The void swirled around him, leaving him in familiar surroundings once again. He looked around his kitchen, not quite able to take comfort in the fact that he was back at the house, because he couldn't really call it home right now.

Reset… reset what? What had been reset? How far back had he gone? Was he back at this morning, or was this from his search for his brother? Because that wasn't something he wanted to relive ever again, especially knowing how it ended.

Maybe he'd made the wrong choice. What if reseting right then had been a mistake? Maybe he should have continued, until the HUMAN could reset or something.

Footsteps shuffled behind him, followed by a yawn. *why'd you let me sleep in so late?

He stiffened at the sound of the voice even as it spoke again, more confused. *bro… why are you wearing my hoodie?

"SANS!" He turned and grabbed his brother, clutching him tightly. "YOU'RE ALIVE, YOU'RE ALIVE,YOU'REALIVEALIVEALIVE…"

Sans hugged him back. *whoa… easy bro. of course i'm alive. He pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes. *why wouldn't i be alive?

There was something about his brother's expression. Sans looked down, and then frowned as he reached out and touched the stain in the rip that ran sideways through the hoodie. There was a flash of near remembrance in his eyes, and when he looked back up, it turned to concern. *paps… what happened?

"A HUMAN CAME, AND… THEY KILLED EVERYONE, BROTHER. BUT THEY SAVED ME SO THAT I COULD FIX THINGS, AND I THINK… I THINK I ALMOST HAVE. THE OTHER CHILD DIDN'T ERASE EVERYTHING! THEY, WELL, THEY KILLED ME, SO I RESET, AND NOW YOU'RE BACK, AND EVERYTHING'S OKAY AGAIN, ISN'T IT?"

He needed to explain that better… it sounded bizarre to him, and he knew what he was talking about… but Sans didn't ask him to clarify any of it. He just took a deep breath, and hugged him tighter. It seemed like he was trying to find the right words, and then he settled on, *sorry you had to see that.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

His brother sighed. *this human… i think… well, i'm pretty sure they've been here before. the research i was doing suggested that something was up. never mind that… the main thing is, they're messing with us, paps. but in my 'dreams' they always follow more of a pattern. this… this is new. i think. what else happened?

He told Sans everything. Every, single, detail. He even let go of his brother so that he could pace back and forth. It was so good to see him alive again, Sans could have dropped to the floor and taken a nap right then and there, and The Great Papyrus would have nothing to say about it. Which reminded him... "HERE, SANS. THIS IS YOURS."

He started to shrug out of the hoodie, but Sans put his hand on his arm to stop him, a knowing smile on his face. *hold onto it for me for a bit, will ya, bro?

He nodded with a smile. "OF COURSE. THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD BE HONORED TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE FOR YOU!"

Sans chuckled, such a welcomed sound! *thanks, paps. i knew you'd have me 'covered'.

A pun! He didn't even try to pretend that he hated that he was smiling. He was sure it would wear off, but for now, it was just too nice to have Sans back. "WHAT NOW?"

His brother frowned with his eyes. *i guess we go wait for the human to show up again. if my research is any indication, there's not a whole lot else we CAN do.

"ALRIGHT. BUT I'M STAYING WITH YOU. WHATEVER POSSESSED YOU TO FIGHT THE HUMAN, BROTHER? YOU KNOW YOUR SKILLS DO NOT EQUAL MINE!"

He shrugged. *don't know. all i've got are nightmares that feel like pieces of memories. i guess maybe i had to stop them from ending everything? looks like i failed. He glanced grimly at his hoodie.

"I'M SURE YOU DID YOUR BEST, SANS. I'M ONLY SORRY THAT I WAS NOT ABLE TO CONVINCE THE HUMAN TO STOP IN TIME."

Another sharp glance. *i… i think you have… in the past. alternate futures… ugh. hurts to think about it for too long.

"THEN DON'T. LET'S GO FIND THAT HUMAN… SANS! LOOK OUTSIDE! EVERYONE IS THERE! THEY ARE ALL ALIVE!"

Sans looked like he knew exactly how he felt. *they sure are.

He hesitated with his hand on the doorknob, then turned to look down at his brother. "SANS, WHEN I SAW WHAT THEY HAD DONE TO YOU… I… I COULDN'T…"

Sans's eyes softened to fit his smile better. *i know.

Right. He'd pretty much implied that he'd done this before. Come to think of it, all those nightmares of his might actually make sense now. "I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS… WELL… I LOVE YOU, BROTHER."

He bent to hug him again, and it was immediately returned. His brother's normally nonchalant voice was a little choked up. *love you, too, paps.

"I KNOW."

Sans pulled away first, clearing his throat awkwardly. *um, so… yeah. chances are the kid's not gonna show up right off after what you told me. so let's go get my research, and go through it together.

"BROTHER?"

*yeah?

"IF YOU KNEW SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS HAPPENING OVER AND OVER… WHY… WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL ME?"

Sans shrugged, and scratched the back of his head. *i wasn't even sure i wasn't going insane when i woke up this morning, pap. there hasn't been a human for a long time… i mean, technically speaking… they haven't even come yet. it's… confusing, you know?

"YOU DIDN'T THINK I'D UNDERSTAND?"

Sans's eyesockets darkened. *all i had was suspicions and… those nightmares.

He nodded. "I REMEMBER THE NIGHTMARES, BROTHER. THEY UPSET YOU." They'd driven him into a panic, more often than not. But if that had all been reset, why did either of them remember the nightmares at all? Sans was right. It was very confusing.

Sans's hands went instinctively to pockets that weren't there. He started to shrug out of the hoodie again, and shook his head when Sans tried to stop him. "NO, I'M ALRIGHT, BROTHER. YOU'RE HERE, NOW." But as he pulled it off, and saw the rip again, suddenly, he couldn't bear to see Sans wearing it. Not in it's current condition. He folded it to hide the cut. "UM, I JUST NEED TO WASH IT FOR YOU FIRST…" and mend that rip.

There was sympathy in Sans's eyes, but he didn't say anything as he followed him into the living room, where the laundry basked sat on the couch, filled with freshly washed laundry that he himself had just finished this morning, who knew how many 'resets' ago. Sans's hoodie lay on top, without a hint of a stain on it. "BUT… HOW?"

Sans gently took the hoddie from his hands, and held it up next to the other one, shaking his head. *kid's done a number on the time space continuum. i don't think things have started duplicating like this, before now, but let's grab those notes, just to make sure.

Sans pulled the clean hoddie on, and smiled up at him. *thanks, bro.

Without the rip, the familiar sight of Sans wearing his hoodie only lightened his heart more. "AFTER WE GET THOSE NOTES OF YOURS, CAN WE GO SEE UNDYNE?"

*sure thing. i'd say head on over right now, but let's give you a little more time to adjust, kay?

He nodded in agreement, the thought of how he'd respond to a living Undyne right at that moment… or, really, at any moment now… he frowned, trying to remember. He could remember Sans's many nightmares, and a few of his own. But other than that, the only 'reset' he could really remember was the one he'd lived through... yesterday? Later today? He shook his head to clear the dizziness. Sans had been acting very strange, but he hadn't had time to notice, what with the sudden evacuation of Snowdin, and the human eerily skipping his every puzzle. But in retrospect, his brother had probably been trying to figure out if his worst fears had come true.

A hand touched him. *you ok, bro?

"I THINK SO. ARE YOU, BROTHER?"

*heh. i'm not sure, either. but we got eachother, right?

"ABSOPOSITIVELUTELY! I KNEW THAT IF I COULD JUST FIND YOU, THAT WE COULD WORK THIS OUT TOGETHER. AND… SANS?"

*yeah?

He crossed his arms. "IF WE, FOR WHATEVER REASON, JUST PUT THINGS BACK THE WAY THEY WERE, AND YOU FIND YOURSELF WONDERING IF YOU'RE CRAZY AGAIN? DO NOT SUFFER IN SILENCE, BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WISH TO BE THERE FOR YOU, NO MATTER HOW CRAZY YOU SOUND!"

*i know that, pap. sheesh… how sappy you wanna get? let's grab those notes, and give me a break already.

He rolled his eyes, knowing that his brother appreciated the offer, even though he'd deny it, and the chances of ever taking him up on it were very slim.

He followed Sans up to his room, and ignored the clothes scattered everywhere. Sans didn't even seem to notice at first, then paused in the middle of his room, and rubbed the back of his neck. He scooped up a couple arm-loads of clothes and rolled them up in his bedsheets, shooting a sheepish grin back at him.

He crossed his arms, shaking his head at the laziness, trying not to be amused, loving the familiar feeling of being annoyed.

Then Sans pulled a drawer open. His facial expression almost serious. *alright. let's see what we've got here.