The Judgement Hall was quiet.

Too quiet.

Sans had been waiting for an hour now. He saw the kid move through Hotland. He heard the news of Mettaton's defeat. She should have made her way up here by now. Granted, SHE didn't know that she was supposed to be here, and Sans supposed he didn't either, but he had a hunch that she'd be here. Sans' hunches were never wrong. If she was so determined to get to the barrier, she'd HAVE to come through here. It didn't seem like her to suddenly turn back after having progressed so far.

Sans even had a whole speech prepared about how the human was so determined to befriend every monster and how she never gained LOVE, but she gained love, and he was going to explain EXP and LOVE and all that good stuff. Frankly, he was a little bummed out that he wasn't belting out the speech. He NEVER prepares things in advance, much to his brother's dismay. So the one time he did…

Then he got to thinking… What if the human wasn't here yet because she was… avoiding him?

Obviously she had no reason to believe Sans would be here, and she probably had no reason to avoid him either, although that scare he gave her in the hotel was probably a good excuse, he admitted. Yet… Sans had this theory. The human seemed to… Know things. Ahead of time. Like she'd done all of this before.

Sans read a lot about something called a RESET. The RESET was the power to go back and relive certain points in time, effectively creating a new timeline. If this kid truly could travel through time… And if she was truly avoiding him…

Well, then she had a very good reason to avoid him. Sans would have only given her a good reason to avoid him if she gave him a good reason to give her a good reason. There's only one thing that kid could have done to make him do something like that.

He decided to wait here another hour, and if the human didn't show up by then…

This kid had a lot to answer for.

Alphys entered her lab, dragging Mettaton's lifeless body, with Frisk following closely. She placed the robot on a table upstairs and made a mental note to change his batteries later. For right now, though, he could deal with taking a nap for a few hours.

Downstairs, Frisk was examining the figures Alphys had on her desk. Miniature statues of anime characters lined the desk, although Frisk didn't recognize any of them, having not watched a whole lot of anime (or any TV, really). The rest of the desk was littered with papers, soda cans, and dirty dishes.

The computer itself was clearly custom built. "Bell Pepper Electronics", a company Frisk was somewhat familiar with through billboard ads and their name just generally being on everything from computers to TVs to air dryers, apparently manufactured the original PC, as the name and logo was engraved along the top of the case, but Frisk suspected none of the original internals were intact. At the very least, the fan had been replaced, although the newer fan was evidently too big to fit into the PC, as a hole had been cut through the case's top panel and the fan had been screwed on, with wiring running into the PC through a small hole that had been drilled. Frisk suspected that other parts had similarly been replaced.

The monitor itself—an old CRT, also manufactured by Bell Pepper—was on, the computer's web browser opened to a video sharing site. Apparently, before leaving the lab, Alphys had been watching videos about grumpy gamers or something like that. Frisk didn't really have time to use the Internet on the surface, so she had no idea who these people were. She briefly wondered how Alphys had access to human Internet before the reptilian in question returned to the lab's main room.

Feeling as though she'd been caught snooping, Frisk quickly apologized, although Alphys quickly waved it off.

"Oh, don't worry about it. If there were anything worth hiding I'd have logged off—" Alphys then noticed that, aside from the video site, an image board was also open in the browser, which Frisk had not seen. "—uh- I- I-" Alphys stammered, blushing, before quickly closing the window. "On second thought, m-maybe I shouldn't leave so many windows open! It wastes, uh, memory?" Several seconds of awkward silence then followed. Finally, Alphys just shut down the PC altogether. "We don't need this today anyway…" she mumbled.

"So, I suppose you want to know more about the whole time travel thing?" asked Frisk. Alphys nodded excitedly.

"I mean, supposing this is all true—"

"I can prove it."

"I believe you—"

"No, hang on, just give me a second." Frisk paused for a moment. Alphys was confused as to what she was doing. Finally, Frisk looked back up at her. "You're about to get a phone call."

"Wha—?" Suddenly, Alphys' phone rang. Startled, she dropped it on the ground, adding a new crack to the already heavily damaged screen. She stared at the phone in wonder. Apprehensively, she picked it up. "H-hello?"

"It's the pizza guy," said Frisk calmly. "Your order's been delayed."

"Hello, thank you for ordering MTT Resort Delivery," a very bored sounding voice said over the phone. "Unfortunately, due to the resetting of some puzzles in Hotland, our delivery of your order has been delayed. Your order, number 50846, will arrive within the next half hour. Have a nice day." The line went dead. Alphys slowly turned to look over at Frisk.

"H-how—?"

"Like I said, everything I've said so far is true," explained Frisk. "My power is directly linked to how determined I am at any given moment. Finally being able to tell somebody about this ability created a 'save' point which I can return to at any time." Frisk gestured to Alphys. "Namely, the point exists in the space of time where I told you I could prove I had this ability. I simply waited around and observed what happened in the next minute, then returned to that point."

Alphys just stared, mouth agape. "Th… This is incredible… can you save states at will?"

Frisk shook her head. "No. The fact that a save point occurred right then was a total fluke. I can't really predict when or where I'll feel determined enough to save, it just sort of happens."

Alphys grabbed a notebook and started writing this down. "Fascinating… These notes are totally confidential, just between you and me, so don't worry."

Frisk shook her head. "I'm not worried. I know I asked you not to tell anyone, and I trust you, but if you did decide to tell, say, Undyne, and she decided to, say, kick my ass, I wouldn't blame her."

Alphys raised an eyebrow. "Why would she— oh, right. The murder thing." Frisk grimaced. "Frisk, look, I— okay, murder is not good. I know. I won't ever understand why you did it in the first place. Maybe it was self defense? I don't know." Frisk wasn't making eye contact. "But… You went back and you fixed your mistakes. Okay? I've made, like, a billion mistakes and I promise you that whatever you did? I did worse things. Okay? Things that I don't EVER want people to find out about. So the fact that you not only went back and fixed your mistakes, but fully own up to them, even though with this ability you could have wiped my memory clean, says something about you." Alphys put a hand on Frisk's shoulder and lifted her chin up with a finger on the other hand. "You're a good person, Frisk. Good people screw up sometimes. What matters is that you fixed it." Alphys gave her a genuine, encouraging smile. "I promise I won't tell anybody about this. But I think if Undyne found out, she'd understand the situation too. And she would want to help you be better."

Frisk looked away again. "Alphys, I didn't just kill one monster. I didn't even just kill a few monsters. I… I hurt a lot of people. I did horrible, horrible things. I can never, ever make up for it."

Alphys put one hand on her hip. "Well, we're all alive now, aren't we?"

Frisk looked back at Alphys. "Well, yeah, but—"

"Then you've already made up for it," the reptilian said. "I can't ever fix my mistakes. You did. Cherish that."

Frisk looked conflicted. Her eyes darted around like she was looking for something. Finally, she looked back at Alphys. Before Alphys knew what was happening, she was wrapped in a tight hug.

"Oh!" Alphys had her breath knocked out of her as the human squeezed tight.

"Alphys, you have no idea how great it is to finally be able to talk about this," Frisk said through tears. "The whole time I've been down here, I've had to be strong, but… But it's hard!" Frisk buried her face into Alphys' chest. The reptilian patted her back. "I want to be the good guy. I want to help people, but… But… I can't stop thinking about the things I did." Frisk wiped a tear away and looked back up at Alphys. "I don't have the right to be upset about this. I know. The pain I've caused is greater than any pain I'll ever feel."

Alphys shook her head. "Frisk, I know the feeling. I really do. But dwelling on the past… Future… Whatever…" she searched for the right words. "The only way to proceed is to look forward. Look towards the future. Not the future that you could have created in another time. The future that you're creating right now, in this time. Okay?"

After a moment, Frisk nodded. "I… Guess. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Alphys grabbed her notebook again, but thought better of it, setting it down on the table. "If you don't want to talk any more about this, I won't make you." More silence. "I-I'll go get you something to drink. And when the pizza gets here, y-you can have some of that as well." With that, Alphys walked over to the fridge. It was at this point that a rather concerning question popped into her mind.

...what do humans eat? Alphys looked over at Frisk. Would pizza and soda be proper nutrition for a human about twelve to fourteen years old? She truthfully had no idea. In addition, she didn't want to ask. Then she might come off as rude, and she didn't want to be rude. But what if pizza was toxic to humans? She didn't want to make Frisk sick! Sighing, Alphys figured that a day of soda and pizza wouldn't hurt her. Supposing Frisk decided to stay with her, Alphys made a mental note to go into New Home tomorrow and pick up a larger variety of foods. This'd be a good excuse to start that diet she's been putting off, anyway.

Alphys grabbed a can of soda and closed the fridge. She turned around to walk back over to Frisk before noticing that there was somebody else in the lab with them. Somebody who she hadn't seen around the lab in a very long time.

Sans the Skeleton was lounging around near the human.

Briefly wondering how he got in without making any noise, Alphys frowned and quickly walked over. Why is he here NOW? she asked herself. The last she saw of him, he had walked out on her and the lab after the last royal scientist went and fell into the Core back when they were teenagers. His departure left her the only person capable of carrying on Gaster's work, and she was still pretty bitter about that. If he'd been around for the DT experiments…

"Heya Alphys. Just thought I'd drop in," said the skeleton nonchalantly. Alphys didn't believe him for a second. Sure, they'd been friends in the past and on any other occasion she'd be delighted to see him. But the idea that Sans just happened to show up now, when a human was hanging around? She didn't buy it. Sans always kept secrets even before he left the lab. Alphys could be forgiven for not trusting the lazy skeleton.

She faked a smile and leaned on her desk. "Sans. It's been a while," she said, trying not to sound hostile. "What brings you here?"

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could speak to the kid," Sans responded. Alphys couldn't help but notice that the glowing white pinpricks that were meant to represent his pupils were slightly dimmed. "Alone."

Alphys glanced between Frisk and Sans. Frisk looked uncomfortable. "Whatever it is you have to say, I'm sure you can say it here."

"Sorry, Al. This is top-secret stuff." The skeleton winked. "You don't even know the secret handshake."

Alphys rolled her eyes. "You're very funny, Sans. Alright, I'll give you time to—" her thought was cut off when she noticed that Frisk was standing abnormally still. Usually she was always playing with her hair or twiddling her fingers or doing something of that nature. She glanced over at her computer. Now she was really wishing she hadn't shut it off. "Just, uh, hang on a minute, I need to… Check something, first."

"Take your time."

Alphys pressed the power button on her PC. After staring at the BIOS screen a few seconds, Alphys was brought to the login screen, which she quickly bypassed. Finally, she was at her desktop. She dug through her files, looking for the right program. Finally, she found it; " ", its icon a monster soul. She double clicked it and quickly repositioned her webcam so that it was facing Frisk and Sans.

"Alphys, what are you doing?" Sans asked, somewhat alarmed.

"Sans you need to step away from the human right now," responded Alphys, somewhat more commanding than she normally would have. On her screen, she could see what was going on clearly. Frisk's soul was blue. Her soul color was red. Ergo, something or someone was weighing her soul down, and Alphys knew exactly who it was.

"Alphys—"

"I don't know what you plan to do with this human," Alphys interrupted, "but you aren't doing it."

"You're making a mistake—"

"Sans!" Alphys yelled. A few days ago, Alphys wouldn't have stood up to anybody like this. Today she couldn't afford not to. "Get the fuck. Out of my lab."

"It's my lab too—"

"Not for the last seven and a half years it hasn't been!" Even Sans was taken aback by Alphys' newfound confidence. Even when they were kids, she was always the quiet one. "You are not going to harm this child, Sans. I don't know if that was your intention or not, but holding her down with magic and forcing her to sit down doesn't paint a very flattering picture of you. Get out of my lab. I don't want to see you around here again."

"You have no idea what this kid is capable of," said Sans, completely ignoring Alphys' warnings.

"But I know what YOU'RE capable of, Sans." Alphys didn't want to let on how much she knew about Frisk, since she wasn't sure how much Sans knew about Frisk and she didn't want to give him more information than he already had.

"Alphys, I think this kid has hurt people."

"She has no LOVE, Sans."

"That's— That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

Silence. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Alphys crossed her arms. "Try me."

"Alphys, the kid is avoiding Judgement. The only reason she'd have to do that is if—" Sans began before being cut off again.

"Actually, she isn't avoiding anything, Sans." Alphys gestured towards Frisk. "I talked her out of going to the barrier.

Sans looked surprised. "You? You talked her out of it? The least determined monster in the Underground talked the most determined human to ever come through the Underground out of going to the barrier?" Sans put his hands in his pockets. "Forgive my skepticism, Al, but this is all a little far-fetched."

Alphys looked away. "Believe me, crazier things have happened today." She looked back at Sans. "Get out. Or I'm calling the royal guard."

Sans put his hands up in the air. "Alright, alright, you got me. I'll be on my way, now." He walked over to the door, arms still in the air as if he were surrendering. With his back to Alphys and Frisk, he started speaking again. "Just…" He glanced over behind him. His eyes were devoid of all light. "Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, the lights in the building flickered, and Sans was gone.

Alphys stared at the door for a few seconds, before collapsing onto her chair and letting out a breath she'd been holding in. She glanced over at Frisk. "You okay, Frisk?" Frisk nodded. "Good." Alphys stared up at the ceiling.

Frisk got up on the desk and sat down, facing Alphys. "Thanks for standing up for me," she said. "Sans can be… Scary, but…" She glanced around the room. "But he's not a bad monster."

Alphys let out a sigh. "I know he's not, Frisk. He just makes bad decisions sometimes." She looked over at the human. "But we can't afford to make bad decisions."

"Well, actually, we can."

Alphys blinked. "Well, technically, yeah, but wouldn't it be great to go the rest of your life without loading?"

Frisk nodded. "I think I've lost the privilege," she joked.

Alphys raised an eyebrow. "Jesus, that was dark," she said, although she couldn't help but chuckle. "Frisk, let me ask you something." Frisk nodded. "Do you actually want to stay here? Or would you rather be somewhere else?"

Frisk thought about it for a moment. Well, the doorway to the Ruins was locked, presumably for good. As much as she'd love to go back to Toriel, she couldn't do that. And she figured Snowdin was sort of off limits for right now, at least until she was sure Sans was cool. No pun intended.

"There's really nowhere else for me to go," she admitted finally.

Alphys sat up in her seat and nodded. "Then it's settled." She glanced over at Frisk. "Tomorrow morning, we're going to start making this place more livable for a human. Frisk, you can stay here for as long as you feel like you need to." She thought about something else. "And we're going to make the Underground as a whole a safer place for humans to be, whether the king likes it or not. Any other human that falls down here will be safe, I'll make sure of it."

Frisk tilted her head. "How are you going to do that?"

Alphys grinned, the first time Frisk saw her do that. "Being friends with the Captain of the Royal Guard does have its perks."

Frisk scratched her head. "Hmm, I don't know, Alphys. I think I was the exception, not the rule. Undyne and I are cool now, but I don't know how willing she'll be to extend that trust to EVERY other human that falls down here."

"Well only like seven humans have fallen down in the last fifty years, yourself included," Alphys reminded Frisk. "I think we have time to ease her, and/or her successor into things." Alphys chuckled. "Who knows, by the time another human comes down here, I could be fifty. By then a whole new generation of monsters, one more accepting of humans because of you, will have grown up."

Frisk considered the thought. "You know, I hadn't thought of that."

Alphys leaned back in her seat. "Frisk, I think this might be the start of a new era in monster-human history. And who knows, maybe eventually we'll convince Asgore, huh?" Alphys smiled. Yeah. The era where Alphys actually does something right starts now. She could feel it.

Sans shuffled through the snow to the large door which he had become accustomed to speaking to. He leaned up against the door, hands in his pockets. "You know, I think it's time I told you my real name." The voice on the other side didn't respond. "It's Hugh," he said.

"Hugh what?" the other voice asked finally.

"Hugh Normus," responded Sans, gesturing with his arms out wide as if the voice could see him.

But no laughs came.

"Sheesh, tough crowd," he said, putting his hands back in his pockets.

"Do you remember what I asked of you several months ago?" asked the voice.

"Yeah. You asked why the skeleton was sad." He chuckled. "Because he was feeling bonely."

The voice didn't laugh. "The other thing."

Sans sighed. "You requested, if a human ever came through that door, for me make sure they stayed safe."

"Last week, a human came through this door. What became of them?"

"They're fine."

"They made it to the barrier, then?"

Sans shook his head, again, as if the voice could see him. "Nope, the king lives."

Silence. Then, a question. "How have they survived this long? They haven't...?"

Sans debated how he should answer. Finally, he answered with "Nah. Everything's business as usual. The kid just has a way with words. Nobody wants to hurt 'em."

The woman sighed with relief. "I thought this might be the case."

"Even the Royal Scientist is on their side."

"Really? Dr. Gaster, of all monsters, is on friendly terms with a human?" the voice asked incredulously.

"Nah, Gaster passed away nearly eight years ago," replied Sans. "I mean the NEW Royal Scientist, Alphys."

"Oh," replied the woman. Then there was some silence.

"You know something?" Sans said finally. "I don't think the human can be trusted." Sans glanced at where his fingernails would be if he had skin. He should get them trimmed. "She's not your average human, but she's just as dangerous."

"That's another bad joke, right?"

"Oh yeah. It's real funny." Sans put his hand back in his pocket. "Heh… I gotta be honest with ya. I almost did something I'm not proud of today."

"What did you do?"

"Almost hurt the human."

"But you didn't."

"I didn't."

"Well then that's what matters," the woman responded. "A lot of us have thought about doing a lot of things that aren't right, but so long as we don't act on those thoughts, everything continues as normal."

Sans hadn't really thought of that. "Huh." He looked back at the door. "So let me ask you this. Let's say somebody did something really bad. But then they felt bad about it, so they went back and fixed things. Should they be forgiven?"

"Yes."

Sans blinked. "Thanks." He got off the door. "Welp, my brother will probably be looking for me. I gotta head off now. Sorry to be a boner on the mood today."

The woman chuckled. "It's fine. I enjoy talking to you. Until next time."

"Ciao," Sans said before walking back towards Snowdin. Maybe when Alphys has had time to cool down, he'll go back and sort things out.

He just couldn't shake the thought that something wasn't right. At this point, he wasn't even sure if the kid was responsible for… whatever it was he thought was going on.

He hoped she wasn't.