Me and Papyrus stopped by our old place as we passed through Snowdin, it was as empty as we had left it, except for that sock. I assured Papyrus I would pick it up when we came back through.

I got the feeling he didn't believe me, heh.

The town was pretty eerie without anyone around, you couldn't even call it a ghost town, because they didn't live here either. Kinda sad to see the place abandoned after spending so much time here, even if was the same few days over and over again...

The snow seemed a bit deeper to me as we were later walking through the forest. My shoes sank into it with every step, making them a bit soggy, I guess with no one walking through it for the pass few years the paths must have snowed in, heh. Not a few minutes later, I gave out from trudging through the deep snow, it was really taking a toll on me. I let myself collapse into the powdery snow, my whole body sinking into it like a fluffy bed, and nearly fell right asleep. Papyrus put me up on his back and carried me the rest of the way to the Ruins through the forest, letting me get in a good nap along the way.

My bro's so cool.

He woke me when we reached the door, it was still wide open and unsealed from when Toriel came out to help Frisk. Man, the jokes we used to tell here, I gotta get that started with her again, it's been too long since we last had a good back and forth of jokes.

"So Flowey's in the old ruins?" Papyrus asked.

"Yup. Frisk told me he lives at the end of the ruins, where they fell in." I told him.

"Oh, Okay! But, why doesn't Flowey live on the surface with the rest of us?" he then asked.

"He must be anti-social." I answered, knowing that probably wasn't the case.

"Well than this visit will have a twofold goal! You will talk to him about our parents, and I will encourage him to come to the surface!" he stated proudly.

"Yeeeeah, not sure how that will go, but it's worth a try I guess." I said with doubt.

"I'm not going to try Sans, I'm going to DO!" he replied confident.

"You do you than bro." I said with a bit of admiration.

He was always looking for the good in others no matter their background, making friends, helping people walk the straight and narrow road. I've tried that, and it worked with Frisk because there was good in them, but Flowey? I could remember when I tried to change his mind about the resets once, but nothing got through to the little stinker. As for looking for the good in him, I couldn't think of a single thing good about Flowey. Except that he keeps to himself down here, far away from me. Papyrus didn't know what I knew about Flowey though, so he just saw him as another friend in need.

Bad memories are already resurfacing in my mind...

Papyrus groaned as he carried me through the ruins, disappointed at my laziness and unwillingness to walk another step. He had no idea how beat I was, or maybe he did, as he gave me a look of concern at one point. He has started to show more concern than disappointment toward me lately, which only made ME more concerned.

That's a sign of brotherly love I guess.

We ran into some old puzzles, no doubt set up by the monsters who built this place over 1,000 years ago. Papyrus was quick to figure them out and open the way forward, his puzzle solving skills having been sharpened over the years, he was pretty impressed with them, but still said his were better. I agreed, these puzzles didn't have nearly enough fire and spikes. I thought about how many times Frisk must have walked through here. Wonder if it got to the point where they could solve these puzzles by instinct? That would make things pretty boring after the first few resets. Toriel must have gotten bored with them too, having to live with them day after day.

"How far do these ruins go Sans?" Papyrus asked at one point.

"Dunno. This place was sealed off for years, so I've never explored it myself." I told him, now standing on his shoulders and leaning on his head.

"I doubt you would have made this walk by yourself, this is far too far of a walk for you! You would never have made it this far without me, The Great Papyrus!, to carry you around!" he replied with pride.

"You're my hero Paps." I pat on his head.

"Yes, but you have got to get over this lazy attitude of yours Sans! Even The Great Papyrus can only carry you around so much at a time!" he said with a bit of strain in his voice.

"I'll work on it."

"Really? That's gre-"

"Tomorrow."

"Never mind..."

It turned out to be a longer walk than either of us were expecting, the ruins seeming to go on forever in this part of the underground. I gave Papyrus a break at one point, the both of us resting at what seemed to have been the old town square. Water canals flowed through the town still, between buildings, under bridges, beside the roadways- it was a nice design choice, very peaceful. Maybe too peaceful, because I feel like crashing again already. Luckily, Papyrus kept me alert with questions about the place, most I couldn't answer. I only knew so much about it, and most was from history books in school. I recalled our grandpa telling stories about it once or twice, and shared what I remembered to try and answer Papyrus' questions.

"So.. is this where Grandpa Semi grew up?" Papyrus asked as we walked through the crumbling town at a slow pace.

"He was always talking about it like he did." I answered, glancing around us. "He got into some crazy situations around here apparently." I stated.

"I wonder what that was like; no cell phones, no internet to chat with friends-" he paused. "Wait, did they even have regular phones?!" he panicked.

"I.. think so?" I replied hesitantly, not sure of the answer.

"That.. That would be terrible! How did monsters keep up with each other?!" Papyrus was lost.

"Letters Bro, good'ol handwritten letters." I told him.

"Oh yeah, I love getting those! But it is not nearly as fast as a text!" he replied.

We kept talking about life back in Gramps day as we passed through the old town, agreeing that I would never survive without today's conveniences. No electricity, no machinery, no computers- geez, they really had to do everything by hand back then didn't they? I'd definitely never survive. Well, I might, most sci-fi novels I enjoy were written at that time, so maybe I could make it as a writer. Nah, that takes too much effort still.

Despite our happy ramblings over the past, I found myself looking down every shadowy alleyway we passed, getting the feeling of being watched. Did Flowey know we were coming? It felt like he was watching us, skulking around in the shadows...

Dang weed better not try anything, and he better have some answers when we finally reach him.

We eventually discovered a small open cavern at the far end of the ruins, a patch of grass was growing in the center of it, with faint sunlight coming in from above through crumbling rock. I stopped and looked up through the cracks as we walked through the room. This was once the most we monsters got when it came to sunlight, for Frisk, this would be the last they would see of it as they headed into the underground from here.

I caught up to Papyrus, who had walked on without me, and we walked into the next room through an old stone archway with the Delta Rune on it. It was so faded I almost didn't notice it. We came around a corner to another patch of grass resting in sunlight, the cavern walls around it reflected the setting sun's light from outside. This patch of grass was filled with Golden Flowers, the same kind me and Alphys had used in our experiments, creating the flower I was about to talk to. The flowers seemed well-to-do, and grew together in one big bunch.

"Wait here Papyrus." I stretched my arm out to stop him from following me.

"What? Why?" he asked with worry.

"Just wait." I ordered him.

I cautiously walked up to the patch of flowers. The sunlight coming in from above gleamed across their petals, making them all blur together due to their bright golden hue. I looked them over carefully...

Which one was Flowey?

"What are YOU doing here?" I heard an all too familiar voice say.

I didn't see him as well as I had heard him, and with no soul, there was no way to sense him.

"I came to ask you about something." I answered him.

Flowey popped out of the ground in the middle of the flower patch, his expression showing his confusion at my being here. He peered at me for a moment, looking me over, or sizing me up, could be either.

"Did Frisk send you down here? I told them I'm not going to the surface world!" he spouted angrily.

"Nope." I replied, taking a more lax stance.

"Then why are you here?" he lifted a leaf to his face, side-eyeing me curiously. "Oh Wait! I know! You've come to gloat haven't you? To rub in my face that it's all over!" his face slowly turned uglier. "Well it won't work!" he shouted, his face returning to normal. "I'm already over it!" he proclaimed with pride.

"What the heck does that mean?" I held back my anger.

"Look! When Frisk-" he paused, catching his breath. "When Frisk saved me, I realized something..." he wilted a bit. "I could feel compassion while I had the human souls, I could FEEL again! And I realized that... that I was wrong. When Frisk saved me and refused to give up on saving their friends... on saving me... I regretted everything I had done. They showed me how to care again, and even though I can't feel compassion or love like that now, I don't plan on going back to the whole 'kill or be killed' philosophy. Now it's, 'Be kind and receive kindness'." he explained, and smiled with his leafs held up. "That's what Frisk said, not me, they came up with that." he added in a slightly annoyed tone.

A burning anger started building in me. After everything he had done, all the monsters he killed, the horrors he unleashed, the pain he put me through- That was it? That's all he had to say about it? Frisk sparing you does not make it all okay!

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Hold it in Sans. Answers first.

"So, I guess you've turned a new leaf, huh?" I replied to his little tale.

"Yes. Yes I have." he ignored the pun.

"Heh, that's good to hear." I paused... "Frisk really did a number on you didn't they?" I said, a bit in disbelief we had talked this long without getting in a fight.

"Yeah, haha, they sure did. The kid was determined to get the monsters out of here, even though I.." Flowey trailed off as his gaze turned to the ground. "Look, Sans, since you're here, I might as well take the chance." he looked up at me, with an expression of… guilt…? "Frisk asked me a question once, one I couldn't answer at the time, but, I feel like I can now." he said in a somber tone.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked.

"Frisk asked me, 'Do you ever feel regret over what you did?', they asked me that after telling me about a timeline they went through where, well, they made some decisions they weren't too happy about. I told them I'd never thought about it. All those timelines I lived through, created, abused, it got to the point where I just didn't feel... anything. But, ha, you know that already." he grinned at me. I know all too well buddy. "I guess I felt regret the first few times, but, I just ignored it and kept going, but now, sitting here alone these past few years, I've come to realize just what it was I really did, to myself, to my par- uck, um, pairs of friends, and to... you." he explained, calmly and remorsefully.

I remembered seeing Flowey like this before, it was right before he jumped me in a surprise attack. Did he really mean all this or not? Has he actually changed? Is that even possible for someone like him?

"I guess what I want to say is.." he sighed.

My body grew stiff, my instincts telling me to prepare to dodge. I shifted my stance in preparation to dodge an attack.

"I'm sorry Sans." he hung his head low.

A slight breeze blew around the room from the opening above, ruffling the flowers and my jacket, and Flowey's wilted petals. In the silence I could hear Papyrus behind me, not that he wasn't there already this whole time I'm sure.

"I don't expect you to forgive me for all that I did to you, but, at least know I am sorry." Flowey told me, unable to look up at me.

"Frisk has that effect on people." I forced myself to say.

"They do." Flowey smiled at me.

"Well!" I shouted, slapping my hands together, and making Flowey flinch. "Since you're all nice and stuff now, I'm sure you won't mind answering the question I came here to ask you." I forced a happy tone.

"S-Sure. A-Ask away..." he stuttered in fear.

"Alright than…" I paused.

WHERE ARE MY PARENTS YOU DIRTY FAMILY KILLER?

Flowey flinched back in terror, sweating as he stared at me in shock.

"W-What? I-I dunno! What makes you think I know where they are?!" he stuttered in fear.

"You killed them in multiple timelines, that's why! What did you do to them in this timeline?!" I shouted, feeling my magic building in my soul.

"Nothing! They weren't even home in this timeline!" he told me.

"Liar! You did something to them! Where Are They?!" I yelled out in anger.

Flowey gave me a somber look, as if he was just as confused as me. He had to know something I didn't though, and I planned to beat it out of him if I had to. I NEED answers to this!

"Look, Sans, I really don't know. I went to your house to find you but there was no one there, and it was right after I had caused a reset, so they must have left as soon as the timeline reset!" he plainly explained.

"That's It?!" I shouted, my magic wanting to burst out of me in an angry fury.

"It is! I swear!" he shouted back.

"Are you sure?" I summoned a Gaster Blaster above me, pointed right at this little dinky weed.

"Yes Yes! I went straight there and the house was empty! I don't know where they went! I even went looking for them and asked around!" he summoned vines between me and him in defense.

That won't block this blaster pal, trust me, it didn't the last few times I used it on you. I raised my hand up, ready to give the signal for the blaster to fire, because sorry or not, this weed had sins to pay for, and I was ready to execute the judgment. I charged the blaster and threw my hand down to fire it, but someone stopped me, grabbing my hand and holding me back. I glanced over to see it was Papyrus. I… had forgotten he was here...

"What are you doing Sans?! He says he doesn't know anything else!" he said in a panic while holding me back.

"What if he's lying Papyrus?" I replied.

"What if he's not?!" he shouted at me. "Just, let him go!" he pleaded.

"You don't know what this flower's really like Papyrus, he's done horrible things throughout all the timelines he reset! He killed our family more times than I can remember! And that's because he killed ME!" I shouted out, fear mixing with my rage as I realized what I had just said.

"I don't doubt that Sans, not after what I just heard." he glanced away for a moment. "But, he's sorry for it and is willing to help us out to make up for it! Right?" he looked at Flowey.

"Sure! Whatever! JUST DON'T LET HIM SHOOT THAT THING!" Flowey cried out.

"See? He's going to do his best to help us figure this out! Even a soulless homicidal flower can be a good person!" Papyrus told me with his usual big smile.

His big, naive, far too trusting, smile. I stood there, Papyrus holding me back, Flowey cowering before me, the Gaster Blaster getting tired of waiting, memories of the timelines I had lived through flashing by my mind; the pain, the anxiety, the worry- it all hit me at once. It was like it was all still happening, and what's to say it won't happen again?

Then another memory appeared in my mind, blocking out all the rest...

"What is it kiddo?" I asked Frisk as they sat beside me on the cliff side with the sun setting in the distance.

Frisk opened their backpack and pulled out a small, but thick, joke book.

"Kid, I make up my own material, no joke book in the world can beat my originality!" I told them with a wink.

Frisk laughed and handed it to me anyways, urging me to look at it. I sighed sarcastically and took it, noticing a slight bulge in the pages. I opened to the page that held the item creating the bulge, and found it was a pocket watch.

"So you'll always know time is moving forward!" Frisk happily told me.

I put the book down, taking the watch in my hand by its golden chain. It was ticking away at a steady pace, even had clock faces showing the day, month, and year on it, all of them steadily moving forward. Kid knows how to shop, heh.

"Thanks Frisk." I genuinely thanked them.

Frisk gave me a big hug and told me to never give up, if they could find a way to break the Barrier, I could find a way to move on with life on the surface.

"Just forget all the bad times and focus on the good times ahead." they told me. "Make a new start, with yourself and everyone else, without resetting of course!" they laughed.

I hugged them back, feeling myself relax for the first time...

Back in the here and now, I was still literally caught at a crossroads with Papyrus holding me back. I heard a chain jingle, and glanced down too see the watch from Frisk hanging out of my jacket pocket. I looked at it, the time still ticking forward...

"Just forget all the bad times... Make a new start, with yourself and everyone else..." Frisk's words echoed in my mind.

But how..? I can't just forget about… them...

"Sans please! Don't do this!" Papyrus shouted, slowly pushing my arm back. "I know you are upset! But that's no reason to... Kill, Flowey! Please, Sans! Don't be like this again!" he pleaded.

Another scene flashed through my mind, of Papyrus holding me back from hurting someone else when we were both much younger. He was pleading with me to stop my attack, even standing in front of me to block it.

Promise me..?

Never again...

I snapped out of the memories and jerked my hand from Papyrus' grip, recalling the blaster. Frisk was right, and so was Papyrus. If I was going to move on in this world, I'd have to move on completely from the past. Even if it meant holding back much deserved revenge...

I'd spare the flower for their sake. To keep a promise...

Still, the reality of not knowing anything more than I did before... If this was really all Flowey knew... It was all anyone knew. The search I just started, was over. And here I thought this was all going to pass as the years finally started to go by. Guess time doesn't heal every wound, it just seems to make more in my case...

"Sans?" Papyrus called as I walked away.

I walked out of the cavern back to the one before, standing in the sliver of sunlight that was fading along with the day. The darkness in the room seemed to be creeping toward me as the light faded. This feeling... after all this time, it was still here...

I felt… so alone…..

I eventually fell asleep against the columns making up the doorway, getting what felt like a full night's sleep, which only made me feel more tired. I woke up to Papyrus' voice echoing through the cavern, he was being as loud and boisterous as usual, using the same friendly tone of voice he used when speaking to a friend. I couldn't fall back asleep with his voice echoing off the walls, so I decided to get myself up. I yawned as I walked back to the other cavern, where Flowey was, and Papyrus. I saw him sitting with Flowey in the flower patch, now under moonlight. I pulled my pocket watch out to see I had been asleep for over an hour. It was late in the day for me, given I woke up at a more proper time this morning, and I really just wanted to fall back asleep… But I can't. I never can…

Flowey and Papyrus were busy chatting away about something, Papyrus deep in thought over the subject. Flowey had a serious look about him, intently listening to Papyrus whenever he spoke. As I walked closer to them, I found out what the serious subject was.

"So they were just... gone?!" I heard Papyrus ask, leaning forward as he crossed his legs.

"It was very odd." Flowey glanced away for a moment. "Every time I had reset before then, they were home, doing the same thing, as expected. But this time, and this one time only, they were gone— no explanation! I looked all over New Home for them, even asking if others had seen them, but no one knew, and some didn't even know who I was talking about! And I knew that they knew!" he explained, expressing his confusion. "It was rare anything was different after a reset, but two people disappearing on their own? I'd never seen it before." he rubbed a leaf to his… chin, I guess? "But Frisk came soon after that, so I couldn't exactly look into it further, and to be honest… I didn't care." he stated plainly. No remorse.

"Any ideas as to where we might look for clues? Papyrus asked him.

"Ha! Are you kidding? I have no idea where to start looking for those two!" he replied smiling.

"There must be SOMETHING, somewhere, though! A note, a footprint, a lost shoe, a residual time space distortion!?" Papyrus suggested.

Wait, what-?

"Trust me, I've checked for all of those things. Well, maybe not that last one. The only device that could tell you anything about that is locked up in the lab." Flowey explained.

"The lab?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, ya'know, the one Alphys worked at." he reminded him.

"Oh yeah! In Hotland!" Papyrus understood. "There's a device that can detect time space distortions there?" he then asked.

"Yup! Ask your brother about it! He built it after all!" he told him with a wink, toward me.

Papyrus looked up and instantly spotted me in the shadows. I winced and tried to move out of sight, but it was too late. Papyrus ran right up to me, leaning over me with wide eyes.

"Sans! Is this true?! You actually ACCOMPLISHED something?" he asked me in disbelief.

"Yeah bro, heh, I wasn't always this lazy, remember?" I replied, worried about where this might lead.

He instantly grabbed me up in a hug, his face beaming with pride.

"I knew it! You do have potential! It's just buried under years of laziness mold!" he shouted as he crushed me in his brotherly embrace. "I, The Great Papyrus!, will help you wash away this lazy mold that infects your mind and body brother! Until the day you are wiped clean and shining with more physical wellness than the sun itself!" he proclaimed loudly.

"That sounds... tiring..." I wheezed.

"Forget the run around the house Sans!" he held me out in the light. "Your new exercise routine starts now!" he declared.

"It can't wait until we solve this mystery?" I asked, trying to stall his plans for me.

He thought about it for a moment...

"Holy Cow, just go already!" Flowey shouted angrily.

"Not yet poppy face, you're coming with us." I glared over my shoulder at him.

"What?! Why?" he shouted in defiance.

I jumped out of Papyrus grasp and walked over to the little flora monster.

"Something might jog your memory along the way." I stared him down.

"Good idea! And I know just the way to transport him!" Papyrus said confidently.

"Paps, he can travel through the ground, we don't have to 'transport'—"

Papyrus was already summoning a sharp bone to dig Flowey out of the ground.

"What the heck?! What are you doing?" Flowey shouted as Papyrus dug him up, lifting him along with his roots up out of the ground. "Put me back!" he snapped.

Papyrus promptly spun me around and I felt a sudden weight on my back. I turned back around and immediately noticed Flowey right behind me out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting in my hood, which was now full of dirt and weeds.

"What?! Pap, this isn't gonna work!" I began to panic.

"Of course it will! Just don't pull your hood up!" he replied, shooting me a wink.

"But… it's getting my jacket dirt-"

"SINCE WHEN DO YOU CARE HOW CLEAN YOUR JACKET IS?!" he shouted, angrier then I had ever seen him, even when he complained about that old sock. "You hardly ever wash the thing as is, Sans! We will clean it later! Now come on! We got a device to find and a puzzle to solve!" he shoved me on.

"Wait! Bro-!" I yelled out to protest this idea.

"No waiting!" he cut me off. "Either you accept working with your old enemy or accept working with your new friend!" he sternly told me.

"There's not a third op-"

"NO! Now move you lazy bones!"

I high-tailed it out of the cavern through the archway, and on through the next cavern back towards the ruins of home. Papyrus was putting a whole new kind of fear into me, and gaining on me fast with is longer, and much more fit, legs. Kinda reminds me of us as kids, heh, we'd chase each other around like this a lot. Except now, it was WAY more exhausting…!

"Just so you know Sans, I don't particularly like this idea either." Flowey's voice whispered from just behind my skull. Needless to say, this made me VERY uncomfortable. "But! If there's a chance of finding out what happened to your parents than know that I AM willing to help. I'm curious to find out myself. It might explain some things..." he told me.

What things? I wanted to ask, but all my breath and energy was going into staying ahead of Papyrus, which I was barely doing.

"Come on Sans! Work those lazy bones! You can do it!" he shouted to me in a completely opposite tone from before.

Oh. I see what he's done... And he says he hates pranks.