p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"uspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Chapter 3- Running Out of Time/span/u/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""BUT, SANS, CAN'T THIS ERRAND OF YOURS WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW?" Papyrus requested, agitatedly wringing his hands. "WE STILL HAVE TWO MORE PUZZLES TO DO WITH THE HUMAN!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I had, in fact, managed to find Papyrus. The hard part had been convincing him to return home with me. Disheartening as the morning had been, he was still utterly fixated on the human. He'd been so overwhelmed with impatience that he had anxiously spun in place four times over the past half hour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'M SURE THEY WILL LIKE THESE NEXT GAMES. I DON'T WANT YOU TO MISS IT!" Hopping around, I continued to fight with the tennis shoes' tangled laces. I would need something sturdier than flammable slippers where I was going./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""/span/emspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"sorry, paps. this can't wait. and…" My mind churned for an excuse that might keep Papyrus away from the demonic kid while I was gone. "i was, ah, really hoping to do those puzzles with you. think you could wait till later? i'll only be out for an hour or so." Papyrus gave a conflicted sigh./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""WELL, I SUPPOSE SO. BUT DO HURRY BACK!" he requested earnestly. "IT'S NOT FUN HAVING NOTHING TO DO!" I nodded, hastily tying a messy knot with the pesky shoelaces./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""sure thing. in the meantime, you could make the human a big plate of spaghetti," I suggested. "all this puzzle-solving might make them hungry." I hoped Papyrus wouldn't recognize the suggestion as a mere distraction. Miraculously, he didn't./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""SANS, YOU ARE RIGHT!" he exclaimed, delighted. "THEY MUST BE GETTING HUNGRY. IF PUZZLES CANNOT WIN THEM OVER, THEN SURELY MY COOKING WILL!" Opening the front door, I turned back to Papyrus./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""great. but wait to give it to them, okay? stay inside till i get back," I warned, earning a confused glance. Smothering down the fearful quaver in my voice, I quickly added— "i wanna hear what they think of it. i know it'll be great, just like you!" At this assurance, Papyrus smiled as bright as the legendary sun. He nodded enthusiastically./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""ALRIGHTY!" he agreed. "I'LL WAIT. HURRY BACK!" Nodding, I grinned at him, then made my escape./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanDespite my tanking energy, I teleported all the way to the Waterfall district. Though I longed to grab Papyrus and flee town, deep down, I knew we couldn't evade the kid indefinitely. The Underground was too small to hide. Nowhere was safe. So, someone had to warn the Capital and rally our warriors. I supposed that someone had to be me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Trekking past the whispering echo flowers bordering the muddy path, I hurried for Undyne's house. Upon arriving at the fish-shaped brick home, though, I discovered that it was empty. Thankfully, I had considered this possibility, and left my short note pinned to her door:/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 115%;" align="center"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"human has fallen from the mountain, bad feeling about it. keep an eye out. also, distract paps for me. ~sans/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanPushing aside my disappointment, I headed for the river. After requesting a ride from the shadow-cloaked ferryperson,a name="_Hlk125910315"/a I was welcomed abord the peculiar boat and whisked across the inky water. Seven precious minutes later, we arrived at the dock in Hotlands./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Thanking the mysterious chauffeur, I hopped off onto the hot, rough gravel. Pulling my hoodie down and shoving my hands into my pockets, I hurried towards the royal lab. I snuck down the path, teleporting past the sentry checkpoints while slipping from shadow to shadow. There was no time to waste on credential checks or idle chitchat. And yet, as I reached the towering white walls of the lab, I hesitated./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I hadn't been back since that fateful day. Even after all these years, merely standing at the entrance was enough to make my soul race. I couldn't bring myself to step into the motion sensors' range and open those doors. My deadly mistake had already haunted my dreams for years. I didn't want to reawaken those memories. But if I stayed silent now, it might get us emall/em killed. In a moment of defiant bravery, I shook the regrets away and teleported into the lab./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy arrival was met with a surprised shriek and a frantic flurry. Stunned, I narrowly managed to lunge forward and grab Dr. Alphys's wrist as she tripped backwards. Her armful of paperwork slipped free and hit the ground in her place./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""S-emSans?!" /emshe balked. "W-what? Where—how did—?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""hey, alphys," I sighed, releasing her. I cringed down at the mess. "sorry 'bout that. here, let me get those," I offered, stooping to gather the scattered pages. The lemon-yellow, reptilian scientist hesitantly joined me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Glancing at the heap of paper-clipped reports in my hands, I scanned the data. There were complex blueprints, a long list of crossed out names, a robot schematic, and a plethora of printouts covered in cramped typeface. Chicken-scratch notes and anime-style doodles filled all the margins, and a few were warped by dark soda stains. I straightened the stack. Looking up, I found Alphys staring at me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""It's been a while, S-Sans," she observed, unreadably. I struggled to keep my hands still, to not fidget and convey the overwhelming anxiety the vague greeting had sparked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""yeah," I agreed, nervously shuffling the papers. "sorry. i shoulda called, first."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Oh, no, it's f-fine!" Alphys assured, fumbling to organize her own stack. "It's g-good you didn't, since I don't really… answer the phone m-much, anymore…" I surprised myself by chuckling./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""'anymore'?" I teased, offering the collected pages back to my old friend. "your voicemail recording is permanently carved into my memory. i bet my left shoe i could recite the whole thing perfectly." Alphys gave a flustered huff and snatched the papers./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Your choice, not mine, Sans," she retorted. I noticed the playful, challenging twinkle beyond her thick glasses. "You know how many t-times I opened my inbox just to find a simple recording of 'yes' from you? You emdo/em realize texting would have been so much m-more efficient, right?" My grin grew into a laugh, and I confessed—/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""texting's too much effort." Smiling still, I sighed warmly. "i hear congrats are in order. royal scientist, wow. that's quite the promotion." Alphys squirmed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I guess so," she murmured. "Thanks."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""you don't seem happy about it," I observed, and Alph's shoulders drooped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I'm not very g-good at this," she admitted, tail swishing nervously. "I've made a mess of it, already. You were here before I was, and t-twice as smart. Asgore should have offered the position t-to you." Thing was, the king emhad /emoffered me the job. I'd declined./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""no, i'm glad he picked you," I assured. "you're way better at all the technical stuff than i ever was. you've earned the title. anyway, lab life's not for paps and me anymore; snowdin's really grown on us. everyone wins." She stared at me, thinking hard./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""'Lab life's not for…' is—is emthat/em why you left?" she balked./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""huh?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"emspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""I/span/emspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';" didn't d-drive you away?" I stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""… emyou?"/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Well, you just v-vanished," she observed. "I couldn't figure out why. It had to be something personal, because you were always r-really dedicated to the job! And, you weren't super close with anyone else here, that I could t-tell, so I assumed emI /emdid something w-wrong." Seeing my expression, she dropped her gaze. "I mean… it had to be me. I can be so brainless. I must have said or done s-something awful… You d-didn't even say goodbye."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"My soul went cold. My rising disgust dropped into sinking dread. Alph knew the impact Gaster had on my life. To assume emshe /emwas the reason I'd left was outrageously conceited. But it was like she didn't even remember him. And that scared me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I'd noticed Papyrus didn't seem to remember Gaster, either. He didn't mention him, ever. Sometimes, I worried his silence meant he blamed me for G.'s death. Other days, I concluded that forgetting was simply a coping mechanism for my gentle-spirited brother. He struggled with loss and drastic change. Maybe he wasn't ready to face the grief. But now I wasn't sure what to think. It didn't add up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"My mind flew through our lab team's research about timeline anomalies. Was this proof? Had I stumbled upon a hitch in reality? I had to find out. I had to tell Alphys! But a deep, resonating pain began in my head. Like a warning. Like a emthreat/em. I tried to speak, but the words stuck. emdr. gaster. say you remember him. /emNo words came out. Alph took in my choked expression./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Then, it was m-me?" she whispered. I shook my head and tried to speak again. emwho was the royal scientist before you? who taught you everything you know?/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"The headache tightened dangerously, smothering the words before they could escape my throat. I couldn't so much as say his name. Whether due to the state of my own scarred subconscious, my lingering fear of judgement, or some frightful effect of a timeline anomaly, I couldn't tell her the truth. Realizing this, I heaved a sigh./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""no, alph. it wasn't your fault, honest," I promised, fiddling with my hoodie's silver wing charm. "i guess you could call it a family matter, of sorts." My hand went to my head at a twinge of pain. "sorry." Alphys's expression lit up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Oh, there's nothing to forgive, Sans," she assured. "I'm just g-glad to hear we're still friends!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"She rocked once on her toes happily, and the massive armful of papers shifted, threatening to slip free. Alphys lurched to catch it. Resting her chin atop the stack to steady it, she ambled towards the worktables lining the walls. I followed, cringing at the worsening headache as she jabbered excitedly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Sorry about the m-mess," she apologized, sweeping a tower of unwashed ramen bowls aside with her tail. "I don't get many visitors, lately. Except Undyne, of course. She says Papyrus wants to be in the Royal Guard! Quarks, he s-sure has grown, hasn't he?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""uh-huh," I murmured distantly, absentmindedly rolling a pencil back and forth on the table. I suddenly wasn't sure why I was here./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Undyne and I made onigiri yesterday. Have you ever t-tried onigiri, Sans? I don't know why, but I feel like you'd like it." She spread the papers out on the table to sort. "Papyrus loves cooking, d-doesn't he? He's fascinated with pasta these d-days, right?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i mean, yeah, i guess you could say that," I affirmed, jokingly understating his obsession. "we only eat it, like, three whole meals a day. it's about time undyne taught him something new. i'm so sick of overcooked noodles."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Huh. Undyne always overcooks ramen, too," Alphys mused. "Maybe her s-stove isn't as hot as most? And they get used to overcompensating the t-temperature settings?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""or they just enjoy burning things," I countered dryly, noticing a nearby, dinosaur-shaped, ceramic mug. I turned its yellow handle, observing it in a daze. Alphys noticed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""King Asgore gave me that one when I got the job," she announced proudly. "It's my favorite, now."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""it kinda looks like you," I observed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""He said that, too," she chuckled, then turned her grin my way. "I'm glad you came, Sans. Oh, s-stars—I've been talking this whole time! Did you need s-something? I n-never asked why you're here."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""right. about that," I murmured, rubbing my aching head, "i was just wondering how mettaton was…"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"I frowned, confused. emWas /emMettaton why I'd come to talk to her? Something deep within urged me to keep going. Yes, /spanspan lang="EN" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"I was supposed to ask how long until the famous entertainment robot was fully upgraded, and whether he would possibly stand a chance against a human, wasn't I?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"But, I already knew a mere machine couldn't stop the kid. Humans were infinitely stronger than us monsters. We'd need a small emarmy! /emspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Suddenly, the spell broke. /spanem style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"i'm not 'supposed' to do anything. what am i thinking? i'm wasting time! /emDesperation hit me like an icy snowball. I grabbed Alphys's shoulders, unintentionally startling her, and felt my frightened grip tighten./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""forget that, forget all of that. it's not important. you need to evacuate the towns!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""E-evacuate?!" Alphys squeaked. "Sans, y-you're scaring me. What's going on?!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""a violent human has fallen into the caverns, alphys. get mettaton ready to fight and inform the king. call the guards. we've gotta—"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"My next breath caught. My head felt crushed with vice-like pain. em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"not again, not now! /emMy shaking knees suddenly gave out. I crumpled to the ground, clutching my splitting head. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Alphys was calling my name. Her voice was drowned beneath an overwhelming rush of hyperdetailed sensations. The ticking clock. The crisp cold of the tiles. The blinding lights. My pounding soul spluttered waves of raw energy. A storm of volatile magic began swirling around me as teal photons seeped from my tightly closed left eye. The flurries churned faster, the sensory input doubled, and a distant thought floated by: em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"am i… dying?/em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Then, a blaring, ascending alarm split through the fog. The pain began to subside, making way for a deep dread. I finally allowed Alphys to help pull me up. I stumbled unsteadily to my feet, muttering lamely about a migraine. Alphys lurched to catch and steady me, then cast a quick glance at the huge monitor mounted across the room./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Wh-what?!" she gasped, shaken. Slowly, painfully, I dragged my head up and pried my eyes open. The words I saw didn't sink in until Alphys stuttered— "S-Snowdin's… sent out an SOS signal?" In an instant, it all faded. The pain, the noise, the lab itself, until only one thought was left: em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"papyrus./em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Surely, he would have called me if he was in danger! I frantically patted my pockets. They were empty. My head spun. I'd never grabbed my phone from my side table. Of all days, how could I have forgotten it? No, why did I ever leave Papyrus alone in the first place?! /spanspan style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"Suddenly, I found my strength. Taking a decisive step back, I broke away from Alphys./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""i have to get home," I murmured, turning towards the door. To my surprise, my timid friend found the courage to grab my sleeve and attempt to hold me back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""Sans, n-no!" she exclaimed. "You're safer here, and y-you don't seem well enough to—!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 115%;"span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';""no, i have to go!" I insisted, and teleported style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" clear="all" /span/p