It took Toriel a few moments to orient herself again when the jump dropped her and Sans at their destination. He hadn't been lying, this shortcut definitely had been more draining for her than the few she'd experienced before. Her head swam and she staggered a bit before righting herself again.

"easy there tori…" Sans said, gripping her paw tight in a vain attempt to ensure she stayed upright.

Again, the idea struck her as humorous through the spinning of her head. She appreciated his effort nonetheless, giving his hand a thankful little squeeze. One the initial wave of disorientation passed, she opened her eyes, but found she still couldn't see anything clearly. She also couldn't help but notice her feet step into something soft and cold with a light crunching sound.

Snow?

She rubbed the side of her head against the lingering dizziness and blinked a few times, clearing her vision a bit. Indeed, it was snow beneath her, and all around her. Icy flakes were falling from above as well, dancing in and out of her vision and lightly catching in her fur. Her breath was faintly visible too, escaping her in cloudy puffs with each one of her exhalations. The next thing that struck her was just how dark it was. She could hardly see a thing, other than vague shapes looming in the gloom around them. It was deeply jarring to be faced with such intense darkness again, stirring vague anxiety in her soul.

She and everyone else had quickly become accustomed to the light of the surface, where even at night, the stars and moon would offer some form of comforting luminescence to the world below. There was none of that here. Especially now that the Core had been shut down, leaving the automated lighting systems that once lit up the caverns offline. The Underground was now as dark as any other deep mountain cave. It was also eerily quiet, only something like trees faintly creaking in the light wind meeting her ears.

It reminded her of those first few weeks after they had all been sealed, of how the masses of monsters stumbled about in the darkness, relying on fires, glowing crystals and those with bioluminescent properties to make any sense of their new surroundings. It had been a terrible time of despair and desperation, a time where her people had relied on her and her ex-husband more than ever to give them hope. The memories of those days flashed through her mind and she shuddered lightly, and not from the sudden cold.

"Is this… Snowdin?" She asked, quickly summoning up a blaze of light purple flame in her free paw.

Its soft light could not cut through the darkness for much distance, but it did allow her to see Sans more clearly beside her. The firelight flickered, casting almost eerie shadows on his face as he turned to look up at her.

"yup, quite an enlightened observation." He quipped, letting go of her paw and slipping both hands back into his jacket pockets. Thanks to the flame, she could now see the grin that came with the pun.

She let out a half-hearted chuckle in response, still a bit too light headed for it to have the impact it usually would. Also, the realization that they were so close to the Ruins brought another light shiver to her before she forced herself to focus again. She didn't need to get wrapped up in all those thoughts right now. Glancing around, she was able to see they were standing in front of a two story wooden house of some sort.

She could make out a rather plain door with a small window under an awning with a single string of unlit fairy lights winding up one of the supports. Higher up she could see there was a great deal of snow piled on top of all the visible sections of the roof as well, only exacerbated surely by a year of no one cleaning it off. Even so, the house looked quaint and homey, or at least gave off the feeling it was once happily lived in. From what she remembered from his many many stories he'd shared with her back when they had spoken through the ruins door, she recognized what the place must be.

"This is your old home, is it not?" She asked, looking down at him again.

He nodded with another grin, beginning to stroll up to the entrance and motioning for her to follow.

"yup, sure is, pretty sweet little place amiright?" He replied, slippers crunching ever so softly into the snow.

With his incredibly light weight, he hardly pressed into the snow as he walked, leaving only faint footprints. It felt quite fitting for the quiet, rather somber environment around them, especially compared to her much heavier, louder footfalls. Both of them reached the doorway and Toriel reached out to rest a paw on one of the support beams, running it over the smooth wood.

"Yes… it is." She said idly, trying to picture what the home would look like properly lit up and cared for. "So this is what you wished to show me?"

Sans stepped up to her side with something like a small chuckle and shook his head.

"uh, no, not exactly, i just gotta grab something from in here and then we'll head round back." He said, going to the front door and using his magic to open it, instead of any key.

Once open, the doorway revealed the pitch black interior of the home, and it was like staring into a great pool of ink. Toriel stepped forward and lifted her paw to hopefully bring some visibility for them to utilize, but Sans stopped her with a hand. He shot her a reassuring wink before his left eyelight flashed to life and he purposely raised up his other hand.

"gb buddy, get out here and shed some light on this situation." He quipped, in a tone she found wonderfully dorky, summoning the blaster in a brief, bright flash.

GB burst into existence in front of them, fairly large in size this time but still small enough as to fit through the doorway. He turned to look at them both and let out a joyful trill at the sight of them, eyelights glowing brightly in the low light. His gaze darted all around for a moment, briefly taking in his surroundings, then it rested on his wielder a bit longer. Sans gave his blaster a look, with some emotion Toriel couldn't quite make out past the flickering shadows on his face. But it seemed to satisfy GB, as he turned back towards the gloom of the house and opened his jaws wide.

The blaster's mouth then filled with a blaze of bright blue magic, far better at lighting up the space then her own small flame. It allowed the majority of the inside to be visible, casting it all in a strange blue luster. Both of them shot the blaster thankful looks before he darted inside first. She and Sans followed close behind.

Toriel took it all in as she entered the house and Sans went to shut the door behind them. It was a fairly small interior, with a somewhat quirky design to it. It was mostly comprised of one large room, with a simple staircase leading up to what she assumed were the doors to two bedrooms. There was another room ahead of her, likely what once was a kitchen, judging from the tiled floor. It stood in stark contrast to the squiggly striped carpet under her feet, which felt somewhat rough, perhaps having long lost its softness to years of wear and tear.

She could see plenty of the carpet too, for the house was almost completely empty. The skeleton brothers had taken the majority of their belongings with them during their move to the surface, keeping much of it for their new home and giving away what they planned to replace to other settling monsters who needed it. The only thing remaining in fact was a single sock lying on the ground near the entrance to the kitchen, with a bunch of sticky notes attached to it. It wasn't hard for her to figure out who it had belonged to, given that the owner in question had quite the tendency of doing the exact same thing in their current home as well. It made a bit of amusement well up in her soul, but the generally somber sight of the abandoned house kept it from developing into a laugh.

She looked back at Sans to find he was clearly feeling that somberness too, and far more than her, unsurprisingly. He was staring at the empty shell of his old home with that now familiar far away look in his eyelights, making them appear hazy and unfocused. The sheer multitude of memories he must have for this place became apparent to her in that moment, and she could only imagine how many conflicting emotions being here again had stirred in him. His eyelights slowly drifted about the place and he acted as though he had forgotten she was even there.

After a moment of hesitation, she stepped over to him and gently laid a paw on his shoulder, if only to remind him of her presence there with him. It snapped him out of his stupor, but his expression remained faintly pained as he looked up at her, grin strained and tight on his face. There was a moment where she expected him to keep up forcing that smile and put on an act of being fine, the same behavior that had triggered her concerns over him in the first place.

But all that had transpired between them since then had left them in a vastly different position than that night on the porch. There was far more trust and understanding between them now, leaving such denial rather pointless. So instead, he let his grin fall and didn't bother to hide his clear unease, tensing up a little under her paw.

"its uh… rough being here y'know? seeing the place like this…" He admitted, in a soft voice.

She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and she heard GB give a low, garbled whine from beside her as well, as though agreeing with his wielder. Again, her mind pictured how the home must have looked full of the skeleton brothers' furniture and personal items, as well as how they must have made it such a warm, lively place. She would have loved to see it back then. His sadness was something she could relate to, she knew all too well what it felt like to come back to a place you once called home after leaving it behind.

"Of course, naturally." She replied, tone gentle. "I am sorry dear. Do you… need a minute?"

He blinked, looking as though he were considering her question. But then he shook his head with something like a weary chuckle.

"nah… i'll be okay." He replied, willing up a smile that was smaller but more genuine. "just gotta grab something from my old room. you can wait down here if you want."

Toriel let her paw linger on his shoulder for a moment before lightly tightening her grip again. She glanced up at the doors on the floor above them before speaking once more.

"I would like to accompany you if that is alright. I... do not feel right about us splitting up while we're down here." She said, some of her unease born from the dark eeriness of the Underground evident in her voice.

Sans accepted her answer without question, giving a little nod. He even seemed a bit relieved for it. After a moment, he hesitantly reached to grip the paw on his shoulder. She lifted it to allow him to take it more properly, and once he had, he met her eyes with a stronger, if more sheepish grin.

"w-we should… uh, stay close then y'know? even with gb here to lighten the mood, it's pretty easy to trip in here, h-heh." He said, and even in the low light she could see him blush a bit.

It seemed that his earlier bit of boldness was gone for the moment, leaving him his usual flustered self in these situations. She met his nervous stuttering with a soft smile and an equally soft laugh at his joke, enveloping his small hand in her own.

"Very well, lead the way then funnybones." She quipped with a wink.

That quickly seemed to relax him again, his expression softening up with an amused twinkle in his eyelights. Then the three of them headed towards the stairs. On the way, they passed the sock lying on the floor and Toriel couldn't help but question it.

"Is there a reason that that was left behind?" She asked in an amused tone.

He shot a glance at it and gave a small, wheezy chuckle.

"long story, or rather, incredibly dumb story." He said, flashing her a wide grin. "let's just say its better for all humor everywhere if that sock never leaves that spot."

His answer didn't really make any sense, but it was enough to make her laugh again, so she accepted it with a little roll of her eyes. They made it to the stairs and it quickly became apparent why'd he'd had concerns about her tripping. There was no rail to hold on to, or to prevent one from tumbling off the side. In fact, the whole upper floor had nothing to prevent one from stumbling off and falling into the living room below. It seemed like quite the safety hazard to her and she met the sight with a frown.

"A bit dangerous, is it not?" She asked as they carefully climbed the staircase, which creaked beneath her heavier steps. "Did you not ever worry about falling?"

He was facing away from her as he led the way up the stairs, but another, somewhat sheepish chuckle let her know his reaction to that.

"we uh… were pretty used to it. but there were a few times where one of us took a spill or two." He admitted. "we used to line the bottom with cushions in the early days just in case, but like i said, eventually we just kinda… got used to it. the house came that way, and we enjoyed its odd setup, gave it charm. pap also said it was a good reminder for me to pay attention when i stumbled out of bed, heh."

As his explanation ended and she responded with a hum of acknowledgement that still a little disapproving, they reached the top and were left facing the two bedroom doors. Further down the hall it looked like there was another door that led to a small balcony of some type. One of the bedroom doors was totally blank and the other looked as though it had once been covered in some decorations that had been improperly torn off, leaving bits of tape and colorful paper dotted about it. It wasn't hard to guess that it had once been Papyrus' room, seeing as his door in their surface home was just as much of a spectacle.

GB floated close by, catching her eye as he hovered over the ledge they had just been discussing. There was something of a grin on his face as he continued to feed the bright blaze of magic in his jaws.

"showoff." Sans chided him, playfully.

The blaster rumbled softly with something like laughter, dipping up and down a bit in place. Once content in his little cheeky display, he zipped over behind them again and followed them as they crossed over to the blank, unassuming door on the right. Sans hesitated just a moment before opening it with a satisfying click and drawn out creak. GB hurried into the room first once she and Sans stepped aside, quickly opening his jaws wider to fill the room with light. Such a helpful thing he was.

Toriel reached up and gave him a pat on the muzzle as she passed him on her way into the room. He responded with a pleased, resonating purr that seemed to vibrate through the whole room. In the light he continued to offer, she could see the entirety of the empty bedroom. It was rather small, fitting for him she supposed, and cleared of any furniture or decoration whatsoever. All there was to see was a single window in the back right corner, and the same squiggly carpet from before. Though in this room the carpet was also marked with faint stains here and there, their origins being something she didn't really want to think about too much.

As she wondered what Sans could have possibly come here for, he headed straight for the back left corner. He knelt down and began picking at a section of carpet, pulling it up from the floor.

"i hid a spare key here before we left, a key to where we're going." He said, sitting back as he pulled out the key in question. It was silver, and it glinted in the wavering light, catching her eye.

He stared down at if for a few moments, turning it over in his hands before getting to his feet and facing her again with a stronger smile. There was something mischievous about it, and it made her feel a touch suspicious. He slipped the key behind his back and grinned even wider.

"y'know... i originally only intended to let people see what i'm gonna show ya if they knew a certain secret codeword. as a kinda test. so uh… i'm gonna have to hear you say it before we move on, even if we'll be breaking my original rules a bit."

Toriel tilted her head a little at that, quirking a brow at him but still keeping a smile of her own on her face. She tried to figure out if this was a prank or something along those lines, but came up with nothing.

"Oh really, a test?" She asked in reply, eyeing him with amusement. "May I remind you that you were the one who asked me to come to see this?"

He failed to restrain a snort but quickly faced her again, not to be budged from this it seemed.

"oh c'mon tori, just play along k?" He said with a wink.

She heaved a dramatic sigh, still grinning all the while.

"Very well, what is this codeword?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

His eyelights shimmered with delight and he straightened up to his full height, raising one hand as if to direct her.

"repeat after me." He said, waggling one phalange. "i… am the legendary fartmaster."

"What?!" She blurted out in response, before nearly doubling over with laughter." But Sans that is so… what kind of codeword-"

Her words were lost to another bleat of laughter, utterly unprepared to hear something like that. GB joined in with his own low, rumbling chuckles as well, sending up a few bursts of blue sparks from his jaws. Sans glanced between them and looked as though he were struggling not to laugh as well, but he managed to remain firm.

"c'mon, saaay it." He said, leaning forward on his toes a bit.

"Oh fine, you bonehead." She conceded through her giggles, wiping her eyes of lingering tears of mirth.

If he was going to make her do something as silly as this, then she would counter by doing it in the most dignified, unsuitable way possible. It was only fitting after all. She cleared her throat once she could manage it and drew herself up, the same way she would when she was about to address her subjects back when she ruled as queen. Putting on the most serious face she could muster and speaking with her old projected royal tone, she said the codeword.

"I… am the legendary fartmaster."

The words hung in the air for a moment, then Sans cracked and erupted into giggles, covering his face and nearly falling over from the assault of apparent sheer hilarity. Despite his initial confidence, it seemed that she had won this round. Her declaration had GB chuckling madly too, causing the light he was providing for them to waver and flicker as his jaws swung up and down. She was the one to maintain her stoicness this time though, crossing her arms and putting forth a victorious grin. Meanwhile Sans continued to be consumed with laughter, the sound of it and the happy rattle of his bones filling the small room and making her soul swell within her.

Stars above, did she ever love to hear that wonderful laugh of his.

"oh m-my god i can't b-believe you actually said it." He gasped through his wheezing. "c-congrats tori, you are officially qualified."

She beamed in response, fangs flashing in the wavering light. Once Sans and GB had composed themselves and stable light returned to the room, she gave her response. To say she was feeling akin to her younger, more immature self was putting it lightly.

"Well, I am truly honored." She said, laying a paw on her chest in a dramatic manner. "May this qualification bring us closer together, rather than tear us afart."

The pun hit a bullseye, as she knew it would, and she watched him succumb to another fit of breathless chuckling.

"y-you're gonna k-kill me here." He wheezed, clutching his middle.

Only then did she allow a few more giggles of her own to escape her again, as she stepped over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to ensure the power of her truly fantastic pun did not send him to the floor. He shook with a few more tapering giggles before he was able to speak again, looking up at her with eyelights that briefly looked to be star-shaped.

"hoo geez…" He breathed, coughing once. "you... you are so amazing tori…"

She couldn't help but blush at that, and was grateful for the umpteenth time for her fur's ability to hide it. Still, the circumstances behind the compliment were so absurd that it made another snort escape her.

"Infantile little puns like that make me amazing?" She asked with amused, and slightly flustered, sarcasm.

He nodded, taking another deep breath to ensure he could return to his usual casual tone.

"yes." He declared without a hint of irony. "that, and a million other things..."

His eyelights darted away from her gaze at that, and a blush of his own appeared on his face. Before anything more could be said on the subject though, he took her paw again and began back towards the door.

"c'mon, let's go do what i brought you here for. don't want to stay down here too long right?"

Still not fully recovered from his earlier words, she just offered a nod and followed after him. GB was right behind her, ensuring they didn't fall off that infamous ledge on the way back down. As they walked, the initial somberness and unease of the dark, abandoned cavern they were in settled over them again. Silence stretched between the trio, even GB did not offer so much as a grumble as they exited the house again. Being outside made the oppressive feelings worse, as they were again faced with the endless, all encompassing darkness in every direction. GB was a beacon of light in this darkness, and she and Sans stayed close to him, as though afraid the shadows could reach out and grab them if they ventured too far from the safety of his flame.

While they had been walking, she had pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time and ensure there were no panicked messages from anyone who had discovered their absence from the house. Luckily there was no such thing, only a picture from Bonnie of her and her family at the opening of her sister's new inn earlier that week. How lovely. And the night was still young, it was only 11:04pm. They had not been down here as long as she had feared. She was going to question how her phone still had service here with the Core shut down, but seeing as it was Alphys who had given her this one, it was likely a long and lengthy scientific explanation she wouldn't understand anyway. She pocketed it again as Sans led her around the side of his former home.

In GB's light, they could see what looked to be the entrance of a cellar attached to the house, covered in snow. She could see from the few clean spots that it was made of some sort of metal, and was locked with a large, heavy duty padlock. She eyed it warily, the idea of going even further underground not sitting well with her.

"In there?" She asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Sans nodded and slowly released her paw, expression flat and hard to read. He trudged over to the double doors in silence, leaning down to insert the key in the lock and give it a sharp twist. It unlocked with a loud click and he levitated it away with his magic to let it rest on the snowy ground beside the entrance. Then he brushed off the worst of the snow with a sweep of his arm. Toriel stepped up beside him as he curled his small hands around the now visible door handles. He hesitated for a moment, and she couldn't see his face to know the emotion driving it. But the air suddenly felt heavy, and a pool of dread began swirling about in her gut.

The moment passed though and he pulled open the doors, having to strain a bit to do so. Both sides his the ground with a loud thunk, sending a spray of snow into the air. Now all three of them could see into the pitch black interior of the place beyond. She felt a chill run down her spine looking into it, almost feeling as though it were some great maw that wished to swallow her up. GB mirrored her unease, whining and retreating back a bit from the opening. They both glanced at him as he did so and Sans stepped over to lay a comforting hand on his blaster's muzzle, giving it a few pats.

"s'okay buddy, you can wait outside. i know you don't like it in there." He said, voice suddenly quite weak. "you keep watch for us okay?"

GB nodded, clearly relieved, and settled down in the snow next to the entrance, positioning himself so he'd be able to see if anyone… or anything, was approaching the area. Sans turned back towards the open cellar and Toriel could see trepidation and maybe even some pain in his eyelights, flickering in GB's magical firelight. He noticed her staring and met her eyes again before motioning for her to follow. She swallowed hard, but did so without comment, walking with him to the dark tunnel before them. As they took their first steps inside, she had to duck, as it was clearly not designed with a monster as tall as her in mind. She instinctively summoned another small flame in her paw as well in order to better see where she was going. Sans stopped in response and lightly touched her arm, drawing her attention and halting her own advance as well.

"its okay tori, don't worry bout it." He said, indicating to the small ball of fire swirling in her paw. "the lights should still work in here. The power for this room is uh… off the grid."

As if to prove his point, he hit a button on the wall she had not noticed and lights sputtered to life in front of them, some with a few sprays of sparks. The illumination they offered revealed they were heading down a short staircase into some tiled room below. She promptly doused her flame, blinking against the sudden harsh, artificial light. Some of her nerves eased now with the knowledge that she was not walking into total darkness, but her soul still trembled with dread as they carefully made their way into the room below. Just what was she about to see?

Sans stepped inside first, immediately heading left without even pausing. In contrast, she stopped at the foot of the stairs, looking around the small room and trying to take it all in. It was a long, narrow room with a purple tiled floor and plain gray-blue walls. The almost sterilized nature of it compared to Sans' bedroom was shocking, making her wonder if this was truly a place that belonged to him. It reminded her of a doctor's office or perhaps… a lab. Indeed, that idea seemed to ring true as she spotted what appeared to be a long work table area built into the wall, with a row of organizational drawers below it. There was a single set of blueprints sitting on the table as well, but she could hardly pay it any mind, distracted by the most eye catching thing the room had to offer.

At the end of the room was some hulking thing covered by a purple sheet, nearly reaching the ceiling in height. Sans was standing beside it with his back to her, looking up at it. From how utterly still he was standing, she wondered if he had become lost in his thoughts again. Her head was presently spinning with questions regarding everything she was seeing, but that concern gave her focus again. She approached the skeleton cautiously, the claws on her feet clinking lightly on the cool tile below.

A heavy feeling of somberness was even more evident in this place than the house. And in this case, it felt like that feeling was part of the place itself, rather than a result of abandonment. It seemed to weigh down on her with every step she took, every breath she drew, as though palpable feelings of despair and regret were thickening the air itself. It brought a deep sense of weariness to her soul that seemed to drain some vitality right out of her.

"Sans?" She said his name, nerves still evident in her voice. "What... is this place?"

He didn't flinch, or give any reaction at all for a moment. She was about to try again, but then he did finally speak, shoulders sagging.

"that's... not an easy thing to answer." He replied, voice even but dull. "it's a lot of things… a lab… a hideaway… a repository… but mainly its where i stash potentially dangerous stuff from the past, to keep it hidden from my bro and everyone else, mostly stuff relating to ol doctor gaster. and i… think its stuff you should see before..."

He paused, then he seemed to give up on finishing that statement. He turned to face her then, hazy eyelights drifting over to the work table and the drawers beneath it.

"go on and take a look in those drawers first." He said, in a somewhat quieter voice. "i think the stuff in there... mostly speaks for itself…"

She blinked at his request, soul twinging with anxiety. He was acting strange, perhaps a result of the somber, oppressive atmosphere of this place that she had detected. But some of it was clearly just from how difficult this was for him. It reminded her of that first day they'd spoken beneath the old willow tree, where'd he'd been gripped with such terrible anxiety over unveiling the dreaded secrets of his past, that if left him as tense as a wire on the verge of snapping. She could see a lot of that same fear in his eyelights now, though the continually growing trust between them was there too, and it seemed to be reasonably tempering the dread he felt.

It was that trust that led her to nod and do as he said then, walking over to the row of drawers. In truth, she wanted to address that massive covered thing behind him more than anything else. But if this was the way he wished to handle this, then so be it. Her resoluteness wasn't without falter though, as nervous thoughts crept in during a brief moment of hesitation. She thought she knew the worst of the terrible burdens that Sans carried… but what if she was wrong? No, there was nothing that could possibly compare to what he'd told her about the resets. If she could handle that, she could handle anything.

With that in mind, she reached down to open the first drawer, ignoring the blueprint sitting on top of the work area for the moment. A mess of papers and binders met her eyes, so thoroughly stuffed into the small space of the drawer that a few burst out once it was opened. She was able to quickly grab them out of the air, and held one up to her face to get a better look.

The paper was covered in diagrams relating to some kind of tube system, as well as a mass of text. But she couldn't read a word of it, it was all made up of strange symbols like hands, bombs, emoticons, pencils, diamonds, squares and so much more. A quick glance at the other papers in her paws revealed their contents were very much the same, diagrams and the bizarre reminded her of the "emojis" she had been learning to use on her phone over the past year, what were such things doing on documents like these though?

The confusion she felt must have been evident on her face, as Sans stepped up to her side and was quick to offer something of an explanation.

"those are uh… all of the doc's personal research documents i could find after the… accident." He said, eyelights not locked onto her or the papers in question, but the blueprint on the table. "i took them and everything else referring to the project that resulted in me and my bro, as well as anything on the machine we had been working on."

His words made something click in her mind, and she turned briefly to stare up at the massive covered object behind her. The machine… the one he'd told her about. The one that could detect and display visuals of timelines, the one that Gaster believed could allow travel between timelines, that had to be what this was.

Looking back at Sans and the blueprints on the table only furthered her conclusion, as now she could see that they were indeed blueprints for a machine, also covered in those strange symbols. She wasn't very knowledgeable in such things, but she could tell that at least. The odd symbols were a mystery to her… and yet, she couldn't deny they felt familiar, stirring up a faint sense of recollection like an itch inside her mind.

"I see…" She said softly in response to his words, trying make sense of it all.

Glancing back down at the papers in her paws, she went on with a question.

"Sans, why are the doctor's works written in these… symbols?" She asked, turning one document to the side a bit as though it would somehow help her understand it. "are they some kind of… encoding measure?"

The sound of him drumming his phalanges on the edge of the work table met her ears then, seemingly thinking over his answer. Eventually, he sighed lightly and then climbed up onto the table to sit with his legs dangling off it. Then he patted the spot beside him, indicating for her to do the same. She tilted her head a bit in confusion, but did as he asked, sitting down beside him and laying the papers in her lap as she waited for him to speak again.

"those are uh… wingdings." He eventually said, pausing in his tapping. "i dunno how much you know or remember about us skeletons, but we are named after our uh… unusual speaking patterns. if you perform a check on us, you'll see our words look different than most monsters when we talk. apparently, its some weird inherited trait with our kind, heh. had to figure that out myself back then to find out my true name."

He managed to will up a bit of a smile at that, but it dwindled quickly as he went on.

"there are hundreds of "fonts" as our kind came to call them, that a skeleton can be born with. but the names repeat over history, or so i read. so there have been a lot of "comic sanses" and "papyrus..es..es" before us, until our kind bit the dust that is. but ol g was "special" among skeletons."

That last part was marked by air quotes and an intensely sarcastic tone. He laid his hands back down with an audible clack and he curled his phalanges tightly around the edge of the table before continuing.

"he was born with two fonts, wingdings, and aster. hence his dumb name. and if that wasn't enough, wingdings is like, one of the rarest fonts of all or whatever. Somehow all that destined him for greatness or something. wingdings was his primary font though, the aster part only ever showed itself in rare instances, like when he was in the heat of a fight or something. most of the time it was just wingdings, which is all symbols. so you have to learn the cipher to understand his words when he talks. doesn't help that his speech was weird as hell too. so the old bastard mostly just signed things to people, i was one of the few monsters who could understand him when he spoke aloud. sure as hell wish i didn't."

He stopped to rub at his skull, as though nursing a headache. She took in all he had said as he did so, a thoughtful frown on her face. She might have heard all this about skeletons before… it sounded familiar at least. Perhaps Gaster himself had told her these things in a time lost to her. The thought made another wave of unease wash over her, not at all liking how it felt as though the former royal scientist's shadow was constantly looming over her thoughts. Sans looked back at her and his expression became a bit apologetic.

"sorry, i'm rambling again huh? and i didn't even actually answer your question." He grumbled at himself, grin straining a bit. "the doc wrote all his notes in his font, it came naturally to him. me and papyrus kinda do the same thing. and yah, ol g did do it in part to give his work another level of "security." wouldn't want normal monsters finding out you're making a bunch of living weapons amiright?"

He spoke that last part with bitter sarcasm, and his eyelights wavered with a flicker of anger again. They also drifted over to the covered machine across from them for a few moments before he tore them away again, beads of sweat appearing on his skull. Toriel nodded in absent acknowledgement of his words, understanding it on a surface level at least. His behavior was distracting her from dwelling on it too much though.

She could tell the stress of all this was beginning to get to him again, even though they had only looked through one drawer. Toriel had a hunch that he would not bring her all the way here just to show her a few documents. The way he was acting, he likely intended to show her everything he had hidden in this place. That was much easier said than done though, as he was certainly finding out.

She set the papers she'd been holding aside and rested a paw on his shoulder, giving it a hopefully comforting rub. He shifted a little closer in response, gratefully leaning against her side. He closed his sockets and drew in a deep, slow breath before releasing it with a heavy sigh that trailed into an empty chuckle.

"heh, i-i thought i'd be better at handling this by now. especially since i thought i was... finally starting to get at least a little… y'know… better..." He rasped, sockets opening to reveal eyelights that became hazy and dull again as the words left him.

Toriel felt her soul pang harshly for him, and she had to swallow against a forming lump in her throat before she could reply.

"You are getting better dear." She assured him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "But healing is not a straight shot, especially with what you have been through. There is no shame in admitting you have pushed yourself too far before you were ready."

She shifted a bit in preparation to stand, moving the documents and all their confusing, deplorable content aside.

"How about we head home for tonight?" She offered, shooting him a gentle smile. "Clearly this place… it carries a lot of terribly troubling memories for you. We got through plenty of that when you told me about the resets, did we not? We can always come back here some other time. It is not going any-"

She shut her mouth in a flash, realizing the terrible mistake it could be to say those words. It was far too close to that other dreadful statement she had made days before, the one that had hurt him so deeply. She didn't dare say anything along those lines ever again, knowing all too well now that it was an assurance she had no right to offer. So she instead quickly amended it, going on in a softer tone.

"It might be best for you to wait awhile, let yourself recover from everything else before you dive into something as… intense as this again. Yes?"

She was glad to see no trace of despair in his expression in reaction to her words. He still looked awfully tense though, sweat continuing to drip down his skull. There was only a beat where he seemed to actually consider her offer, then met her words with a stiff shake of his head. She could feel a kind of fierce defiance grip him then, and she was reminded again of that first day beneath the willow tree. The words that followed only solidified the comparison.

"no... i… i have to do this." He said firmly, eyelights sharp and quivering. "i've been trying to build up the nerve to bring you here since the beginning. i need you to know tori… and i need to…"

He just couldn't finish that statement, similar to before. A shudder ran through him, and his eyelights rested briefly on the great shape of the covered machine again before returning to meet her gaze. Those little lights were plaintive, nearly desperate and seemed to look through her straight to her very soul.

"please tori…" He pleaded, shakily reaching for and taking her other paw. "j-just this one time, don't… don't let me shut down and run away from all this, like i always do."

Those last words summoned a glimmer of tears to his sockets, and his eyelights flickered before strengthening again. Subconsciously, she threaded her fingers with his thin phalanges, keeping her gaze locked with his as her soul blazed with a surge of mixed emotion. She knew not why he felt he needed so badly to do this now. But if this was so important to him, then she would certainly see it through, the consequences of the exhaustion she'd surely endure tomorrow be damned.

She could fret over Frisk but… in all reality, her child was a saviour of an entire civilization. Her constant worrying over them was, admittedly, more for her own sake than theirs. They could certainly handle one night where she was absent while they slept. With that last reservation banished, her eyes hardened with determination and she gave him a nod in reply.

"Okay… Go on then, Sans." She said, squeezing his hand and leaning close so that their foreheads touched just a bit. "Show me all you wish me to see, however long it takes. I will not leave your side. I promise."

As those words left her, the great covered mass of the machine across from them loomed over her and her dear skeleton, as if watching, listening.

And waiting.