CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: promise me

(AUTHOR NOTE: heyyyy so I know I don't usually do these at the beginning of chapters but, uh… look, just listen.

I'm really, really sorry for leaving you hanging like that.

In my defense, I was in another country, so since my only way of accessing ffn is a barely-functional desktop… Well, you can guess. But on the bright side, I do have a (also barely functional) ipad that I use instead sometimes, so I have 10 more chapters for you, plus improvements on earlier ones. Don't worry, nothing major, just polishing up the plot and adding details for new readers. I'm really sorry for leaving for so long- but, listen. This fic is not dead. It's not going to die. This is one story for which you will see an ending. Enjoy, and please do not kill me.)

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Sans, papyrus and blue trudge through the snow, blue bounding ahead excitedly and pointing out differences and similarities between this world and his with endless enthusiasm, papyrus right beside him, commenting and asking questions- apparently now used to the bounding, excitable version of his brother. sans and bell trudge behind, bell up on sans's shoulders as they wade through the deep snow, sans seeming for all the world unbothered as snow flies into his eyesockets, the group steadily making headway in the direction of the skelebros home as other monsters disappear inside to wait out the blizzard.

Bell is half asleep by this point, her chin resting on Sans's still faintly warm skull, since it's very very late- but she's still been…concerningly quiet. Sans decides to acknowledge this, reaching one hand up and ruffling the child's hair, their chin rested on his skull as he asks;

"all talked out, huh?"

Bell doesn't answer for a while, long enough that sans thinks shes asleep, but eventually there comes a small;

"...I just wish…I could help you all."

Sans's previous easygoing smile dissipates, replaced by a worried expression, the skeleton turning his skull to get a glimpse of Bell's own expression…It isn't much better. He tries to reassure her, and though his words never have been the most poetic- he gets the point across, his own voice comforting the human child slightly...but only slightly.

"hey, kid, you did help. we might never see the sky- but at least we have your stories, don't we? And anyway, some jerk'll fall down eventually, we can just use his dumb soul."

Sans says, patting the human's hands, lightly clasped under his jaw as they trudge in papyrus's wake, the snow swirling around them while it dances and spins merrilly. Bell sighs, and is silent for a long moment, before asking quietly;

"...i…my soul, it could free you all too, right…?"

Sans stops in his tracks, going completely rigid, his eyes off as bell senses his thoughts racing. The skeleton almost radiates repulsion at her words, but he does not stay silent for long.

"Don't. Don't go down that path, kid."

He says darkly, his eyes off and his expression grim as the snow swirls.

"I'm not gonna let you."

He mutters almost as if to himself, his voice grim and quiet. He motions for her to get off, and she slides down, her expression worried as Sans takes a few steps back. He takes a deep breath, then lifts his hand, his eyes blinking on as blue flames curl around his fingertips. Bell watches, transfixed, her eyes wide. This is the first time she's ever seen sans use magic like this. Then, her soul gently floats out of her chest, a brilliant forest green with faint blue sparks coiling around it in lazy circles, sans's eyes glowing brilliantly now as bell stares down at her shimmering soul. A million shades of green shine and swirl in patches, like sunlight through leaves as the heart floats gently in the air, warm and inviting and so brilliantly Bell so amazingly her- it's the most wonderful thing she's ever seen, and she feels her memories resting in its depths as she stares in complete awe.

Then, Sans speaks.

"kid. listen. that little green heart- that is your soul, everythin' you are. that's you. the culmination of your whole being."

Bell shivers a moment, remembering the golden flower that had spoken almost those exact words.

"If you sacrificed it to asgore, you would…"

Sans closes his eyes for a moment, and the magic pull flickers before he continues again, not bearing to say what they both know.

"well…he'd have seven souls. you know what would happen then. he'd absorb those souls to break the barrier, like i told you, but…"

He takes a deep breath, leveling his gaze at bell with deep worry and concern, his eyes glowing brightly with blue and yellow sparks.

"he would become a monstrosity- the real kinda monstrosity. somethin powerful enough to tear apart time itself…"

Sans looks away.

"people go crazy with that much power, kid, and though i dunno what exactly would go through his head, considerin' what happened to his children…considering what happened to all of us, i… "

The snow swirls for long moments as the skeleton sighs deeply, before finally telling her the truth.

"well, im pretty sure the human race would be completely wiped out."

He admits gravely, and bells hands go to cover her mouth as her golden eyes shine brightly in the dim light, cast by warm windows where happier stories are told. When he'd told her the Undertale, he hadn't mentioned how Asgore had waged war on humanity- Sans hadn't told her about what Asgore would become. He didn't want her to know that technically he was meant to be at war with her.

But he tells her now.

And, she listens. Snow swirls, and Sans lets the magic drop, bell staring into the snow with an unreadable expression on her face that Sans knows means she's processing something big.…and, well, this qualifies. The small human is trying to fathom the kind of abomination able to kill that many humans, end that many lives…

then, her expression changes. It softens into one of sorrow and pity for someone that she doesn't even know, empathy for the monster that thinks he needs to kill her. He sees her eyes shine a little brighter, and as snow flecks in her hair and chills her bones, she walks forward and hugs sans tightly- exactly as she had all those days ago. Exactly as she had when she first came. And now they stand there, after so much pain and so much change, human embracing monster, snow dancing around them once again as time repeats its steps.

"I- i won't sans, i promise i won't sacrifice my soul to him. not if it means i…i have to watch everyone die, but…"

Bell looks up, her eyes wet with tears, but not tears for what could happen to her people. instead, they are tears for someone else.

"...I- I still wanna meet him. I want to talk to him, sans. He sounds sad, really sad… I want to help him, i…no one should feel like that. his kids, his family…"

Sans stares down at her, and wonders how on earth a species with frisk in it had produced such…such a little ball of compassion, like the polar opposite of the rest of their kind. This kid…still trying to help every single person around them as much as they can, even wanting to talk to the king himself, the very guy who wants to kill her, just to comfort him on hundreds years-old grief…

The angel who has seen the surface will descend…

and the underground will go empty.

He blinks, remembering the old prophecy.

An angel, huh? Well, bell fits that…

He chuckles a little despite himself, then sighs sadly. The snow swirls, as he thinks of the faraway castle, and the king sat deep inside, waiting for the day to come when…He shakes his head.

"No, no way kiddo. Im not risking that, im not gonna risk you, ok? I already nearly died saving you once, and honestly… if you try an' talk to asgore, he'll…he feels like he has to take your soul, ok kid? Just…"

He holds out one hand, ungloved, to the human.

"Promise me you wont go to 'im."

Bell stares up at him, then sniffles, wiping her face with his jacket sleeve, which she's worn throughout all her adventures…it's covered in flour. Sans is getting used to just going around in a shirt. It's ironic, actually…he always wore that coat so he'd have some protection, some fluff, between him and the world's many dangers….

But the moment he gave it up, he didn't need it anymore.

The world is a strange place.

Then, Bell takes his hand, and doesn't let go. She holds it tightly, as the monster and the human walk through the snow, each silently worrying for the other as they head towards the twinkling lights.

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Blue and papyrus watch from the window of the cabin, both of them practically melting at the sight of the little human walking hand in hand with sans, wearing his too-big jacket. They quite literally cannot handle this much cuteness from the human. They don't know what they were talking about- too far away for font to form. All they saw was the little human hug sans for a long moment, then take his hand. Blue had nearly cried.

Papyrus, however, actually did.

His eyelights (and smile) the size of dinner plates, Blue instinctively reaches for his phone to take a picture of the adorable scene, forgetting that he probably lost it, and finds shoved in the deep recesses of his inventory, a- Oh. Apparently he…didn't lose it? Very good! He pulls the battered phone from his pocket, and winces as the screen glitches on, the image distorted by water damage. His background is of a blur of white holding a bone, and he frowns. That's not what he had- no matter, he's just glad it works!

"AH HA! OTHER PAPYRUS? I STILL HAVE MY PHONE! LOOK, I CAN PROBABLY SHOW YOU PICTURES OF MY-"

Blue trails off as papyrus peers over his shoulder, his jaw falling open at the rows upon rows of notifications filling the screen of Blues phone as the screen glitches slightly.

There are a lot.

*347 texts

*83 missed calls

*76 voicemails

Blue stares at it, then makes a high squeaking noise of pure fear, papyrus turning his skull to look at the smaller skeleton as he- if it's possible for skeletons to do so- goes pale. Papyrus guesses those must be from the 'other' papyrus, blues brother. Blue just stares at the phone, reading message after worried message.

"OH- OH DEAR, THIS IS BAD, THIS IS VERY VERY BAD…"

The smaller skeleton mumbles as he scrolls down the messages, his eyelights growing small as pinpricks as he reads hundreds upon hundreds of messages, still more being processed by the phone as other contacts light up with message notifications. Papyrus reads them too, staring with his eye sockets wide;

blue where are u )

blu answer me )

blue i swer to god blue )

BLUE )

blue pls say u can see these )

im gona kill whoever did this )

blue pls hang on blue )

blue i promis il get you home pls answer )

your phon has to wrk sometim you always chrge it )

The two skeletons read the messages in horrified silence. The phone screen is still very glitched from water damage, but after being in alphys lab for so long- and probably getting tossed in the dryer with the rest of his clothes when alphys had realized they were soaking wet- it apparently had dried out and received all these signals less than an hour ago when it must have finally activated. Then, Papyrus realizes something as blue keeps scrolling down. If this phone could receive signals from another universe, then maybe it could send one back! papyrus immediately perks up and tapps blue on the shoulder pad, exclaiming excitedly in his cheerful voice;

"I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE AN EQUALLY GREAT IDEA! IF YOUR BROTHER MANAGED TO CALL YOUR PHONE HERE, THERE IS NO REASON WHY YOU CANNOT CALL HIM BACK! HERE- I WILL GET ALPHYS RADIO-BOOSTING THINGY SHE GAVE ME SO I COULD MESSAGE HER IN THE LAB, THAT WAY, YOU'RE SURE TO REACH HIM!"

Blue looks up at him incredulously, distracted away from the panicked messages from someone called 'awesome human friend!' as they are named on his phone contact.

"B-BUT, MY BROTHER IS IN ANOTHER-"

Papyrus interrupts him, running off as he does so to fetch the machine, flicking his cape behind him as he bounds off down a flight of steps to a basement door;

"THERE IS NO CHALLENGE WE CANNOT OVERCOME! I SHALL BE BACK IN A SECOND!"

Blue blinks, and stares down at his phone, deciding with a small determined huff to just…get it over with, sitting down on the old blu- no, apparently its green here- couch, crossing his legs under him and staring at his brother's number. He hopes this will work, he misses his brother…maybe even his terrible jokes, at least maybe a little bit…He also hopes his brother doesn't freak out.

…though it's unlikely he'll be calm.

He presses the number, waiting as it rings for about half a millisecond, before;

(SANS!? SANS IS THAT YOU I KNOW THAT'S YOUR NUMBER ARE YOU ALRIGHT ARE YOU BACK IN THIS UNIVERSE DON'T WORRY I WILL COME FIND YOU PLEASE DON'T BE IN THE VOID IM SO SORRY THIS HAPPENED PAPYRUS GET OVER HERE SANS IS ON THE PHONE HURRY-)

A staticked, panicked, very glitchy voice from the other end shrieks in panic, and Blue smiles the biggest most relieved smile he can, responding;

"DAD! YOU ARE OKAY! I'M ALRIGHT, IM FINE, I'M NOT IN OUR UNIVERSE THOUGH IM-"

He is cut off abruptly, his fathers voice screaming from the other end, now in his shaky standard;

"YOU AREN'T IN THE VOID ARE YOU-!?"

But his father doesn't get to finish either, as another voice interrupts from the background as distant noises of disastrous cooking echo in the further background;

"BLUES ON THE PHONE?!"

There's sounds of clamoring and at one point someone drops the phone with a clatter, before Blues brother yells across the connection, his skull most likely only an inch from the phone as he screeches;

"BLUE OHMYGOD ARE YOU OKAY HOW ARE YOU CALLING ME AND WHY THE HELL DID YOU NOT CALL ME EARLIER DAD WAIT DID YOU SAY HE WAS IN THE VOID!?"

Blue fumbles with the phone, his brother yammering in panic on the other end, his fathers panicked screeching intermittently breaking through as he tugs the phone in his direction, but blue interrupts the both of them by yelling into the phone;

"I AM PERFECTLY FINE YOU GIGANTIC DORKS!"

There is silence on the other end, and blue pounces on it, beginning to chatter himself as he explains in a rush;

"I'MINANOTHEROTHERDIFFERENTUNIVERSEWHEREEVERYTHINGISSWAPPEDAROUNDLIKEGRILLBYHASARESTAURANTANDISVERYQUIETANDMUFFETISAPPARENTLYVERYTALKATIVEANDBAKESSTUFFINHOTLANDANDI'MPERFECTLYFINEIMEANTHEMAGNIFICENTSANSATIONALSANSISALWAYSFINEBUTIAMNOTINJUREDINANYWAYSOTHEREISNONEEDTOWORRY!THISWORLDHASAVERSIONOFMEANDHE'SNICEBUTKINDOFLAZYANDDRESSESLIKEPAPYRUSANDTALKSLIKEPAPYRUSBUTHEMAKESGOODPUNSANDHISBROTHERISJUSTLIKEMEBUTHEHATESPUNSFORSOMEREASONANDALSOTHERE'SAHUMANNAMEDBELLWHO'SSUPERCOOLANDILIKEHERANDTHEALPHYSHEREISSUPERNERDYANDIHAVENOWTALKEDTOIVESWHILEHE'SSOBERCANYOUBELIEVE-"

He keeps talking excitedly while Gaster and Papyrus sit and listen dumbfoundedly on the other end, the phone in Papyrus's trembling hands as the universe decides to just frickin' roll with it at this point, having given up long ago on maintaining stability anyway. Meanwhile, on the other end, as blue keeps talking, someone interrupts him from the other end of the line, breaking the silence from his brother and father;

"Blue? Blue is that you?! Are you ok?! I was so worried, please be okay!"

Blue immediately shuts up, and gleefully cries into the phone just as sans opens the door;

"CHARA! YOU'RE OKAY!"

Sans immediately freezes where he stands, half in-half out of the door, and Bell looks up at him worriedly, clinging to his hand as blue chatters into the phone, answering the questions from his friend as Sans stands there, frozen at the name as Bell nervously squeezes his hand in a silent question.

"Oh Blue! I'm so glad you're- I mean you- Where are you? Are you okay!?"

"I AM PERFECTLY FINE, MY HUMAN FRIEND! EVERYTHING IS OKAY- AND GUESS WHAT? I'M IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE!"

"Wait- r-Really!? Am I there?!"

"NO, I DON'T THINK SO. I THINK THIS UNIVERSE IS VERY DIFFERENT IN THAT WAY! THERE'S A HUMAN CALLED BELL AND- OH, HEY BELL! COME MEET-"

Blue stops as he sees first bell, standing by Sans's side worriedly, then Sans, frozen where he stands in the open door, his expression blank.

"I WILL…CALL YOU BACK."

There's a screech of indignation and panic from the other end, presumably from blues brother, but he still hangs up the call, looking nervous as sans stays by the open door, eyes off.

"OTHER ME, ARE YOU OKAY? MY CHARA- SHE WOULD NEVER HURT ANYONE, I PROMISE!"

Sans blinks a moment, apparently torn out of genocidal memories, then sighs, giving blue a tired smile as he pushes the door shut and squeezes Bell's hand lightly in a silent response. He's covered in snow, and suddenly looks an infinite amount tireder, but still seems to be faring better than the last few times he heard Chara's name since the lab.

"it's…it's fine, bud. It was just….A bit sudden, is all."

He says, sighing a little and rubbing his skull. Bell looks back and forth between them, the silence stretching out as sans tries to look away and blue tries to hold his gaze, looking worried and sympathetic as he wonders if that was a lie like his brother would tell him to ease his worry, or the truth, like he would tell his brother to show he trusts him.

He can't tell with this version of him…

*BRRRIIIIING *BRRRIIIING

His phone vibrates in his hands, and the silence is broken. Bell looks at Sans, who nods, giving her the same tired smile as he releases her hand, sighing and rubbing his skull as she turns towards blue. Blue is fumbling with the phone, and bell clambers onto the couch to sit next to him, asking as sans follows his brothers trail of destruction to talk some sense into him;

"Uh- who did you want me to talk to?"

Bell asks, a bit distantly, her worried thoughts elsewhere. Blue takes one look at her troubled expression, and refuses the call, clicking the red button with his ungloved thumb as he responds;

"IT IS OF NO MATTER RIGHT NOW! YOU NEED SLEEP HUMAN, YOU LOOK TROUBLED AND TIRED, WHICH IS IN NO SITUATION A GOOD MIX! I WILL CALL THEM BACK IN THE MORNING, WE HAVE TIME!"

He smiles reassuringly at Bell, who returns it gratefully, looking down at her hands as the smile fades, her thoughts elsewhere as her young mind whirrs. She does look very tired…blue is about to ask when the last time she slept well was, but then he feels Bell thump forward against him, and he looks down in surprise.

"HUMAN? ARE YOU ALRIGHT? DO YOU NEED A HUG?"

He asks with a papyrus-sized amount of concern, his arms raised hesitantly by his sides as Bell continues leaning her small weight against him, sans's jacket still wrapped around her as they both sit there on the old green couch.

"Yes…"

She mumbles into his gray shirt, and Blue perks up. That is something he's good at! He immediately sweeps bell up into a huge bear hug, squeezing her tightly while proclaiming proudly in his energetic voice;

"I AM VERY GOOD AT THOSE! NO ONE IS BETTER THAN THE SANSATIONAL SANS IN ALL OF SNOWDIN! MY SNOWDIN, ANYWAY!"

He relaxes his crushing hold on the young human, and asks as gently as an uppercase can;

"DO YOU WISH TO TALK ABOUT IT?"

Bell shakes her head, and blue nods decisively, not pressing the matter, knowing that some humans prefer to work out their problems with their 'inside' voice rather than their 'outside' voice, as his chara once put it, long ago.

"THAT IS OKAY! DO YOU WANT ME TO TALK INSTEAD?"

He asks, knowing this human may be like chara, and thus want silence instead, but still thinking it fit to ask. Bell pauses, then nods, leaning her weight into him as she sighs sadly. This human is much smaller than chara- and no doubt younger, too. She's most likely somewhere around 7- maybe 8, but would be small for that age, her head barely coming up to blues shoulders, and he is not a tall skeleton.

And to think, they've been entertaining monsters for hours with their stories…They must be totally drained!

Blue nods again, and begins to talk about his home, and his brother, and everyone that lives in his world. He talks about how he got here, about his pun battle with sans, about his three days in the lab…He talks about shy froggits and bouncy whimsums, about the queen of all monsters- he talks a lot about the queen of monsters- and his training with alphys, about watching anime with undyne and napstablook's amazingly dramatic, glamorous songs…Bell simply sits there, her face buried in his gray shirt as blue talks, her arms loosely clasped around him as the small child listens. Then, as blue is trying to remember something in a small moment of silence, she mumbles softly;

"...you feel like a marshmallow…"

Blue chuckles cheerfully, and bell can feel the vibration through his bones as the skeleton proclaims;

"YES! I AM VERY HUGGABLE FOR A SKELETON! MY BROTHER, HOWEVER, IS ALL ELBOWS! I THINK THAT IS WHY HE WEARS THAT HOODIE ALL THE TIME."

Bell giggles this time, and draws back, the fabric having left an impression on her cheek as she smiles at him tiredly, though she's not as distant or sad as before. But still…she still looks troubled to him.

"Thanks, blue. That helped…"

The small human sighs, and blue tilts his head to the side, concerned for the happiness of his new human friend. She looks up, and gives him a small smile that looks forced.

"I just wish I could show you…everything. My home, my world…and, my soul could do that…"

She sniffs, and looks away, still trying to hold the small smile even as tears begin pricking into her eyes as blue stares at her in shock and concern. This is…worse than he thought. Much worse…

"I- i don't know, i just…you all are trapped down here, and i could make them all so happy, i just-

She looks down, the small smile disappearing, her expression full of guilt and confliction.

"My soul could set you free, and i…i just…i want you to see the surface, the sun, and i keep thinking that, that maybe...you're all suffering down here, and i c-could-"

but blue will not stand for any more of this. He catches her attention, interrupting by grabbing her arm gently and reaching under a pillow with his other, pulling out his phone and motioning for her to come closer, saying gently;

"THIS MIGHT CHANGE YOUR MIND."

as he taps something and thrusts it out, showing her something on screen. She blinks, and stares at the distorted photo of three skeletons, all crammed on a beaten up blue couch.

Two of them- Blue and a tired, older looking skeleton that Bell doesn't recognise- are fast asleep, blue leaning against the other skeleton, who has one arm around him and one around a skeleton that looks like a softer version of papyrus. Bell tilts her head slightly, is this…his family…? The papyrus in the picture has one orange glowing eye open, and smiles tiredly at the camera, which is tinged in an orange vinniganet, one arm around the other two skeletons as he sits crammed between the unfamiliar skeleton and the end of the couch. The older skeleton beside him is smiling in his sleep slightly, dusty glasses balanced on his skull as the Blue in the picture rests beside him with one arm reaching over him, as if they both dont want to let go from some unseen hug. Even the papyrus is sitting crammed against the older one, enough to lean back against him and stay touching even as he takes the picture, presumably using magic.

They all look…really happy.

Blue draws the phone back towards him as Bell stares at the small skeleton. Blue smiles warmly at the picture for a moment, remembering that evening when papyrus had stumbled down from the attic- (after a stressful hour of blue trying to bash the door down to save him from whatever was making all that noise) -crying and dragging a battered skeleton behind him. This singed, exhausted, barely conscious and sobbing skeleton had turned out to blues father, who he had only remembered once he'd seen his cracked face, streaked with tears as the family had reunited with a clatter of bones. That was weeks ago, but he still gets a warm feeling at the memory.

Then, he looks up, and smiles the same warm, slightly sad way at bell.

"IN MY WORLD, I KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT WE ARE HAPPY. AND I AM SURE THAT HERE IT IS THE SAME- BECAUSE FAMILY IS FAMILY, AND AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THAT, ANYWHERE IS HOME, EVEN UNDERGROUND!"

He waves a blue gloved hand around at the cozy home they are in, the pillows that surround them, the snow swirling around and around outside like millions of tiny dancers, the shining windows belonging to happy homes that lay beyond…

"MONSTERS- WE MAY BE TRAPPED, BUT WE HAVE LIVED OUR LIVES HERE! FREEDOM…IT IS SOMETHING WE ALL WISH FOR, BUT MOST OF US DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS- ALL OF US WERE BORN IN DARKNESS, YET GOOD THINGS DO HAPPEN HERE, AND PEOPLE LIVE GOOD LIVES, TOO. WE HAVE HOMES, AND FAMILIES, AND WE HAVE LOVE. WE CARE ABOUT EACHOTHER! HUMANS DO NOT FALL OFTEN, AND EVERYONE KNOWS THAT FREEDOM IS FAR FROM NEAR, BUT…"

Blue pauses, and meets bells gaze with his own, tinged blue and fully open. It's like she can read what he's feeling down to the letter, and all Bell sees there is sympathy and truth, as the skeleton from beyond the timeline comforts her.

"THEY ALL KEEP GOING. HOPE IS A POWERFUL THING, AND THOUGH WE WISH FOR THE SUN, WE ARE STILL DOING OKAY IN THE DARKNESS. WITH YOUR STORIES…YOU KEPT THE HOPE ALIVE! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING, AND THE FREEDOM OF MONSTERS IS NOT WORTH THE LOSS OF YOU, OKAY? YOU'RE PART OF OUR UNDERGROUND FAMILY TOO."

He holds her gaze fiercely, and Bell looks up at him, his words surprising her.

"YOU ARE AN AMAZING, COMPASSIONATE HUMAN. I HAVE SEEN HOW MUCH YOUR SANS CARES ABOUT YOU, AND HOW MUCH HIS BROTHER DOES, TOO! YOU HAVE MADE SO MANY FRIENDS, LIFTED SO MANY SPIRITS ALREADY!"

He grins at her, his eyesockets scrunching up at the corners as bell stares up at him.

"YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, HUMAN, BECAUSE EVERYONE REALLY CARES ABOUT YOU!"

Bell blinks, then smiles up at him, grinning wide as large tears gather in her eyes. She sniffles, and wipes the tears away as she beams, happy and sad together as she sits there, with a skeleton so far away from everything he knows, his family, his home, yet still caring about everyone but him…still caring about a human that could set him free.

Still trying to help the human he barely knows, and telling her the things she was too sad to see for herself.

Sanses…no matter what universe they come from, they are good at being there, one way or another. A Papyrus can cheer you up, make you feel like you're on top of the world, make you feel loved, and a sans can be there for you when you need to be sad with someone who knows how you feel. Between them, they can make anyone feel even just a little better, with both the shiningly compassionate optimist and the one who understands your pain.

A skeleton that does, and is, both…?

Well, now you know why underswap is such an adored universe.

Bell suddenly darts forward, wrapping her arms around Blue and squeezing tightly in a silent thank you, still beaming into his shirt. Blue immediately squeezes back, grinning himself, overjoyed that he's made the human feel better. He just wants to make people feel better. That's really all he wants, is for people to be happy…Bell looks up, smiling, her face still streaked with tears as she tells Blue;

"T-Thank you, you have no idea h-how much i needed t-to-"

She begins to sniffle again, and blue starts to speak, concerned, but bell shakes her head, saying through her tears as she still smiles wide;

"N-no, I'm just…I'm just glad I finally know that!"

Blue tilts his head, then asks quizzically;

"KNOW WHAT? THAT YOU HAVE HELPED PEOPLE? OF COURSE YOU HAVE! YOU HELPED EVERYONE!"

Bell shakes her head, responding as she releases the skeleton;

"That…that they care about me."

She looks away, but her expression isn't sad, it's…it's more embarrassed, or even a little guilty as the small human admits.

"When i…when Sans found me, I thought he…pitied me. I thought he let me stay because Papy likes me, but…"

She smiles up at blue, small tears still in her eyes.

"...they care about me. They really…they really, actually care about me!"

She says, sniffling, still grinning as she finally realizes the fact everyone knows. It's a wonder she didn't before, considering how many times Sans comforted her, papyrus was there for her, how many times they said they cared with their actions…sometimes the best people are the most blind.

"I'm…im just really glad I know that now!"

She says, still smiling as blue beams. The small skeleton ruffles her hair lightly, and she giggles, blue proclaiming happily:

"YOU REALLY ARE A WONDERFUL HUMAN! I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE, OF COURSE!"

Bell giggles, pushing his hand away and smiling up at him, Blue returning it cheerily. Suddenly, he remembers something, his mind whirring for a moment as Bell tries to smooth her hair back down with little success. He remembers how chara...she just stayed out of the way most of the time. Whenever something big happened, she went quiet, retreated to some corner…like they were scared of what would happen if they interrupted. Maybe when he gets back, he should talk to them. He wonders if they feel the same way this human did. He hopes not…he wants chara to know they care about her. Bell wipes her face, and yawns, abandoning her fruitless efforts concerning her messy hair. Blue chuckles, and glances at the time, jumping up with a surprised 'MWEH?!' when he sees it. It is very late!

"HUMAN! IT IS AMAZINGLY LATE! YOU SHOULD SLEEP!"

He exclaims frantically, turning towards bell. She nods, agreeing, giving him a warm smile. She seems much better now, her eyes brighter and smile genuine. but then Bell stops, as if realizing something, blinking a little. She tilts her head, and then looks towards the door down to the basement, frowning slightly, a worried expression crossing her young face.

"...y-yeah…but, shouldn't sans be back by now…?"

She asks, but just at that moment, papyrus kicks open the basement door with a triumphant;

"NYEH-HEH-HEH!"

carrying a bundle of wires and tech as he hops up the steps, boxes tumbling in his wake as sans lazily teleports up next to him with a small woosh. Bell beams at the sight of the skeleton brothers, and blue once again has to silence his buzzing phone, multiple phone calls coming in at once.

"NYEH! BLUE! I HAVE FOUND THE SIGNAL BOOSTER DEVICE THINGY!"

He proclaims proudly, holding a messy tangle of wires and circuitry in his arms, part of the mess trailing almost to the floor, a stray wire tangled around one of papyrus's arms. blue hurriedly silences his phone yet again before speaking, bell still sat beside him, but now peering over the back of the couch to grin at sans cheerfully.

"OH NO, THERE IS NO NEED! I MANAGED TO REACH MY BROTHER, AND HE KEEPS-"

Blue makes an annoyed huffing noise as the phone buzzes again, clicking the red button before continuing.

"-CALLING ME! HES QUITE PERSISTENT!"

papyrus looks down at the tangle of wires in his arms and shrugs, spinning around and promptly yeeting it into a box of packing peanuts at the bottom of the stairs at light speed before spinning back and dusting off his gloved hands, grinning confidently.

"NYEH HEH HEH! THAT IS EVEN BETTER! I AM GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO REACH YOUR BROTHER, OTHER SANS! SHOULDNT YOU CALL HIM BACK THOUGH?"

Papyrus asks, and blue shakes his skull.

"NO, HE WILL BE FINE- I CAN CALL HIM BACK IN THE MORNING! IT IS FAR TOO LATE FOR TALKING!"

papyrus starts at this, and turns to stare at the clock, making an alarmed 'NYEH!?' As he too spots the late hour, sans just looking down at his battered watch with a small 'well would ya look at that.'

"HUMAN! I DID NOT REALIZE IT WAS THIS LATE! YOU MUST SLEEP!"

He proclaims, in almost exactly the same tone blue used moments earlier, bell nodding and yawning as she tugs the blue jacket tighter around her. The tall skeleton then turns to sans, reminding his brother firmly with his gloved hands on his hips;

"AND SANS! YOU OWE ME FIVE CHAPTERS OF FLUFFY BUNNY!"

he exclaims, and sans gives a lazy thumbs up to his brother, before turning to blue, who is staring down at his phone with annoyance as it vibrates again.

"hey- hot sauce, you got a place to stay, or are ya going back to the lab?"

He asks with one non-eyebrow raised, and blue looks up, hopping down from the couch and exclaiming;

"OH! I HAD NOT THOUGHT OF THAT- I SHOULD PROBABLY GO TELL ALPHYS YOU ARE OKAY, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO OVERSTAY MY WELCOME IN HER LAB…"

he thinks for a moment, then snaps his gloved fingers and makes a fingergun at sans, grinning triumphantly.

"I KNOW! I WILL STAY AT THE SNOWED-INN! THERE IS NO NEED TO WORRY, THE MAGNIFICENT SANSATIONAL SANS ALWAYS HAS A PLAN!"

He proclaims with an air of triumph. sans is about to remind him that he might not have enough G after paying for the food, but blue has already raced out the door with a triumphant 'MWEH HEH HEH!' The door clicking back shut behind him as the blue figure bounds off through the snow in the direction of the lab, bell waving goodbye after him. Sans just shakes his skull in amazement. This 'other him' really is quite a character, huh? He never thought he, in any universe, could be that energetic. but papyrus is soon nagging him for fluffy bunny, and bell is already melting into the piles of blankets on the couch, so Sans gives a goodnatured sigh and heads up the stairs with his brother bounding after him.

Soon, it's back to the old routine, sans doing his usual storytelling duties, papyrus tucked into his race car bed as always. The night is quiet, and things are finally peaceful as normality settles in.

Sans reads the familiar words of the bedtime story, and remembers when his dad would do this for him…memories like that have been creeping up on him lately. Even as he walked through the snow with Bell, he kept catching himself staring into the trees, waiting for his father to emerge, triumphantly holding a bundle of sticks in his arms…the skeleton family would often make little campfires way back when, the brothers kicking the snow away as their father hunted for firewood. That was one of their traditions…sitting in the freezing cold around a fire and telling stories every weekend night, papyrus roasting marshmallows and sans cracking various fire-related puns, their father making up science trivia or simply telling stories from his week. Sometimes, on those rare nights nothing interesting had happened, the siblings would hear about their grandparents, long gone- but still the stars in many stories from when their father himself was a child. He even began talking about his work on those nights, in the years leading up to the experiment…Sans still remembers how his glasses would shine in the firelight, his eyelights twinkling with excitement as he spoke about all he had seen. Sans's words trail off for a moment, the small skeleton remembering those days and wondering if they'll ever…

That is, until Papyrus nudges him with an indignant 'nyeh' and sans continues with a small jolt at being taken out of memories. He turns the page, and begins again, telling the familiar story as he always does. He's basically memorized it. heh, at this point, he could probably tell it even without the book…

Then, a beam of light crosses the room, and widens as the door clicks open. Sans looks up in surprise, and sees Bell standing there, peeking through the gap. She's nervously peering around the door, light pouring through the small gap and highlighting her messy, curly dark-chocolate coloured hair. Papyrus immediately sits up, tilting his skull at the small human and asking as his nightcap flops over one eyesocket;

"NYEH? HUMAN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL AWAKE?"

He asks in concern, and sans adds with one non-eyebrow raised, the book still open in his lap;

"yeah kid, it's uh…pretty late. You need somethin'?"

Sans asks, and Bell shuffles nervously by the door. After a moment, she hesitantly asks in a small voice;

"Could I…listen too?"

She asks quietly, face half hid behind the door and immediately continuing nervously;

"i- I mean, it's okay if you don't want me to, it's just really…quiet, down there, and…"

But papyrus has immediately perked up at the idea, and sans just chuckles as his brother suddenly exclaims;

"WHY OF COURSE HUMAN! WE COULD HAVE A SLEEPOVER!"

He suggests in great excitement, and Bell blinks a little, looking towards sans hopefully while papyrus does the same. Pinned under two pairs of puppy eyes, sans just shrugs lazily where he sits in the chair, the book at his feet.

"y'know what, sure."

He responds with a lazy grin, Papyrus squealing in excitement, and sans smiles to himself, knowing his brother has wanted a proper sleepover with someone other than him since he was a babybones. He gets up from the chair and walks towards the door, patting the human on the head as he passes, bell immediately running in with a small pitter patter of her socks against the carpet as she grins in excitement. He shortcuts downstairs with a whoosh of magic and gathers up a large ball of pillows and blankets from the couch, wrapping it up tightly and bringing it back upstairs to where he can hear suspicious shuffling noises coming from inside his brother's room.

he nudges the door open with one shoulder, and stops as he sees papyrus tugging his mattress onto the floor, bell riding on top of it and smiling cheerfully, the rest of papyrus's blankets already crumpled nearby. Sans sighs affectionately, his eyesockets barely peeking over the mound of blankets. His brother is such a dork…what would he do without him?

"Pap, why're your sheets on the floor?"

Sans asks with a small snort of amusement at the scene, and his brother just looks up at him incredulously.

"SANS! IT'S NOT A SLEEPOVER IF YOU DON'T SLEEP ON THE FLOOR!"

Papyrus exclaims in an 'isn't it obvious' tone, and sans just stands there for a moment before shrugging and dumping the mass of pillows on the floor.

"…welp. can't argue with that."

He remarks, grinning a little and turning back into the hall, shooting over his shoulder with a wink;

"I'll get a mattress for the kid."

Bell immediately jumps into the pile of blankets with a giggle, burrowing into it like a rabbit as papyrus waves happily after his brother, shouting after him cheerfully as the mattress finally comes unstuck from the bedframe;

"THANK YOU BROTHER!"

"Thanks sans!"

Bell adds, smiling her huge 7-yr old smile as she beams after him from her mountain of bedding. Sans waves his hand dismissively in the doorway, responding with a goodnatured 'yeah, yeah' as he hides his grin. He hears a faint 'OOF' from inside paps's room- that mattress probably hit paps in the face- and chuckles a little. Once again, he heads down the stairs and tugs out a spare mattress from a cupboard, nearly being flattened by it as it sproings out with a creak of dusty springs. He levitates it off him, coughing a little from the cloud of thin dust and dragging it back up the stairs, hands shoved in his short pockets as the mattress thumps up the steps, glowing blue. Bell and Papyrus are having the time of their lives building the mess of pillows into a fort, and when Sans shoves the mattress through the door, he finds papyrus and bell trying to use bones to hold up a small canopy of blankets.

Eventually, both papyrus and bell are convinced that using attacks as scaffolding is not a good idea, and the pair are safely smooshed inside a small mountain of blankets, sans sitting back down in the chair and picking the book back up with a small smile. Then, he begins to read- but is soon interrupted by papyrus, who screeches from the blanket pile;

"BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING, SANS!"

Papyrus cries incredulously,

"YOU CAN'T START THE STORY IN THE MIDDLE! THE HUMAN ONLY JUST GOT HERE!"

He scolds, and sans remembers, the human has probably never heard this story before. It's kinda weird to realize- almost everyone in the underground has probably been read fluffy bunny at some point, it's sort of a classic. It would be like a human child who'd never heard 'twinkle twinkle little star' before. With a shrug, he obliges, flicking back the pages, beginning at the very start as bell watches with wide eyes.

"this is the tale, of a certain fluffy bunny…"

Sans starts, and begins reading the familiar story in his usual monotone. Even as he turns the page, both his brother and Bell slowly drift off, bit by bit. It's not like they don't try to stay awake- but Sans's reading voice has always been especially good at making people fall asleep, and soon they are both out like a light, tucked inside their makeshift mountain of blankets. They didn't even make it to page five. he looks up over the top of the book and chuckles, folding it shut in his lap with a small sigh.

He sits there in silence for a long moment, the room dark and perfectly silent apart from bells breathing, soft from where she lays snuggled inside a cocoon of blankets. He looks towards the hallway, and debates returning to his own messy room that's still probably full of bones, and the trashnado, and…He narrows his eyesockets and grimaces. He'll…deal with that tomorrow. Maybe.

Sans shrugs, grinning, and walks over to the mountain of blankets, finding a good spot devoid of anyone else's limbs and falls back into the pile of pillows and blankets with a small 'heh.' He doesn't even bother to tug a blanket over himself where he lays with his hands behind his skull, bell fast asleep in her pile of blankets nearby. He doesn't feel like missing out on such a comfy napping spot anyway... Sans sighs, and stares up at the ceiling a moment, thinking about his father. He still hasn't thought of anything concrete he could even begin to do, just bits and pieces of half baked ideas...It all feels so…hopeless. How can he hope to bring his father back from limbo itself? A million to one chance was all that let him even talk to his father in the first place…how is he even supposed to begin at saving him…?

It feels…impossible.

Then, as he stares up at the ceiling, he remembers something from a very, very long time ago…

…His father, humming a tune in the kitchen, sans sat at the kitchen table with a toddler papyrus scribbling nonsense pictures beside him. He can remember being frustrated over something- his homework didn't make sense to him, eight-year-old sans puzzling over the math equations that he could probably do instantly at present day. Back then, he wasn't the best at finishing things. He was good at starting, but not finishing, tending to give up halfway through. He had indeed given up, resigning himself to his fate and resting his skull on the table with a groan of defeat…But as sans lays there in the dark, he can remember his fathers encouraging smile as he had picked up the sheet and told him in that warm hiss of static that was his font;

"Oh Sans, you can't give up now! You've only just begun!"

Sans can remember mumbling something about it being too hard- and then huffing grumpily as his father chuckled warmly. His 8-yr-old self had said something along the lines of how it must be impossible, but his father had just sat down opposite him, and told him something that Sans…never really forgot.

"Nothing is truly impossible sans- just like every road has a beginning and end, no matter what problem you face, there is always a path to the solution! you just have to find it, and though I admit, it can be hard sometimes…"

Then, his father had winked, eight-year-old sans lifting his head slightly to meet his fathers gaze.

"It wouldn't be a proper problem if it was too easy to solve, now would it?"

His father had said, and handed him back his pencil with a warm smile.

"…now, are you ready to try again?"

Sans smiles sadly to himself at the warm memory, staring up at the ceiling from where he lays surrounded by pillows, and sighs, his emotions…. complicated. Grief and hope war within him, and he's still so confused and unsure on what to do, what to feel… but still, he smiles sadly. His old man had a point.

I hear ya, dad...I've already tried giving up- and turns out, it doesn't end well. Don't worry. I'll get you back.

Sans thinks, staring up at the ceiling as Bell smiles in her sleep and the snow swirls outside, peace descending on the town at last.

no matter what, I'll get you back…

He thinks, as his eyes slowly shut, the exhausted skeleton letting out a small sigh…

And drifting off to sleep.


(AUTHOR NOTE: by the way, I've decided to catalog 'the misadventures of edgy mc my chemical romance' (the undertale sans) in a separate fic after I finish this one, so it won't be confusing trying to keep track of more than one universe at a time. thought maybe you'd like that better, but if not, just PM me and ill change it. also, maybe get some snacks. These next few chapters will be a bit of a ride. Anyway, as always, keep writing. See you soon.)