i changed my mind its not a good morning at all chapter 26

It was long past midnight by the time Gaster dragged himself back into the house. He was heavy-legged and weak in the shoulders. He peeled himself out of his thick faux-leather jacket, put his shoulder bag onto the floor, and pulled his sweater straight, sighing deeply.

.

He caught sight of bone on the couch and he sat on the arm to peek down. Sans was kicked back, arms folded behind his head, though the light in his eyes was dim and he looked grey around his sockets.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked worriedly.

"I think this counts," he said.

"You know what I mean," Gaster said.

Sans laughed quietly. "Feels wrong, somehow."

The older skeleton's brow furrowed questioningly. He reached down and touched Sans gently on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, I haven't made much headway."

"Same," he said, and he shrugged slightly when Gaster shot him a questioning look. "Checked her usual spots down here. Just in case. Nothin'."

"…I'm sorry," Gaster said. "I suppose… my issue is, I've forgotten exactly what I need to be looking for."

"That'd do it," Sans said. He sat up stiffly and rubbed his back, grunting quietly. "It's… weird, I can… every once in a while, I think I hear her hum in my head but I couldn't repeat it."

"I know the feeling," Gaster said, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "Any other ideas?"

"Dark Model stuff," Sans suggested.

.

The old skeleton folded his arms and tilted his head thoughtfully. He nodded. He retrieved his bag from near the door and pulled out a chunky laptop that had several stickers of colourful cartoon food and round dogs on the top. He sat down, cross-legged, close beside Sans, opened it, and booted it up to a loading icon that looked like Mettaton's box-like form doing a stationary cartwheel.

"It just needs to sync up again," he said.

"I know, I made it," Sans joked.

Gaster chuckled. He leaned back to wait. "I… am sorry about all this, you know."

"What for?"

"It must've been bloody awful for a little while. When not even I…" He shook his head. "I don't suppose you've convinced any of the others, have you?"

"Funny enough, Undyne seems to feel more than nothin'," he said. "Tori's taken the approach that it doesn't matter if it's real or not if I'm outta it because of it. Paps is… worried." He grimaced and rested his cheek on his fist. "He thinks I'm nuts."

"I'll talk to him later," he assured him.

Sans shrugged one shoulder.

.

It took another minute or two before a plain-text program on black with the big letters "DM" onscreen opened up. Gaster cycled through tabs curiously.

"What were you thinking, exactly?" he asked.

"Kiddo was the red line, so that might lead us somewhere," Sans suggested. He tapped his teeth. "But…" His eyes flicked to a small, blinking exclamation point in an outlined box in the top right corner of one of the tabs. "Hey, go back, what's that warnin'?"

Puzzled, Gaster followed his finger when he pointed it out. The older skeleton tilted his head and clicked on it. It plunked them into the middle of columns filled with numerical readings of energy.

.

The numbers the alert highlighted showed a point of energy that had spiked dramatically, tapered off, and then shrunk swiftly down to almost nothing less than a full day ago. Sans's eyes began to sparkle.

"That's stuff in the void, right?" he said.

"It is, but I… Oh, damn it, I need to make these alerts bigger. And louder!" Gaster rubbed his brow. "It's—"

"Weird as hell." Sans stole the computer and scanned all the data points he could see. It instantly gave him a headache, but he ignored it. He rushed through the numbers near it, to compare; none of it repeated that type of reading. "That's gotta be her. But how…? Why the heck are they gone, though?"

"I wish I knew."

"Is there any way to know where this is?" Sans asked.

"It's not in our world or my network would already be able to predict that," Gaster said weakly. "But… theoretically, we can, if I can build some probes that I can send out there that won't just fall into a time stasis."

"So can we do that?"

"It may take more determination than we have." He cut his eyes at him. "And don't even think about suggesting yourself, it's far too dangerous."

"Same to you," Sans said. He grimaced. "Maybe we can… Okay, maybe this'll sound nuts, but what if we retune the NOCTURNE. To, uh… look for a hum."

"A… Hmm…" Gaster tapped his chin. "That sounds possible. But, if it's the one we're both thinking, but can't recall…?"

"You can use the red line as a placeholder until we figure it out," Sans said. "It's a start, at least, right? Until maybe we can pinpoint somethin'."

.

Gaster stared hard at the screen for a solid few seconds. He nodded, smiled, and then squished his son into a tight hug before snatching the computer back and jumping to his feet. He put it back in the bag and grabbed his coat.

"Whoa, you're leavin' now?" Sans asked. "You just got here."

"The less time I waste, the better," he said. He shoved his feet into boots and then pulled the door open, a few snowflakes tumbling in around him. "Get some rest. And come to the lab first thing in the morning, I'd like to check your health ratings again."

The door closed with too loud of a bang. Gaster shouted a muffled apology back through it.

.

Sans sighed. He flopped back on the couch. Pollen that had clung to his hoodie and pockets fluffed up around him, sparkling in the dark, white and gold, and a single red light, drifting. He caught it in his hands and felt an unusual warmth from it. He squinted at it sceptically. It wavered up and down between his palms, gravity meaning nothing to it.

.

He caught a glimmer of amber near the dark peak of the stairs and sat up, the little spec of red floating up and bouncing in the air beside his head. "Paps, that you?"

The shadows wavered and Papyrus crept down to meet him, looking like a puppy who'd been caught ripping the stuffing out of pillows. He nervously rubbed the back of one hand with the thumb of the other.

"Sorry, bro, we wake you?" Sans said.

"Of course, I'm an incredibly light sleeper, you know that." His eyes darted downwards and he pouted. "I don't think you're nuts."

"That makes one of us," Sans said with a wink.

"Brother, I'm serious!" He bounded over, but froze at the sight of the little red sparkle. He shook his head. "It's not that I think you're crazy or lying or anything, it's…" He flinched. "What dad said. He's looking, too, right?"

Sans nodded. Papyrus groaned and threw his hands up in the air.

"And here I am, telling you not to—! Nyeeehhh, I should have been looking with you instead!"

Sans raised his brows. "…Really?"

"Yes, of course! I mean! Even if it was only humouring you, I should have! Right?! This is all just so weird. So, I'm…!" He sighed. "Sigh. I'm sorry. I really thought that if I could snap you out of it, you would actually be feeling better." He dropped down heavily onto the couch with a determined frown on his face. "Okay! So! Please! Tell me again, who is missing and why?!"

.

Sans stared. Slowly, like light creeping over him, he began to beam, stars shining in his eyes. Papyrus's cheekbones flushed and he bashfully rubbed his chin.

"Oh come on," he muttered. "It's not… I mean…" He sighed. "This is really very important to you. So. Of course it's important to me. I am the greatest brother in the whole underground, after all."

"You sure are. Alright. Here's the thing," Sans said, holding up two fingers. "We got two kiddos missin'. One's ours. Human kid dad made by accident. Other's Tori and Asgore's."

"Wait, a human—?! What and how and who and why?!" Papyrus said shrilly.

"Too complicated; doesn't matter. What matters is she's our sister and she's super friggin' important."

"Ooookay," Papyrus said. His tone was heavy with skepticism but he nodded anyway. "And what… was she like?"

"Well…" Sans tapped his fingers together. "She was…" His grin twitched upwards. "She is. Great. Funny. Kinda a crybaby. Smart as heck and just, like, the nicest kid. Got no reason to be that nice, honestly; didn't have an easy life. She has all this stuff twisted up inside from that. But she was good. Like you, y'know? And she likes the same dumb crap I like, so that was a bonus."

"And what did she look like?" Papyrus squinted, like he was trying to see some form of her.

"That's, uh… Little bit of a problem," Sans admitted. "My memories are kinda messed up too. Can't super remember her face all the way. Like I can see it in my mind but it's not processin', does that make sense?"

"No, but that's okay. Try your best?"

.

Sans focussed, trying to pull out what he could. "Sure, uh… Cute, y'know? Like a puppy, sorta. I can't remember her eyes. Feel like she has a good smile. She has hair and skin, like a human, I guess. She's this sorta warm brown colour, and her hair is darker. Straight, uh, with a bit over her forehead, and the rest goin' not quite to the shoulders." He mimed with his hands. "Does that, uh, make sense?"

Papyrus nodded, but his eyes were closed completely now. "I am trying to picture it, brother, keep going."

"She's short. Real short, like three foot nothin', y'know? She likes sorta cozy clothes. Pink and blue, I think. You made her a scarf like yours." He rubbed his thumbs over his fingers. "She has all these little scars all over her hands. From everything. And one here." He traced a line across his cheek. "On her face, uh… from the corner of her eye and down a bit. That was from me. Tryin' to shove a piece of soul back in 'er. It was a big deal, at the time."

"Hmmm…" Papyrus nodded. "I see I see…" He opened his eyes and pouted. "That was a fib, I don't see at all."

"Hm. Sorry," Sans said.

.

Papyrus tapped his foot. He got up and paced the room. "The other kid, he looked like mom? What was he like?"

"Complicated," Sans said. "Rough past, too. Kinda edgy, but he was doin' his best to be good, y'know? He, uh… He's real protective, too, especially of the kiddo. White fur, short kinda pointy horns in a different white. I'm havin' trouble with his face, too, but for some reason I'm thinkin' his eyes are pretty pale. Either blue, or green, or white, even. They both have red magic, by the way. This ringin' any bells?"

"Nnnno, no, not really." He rubbed the back of his hand.

Sans raised his brows. "You remember what I told you about time loops?"

"Time loops? What? No, I…" He paused. "I don't think I've ever heard of a time…" His eyes glazed over. "…Time loop. Have I?"

.

The short skeleton leaned forward. He held out his hand and pointed at his brother's. "Gimme."

Snapping from his stupor, Papyrus gave over his hand. Sans checked the back of it and smiled faintly. He tilted his head to the side.

"Paps. Why d'you keep rubbin' your hand like that?"

"Hm?! Oh! It's just that there's a scar there and I got in the habit of it, is all," he said.

"Really? How'd you get that?" he asked.

"Oh! I lifted up part of a car, I think," Papyrus said.

Sans nodded. "And where'd you run into a car?"

"On the surface, obviously, where else would a monster run into a car?" Papyrus said matter-of-factly. He froze and raised his brows. "Waaaait a second." He ripped his hand back and stared at it, wide-eyed. "Whaaaat?! Wait! I thought… Waaaait…"

"Memory's kinda off, huh?" he said.

Papyrus clutched his hands together tight. "But I could have sworn I…! Wait. Waaaait wait wait. Nyeehhhh…" He rubbed his skull. "Okay. Okay okay. I think I miiiiight be kind of sort of starting to get what you mean, brother."

.

Sans knew better than to get his hopes up. Nonetheless, he smiled. Papyrus checked the back of his hand again, frowning at it insistently.

"Okay, now this is weird, now I remember having it and then not having it," he said. "…But! I kept the habit. Didn't I? Ooooh, this is silly! Do you think there's other things like this?! Is this what you were talking about? Are these mystery kids the same as this scar I clearly don't have?!"

"Well, I mean—"

"Where did they stay in the house?! Mom's room?"

"Yours," Sans said.

Papyrus squawked. He took to the stairs two at a time and rushed for the room. "I'm checking!" He slammed the door a little too hard.

.

When Sans sluggishly followed him up, he paused as the door at the end of the hallway creaked open. Toriel poked her head out, rubbing her eye sleepily.

"You boys alright?" she asked.

"Hope so," he said. "Sorry for wakin' you."

She yawned and stretched, and then walked the hall to join him. She patted him warmly on the head. "What has Papyrus so worked up?" she asked.

"Long story," Sans said.

"Is this about the children from your dreams?"

"Guess so."

Toriel nodded thoughtfully. She put a hand on Sans's back. "Listen, Sans. Something like this… I'm not sure I understand. But, I trust you. This isn't the first time your dreams have shown you something real, isn't that right? We will wait until you're feeling better, and then we'll see if we can find these two children, okay?"

He frowned to himself— they were supposed to be here now, so what had happened? He nodded. "Thanks."

She smiled fondly, leaned in and smooched his head. "Well. I'll head back to bed. Good night, honey, and if you can ask Papyrus to lower the volume just a tiny bit?"

Sans stuck his thumbs up, and Toriel retreated back into her room, hiding a wide yawn behind her hand.

.

Sans folded his arms tight and leaned up against the banister. This stuff didn't just happen for no reason. Gaster'd vanished when the CORE upended on him, and that was a huge deal at the time. That kid was smart. Maybe this was intentional. Not the vanishing from time part, that wasn't right, but there had to be some reason for it. Something worth screwing with the timeline a bit. He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

.

"Sans?" Papyrus stuck his head out of the bedroom. "Ah! You're right there, come here! I found something." He grabbed his brother's arm and yanked him into the room. He closed the door tight, gazed around suspiciously, and then held out a round, multi-legged, many-winged plush dog. "I have no idea where this came from! But it makes my soul ache when I touch it."

"Oh yeah?" Sans took it carefully. "Makes you actually feel somethin'?"

"Yes! Well! Nyeh! It's weird, it's like…" He put his hand over his soul spot. "I know it's not mine. But it's been here for a while."

"Interestin'. So… I guess that's good," Sans said. "Means she's not as gone as dad was."

"As dad was what where?" Papyrus asked blankly.

"Ah. Long story. Don't worry about it," he said.

"Is that when he vanished for ten years but nobody remembered he existed except that didn't happen but it did and… I'm… not making sense, am I?" he asked, cheeks flushing.

"No no, that's fine." Sans couldn't help a laugh. "That's good, actually. Yeah, that's the time void stuff. Thinkin' same thing happened to the kids."

"Is that… what you meant when you said he died in the CORE?" he asked. "I don't think I remembered at all at the time."

"Hopin' that's a good sign, then," Sans said.

"But…! Nyeh! But wait, that's not all I found!" Papyrus said.

.

He raced for the closet and yanked out an armful of clothing. He dumped everything, t-shirts, slacks, shorts, sweatshirts, and more on the bed. "Not mine! Also! This!" He tossed a notebook on top, the cover grey except where the skeleton's fingertips somehow dyed it amber. "None of this is mine! And I know it's not yours. Well, I mean, some of it is? Or it was? But it's all different now."

Sans grinned. Papyrus clapped his hands against his own skull and his jaw hung agape for a few seconds.

"I think maybe you might be correct, brother," Papyrus said. "Aaaaand I'm not sure how to feel about that?!"

"Well, it's somethin'," he said. He flipped through the notebook. The writing inside was grey and nonsense, and his eyes skimming it could process nothing.

"My gosh, no wonder you were so low…" Papyrus rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, if you went missing somewhere like that, I'd just… Hey! Wait, so… Why are they missing, then?! Shouldn't we go find them?! There has to be something, right?!" He paced anxiously. "If you're the only one who remembers, do you know when they vanished?"

"Don't think so," he admitted. "Figure somethin' must've… Uh… They mightta gone outside of time or somethin', right? So I guess if we can narrow down why—"

"Why?" Papyrus paused and stared at him with a worried frown. "What do you mean, why?"

"See, I know you don't remember all that much, but the kid is super powerful," he said. "This… I mean, this whole thing, now that I'm thinkin' about it, it wouldn't just happen to her. She had to have needed to go out there for whatever reason. Maybe figurin' out why would help us find her and the other kid. I mean, what could be so important that she'd yank herself out of time? Anything weird happen the last few days?"

"Uhhh… Sans." Papyrus put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You, remember? You were unconscious? For three days. At least. That was weird."

.

Sans blinked back at him with a vacant expression. Papyrus's eyes went wide.

"Oh! Oh, my gosh, I bet, if she's really super powerful, she fixed you," he said.

"…Fixed me?"

"Yes! Fixed you! When you were sick, we didn't really know what was wrong with you at all except I… Um… I can't remember who, but someone said it was outside your head but was making your head heavy, and you had all this black goo coming out of your eye sockets," Papyrus said. "But then yesterday you just got up and you were mostly better, right? But you started asking for sister. So! Maaaaaybe…" He gestured towards Sans as if he held the answers.

.

The short skeleton's cheekbones flushed faintly. Papyrus patted him on the back.

"She must've gone out there to help you!" he asserted. "It's what I would have done if I could!"

"C'mon, you really think she'd…?" Sans's eyes started watering again. His soul ached. He quickly wiped his face on the back of his hand. "…You're probably right, bro."

"I know! My sense of deduction is fantastic, you know," he said proudly. "Oh, come on, brother, don't look so shocked! Look at how you react just thinking about it, right? You obviously care about this sister a lot, right?"

"I, uh… Heh…" He clenched his fingers into the cloth of his shirt over his soul. "Yeah."

"Nyeh heh!" Papyrus scooped him up and glowed warmly for him. "So! If you, of all people, feel that strongly! She must feel just as strongly! I bet she'd do anything to help you."

"Y'think?" he wondered.

"I know so!" Papyrus insisted. "Because that's what I'd do, of course. And! It's what I'm going to do. Anything you need."

"Jeez. Paps, you don't have to—"

"But I do! Right?! Because, honestly, just look at you, you're a complete wreck," he said. "Plus! If I have a sister that I just don't remember, that's weird! I bet we'd get along and we could do puzzles together and I don't want us to miss out on that!"

.

Sans snickered. Maybe this wouldn't go so bad, after all. Papyrus suddenly looked rather bashful.

"She, um… She liked me, right?" he asked.

"Course she does," Sans said.

"Yes! Yes of course! I mean, who wouldn't, right?! Nyeh heh… heh." The skeleton smiled sheepishly. "Is it bad that I've gotten my hopes absolutely up through the roof already?"

"Nah," he said.

"Because now that I'm seriously considering it, I'd really like to have a little sister, I think!"

"Good news, you got one," Sans said, shooting him a wink.

"Nyeeeehh!" He scooped up the round, plush dog and stared at it in its little beady eyes. "Hmmmmm. Brother? What's her name?"

"Ah. That's an issue," he admitted. "Can't remember that."

"And the… other one? He's…?"

Sans shook his head. "Kinda frustratin', honestly. I remember him less. He's gotta have a lot of determination for him to have left with her. But I feel like he's… family?"

"A brother, too?!" Papyrus asked.

"Uh… Yeah. I think so. That'd make sense," Sans said.

"Ooh." Papyrus lightly squished the plushie and he paced the room. "So… So what should we do?!"

"Do? I don't, uh…" Sans blinked. His vision started to swim and he reached out to catch himself on the bed. Everything went dark.

.

A foggy image of a worried Papyrus replaced the blackness after what only felt like an instant. His grip was tight and warm with magic.

"Did you faint?! Are you okay?!" he demanded.

"I'm fine," Sans said. "Sorry 'bout that." He was pleased to see he was still on his feet.

"Maybe we shouldn't do anything, yet," Papyrus said quietly. "Maybe you should just rest for a little longer? We can get started in the morning, can't we?"

Sans's brow furrowed and he tapped his teeth. Papyrus scooped him up under his arms and stared him in the face. He lost a slipper.

"You are giving me a solid spooking, brother!" The tall skeleton insisted. With a shot of blue magic, he left Sans hovering casually in the air as he pulled a blanket off the bed and gathered up pillows and the dropped slipper. "I thought you were feeling better. I mean. You are, right?"

"Sure just, uh… A little light-headed." He smiled. "Hope I don't bonk on the ceiling."

"Oh for…" Papyrus rolled his eyes and floated Sans closer. "Now. Would you like to be up here in the quiet or downstairs near the kitchen?"

"Welp, you ain't kitchen me complainin' about bein' closer to food," he said.

"Pfffff, well, that's a good… terrible… sign, at least," he said.

xXxXx

In the morning, before even his brother had woken up again, Sans dragged his rattling frame all the way back to the lab in Hotland. Gaster had been working all night without a single ounce of progress on any probes, but he'd started composing the new rhythm for the NOCTURNE, which was better than nothing.

.

Wrapped in wires from eye to ribs, Sans recapped what had happened with Papyrus as his father set to work analyzing his health rating again. Results were inconclusive. His determination was throwing the machines off, which was unusual. Gaster could have sworn he'd calibrated them to compensate. Second round, redoing that compensation, would need a little more time to produce an answer. No big deal for the short skeleton. He felt like crap; didn't need to know much more.

.

He fainted on the boat ride home. Or, at least, he probably did. He didn't remember half the trip, nor getting back to the house, for that matter, but the next thing he saw was his brother setting a meal down on the table outside the kitchen and pulling out the chair.

"Come on, now, lazybones," he said, gently grabbing Sans under his arms. "Are you awake now?"

"…Think so?" he said. "What time is it?"

"Earlier than I think I've ever seen you up," Papyrus joked. "Ready for some breakfast? I made you some nice spaghetti." He plunked Sans into the chair and pushed him in close to the steamy plate of noodles and sauce. He put the fork in his hand and then hopped back to the other side of the table, leaning the whole front of his body over it and watching intently.

It didn't smell quite right. Sans took some anyway, and it was about all he could deal with. It wasn't that it was bad. It wasn't good either. Felt weird to be sitting here with such nostalgic food when he didn't know where those kids were; if they were hungry or lost out there somewhere.

As his brother's eyes glimmered with anticipation, Sans forced down another few forkfuls.

"It's good, right?!" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, bro, it's great. Thanks," he said.

"Nyeh heh!" Papyrus jumped up straight and put a hand against his chest. "The great Papyrus does it again! I knew you'd like it. You can have as many plates as you want!" He patted him firmly on the shoulder and then dashed into the kitchen to get a plate for himself. "How was it at the lab?"

"Dunno." He rested his cheek on his fist. "Gotta wait a little, I guess."

"And did dad, um…? Did he say anything about the mysterious kids?"

"Not much," he said as his brother joined him at the table again. "He's gonna try to find them out in the void place. I guess… I dunno, I guess I'm just worried that they're lost or somethin'. This isn't like them, especially not our sister, to just go off and not…" Sans hesitated. "Maybe she left a note?"

"A note? Where? On what?" Papyrus asked.

.

Sans pushed his plate aside and headed straight back upstairs and into his brother's bedroom. He checked under beds, finding his worn and familiar blue hoodie underneath the spare. He checked the pockets, though there was nothing but his usual bunch of junk in there. He sat back on the floor and tapped his teeth thoughtfully. Where else might she have left a note for him? Other than directly on his face, of course.

.

Cringing, he stuck his fingers into his eye socket. It was unusually chilly in there, but other than that, he couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Papyrus slid into the room and his brows immediately shot up.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah… Nothin', I just thought…" He realized he'd made a mistake. He was out for days, right? It wouldn't have been a message left for him at all. "Bro, you got a place you keep your letters?"

"Letters?! Pffff! What letters?!" Papyrus said. "I mean! Not that I don't have a special place to put letters, but it's just that nobody has ever—"

"Gimme."

.

Papyrus looked bamboozled but, regardless, he grabbed a small folder from on top of his puzzle binders and handed it over to his brother. Sans flipped the flimsy thing open and, right on the top, there was a letter written in the old skeleton script. The glyphs were large and simple, and had been scrawled a pen that seemed to run in between red and grey, as if the ink were fading somehow. There were a couple hearts drawn on it, too.

"Love you, too, see you soon," Sans read under his breath. His soul stuttered.

"Hmm? What? Are you going somewhere?" Papyrus asked.

"Look." He held out the note to his brother.

"What's th…?!" Papyrus held it up so close to his eyes that it smacked him in the face. "A…?! A love letter?! I mean! A letter with love in it?! From whom?! GASP!" He gasped after saying the word aloud. "This…? This is from sister? For me?!"

"It was in your folder," Sans assured him.

"She… She loves me?!" he said shrilly.

"Course, you're her brother."

Papyrus shrieked; Sans winced and grinned sideways.

"Jeez, dude."

.

"Oh. My. God. Sans! I don't remember putting this there!" He snatched the folder back and put the letter inside it again very tenderly. "But I… must've. Right?"

"Is there more?" Sans asked. "Sounded like she was sendin' a reply."

"I don't… ummmm…" Papyrus leafed through the folder's exactly one other piece of paper. "Not in here, but maybe I…" He dashed over to his desk and peeled through old notes and binders. "I don't know, I'm not sure, nyeeehhh…" He opened up the drawer and peered inside. "This is so weird, honestly." He gasped and slammed his hands down on the top, making his computer and keyboard and desk cube hop. "This is crazy, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, the whole thing is messed up," Sans said.

"Nyoooo…" He held his head in both hands. "Okay. Okay okay." He hopped around to his bed and began to pull through his bookshelf, checking between every tome and novel on it. "I don't see anything interesting though."

.

Sans thoughtfully tapped his teeth and then folded his arms. "So… Let's think… She went out. Both of them went out. And they did it on purpose."

"To help you," Papyrus said.

"Maybe."

"But… maybe this is normal." Papyrus leaned back on the wall, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Maybe they go out, do whatever it was to help you, and we just all… forget for some reason, until they get back?"

"See, but my issue is, if it's… If it was me they were fixin'… Hey. I'm fixed. So where are they? If I just had a way to…" Sans's eyes went wide. "Oh. Maybe…"

"You've got a schemey look, brother," Papyrus said.

"Might have a scheme," he said.

.

Papyrus followed him closely down into the basement through the door under the sink. He flicked on the light and moved over to what might have been his best shot. A capsule cockpit; a metal orb with open sides and little flat, treaded feet on the bottom, hidden under a bedsheet. As he pulled it away, Papyrus gasped. He circled it quickly, squishing the singed, grey cushioned seat inside curiously. He knelt down and peered at all the switches and slots on the inside, and the bags of chips stashed away under the dashboard.

"I've seen this before, right?" he asked. "Oh! Yes! I did! I borrowed the crystals out of it but… I um… I don't think I got them back."

"No problem. We used all the ones in the attic?"

"I think so," Papyrus said.

"Eh. We can just go grab some from Alph." Sans patted the old clunking machine. "Hopefully I can get it to target the kid and—"

"Wait, what is this thing?" Papyrus asked.

"Oh. Time machine."

"WHAT?!" The tall skeleton recoiled and put both hands on his head. "SANS. WHY ARE YOU MORE FULL OF SECRETS THAN USUAL?!"

"Maybe you just forgot, bro," Sans said with a wink.

"But what do you want to do with a time machine?!" he demanded.

"Welp. Kinda wanna see what happened, right? Might get some answers."

"Isn't that kind of extreme, though, to literally go back in time?!" Papyrus yelped.

"Got any other ideas?" Sans asked. "I don't."

"Nyehhhh, I guess not…" He folded his arms. "It's safe, right?"

"Sure. Perfectly safe. Might need to borrow that letter, though. Back to the lab?"

"Siiiigh, yes, okay, back to the lab," Papyrus agreed. "Though if I never had to see it again, that would be pretty nice, also."

xXxXx

For the second time that day, Sans trudged into his old workplace, though the upper floor was lifeless and a little emptier than before. Where boxes of stuff to be moved used to linger, the floors were relatively clear except for crumpled up pieces of paper that had missed the trash basket.

.

Down a level was equally clear. It was a lot more orderly than when Alphys was the sole worker inside. Sans wondered if Gaster'd even had time to clean or if this was some other strange effect of the kids' time-hopping. Maybe the world felt as if that old skeleton had never left it.

.

They poked around the computer room extending back from one of the main hallways on the first basement floor, the one that had been abandoned until somewhat recently. It wasn't very dusty at all. Another radio here was acting up with strange, rhythmic white noise. They turned it off.

"So, Paps," Sans asked curiously as he peeked through some cabinets and not seeing much but doodads and pens, "what is it that you remember about dad goin' missin' and stuff?"

"Well. That. But also not that?" He peered through cubbies stuffed with mostly binders but a few spare boxes of computer parts as well. "I mean. He didn't… go. But I remember him not being here, too? It's confusing."

"Ah. Sorry," Sans said. He rubbed the back of his skull and and looked around. "I'm gonna go see if someone was actually on the ball and shoved 'em in a charging port."

.

As he stepped into the hall, he would have run smack into Alphys had his extra sight not shot him a warning. She squeaked with surprise and stumbled over his foot. He caught her, snorting out a snicker, and propped her back up.

"Jeez, Alph."

"Aah, s-sorry! Sorry!" Her face flushed red in her cheeks. "I, umm… I d-didn't expect you there. Um! H-How…? How are you?"

He shrugged. "Bone tired."

She nodded, her cheeks flushing even brighter. Sans tilted his head and brought some cooling magic to his fingers, and then plunked a hand onto her head.

"You're burnin' up, Doc."

"AAAH! Aah. Um. Y-Yeah, um… Must've just been, um… r-running around too much," she stammered.

"Whatcha up to anyway?" he asked.

"Ah, w-well, Doctor Gaster, umm… Your dad, he's… I mean, we! We're running y-your numbers from this morning and y-your dad mentioned h-he was trying t-to compose something new f-for the NOCTURNE?" She was still red, but she was finally catching her breath. "Kinda w-weird, I guess. We haven't t-touched it in maybe t-ten years, so…" She shrugged sheepishly and, even more sheepishly, grabbed his hand in both of hers. "But s-seriously, are you okay?"

"Will be," he said with a nod. "Question. Got any old power crystals around anywhere?"

"Ummm… M-Maybe? I'm not sure. Check n-near the big chambers downstairs?"

Sans nodded. He thumped her on the shoulder and turned back to the room. "Goin' downstairs, bro."

"I'll keep looking up here!" Papyrus shouted back.

.

"Oh! Um… What, um, do you n-need that stuff for?" Alphys asked, trailing behind Sans as he wandered off for the elevator. She tilted her head to the side. "S-Some sort of… experiment or something?"

"Guess you could say that," he said.

"It's just that, um… They're pretty old. They're p-probably not charged, so…"

Sans shrugged.

.

She accompanied him into the elevator. He used the moment to take a breather. His head was pounding and he wanted to sleep standing. He folded his arms and slumped against the wall. Alphys was still looking red and sweaty. He wondered if she was getting the overworksies again or something.

.

Gaster was holed up in a room with one wall that was entirely computer screen and switcher-like consoles. Crumpled notes were all over the floor from missed dunks on the trash and the old skeleton was leaned over his desk, his computer running numbers too fast to catch as he scribbled on a pad of paper, his magic flaring in off-key sparks from between his fingers.

"Hey," Sans said, gently kicking one of the balls of paper. "Progress?"

"Ah. Some." Gaster looked up and wiped his brow. "What can I help you with?"

"Power crystals. Outdated kind. This big." He held out two fingers to mark the length. "Got anything like that?"

Gaster tapped his teeth. He pulled open his drawer and then shut it again. He turned to Alphys. "Do you recall seeing any around?"

"Not in a while," she admitted. "I usually k-keep some of most kinds of… Well, I mean, I think there m-might be a couple in the broadcast blaster, b-but I think Mettaton needs those."

"Hmm…" He perked up after a moment of thought. "Oh! Do you remember, I had that extra apartment as workspace in Dandelion Plaza? The one right behind ours."

"Sure," Sans said. "There? Last I saw there was just some old desk."

"I believe I kept a few in a box in the cupboard. In a false wall."

Sans raised his brows and Gaster chuckled.

"Your brother would not stop putting them in his mouth," he explained. "They will not have been charged in a decade or more, though."

"I c-could warm up one of the docking pods if th-that would help?" Alphys suggested.

Sans looked thoughtful. "How long's that take?"

"M-Maybe two days?" Alphys suggested. "For a hundred percent, anyway."

"Hm. Don't have that kinda time," he muttered. "Any other way?"

"Unfortunately, they were designed to charge quickly in sunlight only," Gaster said apologetically.

"Oh. Okay. Perfect," Sans said. "Got your key?"

Gaster's brow furrowed and he patted his pockets down. His computer let out a chime and he leaned over to click something, but as his eyes hit the screen, he froze, his jaw falling open. His eyes flickered and he looked ashy all of a sudden.

.

"G-Gaster? A-Are you alright?" Alphys asked.

"I…" He shot back upright, his voice croaking. "I… I'm fine. I apologize." His hand had a shudder in it as he checked his pockets again. A key tinged into his finger bone and he grabbed it and tossed it to Sans.

The short skeleton caught it in one hand and gave him a skeptical look. "You sure? You look like crap."

"Don't worry yourself about me," he assured him quickly. "Go on. Alphys, will you go with him?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah, of course," she said. She patted Sans on the shoulder, her scales flushing again. "Are you f-feeling well enough now?"

He wasn't. "Sure."

xXxXx

The old apartment was more furnished than the last time Sans and Papyrus had been there. They hadn't hung out there much as kids at all. Sans and Gaster spent enough time in the lab as it was; their home apartment was supposed to be the one reprieve from any work stuff. Seemed like it hadn't served as one for Gaster, though.

.

The room was a little dark when opened to the air, and the desk was still there, unmoved, but there was a rug with fanciful knot patterns forming bones along its edge covering the floor. There were also some bookshelves, a houseplant near the door, and an old phonograph alongside a stack of records with cardboard cases so water damaged that they were just abstract smears of colour.

.

"Hmm, I don't remember this much," Papyrus said as he strode inside. "Is that time stuff?"

"Time stuff?" Alphys repeated curiously.

"D'you remember lookin' in this desk?" Sans asked, thumping his hand on top of it.

"Oh, yes, it was full of paperclips, I think," he said.

Sans nodded. His head felt heavy all of a sudden, his vision going fuzzy, but he blinked and squinted through it.

.

He headed for the closet that was built into the wall and pulled it open. There were a couple sweaters hanging in there, and on the one shelf at the top there were a few mugs and a teapot. The loose board on the inside wasn't even a secret— there was a handle made of chord built in. Sans pulled it forward and, just as Gaster had said, there was a cardboard box in there. One of the tucked flaps at the top had some small skeleton toothmarks in it. He fished it out and checked inside. There were six of exactly the type of crystals he needed. Finally, at least one step was easy.

.

"Got 'em," he said, holding up the box slightly. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Alphys asked blankly.

Sans pointed a finger upwards. "Sunlight, right?"

"Uhhh…" She leaned towards Papyrus and whispered, "Is he okay?"

Papyrus shrugged widely. "Strange things are happening constantly already this morning, Doctor, so maybe he has a way?"

Sans's certainty faltered for a second. Surely the world couldn't have physically changed so much, right? He shrugged and smiled sideways. "Won't know unless we head up, huh?"

xXxXx

Asgore wasn't at home when the three monsters arrived, so they passed through quickly and down the hallways towards the chamber that broke out into the surface. Alphys was looking a little tired from all the walking and strangely nervous as well. She grasped her own hands, running her fingers over the little orange scars on her scales.

.

Papyrus had an anxious, eager energy about him as well. He kept shooting Sans cautious glances as if expecting him to suddenly claim that it was all a joke. The short skeleton just plodded along, though. Everything was aching, but hopefully this would be worth it.

.

As they stepped through the archway into the cavernous room that had once been half sealed with the odd, translucent energy, instead they were greeted by nothing at all but an ancient door at the other side. Alphys screamed, dropping to her knees. Papyrus put his hands on his head, his eyes bugging out and his jaw falling agape. Sans scratched the back of his head and gestured to it.

"Well, that's normal at least," he said.

"N-N-NO IT'S N-NOT!" Alphys yelled. She curled up on the floor. "I'm gonna b-b-be s-sick. Oh my god, OH MY GOD!"

Papyrus gestured to the lack of barrier, and then to Sans, and then back and forth, making shrill, incredulous scoffing sounds. "HOW?! BROTHER! What on earth did you—?!"

"Wasn't me," he said.

"How did this happen?! Why did nobody notice this?!" Papyrus demanded.

"I-I'm literally d-dying," Alphys croaked.

"You're alright," Sans said.

She scrambled up and grabbed him by the shoulder, glasses totally fogged and shaking like she was freezing to death. "H-How did you…?! How d-did…!? Why aren't you f-f-freaking out?!"

Sans smiled and shrugged. He nodded his head towards the threshold in the stone. "Think I, uh, gotta bright idea."

"B-But…" Her jaw dropped. "A-Asgore?!"

"He's fine," Sans said.

"Are you SURE?!" she yelped.

"Sure." He grabbed her arm and beckoned to his brother. "Just, uh… maybe start squintin' now."

.

The little lizard was like lead going up the dark, stone stairs, clinging to San's arm with a vice-like grip, but Papyrus was doing his best not to sprint. Light was seeping in from the top, dripping down the steps. Alphys started breathing so hard she was snorting.

"I-It's okay, Doctor, we're almost there!" Papyrus skipped up the last few steps and then reached back to drag the short monsters up with him.

.

It wasn't quite the peak of the mountain. There was a little more just above them. Sans remembered his first time seeing it, barely able to comprehend being so high up and then seeing even more rock stretching up behind him and the endless sky beyond that. He knew he'd been out before he met his sister, but those times were mostly just a shadow at the back of his mind. Her second time there, the first time breaking the barrier, was the one that mattered to him. He was slow; she'd pulled him out by his arm with a proud grin on her face as if she'd put the setting sun in the sky herself. She might as well have.

.

The morning light was a little blue, with wisps of white and gold scattered across the sky. A fresh, cold breeze whispered by the monsters as they blinked in the sunshine. Papyrus gawked. His eyes watered and he stretched his arms up high over his head as if to grasp the warmth of the sun's rays. Alphys dropped to her knees, stammering incoherently. Sans thumped her on the shoulder and strode over to his brother. He had to admit, seeing him so happy was a bit contagious. He patted him on the back and Papyrus burst into laughter, scooping him up and squishing him tight, spinning him around. Alphys caught the laugh like a cough and Papyrus grabbed her, too, prancing around the plateau in a jubilant dance.

.

Sans was dizzy when his slippers hit the rock again, but he couldn't keep a grin off his face, especially as Papyrus started tossing Alphys into the air and catching her. They laughed and hugged each other.

"I can't believe it!" Papyrus shrieked as he finally let the lizard back down. "THIS. IS. AMAZING! Are you two seeing this?!"

.

Alphys was a giggling mess. She stumbled back a few steps, eyes on the horizon, until she bumped back into the skeleton. She grabbed his face and kissed him on his mouth. He froze, wide-eyed, and she sniffled and giggled, wiping her eyes as her scales flushed bright red and she turned back to gawk up at the sun.

.

Sans watched her with bafflement. He brushed his sleeve over his face and hoped it was just some spur of the moment thing and that it didn't mean what he thought it might.

"L-Look at how huge everything is up here," she said, awed. "We… W-We gotta tell Asgore. We g-gotta tell everybody! I mean…!" She paced the cliffside and shielded her eyes with her hand to peer farther off into the distance.

Papyrus mimicked her stance, standing up on his toes. "This has to be at least ten times as big as the mountain out here, right?"

"At least," Sans agreed.

The tall skeleton grinned. His eyes roamed the plateau and he prowled across to the right, peering down between rocks to the valley below. "Are those houses down there?!"

"Probably. Heard some Tems are already out," Sans said.

"What?! This is…! Hey, there's a path here! Should I take a look?"

"Just don't go too far, bro," Sans said.

"I won't! Nyeh heh heh heh!" He bounded down along the rocks, his nyeh-hehs fading ever so slightly into the wind.

.

Sans took a moment to lean on the mountain and catch his breath. He rubbed his eyes. He pulled out his box of crystals and wandered a little closer to the edge. He picked out a rock that was higher than some of the others and then laid the crystals out on top of it. They began to shimmer with magic within seconds. He rubbed his head again. This was all leaving him pretty exhausted, if he were honest, and it still wasn't even close to noon yet by their time.

.

He sat down on the rock to rest and caught Alphys's eye. She blushed furiously and then, tapping her fingers together, she got a little closer. Sans could foresee one of two things coming.

"S-Sans, um…" She rubbed her headspines. "I, um… I'm, uhhh… n-not sure… how to say this, but… Uhmmm… Maybe this isn't the right time, but I, um…" She looked around cautiously. "I r-really like you. I've kinda… had a crush on you f-for the longest time."

As Sans's mind noped off down the road, he smiled with awkward sympathy. "Alph, uh…"

She took a deep breath. "W-Would you, umm… I mean, I know I'm… w-weird and… d-dorky and… I'm… breathing w-way too hard, oh my god." Her face was getting redder and redder. "W-Would you… maybe, um… like to, uh… g-g-go out sometime? With me?"

.

Sans wished that Papyrus would have stormed back up the hill, yelling about some exciting shrub or something, but he had no such luck. He rubbed the back of his skull. The timeline must've been way more out of whack than he'd thought, but not consistent enough to predict. Kiddo'd been the one to finally convince her and Undyne to get over their trepidation and give it a try, right? And if Gaster hadn't gone, he probably had never really left work in the lab himself. "Alph, I can't."

"O-Oh. Oh. Of… Of c-course." She shrank back. "I m-mean, why would you w-want to b-be with someone like—?"

"I don't like girls," he said.

"You… what?" She blinked at him blankly.

"Or guys. Or anythin' else," he said with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I, uh… I know workin' yourself up to that probably wasn't easy."

"But… You don't…? Wait…" She looked confused and thoughtful now, cupping her chin. "Really? Nobody?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

She let out a ponderous sound and the shame-filled blush across her snout faded down a few shades. "Oh…Wait, I guess that does make sense. You never found M-Mettaton hot, right? But e-everyone thinks h-he's hot! S-So…"

"Sorry."

Her eyes went wide, her scales flushing beet red again. "Oh MY G-GOD I K-KISSED YOU?! G-God, no, I'm s-s-sorry, I-I—!"

He held up a hand and shook his head. She wilted.

"W-Well now I j-just feel silly," she said bashfully.

"S'okay," he said, and then, once more— "Sorry."

"A-And… And look where we are! O-On top of the f-freaking world!" She stuck her hands in the air and breathed in deeply from the fresh air. "I'm sorry, I d-didn't, um… mean to make this all about m-me."

"S'emotional, I guess," he said.

.

He ventured a glance as his crystals. They were shimmering gently in the sunlight. Still had a ways to go, but things were looking good. Alphys sighed and sat down on the next stone.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Nah, don't be." He shot her a wink. "Kinda questionin' your taste in partners, though."

"Oh s-st-stop," she stammered, cracking a smile. "…You're cute, I d-dunno."

He burst out laughing so hard that, despite the blush in her scales, she snickered along, too. He huffed and wiped under his eyes with his sleeve.

.

"Ah, what a day," he said.

"You're telling me." Alphys leaned back and turned her gaze out over the horizon. "This is… s-something else," she said. "You're sure A-Asgore's okay, right? Some h-human didn't slip by…?"

Sans held up one finger. He pulled out his phone and called the King. "Hey, uh, Asgore?"

"Howdy, Sans, my boy, what can I do for you?" answered Asgore from somewhere that sounded an awful lot like a park.

"You doin' fine?" he asked.

"Of course! I'm down in the city, giving a couple lessons to some children today. How are you?"

Alphys smiled sheepishly and Sans grinned.

"Fine, thanks. Talk to ya later."

"Have a good day, my boy; get some rest!"

.

As he pocketed his phone again, Alphys let out a deep sigh.

"I guess… this k-kind of changes everything, right?" she said. "I… thought we would've all f-felt something. You know?"

"Happened overnight?" Sans suggested tepidly.

"But h-how did you know?" she asked. "Y-You knew to come here. You… said this was normal? Right?"

Sans shrugged one shoulder. "Ah, y'know me, weird dreams sometimes tell the future, I guess."

"I… guess," Alphys agreed, though she didn't sound entirely convinced. "Why, um…? Why do you have those again?"

"I'm a weird science experiment gone wrong," he said with a wink.

"Oh… Yeah. I mean, b-but I don't think you're weird! B-But…"

"It's weird."

She nodded. "Really weird."

.

"Guuuuyyyss!" Papyrus stormed back up the hill, peeking around the rocks. "Are you coming down here or what?!"

"To do what, bro?" Sans asked with a tired smile.

"Well! I mean! Aren't we supposed to head out into the world once we're out?" he asked.

"What about your stuff?"

"My stuff?" Papyrus stared back at him blankly. "Oh. Right. So… I shouldn't be trying to find things to make a house with then, right? Of course not. Right?"

"Right," Sans said.

.

Papyrus disappeared and the sound of twigs and leaves tumbling down the rocks bounced up the mountain. The skeleton clambered back to them and draped himself across a stone beside his brother. He levelled his finger at a geometric form far, far in the distance.

"Is that a castle?!" he demanded. "It's HUGE!"

"Hm? Oh. That," Sans said. "It's actually part of a city. Built, uh, all around a mountain."

"Can we go there?" he asked.

"Welp. Did in the undone stuff. We can go again, I guess. Used to be ours," he said. "Monsters', I mean."

"Oh?! I don't, uh… Well! Okay. Can we live there?" he asked.

"You wanna live in a big mountain again?" Sans teased.

"Well! Maybe. No. I don't know," Papyrus said.

"It l-looks pretty far," Alphys said.

"Oh yeah, sure is," Sans said. "Also humans live there now."

.

Papyrus hmmed thoughtfully. He reached over and plucked up one of the crystals and tapped his teeth on it.

"Don't chew it," Sans said.

"You can tell the charge!" he said defensively. He raised his brows as Alphys and Sans shot him puzzled looks. "What, don't tell me you two didn't know that?"

"I, um… didn't, actually?" Alphys admitted.

Sans shrugged. Papyrus cackled and returned the crystal to its place.

"Just a little more." He stared out at the horizon and sighed. "…This is nice."

.

Sans followed his gaze. He didn't feel much, except seeing the grin on his brother's face. He nodded, but the sun was a bit cold for him today.