"BUT, SANS, CAN'T THIS SPECIAL ERRAND OF YOURS WAIT TILL TOMORROW? WE STILL HAVE TWO MORE PUZZLES TO DO WITH THE HUMAN! I'M SURE THEY WILL LIKE THESE ONES! I DON'T WANT YOU TO MISS IT!" Papyrus begged, trying to reason with me. Hopping around, I continued to fight with my tennis shoes; I would need more than flammable slippers where I was going.

"sorry bro, this can't wait. and…" my mind churned, desperate to keep Papyrus away from the demon child while I was gone, "i was, ah, kinda hoping to do those puzzles with you. think you could wait till i get back? i'll only be gone for a few hours." Papyrus seemed surprised at my relative earnestness.

"I SUPPOSE SO. BUT DO HURRY BACK! IT'S NOT FUN HAVING NOTHING TO DO," he exclaimed. I nodded, hastily tying a messy knot with the pesky shoelaces.

"k. hey, in the meantime, you could make them a big plate of spaghetti," I pointed out, "ya know, all this puzzle-solving might make them hungry." that was such a stretch. Thankfully, Papyrus took the bait anyway.

"YOU ARE RIGHT! YES, THEY MUST BE GETTING HUNGRY! IF PUZZLES CAN NOT WIN THEM OVER, THEN SURELY MY COOKING WILL! I SHALL MAKE THEM THE BEST PASTA YET!" he exclaimed. Opening the door, I turned back to Papyrus.

"great. but, just—wait to give it to them, k? stay inside till I get back." That earned me a confused look. I quickly saved myself by adding—"i wanna hear what they think of it. i know it'll be great, just like you." At this, Papyrus smiled as bright as the legendary sun, and I knew he'd stay inside for a while. nailed it.

"ALRIGHTY THEN! I SHALL WAIT. HURRY BACK!" Nodding, I grinned, then scurried off. Time was of the essence. I had to move fast.

I took the biggest shortcut I could without expending too much energy. Ending up in Waterfall, I headed for Undyne's house; echo flowers whispered to me as I trekked along the bank of the river. The air felt… heavier than usual. Waterfall was always humid, but this felt different. Perhaps the air was filled with drops of doom instead of dew. When I got to the huge brick fish house, I found that it was empty; thankfully, I had thought of this possibility, and left my short note on her door:

human has fallen, bad feeling about it. keep an eye out. also, distract paps for me. ~sans

Next, I headed for the river. After a brief exchange of words with the shadow-cloaked riverperson, I found myself speeding across the inky water on the back of a magical wooden… creature. I wasn't sure whether it was supposed to be a dog, cat, or a Tem. Regardless, it ran like the wind. Finally, seven precious minutes later, we arrived at the dock in Hotlands. Thanking the mysterious chauffeur, I stepped off onto the hot gravel, grateful for the thick soles in my shoes. Pulling my hoodie down and shoving my hands in my pockets, I started on my mission; I couldn't afford to fail.

Teleporting past the initial group of sentries, I snuck down the path. I didn't know why, but… I felt that my presence here should go unnoticed. Coming to the towering white walls of the lab, I hesitated. The silence around would amplify the noise of the doors opening; I still didn't want to be seen. Letting my paranoia get the better of me, I teleported inside the doors… and almost crashed into Alphys.

"AAAHH!" she squealed, tripping on seemingly nothing and tumbling to the ground amidst a pile of papers. Digging my heels into the floor, I managed to keep from joining her on the tiles. "S-Sans?!" she gasped in surprise, "W-what? How did you—"

"heya alphys. sorry about that… here, let me get those," I offered and began gathering the scattered pages. The timid dino-lizard seemed to partially get over her shock and started to help. Glancing down at the heap of reports in my hands, I caught glimpse of complicated formulas and graphs, the margins brimming with chicken-scratch notes. "this is a lot of paperwork; how are you managing without a lab partner?" I asked awkwardly, handing the pages back to her. This caused slight confusion to flit across Alphys' face for a moment.

"Um… I'm doing pretty well, like, I've always been…?" she answered, puzzled. Something inside me hitched and a dull throb started behind my eyes. she doesn't remember gaster.

I'd noticed Papyrus didn't seem to remember Gaster, either. I'd not pushed him about it. Heaven knows the whole ordeal was trying enough. Perhaps forgetting was some sort of coping mechanism. Papyrus was a gentle soul, such things were hard for him to bear. But now I wasn't so sure. Something was up.

"What… what are you doing here, Sans?" Alphys asked hesitantly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"yeah, about that," I murmured, rubbing my head and trying not to cringe, "i was just… wondering how mettaton was…" I stopped. Something deep within urged me to keep going. I was supposed to ask how long until the famous entertainment robot was fully upgraded, and whether or not he would possibly stand a chance against a human, wasn't I? wait a sec. supposed to? i'm not "supposed" to do anything! it can't make me! i'm wasting time! Desperation hit me like a snowball to the face. I grabbed Alphy's shoulders—unintentionally frightening her—and felt my scared grip tighten. "forget that, forget all of that; it's not important. we need to evacuate."

"E-e-evacuate?!" Alphys squeaked. "Sans, y-you're scaring me, what's going on?"

"a genocidal human has fallen, alphys. get mettaton ready and inform the king, we've gotta—"

I never finished that sentence. My next breath caught in my throat as my entire being jolted. no, no, not again, not again! My shaking knees suddenly gave out and I crumpled to the ground, clutching my skull, which was doubtlessly splitting. It seemed Alphys was calling my name; she sounded far away, as if she stood shouting on the shore while I sunk beneath the sea. All the noise I'd ever known and all the things I'd ever seen blurred my senses. I felt static-like magic seeping from my tightly closed left eye, sparking uncontrollably. am i… dying?

Then, one noise rang out loud and clear. A blaring, ascending beep of an alarm going off. The fog began to clear, making way for the dread that settled where my stomach would be. The pain began slowly ebbing away, and I allowed Alphys to help pull me up; I stumbled to my feet, muttering "stupid migraine…" Alphys, trying to steady me, glanced across the room at the big screen and gasped.

"N-n-no! Oh no. B-but… no, this can't be…" Slowly, painfully, I dragged my head up, prying my eyes open; the words I saw didn't sink in until Alphys stuttered—"S-Snowdin is… e-evacuating..?"

In an instant, it all faded. The pain, the noise, the world itself, until only one thought was left; papyrus. Suddenly I found my strength. Taking a decisive step back, I broke away from Alphys.

"i have to get home," I murmured, turning towards the door. To my surprise, Alphys found the courage to grab my sleeve and attempt to hold me back.

"Sans, n-no. You're safer here, and, y-you're not well enough to—"

"no, i have to go!" I insisted, and teleported away.