…Darkness…
…Fear…
…Blood…
PAIN
Sans woke up after another nightmare, cold sweat covering his body as he was breathing heavily.
"…heh. well, that escalated quickly."
And he was right. It hadn't even reached the fifty words mark yet, but things were already looking pretty angst-y.
Nevertheless, Sans sighed and got out of bed to open up the window of his room, letting the fresh virtual morning air inside.
Monday, 15th of May, 2023; Final Seeker's Guild Home on Floor 7
It was another beautiful virtual day outside. The sun was shining warmly, the birds were chirping happily, and the cool morning breezes blew softly every now and then, rustling the leaves and grasses like a beautiful song composed by Virtual Mother Nature herself sung in a perfect harmony.
Virtual… that was a word he'd been using very often now. It was a way for Sans to constantly remind himself of accepting the cruel reality that everyone was trapped in this virtual world. Though, at the same time, he knew he would never say it that way out loud to anyone; it wasn't like saying it would change anything either.
He chuckled to himself and scolded his own mind for already thinking about morbid thoughts first thing in the morning.
"welp, i guess i should make breakfast for the others soon."
With that, he turned himself away from the window and walked out of his room toward the kitchen. The others hadn't wake up yet, so he proceeded to make breakfast.
As he began cooking, he began to reminisce on the events that had occurred. It had been three months since he joined the Final Seekers… well, not exactly join, but you get the idea. During that time, Sans worked more or less as the butler of the guild. PoH and the rest of the guild would go out on quests to level-up while Sans stayed at the guild's home doing the menial tasks like cleaning, cooking, or doing the laundries.
It was a funny thought for him. Half a year ago, he was nothing more than an abused son of an alcoholic mother. Five to four months ago, he became some kind of a wise freelance preacher and gotten powers with the costly price. Then, three months ago, he found friends and had been reduced to working as no more than a maid ever since.
And now the question remained: did he hate it? Well... the answer depends. For example, never once did he hate any second he spent in his life to help the small guild. In fact, he loved his life now; it was an easy life… but that was exactly why he also hated it.
While everyone was out there fighting, all that he could do was stay back and cook and clean and just do… nothing. What was more is the fact that he possessed a power that no one would ever have, yet he still couldn't use properly. With the way he was now, all that he would do if he forced himself to fight was adding another number to the already long list of casualties.
He always told himself that he needed the clearers to advance to the next floors, that his power would be very efficient to fight bosses the higher their levels were, but no matter how much excuses he tried to make, another question rose.
…What would he say to those that died or lost their loved ones when he had powers beyond what most were capable of? He could make up excuses like, "I wasn't strong enough" or, "It's Kayaba Akihiko's fault!" or perhaps, "They brought this upon themselves for not being smart and careful," …but then would he really be okay with that? Making up excuses about being afraid where thousands were putting their lives on the line to free the others and get out of this game?
Sure, being alive with 1 HP meant that death was literally just one moment away from him from every single second of his life, but what was the difference? After all, the clearers too could die faster than they could blink at any moment in their lives. Falling into traps, killed by monsters, or perhaps occasional PKs…
…And that's not mentioning what would happen if Kayaba Akihiko, the self-proclaimed God of Aincrad, knew that someone within the world that he created was a bug. What would he do then? Would he still be safe? Would he still be able to see the light of another day?
…Or would the mad scientist be out for his blood and erased him from existence?
Sans sighed, thinking that maybe that was enough gloomy thoughts for now. He chuckled at the thought that you're probably bored reading these same gloomy thoughts over and over and over again.
Anyway, going back to the present, a few minutes after cooking, the mouthwatering scent started to fill the air. Sans focused on the food that was on his frying pan with his enhanced hearing and sense of smell then proceeded to flip or turn it around right at the perfect moments.
"Mm, what a delicious smell!"
"good morning, tanya." Sans smiled.
"Good morning, Sans. Are you done cooking yet? Because I can't wait to dig in!"
"heh. be patient will ya? there'll be enough for everyone."
Then other voices entered from the hallway.
"Sans' cooking again? Alright!"
"You can say that again, Z."
Sans smiled to toward the two newcomers and greeted them.
"i see you've caught your z-s"
Z groaned at the pun, "Don't."
"heh, fine." Sans then turned, "and morning to you too, raul."
"Hey, good morning, Sans."
Sans focused on cooking the breakfast once again; it was nearly finished. Raul was about to ask what Sans was cooking until a certain someone entered the room.
"Uuuuugh… must… resist… waking… up…!"
"hm? poh? awake al… ready…?"
Sans and the others saw how PoH was crawling on the floor with an incredibly tired look as if he was a legless zombie that was slowly, and reluctantly, pulling himself toward his victim.
"…Big bro, what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to resist this cursed delicious smell that is trying to wake me up early." PoH replied, hissing the last word in pure disgust.
"Even after three months, I still think that it must be the end of the world that PoH could actually wake up early." Tanya commented.
"Believe me when I say that I still can't believe this too." PoH sighed.
Everyone shared a laugh together, but Sans strangely enough didn't laugh. He tuned out the world around him as he kept staring at PoH in silence.
It happened a few times before too. Every time he sees PoH, there was this small nagging feeling as if he had met him before; even before they were all trapped in this death game. This feeling… it was as if something was telling himself to remember; as if it was something important. His mind kept trying as hard as it could to remember, but alas, he couldn't remember a thing.
Meh, whatever… It was probably nothing too important anyway; if it was then he'd remember it now, wouldn't he?
Anyway, Sans realized that pancake was ready, so he served them all on the plates. Putting on an equivalent of maple syrup, which (for your information) was called something else in Aincrad, to the pancakes, he nodded and spoke up.
"breakfast's ready."
"Ooh! Hurry up and bring it over here, Sans!"
"Yeah, I can't wait to dig in!"
"Wait, Sans, what did you cook?"
Sans served the plates on the table and everyone's mouth was agape.
"just pancakes. why?"
Silence fell between the rest of the guild's member.
"uhh… guys?"
"Pancakes…" Tanya muttered.
"huh? oh, yeah, that's right, tanya. it's pancakes."
"…Did he just say… Pancakes?" Raul muttered louder.
"Pancakes…" Z followed.
Sans scratched his head, "are you guys ok—?"
But before he could even finish, PoH suddenly shouted as everyone followed suit.
"PANCAAAAAAAAAAAAKES! SANS' PANCAAAAAAAAAKES!"
Like mindless, primitive beasts, they began to devour the pancakes on their plates using their bare hands; savoring each bite as they tear on the soft and heavenly breakfast without mercy. Sans could only sweat drop at what was happening.
"i-i could always make more, so can you—"
"More…?"
Sans flinched as their attentions were fixated on him. Their eyes were full of madness, bloodlust, and most of all hunger.
"…a-ah, right, we have no more eggs! what a s-shame right! heh…"
They looked at each other in confusion and shrugged… before going back into their savage modes and began to devour their pancakes again. Sans learnt an incredible lesson: Never underestimate the power of pancakes.
One savage breakfast later...
"Haaah, now that's what I call breakfast!" Raul patted his stomach.
"As expected of Sans' cooking, especially his pancakes! Isn't that right, big brother?"
"…"
"Uhh… big brother?"
"Zzz…"
"Ah, he fell asleep again…"
The rest sweat dropped at PoH's antics as Z sighed. Sans then tilted his head and asked,
"say, what's so good about my cooking anyway? doesn't it taste the same like other food?"
"What? You've been cooking for the last three months and you have never realized how good your cooking is?!" Raul replied in disbelief.
"…uh, yea?"
"Sans, you're so good at cooking and cleaning that I would have fall head over heels for you if you were a girl!"
"…excuse me?"
"Yeah! If you were any older, I would have asked you to be my wife!" Tanya cooed.
"aren't you the one that's supposed to be the wife?" Sans deadpanned.
"Hahaha, no way! Tanya's so bad at cooking that even NPCs die for eating it and that's when they're inside the town's safe zone! No wonder she's not married—!"
Faster than anyone could blink, Tanya grabbed Raul's face and threw him out of the window with her immense strength. Combined with the ungodly aura of rage and killing intent that she had, she looked a lot like a demon.
Everyone fell silent with grimace on their faces.
"Oh my, what is Raul doing? He's so funny jumping out of the window like that before he could even finish his joke, right? Right?" She spoke with a disturbing smile and happy tone full of meanings.
"R-Right." The rest of the present guild member wisely replied in unison.
Another awkward silence fell and Tanya then told them that she was going to take a bath, everyone sighed in relief.
"B-Big brother, Is… is Raul…?"
"…I'm… I'm sorry, Z…"
"B-but it can't be!"
"a moment of silence for our brave fallen friend. we will never forget you, raul…"
…
…
…
"I'm not dead yet, oi!"
Everyone laughed at Raul's retort as he began to rant about Tanya's denial to the truth. Meanwhile, Sans stared patiently at the hallway as if he was waiting for something to happen.
PoH noticed this and asked,
"Sans, is something wrong?"
"hm? no, it's nothing… say don't you guys have to go somewhere today?"
"Oh, right! We're supposed to meet with the other guild at the 20th floor on 9 o'clock!" Z remembered.
"What time is it anyway?" Raul asked
"it's…" Sans looked toward the clock on the wall, "08:50."
"…Wat." the three players froze.
"it's ten to nine."
"Oh… shit." PoH began slowly, but then the three of them shouted in unison.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"Quick! Get ready!"
"But, big brother, we haven't taken any bath yet!"
"Z, you fool! Forget about baths! It's virtual reality! The smell isn't real!"
"Yeah, whatever, he said!" Raul agreed.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
The three of them ran off into their respective rooms frantically to get ready; Sans merely sighed and smiled at their antics. However, the trademark smile on Sans face was soon replaced with an emotionless look as wondered about something that he had noticed since a few minutes ago. Where were Lily and Milly?
It had been three months and Sans had fit in rather well with the Final Seekers. Jokes were spoken, laughs were shared and secrets were told among the members of the Final Seekers… well, except for the secrets about his past or his glitch of course, but that's beside the point. Yet, no matter how much he tried, there were a certain twins that just wouldn't open up to him.
Most of the time, he'd probably just shrug it off with the excuse, 'It's not like I expect everyone to like me,' and he knew that some people just wouldn't get along, however there was something within their eyes and expressions that kept bothering him every time he saw them.
At first he thought that it was hate as in hating his annoying sense of humor, but overtime he'd notice that their eyes weren't lying; they genuinely hated him. Hate might be too strong for a word to describe it, anger would probably a better word to describe it.
Every time they look at him, there was a silent sadness and fury within those eyes of theirs… and it wasn't about his annoying, funny, or arguably lazy nature, it was as if they were angry at him for something.
He couldn't recall if he had ever met them before and when he asked, the other members didn't know too much about them just as much as Sans did. Besides, he wasn't that desperate and didn't feel like pressing them for an answer, so he did the only logical thing to do: give up.
Heh, it had become a bad habit now, hadn't it? Well, whatever. Maybe they were just that cautious toward him since he was 'the new guy,' maybe they weren't. All that he could do was be patient and keep trying to get them to up to him with hope that one day they would come to trust him as much as he trusted the others.
Because, after all, words like hope and trust were words that Sans had never really used since a long time ago.
Sighing his bad thoughts away, he decided that he should bring Lily and Milly their breakfast since they didn't come to eat together… again. He knocked on the door of their room.
"lily? milly? awake yet?"
There was no answer, but with Sans' enhanced hearing, he knew they were standing right behind the door. He smiled and pretended not to notice.
"i'm putting your breakfast right in front of your door. be sure to eat up before u go, k?"
With that he walked away to wait at the living room.
"So, are you sure you're going to be alright, Sans?"
"of course i'll be all-right when you all-left." He snorted at his bad pun, "besides, you're asking me that now after all these months, poh?"
"I know, but it's just that I can't help but worry about you staying here alone…"
"you worrying about me? funny, coz' i'm worried about you. after all, you're the ones out there fighting."
"…Touche." PoH paused, "Alright, then. I guess we'll get going."
The guild bid their goodbyes as Sans gave them his trademark smile. Holding up their teleportation crystals, they blew up into millions of pixels as they teleported to where they were supposed to meet with the other guilds.
As soon as they were gone, Sans' smile disappears as he reentered the guild's home.
"oh well… time to start cleaning."
Sans lifted his left hand and used his telekinetic abilities to clean the house. Garbage were enveloped in bluish aura as they were lifted off the ground as they flew towards the trashcan; immediately exploding into millions of pixels that disappeared into nothingness. Tables, chairs, pillows, beds, with his telekinesis, it was only a matter of minutes for him to clean the entire place.
SAO had an automated system to clean houses, cooking, and etc. but, unlike the original, Sans wasn't lazy and preferred to do things manually; he pretended to be lazy most of the time. The truth was he loved doing something instead of nothing. After all what else could he do in this world? Here's a hint: nothing really. There wasn't much to do for someone with a single health and attack point that didn't involve the possibility of him getting himself killed in the process.
Sure, he gave up trying to fight, but it wouldn't hurt to try and survive right? Just because he gave up, that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of death. After all, he survived for this long when he thought that he'd die on the first floor, so who was to say that he wouldn't survive long enough to escape this death game?
Besides, while it might not seem important, cleaning the house using his telekinesis actually helped him in training his focus, mental stamina, and control in using the ability. Having to control and command multiple objects around you at the same time could really be taxing on one's mental stamina.
After cleaning the kitchen, dining room, and living room, he proceeded to clean the others' room. He chuckled at how messy the rooms of the boys were and how clean the rooms of the girls were; typical. However, the moment he stepped into Lily's and Milly's room, he smiled as he noticed the empty plate of the breakfast he brought them earlier.
What if the twins hated him, but could never hate his cooking? Well, one thing for sure, he'd find it extremely humerus. Jokes aside, maybe all he needed was a little more time for them to open up.
Knowing this, Sans sighed as he looked up to the beautiful virtual sky outside, wishing that things could stay like this forever.
Later that evening…
"Everyone, for the success of our guild in the 20th floor's dungeon, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
PoH and the rest had arrived a few minutes ago. Sans had prepared the group a feast earlier after PoH messaged him that they were returning in a few hours and the moment they stepped into the guild home, they were bombarded with the mouthwatering scent of Sans' cooking.
And so now everyone was in the dining room, celebrating their success in the dungeon as Sans stayed a few feet away, watching them from the corner with a smile on his face knowing that everyone was happy and safe.
"Yo, Sans, what are you doing?"
"hm? 'sup, raul?"
"Come here and celebrate with us, Sans!"
"nah. thanks, but ur the ones that fought so just enjoy the feast, z."
"Just shut up and join us, you chubby bag o' bones!"
The others laughed at Tanya's joke as Sans sighed and smiled. However his smile lessened when he realized that the only ones that didn't laugh were the twins; well, he noticed that they were always like that, but they seemed quieter than they used to be.
For now, he shrugged it off and sat on the only seat available which was, speak of the devil, right beside one of twins; Milly. He noticed she shifted away uncomfortably, before keeping her cool, but didn't say a thing nor let the smile of his face disappear.
"Hey, Sans, how did you get so good at cooking?" PoH asked.
"well, let's just say… i've put a lot of backbone into it."
Except for the twins, the rest chuckled at his pun.
"so, was it fun at the dungeon? you guys seems really happy."
"Of course we are! After all, we found four secret rooms in the dungeon and got ourselves a lot of Cor and awesome equipments!" Z replied.
"secret rooms?"
"Yeah, they're all scattered and hidden throughout the dungeon. Fortunately, Lady Luck seemed to be smiling upon us all today because we didn't only find one or two secret rooms, we found four! Four! Can you believe that?"
Sans chuckled at PoH's excitement, but then replied nonchalantly, "k."
"'K'… We've spent so much time trying to find all those secret rooms and when we got the miracle to find four within a single day, all we got from you is a single 'K'?!" PoH spoke with a tone of disbelief. "Like, can't you at least pretend that it's awesome?"
Sans was having a déjà vu, but he smiled again and said,
"lol, no."
Everybody laughed at PoH's expense, but then Tanya tried to calm him down.
"Alright, alright, calm down, Winnie. I think the reason why Sans' not that excited is because he never found a secret room before."
"Oh, that makes sense!" Z commented.
Raul then clapped his hand as he got an idea. An idea that made Sans froze as it shocked him down to his very core, not expecting him to say anything as such as this.
"I know! How about if we bring Sans with us tomorrow for another treasure hunt on floor 21?"
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea! I mean, we've never seen you fight!" Z followed.
The twins too got interested in the conversation and glanced Sans' way to see how he would react. They noticed how PoH had gotten silent as Sans froze with that same façade he always put on his face.
Raul, Z and Tanya smiled, expecting their leader to bounce in joy at the great idea so the gang could be together. However, the smiles disappeared from their faces the moment PoH gave them a very unexpected reply.
"No." PoH suddenly answered in a serious tone.
Truly, no one expected the usually happy-go-lucky leader to be so serious in moments like these. They were merely asking Sans to come with them to have fun, why would he say no?
"Sans is already busy enough to handle the house chores and—"
"I knew it…" Lily cut him off.
"There's something fishy about Sans that you're not telling us." Milly continued.
"What are you two saying…?" PoH maintained a poker face.
"It has been months and not once did you ever ask him to come with us to the dungeons…"
"And it's also no longer a secret that while Sans joined our guild, yet his name is never on the list of our guild members."
"What are you two saying?" he repeated his question.
"We can't trust him!" they half-shouted in unison.
Z, Raul, and Tanya were silent as they let the information they never noticed sink in.
"There… there must be a reason, right? I don't really understand, but if Sans doesn't want to fight, then isn't it his right to do so?"
"Z's right, you two. Even if he didn't fight with us, he helped us all manage our home, fed us good foods, made us laugh, so I don't see the reason why we shouldn't trust him."
"He has become a part of us, so what if his name's not on the guild members list or our friend's list? It's just another one of SAO's systems. We don't need it just to be friends with someone." Tanya followed.
Sans watched as the argument went on. The twins were telling them their suspicions as the three were trying to defend him while questioning themselves about who Sans really was. Even if he was the leader, PoH knew that it wouldn't be fair to tell both Lily and Milly to suck it up and just listen to the decisions he made and so he just stayed silent, looking down sadly as the bickering didn't stop.
He hated it. He absolutely hated it. Why did they have to fight over someone unimportant like him? Was he really worth that much in their eyes?
A part of him was happy that they would defend him so much and treat him like their own family, but another part of him felt guilty toward the twins, knowing full well that he had a lot of secrets that he never told the so-called people he trusted.
…Maybe they're right. Maybe he didn't have to suffer alone. Maybe all he needed was to tell everyone just how afraid he was living the life where he had to mask his own pain and suffering by pretending to be apathetic and always smiling just to keep his own sanity from falling into the pit of despair. Maybe he didn't have to act or try to be like Sans.
Maybe it was time to put this stupid façade to an end.
After all, Sans wasn't the Sans he used to admire; he was a boy called Akiyoshi Mizuki who, like everyone else, became a victim of the SAO Incident.
…Or at least that's what he wanted to believe.
Yes, that was it. Maybe Sans wasn't like the real Sans. Maybe he should have told everyone and ask for help, but the truth was, even if Sans had the choice, he still wouldn't tell anyone about his condition, no matter how much he trusted them. The day he made his resolve, the moment he gave up… a part of him died; a part that one might have been called self-pity.
Everyone already had their own problems; he too had his own problems and didn't need anyone to worry about him. As long as those who still had a reason to live could get out of this cursed world, he couldn't care less. He never really had a huge motivation, but Sans, just like any other logical creatures, wanted to survive; thus the reason he keep trying to survive despite the incredibly slim chances to live given his circumstances.
… However, at the same time, he knew that they'd soon learn the truth eventually, even if he didn't tell them. And even if they would hate him for what he was, it would probably for the best. Besides, he'd hate to see such a great and happy guild like the Final Seekers broke apart just because of his own selfish desire to keep his own secrets to himself... but still...
Sans sighed; that was enough dark thinking for now. He had to put this to an end.
"sure, why not…" Sans suddenly cut them off, getting their attention. He winked his right eye and gave them his trademark smile, "i'll go."
PoH widened his eyes and muttered in shock.
"S-Sans, what are you say—?"
Sans threw him a knowing look; he immediately understood that Sans didn't want the argument to continue. Swallowing down his fear, PoH put on a façade and spoke happily.
"T-That's great! Well, there you have it! Let's stop this stupid debate and just be friends, shall we?"
An awkward silence fell between them all. PoH sighed and proceeded to sit down, but—
*A loud farting noise echoed*
PoH put on a poker face as everyone's attention was fixed on their leader. A few moments later however, everyone burst into a fit of laughter as PoH expressed his annoyance.
"whoops, watch where you sit. sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on the seats."
"Are you kidding me?! SAAANS!"
He chased after him and was about to punch him, but Sans dodged his attack. PoH was a little surprised at his sudden show of speed and he merely shrugged his shoulder.
"what? you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?"
"Rrrraaaaaaagh!"
PoH fell for Sans' taunt and suddenly lunged at the chubby boy, only for Sans to sidestep his attack causing him to crash into the wall head first, knocking him out cold as everyone laughed even more.
Sans caught the twins trying to hold back their laughs and chuckled. He guessed they didn't hate his sense of humor after all. The moment the laughter died down everyone's attention turned on the twins who were trying as hard as they could not to laugh and failing horribly.
"So, is something funny?" Raul teased.
Their faces reddened a bit and they shouted in unison.
"W-Whatever!"
With that they walked away into their rooms as the others chuckled.
"anyway, it's late. i'd be best for us to go to sleep soon."
"Yeah, you're right… well, goodnight you three. I'm off to bed."
"Goodnight, Tanya." Raul replied then turning toward the downed PoH, "So… what should we do with this guy?"
Z sighed. "Whatever, let's just get this over with."
The two merely watched as Z tried to lift his big brother's body, but then stared at them. "Are you two going to help me or what?"
"what do you want me to do?"
"Grab his other arm, duh!"
"is it an arm-mergency?"
"Sans!"
"just kidding, z."
Raul laughed, "Alright, alright, I'll do it."
"Goodnight, Sans." The two spoke in unison.
"yeah, g'night u two." He waved his left hand.
He stood there alone after the two left the room. Turning his head to the window, he saw the beautiful moonlight shining through.
Sans then turned around and walked toward the door.
Sans stepped out of the house to the porch to get some fresh air. He lied on the ground and stared into the starry moonlit sky in silence, wondering if what he was doing was the right thing as he lost track of time as he stayed silent in deep thoughts.
In fact, it seemed like he always wondered whether everything he did was right or not. Unfortunately, he knew that the questions he had would probably never have a definite answer. Giving up on thinking about it might be for the best after all.
Heh, there it is again, the bad habit of giving up.
"I knew you'd be here…" A voice came from behind him.
Sans didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"congrats. you guessed right, poh."
"Why did you agree, Sans? You know you didn't have to!"
Sans chuckled, much to PoH's confusion.
"Why are you laughing? I'm being serious—!"
"it's just funny how you're always worried about me as if…" he trailed off and thought, [as if you are trying to redeem yourself from something...?]
"As if what, Sans?"
PoH snapped Sans out of his thoughts and he shook his head as he shrugged.
"nothing. i'm just kidding." He paused and continued, "seriously tho, don't worry about me."
"Don't worry? But you're my friend! I can't just let you get out there, knowing that you could get killed at any given moment!"
"…and?"
"Are you seriously playing dumb with me?"
"PoH," Sans began seriously, "I told you, didn't I? Just because I have a single health point, that doesn't mean that I can't take care of myself."
"B-But—!"
He cut him off with a chuckle, "heh, you always were such a panicky, scaredy-cat. like the time when i told you not to be surprised if you see my stats in your friends list." He looked up at the stars again as he recalled that particular memory.
PoH wanted to protest, but figured that it was no use; he knew that once Sans made up his mind, he'd damn well make sure he achieve his goals. With that in mind, PoH gave up and sighed as he smiled at the chubby self-proclaimed skeleton.
"You can't blame me. Of course I was really worried, it wasn't every day you meet someone who turns out not only is still a level 1, but also only have 1 health, attack, and defense point… I don't know how I would live in such a situation."
"well… just be happy that you don't know how it feels, k?"
PoH calmed himself down, knowing that Sans was aware of what he was doing. PoH didn't say anything for a few moments until he too caught himself stargazing into the beautiful virtual night sky, recalling an old memory.
"…I'm sorry that Lily and Milly are such stubborn twins. They were always like that even before SAO."
"before sao?"
"Yes, all of us Final Seekers met for the first time in an RPG Forum. We played a lot of MMORPG games together until eventually we're all here."
"so… they're always that suspicious?"
He chuckled.
"Heh, yes, they are; unfortunately."
"well..." Sans paused, "it's not that bad though. being cautious is nice too."
"That still didn't give them the right to say all those things to you without knowing anything about you. That's why I'm apologizing in their stead."
Sans chuckled once again.
"well, sorry, but i'm not gonna accept their apology; not if it comes from you. besides, i told you, it's fine. as long as you guys don't have any problems, then things are fine the way they are; i'm not expecting them to apologize and i don't hate them or anything either."
PoH went silent to think about something and then spoke again, "If… If that's how you want it to be… then maybe I can help you."
"hm? what do you mean?"
PoH opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself from saying anything. He shook his head and threw Sans a little smirk.
"…Nothing, I'm just kidding." PoH stuck out his tongue out.
Sans raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
"jk… huh? fine."
PoH was about to say something else again, but Sans cut him off when he saw something over the horizon.
"ah, look. there it is."
It was a beautiful view of sunrise. They both watched how the virtual sun slowly rose up into the sky illuminating the darkness that once consumed the skies above. The beautiful phenomenon took their breaths away as Sans stood up.
"wow, i can't believe you kept me up all night."
"Huh? Hey, we've only been talking for half an hour and it's still six o'clock!"
"then i guess it's time for me to rise and shine huh?"
PoH chuckled, "I'll be waiting for that delicious breakfast of yours!"
Sans went inside with a smile on his face.
The moment Sans closed the door, the smile on his face immediately lessened. He didn't move nor say anything for a few minutes, until suddenly he smiled again and called out.
"i know you're there, milly."
A silent pause filled the room, but a few moments later, Sans' sharp hearing heard a sigh and a figure revealed herself to him.
"…How did you know it was me?"
"you mean, how did i know you were behind the couch—?"
Milly gritted her teeth and cut him off, "How can you be so sure that I'm not Lily?"
"well, you're not denying it, so i guess i'm not wrong, right? hehe…" Sans tried to crack a joke only to be met with the ever-suspicious glare from the girl; she was not amused.
Sans sighed and shrugged, "...eh, a lucky guess."
Her eye twitched, "You always knew which one of us was which when the others can't even tell us apart, don't give me a half-assed excuse like 'it's a lucky guess'!"
Sans merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"maybe i'm just that lucky?"
"You—!"
"would you like some pancakes for breakfast again? i know you like it more than anything else i've cooked." Sans cut her off, trying to change the subject as he walked passed her towards the kitchen.
Milly was about to voice her annoyance of how Sans kept trying to dodge the subject. However, she remembered that they were going to go to the dungeons today and decided that there was no use in trying to push him to talk.
She would find out about him soon enough.
Milly sighed, "Fine." She looked away, trying to calm herself down, "And make that two…"
Sans' grin widened, "two pancakes and french toasts are coming right up."
"Wait, 'French toasts'?" She suddenly asked, clearly confounded.
Sans stopped and turned around with a look of confusion of his own,
"oh you didn't know? lily prefers french toasts over pancakes… i mean, you're her twin sister so of course you knew, right?"
She didn't.
Milly kept her mouth shut as Sans turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. A single question echoed in the back of her head.
[Just who are you, Sans?]
Two hours later, everyone had eaten their breakfasts and geared up. The sun was shining brightly high on the sky as they all stood outside of their home and PoH spoke up.
"Is everybody, ready?"
Everyone went quiet for a few moments to recheck their weapons and equipments.
"I'm all set." Tanya answered.
Raul was the next to answer. "So am I."
"no probs here."
The twins merely nodded and Z was the last to reply.
"Yea, we're all ready, big bro."
"Well then… shall we?"
Holding out their teleport crystals, the Final Seekers broke into millions of pixels one by one, teleporting to the 21st floor. Sans mentally prepared himself and held out a teleportation crystal that PoH gave him.
As he felt himself getting lighter as his body shattered into tiny pieces, he braced himself for what the future had in store for him.
Author's Note:
So hey! Thanx for your supports guys and I'm sorry that I can't update as fast as I could. I'd like to say that I'm having my high school's finals next Monday so I won't be updating for a while, but… that'd just be a poor excuse for my laziness now, wouldn't it?
Not gonna lie to you, I already have ideas in mind for the story, but it seems that this writer's block keeps preventing me from writing down those ideas… heh, alas, another excuse.
Oh well, forget it. Still, again, thanx for all of the supports and sorry for the delays! I hope you'll stick around cuz' the story is still young! There'll be more action! More drama! More BLOODSHED! And I totally did not steal this catchphrase from Mettaton! (totally did, lol)
OH! Almost forgot! I'm writing a special "Q&A w/ the Characters!" chapter soon, so... get those questions over here and ask away! It can be anything! A joke, a dare, a comment, an act or whatever as long as it involves either Sans or any of the SAO casts! Heck, you can even ask things that is OUTSIDE of this story's universe, lol! (Just keep in mind that this Sans isn't actually Sans) Go ahead and be crazy with the questions lol, me and the casts will answer ANYTHING that you'll ask! (Everyone gets a maximum of 3 questions each and can be asked through the review section and/or via PM)
So yeah, anyway, tell me what you think about the chapter and don't forget to ask those questions if you have 'em!
Without further ado, see ya next chapt, Capt!
:v /