My eyes nearly flew open as I woke to sounds similar to that of metal being filed.

"Gooood moorning~" Chara laughed, hovering above me, "So, who shall we kill first?"

I threw my arm in front of me, their body disappearing between my chubby, mittened fingers.

"Oh... Well someone's pissy, this morning." They huffed, reappearing against the wall with arms folded over their chest.

"O-oh." Alphys walked into the room, "A-are you still here?"

"Yeah." I sat up, holding my head, "Sorry?"

"No, no, no." She waved her hands in front of her, ducking her head, "I-it's alright."

"Thanks." I lowered my own head, watching my hands intently.

There was a deafening silence between the two of us, quiet enough to hear the house settle.

She let out a droning sigh, seating herself down next to me, "What's wrong?"

"Honestly, I'm fi-"

"Sans." Her tone grew stern, something I never thought she could manage, "Please, don't lie to me."

I brought my knees closer to my chest, burying my face into my arms, "You... wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

I rolled my head up, looking her in her big, sympathetic eyes, "I..." I stopped myself, forcing my mind to focus on a different, just-as-soulcrushing problem, "Pa...pyrus." I croaked, hiding my face once again, "I think he hates me, ever since I yelled at him yesterday. He... just..."

She put her hand on my back, rubbing small circles beneath my shoulder blades, "Y-you... fell, didn't you?"

Every muscle in me began to stiffen, my mind on guard.

"It's fine..." She let out a hesitant exhale, "Undyne went home a few hours ago."

"How..." I forced out, looking her in the eyes as fear began to envelope me, "How... did you..."

"You eat more often than any monster needs, especially a skeleton." She laughed, reaching for my mask.

I backed away, my fingers curling against the bottom of my skeleton face, "Y-you don't want to-"

"You breathe." She sighed, bringing her hand to her side and breaking eye contact with me, "You sweat... You hate." She glanced back up at me, "Most monsters think humans bring nothing but pain and death," She watched her feet intently, tapping her fingers gently against the floor, "but... I know better... U-Undyne and I... we met through the sixth human."

"Seventh." Chara corrected her, despite her inability to hear the thing.

"I'm... sorry for your lost." I muttered under my breath, already knowledgable of the outcome of that.

"It was... bound to happen." Now she brought her legs closer to her, "We knew his fate the day we met him."

I lowered my hand, holding it against my stomach, "Well, just because a storm is expected doesn't mean it's not going to flood."

"Yeah." She smiled softly, still watching her feet.

I looked up at the tv, which had the news going off without sound. Only subtitles.

It talked about the king and his guard, my stomach sinking a bit.

"Monsters... d-don't hate." She broke the lingering tension between us, "It's completely against our nature... If anything, he'd be worried about you. He does see you as his brother, right?"

"He is my brother." I spoke in a quiet tone, taking notice of Chara, who looked down on me once again with hallow eyes and a plastic smile.

"Go home, Sans." She sighed, standing and leaving me with the silence of the room.

Chara said nothing, laughing instead.

"Go away." I growled, swiping my hand against them as their form shattered.

I eventually stood up, leaving the house and walking back home.

I remembered yesterday, being on the phone, yelling at Papyrus, talking to Wingding, being teleported.

"Could I do that?" I muttered, raising my hand in front of me.

Ignoring the intense heat, I closed my eyes. I thought of cooler weather. I thought of Snowdin. My eyes opened, and I was standing in front of the ruins, "Hm... guess I can." I shrugged, returning my hand to my pockets.

I reached out to the door handle, turning it slowly as my anticipation for the worst began to grow.

"Sans?" Papyrus had been on the couch, eyes barely visible as he watched me over the edge of the couch.

"Hey Pap." I averted his gaze, closing the door behind me with my foot, "How've y-" I was cut off by an embrace, the thin figure supporting himself with my shoulders.

"I... thought I lost you." He nearly sobbed, forcing the tears to brim my eyes.

I hesitantly reaching my hand to the back of his ribs, patting his back as I returned the hug, "I'm here. I promise..."

Chara stood twenty feet away from us, grinning from ear-to-ear as they ran a finger over their throat.

"I'm not going anywhere, bro."