, mainly about the violence growing in the Underground… And the humans. As we explained briefly sooner, Papyrus got attacked in the garden a few hours ago, and we have reason to think they might be Asgore's murderer too."

Undyne tensed slightly, then turned towards Papyrus, more serious.

"Can you describe it? With as many details as you can."

"His name is Flowey. He's a tiny golden flower, like the ones in the Royal Garden. Except this one has a face and talks."

"A… talking flower? That's all?"

"The guy is more dangerous than what he looks like." Sans stepped in. "If he broke Papyrus' leg like a branch, who knows what else he can do? I… I saw him in action in the past and it was not pretty. He's extremely good at manipulating everyone to get what he wants. Whatever happened in the throne room, the kid ratted him out before they left. That Flowey guy is involved in all this, one way or another."

"I can try to track him down, but I just can't check all the flowers in the Underground." Undyne answered. "There are hundreds of them and soon, they will be everywhere as a tribute to Asgore. Are you sure it's really a talking flower? Can it not be some weird echo-golden flower mix? I never heard of a monster type like that. And anyway, what do you mean when you say you saw him in action in the past? Why did you not tell everyone? Clearly you knew he was not reliable."

Sans hesitated. He opened his mouth to talk, but quickly retreated.

"It's not important. Past is past."

"Of course, it's important!" Undyne slammed her fist on the table. "That flower just hurt your brother and maybe killed the King!"

"T-This f-f-flower, could… could it use d-determination?" asked Alphys, suddenly very pale and sweaty.

"Don't know." Sans answered. "Maybe. Why? You saw it too?"

The scientist started shaking and hyperventilating, clearly in the beginning of a panic attack. Undyne frowned and came in front of her. She gently rubbed her shoulder to calm her down. Once Alphys was breathing more or less normally, the warrior held her hands to encourage her to talk.

"I-I-It's my f-fault." she said. "I k-knew s-s-something b-bad would happen."

"Breathe Alphys." Undyne gently told her. "What are you talking about? Did something happen?"

She took a deep breath.

"T-Two years ago, some m-monsters got sick. Soon a-after, they lost all hope and f-fell down. I c-couldn't do anything t-to stop it. I w-was desperate so I w-went in the strange l-lab under mine to s-search answers f-from the Royal Scientist before m-me. I f-found weird diaries in another language and d-decoded them. They t-talked about d-d-determination and how it was used against hu-humans during the Great War to m-make some monsters s-stronger. Some s-samples were s-still intact so I th-thought I could use it on the d-dying monsters. But I didn't want t-to experiment on them, so I t-tested it first on one of Asgore's g-golden flowers. And one day, the f-f-flower disappeared. I t-thought maybe it d-dusted like a m-monster, but then there was a s-security breach and I think I-I saw s-something escape on t-the cameras. M-Maybe it's him?"

Alphys, ashamed, didn't look at the people in the room. Undyne was still holding her hand, cheering her up. Sans looked lost in thought, Toriel in shock and the others a bit confused.

"It's in the past, now, don't worry too much about it." The captain answered. "Fine, I believe you. That thing seems more dangerous than it seems. I will investigate. I'll gather the sentries and the guards tomorrow to warn them and increase the number of patrols. I… I have difficulty believing a tiny flower killed Asgore however. But I guess we'll see…"

She went back to her seat, still holding Alphys' hand next to her. Toriel nodded, then turned to Grillby, who was staring at Sans drinking the bottle of ketchup with a disgusted face.

"I expect a daily report, Captain. But let's move on to the humans for now. We need a protocol to avoid further incidents with monsters. Doctor Alphys, I think I heard you have cameras close to the Ruins' door, is that right?"

"Y-yes, and several others along the p-path leading to S-Snowdin."

"Good, you will be our frontline. If a human ever comes out of the Ruins, you will now immediately contact mister Grillby and myself. If the human meets a monster before we can reach them first, monsters will be forbidden to attack them, and, instead, simply wait with them until an authorized monster, mister Grillby, a sentry or a royal guard, comes and escorts them to New Home as soon as possible."

"And then what?" asked Undyne, a little more aggressive. "If we can't take their soul, they will be stuck with us anyway. We're not a human rescue, your Majesty."

"I know that. But do we have any other choice?"

Undyne opened her mouth. Toriel's face became more strict and severe.

"No." The Queen declared firmly before she could even say a word. "I will not further pursue Asgore's barbaric plan. We are not murderers."

"But we will become murderers anyway if we stay much longer in the Underground." Undyne retorted. "A lot of monsters have already fallen down because they lost all hope to get out of here. Good people. I knew most of them. And what comes with them. With every death, their families ask themselves if holding on is worth it. And more people die. It's a vicious circle. People have been talking to me about the Surface since I'm a little girl, and a lot of them can't wait anymore. We don't have time to wait anymore."

"I understand your position, Captain. But I could tell the same. The humans you helped to kill, don't you think they had families too? Each of them died here, and their families might still be outside, wondering what they did wrong and still hoping they are alive. That's what every mother does. I did it. For all of them. But tell me, Captain, if we ever get out, what are you going to say to those families? That the children they cared about and hoped were still alive were murdered in cold blood, and all for nothing? What do you think will happen? You are right, our people are weaker than we ever were, and we are not as many as we used to be. Humans will declare war on us again. And if you struggled so much with killing one human child, what do you think will happen when hundreds of adult ones will rush into the Mountain? Humans are millions outside, we are barely two thousand. You would just exterminate all of us. They don't care about your spears or how much trained your guards are. They will all die."

"Whatever." Undyne growled, more and more agitated. "Then what are we going to do if a sixth one comes?"

Sans and Papyrus quivered lightly, didn't lose her composure, now eyes in eyes with the Captain.

"That was an isolated case." Toriel answered sharply. "That child had a lot of anger inside of them."

"Are you shitting me?! Anger?!" Undyne exploded. "One hit, for fuck sake! One hit and Papyrus almost dusted. You know how powerless I was? That was only my second day in the Guard, and I saw a human, the human everyone said would never fall, shoot one of us without even blinking. I didn't know Papyrus yet, but the screams of his brother haunted my nights for months as the doctors were dragging the near-dusting body of Papyrus away. He was only twelve years old, your Majesty. And that kid was younger."

"Don't you dare drag me into your bullshit." Sans threatened defensively. "That's not your story, you have no right to talk about this."

"But we have to talk about this!" Undyne screamed. "You are the one who killed that child, Sans, and I don't recall you having any remorse back then. So, what changed?"

Sans eye sockets went entirely black as tension grew thicker in the room. Papyrus tried to gain their attention, in vain.

"I didn't kill it by choice." Sans answered.

"And what if a human does that again? Would you let them shoot Papyrus just for your fucking morals? You're so lazy I'm sure you would."

"Stop that. I won't play your game, crazy fish."

"Why didn't you kill that human when they got out of the Ruins? That was your only job. We chose you for this strategic post only for this reason, because we knew you would not hesitate. So what fucking changed?! You're just a coward and a traitor, and I swear that if your brother was not there I would…"

"Undyne, that's enough!" Papyrus screamed, standing up.

His eyes were shining a bright orange and he was clenching his fists so hard they were shaking.

"Stop pushing my brother! It's in the past!" Papyrus said, begging her. "Sans did what he had to do to protect me, nothing more. He was scared, and I would be dead if he weren't there. You can't compare the two situations. Sans is not a murderer, and if you still think that after everything that happened these last days, maybe you should consider questioning yourself and your behavior instead. Sans is not evil, and I know you are better than that. So please calm down, because I won't let you keep on insulting him much longer without doing anything. I do not need you to protect me or to drag me into your arguments. You are just using me to hurt my brother, and that is not a thing that a friend does."

"Please, everyone calm down." Toriel answered. "Papyrus is right. What happened belongs in the past. If something similar were to happen again, we will act in real time and with a better perspective."

"But…"

"This is enough. Please stop arguing anymore."

Undyne sank in her seat, arms crossed, and turned her eyes away. She was consumed with rage and made a huge effort to hold herself. Papyrus tried to offer his hand to comfort her, but she rejected it violently, pushing it out of the way. The skeleton didn't insist. He was already trying really hard not to cry. He wished his

brother and his friend would just stop fighting.

"Tearing each other to pieces won't resolve anything." Grillby stepped in, once everyone got silent again. "We are all on the same side here and we're trying to do the best we can for the people we care about. And we are agreeing, we all want to get out. But Toriel is right, there are other ways than murders to fill our objectives. Before the war, humans and monsters' relationships were cordial. There is no reason to doubt that, with time, we would be able to reach a similar situation. Maybe if we find a way to contact the outside, we could get them to help."

"If there was a war, our relationships were not so friendly after all." Undyne retorted, ironic.

"We can't blame an entire species on the bad decisions a few people made." Toriel answered. "The War was declared only because the human leaders envied our magic. When they attacked us, a lot of humans came to help us despite the risk. The only reason they didn't come with us inside the Mountain was because Asgore and I asked them to flee the second we knew we had lost."

"Well they did nothing to help us get out either."

"Indeed, and I want to believe that's because they didn't have any choice to do so. Or that, like mister Grillby, they found the strength to build their own family to forget all the horrors that were done during the war. And I have good reasons to think they are the reason humans kept falling down here. Chara heard stories about people who lived under the Mountain, just like Frisk. Humans don't know what is under the Mountain, but they know something is under it, and there will come a day when a curious human will come, leave peacefully and convince the others outside that we need help. But for this, we have to stop killing. We have technology. We are not barbarians. Our people are made of mercy and compassion, not of war and anger."

Undyne sighed loudly. "Yeah, sure. Let's put our children in schools and make them all believe in an imaginary human hero that will never come. I don't even know how you can just assume that's alright. Asgore had many flaws, I agree, but at least he was down-to-earth."

"Captain, please, that's enough."

"Yes, you're right. That's enough and I'm fucking out of here. I heard enough bullshit for one night. I'm going home. You coming, Al?"

Alphys glanced nervously at the Queen. Toriel sighed, tired. Yes, maybe it was time to end this session.

"You can go, doctor Alphys. Please come tomorrow morning so we can talk more about your next missions."

Undyne stood up and left the room without even saying goodbye. The door slammed violently behind her, making everyone jump. Alphys quickly gathered her stuff.

"G-Good night everyone. I'm s-sorry for Undyne, I t-think she's a little on n-nerves right now. I-I'll try to t-talk to her."

The other nodded patiently and waved at her as she rushed behind the fish lady, waiting outside. The door closed and Sans sighed.

"She won't change," he growled. "This meeting was a mistake. She was too invested under Asgore, she can't be trusted."

"This is what I am realizing." Toriel answered sadly. "I am terribly sorry, Papyrus. I hope all of this won't affect your friendship too much. I can see you care deeply about her."

"She will come around eventually." The skeleton said with a distant voice. "She just needs some time." He didn't believe any word he just said.

Papyrus shook his head. He moved the chair back and grabbed a crutch to stand up. Sans looked up to him and immediately hated what he saw on his brother's face. Papyrus was in a very bad state. Between the injuries and Undyne, even him was finally reaching his limit. All these events left more scars on his brother than he thought. Sans felt guilty. Maybe, somewhere, Undyne was right. If he had killed that human, they would all be chilling in the sun. But at what cost? Sans would have never forgiven himself, and probably Papyrus wouldn't have either.

"Papyrus?" The older brother called with a small voice.

"I'm going to sleep too." Papyrus answered with a low voice. "My leg hurts and I'm tired. Good night."

"But what about your bedtime story?"

Papyrus froze. A shy smile spread on his face.

"T-Tomorrow, alright? I need to be alone right now. But… Sans? I'm not mad at you, alright? You don't need to blame yourself. I'm… I'm really just tired."

Sans nodded and let him go regretfully. Papyrus limped towards the corridor and disappeared behind the wall.

Toriel put a hand on Sans' shoulder.

"Do not worry, old friend. He just needs to take a step back on the situation. A lot happened today. You should probably go rest too."

"Maybe I should, yes."

Grillby stood up too, and grabbed his jacket.

"I will be on my way too. I have a long way back to Snowdin. I'll be back tomorrow

morning to sign your papers."

"Thank you, Grillby." Toriel smiled. "Go home safely."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sans?"

"Eh, as usual. I wouldn't miss my three daily breakfasts even if the world was ending." Sans joked, winking. "And, well, I have to see the house. You should see, last time, it was falling into ruins! Eh, eh, eh."

Grillby and Toriel shared a concerned look. Even for him, it was terrible. Grillby gently patted the skeleton's shoulder and walked to the door. Sans helped Toriel to clean the table, then waved her goodbye before going back to the room he shared with his brother.

As soon as he pushed the door, he was blown away by the new decoration. Papyrus really did his best to make them feel at home, didn't he? His eyes fell on his brother. Facing the wall, he was shaking in his sleep. Sans hesitated, but quickly teleported above his brother's bed. He stepped over his body and slid under the cover to nestle against Papyrus' ribcage. His brother immediately stopped shaking. Sans feared he had woke him up, but, naturally, his brother's arms circled him and held him closer to him.

"Eh, good night little bro."

With a smile, Sans closed his eyes and sank into a more than welcome sleep.