PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by TakaiWolf

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

32. this'd look less suspicious in winter

this'd look less suspicious if it were winter chapter 32

---

There were no longer any roads to Starhome. Mostly because what had been the start of Starhome didn't exist. There was a road cutting through the forest, but the monsters would have to walk quite a ways to reach it and it didn't even point in the mountain's direction. June agreed to pick them up at eleven in the morning, surface time. That was a few hours earlier for them.

.

Alphys grabbed some binoculars and found the road from their vantage point on the mountaintop, and began to make a map. Anthelion was the city marked by that giant, ancient mountain castle they could clearly see from their plateau. It would be a long trip.

.

When Undyne finally joined them, she was accompanied by a graceful looking clam girl in a fancy purple outfit, a blue snakeish creature with small wings for ears from Snowdin's valley, and a tired looking rabbit boy. The reaction went as expected, and Asgore soon joined them with a gaggle of other monsters in tow, including an exceedingly sparkling Mettaton who quickly flounced away on his own to, in his own words, "give the clouds a concert". There was also a couple with them, a spotted lizard monster with lime scales and head spines and a pastel pink bird girl. There was a lot of hugging and crying. There always was.

.

The clam and Suzy seemed to know each other. The word babysitter was used. Sans wondered if Toriel's hunch was correct. He installed SOULSCN himself, synched it with his father's, then asked each monster to record an imprint of their soul onto it. Results were clear in an instant. The clam girl's seafoam green soul was riddled with void black, though not as much as Gaster or Suzy's, and more than Flora's. Neither Sans nor Gaster were sure what to do with this info, but they were glad to have it.

.

As those two plotted quietly, and Papyrus and Toriel took the small purple crocodino a little ways down the rough path along the mountainside, Undyne surveyed everything with a proud grin on her face. Felt good to help out. Her eye wandered over to Alphys who seemed pretty busy with her mapmaking. She gritted her teeth. Heat flushed in her scales, she gulped, ran her fingers through her hair and then strode up to join her. She missed a chunk of rock and stumbled on it. Cursing under her breath and quickly recovering, she stuck one foot up on the rocks and looked down at her.

"Hey," she said.

.

Alphys looked up from her work quickly. She fumbled with her binoculars and her cheek scales flushed with red. "H-H-Hi?"

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Oh, y-you know how it is…" Alphys shrugged sheepishly.

"Do you need any help?" She grinned and jabbed her thumb against her own chest. "I'm real good at stuff, so…"

"O-Oh! Um. N-No, no, I think I'm fine, thanks."

"Really? No, uh, lifting or… breaking stuff, or… Dump runs! You need anything from the dump?! It's right near my house. So."

"Oh! I… I'll keep that in m-mind. Thank you." Her blush deepened. "Um. So I… I noticed you around Sans a l-lot, huh? Are you involved in a-all this stuff that's happening, or…?"

Undyne gulped; her posture faltering. Her ears drooped. "You, uh… Don't remember, huh?"

"Remember what?" Alphys asked, tilting her head.

The big monster pulled away and sighed, folding her arms. Her soul faltered. She forced a grin. "I, uh… Yeah! You know. Stuff like this, figure Guard Captain oughtta have something to say about it, you know?"

"Ah… Y-Yeah. Yeah! I guess that m-makes sense," Alphys said. "Well, um, I'll let you know if I need anything, I guess? I, um… I appreciate it!"

Undyne nodded. She turned away with a heavily furrowed brow. She caught Sans's eye. She got the feeling he knew. She frowned at the ground.

.

As Asgore prepared to take the gaggle of monsters back down and Alphys joined them to chat with the other lizard— her cousin, in fact— Suzy hung back with Sans near the mountain's edge for a moment. She tugged on his sleeve.

"Sup, pal?" he asked.

"I heard what you guys said. About… About your family," she said. "Is… Is that why people suddenly started saying I couldn't come up here? Because they didn't remember?"

"Hey, smart kid," Sans said approvingly.

"Did I hear what I think I just heard?" Gaster snuck in beside them, wide-eyed.

"Makes sense, though," Sans said.

"Ah, little one, I'm sorry," Gaster said, dropping down to one knee. "This must be so confusing. But please don't worry. Things will go back to normal soon."

"But what should I do? Should I do anything?" Suzy asked worried.

"Just take it easy," Sans said. "There'll, uh… Probably be a point when you wake up and it's a few days back from where it should be. Once that happens, things'll be normal again."

"O-Okay," she said.

"Come," Gaster said, offering her a hand. "Someone will take you home. Feel free to phone the lab if anything strange happens, alright?"

She nodded and took his hand, and he stood and guided her to the rest of the group. The clam girl gave her a hug right away.

.

"Well, I'm glad that went well," Papyrus said, sliding up beside him. "Look at all these happy monsters! This was a good idea, I think! I can't wait until everyone else sees it, too."

"They already have," Sans said.

"Yes, but THEY don't know that," Papyrus insisted. He sighed. "Is is bad that I'm just the teeny tiniest bit jealous of that purple girl? It sounded like her memories are a lot better than mine. Which, I mean, makes me feel good for you because then you can feel less like a crazy bones, but I also feel bad for me, because…" He clenched his hand into his shirt. "Because I want to remember like that, too. I have such an itch in the back of my skull."

"Trust me, if I could bring it back for ya, I would," Sans grumbled.

"I know. I know, of course you would." He folded his arms and huffed heavily. "Nyeehhh… Okay. Okay okay. Should we go shopping now?"

"Shopping?" Sans looked up at him, brows raised. "What for?"

"Disguises, obviously," he said. "I don't know what a human looks like, but they don't look like us much, right?"

.

Sans stared at him. "You're not going, are you?"

"What?! Of course I am?! Who did you think was going?!" he demanded.

Sans pointed at his own chest.

"Not alone, you're not!" Papyrus barked.

"Neither of you are going, it'll be me," Gaster said as he rejoined them.

"You gotta do the NOCTURNE and the DT junk," Sans said.

"You can do that just as well as I can," he said.

"Not the NOCTURNE. You think I can generate enough magic to execute a composition like this?" Sans raised his brows. "Plus, I know the place. And somebody's gotta finish this if something happens to m—"

"Don't you dare."

.

"What are you two grumbling about?" Toriel teased.

"He wants to go meet the humans," Gaster said worriedly.

"So do I," Papyrus said brightly. "I am very friendly and sociable, I think it'd be a great idea."

Gaster rubbed his brow as if he was nursing a headache. "This is unfathomably dangerous. There's no way I can let the two of you—"

"Let me?" Sans scoffed. "What you gonna do, lock me in my room?"

"Don't give me ideas," Gaster joked weakly.

Sans sighed and he shot his brother a sideways smile. "Believe I'm here arguin' to go out and do somethin'?"

"Pfff, that is pretty odd for you," Papyrus said. "Dad, I think that means he's really serious, actually. I'm much more powerful than him, you know, I could protect him!"

"But who'll protect you, Paps?" Gaster asked worriedly.

.

"Could I go?" Undyne poked her head around Toriel and shouldered her way into the group. "Am I, uh, human-shaped enough? I think I kinda am, right? If I wore a hat or something?"

Gaster stared at her blankly for a long while. "You want to go?"

"Well yeah, these guys are sorta… my bros, you know? And I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, if anyone should be sent out on a crazy mission, it should be me."

"Well, that settles it for me!" Papyrus said, grabbing Undyne's arm. "What do you think? Dad? You stay home and prepare alllll the DT stuff you need for whatever you need it for, and we'll get you your book."

Gaster folded his arms. Sans sighed and tapped his wrist. His father grimaced, and then stole a glance at Toriel.

"What do you think? Could they pass?"

"If they cover up, I think it's possible," she said.

The old skeleton massaged his temples. "What a bloody mess."

.

Sans rolled his eyes. He booted up SOULSCN and clunked his phone against his ribcage for a few seconds. "Cap, you okay, by the way?"

"Hm?! Oh. Ah… Yeah. Yeah! I'm…" She shot a cautious look back at Alphys. "I'm fine."

Sans patted her arm.

"Why, what's wrong?" Papyrus asked.

"It's okay, dude, don't worry," Undyne insisted.

Sans nodded, then looked at the screen, shielding it from view with his hand even as his brother looked at him curiously. Already below one. Zero point eight four. He shoved it towards his father. "We don't have time for either of us to take an out," he said.

"What does that mean?" Papyrus asked.

.

Gaster put his hand to his mouth. Toriel peered at the screen, too, and though worry flashed in her eyes, she kept as straight of a face as possible. She held Gaster's hand.

"I'll help them. As much as I can. I've raised a human, after all, so I'm fairly familiar," she said. "On the upside, none of them have tails or wings, or more than four limbs, so that certainly makes things easier."

Gaster wilted. "You're right. You're both… right." He nodded and looked at Sans. "I'll crack on with the DT and the NOCTURNE. If anything goes wrong—"

"We'll deal with it then." He nodded at his brother. "Shoppin', right? Lead the way."

"Ah! Fantastic!" He picked Sans right up and then thumped Gaster on the shoulder. "Don't worry! We're both very good at costuming and all that, so we will figure something out! The humans won't even know we were there!"

xXxXx

Heading into the New Home clothing shops without a plan was maybe not the best idea, but Papyrus was quick on his feet and there weren't many places to look. Scarfs, they had at home. Gloves, just a few. Enough for Papyrus, at least. Sans had mitts, but he wasn't sure where, so new gloves were acquired, just in case. Undyne needed some that didn't have claw holes, which were surprisingly hard to find in her size.

.

One of the small, flashy MTT fashion outlets had some tinted sunglasses that would in no way actually work properly in sunlight. Though they did carry some cheap paper masks of Mettaton's face, all of them agreed that they were far too creepy and flat to be functional. Papyrus did pick up a little extra makeup there, but he wasn't sure how helpful it would actually be.

.

Back home, Papyrus gathered up jackets with hoods, scarves, gloves, boots, and facepaint, along with their new purchases. He sorted them all by size in the living room. Undyne leaned on the wall, arms folded, frowning thoughtfully. She looked at the stuff, and then at her hands.

"Man, I hope this works," she said.

"I'm sure it will!" Papyrus assured her. He plucked Sans up by the soul from his spot on in the middle of the couch and moved him aside to lay out sunglasses.

"If you bundle up a bit and dust just a little colour on your bones, I believe you'll do fine," Toriel said. "But… Undyne…" She grabbed one of the jackets and draped it around her shoulders, pulling the hood up for her. She tilted her head. "Well… Keep your head down."

"But, like I'm the right shape at least, right?" she asked, grinning awkwardly.

"Well, yes. But you're also blue," Toriel said. "And you're almost seven feet tall, aren't you? You may draw some eyes."

"What?! I'm too big? Man…" She rubbed her head. "Not much I can do 'bout that. You sure I can't wear my armour, huh?"

"Yes, hun, unfortunately plate armour went out of style a few centuries ago."

.

Undyne sighed, her ears drooping. "Maybe I should scrounge around for a mask that isn't super creepy or something. Bet Mettaton has something. Paps, you got a plan?"

"Welllll…" He gestured to his legs— he was currently wearing cut-offs. "I guess, long pants! And…" He threw on a brown jacket and hid under the hood, and pulled his scarf up over his face. He also threw on a pair of sunglasses. "Well?! Can you tell?!"

"Kinda?" Sans said. "S'gonna look pretty weird; buncha hooded goons strollin' around."

"You got a better idea?" Undyne asked.

"Not yet." He shrugged. "Maybe that human we're meetin' will, though."

.

"Come here." Toriel grabbed Papyrus gently and sat him on the arm of the couch. She took one of the makeup sets and, with a soft brush, dabbed a little peach and brown on Papyrus's forehead. "You're so pale, I'm not sure…"

"He could wear a hat," Undyne said. "Should I wear a hat?"

"Humans sometimes have red hair. Maybe not as vibrant as yours," Toriel said. "But they do also dye it, if I recall. So, that should be fine as long as they don't look too closely."

"It's also, uh… almost summer. So." Sans raised his brows. "Yeah, this is gonna look weird no matter what."

"Yes, unfortunately." Toriel pulled back and stuck her tongue out in thought, tapping the end of her brush against her cheek. "Ah… You're so smooth, I not sure it'll look real."

"Aw," Papyrus said.

.

She looked thoughtful and then packed on a little more around his eye sockets. "It might be just enough to create an illusion at a distance if you put those sunglasses on, as well." She rubbed her hand on the top of his skull. "Undyne's right. A hat would help. Maybe those ones with the visor."

"Ah! I have those!" he said.

"And what if…?" She picked up a brown and a black makeup pencil from the box. She held his face steady by his chin and gently began to draw on his brow. "Maybe if we just accentuate your eyebrows a little… Humans have hair on them."

"Really?! Weird!" he said.

"Keep still, though," she said with a laugh. "Sans, you're next."

"Pfff, like eyebrows are gonna help me."

"Well, then you should wear a hat as well," she said. "It's a shame. I believe there used to be disguise spells. Not every monster could use them, but something like that might have helped."

"Ooooh, do we have time to learn one?!" Papyrus asked.

"They were lost during the war, I'm afraid," she said apologetically. "I suppose overdressing for the season will have to do."

"Worse comes to worst, you and Paps just hide in the car or somethin'," Sans said, shooting Undyne a look. "I'm short, so, uh, I can sneak around a bit easier."

"Stop trying to go places on your own," she said. "From now until time stops being stupid, I'm apointin' myself your body guard."

"Don't have one of those," he said.

"You know what I mean!"

.

Papyrus pulled his scarf down and leaned forward towards the other monsters, raising his half-finished brows. "Since when are you two so buddy-buddy, actually?" he asked, only to have Toriel gently move him back to his spot and continue drawing.

"Since he needs all the help he can get," Undyne said. "Ah, man, Paps. We gotta get this done so your memories go back to normal, too."

"Nyeehhhh, yes, we dooo…" He grumbled. "Saaans, it's not fair, we're made of the same dad, but your memories are almost fully fine and mine are all over the place."

"I know, bro, sorry," Sans said. "To be fair, it's because you're made right and I'm an experiment gone wrong."

"Oh, come on, you know that's not true," Papyrus scolded.

"It's literally what happened. Minds aren't really, uh, made to cope with this kinda crap, y'know?" Sans chuckled tiredly. He put a hand to his head. "Don't worry. We'll, uh… We'll figure this out. You're doin' great, actually. That idea with the determination dogs was real good."

"I know! I thought so," he said brightly. "And dad can make it really work, right?"

"Sure."

.

Toriel sighed. She looked tired but, even so, she smiled at Sans. "I'm proud of you."

"Low standards," he joked. "Uh. What for?"

"Talking to us," she said. "Telling us your problem. Even if it's very odd to us. Normally, you're so guarded about these things."

"Desperate times." He said it jestingly, but it hid nothing.

"You can trust us," Toriel said.

"Oh. I know. Ain't a matter of trust at all," he said apologetically.

"Sans has always been a secretive skeleton," Papyrus said, putting a hand to his chest. "But I know he trusts me. Completely! Um. Right, brother?"

Sans laughed and grinned fondly. "Course. Like I said. S'not about trust." He tapped the side of his head. "It's a mess in here. See, I know you guys don't remember right now, but, uh… There's a lot of crazy crap that's been goin' on for a long time. Last few months have been the calmest we've had in a while. The stuff I've seen, wouldn't wish it on anyone. So. Keepin' my mess to myself." He winked. "Figure I'm doin' you a favour."

.

Papyrus didn't look certain, but he nodded. Undyne, on the other hand, frowned and folded her arms. Toriel reached over and patted the skeleton on the head.

"Take your time. But we're always here." She pulled over a book bag and stared at it for a long few seconds. There was a child's history text book inside. She sighed and then looked up at the others. "I believe dimension boxes are not a thing up there, so pack what you can in a bag so as not to startle anyone."

Papyrus jumped to his feet. He took the bag and headed for the kitchen. "Nyeeh, humans need to catch up!"

xXxXx

Sans didn't sleep well that night. His dreams were dark and empty. He thought he might have caught a glimpse of the goat kid's white fur, but he lost it out amongst the blackness. It was a deep, cold feeling of loss. They'd worked so hard to get that kid home. Now, he was off somewhere, too. He hoped the kids were together. He hoped they were watching over each other.

.

Only thing he saw when he woke up was purple. Not their purple, but the violet that belonged to Toriel. He could feel her magic seeping through his head. It was shining inside his eye sockets.

"Tori, what's the deal?" he asked groggily.

"You were rattling in your sleep," she said quietly. "Just relax. Get some rest."

"Oh. Sorry."

She chuckled softly. "Don't apologize."

.

Her weight shifted and she pulled away slightly. As her magic faded, he could see the shapes around them again. They were on the couch. He'd fallen asleep packing a bag. It hadn't made a terrible pillow. He sat up and rubbed his head, and the big monster gently put a blanket around his shoulders.

"You still have an hour before you need to leave," she said.

"Should start walkin' now, then," he joked.

"Are you sure you would not like some eyebrows?" she said half-jokingly.

"I'm good. Dad come home?"

She jerked her thumb up the stairs. "Not voluntarily. I basically had to carry him. And yet, he sleeps like a rock." She smiled, but the look in her eyes was forlorn. "I can't even imagine what he's feeling." She clenched her claws into the back of the couch. "He asked me if I could try one more time to persuade you to stay."

"Nope," he said.

"He even suggested you could share your memories of this city with him and he would go in your place," she said.

"Also nope."

She laughed. "I know. He's just worried. But you… I'm a little surprised. This whole thing seems to have really lit a fire under you."

"…Eh. Do what we have to, y'know?" he said with a shrug.

.

Toriel raised her brows. Sans was quiet for a few seconds. She put a hand on his shoulder as if to ask him what was on his mind.

"Figure I kinda know how to talk to humans if I have to. Paps and Undyne probably don't remember much of that." He'd worked in their city and had all the memories of certain little human in his head, after all. "And, uh…" He frowned. "Somethin' happens to me, we still got a shot, y'know?"

"Don't say that," she said quietly.

"It's true. If dad gets dusted, NOCTURNE's gonna be a bust, and we need that to find the kids. So. We'll have lost three. Instead of, y'know… Just one."

"Sweetheart…" Toriel sighed. She leaned over and kissed his head. "Determination is a stronger force than we really understand, isn't it?"

"Tell me about it."

.

Toriel reached into her pocket and clasped something in her fist. She took his hand and slipped him a polished orb of purple crystal. "I found this in some of my old things while I was searching for more clothes. I charged it up for you."

"Oh, yeah? Thanks." He turned it carefully in his fingers; looked like the purple was more magic inside the thing than the actual colour of it, now that he saw it up close, and it flickered faintly with pink. "What is it?"

"Oh! Of course, you wouldn't…" She chuckled. "It's quite old. I don't believe there are many still around, now that I think about it. It's a barrier."

Sans shot her a curious look.

"One use item. Just spark it and toss it at your feet, and it should provide enough protection if anything dangerous happens. I believe that Undyne or your brother would be able to withstand an attack of fear by an average human, but you…"

"Yeah, not even at one anymore," he said. "Thanks."

"I wish I could come with you," she said with a sigh.

"Same. Figure you might draw a couple looks, though," he said.

She chuckled. "Which part, the fur or the horns?"

.

Sans snorted. He forced himself up and onto his feet. His head spun for a second and those fragments of off-colour that were becoming unpleasantly familiar returned. The vertigo stopped after a second. He picked up his blue hoodie and stashed the orb in a pocket, and then gathered up a black scarf and some gloves.

"Why don't you rest for a little while longer?" Toriel asked.

"Wasn't jokin' about havin' to start walkin' now," he said. "Gotta get some stuff from Alph."

"I'll come with you. And don't argue, I don't want to hear it. Who knows if there will be a small purple monster to help you if you faint in Waterfall again."

Sans laughed. To be honest, he was glad for the company.

xXxXx

Alphys had everything ready before they even got there. A new map, a specialized phone device to attach to a regular one to allow for communicating with the human network, and a stack of resistance boosting cookies in citrus and white chocolate flavour. She'd stayed up all night on it, she declared proudly, before promptly starting to doze off at her work table. They tucked her in under an extra lab coat.

.

As Toriel packed his book bag for him with things to be kept close at hand— tools, snacks, extra socks— Sans took some time to cover up. Proper sneakers and long slacks, a slightly oversized white turtleneck to hide his bones; some basic grey gloves. He had a black scarf that he put loosely around his neck under his regular blue hoodie, so it would be easy to pull up over his face. He stashed another inside his ribcage to dampen the potential glow of his soul, and he kept a tuque in his pocket just in case. He wasn't entirely confident, but maybe keeping his head down and putting sunglasses on would be enough.

.

Papyrus, Undyne, and Gaster met them at exactly the right time up on the plateau outside the mountain. The sun was already up, but just barely. Papyrus still had a little peachy makeup on and the eyebrows Toriel had drawn for him, as well as a pink baseball cap. He had shrouded himself in a similar way to his brother in a patchy brown jacket, but Undyne looked a little uncomfortable in a black coat that was simultaneously too big for her torso but too tight for her arms. She hadn't been able to find anything else that didn't leave her exposed somewhere.

.

Gaster didn't try to stop them this time. He dragged all three of them into a hug and held for maybe a little too long. He had nothing to offer them but well-wishes and a book about humans that was probably very outdated.

.

Thankfully, the path down the mountain hadn't been erased, even though the lift had been. It was recently worn where they started out, with tracks of talons and paws still clear in the dirt, and they could see it winding down through stone and brambly bushes for quite a while. The valley below was more sparse of woods in some spots, but mostly the greenery was quite thick and bright, making the distance a little hard to judge.

.

Undyne lead the way. She remembered this. Papyrus did not. He was fascinated and alert, picking up every rustle of wind and bird call in the air. The sun was slowly climbing higher, brightening the sky to his endless fascination.

"Oooh, I can't believe we're going to the human world," he said shrilly, for about the seventh time. "We get to see cars and humans and a… big school? Right? Have I ever seen a big university school before?!"

"A few times," Sans said.

"And we get to ride in a car! Do you think I can drive it?" he wondered.

"Eh, next time," Sans said. He winked. "Plus, you'll actually remember your lessons."

"You're really counting a whole lot on all this stuff comin' back, huh?" Undyne said.

"Gotta," he said.

"I'm pretty confident I could still do it in a pinch, though," Papyrus insisted.

.

Sans was already getting tired. He wandered slowly behind the others. Papyrus was talking a mile a minute, and Undyne seemed to be nodding along. Sans paused to peer out over the woods, shielding his eyes with his hand. Looked like a long way. He couldn't even see the road from here. He double-checked the map Alphys had made. The "You Are Here" marker was clear, at least. Not that it was very reassuring. They'd been going for a while, but it seemed like they'd hardly started.

.

Undyne's shoulders were tense. She kept her eye moving to the distance, checking for anything out of the ordinary."Yo, Sans, anything else we should know?"

"Uh. No magic. Don't do anything that glows," he said. "No dimension box in public. Oh. And no super jumps. They can't do those."

"What?! Really?!" Papyrus asked.

"Couldn't your sister do super jumps?" Undyne asked.

"Uh. Sorta. Underground gave her soul a boost; never really figured that out."

Undyne sighed heavily. Papyrus patted her on the back and she shot him an appreciative smile, only to trip and stumble forward off the edge of the path.

.

Sans caught the stumble; grabbed her soul in blue as her heels scraped the edge of the rock at the same time as Papyrus yelped and grabbed for her arm. Sans began to sweat instantly. His eye flared.

"Jeez!" she exclaimed.

"AAAH, UNDYNE, I'M SORRY!" Papyrus said.

"Pull her up," Sans grunted.

"What?!" Papyrus called back.

"I can't—" His magic flickered out and she plummeted like a stone, dragging Papyrus with her. "Oh shit."

.

Sans hurried to the edge of the path only to see the two monsters rolling roughly down the mountainside, yowling, until they vanished into foliage. He put a hand against his forehead and cautiously edged down the rough terrain of rock and prickly bushes.

"Guys?" he called.

There was a distinct, dull wumph somewhere way down below. He heard a whining, dazed nyeeeeh carried up on the wind.

"We're fiiiiine," Undyne called.

.

He pulled through some bushes to a small drop where he could see them laying on top of even more bushes, between a few small spruce trees. The way Undyne clutched to Papyrus, it was obvious she'd shielded the skeleton boy from the fall. Sans blew out a sigh of relief. He carefully climbed lower on the slope, edging through the precarious footholds.

"Anything broken?" he asked.

"Just my coat," Undyne grumbled. She sat up and rubbed her head. There were leaves and twigs caught in her hair. She took off her jacket: the whole back of it was ripped open. "Ah, crap."

Papyrus rolled upright and held his skull. He readjusted his cap. "Nyeeehhh, that was a lot. Undyne, I'm sorry, I knocked you off balance."

She shook her head, scattering debris. "Naw, my depth perception is screwed up." She pointed at her face. "Did you notice? My missing eye flipped."

"What? WHAT?!" He grabbed her face in both hands and squinted hard at her. "Waaaait a second… Oh wow, you're right! That's fully bizarre."

"Tell me about it," she said. She looked up the slope they'd tumbled down and then got to her feet and peered down the mountain. "Well. Saved some time, I guess."

.

"Oh! Sans! Here." Papyrus grabbed him in blue and lifted him off his feet, then gently floated him down to join them. "Whew! Glad you didn't fall, at least."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," he said.

"You feeling okay?" Undyne asked.

"Been worse," he said. He checked his phone. "Welp. Looks like if we can get down here and keep goin' straight, we'll hit the road eventually."

Papyrus jumped to his feet. He took Undyne's jacket from her and handed it to his floating brother, along with a sewing kit from inside his backpack. "If you try to work on this, I will float you the whole way to the road."

"Deal," Sans said immediately.

"You don't have to—" Undyne started, only for Sans to teasingly shhh in her direction.

"Don't wreck this for me, Cap, I got a good thing goin'," he said, pulling a needle out from the kit and drawing a thread of magic out from its eye.

She laughed. "Okay, okay. Thanks."

.

As Sans started to stitch, she turned her gaze out over the edge of the mountain again, grimacing.

"Wow," Papyrus said.

"Hmmm…" She took Sans's phone from his pocket to check the map, then squinted and rubbed the back of her head. "Man, mountains sure are big, huh?"

"Yup." Sans, floating nearby, absently began picking twigs out of her hair and tossing them down the slope.

"Ugh, if I didn't think I'd just land on my face, I'd just run us right down this," she grumbled.

"Why don't I do it?" Papyrus said.

"Huh?" Undyne shot him a puzzled look. "You think you can just book it down there without tripping or something?"

"Well! I mean! I can handle a fall or two! I'm not a fragile dainty brittle skeleton, after all! Unlike Sans. Except the dainty part," he said. He cut his eyes at his brother. "You are not dainty at all."

"I was about to say," Sans said.

"Oh! I know!" He dropped him from his magic unceremoniously right into Undyne's arms. "What if you take Sans and then I carry you?" He grasped her soul in blue and lifted her up off the ground. "Hmmm?! Good idea, right?"

"Uhhhh." Undyne wiggled her feet in the air. She looked at Sans, who she was holding like a princess.

He shrugged. She started to grin, wide and unnerving.

"Just don't drop me," he said.

"YEEEAAH! LET'S GO!"

.

Papyrus grinned bright, winked, and stuck his thumb up, and then took a leap, dragging the other two floating in blue behind him. Undyne yelled and cheered as Papyrus dug his red boots into the dirt and skid down the side of mountain like an expert snowboarder. Rocks acted as a ramp and he sailed over bushes only to regain his footing on the other side. He ran straight down the incline, his scarf streaming bright behind him, a streak of red in the cool wind.

.

Undyne whooped loudly as Papyrus jumped and plummeted downwards until his feet connected with another small outcrop.

"Nyeh heh heh!" He took a quick look to gauge the distance between him and the upcoming trees, and then vaulted over the cliff. "Allllmooosst…!" His feet made contact and he skid between the trunks, weaving the others around them.

"YEEEAH, PAPS, THIS IS GREAT!" Undyne cheered.

"I KNOW!" he yelled back.

.

When the steep incline finally levelled out enough so as not to be a dramatic drop, they were in the woods near the base of the mountain. Papyrus skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and moss. He grinned and dropped Undyne back on the ground.

"And there we go!" He announced. "The great Papyrus express comes to a halt."

She guffawed. "Nice job, kid! Jeez! That went alright, huh?"

"Great job, bro," Sans said, sticking his thumb up.

"I know!" He set Sans's soul aglow with deep blue and lifted him out of of Undyne's grip. "Thank you! Now, where to?"

Undyne showed him the map. They were almost entering the bulk of the woods now. The road was to the west; their meeting spot a little to the southwest from there. The skeleton took a deep breath, needlessly shielded his eyes with his hand to peer into the distance, and then started jogging west, straight as an arrow.

"Come on, follow me!" he said. "I have a fantastic sense of direction you know! Won't take us long at all!"

.

The woods were a lot easier to traverse than the mountain was. Undyne walked more carefully this time, sticking close to Papyrus. Sans was happy not to have to traipse through all the bushes nor hop over small streams and muddy ditches— sewing was much, much easier. He finished and dozed off, only awakening again when he dropped suddenly from a casual floating spot into Undyne's arms. It had to have been hours later. He'd slept like a rock.

.

"Welcome back," she teased, putting him back on his feet.

He handed over her jacket, good as new. She grinned and put it on. It still didn't fit quite right. Papyrus was a few trees ahead, squatting, peering up a small embankment that was totally flat and clear of foliage. The road.

"Seems like we got here a little early," Undyne said, handing Sans back his phone.

"Nobody's been by, though, right?" he asked.

"Nope! Nothing!" Papyrus said. "Not a single car or human or anything at all, really. Except some teeny tiny birds, but they didn't have anything to say at all." He tapped the side of his head. "I've been listening very closely. Nothing m…" He perked up. He laid both hands against the ground and then leaned forward to rest the side of his head on the dirt.

Undyne's ear-fins lifted, too. Sans pulled his scarf up over his nasal cavity and covered his head with his hood. The big monster copied him, but she put a wooden owl mask with eerie black eyes on over her face. Sans shot her a questioning look.

"It was all I could find," she protested. "Most of Mettaton's stuff was way creepier than this."

.

Papyrus, on the other hand, was still listening closely to the ground. Sans snuck over and pulled his hood up for him, but he was up and on his feet in an instant, and heading straight for the road.

"Dude, wait," Sans said.

"But I hear someone coming," he said.

"Exactly."

.

A distant drone that was the sound of an engine got closer. Tires growled on the old dirt road. The monsters stuck to the tree line cautiously.

"Dark blue car, okay?" Sans said. "Anything else, stay back."

"Appropriately cautious, for once!" Papyrus teased. "Don't worry. I know just what to do!" He darted forward, standing on his toes. His face lit up and, though he pulled his scarf up over his nasal cavity, he eagerly hopped up onto the embankment and started to wave. "Hellooooo! Human, is that you?!"

"PAPS!" Undyne barked.

Sans grabbed his soul and yanked him back off the road and into the trees, where they stuck themselves behind trunks as much as they could. A few seconds later, a navy coloured car, covered in brown dirt and grime, pulled off to the side and chugged to a halt, engine rumbling.

.

A pale woman with straight black hair and glasses stumbled out of the driver's side of the car. Her boots with a short heel scuffed on the rough dirt, and she ran around the hood, peering out into the woods. She looked just a smidge overdressed for the weather in a heavy, purple cable knit sweatshirt. She held her keys tight in her hand. She was shaking; they could hear the metal jingling.

"H-Hello?" The voice was familiar. "…Are you out there? It's June! Um…"

"I knew it!" Papyrus said brightly. He stepped confidently out from behind the trees and stuck his hand up to wave. "Hello, June the human! I! Am the great Papyrus! I believe we probably met but my memory is gone, so hello once again!"

"H…! Hello!" she squeaked. Her eyes were wide. She skidded down the small embankment without hesitation and looked up at Papyrus, stunned. She reached out and held his arms. "Y-Yes, I… I remember you, I think? You're… You're a… skeleton?"

"Fully yes, a skeleton," Papyrus said.

She pulled back, seemingly embarrassed. "How many are you?" she asked.

"Skeletons, or…? Oh! You mean here. Three of us," he said. "Which is also coincidentally the answer to how many skeletons. That's okay, right?"

She nodded. "Okay. I… I have enough seatbelts, at least."

.

Sans casually wandered out from the trees and stuck his hand up. "Hey."

"And there's another voice I recognize," she said, cracking a smile. "That's something, at least, right?" She froze upon looking into his face and then shifted her gaze between the two skeletons. "M-Maybe… some sunglasses or something would be good."

"We have some!" Papyrus said. "It's important, right?"

"Our eyes kinda spook 'em," Sans said.

"What?! Really?!"

"Sorry," June said sheepishly.

"Don't be," Sans said. "We appreciate you comin' all the way out here."

She nodded and smiled. "Well, I… I felt like… It was important. And this thing with my memories…" She shook her head. "It's like this for you, too?"

"Sans, no, the rest of us, yes," Papyrus said as Undyne slid up behind the human and stared down at her curiously. "So… You remember a lot because you're a human, right? Do you have a red soul?"

"A red…? Uh… I… I don't know," she said, eyes wide.

"You don't know?!" Papyrus demanded worriedly. "Do humans usually not know?"

"…I guess not," June said.

.

"We should get goin'," Sans suggested.

"Oh! Right, but where's your—?" She turned and almost ran right into Undyne. She squeaked loudly and backed up.

"Hey," Undyne said.

"H-Hey!" June gulped. She looked her up and down and then relaxed slightly. "Oh that's… not your face."

"Nah, just a mask. My face's a lot scarier." She was undoubtedly grinning widely.

"We…? We've met?" she asked cautiously.

"Yup. Captain of the Guard," Undyne said.

"Oh! Right! Like I said, I'm Papyrus, he's Sans, and she's Undyne," Papyrus said brightly. "So can we… ride in your car?"

"Right! Yes. Let's go," June said.

.

Undyne vaulted effortlessly up the embankment and lifted all the others up onto the road. Sans took the passenger's seat, and the larger monsters squeezed into the back. Undyne slouched on purpose. Human cars were not really meant for people almost seven feet tall.

.

June got in the driver's seat and closed the door. The front panel of the car wasn't overly fancy but there were a lot of small buttons and a computer screen with a map on it easily in view past the wheel. She hit two of the buttons and every window shifted darker just a shade. She smiled cautiously.

"You, um, don't need to cover your faces in here, at least," she said. "The windows all tint so you can't see in from the outside."

"What?! Really?!" Papyrus was immediately out of the car. He ran around it in a circle before jumping back in and closing the door. "Wowie! That's high tech!"

"Oh! Uh, not really! Privacy screens came in with auto-drivers when I was a kid," she said.

"Dig it," Undyne said. She unzipped her coat, pushed down her hood, and took off her mask. She ran her fingers through her hair tiredly. "Man, stuff's stuffy."

.

June looked at her in the rearview mirror, her eyes like moons. She gulped. Undyne grinned her huge, pointed teeth.

"See? Way scarier, right?" she teased.

Though June's face flushed, she didn't answer. Papyrus cackled as he pulled his scarf back down around his neck properly.

"Oh stop, Captain, the human's not scared! Right? Of course not!"

Sans snorted. He shot June an apologetic smile. "You okay? Must be weird."

"Well. I mean. Yes? Completely, yes, this is incredibly weird," she said, clenching her fingers tight on the steering wheel. "But. To be honest. I always dreamed of meeting monsters someday. I used to draw comics about it when I was a little girl. About the King under the mountain. He's real, right? I didn't just imagine him, did I?"

"Nope." Sans had a picture of Asgore on his phone somewhere. He scrolled through. Noticed a bunch of the others were corrupted and pixelated strangely— ones with those kids in them. Figured. Took a second to find one with Asgore that wasn't a mess. "See?"

.

June cautiously took his phone and stared at the screen intently. She cracked a smile. "…I remember. He… He's very kind, isn't he?"

"I'd say so!" Papyrus volunteered. "Everyone likes the King! Well. Except our mom, sometimes. But there's a whole history there, it's a long story."

Though the human looked puzzled, she didn't ask. She pushed a small lever inside the car and then put her foot on the gas. The engine grumbled and she pulled back onto the gravelly road. Papyrus perked up, instantly excited.

"Nyeh, I can't believe we're actually going," he said.

"Same here," June said with a hoarse laugh.

.

She drove down the road very slowly. It was incredibly bumpy and unkempt, and very narrow.

"I just need to go down a bit to find a spot to turn around," she said. "So, you three, you're planning on… going into Anthelion then? Into the university."

"Gotta," Sans said.

"Hm. Then, we might need to make a stop or two first," she said. "Um. No offence, but you guys are still pretty conspicuous."

"Are we?! Damn it, I knew it," Undyne grumbled.

"And mom drew me human eyebrows any everything," Papyrus said with a sigh.

June laughed. "No, that's actually not bad, it's… Oh! I know." She shot a smile back at Undyne. "My brother runs a bike shop in Gullport. I think we can get you something."

"Uh. We don't have human money," Undyne said.

"We got gold, though," Sans said. "Should cover it, right?"

"We can work something out," June said.

.

After a small bend in the road, the embankment flattened out. June checked both ways out of habit, and then did a cautious U-turn to point the car back the way she'd come. She didn't start driving again yet; she checked her phone. "I'll try to call the university once we're closer," she said. "It's kind of a dead-zone out here near the mountain."

"So do not many people come here, then?" Papyrus asked.

"No, it's, ah… Sort of what we'd call a no man's land. The only thing out here was a sketchy campground that closed maybe twenty years ago," June explained. "It's outside the borders of Sollund and then there's the ocean. So."

Papyrus nodded. "Sollund, that's…? Youuurr… town?"

"Country," Sans said.

"Ooooh, country, I see, I see." Papyrus sounded like he didn't quite see.

.

"I can show you." She touched a button on the dashboard console to bring up a map.

The monsters leaned up from the back seat. Their mountain was on a wide peninsula off the east end of a continent with a whole lot of nothing around it. The border of Sollund was a big arc to the west. The nearest city was Gullport, to the south along the coast. Anthelion was much farther west than that.

"Sheesh, that's far, huh?" Undyne said.

"…Speaking of," June said hesitantly. "I… I think that was part of why I was sent to check in on you, right? Because… There was a young girl. A human. Who lived with you. Right? And I remember thinking it was so strange that she had managed to get to the mountain at all."

Papyrus gasped loudly and put his hands to his face. "You remember her?!"

"Well, it's… really odd, actually. I remember… meeting all three of you, and her. But her face…"

"Can't remember it," Sans said.

"Exactly! Or… Or what we talked about. But nobody else is really like that," she said.

Papyrus's face fell quickly and he pouted. "This is NOT FAIR at all, she's not even related to her and SHE gets to remember her?!"

"Paps, chill, it's no one's fault," Undyne said.

"I know, sorry for shouting," Papyrus said, folding his arms tightly. "Ugh. Terrible."

"I… don't quite understand." June looked at Sans worriedly. "Why wouldn't you remember her? And… I feel bad, but I can't remember her name, either."

"No one can," Sans said.

"So, what exactly is going on here?"

.

The monsters settled uncomfortably. Papyrus opened his mouth, but Undyne held his arm and pointed to Sans. He reluctantly remained quiet.

.

Sans considered his options. June's memory was better than he anticipated. Probably due to being human and visiting the mountain. He also recalled she might have actually come into contact with some of his sister's blood when she did that test on her. Might've helped with retention. Honesty would probably keep her on their side, but their sister's secret was one that shouldn't get out. But, he thought, the kiddo would undoubtedly crank time backwards a bit when she got home if he asked. And a full reversal was different than a strange removal. But still, he couldn't be sure what June'd keep and what she wouldn't. He tapped his teeth thoughtfully.

.

"Thing is," he said. "The kid's… special. Time kinda, uh… bends around her different. It's a magic thing. Kinda complex. Issue is, she's been, uh… Lifted, let's say. From the world. Her and our brother, too. Need something special to get them back. We're hoping we can find an old book of magic in Anthelion. Might help. Does that, uh, make any sense at all?"

June grimaced. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel anxiously. "Honestly, I… I don't know. I don't think you're lying. I just… don't understand."

"It's the same for us, mostly," Papyrus volunteered. "You're lucky. This kid that is missing and the other kid that is missing, they're my siblings and I can't even remember them at all." His soul warbled quietly on its own accord.

"Yeah, I got only the tiniest sliver of somethin'," Undyne agreed. "But stuff's been goin' wonky since they left. I'm missing an eye and it just swapped which one on me for no reason yesterday."

"And the fact that your job thing didn't happen for anyone but you," Sans pointed out.

"So… So they all really don't know. It's like it never happened at all?" June huffed out a sigh. "How can all this be tied to a kid like this?"

"Long story," Sans said.

"It's a long drive," the woman retorted with a tired smile.

.

Sans folded his arms. "Welp. Lemme ask you somethin' first," he said. "You humans, you ever have a time where the world just looped the same days for a long time?"

"What? N… No?" she said.

So it wasn't just humans in general being more attuned to time travel. Not at all. Of course, that wouldn't make sense. It would have been a worldwide crisis, and none of the humans in the year that was undone had ever mentioned something similar. No, maybe June's memory was a combination of exposure to the kid herself and the mountain. Maybe the CORE.

"Welp. We did," Sans said. "Kid showed up and stopped it. She's real important. But, without her, things kinda go… off."

"But, why?" she asked worriedly.

.

Sans winced. Truth was, it was his fault. World had ended too many times. Shifted off its axis and he would never have enough strength to set it straight.

"It's… complicated," he said. "Oh. Hey. You don't happen to still have her blood sample, do ya?"

"I only had that DN-Double A-Scanner because of my assignment. Which… is a job I don't have anymore. So…" She shook her head apologetically.

"Do you think it's still in there, though? Could we steal the machine or something?" Undyne asked quickly. "Sans, what do you think? If it's part of her…"

"Reading the DNA destroys the sample," June said.

The monsters in the back were audibly disappointed. Sans sighed.

"Figures," he said.

"What's DNA?" Papyrus asked.

"Oh, it's… Like a chemical code inside our bodies that tells it all kinds of things. Physical features; medical conditions. Passed down from parents to children," June said. "You guys… don't have that?"

"We're made of magic so, naw, not really," Undyne said.

June looked thoughtful. She pulled the car back out onto the road properly. "Okay, put your seatbelts on. If Gullport first is okay, then—"

.

A humanoid figure suddenly ran out into the road in front of them and slammed their hands down onto the hood of the car, causing Papyrus to yelp and June to scream and jam her foot down onto the brakes. There was a loud clang and the someone went tumbling down into the road.

"WHAT THE—?!" Undyne yelled.

It was Mettaton. He jumped back up a few feet away, smiling bright and waving. "Heelllooooo~! Guys! You can't go without meeee!" He had removed his shoulder plates and was dressed in an off-shouldered pink shirt and long gloves, and otherwise looked pretty normal. "Come on, I saw you from the woooods, let me iiiiinnn~!"

"Is he serious?" Sans wondered.

"Probably," Papyrus said.

Sans and Undyne shared a look.

"I didn't tell him!" Undyne protested.

"Who is that?!" June asked.

"Oh, that's Mettaton, but… Um…" Papyrus shrugged. "Should I let him in? I should, right?"

"Ugh," Undyne grunted. She threw her door open and Mettaton jumped over to greet her like an excited puppy.

.

"Helllooo, my dear Guard Captain!" he said brightly.

"What the hell are you doin' here, punk?!" Undyne demanded.

"What do you think I'm doing, silly? You're going to the human world. I am coming with you. Obviously!"

She scowled. "Do you even know why we're going?"

"Oh yes, Alphie told me all about it; how Sans is having a mental break because some mysterious children have been pulled out of time by some sort of mysterious means and now you must acquire a mysterious book for Doctor Gaster so he can cast some spell or something so that the world as we know it doesn't flip on its head, right?"

"Alphys wouldn't have told you about that without telling us," she growled.

"Well, I mean, okay. But I overheard it. On the mountain with our wonderful King. And in the lab last night when I went to visit Alphie while she was toiling away, you know, after you came over. And old Doctor Gaster really does enjoy talking to himself out loud when he's making notes."

"So. You were spying," she said, folding her arms.

"Spying?! Moi?" He put a hand to his chest and look aghast.

"Don't gimme that, you spy all the time!" she said.

"Well. Okay. Yes. Spying. But only because it was so interesting, darling, it wasn't intentional initially! Besides!" He tossed his hair; pink glitters appeared from nowhere. "As you can see. Aside from an actual human, I look the most human! I might be helpful, wouldn't you agree?"

.

Undyne glowered at him. She shot a look back into the car. Sans shrugged and Papyrus relayed it to her by shrugging himself.

"You okay with one more?" Sans asked June.

"I have one more seatbelt," she said.

"Eeeeee!" Mettaton leapt into the car, absolutely beaming as he squished himself in beside Papyrus. "Heellloooo, human?! I am Mettaton, superstar extraordinaire of the underground, and you are?"

She turned awkwardly in her seat. "I'm, uh, June—"

"JUNE! What a beautiful name, darling, I'm so glad to meet you," he said, fluttering his eyelashes and extending his hand to her. "Oh, I'm so excited."

"A-Are… Are you…? A robot?" she asked, cautiously shaking his hand.

"Well, nnnnooo… doubt! About it!" he said brightly. "Made by our own resident genius, Doctor Alphys, back in the mountain, don't you know."

"Shove over." Undyne got back in the car and closed the door, maybe a little too hard.

"And you're… a monster?" June asked.

"Basically," Sans said. "Goin'?"

"R-Right!" June relaxed her nervous grip on the steering wheel. "Mettaton, you said? I guess we'll need to take care of you a bit, too. Maybe a costume store…"

.

"Hmm?!" Mettaton blinked. "A costume? For moi? Whatever for? Doesn't my striking visage resemble a human?"

"Oh! Of course, absolutely," she said. "Only you're… metallic. And those grooves in your face. I thought, maybe we could use some make-up to fill them in or just make you… matte?"

"Aton." Sans said.

Undyne snorted and Papyrus cawed loudly.

"Sans, no terrible jokes in front of the human! We want her to like us!"

"It's fine," June assured them.

"Well, I suppose I could be a human named Matt if you like," Mettaton said.

"No, no, matte. Not…" June smiled sideways. "Just, less shiny."

"Ah! I see! I apologize, the word was not in my vocabulary." He winked.

Undyne rolled her eyes. She pulled on her seatbelt and slouched down. "Let's just get going."

.

June obliged, and they were soon on their way. Mettaton was all smiles. Papyrus tried to smear some peachy coloured face paint on his cheek, but it didn't stick very well.

"Human?" Mettaton said. "Do you have any music from your world to play? Alternatively, I am actually a prolific singer, and I've brought some of my own—"

"We are not listening to your music for the whole damn trip," Undyne growled.

"But what if she wants to?!" Mettaton said.

"No way."

"Oh, come on! Everyone likes my music! Right?" He looked around the car.

Sans shrugged. "It's fine."

"I do like it quite a bit, actually," said Papyrus, "but—"

"See?! He likes me!" He grabbed Papyrus into a hug. "He is an excellent fan!"

"He's just bein' polite," Undyne said.

"Nyeh! Though I appreciate the hug, I think since it's the human's car, she should decide the music," Papyrus said.

June laughed. She turned on the radio. Though it buzzed with a strange undertone, the sound of an electric guitar began to play through it. The monsters in the back quit bickering and their attention was taken. Mettaton began to beam, his eyes glistening. He clung even tighter to Papyrus, and to Undyne's closest arm as well.

"Human music," he said at a whisper. "From a human radio!"

.

Sans rested his cheek on his fist and couldn't help a tired smile. They'd been like this the first time, too. He ignored the chunks of colour distorting in the air before him and simply took a little rest as the music played and the car bounced on the old dirt road towards civilization.