After Sans has told the Undertale several times over to Bell, being prompted for more detail several times, they sit in silence, sans watching, slightly worriedly, as the child thinks hard. Sans still can't believe that the child doesn't know. Or rather, didn't know, since she certainly does now…
"W-woah, kid, why're you cryin'?"
Bell looks up at sans, tears rolling down her cheeks with an almost annoyed look on her face, as she replies through sobs;
"B-because th-that's TERRIBLE and- and y-you don't d-deserve it!"
Sans isn't sure why he's surprised, it is terrible, it's just always been a part of history for him. Just something that happened long ago…Sans sighs, and attempts to console Bell, shrugging and saying it isn't a big deal.
"B-but SANS! Youve…youve never seen the s-sun?! It should be a big deal!"
Sans's eye sockets widen a little, and he looks away, unsure of what to do. That's true. He's never seen the surface, when he was meant to be born there. But this human wasn't responsible for that- so they shouldn't feel bad about it, either.
"hey, kid, look. I can't miss what I haven't seen, so it, uh, doesn't really bother me all that much."
Bell let's out an incredulous cry, almost looking frustrated at sans's failure of a comforting statement.
"Y-You s-should miss it! Y-you deserve the sun just as much a-as I do!"
she says, and grabs sans's arm, staring up at him intently, her voice steadying.
"You were made for the surface, just like me!"
She holds his gaze fiercely, her own gaze so intense it almost shocks him. the conviction and compassion in those golden eyes so strong they burn like tiny fires, as she insists in a voice like steel;
"You deserve to see it, sans!"
The skeleton and the human stare at each other, two different races who have experienced two different kinds of suffering, both with wildly different experiences and hopes and dreams and wishes. One a child, the other past that point, one with skin a chocolate brown, the other with smooth white bone.
Flesh, and bone.
Blood, and dust.
Human, and monster.
Two of the possibly most different beings on earth.
And yet, they stare at each other, and think about none of those things. None of those differences. The first thinks only of undoing the atrocities of their kind, with a blazing passion that burns like a fire in their soul. The second wonders only at their compassion and kindness, even at such a young age, even when they are so far away from the sun.
Neither children nor monsters care about differences, and in that way- the most important way-
They are the same.
And that is why the monster smiles, an infinitesimal bit wider, and bumps his bone-white forehead against hers, a warm chocolate brown.
"Thanks, kid. you deserve to see the sun again too."
Bell smiles, and sniffles a little, wiping away tears shed for a kind not her own. sans ruffles her hair, and she giggles, sounding once again like the young child she is, the voice of steel all but gone.
"I…I just wish I could help you see it…"
She mumbles, sounding nearly ashamed at her inability, rubbing her eyes in a way sans recognizes kids do to hide tears. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, something begins to whisper…
Perhaps she can…
But he smashes that thought down so hard that his soul vibrates slightly at the mental pulse. Never. Not this…emotional ball of compassion, never. She's just some kid…some lost, lost kid. He stops for a moment, watching Bell sniff as she tries to hide her tears. Then, he gets an idea.
One of my best, I think.
He taps Bell's arm, which was still covering her face, and she looks up with a small 'o-oh," looking up at the skeleton who grins cheerfully at her, his smile warmer as he himself cheers up at the idea.
"hey kid, maybe you can, in a way."
Bell's eyes widen, and she asks him in a disbelieving voice, her brassy-gold eyes gleaming as she immediately perks up;
"R-really? I can help?"
Sans nods, grinning in that way that bell can tell he means to smile.
"yeah, kid. why dontcha tell me all about the sun instead, huh? and the surface, everythin. I'm genuinely curious."
Bell beams up at him, and nods emphatically, sans feeling relieved that she's calm. This might satisfy her for a while, if he's lucky- and hey, he gets to hear about the surface! That's cool. All he knows are stories repeated so many times it's impossible to know if they're true. Bell shuffles on the couch, crossing her legs under her and taking a deep breath, before she begins to tell sans…
a lot.
About wind, about birds, and the sun, About how the ocean sounds, and the wind running through trees, Wildflowers, towering redwoods, the howls of wolves…autumn leaves, the creak of dock wood, the dancing of ocean fish through the waves, Tadpoles in rain-born puddles and wind chimes in the breeze, the feeling of grass underneath your hands and the smell of the world after rain falls from the heavens…
She describes everything to him.
and Sans sits there and listens.
Somehow, he wasn't expecting…to actually hear about this… whole other world. This…huge, magnificent world he's never seen, but this kid has already taken in so much of…He wasnt expecting to…well, its stupid, but he almost begins to miss what the human is describing, some long-buried longing for the sun and the sky waking in his soul as he listens with wide eye sockets- sans, for the first time in a long time, fascinated.
That feeling again…
Like nothing matters, like everything can be…
Erased…
He pushes it aside, listening to the child talk about sunlight filtering through colorful fabric, a warm wake-up call every day when the sun hits your face. It sounds… nice. After all, monsters weren't made for the dark anymore than humans. They were made for sunshine and wild and freedom, just like humans were. So, eventually, he starts asking questions.
"…hey, is it true the sky up there is red 'n gold all the time?"
And so he hears all about sunsets, about how they paint the sky in blinding fire, signaling the end and start of all the world's days.
"s'it really so bright up there you can always see?"
And so he hears about how the silver of the moon's light settles over the surface at night, waking the creatures that scurry and sending the streets and houses into a heavy silence that hushes the world.
"wait, wait, did you just say humans have been on the moon? As in, off of the earth?"
And so he hears about all the rockets humans have hurled off of the rock they spin on, the tiny rock in an infinite void that stretches out infinitely, a million billion stars shining far brighter than their own blazing sun, about how the whole huge world and all its pain and suffering…
is just a small blue dot.
Eventually, though, while Sans is thinking over how rocket science must work, still reeling at the information flooding into his mind. He can't believe that humans have actually blasted themselves into space, it's incredible. He can barely imagine how that might work…Well, he can Imagine, but building something like that practically?
What he can't imagine is how.
all he can think is that if he ever does get to the surface…Well, the first thing he's gonna do is find the nearest telescope and look up. He bets the crystals in waterfall don't hold a candle to the stars she described.
He wonders…will it be her soul that…?
No. Not Bell. Not even undyne would kill such a young kid, right? she's not that bad…
Then, he hears a small snore.
he looks over and sees that Bell has fallen asleep, her arms wrapped around a pillow, still wearing his jacket. He sighs. What is he doing? This is a human. Even if they stay for another few days, they'll begin to yearn for the sun eventually, the very world they described so vividly… And then they'll die. Sans shudders at the thought of this poor kid, impaled on one of Undyne's spears.
She would. She would do it, without hesitating. After all, her eye…I can't let her find this kid…Heh…look at me, carin' about someone other than paps. Guess I'll just have to keep 'em alive, one way or another.
He looks at the time. That's…odd. Not that the human is asleep at this hour, it's quite late, but that Paps isn't back yet from his meeting with undyne. He debates going out to find him, but decides against it, if he's with undyne he'll be just fine. The grumpy-gilled captain of the guard is actually one of the few other people he trusts to protect paps.…he just won't be inviting her over any time soon.
Gently poking a pillow under the human's head, he shortcuts to his room, sensations flying past…
…The smell of scrambled eggs, the feeling of dark stone, a little white dog's bark, Faintly blipped music, The clink of coins in a box, the lingering aftertaste of horrific lasagna…
Then, he's in his room, trudging over to his 'bed' and sighing, falling face down on the bare mattress with a small groan. After a few moments, he is tipping on the verge of being deeply asleep, the excitement of the day having made him bone tired. He internally laughs at his own joke, as he slips away into a deeper sleep than he's had in a long time…
He dreams.
Which is odd, he doesn't…usually…..
He's standing atop a mountain, golden flowers sprouting at his feet, endless blue surrounding him as a landscape sprawls below. He can see what feels like the whole surface laid out before him, but somehow he knows he can see only a fraction of it. His smile feels genuine as he stands, the flowers at his feet, The wind rushing by and making the grass swirl.
He can almost feel the warmth of the sun on his bones…
…wait.
The dream begins to shudder around him, as sans in turn begins to shudder in his sleep, a chill running up his spine as the dream begins to collapse. how can he dream of something he's never felt…?
That feeling again. That feeling, of forgetting, of a sense, a memory just out of reach…
Suddenly, he is very rudely interrupted by the next plot climax bursting into his house with a CRASH! Of the front door slamming against the wall, and as he bolts upwards, a rough, earth-shattering voice shakes the foundations of the house-
"AWRIGHT, WHERE ARE YOU HUMAN? YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME! NYAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGG!"
Oh sugar honey ice-
