Chapter 9: Listen To Your Guts Kid
The skeleton woke to find Frisk and Alphys arguing with a small television. On it played animated characters, fighting among themselves quite violently. The monster and child seemed to be telling the characters to just make up already before someone died. Sans would have chuckled at the sight had his body not been screaming at him in pain. With a grunt, the skeleton rolled himself over to view his silly friends better, drawing one of their gazes almost instantly. Frisk hopped to their feet to run to him, but fell right back down the moment they moved to step forward. Clutching their head tiredly, they still tried to view him through fuzzy looking eyes.
The child looked exhausted and dirty, as though they had trudged through mucky water for a few hours. Sans watched Alphys hastily turn off the tv to sooth her little friend. However the woman had gotten here, the two seemed to have formed some sort of bond while Sans slept. The monster looked genuinely concerned for the human child that insisted on trying to get to their feet. Key word there is trying; they truly were exhausted. To give the child some peace, Alphys waddled over to him quickly to look him over. The look in her eyes suggested she didn't know exactly what to look for, but that she would simply search for anything abnormal.
It wasn't uncommon for Sans to fall asleep. It was very normal, through all the timelines, for the skeleton to casually nod off and perhaps startle some people when he would not wake immediately upon their call. It had been a very long time, however, since he had slept walk. As his vision cleared with wakefulness, Sans found himself confused at the sight of Alphys' lab that he was certain they had not been in before. What's more, with the child so dirty, it seemed odd that he felt so clean. If they had followed him, if only to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't walk off something, then why was he not dirty as well?
"Frisk s-said that you suddenly passed o-out on them," Alphys explained when she saw his confusion. "They d-didn't understand why, and g-got f-frightened so they brought you h-here," she patted the bed and announced louder that he looked perfectly fine, all things concerned. Sans let the information roll around in his skull for a few minutes before it dawned on him. Memory rushed back. The experiment, the void, the magic that chilled him to the soul and the pain that came with it. Suddenly his aches made more sense. His eyes locked with Frisks.
They brought me here he thought, astounded. The child had carried him from snowdin, all through waterfall, just to bring him to hotland so Alphys could possibly save his life should the worse happen. Not only that, but they had kept him completely out of every sort of dirt and muck that they had trudged through. Sans may be a skeleton but he wasn't exactly light. He was definitely heavier then the kid so how had they managed it all alone? Their fuzzy eyes betrayed nothing of their actions, only their concern for him.
Sighing, Sans shoved himself up to sit on the edge of the bed, his slipper-less feet dangling over the side. The pain it brought almost caused him to lie back down, but the familiar look in the kids eyes, that deep, unwavering concern for his health above all else, reminded him too well of his brother. He never could say no to the taller skeleton; especially when he flashed him that look. Puppy eyes? Yeah he could get past that. But this? Nah, he was powerless. Where had the kid learned that look from, he wondered.
"Stop lookin' like I kicked your dog, kiddo, m'okay," he smiled at them, watching the relief flood their face with satisfaction. Easy to worry, easy to reassure. He knew they weren't stupid, just like how Papyrus wasn't stupid, and decided that perhaps they simply knew more about what happened then he did. It was something they had lived, after all. What was it they had said? It's like being born a second time and having to mature immediately; the growing pains are terrible. The skeleton had not experienced growing pains in a very long time, but recognized the terrible ache in his bones if he tried to think back far enough. Groaning, he adjusts his position on the bed, swinging his bare feet slightly. He decides to not ask what happened to his slippers.
Unsure of the real reason Frisk had brought the older monster to the lab, Alphys announced that Sans should watch the show with them and scurried around to make a comfortable 'nest' out of blankets and pillows in front of the tv. Sans tried to stay on the bed, not wanting to move more then he had to, but Frisk had to help him down before the lizard dragged him. She was very passionate about her anime.
When settled down on the floor, Alphys started the show over from the beginning. Frisk tapped along to the song while the lizard sang. Sans leaned back, more watching his friends reactions then watching the show. People would be heading home soon. The threat of the demon gone meant safety. He hoped Frisks new outfit would confuse everyone well enough to keep them from thinking it was them. Monsters saw clothes in a much different light then humans. What one wore was an expression of their personality and feelings, they rarely changed from what they decided on. Humans, on the other hand, had a wide variety of clothes they felt expressed them. Those along with what was socially acceptable and what was meant for home only created a difficult portrait to paint of the individual. Sans hoped this could work to their advantage, at least until everything was put to rest.
Although Frisk was watching the show, they periodically glanced at Sans, looking for any change in his complexion that would signify anything unhealthy. Perhaps the whole dying thing didn't have to happen right away. He didn't mind the attention. He'd know if he was going to be burned up by his own magic but understood that they didn't know the feeling. A few theories about the pain in his body floated around his skull, but he would have to wait to put them to paper. Not that he would ever forget them any way. He never forgot anything when in a stable timeline. It was simply easier to map out possibilities when he could tape them to a wall and mark all over them.
By the time the show ended, Alphys was crying over the death of her new favourite character, Frisk was fast asleep on his stomach and Sans was watching the ceiling with half lidded eyes. Without any provocation, Alphys began to explain that it wasn't a show, it was a season of a show on one disk, and it had many episodes in it. She dove into a deep explanation of everything that happened during the season, theorizing all it could mean and why. It occurred to the skeleton that Alphys would probably be a worth while asset in the kids attempt to revive the dead monsters. At least, she knew how to utilize determination to repair and even mutate bodies. Perhaps it could be used to make new ones from old dust. Yet, something held his metaphorical tongue. Thinking on it all, as worthy an asset she would be, perhaps she would be obsessed with getting her love back, and would focus on the crazier aspects versus the reality. And on the off chance it didn't work... No, maybe he'd wait to talk to Frisk about it first.
The lizard put in the next show, sorry, the next season of the show into her disk reader and settled down to watch it. She passed out before the second episode could even begin. Making sure to be quiet, which he was quite good at, Sans nudged the human into wakefulness and gestured to the door. The nod sleepily and help him leave the room to the desk and chair Alphys kept in the main room.
[What is wrong] they sign, barely able to move their hands in a legible manner. They weren't really awake, but Sans didn't want to wait any longer.
"First things first, how'd you carry me here?" he asks, barely above a whisper. Signing was something he could read, but he hadn't used it in a long time. Not to mention there were somethings it just couldn't portray. Like his utter disbelief.
[Magic] they gesture with a shrug. [Help make you light and keep balance] they looked embarrassed. Something told him their control over their magic was pretty weak. It would explain the mud all over them. They probably tripped a few dozen times from a sudden jump in weight, or a shift of the balance on their back. Sans remembered when he was still getting used to magic, it was pretty rough sailing for a few years until he just developed his own little tricks to help him.
"I'll tutor you later," he winks. They nod thankfully. "Another thing," Sans says after a long pause. "I was thinking Al could help, but..." He glances around the room. He didn't want to tell the child right out that he didn't trust their new friend.
"She is... A bit much sometimes," they offer. He nods slowly. That wasn't the exact point, but it was close. "Maybe with just... The dust?"
"That's what I was thinkin', she's real good with building. A real techy. Maybe we'd be able to figure out how to make things stable but it would take us forever. She already has everything here..."
"I will... Ask her later," they smile reassuringly, easing his soul. He wasn't bad at delicate topics like that, but it wasn't really his place to tell the lizard they could bring back her love and then not tell her how. Frisk was so much better at being compassionate; he was just too apathetic for it. Sans could handle the finer details once the monster was calm. The skeleton nods in agreement, gesturing them over. They hug him without prompt and he pets their hair.
"I'm okay bud, really. It hurts a bit, but right now I think that's it. We'll keep track, okay? I'll tell you if something feels wrong," he murmurs in their ear. "You'll be a doc by the end of all this. I'll have to go to you for check ups," he huffs a laugh, feeling them do the same. They both had some twisted sense of humor after their hell of resets, so something as simple as calling this child his personal doctor to 'patch him up' seemed hilarious. He didn't even need to say the full joke for them to get it.
"S-Sans? Frisk?" Alphys calls, waddling out of her room. "Is something w-wrong?" rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the woman seems to miss that the two are hugging long enough for them to separate. God only knows what she would think of them being caught like that. Her fantasies surely didn't end with her shows. The last thing he needed was fanfiction of him and the human circling the Undernet.
"Nah, just didn't want to wake you. Had something to ask is all," he shrugs, leaning his elbows on his knees to watch the lizard shift under his gaze. "In fact, I think the kids got a question for you too Al," he smirks at the humans grumpy look. They were exhausted, and now they would have to deal with an emotional monster. He snickered at them. With a glare, they flash some signs at him. "You want me to what?" they repeat their gestures. They wanted him to talk for them. He matches their glare. Of course they'd drag him into this. Karma.
"What is it F-Frisk? U-um you know I can't read Sign language, I'm s-sorry..." Alphys stutters worriedly. It no doubt bothered her that she couldn't understand the human. Most couldn't. Only Sans and Papyrus could, as far as he knew anyway. Maybe the queen and king could but there was no telling.
"It's okay Al, I'll translate. They don't feel up to talkin' I guess," he rolls his eyes at their triumphant smirk. Jerk kid. "They said they have something delicate to bring up, and that you should probably sit down for it. I'm just translating so don't ask me the questions. All iguana do is help," he chuckles at her red face. Alphys wasn't one for his puns but he didn't mind her getting mad. He didn't mind making anyone mad though.
The two sit on the ground with Sans to the side and between them. He had to see both of them but refused to move himself, so they sat slightly angled to him. With a definitive nod, Frisk began.
"We have this project we want to start," Sans translates. "We need your help. Frisk knows all the little things, but there's one big part we can't do alone," Sans glances at Alphys. The lizard is leaning forward intently, glancing between the two curiously. No doubt wondering why Sans can understand them but she can't. There was no point in explaining. "Al, I'm not gonna say what they want until you promise me you wont flip your lid," Sans warns the monster. She nods eagerly, promising to contain herself. The skeleton has a feeling that her promise doesn't matter though. "Alright, what'd you say buddy?" the human repeats their gestures for him.
"We want to bring our friends back," he states, not pausing to gauge the woman's reaction. "We have a set of theories to do it, but we can't without one specific thing and we don't have the knowledge to do it. Frisk thinks we can bring everyone back, if we're right about everything, but we need to start somewhere. You a'ight?" The skeleton leans back from the lizards dangerous look.
"This is not something to just dabble in, Sans. You know that," her glare was directed at him alone, her usual stutter gone in her anger. Funny what a strong enough emotion or distraction to just negate a simple nervous tick.
"Don't look at me, it was the kids design not mine. It ain't dabblin' Al, they've got solid theories. We just need your help with one aspect and that's it," he waves his hands, taking over the explanation. True to her word, Alphys toned down her reactions very well. She was a lot calmer the he had anticipated at least. It wasn't until he told her that the rest of it was something they couldn't explain to her that she lost her temper.
"What do you mean I can't know?! They're my friends too!" she screeched, standing to confront the skeleton. Frisk smoothly intercepts with calming gestures, gently leading the woman back to the ground.
"It is very dangerous," they explain. "You do your part... Because we can't. Without you... We can not... Finish everything," they smile, stroking the lizards arm. They explain that if something happens to one of them, the other can continue, but if something happens to her there was no hope. The skeleton nodded in approval. The kid was pretty good at making a slight twist of truth seem so obvious that it appeared the full truth. Alphys didn't suspect a thing. "It is safer... For everyone if you... Focus on one part... And we focus on the other. It's good team... Work," the monster nods solemnly.
It takes some soothing and calming words to coax the monster into agreeing to help, but she eventually does. Frisk looks relieved when they hear the good news, and excitedly pats Sans' leg to portray their excitement. He laughs and messes their hair in response, equally excited. Without prompt, they all decide to start in the morning, each of them terribly exhausted. Frisk gladly hops back to the nest of blankets to sleep in front of the tv, passing out almost instantly. Alphys follows to do the same, but not before Sans stops her with a quiet hum.
"You want to w-watch how they got you here?" he nods, drawing a sigh from the woman. "O-okay, just don't tell th-them I showed you," he makes a half hearted X over his chest in a mock swearing and she huffs in response. It takes mere moments for Alphys to call up the file on her computer and hand him a set of headphones to go over his skull so the tapes wouldn't wake anyone. She waddles off to bed with a wave. With a nod, Sans leans back to watch what happened.