Author's note: Thank you Dotchi13 and fanaticreader808 for your kind reviews- They really gave me the motivation to continue the story!
That night, the whole of Snowdin town was afire with gossip on what the Queen meant by a brighter future of peace, and what the changes and announcements were going to be.
Sans however, was wondering if it was worth the effort to see Toriel again. As he sprawled on his bare mattress, he noticed that his trash vortex had grown larger. The little self-sustaining tornado was a relic from his research days, and Sans wondered lazily if it would eventually grow big enough to consume him and the house. Wouldn't that be a laugh to everyone.
Dust, random bits of candy wrappers, loose notes and even one of his old physics books swirled round and round in an endless spiral. Without Papyrus doing the cleaning, the house had become a veritable pigsty. And yet he could not bring himself to care- why bother about anything, when everything was going to reset anyway?
But as he stared up into his dusty ceiling, he found his thoughts returning back to Toriel. She was special in a way that he found hard to describe. Even when she was just a disembodied voice behind a door, she had the unique ability to make him care about anything at all. Some days, the only thing that got him out of bed was the thought of hearing her laughter. It motivated him to come up with terribly outrageous puns, much to the dismay of his brother.
And now, he had the chance to get to know her better. He might as well go and see her. He had nothing to lose anyway. Since this timeline had presented him with the opportunity, he was going to take it, resets be damned…
… which was what he said to himself for the next three days. He was still lying on his crumpled bed, in clothes that had not been washed, subsisting on a diet of stale tomato ketchup. He was a mess. Getting up would take too much of his non-existent energy.
Sans wondered why the human was still not resetting. Surely it was long past time for another round in this endless bingo of chance?
BAM. BAM. BAM.
A loud rapping at his door jerked him from his thoughts.
"SANS! I know you are in there, open up!"
Sans groaned, hugging his creased bedsheet tighter. "Not in," he muttered.
"If you don't open this door right this minute, I am going to kick it down! I need to talk to you!" Undyne was as loud as ever. "It is urgent!"
Sans had no doubt she was going to break his door in. The intensity of her banging was now causing dust to fall from the quivering ceiling to his face. Sighing, he sat up on his bed and put his throbbing skull in his hands.
"I mean it Sans! If you are not here by the time I count to ten I am going to kick down your door! One… Two…"
Feeling petty, Sans waited all the way until she counted (or rather, shouted) to nine. He could almost imagine her turning purple outside.
"You know," said Sans conversationally as he finally opened the door. "Isn't the royal guard supposed to be protecting innocent civilians instead of destroying private property?"
"I'm off duty today. You are welcome to file a complaint tomorrow if you so wish," Undyne deadpanned, striding past Sans. She was not wearing her usual armour, but was instead in blue casual jeans and a black tank top.
"You look terrible," Undyne said flatly. "When was the last time you changed that jacket?"
"Why? Didn't realise you were that fussed about appearances," Sans said, shutting the door behind him. He turned and leaned heavily against the polished wood. "As I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about my clothes, what's this about?"
"Look," Undyne blurted. "Something strange is going on at the palace and there is no one else whom I can talk to about this."
With a start, Sans realized that she was trembling. Her hands had balled into fists and it seemed as though she was making a great effort to rein in her emotions.
"I…I swore an oath to serve the throne and all of monsterkind," Undyne said, her voice low. Her breath smelled of seaweed and salt. Her one eye stared at him, haunted. "You know that I would do anything, even lay down my life, in service of this kingdom."
Sans said nothing.
Undyne looked down, staring but not seeing the trash and socks that littered the space between them. The silence stretched, heavy and pregnant before Undyne finally said, "I think our new Queen is insane."
"What?" Sans stared at her in shock. He was not expecting this.
"When she took the throne, I expected her to be angry. I expected her to declare war on the humans! Both her husband and son have been killed by those murderers, and Asgore was the kindest and most gentle King… and yet the Queen didn't seem to care at all. She was so cold at the funeral dusting."
"Well, they did divorce," Sans said uncomfortably. "And they have been living apart for years-"
"And that is not the worst part." Undyne continued as though she did not hear him. Spots of colour had risen in her cheeks as she shook her head vehemently. "She just informed me to disband the Royal Guard! She wants to set in place a policy of non-hostility towards humans!"
Sans gaped at her. He knew that Toriel cared for humans, but he did not expect her to take it this far. Such a policy in the current anti-human fervour would face severe backlash.
"I tried to reason with her, but she refused to listen. Her policy is a slap in the face of all those monsters who have lost loved ones, of all of us dying down here trapped in the dark. I am not sure if she is naïve because of all those years in the Ruins but I sure as hell am NOT disbanding the royal guard! If she is not fit to be Queen," Undyne gritted out. "Then she should be replaced."
"What are you saying, Undyne?" Sans said slowly. "This is treason!"
"This is the will of the monsters," She shot back. "When the Queen publicly announces this policy of hers, how do you think everyone will react?"
A cold sweat was beginning to bead on Sans' forehead. Feigning disinterest, he changed the subject. "So why did you come here?" He asked instead, putting his hands behind his head and grinning. "You don't seem to need any convincing about Tor- the Queen."
"I want to lead a rebellion to overthrow the Queen. Will you join me?" She stretched out a hand towards him. "We will avenge Papyrus, Asgore, Mettaton and everyone. And maybe… Alphys will allow herself to be found again."
It was a little known fact that the Royal Scientist had disappeared suddenly after the earthquake. There were rumours of strange moaning and scratching noises deep in the Underground Lab, but upon investigation, no one found anything. The only clue that there was anything amiss was a crumpled, torn note in the wastepaper basket. On it was scrawled in ugly letters, "I know what you did." But no one knew what it could possibly mean.
Sans felt the lights in his eyes wink out. He was still grinning of course, but it looked more like a grimace in the dim light.
"That's really funny Undyne," Sans said without mirth. "So what's the punchline? That you will crown yourself Empress?"
"There is no punchline," said Undyne grimly. "It is what needs to be done. The Queen is mad, and what she is doing will destroy us all. Look at how just one human could cause so much chaos and destruction! If another human falls down here and we are defenseless…" she shuddered at the thought. "I will die before I let that happen!" She said fiercely.
One look at Undyne's determined face told Sans that the captain would not be shaken from her stance. It would be very easy to just not care, to say good luck and send her on her merry way to a bloody revolution.
But the image of Toriel rose stubbornly in his mind. He thought of those gentle, kind eyes, and how she pleaded with him to protect the human. "Please," she had said, and Sans could hear the tears in her voice. "If a human ever comes through the door, could you please please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them."
She was so earnest in her plea. In it carried her hopelessness and desperation, the raw fear of a mother about to lose her child. She must have been so desperate to confide in him, a nameless faceless stranger on the other side of a locked door.
He knew that Toriel was not mad.
Sans looked down at Undyne's proffered hand, but made no move to take it.
"What," said Undyne waspishly. "Are you telling me you actually agree with that-"
"I am not agreeing with anything," Sans cut in. "I just think that you are not being very fair to the Queen."
"What?" The captain of the royal guard stared at him. A familiar purple colour started to blot her blue cheeks. "What do you mean I'm not fair?" The outstretched hand slowly closed in on itself tightly. Her yellow eye glinted dangerously, and she bared her full set of sharp pointed teeth.
Undyne was stubborn, but she was also proud.
"I have just lost my brother," Sans said harshly. He saw Undyne flinch, and pressed his advantage deeper. "And Asgore was like a father to you as well. You of all people would know what I am feeling. The underground had fallen into despair and is now only getting hope back because of the new Queen. It is not right if she is deposed so quickly without finding out the real reasons behind her actions."
"So what do you propose we do?" Undyne ground out, folding her arms across her chest.
"Give me a few days. She said that her door was always open right? Let me talk to her."
Sans could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage. He wondered why he was feeling so anxious. Completely irrationally, he also wondered if the ketchup stains on his old jacket could be washed out.
"Fine," Undyne finally said, glaring at him. "But if she doesn't change her mind, she will regret it. Once the people know what she is planning to do, it will turn nasty very quickly. I will wait for your judgment then, Sans. Don't take too long."
And then she was gone, opening and shutting the door on the silent, lonely house.