AN: So, Nomi/Kit has been sick for the past few days, and I had back to back concerts, so we have good reason for missing updates, but we're back up and running, and we're starting to get into the home stretch. Are you guys ready?
Chapter Twenty
::
Toriel didn't comment when she noticed Sans' jumpiness. Instead, she took his hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze. The trio were now heading into the Core which had to be passed to get to Asgore's castle, and Sans had been on edge ever since they stepped inside. He was also tightly curled around Frisk, who he was carrying, and looked ready to snap if someone so much as even tried to touch her. The woman gave him a small nudge, letting him go ahead on the narrow bridge. She made sure to stay close by, running a hand over his head as a way of comfort.
It was a few silent minutes of walking before they came across the part where the bridge was exposed, ice flowing off a conveyer belt to cool everything down. It was a part of the bridge that Sans was in no way making any attempt to cross. At all. Toriel gave it half a minute before she was sighing and picking the two of them up, carrying them across before setting them down once inside the Core.
The action had earned a startled little squeak at Sans, who had remained silent until being set down. "How strong are you?" The unexpected motion had, thankfully enough, startled him out of his slight worry. Not panic attack. Just worry.
"Muscle weighs far more than bone." She seemed amused, raising an eyebrow at him. "You probably weigh as much as she does. Maybe less."
"I take offense to that," Sans huffed, drawing himself up dramatically. "I at least weigh more than a tiny human child, thank you!" Now that the worst of walking through the Core has passed, he eased up on Frisk a bit, letting her have more room to move around, and, yes. It was fine. Perfectly fine. Frisk seemed perfectly fine where she was at, too, curling up to Sans, more.
Rolling her eyes, Toriel started looking down the halls with a hum to try to see which was safest. Even if it was obvious none of it was safe. "The tiny human child is almost as tall as you." Sans only followed after, glancing down to Frisk and narrowing his eyes.
"...Gosh, Tori. You're so rude. Don't you know not to mention a skeleton's height?"
"What about Papyrus' height?"
"He and Dad don't count, okay?! Freakin' giants, the pair of them!"
"Mhm. Well, I rather adore your current size." There was a tiny huff from Sans, who suddenly seemed to tense up before he was glaring at thin air, narrowing his eyes.
"...You aren't funny, either." Irritating- Ugh! He rued the day he knew he could see through cracks in time and space! Rued it!
Toriel didn't seem to notice, only looking thoughtful. "I think I am hilarious."
Before more could be said on the subject, Sans' phone was ringing. "SANS! Brother, I have something impor- Two things important to ask you." Sans was looking a bit confused but shifted so he could still hold Frisk while talking, turning the speaker on so he wouldn't have to struggle too much.
"Sure, sure. What's up? Cause if it's about the missing food, I had nothing to do with that. Probably."
"No! Did you get Mettaton's autograph?!" There was a lengthy silence, Sans looking like he was tempted to throw his phone into the Core.
"...No. I did not." Nooo not his sweet innocent brother. Not him with that.
"Hmph. Fine. Second question. When is the wedding?" Wedding... Well there were those two dogs, but that was a week or two ago, unless he was mistaken...
"Dogamy and Dogaressa? Because that was a few weeks ago, I think, bro. Other than that, I have no idea what or who you're talking about. At all."
"You and Tori, of course!" In his arms, Frisk was snickering and looking entirely too amused. Sans only looked rather blank for a second, glaring at thin air after a moment.
"I can't see you right now, but I know you're amused..." A heavy sigh. "Pap, n- No. No...why would you think that me and Tori- Why."
"So you didn't know that picture was being taken? Here, I'll send it to you!"
"...What picture." He soon found out as his phone buzzed with it, Sans looking at the picture blankly before looking to Frisk with narrowed eyes. "Evil tiny child mastermind."
"What?" Frisk blinked up at him innocently, tilting her head to the side. "Can I see?"
"I think you saw enough last night, kid, but sure. Knock yourself out." Sans handed the phone over, adjusting his hold on the girl as he kept walking. And not looking at Toriel. At all. Ever again. "Pap, no. Just. No. Please no."
"Well, I mean," Papyrus was lowering his voice, probably not realizing he was on speaker. "Isn't she single?"
"...You're on speaker."
"...HI TORI!" Toriel was focused very heavily on trying to guide them safely through the Core, finally deciding to go left. Sans was only sighing, looking worn to the bone.
"She's a bit busy, Pap, but I'm sure she'd say hi back. Is that all you called for? To torment me?"
"A bit, yes. Nyeh heh heh!" Oh, look at that. His phone had 'disconnected'. What a terrible tragedy. Letting Frisk keeping holding it, he leveled her with a serious stare.
"You are very evil, aren't you?" A moment later, his phone was ringing again, Sans answering to see it was Alphys to call with more information.
"Okay, at this intersection here, go left. There's a puzzle you need to solve."
"Yeah, we kinda figured that, oh wise one." Whoops, he really had tried not to snark. Terrible of him, truly.
"Just shut up, civilian. Go left."
"I know my way around, Alphys! I darn near built this place from the ground up!" With quite a bit of help but he had memorized the blueprints and outlines of this place.
"Then why didn't you already do it, oh wise one?"
"May your code always be missing a zero!"
"And may yours always be missing a closing tag!"
"And may your wiring always be shoddy- Oh, wait. It already is." Sans was petty, he could admit this. And, oh, look at that. There went his phone. Into the Core. A tragedy, that was. Simply terrible. Oh well. He supposed accidents like those were bound to happen, now and again.
"...Do you want me to Load?" Frisk asked curiously from his arms, Sans only sighing and nodding.
"...Yes." A pause, and they were back in the entry part of the labyrinth that was the Core, Toriel leading them to go left.
"...You have to talk to them, again."
"I'm aware, but at least this time I know it's coming- ...How did you Load without touching a Save point?" A pause, Frisk seeming to be thinking about it before giving a shrug. Sans only snorted, tucking her closer and blinking as his phone rang. Answering it, he rolled his eyes. "No, Pap, I didn't get Mettaton's autograph. And no, Tori and I aren't getting married any time soon, and torturing your loving, caring brother is just cruel."
"How do you always do that?!"
"I'm the best," Sans preened, pecking Frisk on the cheek. "Anything else?"
"Nope! Bye!" Toriel only stared at the two of them, slightly narrowing her eyes.
"...Did you two just..."
"Of course not, Tori. We'd never do that without telling you about it," Sans smiled sweetly, still keeping his phone out.
"That's a dirty lie and you know it." A moment later, and his phone was ringing, Alphys on the other line.
"Okay, you-"
"We go left, we know, there's a puzzle up ahead we need to solve. Thank you for your help, Alphys, nice talking to you!"
"Shut up, civilian, I'm the scientist here. This puzzle may take a while, careful, you only get two shots."
"Noted. Also, I am still a scientist, you know, just not an employed one." With that he was ending the call and putting his phone away, happily catching up to Toriel, and, yes. Being able to cut them off with answers to what they were going to ask was so very nice. And much less blushing this time around.
"You two are terrible," Toriel said with a shake of her head, already trying to solve the puzzle. Sans only set Frisk down because, really now. Frisk would get this in no time, judging from all the others she had done.
"Yes, but we're your terrible."
"That doesn't even make sense." Toriel was shooed away from the console by Frisk, the child standing on her tiptoes as the puzzle reset. Narrowing her eyes, it was less than a minute later when Frisk was mashing the button to deploy the rockets, looking satisfied with herself.
"Sense is senseless," Sans waved off, scooping Frisk back up and snuggling her close, and, yes, good child. Frisk cuddled him back, looking proud.
"No, sense is logical."
"That too."
::
When Mettaton revealed that Alphys had done everything in order to insert herself in their journey, Sans only looked rather bored. "...Oh, was that supposed to be a big reveal? Sorry, kinda knew that from the start." Frisk nodded, looking unimpressed.
Toriel shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Honestly. She could have been more secretive about it."
"So, how's this whole thing gonna go? Epic fight to the death, and all that? Cause, if there's any way we can skip that, it'd be great."
"Well, there is one thing." Mettaton grinned to Sans, looking like the cat that ate the canary. Sans looked to be weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to do. Really, it wasn't like Frisk would never forgive him if he ripped the scrap metal apart piece by piece... No, no, too much energy he didn't feel like wasting.
"Fine, fine. It's the last house in Snowdin, the one with the shed by the path that leads to Waterfall."
"Lovely, darling! Oh, and don't worry, none of this was on the air, yet!"
"...Yet?"
"Well, if you refused, I'd have to make it Live, wouldn't I?" Sans only looked to the camera, slowly raising a hand with blue energy before he was crushing it into a small ball of metal, letting it drop to the floor anticlimactically. "I hope you know you'll be paying for that."
"Eh, I figured." A flick of energy and it was a bit more crushed. "I'm fine with that. So, we can just go on through, then, I'm guessing?"
"If you really wish. I'm sure Asgore would love nothing more." Mettaton was hopping off, already dialing up his phone. "Hi, this is Mettaton!" Sans could just barely pick up his brother's excited voice.
"...I'm gonna regret that, I just know it." Sighing, he shook his head and readjusted Frisk, starting on the walk before he was suddenly pausing, looking confusedly to the air and...he could pick up a few things here and there, but why did they need to go back to the lab. Frisk tugged on Sans' sleeve, looking up at him curiously. "So...I think we should go back to the lab... We might kinda need to."
"How come?" Toriel was also looking to him with a confused frown. Of all places, she didn't expect he'd want to go there.
"Because if we don't, it's possible we might have a very bad time..." He knew what he had heard, but it still didn't make much sense to him.
Just what...was an Amalgamate?
