Blue slowly, slowly, bleeds into consciousness. But he isn't ready to move. Not yet. Not….not yet. Oh…oh gosh…why does my mouth feel weird…? Why do I feel…like…Ok. thinking is…too hard right now, nevermind. He'll just breathe instead.
In, out.
In, out.
In, out…
He centers himself, just as captain alphys taught him, taking long, deep bre- He- h-he cant open his- his jaw, it feels- He sits up rapidly with a burst of panic, feeling his jawline with shaking fingers to find only smooth, uninterrupted bone where a seam should be. No- but- he- it can't- How has his jaw joint disappeared? His eyes are wild and wide as saucers, but everything is…blurry, and…
GREAT, JUST GREAT! MY EYES ARE FAILING TOO, CAN THIS DAY POSSIBLY- no, no, stay calm! Calm. stay positive! Anger can make you do dumb things. Make rash decisions.
He opts to just…close his eyes for now. Yes, that is what he shall do, just…close his eyes, and take stock, it can't be that bad…He folds his legs under himself, feeling his spine curve at the motion. Ok. so, his back still works, and his legs. He's….wrapped in something? He slowly opens one eye, and, wincing at the blurry vision, sees that he's wrapped in a dark cloak, faintly shimmering blue in the dim light.
Something feels off with his vision, and it's not just the blurriness. He glances around, still keeping one eye closed, and spots his gloves and boots in a corner of…whatever strange cavern he's in. from the color of the stone, he appears to be in Waterfall. So, someone took care of him! That's a comfort. Feeling a little better now, he turns his head some more, and spies a strange monster asleep in a small beanbag in the corner. His rescuer, it appears. He decides not to wake them.
Well, yet…
He doesnt think he can walk. He looks around, persistent in his scrutiny, and is rewarded. There's a large, shiny crystal formation in the wall behind him and a bit to the left, and if he drags himself a couple inches then he'll be able to see his reflectio- He stops, halfway through the motion, as he feels something within him…give. His soul feels…weak. It's not…it doesn't feel like his soul is fine. like something in him is…bound. Restrained, weakened…faded. But, not one to give up, he manages to find the last bit of strength within him, and finally gets a good view at himself-
OH.
His reflection…doesn't look like him. Is That- his eyes? His eyes, they aren't… he's never seen them unlit. Dark. Lacking his usual cyan flashlight-intensity glow of magic. And his mouth, its frozen in a hollow grin, and no matter what he tries it doesn't- it wont- He sees tears well up in eyes that similarly refuse to move how he wants, save for blinking, the distorted reflection showing a skeleton that does not look like him- not enough like him, at least. What's happening to him?! what's…why is this…
He doesn't understand.
He reaches for his familiar power, but something within him withholds it, the usually boundless energy retreating from him even as he calls for it. Not one to force anyone to do anything, (except his brother) Blue relents, but feels his optimism begin to waver…
UNACCEPTABLE.
I, The magnificent, sansational sans does not do such things as 'give up'! I will figure this out! No matter what, I have to stay upbeat…! Well…i am worried about my… soul, but I will not let it get to me! If my face is frozen in a grin, then I will just have to keep my mood grin…ey. Yes! Upbeat! That's…that's me!…why is this harder than usual…?
The monster nearby stirs slightly, their arm slipping off from its position hooked over their head, and blue sees their face for the first time. It…surprises him. What kind of monster are they…? He quickly reprimanded himself for asking such a rude question, even if it was internal, but the monster really did look…well, off. Not off in a bad way, they just didn't look like anyone else blue had ever seen before. They looked…well, it was hard to describe. Either way, the monster had an extremely powerful air to them, even as they slept.
It reminded him of captain alphys.
Suddenly, the monster woke with a small intake of breath, and their eyes immediately locked with blues. The gaze was held, and the monster did not move. They seemed horrified, frozen in place as Blue stared questioningly, his head slightly tilted. Their face, now that it was turned towards him, was a lot easier to decipher. Their skin- if it could be called that- was like the shadows had come together, darkness molding itself into a humanoid shape that reminded blue greatly of fire elementals. Like a fire elemental, their eyes were pure white, but unlike a fire elemental they had a visible mouth that was shaped into a small shocked O, and were not made of fire, seeming more like a…shadow, elemental, rather than a fire one.
Where their head should have ended, their shadows gathered into a mass of billowing, bluish-purple darkness that moved and split off them like smoke, a little like a mane of floating dark hair, if you squinted. Odd, but cool looking. This monster seems to be made of pure darkness, with just their white eyes standing out like beacons. They wear a deep purple tunic that goes down to their wrists- their hands covered by gloves of a similar colour, with navy trousers that tuck into thick boots, shadows seeming to coil out from under them as if they radiate darkness, or call darkness to them.
They are…actually pretty cool looking overall.
And, per his nature, blue immediately told them so, his newly fixed smile barely hindering him as he attempts to pull himself together.
"oh! You m-must have…have rescued me! I must say, you are ver- ow- very c-cool looking!"
He flinches a little, the effort of talking unexpectedly large. His voice was so quiet, muffled by his…fused jaw. he doesn't like it. The elemental(?) simply stared at him, shock seeming to be all they could express. Blue starts to become concerned. Has he done something wrong? Has he offended them in some way? He hopes not, they seem nice, and they did rescue him after all…Then, they speak, their voice trembling.
"I-i do not understand, i…i am not- i do not…"
They blink, and seem to withdraw inwards, fearful. Blue is concerned now, pushing aside all his thoughts of his own changed(?) appearance, and turning his focus towards comforting the shaking monster.
"I-i meant what i said-! oh, excuse my v-voice- it appears to be betraying me! Mweh-heh…"
He chokes on his own laugh, but persists.
"I d-do think you are exceptional! Maybe more…more exceptional than me! Which is…"
He tries to gather strength, frustrated at his own inability to hold a sentence without his voice catching or failing outright.
"A-a great…feat! Mweh heh!"
The monster stares at him in disbelief. They…have- have never been… They hide their face, they always have, because they have no face, never- never since the-
"Oh! Don't- don't be sad, i- i may be weakened, but i can s-still, h-help you…!"
Blue tries, his voice losing strength as he speaks, his mouth refusing to move in the way he wants it to, or at all. Despite his best effort, the monster still looks…scared. He doesn't think he's all that scary, and if it's not him then…?
"Do you…happen to know what happened, friend?"
Blue asks, putting as much effort as possible into keeping his voice steady.
But, the Riverperson, shocked at being seen?
They do not answer.
Sans grumbles to himself, barely conscious. What… happened? His entire body feels like it's been run over by a truck- not that he knows what that would feel like, but he thinks this is close…What's a truck…? He can't… remember…
"OH MY GOSH I THINK SANS MOVED! ALPHYS! SANS MOVED!"
Welp…sleepy times…over now…
Sans hears his brother fumbling around, making panicked noises, but makes no effort to move. He feels…fuzzy. Fuzzy…is better than dealing with…whatever's going on…He hears alphys come over, her stuttery voice telling his brother- or him, he doesn't care- something, but sans's mind, and him, both agree that it would be far to much effort to try and understand. Too much work…The buzz of the electric lights is… soothing… soothing…..Then, something jabs him in the arm, and he feels some of the fuzz going away.
It is replaced with pain.
He's pulled farther and farther out of unconsciousness, but all he does is let out a long groan of pain and stress, not wanting to wake…It hurts so much….
"O-OH, OH ALPHYS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP, I DON'T THINK-"
Sans hears alphys cut his brother off, her tone sharp as she focuses on…whatever she's doing. Sans hears an argument grow, his brother's voice indignant as Alphys interrupts him. He can feel the frustration radiate from her, even if his eyes are closed from the pain. Suddenly, Alphys cuts his brother's voice off sharply, and sans can hear his brother's confidence fumble.
Nobody messes with Sans's brother.
His brotherly instincts merge with his own self preservation at the rising pain, His mind and magic reacting to the rush, and a cruelly smiling gaster blaster suddenly appears right above Sans's head with a crackle of magic. but now it has a neck too. and a ribcage. And limbs. And a tail that curves back, whipping as the creature stands guard over sans, growling at alphys in a way that threatens death, its large eyes staring into alphys soul with a crushing intensity. its claws crack the tile with small crackle-pops, its entire stance threatening as Alphys freezes in place with a high squeak of pure fear, papyrus yelping in surprise as the threatening blaster whips its tail in irritation. That is, conveniently, when sans decides it's high time to wake up.
Well, wake would be a bit strong of a word…
"Mmrmmph? ….jalapeño, whatttt rrrr you….?"
San's eyes blink open, and he squints, confused by his sudden depth perception and wider-than-normal vision. His brain (or lack thereof) scrambled by painkiller and exhaustion, Somehow names the gaster blaster on the spot. Ignoring his shocked-to-silence brother, sans looks up at the gaster blaster above him and murmurs again, his words slurred;
"Jalapeño, whatcha….dooOin here..bbbbuddy..? Whyve u got…legs…."
Papyrus just stares at his brother in shock, concern, horror and- under everything else- a bit of awe. The Gaster blaster-wolf-thing, is…admittedly rather impressive… Alphys just shakes in fear where she is, while 'jalapeño' continues to glare at her and growl threateningly. Sans mumbles incoherently for a moment, before looking over at a terrified and suspiciously in detail alphys, and groggily asking her;
"...AAAaAAaalphys…? Whys…whys everything in 4K…."
He mumbles, blinking as his vision continues to operate normally instead of half dark and 2D like it should be. Papyrus somehow, through his bewilderment at Sans's state, gives a startled 'snrk' of amusement- and with that, 'jalapeño' the gaster blaster steps back. The large, over complicated attack shuffles around like a giant dog and sits on sans's opposite side, its tail wagging happily as papyrus sniggers despite himself at sans's redicloulous state. Sans and very powerful painkillers…make for a ridiculous mix. Sans lets out a slightly warbled laugh too, and winks, making wobbly finger guns at alphys, his movements slurred by painkillers as the situation deescalates slightly. Alphys, still in shock from the sudden gaster blaster, just stares at him.
She's not dealing with this, nope, nope, nope.
Sans slowly props himself up on his elbows, making an odd, questioning noise as he sees he doesn't have a shirt on, wires snaking into his exposed ribcage. Papyrus gives a small whimper of concern as he too spots the wires, and just like that, Sans's attention is back on him.
"heeeEEEEeyyyyyyyyyyy apppy- h- happy pap- happy papyrrrrruusssssss…."
He mumbles, his head lolling sideways a bit, his voice clearer (ish) than usual as the new gaps in the side of his jaw let the sound out, a goofy expression on his face as his words slide into one another, merging and mumbling as he loosely gazes up at his concerned brother. Papyrus just gapes at his brother for a long moment, taken aback, but quickly launches into a typhoon of questions.
"S-SANS ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! WHAT'S GOING ON ALPHYS WON'T EXPLAIN AND ALL I DID WAS COME TO PICK YOU UP AND YOU WERE LYING ON THE FLOOR LOOKING LIKE YOU'D JUST BEEN THROUGH SOMETHING NOT NICE?! SANS? SANS ARE YOU OK ME AND THE HUMAN HAVE BEEN SO WOR-"
Sans interrupts his brother, the painkillers really starting to make him go completely off the deep end as he mumbles something incomprehensible about typographic theorems, before his volume rises again and he grumbles waveringly, his speech gapped;
"Heeehhhhh heh heh…daadddyyo did always hhhhhhhhhave the bestestsssst theo- thhheories…. Hehhehheh… he…. wwasssssssss aa-always wwwworkin himself…."
Sans raises one finger in a wobbling shush motion as papyrus goes to speak, worried tears in his eyesockets. Sans never talks about their dad… sans always just said he died when papyrus was very young, so papyrus has never really pushed the sub-
"Doooooowwnn to tha' bone, happpypapyyy…."
Papyrus is very worried now, wringing his hands frantically. He attempts to speak again, his gloved hand raising nervously, but sans cuts him off yet again, seemingly determined not to let his brother talk.
"SANS I-"
"Shupuppup"
"SANS I REALLY THINK-"
"Nyeeeeeeeooope."
"SANS YOU'RE SCARING M-"
"H-ehy paaapyy. Lookit what…imma do..now…"
Sans trails off, raising a hand to his jaw as papyrus splutters in surprise, and with a small click-
he snapps it open.
There's a long, uncomfortable moment of shocked silence. Sans simply winces at the momentary pain, alphys still just blinking in shock nearby, her claws shaking as the skeleton begins to open and shut his mouth groggily. Sans blinks, very, very slowly, and keeps moving his mouth about, his skull shifting as he does so, jalapeño sniffing the wires nearby. but he mostly just…sits there, calmly, testing out the movements and clattering his teeth experimentally.
…Papyrus, however, starts screaming.
"NYEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"
He screeches shrilly, his eye sockets widening so much they're almost sans-sized, and stares in shock at his brother's open mouth, teeth and all. Not much sans can do surprises papyrus by now, mostly because he doesn't do much, but opening his mouth was something he had once tried, and failed, to do. Papyrus remembers faintly how once, as small children, his brother got jealous of how papyrus could bite down on things- he could never remember why- and had tried to force his mouth open. That was the first time Sans had ever hurt himself. He'd been healed from 0.5HP by…someone, and since then sans had been all but terrified by the idea.
Papyrus simply stares in horrified silence now, his panicked 'nyeeeeehhhh?!' trailing off as he stares at his brother who is totally calm somehow? What…what did alphys give him?! Sans curiously opens and closes his mouth, then looks over at his brother, Who is rubbing his eye sockets furiously as he desperately tries to calm himself down, muttering to himself about restraint. Sans waits until papyrus can see him, not comprehending his brother's state, his mind muddled by painkiller fog as he patiently waits for his brother to look back up. He gives his brother a groggy smile, raising his hand to his open mouth-
and very deliberately, popping his jaw off.
Alphys seems close to fainting, and Papyrus nearly freaking keels over, letting out a high pitched squeal of panic at a frequency only dogs should hear, making jalapeño look up as papyrus stays staring at the one half of sanses face wink at him groggily. This is not fine. Or possible, or okay- this is, is- this-
The great papyrus…is very confused, and therefore shall- he, uh, he will…U-uh…EMERGENCY EXIT TIME, Y-YES THAT IS WHAT. WHAT MUST HAPPEN!
"THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEEDS TO GET SOME AIR, FOR REASONS T-TOTALLY NOT RELATED TO THIS AT ALL IN ANY WAY! I- I WILL RETURN SOON!"
The tall skeleton proclaims in panic, sprinting past a still shaking alphys and skidding down the treadmill to burst outside where Bell is waiting, chatting to an excited young green fire elemental…But she immediately stops once she catches papyrus's expression. She starts towards him, but stops, sensing the tall skeleton needs a minute to compose himself, watching with concern, knowing that whatever happened in there with Sans, it must not have been good... Papyrus, standing outside the door to the lab, breathes in very deeply through his nose (or where his nose would be) and tries to process the new information.
Alphys had tried to stop him from seeing Sans, attempting to block the door, but once he had caught sight of his brother, she… just gave up on trying to stop him, really. She'd hurried away to take readings while papyrus had watched over his brother, and refused to answer any questions. He had thought that there was something off about sanses face, but…He'd…he had thought it was just the light. Alphys wouldn't answer his questions…No matter how many times he had asked, she simply turned away. He would never understand this science business…
Papyrus leans back against the lab's metal walls, and suddenly makes a low growl of frustration, bell stepping back as the skeleton rubs his forehead, sharply berating himself for his actions. What is he doing? He needs to be there! What kind of brother is he, if…But, he's not sure he can keep himself together with sans like that…his face… There was nothing wrong with it! It just…moved? Now? Somehow? And opened? It's different, very different… NO! NONSENSE! he has to be strong! For sans! He's still his brother! And always shall be! No matter WHAT! Unlocked jaw or not, he needs to BE there! he is the GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL!
Satisfied with his own perseverance, papyrus prepares to return to his brother, turning back towards the door- but suddenly, he hears a small voice pipe up.
"Papy? Where is sans? Are you ok? I-is sans ok? D-did i…"
It's Bell! Oh, what a fool he was to forget her…he really must keep better tabs on his friends! Since he has multiple of those now, it is important to watch over them! But papyrus is harshly pulled back to attention from his thoughts of his newfound popularity by the tears he suddenly sees springing up in the young ones eyes. This will not do! With a resounding, if a little shaky, "N-NYEH HEH!" Papyrus picks up Bell and tilts his skull at her in concern for the small human, who sniffs, and wails;
"D-did i d-do something t-to him?"
The great Papyrus is shocked! However could the human think that!? She healed sans! She did, uh, a weird glowy thing and saved him, not hurt him! She is a very good healer, why would she have hurt him? is the human delirious as well?!
"NYEH, HUMAN! WHY WOULD YOU EVER BELIEVE THAT?! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG! HE IS AWAKE, AND…KIND OF ACTING WEIRD, BUT IT IS FINE! SO FINE, IN FACT, WE SHALL SEE HIM NOW!"
And with that, Papyrus and the human bolt back into the lab with a whoosh of the metal doors, skidding inside where Sans is crying over a very, very small gaster blaster. How did he even summon something that small? Papyrus briefly wonders, still holding bell as he begins to move again- But as soon as papyrus and Bell come within range, sans practically shrieks at them, large tears welling up in his sockets, his eyelights gigantic as he groggily screeches;
"P-PAPYYYY! I-ITS S-SO SMALLLLLLLLLL!"
Bell, supremely startled, whispers in papyrus's ear canal as he climbs the speeding treadmill, ignoring the fact that it's the downward treadmill he's climbing;
"You…you weren't kidding when you said he was acting weird…"
Papyrus doesn't answer, just sets her down gently by sans, who still sits groggily on the floor, before sitting down himself, beside the large blaster which flops lazily on the floor. He's tired of trying to interact with sans, now knowing he's too loopy to answer properly, and not wanting to prompt another…surprise. That last one shook him…a-and though the great papyrus is never scared, he would still like to…avoid another! Just to be safe! But Bell, ever persistent, still sits down next to the smaller skeleton with a concerned air, catching his attention away from the ridiculously tiny gaster blaster. Nearby, the larger one rests his head in papyrus's lap, the tall skeleton beginning to pet its skull.
"H-heeyyyyyaaa kiddddddoo"
sans manages, his gaze loosely fixed on Bell as his words slur, his jaw re-attached by a trembling alphys, who is now recovering in a corner, looking close to passing out.
"H-hey…you okay there sansy?"
A nervous reply came. Bell was confused to say the least. Sans was acting like he'd swallowed pure nonsense, and his mouth kept…moving…? It was strange, and different, but…not bad. Just different. Is he sick or something? Is that what's wrong with him right now? Is this some skeleton sickness that makes their bones turn to rubber or something? Does it hurt him? Well, if sans is sick…maybe it's painkillers? Those can make you loopy…I think. Or he's just real sick…can magic skeletons get a fever…? …I should probably keep talking to him, maybe that'll ground him? I hope I can help him…After a moment, Sans continues, still slurring his words, but at least he seems to recognise her.
"Heeeeeeey, kid, lookiee. Is'a… is'a sans-blaster! Get it! C-cause its so"
Here sans's voice goes very squeaky and small.
"ttiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyy."
He's holding the miniscule blaster in his ungloved hands, cooing at it in a loopy, lopsided sort of way. But still, there were some comprehensible bits of that sentence…Maybe if she just keeps responding to him…?
"yeah! It's really small, i, uh, it's actually pretty cute!"
Bell responds, and Sans smiles at her, and she can tell it's a real one, his eye sockets scrunching up a little as the loopy skeleton blinks at her.
"ye-yeahhh, super- super duuuuuuuper small…"
he mutters under his breath, and suddenly three more tiny blasters pop into being, slowly stacking in his hand in a tiny tower as his eyes glow faintly with power, papyrus gaping at him from where he sits nearby as both Sans's eyelights glow a faint blue. Isn't it meant to be just one? Having both eyes glow is usually papyrus's thing! Bell's eyes widen, and she watches the tiny skulls form a perfect tower on Sans's palm with wide, amazed, eyes. Magic is so cool.
Sans gives a wobbly grin, and a tiny blaster floats over to her, resting in her cupped hands as the skeleton smiles at her, his gaze wobbling around the room. Bell giggles, and gently pokes the tiny floating skull as papyrus watches in amazement. He didn't know his brother could summon such…precise magic. That's… that's also usually papyrus's thing!
Sans is quieter now, his gaze becoming slightly confused. But Bell goes on, smiling at him as she pets the tiny skull floating in her hand.
"Hey sans, what should i name-"
But her voice cuts off, the small child having spotted the larger blaster, 'jalapeno' who is pacing nearby, now keeping one large eye fixed on alphys in a wary, hostile way. Bell, freezing in place, squeaks in fear. Sans follows her gaze, and seems to regain a little lucidity as his eye lights flick between her and the skeletal wolf. A part of his mind starts up slowly, and after a minute of tense silence, his scrambled brain figures out what to do. Admittedly with some difficulty, but he gets there.
"Heey, jalapeño, come… over here, b-buddy…"
he manages, holding one arm out, which the gaster blaster slinks under like a giant cat, rumbling with pleasure, but soon stops, gazing at a terrified Bell with mild curiosity. Sans, regaining even more lucidity, smiles tiredly, gesturing for the kid to pet the blaster. Wait…the kid, huh, she's…uhg thinking is hard…C'mon sans, keep it together…He thinks groggily, as slowly, slowly, Bell reaches out. For sans…pet the giant death cat for sans…The human thinks, as her hand slowly gets closer to the blasters toothy jaws.
"RRRRrrrrrrrrRRrrrRRRRRrrrrRrRRrrrrRrrrrrrrRRrRRRRrrrrrrr…."
The blaster makes a low purr of satisfaction as her hand rests gently on its smooth, cold surface, bell giggling with relief. Papyrus watches with an open jaw as Sans lets Bell pet the gaster blaster, remembering the last time the blasters had made that sound- memories flashing in Papyrus's skull. Something breaks, snaps inside him- and for just a moment, he remembers…the living room…the big project at the lab…his father… Twelve years of his life are momentarily upended, and papyrus…he pushes the painful memories aside. He needs to take care of who he still has, not dwell on those he…lost…? Papyrus doesn't understand these murky memories, but doesn't need to. He trusts his brother, and right now, his brother needs him…the memories fade back into darkness, as papyrus speaks.
"SANS...? ARE YOU OKAY NOW?"
Papyrus asks tentatively, and his brother responds, looking up at him with a small "huh?" as he moves another level up on both the pain and lucidity scale. Bell is now sticking her fingers through jalapeños ribcage, the overcomplicated Gaster blaster chuffing happily in satisfaction.
"h-huh…? oh, yeah, paps im…"
Sans grimaces.
"just soooooo very awake right now…"
He mumbles slightly, feeling pain well up. He glances around briefly, having noticed Bell is gone, and is reassured as he sees the kid and jalapeño are now tussling off to the side by a large line of bookcases. Phew. Sans winces at the sight of Alphys, who is…not looking that great after a very long night of tests conducted after Sans passed out. Now, Alphys is collapsed in a chair, trying to recover from the shock of the gaster blaster and Sans's jaw combined.
Aww alph, what've i…put'cha through…
Looking back and seeing his brother's worried face, he decides it's time for a positive distraction for his brother. Though he's not sure what that would be, exactly…
But uh….ok, positive things, about this…situation, ok…Arhg! Sans, snap…snap outta it! Pull yourself together…
He stares off into space blankly, before jumping a little, a shiver running up his vertebrae, blinking both eyes rapidly as he turns back towards his still-quite-worried brother, who is wringing his hands as if he's for once unsure what to say.
That's it! Imma seeing him with, uh, yeah two eyes now! Yeah…that's it. Two eyes. Which is a good thing, so I need to. Uh. tell him…? Or…
Sans closes his powerful eye, which would usually leave him blind, then turns to his brother with a wobbly but smug grin on his face.
"hey, heya, papy. look. hold up some fingers and ill tell ya how many."
Papyrus, still worried, but also confused at sans's statement, tilts his head slightly. What is his brother doing? He hates closing that eye around others.
"B-BUT, BROTHER, YOU HAVE YOUR SEEING EYE CLOSED…? BROTHER?"
Sans just keeps grinning groggily. Papyrus sighs. He must still be in la-la-painkiller-loopy-land. Thinking it best to humor his older brother, he holds up three fingers with a small 'nyeh' of resignation.
"…three. gimme somethin harder bro."
Papyrus gasps a little, bell bounding around the lab with jalapeño nearby. Next, he holds up two hands, one with three fingers, the other with four.
"seven. come on, bro, i just got the eye fixed give it somethin-"
Papyrus squeals in both shock and delight, and turns to alphys, who's still collapsed in the chair as she tries to process the last two huge shocks she just got. But, papyrus wont let her.
"NYEH! ALPHYS! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ANY LONGER! WHAT IS GOING ON? WHY CAN MY BROTHER SUDDENLY MOVE HIS MOUTH, OPEN HIS MOUTH, REMOVE HIS MOUTH, AND SEE OUT HIS BLIND EYE! ALPHYS! ANSWER ME!"
Alphys jumps up from her chair, looking around wildly, not understanding the scene at first, since she'd apparently dozed off.
…You can't really blame her for confusion.
After all, the scene is…quite bizarre. Sans is half-laying half-sitting on the floor with a thin blanket stretched over him, his exposed chest showing many wires snaking into his ribcage, his actual face not registering with the lizard at first since he's now grinding his teeth experimentally. Papyrus is sitting next to him, looking shocked and a bit frustrated, glaring at alphys expectantly, still wearing his battle body. And, to add to her confusion even more, a small human is running around nearby, playing with some sort of unholy-complicated magic summon.
It takes a moment for her brain to catch up.
"O-oh! i- gah! papyrus!? wh-why is there a h-human!?"
She squeals in panic, glancing nervously towards bell, who looks up and waves cheerfully at her with an innocent smile, Alphys nervously waves back, her claws shaking a little, fearing for her life as sans narrows his eyesockets at jalapeño. Where did the laser dog come from again…? Papyrus stares at Alphys in silence for a moment, then makes a strangled, guttural noise of frustration, waving his hands about while sans slowly scootches away from his brother, out of swatting range. His brother is literally vibrating in frustration, making unintelligible vowel sounds in a familiar manner as he waves his hands about like a frustrated muppet. Sans glances at alphys with smaller eyelights than normal, but she can already tell by his expression that she's caused something… undesirable.
Uh oh.
Papyrus is perfect still for a moment, then throws his arms up in the air and starts-
Not yelling, he's too nice for that,
-but rather it seems like he's forcing his words past his clenched jaw with an…an admirable amount of restraint.
"ALPHYS, DEAR ALPHYS, I HAVE SAT HERE IN CONFUSION FOR-"
He searches for the words as sans and bell watch, sans with a sort of awed admiration at his brother's restraint, bell with understandable confusion as she pets jalapeño on the head.
"MANY. HOURS. WAITING FOR SOME EXPLANATION, AND I HAVE RECEIVED EXACTLY NONE! SO IF YOU COULD-"
The next words are clearly forced, and alphys seems to quiver under the glare of the tall- usually gentle- skeleton, who is still quivering like he's about to blast right through the barrier and into the stratosphere.
"KINDLY. EXPLAIN, TO ME, WHY IN ALL THE STARS MY BROTHER IS- IS-"
Papyrus waves at his brother, who wiggles his jaw helpfully, giving a small shrug as he does so.
"LIKE THAT! FOR SOME REASON! WHICH I HOPE IS A VERY GOOD REASON DOCTOR ALPHYS BECAUSE EVEN THE GREAT AND RADIANT PAPYRUS-"
Sans raises his nonexistent eyebrows, knowing that when his brother pulls 'radiant' he's really trying not to punch someone. Bell is just staring in awe.
"HAS. HIS. LIMITS."
Papyrus growls, his jaw grinding as he glares at alphys with enough intensity to melt metal. After a tense second, she finally manages to squeak out, daunted by the tall skeletons rare wrath;
"I-i-i, e-er, i- its h-his, er, s-save state, I-its, u-uh, n-not his o-own, e-exactly, And- a-and h-his soul is ch-changing to m-m-match that! S-so he, is uh, ch-changing too! I think! Pl-please d-dont be m-mad at me, I- I- i d-did a-all i c-could!"
Papyrus stares at her a moment, his glare slightly softer, before he turns it on sans in a silent request for a translation. Sans, pinned under his brothers glare, manages to say, clattering his jaw theatrically as he does so;
"she says that basically the rules my soul follows to keep itself alive have been swapped with some other poor sap, an' since those rules are how we…"
He waves his hand at himself, papyrus glaring down at him suspiciously.
"y'know, get born n'stuff, whoevers 'rules' i got, im kinda…"
He looks down and shrugs, closing both eyes in an effort to find the words to explain to his already concerned and bewildered brother.
"…turnin into em, in a way? whoever they are? heh- an' I guess somewhere out there,"
Sans chuckles at this.
"Some poor fool's turnin into me, heh."
Papyrus is silent for a moment, thinking, bell resuming her playful tussling with the large Gaster blaster as they roll around, Alphys still eying her nervously.
"BROTHER. WE ARE THE ONLY TWO PURE-MIX SKELETON MONSTERS IN THE ENTIRETY OF THE UNDERGROUND! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY STILL BE…WELL, A SKELETON IF THAT WERE TRUE? BROTHER, YOU BETTER NOT BE LYING TO ME ABOUT THIS!"
Sans is caught off guard. Not about the 'only two pure skeletons' thing, he kinda already knew that, but about how easily his brother grasped the idea. Drat. he shouldn't have underestimated him…Well, he didn't really want to tell his brother this, but, hey…
"er, the thing is…we uh, dont, actually know."
He shrugs, avoiding eye contact with his brother, who is now glaring at him again.
"SANS! THAT'S NOT A PROPER ANSWER- AND IF ALL THIS IS TRUE, THEN WHY DO YOU STILL LOOK LIKE YOU, ANYWAY!?"
Now Sans is really caught off guard. He hadn't thought about that. Sure, a lot of skeletons look alike, but sans's face shape has stayed…mostly the same. In fact, apart from the extra break where his newly-freed jaw slides back and forth, he looks… exactly the same. Wait. his soul, the narrator…Is there…? He looks over at alphys sharply, calling over to her;
"Alph! you said the narration variable was tied to the save state, right?"
She nods, still shaky from his brother's wrath.
"so then…if it still…but my hp…conflicting variables…that could…"
Sans trails off into a scientific mumble, and Papyrus quickly pounces on the gap in the conversation, still frustrated at the lack of actual answers.
"NYEH, SANS! YOU HAVE NOT ANSWERED ME!"
Sans looks up and meets his brother's eyes. There's a steel in his gaze that catches papyrus off guard. Something about the way Sans is holding himself…It reminds him of…a long time ago.
"papyrus, you're right. I… the only way it would be possible were if, well…"
Sans shrugs, but his expression is completely serious.
"...there were two of me."
In the moment of shocked silence, Sans stares gravely at his brother. That stare means only one thing to papyrus. No jokes, no tricks, just truth. But he…two brothers? He…Even the great papyrus can only handle so many puns! To alphys, that stare means Sans has figured something out. That stare means he's worked out the formula, but doesnt like the solution. That stare, dark and filled with a cold resoluteness…To her, it brings fear. And Bell…Bell, playing with the wolf-sized Gaster blaster as if it's just a normal dog- the human who healed, the human whose existence in this time and place woke a broken soul…can feel her soul pulsing.
Almost as if…
…something was coming…?
