Chapter 16

The forest was just as peaceful as he remembered.

Sans had wondered why Toriel had been willing to give up her entire life as Queen to live amongst humans, even if they were her creations. And, of course, her fury when she realized her own husband was going to to not only allow but order the creation of Death had undoubtedly been immeasurable. Despite those circumstances, Sans had never quite understood why she would give up everything she had, her status, friends, and even her own family, just to defy Asgore's decision. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much the calm tranquility of her chosen abode would appeal to her. She was free here, able to do as she wished without worrying about the reactions of others. Then again, it was also likely that she realized she would need to escape to a quiet place in order to control herself. Sans had no doubt that if Toriel had remained in the heavens, she would have attempted to intervene during the ritual of his birth, with potentially disastrous consequences. She was likely aware of that herself, which could have led to the decision to remove herself from the temptation.

Those thoughts carried him to the outer edge of her Sanctuary, and he raised an eye-socket as he realized the barrier was still up. More than that, it had been substantially reinforced, probably in an effort to keep him out. He snorted at the thought. The only reason he'd bothered with walking in the normal way was to give himself time to think about the best way to approach her. He could've just teleported straight in, and she knew it.

"Well, I don't really feel like taking this thing down again," he thought. "Not worth the effort. Looks like I'm taking a shortcut after all."

Toriel was waiting in her garden, her apprehension growing as she sensed Death's approach. Having met him twice now, she knew exactly what his presence felt like, and she picked him up as soon as he set foot in the forest. She'd been mulling over his chosen path in her head as he drew nearer. Last time, he had just appeared right behind her, why was he bothering to walk through the whole forest? Was he doing it just to taunt her? Did he want her to feel his slow, inevitable approach? A small part of her suggested that her reinforced barrier made it impossible for him to just teleport straight in, but she throttled it almost instantly. She wasn't going to fall victim to that mistake. She could not afford to underestimate him, and he'd already proven that he was easily her equal in terms of power. Now, she felt him stop at the edge of her Sanctuary, no doubt he'd noticed her barrier. Then, his presence vanished, and Toriel rose as she felt it materialize in front of her.

Death appeared out of a swirling cloak of shadow, his form moving like liquid, but quickly solidifying. His scythe was sheathed on his back, and he regarded her with clam, dispassionate eyes. She hated those eyes. They seemed to stare into her, as if they could see everything she'd ever done. All of her triumphs and regrets laid bare. And yet, they also looked at her without a trace of condemnation. As if, despite the fact that he knew how much she hated him, he no longer blamed her for it.

And that made it infinitely harder for her to label him as nothing more than a monster.

Sans himself was only slightly aware that his gaze was having any kind of effect on Toriel. He watched her closely, and his experience in judging humans showed him the subtle changes in her face and emotions. She was… upset? Or perhaps irritated. As if she couldn't accept her own feelings. Sans gave himself a mental shake and decided to get on with the business at hand.

Toriel, however, beat him to it again.

"Why did you return?" she asked.

Sans mulled over his response before settling on, "Thought I should let you know you were right. I had a nice long chat with my old man, and he spilled the beans. Seems I'm made of Darkness after all."

"Old man?" Toriel thought. "He must be referring to Gaster." She wasn't surprised by that. It didn't take a genius to realize that Gaster was pretty much the only god capable of creating something like Death. More importantly, he was admitting that she was right, which meant she might be able to stop him from reaping her children.

"And have you decided to change anything now that you know the truth?" she asked.

Sans's eye-sockets narrowed at that comment. "So that's what she was hoping for when she dropped her little surprise on me. She wants me to abandon my duty. Of course, if I had a choice, I probably would." But giving up his purpose as the God of Death was the one thing he simply could not afford to do. The balance of the world depended on it. He might laze around, and only do the bare minimum necessary, but he could never give it up completely. Unfortunately, trying to make Toriel understand that was not going to improve their relationship.

"Eh, not really," he replied.

He saw the spike of anger in her eyes, and he raised a hand before she could reply.

"Look, I don't know exactly what you expected, but in hindsight, the fact that I'm made from Darkness really doesn't change anything about what I have to do. So I'm not made of the same stuff you are. Who cares? I'm still just as real as you, and as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters."

Toriel seemed to sag. Her last hope that she could rid herself of Death's curse had just vanished. She gave him another glare and said, "You've said what you came to say. Leave."

Sans hesitated. He hadn't gotten a single clue about Chara from her yet, but his instincts told him that trying to get anything out of Toriel right now was not a good idea.

So he simply shrugged and said, "Fine," and he disappeared with a flick of his cloak. Toriel watched him go, and then she broke down, sobbing into her robe.

Sans laid down in his bed with a sigh. It had been about a year since he last spoke to Toriel, and in that time, he'd discovered three more instances of Chara and Flowey's bloody handiwork. All of the victims had been acolytes, and they'd all been tortured for something. He'd come close to catching them after their last kill. These days, he and Papyrus always went reaping together and Papyrus was detecting Chara's victims quicker each time. Sans himself had also honed his powers to the point where he could teleport to a person instantly just by thinking of their name. As soon as Papyrus told him about that third victim, he'd been at the scene. As quick as he was though, Flowey had been slightly quicker. The single lance of blue fire he'd launched at the demonic flower had missed by barely a second, but it had missed. Still, his partial success seemed to have inspired a certain amount of caution in his targets. There hadn't been anymore incidents for over eight months now. Things were starting to get boring again, and that made him uneasy.

"I wonder if Toriel has calmed down enough by now?" he wondered. He had tried returning to the Sanctuary the next day after their brief conversation, but she had only thrown fire at him on sight. He shuddered as he recalled her face. She'd been crying, and her anguish was so great it seemed to have its own presence. The life she had created in her Sanctuary had seemed to droop in response to her rampant emotions. She hadn't been any better a week later.

After a month of trying to get any response besides an attack out of her, he'd given up. She obviously needed some space, but how long did she need? Gods were eternal, so he had no idea how long it could take before she regained her senses. In the meantime, Chara was still running free, and if she wan't inflicting any damage right now, it was only a matter of time before she made her next move.

He sat up, and got ready to teleport. It was worth a shot. Worst case, he just had to dodge another one of her fireballs. Best case, she might actually talk to him.

He appeared in his traditional spot just outside the central clearing, and he sensed her presence instantly. She was standing over by her flower bed, rearranging the blossoms into new patterns. She finished her work, turned around and slowly walked over to him.

"She looks better," Sans thought.

"You're here again?" she asked. Her tone oozed exasperation, as if she didn't really expect a reply.

Sans smiled. Well, things were already going better than he had hoped. He teleported into the top of the nearest tree and laid back. Toriel followed him with watchful eyes, and one of her hands twitched by her side. Looking down at her he said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble. Just pretend I'm not here."

Her face scrunched up for an instant before she let out a deep sigh and relaxed. She turned her back on him and began gathering her magic into her hands. Seeds formed and sprouted as she molded the new plant into existence. "Why are you even here in the first place?" she said. "Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Sans replied. "I really should be out reaping souls right about now. Would you rather me do that instead?"

Toriel spun around and almost threw a fireball at him out of reflex. She stopped herself, and considered what he'd just said. His ability to twist words had only gotten better since their last argument, and she couldn't find a way out of this one. Damn him.

"Fine," she said, her voice tinged with frustration. "Do what you will."

Sans only grinned back at her. Finally, something approaching genuine socialization. If he kept this up, he might actually get a full conversation out of her.

He sat there, watching her move about her garden, ignoring him. She planted new trees, watched as new animals were born. She occasionally sat down and meditated, probably overseeing the birth of new humans. Sans watched it all with an air of fascination. For a moment, he was able to forget about his mission concerning Chara as he watched Life work her miracles.

After a few hours, he realized the sun was beginning to set. He'd have to leave soon. He wasn't going to learn anything about Chara this visit, but so far he was moving in the right direction. Maybe he could get her to talk to him one more time before he left. He was working on a good way to start a conversation when he saw her bend over a bird's nest that was about to hatch. An impish grin spread across his face. He had the perfect joke for this.

He silently teleported right behind her and said, "What do you call it when the firstborn kicks its sibling out of the nest? An eggsecution!"

Toriel turned on him, her face a mixture of anger, irritation, and a very faint flicker of amusement. Flames crackled around her as she said, "If you don't leave me alone, I will incinerate you."

"You're welcome to try," he replied. "I wouldn't though."

"Oh?" she said.

"What makes you so sure I won't let slip where you've been hiding all this time?"

Toriel's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

Sans winked at her. "Oh, I would. I know I said I decided to keep quiet about this place, but I can always change my mind. And I'm sure Asgore would reward me for letting him know where his runaway wife went."

Actually, given that he had ordered the rest of the gods to let her go, he probably wouldn't, but he didn't see any reason to bring up that particular point right now.

"I am not his wife, and he no longer has any business knowing where I am," Toriel said sharply.

"Then be nicer to me, and I won't tattle."

Toriel stared at him for a few moments before saying, "Is this blackmail?"

Sans grinned evilly at her, before he raised his hands and said, "Nah, just a joke."

Toriel drew back, her face surprised.

Sans glanced at her out the corner of his eye. "Think about it," he told her. "If I tell everyone you're here, then where am I supposed to go to laze around without anyone bugging me to do my work?" He turned and smiled at her again, and this time there was some genuine warmth in it. "You're the only one who's ever let me off the job."

Toriel watched him, her eyes wide. She saw a wistfulness in his eyes, such as they were. She frowned, and lowered her head as she considered his words. Finally she looked up and quietly said, "You sound like… you don't really like your 'job'."

Sans stiffened. He hadn't meant for her to figure that out. He quickly reached up and pulled his hood over his head, but not before Toriel got a glimpse of his shocked expression. Without looking at her he said, "It makes me bone-tired."

He departed, leaving Toriel alone once more. She thought about what he had said, and about what she had seen on his face. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth.

"Ha….."