It was strange for Sans to be back at his sentry post near the ruins. He wasn't sure what he was feeling; nostalgia, perhaps? How many times had he been there, waiting for the arrival of the fallen child? How many times had he hoped that it would be the last time, that their end would finally come, be it happy or sad? How many times had he prayed to any deity that might be listening that he wouldn't have to see the death of his brother again?
He shook his head. That world was far away from him now, the ashes of his friends now cold. In many ways, the dimension he was now occupying was even worse. Papyrus was a murderer, Alphys was cold and calculating, and the people of Snowdin lived in constant fear brought about by a ruthless King Asgore who was planning an all-out war with the surface. True, King Asgore of dimension A-18 also spoke of a coming war, but everyone knew it was unlikely he'd turn down diplomatic options once the barrier was down. Collecting gold to create magically enchanted gear made the prospect of war much more real.
But what could Sans do? Standing up to Papyrus was one thing, but overthrowing the king? That seemed a bit much. In truth, he just wished he could provide a way back to his own dimension for the innocent townsfolk. Thinking to his experiment, he wondered if that wasn't an altogether bad idea; perhaps he could get the others out in secret ... a sort of Underground Underground. The idea of it made him chuckle.
"Well, first things first." He said, sticking his hands in the pockets of his stolen coat. "The kid should be on the way."
He hid within the trees by the bridge, waiting patiently to for the arrival of the child. There'd be no stalking this time; no greeting at the bridge, no whoopie-cushion in the hand. He'd watch the kid carefully this time. If they were good, he'd take them with the good people of Snowdin. If they were bad ... well, the kid would serve as a good distraction for NegaPapyrus and Undyne.
A good ten minutes passed before Sans finally spotted the tiny figure walking down the path. He recognized her as Frisk; physically, she was identical to the little girl who slaughtered his people. Anger rose within Sans, but he forced it down; the Frisk of his universe had been corrupted by the ichor. Glen said her Frisk was perfectly fine, and while Sans had a few doubts as to Glen, he nevertheless found himself believing her.
Looking at the kid again, Sans realized she was a lot rougher around the edges than usual. She had a sizable bruise on her cheek, scrapes were visible on her legs, and her hair was a mess. Strangely, this Frisk was dressed for the weather: a black turtleneck sweater with red stripes, denim jean shorts with leg warmers, a pair of fur-lined boots, and even a cute little yellow bandanna around her neck.
There was something else; She was inexplicably carrying a boot with her ... a boot containing a very familiar yellow flower with a face.
Sans felt his arms tense; Frisk had Flowey with her. Somehow, that seemed like a bad sign. Still, looking at the little girl's face, Sans couldn't help but feel a little compassion. She didn't look arrogant or bloodthirsty; she looked nervous and a little frightened.
Sans took a step forward to get a better look and trod upon a stick. The snap shot through the quiet air of the forest like a bolt of lightning, making Frisk freeze in place. What was only a little fear in the faces of the flower and the girl quickly turned into masks of terror.
"W-who's there?" She called out, arms wrapped around Flowey's boot.
"Frisk!" Flowey said, giving her a look of incredulity. "Do you really want an answer?"
Realizing his cover was blown, Sans decided he might as well introduce himself. He walked out of the forest with his hood over his skull. Frisk tensed as he stepped on the path only a few feet from her.
He stared at her in silence, lost for a moment in his thoughts. The absurdity of the situation washed over him. The idea that this trembling child, this littler girl who even now looked at him with absolute terror was in some way connected to the Frisk who tore an ashen swath through everyone he knew ... it seemed so ludicrous, even after seeing the truth for himself over and over again.
After a moment of silence, Sans pushed back his hood and smiled at her. "Heya, kid. How's it going?"
Fear turned instantly to terror. She tried to turn and run, but only managed to trip over her own feet and fall face first into the snow. She struggled to rise, her feet slipping in the snow from her panic.
He could kill her right there. One blast from a Gaster Blaster, and both she and the flower would be ash. It would be easy and quick. he thought of his lost friends and the brother whose scarf he still carried in the depths of his own coat. He could give the soul to NegaPapyrus to forestall suspicion and distract the evil version of his brother long enough for Sans to secure an escape from that dimension.
Or perhaps Sans could make use it himself. Human souls held great power; perhaps it would be enough to use the fragment of the Inverse Harmonius. A whole plan flashed through Sans's mind; he could lie to Papyrus, say he never found the kid, then use the Inverse Harmonius fragment to vacate Snowdin while Papyrus was on patrol or visiting Undyne. Time was ticking; sooner or later, Papyrus or Alphys would realize something was up, or NegaSans would turn up without his coat.
Frisk stopped struggling and simply sat there in the snow, trembling as she stared up at Sans's face. "P-please ... please d-don't hurt me."
Seeing her huddled there in the snow was too much. Sans couldn't even bring himself to raise a hand, let alone summon a magical attack. It might have been an act, but Sans realized it didn't matter. Even after everything he'd been through, all the repeated timelines where his friends were killed over and over again, he couldn't bring himself to kill her, not if there was a chance that she really was just a frightened little girl in need of a friend.
Flowey turned to him, face twisted in a menacing scowl as the little flower hissed at Sans and fired several small seed-like bursts of magic at the skeleton. Sans stepped aside to avoid the shots and held up his hands.
"Easy there, bud. I don't mean any harm. Lotus help ya already."
Flowey scowled, but to Sans's surprise, Frisk let out a giggle.
"Frisk!" Flowey warned, but the little girl held out her hand, a timid smile on her face.
"Watch out!" Flowey said, alarmed. "He's got a-"
Sans clasped Frisk's hand, the rude sound of the deflating whoopie cushion shooting through the still air of the snow-filled cavern.
"Sorry 'bout that, kid." Sans said, helping Frisk to her feet. "Couldn't help myself. The whoopie-cushion in the hand trick is a classic."
Frisk giggled, all trace of fear now gone. "Hello, mister. I'm Frisk and this is Flowey."
"Hi there, Frisk and this is Flowey." Sans said, shaking her hand as she giggled at his bad joke. "Call me Sans. Sans the skeleton."
"Don't trust him Frisk." Flowey said. "You heard what Toriel said; the monsters out here will kill us without a second thought."
"Actually," Sans said with a shrug, "That's just a nasty stigma. I don't wanna hurt anyone; it's not my style."
Frisk giggled again. Flowey gave Sans as dirty a look as the flower was capable of producing.
"Take it easy, little guy." Sans said, "I'm just teasin' ya. Truth is, you're right; I may not wanna hunt humans but my brother, Papyrus? He's a human-killing fanatic."
Looking back down the path toward Snowdin, Sans added, "Doesn't seem to have much trouble killing monsters either for that matter. If he had any blood, it'd probably be as cold as ice."
Sans frowned; he could just make out a figure in the distance heading their way ... a tall figure in black armor.
"And here he comes." Sans murmured.
"What?" Flowey said, fear returning to both his and Frisk's faces.
Sans shook his head. "Don't worry; I won't let him catch you."
"But how are we gonna hide/" Frisk asked, toying with her hands nervously. "We can't go back, and there's only one path."
"Hmm." Sans said, scratching his skull. "I've got an idea, but you're gonna have to trust me."
"Don't trust him!" Flowey said, alarmed. "This ... this is all a plan to capture us!"
Sans fixed the flower with a glowing blue eye. "And if it is, what do you plan to do about it ... Asriel?"
Flowey went pale, face, stem, and petals. Frisk looked started as well. Sans caught a glimpse of his skull in the reflection of her eyes, and was surprised just how frightening his visage was. Feeling a little guilty, he calmed himself.
"I'm gonna be honest." Sans said, "There's more going on right now than you know. I'm willing to let you in on everything, at least everything I know, but if we do not hide you right now, that thing that looks like my brother will not hesitate to kill you both. Now I wanna help, but if you don't want my help, I'll let you handle it on your own." Sans stepped off the path and looked back to Frisk. "He'll be here any minute now, so you'd better make your decision quick."
Flowey and Frisk exchanged a long glance. Sighing, Flowey nodded.
"Please help us, Mister Sans." Frisk said, hands clasped in front of her chest.
Sans let out a sigh before reaching out and ruffling her brown hair. "Don't worry, kiddo. We'll get through this, I promise. For now, I need you to do exactly what I say."
NegaPapyrus stomped over to Sans's sentry post. "Sans!" He shouted, his eyes glowing red. "Where are you?"
His eyes fell on a large lamp partially submerged in the snow. Eye sockets narrowing, NegaPapyrus walked toward the lamp, several bones appearing around his gauntleted hand.
"Over here, bro." Sans watched as NegaPapyrus spun about, eyes still flaring.
"Well." NegaPapyrus said, crossing his arms. "You're actually at your post for a change. Awake too."
"Just doin' my duty, boss." Sans said.
Papyrus stared at him for a long moment. Sans met his gaze, careful not to show an inch of weakness.
"I don't suppose you've given any thought to your traps." NegaPapyrus said. "The human will be here any second, and we must be prepared to capture it."
"Don't worry." Sans said. "I won't make a mesh of things this time."
NegaPapyrus shot him a dirty look. "This is no time for jokes, Sans! This human has the final soul we need for freedom! If we are the ones to bring it to Asgore, he will no doubt reward us greatly!"
"He'll reward Undyne, you mean." Sans said. "We work for her, after all."
"For the moment." NegaPapyrus said mysteriously.
Sans gave NegaPapyrus a curious look, to which NegaPapyrus shook his head. "For now, we must capture that human. Has there been any sign of it yet?"
"I haven't seen anyone pass by." Sans said.
"Good. According to Professor Alphys, the human has yet to pass her other observation posts. You remain here and test the human's strength; this close to success, we must not take any chances. Capture it if you can, otherwise attempt to ascertain its weaknesses for later confrontation. Any information could mean the difference between our return to the surface or remaining imprisoned down here."
NegaPapyrus turned to depart down the path on which he'd arrived, only to pause and glance back at the lamp.
"Somethin' wrong, bro?" Sans asked, trying his best to subtly move between his brother and the lamp.
"Where did that ugly thing come from?"
"The ugly what?'
"That lamp. It's hideous."
Sans glanced back at the lamp, feigning surprise. "Oh, that lamp! It was here when I got here."
"Really." NegaPapyrus said, suspicion in his tone.
"Probably just somethin' Greater Dog dug up during his patrol." Sans said just a little too quickly. "You know how distracted he gets."
"Yes, I do ... especially after we discovered her brother was a traitor." Without another word, NegaPapyrus raised a hand. The ghostly visage of a Gaster Blaster appeared above the lamp and blasted it into oblivion before Sans could say a word.
They stared at the rapidly freezing puddle of water that stood where the lamp had previously. There was no sign of anything other than the last few inches of the lamp's power cord.
Snorting, NegaPapyrus lowered his hand, gave Sans a curt nod, and walked away from the sentry station. Just before leaving the clearing, however, he stopped again.
"Sans." He said, not turning around.
Sans tensed in anticipation of what was to come. "Yeah, boss?"
"I'm ... sorry."
Sans's eye-sockets went wide. "Excuse me?"
"About what I said earlier.' Papyrus said, his voice strangely quiet. "I may have been harsher than I intended. If anything, I find your newfound spirit to be quite promising, if a bi misguided."
"It was the truth, bro." Sans said. "I gave Fuku the gold. I honestly didn't think anything of it ... and you can't be mad at Grillby. Of course he had to protect his family."
"Just as we must protect ours." NegaPapyrus said. "Brother ... we're almost there. This soul will prove to Asgore that I should be the leader of the Royal Guard."
"You want to take Undyne's place?"
NegaPapyrus sighed and said, "Do you think I haven't noticed how our captain hasn't done any work for the past two years? Oh, she's a skilled fighter, but she spends all of her time in Waterfall pining for the good Professor! Frankly, she's been an embarressment to the Royal Guard, and once the final soul is secured, I intend to make Asgore aware of it. We just have to play our parts a little longer, Sans."
Sans was speechless. This was the last thing he expected from NegaPapyrus at that point. While the idea of Papyrus turning on Alphys was ... well, honestly, about what he expected fron NegaPapyrus, the way NegaPaps was acting at that moment was almost brotherly. For the first time, Sans could see a little of his Papyrus in NegaPapyrus, if only just a little bit.
"Until then," Papyrus said, his tone once again stern and commanding, "We must continue to play our parts. Now assume your post and prepare yourself for the battle ahead."
With that, NegaPapyrus departed. Sans watched until he was well out of sight.
"All right." Sans said, still watching the path. "He's gone."
He turned to see Frisk and Flowey peeking over the edge of the sentry station. It would've been cute if the situation wasn't so dire.
"All right." Sans said, helping Frisk over the counter of the sentry station. "First things first; we need to get you somewhere safe ... somewhere where Papyrus can't find you."
"You son of a bitch!"
Sans grabbed Frisk and Flowey's boot and leapt over the counter into the sentry station moments before a blast from a Gaster Blaster tore through the ground where he previously stood. Sans peeked over the edge of the counter to see NegaSans, minus his jacket.
"Oh, there you are. I was wondering when you'd show up again." Sans ducked beneath the counter moments before a bone embedded itself in the wood.
"I don't know what you've been doin', and frankly I don't care. Give me my damn jacket, and I'll consider letting you live."
"He looks like you!" Flowey said, panic in his voice. "Why does he look like you?"
"Because he is me." Sans said, looking under the counter for something he could use. Unfortunately, there was only mustard, relish, and moldy hot-dog buns. He dug behind the condiment containers, passing a few to Frisk in the process, but there was nothing else down there.
"B-but how can he be you?" Frisk asked, still clutching the bottle of mustard. "You're you!"
"Look, it's a long story." Sans said, wondering if it was worth the risk to peek over the counter again.
"Then you'd better make with the cliff-notes version." Two skeletal hands slammed onto the counter of the sentry station as NegaSans peered over the counter, a red glint in his eye-sockets.
"Are you sure?" Sans said, grinning at his dimensional counterpart. "'Cause you look a little hungry. Frisk!"
Frisk and Sans both squeezed their condiment bottles. The streams of spicy mustard shot through the air and hit NegaSans in the face.
"AAAGH! You bastards! I'm gonna tear your jaw out and ram it up your pelvis!" NegaSans shouted, backpedaling as he rubbed desperately at his mustard-covered face.
"Hold on, kid!" Sans said, grabbing Frisk and Flowey and holding them close. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this."
"Do what?" Flowey shrieked.
"We're taking a shortcut." Sans said moments before the three of them vanished from sight.
ns 15.158.61.45da2
