Chapter 5: A Quiet Moment

Papyrus and Toriel took advantage of the now sleeping monster to re-bandage his ribs, since Sans had loosened them during his thrashing. Together, they each took turns repositioning the splints, and then rewrapping the tender, broken bones to ensure they wouldn't heal crooked, as Asgore, Alphys and Undyne had left to make their plans and discuss further whether it was safe to move the camp or not, not wanting to disturb the wounded monster further.

Afterwards, Paps carefully moved and carried his sleeping brother into their own tent and finally took his rest, to recover from his overuse of Magic, actually even sleeping throughout the whole night for the first time in his whole life.

The next morning as Paps was helping Sans dress, and getting some food back for him and his brother, he received news that they will indeed continue moving onward to somewhere else to be more accepted by humans.

Gerson, Asgore and Toriel also agreed they should give Sans a bit more time to get stronger and heal a bit more. At least a day and a half of rest as he still looked to be in great pain, and they did not wish to stress out the smaller anymore than he was already. (Much to Papyrus's great relief.) Since none of the Boss Monsters could heal Sans bones entirely, leaving him to heal on his own and only being able to get him past the critical levels mark due to the Surface Illness. Plus the fact that Sans SOUL was cracked, extra precautions needed to be taken to ensure Sans would even survive the journey.

The small skeleton was terribly weak still, but gradually his stuttering became less, and he only flinched a little when he was touched. Although he did still seem to panic whenever he felt hair or a breeze hit the inside of his skull, imagining that the flower was still inside his bones about to control him. And he especially had a really bad episode one time, when Alphys and Tori had asked Sans to attempt to walk around, to check his femurs and leg bones were healing, and he happened to catch himself in a mirror and saw the true extent of his injuries to his bones.

His soul also still bothered him a good deal, from what Papyrus could see, and had informed the King and Undyne. He often sat, pillows and blankets holding up with a hand clutched to his chest, pressed firmly and bunching up his shirt directly over the spot Paps knew his soul to reside, whimpering in pain when he thought that no one was looking. Sans also still ate very little, and slept a lot. More than usual that Papyrus was used to.

It was obvious by this point Sans wasn't going to get much better, especially not still being so close to the mountain, the obvious threat of that demon being so close and hanging over everyone's heads, that Asgore decided they needed to get going now, so that Sans could get better. Dogamy and Dogaressa returned to camp, informing the monsters of an approaching army of humans later that night and, once all the monsters had eaten their next morning rations, and recovered their magic reserves and had gotten their things packed, it was time to get moving.

Undyne did as she promised and once Papyrus had gotten both his own, and Sans stuff packed, she helped in carrying around half the things along with her own. Taking the pack belonging to Sans, as Paps carried his own things. Alphys had come over and finished doing her usual scans to Sans' stats and SOUL to make sure he'd be alright.

Sans HP was now at the 0.35 marker, compared to the day before yesterday when he was only at 0.20, immediately after the Boss Monsters had brought him back from the verge of death.

Sans sat on the floor, his back resting against the walls of the tent. He still didn't quite have enough strength to stand nor sit up on his own without falling over and raised his arms as Paps got to one knee and as carefully as he could, pulled Sans into his arms, before standing back up, balancing him against his hip.

This close, he can feel how badly Sans was shaking, though Sans insisted it was simply because he was anxious to get moving. Although Paps wondered if in actuality that was just simply a part of him now; that he'll forever be a stumbling, trembling monster due to the enormous crack to his soul. Added to the fact as well that his bones were still quite shattered, only splints and bandages holding him together as he was left to heal on his own mostly.

Sans automatically latched his arms over her shoulder and chest, skull resting against Paps neck as his brother gently carried him outside of the tent to join the other Monsters.

Toriel had a firm hand on Frisk's own, Flowey stuffed into a side pocket sewn into her own backpack by Tori Paps assumed, and Frisk gently waved to the two skeletons.

"Hi guys!" Frisk greeted happily.

Paps waved back, before gently jostling Sans a little.

"nn…?"

"Sans, Frisk and Tori are here." Papyrus told him gently.

"hn...h-hey.. t. frisk" Sans told them, slightly turning his head to greet them before leaning again against Paps chest, sleepily.

"Poor Sans." Frisk pouts, gently reaching up to pat Sans lower back affectionately and in a comforting manner. Flowey was frowning, staying silent so not to freak out the skeleton in respect for Frisk.

"How is he doing?" Toriel asked Papyrus.

"He's Doing As Well As He Can Be. I Don't Think He'll Get Any Better Than This I'm Afraid However, Until We Get Somewhere Safer." Papyrus informed, gently rubbing Sans back when he felt him trembling against him.

"Yes..Poor thing. This journey will be hard on him. And all of us."

"i'll… b-be alright…" Sans said, still shaking slightly, "don' w-wan' t-to slow us d-down."

"Oh! That reminds me, here Papyrus. For Sans." Toriel said, handing Papyrus some Monster Candies. "Have him eat those to keep his energy up. It'll ease his SOUL especially and help heal his bones."

"Got It. Thank You Lady Toriel!" Papyrus accepted the candies happily, stuffing them into his pants pockets for easy reach while he's carrying Sans.

Up ahead, they heard Asgore calling everyone and soon after several Mercenaries helped in packing the tents they began to get moving.

Undyne went around making sure none were being left behind, children gathered near the center of the group and soon spotted Papyrus, and the others. "Ah! Perfect! Paps. I know I officially made you a Royal Guard but you and Sans are always going to the center of the group. Along with Toriel and Frisk, instead of being together with me somewhere near the back with the other Guards. You'll be closer to the Boss Monsters that way who'll be able to keep you safer due to...you know."

"Oh, I...Suppose… That Makes Sense." Paps said, fully understanding.

Undyne nodded, noticing Sans had fallen asleep again, and he still looked to be in a bit of pain. Sans hand had moved from Paps chest to his shirt, clutching his shirt where his SOUL was. "He's still not lookin' so hot huh?" She asked, referring to the smaller skeleton in her best friend's arms. "Tsk, what a mess… Sometimes I still wanna go back down there and give that as- punk a piece of my mind."

Undyne frowned, as she inspected Sans seeing that the fissure to the side of Sans skull, where he'd smacked his temple against the Halls pillard was healing nicely, now only a light line was visible where new bone was growing to seal the wound. The one around his right eye socket however still looked absolutely terrible below the bandages wrapped there. Obviously there were still even some missing cracked bones around the socket through the bandages. "At least he's healing slowly. King Fluffybuns and you too Tori, did a great job taking care of him."

"Yes. I Feel The Same Way Too, Undyne." Papyrus nodded, rubbing Sans's back gently. "But I Am Also Grateful We're Leaving This Place. I Never Want To See My Dear Brother In So Much Danger Ever Again."

"Thank you dear." Toriel said, thankful. "And he won't be Papyrus. We're gonna make sure of it. And to do so, that's why we need to leave. As well as to protect Frisk of course."

Undyne nodded as she then motioned them to go to Asgore and to their proper spots as the Monsters began to head away and leave their small, temporary camp and continue making their way around the mountain.

The group walked for several hours, the kids surrounding Papyrus continuously looking at the taller Skeleton over at Sans worriedly.

"Is Uncle Sans going to be okay?" Monster kid asked the taller skeleton, since Sans was sound asleep, his breathing calm, and hand still over his chest. Protective as he slept.

"Yes, For Now. He's Still Hurting Inside But With Lots Of Care And Love Hopefully He Will Be Somewhat Back To His Former Self Again!" Papyrus reassured the child, his hand incessantly rubbing the spine of his older brother, trying to mask his worry, but also as a means of calming himself as well.

"I hope so. I want Sans to be okay." replied MK, glancing over at Sans sleeping form every so often as they continued to walk. "I want to hear Sans puns again, he was always nice to us kids, not like Jerry and Snowdrake and them."

"Yeah!" agreed the little Mouse monster who was also a fellow resident of Snowdin and knew Sans quite well, along with MK.

Frisk stayed ahead of the group, listening quietly. She was also worried about Sans and couldn't quite help glancing over her shoulder at the two skeletons, guilt in her SOUL that he was still hurting because of her. Because he had chosen to get hurt for her, to protect her, and she wished she had been stronger to keep Sans safe.

Flowey, who had been quietly mulling about inside of Frisks backpack, having nothing much to do either but watch the children and skeletons, and had also been oddly silent since the day before yesterday when Sans freaked out noticing the flower mumbled something just under his breath.

"What's up Flowey?" Frisk asked, her hands moving to the straps on her shoulders and lifting the pack up, slightly jostling the yellow flower in his pot, in the pocket sewed in.

"I… said… I'm sorry... " Flowey said, a little louder, but only loud enough for Frisk to hear. Being sure Toriel could not, who was right next to the child. "Th...This is all my fault… why he got hurt. I...I only wanted to be able to feel again. And, and to keep feeling and not to hurt anyone anymore. And, and then I just had to go and make another stupid life choice and...a-and-" Flowey shut it's eyes, tears pooling a little in the corner of his eyes.

Frisk's face fell the slightest amount, her hands trembling a little as she continued holding the straps to her backpack as Flowey continued, "If… If I hadn't made that deal, none of this would've happened… Er, I'm such an idiot! I'm sorry everything had just went so wrong and- and so fast. And..and for being unable to stop it. I-I...I'm sorry…"

"It wasn't your fault…." Frisk mumbled looking over her shoulder again.

"Y-Yes it was! I-I allowed that d-demon to take control and-and...it was my vines that pierced his SOUL, and broke all his bones!" Flowey argued, tearing more at this point.

"No it wasn't… I've hurt him too… we both made mistakes, but, you're not that demon anymore. You're still Flowey. And you're my friend. He's going to make it through this… Besides, he knew what would happen… we were all given a… a really terrible choice. I believe in Sans…" Frisk said simply, turning away from the flower and looking forward. "We're getting away from Mt. Ebott, hopefully, that thing won't try and track us or anything…"

"..." Flowey frowned, staying silent once more, he still couldn't get rid of the ghost of a guilty feeling inside as he glanced back at the skeletons and kept his gaze onto Sans again, wishing he could make it up to the small skeleton and his brother as well.

Papyrus seemed to notice Flowey had been staring, after a minute of walking as he gently looked at the small flower. "Flowey… I… I Forgive You For What You Did. I-I Know, Er, Now I Mean, That That Wasn't Really You That Did That To Him. My Brother, It Will Take Him Much Longer, But I'm Sure Over Time He Will Learn To Forgive You Too." Papyrus said, his sockets moving to his side when Sans shuddering had increased the slightest amount, when Paps said the flowers name and Sans buried his face more into his collar bone. "Shhh Shh Brother, It's Okay... You're Okay." Papyrus cooed against him.

"...s...sorry…" A soft, hitching little word. Like he didn't have any energy for anything else.

"Do You Want Some Food Brother?" Papyrus asked, his hand leaving Sans' spine to already start digging in his pockets for one of the candies he'd been given, Papyrus leaning back so as not to drop Sans as he carefully balanced his brother in his one arm.

Sans somehow managed a half shrug, his sockets still closed and still slumped against his body. And Paps took out the candy, lowering it as he tried to unwrap the little candy with one hand, grabbing one end of it with his teeth as he then took the candy and, after gently poking Sans shoulder to get his attention, he held the candy to Sans mouth so he could absorb it. "Here, Brother. C'mon… Just For A Sec, Okay?" Papyrus urged, gently trying to wake Sans a bit to feed him, not wanting to jostle him too much and startle his brother while he was injured. "Please? That's It. There, There, Easy Does It."

Sans heard his brother's voice gently coaxing him from unconsciousness. He knew Paps was trying to remain soft and quiet, sensitive to Sans health as it warmed his damaged soul and carefully nudged him to wakefulness.

Sans opened his eyes, his eyelids feeling heavy. "mmmnh?" He blinked dazedly, looking up from his resting spot on his brother's shoulder, first eyeing the candy then at his brother's worried expression. "...mkay…" Sans slurred, his voice still sounding a little gravelly, but slightly more like itself, 2 days since he'd ruined his throat due to his screaming.

Paps smiled a little, seeing his brother awake again, though he still felt quite weak. "Oh, Sans… Sans… I'm So Sorry…" Papyrus mumbled, letting him shift the slightest amount, as Sans eyelights focused slowly, letting him take in his surroundings. Not wanting to push him as Sans slowly noticed the world around and realized they were walking, gently Papyrus recaptured his brother's attention, holding out the small candy in the palm of his metacarpals. "Here, Brother. Do You Think You Can Get This Down On Your Own?"

Weakly, Sans nodded, shaking phalanges, taking the candy from Papyrus's own steadier ones, and as careful as he could to not drop it, brought them to his teeth. In a sparkle of green healing magic, most of which Sans wasn't even able to absorb again, the skeleton devoured the treats. Sans felt his sockets grew heavy, all his energy spent, but struggling not to fall asleep again, he rested his skull once more against Paps shoulder, floating in between being half asleep and half not. "w...where're we g-goin' pap?"

"Somewhere Far Away, Brother. Somewhere, Hopefully Safer. M-Maybe Into Another City Of Humans That Will Allow Us In. And So You Can Recover." Papyrus informed, gently nuzzling his brother against his bottom jaw.

Sans nodded weakly, as he slowly forced himself to stay awake, watching as they passed by some trees as they walked. He noticed the heavy pack his brother was carrying and after a moment, he spoke again. "w...who has m-my stuff?"

"Undyne Offered To Carry Them. She's With The Other Royal Guard Members, At The Back Of The Group. Ready To Defend If Need Be." Paps gently told Sans, still holding him close, and smoothing his brothers back, trying to soothe his trembling.

"h..heh, a-and yer're not? didn't undyne m-make you g-guard finally?" Sans asked.

"Yes. But...I Had More Important Matters To Take Care Of. And, Besides They Can Handle Things Well Enough On Their Own." Paps told him, feeling Sans slipping down slightly he moved the hand on his spine, gently to the side of Sans ribs as he took a firmer grip on Sans femurs pushing Sans up gently so that Sans was more positioned better against his hip bone.

Sans let out a grunt and a slight whimper, when Paps had accidentally pushed one of the rib bones that had broken off completely a little too far in, the movement jostling the splint holding it in one piece to heal properly. "ngh!" He winced, his grip on his brother tightening as he felt the jolt of pain.

"S-Sorry!" Paps apologized quickly, his hand glowing green a moment to help his brother recover. "Easy Brother. It's Okay."

"hngh...n..no… j...jus' just give me a minute…" Sans breathed, shaking more as he struggled to hurry and recover.

Toriel turned back to them. "What's wrong? Do you want us to stop Papyrus?" She asked, the King turning as well raising a hand as the group slowly started to slow down in concern for the smaller skeleton.

"n-n...no..! i…" Sans huffed, opening his sockets again slowly as he took in his bandaged bones, next to his brothers more healthier ones. "i..i'm f-fine..j-jus' i'm f-fine…"

Papyrus furrowed, before turning to Toriel, holding his brother more gentler. "I-It Was My Fault. I Felt Sans Slipping And I Must Have Done A Wrong Movement And- We're Fine."

Toriel nodded in understanding, looking over the rest of the group, she noticed a few of the old and young appeared to be out of breath. "Perhaps...we should use this time to rest anyways. We've walked quite a lot and quite far from where we started." She said, turning to Asgore who nodded in agreement, she motioned to Knight knight to tell the rest in the further back this would be their temporary rest stop for now and he nodded as they moved to the back.

Several of the monsters began to separate looking for spots to sit, and open their packs to get something to eat. Several of the Mercenaries and Royal Guards moved around the group, telling everyone not to stray too far and that as soon as everyone was up to it, they would continue moving.

Paps saw a decent sized boulder and moved to sit on it. Carefully, he tipped his brother back and away from his front, maneuvering Sans a bit so he too could sit on his lap and had Sans ribcage exposed to Papyrus to inspect and reach. Papyrus wanted to recheck Sans bandages if they needed changing again, but also, a part of him as well wanted to check on Sans SOUL, not having the chance to since 2 days ago when they finally brought Sans back home. He hesitated.

Sans still couldn't quite hold himself up on his own, his right shoulder leaning heavily on Papyrus's body, his eyes drooping slightly as sleep threatened to take him again.

Toriel kept an eye on the two skeletons, realizing Paps may need help with Sans and, after ensuring Frisk would be alright to feed herself and Flowey moved to the taller skeleton monster. "Is there anything you need help with dear?"

"I…" Papyrus hesitated, unsure if this would be a good idea or not. He didn't want to risk triggering Sans again, but at the same time, didn't want to surprise Sans by doing anything he wasn't expecting, knowing how Sans could get. And especially now that he was so vulnerable and fragile. "Just...Give Me a Moment." Paps concluded and Toriel nodded, giving the brothers some space as Paps returned his attention back to Sans, gently shaking his shoulder to wake Sans up again.

"Brother?"

"nn?"

"Um...Brother, Is...Is It Alright If I May Check Your SOUL?"

Sans froze, his skull blanching for several seconds.

"Brother…?" Paps asked again, after several moments. "I Just Wanna...Make Sure You're Doing Alright. That The Crack In It Hasn't Gotten Worse. And, Since I'll Need To Change Your Bandages Possibly Too...I Th-Thought I Could Do Both At The Same Time." He explained, hoping that Sans would be more willing for the extra help.

Still, Sans said nothing, trembling and the sound of bones rattling seemingly to be the only answer Sans could give him. Again, after another few seconds of hesitancy. Sans gave a small nod as he summoned his SOUL out, knowing, since it was Papyrus checking on it, no harm would come to him anyways. Paps would be able to keep both him, and his exposed SOUL safe.

Paps gasped, not at all expecting for Sans to be so compliant. But he was grateful. Without touching the little floating white soul, he raised one of his hands around it, the other holding Sans upright to make sure he doesn't fall over as Paps looked the little SOUL over.

The SOUL still looked to be quite fragile, but it did seem to glow just a little brighter and slightly whiter than before, the more that Sans rested. No longer did it look wrung out and as dried out as before, though it was still tender as Papyrus watched as the tiny thing pulsed with weak magic. The crack in the middle looked also slightly more sealed in, almost like a scab was slowly forming all around it. Dead center of the crack however, where the vines had been originally digging its way inside was still mangled, and Papyrus almost gagged again when he looked directly at the wound, but he was satisfied.

"Your SOUL Is Looking Better And Better Brother! Not...Quite As It Did Before The Injury But Still It Is Making Steady Progress!" Papyrus announced, gently coaxing Sans to put it safely back in his chest.

"heh… th-that's good…" Sans winced, as the SOUL was gently eased back into the safety of his ribs. Papyrus gently rubbed his thumb along his shoulder to soothe him before turning his skull back to Tori, motioning he will need her assistance now.

"How is he?" She asked as she came a little closer, helping Paps to keep Sans balanced over his knee as he worked to get Sans' shirt off slowly and gently.

"His SOUL Is Looking Much Better! I Will Need Your Help, Your Highness Now, So I May Take this Time Out To Change My Brother's Bandages While We're Out Here Resting." Papyrus informed as Sans made a face but did nothing to stop either of them, still feeling a bit sleepy as the shirt soon went over his head.

"Of course, I'm always happy to help you." Toriel said simply, helping to unwrap Sans old bandages, holding the smaller skeleton steady, as Paps reached into his bag for the new bandages. Toriel inspected the fragile bone beneath, being sure to keep them aligned as she kept the splints in place even as the old dirty bandages fell to the ground. The fracture was still deep in the ulna and radius but she was already noticing how new bone was just beginning to grow back, gluing the two pieces of the ulna together where it'd snapped in half and especially in Sans's wrists. "Looks like your arm is healing nicely as well my dear. Soon, you may not even need the splint so long as you don't move too much or overexert yourself."

"h-heh...y' don' hav' to worry 'b-bout that. ima l-lazybones...remember tori?" Sans sleepily slurred, trying to keep as still as possible to let them work. Even though it still hurt to have the bones touched and messed with, but he kept quiet as Papyrus had gotten to rewrapping the bone after a light cleansing. Sans watched through blurry vision as this repeated to the rest of him. It got especially painful once they were touching his ribcage, where the more serious of his injuries were. But still Sans stayed as still as possible, allowing them to work and soon, Sans could not keep himself awake anymore, as they finished bandaging the last of his wounds up as he went absolutely limp against his brother's chest.

Papyrus startled at the sudden change his brother showed, catching him and nearly letting the new bandages unravel.

Toriel was quick to react however, finishing the wrappings over Sans chest, wrapping one end of the bandages over Sans left manubrium, unrolling the bandage roll slowly over Sans ribcage and down to the very last, bottom most ribcage, then back up again to the right side of Sans shoulders and down again. The motion repeating until Sans ribs were properly bandaged, many of the splints in place. And she set to helping Paps return Sans shirt over him again, as Paps put their medical supplies back in the bag, carrying Sans again when he heard the Monsters getting ready to continue their journey.

"There, that should hopefully hold him until the next resting point. Do you need help carrying your things? So you can focus entirely on aiding your brother? It must be quite heavy, having to carry all your stuff and your brother all at the same time. With him so injured still and all." Toriel offered, helping Papyrus to stand as he lifted his brother in both his arms. Sans still looked very much like a broken doll in his long boney arms.

"Thank You Toriel. But There Is No Need For That! This Is Also Sort Of Like Strength Training As Well! Royal Guards Cannot Afford To Be Lazy After All!" Papyrus announced, still being mindful to keep his voice quiet, so not to accidentally wake Sans up after he was resting again.

"Papyrus… I know you mean well but, you can train later. your brother needs you the most right now, than your training. What if you get too tired to carry him and drop him?" Toriel suggested, still offering to help him carry his pack. "It's only for a few hours. I promise."

"Well….I...Suppose...You May Be Right." Papyrus said, finally giving in as he looked at his sleeping brother then the heavy backpack. "Are You Sure About This Though, Lady Toriel? I Do Not Wish To Burden The Former Queen."

"Oh please, Papyrus. I am no longer a Queen and I do not wish to ever be one again, for now I am just the same as all of you and I wish to help. That way you can focus on just taking care of your brother alright?" Toriel told him firmly, and after a few seconds Papyrus relents handing her his pack, before adjusting Sans body in his arms so he was both more comfortable and so Paps had a better hold on him as well so not to drop the smaller skeleton.

"There, now was that so hard?" Toriel smiled, helping carry Papyrus's things along with her own before holding Frisk's hand again and the group continued to move.

After an hour of walking, Paps noticed as Doggo made his way to the front of the group mumbling something to Asgore and a troubled expression crossed Asgore's features. Asgore mentioned something to Doggo taking a moment to write down something on a note and he gave it to the dog monster sending him away.

"Um, King Asgore? Is Something Wrong?" Papyrus asked. "You Look...Er, Upset." His grip over his brother tightened the slightest bit in a protective matter, knowing this was probably just some royalty business he shouldn't be involved in, but he still couldn't really help but to ask anyways, as perceptive as he was.

The King turned to Toriel muttering something and Paps couldn't help but noticing the audible gasp that had escaped Frisks mouth and she then turned her attention to Papyrus. "It...seems the Humans have finally noticed our absence. And they're not too fond of us leaving dear." Toriel informed him, "The King is sending Doggo, Dogamy and Dogaressa over to them with a treaty that we just want peace and that we're going elsewhere to attain it since its obvious those humans refuse to leave us all alone… Hopefully it'll work, since those three are the least threatening looking amongst our race…"

"Oh." Was all Papyrus could say, holding his brother even more protectively, but he looked ready to fight and defend if need be, knowing that's probably what Undyne was thinking as well.

"Should we wait? Especially since Doggos sight isn't exactly the greatest." Toriel asked, unable to hide the worry in her voice as she hugs Frisk closer remembering that man that threatened to take Frisk away. Especially since they'd just gotten reunited not even 36 hours ago.

Frisk hugged her mother, looking from her, to Papyrus to off in the distance where she could see some torches off in the horizon and then 3 smaller ones heading to the huge mass of them, as daylight was starting to go and get darker.

"Yes, we'll make camp here for tonight. That way those three will be able to return to us. Hopefully the humans will accept our Mercy." King Asgore agreed, sending some Whimsalots to go and tell the others that here was where they'd make camp and to reset up the tents again.

Papyrus agreed as he gently laid Sans gingerly on the ground, wanting to help out with the tents and starting to get antsy. Frisk released Toriel's side, kneeling down beside Sans unconscious sleeping body and putting her bag down. "I can watch him Papyrus. I'll make sure your brother won't be trampled on." Frisk offered, as Paps got his bag back from the Queen and laid it below Sans's skull to act as a pillow.

"Thank You Human Frisk! Please Let Me or Toriel Know If Anything Happens While I am Away!" Papyrus replied, grateful. He hesitated a moment not wanting to get too far from his injured brother, and decided to still stay somewhat close by and look for Undyne to get Sans's things too."I'll Be Back."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him." Frisk said, as she removed Flowey from the little pocket on the side of her backpack setting him down on the ground, next to the fallen skeleton as Papyrus ran off.

"Are you sure it's safe for Sans to even see me? I'm the cause of those injuries ya know." Flowey frowned, staring at Sans unconscious form, watching as his chest slowly rose up and down in a gentle emotion.

"Yes Flowey, besides he's sleeping. It'll be fine." Frisk told him firmly, watching over him. She saw Politics Bear backing up a bit to set up his tent and Frisk spoke up seeing he was close to tripping over Sans legs. "Hey! M-Mr. Bear, please be careful! Sans is behind you!"

"What?" Politics bear asked, turning around and seeing the injured skeleton. "OH! My apologies! I didn't see you there." He spoke up, stepping around Sans before putting the other end of the tent into the corner.

Hours passed as Frisk warned the monsters of where Sans was laying so as to prevent him from getting trampled and soon nearly all the tents had been put up as Sans began to wake up groggily. "...nn..?" Sans groaned, his vision hazy.

"Oh dear. Hello Sans." greeted Toriel, who happened to be close by, blocking Sans vision from seeing Flowey. "How are you dear?"

"nn, h-hiya tori. f-feel lous-sy…" Sans said, giving her a lopsided smile. Then he glanced around, "w-where's th' bro…?"

"Still helping put up the camps with Undyne. He should be back in a minute or so, there's not that much to put up now." Toriel told him, "We finished a bit ago, so I thought I'd help Frisk keep an eye on you."

"h-heh...ya… s-sounds like him a'right." Sans slurred, placing a hand to his chest over the spot where his SOUL was, protective. RUbbing at the spot a moment.

"...Still bothering you?" Toriel asked, and Sans hesitated a moment then nodded. "I'm sorry… Your...your SOUL. There's not much we can do about it…" Toriel said wringing her hands together.

"i...i know… 'm s-sure...you all did th' best you could though…." Sans slurred, still keeping his hand over his SOUL.

For a moment she watched as the Monsters started to settle down and even bring up places for a fire and help bring the beds out. Asgore sat a ways away, speaking to Undyne, Papyrus, Dogamy, Dogaressa and Doggo, possibly about the humans. Then she watched as Frisk was playing with Monster Kid and all the other monsters.

"Thank you...Sans, for protecting my child… I just wish, you hadn't been so badly wounded as a result of it. But...thank you, my friend." Toriel told him finally, and she meant it. Sans simply stared at her for a moment, Flowey watching as well, just outside his hazy, blurry vision. And Sans made a slight shrugging motion.

"h..heh..tori..it-it w-was bound to h-happen..anyways. w-with only 1hp and-and all. jus' glad i could be u-useful...finally" Sans deadpanned.

"You are always useful, dear. Even with just having only 1HP." Toriel told him firmly.

"tori.. look at m-me. if...if it w-weren't for m-my brother and ev-everyone… i might not b-be here. let's f-face it, i'm w-wrong. ev-everythin' ab-bout me is wr-wrong. an' now...heh...g-guess i got a n-new crack on m-my soul to prove it…" Sans shrugged. "i'm f-fallin' apart… tori. so let's stop pretending nothing's wrong with m-me, alright?"

"Sans…" Toriel reached out placing a furry hand over his small, boney one. Sans flinched slightly to her touch, but didn't pull away. "Nothing is wrong with you, and nothing will be either, once you're all healed. And your brother doesn't think so either."

"i guess…" He said, not entirely believing her. He winced, his hand tightening over his shirt slightly.

"We better get some food in you soon." Toriel said standing up, then gently she reached over to lift up Sans from where he lay, not comfortable enough to leave the injured monster unattended to and helped him to sit up slowly.

Sans winced more, once again, dizziness hit him as he reached out suddenly grabbing her hand as his bones rattled. "ngh…!" He breathed, his sockets squeezing closed shut.

"Easy, easy Sans…" Toriel soothed, and waited a moment, letting him catch his breath. Noting how weak he still was, gently she scooped him up in his arms, carrying him in one arm. "Here you are, dear. Let's go join the others, alright?"

"s...sure t." Sans replied weakly, starting to fall asleep again slowly. Her fur soft against his bones. Toriel reached down as well, picking up Flowey and headed towards one of the fireplaces.

Sans shivered slightly seeing Flowey was so close to him, once more turning to a neutral expression around him, his hands moving over his SOUL more protective, and his breath hitching slightly.. Flowey frowned a bit at this, "Sans...I'm...sorry, for hurting you. I-I wasn't me. I've changed, and-and I don't want to hurt anyone again so-so pl-please try and understand, I wasn't me back then okay?"

Sans didn't seem to hear as he stared at the flower and his mind wandered back to vines going deep inside his ribcage and the gleaming red eyes and bones breaking and that sinister smile. "LET'S SEE HOW FUNNY YOU ARE, WITH A CRACK DOWN THE CENTER OF YOUR SOUL!"

"Sans? Sans dear, please! Breath!" Toriel urged, noticing Sans had started to hyperventilate a bit, as she gently jostled the small skeleton in her arms a bit to snap him out of his memories. Sans gave a slight winced as he shut his eyes closed.

"s-s'rry, j-just…! just…" Sans struggled, his bones trembling slightly as he tried to control his breathing. "s-sorry…" Sans whimpered, purposely trying to look elsewhere and not at Flowey.

"Sans…?" Toriel asked, as she placed Flowey on a nearby bench, now closer to the center of their little temporary new campsite and she gently placed a hand over his skull, pumping gentle green magic through her fingers.

"'m f-fine… t-tori. i'll be okay. i j-just-just need to focus that's all and-and breath. th-that's all." Sans tried, as he felt her magic starting to calm him down, his chest hurting slightly due to his SOUL acting up again. "'m f-fine."

"No, you're not fine. You're hurt. And you were traumatized, but you will be fine. Someday.." Toriel soothed, gently catching Sans attention, smiling as his eye sockets locked onto hersthough he still looked unfocused, his vision blurry. "You will be."

"h-heh...g-guess...i'm not all that cracked up as i used to be h-huh?" Sans slurred, apparently having not heard her as he was still lost in his thoughts. "this-this sure is a bum wrap 'miright?" Sans gave Toriel a wink and a lopsided grin, still looking her in the eyes, and shocked expression.

"Sans…" Toriel uttered as Sans had kept going.

"what? you see it too, right t? hehehe...th-this is so humerus. hehehe…! ahaha… ha… haha…ha….." Sans laughing slowly began to die down as he blinked a bit, as if just now realizing where he was and who he was with. "uhh… t-tori? i uh.. s-sorry… i think i lost it a b-bit there…"

"Yes dear….I think you did too...are you alright?" Toriel asked, concern in her voice as she continued to look at him a bit freaked out a little.

"uh y-yeah...j-jus' needed….a little laugh? haha…" Sans stared back looking slightly nervous, as Toriel continued pouring a little more green healing magic into him, helping clear Sans mind more and more. "s-sorry f-for scarin' you t."

"Sans…" Toriel started, for a second looking quite cross with him, but her expression then softened, taking in his fragile state. "it's fine." Toriel soothed, deciding perhaps it was still too soon for Sans to see Flowey just yet and then, keeping Sans attention on her, she looked around the camp for her child. "Frisk dear?!"

"Yes mom?" Frisk called, a few feet from her as she ran over to the two of them.

"Frisk, my child. Could-could you please take.. um…"

Frisk seemed to understand almost immediately, and nods. She walks a bit past them and reaches out to pick up Flowey from his post and quickly heads back over to MK and the other children to continue playing. Sans was too high up, still in Toriel's arms with her furry hand over his skull to really notice what was going on.

Toriel smiled at her child then continued heading inside the cam, still keeping a furry paw to Sans skull, relaxing him a bit. As she headed further in the camp, then saw Papyrus and Undyne there heading back as well.

"Ah, Brother!" Papyrus cried, as he quickened his pace and got over to Toriel.

Toriel slowly lifted her hand over Sans' skull, waving back to the taller skeleton. "Greetings Papyrus dear."

Sans turned his skull towards his brother and reached for him, and Toriel gently handed Sans over to the taller skeleton who hugged him. "h-hey paps…" Sans replied weakly.

"Oh, Brother! I'm Sorry, I Got A Little Carried Away Wishing The Fellow Guards A Safe Trip Over To The Human Encampment And Helping Everyone With Their Tents And Getting Settled In For The Night. Are You Alright?" Papyrus enthused, carefully balancing Sans over his hip.

"He..had a little bit of an episode earlier, when he saw F-the flower. But, Frisk did a good job watching over him. We were just going to get him some food soon to soothe his soul." Toriel explained. Sans shivered slightly against Papyrus's bones clinging to him as Paps nodded.

"Me and Paps were just about to do that too!" Undyne had broken in before Papyrus could say much as she also came over looking over Sans. "Hey bud, you doin' alright there?"

Sans made a half shrugging motion, before wincing again slightly, his hand moving to the spot over his chest, gripping at his shirt.

"Oh, My Poor Brother. Worry Not, Sans! I Shall Make You My Best Spaghetti!" Papyrus gushed, holding his brother gently.

"Maybe not spaghetti yet. Papyrus dear, he still needs something light for now, not something that'll take a lot of energy to absorb. At least not yet." Toriel reminded him in a gentle manner, gently placing a hand to his shoulder. "I know how excited you are to start cooking for your brother, but he needs something more like, broth for example."

Papyrus seemed to deflate a bit, but agreed. "Right.. I Was Just, Talking Aloud." Paps blushed a bit, gently smoothing over the back of his brother.

"I know dear, perhaps I can ask Alphys if she thinks it would be okay to heal him more… I would like Sans to get better sooner as well, dear." Toriel affirmed, patting Papyrus back as they headed to where the main fireplace was and where Grillby and Muffet were hard at work making enough food for everyone. Toriel headed over to the two, ready to assist with her fire magic.

Sans looked over to his brother, seeing as he also wanted to help cook on his face expression, "b-bro..you...can put me d-down an'-an' help too. i c-can h-hang with frisk and th' others…" Sans slurred, not wanting to be babied much in front of the other monsters.

Papyrus startled at this, he, Tori and Undyne giving him a strange look. "Brother, You Can Barely Keep Your Eyes Open Than Just A Few Minutes At A Time. I'm Not Sure…."

"h-hey, don' i do that all th' time an-anyways?" Sans gave a slight shrugging motion, still trying to convince him again. "i'll b-be fine… an' s-stay close by wi-with th' kids." Sans said, forcing out more strength into his words. "i don' want to g-get in your way of m-my cool bro."

Papyrus hesitated, especially so when he saw the concerned looks of Toriel and Undyne. "I- I Don't Know…"

"Hey, what if I watched the little punk?" Undyne offered. "That way, you can also get in more cooking practice. And your bro can be safe at the same time."

"You'd Do That For Me?" Papyrus stammered, and Undyne quickly grabbed Papyrus by hooking an arm right around neck bones, being careful not to knock Sans out of his arms and started rubbing her knuckles into Papyrus's skull. "NYEEEH! PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!" Papyrus chided, though he was laughing.

"Haha! Of course I don't mind you freaking nerd! I can watch the lazy punk for you, why the hell do you think I offered you big doofus?!" Undyne smirked, then carefully let go of him, letting Papyrus gain his footing again, before gently looking at Sans in the sockets. "You cool with that punk?"

Undyne carefully searched Sans' expression and then, after receiving silent permission, Undyne carefully leaned forward and pulled Sans into her arms. Balancing him against her hip like she had seen Papyrus do on so many occasions. Sans tried to control his shaking as he seemed uncertain as to how to hold on to her, his hands hovering over her shoulder and chest before he reluctantly shifts his arms loosely around her neck.

"th-thanks undyne."

"No problem punk. You just focus on getting better soon, alright punk?" Undyne declared, feeling him trembling slightly against her, as she placed a hand to his back to ensure he wouldn't slip.

"Oh, Thank You Undyne!" Papyrus admired, also taking a spot with the other 3 monsters to help cook and hopefully get as much food out to the other monsters as well.

"Yes Thank you Undyne. For all your hard work." Toriel enthused happily, knowing Sans would still be in good hands even when she and Papyrus were busy. And felt much better. A strong Monster was still willing to watch over the injured smaller skeleton.

"Yeah, yeah just go and help alright? We'll be over here with the tiny punks. Or, maybe to check on Alphys." Undyne smirked, walking away with Sans so the other two can get to cooking.