almost outta beans chapter 59
Rips in time were found all over Waterfall, glimmering on dark paths like stars plucked from the sky; casting pale, golden light only some could see. One in particular sat at the crossroads south of Undyne's home. She'd never paid it much mind. She could hardly remember a time when she hadn't seen it, though she knew it definitely hadn't always been there.
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Undyne frowned deeply at the star as she prowled back and forth before it like a stalking predator. "Does it matter which one I blast?" she asked. She turned to look back over her shoulder when nobody answered her. A sting of dread only touched her for a second, because the skeleton she was looking for emerged from the darkness leading to her house with three roasted hotdogs on steaming buns.
"Don't think so," he said. He handed two foods to her.
"Where'd you get these?" she asked, chomping one in half.
"Pockets."
"Urgh." She finished it anyway; it tasted like smokey memories. She held out her hand and a cyan spear crackled into existence above her palm. She grasped it tight in strong fingers and jabbed it through the light.
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Nothing happened. It was as if the tear wasn't there at all. Undyne growled. She shovelled the other hotdog and half into her mouth and munched grumpily. She took a step back and her magic made the air static around her. She hurled the spear with as much force as she could muster. It exploded on impact with the stone. Again, the not a speck of energy effected the steadfast light.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Could be wrong," the skeleton said. "But I've worked with 'em a while."
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Undyne grumbled agitated nonsense under her breath. Her eye flashed and a semicircle of spears formed up above her shoulders, and with a gesture, shot all of them into the light at once. They burst to no effect.
"Damn." Undyne rubbed the back of her head. "So, uh… If I can't blast this, what should I blast? What about a different one?"
Sans could only shrug. Undyne sighed heavily.
"Lab, maybe?" she suggested. "How 'bout we go to New Home, first? Get some boba?"
A knowing glint lit in the skeleton's eyes. Undyne grinned sideways, the scales on her cheeks darkening. She shoved him gently.
"Don't gimme that."
Sans's grin widened. He pulled out his phone. "I'll let Paps know what's up."
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The skeleton finally got a glimpse of the time as he went to text. It wasn't much past six in the evening. Funny, he thought. It felt like it'd been three days since that morning.
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Toriel had finally replied to him. A simple, curt message of thanks and that she'd be a while. He might have thought something was wrong if she hadn't also included a little goat smiley at the end. He replied with a thumbs up, then told Papyrus what they were up to, too.
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Sans was already getting tired. The easiest way to New Home was the boat of the riverperson, so the monsters set out on a lazy stroll down the dark paths of Waterfall.
"Hey," Undyne said, keeping her pace slow to match his. "So. Got a question."
"Cool," he said.
"All that stuff you said before," she said. "That was kinda heavy. You said you'd never…? Why tell me?"
Sans shrugged his shoulders and a pensive look washed over him. "Happened that you were the one who was around when I cracked."
"Oh." She frowned.
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Sans raised his brows, then smiled apologetically. "Ah. Sorry. Couldda been clearer. You probably don't remember. But stuff's gone… bad. Before. Real bad. And even though I'm a garbage sentry—"
"Literally the worst," she teased.
He snickered. "It'd be a hundred percent understandable if you didn't wanna deal with a slacker like me, but you always stuck around when stuff got tough, so, uh… 'Preciate it." He winked. "That's why you're the one who gets to see me lose it. Definitely not the first time. Excitin', huh?"
Undyne blinked. "Wait. You mean, all that other time stuff, right? About the… other timelines?" She squinted at nothing, trying to reach back into her memories. "Yeah, why the hell'd you trust me with that if you've never told…? Wait, what about Papyrus?"
He shook his head. "He knows some stuff, but… Wasn't there when I lost it."
"What the hell," she grumbled. "Why wouldn't he be…?" Her eye went wide. "Wait! Don't tell me somebody—?! No, no way, why would somebody take him out and not me?!"
"Stopped tryin' to figure the whys of those things out a long time ago" he said. "Anyway. Doesn't matter. Point is…" He grinned. "You love Paps, same way I do. So. Course I trust you."
"O-Oh." Undyne cracked a bashful smile. "Hah! Yeah. Guess I do, huh?" Her ears drooped. "You should tell him. All of this. And all that other stuff, too."
"I will. Just hate havin' him worry," he said.
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Undyne grimaced. "I…" She sighed. "Shit. Same." She rubbed the back of her head. "When you vanished lookin' for the Queen? I… kinda thought you might be dead. I almost told him. If we hadn't found you or… if you were in a heap, I think I would have."
He nodded. "Fair."
She growled and dragged her claws through her hair. "Why you gotta make this so hard?!"
He laughed quietly. "Sorry."
"It just sucks that everyone knows except him!"
"You're right."
"Can I pull rank? I kinda want to," she said. She cut her eye at him. "Would you listen?"
"Oof, got me there, Cap." He chuckled. "Yeah." He hesitated for a moment. "Tomorrow good?"
"I'll be there, if you want."
He shook his head. "Don't go outta your way. Besides, I, uh…" He smiled sideways. "Might lose it. Probably gonna be real soppy and embarrassin'." He winked. "Very awkward to watch."
"Pfff. Fine." She cracked a tired grin. "Thanks, dude. It's the right thing to do."
"I know." A little surge of warmth tingled in the scar on the side of his hand. He rubbed his fingers over it carefully. "We're… gettin' close, though. Who knows? Maybe I'll hold out." He wasn't sure he even believed that, and vocalizing it was dangerously close to hope.
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"What the hell's even wrong with you, anyway?" Undyne wondered.
"Eh, what ain't wrong with me?"
She bonked him on the head. "You know what I mean, ya dumb punk."
Again, Sans could only shrug, though he half-suspected it might be the weight of his guilt was at least partially responsible for the crushing sensation in his soul. He smirked at himself. Pretty melodramatic, wasn't it? More likely it was similar to what had knocked him out to begin with— some problem with time and space that his bizarre existence couldn't handle without its anchor. He jerked his thumb at one of the dark paths following alongside the waterfalls that poured down into caverns far below.
"Think I'm kinda down in the dumps."
"Man, I should chuck you down in the dump for a dumb answer like that," Undyne said.
Sans laughed. She did, too.
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They had to wait along a riverbank for the ferry, but only for a few minutes. The wooden boat looked a little more like a dog today. They slumped on the benches within, listening to the guiding monster's singing, as cool caverns gave way to steamy air, then to the much more temperate climate of New Home.
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As they disembarked, the cloaked and shadowy riverperson reached out to Sans and grabbed his shoulder lightly.
"Hum hum hum… I think you'll find something nice," they said. They gently thumped him on the back. "Feel better."
"Ah. Thanks," Sans said. He stepped out onto the dock and the riverperson waved them off.
"Tra la la. Beware of the man who came from the other world," they said in a singsong voice as their boat drifted away.
Sans raised his brows. Undyne scratched her head and they shared a puzzled look. She shrugged widely.
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The pair of monsters hit the streets with boba in mind, but a mysterious city layout before them and no clue where the uncanny cobblestone roads would take them. A few minutes from the dock, they bumped into some of Undyne's guards, off the clock. Though they weren't sure about a boba shop, they did point them down a block to what they called the best place in the city.
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Half-expecting it to be some MTT spin-off burger joint, a warm firelight glow staining the street from it's windows was a pleasant surprise. The familiarity perked Sans up as they got to the storefront. Undyne looked the place up and down.
"Well, would ya look at that," she said.
Though the building was bigger, with the classic, castle-like roof and pale stone of New Home, the sign above the windows was unmistakable. Grillby's, in all its nostalgic, orange wonder. Sans's eye lit up and he headed straight for the door.
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Though the patrons inside were different— chimeric guards and a hodgepodge array of rambunctious creatures— the booths and tables were the same, as was the cozy ambience. Grillby stood behind the counter, drying frosted mugs, as was his custom. Sans couldn't help but beam. He crossed the restaurant and headed straight behind the counter. When Grillby turned to greet him, he dragged the elemental into a hug and thumped him hard on the back. Grillby's flames jumped, but he chuckled quietly. He wrapped one arm around the skeleton as he carefully plunked the mug he held onto the counter.
"…Has it been so long?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Sans said. "Glad you're alright."
Though Grillby raised his brows, he smiled with his eyes as he straightened up and folded his arms, tilting his head quizzically to the side. Sans cracked a bashful grin and rubbed the back of his skull.
"Ah… Yeah. I been kinda busy," he admitted. "World's meltin' and all that. You notice any weird junk?"
Grillby shook his head. He raised a hand to greet Undyne as she pulled away from saying hello to the other guards. She slid up onto one of the bar stools.
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"Nice place," she said, shooting him a grin. "You don't happen to have boba here, do ya?"
The elemental shook his head again. She shrugged.
"Alright. Burgs." She pointed between herself and Sans. "Annnnd if you got any of that gold elixir? And maybe one shot of blue? Unless you want one, Sans."
"I'm good," he said.
"Just the one, then."
Grillby perked up. He nodded. He patted Sans on the shoulder before ducking down behind the bar and vanishing.
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Sans blew out a sigh of relief. He trudged around the bar to sit beside Undyne on the stool that was usually his. She nudged him with her elbow.
"Finally, some good news," she said. She pointed at his bright blue eye. "Can't remember the last time I saw you this enthusiastic."
"Legit wasn't even sure he was still around," Sans admitted.
"Aah. Gotcha." She put her elbow on the counter, then leaned her cheek on her fist. "So. Mostly people who get moved around don't notice anything, right?"
"Seems that way," he said.
"Damn."
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With a burst of embers, Grillby emerged from somewhere again with two steins filled with a frothy, fizzy, honey-coloured drink. He clunked them in front of the monsters proudly.
"Ah! Thanks," Undyne said. She put some gold on the counter, where it vanished in a swath of embers.
Grillby slid a shot glass in front of her and pulled a large, round decanter of sapphire liquid from the shelf behind him. He he gave it a shake, setting it alight with low-burning, blue flame. Undyne was all but giddy as he poured the elixir into the small glass. With a wave of his hand, the flame leapt off the liquid and absorbed into his fingers. Undyne whooped.
"Eyy, thanks, fire-guy!" she said brightly.
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Grillby seemed pleased. He was already on his way to the kitchen in the back as she went to take a swig of the golden drink. She nudged Sans.
"Go on, s'pretty good!" she said with a grin, shoving his a little closer to him.
He smiled sideways. "I usually don't—"
"It's only ever as strong as you want it," she said.
"I know." He picked up the stein cautiously, hesitated, then took a deep sip. It was cool and refreshing, not as sweet as he'd like, but with a flavour like honey and citrus. "…Not bad."
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"Yeeeeeah!" She pounded back the shot of blue and a light of the same colour flared in her eye for just an instant. "Aah. Nice. Hey. Y'think Papyrus'd ever wanna come out like this? When I was first startin' out, Gerson used to take a bunch of us to some crappy tavern deep in the caves to get stuff like this. S'not there anymore. And he's not technically a guard. But, with Paps, we were thinkin' of doin' a special medic division, weren't we? Might be nice to bring the tradition back every once in a while."
Sans smirked. "Not sure if he'd be into a tavern so much, but I'm sure he'd appreciate the invite." He winked. "You really wanna have a good time out, invite Tori."
Undyne spluttered through her drink. "Man, the Queen?! For real?!"
"Brought her out a bit before dad showed up, actually," Sans said. "…She can pound back 'lixers like nobody's business. But, I think she's more into wine."
"Wine?" Undyne repeated. "That's like a real high-level, purple-magic-fancy-thing, right? Who even makes that anymore? I don't think I've ever had it."
Sans shrugged. "No idea, but I remember the one time she went kinda nuts with it and started throwin' tiny pizzas at me. It was my fault, though, I was the one who gave 'er the pizzas."
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Undyne almost choked. She guffawed and slammed her fist on the bar. "TINY PIZZAS! Where'd you get tiny pizzas?!"
"Oh. 'Kay. So, get this," he said. "Humans, right? Make these little lunch things that are just disassembled food. Then you put 'em together. Great stuff. And Alphys invented this, uh, powder? You dump it on human food and it lets you eat it no problem if you do it pretty quick."
"What?! No! Man, I don't remember that, that's awesome." She sighed out heavily, slumping her cheek onto her fist. "Aaah, my girlfriend's a genius. I miss 'er."
"Yeah." Sans stared ruefully at the shelves behind the bar. His thoughts wandered away from him, to the kid who usually sat to his left, dipping her fries in a milkshake. Then, to the Prince who'd started to join them, absolutely enamoured with the burgers and fries now that he had a proper sense of taste again. Sans took a swig of his drink. "We'll fix it."
"Hell yeah we will." Undyne dragged her claws through her hair and let it down from its high ponytail. "Were things ever normal? Was that a thing?"
"Not sure." Sans counted on his fingers. "Maybe…? Ten years ago? Maybe never. Who knows?"
"Shit." Undyne tipped the rest of her honey-coloured drink down her throat and clunked the stein down onto the counter. "…Think I'll bring her some of this junk. Maybe your dad, too?" She rubbed her head. "If anyone needs to chill out, it's that guy, huh?"
"Dunno that I've ever seen him chill out in my whole life" Sans said.
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Food arrived, and Undyne ordered another round. Sans wasn't that hungry— or that thirsty, either— but some fries swimming in ketchup were welcome regardless. The other guards in the place joined them, and that seemed to really lighten Undyne's spirits. Sans's too, if he were honest. It was nice to take his mind off his draining seconds, if only for a little while. He managed to catch Grillby and asked if he knew Flambé. They were treated to the baby pictures of an adorable little flame sprite, about as big as the palm of the man's hand. Flambé was his niece, he said. Just a few months old.
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When the two time-weary monsters finally dragged themselves out of the bar, one of the guards that looked like a combination of a snake and a scorpion pointed them a few blocks away to a boba shop that also doubled as a karaoke bar. Sans had to pull Undyne away from the music, much to her chagrin, and back to the the lab they went.
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They found Alphys down in the room they'd all been working in earlier, sitting on a ladder and welding up some of the cracks in the walls left by large, jagged obsidian bones. Some of them were still there, imbedded in the structure of the lab.
"A-Ah! You guys!" Alphys waved at them. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
"Heeeeey, Alph!" Undyne said with a grin. She handed the lizard a pink and orange slush. "Got you somethin'! Strawberry-mango, right?"
"Wh…? Oh! Wow, um…! Thank you so much," she said, taking the cup, her scales flushing.
"Got some 'lixers, too, if you want," Undyne continued. "From Grillby's. Good shit."
"This is m-more than enough," Alphys said, taking a sip from a bright green straw.
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Sans folded his arms, looking over the place. "Welp. The old man left a mess, huh?"
"I-It's alright," Alphys said. "I'm a little surprised they're, um, s-sustaining? But they did actually go through the w-wall in a few places." She tilted her head. "Y-You called your brother, right? He was worried about you when y-you snuck off."
Sans nodded. "How was dad?"
"D-Distracted," she said. "He wouldn't let m-me do any cool-down tests on him. Said he, um, had more w-work to do?"
"Figures," he said.
"Oh, and, um, Captain?" Alphys said sheepishly. "Um. The King was worried about you, i-is it okay if I t-tell him you're here?"
"He was?! Aw damn it." Undyne rubbed her head. "Yeah, that's cool."
Alphys smiled tepidly, nodded, and pulled out her phone.
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Undyne stared at the little lizard as she curled up where she sat on the ladder, boba in one hand, phone in the other, little cat-shaped charms dangling from it. Her cheek scales darkened.
"Cute," she said quietly.
"Huh?" Alphys sat up quickly, wide-eyed, blushing furiously.
Undyne clammed up, brushed her hair from her face, and quickly turned around. Sans's grin was strained as he held back laughter and she raised her finger to her lips and hissed at him. That made him laugh out loud.
"A-ANYWAY!" Undyne said loudly, putting her hands on her hips. "You got one of those star things down here? I think I remember seeing one. Right?"
"Star things?" Alphys tilted her head. "I'm… n-not really sure what you mean?"
"Uh." She turned back with her brows raised. "Y'know. Like what the doc cut in the air out here?" She looked at the floor and scuffed her heel through some of the black magic charring on the floor.
"Um…" Alphys squinted at her. "I'm n-not… sure?"
"She can't see 'em," Sans said.
"Oh! Right! Sorry, Alph. Slipped my mind." Undyne folded her arms and glanced around with a probing eye.
"There are plenty in here," Sans said, pointing upwards.
"Yeah but they're, like, near a buncha computers and junk I'd rather not put a spear through."
"Oh?" Sans grinned. "That's a first."
"Shuddup, punk!" She stomped across the room, rubbing her hair. "Come on, I couldda sworn… Ah!"
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She found a door at the far end of the room and booted it open. Inside was a strangely bare room, but off in the corner was one of the lights she was looking for.
"Ah! Here!" she called back over her shoulder. "What about this one?"
Alphys snuck down the ladder and followed her. She peeked into the mysterious room cautiously. "Um. Wh-What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I was thinking, maybe if I could just blast one of these damn things enough, we might be able to get a signal out to those weird kids," Undyne said. "Right, Sans?" She looked back over her shoulder but he wasn't there. "Saaaaaans?! Shit, did you vanish?!"
"Nooooope." He trudged over with a laptop in his hands and held it up slightly to draw her attention to it. "Won't know if it's workin' without this."
"Ooooh. Riiiight."
"We still haven't gotten the magic actually out yet," Sans said to Alphys. "And… it probably won't help, t'be honest."
"Shuddup, I'm gonna try it!" Undyne insisted. She summoned a spear that brightened the chamber. She whipped it at the star and looked back at Sans expectantly.
He shook his head. She pouted grumpily.
"Still nothing?!"
"Nothin' changed," he said.
She growled. She folded her arms and paced with heavy steps before jerking to a halt. "Hey. Heeeeey. Bonehead. You still got that big book? You know, with the magic."
"Oh. Uh. Somewhere, but—"
"Get it," she said. A big, toothy grin spread over her face and her eye gleamed. "Yeeeeah, I know what to do. Get the book. I'm gonna do something BIG."
xXxXx
Running the sharp tip of his thumb across the back of his opposite hand, Papyrus roamed his home with anxious legs. His father had shuttered himself away in the upstairs room and, aside from that, Suzy was the only one left around.
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The little crocodaur sat in the corner of the couch with the instrument Toriel had bonded to her, strumming it casually. Melodies reminiscent of the spell they'd performed early intertwined with some well chosen chords. It certainly didn't sound like today was her first time playing the bass.
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"Papyrus?" Suzy paused and looked up at him as he passed her for the umpteenth time.
"Ah! Yes! What is it, my great assistant?" he asked, doubling back to stand before her.
"This sounds… okay? Right?" she said.
"Yes! It sounds great," he assured her.
"Okay." Her scales flushed. "I think I… like this? I think this is something I like to do."
"That's good!" he said brightly.
"But I've never done it before." She strummed absently. "Except… I feel like I have? Like maybe I practiced a lot. But I forget about it. Is that normal?"
"Who's to say at this point, really?" he said with an apologetic smile. "But! I'm very happy for you."
"You are?"
"Of course!" He grinned wide. "And very proud, too! You did so much new magic today! I bet that felt pretty good!"
"I…" She frowned to herself. "It was kinda tiring. But it was pretty cool."
"It very much was! Every day, I am more proud to call you my assistant!"
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Suzy cracked a smile, her scales flushing. She scratched her cheek bashfully, then cleared her throat and looked up at him curiously. "Hey, um. You're… older than me, right? You're a teenager?"
"Nineteen, as of a little while ago, actually," he said.
"So. You'd probably remember being my age, right? Did you know what you liked to do?"
"Oh! Yes! Very much so!" he assured her. "I loved puzzles back then, especially making up new ones from scratch! Building all kinds of things! Oh! And books filled with adventures! And cars! Ooh, I think I saw my first cars in a human movie around that time."
"Oh." Suzy's mouth formed a thin line. "Hmm. Your brother said… I'd find more things that I liked. And I guess that's true. But. I still think it's so weird that I just… don't know."
"Really? You have no idea?" Papyrus asked, cocking his head to the side. "Hmmmm." He held his chin and squinted thoughtfully. "That is a bit of a conundrum, isn't it? There's really nothing else?"
"Ummm… I like eating chalk," she said. "Is that something?"
Papyrus laughed. "Nyeh heh heh! It definitely is!" He reached out and gently patted the kid on the head. "Not to worry, Suzy. Take your time. I'm very excited that you've found something, though!"
"Yeah." She cracked a smile. She looked at her guitar with a tinge of pride on her face. "Your mom's nice."
"Yes she is!" he agreed brightly.
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His phone rang, jarring him from the conversation. The skeleton straightened up, raising a finger, then excused himself to the kitchen. It was Sans.
"About time you called back!" Papyrus said.
"Heh. Sorry," Sans said.
There was some commotion in the background. The buzz of magic was distorting the white noise.
"What's going on? Where are you?" Papyrus asked. "Is someone with you? You'd better be being at least slightly responsible by having someone else be responsible for you!"
"Oh. Uh. Yeah. Cap's here. Alph, too. Don't worry," he said. "How's the kid?"
"Good!"
"And dad?"
"Weird." Papyrus's brow furrowed. "He's… working. Whatever that means." He lowered his voice. "Brother, was he always like this?"
"Kinda. But, uh… Anyway. You got the Dirges?"
"Wh…? Nnnnyes, yes, I do, why?"
"You wanna bring it to the lab?"
"Why, what are you doing?"
"Me? Nothin'," he said. "Cap's the one who wants it."
"For what?!"
"Spammin' attacks at one of these time tear things, looks like."
Papyrus tapped his teeth with his fingertip. "Alright, but I'm bringing Suzy, too," he said.
"Cool."
"And I'm bringing dad," Papyrus continued. "I don't trust him doing something weird all locked away in a room on his own like a mysterious conspiracy fiend. What if he falls into a dangerous time-and-space star again without me here to drag him out?"
"Fair enough." Sans paused as something crashed around him— it sounded like Undyne, but her voice was distant. Sans covered the phone for a moment to laughingly shoo her away. "See you soon?"
"Absolutely! And. Don't do anything crazy."
Sans snickered. "Don't worry, I'm just sittin' around."
"Okay! Good! Continue doing that! And I will see you soon, stay safe love you bye!"
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He hung up and poked his head from the kitchen to look at Suzy. She'd stoped playing, her bass vanishing in a glimmer of black and purple sparks.
"Are we going somewhere?" She sounded excited.
"My brother and Captain Undyne are apparently up to shenanigans," he said. "So. Yes. If you like."
"Yeah," she said quickly.
He grinned. "Okay! I'll be right back."
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Papyrus bounded up the stairs. The room his father was in had the door locked. He knocked.
"Dad?" He waited, but there was no answer. He knocked again. "Daaad, it's me, your great and cool son Papyrus!"
Still nothing. Papyrus rolled his eyes and pulled a paperclip from his pocket. With a few seconds of fiddling, he heard a click, though he knocked on the door again regardless before stepping inside.
"Dad? We're going to…"
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Gaster was at Toriel's desk, bundled in a cozy, deep grey robe. His face was in his hands, though the strange sheen of purple and orange-amber glimmered through the gaps in his palms.
"Dad?" Papyrus joined him and put his hands on his shoulders. "You look a little down, do you need anything?"
"Hm? Ah..." He straightened up, stone-faced. "I'm alright. Thank you."
"Are you suuuuure?" Papyrus squinted at him suspiciously. "Because honestly you look very stiff and strange and your eyes are still off-colour, which I suppose isn't all that bad but on top of everything else I'm just very worried about you and I would prefer if you would just let me help instead of shutting yourself away in a room to feel very low all on your own."
Gaster blinked. The bones of his cheeks flushed with his new gradient. "O-Oh." His shoulders slumped. "Paps, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."
"I know you didn't but you really need to stop with this whole isolation thing," he insisted. "I'd like you to come with me to the lab, okay?"
"The lab?" He shot up out of his seat. "Why? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all to worry about for even a single second!" He laughed. "Gosh, you're high-strung! We're just throwing magic around, as far as I can tell! Don't worry. It'll be much better than you sitting here stewing on your own." He leaned around his father to look at the desk curiously. "What were you doing in here, anyway?"
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Gaster turned and closed a small book behind him. "Writing. Some subjective experience notes. Just as a record."
"S…? Oh! Nyeh heh! A diary! That's a good idea," Papyrus said brightly. "All this is very weird. So. Maybe if we…? Oh! Give it to Sans later if you want to keep it, I think he has some odd way to save small things."
"…Does he?" Gaster looked surprised. "How?"
"You'll have to ask him," he said with a grin. He grabbed him by the arm. "Come on."
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Though he took a step, Gaster didn't budge. Papyrus turned to look at him with confusion, only to be engulfed in a tight hug. The young skeleton let out a sigh of relief.
"I didn't mean to worry you," Gaster said.
"I know! I know," Papyrus assured him. "It's just that you've been through a huge amount in a very short amount of time! I know you're extremely, incredibly old, but even having seen a thousand years worth of things doesn't make it so that you're immune to strangeness, right?"
Gaster's soul flickered. He huffed quietly, then snorted out a laugh. He clutched Papyrus a little tighter, chuckling loudly. There was a grin on his face when he pulled back.
"I really am that old, aren't I?" He clapped his son on the shoulders. "Ah… You'd expect I'd be better with handling myself after all that time, hm?"
"I'm literally saying it's okay if you're not, though!" Papyrus insisted.
Gaster snickered. He held Papyrus's face in both hands, smiling fondly. "You're a good kid, you know that?"
"Of course I am!"
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Gaster gently bonked his brow against Papyrus's and then drew back, taking off his robe to place it gently on the bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt and there were some nodes attached to his ribcage, wires trailing into his pants' pocket. Smokey black magic still swirled around his soul. The dark staining his arm had crept up onto his humerus. Papyrus winced.
"I just need a moment," Gaster said.
"Right! Yes! Of course," Papyrus headed for the door quickly. "We'll be outside!" An addendum to the list, to be sure.
xXxXx
The commotion coming from deep in the lab was pretty typical for a training session with Undyne. Raucous yelling and the crash of magic against walls reverberated up through the elevator shafts. The room within the experiment chamber's door was flung wide open, with cables trailing in and empty boba cups scattered around them.
"Ugh. Such mess," Papyrus said under his breath. He bent to stack the trash into a more manageable pile.
.
Inside the room wasn't much better. The walls around a slice of starlight were scorched with magic and empty bottles of elixir littered the place. Sans sat on the floor, huddled up with a laptop attached to cables that probably weighed more than it did. Alphys was with him. She smiled and blushingly waved at the three monsters coming to join them.
"Eeyy, welcome you guys!" Undyne said loudly. She stood proudly before the light, spear in hand, and grinned wide. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm just chuckin' stuff."
"Aah, Suzy!" Alphys said with a smile. She patted the space between her and Sans. "C-Come sit with us, if you like? We h-have some boba; do you like strawberry-coconut?"
"I have no idea," Suzy said, though she gladly went to join them regardless.
.
Undyne snickered. She bent down and pulled up a golden bottle of elixir by its neck and turned her attention on the skeletons. "Gotta buncha this junk if you guys are interested. It's from Grillby's."
"Oh. No thanks." Papyrus said, scrunching up his face.
Gaster took one gingerly. "I… think I might," he said quietly.
"There y'go, G." Undyne thumped him hard on back. "Paps, you got that book?"
"I doooo, but you're not going to do anything dangerous with it, are you?" he said.
"Naaaah, just powerboost myself, no big deal," Undyne said, waving her hand dismissively.
Papyrus nodded. He produced the ancient tome from his phone and carefully handed it over to her. She grinned wide and turned back to the starlight as she opened it and flipped through its pages.
.
As Papyrus hurried to get cozy with the others, cautiously accepting a coffee-flavoured boba slush, Gaster popped the cap on his bottle of elixir and took a deep swig.
"So. What is the thought process here?" he asked.
"Cap thinks some magic burst out there might get the kids' attention, draw 'em back towards us. Figured we'd at least test it," Sans said. He pointed at the laptop he held and both Suzy and his brother leaned in around his shoulders to look. "But, so far, we ain't even gettin' a blip out. Kinda doubt it's goin' out."
"Should I give it a go?" he asked.
"Maybe just r-relax," Alphys suggested cautiously. "Um. You know. You… w-went through a lot today."
.
Undyne's soul burst a melody that enveloped the room. Cyan sparks ran all over her body, setting the ends of her bright red hair aglow. It jumped out in a wave, shocking the other monsters, too, with that same bright blue. Alphys squeaked and looked at her hands as a shimmer ran beneath her scales.
"Whoa, cool," Suzy said under her breath as the magic glowed under her claws.
"Yeah, chill out, G!" Undyne grinned. "Besides!" She slammed the book shut and tossed it to Papyrus. "This kinda thing is my responsibility for now!" She held out her hand and, like she'd caught twisting lightning, she pulled a massive, serrated spear of glistening magic from the air. Grasping it with two hands, she roared and plunged it into the light.
.
The shockwave from it was intense. Suzy's hair blew back and Alphys put her hands over her glasses and squeaked.
"Wowie!" Papyrus cheered.
Undyne grinned and turned back to them.
"SO?!" she demanded.
"Impressive," Gaster said.
Sans checked the computer. "Yeeeeeah, still nothin'."
"What?! Damn it! I mean, darn it!" She rubbed her head. "Man, what do I gotta do?!"
"Presumably you'll need someone who is able to interact with it," Gaster said, "which is why I could—"
"No! Noooo, no no, you just chill the heck out," Undyne insisted. "If it works it works, but if not, you try tomorrow! I'm not lettin' you, uh…" She looked at Sans. "What'd happened to 'im again?"
"Got consumed by complete darkness and started oozin' magic that probably shouldn't exist, no biggie," Sans teased.
"Yeah! That!" Undyne said.
Papyrus beckoned to his father. "Come sit with us for a bit," he said. "Please?"
Gaster froze under the pleaded gaze of his son. His shoulders slackened and he curled up on the floor beside Papyrus, who grinned brightly. The old skeleton sighed and sipped his elixir slowly. Papyrus grasped onto his arm with a healing glow shining from his fingertips. It warmed their whole corner of the room.
.
Undyne prowled back and forth before the star. She whirled on Sans and pointed a claw at him. "YOU."
"Me," he agreed.
"C'mere." She grabbed him and dragged him to his feet, while Alphys squeaked and fumbled to catch the laptop. "You… can do stuff with these, right?"
"We have a bit of a history, yeah," he said. "But, uh…" His eyes shifted past her to the golden glow of the tear in the world. "Kinda doubt I could do anything."
"I'm afraid even that boost won't help much," Papyrus volunteered. "He is still incredibly weak."
"Yeah, but I'm not," she said with a grin. "And watching G, I think I got a new trick!" She grabbed Sans, palm over the back of his hand, gripping her fingers between his.
"Uh, what?" he asked.
"Channeling, right?" she said as she pulled his hand up and aimed it to the light. "And…" Her eye flashed and her soul pulsed against his. "HIT IT."
.
Sans's eye flashed and, as her magic surged against his bones, he shot a blast from his hand out that he could hardly control. It vanished and he panted and buckled forward, holding his knees.
"C-Cap, what the hel—?"
"Oh my g-g-god, that did something!" Alphys said shrilly.
Sans's eyes went wide, as did his brother and father's. Alphys turned the laptop around and held it up. The bit of the outside it peered at through the NOCTURNE registered a tiny spike. Undyne grinned smugly and cut her eyes at him. His bones shuddered but he straightened up.
"Do it again," he said.
"Be careful!" Papyrus said.
.
Undyne beamed, her eye flashing. Together, they hit the light. Again. And again. And again. Sans was sweating and blue in the face, bones rattling, and just before the spell wore down, called forth one of his blasters, sending Undyne's magic shooting out through its sharp-toothed jaws. He almost toppled, but she supported his back and Gaster joined them to sturdy him.
"Alright. I think that's enough," he said gently.
"I'm fine," Sans said.
"Nah. Rest," Undyne assured him. The glitter of blue at the ends of her hair dimmed. "Alph, how'd we do?"
"W-Well…" She adjusted her glasses and bit her lip. "It's… something? I mean… I-It's…" She sighed. "It's pretty low-level, still, to be h-honest. I'm not s-sure… th-that'll be seen by anyone. Unless th-they know exactly where to look."
.
Undyne's ear fins drooped and, though Sans didn't look surprised, his eyes darkened nonetheless.
"I-I still think it's, um, g-good you guys did that, though!" Alphys said hurriedly. "It's b-better to have more data than less, a hundred p-percent of the time! R-Right?" She looked at Gaster for help.
"She's right," he said. "Any step forward is a good one."
Sans rubbed the back of his skull. "Welp." He shot Undyne a smile. "Thanks for tryin', Cap. Sorry I couldn't make it worth much."
"Don't say that!" Papyrus said. "Come here this instant!" He seized his brother's soul in blue and heaved him over to catch him in his arms, starting to heal him the second they came into contact.
"What about you, Paps?" Undyne asked. "You got any weird star power?
"I… Hm…" He frowned thoughtfully. "I do, but not that kind. I don't think I send things out. I think I only take them in. If that makes sense? I can try, but I'd like to—"
.
"Undyne?!" Asgore's voice startled the monsters, and the great King thundered into the room, eyes wide. Before anyone could greet him, he rushed to Undyne and pulled her into his arms. "There you are! Oh, thank goodness."
"Ohh! Hey, Dadsgore! How you doin'?" She thumped him hard on the back.
The King froze. His lips pulled back in a strained smile as his eyes welled up and he buried his face against her. "I-I'm fine, my child."
.
"Ooh, she's a princess, huh? I didn't know that," Suzy said at a whisper. "That's super cool."
Sans burst out laughing before he could contain himself. "Hear that, Cap? You're settin' the princess standard way too high."
"I did a what now?!" she asked.
Asgore pulled back from her, smiling fondly, and rubbed her hair. "I'm glad you're alright. You had me worried."
"What happened? Are you alright?" Gaster asked, a concerned frown furrowing his brow.
"Ah." Undyne blushed and grinned sheepishly, scratching her cheek with her claw. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm so glad," Asgore said. He finally took stock of his surroundings. "Oh! Sorry, friends, I didn't mean to cause chaos," he said with a bashful laugh. He squashed Gaster into a hug as well. "From what I've heard, it sounds like you've had a very full day. All of you." He shot a warm smile towards the monsters sitting on the floor. "I am happy to see you all."
"Is Toriel alright?" Gaster asked.
"Hm? Oh! Yes! Very. The humans are having a wonderful time with her. And she seems very happy," Asgore assured him. "I believe she was going to stay 'til around bedtime for the children." He took the skeleton by the shoulder, his deep green eyes glimmering. "Gaster. Actually. I have much to tell you. And you should come by, too, if you're up for it."
"Of course," he said quickly.
"And… Wait. Something's happened to your eyes!"
"It has," Gaster said. "I'll explain that, too."
"Come!" Asgore took him by the shoulder and guided him out of the room, talking quickly and quietly.
.
"Gosh, I hope everything's alright," Papyrus said.
"H-He didn't seem panicked, I think i-it's probably fine," Alphys said. She got to her feet and straightened out her t-shirt with one hand. "Sans, how are you doing?"
Sans stuck his thumb up. Suzy looked at his exhausted face and tilted her head. She glanced back at the star and then at the big monsters around her. She rolled her claws across her palm. However, as she looked at the light, she noticed a black spot begin to bubble up. Dread as dark as the splotch filled her chest. She gulped and recoiled, grabbing tight to Sans's arm.
"W-We should go," she said shrilly.
"…Oh yeah?" he asked.
"Suzy, what's wrong?" Papyrus asked.
The adults leaned in around her. She jabbed her finger towards the blotchy star. They followed her gaze.
"Uh. What about it?" Undyne asked.
Suzy gritted her teeth. "Y-You don't see that?!"
"Uh." The blue monster looked back at it again and scratched her head. "See what?"
"S'it oozin' again?" Sans asked.
Suzy nodded hurriedly. The skeleton forced himself to his feet and patted her head, before nodding towards the door.
"Time to go," he said.
"What, seriously?" Undyne asked.
"Yup," he said. "Alph, thanks for the help. Feel free to tag along if you got nothin' better to do."
"Wait, but I d-don't understand," she squeaked.
Sans shrugged. "Suz has a bad feelin'. So. We're takin' a break."
.
They locked eyes. Alphys bit her lip, but she nodded. Papyrus offered Suzy his hand. She gladly took it.
"Okay then! We'll go home!"
"Aww man," Undyne whined. "But what if I try—?"
"You too, Captain, come on," Papyrus said, taking her hand, too, and dragging her with him. "Out we go!"
"Sans, hurry!" Suzy called.
"Just a minute, kiddo."
.
Sans's expression instantly shifted to exhaustion, but he bent and shoved some of the scattered garbage into one of the drifting bags from the boba shop.
"Oh. D-Don't, Sans, I can handle that," Alphys said. "I'll, um… I'll probably stick around here. I h-have a few more b-bits to fix up for your machine."
"You don't have t—"
"S-Sans, you're d-d-dying, don't argue with me," she chided, her cheeks flushed. "Anyway. I h-have most of the parts I need, I think. Y-You don't happen to still have schematics somewhere, do you?"
"They're basically illegible," he said.
"Pfff, what else i-is new?" she teased. "You'll still send them, right?"
"Yeah. Sure."
She nodded and smiled. "I think I just n-need… a few small metal bits, h-hopefully I don't have to go to the dump."
.
Sans tilted his head. He opened up his phone. "…I got a gun."
"A WHAT?!" Alphys yelped.
"Took it from Boyd." He pulled it from his phone and handed it to Alphys. "Think you could take that apart?"
"Wh…?! Um…!" She peered at it closely and gave it a gentle shake, a glimmer of her magic running through it. Her eyes lit up. "Oh! Y-Yeah! Thanks, Sans, that's helpful."
"Just, uh, don't mention it or I'm gonna owe him some bucks," he said with a wink.
Alphys laughed. "You d-didn't steal it, did you?"
"Nah, just asked 'im for it," he said. "Thought about chuckin' it into some lava, but if it's useful, rip it apart. Not like it'll matter in a couple days."
"Fair enough," she said. She stashed the weapon away in her own phone and then her eyes darted to the corner where magic had seared into the metal. "So… m-maybe I don't have to scrub the walls, huh?"
"Wouldn't bother," he said.
.
"So. Um. W-What was that kid scared of?" she wondered.
"Said she saw some black goop in one of our, uh, time star things earlier," Sans said. "I didn't. But I also don't have void junk in my soul."
"I see…" Alphys said quietly. "Oh! S-Speaking of souls." She booped some buttons on her phone and Sans felt his buzz in his pocket. "I s-sent you the data for Undyne's. Show it to h-her later, okay? It's… really interesting."
"Find somethin'?" Sans asked.
She nodded. "Y-Yeah. I almost thought it was a mistake, to be honest. B-But… she just has this r-really interesting natural DT in her soul. It's… really, really powerful, but it sort of… i-is like partially dormant? It's hard to e-explain. And I'm not sure why it's there." She showed him the screen of her phone, where an image of Undyne's soul glowed. "It's… actually almost c-constantly in a strange o-overcharge state. There's only a few records of something like this in textbooks, but a-actually, this bright cyan i-isn't her real colour." She tapped on the screen and turned a digital knob to the left.
The glow dimmed, and the intense, bright blue shifted to just a tinge more turquoise.
"S-So. I'm sure if there was a record of her soul from when she was a kid, it would look a l-little more like this," Alphys continued. "But… That determination in there, it's…" She chuckled. "It reminds me of when I saw yours the first time. I th-thought you were about to die!" Her cheeks flushed bright. "O-Oh. Oh, n-no, I'm s-sorry, I—"
Sans laughed. "Chill, Doc. Don't worry 'bout that."
.
"S-S-So! Um!" She took a deep breath. "So I thought… What you said, about the CORE? And a-about something… weird happening to her? Maybe that's true?" She tilted her head and snuck a little closer, lowering her voice. "So what did happen to her?"
"It's, uh… kinda rough." He scratched the side of his head. "You don't happen to remember me goin' on about alternate timelines, do ya?"
"Um…" She squinted. "Like the Dark Model, you said, right?"
"Exactly," he said. "So. Let's say… most of the Dark Model, it's dark because, uh… Lotsa death."
"Oh. Sh-Shit," Alphys squeaked under her breath.
"And, uh, Undyne is…" He could see her clearly in his mind's eye, an armoured warden beaming energy in the deep, dark caverns of Waterfall— the spear of monsters' hopes. Another one he'd watched dissolve into dust hundreds and hundreds of times, helpless to stop it, even back when he had tried. He smiled sideways. "A hero. She fights what's cuttin' through us. It cuts through her. But she's so determined, she brings herself back to kick it's butt. Of course, she can't… recover, after she's done. Even if she wins. But. I think that power stuck with her." He shrugged. "Just a hypothesis, though."
.
"…S-So… So it kills her," Alphys said quietly.
"Yeah," he said. "I… don't think she's got that risk anymore. 'Specially not when my sis comes back. So. Don't worry too much.
"R-Right! Right, I…" She frowned. "…You saw this, you said?"
He nodded.
"And sh-she…" Alphys clenched her hands and put them to her mouth. "Oh, poor Undyne." She looked into Sans's eyes. "Does… that happen to all of us?" A look of horror shot over her face. "H-How many of us have you seen d-die?!"
"…Don't think you want the real answer to that," Sans said apologetically.
.
The lizard's jaw dropped. Her eyes watered and she grimaced. Puffing out a sigh, she grabbed him into a hug. He patted her back gently.
"I… I n-never expected any of us would actually see what those black lines were for real," she said softly.
"Same."
"And I d-definitely never thought it'd be y-you!"
"Just my luck, huh?"
.
She drew back, sniffling delicately, and she carefully wiped her eyes underneath her glasses. "B-But… But you said, your sister… She's the red one? The red line?"
"Yeah," he said.
"I see." She nodded to herself. "…Th-Thanks, Sans. You should g-go catch up with the others."
"You sure?" he said.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah." She smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll s-see you tomorrow. T-Take it easy, okay?"
"Do my best," he said.
xXxXx
Suzy was bristling and on edge, sticking close to the older monsters, but those tears in time were everywhere in the lab— and throughout the underground. She glared at each one with equal suspicion. Though Papyrus and Undyne remained thoroughly confused, Sans knew better than most what it was like to see things that nobody else could. He was more than comfortable taking her word for it.
.
They left Gaster safe with Asgore and made their way home to wind down. Sans had a strange, cold feeling in his head. A phantom dread chilled his soul. He couldn't really place why he'd told his friends so much today. It'd been selfish of him. And yet, the secrets he was still holding onto didn't make him feel any better stuck in their silence. Back at home, on his own in the kitchen, he stole a look at his information via SOULSCN. The numbers had plummeted. He had tomorrow, probably. If he was lucky, half of the next day.
.
As Papyrus and Undyne exuberantly presented video games and puzzle books to distract Suzy from her worries, Sans slipped upstairs to the attic. There was a big, cushy armchair up there — one of Toriel's, so there was plenty of space. The future-bedroom was more finished than he remembered, with a few quarter-filled bookshelves, a low bed against the wall, and a circular, purple rug with the Delta Rune on it. He used his magic to shove the chair up to the rip in time that shimmered there and sat with his phone. There was a lot to update his sister's phantom number on. He was almost positive she wouldn't get it, but nonetheless…
.
hey kiddo me again
just in case u get this, we got a path thru to u so mayb take a look 4 it nd com home ok
brin ur bro
hop u 2 r ok
nd if u dont see it thats cool we gonna try 2 do the beacon plan think u at least herd that rite?
nyway, upderts- told undyne bout herself in the xtra timelines that were trash nd gonna give her soul info bout her weird dt
told alph 2
cant believe myself lmao
i bean spillin beans like crazy i dunno wuts wrong wit me
weird shit tho paps did a time loop or smthin in the lab
back wen u thot a ghost touched ur hed wen we wer lookin for asriel but he ws a plant
ok if you forget ill tell u bout it l8r
and dad
.
He hesitated at the word dad. His soul ached. He'd known for months before Gaster's return that the kid was related to them. He hadn't expected to ever have a solid answer as to how, or why, and honestly, it hadn't mattered. That she was herself was more than enough for him, even if his deduction had been completely wrong. But, now that their father was back— it was so bizarre to think of him as their father. Much more for her, he was sure. It wasn't fair that she'd finally gotten some answer as to where she'd come from, only for Sans's weakness to force her away from them. He hoped she'd forgive him. Not to mention that he missed her and the Prince so much it was embarrassing.
.
He continued to text, explaining what'd happened the last little while— any details he didn't want to go missing. Anything that might be useful to the others with their compromised memories, too, if he didn't make it much farther. While it was on his mind, he made a note on a rumpled scrap of paper for anyone to check his texts if he happened to turn to dust, then rolled it up and taped it inside his ribcage.
.
Somewhere near the end of writing, he dozed off, only awakening to the sound of light footsteps creaking the wooden floor. He opened one eye. Suzy.
"Hey, kid," he said groggily. "Sup?"
"Captain-Princess Undyne passed out on the couch and I'm supposed to watch you while she's not awake," she said.
He snickered. "Kid. C'mon. Why don't you go to bed?"
"I'm not tired. It's not even that late." She eyed the starlight across from him suspiciously. "Why are you near that thing?"
"I, uh…" Sans scoffed at himself. "Honestly? Kinda reminds me of the kids who're gone. That's all."
"Oh." Suzy frowned thoughtfully. "You… miss them, right?"
"Yeah."
.
The kid clenched her teeth. She folded her hands and edged up to him. "That's normal, right?"
"Yeah, guess so."
Her brow furrowed more deeply. "I… I feel weird. I… don't really miss my sister anymore."
"Not too close?" he wondered.
She shook her head. "I'm… not sure? It's… not that I don't like her, it's just… She feels far away?" She rubbed her head. "I don't understand. I feel like that's wrong."
Sans couldn't help the pity on his face. Suzy grimaced.
"I-It's wrong, isn't it? I'm wrong."
"Nah, Suz, listen," Sans said. He patted the chair and moved up to sit on the arm. "Wanna come up here?"
.
She joined him, but she folded her arms and curled up tight in the corner of the back cushion. "There's something super wrong with me though, right? There has to be! I'm… doing this black magic and… And I talked to your brother and he said he knew all the stuff he liked at my age, and I don't know anything! I don't know anything about anyone." She shook her head, tossing her mop of hair from side to side. "I know people keep saying I'm fine but I dunno if I feel fine!"
Sans leaned forward, knitting his fingers. "Welp."
"Just say it, I'm a freak."
"You're not," Sans said.
"I just want to understand and I can't," she growled.
.
Sans frowned. His soul weighed like a brick. His clock was still running down. It wouldn't be fair to leave this kid with no answers if he bit the dust, right? He sighed quietly. "So… I, uh… I know why you feel like this. It's not your fault. And if you want, I'll tell ya. But it's heavy. Okay?"
"Okay!" she said instantly.
"You gotta be sure," Sans said. "There's no puttin' this back in the bottle. Once you know, that's it."
"I wanna know. Please. I'm not a baby," she insisted. "What's wrong with me? Why am I…? My soul, it's messed up, right? What'd I do? Why…? Is it my memory, is that it?! Did…? Did these weird void things erase my memory or something?!"
"No." Sans paused to consider his words carefully. "You, uh… It was you. Who was erased."
"…What?" she asked blankly.
.
Too late to backtrack now. "My dad disappeared from time ten years ago, when the CORE had a big problem," Sans said. "We thought it was only him. It wasn't. Every monster with the black in their souls now got caught in the blast, somehow."
"Wait, s-so…? So I was in an explosion?" Suzy barked. "I don't remember that!"
"Nah, you wouldn't," Sans said. "You were one year old. So."
"Wait. Waaaaait. Wait." The kid held up her hands as if to pause him and got to her feet. "So I got blown up as a baby?! And now I can do void magic and I don't even know if I like grilled cheese sandwich?!"
"Uh." Sans couldn't help but crack a smile. "…Yeah. Guess so."
"But why aren't I dead?!" she demanded.
"You were pulled outside of time," Sans said. "Same with the others. You, uh… Came back just a few weeks ago. Put back into your life as if you never left. But, uh…" His eyes dimmed. "You were so young that, uh… I figure. You didn't have time to learn much about yourself, y'know?"
.
Suzy stared at him blankly, her jaw dropping. She trembled. Her soul shuddered loud enough to hear, and shiny tears rolled down her cheeks. "You're lying."
"Sorry, kid," Sans said.
She snarled at the cushion under her feet and ground her claws into her hair. "Y-You're lying!"
He wished he was. He stared at her sympathetically. She shook her head, brushing her bangs from her eyes.
"I… I don't know anything b-because I'm not anything?!" she demanded.
"Nah. You're Suzy," he said.
.
The kid growled and grabbed his shoulders. "…S-Say it's fake," she demanded. "It's a joke, right?!"
"Sorry," the skeleton said again.
Suzy grimaced. She drooped and her knees wobbled. "I… I didn't exist…"
"You were always supposed to," Sans said. "I… know it's a total dumpster fire. But. You're here now. And we're glad you are, y'know?"
She sniffled, clenching her fingers into his sleeves. "How am I back?"
"Not sure. But. I figure, when my sis's power dragged our dad outta the void, it brought you and the other guys back, too."
"S-So what do I do?" she asked, her voice rasping.
"Whatever you want," he said.
.
Suzy let out another low, frustrated growl. Even so, she squished him. She drew back, plopping heavily to sit in the chair, and wiped her eyes on her knuckles. "Why couldn't you just tell me I was wrong and stupid?" she muttered.
"You ain't," he said. He slipped onto the floor. "Hang on a sec?"
She drew in a deep sniffle and nodded. She wrapped her arms around herself as the skeleton slipped out of the room.
.
Sans wasn't gone long. He returned with papers under his arm, a little handheld game system, a blanket, and a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Suzy gulped. She cautiously accepted the drink and sipped it. Sans patted her on the head and draped the blanket around her shoulders. He offered her the game.
"Sorry, I, uh… don't really know how to help," he said. "But I'm sure my sis wouldn't mind you usin' this a bit if you wanna get your mind off stuff."
Suzy stared up at him blankly for a few seconds. She cautiously took it from him. "Th… Thanks."
He nodded. "Want me to get Papyrus?"
She shook her head. She stared at the things in her hands, then slid to her feet. "Is… Is okay that I still… stay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked.
She nodded to herself. "…Can I stay up here, too?"
"Suz, chill. You can do whatever you like," he assured her.
"Whatever I like…" She nodded to herself. "Okay." She cast a suspicious glance at the starlight. She wandered to the small bed, dragging the blanket around her shoulders behind her like a cloak.
.
As she settled down, she sipped her drink and then stared at it for a few seconds before putting it aside. "Um. Sans?"
"Yeah?" he said.
"…Thanks for telling me," she said quietly.
"Oh. Uh." He smiled sideways. "No problem, kid. Sorry it sucks."
She frowned thoughtfully. "At least I got to meet you guys because of it, though."
The skeleton's eyes went wide. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Glad that's worth somethin' to you."
She nodded and cracked a smile. "Yeah."
Sans snorted. He plopped back in the chair with his phone and awkwardly spread the papers out on his knees. "Welp. I'll just be typin'. Lemme know if you need anything."
"I will," she said.
.
She settled in with the game system, inspecting all the buttons to try to turn it on. She'd never played one before. She guessed she knew why everything was so foreign, now. It rattled her; made her soul ache. But, now that she thought about it, things started to make a little more sense. So, maybe it hadn't really been that her sister was completely disinterested in her, and that her classmates had ignored her for as long as she could remember. Maybe people didn't think she was as much of a freak as she thought they did. Her eyes brightened and her tail wagged.
.
After a little while in the warmth, muddling through a puzzle game she didn't quite understand, Suzy dozed off. She didn't stir again until a strange, burbling static sound bothered her ears. Wincing, she rubbed her eyes and blinked. The light was low and the room was greyish, lit mostly by the star-shaped rip in the world. Sans, too, was asleep, slumped in his seat, his phone and weird blueprints scattered on the floor. There was a blanket over him, too, now.
.
The kid yawned. She was about to settle down again, but that sound in her ears was bothersome. She grabbed the pillow to squish it around her head, but a sudden chill stalled her in her tracks. Her soul roiled. She felt sick.
.
The light faltered. Suzy's eyes snapped to the star, her mouth drying at the sight of deep shadows staining it, like bubbles raising from deep, boiling water.
"Sans?" she said, though her voice came out weak. She sat up stiffly.
The black in the light spluttered, oozing out in a sudden torrent and onto the floor in a silent mess. Suzy froze in place, her body stiff with dread as wood and carpet on the floor were overcome with slick, lightless liquid. She opened her mouth but only a squeak would come out, and she was left speechless and numb as a pitch black arm thrust itself from the star.
.
The world around leached of all colour. Crackles of shadows flickered like dead pixels. Suzy pressed herself against the wall, clinging to her blanket as tight as she could, pleading with the universe to let her be dreaming.
.
Something lurched from the light, puddling on the ground into the ooze. Suzy tried to call for Sans again but her throat was taut. Her jaw ached from gritting her teeth. The shadow swelled, raising up over six feet in height. Pitch black and flowing, a strange, bipedal form with barely anything to be seen in the way of features except shining white eyes. Suzy was dizzy. It was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare, right?
.
Then, it spoke. Its voice was incoherent at first— rumbling, twisting the air with nauseating static, but as it filled Suzy's ears like water, she could understand the words. The voice was male and had a strange familiarity to it. The dark creature leaned down over Sans, ghastly hands passing over the dozing skeleton's head.
"I knew I felt you here," he said quietly. "Poor boy… What happened to you? You're a mess."
"…Wh…? What…?" Sans's voice was groggy and low, and his eyes were hardly open. "Hm…? Y'know. The kids—"
"But why are you…? Your health. How?"
"…Time stuff. What else is new?" Sans said quietly. He put a hand to his brow. "What's…? Your memories weird? Mh'I dreamin'?"
"Relax. Relax. Your head is so heavy." The shadowy man bent and put both hands on Sans's temples. "I'll…" He sighed. "I can save you. I'm sure. I won't let that thing drain your life away."
.
Though Sans frowned with confusion, before he could say anything more his expression smoothed and his eyes drooped closed. He went limp as a rag. Suzy's jaw dropped, her soul chilling her from snout to talon.
"W… Wait." Her voice would hardly come out— it was so quiet she wasn't sure she'd said a thing.
.
The shadowman pulled Sans against him and lifted him up. Suzy struggled to her feet.
"Stop," she said, a little louder this time.
Still, the man didn't even look in her direction. Instead, he turned back to the oozing star. Horror gripped the kid and magic flared in her eyes. She fought through the frost in her limbs and ran at the man. She jumped and, with a growl, sunk her teeth into his arm as deeply as she could. The man finally stopped, turning wide, white eyes on her.
"Oh." He blinked. "…Who are you?"
.
She snarled in reply. Her short, sharp claws dug in, too, as she grabbed him as tight as she could. He stared at her for a little while longer, then let out a soft sigh. He shifted Sans into one arm, placed him gently back onto the chair, and knelt down, allowing Suzy's feet to touch the floor.
"Do you plan on letting go?" he asked.
The crocodaur growled again, her brow furrowed deeply despite feeling sick in her soul. She bit in deeper, though her teeth were numb. He tilted his head to the side.
"…Ah. You're protecting him."
.
The man's arm turned to smoke in her mouth. She spluttered. He slipped away from her and she yelped and quickly threw herself in front of Sans, arms out, baring her teeth at the man.
"Sans, w-wake up!" she snarled.
"He cannot," the man said. "We are in stasis. Though how is it that you're moving?"
"I'm not tellin' you anything! I dunno who you are, y'big freak, but you're not taking him anywhere!"
The shadowman stared at her for a long, silent moment. Cold sweat beaded on her brow, but she stayed staring into the pitch-black form before her as resolutely as she could.
.
"…Have I come to the wrong time?" he wondered. "Do you know Gaster?"
"That's his dad, and he's super tough, so you better leave right now before he comes back and whoops your shadow butt," Suzy growled.
The man cupped his chin. "Ah…" He frowned. "So. That line, it's…" He winced, but then reached out to her.
Suzy recoiled against the base of the chair, but was stalled stiff as the shadowy creature patted her on the head.
"You are brave," he said. He straightened up. "…Still. I cannot let him stay like this. That thing must be stopped." He glanced at Sans ruefully. "It won't come to pass. I promise."
"What won't?! What're you talking about?" Suzy demanded.
"If you wish… Reassure him that someone will eliminate the source of his pain."
"Wh…?! What?! What's THAT mean?!" she yelped.
.
The shadowman knelt down to her and touched her temples. She shrunk back but her eyes began to blur and her knees got weak.
"N-No…" she growled. She grabbed his arms and dug in her claws, but the magic in her hands fizzled uselessly.
"It's alright." He said gently. "…You obviously care about him. Thank you."
She couldn't keep her feet under her. She might have felt cushion, but her head told her she was falling.
.
Darkness. Darker. Deeper and deeper. Trailing a shimmering stream of red. Then a flicker light, and then… And then…