Sans' eyelights glowed just a bit more noticeably in the low light of the sudden shadow. Like two tiny stars shining in the deep darkness of his eye sockets. Toriel often found herself fascinated by them and the way they reflected his true emotions even when he was putting on his most confident acts. He could force a smile all he wanted, but those small lights never lied. Every waver, flicker and sudden change in brightness betrayed something going on in the skeleton's soul.

At that moment, they were reflecting one thing… fear.

In his usual fashion, he was doing his best to appear composed as he prepared to discuss his childhood. His grin was weak but would probably seem genuine to most, and his loose posture would seem to indicate he was rather relaxed. But the lights of his eyes were dull and quivering, giving away the true severity of his anxiety. That, and it is rather hard to hide how tense you are when you are so close to someone else.

Toriel could only hope that her presence and gentle shows of support could help stave off the worst of his unease. If what he was indicating about his early life was as bad as he made it seem, he would certainly need the help to get through this.

She ran her thumb pad over the back of his hand as he gathered his thoughts, watching his eyelights all the while for any sign of change. Eventually, they sharpened with decision and he spoke up once more, his voice much quieter than before.

"the doc… made me first. you probably could've guessed that, with me being the older brother and all…" He began, pulling his legs in to sit with them crossed.

GB shifted slightly to stay in place in his lap, pushing his muzzle under Sans' free hand to keep it on top of him. The skeleton didn't react other than to pull the blaster a little closer. His gaze was seemingly locked on a small patch of flowers growing near the edge of the willow dome. There were a fair number of varieties dotted about the clearing, perhaps the results of one of Asgore's visits to this place.

Sans seemed to be watching a certain section in particular, a small cluster of forget-me-nots that trembled lightly in the faint breeze. The flowers were being rather smothered by an aggressive slew of weeds but some pushed up just enough that their pale blue color was visible. Even with the dome in shadow, their hues stood out amongst the sea of green.

"he called me "the prototype." Sans continued, eyelights still trained on the flowers as he spoke.

"basically, i was just uh… a test… he didn't intend for me to survive. i was just a trial run for once he got his initial calculations in place, so he could work out all the flaws before investing in the real deal." That small spark of anger crept back into his voice, but there was less fire behind it, perhaps overshadowed by his nerves.

"so… um… when he first injected my newly formed soul with the human traits. my soul uh… cracked. it was too much for it. he would learn from that how to temper the traits better when he got around to making pap… but uh… yah…" He shuddered lightly, and Toriel noticed him move to grip at his shirt over his chest. He squeezed the white fabric between his phalanges as he continued speaking.

"somehow though, he got me stabilized, but well… the damage had been done. it uh… hindered my ability to develop properly. from what he told me, i barely clung to life while my soul was… "incubating" in the development chamber he kept it in. and when my body finally formed, i was… well… tiny." His smile widened a bit, but not for any actual amusement.

"he did an experiment to accelerate my growth regardless, like i said, he essentially saw me as a lab rat… didn't really care too much it if actually worked or not. he pumped my soul full of magic and whatever else he had to get me to age up faster. i went from being a baby bones to basically like a seven year old in a little under a year. turned out that, shockingly, that also ended up being a bad idea." Bitter sarcasm dripped from his tone at that, and Toriel could tell he was doing his best to keep his voice steady.

"He also did… something, not too sure what, to instill a bunch of information into me before i ever even opened my eye sockets for the first time. so, I was kind of "born" with a basic understanding of how the world works…or at least how the doc's world worked. certainly made things easier for gaster, not so much for me…heh"

A soft concerned whine from GB briefly drew Sans' attention to him, but the skeleton did not free either of his hands to pat him. But he did flash a weak smile at the blaster in an attempt to placate him. GB frowned and whined again, quieter this time, but reluctantly settled back in Sans' lap. His wielder paid him little mind, staring blankly back at the small patch of flowers. When he started speaking again, it was faster and Toriel felt his hand trembling again even in her grip.

"when i finally was uh… taken out of the chamber… i was real weak and sick… like sick to the point where i could barely move, couldn't eat and my soul was flaring up with fever. plus i was, ya know… still really small. it's no surprise i ended up with such garbage stats. 1's all across the board. even for a kid that's scary low… guess creating artificial monsters isn't something you ever nail on the first try… heh, funnily enough though, i started out with 5 hp back then, it didn't drop down to 1 like everything else until much later…"

He trailed off for a moment, his eyelights fuzzy and unfocused. Toriel, mind in a whirl over all this, was about to speak up in response. But Sans snapped back to attention and began talking in quick spurts again, preventing her from doing so. Unlike before, there wasn't the same hesitation when he spoke. The words seem to come easily now, but maybe a bit too easily… Toriel couldn't help but feel like he was starting to sound a bit unhinged.

"i really struggle to remember this part well but… it was weird because I could talk and I could understand what ol g and the other scientists were saying, but i had a hard time really comprehending anything." He continued, curling his phalanges tighter around her paw.

"it's all kind of a haze, but even after i somehow pulled through my first bout of illness, i was sick all the time tori… and i was just so weak… my bones would snap like twigs from any real pressure… even now i really can't say how i ended up surviving through it all, especially with how the doc and the others just… injected me constantly on a whim with whatever concoctions they came up with. i guess some of it must have worked in a way… seeing as I am alive at the moment, but man it sure did put me through hell…"

Sans stopped talking as the shadow from the cloud above finally passed and small shafts of sunlight shone down on the three of them again. Sans looked up at the ceiling of willow leaves above and squeezed at his shirt again, right over the spot where his soul would be. After a few moments, he turned and met Toriel's gaze. She must have had a rather dismayed look on her face, because Sans chuckled wearily at the sight of her.

"grim enough for ya yet?" He asked flatly, tilting his skull to the side a bit.

Toriel let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and swallowed hard. Well, he certainly hadn't been lying earlier about this being bad. All of this was easier to process on a conceptual level, but that didn't make what he was describing any less horrifying. How could Asgore have let this happen? It was one thing for him to sacrifice his morals regarding the humans. No matter how terrible that was, she could at least see how he could rationalize his actions. But this? Experimenting on monster children? She had thought, perhaps hoped against the odds, that the brothers being injected with the human traits was the extent of the experiments done on them. Clearly that was not the case.

It all left her feeling horribly sick, only worsened by a sudden stab of guilt. If she hadn't left the throne, she could have prevented this. She would have never allowed something like this to be approved or even enter the realm of discussion in the first place. Part of this… was on her. Then again, if she had been there to stop this… Sans would have never existed at all. That idea spurred conflicting emotions in her soul causing her to stammer when she spoke again.

"Oh Sans… I… If I had only known, I would have done something… I would have never let them… I-I cannot believe that this… I am so-"

She was cut off when he tightened his grip on her paw and spoke over her, voice suddenly rather calm.

"tori… don't start blaming yourself for this okay? it wasn't your fault… i don't think it was even asgore's fault. I'm pretty sure ol fluffybuns never knew the full extent on what gaster was doing with the souls… after all, the doc was sure to hide us away from everyone except himself and his team. i never saw the king growing up, only heard about him second-hand… so uh… don't get too angry at him. even if he did have some part in it, he wouldn't remember anyway. those memories would have been destroyed along with the doc himself…h-heh."

He trailed off and his eyelights wavered, becoming hazy. He gripped at his chest even tighter, and sweat dripped down his skull. The sight made Toriel's guilt grow even worse, but not for the same reasons. She really had to stop being so reactionary to every bit of information Sans revealed. Otherwise they'd never get through this. It was good to hear that Asgore may have not been as complicit in such heinous acts as she thought, but that was not enough to justify once again making Sans attempt to comfort her.

He was the victim here, he was the one who had lived through all the horrific things he was talking about. He was the one who needed the reassurance and comfort, not her. She needed to be strong for him right now and stop being so easily rattled. If he thought she was getting too upset, he could easily lose the will to do this. She needed to keep her choice of words and questions constructive. Wallowing in her guilt was out of the question right now.

She gave him a gentle squeeze, pulling him close briefly and letting it be a of sort of silent apology. Sans didn't really react, but his eyelights became more focused again. She stroked his hand tenderly as she gathered the strength to reply.

"Very well my friend, I will not fret over assigning blame for now… I am just… so sorry that you had to endure any of that…" She said, keeping her tone gentle. There was so much more she wanted to say and ask him, but she held her tongue for the moment.

The skeleton didn't reply, looking more and more out of it by the second. Toriel eyed the way he was clutching so tightly at his shirt and frowned in concern. "Sans, are you okay? would you like to stop for now? it is perfectly fine if you need a break, my friend."

Sans narrowed his eye sockets a bit and he shook his head, expression stiff. "nah, i uh… i need you t-… i want you to know what the doc and his group did tori… he's gotten off scot-free all this time… someone besides me needs to know the extent of his actions… even if the bastard's not here to be judged for it…"

His eyelights guttered out completely, leaving his sockets dark. His anger, which had up to this point been restrained or overpowered by unease, now was front and center. She could feel it in the unsteady waves of magic flowing from his soul, and from the way his grip on her hand tightened to the point that it almost hurt. Despite his sudden rage surprising her, she did not flinch from it. Emotions like these were something she knew how to handle better than his usual detached apathy. His odd behavior worried her still, but she wasted little time before nodding in response.

"Alright, I understand my friend. Just… do not force yourself, as I said before, there is no rush." She reminded him, making sure to keep her own anger on his behalf under control.

She may not be able to remember this Doctor Gaster, but from what Sans had shared so far, she felt she had a good read on just what kind of monster he was. Anyone who would hurt a child, much less treat a child the way Sans had been treated, was the lowest form of scum in her eyes. She fought not to let any flames build up in her throat.

Sans made a soft, half-hearted sound of acknowledgement, but did not reply to her words beyond that.

After a few moments, GB let out another soft whine at the tense atmosphere, giving Sans a more insistent nudge. The skeleton's eye sockets remained dark, but he did finally pull his hand away from his chest and lay it back on top of the blaster's head. He swept a hand down the length of GB's muzzle.

"s'okay boy…" Sans said quietly, his false grin widening. "we're just talking bout ol g. you remember him, right?"

The blaster grumbled in a confused tone and he shook back and forth slightly in a "no" motion. Sans' eerie expression stayed firm, giving the blaster another pet.

"sure ya do… you tried to protect me from him a few times remember? he was always shouting and calling me "prototype". He sent his own blaster after you and it bit down on ya until you cracked all down the middle. you gotta remember that… it took me weeks to fix ya up." Sans pressed, voice icy and unsettlingly calm given his clear anger.

GB's eyelights shrank to pinpricks as realization crossed his features. He whimpered fearfully and shuddered, pressing hard against Sans' middle. Toriel saw a hint of blue magic flaring in the blaster's jaws as well. She suppressed a shiver of her own, picturing sweet, gentle, GB's skull cracked and caved in. It only further fueled the hot fury burning in her own soul. She blew out another hot puff of smoke from her nostrils, gritting her teeth.

She let that be the only indulgence of her own anger though, as concern for Sans returned in earnest. Her friend really wasn't acting like himself, especially since he seemed unfazed by GB's obvious distress. He had made no move to comfort the blaster. He had simply turned his gaze back to the blue flowers across from them, eye sockets still distinctly empty. If his eyelights were like stars, his lightless sockets were like black holes, almost hypnotic in their encompassing darkness. She wanted to say something to bring back the familiar light to his eyes, but Sans was already continuing with his tale, voice strained.

"after i recovered from my initial illness, i spent my days undergoing test after test, experiment after experiment. whatever came to those scientist's heads." He said, grin unnaturally wide and stiff. Sweat beaded down his skull as he talked and he pulled his hand away from hers to gesture with as he spoke.

"they didn't care how sick it made me or how much pain i was in. if i'd start crying or trying to get away from them or whatever they'd be sure to remind me over and over just how selfish and disappointing i was." He went on venomously, and Toriel could feel him beginning to tremble all over.

"how dare i interfere with their work and put monsterkind's future in jeopardy for my own sake. how dare i complain when i was serving such an important purpose. how dare i try to destroy everyone's hopes and dreams by only thinking of myself!" the volume of his voice rose with every repetition of that phrase and his grin took on a manic quality.

Toriel and GB stared at him in shock, but he didn't even seem to be speaking to them anymore. He was completely caught up in his own spiraling anger. His left eyelight blazed to life, the alternating colors flashing in a disorienting manner and Toriel could see arcs of blue magic flaring about his hands.

"it didn't matter… it didn't matter how much I suffered just so long as they got their damn data so they could finalize their perfect weapon… my little brother!"

Those last three words were shouted loud enough to stun everything around them into silence. For a few moments after, no birds sang, no bugs buzzed, Toriel even swore the leaves of the willow all froze in place. All she could hear was Sans' heavy breathing and the quiet rattle of his bones. Another cloud passed overhead and blocked out the sun, casting them all in shadow once more.

In all the time she'd known him, Toriel had never heard him raise his voice like that. Hell, she'd never heard him raise his voice at all. Sans was always so soft spoken, no matter the situation. Even his most genuine laughter was quiet and subdued. Hearing him actually yell like that made her realize just how much he'd been bottling up his emotions all this time. It should be normal to hear someone get angry every once in a while, even kindhearted Papyrus and her sweet Frisk sometimes succumbed to it. The fact that it was such a shock to hear it happen with Sans only convinced her further of the importance of all this.

Still though, this was getting out of hand. Sans wasn't himself. He was letting his anger overwhelm him, clearly not used to dealing with it at all. Nothing about that was going to help him at this point and the risk of him losing control of his magic was a real and dangerous one. A strong enough uncontrolled magical surge could lead to him damaging his soul. And with only 1 HP… There was no question, he needed to calm down. Thankfully, Toriel had dealt with situations like this before.

Back when Chara was living with her, the human child had been prone to emotional outbursts. Their previous life had left them with many scars, leading to even small situations causing them to blow up. Outbursts of anger were most common with them, often resulting in lots of screaming and attempted acts of violence, usually on themself. Learning to deal with those situations back then had instilled in Toriel the techniques she could now use to help Sans.

Luckily, even Sans' overwhelming anger at the moment didn't hold a candle to Chara's worst breakdowns. She was confident she could handle this. But she had to be careful how she approached it. Sans was certainly not a child and despite his continual insistence of how weak he was, his magic was still potentially dangerous to all of them. She took a steadying breath, pushing back all the pain that had gripped her soul from everything Sans had just revealed. She could focus on the horror of it all later.

She motioned to GB to back away from Sans and the blaster obeyed without question, still anxiously eyeing his wielder all the while. Sans didn't react, clearly on the verge of exploding into another bout of furious ranting. Without the blaster to cling to his phalanges curled into fists in his lap and his frantic smile widened even further. He drew in a breath, likely to fuel his next tirade, but before he could get a word out, Toriel spoke over him.

"Sans." She gently but firmly said his name, moving so that she was directly in front of him.

She lightly put both her paws on his shoulders, applying just enough pressure for it to register and steady him. As she expected, his rage momentarily directed itself at her and she found herself facing down his blazing eyelight. Its dizzying colors flashed across both their faces, far more intense now that they were all in shadow.

"What. . . ?" He growled as if cornered, voice carrying a strange, deep, echoey quality.

The magic racing through his bones zapped faintly at her paws, ticking away the barest fraction of her HP. She paid it no mind, unflinchingly keeping her gaze locked with his.

"Sans, please try to calm down." She soothed. "I know that you are angry. And that is more than okay, you have every right to be. But your magic is surging too much, it could endanger your soul if it gets too much worse. Just try to take a deep breath for me… it will help. Remember that you are safe, my friend."

Sans glowered up at her, his strained smile withering. Toriel prepared herself for him to lash out or possibly even shortcut away. But it became quickly apparent that wouldn't be the case. His quick, harsh breathing began to slow and he dropped his gaze to his lap, his confrontational spirit lost. His eyelight still flared like an open flame though, prompting Toriel to keep talking.

"Deep breaths now… there you go." She encouraged him, rubbing his arm gently. She slowed her own breaths too, if only to help serve as an example for him to follow.

Sans didn't say anything, but seem to heed her words, chest heaving as he reigned in his erratic breathing. The anger flowing from his soul began to be accompanied by fear and confusion, making Toriel's own soul ache for him as he shook and rattled before her. Toriel could tell then that his fit of anger had almost driven him into a full-blown panic attack. She thanked the stars she had intervened in time to prevent that.

"You are okay my friend… try to let your magic settle, focus it out at your fingertips and let it burn off. Try not to draw it back towards your soul or your eye socket... understand?"

She was unsure if the advice was something he truly needed, as Sans seemed to be quite knowledgeable when it came to magic. But it was certainly better to be safe than sorry in this situation, plus it seemed that her words were helping to get him grounded.

Regardless of needing the reminder or not, the skeleton obeyed her instructions, lifting his trembling hands up and directing the magic racing through his body towards the tips of his phalanges. It caused his hands to suddenly become wreathed in what appeared to be pale blue flames, with bright arcs of magic shooting between his phalanges like electricity. He winced slightly as the full extent of the excess magic he'd created in his rage fed into the ethereal fire, causing it to flare out impressively. It hit Toriel with a few stinging sparks, but she kept her paws in place all the same.

After a few more moments, the fiery display dwindled to a dull glow and then burnt out completely. His eyelight followed suit, guttering out with a final bright flash and leaving his sockets dark and empty once more. His soul's fervor now quieted, he seemed to deflate, lowering his skull into his hands and fighting against the involuntary shudders that still gripped him.

Toriel let out a breath, relief flowing through her. Confident that he was stable now, she leaned down closer to his level and gently laid a paw against his cheekbone.

"Are you alright Sans? Talk to me, please my friend…" She implored, feeling the anticipatory tingle of healing magic already gathering in her paws.

He let out a soft groan, sounding frustrated and exhausted. He didn't lift his head, but did concede in replying.

"m' f-fine…" he croaked, steadily gaining control over his shivering.

He cursed harshly under his breath before taking in and slowly letting out a deep sigh. Then his grin turned up at the ends again, though it remained noticeably shaky.

"h-heh… hoo… g-geez… what was a-all that?" He asked wearily, but it seemed to Toriel that it was a rhetorical question. She decided to answer anyway.

"Your anger got the best of you, my friend." She replied gently, running her thumb down the side of his skull. "I can hardly blame you though… given all that you have..." She bit her lip, trailing off as the specifics of his earlier recount came back to her in a flash.

She was trying not to think too hard about it all yet, but stars above… The suffering her dear friend had been through... at such a young age… Sans had painted a fairly vague but telling picture of the abuse he had suffered at this Doctor Gaster's hands, and imagining the heinous things that had been done to him made her soul swim with nausea. Her own anger from before had been tempered mostly into despair on her friend's behalf. It just wasn't fair…

She did her best to force down all her emotions again, reminding herself that she needed to stay in the moment and focus on the task at hand.

"w-well damn… didn't realize i could have s-such a…" Sans paused a moment, lifting his head from his hands a bit. "f-fiery temper…heh…"

Toriel stared at him, rather flabbergasted at his attempt at humor given the situation. He met her eyes once more, his eyelights faint but finally visible again. The cloud high above passed, and the sun's comforting warmth and light flowed over them all once more.

"heh… sorry, th-that was bad… even for m-me." he wheezed, attempting an apologetic smile.

The spark of humor in his eyelights died quickly though, a dull seriousness returning. "and uh… sorry also for… snapping at you. i…" he paused, wiping sweat off his brow. "i… really don't know why I got so heated…"

Toriel raised an eyebrow at that, pulling her paw back into her lap. Sans blinked in mild confusion then he managed a wobbly, sheepish grin.

"I didn't uh… that last one w-wasn't intentional… honest…h-heh."

Toriel shook her head, mildly exasperated. Sans really could bounce back from any harrowing experience it seemed. She knew it was all still a farce though, the terribly dark circles under the skeleton's eye sockets could attest to that. She really wished he didn't feel the need to lie like this… especially now when he needed help more than ever.

She sighed and decided to take matters into her own hands again… quite literally. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace for the third time that day. Sans almost seemed to expect it at this point, accepting and doing what he could to return the hug without any uncertainty. It even seemed to her that he was grateful for it, quick to hide his face against her shoulder and cling to the fabric of her dress. She ran a paw idly up and down his back, watching as GB happily drifted over to join the embrace as well, settling against her knee and purring deeply once more.

With hers and Sans' souls pressed so close together, she could feel his true emotions from the source. When he was in her arms like this, no act of denial on his part could hide the truth of what he was feeling. She closed her eyes, focusing on what her friend's soul was telling her.

"You are still angry Sans…" She noted softly, keeping up her rhythmic stroking.

She felt him tense, but he did not jump to deny it, staying silent.

"You are angry and hurt… and a little scared too…" She continued. "Would you deny that?"

There was a long pause, but eventually she felt him shake his head, pressing closer.

"You are more than justified in feeling like this, my friend… it is not wrong to hurt, to be angry, to be afraid… I know what just happened was rather overwhelming, but I feel that it only got to be that bad because you have not let yourself properly work through any of this before… Have you not?"

More silence met her question, but she felt him slowly shake his head again in response. A dull ache gripped her soul at hearing her suspicions confirmed. She squeezed him a little tighter.

"I am so sorry my friend. I am sorry you had to face so much torment and cruelty at such a young age and I am sorry you felt you needed to keep it a secret for so long… You did not deserve any of what happened to you. It is only natural that you'd be angry… please do not feel guilty or ashamed because of it." She implored, unable to keep her voice from breaking a bit.

Sans still did not reply, but a small shudder did run through him at her words. Toriel decided not to press the issue further, content to just hold him a while until he decided to break the embrace of his own accord.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there like that, listening to the soft sounds of nature around them. At some point, quiet snoring joined those sounds and she cracked an eye open to see that it was not Sans who had fallen asleep, but GB. The blaster had rolled onto his side and drifted off at some point, jaws twitching as his oddly reverberating snores escaped him. The sight prompted a small smile from her, and almost distracted her enough to miss Sans' quiet voice speaking up for the first time in a while.

"i just… wish i could have gotten pap out of there sooner…" he murmured softly, voice heavy with despair.

Toriel blinked at that, surprised both by his sudden speaking and what he had chosen to say. He had not gotten around to mentioning the details of Papyrus' childhood before he had become overwhelmed. He had only established that his little brother was, apparently, the perfected final product of the research in which Sans was the prototype.

Toriel suppressed a shudder, realizing that Papyrus was very likely subject to much of the same terrible abuse that Sans had been. She was beginning to understand why Sans wanted so badly to keep his brother in the dark about this. She was about to reply to Sans, perhaps at least offer him some words of comfort when a sudden sound made them both jump violently. GB leapt into the air too with a yelp of surprise.

The skeleton scrambled back from her a bit, looking bewildered as a loud musical tone filled the air. It took him a second to realize it was coming from his jacket pocket, and he reached inside to quickly pull out his loudly vibrating phone. Toriel caught a glimpse of a rather humorous picture of Papyrus displayed on the screen, depicting him with a pair of sunglasses and exaggerated fake biceps pasted over his arms. Usually this image would have brought out Sans' genuine smile, but right now he just looked terribly distressed.

He stared helplessly at the phone as it rang and vibrated in his hands, sweat dripping down his skull. He attempted to lift a phalange to hit the answer button, but just couldn't bring himself to do it, eyelights dulling as he lowered the phone into this lap.

"i… i c-can't…" he croaked out, squeezing his eye sockets shut.

Toriel understood immediately and held out her paw to him.

"Here Sans, let me." She offered.

Sans dropped the phone into her paw without even opening his sockets again. He pulled up his hood over his skull and sank his head into his hands again as she quickly tapped the answer button. A cheerful note played and Papyrus' chipper voice began coming through the phone speaker.

"HELLO? BROTHER?" He called out, joyful tone in great contrast to the previously morose atmosphere.

GB perked up at the sound of Papyrus' voice and drifted closer to listen, yipping softly in excited recognition. Toriel eyed the blaster with a weak grin as she composed herself quickly in order to reply to Papyrus.

"Greetings Papyrus... it is actually Toriel… Sans cannot come to the phone right now… he is uh…" She trailed off, eyeing the skeleton in question out of the corner of her eye.

"Sleeping." She finished flatly. The lie made her feel a twist of guilt in her soul, but the truth was not something that could or should be shared at the moment.

"OF COURSE…" Came Papyrus' response, sounding only vaguely irritated.

"WHEN IS THAT LAZY BONES NOT SLEEPING? I APOLOGIZE FOR HOW RUDE HE IS BEING MS. TORIEL. NAPPING ALL DAY INSTEAD OF SPENDING TIME WITH YOU AND MAKING YOU TAKE HIS CALLS NO LESS… SOMETIMES I SWEAR HE HAS NO SHAME AT ALL."

Toriel forced a small laugh, settling back from her knees to sit down properly.

"It is alright, do not worry about it. He only just nodded off a little while ago anyway. I do not mind spending the rest of the afternoon by myself. I have to finish up my daily snores after all." Toriel delivered the puns with a hopefully convincing cheery tone.

"GUHH, PLEASE MS. TORIEL I WAS HOPING THAT SINCE YOU PICKED UP I COULD AVOID THE PUNS FOR ONCE." He grumbled, bringing out a small, legitimate chuckle from her.

"Really? Well I suppose you do not know me all that well then." She replied, a touch cheekily.

The conversation was so normal that she had nearly forgotten the reason she was answering in Sans' place to begin with. She was reminded when she felt the skeleton move to lay against her side. He wasn't facing her but was clearly listening in. She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and kept him close as she continued with the conversation.

"ANYWAY! I SUPPOSE THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SIMPLY HAVE TO DELIVER HIS INITIAL BEACH TRAINING REPORT TO YOU THEN! PLEASE ENSURE THIS INFORMATION IS PASSED ON TO MY BROTHER WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE!" He instructed and Toriel could picture him dramatically posing along with his speech.

"I, UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE ARRIVED SAFELY AT THE BEACH AT THE EDGE OF EBOTT CITY. WE HAVE SECURED OUR LODGINGS FOR THE NEXT TWO NIGHTS AND HAVE BEGAN OUR TRAINING EXERCISES, INCLUDING AQUATIC MANEUVERBILITY TRAINING, SAND STRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION TRAINING AND SOLAR ABSORBTION TRAINING!" He declared, clearly making an effort to sound serious.

"ALL HAVE GONE SPLENDIDLY! WE PLAN TO HAVE DINNER AT A LOVELY BEACHFRONT EATERY BEFORE RETURNING TO THE BEACH TONIGHT FOR CAMPFIRE DESSERT PREPERATION TRAINING!" He paused for a moment, professional tone faltering slightly. "WELL, PERHAPS THAT LAST ONE IS NOT TRAINING PER SAY… MORE JUST MAKING S'MORES… BUT THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GIVE IT HIS ALL NONTHELESS!"

Despite all the stress her soul had endured that day, Toriel couldn't help but keep a smile on her face at Papyrus' enthusiasm and positivity. He was such a joyous and kind soul… It was hard to believe he could ever have been intended as a weapon. If Sans hadn't been the one to insist that was the case, she would not have considered it for a moment.

What would happen to Papyrus if he were to find out all that she had just been told? Would it destroy his confident and optimistic spirit? Would it hurt him as much as it was clearly hurting his brother? What was truly the right thing to do here… leave Papyrus in happy ignorance? Or tell him the truth no matter the consequences?

"MS. TORIEL? ARE YOU STILL THERE?" Papyrus asked, his voice snapping her back to reality.

"Y-yes, my apologies..." She responded quickly, doing her best to compose herself. She cleared her throat before continuing.

"It is wonderful to hear you are having a good time, my friend. I look forward to hearing all the stories you bring back with you… And I am sure you all will take lots of wonderful photos. I will have to get some more frames ready."

If Papyrus detected any of the unease in her voice, he didn't show it, replying with the same joyful zeal as always.

"OH CERTAINLY! I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN A FAIR AMOUNT WORTHY OF OUR HOME'S WALLSPACE. YOU WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE DISSAPOINTED! NYEH HEH HEH! I WILL BE SURE TO SEND YOU SOME TONIGHT AS PROMISED!"

Toriel blinked at that, realizing she had nearly forgotten Papyrus' words from earlier that day. Hell, with all that had transpired, that morning already felt to her like it had happened ages ago…

"I am sure that they will be wonderful, thank you Papyrus. I hope you all continue to have fun. Please do send my greetings and well wishes to Undyne and Alphys as well. I will pass on your message to Sans as soon as he wakes up."

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH MS. TORIEL! ..." Papyrus replied spiritedly, but trailed off for a moment. When he spoke again his voice had lost a good amount of its confident quality.

"B-BEFORE YOU GO… UM… COULD I REQUEST ONE LAST THING FROM YOU?"

Toriel felt a small pang of worry at his uncharacteristic uncertainty.

"Of course, what do you need my friend?"

"PLEASE… WOULD YOU KEEP AN EYE ON SANS FOR ME?" He implored, and Toriel felt the mentioned skeleton stiffen at her side.

"I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED BUT HE HASN'T BEEN DOING TOO WELL LATELY… IT SEEMS TO ME THAT HE IS HAVING BAD NIGHTMARES AGAIN… AND HE'S BEEN QUIETER AND MORE TIRED THAN USUAL, EVEN FOR HIM. I CAN TELL HE JUST HASN'T REALLY BEEN HAPPY FOR A WHILE NOW… EVEN IF HE DOES TRY VERY HARD NOT TO SHOW IT."

Toriel's soul clenched up within her, intense emotions gripping it. She wasn't sure if she felt relieved or worried that Papyrus had also recognized that his brother was hiding his pain. On one hand, it was to be expected that Papyrus would be able to read Sans better than anyone else, given how close the two were.

But on the other, it seemed Papyrus had been doing a rather exceptional job at hiding his own concerns until now. Just how much was he aware of? How much sadness over all this did he privately carry in his own soul? Toriel was forced to consider in that moment that perhaps the two brothers were more alike than any of them realized.

"Yes, I have noticed..." She replied softly, tightening her grip on Sans' shoulder a bit. He didn't react, acting as if he were frozen in place. Toriel heard Papyrus breathe a sigh of relief through the phone.

"I MUST ADMIT, KNOWING HE WAS STRUGGLING MADE ME HESITATE SLIGHTLY ABOUT EMBARKING ON THIS TRIP, BUT I JUST COULD NOT LET UNDYNE DOWN… SO I GUESS WHAT I AM ASKING IS, COULD YOU PLEASE LOOK AFTER HIM FOR ME UNTIL I GET BACK? PLEASE MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T JUST LIE THERE ALL WEEKEND… GET HIM TO EAT SOMETHING OTHER THAN JUNK FOOD AND MAYBE… GIVE HIM A HUG OR TWO… IN MY PLACE? I MUST SAY MS. TORIEL WHILE YOUR HUGS MAY NOT YET MATCH THAT OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS, I FEEL YOU ARE A VERY CLOSE SECOND!"

Toriel swallowed against a sudden tightness in her throat. Her soul was buzzing with worried emotions, along with an inevitable sense of irony for what he was requesting of her. She couldn't help but feel a deeper kinship with Papyrus at that moment, as two monsters who shared a deep compassion for a certain small skeleton.

"Of course Papyrus, you know that I care for your brother dearly. I will be sure to watch over him in your absence… and thank you, ha ha… I certainly will try to live up to that title." She said warmly, the last part managing to bring another small smile back to her face.

With that, Papyrus' usual chipperness returned, seemingly satisfied with her response.

"THANK YOU MS. TORIEL! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU! WELL, I MUST BE OFF! WE STILL HAVE MUCH TRAINING TO DO BEFORE DINNER! WE'VE PLANNED TO DO SOME SHELL COLLECTION TRAINING AND SOMETHING CALLED "PARA-SAILING." I SHALL CALL AGAIN TONIGHT TO GIVE MY FINAL REPORT FOR THE DAY, HOPEFULLY SANS WILL BE AWAKE TO PICK UP THEN. TAKE CARE MS. TORIEL AND THANKS AGAIN!"

"Goodbye for now my friend, have fun and I wish you well." Toriel bid him farewell before tapping the "end call" button on the phone with a claw.

She let out a heavy sigh, pressing the phone against her chest as she did so. She took a few moments to compose herself before turning to look down at Sans again. He was facing away from her, but the tension in his body told her how he had taken hers and Papyrus' conversation. She gently rubbed his shoulder, hoping he would accept the attempted comfort.

"Sans… are you alright? I suspect that hearing that from him must have been difficult…You did not know he was also aware of your struggles, did you?" She questioned quietly, even know she already knew the answer.

The skeleton's stiff posture relaxed by degrees and he turned his head towards her. His hood cast dark shadows over his face, but his eyelights still faintly glowed up at her. There were many emotions shining in those little lights, but more than anything, he just looked utterly exhausted. His false grin was weak as he wearily shook his head.

"no… but… it's not surprising…" He rasped, flinching a bit when GB drifted over to nuzzle him again. The floating skull nudged him a few times but when he got little reaction he floated down to Sans' side. Sans let the blaster wriggle under his arm, but made no move to pet him, acting as though he were barely aware GB was there at all.

"given what a mess i've been lately i wouldn't be surprised if everyone has caught on what a complete wreck i am at this point…" He covered his face with his hands, groaning softly. "now pap's gonna worry himself sick over this… i'm such a goddamn idiot…"

Toriel's eyes softened with sympathy, but she worked some firmness into her voice as she replied.

"My friend, please do not say that…" She pressed, turning to face him better and setting the phone in her lap.

"I… I am beginning to understand why you've you kept this all to yourself… why you do not want Papyrus to know… Do not blame yourself for struggling to cope with it all, on top of trying to hide it as well… You should have never had to carry that burden…"

Toriel couldn't help but feel choked up as the harsh reality of Sans' situation settled on her soul. It was a reality that she would have to bear now as well, as her promise bound her to keeping all that the skeleton shared a secret of her own. She would endure it without question though, if it meant he could have even a little weight off his shoulders.

"We will figure this out Sans… remember that you are not alone in this anymore. I am sure as you continue sharing your story, you will find your soul far calmer in the long run, and I will be able to find more ways to help you better deal with it all…" She trailed off, biting her lip a bit.

"Though, I think it would be best for us to stop for today. You have been more than willing to be open with me and I deeply thank you for that, my friend. But you are clearly exhausted, and I know this has been terribly hard on you. Let us go home for now."

She picked up Sans' phone in one paw and held out the other to him, intending to help him up. Sans didn't move, still curling his phalanges against his face. After a beat though, he did let out a wheezy chuckle and shake his head.

"nah… i… i need to finish this… we've barely even scratched the surface as it is…" He eventually said, rather breathlessly. "just… gotta not get all worked up again heh, i'm fine, it'll be fine t…"

He lowered his hands and looked up at her with an attempted smile. But Toriel was nowhere near fooled. The terrible fatigue in his voice was enough to show he was in no condition to continue recounting the dark secrets of his past. But the thing that really twisted Toriel's soul up with concern was his strange insistence to continue with all this.

Before, he had been clearly hesitant and nervous about speaking about this to her. The more he went on with his story though, the more determined he seemed to go through with it. The fact he wasn't jumping at the chance to take a break from such a trying situation was more than a little alarming.

"Sans, there is no need to continue with this today." She reiterated, worry faintly detectable in her voice. "It will do you no good at this point. We can always talk more tomorrow if you are feeling up to it. Like I said before, there is no rush with this."

Sans' expression remained defiant, and he attempted to straighten up more and face her with feigned confidence. "i said i'm fine didn't i tori?" he retorted, a touch of his previous anger creeping into his voice. "let's just keep going… i can finish this…"

How odd it was, Toriel thought, to hear those words again from him in nearly the opposite situation. She blinked in uncertainty, trying to figure out the best way to respond. His words and actions were so unlike his usual self that they left her utterly baffled.

"My friend… Why do you insist on this all happening today? I assure you that it will be better for both of us if you rested before going on with this. We both need to process what we got through today, yes? You should take your time with this, spread it out over a few days… or however long you need. After all…"

Toriel paused, giving him a warm, reassuring smile.

"It is not as though I am just suddenly going to forget everything you have told me, right?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Sans reacted as though she had struck him directly in the soul.

A look of pure horror crossed his features, eye sockets going totally dark once more as her statement seemed to cause some terrible realization to click in his mind. The shock faded quickly though, and his expression turned to an achingly empty look of acceptance. The sight made Toriel feel as though her soul were being stabbed. What had she said to hurt him so? Confused guilt flooded through her and she shakily reached her paw out towards him again.

"Sans...?" She said his name quietly, her voice barely coming out above a whisper.

He stared back at her for a moment, then abruptly shot to his feet. GB tumbled off Sans' lap with a yelp before righting himself and shooting his wielder an anxious look. The skeleton turned away from both of them, head hanging low so his hood hid his expression.

"ya know? you were right… i need a break." He said, sounding detached and lifeless.

He spoke again before Toriel could even attempt a response, taking a single step forward.

"i'm going to grillby's…"

With that, Toriel and GB were blinded by a sudden flash of pale blue light and Sans was gone.