PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by Spark the Barkivist

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

27. past me is a moron

past me is a moron and present me isn't much better chapter 27

---

Alphys wasn't sure exactly what to do about a surface announcement. Sans couldn't have cared less, but he nodded along and listened patiently to her chatter on about it on their way back, even if he did it partially from over his brother's shoulder.

.

He tried to keep it sorted in his head who remembered what. Weird how inconsistent the barrier stuff was. According to Undyne, the Tems were still out there, and she'd gone, too, without freaking out. Papyrus remembered his missing scar, but other stuff was confusing. Alphys didn't have a clue.

.

His mind drifted away to his sister. He wished this was all just some messed up dream like it usually was. That she'd burst out of somewhere weird and hang out until it all blew over. Or that a beacon of her red magic would appear and all he would have to do to pull himself free was to have the strength to hold onto it.

.

He had to take a breather and rest his eyes before he headed on back home, so he took one of the spinning chairs in the main room of the lab and plopped himself into it. He drifted in and out, listening to Papyrus and Alphys yak on about the surface.

.

When he woke up from a dreamless nap, it was only because his brother was shaking his shoulder.

"Come on, lazybones, are you awake?" he asked.

"Mhm. Sorry, bro, you were sayin' somethin'?" he asked.

"Oh, no, it's just, dad asked to see you downstairs." He smiled. "He finished your health readings, I bet! I'm sure he just wants to give you the good news! Or! He wants you to help him find something he put somewhere silly, again. Either way, I'm sure it's a good thing."

Sans staggered to his feet. Papyrus patted his back reassuringly.

"Alph gone?" Sans asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ummm, I think she's around here somewhere," Papyrus said. "Why?"

"Just wonderin' if she ran off to Mettaton right away or not," he said.

"Nooo, no, I think she was going to talk to the King, first," he said. "Buuut, she is short, and I sort of lost track of her." He raised his brows. "Brother? Is… Is this all happening because those kids are missing? It is, isn't it?"

Sans shrugged, nodded, and plodded to the elevator. Couldn't wait for teleporting not to make him sick deep in his bones anymore.

.

Gaster was waiting for him in the room he'd been working in before. He was pacing; didn't notice him at first. Sans leaned against the doorframe with an amused grin on his face. When Gaster finally caught sight of him, he rushed over, putting a hand on his shoulder as he leaned his head out into the hall to peek around. He pulled back, guiding Sans over with him towards the desk.

"Bad news, huh?" Sans asked.

.

Gaster froze. He grimaced. He beckoned to his chair, but Sans copied him.

"Looks like you need it more than me," he said.

The old skeleton took a deep breath, pressing clenched fists into the desktop as he leaned over it. "Did you find what you needed?"

Sans shrugged. "Sure."

"So you have a plan, then."

"Kinda."

Gaster gestured for him to continue.

"Wanna power my, uh, time machine," he said. "Got a letter Paps kept from the kiddo from back when he could remember her." He passed it over for his father to see. "Think usin' that as coordinates can get me back to before she left. Not tappin' the CORE for obvious reasons, so I don't think I can interact, but I might be able to get an answer or two. Might give us a next step, who knows."

"Right. Right." Gaster nodded. He brushed his fingers over the note tenderly and then handed it back. "That's… That's good. The way was still open, then?"

"Yeah. Others didn't remember it, though. Which is weird 'cause Undyne was literally up top doin' work the other day." He rubbed his face. "Alph, uh… doesn't remember she and Undyne are together, by the way."

"Wh…? Oh. God. That's not good," Gaster said. He rubbed the back of his skull. "Hopefully, when this is settled, things'll go back to normal. But…" He sighed. "You're right. The results are… not good."

.

Sans wasn't surprised, with how he'd been feeling. "How bad?"

"Would you like to see or—?"

"Just gimme a summary."

Gaster's soul let out a dark-toned flicker. "It's… low. And getting lower."

"What else is new?" Sans joked.

"Rapidly."

"Oh." He laughed tiredly. "Welp. That's trash."

Gaster straightened up and circled the desk back to him. "Worse than trash, a stór. Ta bron orm."

Sans titled his head. "So… How long I got?"

"At the rate you're dropping? If it stays consistent. A week."

.

Sans nodded. That would definitely complicate things. Gaster held his shoulder.

"Sans, I'm—"

"It's fine," he said. "She'll be back. Even if I go, it won't be for long." He grinned sideways. "So, uh, if it runs out, hide my dust from Paps until she gets here, alright?"

"Sans, don't—"

"I'm serious," he said. "Listen. Been through it. S'not so bad. But I told him I wouldn't leave him so, uh… make sure it's only a white lie, okay?"

"I will fix you," Gaster said.

"Honestly, don't focus on me. It's a bit heavy, but I'll deal with it." He shrugged, grinning tiredly and rubbing the back of his head. "What a day, huh?"

"Do you need anything?" Gaster put a gentle hand against his head. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Keep it on the down low?"

.

Though he grimaced, Gaster nodded. A clunk, static, and a loud, wet snort broke the air and the tall skeleton jumped. Sans leaned to peek around the corner and saw the edge of a trembling form.

"Alph?" he asked. He slid off the counter and shot a look at his father. "There goes that, huh?"

.

They found the lizard buckled against the wall, her hands clamped over her mouth, the piece of computer and the buzzing stereo she'd been carrying laying on their sides on the floor. Before Sans could say a word, she lurched at him and grabbed him into a tight hug. Her breath was ragged and she hiccoughed uncomfortably. Sans sighed and held her shoulders.

"S'alright," he said gently.

"N-No it's not! It's NOT! N-Not this time, you're…! Y-Y-You're…!" She choked. "It's n-not f-fair…"

"Aw jeez, Alph. Relax, will ya?" he said.

She jerked back, hiccoughing, and stared up at Gaster with blazing, watery eyes. "Y-You have to fix him! You have to!"

Gaster sighed and bent down to hug them both. Sans huffed out a tired laugh.

.

"M-Maybe…? Maybe I c-can heal you?" she asked. "M-Maybe I… I know I'm n-not the best, but… Oh, n-no, you p-p-probably already had y-your brother… I c-could try a-a-anyway?!"

"Alphys, please, calm down," Gaster said. He held her face gently. "You're burning up."

"Save him," she squeaked.

"I will do my best," he said quietly, "although…"

"D-Don't! Don't even. You will." She grabbed his hands and stared at him steadily. "You will f-for sure."

.

Sans snickered and rubbed the back of his skull. "You guys don't gotta be so dramatic. Honestly." He pointed at the stereo on the floor. "Anyway, what's up with these things? They been buzzin' all over the lab."

"Forget that! Sans, I h-heard e-everything," Alphys insisted, whirling on him and wiping her eyes quickly. "You d-don't have to hide it, I—!"

"I know. Dude. It's fine," he said.

Alphys's jaw dropped and she looked up at Gaster. "I-Is…? Is h-he in denial?" she asked at a whisper.

Gaster shook his head. He patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Either way… It will be alright."

"What?! G-Gaster?!" Alphys squawked. "You c-can't be s-ser—?! Sans! Oh my god." She put her face in her hands. Her voice came out weak and warbling. "What d-do we do? How d-d-do we help?!"

"I have an answer," Sans said. "You won't like it."

.

The lizard lifted her head, eyes watery, frowning skeptically. Sans grinned and shrugged.

"My sister."

Alphys winced and shot a look at Gaster. He looked grim, but he nodded nonetheless.

"We will have to count on her returning before… If I can't…" He put a hand to his mouth. "God. I… Sans. I'll—"

"Like I said, it's fine," he said. "Honestly, I'd rather you put your focus into findin' her rather than fixin' me."

"You're in this universe, at least," he said.

"I literally only need until she gets here," he said, shooting him a wink. "Could cut it as close as five minutes if we gotta. Otherwise, put me inside somethin' funny at least. I'm votin' for either a ketchup bottle, a sock, or a trash bag. Ooh, or my trombone might be kinda funny if I don't, like, shoot outta it and all over the room. But then again—"

.

"Gaster, what's he t-talking about?" Alphys hissed worriedly. "Sister? I-Isn't that—?"

"I have to assure you, I'm not humouring him when I say she is, in fact, quite real," he said.

"Sans, why wouldn't y-you have ever introduced me to your sister, though?" Alphys asked worriedly. "I'm… n-not that weird, right?"

"Pfffft, Alph, c'mon," Sans scoffed. "She knows you. Loves you, actually. Just, if she left our place, we figure it's like what happened to this guy, if you remember that part." He jerked his thumb at Gaster. "So. Memories are kinda wonky."

"I…" Alphys squinted. "I… Oh. Wow, that's w-weird, yeah."

"That is the working theory," Gaster said quietly. He clenched his fingers into his shirt and his soul pinged sorrowfully. He gulped. "A-Anyway. I should get to work. Unless, Sans, do you need anything?"

"Nope. Gonna give it a shot though."

Gaster nodded stiffly; gathered up his notes. "I'll join you in a few hours. Wait for me." He hurried from the room.

.

Almost as soon as he had, Alphys fell onto Sans, hugging him tight to her chest. "It's g-going to b-be okay," she said.

"I know," he said.

"H-How are you so calm?!" she insisted.

"Eh. I'm not worried," he said. "Just don't want Paps in on it. Dyin's not exactly a new thing for me, so…"

"What do you mean?" She looked up at him with big, watery eyes. "Why d-do you keep saying that?"

Sans tilted his head. "Oh. Oof. Guess some of that mightta been pulled outta you with the kid. Sorry 'bout that. Not sure exactly what that did. Anyway, long and short of it is I was stuck in a crap time loop with a bunch of psychopaths who thought it was real funny to try to gut a skeleton. So dyin' ain't exactly a foreign feeling to me." He shrugged. "Besides. I know you don't really buy it, but my kid sister is the one that broke the loop to begin with."

"Wait… Wait, what?!" she yelped. "You don't mean… Like, the Dark Model?"

"Kiddo's the red line, yup," he said. "Don't worry, once she's back, you'll remember everything."

"W-Wow… You're, um… Really serious about this, huh? Well. Alright." Alphys took a long, deep breath. "If she was… is that strong, was it her who b-broke the barrier then? That's why n-nobody noticed? If our m-memories really are a-all wrong."

"Now you're gettin' it," he said.

"Ooookay. Okay." She gripped her hands together tightly. "So. T-Time machine, you said?"

"Yeah."

"And it w-works?"

"Kinda."

Alphys cracked her knuckles. "Then… Th-Then let's go."

xXxXx

The time machine stored in the odd basement of the skeleton house was strangely light. It needed a bit more room, so Toriel widened their doors for a moment to haul it out and into the garage. As Papyrus dragged in some places to sit and their table from the living room and Sans tossed bags of chips out from under the machine's dashboard, Alphys inspected the contraption with intense curiosity. She let her magic trace the hull and listened to its reverberations.

.

"So it… it really works?" Alphys peeked under an outer panel at some dead gauges that had been soldered inside. "You've u-used it before?"

"Yeah," Sans said. "I mean… Where I was tryin' to get to before was real volatile, though. So. It worked. But it didn't end well."

"Do you think this will be similar?" Toriel asked worriedly. She folded her arms and eyed the machine warily.

He smiled and shrugged. "I'm just headin' to the house a couple days ago. And the way I made it, it's theoretically a sort of phantom travel. So, no paradoxes."

"O-Observational only," Alphys said approvingly.

"In theory," Sans said again.

.

He socketed in three of the crystals he had and plopped tiredly into the seat. Toriel knelt down to peek inside with him as a flurry of small lights blinked on in the console.

"You're certain about this, honey?" she asked. "This will help you find the dream children? It cannot wait?"

Sans smiled tiredly. "I can't." He flicked on a red primer switch near a repurposed laptop screen and piano keys. He hit two of them in harmony and a few more lights responded. "Don't sweat it, you won't even notice I'm gone."

"Oh Sans…" She leaned in and gently smooched him on the forehead. "I'm just worried about you moving too fast, that's all."

"That's a first," he said with a grin.

.

Alphys knocked on the metal and stood on her toes near the opening on the opposite side. "Y-You don't leave this open, do you?"

"Doors come down from up here." Sans tapped the top of the inner cockpit.

She ducked down and peered in. "Oh w-wow…" She squinted at the console; readjusted her glasses. "All these p-parts… You did this on your own?"

"Yup."

"How long did this t-take you to make?"

"Uh… Dunno. Six months?" Sans shrugged. "Wasn't doin' much else at the time."

Alphys pulled back and folded her arms, tilting her head thoughtfully. Toriel smiled proudly.

"It's quite impressive. I am anxious to see it in action. And I hope it does what you want."

"Same," Sans said with a laugh.

"But y-you're positive it works?" Alphys insisted again.

He shrugged. She began to sweat.

.

With a burst of snow billowing in, Papyrus kicked in the door, carrying a box full of whatever he happened to think would be useful. Gaster followed him, bundled up warm, his glasses fogging over the second he entered the room.

"Ah, there you two are," Toriel said, straightening up. She turned her gaze on Gaster. "I'm glad you're home. Hopefully now you'll be able to get a little rest."

"I'm afraid not," he said, using his scarf to clear the mist from his lenses.

She put his hand on his shoulder. "And if I insist?"

"There's still a lot to be done before we're sure Sans is out of the woods," he said apologetically.

Alphys's face flushed and her eyes shot over to the short skeleton, though he was nonplussed.

"You can take a break right now, y'know," he suggested.

"He will! I didn't let him bring anything sciencey at all," Papyrus said proudly. "Now it's just a matter of sitting back and watching Sans do something completely weird and possibly crazy."

"L-Let me take care of the science stuff f-for now," Alphys said. "Guess w-we can, um, get started, then." She popped a set of magic cables out of her phone and then snagged Sans's out of his pocket. "Let me j-just sync ours up."

.

Gaster hurried to Sans's side and he grabbed his arm gently. "Wait. I can go for you."

"Nah," he said. He grinned and tapped the roof. "Not really your size."

"If we pulled the seat out—"

"That'd be a pain the ass," Sans said with a wink.

"Saaaans," Papyrus whined. He walked over and peeked inside as well. "…This is pretty snug. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Sure," Sans said.

"Come on, old friend," Toriel said, grabbed Gaster's hand gently. "Let the boy be. He knows what he's doing."

"I know he does, it's just that—"

"You're exhausted. Come. Sit for a while," she said. "Worrying off your feet is only marginally different than worrying over here, right?"

"Hmmmm, she's got a point, dad," Papyrus said. "And your eye sockets look all grey around them, so you should probably take a break."

"Go ahead," Sans assured him. "You'll know pretty quick if it goes wrong."

.

Though Gaster looked a bit uncomfortable, Toriel guided him to a chair and all but placed him in it. His eyes roamed to the time machine, and though his curiosity was clearly piqued, he folded his arms and forced himself to stay where he was. It wasn't hard with the huge monster holding onto his shoulder. "Are you… almost ready, then?"

"N-Nearly there," Alphys said. She finished with the phone before attaching the cables to it and handing it back to Sans. "C-Can I, um…?" She pointed at his chest.

He shrugged and nodded so she reached under his shirt to hook it up to his ribcage near his soul.

"I sh-should… maybe be able to monitor you," she said as she pulled away, clutching her own phone close.

"Hope so," he said. He flicked a few more switches and the machine hummed gently.

.

The crystals brightened in their holders. He flipped up the cap on a metal capsule built into the top of the console and then carefully placed the mysterious note inside and closed it. The screen nearby showed a loading bar that took a few seconds to charge, and then flashed over red with a thumbs up and an exclamation point appearing in its place. The hum got louder.

"Is it working?" Papyrus asked.

"Should be," Sans said. He waved at Alphys to back up and she hesitantly did. "See you in a few."

"Be careful," Gaster said.

"We'll be waiting," Toriel said.

"Good luck, brother!" Papyrus said with a grin.

Alphys shot Sans a timid smile. She stuck her thumb up and took another few steps back. He waved at her to move again and she scooted across the room, sweating nervously.

.

Sans pulled a lever on the roof and the doors slid down in a sheet, shielding him inside a metal bubble. The warm-up sequence actually had a few more minutes to go, but the machine needed one more thing to get moving. He hadn't told them. They would have never let him go this far if they'd known. Now, to be honest, he wasn't sure if he had enough energy for it. Didn't have much of a choice, though.

.

He opened a compartment under the console and pulled out a tube of Frosti-Gel, a roll of white bandages, and a half-homemade hand drill, then flipped up the compartment's cover so it lay flat like a small table top. He put the stuff up in front of him and flicked open another small capsule beside the one with the note inside. There was a slot in there for a test-tube, but that wasn't exactly what he intended to put in there. He uncapped the gel first, and then rolled up his right sleeve. Grasping his arm tightly, he popped it off at the elbow and then laid it flat on the makeshift table. He pushed a blue button on the lefthand side of the console and the machine let out a loud, magical burst, and at the same time, he unhooked the wires from his ribs.

.

Quickly, he slathered his detached arm in the numbing goo and it, indeed, went fairly numb. Working quick, he grabbed the drill; checked the bit. It was bigger than he recalled. He'd used it on his ribs in his undone last attempt, and he wasn't making that mistake again. He matched it up with his radius and then his ulna. Nope. It'd compromise the integrity. He sighed. Palm it was, then.

.

He flipped his detached palm over and also flipped himself off. A bit more goo, and he powered up the drill and let it buzz in the air for a second. This was crazy. He held his hand down and aimed for a spot on the side of the palm, under his pinkie. He felt the drill bit make contact and it still hurt enough to make him curse under his breath. He pierced the bone, a cold sweat chilling him, trying to contain a rattle through his body until he could go no longer. The bit slipped downward as he pulled back, scraping along the side of his hand. He grumbled a curse and turned the drill off, chucking it onto the floor. He'd succeeded, though. He could see red in the gouge.

.

Carefully, he poured a few drips of the red magic into the capsule before sticking his arm back on. As the time machine powered up, he carefully wrapped his hand in bandages.

.

The second he had any feeling back in his fingers, he set to work, programming a destination and a tracker into the machine via the energy on the letter. It wanted to align him just a day in reverse. That had to be good enough. He hoped it would work. He'd definitely cut a few minutes off his countdown, but he didn't have any other choice.

.

The time machine signalled it was good to go. Sans took a deep breath. He pressed three slider switches upwards, pulled a throttle back, and then engaged a final locking button beside his seat, and then pressed the fingers on his good hand against the musical keyboard keys in a D4 chord.

.

The world pulsed and his vision doubled, tripled; became an incomprehensible mess. Recollections pulled out of his head and raced before his eyes as if they were happening in reality before him, seeing himself from the outside.

.

Nausea shot through him as the visions blurred into a distorted mess until it was a smear of red only. A cold shock threw him into another realm; an old version of his own body, memories running uncontrollably like they were his natural thoughts.

.

He caught himself strolling down the dark, snowy road towards the massive, sealed Ruins door. He'd seen a movement in his mind's eye, and he couldn't help the excitement. He reached the rock wall and leaned up against its side. He tapped his foot.

.

Within a minute, grinding rock growled and, carefully, the door opened a crack. He found himself grinning. The shadow of a small figure seeped out onto the snow, and his vision wiped over red before he could see the kid it was attached to.

.

The memories ran on, dazing the skeleton as it shoved him through somewhere else, inserting him into a scene from years earlier, when Papyrus was much younger. They were in the living room of the Snowdin house, bare as it was, and the little skeleton— probably no older than ten— lay on the floor surrounded by binders of notes and a clear plastic sheet that he called a colour puzzle. He kicked his feet lazily back and forth.

.

Sans leaned over to take a look. The colour puzzle was really pockets of ink droplets layered on top of each other so that they could be pushed together to create new colours. Really, it was a baby's learning toy, but Papyrus was good at working with unorthodox materials.

.

"Sup, bro?" Sans asked. He put a mug of hot chocolate on the floor beside the kid.

"Puzzle crafting, what does it look like?" the little skeleton teased.

"Oh yeah?" Sans plunked himself down to join him and patted him on the head. "Colour combos?"

"Yes exactly! Nyeh heh heh! All the other kids will be so impressed this time!"

Sans hesitated. They wouldn't. They hadn't been the last dozen times, either. They weren't those kinds of nerds. Puzzles were outdated, old-monster stuff to most of them. When his brother looked back at him expectantly, he smiled.

"Sure will," he agreed. "So you got a bunch of combos or what?"

"Every one imaginable! Or. I will." Papyrus went back to his notes, scribbling frantically.

Sans picked up the colour sheet and absently rotated it around, watching the ink seep between spots. Blue and red swirled into purple.

.

Sans lost his sight again and plunged into chaos. His head felt like it was exploding and red filled his eyes. When other colours began to emerge, they were dark and moody, and lit by candlelight on one side and bright hotel lighting on the other. There, before him, just across a table, sat a human kid. His human kid. He could see her clearly, but the features of her face wouldn't save in his mind. It was like skimming a passage of a book only to realize paragraphs later that he hadn't retained a thing.

.

He slumped into the memory from about a year and a half ago. Her first run-through. He could tell she was giving him an odd look. Almost hurt. Maybe resigned. Probably shouldn't have joked about killing her just then, now that he thought back to it. She hadn't touched a scrap of food on the table and now she definitely wouldn't. Scrawny little nerd. Looked like she needed it.

.

"Hey, lighten up, bucko," he said, words spilling out the same way they had all those months ago. "I'm just jokin' with you. Besides… Haven't I done a great job protectin' you? I mean, look at yourself. You haven't died a single time. That's right, isn't it?" He winked. "Well, chalk it up to my great skills." He smiled sideways. It was pretty well rehearsed. He was waiting for a reaction and, just as he thought, he got one.

The kid looked confused for a moment, and recognition flashed in her eyes. Then, she looked oddly incredulous. He grinned a bit wider.

"Hey. What's that look supposed to mean? Am I wrong…?" He knew he was. He'd seen it a hundred times. Couldn't help feeling just a little bad, though— the kid wasn't awful. Maybe didn't deserve to get bodied. Still, that was all he needed to know. He got to his feet and stretched. "Heh. Well, that's all. T—"

"Wait," she said. "Um. Please. If that's okay? Could you stay a little?"

He paused and shot her an amused look. He'd hardly heard her string that many words together since he met her. Hadn't expected her to ask something like that, though. "Got things to do, buddy," he said. "Books to read. Wursts to sell. Naps to take. Y'know how it is."

"O-Oh… Okay." She looked down at the table. "Sorry."

.

Sans stared at her for a few seconds as her shoulders slumped. She oozed loneliness. He shrugged widely and then plunked back down in the chair.

"Then again, what could a few minutes hurt, huh?"

She perked up right away. "Thank you."

"Funny thing to ask," he said, drumming his fingertips on the table. "You desperate for company or somethin'?"

"W-Well, um…" She looked shyly back at him. "I know maybe you don't… super like me or anything, but—"

"Oh. Nah, kid, I like you just fine," he said. "Y'know, can never be too careful. But, you seem alright."

She smiled bashfully. "You think so?! Th-Thanks! Because I really like you. I… I like you a skele-ton!"

"So. You know more than a dozen words. That's good." Sans couldn't help a grin. "I already used that one, though."

The kid smiled back. Her cheeks flushed and she tented her fingers. "W-Well, tibia-nest, I was trying to think of a few that c-could be humerus. You're n-not too stern, um, so I thought you w-wouldn't mind, um… a good natured ribbing?"

.

Sans stared back at her blankly. He felt strange. He was beaming before he realized. "Dude. That was kind of great."

"Y-Yeah?!" she asked shrilly, her face lighting up. "You liked it? I… I did some r-research and I, um…! I tried pretty hard!"

"Good job," he said. "Kinda nailed it."

The kid started to absolutely glow with pride. "Thanks! Alphys helped."

.

Sans couldn't help but snicker. Bashfully, the kid reached across the table and put both her hands on his. It was an odd feeling for an instant. A human — this red-souled human— grasping to him like it was normal. Like she wasn't the least bit dangerous at all. Maybe there was a chance that she wasn't.

"Um… D… Do you think…? Would it be okay if we're friends?" she asked.

"We're already friends," he said. He was a little surprised with himself that, in the moment, he meant it. She was a funny little weirdo. Hard to help liking her.

"R-Really!?" She grinned. "Thank you! Thanks so much! Th-That really means a lot to me."

"Huh. Weird. Why?" he asked.

"B-Because I think you're super great!" she said brightly.

.

He tilted his head. That was funny, too, wasn't it? Maybe even a better joke than the puns. But, no, the kid was serious, he could see it in her face.

"You're a strange one, kiddo," he said. "So. You're still pushin' forward, huh?"

"Y… Yeah." She nodded, and then looked into his eyes with a sort of steady resolve. "I just want to… It's hard to explain. But if I can help, maybe… Maybe it'll all be okay."

"Welp. Don't do anything too crazy," he said.

"I won't." She frowned thoughtfully. "I really like all you guys. Like, a ton. So… I want to help."

He chuckled. "You really are weird, huh? But. You know, you're alright. We'll see how this goes, for now." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Hey. So. Was wonderin'. Why talk to me now?"

"Oh." Her cheeks flushed. "I just… um…"

"Was bein' a baby?" he teased.

"I'm just not used to it," she admitted. "Is… Is that okay? Am I really annoying?"

"Just normal annoyin'." He winked. "I'm jokin'. You're fine."

The kid grinned wide. "I'm gonna try real hard not to let you down. I really owe you."

"Me?" He laughed. "You don't owe me anything, kid."

"Kinda do," she said.

"How d'you figure?" he asked.

She shrugged a little. "Well, it's just… No one's… No one's ever kinda… you know." She rubbed her head, her cheeks flushing again. "You're so helpful, and I… I have this feeling like, maybe you feel like you have to be? B-But… I just want you to know, I really, really really appreciate it. And everything you do, really. B-Because no one's really, um, treated me like that before."

.

Sans couldn't have helped the startled look on his face if he'd tried. The kid tilted her head.

"What?" she asked.

"S'funny," he said.

"What is?" The kid looked increasingly puzzled.

Sans put his chin on his fist and looked her up and down. "Guess it's just a myth, right? That the surface world is really so great."

"Guess so," she said quietly. "You guys all really wanna go there, right?"

"Seems important," he said with a nod.

"Do… you wanna go? Out there?" she asked.

"Sure. Kinda like to see the sky at some point," he said.

"But Papyrus, he… really wants to go," she said.

"Yeah. Honestly? Think he'd love it," Sans said.

The kid smiled. She nodded. "Bet he would. He'd like the nice parts. He's too good for some of it, though. Hey. If you guys get out, are you gonna make a new town and stuff?"

"Dunno, not sure if we thought that far ahead," Sans said with a laugh.

"You should! Don't… Don't go to a human town, though," she said. "I mean. Unless the whole super monster king thing is true, but… be careful, okay?"

He shrugged. "No big rush."

.

The expression on the kid's face went a little weird. She seemed sad, but only for a moment. She looked as if she wanted to say more, but she held back.

.

Sans felt the vision waver. He detached from the old and returned to himself, staring at the kid from across the table with an ache through his soul. That had to have been the moment she decided her fate with Asgore. Of all the things, he hadn't guessed that. He'd all but doomed her with his answer.

.

He reached across for her hand. She was real small compared even to him, and her skin was all marked up. She jerked her head up to look at him with surprise.

"Just, uh… be safe, okay?" he said. "Wherever weird place you end up?"

"Me? Um! Okay! I will," she said.

Wasn't real. Didn't know why he bothered. Even so, he shot her a tired smile. "You'll be alright."

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I think so," she agreed. "You too, okay?"

He laughed. "Yeah, sure hope so, kiddo." He hesitated; decided it was worth a shot. "Hey, uh… Weird question. What's your name, pal?"

.

Magic around them bristled as she opened her mouth to answer. Red sparkles flowed through like a bluster of snow on a strong wind. It wiped away the vision and built one anew.

.

It was just for a moment— barely something he had time to grasp. A little flicker of the kid standing amongst shelves of books, staring at an odd, magical cube. Then, it was gone.

.

The time machine clunked back into normal consciousness. Sans shook his head and rubbed his eye sockets. He felt stiff and awful.

.

He stumbled out into snow. His body was off-colour— his entire being awash in a faint layer of the same blue as his soul. Interesting. He recalled something similar from when he'd tried to push himself back to find out what had happened in the CORE all those years ago. He hadn't had time back then to really figure out what actually happened to him with this kind of time travel though. What happened in the CORE had been too powerful. It'd killed him. Repeatedly.

.

All of a sudden, someone shot by him in a blur. Sans turned just in time to see the kid again, sprinting down the snowy road, kicking up powder as she went. She wasn't wearing a coat, and she was headed for the house. He could see himself back there, at the mailbox. His soul sputtered for a moment and, cautiously, he followed her.

.

"Sans?!" she exclaimed loudly. She grabbed the skeleton at the mailbox by the arm and he turned to her with a tired grin.

"Hey, kiddo. What's the rush?" he asked.

"You don't remember? No, no, of course you…" She took a deep breath. "D-Don't panic. Um. You're gonna faint."

.

Sans remembered this perfectly, with the exception of his missing details of the kid herself. It was surreal and a bit nauseating to see it from outside. And, judging by the lack of reactions, he was truly looking in from somewhere else. Passive, observing time travel. He guessed that was probably the safest way. At least he'd gotten that right. He edged closer and circled them.

.

"Maybe don't panic yourself." His other self's brow furrowed as he gave the kid a worried look. "What happened?"

"You're not gonna remember; you fainted and… And. I th-think you went into a coma." Her voice was breaking. She looked like she might cry. "We couldn't get you up. I tried to reverse you and you j-just passed out again and… And it's not good."

"Oh. That's… soon, then?" he asked.

"Really soon," she said.

"Welp. Guess that kinda explains a lot. Hey." He poked her in the middle of her forehead. "Jeez, kid, don't cry about that."

"B-But Sans—!" she protested.

"Look. It's okay. Don't worry," he said. "S'good thing you told me, actually. Probably hit my head last time, huh?"

"Yeah, it c-cracked open and everything," she said softly.

He snorted and laughed, and rubbed the back of his head. "Figures." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Ah. Yeah. Feelin' a little dizzy, actually. Okay. Guess I'll lie down."

"Okay, b-but… But. I… I'm gonna save you," she said. "I'm gonna fix you."

"Course you will." He shot her a grin.

.

Fix him, Sans thought. That was her goal? Something she was actively working towards. He put a hand over his brow. Maybe Papyrus was right. Whatever had caused her to vanish was to try to fix him. That made him sick.

.

The kid's eyes welled up and she wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you so much. I… I don't know when I'll see you again."

Sans knew that feeling. Didn't feel good having a kid like that just out there somewhere with hardly a clue to follow.

.

"Aw, jeez, kiddo." Past Sans rubbed her head gently. "Knowin' you, it'll be soon. Hey. You can drag me back a little if you really gotta, okay? But you'll figure it out."

"I love you," she said.

"I know. Love you, too."

For some reason, Sans was overwhelming relieved that he'd actually told her that. The other version of himself paused to a moment; he could see the tinge of worry on his face.

"How… uh… How many days—?"

"J-Just, um… Just three so far," she said. "It feels like forever."

"Hah. Spooked me for a second there," he said. "Hey, I slept more than that only havin' a cold, okay? Chill out a bit. " He chuckled. "Okay. Yeah. Vision's startin' to go. Can't see this goin' well. Heh."

"D-Do you have any idea what's wrong with you, though?" she insisted. "How do you feel?"

"Like there's, uh… a pressure. In my skull, I guess." He shrugged. "Sorry I can't be more help, kiddo." He tilted his head. "You gonna be alright?"

"Me?! What about you?!" she yelped.

"Welp. I'm in good hands. Not really worried." He raised his brows. "Take care of yourself, hm?"

"Ah… I… O-Okay. I'll t-try," she said.

He grinned. "Okay. I'll be in bed. Hey. See you when I see you." He pulled back just enough to gently bump his brow on hers, stuck his thumbs up, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

.

The kid was left trembling, alone in the snow. She looked cold. Sans frowned sympathetically. He edged closer as she slumped forward with her face in her hands.

"Poor kid. Sorry to put you through this crap," he muttered. Cautiously, he reached out a hand and patted her on the head.

Quickly, she perked up and, to his surprise, stared directly at him. He jerked back as her eyes locked on his for just a second.

"Sans?" She looked spooked, then stared right through him and wilted. She sighed and rubbed her head. "Okay. Okay okay. Get it together. Jeez." She took another deep breath. "Okay, okay, stop crying, stop freaking out. Oh my god." She wiped her eyes and then sat down heavily on the steps. "He's fine. He's gonna be fine. It's gonna be okay."

.

Sans stared at his hands. "What the hell…?" He recalled this from his dream a while back. How she'd jumped and looked at something that wasn't there. He'd predicted this already. "Welp. That's creepy shit." He plopped himself down on the step beside her. "Sorry, pal. This is just some weird mess, huh?"

.

The kid wiped her eyes again, but didn't acknowledge him. Must've been a pretty fleeting thing. Sans hesitantly reached out to her again and put a hand on hers. She suddenly lifted her head and looked off to the left. Sans followed her gaze to see another kid booking it towards them from down the road. This one was a monster, one that looked a lot like Toriel. When he realized that he couldn't process this kid's face either, he knew he must be the other one that was missing.

.

The monster kid skidded to a halt and sat down beside her, rubbing his hands over his face. "I missed him, huh?" he said. "Sorry. It takes me a bit to get through one of the rips."

"That's okay," she said.

"Did he say anything?" he asked.

"Not much," she said. "He said his head felt kinda heavy, I guess? And he didn't want us to, um, worry too much."

"Typical." He rubbed his hands over his head and puffed heavily. "So… what now? Got a plan yet?"

Sans perked up. This was what he wanted to hear.

.

The kid folded her arms and gritted her teeth. She tapped her foot in the snow. "I… I guess I wanna check on him first and then maybe check the outside of time stuff? See if there's anything more I can do there. I dunno."

"Anything your dad came up with give you any clues?" he asked.

"Just that I don't think Sans is sick sick, know what I mean?" She tapped her fingertips together and bit her lip thoughtfully. "What do you think we should do?"

"I think you need to eat something before we do anything else," he said.

"Oh! N-No, I'm okay, I'm not hungry," she said quickly.

The monster folded his arms and stared her down dryly. "I don't care. I'm gonna make you a sandwich and you're gonna freakin' eat it."

The kid smiled awkwardly. She rubbed the back of her head. "Aw. Jeez. You're worried, huh? Sorry. Okay. But only if you eat something too, okay?"

"Deal," he said.

.

The two of them stood and went back inside. Sans heaved himself up to follow, only to become light-headed. He rubbed his brow and forced himself to the door, but he lost his sight somewhere between the step and the threshold.

.

He was face-first in the snow in front of the house. He pushed himself back up with weak arms and sat there at the base of the stairs to catch his breath, trying to wrap his head around what he'd heard. He stared up at the snow falling gently from the grey cavern high above. They'd gone out. Beyond time. Somewhere nobody but the kiddo was supposed to touch, he guessed. Maybe farther than they wanted initially. That's why they couldn't be remembered right. Where did they go, and why weren't they back? Was there anything he could do about that? Or was he just supposed to wait? The best way to contact her was still through a dream, probably. But how reliable was that, really? And being so far away, was it even possible?

.

He folded his arms, brooding for a while until the stomping of feet caught his attention. He looked up to see Papyrus sprinting towards him from the direction of Waterfall. The tall skeleton raced frantically for the door, practically tripping over Sans in the process.

"Whoops, sorry!" he said shrilly before dashing inside.

Sans stared after him with confusion. He sighed and smiled to himself, shaking his head. Papyrus was a little bit of an enigma when it came to this stuff, too, wasn't he?

.

He felt a bit of pressure in his soul and, soon, a taut tugging, like a rubber band beginning to strain. It was time to leave. Sluggish with musings and guilt, Sans wandered back to the time machine, which was still in the middle of the street. Nobody noticed. He sat inside, closed the pod up, and hit the revert button. The world shuddered, his soul pulsed, and he fainted.

.

When Sans came to, he was being pulled out of the machine by his brother, who didn't look overly concerned but had a plethora of extra healing items and bandages unpacked from his box and scattered around the table he'd dragged into the garage.

"Are you okay?!" he demanded, checking him superficially around his arms and head. "Oh! You look okay. Did your weird time machine thingy work?"

Sans grunted and nodded. Papyrus smiled wide, thumped him on the back, and whisked over a folding chair in blue magic for him to sit on.

"Oh, th-thank god." Alphys jumped in on his left and pressed a chilled towel against his forehead. "I was… We w-were so worried. I lost your reading in there. Th-There was an energy burst or something."

"…Ah. Sorry," he said. "How long was I gone?"

"An hour and fourteen seconds, I think," Papyrus said. "Did you learn anything?"

"Yeah," he said. "Saw them."

"You did?! Wowie," Papyrus said. "Soooooo… Now what?"

"You were right," he said. "They hopped out of time. For, uh… for me."

"I knew it! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus grinned proudly.

"I… I'm still h-having trouble believing this is even p-possible," Alphys said. "It's…" Her eyes shifted down to his hand and she choked for a second, her voice cracking. "Th-The implications are s-so strange! I mean, someone powerful enough t-to do all this…"

"Yeah. They're pretty tough," Sans agreed. "Red line, remember?"

"It's j-just hard to, um, wrap my m-mind around," the lizard admitted.

"Okay, yes, very strong and tough kids, but so now what?" Papyrus asked. "How do we get them back?"

"I, uh… I don't know," Sans said. "To be honest, I don't even know for sure if somethin' actually went wrong anymore, but I just got this… I dunno, this feelin' about it."

"Hmmmm." He perked to the sound of the doorknob clicking and he grinned. "Ah! Just in time."

.

Sans lifted his head. White light filtered in as Gaster pushed the door open. He was carrying several mugs. Toriel was close behind.

"Oh, Sans!" She raced to him and knelt down, holding his shoulder with one hand and cupping his cheek with the other. "You had us so worried, sweetheart. We had no idea how long you'd be gone."

"Same," he said bashfully.

She snorted and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "My silly, reckless, brilliant boy…"

"Sans, that was bloody dangerous," Gaster said, wide-eyed. "Are you alright? Here." He passed over some of Asgore's blend of tea. "What happened? What were you thinking?"

Sans laughed. He sipped the hot tea and then rubbed the back of his skull. "S'alright. It's, uhh… It makes you a phantom. You just kinda watch, mostly. Theorized it would, so no big deal, I guess."

"Ah. Right," he said. "And what did you find?"

"I was right, of course!" Papyrus announced, accepting a mug from his father as well and passing another to Alphys. "The mysterious time siblings left time to save Sans. Which honestly makes the most sense, I'm not sure you needed to time travel to find that out, brother."

"A-Are we just going to brush by that S-Sans literally built a working time machine, though?!" Alphys said shrilly. "Th-The implications—!"

"It's, uh, not real multipurpose," he said. "Not very efficient, either." He pointed back at it. "Crystals are used up already."

.

Alphys ducked back to check. She squeaked. "Th-They're gone!"

"Oh. That's worse," Sans laughed. "Of quartz they are."

Toriel cracked a smile despite the worry creasing her brow. "That doesn't sound good. But! At least you got the information you needed, didn't you?"

"Welp. All I really got was that the missin' kids left our time tryin' to fix me. Which we already suspected. So…"

"Confirmation is good, but still…" Gaster put a hand on Sans's shoulder. "You saw them yourself?"

"Yeah. Overheard the start of their plan," he said. "It… was so weird, though. I was lookin' them right in the face and I still couldn't tell you what they really look like. Or sound like. It's… It's like they just don't wanna stick."

Gaster frowned faintly. Toriel shot him a worried look. He folded his arms and sighed.

"I was afraid of that. I am having a similar experience in my own mind, to be honest."

"So you have seen them, too?" Toriel frowned. "Goodness. This is… This is something else, hun. We really do need to figure this out, don't we?"

"Would love to," Sans said.

Gaster extended a hand towards Sans's head. "May I?"

.

Sans nodded. Toriel gave them some space; Gaster squatted down and rested one hand against the short skeleton's skull and the other against his soul spot. He bumped his brow against his son's and waited a few seconds. When he pulled back, his troubled look had only intensified.

"I… I'm afraid I don't remember anything even related to that," he said. "And I'm not sure what our next steps need to be."

"Me neither," Sans admitted. "Thing is, I do remember faintin' in the bed. Paps, what do you remember?"

"That's odd. I remember finding you on the steps," Papyrus said. "But… Oh. This is weird. Really really weird. I remember your face being cracked and not being able to heal it."

"It's the same for me," Gaster admitted.

"Somethin' got mixed up," Sans said. "That was the first time."

"The first time?" Gaster asked. "I don't understand."

.

Sans tilted his head. "Weird. Thought you'd remember more."

"So did I!" He laughed tiredly. "So you're saying you fainted twice."

"First time, passed out on the steps, I guess. Was out three days," Sans said. "Second time's the one you just saw." He turned to Papyrus. "Kiddo went back, found me before, and warned me so I wouldn't break my dumb bones open."

"Oh! Of course." Gaster clapped his hand against his brow. "That's when we did all the tests on you, during those three days."

"So there's missing time again?! Uuugghhh, that's so annoying though!" Papyrus whined. "Don't get me wrong, I am very very very glad you did not break your face but… This is awfully confusing."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sans said.

"I just did. Very confusing," Papyrus muttered. "Nyeh! Listen! We can't let this thoroughly bamboozle us!"

"Boneboozle," Sans said.

"That. Is. A. Stretch!" the tall skeleton chided, though Toriel chuckled. "Okay! We need! I don't know what! Dad, what do we need?"

"Honestly, I'm a little at a loss," he said. "We don't know if this is a normal process and they'll return on their own or—"

"Don't think so," Sans said. "I figure they should have popped back in around the time I woke up. 'Cause they fixed whatever my main problem was that was keepin' me under. I just got this feelin' like they should've been back by now and somethin' went wrong. She… She wouldn't be gone this long if she could help it."

.

Gaster folded his arms and his brow furrowed worriedly. "I have a lot of work to do," he said, turning for the door.

"Wait!" Papyrus snatched his sleeve. "Can you stay? For a little longer? At least for a meal. I'm going to really very much insist because I can feel your energy is very wonky still."

"He's right," Toriel said. She grabbed his hand. "We'll get from Grillby's for you and Sans, alright? Alphys, what do you think, would you like to stay to eat?"

"A-Actually…" She stood up oddly straight, holding an arm behind her back. "I… I sh-should go, for now. We, um, still have a lot of numbers to run and… um… I'd l-like to help any way I can!"

"…I agree," Gaster said. He gently pulled away from the others. "I am sorry. Alphys, I'll come with you."

"Aw…" Papyrus pouted.

"Gaster," Toriel said sternly.

He dipped his head and, catching Sans's eye, winced and then headed for the door. "I don't have a choice. I'm sorry." He headed out and, with a squeak, Alphys gathered up her stuff in her arms and scampered after him.

.

Sans rubbed his head. Toriel folded her arms and sighed disapprovingly. She put her hand on his back.

"It will be alright," she said softly.

He wanted to agree, but his voice caught. He froze into his bones and his vision distorted with chunks of colour. He grasped to Toriel's shirt as vertigo made him sick. The corners of his eyes filled with snow. "Th-Think I'm goin' down," he croaked.

.

He was lost in black water; a lightless, obsidian lake. He sunk and there was nowhere to go. He closed his eyes and let himself float. It was a dream. Relax and let it run its course. His whole body didn't hurt in here.

.

He felt a buzz of magic through him. Opening one eye, he peeked around curiously. Below him, he saw the tiniest drop of red. His bones rattled. He let himself drift down towards it. The closer he got, the more the red took on a shape: a moving, shifting outline. Red on black, like a rotoscope in energy of a kid standing, staring away at the void. Was that her? Was it a dream? He thought he could hear a song.

.

He was cautious coming close. But, if it was her… He had to know. "Kid…? Are you…?"

"I'm lost," she said quietly. She stared off into the darkness, though there was nothing much there to see.

Sans put his hand on her shoulder. She turned cautiously. Her features wouldn't process in his mind, but he could see a dismal, tired kid before him. Stark crimson eyes beamed up at him and in her strange, scribbled form, a scar beside her eye glowed as red as if it were an open cut.

.

She stared at him and hesitantly reached out to him. "Are you… you?" Her void-black hand pressed against his chest, drawing out the light of his soul. The instant she saw blue, she buckled like her legs had been kicked and wrapped her arms around his ribs, pressing her forehead against him.

.

Before he could get a single word out, she turned to dust against him and was gone. He felt every ounce of heartbreak all over again. The soot-black ash stained his hands. His knees went weak and he trembled and fell.

.

He woke up with a start in the living room, light dim and grey as it came in through the windows. His eye was blazing, as was his soul, and it took him a few seconds to realize there was no dust on his bones.

.

Papyrus was sitting on the stairs, asleep with his head on his chest. He could hear Toriel mumbling in another room.

.

A little red spark drifted around from the cushions and he cupped it in his hands. It flittered and fluffed over the wrapped up cut in the side of his palm. Wasn't pollen at all, was it? He clutched it close, flicking blue magic in his palms, and it floated up against the hidden wound and vanished. He felt the single, tiny ping of a note deep inside his soul.

.

He grimaced and put an arm over his eyes, feeling the heat of tears regardless. Wherever she was, he hoped she wasn't alone. He hoped she was safe.