"P-papyrus? Are you okay?" The Other Sans sounded meek and scared, as if he was expecting to be hit at any moment. Papyrus left Mettaton's embrace and went over to his brother. The smaller skeleton was looking at the taller as if looking at a ghost.

"I am alright Brother. I am glad to see you back to normal." Other Sans ran and embraced his brother, sobbing into his shoulder. Everyone watched the reunion with mixed feelings of adoration and confusion.

"Alphys…" The Original Sans addressed the small lizard. Both Alphys and Undyne's heads turned to look at him. "You said you could enlighten us a little?"

"O-oh um… yeah. It started when Sans was a child. His powers were too strong, o-often taking over his personality a-and causing trouble." Alphys looked over at the Other with a sad smile. He returned it shakily, picking up the story.

"I can't really control it… I honestly don't know how long I have until it takes over again. I… I don't want to hurt anyone again." The Other Sans let a few blue tear leak from his eyes.

"Brother, we are here to stop this from happening again." Papyrus walked over to the Original Sans, helping his steady the smaller skeleton.

"There's nothing you can do!" Other Sans shouted, obviously getting hysterical. "I'm a lost cause! I asked you last time Papyrus, but you didn't listen. This time… please. Please just kill me."

The room was blanketed in a shocked silence.

"Sans, you can't-"

"I can't what? If I live, it'll take over again, and I'll hurt you again…" Original Sans felt his soul ache for his double.

"Well…" Thankfully Mettaton still had his head together. "Why don't we go back to the base and talk about this. Making hasty decisions leads to bad consequences."

"We can't take him," Undyne gestured to Other Sans. "Back to the base. It's built to fight him, not invite him back to a cup of tea!"

"I can take a short cut right to one of the rooms, so he won't see anything." Sans felt weird talking about himself in the third person, but his idea was still the best anyone had. Undyne hesitated, weighting her options. She looked around at the rag tag group gathered in the ruined lab and sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Looks like we don't have any more options… Just keep him detained." It was obvious she wanted to strangle the Other Sans, but she couldn't bring herself to harm a monster that was sniffling like a child.

"T-thank you Undyne-"

"Don't talk to me. We still hate you." She turned and snapped at Other Sans, causing him to shrink back into Other Papyrus' arms. Alphys placed a scaly hand on Undyne's arm to try to comfort her, but the latter moved away, not trusting the scientist just yet.

Original Sans held a hand out for his double, who placed a shaking hand on top. In a flash, Both Sans' were in the conference room at the base. Sans figured this would be the best place to hold Other Sans and still have the room to make decisions.

The Other Sans sat in one of the chairs and looked down at his hands, almost like a child preparing themselves to be scolded by a parent.

"I'm sorry…" Other Sans barely whispered.

"I know, but they might not be as forgiving."

"How are you here?"

"I was sent by someone to fix this timeline." Sans wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell this monster.

"Someone? Do you know who?"

"Does the name 'Gaster' mean anything to you?" Sans knew his answer instantly. Other Sans' eye lights grew bright with shock, and he sunk into his chair. It was strange to see those sharp fans behind a trembling mouth, Sans thought.

"G-gaster? He sent you here? Is… is he here?"

"No, but he's been guiding me, I guess." The Other Sans suddenly seemed even more terrified of the Original Sans.

"Did h-he… do it to you too?"

"It?" Sans needed to get some real answers out of this clown before the others made it back.

"It! It! The experiments… the t-tests." Other Sans' started shaking, his black jacket sleeves being pulled and picked at nervously. The puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place for Sans. Experiments… yeah Sans knew all about experiments.

"Yeah, but I'm guessing yours didn't go as well as mine." Sans eyed his double, watching for changes in demeanor, looking for clues.

"They started when I was a child… I did it to protect Papyrus but I couldn't hold it all in. He kept putting that liquid in me, but I couldn't control it… it took over again and again." Purple tinted tears flowed over Other Sans' face, causing Original Sans' chest to clench in fear. It was starting to take over again.

"He didn't start my tests until I was working under him…" He had a good idea why, but he didn't want to believe it.

"He knew what not to do with you then. I was his… his… his fuck up child!" Other Sans' eyes glowed red with anger. He slammed his fist down on the table, causing a crack to spread through the wood. "He fucked me over and left me for dead! Left me to hurt Papyrus! He fucking left me!"

"Calm down!" Sans yelled at the Other, trying to get his attention through his rage. Other Sans blinked and let his eyes fade to a dark blue. He looked away, ashamed.

"I'm sorry… I'm s-sorry…"

"It's fine." Sans sighed and sat down opposite of Other Sans. "It seems like we're on more even footing than I thought we would be."

"What happened?" Original Sans raised an eyebrow at Other Sans, asking him to elaborate. Other Sans messed with the zipper of his black jacket, the one that was oh so similar to Sans', but it was just a reminder of how different they were. "What… sent you here?"

"I'm not sure… but you might know better than anyone else here. Is there someone in this timeline that can… mess with time? Or, erm… reset the timeline?" Sans wasn't sure how to explain it to someone who might not know what he was talking about. Other Sans' eye sockets widened with recognition.

"Yeah! There was one but…." Other Sans looked away, his facial features looking troubled. "But I lost track of them after it took control again. I don't know if they're even alive anymore." Sans sighed and propped his chin up with his fist, looking over Other Sans' right shoulder.

"Well, if it'll make you feel any better, the human is in the compound. They're alive and well. My kid can do the same thing, essentially. After a long and happy timeline, they decided to fuck around and reset." Sans hadn't meant to let his bitterness seep into his explanation, but he couldn't help it. He wouldn't be in this situation if the kid had just stayed where they were. "When the timelines reset, I watch the moments flow backwards and write down any anomalies – for future reference.

"Well, with this last reset, something changed. I didn't know who it was at first, cuz it just seemed like a wall of shadows, but he managed to take some half form. He dripped this… black goop into the timeline, contaminating it. He told me to erase the hate, but I don't know what he meant… at least at first.

"But now I think I know what he wanted me to do. All throughout this nightmare, I've had feelings in my chest, pushing me towards one direction or the other, helping me make the right choices. I think he's trying to get me to make amends for what he did.

"Gaster is trying to save you." Sans finished, finally looking Other Sans in the eye. The Other's eyes grew wide with fear and hope, and odd combination in Sans' opinion.

"S-save me? But how?" He sounded frantic, but Original Sans figured he would also be frantic, if put in his double's place.

"I don't know… I guess he figured I would find… something." Both Sans' slumped in their chairs, not liking their predicament. They heard a sudden commotion outside the room and knew the rescue party had returned. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he hoped things wouldn't end in bloodshed.

The door burst open, Undyne in the lead, followed by Mettaton, Papyrus, Aphys and the small monster with large ears and scarf. The others must have gone off to rest.

"Have you found anything out?" Undyne addressed Sans, but was looking anywhere but the two identical skeletons.

"Um… that he isn't actually a bad guy?" He wasn't sure how much about Gaster and the timelines he wanted to share with the others. Undyne snorted in disbelief and turned her attention to Other Sans, who cowered in his chair.

"And what do you have to say about this, Underlord Sans?" She said with enough spite to break a bone. He cowered even more, fidgeting with his sleeves and sweating.

"I don't… I didn't mean…" He started tearing up again, and Original Sans felt pity for his double.

"It wasn't his fault." Original Sans spoke up again, drawing attention from the Other. "He did it because of the experiments." Other Sans looked at him incredulously, not knowing his was going to spill everything right then and there.

"Experiments? Brother, what is he talking about?" Papyrus addressed his real brother, still obviously nervous around him. If it weren't an insanely tense situation, Sans would have made a pun about being afraid of the trembling sack of bones in front of them,

"If this timeline is the same as mine, no one will remember him, but Gaster did some nasty experiments on him- us. So nasty, it caused his powers to lose control and take over."

"B-brother… is that true?" Papyrus seemed almost afraid to hear the answer. Other Sans just nodded and let his eye lights dim at the following gasps of disbelief. Original Sans remembered one of the more terrifying tests Gaster ran on him.

He was tied down to a table, not able to move a muscle. Gaster had injected him with some clear liquid that caused him to become temporarily paralyzed.

Gaster walked towards Sans, his smile faltering as he saw the fear so plainly etched into Sans' face.

"Do not worry." He said in his strange way. The words were clear to Sans, but only because he had worked so closely to the doctor for many years. "It will be over very soon. Please, just bear with me." He injected something into Sans' upper arm, and the pain instantly started.

Sans' back arched off the table as far as the restraints would let him. He screamed so loud he dislocated his jaw bone, but there was nothing he could do to fix it. The screaming continued, but it was distorted, streaming through his gaping mouth.

It felt like he was on fire. The fire was consuming every inch of his being. He felt the fire touch his soul, and he wished he would pass out. The fire filled his soul, almost bleaching it. His soul had always been deep blue, just like his brother's, but this fire filled his heart and turned it an icy blue.

The fire worked its way to his skull, and Sans wished for death. He wished more than anything that he could just die.

The fire nestled in his left eye socket, curling around his skull. Sans found himself in a battle of wills. The fire wanted to take control, to rule over his body, but Sans had someone he had to take care of. He thought of Papyrus, his smile, his laugh, and fought against the fire.

The fire fought back harder, pushing Sans' will, trying to bend it. Trying to break it. But Sans couldn't let it take over.

With a final scream, the pain faded, the fire diminishing to a dull ache in his eye socket. His vision cleared to see a beaming Gaster. The doctor's slim hands rested on Sans' jaw and swiftly jerked it back into place, but that pain was nothing compared to what he just experienced.

Gasping for breath, Sans felt the bonds release his limbs, and he collapsed into Gaster's arms. He felt something wet drip into the back of his skull. Sans looked up and saw tears dripping from the Doctor's grinning face.

Sans came back to the moment only to see everyone staring at him. He felt a faint pricking on his skull and reached a hand up to his eye. The flames had reached down the back of his head, almost licking the back of his neck. Sans calmed his breathing, letting the flames disappear back into his left eye socket.

"Brother…" Papyrus tried getting his attention, but Sans was too focused on the memory. No wonder Other Sans lost the battle. He had almost lost the battle too. Sans looked at the Other, this time with more understanding this time.

"Don't pity us." Sans' voice was deep with emotion. "Don't pity what he is, what I might have been… we couldn't help what we've become…"

"Sans! Explain what you're driveling on about." Undyne slammed her fist on the table, causing the crack to grow more. Original Sans whipped his head towards the fish monster, no emotion in his face.

"What we've been through… you would have given up Undyne. You never would have been able to survive what we survived. A weaker monster would have dropped dead, but we were strong enough- to live at least. And now…" Sans laughed, but it was dark and insane sounding. "Now, I have to figure out a way to fix this, or I'll be trapped here forever!"

"Fix what, dear?" Mettaton finally spoke up, no longer pumped on adrenaline and bloodlust. He sounded tired and resigned, but also cautious and worried.

"This!" Sans gestured at Other, his own hand shaking violently. "Whatever the Doc did to him messed with his head and his magic. He wants me t-to fix his screw up, and even then I don't know if I'll ever make it home! If I'll ever see my friends again. If I'll ever see my Paps again…" The dam broke, and Sans let out a breathy sob. It was all too much for him, being captured and tortured, living through the memory, realizing he may never see Papyrus ever again.

A hand came down on his shoulder, and he flinched away so violently he almost fell into to the ground had another set of arms not caught him at the last second. Papyrus was standing to his right, arm outstretched to shoulder height, looking shocked. Mettaton was on his left, all four arms helping to right the skeleton. Undyne watched the whole scene with mixed emotions before making a decision. She waited until Sans was standing on his own two feet before speaking.

"Everyone seems like they're about to pass out on my floors. Let's break for the night and meet again after breakfast. You," She pointed a spear at Other Sans, who flinched away. "You're going to stay in this room. You are not going to leave unless blindfolded and guarded. Everyone else, dismissed." She left the room first, followed closely by Alphys. A small part of Sans' mind commented that the two of them weren't going to sleep as much as talk through the night.

Other Sans looked sadly at the door, watching the monsters leave. Mettaton laid a hand on Papyrus' shoulder and whispered something in his ear. The skeleton hesitated before nodding and whispering back.

Papyrus came over to Sans and picked him up like a sack of poptatos, just like back home. Sans let himself relax in his brother's arms. Let himself believe it was just Papyrus carrying him home after a night drinking at Grillby's, but when he was placed down on a bed that was most definitely not his own, Sans was brought back to the present.

He was in a strange timeline, with a mission that might actually be entirely impossible, and no promise of a return home after completing said impossible task, no way of knowing if he would ever see the one person who mattered to him again.

Sans let the tears roll down his skull as the door clicked shut, leaving him alone in the dark, musty room.

Sans wished he could wake up from this nightmare. He wished he could either wake up in his home, or not wake up at all.

Sans watched at the last monster walked out of the large room. The door clicked shut behind his brother and his double, leaving him in almost complete darkness. There was a little light coming from the balls of magic along the ceiling, but that only helped to cast eerie shadows.

He gave a shaky laugh, the situation finally sinking in. He was free of his magic only to be made a prisoner in this room. The irony was not lost on him. Sans let the hot tears roll down his face, but laughed again at their blue tint.

It had been so long since he had seen his real soul color…

There was noise at the door. Sans couldn't make out any words, but it sounded like a whispered argument. He hoped it would be settled soon so he could fall asleep, but the door opened a crack. The sudden light made him flinch and squint.

A tall figure slipped into the room, but Sans could only make it out after the door closed and his eye – adjusted to the dark – were finally able to identify who it was. Papyrus had come back, carrying something large.

"Brother… I couldn't just leave you in this room… I am I sure I will get quite the scolding come morning but…" He trailed off before handing his load to Sans. The shorter skeleton was surprised to feel soft fabric beneath his fingers.

He was holding two pillows and a large, full blanket. Sans felt his soul tremble at the gesture, and he too knew Papyrus would get in trouble for being so nice.

"Why…?" His voice was as weak at the lighting. Papyrus' face twisted in confusion.

"Because you are my brother, Sans. Nothing will change that." Papyrus turned to leave before hesitating and pulling Sans into a tight hug. "I've missed you so much brother." His usually calm voice cracked, causing Sans to lose all composure.

"Thank you…" Sans choked out though his tears. Papyrus nodded and turned to leave. As he came to the door, Sans spoke again. "I never stopped loving you little bro."

Papyrus hunched his shoulders and let out a shuttering laugh before opening the door and leaving Sans in darkness once more. Sans set up the pillows and blanket to form a makeshift bed and settled in. He realized these must have been from Papyrus' own bed, because the fabric smelt of home, of better times.

Sans smiled and buried his face in the pillow, no longer crying.

So this isn't the last chapter… shocker. I kind of lost where I was going with it halfway through and realized I liked the angsty exposition more.

I always miscalculate how many chapters are going to be in a story, but I would estimate another chapter or two and maybe an epilogue.

I'm very sorry for taking so long to update this, but I've been working very hard on my other Undertale story, Love yourself. It's a collection of oneshots dealing with self-harm, eating disorders, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental problems, and having Sans help you cope. I've been really busy because I've had a ton of requests for different situations, so if you think it might help you, go and read some of the chapters and drop a request or two.

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing and supporting me through this adventure! It'll be a shame to wrap this up, but all good things come to an end.

Until next time!
~Starlight