chapter 56 is sort of chapter 55 part 2
Snowdin was a mess. By now, it wasn't just one giant spider that had toppled onto the skeleton house from nowhere. One huge monster stretched awkwardly between the frigid river and the house's roof, eight legs all over the place. A dozen more crowded up the town, having plopped out of a deceptively small opening in the stone far above— completely by accident, according to them. Five more peered down though cracks in the ceiling with their beady, bright eyes as Toriel did her very best to get three of their fellows untangled.
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The large, white monster stood on the bank of the river behind the skeleton house and past some fir trees, hands on her hips as she surveyed the scene, squinting at it like it was some ill-conceived puzzle. One of the ice wolves from town knelt on the bank doing his best to stop the chunks of ice from piling up against the rumpus of one of the astronomic arachnids with a wall of blue magic. Another wolf grabbed the blocks, one under each arm, and huffed and puffed his way farther down the river to keep them flowing towards Waterfall. The first spider Toriel had helped out watched from the riverbank, shivering under six different blankets and sipping cocoa from a saucepan.
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"Okay, dear," Toriel said. "With the purple eyes. If you just lift your third and fourth on the right."
"Miss Toriel, I'm going to fall!"
"No you won't, just do as I say."
The purple-eyed giant spider winced and carefully lifted two legs out of the water.
"Good! Now, you with the horns, shift to the left and swing your second left out. There you go."
"We're awfully sorry about this," said an extra-shaggy spider, leaning over the trees. "We didn't realize we'd burrowed into the ceiling. Uh. Somehow."
"Don't worry, hun, things have been rather topsy-turvy for many of us recently," Toriel said. She clapped her hands together. "Alright! Now. All of you but the one with horns, scoot forwards two steps."
"H-Her forwards, or my forwards?"
"Whichever way is forwards for you, dear."
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Suzy, bundled up in a too-big red sweater and an orange and white woollen toque, scooted around the trees. She looked up at the giant spiders with puzzled, narrowed eyes. She didn't think she'd ever seen a spider that big in her entire life, but some of them looked familiar, somehow.
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After mulling it over, she still couldn't figure it out. She edged up to Toriel and carefully reached up to tug on her pant leg. The large monster looked down with a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes, dear?"
"Papyrus called again. He still can't find Opurl," she said.
"Ah. I'm sure he will. He is very good at things like that," Toriel assured her. "In a way, I'm glad to hear we aren't the only ones running long." She waved to the spiders. "You, in the middle! Hun, if you just tuck in your right legs and push off the riverbed, you will roll right out!"
"Okaaaay!" the spider called.
Suzy watched in puzzlement as the huge monster bounced in the water on four spindly legs and then log-rolled out from under the other two spiders and away over the trees. She pouted.
"I wanna do something, too," she muttered.
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Toriel smiled sympathetically. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small pouch of coins. "How about you go down to the restaurant and see if they have something you like. And if you could pick up something for Sans… A burger or even just a fresh bottle of ketchup. I'm sure he would appreciate that a lot."
"Oh! Um." She took the pouch and clutched it tight. "Okay! Yeah. Yeah! I can do that."
"Good! Once I am done, I will meet you," she said. "Flora does not live far. And then we can be on our way."
"Right." Suzy backed up, took one last look at the spiders, and turned back to the street.
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The crocodaur snuck out between the fir trees and came out back on the snowy road between the skeleton house and the library, brushing pine needles from her shoulders. Huge spiders were rambling the street ahead and there were already some frosty, glimmering webs strung up along the sides of buildings. A rabbit was using one on the far side of the library as a hammock.
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A crowd gathered outside Flambé's restaurant. A tall, five-eyed, lavender spider lady, her dark hair in pigtails, bundled in a long, fuzzy coat, stood on the awning above the door. She shouted through a megaphone, trying to organize the other giant arachnids into a cohesive group, but it didn't look like it was working. Some of them were still stuck between trees. One was on his back in the river, long legs flailing in the air so they could be seen over rooftops.
"We are in quite the sticky situation, if I do say so!" The spider lady said, her voice distorting in the volume of her megaphone. "We must see the mayor! Who is the mayor?"
"We don't have a mayor!" A small mouse in a huge scarf called up to her.
"Oh my! Then who do I speak to about this?!" She waved her hands around in the vague direction of some giant spiders.
"Well. Typically. When we have a problem," a big bear said thoughtfully, "we tell a skeleton. Who tells a fish lady." He shrugged. "Politics!"
"Then bring me to a skeleton, dearie."
Suzy tilted her head. The skeletons were all out of town. So was the fish lady. The bear shrugged again, and the spider's lips thinned in annoyance.
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Suzy had no idea what to make of any of this. She snuck through the puzzled group of monsters and slipped into the restaurant. The classy, futuristic lounge was empty inside except the golden flame elemental, Flambé, behind the counter, resting her cheek on her hand. She perked up at the sight of little monster.
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The kid froze uncertainly. She clutched tight to the bag of coins. She wasn't sure she'd ever been inside a place like this on her own before. She gulped and cautiously edged up to the counter. "Um. Do…? Do I order here?"
Flambé nodded. Suzy cautiously clambered up onto one of the stools, only for it to make a loud farting noise when she sat down. Her eyes bugged out and she jumped to up on top of the cushion, her balance askew the second she got her feet under her. The flame monster snatched her around the middle and pulled her onto the counter. Suzy sighed with relief, her scales flushing with a shameful blush.
"Thanks, I, uh—"
Flambé handed her a menu on a stiff, golden card. Suzy stared at it blankly. Food and prices. Didn't seem too hard. She peeked inside her coin pouch. Burger was the only thing she recognized. Her eyes glazed. Something didn't feel right inside her head. Why was this so difficult?
"Um. This?" She pointed at the cheapest thing on the menu, a grilled cheese sandwich. "Is that… okay?"
"Of course," the fire lady said, taking the menu from the kid.
"Um! And, uh, do you know Sans? Do you know what he likes?" Suzy asked.
Without a moment's hesitation, Flambé clunked a shiny bottle of orange chutney onto the counter. She reached across and patted the crocodaur on the head before disappearing into the kitchen.
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Suzy sighed. She rubbed her claws through her hair and her shoulders slumped. Quiet, smooth chillhop crackling from a shiny record player lent a relaxing vibe to the cool, metallic restaurant. Suzy's head hurt, though. She felt hollow and a little dizzy. Maybe she was just really hungry, she told herself.
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Once she paid for the sandwich and bottle, she headed back out into the cold again, munching her lunch. The spiders were still a mess, and somehow there seemed to be even more of them now. The purple lady was down in the crowd, arguing with the others.
"Why can none of you tell me who to talk to?" she asked.
"They're not home," a rabbit kid said. "I knocked."
"Well! Ahuhuhu… If there's a vacancy… Maybe I should be mayor, then," the spider asserted, "I, at least, know how to organize a group! However, we will need to begin melting things at once."
"We can't do that!" protested a grey critter with green hair, his eyes bugging out under his cool shades. "It's been cold here forever! We can't just change it 'cause you warmbutts showed up!"
"My spiders simply cannot handle this cold, and if we are to be stuck here—!"
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"Hold on, now." Toriel's voice was calm and steady as she joined them.
The crowd parted quickly for her, smaller monsters backing up— the group quieting courteously.
"Oh!" The spider lady perked right up. "You—!"
"Perhaps I can help. Muffet, is that right? You lead the spider clans since Bitzy's retired, if I'm not mistaken?"
"You are certainly not, dear!" She dipped in a graceful bow. "And you are Queen Toriel."
"Not Queen." Toriel smiled gently. "But that's not to say I cannot lend a hand. What exactly happened here?"
Muffet stashed her megaphone inside her coat. "I'm sorry to say I haven't the foggiest idea. We were meant to be moving ourselves into some caves to set up a new settlement and bakeshop. How we came to be above Snowdin, I can't really be sure."
Toriel clicked her tongue. "Ah." She turned to the gathered monsters. "It's alright, now. If you all could help any stragglers out of the river, it would be much appreciated."
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The townsfolk dispersed, and Toriel took Muffet by the shoulder.
"I can think of two options for you. One… involves breaking through my old home in the Ruins, but once you do that, the whole area should be open and warm enough," she said. "The other is to go to the caves below Snowdin. I can warm them with fire, but the area itself will be sparse."
"You'd do that for us?" Muffet smiled. "My. That's really very generous of you. The sacrifice of your own home! A very selfless Queen, to be sure." She tapped her cheek thoughtfully and tilted her head. "We will take the Ruins. Thank you very much."
Toriel nodded. Her eyes caught on Suzy and she smiled. "Excuse me for a moment."
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The huge monster headed to the child and knelt down. "You found some food! Good. I'm glad. How are you doing?"
"Um. I'm okay. Dunno what the heck is going on, but…" She shrugged.
Toriel chuckled. "I'm assuming something switched around." She offered her hand. "Come with us? And we'll get Flora on the way back."
Suzy stared for a moment. She cautiously put her hand on Toriel's palm. It felt warm when the big monster held her and smiled. Suzy wondered if her own mom had been like this.
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Together with Muffet, they gathered the spiders up and started on their way out of town. There was an odd, star-shaped light shining beside in the inn. When they stepped past, it began to ooze and bubble with black goo, leaking from all but its topmost point. It sent a chill up Suzy's spine and filled her with such dread that she had to force her eyes away.
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Once out on the cliffs, Toriel cast a few, hovering fireballs to stave away the worst of the frost. She carried Suzy in her arms, along with a child-sized spider hanging from her shoulders like a grey and fuzzy backpack. Many of the others were far too big for that— some of them even taller than the buildings in town. They scrambled along the cliffs as fast as they could. A few of them were lucky enough to have borrowed some boots for at least a few of their feet, but most of them had to make do with wispy, delicate scarves spun from webbing for warmth. None of this prevented them from slipping on the ice puzzles, many legs flailing.
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As the Ruins loomed, spiders rushed inside the doors to warm up. Somehow, even the biggest of them managed to squish down and fit inside, though Toriel did need to give a few of them a shove. Suzy felt like she could only watch. Her fingers were going numb. Her head hurt. She wished she had another sandwich.
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"Hey."
Suzy jumped at the sound of a deep, familiar voice and whirled to see Sans beside her. He was wearing a warm, white sweatshirt with blue and gold trim, and a matching blue scarf with gold patterns on it, particularly a crescent moon near one of the ends. He looked strangely peaceful despite the dark grey beneath his eye sockets. He grinned tiredly when she caught his eye.
"H-How'd you get there?!" Suzy demanded.
"Sans?" Toriel whipped around. "Honey! Don't tell me you teleported again?!"
"Nah." He shrugged and jerked his thumb at the woods. "Woke up in there. Think the world shifted on me, 'cause, uh…" He tugged at his hoodie. "This thing's only been mine once, like, a million timelines ago."
"Well. It looks very nice on you," Toriel said. She bent and touched his head with a healing glow shining in her palm. "How are your eyes?"
"Eh." He winked. "At least they ain't leakin'." He turned to Suzy. "How you feelin', bucko?"
She shrugged. He took off his scarf and tossed it around her shoulders.
"Kinda worried, huh?" he said.
"No way," she protested. "I'm fine!"
"Oh, brave girl." Toriel patted Suzy's cheek, smiling fondly. "Well. That's that. Finally. Back to town, hm?" She straightened up and beckoned to the others to follow.
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"So, uh, what was the big kerfuffle?" Sans asked as they crunched through the snow.
"Big spiders fell in the cave," Suzy said.
"Pffft. More legs. Alright," he said.
"I have to confess, I'm not sure if that was at all normal," Toriel said. "I believe I've seen one or two of those people at some point, but nowhere near that size."
"Ah. Yeah. Giant spider timeline," Sans said with a nod.
"What? You aren't telling me you've seen that before," Toriel asked with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, sure, been through at least three of those," Sans said. "That's kinda funny. Muffet take over Snowdin or nah?"
"Oh, no, we escorted them all to the Ruins, so they didn't have to endure the chill," Toriel said. "She seemed pleased."
"Hm. Surprised she gave up her chance to spread her web of influence, though." Sans winked.
Toriel chuckled loudly.
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"I don't remember giant spiders," Suzy said quietly.
"Makes sense. Never existed at the same time as you," Sans assured her. He looked her up and down. "Hey. Why the long face?"
"It's not that long!" Suzy protested.
Sans snorted and smiled. "Y'just look worried is all."
Her scales flushed and she pouted. It wasn't fair that he knew. She shook her head anyway. He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, then pulled out his phone and casually fiddled with it for a moment before passing it up to Toriel.
"Hey, you mind textin' Alph for me? Can't see the letters right."
"Oh! Yes, of course, give me a moment." She chuckled. "Big thumbs and small screens."
He nodded. Suzy shot him a worried look.
"You're not gonna fall over again, right?" she asked.
"S'okay. You're here, right?"
He said it in jest, but Suzy frowned and grabbed onto his sleeve regardless.
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Past an empty guard station, between rows of chilly fir trees, one of those golden stars glistened up ahead. Suzy gulped. She dragged her feet. Sans slowed for her and gave her a curious look, but she was too focused on the light. Just as she feared, as they got close to it, it began to bubble with black goo. She grabbed tight to Sans's arm and tried to yank him forwards, but he stopped, staring at the light and then back at her.
"Somethin' wrong?" he asked.
"You c-can see it, right?" she asked. "That weird light?"
"Sure can, what about it?"
"…Is it supposed to be oozing?"
Sans raised his brows. He looked ahead for Toriel. She'd just reached the fork in the path and had turned to wave at them.
"Go on ahead, Tori," Sans called. "We, uh, gotta talk."
"You're sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. We'll meet ya at the house if we don't catch up in time," he said.
"Be careful." She tossed his phone back at him. "Keep this on!"
He caught it halfway in blue and brought it back to his hand. He stuck his thumb up.
"And, little one!" She pointed at Suzy. "Don't leave him alone, alright? It's a very important job."
Suzy stuck her thumbs up. Toriel smiled approvingly and waved to them as she left.
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Sans scoffed quietly and rubbed the back of his head. Suzy tented her fingers nervously. He pointed at the star. She gulped and nodded.
"It's freaky," she said.
"I bet." He wandered up to it, but Suzy quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Don't! It's weird! It's bad," she said. "I dunno why. It's just—"
"Alright. I won't," he said, taking a step back.
Suzy's eyes got big. "J-Just like that?"
Sans shrugged. "Can you describe it?"
"Like… I dunno. Like… black water? Kinda? But thicker." Suzy was dizzy staring at it. "It's bubbling outta the middle and all the points except the top one or whatever."
The skeleton frowned thoughtfully. He tapped his teeth. "Huh."
"You can't see it, though?!" she demanded.
"Nope."
"What is it?"
"Void stuff, I guess," Sans said. "Sorry, kid. Maybe don't touch it."
"Ugh, this is so weird," she growled.
"Tell me about it," he said. He smiled sideways and shrugged. "Welp. Another thing for the pile, huh?"
"The pile stinks," she muttered.
Sans laughed. "Got that right." He tilted his head. "Looks like you can't wait to get away from this thing, huh?"
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Suzy shoved her hands deep in her pockets as they walked again, frowning at the snow. "There's more, though."
"They all doin' that?" Sans asked.
"Yeah, when I get close, I see it," she said. She felt cold glass in her pocket, then remembered the bottle of chutney. She pulled it out and handed it to him. "Oh. Here."
"Hm?" He took it with a surprised look on his face. "Oh. Dang. Thanks, kid."
"It's from Miss Toriel," she said. "But you're welcome."
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Sans looked pleased. He popped the cap and took a swig. Suzy sighed to herself. She wished she had at least three more sandwiches.
"I wish I knew what was going on," she said quietly. "With me, I mean."
"Hopefully we'll find out soon," Sans said. "Anyone explained this thing to you?"
"Kinda," she said. "Your dad needs help with some spell, right?"
"Yeah. You nervous about it? You don't have t'do anything if you're not into it, y'know?"
"I want to. But I probably can't do anything anyway," she grumbled.
"Hey. Don't count yourself out," Sans said. "You helped break into the Ruins. That's not nothin'."
"I guess." She clenched her fists. "Then…! I'm definitely gonna! I wanna know. A-And I wanna help."
The skeleton's smile turned rueful, his eyes a little sad. "Welp. With any luck. This'll all be done soon. Hopefully that'll be easier."
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"I guess. Um. You'll still, um…?" She caught her words before spitting them out and her face flushed.
"I'll definitely um," Sans said with a tired laugh. "What's up?"
"I… Um." The crocodaur grimaced. What was it, really? She rolled it all over in her mind. Maybe it was just that this was the most attention she'd ever had in her life. Was that selfish? "I wish we could find my sister. But I'm… glad I got stuck with you guys. Even if this weird stuff is sorta freaky." She clenched her fingers hard into her sweatshirt. "It's fine if maybe I come visit sometime later, right?"
"Yeah, 'course it is," Sans said. "Jeez, kid, don't worry 'bout that." He patted her on the head. "…Sorry 'bout your sister, though. You close?"
"She's all I had, I guess," Suzy said. "But, um. I'm not…" She frowned. There was that hollow feeling again. She shook her head. "Whatever. I'm okay, I think."
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The skeleton gave her a look— was that pity? Her scales flushed hot again.
"I'm fine, okay!?" she growled.
Sans shrugged. "If you say so." He took a swig of his chutney.
Suzy pouted. She folded her arms tight to her chest, feeling sick to her core. "Sorry."
"Nah. Don't worry," he said. "I get it."
"I wish I got it," she muttered.
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They caught up with Toriel on the edge of an icy slide puzzle. She'd paused to wait for them. With a monster her size, cutting across the slick ground was easy, and they were back in Snowdin before they knew it. There was still one last large spider in town, hanging out near the festive tree. This one wore long socks, a red scarf, and fuzzy earmuffs.
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Back on track, Toriel set out on her own to look for Flora in the rows of houses off the main street with an insistence that Sans take Suzy back home to warm up a little before they continued on to the lab. The skeleton was glad to do so.
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He made the kid a hot chocolate with a bit of spice in it, and though she was grateful, she couldn't shake a feeling of unease. Even so, it was nice to warm her hands on the hot mug.
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Suzy got lost in muddled thoughts again as she curled up on the couch. Why couldn't she think of anything to do other than sit around? What did she normally do when she was waiting for things?
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She caught Sans in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with a second mug in his hand, staring at it with blank, tired eyes. A cold cloud of gloom hung over his head. He stirred the cocoa and a little glimmer of blue pooled in the corner of his eye socket.
"Um. Hey. Y'alright?" Suzy asked cautiously.
"Hm?" Sans straightened up a little. "Sure." He took a long swig of the steaming drink and then plunked the mug onto the counter behind him.
Suzy couldn't keep a suspicious squint off her face and the skeleton snickered. He stretched and ambled back to the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" she asked.
"Figured I might double-check a thing, since I'm here."
Suzy nodded and hurriedly chugged her hot chocolate.
"Whoa, kid, relax," Sans said.
"Miss Toriel said I gotta look out for you," she said, clunking the cup onto the table, a sturdy frown on her face.
The skeleton smiled sideways. "She was teasin'."
"Nuh-uh, she gave me a job and I'm gonna do it," she insisted.
Sans chuckled. "Welp." He beckoned to her. "S'gonna be boring, though."
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The little crocodaur trailed him to the shed. Most of the place was set up like somebody's scruffy bedroom, but there was a weird something hidden under a tarp there as well. Sans pulled the covering off to reveal a large, metal capsule. He gave it a light smack before sliding the door up. Suzy's eyes bugged out and she snuck up close to him, peeking inside at the array of computer parts and keyboard keys.
"Whoa. What's this weird thing?" she asked.
Sans reached inside to fish out a hand drill from its floor. He pried up a small, metal sheet against the door and used the tool to tighten a few screws beneath it. "Time machine," he said.
"WHAT?! Yo! Really?!" Suzy said. "No way, you're lying."
Sans snickered. "Heh. Guess it does sound kinda nuts."
"What's it doing here?!" She leaned her head in and then backed up, running around it in a circle. "Why do you have a time machine?! Does it work?!" She grabbed onto his arm. "So you can go back in time and just stop your sister from getting lost, right?!"
"Doesn't exactly work like that. Sorry, kiddo."
"Are you sure?! How do you know?!"
Sans smiled sideways. He wandered to the back of the garage and grabbed a toolbox, lugging it over to the front of the pod. "I built it."
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Suzy gawked. "You can build a time machine?! Wait, you're a super nerd?! You build sci-fi junk?!"
"Basically," Sans said with a shrug.
"So can't you go back and fix everything?!" she demanded.
Sans shook his head. "It's… mostly to get info. Can't actually change stuff. At least, not in this state," he said as he began to tinker again. "Besides. Messin' around with stuff like that, especially when our world is… like this. S'not a great idea."
"Why?"
"Welp." He held up his screwdriver. "Without my sis, stuff's pretty screwy, right?"
"I don't get it, but yeah, it's really screwy."
"So. Don't wanna add an extra problem." He pulled off his sweatshirt and awkwardly folded it, chucking it onto the seat. "Plus, uh, I'm the only one that can drive this dumb thing and most of the time the results on my bones ain't great."
"So what're you doing to it right now, then?" she asked.
"Welp. It's a little busted. Knowin' my luck, if I let it sit, s'gonna turn out we need it for some reason," he said. "Also. Experiment." He pointed to the hoodie. "Hopin' that doesn't get shot outta reality if it's in there and time shifts."
"Oooh. Okay." She pulled off his scarf and tossed it in as well. "There! How do you know if it works?"
"Might need to wait a bit." He winked and then got back to work, tightening some screws. "Maybe I can at least get a couple good sweatshirts outta this mess."
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Suzy snorted. "You're weird. Why aren't you freaked out? It keeps moving you all over, right?"
Sans shrugged one shoulder. "Been through a lotta dumb junk in the same, uh, genre. Kinda figure, just go with it when you can."
"Why you, though?" she asked. "Whoa, wait, is it because you're a weird science experiment monster like your brother?"
Sans laughed. "Who told you that?"
"The lizard lady from the lab said that," Suzy said.
"Pfft. Alright. Fair enough," the skeleton said. "Yeah. Sorta 'cause of that."
"What about your brother? Is he like this too?"
"Eh. Not exactly." He closed up the panel he was working on. "He just has a good attitude."
"Yeah. Guess so." Suzy tilted her head. "I like your brother."
"Good. Me too," Sans said with a grin.
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The skeleton straightened up and stretched again. He put a hand against his eye and let out a quiet, tired sigh. He tossed the screwdriver at his box of junk. Missed.
"Welp. That's enough proactivity for one—" He vanished.
Suzy yelped and rushed to the spot the skeleton had been standing. She patted the floor and then spun around. The toolbox, too, had blinked away, back to where he had grabbed it from. His machine was under a bedsheet. The tarp was nowhere to be seen.
"S-Sans?!" she called. She sagged, her soul sinking in her chest, and she rushed back out of the shed.
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She'd hardly emerged into the snow when the front door of the house opened and the skeleton she was looking for peeked out, groggy-eyed. His clothes had changed again— a black tank top, pyjama pants, and blue fuzzy slippers.
"Oh." He sounded relieved. "You okay? Was I gone long?"
"What happened?!" she demanded. "Was that…?! Stuff moved in the room and you were gone and…!" She shook her head and took a deep breath. "N-No, it was just a minute."
He grinned. "Cool. Sorry 'bout that. But, hey, might be a good time to check that thing, huh?"
"Huh?" She stared blankly for a moment before cluing in. "Oh! Yeah! Just a sec."
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She darted back into the garage and peeked under the sheet and into the time machine's pod. The scarf and hoodie were still there. She rushed out and into the house to find Sans slumped in a heap on the couch.
"Stuff's there, but w-was that…? I don't understand," she said.
"Shifted," he said apologetically.
"I know that, but…! Where…? I mean. There's a sheet on your time machine that wasn't there."
"Yeah." He rubbed his head. "Sorry. Felt light-headed. Shoulda called it."
"Does that m-mean…? The whole world…?"
Sans shook his head. "Nah. Seems to just do bits at a time, mostly." He tapped his teeth. "Wonder why…"
Suzy sighed heavily and flopped onto the seat beside him. She took off her toque and rubbed her scruffy hair. "It's freaky."
"Shouldn't move you," he assured her. "That stuff in your soul should keep you safe, at least."
"Not you?" she asked.
He shook his head and tapped his chest. A blue glow flickered under his dark shirt until it pulsed through, showing the completely normal soul. Suzy grimaced, cupping her hand against her chest. Her soul trembled and, when it shone, how unusual it looked was as plain as day. She gritted her teeth and growled quietly, her tail swishing in annoyance.
"Okay. Fine. Then I'll… I'll…!" She clenched her little fists. "I'll find whatever's doing this and I'm gonna bite it right in the face!"
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Sans stared blankly at her for a three-count and then burst out laughing, grinning wide. He thumped her hard on the shoulder.
"What?! You think I won't?!" she insisted. "It's not fair! It keeps making you go weird places and it moved my house and my sister and even Miss Toriel!"
"The void deserves a big chomp, is what you're sayin'," Sans said, eyes glimmering.
"Heck yeah it does!" she insisted.
The skeleton snickered. He patted her on the head. "Brave kid." He winked. "Hey. Who knows? Maybe the old man's plan will give you your shot. And…" He paused, pointed at the front door, then counted down from five on his fingers.
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The door opened with a cold gust of air and Toriel stuck her head inside with a smile on her face.
"Good news," she said brightly. "I found her. Are we ready to go?"
"Yup." Sans slid to his feet and grabbed his jacket from a heap near the table.
Suzy leaned around them. There was a yellow lizard monster in a green and pink poncho standing just down the steps. The kid put a hand against her soul spot.
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"Hey, Sans," Flora said with a wave of one of her small arms. "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged. "Eh. Been worse. You?"
"Well. This is definitely pretty weird," she said with a bashful smile. She looked up at Toriel. "But, I did say to let me know if I could help, didn't I?"
"Wait," Suzy said, rushing down the steps and into the snow. She looked up at the lizard curiously. "You're… like me?"
"Ah…! You have the soul thing, too?" Her tail wagged and her eyes brightened. "S-So, you guys noticed Grillby's… switching. Right?"
"Exactly that," Toriel said.
Flora nodded. "Well. We gotta do something about it, right? For Grillby's."
"You're speakin' my language," Sans joked.
Flora chuckled. She put a hand on Suzy's shoulder and smiled down at her. "Don't worry. We're in this together, okay, kid?"
Suzy's eyes got big. She nodded hurriedly. She caught Sans grinning from the corner of her eye. She grabbed his sleeve. "Yeah. Okay." She nodded solidly. "S'gonna be fine."
"That's the spirit, little one," Toriel said. She smiled and gestured down the road. "Now, let's be off before the boat fills with spiders, hm?"
xXxXx
As the water above was cut by the wooden paws of an unusual boat, Papyrus delved deep into a chilly canal, his eyes and soul bright to light his path. He'd heard from a friend of a friend of a neighbour of a passerby that Opurl was down here. Through his sleuthing, he'd discovered she didn't actually live in Waterfall anymore, but came back frequently for visits. She almost always came to the same shop in this canal when she was around.
.
As usual, the water was much deeper and darker than it looked from the surface, past the cyan glow and the little sparkles of glistening, glowing motes. Papyrus didn't mind. He'd left most of his clothes up on the stone. He was glad he'd lent that dog orb to his new acquaintance. He preferred that to accidentally summoning underwater dogs or leaving it alone above the channel without him.
.
From the bottom, his bare boney feet scuffing gently on smooth stone, Papyrus peered around. A couple small fish monsters waved at him. He waved back and walked through the current, putting a hand against the wall.
.
Luckily, just up ahead, there were some round openings carved into the wall. The first one was a shop, but it was closed. The second, though, was open, a beam of cozy light pouring out through its stone door, left ajar. Papyrus snuck in, blinking, only to find what looked like a small, underwater spa. There were four big, wooden tubs of bubbly, pastel-coloured liquid in the middle of the room, each lit by a glass bowl of pink crystals. Mirrors paired with mismatched, comfy chairs lined the walls to the left and right, and there was another round door at the back. Little glowing garlands of bubbles decorated the rock ceiling with blue and gold lights. An eel monster rested snugly in one of the tubs while a lumpy anemone had their stripy tentacles combed by a three-eyed fish with a big head and teeth and a little body.
.
"Hello, honey." A blue, round, elephant-like monster with six little flipper legs and big hoop earrings slid up to him. "Welcome to to the Bubblebath. Do you have an appointment?"
"Oh! No! But hello, I am the great Papyrus!" he said, hand to his shining ribcage. "And I'm looking for a monster named Opurl, is she here?"
"Hmm… She issss, but she's having her shell polished," the blue monster said. "You're welcome to wait."
"Yes please and thanks," he said.
.
The lady brought him to a cushy chair in front of a mirror, where he sat, fingers laced together. He was given a complimentary skull washing while he waited, but he paid for it anyway.
.
After a few minutes, an elegant yellow clam lady dressed in all lavender stepped out of the back room. Her blue and purple shell was gleaming. Papyrus jumped to his feet.
"Are you Opurl?!" he asked.
The eel in the tub jolted at the sound and then sunk into the bubbles. The clam lady paused, smiling, and nodded.
"How fortunate you came here to look for me right at this very moment."
"It took a lot of work," Papyrus said. "But! No great feat for the great Papyrus!"
"You remind me of someone," she said. "Your aura is very bright and kind."
"Well, thank you very much!" he said. "I need to talk to you about something very important, though! Would you mind heading to the lab?"
"The lab?" She smiled; didn't look phased in the slightest. "Of course. I don't mind at all"
"Wh…?! Oh! Thank you very much," he said brightly. "I can explain everything. It's about—"
"No need to go into it," she assured him. "I sense your honest intentions." She headed for the door and plunked some coins in a floating basket on her way out. "I hope fate will see us meet there soon!"
.
Papyrus stared after her for only a moment. He rushed to follow, but by the time he was standing outside Bubblebath, Opurl was already gone.
.
The skeleton returned to the surface smelling of vanilla and sea salt. Oddly refreshing. He changed into dry clothes and wrapped his scarf snugly around his neck again. After a good stretch, he checked his phone and was elated to see texts from his brother, father, and Undyne. Everyone who could be found had been. He sighed with relief and added to the notes, assuring them that Opurl was on her way, though he would be a little behind.
.
This time, when he returned to the hole in the wall beside Gerson's shop, the door was closed. There was a purple light seeping out onto the stone underneath it. He rapped his knuckles against the door and waited. A scramble of objects flinging about and wood tumbling to the floor answered him. The light vanished. A distant voice called for hime to come in.
.
He pushed back the door to reveal a main room even more chaotic than when he'd been there just a little while ago. The walls were pinned with pictures of red orbs, geometric and celestial patters drawn all around and over them, along with notes in a language he couldn't read. With those, there were paintings of white dogs and big question marks drawn all around them. The table that had once held a bubbling potion experiment now only bore a half-eaten sandwich on a plate and a couple books. A chair was sideways on the floor. Papyrus bent to pick it up and set it back on its feet.
"Hello?" he called. "It's the great Papyrus again!"
"Coming! Coming, hold on!" answered a familiar voice.
.
The skeleton waited patiently, and was soon greeted by the owl-like monster stumbling quickly out of her kitchen.
"H-Hello!" she said, leaning against the doorframe with calculated casualness. "Papyrus, I'm glad to see you again! I was starting to worry you wouldn't come back."
"Really?" He tilted his head. "I said I would, didn't I?"
"Yes, of course, but…" She shook her head quickly. "Never mind!" She darted forward and grabbed his sleeve gently. "Come, look at this, I've found out a lot!"
"Oh?!" The skeleton's eyes lit up brightly. "I'd love to see!"
.
The owl dragged him to her table. She shoved the sandwich aside onto a pile of books and opened one of the tomes that had been to its left. It was full of handwritten pages.
"Alright. So. I asked around," she said as she pulled open a drawer. She grabbed dark, velvety bag and held it close. "Gerson. My neighbour; my friend— he has an orb almost exactly like yours. Said it fell down a waterfall and hit him on the head decades ago. I ran a few tests comparing the two." She opened the bag and gently slipped the red, shiny orb out of it and into her palm. "Yours has much more magic in it. It feels to be a few hundred years older, which is fascinating, for one. Another thing is, Gerson's does activate, but the dog that appears around it seems to want to eat the the thing. Now, I staved this off with some cookies, but also the dogs would leave a strange… residue. Or… items."
"Okay, okay, interesting," Papyrus said.
.
The owl handed him back his orb. It was warm and comforting against his bones, and he also felt a dog slumping snugly over his skull like a heavy pillow. The other monster squeaked and recoiled in surprise, bumping her back into the table. Papyrus sighed and reached up to pat the dog on the head.
"You'd better not drool on me," he warned.
The dog stuck out its tongue and licked his head.
"Nyeh," Papyrus grumbled. "Sorry. Continue."
"A-Ah! Right! Well!" The owl flipped through her book to show off some sketches of some mysterious, dog-shaped objects. "Sometimes it was… slime? Or a strange… husk, like you might see with the shell of a cicada. Oh! Do you know what a cicada is?"
"Nnnooo, no, I've never heard that word before in my life," he said.
"It's an insect that sheds a hard shell, but still seems to almost look like the real thing," she said. "A-Anyway. There were a few others. Crystals as well. But it's bizarre. The dogs would also sometimes leave… food? I think? I mean, it often appeared to be fully inedible, but with some… experiments, it turned out that actually, the more it appeared to be literal garbage, the better for you it would be."
"Wowie!" Papyrus said. "That is weird! And interesting. But mine doesn't do that?"
"I suspect that it can," she said. "But, I do need you to confirm a part of my hypothesis. Would you mind letting me hear the resonance of your soul?"
"Not at all!" he assured her.
.
Papyrus put a hand to his chest and let it glow brightly, pushing its melody outwards. The owl nodded to herself and tapped her foot, then lifted her book and a quill and began to write quickly. After a moment, she handed it to him, having written out a staff and bars of notes.
"Is that correct?" she asked.
Papyrus quickly read it over, tracing it with his fingers. He nodded. "Definitely looks like it to me!"
"And that was what I was missing." She sounded very pleased. "Thank you. I think I was right. Your orb is tuned specifically to you. It seems much more likely to activate when you touch it. And anything else it'll do, I believe you need to be touching it for that, as well. But it still has more to give."
.
"Gosh, you learned a lot for such a short time," he said.
"Oh! A week is plenty for me," she assured him.
"A w— Wait, a week?!" Papyrus replied shrilly. He hurriedly pulled out his phone to check the date. "It hasn't been a week, has it?!"
"Time does fly down here, sometimes, doesn't it?" she said with a chuckle.
"No. Nyooo no no no. Wait. That's… impossible, I wasn't even gone for three hours," Papyrus said, wide-eyed.
"Um." Though the owl didn't outwardly look surprised, she certainly sounded it. "Pardon?" She took a step closer. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I think so." He scratched the the side of his head. "Did I move? Did you move?"
"I'm not sure I understand," she said.
.
Papyrus frowned thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. The dog on his head mimicked his confused expression. He paced room quickly, back and forth on swift feet. The owl reached out and took his hand to pause him. She was soft. He stalled in his tracks. Her talon wasn't a talon at all. It was a glove.
"Papyrus, please relax, whatever it is is alright," she said. "Let me get you some tea."
"It's fine. Though, thank you! But…" He pouted and took a deep breath. "I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting so long!"
"Oh! Don't be. The opportunity to look at the artefact was really enlightening. Oh! Speaking of. Let me show you something." She held out her hand. "May I?"
.
Papyrus returned the orb to her and she brought it back to her table. She pulled out a black sheet and laid it across her table. Then, she grabbed a lamp that looked like a candle surrounded by a glass bulb from the floor and clunked it up onto the sheet. She turned it on and held the orb up to it. The light shimmered within it and then beamed out what looked to be a magic circle in light. Papyrus let out a gasp and he and the dog leaned over to stare at it. Fancy geometric patterns and mysterious runes danced around the edge of the circle, while the centre displayed a paw print with the sun both behind it and on the metacarpal paw pad. The dog's eyes bugged out.
"The longer you leave it in direct light, the stronger it seems to become," she said. "Those sun marks? They were much more faded when I looked a few days ago."
"Wowie," Papyrus breathed. "That's amazing!"
"I wasn't able to decipher many of the runes," she said apologetically. "And… unfortunately, I think the only thing that might give us more answers is beyond our reach."
"You think so? What is it?" he asked.
"I think… Well. To me, this seems like, what would truly help you find more answers about this thing," she said as she handed it back to him, "would be to bring it out into sunlight. But… I know that's impossible."
.
"Impossible?!" Papyrus grinned brightly. "Oh! That's not impossible at all! You must not've heard! Very understandable, everything's been all over the place, buuuut! The barrier's gone!"
"It… It's what?!" the monster blurted shrilly. "It broke?!"
"Right! Nobody's really sure what happened. Or. I guess my brother's sure. I can't remember. There's also a whole big weird memory thing going around, by the way; it's really a pain because it erased most of the things to do with my little sister and she's the one who freed us apparently even though I'm not sure how, it was a whole thing and I—"
"Papyrus."
"—really would like to remember, but most people don't at all and things keep moving all over the place anyway and—"
"Papyr—"
"—it even took my mom and moved her back to her house and turned her memories back about two hundred years and that was really a huge worry because she just disappeared and—"
The owl gently grabbed Papyrus and turned him to push him down onto the chair near the table. "Hun, you have to slow down!"
"Oh! I… Nyeh. I'm sorry," he said, wide-eyed. "That must not've made much s—"
"Was this what you were so worried about last time we spoke?!" she demanded.
"Um." He shifted. "Well…" He gestured and beckoned at nothing. "Nnnnyes. Yes. It was. Part of it, anyway." He sighed heavily. "Sigh. I'm sorry. It sounds crazy, doesn't it?"
.
The owl stared back at him, gemstone eyes gleaming. She stumbled back a step, and then chirped a disbelieving laugh. "So you've seen the sun. You've been outside."
"Yes! Oh! We could go if you want," he said, jumping to his feet again. "I can take you! I mean, there is a whole thing going on at the lab, but if you like—! I'm sure they wouldn't mind waiting just a little longer. Actually, I don't think they even really need me for it, so we could definitely—"
"I'm not sure I can make it that far, hun," she said apologetically.
"What? Why?" He tilted his head. "…Because of your leg? I can carry you."
"The temperature shifts beyond Waterfall are, um… hard for me to deal with," she admitted quietly.
"Nyeh… Okay. Ooookay…" He paced again. "Okay! I know! There's plenty of monsters that have all kinds of troubles like that. Captain Undyne, for example, can hardly stand Hotland, she always rushes straight to the lab and then smashes a bunch of cold sodas into and onto her face, even though she hates them. So! I bet, once we're done with all our weird time science work, we can figure out something to make it not so bad! Then will you come?"
"I…" She hesitated, clutching her hands together. "…If it's possible. It's… alright, if it isn't. But I would like that, I think," she said in a soft voice.
"That's fantastic!" he said brightly.
The dog on his head stuck a little thumb up, tail wagging. The owl chuckled softly. She patted his shoulder.
"You're a good egg, Papyrus."
"I am a good skeleton, in fact! And you are a good owl, miss… um…"
She laughed. "Ah! Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I forget so often. I'm Minerva."
.
Papyrus froze. The name clunked inside his skull. He'd heard it before. He blinked. "Wait. Minerva?!"
"Yes, wh—?"
He clapped his hands against his skull. "You're not the Minerva, are you?! Are you a human?!"
She froze, then her shoulders sagged. "How…?" She wrung her hands. "It's too late to deny it, I suppose."
Papyrus's eyes glittered with stars and he beamed, holding her by the shoulders. "Oh, wowie! I heard all about you! Pretty recently in fact! It's so good to meet you!"
"It… is?" She straightened up. "So. You're not quite in the mood for a battle, then, are you, Papyrus?"
"Not if you're not," he said. "And it would be purely for the fun of it at a time like this!"
.
Minerva blew out a sigh of relief. She reached up and pulled back her hood. The owl-like face was a mask attached to it, and dropped back over her shoulders. Without it, she was a faintly gaunt, young human woman with warm, dark skin and brown eyes blinking through thick glasses. She had dark circles under her eyes and a small scar on the bridge of an aquiline nose. She pulled her shoulder-length, dark chestnut hair back into a high ponytail and smiled from the corner of her mouth.
"That's a huge relief, to be honest," she said.
.
Papyrus's eyes were alight and he beamed. "I can't believe it! This is amazing, you're…! Oh! OH! Oooh, of course! Your house! It's out of time!" He bonked himself on the brow with the heel of his hand. "Silly, I can't believe I didn't think of that right away!"
"I'm not sure what you mean," she said as she took off her gloves. Her thin eyebrows furrowed. "Is that…? Wait." She tilted her head. Her frown deepened and she pulled off her glasses to wipe them on her sleeve. "You said it… hadn't been a week for you, right?"
"Right!" he said. "Just a few hours, in fact."
"And this has been happening a lot?" she asked.
"Ah. Alright. So I guess this is really the what's bothering Papyrus part," the skeleton admitted.
She gestured for him to continue as she put her glasses back on.
"It's completely out there and hard to believe," he warned.
"Papyrus." She smiled gently. "I'm a human who somehow survived falling into a mountain; living with monsters— experimenting with magic I never thought in my wildest dreams could be real. Give me a shot."
The skeleton lightened. "Alright! To be honest, my dad just came back from being erased from time for ten years but now my two little siblings are erased from time and my big brother is sick over it and we're trying all kinds of things to get them back and time is shifting all around us as we speak and I don't know what colour the couch in my house is going to be from hour to hour because apparently sometime in the past, whoever threw our couch into the dump was definitely going to through some couch into the dump but not necessarily one that was dark green."
.
"Huh." Minerva pursed her lips and tapped her thumb against them. "Time is… shifting."
"Yes! Though. Most people don't notice it. I sometimes notice it," he said. "Judging by the, um, large amount of stuff in here, you didn't just move in in the last little while, did you?"
She chuckled. "No. I definitely didn't."
"But I'd never seen your door before, at least not until a couple days ago. And I go to Gerson's store a lot, for some reason," he insisted.
Minerva frowned thoughtfully again. She absently chewed her thumbnail. "…Well. That would explain why the Doctor has a nineteen-year-old son I'd never heard of. You're… from the future."
"Exactly!" Papyrus beamed, his soul singing with pride. "Ah! That's good to have figured out!"
.
The woman laughed quietly, shaking her head. "A time travelling skeleton, hm? You see all kinds here. Time magic isn't something I'm very familiar with, I'm afraid. And I've studied a lot."
"It is very strange and confusing," he agreed. "I don't understand it myself. At least. Now I don't. Maybe I did when my sister was here. I hope so, because feeling as confused as this is not very cool or fun at all."
"You wouldn't happen to know how far ahead you are, would you?" she asked curiously. "Also… Might I ask, who mentioned me?"
"Oh! That's easy! My mom brought you up, but she thought she was…" Papyrus froze. A sinking feeling settled in his ribcage and the dog on top of his head drooped. "O-Oh. Oh. She… thought it was two hundred years ago."
Minerva didn't looked bothered at all, but curious instead. "Who's your mother?"
"T-Toriel," he said.
The woman's eyes went wide. "Toriel?"
Papyrus nodded quickly. He grabbed Minerva by the shoulders. "B-But you… You're…"
"Oh. Hun. I know," she assured him with a smile. "Humans don't live hundreds of years."
"O-Oh! Right. Right. I'm sorry," he said.
She shook her head. A rueful smile crossed her lips. "So. My soul. It's… purple. Did it help?"
.
Papyrus's jaw dropped open. He didn't know. It must've, right? "I-It…!" His eyes began to water as his soul burned with grief. He couldn't help but drag the human into a tight hug, and the dog toppled from his head and onto the floor. "It did! I know it did! Thank you so much. You helped save so many people."
She laughed softly and patted his back. "Good. I… may have to hide what I am but, really, monsters have been very good to me here."
Papyrus nodded. He pulled back, hurriedly wiping his face. He seized her hand tightly. "Come with me."
"What?" she asked shrilly.
"Come, just to the lab! I'll carry you! Toriel should be there," he said quickly. "Come on, I know she'd love to see you! And…! And you can see so much! There's a lot that's changed! And you don't have to hide anymore!"
"Should I…?" Her eyes were wide. "The implications of something like that…"
Papyrus shook his head quickly. "Time is all messed up anyway, I can't imagine you just coming out for a little bit would hurt!"
Minerva stalled. Uncertainty painted itself across her face. Nonetheless, she nodded.
.
Papyrus beamed. He hurried outside, but abruptly found himself grasping air. He turned around quickly, but Minerva was gone. His brow furrowed, he hurried back into the house.
"Minerva?" he called.
"Oh! There you are!" she said.
He whipped around and saw her just outside the door. She came back in quickly.
"You disappeared at the threshold," she said.
"You too!" he said, wide-eyed.
She folded her arms. "…Is the path outside a different time?"
"Maybe?!" Papyrus pouted. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he had to stop himself from reflexively checking. "Let's try one more time!"
.
He backed up past the door, and nothing seemed to change. He waved at Minerva. "Can you see me?!"
She didn't wave back. He peeked his head back into her house and she jumped.
"Can you see me now?"
"Oh! That's so odd." She walked to join him, a limp in her gait. She reached her hand out beyond the threshold, but to Papyrus it looked as if it disappeared into water.
The skeleton bounced back inside, but from there, her hand looked completely normal. He rubbed his skull.
"I can't believe it," he grumbled.
"It's alright," she assured him. "To be honest, this on its own is fascinating."
"Nyoo… Maybe I cannnn… Oh!" He perked up. "I know! If you can't come out, I can bring things to you instead!"
"Papyrus, you don't have to—"
"I know! But! I think it'll be good," he assured her. He picked up the white dog off the floor and put him in her arms. He poked the dog on the nose. "Watch out for her, okay?"
The dog barked. Minerva chuckled.
"That's not necessary," she said.
"I know," Papyrus said. "But it is good for moral support!"
The woman smiled. "Thank you."
.
The skeleton grinned proudly. His phone buzzed again and he looked at it quickly. It was Undyne, wondering where he was, since Opurl had already made it to Hotland.
"Oops. Nyeh heh… Looks like I'm needed back at the lab," he said. "I wish you could come."
"That's alright," she assured him. "Maybe it really would be too much for time to handle after all."
Papyrus scoffed. "As if it isn't putting us through the wringer already!" He sighed. "I'm sorry about all this. I'll come back and visit, though, if you'd like!"
"I'd appreciate that," she said.
"Even if time's strange. And even… if it's been a while on your end," he said.
"I'm always happy to have guests." She smiled a little wider. "Especially when I don't have to mask up in my own home!"
The skeleton snickered. He offered his hand. She slung the white dog over her shoulder to free up he hers and grabbed him gladly.
"Do one thing for me," she said. "Take your artefact into the sun. Tell me what you see."
"I will! Absolutely!" He grinned and jabbed his thumb into his chest. "You can count on me! The great Papyrus! I won't let you down!"
xXxXx
Papyrus couldn't help a small dose of uncommon melancholy as he left Minerva behind. He reached the lab quickly, and it was full of energized chatter, but all he wanted to do was grab his brother. Luckily, Sans was there on top of some cardboard boxes near the door, lazing as usual, and was very grabbable. Papyrus pouted and snatched him off his feet and into a hug.
"Whoa. Y'alright?" Sans asked.
"Nyyyees, mostly yes. I guess." He sighed. "Don't worry about it, brother."
"Wuh-oh, that's gonna make me extra worry 'bout it," he said with a wink.
"Uughhh, sorry." Papyrus sat down heavily on the boxes as their souls pinged against each other. He was chilled out instantly. "It's fine. We can talk about it later."
"Short version?" Sans suggested
"I met someone in a time-shifty room who was very nice but who for sure died hundreds of years ago."
"Sheesh." The light in his eyes got big. "How was that?"
"Very nice but I couldn't bring her out to see the sun." He smiled despite the ache in his soul. "You'd like her, she was a very large nerd."
Sans chuckled. "Welp. Maybe we go visit later, how 'bout that?"
Papyrus's eyes got big and shimmering and he squeezed Sans tight. "Thank you! Yes! We will!" He lowered his voice as he let his brother down onto the ground again. "Also. Mom has to. Because— and don't freak out, okay?"
"Okay," Sans said.
"It was Minerva the human."
.
Sans stared back at him blankly. "Whoa. Serious?"
"Yes of course I'm serious!" he said. "She was in Waterfall! She was very nice. She helped me with my dog orb!"
"Oh yeah?" Sans's eyes lightened. "That's… real interestin', actually. Oh. Tori's gonna flip."
"I know, right?!" Papyrus grinned. "Something good to come out of this, I think! Aside from Suzy and the human rescue, of course."
"And I'm stealin' hoodies from myself with my dumb time machine," Sans said.
"Of course." Papyrus rolled his eyes, but he laughed nonetheless. "Small victories, brother!"
"Heh. Yeah."
.
"Papyrus!" Suzy locked onto them from across the room. She ran over and grabbed onto Papyrus's knee. "Guess what!"
"Tell me!" he said, lifting her up.
"Flora's like me and Opurl's like me," she said, bright-eyed.
"They sure are!" he said. "How has your day been so far, my great assistant?"
"Crazy! A bunch of spiders appeared in Snowdin, but they were huuuuuge!"
"No way!" Papyrus said.
"Yes way! And the Muffet lady, she wanted to become the new mayor because Snowdin has no mayor but then Toriel brought her to the Ruins to stay warm instead," Suzy said. "And Sans accidentally warped all over and we figured out we can shove stuff in his time machine so it won't move."
"Judging from the fact that you aren't, in fact, a puddle on the floor, brother, you didn't actually teleport, right?" Papyrus said, cutting his eyes at Sans.
The short skeleton grinned and shrugged. "What can I say, I'm a shifty guy."
"Sans."
Sans snickered.
.
"Hey, dorks." Undyne leapt down from the floor above. "Paps, doin' alright?"
"Yes, I am! How about you?" He tilted his head. "You seem worried."
"Me?! Worried?! Hah! I'm fine," Undyne assured him. "They're gettin' everyone up to date upstairs." She turned and called back up the escalator. "Yo, they're here!"
"Is that…? Oh! Papyrus and Sans!" June was still upstairs. She carefully walked down the escalator that was going the wrong way to join them on the ground floor. "Hello, guys, have things been going okay on your end?"
"June?! Hello!" Papyrus said brightly. "Ooh, it looks like that disguise is holding up!"
"Thank you again for doing it. It's been really sort of liberating," she agreed.
"What disguise?" Suzy asked.
"Oh! Suzy! This is June," Papyrus said, gesturing to the woman. "She is secretly a human."
"A WHAT?!" Suzy's eyes just about shot out of her head. "No way!"
"It's nice to meet you, sweetie," June said, bending down a little and offering her hand. "After this is all over, I'll be the Ambassador from Sollund. Um. Hopefully, at least!"
Suzy tentatively shook her hand and nodded, though she still looked rather surprised.
"It'll work out," Sans said.
.
"Sans, have you been fainting again? You don't look well," June said.
"Eh. Just a bit," he said with a shrug. "No big deal."
June folded her arms. "Just a bit is too much. You need to take care of yourself."
"Hah! Now you got even the human all worried aboutcha!" Undyne said. "Take your own advice and chill out, y'know?"
"Do my best," he said.
.
"So what's going on?" Papyrus asked, deftly slicing the conversation. "Do I need to do anything? Where's dad?"
"On his way. He had to go farther than anyone else, turns out," Undyne said. "Oh. Uh. Bad news. One of the candidates fell down a couple years back."
"Oh sh—oot. D'you know who?" Sans asked.
"Pepper, if that rings a bell."
Papyrus looked concerned, but he shook his head. Sans, on the other hand, grimaced slightly despite the hints of a confused frown furrowing his brow.
"Yeah. Damn. She was a good one."
"Sorry," Undyne said.
He nodded. Papyrus patted his back reassuringly.
.
"Hey! Um, s-sorry to interrupt!" Alphys called down. "Would anyone m-mind grabbing an o-old computer or two from downstairs for me?"
"I'll do it!" Papyrus said, jumping to his feet and passing Suzy to Undyne in one quick motion. "Where and what?"
"Oh! Th-There's, um, a few down there. It d-doesn't matter which one, r-really, a-as long as they're oldish and n-not hooked up to anything that's on. I j-just need some I can pull some parts out of."
"Okay!" Papyrus saluted. "On my way, doctor!" He pointed to Undyne. "Keep an eye on Sans for me!"
"Will do," she said.
Suzy saluted. Papyrus beamed. He squished the two of them into a hug before prancing away to the elevator and heading downstairs.
.
All sorts of odd feelings swept over the skeleton as he prowled the halls of the lower level, looking for computers to snatch. Nostalgia, especially. He remembered running about here so fast the tiles all blurred together when he was just a baby bones. Big monsters in white coats patting him on the head and telling him how special he was. How interesting he was. He knew, but it was nice to hear anyway.
.
He and Sans used to spend almost all their time here. It felt like a different life.
.
Something else rumbled in his skull as well. Wasn't this where he first met Big Dog? Didn't he spend a lot of time here recently? His mind's eye was filled with red. Didn't someone fall down here for far too long? Didn't he wait at a bedside that wasn't Sans's?
.
Papyrus sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave in to a mope for just a moment. The orb he carried touched his hand and warmed his fingers. He pulled it out and tossed it gently in his palm. He knew those memories must be his sister. He wished he had an answer. He wished he could just see her for real. Maybe it would jog his memory. Maybe that would help Sans.
.
From the room Sans had been treated in, Papyrus took the hall on the right side first. Past a workstation covered in an array of pretty flowers, some boxes full of junk were stacked up in a pyramid. One of them had a computer tower stuffed inside. He readjusted the other stuff and picked up one that looked useful before heading onwards.
.
The room at the end of the hallway had nothing useful inside. He remembered a room behind a mirror near the flower station, but he didn't see anything he needed in there either.
.
He tried a different hallway off the medical bed room, one that branched in two directions. The one on his right took him to a wall of cooling fans and little else.
.
When he turned around, a soft, grey mist drifted up the hall to meet him. He paused, tilting his head curiously. As he got closer, he could have sworn the place seen through it looked like the lights were off. Papyrus squinted. He stuck out a hand and brushed it through the fog, but it didn't billow or waft in the least.
"Hmmmm…" he said loudly.
.
A few steps more and everything in front of him was dark, the tiles murky beneath his feet. Warm heat pulsed in his pocket, emitting a faint, red glow. The mist seemed to seep from the doorway cut between two monitors in the wall to his right. Cautiously, he put his box down and grabbed the dog orb. The red light stained the mist as it beamed out between his fingers.
.
Papyrus looked in through the doorway to a strange, dark room filled with bookshelves and desks. There was an old computer or two and, to his surprise, a small, human-shaped someone wearing a black hoodie sitting on a chair near one of the shelves and beside a desk stacked up with sheets of paper. Her skin was dark and hair was darker, in a natural bob with bangs that almost reached her eyes. She was reading one of the sheets, squinting in the darkness.
"Hello?" he asked.
She didn't respond.
.
A clunking in the walls startled him, and her too— she jumped in her seat as emergency lights came on above them. A computer, too, lit up, casting a cool, white light from its screen.
"About time." That was Sans's voice.
Papyrus whipped around to see him with some books and binders near the computer that had come on. "Sans?! What are you doing down here?! You should be resting!"
Sans didn't answer. He didn't even look in his direction.
"Sans?" Papyrus asked, bounding over to him. "Saaans? Hello?" He waved his hand in front of his brother's face.
Nothing.
.
"Hmmmmm…" Papyrus rubbed his chin. "Nyeh… Are you fake? You're fake, aren't you? I'm hallucinating now, aren't I?"
Still no answer. Sans kept reading. Carefully, he touched his brother's shoulder. It felt very real, but Sans still didn't react. Papyrus sighed.
"Well. Not the worst thing in the world, I guess." He scratched his head. "But… wait. Who's…?" Papyrus gasped loudly, his eyes widening. "Oh. My. God."
.
He sprinted back over to the small someone at the bookshelf. "Crabapple Kid!"
Of course, she didn't answer. He circled her quickly.
"Oh my god. You're real! You're right there! Look at you!" He grinned and knelt down.
Her face— he could see it, but it was like nothing he could ever describe. Not a feature would retain in his head, even as he stared, except he could see her eyes shimmering with gentle red as she read slowly. He felt warm deep in his soul. Overwhelmed. He loved this mysterious person. His bones ached with it. His eyes flared and the orb he clutched to did as well. His amber dyed gold-orange.
"I know you can't hear me," he said. "But! It's your great brother, Papyrus. And I…! We're going to find you and bring you home, okay?" He reached out cautiously and gently ruffled her hair. "It's going to be okay."
.
To his surprise, the girl turned swiftly, staring right into his eyes. Papyrus squawked and jerked back.
"Can you see me?!" he demanded.
She did a double-take towards Sans and then hurriedly got up and ran to his side. "Sans? You're not foolin' around, are you?"
"Hm?" He shot the kid a confused look. "What's that, kiddo?"
"Oh. N… Nothing," she said. "Sorry."
.
Papyrus stared at his hands with shock. Red seeped between his bones and, in a blink, any remnants of the dark was gone. Baffled, Papyrus looked around the room. There were still computers here, but it was much tidier. All those papers scattered on desks were gone. Papyrus sighed. His soul hurt.
"Crabapple Kid," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I will figure this out."
At least he'd found some computers. He felt strangely hollow as he went to grab one, and his phone went off. A text.
.
Gaster had returned. Things were about to get started.