Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale.

Iterations

Cave-in

He was scavenging alone today. Undyne had barreled into their home early this morning. Apparently, a tunnel on the east end had collapsed. Papyrus had run off to help, stuffing Frisk into his ribcage as he ran out with uncharacteristic subtlety. He trusted him to keep her hidden. Undyne had held him back, encouraging him take a supply run. The monsters that they were able save would need more materials to rebuild.

He had made twelve trips already and his bones were trembling with the effort it was taking just to remain standing. He stumbled, his magic flaring almost as if it had its own will. Instead of hitting the rough gravel of Hotland, he thudded softly down onto familiar itchy carpet. He felt the pinpricks of light in his eyes dim and watched as his eye-sockets shut.

Barely over an hour later, he woke. He rolled onto his back with a groan. Everything ached. He pushed off the ground with cautious hands, testing if he was strong enough to hold himself up again. Shaking off the weariness, he gazed around. A ball of blankets. A treadmill running at walking speed. A self-sustaining tornado of trash. He was home.

The lump in his throat and stinging in his eye-sockets took him by surprise.

He would like to say that before all the resets and craziness, he had just been another monster. He would like to b able to say that he worked hard to pay for necessities, had an honest relationship with his brother, and had great friends that he could confide in. That before all this, he had made connections. Had meaningful relationships with those around him.

But that would make him a liar.

He had withdrawn from the world around him long before Frisk ever fell into that patch of golden flowers.

He had not set foot in this house months. With everything that had been going on, he barely had a moment to think of things left behind. Even then, he had narrowed his focus down to things Papyrus would have missed. He had always been good at distracting himself from his own issues. In the few moments he had to consider his own treasures collecting dust in their abandoned former home, he never could rationalize risking the trip.

But he was here now and he would not waste the opportunity.

Notes were vital from one loop to another, but to Sans, only two objects held any sort of personal importance. He made sure to take them with him.

Teleportation came easily to Sans. He had been doing it for so long. The magical cost, however, was high. A manipulation of time and space to open other dimensions to create his shortcuts, the cost grew exponentially as the mass he transported grew. He had managed only a few more trips before the materials he had amassed would have to be enough. Any more and he would run the risk of becoming stranded without an untraceable way back or magic to defend himself. His return to the Outskirts was jarring, sending him tumbling and the supplies clattering to the floor around him. He was glad he had not been transporting anything delicate.

"yup," he muttered to himself, face-planted on the ground. "definitely not doing that anymore for a while."

He walked down to the Stockpile, the tunnel they had chosen to act as the storage for their supplies. The tunnel branched off from the larger one that housed Alphys' (and, unofficially, Undyne's) tent. He was not sure if Undyne stayed over most nights because of the scientist or duty. He knew that in other iterations they had been a couple, but they were just as likely not to be. It was not a secret that Undyne had to stop monsters from sneaking supplies out of the Stockpile. She hated doing it, knowing that they were all desperate, but rationing was strict these days. Everyone needed something. He shook away the thought. He still had work to do. While he did not have the magic to teleport at the moment, he had plenty to perform menial tasks. The supplies floated blue in the air around him. He sorted the materials into the proper categories. Food with food. Wood with wood. Clothing and blankets and heavy curtains that could be used as blankets all together. Very few oxygen tanks. There were not many of them left to scavenge. He would need to ask Alphys to get started on manufacturing them soon. Taking the clipboard hanging from a nail on the wall, he updated the new inventory quantities.

Hanging it back on the wall, he cracked his knuckles. He may be low on magic but he was stronger than he looked. He could still help.

They were making slow progress. Each boulder was carefully extracted. The walls around were reinforced as they went along. Loose dirt was just as dangerous as as falling stone. They had saved a few, immediately passing through to volunteers who had some sort of medical experience. They had been lucky. Most doctors lived in the Capitol. But they had found dust in empty clothing more often than they found survivors. Frisk was being violently tossed into the bones of Papyrus' ribcage as he trembled. He had never felt so acquainted with death. She had been consistently pulsating determination. Soft, gentle pulses to calm him and give encouragement though she could not see from inside his shirt. Suddenly, his quaking lessened.

She brushed herself gently against one of his ribs. A question.

Papyrus looked around cautiously before answering. He had put himself to work close enough to hear any yells for aid from the other volunteers, but far enough that they would not be able to hear him should he need to speak to Frisk. "SANS IS HERE. HE'S TALKING TO UNDYNE."

He seemed to slump slightly. He could feel her soul brush up against him again.

"OH... IT SEEMS SHE HAS SET HIM TO WORK AT THE OTHER SIDE."

A comforting wave rippled through him.

"I'M A TERRIBLE BROTHER."

Denial. Steadfast and firm.

"I AM," he insisted. "I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT HE WAS WEAK. HIS STATS... THEY'RE ONES ACROSS THE BOARD. ATK. DEF. HP."

Frisk did not respond.

"WHEN HE WENT UP AGAINST THE HUMAN... HE DODGED EASILY. HE DID MORE DAMAGE THAN ANYONE ELSE HAD BEEN ABLE..." he trailed off.

She waited.

"WHEN I TELEPORTED, I COULDN'T EVEN CONTROL WHERE I WENT. GETTING TO THE UNDERGROUND WAS PURE CHANCE. I HAD NOTHING LEFT AFTER AND I FAINTED. ALL THAT MAGIC EXPENDED IN A SPLIT SECOND. I DON'T THINK I COULD EVER DO IT AGAIN."

He paused.

"BUT SANS, HE TELEPORTS FREQUENTLY. ACCURATELY. WITH OTHERS. WITH SUPPLIES. AND HE HAD ENOUGH TO FIGHT AFTER, WHILE I COULDN'T EVEN MANAGE TO SUCCESSFULLY MOVE MYSELF. THAT TYPE OF CONTROL. THAT KIND OF POWER. THAT TAKES HARD WORK."

He let out a shaky breath and swallowed hard.

"SANS TELLS ME EVERYDAY THAT HE'S PROUD OF ME. THAT I'M THE BEST. THAT I'M STRONG... BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER A DAY THAT I DID NOT CALL HIM LAZY."

A/N: Sorry I've been gone so long. I went home for the holidays. Then I ended up getting sick. The new school quarter has started and I needed to prepare beforehand. You can expect me to update much more frequently now though.

So, I wonder how you all feel about this chapter. I wonder if any of you can guess what Sans "treasures" is? Also, our trio may be getting another person (or another couple of people -wink wink-) on their side soon. Look forward to it.

Until next time friendlies,

Dfsemina