Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Right now, the storytelling world is just held in bold print. Later on, it will get normal font.

Sans felt his slipper move from beneath him. He opened his eyesockets and he saw his niece Phal holding his foot over her head.

“Tell me a story,” she said.

A story. “I don’t know stories.”

Her twin sister Angie came to lift his other slipper.

Ugh. Sans was too lazy to think of a story. “I can read your dad’s favorite story.”

“No. We want a story about a princess and princes and stuff like that,” Angie insisted.

“Ooh!” Papyrus came in the room. “That sounds exciting.”

Eh. “Princesses?” Sans didn’t know shit about princesses or stories about them. He did know where some excitement usually lied though. He got up and headed out. “I’ll be back. Maybe I can find something.”

He went toward the timeline machine room. There were all kinds of timelines out there. He knew there was royalty, so maybe he could find something? He typed the search word 'princess' not knowing what he’d find.

Hey, there was a world with a princess in the timeline right now. He printed off a couple of pages from it, shoved it into a big book, and went back inside.

Work smarter, not harder. He wouldn’t even have to think about dialogue, the timeline machine wrote everything with scripted details and dialogue. He held up his big book. “Okay, I got one.” He sat back down and opened the big book up where the paper was stuck in.

Papyrus didn’t look half as pleased now. “Sans. That’s not part of a story, it’s a timeline readout.”

“Same thing. You want princesses?” Sans saw the girls jump and down. “Okay. How about some real ones?” They got really excited now and went to their beds.

“You don’t know if whatever is going on will end well,” Papyrus complained.

“Some fairytales don’t have happy endings. It’s fine.” It was just a night anyhow. Sans started to look at the readouts. He had two pieces of paper, they both connected somehow. “Okay, so once upon a time . . .”

World 59

Sans wiped his brow as he finished trimming the grass. The sun was shining bright today. Papyrus was inside getting lemonade while they were on their break. They still patrolled for humans, but just certain kinds.

Some humans were fine to come into the Monster Kingdom. Frisk for example. Sans didn’t know Frisk real well, she left them when she was smaller, but she came back annually for visits.

He waved at some neighbors crossing by, and then? He could just feel his whole world starting to crack.

A Sans appeared right beside him. ‘You. House. Now.’

Oh no. Sans left the outside work to go inside. What the heck was another Sans doing over here? ‘Look, Buddy, I don’t know what you’re wanting to know, but time skipping is dan-’

‘This is my world,’ that Sans said firmly. ‘What did you do, get lost too? This here is my world, Buddy. You get out and find your own.’

What? ‘Nah, nah,’ Sans assured him. ‘You are the one mistaken. I know that this is my world. We got a good ending. My Frisk did fine. It dealt with a flower. The whole shebang, and it happened like fifteen years ago or so.’

That Sans didn’t look happy. ‘Yeah, I know. Fifteen years ago, I was looking for my world too. I had a happy ending, my Frisk was straight and narrow. Doing real well. Only, I missed my entrance because you took over my spot. I just got booted out from the other dimension I thought had been mine.’

No, no. ‘Sorry.’ Sans wasn’t moving. This guy was just dreaming if he thought this was his dimension. ‘It’s not possible.’

‘You got Frisk’s phone number? Call her,’ that Sans said. ‘Before you do, answer this. When did she first meet Flowey?’

Oh. ‘You like trick questions, huh?’ Flowey. ‘She knew him by the time she reached judgment hall. I think it was somewhere in Waterfall.’ Right.

‘Why would you sat that?’ the other Sans asked. ‘Go ahead. Think about it. Where did you first find out about it with her?’

Hmm. ‘She didn’t seem to recognize it when I talked about it at Grillbys,’ Sans reasoned. Yeah, she just looked confused. ‘She must have met him after Snowdin.’

‘He was the first monster she met,’ the other Sans said confidently. ‘He taught her to fight. That’s when Toriel interrupted.’

Nuts. It was not. Sans texted Frisk about where she first met Flowey. Her answer? ‘Hell no.’

‘Hell yes.’ The other Sans’ eyes went dark. ‘Get the hell out of my world, and find where you belong.’

‘But.’ It couldn’t be but Frisk texted it herself. He was the first monster she ever met. But his memory. ‘Shit! No.’

No. He’d been living in the wrong timeline for 15 years? He moved around his house, looking for anything he could to disprove his own memory. Or, maybe to help him figure out where he belonged. Or?

‘Good endings without Sans’ are 13, 42, and 98. Good endings with Sans’ are 34, 83, and 69.’ The other Sans gave him a piece of paper. ‘I get it, it was an accident. Here. I’ve been out there long enough. These are the neutral routes. There are a lot of them. Just, look for the Frisk that didn’t know Flowey in the ruins. You’ll eventually find home.’

Damn. Damn. Damn. ‘Papyrus.’

‘He’s my brother. I’ll take care of him. Get home to yours.’

Fifteen years. Fifteen years?

——————————

World 36

Frisk waved to the froggits as she went on her way out the Ruins. Everyday for Frisk she walked the Underground to help monsters. Toriel had taught her to do it ever since she was a young child. Frisk was a young lady at 21 now, but she still did it everyday that she was healthy enough to go.

She always tried to make it too because when she didn’t, then monsters would always come to check on her to make sure she was fine. When she was better, she’d find at least ten presents with at least one Grillby sandwich with fries.

She saw her friendly bear friend picking berries as she walked to Snowdin. He never gave himself a name, just like the froggits. When a monster didn’t pick a name, she just called them by who they seemed like. ‘Good morning, Mister Friendly Bear.’

‘Good morning!’ he said. ‘Can you help me pick more berries?’

Frisk stopped and helped him pick more berries. They made pleasant conversation about what was happening in Snowdin, in Grillbys, with Sans and Papyrus, and Undyne.

She gave him the bucket she had full, said goodbye, and continued on her way. ‘Hello, Doggo.’

‘Hello, Frisk. I can’t see you but can you help me?’ he asked as his eyes twitched around. ‘I lost track of my lunch. It’s not moving.’

Frisk went toward him and scooted his lunch that was on the left of his sentry guarding area. ‘Here you go.’

‘Thanks! Pesky sandwich. Have a good day, Frisk.’

‘You too, Doggo.’ Frisk continued on her way until she reached the Skeleton Brother’s house.

Sans was standing in front of his house. ‘Hey, Frisk.’

‘Hi, Sans. Papyrus here? I got something for him.’ She fished in her pocket and brought out some instant noodles. ‘He said he was looking for more instant noodles.’

‘Nah, he’s on duty.’ Sans said. ‘I’ll take them though.’

Frisk walked over and gave the instant noodles to him. ‘There you go. Thanks.’ She clutched her coat. ‘Oh, it’s colder today. I should get going to Waterfall already then. I will see you around, Sans.’

‘See you, Frisk.’ Sans said as he held onto the instant noodles.

———————————

Sans found it. World 36. It wasn’t a Frisk that met Flowey later. It was a Frisk that never met Flowey. It was the strangest one he’d seen yet. Apparently she fought Asgore, and Toriel interfered. She lived with Toriel and they all lived happily Underground.

Sans saw the other one holding the instant noodles. This guy was going to get the same rude awakening, because that was his dimension. His Papyrus. It may not be the great surface ending, but it was his life. ‘Hey, you.’ He appeared before him. ‘House. Now.’-

“This is confusing,” Phal complained. “This story is all about you, and then you, and then seeing another you and you. There’s no fun princesses.”

Yeah, good point. “You have to get through the beginning to get to the meat.”

“This better get better,” Angie warned him.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sans went back to reading.

World 36

They both went through a similar conversation. The same kind of texting. The same kind of shocked expression on the wrong Sans as he looked all over for things.

‘Aw, man.’ The other Sans looked back toward him. ‘I really thought I found it this time.’ He smacked his slipper on the floor. ‘On the road again.’

At least that one hadn’t been lost fifteen years. ‘How long you been taking care of this timeline?’ Sans asked him.

‘About five months?’ he reckoned. ‘I wish you luck. This dimension had another Sans I got confused with. I know at least a couple came through before me. The bills are kinda . . .’ He waved his bony fingers back and forth. ‘You’re a parked timeline.’

A parked timeline? ‘What the hell is a parked timeline?’ Sans asked.

‘Oh. It’s a timeline that’s pretty decent, but it didn’t really have an exact Sans. So, if you don’t quite know which timeline, you just park it here until you figure things out. Or, if you ended in a bad timeline, it’s a place to share a little bit of goodness.’ The other Sans grabbed his things but flipped him his phone. ‘Good luck. Glad it’s not parked anymore. Eventually, we’ll all get it right.’ He smiled at Sans. ‘Hey, enjoy your Frisk. Personally, she’s the best one I’ve ever met.’

——————————————————

Frisk continued to chat with monsters, especially Nabstablook. He often seemed lonely and shy, so she stopped and helped some snails race. Then she reached her true destination.

Her best friends’ house. She knocked on the door. ‘Undyne and Alphys. I brought popcorn.’

Alphys answered the door. ‘Hello, Frisk, come on in. We didn’t start it yet.’

‘I hope not, I didn’t get here yet.’ Frisk handed her the popcorn and saw Undyne sitting on the couch. She landed right beside her, just to annoy them for a bit.

‘Scooch.’ Undyne scooted her over so Alphys could sit next to Undyne.

‘Hey, not fair, what are you playing?’ Frisk picked up the cover of a game. Alphys and Undyne were both into the things of her world. Anime and video games kept resurfacing up in the junkyard all the time.

Alphys and Undyne had always been fascinated by the different things Frisk knew of her world, and Frisk was always happy to share in their treasures with them. Anime and video games were from her world after all. It gave all three of them a tight bond, although the bond became tighter when Frisk grew up more to watch their favorite kind of anime and video games.

After all, it’s not like she could ever rejoin her world. When she was a small girl, she fell into the Underground. She found friends and allies who helped her through her troubles, and at the end, she was able to convince Asgore not to kill her.

They all lived harmoniously Underground now. No one ever came after her soul. Well? Technically, there were a few that would cause troubles for a few seconds but her mom Toriel usually took care of it.

If not, she had plenty of help from her friends. All she ever had to do was call out for help, and someone always came. ‘What’s this game?’

‘The cover was too scratched up, but it’s got a heavy amount of violence and swordplay and I love it!’ Undyne insisted. ‘We’ll play it later. Let’s watch something.’

‘I found this last week, and Frisk said she wanted to watch it today.’ Alphys brought over Puella Magi Madoka Magica. ‘It’s cute but terrifying.’

‘Yes, best kind.’ Undyne watched her put it in while Frisk went to get the popcorn. ‘Did it come out right?’

‘No.’ Frisk opened the stove door. ‘It never does. I don’t have magic.’ They always knew it too. Just like Frisk annoyed them by sitting too close, they tended to make her make the food. Which, when monster food was all magic? It was always impossible. ‘I gave it to Alphys to fix too.’

Alphys stood up and went over. ‘Just turn it on.’

Sure, turning on magic was easy for people with magic. Frisk went to go sit by Undyne while Alphys made the popcorn. Undyne scooched her over again while Alphys gave her a small bowl of popcorn.

Alphys handed Undyne a small bowl of popcorn, and she sat down with her own.

And they watched as nothing had come on screen. ‘Oh, darn,’ Alphys apologized. ‘It looks like I’ll have to take it in for a little more repair. We’ll try again next week. We can play a video game for now?’

Good idea. Frisk watched Undyne and Alphys play, and then she played Undyne. Frisk still had more stuff to do for tomorrow though, so she said goodbye and went on her way.

She moved past Sans’ vendor stand. ‘Bye, Sans. Hope Papyrus enjoys the noodles.’

‘Bye, Frisk.’ Nice, light conversation. Same as always with Sans. He never really spoke too much unless it involved a joke.

Frisk reached home and relaxed with her mom for the night. She had a chart on who needed help later on tomorrow. She actually had a planner that even covered next week.

She only helped so many a day though, so she could concentrate and help the best she could. It’s what her mom had always taught her. After conversing and watching some light Mettaton TV, Frisk went to bed.

Another ordinary but wonderful day.

——————

Sans had a problem. A big problem. He just stared at Undyne, wondering what he should do. She wasn't accepting any apology this time. He couldn't explain the truth. He didn't get much of a choice. ‘Everybody has an off day?’

‘You have had more than an off day,’ she complained. ‘No. I'm not helping with your late bills problem, nor am I hiring you for more hours. You should be happy you still have a job because I am on the cusp of terminating it!’

Damn! Now what? ‘Look, I had a tough time, but I can be responsible. Really.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Undyne complained. ‘Then prove it. Make someone vouch for you. No, scratch that. I want you to show me some responsibility before I fix or talk about anything on your behalf.’

Okay. ‘How?’

‘I don't know. You run around the Underground and find the answer.’

————————

The Ruins the Next Day

Frisk bent down by the yellow flowers. She tried to move back there every once in awhile to help take care of them. It was a distance out of the way but Toriel used to do the same thing. It was that very action that had found her when she was younger.

Frisk said a simple prayer. Normally she didn't even bother to talk. Monsters were telepathic, with her friends the most telepathic.

Even the froggits could understand she didn't want to hurt them.

With her friends, by the time she even uttered a 'hey, how are you?’ They were already conveying their own thoughts, having picked up on what she wanted to say, and halfway through a conversation. A five minute language conversation took 5 seconds if she just thought it to them.

Talk just honestly slowed them down. Some of her friends didn't even have the capability to talk either.

She still tried though. Usually just to herself and her mom, so she would remember her own language.

Who knows. Maybe one day she would make it to the surface again too. Her mom never gave up hope on that.

Frisk finished her little prayer. After taking care of the flowers, she always ended that way. She prayed for all the children who ended up in the Underground with a bittersweet ending. After she was done, she almost got up. However, she heard a scream above her. A female scream.

It didn't sound like it was high enough to be out of the hole. Her mom was out shopping right now and Frisk didn't want to leave. She needed someone’s help right then and there quickly.

There was another use for voice. It worked for emergencies. She hit dial and instantly got Sans' number. When she heard it pick up she said - “now!”

That's all it took with Sans. He showed up next to her.

Once he appeared, Frisk pointed above. 'Scream. Above but low.’

Sans disappeared a second and came back. 'There’s a dead human man. Hurt woman dying. Can’t save her.’

'No one should die alone,’ Frisk insisted. ‘Can I comfort the woman?’

'You’re an okay Frisk. I will put you up there with her. Just call Tori when you want down. Cause you know her.’

Strange phrase, but Frisk found herself up in the crevice. Sans was nice enough to let her see the woman while he went back to work.

The man was definitely dead. The woman was breathing very hard.

They must have fallen at a deep angle, not straight down like her. If they could have only landed on the flowers.

Underground treated gravity with greater tenderness. Frisk assumed it was because of all the magic force. “I am here.” She gripped onto the woman's hand.

Her injuries were to the body, not the soul. No one could have saved her.

She was twitching, curled up on her back. Her bone could be seen, like she landed on it. Why was she forcing herself to curl on the side?

'Protection. Protecting something.' Frisk moved along the side. Frisk saw a new little Undergrounder.“It is okay,” Frisk tried to comfort the woman. She wouldn't live much longer. Her soul was fading fast. “Take care of. She will be fine.”

Frisk just saw a light smile before the soul was gone.

Frisk bent down to see the survivor. It was a baby girl, covered in a onesie that it couldn't fit it's tiny hands and feet through.

Frisk picked it up but of course it started crying. It was being taken from it's mother and she was too young to understand that. 'You are okay. It is okay. You are safe. I am sorry.’ “You will be okay, Little Soul.”

Frisk called Toriel, telling her what happened.

A few minutes later, Toriel helped her down with it. She used her magic to balance them.

Frisk handed her the infant. 'Sans brought me up, otherwise it would be dead. He didn't see it, she was protecting it. Do we go to Asgore?’

Toriel looked toward the infant, then handed it back. ‘Rules, Frisk. The monster it is will be considered first pick.’ A huge smile bloomed on her face. ‘What a proud day for me. My darling child has her own darling child.’ “My child.”

Frisk looked at the baby. 'I am going to be a mom? I never planned on this. You could change that if you wanted to, not fair. Poor baby. So cute.’ “Lost little soul.”

‘Sans found it second. I doubt he will choose to have it but you will have to ask him first.’ “Rules are rules.” 'He at least needs to name it if he doesn't choose to take it. He will also have to find a partner to help you. I can't take care of it and you. Against the rules.’ “Rules are rules.”

Frisk felt her phone ring. Odd. It was Sans. He never called her. She would be able to hear his thoughts, but she wouldn't be able to communicate her own as well.

She answered. “Hello?” He wanted to know if she was still up there. “I got down.”

'Good. So could you help me out? I've asked everyone around here for something responsible to do. I have some bill problems and I uh, need a little help? Everyone says you’re the one to ask.’

Responsibility? “I have responsibility for you. Grillbys.”

 ———-

“There’s a dead human in it? Sans, that’s not appropriate for them,” Papyrus complained. “Phal and Angie didn’t ask for a story about that.”

“She’s gonna be a princess mom,” Phal said to Sans. “Is she going to marry the other you that’s all depressed and lost?”

“She deserves better, she’s a princess,” Angie said to her Uncle Sans. “She is going to be a mom though, that’s kind of cool. I wasn’t planning on that in a princess story. This story is way different than the usual stuff. It even has dead people in it. Cool.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” Sans said as he lowered the timeline. “Anyhow, bed time. Gotta go.”

“One more chapter!” They both squealed.

“Uh, later.” Sounded better. He also already read what he had. He’d have to get more from the timeline. Time would have to pass by some.

“Don’t you have any respect for your other self?” Papyrus still complained. “You are reading another you’s life like a story! How would you like it if another Sans did that to you!”

Uh? “I don’t think I’d care.” Sans got up. “Mine’s not really interesting enough anyhow. I’m off. Have a nice night.”

“But will the other you-” Phal started to talk.

“A different night,” he said. “Night night.”

Chapter Text

Sans took off a good month, hearing his nieces beg for a story just about every time he came over. Add a little death and suddenly everyone wanted to hear it. He did have to promise Papyrus he’d read a little ahead of time, to make sure it didn’t get too awful for the girls.

So he did, he read like a couple of paragaphs ahead. He sat back down, this time with a lot more paper. He’d be able to handle story time pretty well now. It was easier when they just wanted to read their dad’s favorite bedtime story, but they grew out of the bunny. They wanted something else.

This seemed to be like the easiest way to do it. Cheapest too. “Okay.” He opened the big book up and showed them a picture. He’d had some interesting developments happen since last time he read them a story. The computer was shooting out more timelines too, so he went ahead and downloaded some pictures of princesses to show them, so they wouldn’t get confused on which one it had been. “So this is Princess Frisk.”

The girls got closer to look at the picture and agreed it looked like a princess. They asked if it was really her, and he lied and said yeah. Then Papyrus scolded him for lying, so he said nah, it was just a picture of a princess.

Which pissed the girls off, but whatever. He was about to be Uncle of the Month in a second as he began to read.

——————

World 36

Grillbys

Sans waited at the counter of Grillbys. Hopefully Frisk had something. If it was like 'help me bury the poor humans' he was out. That wouldn't count with Undyne, and messing with human bodies isn't what monsters did. Even monsters, they just blew away like dust. Toriel would have to help with that kind of thing.

Sans watched as Papyrus came in, complaining about him being lazy. Yeah, exact same kind of world.

‘Lazy! Lazy, lazy, lazy! Get up and move, you should not be caught here by Undyne. You are in enough trouble as it is!’

'Waiting. Frisk has a responsibility I can help with.’ Sans ordered a burger while he waited.

'That is the strangest looking turtle I have ever seen.’

Turtle? 'That's no turtle.’ On the counter in front of him was a screaming human baby (well now it was screaming) kicking it's hidden legs and arms in clothes too big for it. 'Grillby, I got a complaint. I ordered a burg, not a turtle.’

'Hardee har har.’ He saw Frisk from behind him. “Sans.” 'You know she isn't a turtle.’

Sans shrugged. 'If I say that, will you make her stop screaming?’

'She likes walks. It's temporary though.’ Frisk picked her back up. 'Her guardians are dead. When I went up, I found the woman protecting her. She was probably her mother. She might have landed on her back, just to protect her child. I told her it would be cared for.’

Hm. Sans heard her loud and clear. Thoughts only flowed two ways usually with humans. It was a little annoying. He could express his thoughts with everyone in the room, or just one. Humans were confined to usually just one or none.

Unless the one she talked to amplified it, but that’d be rude (not to mention a dumb use of magic).

‘Did Frisk bring the turtle?’ Papyrus asked Sans, but then looked at Frisk. She was walking around Grillbys with it. ‘Are you walking the strange turtle?’

‘That is your responsibility you needed,’ Frisk said to Sans. ‘Since you helped save it, you are responsible for it too.’

Sans walked over to her. Now that Frisk had walked with it, it was quiet again.

Small, small. Smallest human he’d ever seen. He gently poked it’s tummy to see if it would react.

It kicked it’s feet. Yep, too young to be any kind of threat. He guessed that since it was about the size of a small turtle. ‘I said responsibility, not the universe crawling on my back, Frisk. What am I supposed to do?’

‘I don’t know yet. I have to see Asgore,’ Frisk said, ‘but mom did say you need to name it.’

Name it? ‘You mean just ‘cause I gave you a lift to see that dying human?’ Frisk nodded. Hmm. Yeah, that would put him in as one of the helpers.

‘Has Frisk told you anything about the turtle? She’s completely ignoring me,’ Papyrus complained.

‘One monster at a time with her, remember?’

‘Sans, just amplify her thoughts when she talks.’

‘Nah, it’s rude.’

‘No, you are just lazy!’

‘It’s not a turtle, it’s a human, and I have to give it a name ‘cause I helped save it.’ There, done. Now?

He talked back to Frisk. ‘She isn’t skeleton.’

‘Whatever you call her, Sans, I will respect,’ Frisk said to him.

Well then? ‘Bellefont.’ Sans even directed the thought toward more than Frisk. ‘What do you think of that, kicky feet? Kickyfeet is an interesting name. It’s dripping saliva too. Drippysaliva.’

‘No, no, not that one.’

‘More girly? Drippysalivette?’

‘No, Sans, Bellefont was first,’ Frisk pleaded. ‘It sounds better, please stick with that one. Are you ready to go to Asgore’s with her?’

Sans scratched at his ribcage. ‘With a quick shortcut, yeah. Come on.’

He walked toward the other corner of Grillbys. ‘You too, Pap. This might call for someone more used to responsibility.’

————————————

Castle

Asgore stared at Frisk and Sans, with the newest resident: Bellefont. It seemed to be in the stage where it wanted to suck on things, and it had chosen the end of Papyrus’ scarf to bite down on. It was also kicking it’s feet around in an outfit that didn’t have it’s feet showing.

Strange outfit. Toriel would probably recognize why it was in such an outfit or what it needed though. After all, she took care of Frisk. More like, she fired upon him in the middle of the fight, to make him stop.

He was just starting to think about how nice it would be to have Frisk as a child when Toriel did that.

Then took her away to the ruins.

This young human though, it had not been alive very long at all. Months? He didn’t want to take care of a human that young. Also, this one was a little girl.

If he took another child, it should probably be a boy for the crown. Plus, a human child? That one may be a little harder to swallow. He once had wonderful children, and one of them was human, but his son Asriel would have taken the crown.

It also didn’t have the tenacity he sensed in Frisk. Frisk had so much determination, it was hard to tell whether she was a boy or a girl at first. He honestly thought a boy until she started to grow up more.

‘Majesty, may I . . . move away?’ Papyrus was trying to take his scarf back that the baby had in it’s mouth. ‘Sans, can you get my treasured scarf out of the baby’s mouth?’

‘We did that once already,’ Sans reminded him. ‘It started to scream and you handed it right back.’

Yes. Babies were complicated. Not without Toriel, and she never let him even see Frisk growing up. Not even one house call. ‘Name?’

‘Bellefont,’ Sans said. ‘I named it. That counts for being responsible, right? Can you tell Undyne that for me?’

“Need to find parents.” Frisk was speaking, to get her message across specifically. ‘Please King Asgore? She will grow up into a nice resident. I’m sure of it. She won’t even see a difference between humans and monsters.’ “Good Undergrounder.”

‘Humans are tricky,’ he spoke directly to Frisk. ‘Human souls are so powerful. One wrong move, and she could end a life. It may be best to not let her suffer down here like us.’

Frisk’s eyes were wide. She tried to move onto her knees with the little human. ‘Please, please, please! Don’t sacrifice her to see the surface, it’s not right. Mom wants someone to care for her too.’

Her mother. Toriel. ‘She has left me all these years, knowing I am right here. She never even bothered to let me see how you were growing up. If she did not care to do such simple things, why should I grant any more favor?’

Besides. It wouldn’t be very hard. Without anyone to watch it, all they had to do was leave it out in the open somewhere. It’s body would get thirsty and hungry and it would die, leaving the perfect soul.

‘Please a chance, please a chance!’ Frisk kept yelling it toward him on repeat. ‘Please, please, please, please, please! Please give her a chance, a small chance. She is a baby, she will learn, she won’t be bad, please!’ “Don’t kill baby!”

“Nature.” If she wanted to speak, so would he. “Destiny.”

“Momma. Never.” Frisk looked at baby. “Considered.” ‘You would still pull this!’

“I rule.” Toriel never once came by, and this simple baby could be just what they needed. “No family. No Underground priviledge.”

“Momma would!”

“She takes care of you, Human. She can’t have two.”

“Give time, find family. Please?”

“No.”

“King Asgore!” Frisk tried to bend down even farther on her knees.

Meanwhile, Asgore called Undyne on the phone. Begging did nothing for him. She arrived soon after. He pointed to the little human. ‘Leave it in the wilderness, as far from all monsters as possible.’

Frisk hung onto it as Undyne came near. She was probably speaking to Undyne, but Undyne was loyal to him. She shouldn’t falter.

They couldn’t eliminate Frisk all those years ago. She was too good, too many had liked her. This baby though, it was neither good or bad. It shouldn’t be too hard to dispose of before anyone became attached.

Undyne turned away from Frisk without the baby and addressed him. ‘Law is still law. If the baby has a family, then it becomes an Undergrounder, Sire.’

‘I only have to follow it to it’s minimum. That means only those in this room will be considered.’ Asgore gestured toward Frisk. ‘She has no means, Toriel takes care of her. Papyrus lives with Sans who is the one who takes care of the bills. He can’t raise it. Sans is Sans, I doubt he wants it. I don’t want it, and Undyne? Would you like to care for a human baby?’

Undyne looked toward the child. ‘I’m not good with kids, Majesty. There are a ton of other Undergrounders who would watch it.’

‘They are not here. This baby has not made an impact of knowing anyone yet,’ Asgore pointed out. ‘It’s barely even lived. We can end this quickly without any hurt feelings, and open the barrier.’

Undyne looked toward Frisk. No doubt she was talking to her again.

Frisk moved closer to him. ‘Please, anyway to help. Please?’

———————————

“Sans, I told you to read ahead!” Papyrus scolded him. “You are talking badly about royalty.”

“Royalty is acting badly,” Sans countered. “I can’t just butter up the story to make them look better.”

“The princess is doing her best,” Phal agreed. “Keep going, I want to see what happens to the princess Uncle Sans.”

“See? They like it,” Sans said back to him. “It’ll be fine.”

Papyrus groaned. “Fine. For them. For now. Continue.”

World 36

‘Sans. Help Frisk, and I’ll straighten out the late bills, give you higher pay, and more hours if you need it.’ Undyne talked straight to him. ‘You need to help her now.’

Asgore hadn’t spoken to him at all, he wasn’t addressing the whole room. ‘What’s going on then, Fish Lady?’

‘He wants to sacrifice it like he wanted to do with Frisk,’ she said. ‘With no one knowing this child, he thinks it will be easier.’

Technically, Asgore was right. Monsters only liked Frisk when it came to humanity. It’s all they would know down there. ‘I need that break, Undyne. How do I help?’

‘Asgore is making someone in this room right now claim to take care of it.’ Undyne glanced away from Sans while Frisk continued to beg. ‘Toriel takes care of Frisk. It doesn’t count. I don’t want it, that baby will scream and never shut up in our house. It’s either you or Papyrus.’

Their house? Did Alphys and Undyne live together in that dimension? Hm. ‘Why does everyone think the word responsibility means smack Sans over the head?’ Sans tapped his slipper, hearing Frisk use her own language again.

She was begging for the child. Covering it like Asgore would swing any minute at it. Come to think of it, he looked like he would be putting his head down soon. ‘Just.’

It was probably a nice benefit to those slow words Frisk used sometimes. By the time she finished distracting Asgore with a whole human language speech, he will have worked out a whole plan by then with Undyne and Papyrus as he opened to both of them. Hard battle, limited time.

Sans: I know I have to show responsibility but this is beyond crazy.

Papyrus: What is Crazy?

Sans: Undyne wants me to give my paychecks for the turtle human.

Undyne: Don’t joke right now. Frisk is fighting with King Asgore over it.

Sans: Sorry, sorry.

Papyrus: What do we do?

Sans: Thinking.

Papyrus: Just give the paychecks for the human turtle.

Undyne: Child, Papyrus. Actually, baby.

Papyrus: So it’s all human, no turtle? It sure does look strange for a human then.

Undyne: Stop stalling, Sans. You helping or not?

Sans: Thinking. I mean? It would save the little human which is the right thing to do I guess. It’d make Frisk happy to save it. It’d stop the bill problem I’m having. I get more hours. I get to keep the house.

Papyrus: What do you mean get to keep the house? How far are we behind? I can help!

Sans: Papyrus doesn’t have to worry, that is a big old plus now. Almost no downsides. Oh, wait, except a screaming baby and a Frisk living with me. Frisk always lands into trouble.

Undyne: Frisk helps people in trouble, she doesn’t land in it. That’s you! You know King Asgore, he gets what he wants. Decide!

Sans: Dangit, this won't end happy. Where’s Tori to toast him?

Undyne: Sans. After everything you’ve done, this is the only thing you could do to make me help at this point!

Sans: Easy for you to say.

Undyne: Okay, how about this? I take the paycheck that I have been saving for the wonderful wedding I wanted to have with Alphys and instead buy your house, kick your ass to the curb and fire both of you!

Papyrus and Sans looked at each other.

Sans: Papyrus never even did anything wrong.

Undyne: If I have to have some screaming infant losing it in my house, then you will lose your house period, Sans!

Sans dodged a spear.

Papyrus: Okay, fine, fine! I will keep the house, straighten out whatever needs to be straightened out, and give my paycheck for the turtle human! If it’s the right thing to do, so the humans don’t suffer.

Sans: Not in a million years, you aren’t giving up on your dream of the royal guard. Aww, dust me.

Undyne: Language, Sans. Right in front of Papyrus too.

Sans: I am risking being Asgore's bitch. He could demand anything if he really wants to murder that infant.

“Sans!”

Oops. Sans gestured to the paper. “It was in the story.”

The girls both giggled at hearing the naughty words.

“Don’t say those naughty words again in front of them,” Papyrus warned him, “or storytime is over.”

“Okay, Okay,” he agreed.

World 36

Undyne: It's true of anyone taking them in. If we don't, Frisk won't give up. I can try to entice him with her as sentry for a little while too.’

Papyrus: I will do it, no matter what the cost then!

Sans: No, I gotta spare Papyrus. We'll try sentry and take it from there.

Damn. New score for his stupid life decisions in 25 seconds. Reasoning with a king never ended well.

————————

“Please, King Asgore! Humble good person!” Frisk dodged as he did in fact swing. He was aiming for the child, but Frisk wouldn’t give it up. She dodged twice more. “I refuse! Please! Maybe momma help?” That excuse only made him angrier.

Then, a bone appeared in front of Frisk.

'Okay, fight over. Family found.’ Sans appeared in front of Frisk.

What? She just started fighting. 'What family?’

Sans gestured to her and to him. 'I will send Frisk my checks for the kid.’

'Not good enough. She is still being taken care of by another monster,’ Asgore said back.

'She can move in,’ Sans added.

Move in?

'You providing everything leaves you responsible and a good choice. What does Frisk bring? Nothing.' Asgore glanced at Undyne. 'Did you say a sentry?’

A sentry. Okay, that would work. Frisk nodded toward Asgore.

'Sentry'. Asgore still didn't seem impressed. 'Moving in with Sans, but working on your own.’

It should satisfy the requirements right? At least until mom found out.

‘ . . . I suppose. For now.’ Asgore settled with it.

“Hey, a Sans was the hero of the story tonight.” Pretty cool. He closed the book. He better not go any farther, Papyrus was a little teed already.

He still made Uncle of the Month though. The girls both came toward him and asked more questions, but that was it for now. “Later,” he said again. “There will be more next time.”

Angie swung her arms back and forth. “The princess was ducking in a battle to outmaneuver the mean king what was trying to kill the baby. I can’t wait to hear more, Uncle Sans.”

“Sans?” Papyrus said strongly. “You must read what is on the sheet, before you can read it out loud. If it’s too intense, skip it or paraphrase.”

Paraphrase? Aw, that’d take work. Hopefully this world stays pretty kid friendly. Although, it was the stuff that Papyrus hated that the girls were loving. Eh.

As he left for the night though, Papyrus caught up to him.

“Sans? I’m a little worried,” Papyrus said to him as he pointed to the book. “You found a princess in the timeline, but why do you have so many pages? Why did you make covers for her too?”

Oh. “Yeah, there’s like a lot popping up, so it might get confusing,” he said. “For some reason? We went from one result of princess to like 2,953 in a month.”

“Almost three thousand?” Papyrus was shocked. “Within a month? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Sans shrugged. “I don’t want to spoil the story.” He watched Papyrus hit his head. “Must be some kind of event in the timelines again happening.”

Papyrus took the book and started to look through some of the parts. “Why are there so many princesses coming out into the timeline? This is recent?”

“Yeah, from the whole month,” he told him. “Been a busy month in the timeline. Repeating event, kind of like that being an Underground Kingdom thing in a bunch of timelines. It's weird, but makes great storytime material.” He watched Papyrus read more of it. “Spoiling yourself.” Papyrus gave his book back. “I’m good?”

“Come back tomorrow to read more of the story,” Papyrus insisted. “I won’t be here, so you’ll have to actually watch them too.”

Aww. “Why? Where are you going?”

“Somewhere, Sans, I’ll be doing something very important,” he insisted. “Tomorrow night. You need to show up and stay until I return. It might be quick. It might not.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He had plenty of reading material. Maybe he’d even be able to get them to go to sleep earlier by bribing them with two stories.

“I don’t know how long it will be,” Papyrus warned him. “If it goes into several mornings, make sure they get dressed for school.”

“Huh?!” Was he kidding? “You could be gone days, what do you mean? Where are you going?”

“I have to look into some important things, but I will be back as soon as I am done,” he insisted. “Five minutes or five days, I have no idea. Sans! I am putting you in charge of my daughters. You’d better do a good job.”

Man. “That’s a lot of work.”

“I know. I will pay you,” Papyrus promised. “This is very important.”

“Like . . . important important?” Did this have to do with the girls’ mom? If so, he’d watch them for as long as possible. It might be, Papyrus didn’t just go off like that for a long time. “Got it, Pap. I’ll watch them real well. I’ll get them up for school and everything. No pay needed.”

“Good. Thanks, Sans. You can go ahead and preoccupy them with the princess stories,” Papyrus said. “Only the ones from world 36 though for now.”

Only from 36? “There’s a bunch of paper there. It leads into other timelines.”

“Yes, I know. You should read those timelines later and just paraphrase it if you must speak about it,” Papyrus insisted. “Only tell them what you must! My girls are still such babybones. You must paraphrase the story, Sans. You must tell them it though. At least 3-4 chapters a day if you can. Not the first night of course, one or two should be fine.”

Geez, how did Papyrus go from thinking what he was doing was tacky, to making sure he finished that story? “Yeah, yeah, paraphrase.” Weird. “Good luck, Pap. With whatever.” To leave him with the girls, it had to be an issue with the girls. “Call me if you need help.”

“I will be fine. Just keep them preoccupied,” Papyrus said to him. “If they miss me, yank out the story again. They are very engrossed in it. It will help.”

“You got it, Bro.”

Chapter Text

Like Papyrus promised, he was heading out as Sans arrived. “They already put on their pajamas, but they haven’t eaten yet, and are not ready for bed, so don’t be tricked,” Papyrus told him. “Just give them their story and stick around to make sure they eat and sleep safely. Do not fall asleep, Sans.”

Yeah, yeah. He never fell asleep when he was on duty. Well, without Papyrus there. He went toward the girls’ room. They were all tucked in, but far from ready for bed.

“Princess story!” They both yelled toward him.

“Not even a ‘hey Uncle Sans’?” he teased them. “It’s too early. Your pop already warned me you didn’t even eat yet. Why not? Eating’s one of the best things in the world.”

“One story first?” Phal asked.

“If I give you one story now, then you are still going to want another story at bedtime.” Sans knew them. “If I read one now, and you do most of the work for the food, eating, and getting yourself ready for bed, I’ll read one more. Deal?”

“Deal,” they agreed excitedly.

Man, these kids really did like this princess adventure. He sat down and opened his book to his papers again.

World 36

Frisk hugged her mom. 'I will take care of the human. With Sans. Sans the Skeleton. The puzzling guy.’

Her mom just smiled. 'It will be good for you.’

'Living.' Frisk tried again. 'Living with Sans and Papyrus. It might feel good to hit Asgore with a fireball?’

Her mom just chuckled. 'One more hug, Frisk. You will make an excellent mother and sentry.’

Damn. Frisk was sure that her mom would throw in a good butt whooping for the stunt Asgore pulled. Instead, she was happy!

She wanted Frisk to mother the other human. Forget all the other facts. Couldn't she at least kick up some dust about having to live with Sans and Papyrus? She was going to live with the jokester of Underground.

Sans was . . . good. Help in a pinch. Good for a sort of laugh. Papyrus was . . . nice. Made puzzles. Good monsters.

But not close enough that she’d just want to go living with them. ‘Living with the punner and puzzler. I have to save the little human. You could decimate Asgore. At least pretend not to be happy, Mom?’

Her mother just patted her head. 'Enjoy your life, my Frisk.'

Frisk sighed, picked up Bellefont, and Undyne grabbed her suitcase. 'You know if it had been you, we could have watched anime and played video games all day, Undyne.'

'Yeah but I like my time alone with Alphys,' she said back to Frisk. 'We are still on Saturday night though. You aren't working on the weekends, don't worry. You'll have to take care of the turtle human.’

That joke was getting old fast. To discourage it, her mom already got it some different clothes. ‘Bellefont is all human. See?’ She took a little covering off so Undyne could see her without her freezing, then placed it back on.

She had on a cute little blue warm dress with matching pants. She had on cute purple socks too.

'Okay, it is all human,' Undyne agreed. She grinned. 'Okay, it's cute too.’

Frisk loved that grin she had. When Undyne grinned she always looked funny but so sincere. 'She is cute. Her name is pretty too. I don't know how Sans came up with it when the other choices were Kickyfeet and Droopysalivette.'

Undyne just rolled her eyes. 'Thank goodness he took that seriously. Sans doesn't take much seriously, Frisk.'

'Yeah, I know.’ It would be her doing most of the work with Bellefont. She doubted Sans would do much except the bare minimum.

Not that she blamed him. Asgore was the one putting this on everyone.

Frisk bundled Bellefont even tighter as the temperatures dipped lower. 'Undyne. Please be on the lookout for any change in this?’

'Frisk.' Her voice didn't sound right. 'Just hope it only stays at this.’

What did that mean?

Papyrus waved to her from in front of his house. 

'Undyne, is this really it? Will you go inside with me at least? I really don't personally know them super close.’ Frisk went in with Papyrus.

She looked around. Great, Undyne didn't follow her in. 'Nobody came.’

Great. She was on her own with-

‘What's it been? Two, three years since you've been in my fabulous house?’ Papyrus asked her.

'Fifteen,’ she answered.

'Oh yes, time moves fast with you humans.’ Papyrus gestured to Bellefont. ‘The not a turtle human?’

Frisk took off some of the blanket again. 'Hands. Fingers.' She touched her little socks. 'Feet and toes are in the socks.’

Papyrus’ eyesockets looked a little different, like with some kind of sparkle. ‘Wowee, she’s not a turtle at all. My niece is cute!’

‘What?’ Skeletons. Were. Weird. ‘Oh. The whole mom/dad thing. Your Sans’ brother. Niece. Oh yeah.’

‘Did you really have to talk that whole thing out? Humans are awful slow at times,’ Papyrus complained.

‘It wasn’t really . . .’ Nevermind.

‘Anyhow, welcome again,’ Papyrus announced. ‘Over there is the kitchen. Did you want to see it?’

‘No, I’m good.’ Frisk just wanted to set down Bellefont. ‘Undyne had my suitcase. Where did she go?’

‘She left it out front. I’ll get it,' Papyrus volunteered. When he returned and gave it to her, the usual lectures started. ‘Now, just because you are human doesn’t entitle you to any special treatment. You must arrive to work on time and do a good job of watching out for any humans. Any of them at all.’

‘Do me and Bellefont count?’ Frisk teased, trying to joke with him. The skeletons were known for jokes.

‘Um. No, of course not you?’ Papyrus didn’t seem to know how to answer. ‘Every human but you two. I thought that would be obvious.’ Papyrus looked away a second upstairs.

Hey, at least she tried.

————————

‘I had no idea the human was this slow,’ Papyrus said to Sans. He wasn’t very far, just in his room. ‘She didn’t know that she and the new human didn’t count for finding humans. She also thinks an extra lot about certain concepts. She had to say four sentences to figure out what a niece had been. Didn’t even seem to hear the joke right. Can we truly handle such a mild mind, Sans?’

‘She just needs a ton of lessons in being a sentry.’ Sans appeared out his door with his trombone. ‘A skele-ton.’ He played his trombone.

He glanced at Frisk. She sure had changed since the last time she was in their house. What had she been, six or seven at the time? Not real old. Then again, that’s almost how long it had been since he’d been in his own house.

He closed his door and headed downstairs. 'Remember to keep dialogue open if you can, Papyrus.’

'Yes, bothersome,' Papyrus admitted. 'I remember the way she used to fight. Can only talk to one monster at a time. So inefficient.’

“What’s that all mean?” Phal asked. “They kept talking about it in the story. About like quicker talk verses slower talk? We don’t have that, Uncle Sans.”

Oh. “That’s old,” he answered. “Monsters don’t talk that way anymore, one of the things outlawed around here.” It hadn’t been around for at least a thousand years. “It’s just a compromise to getting along with the humans.” One of many. “Anyhow, back to the story.”

World 36

'She can talk with her voice too. It's just super slow to convey.’ Sans reached the staircase and changed his direction of speaking. He opened the line of speaking to him and Papyrus, so Frisk wouldn't have to repeat dialogue.

'I suppose if she is slow, we should still be welcoming,’ Papyrus decided to Sans. 'We will accept the humans for who they are.’

Yeah, that was a good way to think about it. Sans went down the stairs. 'Hey, Frisk. Brought two suitcases?’

'Uh huh,' she answered. 'One smells better than the other. Where will I be staying because Bellefont needs a change.’

'I thought you wouldn't mind the shed?’ Sans teased.

Frisk didn't answer at first. ‘ . . . that's a joke, right?’

More of a half joke. Frisk had to know it, she lived with Tori. Probably nervous.

She didn't exactly ignore him and Papyrus. They didn't exactly ignore her. They just weren't the best of all buddies. Which was fine, he wasn’t the best buddies with the Frisk in the world he thought was his world. That’d make it a lot easier with her. According to this Tori, Frisk hung out every weekend with Undyne and Alphys.

Frisk roamed the Underground sometimes trying to help others. It was sort of her thing, she was a volunteer. That’s why when he asked others who could help him out, they all said Frisk.

If anyone had anything, she would. And she did. Boy did she ever. 'So work schedule. Just ask Papyrus. I never know it.’

Frisk waited. 'Okay. Do you have someplace I can change her?’

'Into what? Does she turn into something else besides turtle?’ Sans watched her reaction. He was trying to learn about her.

'She turns into responsibility,’ Frisk came back with. 'Would you like to see?’

Eh. fair. 'That joke stunk.’ Sans approached Bellefont. She was all covered up, but she'd be fine. He had plenty of heat in the house. Well, now he did. Had to pay that heating bill.

Frisk tried to hand her to him. 'Want to see her?’

Tricky human. 'I can see her from here.’ Sans moved the blanket some. 'Look at you. You're lucky, there's no way you could have passed our puzzles as you are.’

Bellefont just stared at him oddly and started to cry.

'Typical human, see a monster and start crying,' Sans teased it.

'It's okay,' Frisk tried to calm it down. 'We are going to be living with Sans And Papyrus for a little while.’

'Geez, that'd just make her cry harder,' Sans teased again. He tickled her tummy, making her laugh. 'There ya go, that's the proper response.’

'We will eat here shortly and then go out on duty,' Papyrus said.

'What about Bellefont?’ Frisk asked.

Papyrus just had a funny look on his face. 'Okay. I will explain it slowly for you. Let me know if you don't understand something. Bellefont is a baby human. She cannot have a job as a sentry.’

Sans couldn't help a laugh. That wasn't what Frisk was asking about. 'She can come.’

'It is cold out there and she is an infant. It's too cold for too long,' Frisk said. 'She could get hurt or sick.’

'Mmm. Then she will need a babysitter. I know just who to get!’ Papyrus insisted.

Sans heard an angry fish outside.

‘I think that someone heard me,’ Papyrus went to answer the door. ‘Hello. Would you like to-’

‘No way, I am Captain of the Royal Guards!’ Undyne protested. ‘Find someone sweet, loving and likes children to babysit.’

‘That would be me!’ Toriel almost shoved Undyne out of the way. She wore a fancy hat and a fancier purple dress with a matching purse. ‘Hello, Frisk. I will help babysit for you.’

‘Aw, thanks for finally helping out, Tori,’ Sans said to her. ‘Really. Finally. Babysitter is what we really needed you for. Not pummeling anyone or anything. Is the sarcasm layed thick enough for you?’

Tori was a good friend in every world, but the fact she didn’t even try to yell at Asgore was concerning. For one, she hated Asgore. For two, she could have pulled them out of this dumb situation. She should be raising this human kid, not him and Frisk.

She could have come, saved the day, and since it looked like he had been responsible, he would have still gotten some help from Undyne.

“Bellefont.” Tori called out the baby’s name in Frisk’s human language as she took her from Frisk. “Did you miss Grammy? Of course my girl missed her Grammy.” Tori gave Frisk a good side hug with one arm. ‘Have fun getting to know the skeleton brothers. I will take her back to the ruins until you are done.’

‘We will be done between 1:00 and 11:00,’ Papyrus told Tori. ‘It depends on if we see any humans or not. If humans come, it may be even later.’

‘Well, just come get her whenever you are done. Have fun, Frisk.’ Tori waved at her and then left out the door.

Frisk just watched her. ‘She planned on being babysitter. Couldn’t do anything else though? Nothing? Why not?’

‘For once, I do not know the answer,’ Papyrus said to her. ‘Now listen human, I know you were talking to Sans, but we will be amplifying your mind between us. It’s not rude, just necessary so that we do not have to double talk. Now, let’s go.’

———————————

Outside of Snowdin

Frisk hadn’t been in that area for some time. Actually, she passed it all the time, but she hadn’t stopped to really look at it. The gate that was too big to keep the humans out of that Papyrus built.

She was standing not far beside it. Right next to Sans.

Looking at nothing.

She had been for the last two hours. It was so annoying. She couldn’t move or help with anyone. It wasn’t very useful at all. ‘Does this change at some point, Sans?’

‘Yeah. Eventually Papyrus will come yell that we have to practice our stance if a human approaches. You know, the introduction to them.’ Sans glanced at her with his little light guiders. ‘I can’t wait to hear yours. You should practice.’

A stance? ‘I doubt any human will come anytime soon. They are rare mistakes. Bellefont was lucky to survive.’ Hmm. ‘Where does Bellefont come from?’

‘Historically, when a man and a woman love each other, or their bored, then-’ he stopped himself, seeing her expression. Sans started to poke at the snow in boredom with his slippers. ‘My family was historically known to come from a town called Bellefont on the surface. She was human and from the surface.’

Oh. ‘You chose a pretty name. From the surface, huh?’

‘Yeah, but Drippysalivette would have been a fantastic name for encounters. It fit better too, monsters are taken more seriously with longer names.’ He chuckled. “That’s why I’m just Sans now.”

Wait. He spoke? Did he just speak? He spoke. Frisk never knew he spoke, he always thought out loud. She couldn’t see his mouth move or nothing.

His voice was baritone and deep. He chose to speak her language out loud? It would be a slow conversation, but she would give him the same treatment. “I didn’t know you could speak my language.”

“I’ve read enough of your waves to know your language,” he said. “I don’t mind it. It’s nice and slow. Like me. It’s probably a better way to communicate too, not at the speed of thought. If humans ever do make it down. Again.”

He spoke in a similar fashion, but his sentences were shorter. He also turned some sentences into half sentences. Speaking of which, he said something earlier she should probably ask about. ‘You said earlier . . .’ Her language skills. She spoke sometimes to Toriel in her human language. Her mom tried to keep her language alive, said it would be important for her one day. Meanwhile, Frisk did try sometimes to shorten it for time.

If Sans spoke in her language though right, she should too. “You said earlier that’s why your Sans now. Your name is Sans now.” A little mess up. “What was it?”

“Sanskrit,” he answered back.

Ugh. Okay, some reading ahead would have helped there.

“If his name is Sanskrit, Uncle Sans, are you really Uncle Sanskrit?” Angie just had to ask.

Ugh. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Don’t call me that though,” he warned. “I prefer Sans. Keep calling me Uncle Sanskrit and this story ends now.”

They both immediately promised they would never do that again.

Yeah, for now. Once this storytime is over, they would probably start calling him that when he annoyed them. Ugh. “Where was I?” He began reading again.

World 36

Sanskrit. “That’s a nice name,” Frisk answered back.

“Too long. Too much expected with a long name. Even Asgore only has six letters and he’s king.”

Naming conventions really didn’t seem to denote that. Did they? Frisk started to think. Undyne was captain. Alphys was a royal scientist. Did it? Meanwhile, Nabsterblook? Wait. No, that didn’t fit at all. Did he just . . . “Did you take a long talk route to make a short name joke?”

Sans chuckled. “Yeah. But, it was worth it. I’m getting better at this. Besides, we don’t do nothing but watch snow for hours each day. Just, snow. No grass or sun, just snow. Who needs speed?” Sans moved around in a light circle before stopping again. “Sanskrit is like the perfect language. I’m far from that. I dropped it some time ago. I felt like a hypocrite. I wasn’t ready for the responsibility.”

Hm. A hypocrite? “Everybody makes mistakes.”

“I made gigantic leaps of them. Still making leaps of them.” He gestured to her. “Case closed.”

Oh. “I needed help,” Frisk admitted. “Only people in room.” No, phrase it correctly, don’t cheat it down. “Only people in the room counted for Asgore. Undyne would not want it. It was you or Papyrus, or the end of Bellefont.”

“Not even a single yell at him from Tori,” Sans complained. “Your mom saved you before from him. Why not Bellefont?”

“She wants me to mother the other human,” Frisk said as she wrapped her arms around herself tighter. “I could have helped on the side. She didn’t think it was good enough.”

“Oh, yeah.” Sans twisted his slippered foot some. “That’s right. She’s ancient and never had grandkids. Heh, well you were stuck any way you took then.”

“You didn’t have to ‘heh’,” Frisk complained. Dang it was cold. “Why did you need a responsibility that made you come to aid me in the first place?”

Sans glanced back toward her and then round his eyesocket before closing them. “Might as well. Only person who might get it. I got lost. I was lost for a long time.”

Hm? “What do you mean lost?”

“I can’t explain all the details,” Sans told her. “You’ve messed up before, right? When you died, you reset because nobody hurt your body. Just your soul. Right?”

Oh. He knew that. She once told Asgore that he’d already killed her once, and he just nodded at her. So Sans knew too? “Yes.”

“Kind of like that. I got lost in time and space,” Sans admitted. “Your presence scared me, it gave off weird signals, and I did some digging in other timelines.”

Timelines? Did he say timelines?

“LOVE affected you in a bad way. I was trying to find my way back, to figure out how to handle you,” he admitted. “When I did, everything was fine and we went to the surface.”

The surface?

“I had watched you for some time before and you had been doing good. I lost track of you around Hotlands. Then I refound you in Judgment hall where I met you,” he revealed. “I stayed in the wrong timeline for some time. I didn’t realize it was wrong, until another Sans bumped into me.”

Oh yeah. That would be a risk. “Sorry.”

“Heh, yeah, I got forced out. Meanwhile, I’d been trying to find where I belonged. I moved around for awhile, trying to check the best ending timelines. You were good, it had to get a good ending.”

Frisk didn’t know what he meant by ‘good ending’, but she didn’t interrupt.

“When I’m in a timeline, I can take care of things. The bills, the jobs, and the house. I tried to at first, but it wasn’t easy to find ‘home’ again. I’d work and then I’d search on the weekends here and there. In the meantime, other Sans’ had been as stupid as me, because they were me. They were moving around too.”

Sans was moving through timelines, and so were other forms of him?

“I finally found home. I don’t even know how we got this ending, but here we are. You are living with Tori, and we are still stuck Underground. Maybe the flower just didn’t want to stay. I don’t know.”

Wow. Sans was really talking a lot. “You are home? For sure?”

“Yeah, for sure, but now I have a mailbox stuffed with bills, I’m about to lose my house, all my belongings and everything else that comes with not taking care of things here for awhile. The only reason I still have a home is because other Sans’ were taking care of it a little between.” Sans gestured to her. “Time and space is fun, but don’t get lost. It’ll be nothing but hell.” He shrugged. “Could have been worse though. Much worse.”

Nothing sounded like a joke at all. Especially since he made her think of resets before he started this. Somehow, Sans had the ability to cross timelines. Most monsters wouldn’t have understood her resetting, but he did. “I trust in your words.”

“Good to hear. You’re the only one who would. I’m getting to keep the house now obviously because of you, Frisk. I get help with bills now too. Undyne made the deal for me, or you’d be with her.”

“That is not fair.” ‘I know she isn’t fond of kids, but that isn’t fair at all. I knew her better. We hang out all the time with Alphys. I could have taken Bellefont on walks with me.’

“No use complaining.” ‘He’s coming.’

‘Who’s coming?’

‘Now we are going to practice something very important,’ Papyrus said as he walked up toward them. ‘Good job watching out for humans, Frisk. The next part will be more challenging. Pretend you see a human approaching from not far away.’ He casted out his bony arm in a fanciful gesture. ‘It is arriving closer. What do you say to it?’

Umm? ‘Hello?’

Papyrus continued to stare. ‘Yes, and . . .?’

Hmm. ‘You need to stop. I need to discuss things with you.’

‘No, no, no!’ Papyrus stomped his foot. ‘Humans are more likely to be threatening down here! You must threaten them, let them know that you will not be scared of them, and that they should look forward to puzzles. Try again.’

Oh geez. What is something puzzley, corny, and threatening to say at once? ‘Stop right there or I will shoot . . . puzzles at you.’

‘Umm?’ Papyrus looked confused. ‘Puzzles aren’t bullets, you don’t shoot them. You play them to solve them? Oh good gracious, humans are confusing. No wonder I thought you desperately wanted a date when we first met. Hm. Okay, try again.’

“Daddy dated a princess?” Both Phal and Angie had to ask.

“Uh? I guess?” Sans assumed so, it happened in that timeline. “Not your daddy. There’s no princess here.”

“That’s good. That’d be awkward,” Angie decided. “Did you date a princess like that Sans?”

“Nah, no princess here, like I said,” Sans reminded her. “Let’s get back to the story, okay?”

World 36

That didn’t make her feel any better. Let’s see? She could try to act more like Papyrus. ‘Halt, intruder! You are not allowed to be here! If you continue, then you will be forced to do puzzles!’

‘Simple. Short. Not much grace in the delivery,’ he critiqued her. ‘It will do for now, but it is far from perfect.’ He gestured to himself. ‘Like me! Strive to get better, or as good as me as you can, and improve on your delivery in your free time.’

She was watching snow. What free time did she not have? She could write a ten page paper for a human with the free time she had now. ‘Yes, Sir.’

‘She called me sir, Sans! I mean, great job, Ma’am!’

‘No, just Frisk.’ No ma’am, nuh uh.

‘I mean, great job, Frisk!’ Papyrus corrected himself. ‘Keep up the good watching on this side. I will be on the other side, dutifully watching as well.’ He left again.

Frisk waited a few minutes after he was gone before she spoke again to Sans. “I used to do so much more with my time.”

“Yeah. You used to walk around Underground, asking people about their problems, huh?” Sans said. “Too bad you didn’t get paid for it. Now you are stuck with me, watching snow. Welcome to real life, Kid.”

“Don’t start that. I’m not a human kid. By the time I’m old enough for any respect around here, I’ll be dead.” Really. She was 21. There was a reason her mom wanted her to take care of Bellefont.

“Oh, yeah,” Sans said. “Oh yeah. You humans don’t live too long. Makes it easier to watch Bellefont then. You’ll be gone in like a few years like a pet.”

Rude. “Probably somewhere around 60 years, but it could be longer or shorter. It just, it won’t be another century. That’s all.” Frisk didn’t often get into aging, but she really didn’t want to hear ‘kid’ all the time.

Then again, maybe what she just said was rude too? “Sorry,” she apologized. ‘I don’t even know the age of me in other timelines. I don’t understand it, but I understand that you’ve been misplaced from your real home for some time. I don’t know how long, but I’m sorry. Losing home isn’t easy.’ Also? “Thanks for letting me say goodbye to the other human.” Oh and? “For helping me see them. In fact, a lot of thanks to you. That should have counted for a responsibility to Undyne.”

“Yeah, but not high enough,” Sans said. “I needed a lot of help. I was real far behind. She might have bent for more hours, but it doesn’t really help. I have other jobs too I would have to refigure.”

“Oh yeah.” He was a vendor all over the place. “Why don’t you tell her about the timeline stuff?”

“Even you’d have trouble understanding the meat of it,” Sans said to her. “You’re more trusting of a soul, and you understand reset so the concept isn’t as make believe. Others around here, they wouldn’t believe it.”

Hm. “Would Papyrus believe?”

Quiet. Eerily quiet. “He would, and I’d feel bad. I lost track of him and this world for . . . a long time. That’s not a good feeling to have. The other Sans’, he must have known at least a couple if not more. Knowing me, I didn’t do anything earth shattering. Not a day in my life. He doesn’t need to know.”

Oh. That was a sad thought to think. Did he really believe he could be gone a long time and no one would notice? “Secrets aren’t good to keep.”

“You are best friends with Alphys, don’t give me that secrets aren’t good to keep crap,” Sans warned her.

Oh yeah. Alphys did mess up. “She eventually told the truth. It’s better to tell the truth.”

“Not all the time,” Sans disagreed. “Hiding the truth can work better.”

Oy. “Only for a short time.” Eventually, the truth always found a way out. “You’ll need to eventually tell him, Sans.”

“Other Sans’ were here. They were me, in every way,” Sans reminded her. “I wasn’t missed, just filled in. I’m a forgetful lazy idiot. If someone asks me about something that happened later, I’d just shrug it off. I’m the ‘never take anything seriously’ guy.”

Oh. Undyne had used those words. Frisk didn’t know if he’d been lost for months or years. She started to feel terrible herself as she stared again at the snow. She never became close friends to him, even though he guarded just a short distance from her mom’s house.

She couldn’t get close to every monster, she didn’t know all the personal details of every monster she saw everyday, but Sans shouldn’t fall in that category.

He helped her, and kept helping her through the Underground as a child. This wasn’t the right way to repay him. He did need this, to get some bills and his house under control, but he still didn’t deserve it.

She needed to make sure she reached out to Sans more. He was clearly more depressed than he let on, and even if some other Sans’ replaced him, it wasn’t him.

She needed to spend some time with him.

“The princess is falling for that version of you, Uncle Sans,” Phal pointed out. “He’s probably going to marry her.”

Uh? “This isn’t your typical fairy princess story,” Sans told them. “I doubt he’s gonna get married. He’s me. I wouldn’t do that kind of thing. He’s just boosting her up, so he can get boosted up. Poor schmuck got lost, and he’s just trying to keep it all in order.”

“He’s hiding the truth from that version of dad,” Angie said. “That’s bad. That’ll come back to bite him.”

“I still think that version of you will end up with the princess,” Phal said. “You be nice to her.”

Weird theories. If it was a fairytale, then that’s probably the way it would drift. It wasn’t a real fairytale though, he was just reading a bizarre timeline to the kids. There’s no way some version of him would end up with a princess. Kids were funny sometimes. “Okay, you know the deal.”

Immediately Phal and Angie moved from bed and headed toward the kitchen. He got up, knowing he’d have to pop the pizza in the oven for them. They could get their own drinks though, and their plates.

Chapter Text

He held onto his device and ignored any of the stares that came his way. He was on level 73 of his game on his handheld. Like others, he did have a phone with games on it, but once there was no more energy, that was it. There would always be a chance a person wasn’t near a plug in. Since he didn’t want to risk that, he had brought two handheld games on the vacation he had been on when he was abducted. It was always good to have two options, and two games if one broke.

“Hey.”

He was almost to level 74, but not yet. He heard the guard call his name, but he knew from experience, interaction could turn bad.

“Hey!”

The only important interaction was when they were asked what they wanted to eat, to drink, and one other thing from the item guard. His other thing had always been batteries. He kept his handheld working by making sure he had plenty of batteries.

“Damn it, you stupid idiot.”

Anything else was risky and not useful. It was always better to just wait.

“I swear, I’m gonna-!”

“Hey, Mary, that is some stunning ring, I bet Travis got that for you, huh?”

Because his sister would always handle it. He just kept playing his game.

“He didn’t answer one smidge, Mina.”

“I know, but you know Abe,” his sister Mina said. “Forget about him, tell me about that ring you got?”

To deal with the guards, a person had to be quick. Abe wasn’t quick. It was better to not say anything and let Mina handle it each time.

“I swear, I am about to pump you full of lead!”

“Gotta go, Mary, one second!” Mina ran to the other side of the cell.

Hey, level 74 had a new mechanic in it. “Sorry.” That’s all he knew to say to guards safely. There was a new jumping mechanic in level 74. He watched as Mina came back over with her friend she made in their close approximation. He of course didn’t move in the game so he wouldn’t mess up to look up.

“Just, stay here,” Mina said to her as she went back to the guard. “Hey, Mary, sorry about that. Chara put Connor in a bad mood.”

“Anything puts Connor in a bad mood,” the guard said. “He’s a schmuck.” Mary moved closer to the bars to talk to Mina one on one.

Food eaten, time chilled with TV, water drank and his skeleton nieces were back in their beds, all curled up for the next chapter.

Sans opened his book and pulled out the paper. One more story and then these kids could go to bed.

World 36

Asgore’s Castle

‘Look at her. She really is cute,’ Asgore complimented Bellefont.

Toriel just snorted at him. ‘You’re a brute, you tried to kill her. You are terrible. No, you are never getting her little soul.’ She held Bellefont closer. ‘She is Frisk’s and she’s my first granddaughter.’

‘Tori. I still miss seeing you,’ Asgore said as he tried to approach closer. ‘Can’t we at least try to be friends?’

‘Stealing children’s souls.’ She glanced at him. ‘Six of them, and trying to hurt my Frisk and kill Bellefont! Absolutely not.’

‘If you just give me a small chance to at least be friends,’ he encouraged her, ‘then I will drop some of the harder rules. You can raise the cute little one with me?’

‘No. Frisk will be her mom.’ Toriel smiled at Bellefont. ‘There’s only one thing I do want, and I’m sure if you think hard enough with your hard head, you’ll figure it out.’

He was clearly not trying to think. ‘The castle? The rule of Underground?’

Ugh. ‘Partly but no.’

‘The dead human bodies to be mummified with the others?’ he asked.

Double ugh. ‘I already buried and took care of them with Frisk in an honorable fashion. And no, before you ask, there was no soul attached to them.’

‘Of course. Such brutality, harming the body will always make it leave,’ he complained. ‘What is it you want, Tori? To be friends, what will it take?’

‘A rich life,’ she said. Could he not figure this out? Really? He was that out of touch with her. ‘A human and a monster soul must pass to leave out the barrier. You could still do that at any time, take a soul from the six you hoard and carry on. You haven’t though. No, you won’t,’ she demanded. ‘I want to hear it out loud. Why?’

‘Oh, Tori. You know the human world isn’t going to just accept us,’ he said. ‘I will have to have all the power I can muster to be invincible and defeat them all or we will perish. Humans will not listen. They didn’t a thousand years ago, and they still won’t.’

‘You are too dull-witted to see it,’ Toriel told him. ‘What am I holding, a bomb?’

‘Yes, but holding a human doesn’t save anyone,’ he reminded her. As if she had to be reminded of her poor son’s death. ‘They overreact and their fear strikes out against us. We are essentially breaking out from the jail they put us in. Holding a baby proves nothing.’

Oof! ‘Why do you think I didn’t come and roast you after going after Frisk and Bellefont, Brute?’ Honestly. ‘If you want me to be friends with you again.’ Oh dear, those were some hard words. ‘If you want me to . . . to be a little more understanding of your decisions.’ After all those years, the pain still hurt. It was time to end this miserable death trap. ‘We will leave the barrier as the Mixed Kingdom. Not Monster Kingdom.’ She gestured toward herself. ‘Queen Toriel. Prince Asgore. Princess Frisk. Prince Sans or Papyrus. Princess Bellefont. Most likely a few other human-monsters.’

‘Eh? Prince . . . Sans or Papyrus. Did you say Prince Sans or Papyrus?’

“I knew it,” Phal said. “I called it.”

“Yeah, poor guy.” Looked like that Sans was about to get shipped. Sucked to be him. Prince. Yeesh, who would want that job?

“Do you want a princess too, Uncle Sans?” Angie asked. “One version of you wanted one.”

Yeesh! “Nah, and I don’t think he wants one.” It was the queen trying to rope him into that nonsense. Poor other him. Well, maybe he’d figure a different way out of it. “Oh yeah. Um? This whole talking about dead kids and stuff, I won’t be able to finish the story if you tell your pops about it.”

“We won’t!” the kids sweared.

Okay then. Back to the story.

World 36

‘Yes. You are terrible, and despicable, and it will be the hardest thing ever to forgive you,’ Toriel admitted. ‘But, for once you did get something to go right. Frisk is human, by the time we reach the surface, she will have perished. Bellefont too. By tying her to Sans or Papyrus’ magic force, she can have a long and happy lifetime with wonderful skeleton human kids.’

‘Uh? That isn’t that easy, Tori,’ Asgore said delicately. ‘It was a last resort sort of thing. I had to agree. I never said anything about forcing a marriage or babies or any of those details.’

‘It’s not easy at first. It’s not like it will happen in a year or two. Probably ten or so at least. For the other skeleton babies, maybe twenty or so? Maybe less. Frisk is 21, it’s a little young but not that young for motherhood. Let’s see 31 . . . 41 . . . she will get old faster, yes, magic tying should come first.’ Toriel smiled at Bellefont. ‘Then your momma can tie you to her, yes she can. You don’t have to marry anyone to get a long lifespan like Grammy, no you don’t.’

‘But?’ Asgore looked confused. ‘Why in the world would you pick Sans or Papyrus?’

‘I don’t want Frisk to feel bad or trapped,’ Toriel explained. ‘Since you made this happen, I’m not a part of it. Deal with it. Besides, they are good friends and funny guys.’

‘But? Prince Sans? A potential leader of the kingdom would be someone who can’t even pay his bills on time?’ Asgore grunted. ‘Prince Papyrus? I don’t think he’s even cursed once in his life, how would he run the kingdom? If we are going in that direction-’

‘No. Humans are slow moving creatures with emotions. Give her time. If I see nothing in bloom after a couple of years, we can yank her and talk to her about it. I’d rather things just happen naturally. Besides, we only have two skeletons down here too. We should have more.’

‘True. Without Gaster, we never would have survived so comfortably.’ Asgore sighed. ‘Titles have never been given out so freely though. Only prince and princess? If one of them are to marry a princess of adoption to a Queen that abandoned the throne then he has no royal-’

‘-I agree to share Frisk as a daughter with you,’ Toriel confirmed. ‘That makes Bellefont your granddaughter as well.’

His face lit up. Of course, he would have family again.

That look of hope is what she was counting on for this next part. Although he would want males ruling, he should want her more. ‘Now? We live Underground with less than 400 monsters left. We aren’t doing fancy titles, we are keeping this simple and clear. I will rule. Then Frisk will rule. Then Bellefont if she’s old enough. Then the second oldest if they are old enough. Then any number after that if they are old enough. Then Sans or Papyrus will rule. Then you.’ She wouldn’t let Asgore climb up easily in the ranks again.

Once she gained her throne back, it was hers. She laid out a piece of paper for him. ‘Sign. Don’t expect cuddles.’

Asgore eagerly read it. ‘After Frisk is married, you will receive the throne back. Frisk will be my daughter, Bellefont my granddaughter, and their future children will be considered royalty too.’ Yes, the big old brute was beaming. He didn’t even care about her taking over the rule and delegating him last in the line. ‘You will be back in the castle with me? Really? Do you promise?’

Ugh. ‘Yes, we will live in the castle together.’ She had been so mad when he first took over and did everything, but her heart was not ready to fight him back then. The royalty was from her side, had she kicked him out, she would have stayed Queen.

‘Agreed then. The Mixed Kingdom,’ Asgore declared. ‘Hopefully, humanity will give that a chance. I just hope the mixture is strong enough in the souls and it’s not another hundred years before we get out.’

‘If it is, then we’ll have a hundred years of humans mixed in,’ Toriel reminded him. ‘Even harder to turn away. Especially when we don’t use any of the fallen human souls. It will be peaceful.’

‘What? We have six souls, Toriel-’

‘This will be peaceful. They will ask how we did it, and the answer needs to be peaceful. Not that we killed six kids and then thought of better ways.’ she growled. ‘Peace! There will be plenty of time to have plenty of wonderful grandchildren.’

Asgore seemed to have a harder time with that. ‘Fine. If they pronounce war still though, I will use the six souls to have the power to grab a seventh,’ Asgore warned her. ‘Otherwise, we will cease to exist. The humans will wipe us all out.’

‘Yes, I understand that.’ As long as they tried to live the most peaceful they could first. ‘Just make sure Frisk feels like I wasn’t a part of this. I couldn’t prevent it any way. She’s already sour that I haven’t tried to fight this decision at all so far.’

‘Understood. I will make sure of it,’ Asgore said as Toriel turned away.

Aw. What a nice future to be had. Finally, Frisk would be able to fulfill her duties that she had done, as an actual princess. ‘Princess Frisk.’ Toriel had taught her from an early age about helping people. Getting her used to the role she would play one day in the future, unaware of it.

For years Frisk kept playing with Undyne and Alphys, bonding with them over the human junk that fell from the surface. The bonding only grew more, which would have worked out well if Alphys and Undyne weren’t already in love and living with each other. Undyne even had plans to propose to her soon. Not to mention, it would be trickier to have the kids she needed.

So that would never work. But now, Frisk was in close proximity to two other monsters everyday. Whether she fell for Papyrus or Sans, Toriel would be happy. Just, anyone. Anyone that she could bond with.

Saying goodbye to her family so young. She didn’t want to bear that again. She lost her son and her human daughter at such a young age, and one right after the other. No, she refused to lose Frisk so young. Marriage, a long life span, and many wonderful children as the princess of the kingdom. That would be the future for her.

For Bellefont too. Sweet little miracle that fell from the skies, right on time. Having another human down here would only help their cause on the surface.

Of course, it’s not like it would all happen super fast. They were just plans. Long, long plans. Most likely it would take decades if not centuries.

Nice plans to look forward to though.

——————————

‘These too, Majesty?’ Knight Knight asked as Asgore gave him more invitations and papers to print.

‘Yes!’ Asgore felt delightful. How many hundreds of years had it been since his heart was filled with such hope? ‘Yes, each and every one. Don’t distribute them yet, just get them printed. We don’t know the groom’s name yet.’

‘Yes, Majesty.’

‘Careful with the order on the right. It’s very important, but do not hurt Toriel. Do not ever hurt her, do you understand?’ he growled at Knight Knight. ‘It should say to be sure she is safe and sound in the dungeon. She cannot be allowed to escape until the festivities are over.’

Asgore almost felt like skipping. Ten or twenty years was nothing, he’d make sure he got Tori’s wish granted right away. After all, once there was a bonding marriage, a new royal lineage of rulership would be established! The sooner that was done, the sooner Toriel would feel better about her daughters and then come back to the castle.

He would give it to her willingly, his Queen. He would step back and be Prince Asgore for her. She could rule as she saw fit, as long as he had her back in his life.

Once things were legally safe, he would let her and the rest of Underground watch the official joining. He would make sure that he kept his promise about Toriel not being able to stop it absolutely clad beforehand though. Frisk would never be mad at her at all.

In the meantime, the printing would be kept strictly to his closest royal guards that worked at the castle. He couldn’t even tell Undyne, she was supposed to be a good friend to Frisk.

Wonderful. The once Pacifist Child Frisk would be his daughter too. The little human as well. Bellefont. Pretty name. He remembered traveling through a Bellefont once. Yes, lovely name for a granddaughter. With Toriel and Frisk there helping to raise it, he could see it working out.

Daughter. Granddaughter. Words that rulers used liberally on the surface, he was now priviledged to use again. Oh, and a son. Son-in-law.

Son-in-law . . . Sans. Son-in-law Papyrus? That would be tougher to get used to. Yes, it would be an interesting time to follow soon. ‘Madjick!’ he called for his other personal guard.

Madjick appeared out of nowhere. ‘Yes, Sire!’

‘I want you to track Sans and Papyrus. Keep me informed when you’ve spotted them doing nice things for the human that they don’t have to.’ Yes, yes. The sooner Sans or Papyrus liked the human, the faster it would work.

‘Yes, Sire,’ Madjick said proudly as he left.

—————————

Snowdin

Nice things Sans or Papyrus did for the human, that they didn’t have to? It was a strange request, but Madjick followed his orders. He watched Sans and Frisk. They were watching snow. Easiest job in the world, yet everyone Underground knew Sans was terrible at it for some reason.

“Can too,” Sans said to the human about something.

Oh? Sans was speaking her language. That was slow and annoying, but probably charming to her. He added it to the list.

They both just chatted and stared at snow. Madjick just lied across the snow and kicked up his feet, waiting for something to happen.

Then he noticed Sans coming his way.

‘Not used to seeing you over here. What are you doing over here?’ Sans asked him. ‘We’re not doing anything wrong. Frisk is doing her job. Tell Asgore that and bump off already.’

‘What do you think of the human?’ Madjick asked him directly. ‘Is she doing a good job?’

‘Snow hasn’t moved, so I’d say yeah,’ Sans teased him. ‘Really. You never hang out over here.’

‘Just keeping watch. Asgore’s orders.’ Madjick waved to Frisk. Frisk waved back. ‘She’s so sweet and helpful. I lost one of my orbs once, and she helped find it for me.’

“Ooh, he loves Frisk,” Phal called out. “Uncle Sans, you’ve got competition. He’s probably going to try and steal her away from you.”

“It’s not me, it’s another Sans,” he corrected them. “That Sans isn’t really into the whole prince thing, so I don’t think he’d care too much.” It probably wasn’t the case though. People were just friendly Underground to that princess, she helped everyone.

World 36

‘Hey, good to hear,’ Sans said as he placed his bony hands in his pockets. ‘Why is Asgore sending one of his top guys just to watch us watch snow? Why didn’t he send like Dog Marriage?’

‘I don’t know.’ Madjick was getting irritated at him. Couldn’t he just do his job? He went to go see Frisk. ‘Hello there, Frisk. How are you doing?’

‘I’m watching snow, Madjick,’ Frisk said back. ‘How are you doing? Still doing well with your orbs? No one’s stealing it as a prank anymore?’

‘No, those kids learned their lesson. I think they just wanted to see what Asgore’s top monsters used for offense.’ Oh, Frisk was so sweet. If only he knew the trouble she faced at the time. He would have volunteered to help.

She wasn’t overly tall like Undyne, probably because of the magic effects down here on simple humans. She was going to be a great mother. He saw her every time she came back and forth, walking around and helping people. She acted just like royalty doing that.

No doubt because she was raised by the former queen herself. What a catch. Out of like 150 girl monsters down there, she’d be at the top tier for him. Once she got a little older.

She was maturing rather fast too. Especially taking responsibility for a little human kid. Then again, how old was she for a human? She wasn’t the pacifist child anymore.

Madjick decided to try the charming language sharing with her too. “Nice to see you again, Pacifist Lady? Please and thank you.”

Frisk laughed. Sweet, feminine, simple. “Nice to see you too.”

Ooh, her voice was feminine too. “So I heard about the new family you have. A little girl, huh? Aren’t you a little young to be a mom yet?” That would be a good way to see her age compared to monsters.

“No.” She seemed offended. “Humans my age have children.”

Well good! “That settles that.” Sans probably wanted to get out of the situation with his house and this human. He could help him out with that. “I’ll see you around, Frisk. Sans? Let’s have a talk.”

“Told you,” Phal said. “Told you so, Uncle Sans. He’s going to take the princess away.”

Weird. Strange how much like a fairytale this timeline he was reading had become. Phal picked up on everything super quick. “Like I said, Sans doesn’t care. It’s the queen trying to pin them together.” Back to the story.

World 36

Madjick moved away from Frisk, but felt Sans magic over him. Not nice to do to one of the highest royal guards. It wouldn’t restrict his magic, but it made him stop. Annoying.

‘Why you speaking her language to her?’ Sans questioned. ‘I can’t figure you out. If you are just watching, why’d you talk to her?’

‘I think we can make a better deal,’ Madjick said to him. ‘You want to keep your home, right? I bet somehow that human is enabling it.’

‘Yeah, so?’ Sans still hadn’t let down his guard.

‘Meanwhile, you’re stuck with the human infant that is probably going to be screaming and being needy all the time.’ Madjick laid it on thick. ‘I have more than enough to take care of your debt. In fact, I could just outright buy the house for you. End most of your problems.’

Sans walked over to a tree and leaned against it. ‘Hey, that’d be great Chum, thanks. I’ll go get you all the bills. Wait here.’

‘Uh, not just that!’ Madjick had to say that fast. Really, leave it to Sans to mess up something like that. ‘I’ll take Frisk and Bellefont off your hands too.’

‘Huh.’ Sans didn’t move from the tree now. ‘I get out of debt, get my house back, and I just have to hand the responsibility over to you?’

‘Yep,’ Madjick agreed. ‘It’s that easy.’

‘Seems like the easy road to take. I want it,’ Sans said. ‘Except? You are King Asgore’s highest personal guard. Why do you want to do this all for Frisk and a baby?’

Why not? ‘She’s sweet, she’s sexy, she helps those in trouble, and I just realized she is an adult for humans now. She is a shapely, sweet, beautiful woman that is of age. Why would I not be interested in taking her off your hands?’

‘Wait, Frisk is of age now?’

Madjick was displeased as the town bear came around. He was probably looking for berries out in the forest to eat, he loved to make pies.

‘Frisk is so deee-lightful!’ he said with a charming smile. ‘She helps me each month gather more berries for more of my pies. I’m making enough pies now that I can sell them at the shop now because of her. Aww.’ He looked around and waved frantically at Frisk once he spotted her. ‘So she is the Pacifist Lady now. Boy oh boy. Thaaaaaaaat’s a woman!’ He laughed. ‘Is she dating anyone?’

Damn. He already had competition for Frisk’s attention? ‘Forget it. I’m discussing Frisk with Sans.’

‘Yeah, not really. There isn’t much to discuss,’ Sans said as he backed off the tree.

Ugh. ‘Why? I’ll take everything off your hands, and give you your house.’ Why was he going to be a pain about it?

‘You don’t seem to be getting something,’ Sans said to Madjick. ‘I’m just letting Frisk and Bellefont stay in my house, and I’m paying for Bellefont with part of my check. Frisk is out here as a sentry, doing her part too.’ He waggled his bony finger at him, as the light guiders in his eyes went out. ‘I don’t own Frisk. No one should ever own Frisk.’ Then, he looked calm and delightful again. ‘She’s like a never ending guest at the house with a baby. That’s it.’

Jerk. ‘Of course I know that,’ Madjick agreed. ‘However, the closer you are to her, the more likely she will end up with the monster she is closest to. Especially for the one that is caring for her child. I am sure I could get Asgore to get her a job near me as well. She could probably take the vendor job in New Home that you aren’t allowed to have.’ Oops? That may have been a bit rude. ‘It’s a heck of a deal, Sans.’

‘No.’ Sans kept it simple. ‘I promised Undyne I’d do this for Frisk. Knock it off.’

‘Yay!’ The bear was happy as it ran away. ‘A fair shot for everyone! I’ll let everyone in Snowdin know thaaaaaaaat Frisk is a woman!’

——————————————

Yikes. Sans just headed back to Frisk to watch the snow. At least he didn’t have to worry about what Madjick was doing there. He was just trying to convince Sans to give him his bad situation, in the likeliness Frisk would start to fall in love with him.

On the surface, it looked good. However, Madjick wasn’t a monster that was good for Frisk. She had still been a good person in his timeline, so he should treat her as such. Taking that weird deal felt almost like pimping her out.

“What’s pimping her out mean?” Angie asked.

Uh? “Not important. We’ll just say it felt mean to do,” Sans covered.

“You fell for her too,” Phal called out.

Oh for gosh sake. “He doesn’t want to just give her to Madjick, he doesn’t trust him. It doesn’t mean he’s in love with her.” These two kids. There was no way some version of him would end up with the princess if Tori wasn’t forcing it. “Can we get back to the story?”

World 63

Weird, weird, and weird. Sans took his spot next to her. Besides Papyrus, she was probably the only one who would understand how much his home wasn’t home.

Sans hardly did anything, but even going somewhere and asking him to retell a joke was hard to get out of. If Papyrus asked about a trap or an incident from last week, he had to hit it with a one-liner.

Hopefully Madjick understood that Frisk wasn’t on a menu, and didn’t go straight to Asgore about the deal. He’d rather have Frisk to chat with looking at snow.

If he lost his lawn and sunshine. If he lost the fun parties with his neighbors. If he lost all the nights he sat on the porch with Papyrus chatting and looking at the sky. If he lost all the progress the monsters had to make to even get a small spot up there safely?

Then at least having someone to talk to while watching the snow. That wouldn’t be so bad.

“He’s so in love with her,” Phal said again. “It’s so obvious, Uncle Sans.”

“Well, whatever.” He closed the book. “End of chapter. Crawl in bed and get some sleep,” he said. “Night night.” Neither of them wanted to go to sleep. “Keep promises, or I won’t read you another chapter ever again.”

Now they both lied their heads down and shut their eyes tightly, trying to act like they went to sleep. They eventually would. The night was taking over, and hopefully everyone would be going to bed.

Hopefully Papyrus was going to bed too. Hopefully Papyrus was getting done whatever he had to get done.

“Man, Mina pulled me out of that one.” Chara looked back toward him. “We’d probably be dead if we didn’t have Mina.” She kicked her feet up on the small resting chair the cell had. “I think sometimes I use her too much to my advantage. I really want to yell at these son of a bitches sometimes. I had to be more careful before she showed up here."

Abe didn’t answer. He was almost to level 75 now.

“Still, you take the cake, Abe,” Chara said to him. “You should at least try to interact with the guards if you want to survive. You know, you could share that game system with others around here too? Make other friends outside this cell and in others? Abe?”

“Abe!” Gabe came over to him and showed him his score. “I got to level 37 now.”

Abe looked at Gabe’s screen. That wasn’t very far, but he only occasionally shared batteries with his roommate Gabe. His used to be roommate Gabe. Technically still roommates. Cell roommates. Abe was much farther, those were still the easy stages.

“Check in!”

He should at least make it to 50 to congratulate him.

“Gabe, Sir,” Gabe called out.

“Chara,” Chara called out.

“Mina,” Mina said.

“Check in. You in the back.”

Then again, the lack of batteries meant the training time wasn’t done as much.

“He’s Abe, Sir,” Mina said for him.

So maybe a basic good would be called for. “Good, Gabe.” He went back to level 75, before Mina interrupted him.

“Gabe gets a good, and for covering my little brother’s butt so far in this place, I get nothing?” Mina said. “I don’t ask for much, Abe. I really don’t. I just need you to do the very basic talkings with a guard. I’ll be there if you mess up. Understand?”

Gabe got a good job for level 37. Mina did cover him a lot. “Good.”

“Good, you get it?” Mina asked.

“Good job.” Abe went back to playing his game. Then again, Mina did more than level 37 of a game. Talking to guards was difficult work if a person messed up on it. “Great job I mean.”

“Great job. I get a great job. Terrific, Abe,” Mina said to him. “One line. Just try and say anything you want to the next guard.”

Abe knew how that would go. Mina wanted him to get more ‘gumption’ or something. Abe knew that it wasn’t him and even if he tried, he wouldn’t make it far before he messed up again. It was better for everyone in the long run if he didn’t do well and Mina continued to cover for him.

“Check in please.”

“We just did a check in, why are we doing this again, and who told you that you looked good in that hair color?” Abe went back to his game, hearing Mina take over for him again. Now it would be harder to correct, but Mina would manage, and she probably wouldn’t want him doing that again.

Which would be the smart choice. The item guard was coming around. “Standard food without sauce, standard water, and one AA battery.” He held his hand out to catch the battery.

“Anyone else?”

“I’ll take some freedom if you got it,” Chara asked. “Visits. Telephone calls. Texts. Morse Code to loved ones?”

“She’s extra sensitive today about her family,” Mina answered. “Just our standards are wonderful, Mike, thanks for the great work. Are you starting to work out?”

“Yeah a little. I didn’t think it showed yet.”

“No, no it showed. You can definitely see some muscle,” Mina flirted with him.

“I don’t care about muscle,” Chara said. “It’s just a matter of time before my family finds me and burns this place to the ground.”

“Yeah, and if you don’t straighten up, they’ll find just your body,” the guard warned her.

See? Always better to just let Mina run the show.

“Don’t release me and one of these days, they aren’t even going to find your body!” Chara yelled back. “Sorry, Mina.”

“Whoah, Mike, you really defined those muscles,” Mina said as she ran damage control like only she could. “How many times a day are you working out? Did Patrice notice you yet? I think she’s getting closer to asking you o-out?”

Chapter Text

There were way too many princesses occuring. Papyrus studied each of these timelines intensely. He was already starting to see the darkening patterns. Their timeline was quite far from the original ones, yet so many timelines had been changing.

Timeline machines only affected around 100 timelines each. Only about 100 worlds could be visited from each other from their tied point. According to his information though, almost 3,000 timelines had made serious changes within the last month, with another 1500 added in a day. Some timelines were starting to completely fall off the grid too. Erasure.

He would study a little harder, Sans would be fine with the girls. However, he knew he would already have to start getting ready. Sans picking such a terrible way to read stories, may have actually saved them.

May. It was so far away from their dimension. That Princess Frisk was World 36. They were 5,236. Could any of this even be possible? There was no Frisk. No flower. No Asriel. No such thing as Underground. What could they do?

Responsibility wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, but Sans made sure the girls got up and went to school. He tried to do his job a little better since Papyrus wouldn’t be there to help, and he picked the girls up.

As soon as he picked them up, they were ready for the story again. Papyrus wanted 3-4 chapters each day, so Sans agreed. “Sit down then. We’ll go the living room.” It wasn’t even dinner yet. “Are you sure you don’t want to watch some TV first?”

“Princess!” they both yelled.

Okay, okay. He pulled up the book and held the papers. He began to read.

World 36

Asgore’s Castle

‘What?!’ Madjick couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He asked Asgore about the same kind of deal, and Asgore just told him the real deal. ‘You can’t just make Sans or Papyrus a prince, Majesty! Especially Sans! He couldn’t even keep track of his house bills, and they are always stuffed in his mailbox!’

‘Along with junkmail,’ Asgore added. ‘It doesn’t matter. Neither will never rule, it’s just a simple title. First will be Queen Toriel, then it would be Queen Frisk, and then it would be Queen Bellefont, and then any of the other children. Then one of them.’

‘They are still ahead of you to rule?’ Why was he doing that to himself? ‘Just for a friendship? Sire.’ Madjick could not call him a bonehead. He couldn’t. He was King Asgore. ‘This is a terrible plan. Sans and Papyrus have zero interest in the human. I could take their place and give her a long lifespan.’ Besides, Asgore’s plans with his queen? It wasn’t going to help him at all. ‘Sire. I would take Frisk.’

‘Have you seen Frisk?’ Asgore said to him. ‘Of course you would take her. She is the sweetest human out there, and she’s grown to be of age. I am sure there are several that would take her.’

‘I already know I’d never take the crown, and I don’t really care about that.’ Madjick tried to make himself look better. ‘I’d treat her real nice.’ “I’d even talk to her in her own language, welcomingly.” ‘Why does it have to be Sans and Papyrus? It’s not because they are just stuck with her, right?’

‘Oh.’ Asgore nodded. ‘Yes, that was why. True. That is true, Madjick. You are stronger, work harder, and you’ve never let me down once. You are my top guard. Frisk deserves someone great. She’ll be my future daughter. Maybe this would be a good idea?’ He walked away outside, ready to tend to his flowers. Madjick followed. ‘We could tell them that the rules have changed. Have Undyne still fix Sans’ house problems, since he was fulfilling his end of the deal.’

‘I can do even better. I can buy his house outright for him, Sire,’ Madjick volunteered. He didn’t want Sans upset with him after he went behind his back. Sans only had 1 hp, but he always felt something strange about Sans. Something that made him never want to fight him. ‘I can fix the bills for him too.’

‘That’s so good of you, Madjick,’ Asgore smiled. ‘Yes, a fresh start. That is what is needed for him too. He deserves it.’ Asgore picked up his watering can. ‘First, I do not want to anger Toriel. I don’t think she will have a problem, considering her true plans. One minute and I will have you contact her about this. If she says no, then consider it no from me too.’

—————————————

The Ruins

“Here comes the airplane, yum, yum,” Toriel said to Bellefont as she tried to feed her. “Your mom will be back to you soon.” Oh, she loved saying that.

Toriel heard a knock on her front door. She left Bellefont’s side a minute to answer it. Madjick? ‘What are you doing here, Madjick?’

‘Queen Toriel.’ He bowed, taking his hat off as he did so, then placed it back on. ‘I would like to take Frisk off of Sans the Skeleton’s hands. Asgore said it would be a fine idea. I understand the circumstances, and how I would never be close to being king. I’m fine with that.’

What? Really? ‘You want Frisk and Bellefont to live with you in New Home?’

‘Yes, Queen Toriel,’ he insisted. ‘Frisk is wonderful, and I’ve just been waiting for her to come of age before I could pursue. I think having her in my house, along with her child,’-

‘Yes!’ She said it without even realizing she said it. Part of the equation to the problem was already solved. All she had to do was get Frisk to fall in love with him since Madjick was already interested in her.

Besides, she’d known Madjick since before they were even trapped Underground. ‘That sounds like a wonderful idea.’

———————————————

Sans’ House Later

‘After doing a fine job on duties, you are allowed some of my finest spaghetti,’ Papyrus boasted as he set plates out for her and Sans. ‘We shall enjoy a fine meal before we get the screaming baby.’

“Bellefont doesn’t always scream,” Frisk said as she looked at the food. It was . . . slightly improved? She never ate his pasta since she came down. Hopefully it was better tasting than it looked. “She does have long amounts of being calm too.”

The slow talking seemed to bug Papyrus. Oops. She was getting used to talking to Sans with her language. ‘She is really a good baby, and if you fulfill her needs, she doesn’t cry as much. She only cries when something is wrong. Like if she needs held or a bottle.’

‘Really?’ Papyrus asked. ‘I could give her a battle. Such a strange request.’

‘No, not battle. Bottle.’ Oh, Papyrus. Frisk looked at the food. Sans was eating it up somehow. She just needed to be brave and dig into the food. Be brave and dig in.

She picked up the fork and twisted the pasta up on it. She could see the freezer burning sparkles on it. ‘Maybe I should just eat at home, this is really too gracious of you.’ Please? Anything? Could anything get her out of that situation?

There was a knock at the door, so Frisk left quickly to check it out. “Momma.”

“Hello.” Toriel gave her back Bellefont. “Great news, Frisk. Sans, for you too. I have gotten Asgore to change his mind about this arrangement.”

Really?! “Thanks, Mom.” Frisk looked at Bellefont. Good, they could go back home.

“Good to hear,” Sans said to her mom. “Thanks, Tori, for the help. Would have loved for it to be sooner, but hey, I can’t complain.”

‘Why is everyone speaking the slow language?’ Papyrus complained. ‘No more Frisk or Bellefont living here?’

“Right. She is going to be staying with Madjick,” Toriel said to him. “Come on, get your things. We’ll get you all fixed up.” She looked toward Sans. ‘Thank you for bearing with us.’

————————

Madjick? ‘Tori, I’d like to talk with you just a sec before you take Frisk.’ Sans said it personally just to her. ‘Come on over to Papyrus’ room.’

‘Okay.’ Toriel followed him. ‘Where is her stuff anyhow?’

‘Eh, still packed up,’ he admitted. They never really decided where it was best to put her yet. ‘Anyway, after you.’ He opened Papyrus’ door and then closed it when they were inside. ‘Yeah, this isn’t a swell arrangement for Frisk. You probably shouldn’t agree with this one.’

‘Oh, why not?’ Toriel asked.

‘Madjick knows she grew up. He’s got his eye on making her his romantically. This isn’t a nice gesture, it’s a-’ Oh. He knew he sensed something off. ‘You already know he wants her.’

‘Yes, he does want her, so half of the work is done,’ Toriel admitted.

Half of the work was done? ‘I don’t get it. What’s going on?’

‘I AM NOT BURYING ANOTHER CHILD OF MINE!’ Her voice reverberated back to him. Emotional. Viscious. ‘Frisk will not lead a short human life with Bellefont and then leave me.’

Total confusion. ‘What’s ending up with Madjick got to do with it?’

‘Royal blood exchange,’ she admitted. ‘The royal power flowed through my veins first, and then Asgore’s only once we were married. As soon as she can infuse with some of Madjick’s magic, then she will be strong enough to survive my royal blood.’

Huh? ‘You want your daughter to live longer? Okay, I can see that,’ Sans admitted as he moved his slipper around slightly. He never thought about that. The other Frisk on the surface never had Tori as a mom. That thought would have never crossed anyone’s mind. ‘Then just give your magic to Frisk, why are you trying to make this complicated, Tori?’

‘It’s illegal to do it without some form of marriage. A bonding.’

‘Still lost. You’re technically a queen, just make it legal.’

‘Sans, I am surprised at you!’ Tori chuckled. ‘Really. It’s not like this is all only about expanding her life. I want her to be in love, married, have Bellefont and more wonderful half human half monster children for the bloodline.’

Oooh. ‘You’re thinking long term.’

‘I imagine a couple of years to get romantic with Madjick. Maybe less since he’ll be trying from the start,’ she announced. ‘Once there are more human children coming, we can have a more mixed kingdom. Eventually we’ll have the power of seven human souls. We’ll just need a few generations of children.’ Toriel looked at her paws. ‘Frisk probably won’t have fourteen half monsters. If she has six and Bellefont has six later-’

‘Okay, yeah, let me stop you there,’ Sans interrupted. ‘I get it now. There’s benefits to Frisk you want, but you really want to get the equivalent of what equals seven human souls down here to break the barrier.’

‘Yes.’ Toriel smiled. ‘No sacrifice needed, just tons of wonderful grandchildren walking up to it when there is enough of them.’ She moved her hands around excitedly. ‘I imagine small little humans dressed up just like their daddy and Frisk. Royal wizards, that will be fun.’ She gestured to the door. ‘I need Frisk’s things now.’

Sans shrugged. Ancient monsters saw things in terms of decades and centuries. Toriel was seeing Frisk being romanced first in a year or so. Then she was seeing marriage into the bloodline. That bloodline probably had the power to hold souls together without killing them or something.

Boss monsters could hold a human soul, so maybe there was something in royalty dealing with that? Then there would be a couple kids at a time, their soul measured to see how much power their had been. If they had like a lot of power, with just a few, they could leave. If it took more, then Frisk would be a little baby factory, or they’d wait for the kiddos to grow up.

So really, maybe . . . earliest maybe three or four years, and the latest being 200 years or maybe 300.

It should be safe then? It still kind of bugged him though. ‘When are you going to tell Frisk you are trying to set her up with Madjick for a long lasting relationship?’

It just did. It really bugged him. Frisk should know what she was getting into, longterm or not.

“He is so gaga for her,” Phal said as she played with her skellydoll on the couch. “I keep saying it.”

“Either Madjick or Uncle Sans will end up with the princess,” Angie said.

“Not me, just another version,” Sans corrected them. “He’s becoming friends with her.”

“Is Princess Frisk pretty?” Phal asked. “If she’s super pretty, he would go gaga faster. Everyone seems to really love the princess.”

“I don’t know,” Sans said. He had no idea what she looked like. “Can I go on now?”

“Sure,” Phal said.

World 36

‘Love doesn’t work that way,’ Toriel insisted to him. She seemed upset. ‘Don’t worry so much, Sans, this plan takes a very long time. If Frisk doesn’t find herself attracted in any way to Madjick, then I will pull her out of the situation and I will find someone else.’

Wait. ‘Is that why you didn’t do jack squat about Frisk being here before?’ Aww. Tori planned on setting him or Papyrus up with her? ‘Are you frickin’ kidding?’

‘It wasn’t being deceitful,’ she explained, ‘and I just want to see who she bonds with romantically. Madjick already likes her though. That should help. Do not tell her that.’

‘I.’ There wasn’t much Sans could do. He could caution Frisk later, in his own way. He’d have to do it without telling Frisk everything. Otherwise? ‘I’ll get her suitcase.’ It’s not like he could say no to the former queen.

———————————

One Week Later

Frisk sighed as she waited at her vendor stand. It was just her. Her mom watched Bellefont during the day, and Madjick worked around the core and castle during the day.

There were plenty of potential customers. More than half of the monsters lived in New Home. They just . . . they didn’t seem to want any of her hotdogs. She tried many ACTs to entice them to. For some reason, they didn’t like to buy hotdogs.

There were other vendors there, and they had better luck. However one sold sweet treats like gingerbread men (which she’d bought plenty of) and sugar cookies shaped like houses and trees (which she’d also bought plenty of). The other vendor sold bottles of wine, wine glasses, and corkscrews.

Another vendor sold ham with mashed potatoes and gravy. Another vendor sold log cakes with candy leaves on top. Another vendor sold soda. Another vendor sold hamburgers with all the fixings and fries with potato salad.

Everyone seemed to have multiple things, or a combination of them. Frisk just had hotdogs with fixings to add. Even when she tried to entice them with an ACT of chat and make them hungry? They just went to another vendor.

If she did get customers, it was usually out of pity since they just knew her. That was it. It was a good thing she wasn’t getting paid on how much she sold.

“Hey there, Frisk? Hard time, huh?”

Oh. Sans was there? That was nice, usually he didn’t leave Snowdin except for a stand at another job. Then again, she almost forgot. He’d been gone for some time. She shouldn’t assume anything so she just waved. “Hello, Sans. Would you like a hotdog?”

“You know me. Sort of, heh, sure,” he said. “Extra everything, please.”

Frisk fixed him his hotdog with extra relish, extra ketchup, extra mustard, and extra onion. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” He held it in his hand. “So, how are you and Bellefont doing with Madjick? Any magic happening with Madjick?”

Hmm. Frisk didn’t know how to answer that. “He’s sort of treating me differently than he used to.” She didn’t know how to explain it. “Your hotdog might get cold if you don’t eat it.”

“How differently?” Sans asked her. He was paying more attention to her than the hotdog. “Different bad or different good, Pacifist Lady?”

Oh great, he borrowed Madjick’s term. It was better than being called Kid or Pacifist Child at least. “I am trying to be nice to him,” Frisk said, “but the nicer I am, the more he seems to think I want a relationship. I’ve only lived with him seven days, but I’ve ducked him six times when he tried to kiss me. He didn’t let me help anyone this week that didn’t live in New Home, and he also didn’t let me leave this weekend to see Undyne and Alphys.”

That was important too. She had wanted to invite Sans to play some games with them.

Sans didn’t look surprised. “Not really liking him, huh? You should tell Tori, Frisk.”

Frisk shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve never seen mom so delighted. She takes care of Bellefont during the days, and then at night sometimes she comes over to eat with us.” Frisk leaned against the stand. ‘I swear they are talking to each other but not me.’ “I can’t bear to mess this up. I’m sure Asgore wouldn’t be happy.”

Sans joined her in leaning against the stand. “Unless you like Madjick back, Frisk, you need to tell Tori. She’s way more into you being happy, not her being happy. You being happy is what makes her happy.”

“I’m fine,” Frisk said. She couldn’t use the term happy. “I’m glad your dilemma is over. You own your house now, right?”

Sans was quieter for a little while. “Nah, I didn’t take it. Undyne gave me more time with the bills and a few extra hours since I tried to do the right thing.”

Hmm? “I thought Madjick was going to outright buy your home for you, and-”

“I didn’t want it,” Sans interrupted her. “I don’t want anything over my head if this living with Madjick thing doesn’t work out. I don’t want you to feel guilty about it, so you’d just move back over. Simple.”

Oh. She never thought about that. That was less guilt if Madjick pushed too far and she had to speak up. “Thank you, Sans. It helps knowing that.”

‘Sure, yeah, thanks, Sans.’ Madjick showed up right next to Frisk. ‘You’re shift is over, Honey. Let’s head home. It’s just us tonight again, your mom is babysitting.’

Oh. Great. “Okay.” Frisk looked toward Sans. “Eat your hot dog soon, Sans. A cold dog isn’t half as nice as a warm dog.” She felt Madjick tug on her, signaling for them to go. “Bye.”

“Bye, Pacifist Lady,” Sans called out to her.

Madjick stopped tugging and looked toward Sans. “You don’t have to say that so loudly.”

Frisk watched the two of them. She could tell they were having some kind of dialogue back and forth. Some kind of intense dialogue. What were they talking about? It only lasted a few seconds, but talking with monsters, a few seconds was all that was needed sometimes to-

“If you ever want to come back to me and Papyrus, Frisk, you are welcome with Bellefont!” Sans said sharply right before she was really tugged away by Madjick. By about ten feet. Geez.

Still? It was nice to know it was an option. Sparkling freezing spaghetti. Maybe it wasn’t so bad? “Thanks, Sans.” She barely got to say it before she felt Madjick pushing her further away.

Oooh. Yeah, paraphrasing. Sans just skipped the paraphrasing of that altogether.

“What did he really say?” Phal asked as she held her doll’s hand.

Hm? “This Madjick isn’t so happy about Sans,” he decided.

“I think Phal’s right, I think that Sans is in love with the princess,” Angie said. She moved from her spot on the chair over to the couch, closer to Sans’ recliner. “I think that Madjick is mean too. I hope Princess Frisk doesn’t end up with him.”

“Yeah, me neither.” While Angie had been moving around, Sans did start reading ahead, making sure he was fine to read more. Papyrus didn’t seem as concerned with this world, but that part right there was kind of a shock. “Okay, back to the story.” 

————————

Madjick’s Home in New Home

Frisk arrived in the home again. It was a nice home, and her mother and Bellefont were there waiting for her. Her mom made Bellefont wave to her. Aw. “Hey there, Sweetie.” She was getting more used to the baby. “Did you miss your Frisk?” She raised her up high. Bellefont loved that, it made her giggle. “Frisk missed you.”

Too bad they couldn’t stay. Madjick already told her that Toriel was babysitting overnight. Although, why? “You don’t have to babysit her overnight, Mom. I could spend more time with her.” Frisk held her.

“Oh, she will see you tomorrow,” her mom insisted as she took her back. “I wanted her to see you briefly. I am going to take her out to get some new clothes. She’ll be tuckered by the time we are done I’m sure.”

Oh. New clothes, that’s why. Bellefont did need a bigger wardrobe. Monsters should also get to see her and know her. The less she was an option to kill for Asgore, the easier it would be to escape this arrangement. “Okay.” Frisk touched her little hand and wiggled it. “I’ll see you later, okay?” She stretched her hands out to Frisk.

“Oh, and Madjick.” Her mother let him say goodbye too. He just waved at Bellefont. “Good enough. Let’s go.”

Frisk watched them leave the house. Darn.

“How is work, Frisk?” Madjick held a wine bottle in his hand and shaked it. “Would you like something savory or sweet to eat for dinner?”

Seriously? Sans stopped reading, getting all of the eyes on him. “Uh, you know your dad. I gotta be a little careful. Just give me a few minutes to read this for myself. To make sure it’s good, okay?” He looked down and read to himself.

World 36

“Either one.” She watched as he came over with the wine for her. She really wasn’t much of a wine lover. It was okay. It was kind of neat to have every once in awhile. She really didn’t want any today. “No thanks.”

“A little won’t hurt,” he said as he poured her a glass anyway and gave it to her.

Frisk rolled her eyes. “I didn’t really want any.” She took it. The last time she had it, she had felt sleepy after just a sip. It was strong wine. ‘If it’s wine like the last time, it’s just too powerful for me to handle. One sip was all I could handle. I can’t have wine.’

“It’s not too powerful, I don’t think?” Madjick looked at it. “Oh, maybe it’s a little powerful. I’ll downgrade it. Sorry, Frisk.”

“It’s okay.” Everyone made mistakes. “I’ll go get some soda.” Frisk went into the kitchen and got some soda and a glass for herself. She came back with it and saw the food already there.

Ham with mashed potatoes. Vendor food was fine, she had no problem with that. She sat down and dug in.

“So, Frisk?” Madjick asked her. “It’s been about a week. How are you liking living in New Home?”

“Monster tastes are different, both good and bad. I guess that’s true of everywhere though,” she admitted.

“Well, I can say this. It has the finest treasures here.” He revealed a present and let it float over to her.

Frisk said thank you and opened it. Ooh, a dress? A pretty dress. Wow. “This is an expensive dress, Madjick. I don’t need anything this fancy.” It even came with shoes and a hat?

“Go ahead, try it on, Frisk,” he insisted. “I’ll go get some lower grade wine for you while you are doing that.”

Frisk went ahead and fulfilled his request. She went to her room and tried it on. She looked in the mirror. The neckline plunged down more than she’d first thought. The bottom was also cut on the side. A slit. A lot more of her left leg showed when she walked than she liked.

The hat with the shoes. She looked like Madjick. Which, wasn’t a good sign. When monsters dressed like each other . . .

This was just not going well. She tried to adjust it in the mirror when she heard a knock at the door. Oh, great. She couldn’t just hide in her room, Madjick went to the cellar for more wine. She went out boldly and answered the door.

Oh? It was Asgore. That was strange. “May I help you?”

———————————

“Can you read out loud yet?” Phal asked.

“Uh.” Paraphrase. “So they are eating dinner, Madjick gave her clothes like his, and Asgore is at the door. Frisk asked if she could help him.” There, that should be fine. It looked like the next part would cruise back to him. That was probably good. He began reading again.

World 36

Snowdin: Sans and Papyrus’ Home

Sans stared at his room, trying to figure it out. 'I love my sock collection. Can I keep it downstairs again?’

'If Frisk and Bellefont live here, then no,' Papyrus announced. 'Its not staying in here with us either.’

Sans pushed it out of the room for now. He would share his room with Papyrus. He didn't trust Madjick to be the best for Frisk, especially after that conversation. Once he talked to Tori, he would try and bring her back again. Maybe Tori could just persuade Frisk to try some dating? Guys obviously liked her down there.

Besides, there wasn’t a huge rush.

‘Huge news from King Asgore! Big news from King Asgore!’

Sans and Papyrus both heard it. They headed out of the house to the bear passing out cards. He was always the source of news in Snowdin.

‘Not good news from Asgore,’ the bear said sadly as he looked at a card too.

——————

Madjick’s Home in New Home

‘I refuse!’ Frisk yelled. ‘No one can make me do this!’

‘Frisk, please,’ Asgore pleaded. ‘Remain civil. This is how it is done.’

Remain civil? Madjick was binding her with extra help from Knight Knight.

‘After this, you and Bellefont will have a nice long life and marriage with Madjick,’ he insisted. ‘Isn't that nice?’

“No!” She refused to cooperate.

‘Frisk, once you have enough children that are mixed souls, we will be able to break the barrier. No more murder. Everyone is safe.’ Asgore smiled. 'Surely you understand that?’

'Where is Undyne?’ There is no way she'd be involved with this.

'After the procedure you can see her. She can even be at your ceremonial wedding.’ Asgore went toward Madjick. Probably talking.

Meanies. Jerks. Buttmunchers. Ugh! Frisk struggled to get free, but Madjick wasn't letting go.

She watched as her arm was cut open.

Damn. That was viscious. Sans noticed the girls staring at him again. “Power of paraphrasing. Give me a second.” Once again, he read it to himself.

World 36

As blood spilled she screamed and Madjick covered her arm. Magic was pouring into it so fast. It hurt so fast, it was burning.

“It is okay,” Madjick tried to calm her. “You're just becoming Mrs. Madjick. The pain will pass, Honey.”

Frisk felt the magic fusing within her. She watched Asgore come over. Now what? He put his paws over her wound and she felt another incredible burn. Green magic poured out of her cuts.

‘There we are,’ Asgore said so casually. 'I don't envy you, I remember the pain of this too.’

Frisk couldn’t believe it. Was it real? “I am Mrs. Madjick?”

‘After the ceremony, you will be officially Princess Frisk Madjick Dreemur,’ Asgore corrected her.

“Unofficially, you are now my wife!” Madjick proclaimed to her. “I’ve shared my magic with you. Alakazaam!”

‘All we need to do is have the magic checked. Knight Knight should be done passing the papers around,’ Asgore insisted. ‘Now just jump up and-’

“-never down. How about that?”

Frisk heard Sans voice and felt herself being yanked away. She wasn’t being held by Sans, but she was floating in mid-air? ‘Sans, where is my mother? Call her here please?’

Oof. “So? There was a little blood shed, Madjick married the princess except for the last part,” Sans told them. “The ending of a marriage comes after she touches ground. Sans arrived and he kept her floating in mid air.”

“He stopped it because he loved her,” Phal said.

“I think he stopped it because it wasn’t right to do that,” Angie said. “Last we heard with Frisk she was gonna drink wine and eat stuff, then suddenly it’s marriage. Uncle Sans is just telling tiny details. It was bad.”

Yeah, Angie was perceptive. “I gotta agree with you on that one, Angie.” It wasn’t good. He went back to reading out loud for the girls.

—————————————

Snowdin: Sans and Papyrus’ House

Frisk found herself plopped on a bed.

‘She’s probably locked up if King Asgore is pulling this,’ Sans insisted. ‘Don’t move from that bed or you will be married to Madjick. This place is safe, so don’t mind the dog on the tornado, and I’ll be right back.’

Dog on a tornado? Frisk looked around the room. Oh, there it was. ‘Hi, Doggie.’ A few minutes later, her mother appeared in the middle of the room with Bellefont. ‘Mom? I think I was forced to sort of marry Madjick.’

Her mother came over and hugged her deeply. ‘Oh, Frisk. I only wanted what was best for you. I can’t believe Asgore sped up this process.’

What? ‘What do you mean, mom?’

‘One day, far into the future, I want you to find a nice monster and settle down,’ her mother explained. ‘When you do, you’ll have several human monster babies. Once the human part of their souls have enough power, we can all leave the barrier without anyone being hurt. We don’t even have to use the used souls Asgore had. It’ll make such a profound difference.’

Oh. ‘Mom.’

‘I never meant for this to happen, when I told Asgore, I promised it was distant. Distant!’ she promised. ‘Very distant. I wanted you to find love first, then a long life with a royal marriage.’

So. "Asgore jumped the gun, but you basically had the gun and gave it to him." Unfair. "Can I still go to Undyne and Alphys’ this weekend? I wasn’t able to last weekend." Frisk heard the laughter of Sans before he made it into the room.

"Sure," Sans teased her. "You just have to move that bed with you, otherwise you’re married."

‘Yes. I’m sorry,’ her mom apologized again. ‘There’s no way to stop this now. You have Madjick’s power. Enough royal blood has moved through you, I can feel that you will live a much longer degree. It is practically done.’ She sighed. ‘I didn’t even get to help with the flowers.’

Her mom handed her a card. Reading signs and cards always took a little extra time for her. They still held traces of magic of the ones who wrote it, it just took a second longer to understand it. ‘Royal. Marriage. Afternoon. 12:30. This Friday. Come one. Come all. Frisk. Madjick.’ There was something else scribbled in it. A scribbled thought she couldn’t understand.

"Just passed out to me not too far from my house," Sans said to her. "Just, wasn’t real happy about it so I interrupted."

"Thanks." Frisk looked at the cards. "Am I really stuck married to Madjick?"

"Legally, yes. Even when I take the crown back soon," she informed Frisk. "You have Madjick’s power. Once you leave that bed, Sans is right. You will officially have no choice but to marry Madjick."

‘Such a strange rule.’ “Why the bed?” Frisk asked either of them.

"At the end of that painful magic and blood exchange," her mom said, "the new wife is asked to jump up and down, to see if the magic took right. After that, it is official. Sans lifted you up."

"You haven’t officially ever came back down yet," Sans spilled for her. "I tried to get there as soon as I could, Pacifist Lady. Sorry, Frisk. You can try and hide away from him if you want? No law about that. As long as he doesn’t find you in the next five years, you don’t have to live with him. Best we got. I know a few real good hiding places for you."

No, that wasn’t her style. "Sans? I want to keep your bed," Frisk declared. She stood up on it. "Please? I’ll get you a new one." Frisk tested it out, scooching it some. Hmm. "Also, can you go buy me a couple of those orbs Madjick likes to use? I have an idea."

"Oh, Frisk. Oh no, you’ve got to be kidding," Toriel scolded her. "You have enough royal blood in you now, whether or not you are Madjick’s wife. Frisk!"

Still, Sans left and in a few minutes gave her the orbs. “I’ve got to see this.”

“Frisk?” Toriel tried to speak as sweetly and delicately as she could. “Honey, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

‘Okay, I need to work on it!’ Frisk said as she scooted the bed beneath her. She almost rammed into the opposite wall. ‘This’ll work though, I’ll get better.’

“Frisk. No. Honey. Sweetheart, this is not going to work,” Toriel tried to reach her again. “Frisk?”

“Do a barrel roll?” Sans teased.

“Sans! Don’t encourage her,” her mother scolded him. “Frisk! I am sorry about what happened, but you can’t just turn a bed into an oversized skateboard for the rest of your life to avoid marriage.”

Triggered. “DETERMINATION!”

Phal and Angie both cracked up laughing.

“I love Princess Frisk. She’d rather ride on a bed for the rest of her life than get married to Madjick,” Angie laughed.

Yeah, but that wasn’t going to last for life. That Frisk was pretty much boned. Still, Papyrus did say to keep reading that story. She must get out of it somehow. “Okay. We better get some grub and some TV for a little while.”

Chapter Text

They agreed on food. Sans just ordered out some food and they watched some TV while Phal played with her skellydoll. When the food arrived, they all gathered around and ate for a little while until it was done.

Then, they begged for another chapter.

Well? He was supposed to squeeze in 3-4 a day. “Okay.” He sat back down. “Let’s see, where were we?”

‘Hi Froggits,’ Frisk greeted the friendly Froggits before heading past the ruins with Bellefont. Since she didn’t officially marry Madjick, Frisk was granted more time to find a family for Bellefont, like she had expected the first time. After that stunt, Asgore couldn’t risk making her mother any madder.

Until then, Frisk and Bellefont could stay back at her original home again, with her mom in the Ruins. She was also able to go back to helping monsters daily. Just, instead of walking around, she rode around on Sans’ bed. ‘Good morning, Mister Friendly Bear.’

‘Good morning!’ he said. ‘Can you help me pick more berries?’

‘Sure.’ Frisk turned her bed around with the orbs underneath and lifted it a little higher, scooping up berries for him. It was much quicker.

She placed it back close to the ground and scooted over close to him. ‘Here you go. You’ll have to dig out some of the stems. I couldn’t do that and hold Bellefont at the same time. Later Mister Friendly Bear.’

‘Later, Frisk,’ he called out from behind her.

Frisk kept heading away slowly with Bellefont. The baby loved riding in the bed, so she rarely had problems with the baby when they were coasting. She went toward the store. ‘Good morning, Bunny Shopkeeper.’

The door opened for her. The bed was too big to get into a lot of places, but usually people just opened their doors to talk clearly. Frisk magically picked up a cinnamon bunny for herself, gave the G the same way, stuffed it in her pocket and moved on.

She went right past Grillby’s and as she passed by Sans and Papyrus’ home- ‘Easy!’

She was lifted up with Bellefont. She didn’t have to necessarily stay on the bed to avoid marriage, but she did have to not be touching the bare ground. Frisk had been placed in a tree with Bellefont. The trickster?

Right by the base of the tree. ‘Heh, heh.’ Sans of course. “Just hanging out, huh, Frisk?”

Hmph. “Very funny, Sans.” Annoyingly, Bellefont agreed as she clapped her hands and cooed. “Why do you have to tease me the first time you see me every morning?”

“I have a soft spot for you,” Sans said as he touched his rib cage through his coat. He winked at her. “You’re the only girl who’s ever been in my bed.”

Edgy joke. She felt herself being pulled down and put back on the bed. He jokingly covered her up. She pulled the covers back up. ‘Not my naptime.’ She stood up on it. “I need to help Burgerpants today but I’m behind. I had some trouble in the ruins.” Oh yeah. “Today’s the weekend. Undyne said she’d give you the evening off.”

“Yay, Undyne.” He wasn’t real impressed. “Sleep.”

“Do you want to come over and play a video game with us three?” Frisk asked him. “Do you like watching any anime?”

Sans didn’t answer real fast. “I don’t think so, Frisk. My idea of fun isn’t hanging out with my boss.”

Oh. Well? “Do you want to come hang out at the ruins today? I have board games.” She was trying. “I have word searches, scrabble, checkers, and chess?”

There we go. He seemed to like that. “Sure.”

“Great. I’ll be back around 3:00,” she said.

“AM or PM?” he joked.

“PM.” Mom would have a fit if she stayed out ‘til 3:00 AM. “I better get going. I’m running late because I ran into trouble today.”

“What kind of trouble?” Sans asked.

‘Hocus Pocus!’

—————————————

As Madjick aimed for the bed, Sans knew he didn’t have long. There were only two things he could do for Frisk because that bed was toast.

One. Change the direction of one of the large pieces of wood that just broke off to come towards her and slow her down in mid-air so she could catch it and think she pulled off that cool stunt on her own.

Two. Let what was happening take it’s course and just accept that the marriage would happen like Tori said.

Of course, he picked the first option. He magically grabbed a piece of board and aimed it right toward her free hand that wasn't holding Bellefont while he slowed time down, so she could nab it.

While doing that, he re-aimed the magic orbs to float right beneath her. When he was sure she was grabbing that board and could pull it off, he pulled the slowing time away as well as the gravity.

Only . . . she wasn’t grabbing it? For a little while. He could have sworn she stared at him with one red eye right before she grabbed it. Okay?

Cool. Frisk the Momma had a real skateboard now. That trick would never work again. For now, Sans reflected Madjick's next attack. ‘Knock it off. She doesn't want to be your wife.’

“Go Frisk!” Angie cheered her on. “Uncle Sans, you totally saved her.”

“I told you Uncle Sans loved Princess Frisk,” Phal said once again.

Seriously. “I’m not him. I don’t even know a Frisk,” he reminded them. “He just gave her another shot.” He went back to reading.

World 36

‘She cannot keep this up forever, it's pointless to help,’ Madjick complained. “This love and chase thing is hard, Frisk. Just come back home to me. It won't be so bad. My monster type can quadruple the amount of kids we have. We could have 4-16 kids in one pregnancy, Honey. Save the day for everyone. Wouldn’t that make you happy?”

Frisk wasn't moving from her new skateboard. 'If I decide to do something to help the Underground then it won't be with someone mean enough who wins underhandedly.’

Then she better start the dating that Toriel hammered into her. Sans couldn’t do that again. In fact, Papyrus was coming from around the corner, having heard the explosive bed. He wasn’t going to be happy about what Sans just did.

'I knew it was Frisk making that ruckus. She cannot keep it up forever, Sans. When she lands, she must be with someone,’ Papyrus warned him. ‘The bed is gone now. She won’t last much longer.’

Statistically, Papyrus was right. She was lucky she had lasted a whole month. But? ‘I can give her one more chance.’ He noticed Papyrus staring at Frisk’s new skateboard. ‘Pretty cool, huh?’

‘Sure, she’s surviving on a small piece of board, holding Bellefont, while you are reflecting attacks. So cool, Brother.’ Papyrus wasn’t in the mood. ‘If he lands it one more time, he wins. That was pointless. Are you going to throw her in another direction? Keep her hanging in the air? Watch her every second?’

No. He could try to help then, but not forever. Besides, there was also something else wrong. ‘Frisk had a red eye, Papyrus. Like something took her over for just a second. Either way, I gotta end this fight with flee.’

Ugh. ‘That looks terrible and cowardice, but if something is wrong with Frisk, we can’t ignore it. Go flee and look at her soul, Sans.’

Frisk was good. Frisk was great. Great personality, taught to be humble and helpful in the Underground by Toriel herself from a young age. She was fun. Had fun. He’d heard about her from Undyne. Seen her hanging around her house multiple times now.

Quirky. Cute. He hated to do it, but he had to have one judging session. ‘Okay, fine. I’ll do it.’

Papyrus was right. He really should judge her. In the other timeline, when he got lost and thought he had found home, he had met the wrong Frisk. That Frisk was sweet and a wholesome kid too, but that Frisk also met the flower his brother met. It led them to a state where they were all grabbed by vines and then he awoke with the surface open.

That flower. It was nowhere Underground for Frisk now. Papyrus used to talk to it though, so he knew it existed. Why didn’t it try to take over like it did in the other 99 timelines?

He never knew. No one did. Maybe Frisk would have the answer.

——————————

Sans teleported her, Bellefont, the skateboard and himself to an emptier area of the ruins. ‘So, that was a freebie,’ he said to her.

Frisk just smiled. ‘Thanks.’

‘So? I need to do something, Frisk,’ he warned her. ‘I’m going to judge your soul. Stand there and look straight at me.’ She was confused of course. ‘I’m going to judge you for everything you’ve done. Good and bad. I need to read your soul. If you don’t let me, then I’m going to stop this charade, fight you to the ground, and let Madjick marry you.’

‘Eww.’ Frisk winced. ‘Okay, judge me.’

‘Good. This won’t take long.’ Sans stared into her soul. He expected a LV of 1. He expected no LOVE, some G and a short HP of an average human. She was a good Frisk. A great Frisk.

What he found?

Scrambled.

LV lv 1 210 G 25 HP 2000000000000000000000000000 LV 16 lv 519 G 900099999 HP 20

That’s when he realized why it was so scrambled. Bellefont was looking toward him too. ‘What the hell is going on?’

‘What’s wrong, Sans?’ Frisk asked.

Sans went over to take Bellefont. ‘Who was her mom and dad? How did she manage to survive? Who is she?’ Babies were a lot easier to read. There was no permission needed for them. They couldn’t do much anyway.

Bellefont reached for where his nose would be. She laughed.

LV lv 1 210 G 25 HP 20000000000000000000000000 LV 16 lv 519 G 900099999 HP 20

Those numbers were coming from Bellefont? Sans looked back toward Frisk. ‘Stay still, Frisk. Stare straight at me.’

LV 0 HP 0

That was impossible. Too impossible. Wait? There was something else sticking inside of Frisk’s soul. There was something . . .

LV O G O HP o G O 66

Where was the 66 coming from? G O 66. ‘Go 66?’ Hang on. Go to world 66? ‘Stay here, Frisk. Take Bellefont. I’ll be back. Don’t get off the skateboard.’

———————————

Uh oh. New world. Papyrus said not to read the other worlds. “Okay, kiddos, I gotta be honest. Your Daddy Pappy said I could only read you World 63. This Sans is going to World 66.”

“Can you tell us what happened after you read it?” Phal got the hint again.

“Yeah, I guess.” Hopefully this wasn’t too hard.

World 66

Sans looked around, trying not to run into himself again. He noticed the flower following him. It was there, in that world. It wasn’t a happy ending kind of world, but he did see Papyrus. Whatever Frisk controlled that world had spared him.

Sans couldn’t really find anything, until he approached past his usual stand in waterfall. There was a door he’d never seen before. Which was pretty surprising for him. Where did that come from?

He went into the door and saw someone. Another skeleton? He had a cracked face and wore a grin. ‘Crap.’ Sans had met the strange monsters in other timelines that spoke of someone that had been shattered through time. Was this actually a piece of him? ‘Are you Gaster?’

He didn’t answer.

‘I’m Sans. Sans the Skeleton from world 36.’ He introduced himself as correctly as he could. ‘I have a Frisk in my world. She’s been there for some time. She grew up though and hasn’t ever harmed it at all. She’s taking care of another human there too. Baby, real small. Frisk is reading 0 on everything while the baby is reading like bad scrambled eggs that fell out of the frying pan and onto the floor. Can you explain that please? I found a note basically saying to check this world. Found this weird door I never saw before, so I’m hoping you can help out. Please?’

Sans didn’t move closer. He didn’t want to interfere with it if it was one of the last parts of Gaster still surviving. It was a good chunk with an abdomen and a head. It might be able to help.

‘SpLiT.’

‘Split?’ Sans questioned. ‘What split?’

‘TiMe. DeTeRmInAtIoN.’

This guy wasn’t helping enough. ‘Is that Frisk from this world?’

‘No.’

‘You’re fractured though. You can see across different realities at the same time?’ Not a nice fact to bring up, but Sans needed to get somewhere with this conversation.

‘YeS.’ He laughed. ‘It’s quite annoying, mind you. Usually my mind can just stay here since so much of me happens to be right here, but one minute I’m getting called by someone named Alphys for pizza and then the next I’m in another world where Mettaton is king. Seriously messed up life I lead, but at least it’s not boring.’

Oh, good, he was functioning right. He just needed a second. ‘Great to hear. So can you explain a little better?’

‘Destiny probably. Frisk had been wiping out timelines with another human soul involved with her. You knew that of course, you’ve been playing around too. Lv 51. Frisk was scared the first time she fell. Her determination kept her compelled to keep following the path she set out for herself because she knew she couldn’t set anything right anyway. After she followed her determination to the end, the other soul came out and greeted her. It agreed to reset all the atrocities and start over for her soul.’

Well, that was a terrible deal. ‘So?’

‘It lied. It just gave her another timeline. Lv 78. Frisk tried to be good, but after awhile Chara gets bored and takes over her body. Frisk’s soul is torn between the good and evil over what she did. By the time they reach the surface, Chara takes over. Lv 91. Lv 5. Lv. 20. Lv. 15.’

Eek. Really terrible deal. ‘Okay. What’s this got to do with the Frisk of my world? Like, where is the missing flower? You know what I’m talking about.’

‘Chara seemed to be getting bored again. She wanted to try something else. I don’t know why she complains. I see the outcome of everything at once, and I never complain that I am bored.’ Gaster seemed to lose the message. ‘Won’t be staying much longer. Frisk lives in Snowdin, locked up in the small locked up home. You and Papyrus keep her there. She can tell you what you want to know.’ He started to disappear. ‘Toodles!’

———————————————

Okay, he was visiting the Frisk of that world now too? Sans looked for the next piece of paper and started to read it.

World 66

World 66 (Gaster's World)

----------------------------

"Sans, where are you off to?" Papyrus questioned him.

Sans opened the door. "Prisoner."

"You just saw her this morning. This afternoon too. Wouldn't you rather watch some TV?" Papyrus asked, gesturing to the TV box. "It might do something."

Might, yeah, but? Sans would rather see Frisk than watch some maybe TV from Mettaton. "See ya."

Sans headed out at a slow trot. No reason to run, Frisk wouldn't go anywhere. She hadn't in years. Ever since she was a kid and traveled through, he and Papyrus kept her locked up safely in a small house. Truth being, she could probably break out whenever she wanted to, but she didn't. The results would be devastating any other way.

Frisk wasn't exactly the best Frisk of all dimensions. She was originally from another dimension, got emotional and suckered into deals with spirits, and . . . yeah, okay. She was bad, but she'd grown since then. Fifteen years later, she'd definitely grown. Even by the time she came to his dimension, she'd already had a handle on what she was doing. Mostly.

Sans' dimension was where she finally lost her connection to that other spirit, Chara. She lost the connection in Snowdin though, which meant the ruins was well. Ruined. Part of Snowdin too. Fortunately, she never hurt Sans or Papyrus though.

She couldn't be forgiven for all the death, but at the same time, as she told her story to each of them. Her real story, they couldn't exactly just hand her over to Asgore to be annhilated either. She had tried to turn good countless times, but the spirit always took over in the end. It was impossible for her to get a good ending. She swore it, and they believed her.

So, ever since then, Sans fed her and clothed her in that little snowy house. It'd be great if that was his only duty too, but sometimes he'd also find visitors coming to see her. Those visitors? His other selves.

They always seemed to find her. The last Frisk. Whether it was some kind of closure, a chance to take action against regret, or just sight-seeing, they somehow kept find her. His Frisk.

Speaking of which? "Ah no, really?" Yep, he felt another version of himself nearby. His trot sped up into an all out shortcut by Frisk's home. He never went inside without permission right away. Most of the hims there weren't violent after all.

He stood next to the door and listened in on the conversation.

‘Hey. I’m Sans of level 36. What did you do to my Frisk?’

‘It’s not like she was born innocent either. Just because a Frisk doesn’t know the setup, doesn’t make her bad. I was taught that monsters were bad. Froggits scared me. Toriel tried to stop me from leaving and she wouldn’t let me spare her. Not everyone gets it right, so there’s no difference. Saaaaaaaaaaaaaans.’

Ooh, Frisk was not in the mood for a visit. Maybe he should crash the party anyway?

‘Circumstances suck. What did you do to the Frisk in my world? Come on. Talk to me.’

‘I was tired of it all. Tired of trying to be good, only to have Chara take over again and dust all of my friends and start killing humans on the surface. It was all pointless. One day, Flowey talked to me. Chara usually didn’t bother me until I reached the surface, so he was taking a chance.’

‘What did he say to you?’

‘Chara and I would destroy everything forever if we kept going like that. He had a different idea. He was just trying to spare his own life, he didn’t care.’ Frisk groaned. ‘He took Chara’s sleeping soul and said he’d take it to another world to be reborn safely. Without her interference, I could finally get a happy ending. Ha! I’m not possessed anymore. I’m just held here in secret being fed by Sans and Papyrus of this world. I didn’t know this was the last reset I’d be in, otherwise I never would have taken out most of the ruins. I hate froggits and I need that HP to die less.’

‘Doesn’t explain what happened to my Frisk though at all, or the flower.’

Geez. Sans tightened his coat. Frisk was nice enough to treat his other self to the whole story and he was just interested in a damn flower. Yep, time to crash the party. At least he brought a burger for her.

‘That’s all I know. Go away.’

-----------------------

Sans showed up inside. "Yeah, beat it." 

‘Uh, hello?' the other Sans said. 'Just a tourist. Looking for info.’

Not real funny. Sans dealt with too many gnarly hims when they visited Frisk. ‘I’m warning you now, other me, you need to stop messing around in other timelines. You might get lost, and it sucks.’ He went over toward Frisk and gave her the burger.

‘Sorry. I needed to know some things.’

‘So does every other Sans,’ Sans said bitterly back. This time, he spoke directly to his other self, not letting Frisk into the conversation. ‘Look? I don’t know why every single Sans keeps coming back to MY Frisk to ask stupid questions. She’s done her penance over fifteen years. The only reason I don’t take her out of here is because Asgore will just kill her for sure. I don’t want anyone else to hurt her. So just beat it.’

‘Oops. Sorry, Pal. Not trying to stir anything up,' the other Sans insisted.

“Here, Frisk.” Sans handed her the burger. “Nice and yummy. Did you want to play a game of checkers?”

“After the burger.” She smiled at Sans. Ah, that smile. No matter what other him was in the room, or what they were doing to her, she could always tell who he'd been. “Thanks.”

‘So, here’s a new one for you,' the other Sans interrupted. 'Can I tell you about my Frisk and see if you can figure it out? Since you’ve already heard it all.’

Sans just looked toward Frisk. 'I don't sense anything bad about him. I'm here anyway. Can you humor him for a few minutes and then we can play a game?'

'I don't know. I don't feel well today. I didn't want to deal with anything today,' she admitted.

Aw. 'Tum-tum hurt?'

'No, I just think I'm catching a cold,' she admitted. 'I guess I can listen for a little while.'

Sans looked back to his other self. ‘You got a few seconds to spark our interest, Strange Sans.’

‘Okay. So, the Frisk in my world is half Princess, a new mom to a fallen human baby, and almost married to Madjick except she can’t touch the ground so she gets around on a bed like a skateboard. Well, she did, but now it’s practically a skateboard.’ He winked.

The wha? The heck happened to that Frisk.

Frisk even laughed. ‘What?’

‘Okay, interest sparked,' Sans confessed. ‘You gotta explain more.’

His other self explained how it all occurred, starting with the weird presence of a human baby named Bellefont, and ending with the just as strange presence of Bellefont. She had strange, funkadelic numbers in the soul that led him there.

‘So the kid is all funkadelic in numbers in the soul.’ “Frisk?” Sans looked toward Frisk. “Make sense?”

‘Flowey doesn’t exist in your world, Sans 36?’ Frisk asked lightly. ‘I don’t know how he did what he did. I just know that Chara was taken from me and he took her somewhere else.’ “Chara numbers would be screwy. Flowey would want to flatten the LOVE in her, so she wouldn’t destroy again.” Frisk scratched her cheek, thinking. “Hmm.”

‘So, your Frisk is twenty something too, right?’ Sans asked him. “Maybe? Whatcha think?” He looked back toward Frisk and spoke just to her. 'It is possible if Chara was human that she might have been a mom.' “Maybe.”

'Bellefont could be her daughter.' Frisk drummed her fingers. “She’d be young, Sans. Why would she ever . . .?”

“How did he find a place to go up?” Sans asked her. “Must be a way.”

“Another world that was healed?” Frisk shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What are you two thinkin?” the other Sans asked, trying to figure out their conversation.

‘Hey.’ Yo, that wasn't right. Sans wasn’t happy. He spoke directly to himself without letting Frisk hear. ‘Don’t do that.’

‘Do what?’ the other Sans asked.

‘Y-? Really?’ Sans sighed. How often did this guy ever get out? ‘Don’t flirt with my Frisk.’

‘I wasn’t flirting,' the other insisted.

Yeah, right. ‘Then why you speaking in her language then?’ Sans warned him.

Oh. ‘Just being nice? There’s no real basis for it. I just like the slowness of it. I guess. But, you are talking to her in her language.’ 

‘Just, shut up,’ Sans warned him again. ‘She’s stuck in here so she doesn’t die. I see her as much as I can. The only place I could take her is in a time where she and I don’t exist. Those aren’t good worlds, so just don’t!' Aggravating. He just needed to get him the info and make him leave. 'And we were thinking maybe Bellefont was Chara’s daughter.’

‘Karma being an ass then ‘cause I doubt she’d ever be on that mountain on accident,' the other Sans said. ‘Karma is a bitch.’

‘Yeah, it is. Makes some sense. She took out whole realities. Even Frisk has to pay the price.’ Sans brought out a box of checkers. He was done humoring his other self, and Frisk had been patient enough too. “Red or Black this time, Frisk?”

‘Then the flower is still missing, and my Frisk isn’t displaying anything to me,' the other Sans pointed out.

‘Can’t help anymore. You can go now,’ Sans instructed him. ‘Don’t leave home for too long.’

‘Yeah. You don’t have to tell me why.’ That Sans left.

"Black," Frisk answered him as she came over to play checkers. "That was a strange visitor."

"Yeah, but, just a visitor and they are gone now." Sans sorted the pieces. "You sure your tum-tum will be fine?" Human cold, human cold. It could affect the stomach. He thought.

"I just ache all over. My stomach's okay. Nothing's going to change it. I want to play with you," Frisk insisted. "I'll be fine."

Sans laid out the pieces. "Papyrus is making a fancy supper tonight. He wanted me to stay and watch TV while we ate. Maybe we could invite him over and we could all watch TV here? I could move the TV here."

Frisk just giggled. "You don't need to move your whole TV. I know you. Last time you did that, you moved the couch too. Then you moved the sinks to wash my hands. Then you moved the dog. Papyrus was so mad at you."

"Yeah. I thought it'd be fun to do it again." Sans made a move with his piece. "If you were up for it."

"I don't think so." Frisk moved her piece. "I want to play a game with you, but I really need to get to bed afterward." She stretched her foot, the long chain was probably cramping it.

"You want that off for a few minutes?" Sans asked. "Few minutes won't be bad."

Frisk shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, but if you aren't feeling well, then it should be like an exception. I'm sure Papyrus would be fine with it too." Sans made another move with his piece. Even if he hadn't been there, he would have been able to tell there was another him that came. She always looked so ashamed and guilty after seeing another him from another world. It wasn't fair.

He'd thought several times about writing on the front of the door for other hims. It's not like she'd ever see it, he'd be careful of it. Just something simple like 'Leave this Frisk alone' or 'Don't you have anything better to do?'. Nah, none of those would work with him. He'd probably just have to write something honest. 'MY Frisk. Do not touch!' Something like that would make them go see him instead of her.

Only, most of them never saw the front door. They were rude and in a hurry, and went right through her door. Sans did that when she was smaller, but the older she grew, the more he knew that wasn't what he should do. Humans like privacy, and their fragile bodies especially needed to stay covered. Yep. He remembered one time a Sans had gone in while she was getting dressed from a shower, threw her upside the room, ranted about end of world something or other.

When he got to her she was half clothed, wet on a slippery floor and she had bruises and a scratch along her back. Sans got details about which world the other him was from, found the trail, tracked him and kicked his own ass.

Yep. He kicked the version of his own pelvis that day. That worlds' Sans would NEVER come back to taunt his Frisk. That's more of what he wanted her to get from him. Just, the stuff from him. The feelings for him. It was hard to tell a girl you liked her, when another version of you came around making her feel like shit.

Speaking of shit, he could see Frisk wasn't feeling so well after all. That cold really had her. Her eyes were droopy, looking like she might fall asleep any second. "You look kind of like me on lookout," he teased her as he moved his piece. "What say we postpone this game for another day?"

"Sorry." She looked back at him. "Good idea though." She got up and headed for bed. "I hope you have fun with Papyrus tonight for me."

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll bring down a roof somewhere," he lied. "Or we'll make pasta. One or the other. Feel better, Frisk. See you tomorrow." He waved goodbye to her and took a shortcut back home.

-------------------------

Frisk tried practicing checkers again when she felt better. She was terrible at it with Sans, but she did try to get better. It was fun at least having a chance to win at a game with someone. She hated that she had ruined their last game, but she had felt so sick. Otherwise, she never would. She loved games with Sans. Whatever game he brought out.

He usually won whatever game he brought out too, so she did her best to practice. Maybe one day she could actually pose some kind of challenge for him. "Piece by piece." She chuckled. "He takes me out piece by piece politely. Aw, Frisk, if you could just get to the point where you aren't such a baby challenge, it'd be fun for him." She moved another piece. "I just don't see what he sees."

Sans was exceptional. A lot of monsters had no idea how great Sans had been at so many things. Probably. Not that when she was free she ever asked, 'What do you think of Sans?' but. He was a charming comedian, good for laughs. That was what she had heard more than once. Also, lazy. She'd heard that several times. Nobody had ever talked about how good he was at-?!

Frisk felt herself being launched away. A sickeningly familiar feel, being in the air only knowing that the landing-

was now. Her whole head spun. Please don't let her head be bleeding? When she opened her eyes, she had seen the world from an upside down position. The checkers were all over the floor, and a familiar set of furry slippers were in her view. 

‘So, you’re it, huh?’ Sans walked in through the now unlocked door. Definitely not her Sans. Frisk always knew the difference between hers and visitors, even when visitors were nice. This one was wearing Papyrus’ red scarf, in a similar fashion to the one she fought and killed before.

Yeah, Frisk knew she'd be in for a hell of a day.

‘So, what did you think?' that Sans asked her. 'Did I give you sufficient warning about what was coming?’

Frisk felt herself being raised up against the wall, still upside down. From his emotional state, it sounded like he was one of them she had to fight. He would be far from gentle. ‘What do you want?’

‘I tracked you down to this world,’ that Sans insisted. ‘What happened? Got bored of genocide?’

Frisk didn’t answer. Instead, she felt a lighter touch of magic bringing her back down gently against the wall. It may be the same magic, but she knew that gentle motion. She was okay now. 

Her Sans was there.

‘Use some manners, other me,’ Sans said as he came in. ‘I’m taking care of her, so don’t hurt her.’

Frisk felt relief. Her Sans wouldn’t let her get hurt, no matter how much the other Sans wanted to hurt her. “Thanks.”

“You okay, Frisk?” Sans checked on her. “It’ll be okay. I’m just beside myself with anger.” A pun to help her feel better. “Okay Strange Sans, this is how we are going to dance. This Frisk doesn’t hurt anyone. She’s no kid anymore, she’s been good for many years. Leave her be.”

The other Sans was staring at him. They must have been talking together.

"In world 36, she never met the flower, so check her out," her Sans said to the other. "Don’t know why. Whatever, just don’t come back pestering my Frisk again,’ Sans demanded as the other left. He looked back toward her. “You okay, Frisk?”

“Yeah.” Sans came over closer to check on her. “I’m fine, Sans." Although, Frisk didn't feel so good about what he just did. He just told on the other Sans that recently came for answers. "I hope that next Sans is around when that guy goes to the other Frisk.”

“Oh yeah, he’ll know, and she'll be fine,” Sans said for certain. “They’re all just me. That ones just in a crankier mood is all.”

Maybe, but Frisk had a feeling those two Sans' were going to be causing more trouble.

“Uncle Sans, you’ve been reading to yourself forever,” Phal complained. “Angie is even starting to watch TV. What’s happening?”

Huh? “Oh. Um?” Let’s see. This stuff was getting pretty intense now. Involving the forbidden Gaster. Involving the bad Frisk. What was he supposed to say? “He went to other worlds to see if Frisk was corrupted or not. That’s pretty much it. I’ll read another chapter later.” Angie was watching TV but Phal glared.

“You’ve gotta wait,” Sans said. “Deal with it, Phal.”

Phal grunted but she started to watch TV with Angie.

“Next.”

Papyrus stepped up to the counter. “I will need passage for three.”

The lady put in some information to the computer. “Style?”

“Both,” he said. “All expenses and options.”

She placed in more information. “For how long?”

“I would imagine we’d be lucky to get a year if nothing happens. One year,” he said. “I want possible passage for another one? It’s not guaranteed, but I hope so.”

“For one year, and actually four passengers, with all options for them too?” The lady was starting to look at him a little strangely now. “I want to make sure you know what you are purchasing.” She printed off a small receipt and he looked at it.

“Yes, that’s what I want,” Papyrus agreed as he handed it back. “Express please?”

“That will be an extra cost too?” She looked worried and handed him the whole thing. “Everything is booked, with all of that too, Sir. I hope you find what you are wanting out there.”

“Oh.” Oh yes. He hoped so too.

Chapter Text

“Another story!” Phal and Angie asked after about an hour.

Normally Sans would say no way and wait until bedtime, but he himself was interested what was going on. While it was a nice story, it was still him. It was still a timeline, and serious stuff in timelines mattered.

It shouldn’t though. They were far away from it, way too far to matter. It was World 36 and they were in the 5000’s. He was so far ahead of all the awful stuff that happened in those kinds of timelines. None of it affected him.

Still, Papyrus made a fair point. A lot of search results were popping up for princess. It’d be good to keep tabs. “Okay, another chapter of the Princess Frisk.” They cheered as he grabbed the book, grabbed the next paper and began reading.

World 36

The Ruins

Frisk rode the skateboard slowly with Bellefont. Frisk wasn’t one to just stay in place. She had to use a backway to enter into Snowdin again.

Frisk felt her skateboard slowly tumble as she accidentally pedaled too close to a puzzle area. She landed on some soft leaves, but still on the skateboard. Those orbs were really helpful.

She heard something in the leaves move though. What was that?

Before she could even understand it, huge vines came and grabbed Bellefont, dragging her away screaming!

“Bellefont!” Frisk yelled after her. The vines made an impressionable hole, and holding her skateboard and orbs underneath her carefully, she pursued.

What had just grabbed Bellefont?

———————————

Frisk had pursued through the hole and ended up in the beginning of the ruins. It was where she came to pray for those fallen humans that never rose from there.

Bellefont was lying on the leaves, next to a strange looking yellow flower.

‘Howdy, Frisk,’ it said in a dull tone. ‘Do you have any idea who I am?’

Hmm. ‘Sans mentioned a yellow flower that should have been here Underground. I’ve never met you though.’ Frisk looked at Bellefont. ‘Please give her back. Don’t hurt her.’

‘Don’t hurt her.’ The flower twitched. ‘Who do you think she is? Do people just randomly fall in holes from above all the time? Don’t you have any idea who she could be?’

‘I wasn’t raised on the surface. How could I know who she is?’ Frisk didn’t understand. ‘You should talk to Sans. He is the one that knows you.’

‘It’s fate!’ he yelled at her. ‘Fate gone wrong. Karma always gets us in the end. Any other Frisk out there would know her. Any of them but you. Miss Perfect Pacifist Lady.’

What was this flower’s problem? ‘Who is she?’

‘I held her with me. She yelled and screamed as I tried to keep my promise,’ the flower said. ‘I had to break the duo of Frisk and Chara, you were destroying full timelines with your power! But? I didn’t know how to keep it. I knew somewhere out there, there had to be an opening. A way out to the surface, where I could find the tamest vessel alive that couldn’t hurt others. She could start without fear in her heart again. Without feeling the fear of a Frisk.’

Oh. Interesting story. ‘Did you find a spot?’

‘Yeah. World 36. Every timeline is just a little different, and this one had a weak point in it’s barrier. I was able to get through it, and I found the perfect spot for Chara.’ He smiled. ‘A pregnant mother. Just resting on a swing.’

Oh, Frisk may have started to see it now. ‘Did you see Bellefont’s mother? Is Bellefont, the Chara you took?’

‘It’d be charming. Nice and tidy. To believe that Chara found a new start, and instead of being evil, she is a sweet infant on the ground, just kicking at the leaves playfully.’ The flower lost it’s playful grin. ‘Karma is never that nice. Chara MisSeD you. She refused the new home I gave her. She fought the birth. The child was trying to speak through the mind, scaring her mother. Psychiatry was needed during pregnancy.’

Oh. ‘How sad.’ She moved closer towards Bellefont. ‘Has she settled down yet?’

‘Settled down? She kept trying to push on her poor mom’s tummy. Doctors had to do everything they could to settle her down. When she was born, she started to chat through each of their minds. The new mom was forced out of her town with her husband. The child, they deemed it would be eViL. So, they ran. They ran and ran and ran . . . straight to the familiar pit Chara wanted them to fall into. With her last motion, the mother turned and saved her child. In more ways than one.’

Frisk felt the flower touch her shoulder with it’s vine.

‘Chara entered into Bellefont's mother when she turned for her child. There was this small spark of something that reached her. I felt it. At the edge of the human’s death, she felt empathy for the mother’s sacrifice. She is properly buried again.’

"Makes some sense. She was corrupted at birth."

Frisk looked behind her. Sans was there now, batting away the small vine that was touching her. He looked like he was in dialogue with the flower.

“Her,” Sans finally said. “Frisk and this world's Flowey. Where?”

Hmm. Frisk guided over toward Bellefont, picking her back up from the leaves.

“The flower?” Sans sounded irritated. He was using her language so she could hear. “Where is it and what happened to Frisk?”

“I don't know,” the flower insisted. “I know Chara. I watched Chara. I don’t know anything about the others.”

“Then why bother her at all?” Sans wasn't giving up.

They were both staring at each other.

“Why were you missing your world for soo long?” Flowey teased. “Had trouble finding your Frisk, Smiley Trashbag?”

What was going on? Why was he teasing Sans like that? “Quit.”

“Aww. Frisk feels bad for you. So sweet. Tender. FrAgILe.”

Why did he call her fragile?

“Stop talking to her like that!” Sans was angry. Way angry.

——————-

Freaking flower. He hated when it spoke to Frisk. It used her language just to belittle her. 'Listen. You want her to drop her guard. There is no other reason you'd tell a story out of the blue, Flowey.'

Flowey bopped his head. 'Just. Shut up.’

'Where is this world's-'

'Dead,' Flowey confessed. 'He had no soul. Couldn't make a single tick of EXP for her. He could leave nothing.’ His face grew creepy. 'So it's what I left BeHiNd FoR mYsElF. Get it?’

Nothing. ‘Frisk and her HP and EXP. Even her G. It was all 0.’ That was the nothing, except for the little note at the end. 66. It made sense the flower could write it. ‘Why didn't she remember killing it?’

'When I brought Chara to every other timeline, she couldn’t sneak back inside of Frisk. There was already a Chara present. It made it easier to take my time and find a way out. But when I brought Chara here, she joined with Frisk and succeeded. I came too soon, and she managed to join before the fall.’

Flowey continued. ‘She was ready and she fell next to her own grave, not on it. Still. It didn't last long before I pulled her away. Chara is at peace now, but she did have a score to settle with an unprepared flower at the beginning. You know. Me.’

'Oh. That explained it. There are still traces left behind too, isn’t there?’ The red eye when Frisk was falling, that was a sure sign.

'Yes, but Chara won't wake up completely as long as you stay Underground,' Flowey warned him. 'Keep her Underground at all costs or Chara will slaughter everything when she goes free.’

Yeah. That was troubling. ‘Tori was really trying to use Frisk to get everyone out peacefully.’

‘I know,’ Flowey admitted. ‘There’s a lot at stake in this timeline. I’ve been watching it.’

‘Yeah, but you just?’ No, no. There were definitely more flower secrets, any moron could see it. ‘We just found Bellefont. Why’d it take you fifteen years or so to find a place to stash Chara after Frisk fell?’

‘It didn’t. When Chara went into the mom? This timeline was ScReWeD. Chara tried to reset, but she couldn’t do it anymore. Some small portion of her had stayed safely in Frisk too, so it wouldn’t be perfect. Chara was too divided, and the reset messed up. She tried again, a smaller area, just in the area where she fell. Instead of backwards, she moved FuRtHeR into the TiMeLinE than she should have.’

Ohh. ‘Yeah, she jumped at least fifteen years.’ Now it all made sense. Fifteen year messed up reset in a small area. Got it. ‘Okay, so I dub you Flowey 36 now. Feel free to stay.’

‘I know about the stupid marriage and Frisk riding a bed,’ Flowey warned him. ‘If she marries and finds a way up there, enough of Chara could be in there.’

‘Then take out what’s left of Chara?’ What was so hard about that?

‘Sure. Just?’ His face contorted menacingly. ‘BrInG mE FriSk’s SoUl.’

Ooooh. Sans was starting to see why Flowey never took Chara back before. When Frisk was good, someone was always there for her. She could ask for help and someone would save her soul.

It was only when no one really cared that he’d be able to take it. Yeah. Right before Snowdin, after Tori’s death. Sure Flowey could help, but he was still a soulless flower. Sans shouldn’t let anything get that close to Frisk’s soul.

Frisk might have enough of Chara to destroy the world if she went to the surface. Maybe. If she fell on her butt, it was over. Sans had seen enough bad worlds to know what would happen. Papyrus. Undyne. All his friends. All of that death, it would happen and go on to kill everything on the surface. All Frisk had to do, was touch the ground. ‘Welp. Guess I gotta do this.’

Sans lifted Bellefont from Frisk. “Hey, Squirt.” He held her in one hand. She burped from the motion. “Ah, excuse you.” He bopped her up a little until she was hanging onto his furry coat collar. ‘This sucks, Flowey. Thanks for saving the timelines. Thanks for the warning. I still really hate you for this.’ Sans grabbed Frisk by her arm. “Sorry, Frisk. This is going to hurt both of us.”

Frisk looked confused at him. “What’s wrong? What did the flower say to you, Sans?”

Sans slowed down time, grabbed her wounded arm and poured his magic over Madjick’s. It was the equivalent of filling a jar with sugar, but then leaving running water over it. The sugar would rush out and would be replaced with water.

Madjick’s magic was drowned away by his. When time sped up, poor Frisk would hurt. There was no choice though. There was only one way to control and check how much Chara was in her, and how dangerous she was to the surface.

He stopped slowing down time.

‘Sans?’ She grasped her arm in pain, wincing. ‘What did you do to my arm?’

“I wiped out Madjick’s magic,” Sans said. She looked so happy, but she didn’t get it yet. “It means if you wipe out, you marry me instead of Madjick. So, it’s 3:00 now. Are we still on for Scrabble?”

Frisk just stared at him in disbelief as Bellefont just laughed in Sans’ arms.

“Uncle Sans finally made his move,” Phal interrupted. “I knew it.”

“He’s doing it ‘cause he doesn’t want Princess Frisk to end the world,” Sans said. “It’s not love. It’s strategy.” If it was love, he would have just wiped her off that skateboard a long time ago. Phal didn’t get it. “Let’s get back to the story.”

World 36 

—————————————

Sans. Sans.

Frisk put down her red piece for checkers. She watched as Sans immediately took it and another piece in such a quick move.

“King me,” Sans announced.

“King you? You’re already princing yourself.” She grabbed another black piece and stacked it on top.

“Oh come one, cheer up. Just don’t fall off the skateboard,” he insisted. “This couch is comfy.” He had been all outstretched on their couch. Bellefont was in the crib next to the couch.

Frisk was playing on the low end table, while keeping her balance on the skateboard. If she didn’t have to be on the other end of the-

“Hello!”

Frisk got spooked and nudged the skateboard on it’s side, making part of it curve upward. Luckily, she didn’t touched the floor. “Mom. Why are you calling like that from the kitchen?”

“Just checking on you,” her mother said. “Playing nicely with Sans?” She looked toward Sans. “Are you having a nice time with my daughter?”

“Super.” Sans gestured toward Frisk. “Your move.”

Why bother? Sans was a lot better at this game than Frisk thought. She wasn’t a genius at checkers, but it felt like with each move, she was losing pieces. Sans hadn’t lost any. She finally made a move. “You are really good at checkers, Sans. Sorry I’m not much competition for you. We can try another game later if you want.”

“That’s Frisk,” her mom said to Sans. “Always so sweet.”

“Yeah, especially since this game is nothing but a beat down on her.” Sans made another move. “Checkmate.”

Another game for sure. “How about Scrabble?”

“Just a second.” Sans pulled himself up off the couch, went over to Bellefont, and picked her up. He propped her up on him. “What’s Bellefont’s favorite word?”

Bellefont’s favorite word? She couldn’t talk yet.

He patted her on the lower back and she burped.

Frisk rolled her eyes. Really? Sans put her back down. It was impressive though, he knew that she had to burp. “You are good at reading babies.”

“I’m okay at reading living things,” he corrected her as he sat back down.

“Would you like a drink, Sans?” her mom offered as she came out of the kitchen again. “What about you, Frisk?” She tried to give her a beverage.

“Drinking and skateboarding don’t mix real well.” Frisk had to keep her concentration. Which was rudely interrupted again! She almost wiped out, but Sans had held her in air for a bit longer.

Sans was up and off the couch at the unexpected guest that almost flipped her off her skateboard. “Knocking on a door is what your supposed to do to enter, not knock someone off a skateboard.”

Frisk felt herself being heaved toward the kitchen. She was on top of the counter. Madjick showed up by the kitchen door and stared at her. Weirdly.

“My Magic?” Madjick glanced backward and followed Sans as he came to the kitchen. “My wife. What?”

“Yeah, you can’t sense your magic in her anymore,” Sans said to him. “That’s ‘cause I changed it. If Frisk falls, she’ll be mine instead. So, yeah? Let’s try not to bump her off her skateboard.”

Frisk watched as her skateboard rolled back over to the counter. She jumped back on it.

“You stole my wife!” Madjick blamed him.

“Not wife yet. Not until she touches the ground,” Sans corrected him. “Totally legal.” Sans and Madjick were both staring at each other for some time. Frisk knew for a fact they must have been talking.

Neither of them looked happy, and Frisk swore she heard each of them growl.

“Asgore ordered it!” Madjick yelled.

“Asgore can’t order someone to be another’s wife, that’s why me jumping over your magic can’t be illegal you mooch, don’t even try!” Sans yelled right back at him.

“Frisk, this way,” her mother instructed her. Frisk coasted out of the room with her skateboard. “Your um? Unofficial Ex Husband and Unofficial Husband are having a heavy-handed chat in there. It’s best we stay out here with Bellefont. We might even go to the store for a little while if it gets too loud.”

Too loud? Was Sans really kicking up that much with Madjick? Frisk watched her mother’s eyes and ears wince. Yeah, she was hearing a lot. “Okay.” She grabbed Bellefont and they left out the front door.

——————————————

‘What are you doing this for? You had no problem all month, and now you think you can just come in and do this to me?’ Madjick complained, trying to take a shot at him.

Sans countered. ‘Don’t shoot in someone’s home. Geez. Angry much? Someone with that kind of anger? Not a good match to Frisk.’

‘Wife stealer!’ Madjick warned him. ‘Do you think others in Snowdin will be happy with you when they found out what you did? I even agreed to pay off all your debts.’

‘Never took it,’ Sans reminded him. ‘Can’t get anywhere with that one. Even if you could, do you think I’d care that much? I’m trying to help a friend out of getting married to someone who duped her into marriage.’

‘Liar, liar, pants on fire,’ Magic accused him. 'That can't be true or you would have done this earlier.’

'Seeing her lose the bed today made me gain perspective,’ he continued to lie. Fooling Madjick wasn't easy. Sure, it was a bad deal to get duped into marriage, but she could run away. Nope, it was the possible destruction of his timeline making him take that risk. 'Chill out. Ask for a date with Frisk. Work slow, and if she starts to like you, then we can talk about overriding my magic.’

'I can override it myself,' Madjick warned him as he spun his wand.

No, he couldn't. Sans may be an easy 1 hp, but he had more magic than him. Few could override his magic. It wasn't something he wanted to brag about though. Asgore could help remove it if he had to.

If Madjick wanted to sink that low, then it was better to let him fail and knock Frisk down so Sans won her.

Sans wasn't striving to win her though. To get close enough to her to find out how much Chara was in there, that would be a close encounter.

But? No real rush. Frisk had it under control. 'Go away for now. Poor Frisk isn't into you because of how strong you came across. Your best bet is to just leave her alone.’

'This isn't the end,' Madjick warned him. 'I will give her time but you had better do the same thing.’

'I am not trying to knock her off the skateboard,’ Sans reminded him. He watched Madjick leave.

Finally. Now he could find out how bad he could beat Frisk at Scrabble.

——————

“No resetting to cheat,” Sans teased her. He was kicking butt at Scrabble. Meanwhile, Frisk was spelling but and mind and able.

Sans looked at the board. “Spell determination but you'll still lose. Can you spell ironic?”

“Why did you make it so you would get stuck marrying me if I fall?” Frisk asked from the counter. She was holding Bellefont while the table was scooted over for her. “Mom is out. I don't buy 'a good friend' or 'less demanding husband' excuse. Tell me the truth.”

Sans went over and picked up Bellefont. “Frisk may get her butt handed to her in these games, but she's still smart.” He put Bellefont up against him.

Frisk's head began to spun as Sans explained everything. “I did that? I killed a flower, and the spirit that made me kill, could still be in me? Once I reach the surface . . .” Terrible!

“Yeah. Marry me and I'll lie that we’re-”

Dang, he really didn’t expect this kind of stuff to pop up in a timeline of his at all. What could he use instead when this weird romance stuff turned up? Why was this weird romance stuff turning up more? He couldn’t say this stuff word for word. He began to read to himself again first before he’d tell the girls.

World 36

“Knocking boots if it comes to that. No kids, no surface. Better plan is to let me deep check your soul. If it isn't enough to take over, you can choose another guy for your husband.”

“Deep check my soul?” Okay. “I agree to that.”

“It involves you getting nekky.”

Nekky? “Necking?”

“You wish.”

Uh? Frisk felt her cheeks get warm. “Naked?”

“Part naked,” he admitted. “It's going to be awkward, let's put it that way. I got to really know your soul without that. Super well. So? Until so many years fly by that we don't care about that?” Bellefont cooed in his bony arms. “We'll just ignore it. I'm good at that.”

Okay, that sounded better. Let’s see, how to paraphrase it. “So Sans wants to check Frisk’s soul, and it’s like under one of those bathing suit areas, so it’s a little intense, that’s all.” That should be pretty good for them.

“Ooh, that’s a relationship alright. Boyfriends and girlfriends do that stuff,” Phal pointed out.

“Nah, they don’t check souls for nothing.” He started to read back out loud before she interrupted again.

World 36

So many years. “Sans. Determination still made me lose my bed today.”

Frisk shrieked as she was lifted into the air some unexpectedly.

“You'll naturally start to drift down over time. Make sure you come see me for another boost before you touch the ground.” Sans pointed to the ground. “About five inches off the ground. Not too high, not too low. Walk around.”

Frisk did as he said. It felt strange to walk on air. “Can I still sit down?”

“Sit down on air. Lie down on air. Ask Tori for a blanket and pillow tonight.” Sans put Bellefont back down. “Get used to it too. Husbandry isn't my thing. Thinking maybe ... another hundred? 200 years?”

Frisk smiled. “I'm thinking that sounds okay.” She looked toward Bellefont. Sans was pretty decent with her. If it were that long? Maybe okay? “How does it work with her?”

Sans looked back at Bellefont. “I just covered her,” he said. “It don't hurt that young, the soul is too new to know which end is up.”

Wow, fast cover. “Didn't want to get bugged by mom?”

“Nah, didn't want Madjick to do that and try to hold it against me. It'd be just a whole big complicated monster matter. Nipped it in the bud. So, back to Scrabble, Pacifist Floating Lady?”

Angie started to laugh. “You are making the princess float on purpose, Uncle Sans. That’s so you.”

Yeah, that would be. “Yeah, no marriage for like 200 years. That sounds about right.”

“She’ll eventually have to come down. Everyone still wants her married, so there’s going to be trouble,” Phal called out. “You should just accept you are getting a pretty wife, Uncle Sans.”

“Not me,” he threw out casually, “and he doesn’t want one. That’s why he’s making her float.” Back to the story.

—————————

World 36

Snowdin

Asgore walked up to Sans. ‘Hello, Sans. I’d like to talk to you about your fiance.’

Sans shrugged. ‘Busy watching for humans right now.’ Fiance? Heh, yeah right. More like talk about why he made it impossible for Frisk not to touch the ground, leaving everyone in limbo.

‘Well? Let’s discuss some aspects with each other. Undyne won’t mind, I’m sure of it.’ He faked a smile. ‘We need to discuss Frisk being held up in air against her will.’

‘It’s not against her will, she likes it up there,’ Sans corrected him. ‘Plus, it makes skateboarding a breeze.’

‘Wrong term then, more like against the human’s natural will. Your fiancee cannot fly. This is an unnatural stress against her.’ Asgore kept smiling, like Sans wouldn’t dare call him out on his bullshit.

‘Nah. She likes it. Her body is used to it too, she glides on that skateboard up and down like nobody’s business.’ Sans wouldn’t give in that easily. He seemed to have a little determination to do nothing. With the worst Frisk, Sans knew he tried to win by doing nothing.

With the sweetest Frisk, basically his Frisk? He had to try the same strategy to save his timeline. Except, instead of one of himselves holding her in an endless battle . . .

He just needed to hold her up from the ground. ‘Anything else?’

‘Sans, please? Someone must marry her and have children if we are ever to break out of here. Royal blood will allow the souls to survive outside the body for a few seconds. All of your children would be safe, it would take less than a second for the barrier to break and come back to them.’

Sans just shrugged. ‘I like, uh, my fiance.’ Heh. ‘I just don’t need kids always hanging around.’

‘You are holding Bellefont right now, Sans,’ Asgore pointed out. ‘You are quite well with her. I’m sure you’d make a great dad.’

Oh yeah. Sans looked at his arm. He was holding her for a bit again ‘cause she cried and Frisk and Toriel was busy. ‘I raised Papyrus from this age. So, more like a great brother.’ The father wasn’t even the tough part. It was what would happen after Frisk fell.

‘Technically, you are fiance to a princess,’ Asgore warned him.

What? ‘No, she’s not.’ Frisk never got married. That was the deal.

‘I have talked to Tori.’ Asgore was smiling too brightly. ‘She will take the throne, and I will be Prince Asgore. Pinning everything on Frisk’s marriage doesn’t seem to agree with her either.’

Oh no. Shit.

‘I have talked to Undyne about your job, since you are a potential prince, being married to a princess.’

Oh no. Double shit.

‘Technically, you are to be a prince soon when Frisk does fall,’ Asgore continued, ‘so I want you to start taking some royalty lessons.’

“Whoah, dude, this just turned into the horror genre.” Sans watched his nieces giggle but he wasn’t kidding. Damn. Prince lessons? Poor him.

World 36

Shit! ‘I gotta make money to support the future family,’ Sans lied.

‘Oh no, no. Royal duties means everything will be covered here.’ Asgore laid his arm on him. ‘No house bill. No debts. Everything will be taken care of, as long as you are following duties.’

Damn, damn, damn.

‘Frisk will also be taking lessons, no worries. You’ll see even more of your future wife during your lessons,’ Asgore said triumphantly. ‘Papyrus is so excited about it. He’s home and packing up.’

Crap.

‘After all, once I told him he would be the brother of a prince, ergo also royalty, he went ballistic with joy.’ Asgore patted Sans’ arm. ‘I’m sure by now you both are all packed up for the castle.’

No way. No way. ‘When do these lessons end at the castle?’

‘I don’t know. Queen Toriel will be running them.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve been King over a thousand years, and I’m sure I won’t like them either. But, I believe from the sound of it? She will be ready to declare lessons over . . .’

When Frisk fell and he was official. Asgore didn’t even need to say it.

‘If you don’t like it, Sans, you can help find another to be prince. However, when Frisk falls, the future will be written. Remember that.’ Asgore walked off. ‘I shall see you at the castle soon.’

Sans watched the snow. Enjoying it, just watching the snow. Just watching the snow. ‘Queen Toriel. Prince lessons. Aw, just dust me!’

“You said dust again, Uncle Sans,” Angie called him out.

Sans closed the book. “Not a better word than that. Don’t tell your dad.” Damn. That was terrible. The girls went to enjoy themselves for the last part of the night. He went to go watch TV for a little while, until he got a call from Papyrus. “Hey, Pap. Yep, kids are good. Yeah, I can keep watching them if it’s that important.” Papyrus thanked him, but didn’t say anything else.

Yet, he did sound off. He sounded off before he left for vacation too. Papyrus never just up or did anything. If he sounded off? Yeah, it’s gotta be something about Phal and Angie’s mom again.

He hoped good news, but it’d probably be bad news. If she was where they were afraid she had been? A little pistol like her wouldn’t live long.

Chara held her book. It was good the first two or three times, but now there wasn’t much interest in it. She looked down from her book at Mina sleeping across her lap. There wasn’t much room in the jail cell for the beds, and since Mina did save her sometimes, she never minded if Mina needed to stretch all the way out to sleep.

Abe was the same way. He usually looked away from his game to take her socks and shoes off for her, and place them under the bed. He was an odd guy, but caring in his own way. Gabe was on the other side of Abe, he was resting in the opposite direction of Frisk because he didn’t mind scrunching up.

Chara preferred the floor with a simple blanket and pillow whenever she did get tired. Abe just scrunched up like Gabe when he got tired.

Chara watched as Mina yawned on her lap and looked up at her. “Morning, Sleepybones. Head.” Habit. “Get enough rest?”

Mina moved herself up back between the two. “Yeah. I have to go to the bathroom. Anyone else?”

No, but Chara would take it. Asking things from guards was a Mina specialty. Usually bathroom breaks were on a routine, but if Frisk was asking, she could get that break. Abe just stood up too. Gabe was sleeping.

Mina went to the guard quietly. “Hello? Hey, Mike, sorry. My friends and I have to go to the bathroom. It probably wouldn’t be long. If three of us go now, there’s less to worry about later.”

Chara nudged Gabe’s foot to wake him up. “You want to get up for the restroom, Bud?”

Gabe groaned but he managed to get himself up. The more people went at once, the better the chances they could get through.

“Look, it turns out all four of us need to go,” Mina pointed out. “You won’t have to worry about it later. Work smarter, not harder, right?”

The guard unlocked the cell and took them down a ways to the bathroom area. It was only one bathroom, but he waited for each to go in and come out. When they returned to the cell, Mina kindly thanked him for his time.

He looked toward the others.

“Hey, thank you for me too, Prisoner 68. Gabe. If, you know names?” Gabe struggled.

“Thanks,” Chara tried to say without any kind of sarcasm. Hopefully she nailed it? She looked toward Abe.

“Just say thanks, Abe,” Mina whispered to him.

“Thanks, Abe,” Abe repeated.

“Just thanks,” Mina tried again.

“Thanks.” Abe got it this time. “Sorry.”

“Sorry that you had to go through the trouble he meant,” Mina covered. “Thanks from all of us, Mike. We’ll be good in our cells now.”

“Hey, can I get a new book yet?” Chara asked. “I’m getting bored of this one.”

“During item asking,” the guard said like an ass. “Mid-afternoon. It’s not me, and you just asked to use the bathroom.”

“Right.” Smile, damn it, try not to say ‘you are the biggest asshole’ with the smile?

“Uh? Chara has some unevenness in her jawline? When she smiles it looks like she might be baring her teeth? It’s just appearance, Mike. She’s being really pleasant.” Mina winked at him and shot two fingers playfully his way.

“Uh huh.” Mike didn’t reciprocate the smile back at all. “I’m not touching anything that might possibly be disability related, I’d get fired. It doesn’t mean I completely buy it, Mina.” He sighed. “You are good.” He walked away.

“You can get another book in the afternoon,” Mina told Chara. “The woman in the purple uniform, she always has something. Maybe Abe will let you play with a game system if you ask?” Mina recommended.

Chara leaned against Mina. “I hate it here. I don’t know how I’ve survived so far. I’m trying to hold onto my determination, but there’s no way we are getting out of here. I’m just surviving because why?”

Mina held her back. “Anything’s possible.”

“Yeah, I would feel that way if I didn’t know just what it would take to bust out of here.” She crossed her arms. “Who would be dumb enough to risk it?”

Chapter Text

Mina tried to make Chara feel better, but she had been there even longer than her. She didn’t have anything besides that book to read, and she wasn’t fond of books per say, but she used to enjoy reading things to her little girls she said. Chara’s husband apparently loved the same book over and over, but her girls always wanted a new adventure.

The longer Chara was there, the longer it was for her to act in a way that would help her survive as well. She needed a boost.

Mina went toward Abe playing his game. Normally she would have said something nice about his game, asked what level he was on, something to give her a little social interaction leverage. This was Abe though, he didn’t want that. “Move away from the game and help me.”

She watched him put the game up and look at her.

“I know you’ve got a plan with all the batteries you saved,” Mina said. “Chara is losing steam. Help.” She watched Abe get up and move over to the cell to the right of them.

“Hey?” Gabe called to him. “What are you doing?”

Abe ignored Gabe and spoke to them. “I need something.”

Everyone in the next cell looked over at him with a solid glare. Some were even sleeping when he interrupted them.

“You need something?” The nearest one stood up and came over. “We should do something for you? Man, you can’t even talk to a guard, you make your fucking sister do everything for you. You have never said one word to us, and you’ve never exchanged one damn thing in all the months we’ve been here. So no, fuck you! We aren’t giving you shit, creepy ass weirdo.”

Abe didn’t change his expression at all, just moved to the other side.

“Mina, what are you telling Abe to do?” Gabe said a little worried. “I can help him.”

“Just let him handle it,” Mina insisted. She believed in her brother, and the people in the next cell? Were pretty good people.

Last story of the night. The girls were all tucked into bed, so Sans dragged out the book one more time. “Not getting tired of this at all yet?”

“No,” they both shouted from their beds.

“Okay.” He began reading again.

World 36

Castle

Frisk adjusted her dress as best she could. ‘I feel like the freaking tooth fairy. Just give me a wand.’ She pushed her crown back too far, making it fall off. ‘Oops.’

‘Got it, Frisk.’ Undyne picked it up. ‘Glad it’s you and not me. Still, your mom won’t be happy if you destroyed any of the jewels in that cone thing.’

‘You’d be fighting ‘til your last breath if you got stuck in a huge puffy pink sparkly tutu dress like this.’ Frisk took the crown back. ‘This crown sucks too. It doesn’t match my style at all.’

‘You can dye the skateboard if it’s that big of a deal, Royal Highness.’ Undyne bowed. ‘This feels really weird. I chill out with the princess on weekends for gaming and anime? Pretty sure the new queen won’t let that happen anymore.’

No way, Frisk was not letting anything happen to that time! Frisk knocked the ribbon hanging off the cone on her head. Why couldn’t she have a simple crown like her mom? Why did she even have to go through this stuff?

Okay, so her mom hadn’t been pleased as pudding when she saw Frisk walking on air yesterday. It meant that falling was impossible and she’d never actually marry. Not for like a long time. But, well? I mean, Sans did expand her lifespan and Bellefont’s. Why did she have to be so mad?

She barely hid her cool about it while Sans finished Scrabble with her. Frisk let her cool off by going to Undyne and Alphy’s with Bellefont. Then the next morning, her mom went all the way to Sans’ house.

Frisk thought she’d be yelling, but she just gave him Bellefont, said ‘watch her’ because they were busy today. Sans had no choice but to agree. Then, Frisk was brought to the castle.

She waited in judgment hall for awhile. The royal guards fed her some monster candy and a cupcake. Then, when her mom came out all decked out in royal wear?

Yep. Frisk knew she as in trouble.

Frisk watched as her mom came around the corner. She was wearing royal clothes and her official crown now. “Hi, Mom.”

“Make sure none of your dress is being lifted by that spell of Sans’,” she warned Frisk. “Speaking of which your future prince will be here soon with his brother. Curtsy when you see him, Royal Highness.”

Curtsy in mid-air? “That might be the cause of my dress flaring up, Majesty.”

“Then you had better practice beforehand, several times,” her mother warner her. “Afterwards, I will be having a few words with your prince-to-be.” She opened a fanciful looking fan.

“You sure do have a bone to pick with him, I guess?” Frisk tried to joke with her, knowing her mom liked puns and silly jokes.

Not even a chuckle. “We’ll have some matters to discuss, yes. I will see you later, Royal Highness.”

Frisk practiced the curtsy with Undyne.

‘Showing.’

Damn. Frisk tried again.

‘Too much leg.’

Damn. Frisk tried again.

‘Try a different style, Frisk.’

Frisk drug her leg backward even farther to the side. It was harder, but finally nothing showed. ‘I hate this, Undyne. Isn’t there any way to make mom ease up about this?’

‘Sans’ was a smartass that made it impossible for you to fall, Frisk. The queen has a real problem with that, or she doesn’t like the fact you are filled with his magic but you aren’t his wife. Seriously, it’s probably both,’ Undyne told her. ‘If I had a daughter and she was filled with a monster’s magic that didn’t marry her properly, I’d be pissed as hell too.’

‘She didn’t mind before,’ Frisk countered her.

‘You are human. You can’t float. Eventually, you would mess up, and you’d fall. It might take a bit, but it’d happen,’ Undyne pointed it. ‘Sans made it impossible for it to happen. That’s a whole other ordeal to her, Frisk. I mean, Royal Highness. I’m not used to this either.’ Undyne touched the top of her head. ‘Fix the cone after the curtsy.’

‘I came as soon as I could!’ Alphys barreled into the room. ‘I heard the tragic news. I mean, great news. Are you okay, Frisk?’

Frisk gestured to the dress she wore.

‘So, no?’ Alphys looked at Undyne. ‘How’s Sans taking it?’

‘The fireworks aren’t here yet, but they will be soon,’ Undyne replied. ‘A thousand to one bet he’ll choose to just walk here instead of taking a shortcut?’

‘We are here!’ Papyrus voice roared triumphantly outside.

‘Nevermind, I forgot Papyrus would be here.’ Undyne grabbed Frisk’s hand. ‘Leave the scooter, Her Majesty won’t like it. Let’s go.’

——————————

Couldn’t just walk real slow, could they? No, Papyrus had to shortcut all three ‘members of future royalty’ there. Sans tried to adjust the stupid getup he had to wear. Once he went home, Papyrus was holding his new royal outfit, and wearing his new one under his battle body armor.

“Goo ga,” Bellefont said as she moved around on him.

“Goo ga to you too,” Sans said back. ‘Feel free to throw up. It’ll be an improvement on this.’

Sans watched as Frisk approached. She wore a big poofy pink outfit. She gave him the weirdest curtsy with her leg sticking out far to the side. She looked more like she was doing a situp. “So, I hear your mom’s a little mad, huh?’

Frisk scooted a cone that was on her head backward, but she didn’t greet him with the kindest of smiles. “You’ll see.”

Sans watched as Tori came out of the castle. She was wearing all of the royalty getup. He had to be as nice as possible. “Hey, Tori. What’s all this whole deal about?”

“What whole deal, Future Prince Comic Sans the Skeleton?” She answered back. “This is just your future wife greeting you the same way she will every day, until the day these lessons are over.”

Ooh. She was mad. Love the name she came up for him though, made sense. A lot of people probably figured that was his name.

‘Majesty!’ Papyrus saluted. ‘I am sorry, but you are mistaken. His name is Sanskrit the Skeleton.’

Crap! Well, of course Papyrus would cancel that.

“Future Prince Sanskrit the Skeleton,” Toriel corrected herself. “That name sounds much more suitable, thank you, Papyrus.”

“This story is getting scary.” For him. Now they were calling this version by the whole name? Damn.

“I think Sanskrit is okay,” Angie said politely.

“I don’t. I don’t like it, so I know he doesn’t like it.” Shoot. This was getting worse and worse.

World 36

“Okay, so for how long are these lessons gonna last?” Sans asked.

“In life, lessons are learned forever, are they not?” she asked him. “Let’s go talk privately, without the others first. Perhaps then I can address your question.”

—————————————

‘You are jeopardizing everything! Take your magic off of her so she will be able to have the ability to fall,’ Tori demanded.

‘Look, she and Bellefont are living a long and good life, that’s something.’ Sans was trying.

‘You have your magic over her, without being properly wed!’ Still super angry. ‘If it happened soon, it would be okay, but you took the magic of Madjick and pushed it out. She is covered in your magic, Sans!’

So? ‘Big deal, it’s just a little magic.’

‘She is also being floated by your magic,’ she said angrily. ‘You are showing to everyone Underground that she is yours, but she is not.’

Still so?

‘She looks like a . . . like a . . .’

Oh come on! How was he going to get through this story? Sans started to read to himself again. The fact Papyrus wanted this story, and none of the others, was really telling about how bad the others must be.

World 36

She was searching for the word. ‘My sweet Frisk looks like a whore.’

Hm? Well. ‘She did go from Madjick’s unofficial, to my unofficial . . .’ Yeah. Plus, he was using his magic to float her. ‘Nobody did anything with her.’

‘Marriage comes after intimacy, or right before it sometimes,’ Tori reminded him. ‘Which means going through two unofficials makes her look like she was at least with Madjick. However, you are flaunting your magic all over her, making her look like she’s been with you too. Both, within the span of about a month.’

Oooh. Yeah. Sans didn’t see it that way at first. From an outside perspective? ‘Princess Frisk looks like she’s been getting Frisky with other monsters back to back.’ Oops. ‘Well, I missed a puzzle piece. It happens.’

Yeah, that wouldn’t be good enough. ‘Until Frisk is properly wed, we will act as the royalty did above ground.’

Oh yeah, there was the deal. ‘You want me to be Prince Sans more now than I have to be when I’m not it?’

‘You can live back at home, without even having it attached to your name if you want,’ she insisted. ‘No royal airs. No royal duties will be forced upon you. No Sanskrit.’

‘There is something you’ve got in place so that I can’t just say no and walk off, right?’ Sans asked. There was no way anyone could force him to marry Frisk or take his magic off. They couldn’t conquer his magic either, it was inside her. Asgore could, but he wouldn’t want Frisk as a wife.

‘If you rebel against royalty, your family name will be shunned, and you will be banished outside of the kingdom to live on the outskirts of the barrier.’ She gestured to the right. ‘No civilization. If you come back, you will fight the royal guards if you do not come back to right the wrongs you created.’

“Pfffft.” Bellefont reached out for Sans invisible nose spot and patted it.

‘She took the words right out of my mouth.’ Yeah, that would keep him still. He’d probably just leave to another timeline, probably a parked one like the other him mentioned. He’d have to leave Papyrus though, and he’d be shunned for the actions too. He’d also leave Frisk in such a lurch that Asgore might take over his magic just to give it back to Madjick. There were ways to override forceful power.

Then his timeline would be in danger again. Still? Marriage just didn’t look . . . appealing. ‘Me here and her here together makes us look better ‘til Frisk gets married?’

Tori finally smiled. ‘Yes, you’ve got it.’ She reached for Bellefont from him. ‘Yes, Sans got it, didn’t he? Yes he did, Little Soul, yes he did!’ She gave her back to him. ‘There you go. Take your future little princess to your future wife princess. The Underground will want several pictures of the next royal generations.’

Sans knew what he thought of that as he felt Bellefont cough on his shoulder. ‘This sucks.’

‘Royal manners, Sans,’ she warned him.

Oh yeah. ‘This royally sucks.’

—————————————

Ugh. Okay, how to phrase all that to them? “So, um?” Hmm. “So Tori basically condensed it down to, uh, the fact that Sans uh?” Damn. “When he’s the real prince, he don’t gotta act like a prince. While he’s not prince, he has to act like a prince.”

“Why?” Angie just had to ask.

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Because if you keep questioning, it’s end of story.” There we go, that buttoned them up again. “Back to the story.”

World 36 

Frisk held Bellefont. She tried to smile like her mom wanted, but it was tough. It felt ridiculous. She would rather be on Mettaton’s show for anything but this! ‘So this is Princess Bellefont. Ooh, look at her all royally decked out. So sparkly! She matches her new mom,’ Mettaton said as he held out his microphone to Frisk. ‘Your Royal Highness, do you have anything you’d like to say?’

‘No.’

‘Oh, even a few words from the newest princess,’ Mettaton insisted. He looked toward Sans. ‘How about the future Prince Sanskrit?’

‘Meh.’

“Awagawagawwoooooo,” Bellefont said from Frisk’s arms. She reached for the microphone and tried to put her mouth on it.

Frisk tried to catch her when she saw it, but Sans was faster. They didn’t need Mettaton’s germs in her mouth.

Sans blocked the microphone and pushed it back to Mettaton. ‘There’s your statement. For those that don’t understand Princess Bellefont’s language it was Awagawagawoooooo.’

Mettaton just laughed. ‘Well, aren’t you funny Mister Future Dreemur!’

‘Really Dreemuring of another future right now,’ Sans answered back. ‘Skeleton.’

'Yes and it's never Mister for the new royals,’ the queen said as she came from the side. 'Some things will be changing.’

'Hopefully those changes are a wedding date, right audience?’ Mettaton said to the camera. He shoved the microphone at Frisk again. 'Any plans in the future?’

'No plans yet. One of them has nervous paws I suppose?’ her mom answered. 'Yet, everyone is still under one castle now.’

'That's right, we live at the castle,’ Papyrus said excitedly. 'Just like royalty!’

Frisk tried not to cover her face. The more Papyrus liked it, the more Sans would consider getting it over with. What would the excuse of not getting married even be? Her mother said they had to have one. A good one.

“We'll get hitched when Frisk's ready,” Sans said out of the blue. “I like her, but marriage is a long lifespan of devotion, and she’s human, so she’s not used to the idea of long devotion.”

Did he just make up the fact humans had a shorter lifespan that she wouldn’t be as devoted? She guessed it was a . . . good excuse. He wanted her to know it too, so he said it in her language.

“So while I love her, I respect the woman she be,” Sans said. “Unlike Madjick that held her down and just filled her with magic rudely.”

Very true. Yet, everyone started to act very bizarre after his statement. Shouting back and forth. What were they saying?

 ————

Really? “So, I gotta paraphrase again.”

“You are paraphrasing a lot,” Phal complained. “We are big girls. We know about death and killing. We are monsters, Uncle Sans.”

“Yeah, but I gotta stick to your dad’s rules,” Sans said. Death and killing was easier than this crap. He started to read to himself again. At this rate, he should probably just buy an actual princess book for bedtime.

—————————

World 36

‘Sans?!’ Tori grew red. ‘Correct that statement now!’

Sans seemed confused, then thought closer about his words, then he shook his hands outward. ‘No, nah, wait! I mean, Knight Knight and him and Asgore restricted Frisk to uh . . . uh, they just held her to . . .’

‘Magic in her arm,’ Tori said. ‘They forced magic into her arm.’

‘Right, yeah. Magic in the arm for marriage.’ Sans bowed to her, knowing he messed up big time. ‘Sorry, Majesty. The words got sticky.’

‘Sticky, indeed! I am sure there were a lot of parents covering or taking their little monsters out of the room,’ Mettaton said. ‘We are going to stay clear away from that now, no worries everyone!’ He waved at the camera, making his audience feel better.

‘Yeah. Sorry, everybody, just messin’ up words. Not used to royal ways yet,’ Sans answered. ‘Just? Wedding date is up in the air, like Frisk.’

‘Princess Frisk,’ Tori corrected him, still as mad as ever.

‘Yeah, Princess Frisk,’ Sans repeated after her. ‘Can I go now? I’m getting a royal headache.’

‘Sans, don’t start making puns,’ Papyrus warned him. ‘I don’t know what you messed up in your words, but don’t start making it worse with puns.’

Right. No one had spoken a word to Frisk since that whole slip up. “I am royally exhausted. I royally messed up. I have a royal skull ache and I’m ready to royally give out. Can I go to bed? Where’s my room?” Like he didn’t know.

He followed Tori all the way through the halls, through judgment hall, and up through the royal home area. She led them past the first two rooms, and to the last one. ‘Here. Princess Frisk will have the left. You may have the right. Bellefont takes the crib in the middle. Papyrus may sleep in the next room over. I will be at the other end.’

‘Where will I be?’ Asgore had been ignored or not well presented for some time.

‘There was a bed in the corner of judgment hall.’ Tori glared at him. ‘You can sleep there for awhile, Asgore.’

He didn’t seem to mind it.

———————————

Frisk looked at her side of the room. At Bellefont in her crib. At Sans basically looking back at her. “My short lifespan means I don’t know devotion well?”

“It worked,” he answered back. “You probably are stuck with me now.”

Damn it. “You’re going to make me fall?”

“Not right away,” he said. “There’s no way I can have that as an excuse and let you date other monsters. At least not right away. You’ll have to break my heart. That’d hurt Papyrus. Also, I’m not dealing with the castle or lessons forever.”

“Of course.” She knew that. This wasn’t his scene, and it wasn’t hers either.

“Only way out is marriage. When I make an honest human woman of you again, Tori will drop all the pretenses again.” Sans sat on the bed. “I’d rather be looking at snow right now than being here.”

“Yeah.” She knew that. “Are you sure there is absolutely no way that I can get out of this marriage thing?”

“Nothing that I know of,” Sans said. “I’m royally tired, I’m going to take a nap. Have a blast staying up with Bellefont.” He turned away and fell asleep. The Z’s coming from him a clear sign he was off to dreamland.

“Uh, so Sans just told Frisk he’d eventually end up marrying her, but not yet. He’s royally tired of all the crap they put him through,” Sans summed up. “That’s it for the night.”

“I don’t want her getting married to you,” Angie said to him. “You two don’t love each other yet. You’re like flirty with each other, but you aren’t ready to even say ‘I like you’ yet.”

“Not him, and not in love. Just in a tough situation.” That Sans wasn’t getting a choice. He’d pick the same thing. He closed the book and watched the girls try to go to sleep. How much longer would Papyrus be gone? What was going on? Did he need him right now? He wanted alone time to figure things out, so he couldn’t run to him.

As much as he wanted to go take care of his kid brother, this situation might be too big, if it ended bad. It was harder to read other skeletons, but he knew his brother was anxious about something. If it was Phal and Angie’s mom, he’d even move back in to try and help out.

But he couldn’t offer anything, until he knew anything. Until then, all he could do was make sure the girls were okay each day, until his little bro was ready to come back.

Abe looked at the other cell on the right. “I need something.”

There were only two people in that cell.

“What do you need?” one of them smiled.

“I need a book,” he said.

He looked through his things and held up a joke book. “I’ve memorized it by now, but it’s just a joke book. My other friend has adventure books, but he won’t part with them for anything. He’s used to being active and moving in new adventurous places. The time here is driving him crazy, his books help him latch on.”

“Do you have music?” Abe asked.

“On a phone that’s been dead for months,” he answered.

“You can rent a cd player, and the other guy can rent a cd to get music,” Abe said.

“Yeah, but everyone’s tried that,” the guy said. “Listen, Chum, you can’t plug anything in, and you can only rent an item for a day. It doesn’t include anything else.”

“Right," Abe said. “I have batteries for it, if you tell the next cell over, that I will give someone in there batteries, if they tell the next cell over that one that I need books. I need to get to cell 10.”

He looked a little shocked at Abe. “Hey, Fella, how did you get that? We only get an item a day?”

“Batteries are on a list of things that run out like food. Since they can be dead at the end of the day, they aren’t considered a rentable thing. I keep them,” Abe admitted.

“Whoah, hey!” He jostled his friend away from his book. “Hey, brother, we can actually watch like an adventure movie with this deal?” He and his brother moved toward him.

“They have dvd players with just batteries?” his brother asked.

Abe nodded.

“An adventure dvd. It’s the best thing I could get right now,” he said. “We’ll take the deal and pass it on.”

“Aw, thanks, man.” The guy cheerily said as his brother passed on the news. “That made my brother Farrisk real happy. Being caged up is not his element.” He held out his hand toward him. “Thanks.”

Abe looked at the outstretched hand and passed on the batteries.

“I meant a handshake, but this works too.” He smiled. “I’m glad you finally came over to talk. What’s your name? I’m Friskarino. That was my brother, Farrisk.”

“ . . . Abe.”

“Abe? That’s kind of a weird name, but I’m sure it fits you. Thanks for the batteries.” Friskarino said before he went back toward his brother.

Abe stayed there for fifteen minutes, until Friskarino came back over.

“So, you did get your message to cell 10,” Friskarino told him. “There is a person there with lots of books. You can have them for 64 batteries.”

“Okay. I want them,” Abe said. “I will give her 64 batteries for all of them. She needs to instigate the guard for the trade though.”

Mina stood back and watched him with pride. Her brother wasn’t the best at . . . many things, but when he had a plan, it almost always worked out. There was no way he was just guessing either, he'd probably spotted them at some point when they left to the bathroom. She even heard some of the others on the side that had cursed him asking for a deal too, to see if they could find some more books for him.

Abe just ignored him, and he rightfully should. Abe never spoke to them, but he never cursed them out, and he was never mean to them.

Mina watched as the guard opened the door and put a stack of books in Chara’s hands, put the batteries in the exchange in a box and walked away.

Mina watched Chara dump them to the side, go toward Abe, and hug him. She tried not to chuckle as he was left just stunned. He didn’t know how to handle the hug. She went over toward him. “Say you're welcome,” Mina told him.

“You're welcome,” Abe said to Chara. She went and ruffled his hair playfully.

“You actually did awesome,” Chara thanked him. She looked down at all the books. “Mystery. Horror. Popular authors. Authors I don’t know. Fuck, this is a shitload, Abe!” She laughed. “If I weren’t married, you’d be in trouble tonight,” she winked.

“I shouldn’t be in trouble. I gave away a lot of batteries for that,” Abe answered.

Mina wouldn’t bother explaining it.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t really have a bone in your body that compares to my hubby,” Chara said, “but I do really like these books. Thanks.” She picked up a big pink book. “This book is a medieval one with a crown and a princess. This would so be up my girls’ alley.” She smiled as she sat down and cracked it open. “Maybe I should check if they might like it.”

Right, because one day, she’d get back. Chara was starting to snap back into some hope again. Mina smiled at Abe, who was still clueless on what to do. He just sat back down to play with his game again.

Chapter Text

Sans started the day helping the girls to get to school. He already knew from a little look ahead in the book, he’d have to read some first again by himself. It was still World 36, but it was a different Sans that just came in. He had to go back in the story to figure out where another Sans had been.

In World 66, that Sans was watching the prisoner Frisk. He wouldn’t be bothering another timeline. The Sans that took his world back in the beginning, he probably didn’t want to move away either.

That only left one. The Sans that visited World 66 and flung Frisk to the wall. Yeah, he’d have to read it first before the kids got home. He trusted most of himselves, but different situations made some of them a little harder to predict than others.

——————————

World 36

Sans found the flower first. After having a brief conversation with it, he knew where the strange Frisk had been. He took a shortcut to the castle. ‘Judgment Hall.’ That was a hell of a battle that took place there in different timelines. He almost had to face it himself.

Frisk stopped though. Around Hotlands, it quit murdering. Went on. Took out Asgore. Moved on. Sans didn’t understand why, which explained the reason he did what he did.

He wasn’t lost from his timeline, he just didn’t see why he should stay. There was no more Papyrus or Undyne. No one in Snowdin. Only part of Waterfall residents. Hotland was okay. The rest was fine, but no Asgore. It was rebuilding, trying to repair itself again after all those years.

He visited every once in awhile, hoping for more clues himself. Not much though. He mostly went from timeline to timeline, to find everything he could about Frisk, and to stop Frisk from ever hurting any more timelines.

The Frisks now were either good and living far away on the surface, or bad and dead. This one though, that he was hearing about?

‘Congratulations, future Prince Sanskrit!’ an old friend, long since dead in his timeline, called to him. ‘I was coming all the way from Snowdin to wish you luck. Hope you marry her soon.’

Heh. Interesting? ‘Likewise, Buddy.’ He winked. ‘So, I’m at the castle, huh? Gonna marry Frisk, am I?’

‘Well, when she doesn’t feel so nervous about the wedding,’ his old friend said. ‘I’ll be there at the ceremony of it, so save a spot for me.’

‘Will do.’ He waved to his old friend. He hated the feeling of talking to those who were dead in his timeline. He headed onward to the actual castle part. If his self was there, that’s exactly where they’d be. In the part that felt like a home.

As he walked in, he watched her. Frisk. She was decked out in the royal wear of a princess, strolling on air, carrying a baby? No way. That was his magic.

“Hey, Sans.” She went over toward him. “I’m bored. Mom won’t let me leave the castle.” She handed the human baby to him. “Bellefont missed you.”

Sans brought the little one closer. It cooed and held onto him like it knew him. She had a lot of corruption inside for some reason. Drooly too. She had fidgeted around on him until she reached down for the scarf he tied around his waist. His brother’s scarf.

The little human, he could feel magic in her too. Too young to know it, it seemed like it was there just to improve her life span.

“Bellefont.” Frisk caught Bellefont as she managed to reach his brother’s scarf, tumbling more downward. “Naughty girl.”

Bellefont had grabbed the scarf and started to shove it in her mouth. Frisk was trying to help make her let go.

“It’s okay, I can . . .” Sans took off the scarf around the waist, so they could help get it out of her mouth better. He hadn’t removed it since the day he put it on.

He took Bellefont back again with the scarf now in his hands. “That was . . .” Papyrus’ scarf, but he didn’t want to take it from her. It felt right being in her hands. She felt like family.

“That’s Papyrus’ scarf again.” Frisk tried to take it away. “He’s not going to be happy about that.”

Oh no, she got it wrong. He would be. His Papyrus would be happy someone innocent and in good spirits had it. “He don’t mind much.”

“Are you okay, Sans?” Frisk asked. “You sound sad. Is this royalty lessonage gonna be too much? I know you’d rather be with Papyrus at your own house watching for other humans.”

“Yeah, I would be.” She got that completely right. “It’s not an option anymore.” He watched as she started to pat his head with the ribbon she wore on her cone.

“You’re sweating,” she said in concern. “I’m sorry. This is harder on you than I thought.” She groaned. “Okay, if it ends up being too hard, I’ll agree to marry you.”

Marry him. “Hang on two seconds, Frisk.” He gave the baby back to her and pulled out his map.

World 36. It was a parked dimension. Hang on, there wasn’t a real Sans for this timeline? How did his other self get this involved? No Sans should be making huge waves in a parked dimension. “Can’t believe this all happened to me. It feels like I was just minding my own business.”

Frisk just looked at him confused. “I guess . . . in a way. I mean, if it wasn’t for you, I would have ended up married to Madjick. I definitely didn’t want to have a ton of wizard kids.” She moved Bellefont’s hand lightly. “Everything changed once she fell down, didn’t it?”

Oh, so that’s where the little human came from? “Yep.” That name too. “I named it.”

“Yes. I wish that was all you had to do. I’m sorry all this happened.” Frisk smiled. “Sorry I keep saying sorry too.”

“Yeah.” She was polite. Sweet. Without that other spirit, Frisk seemed great. She seemed . . . she never left the Underground. Never met the flower. Where did she grow up? “Home still feels like around the ruins.”

Well, from the way she expressed herself? Maybe she was raised by Toriel.

“Definitely, I miss home,” she said.

“With Tori?”

“Yeah. Mom feels different here. I know it’s a short time, just until this marriage mess is cleaned up,” Frisk said.

Ah. Yeah. The Sans here, he still had a Papyrus somewhere out there probably. He was just parked. A poor Sans got into one hell of a situation. Meanwhile? He himself, didn’t have anything to lose. Not only that, but this Frisk? It was a good Frisk. Not an insane, weird Frisk with a spirit corruption to her soul. It grew up with a nice person, and was even weirdly a princess.

There was nothing back at home for him. This Sans was parked, but got stuck in a sticky situation. The parked Sans, had a mission to find his own world. Sans, knew his world. It was empty.

So empty. He saw Bellefont trying to reach for the scarf again. Yeah, screw it. This was best for everyone. He grabbed Frisk’s hand. “Come with me, Frisk.”

———————————

World 22

Frisk didn’t quite know what to do as she looked around. This wasn’t the castle. This wasn’t even really home. She could feel it. She could see it. She was in front of Grillbys, but no one was there.

She felt Sans pull her along. They were going to his and Papyrus’ house. It was dark with no lighting. She held tighter to Bellefont. This was strange. “Sans? This doesn’t feel right?”

“That’s because there are a lot of monsters missing, Frisk.” Sans turned back around as he turned the lights back on. “In another timeline, this place used to look a lot like your home.”

Her home?

“You are from world 36,” Sans told her. “This is world 22. Do you get what that means?”

Wait. “Different timelines.”

“So, that Sans did share something with you? Man, that kid must have rocked the Underground alright.” He went over and took her. “Bellefont. A pretty surface name, huh? Heh, the surface. Interesting state of mind I must have been in.” He bopped her around a little, just like her Sans had done before.

He came over closer to her. “The person that was you here. Do you know what that Frisk did, huh?”

Oh. Sans told her about that. He had to when he tried to marry her. “ . . . another version had something attached to it.”

“Yeah, but you don’t got it.” That Sans just chuckled. “The only one that don’t got it. Amazing.”

Oh, but? “I might.”

“What? What do you mean that you might?” Sans didn’t look friendly anymore. “What might?”

Frisk swallowed. However, she had to tell the truth. Hiding the truth never lasted for long, Momma taught her that. “The Sans from my world thinks that Chara was once in Bellefont. When she fell, so did her parents. Her mother gave her life to save her, and Chara felt empathy. She went into her mother, and left Bellefont.”

“Well, that explains that corruption, but not you?” All of this Sans’ niceness seemed to have bled out. “What about you?”

“Well, when I was falling.” Boy, he had his little twinkle lights in his eyes out. All dark. Staring straight at her. “Chara took me over at first and killed a flower. A different version of that flower resnagged Chara, and pulled her upward. I think.” Still dark. “If she’s in me, it’s not that much. Most went into Bellefont?”

“You didn’t fall. At the same time as a kid. Than Bellefont was.” His eyesockets. Still pure darkness. “Born. Don’t Lie.”

“I-I didn’t,” Frisk promised. “It started with me falling at the same time as Bellefont, but because of the corruption in separation of soul, Chara tried reset and it didn’t work right. Instead, she fell fifteen years into the future.”

It didn’t feel good. This didn’t feel good or safe. This Sans, this world, it was very different from hers. “C-can I go back home now?” Royalty lessons. She wouldn’t complain about royalty lessons anymore. If he would just stop staring at her.

“You can restart it all over again.” Sans moved closer, but Frisk felt frozen. “You act all sweet and innocent, reach the surface, and blammo. Instant eradication of everything and moving on into another timeline all over again!”

Gaw! He seemed really scary now. What should she try? Try something. “Heh, well, that’s the only reason to ever want to get married, amirite?” Ooh, that was a tricky ACT. “My Sans has more control over, you know, the children having part so I can’t reach the surface. Madjick wanted children right away. He knows to be careful.” ACT of explanation?

“Oh yeah, his world is happier. Still has everyone, just didn’t break the barrier.” He seemed to have snapped out of his rage that was quietly building in his eyes. “That’s still risky and he knows it.”

Risky? “I mean, it takes two to make a kid?” If she didn’t agree, there was no kid. If Sans lied to others, there’d be no kids.

That Sans just chuckled. “If you have everyone, it means tech is still working without a hitch. You can have kids with tech. Male monster stuff, human female stuff, under a microscope kind of thing instead of date and late night exercising.”

Huh?

“He’s holding you hostage right now,” that Sans said. “He’s going to check your soul deeply when he’s ready. If he sees the spirit in there too much, he isn’t going to lie forever. He’ll just take you out, and I don’t mean on a date.”

Huh?

“Yeah, that explains the ass move of just leaving you hanging. He’s building up to checking, while your defenses are low. What, do you think any monster would just let Madjick ‘suddenly have a ton of kids’ with someone who clearly wasn’t into him? Nuh uh. Monsters protect each other, you know? He’d be forced to use the not natural way, and it would be okay.”

Huh? But? “The not natural way? So, I would just be . . .”

“Shoved onto an experimental table? You bet,” he said with almost delight. “Still? Marriage, it would never be my thing. Once the other me checked you, if you aren’t a threat, he’ll just toss you to Madjick anyway.”

What?

“He would have before it happened. Not any different. Like some good version that has Papyrus would want anything else? Especially in that world, boy! Prince. That’s a new kind of hell for someone like me.” He chuckled. “Yep, you are boned either way. Get it?”

Hmph. “Not quite,” Frisk said, refusing to give into that explanation completely. “He wasn’t marrying me right away, so that I can date and find a better husband I actually like.”

He just laughed. “Sure he is.”

Yep. “This is the kind of proof I needed to show him.” Frisk took Bellefont back from that Sans and held her back in her arms. “You might all technically be him, but it is nature vs. nurture. You can’t just replace you with just any you. Sans is a lot more subtle and sweet, less dark than you.”

“Oh yeah?” That seemed to only piss him off. “Well, why don’t you have some kid come down and eradicate most of the people he loved and grew up with, including an innocent brother that never did a damn thing wrong, leave him in that kind of world for fifteen years straight, and you can see how he changes!”

“Knock it off.”

Frisk saw the Sans she knew behind that timeline Sans. He was definitely him, in his royalty clothes and everything. ‘Thank you for coming, Sans.’

————————

“Don’t mention it, Frisk.” Still, Sans didn't like the look of the situation as he tried to adjusted the stupid fluffy collar on him. This Sans was talking Frisk’s slow language the whole time? It better be because he liked the slowness of it. ‘Hey, other me? Why did you think taking my Frisk and mini-human was a good idea?’ Sans complained. ‘I don’t ever do that. None of myselves did that. We stick to our own mess. If we do mess up, it’s not on purpose. This seems pretty purposeful.’

‘I thought it was a parked dimension?’ that world’s Sans remarked to him. ‘It shows it on my map.’

‘Then your map needs an upgrade. I found my home. I’m the Sans of world 36,’ Sans told him. ‘Even if it was parked, nobody takes anything out of the worlds. Parked or not. Pretty bad manners.’

‘Oh yeah. I was trying to help, sorry about that,’ that Sans said. ‘I figured a Sans just ended up in that mess in a parked dimension.’

Oh yeah. ‘Oh, I get that. That makes sense. You should have talked to me first though, and you’d see I was okay with my mess.’ It was a huge mess. ‘Why did you want my mess?’

‘This world.’ That Sans was sad. ‘No Papyrus.’

Oh. Loneliness. ‘The magic in Frisk and Bellefont. Has a homey feel I guess, if you haven’t had it in awhile.’ That was it. He wasn’t randomly helping. That magic in them that created that longer lifespan, it gave off the feeling of family. He wanted Frisk and Bellefont to ease the loneliness. They were both good at that.

Even he had some loneliness. Going from a perfect ending surface to a good ending with no surface. There was a much greater difference between the bad endings though. Especially without Papyrus. ‘Frisk is risky.’

‘Yeah, I get that now,’ he said. ‘She told me the truth. You put magic in her to prevent her having kids. Love the bullshit straight to the face. You know royalty will interfere if you don’t have kids. You know you don’t really want to get married either.’

Ugh. Couldn’t ever hide anything from himself.

‘If that thing is inside of her, you have to kill her. If it isn’t, you plan on giving her back to Madjick. Right?’ He winked. ‘Come on, you can tell me. I am you.’

‘I was gonna let her date around,’ Sans reasoned. ‘but then Tori got super pissed about the magic but not married thing and is forcing prince lessons until I do.’ He groaned. ‘Frisk is good, she’s been raised to act like a real princess by Toriel for fifteen years. She's sweet, polite, and if it wasn't for Undyne's influence she'd be a straight up goody two shoes that'd be too sweet for anyone to handle.’ He glanced at his other self. It wasn’t a good idea, he knew it, but he didn’t want to kill her. ‘She’s only dangerous if she reaches the surface. The spirit won’t come out until then. Since there’s potential to reach the surface in my time, it’s dangerous. It’s not for you, I guess?’

That Sans nodded. ‘If she’s dangerous only because of that, I’ll take her and Bellefont. It would be nice to feel family around here again. There’s no royalty that will make me have to have kids.’

Right. ‘Toriel would be sad if I took her family though.’

‘You could give one back. You know the story of world 66?’ the other Sans reminded him. ‘She could break the barrier. No more Chara inside, just sitting locked away. That Sans would probably give you her.’

‘He also really likes her,’ Sans let him know. ‘He pretty much let me know that. It’s a bad idea.’

‘He also has a Papyrus though?’ that Sans reasoned.

No. No, it wasn’t right. ‘Frisk and Bellefont don’t equal Papyrus. I’m not saying you could have her because I see her as some kind of equal equation. I’m saying that because I don’t want to end her life only because she has too much spirit shoved into her.’ He should get that. ‘I like my timeline Frisk.’

‘Yeah, I see your point I guess,’ that Sans agreed. ‘I like your timeline Frisk too. She’s sweet. I’ll take that deal, but I don’t want to keep hanging on to the thought I might get a sense of family back. It's lonely out here. It's real lonely. It’s not right to do that to the heart, you know?’

Yeah. It would be kind of tough to be left in that limbo. He knew he couldn’t handle it long.

‘Three hours. If it’s longer than three hours, then I’m not taking her and Bellefont after that. Deal?’ The other Sans held out his hand. ‘Deal?’

Three hours? Yeah. If she wasn’t going to survive with him, then it was better to get it over with faster too. ‘Deal.’

——————————

Aw man. Sans ate his sandwich as he finished reading it. Why would Papyrus really want him reading this one? He knew he wouldn’t be some lovey dovey guy, but he missed something altogether. He probably would have recognized it if he was more personally involved.

Yeah. It wasn’t love between those two. Sans was gonna have to kill that Frisk, or give her up.

Chapter Text

World 36

When they arrived back home, Sans could see a lot of confusion in her face. “You okay there, Frisk?”

“Evil spirit.” Frisk rocked Bellefont. “Everyone keeps saying evil spirit, and it’s easier to think of it like that. But? If she felt empathy and took over Bellefont’s mother. She was happy I took Bellefont. Her spirit felt eased.”

Hm? “So, what’s wrong?”

“Then it wasn’t completely evil. It was corrupted, and it couldn’t be just corrupted. It needed to feel something evil to get that corruption.” Frisk was deep in thought. “Am I a bad person deep down?”

Oh. She was figuring stuff out. “I met another one of you out there. Good Frisk, that was bad. Remembered being bad,” Sans told her. “She told me something. That any Frisk could make the mistake. All that was needed to start it was a simple dusting. She said she hated froggits. That natural fear is probably what started the whole thing up in the first place.”

“I want to fix it,” Frisk said.

Sans was shocked and then tried not to laugh. “Not possible, Frisk. Do you get what genocide is? You wiped out huge numbers of monsters.”

“You said you got a good ending,” Frisk reasoned. “There are bad endings and good endings. Some in between as well because I was in an in-between. Wasn’t I?”

What the heck was she spouting about? “What are you talking about? Monsters are dead, Frisk. There are no such thing as all 100 timelines getting a solid perfect ending. Even this one, we never reached the surface.” Probably never would.

“It’s not perfect. No world is perfect,” Frisk said, “but each world should have something to be thankful for. If a Sans can pull me into a timeline with no problems, than others should be able to too. I want to help.”

Nuts. “You can help by letting me deep check your soul.” Naive, sweet, and if he had to destroy her, then he’d rather give her away quickly. He was already really attached to her. More attached than he wanted to be. More attached than he wanted to admit. 

“We should talk to Mom and Papyrus,” Frisk insisted. “We should explain the timeline mess.”

What? “No, hell no!” Papyrus was not going to know he was missing for 15 years! “Nuh uh, he’s happy in bliss.” Naive and sweet was getting to be annoying real fast. ‘Keep that shit up and I’ll dump both of you to the other me now instead.’

‘Dump both of us?’ Frisk asked. ‘You mean me and Bellefont, if we are dangerous?’

‘So I don’t have to kill you? Yeah,’ he went ahead and said. It wasn't true though, he would have never killed her. He would have figured a safe place to stash her. 'Now, I have a destination instead. So straighten up, okay? I need to get this done.’

‘Get what done?’ Frisk was looking at him, almost sideways.

‘I need to deep check your soul. If you’re fine, then you stay here. If you’re not, then you are going over to that world you were just at,’ Sans admitted.

‘But, mom is queen?’ Frisk pointed out. ‘If we tell her-’

‘People don’t need to know about timelines. They can’t travel to them, only certain monsters,’ Sans assured her. ‘We don’t mess around in other timelines without permission. That’s that.’

‘Rude,’ Frisk said as she crossed her legs. ‘Sans the Skeleton, Mom is only aggressive because of what you did. If she knew why you did what you did, things would be better. Papyrus should know too, you shouldn’t just hide the truth. Things get worse with lies, not better.’

‘How can you just-?’ Nuts, completely nuts. ‘Put Bellefont down in the crib. I’m getting this done.’ Especially if this crazy talk wasn’t his burden. The other Sans could deal with it, and his life could get back to normal. That would be better. So much better. So, so much better to be alone with his own problems. Didn't have to hear her pretty voice. Didn't have to . . .

He couldn't take it any longer. ‘My bed, Frisk.’ He sat down on it. If he had to lose her, he had to lose her now. 

Frisk put Bellefont away, slowly. She walked over to him and sat on the bed. ‘I guess this has to get done one way or the other. What do you have to do?’

‘Pull up your shirt, I need to check your heart with my hand.’ He kept his voice steady, willing himself to close his eyes.

‘Check my heart, that’s it?’ He felt Frisk grab his hand and place it over her skin. ‘It’s right there. I don’t need to pull up my shirt, just adjust my shirt and bra.’

Sure, say it sooooo casually. ‘Fine, now quiet.’ Sans tried to steady himself. The heart and soul were connected, if there was too much Chara to take over, he’d feel it. Hard to concentrate with his hand pretty much on the upper side of her breast. Skin. It was a weakness to skeletons. Opposite attraction. Lumps of skin, that was just- ‘Trying to concentrate.’

‘Y-yeah? Sorry if it’s beating too fast. No one touches me there.’

That wasn’t helping. Okay, looking for a spiritual tie. Something than Frisk. Anything filled with vendetta. Anything at all. He adjusted his bony hand, swearing he felt something move. Was it anything?

‘S-s-sans?’

Where did it go? Geez, it moved down pretty fast. The area of the heartbeat wasn’t all he needed.

“Are you done yet?” That wasn't Frisk's voice.

All connection lost as he opened his eyesockets and removed his hand from Frisk. Queen Toriel was there at the door. Shit. ‘I should have warned you, I can’t sense much of the outside world during deep check. You needed to speak up faster, Frisk.’ “Hey.”

“Hi, Mom!” Frisk’s voice up high. “Sorry, I was in a moment with my almost husband.” She was adjusting her shirt. “Almost married. He was too into it to hear the knock. I was a little too . . . breathless to-to yell back.”

Ah. “Heh. Ah, yeah? C-can we help you?” Damn, that was the thing about language. It could stutter and sound weird. Easier to catch lies and bad things. ‘Sorry, she’s right. Into the moment.’

“I don’t need details.” Still, she wasn’t happy. “I am sorry for interrupting. I wanted to make sure you were comfortable enough in your room. It used to have smaller owners.” She cleared her throat. “You are almost married, Frisk, I don’t mind. I just hope the almost married soon turns into married soon.” Now she was getting happier. “The pitter patter of little grandchildren’s feet hitting the floor. After the marriage, I will keep everyone away from this door for at least a month, I promise.”

“I don’t need that much alone time,” Frisk said to her.

“Oh no, after marriage you can have all the alone time you need,” she said happily. “I promise, you could walk around naked and no one would disturb you.” She waved. “Have fun. I will see you soon to go over in detail what your first royal lessons will entail.”

She closed the door finally.

‘Did you find anything?’ Frisk asked. ‘Sans? Did you find out anything?’

‘A whole month of you being nekkid? Oh no, she’s not shooting for kids fast at all, is she?’ he teased. ‘I thought I did, Frisk. It was creeping down. I tried to go lower but Tori came in.’

‘Yeah. I know you did.’ Frisk cleared her throat. “I’m done?”

‘No, I was interrupted. Loosen your shirt and bra again.’ Deeper, it was deeper. ‘It’s not exactly on your heart, Frisk. The soul travels through you, but it’s most often found on the heart.’ He was hoping she’d grab his hand like last time.

‘Sans, just stick your hand wherever, this feels weird.’

Oh, great, he had to do it? Sans glanced at her. Her top was pulled down some. So was her bra. She was closing her eyes. This felt stranger. ‘Just plunge it in?’

She didn’t answer. He looked toward the door. It was locked this time, probably by Frisk. He looked over toward Bellefont. She was playing with the old royal mobile above her.

He placed his hand at the top. He felt nothing. He felt something lower, but he didn’t know if that was the spirit or not. He moved down a little lower. A little lower.

Geez, Frisk was soft and round the lower he went. Maybe he should try another direction? Could be to the left or right. Instinct kept pointing him to lower though.

He ran across something that definitely jabbed at the soul somehow. It wasn’t evil though, and the feeling seemed to jab at him too. It was rougher in texture, but not real rough. Interesting texture. What part of that was Frisk?

He rolled his bony finger back and forth on it, it was getting harder. Huh. That shouldn’t have anything to do with the soul, did it? The soul seemed to be getting jabbed again though. Why did the soul keep getting jabbed because it wasn’t a bad jab, it was a good jab, and he swore his soul was feeling a good jab too.

“Sans, what the hell already!?”

Whoah? Was that sweet Frisk actually cursing? Sans opened his eyesockets and saw his hand plunged all the way across the-

He backed off. ‘Sorry.’

Frisk wasn’t having it. She wasn’t happy at all. “Clearly,” she growled. “There is nothing down there.”

‘Nah, there is. It’s further down I think.’

“Then check out further. Check my tummy.” She still didn’t sound like she was in a good mood, but she fixed her shirt and bra, and then lifted her shirt a little bit.

There. That was pretty good. Having enough story to actually read to the girls was tough, no wonder Papyrus kept repeating paraphrase. He wrote down some notes this time, to make sure it felt like a real story. They’d probably want the next chapter right after school. He’d also have to get a beat for how grown up the girls had been. This wasn’t a quick story from a night anymore, they were deep into the characters of this story.

People dying the first night, eh. They would be crying their eyesockets out by now if Princess Frisk bit the big one.

When he went to pick them up, they came home, relaxed about half an hour before Phal started begging about the story.

Sans went and grabbed the book. “It got into other worlds again, but I think it’s fine from this part on. You just missed another Sans coming in. He lost a lot in his world, and because of the other Sans’ magic, Frisk and Bellefont felt homey.”

“So?” Phal asked. “Princess Frisk and Bellefont belong to that worlds’ Sans. Did her Sans get her back?”

“Yeah, but, there’s something you don’t get,” Sans pointed out. “This corruption in Frisk is really dangerous. End of the world dangerous. Sans has two choices so far, he’s either gotta end her life, or give her away, depending if he can find enough of the evil in her.” Yeah, they didn’t look happy. “This is real, guys. This might be a big girl story with a big girl ending. Are you sure you want to continue?”

They both nodded their heads.

“I want to know how it ends for Princess Frisk,” Angie said. “Even if it isn’t a happy ending. I’ve invested too much time not to know.”

“I hope she has a good ending, but I’m a big girl,” Phal agreed. “I just want to know too, Uncle Sans.”

“Okay then.” Sans opened the book to his notes. “So, Sans is checking his Frisk for the evil right now.” He began to read from that point.

World 36

Tummy. Right. Sans put his hand on her tummy. Oh, there it was. ‘Found it.’ It wasn’t much, and it didn’t feel too evil. He kept his hand there for a few more minutes, to make sure he felt her whole soul. Although, he did feel more emotion coming from the soul, he knew that was coming from Frisk for probably starting from the top, when it was by her tummy the whole time. Yeah, that was his bad.

Anyway, the whole thing? Pretty mellow. ‘There is a little of something that doesn’t match with your soul. I think it might be Chara, but that whole empathy for Bellefont’s mom seems to have changed it.’ He moved his hand away. ‘You’re safe.’

‘Great. You aren’t going to just give me to Madjick, right? Your other self, he said that you would,’ she said. 'That's not true, is it?'

Well? ‘I can’t really just have you dating now since your mom pulled this royal lesson stunt. She’d never condone it.' However, no way. 'Nah, I don’t think Madjick would be the best for you either. He's too possessive.'

“Tell Mom the truth,” Frisk demanded. “Tell her why you did this so she can help us.”

Not this again. ‘I am not telling her about other timelines. I am not telling anyone. I told you because you understand reset. That’s it.’

“This involves more than just you, Sans, this involves me too.” Frisk still wasn’t cheery.

You’d think she would be by now. Rubbing up on her left her mad still. ‘I didn’t mean to rub up on you the wrong way. Or the right way? I don’t know, I was getting confused, your soul was sending mixed signals with your body.’

“Get past it, that’s not what I’m talking about.” Still, she scrunched herself up more on the bed. “We are talking about my future here. Are you really going to stay quiet and stick with this whole marriage deal with me, just because you don’t want Papyrus to find out about the timelines?”

‘Yeah.’ Easily.

“How long were you really gone, Sans?” She had to ask it. “You said a long time, but how long is long?”

Sans stood up. ‘Long enough that another Sans that went through here was probably a better brother than me. Many of them. I’d rather get stuck as Prince Sanskrit and a marriage, kids, and the whole shebang than tell him.’

“He probably knows that something has been wrong,” Frisk told him. “I don’t believe you can just change versions of you back and forth and he hasn’t noticed anything wrong. He’s your brother. You need to tell him.”

Pfft! “Fine, I’ll tell your mom.”

“Sans. He’s your brother,” she tried to persuade him again. “He’s not someone you just waved to each day, saying hi and bye too. He has the right to know what’s going on.”

Ugh! “No.”

“Sans.” Frisk stood up. “I am a very determined person, Sanskrit the Skeleton. I am here to help, but don’t over test me.”

Help? She thought she could help? “You can’t, okay? Fine, you want to know how long? Fifteen years. I left when you were coming through as a kid. I wanted to check on you, and I got mixed up which timeline I belonged to. Okay, can you help with that? Can you fix it?” She was starting to drive him crazy. “You can’t fix that anymore than you can fix the damage done to timelines.”

There was a knock at the door. Sans answered it . . .

and saw Papyrus. ‘Hey. Sup?’ He didn’t look so good. ‘You . . .’ No. ‘You didn’t hear . . .?’

‘Fifteen?’ Papyrus looked miserable. ‘Fifteen.’

Crap, he heard?! ‘Papyrus.’

‘You were lost for fifteen years?’ Papyrus asked him. ‘Through timelines?’

Sans whole body sank. ‘Sorry.’

‘What world did you think was yours?’ Papyrus asked. ‘What was it like? Was I there? How did you find your way back here?’

Sans didn’t get a choice now. He told Papyrus about the surface, about the happiest ending, and about the Sans that told him that he got it wrong. Sans felt miserable. Fifteen years. Fifteen years. ‘I’m sorry, Papyrus, I really am!’ Sans was surprised to find himself wrapped in a hug.

‘You thought you were living your life normally, and then someone came and kicked you out. That must have been terrible!’ Papyrus declared. ‘I’m so sorry.’

He was sorry? ‘It was my fault, and you were with different versions of me,’ Sans said. ‘This is a parked dimension. I’m sorry.’

‘No, no. They are all versions of you, I understand that,’ Papyrus said. ‘They care for a form of me, and I would never wish any form of you harm. But, I am so sorry you got misplaced from home. Fifteen years. Does this have any reason as to why you are marrying Princess Frisk?’

Oh. ‘Yeah, it does.’ Sans looked toward Frisk. She smiled sadly at him. She was right. Papyrus didn’t normally hang out close to doors to eavesdrop. He'd never do that, it wasn't polite, and he'd deem it wrong. So? He’d been worried.

Frisk stretched. “I think this is a time for brothers to have some time for themselves.” She tried to leave out the door, but Papyrus stopped and hugged her too.

“Ah, she might have had something evil in her that might destroy the timeline if she reached the surface. So, I figured, marrying Madjick wouldn’t be good,” Sans said casually. “She’s fine though, I checked her out.”

“Oh, I see.” Papyrus stared at Sans as he let her go. ‘Are you still marrying her then? Maybe you should try explaining timelines to the queen, Sans?’

‘I don’t know,’ Sans said back to his brother. ‘I mean? Timelines are complicated, Papyrus. I’ll have to physically take her to observe some different timelines, or she’d think I’m crazy.’

‘Sans, she should understand why you are not actually marrying Frisk. She is her mother here,’ Papyrus reminded him. ‘If she can understand, then it should be known.’

Hm. ‘She could enable some dating on the side, maybe?’ Sans didn’t see it though. He didn't really want her dating monsters. ‘I got Frisk looking terrible, Papyrus. I don’t think Tori would change her mind. At this rate, it’s me or Madjick. I could tell her I was scared Madjick was a terrible match?’ Not really him, but it would work for the rest of the Underground. ‘I don't want Frisk stuck with Madjick.’

‘Then I will ask her what she wants, Brother.’ “Princess Frisk, would you like to marry Sans or Madjick?”

“I want to go out there and fix some of the misery of the timelines,” she said instead. “I know I can’t fix everything, but-”

“You really can’t.” Papyrus didn’t say it as rough as Sans did, but he did. “Every timeline has it’s own properties, it’s own sameness yet differences. You can’t simply grab Undyne and drop her into another world, and expect absolute cohesiveness.” He gestured toward Sans. “I understand my brother’s case. Other monsters do not understand. The queen might possibly? King Asgore knew.”

Frisk looked disappointed. “I hurt so many in other timelines.”

“They are not your concern,” Papyrus assured her. “Just the you here, and this timeline. This is your number one concern. So? My brother or Madjick?”

Frisk just went over and leaned on the crib. “Why did Chara reset fifteen years in the future, and then give up?”

“Body was badly damaged,” Sans reminded her. “Reset went wrong.”

“What if it didn’t?” Frisk pointed out. “What if getting Bellefont, which got Sans involved, was what she wanted in the first place?”

Ooh? “You might be onto something there,” Sans realized. “Not what you are thinking though, maybe not you.” Nah, World 66 Frisk. He glanced at Papyrus. “What do you think? Do you think the small corruption in her would join with another Frisk successfully?”

“I think both of you aren’t thinking about the answer to that question!” Papyrus scolded them. “Do you want to marry Frisk, Sans?”

“I don’t know?” Sans admitted. “Maybe, I dunno. I kind of was caught in a weird spot with Frisk? Deep checking soul.”

“It was my tummy the whole time.” Frisk wasn’t cheery again, remembering that.

“Might make it a little harder to break off,” Sans reasoned. “I don’t know.”

“We didn’t like Madjick,” Papyrus said to Frisk. “We were fixing things up right before Madjick pulled marriage on you to come back and live with us again.”

Well, that kind of helped his case. “Yeah, okay, I didn’t like the way you looked when you talked about him, Frisk.”

“I didn’t like it either.” She finally told him straight. “Just the words or you sense it too?”

“Sensed something wrong,” Sans said. “What?”

“He was getting me used to wine, and getting stronger every night.”

Almost a session without having to break to read to himself. “Just a second, you two.” He heard the annoyed groans come from the girls as he continued to read.

World 36

“He also got me an outfit to dress like him right before Asgore came. That probably has to do with marriage though. He also didn’t let me see Alphys or Undyne on the weekend.” Stuff flooded from her mouth.

Yeah. “Strong wine each night?” Damn. He couldn’t leave her with that, what if he was trying to drug her or something? Human tolerance should be low, and Madjick should know that.

“It was bad, wasn’t it?” Frisk asked.

"Yeah, it sucked." It sounded like Madjick was trying to get babies started before the marriage. Well, that settled that. Even if Sans drew it out, Madjick might try and come up with something if he was being that conniving. He shouldn't give it the chance. "It royally sucked. I don't think you should see Madjick anytime soon. I mean, you can? I don't run your life, but if I were you, I'd just kind of ignore him for awhile."

“Uh, okay. So, Sans decided to go for it. Madjick was kind of being mean, and he doesn’t want to risk the princess,” Sans said to them.

“Is he making that excuse, or is he finally realizing he’s in love?” Phal just had to ask.

“He’s saving her from ending up with someone mean,” Sans said. “Back to the story.” He could read out loud again.

World 36

Meanwhile, he spoke only to his brother. ‘Screw it, I’ll marry her, Papyrus. Also, tell Madjick to get ready for an encounter on our marriage and ceremony day if he bothers us on them.’ He wouldn't be giving him another opening.

‘You are going to be Prince Sanskrit?’ Papyrus asked for sure. ‘A prince? Are you certain? Do you like her? Do you love her? Do you think you can have kids with her? Do you think you’ll have kids naturally one day?’

“Just give me a little time to figure things out,” Sans said to Frisk. 

Meanwhile, to his brother? ‘Yeah, I am. I admit it. Yeah, I like her. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I love her. She’s annoying and sweet and wonderful. I can have kids, no prob. Handling Bellefont just fine with her. Pretty sure we’ll have kids naturally one day, but not yet. That'd scare her. Assistance first.’

Sans was a monster, and they knew their feelings about someone in a lot faster time than humans. Frisk wouldn’t work like that, but he’d already sensed a connection after being on duty with her just once.

Damn. Phal called it right.

“I knew it!” Phal said excitedly. “I knew it the whole time, Uncle Sans.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Heh. One of his versions actually found love. That was . . . kind of neat. He continued reading.

World 36.

He knew he liked her by the time he stopped and bought a hot dog in New Home for her.

He knew he liked her more the day he replaced Madjick’s magic with his.

He knew he liked her even more when he found out another Sans took her, courtesy of Sans from World 66.

He knew he outright loved her when Sans of World 22 offered an option to save her life easier if she couldn't stay with him. He also knew when Sans 22 said the options he would have naturally took for someone he didn't care for.

He really knew he could consider being with her when he could see past her perfect princess image, and could see that she would be an annoying pain in the butt too. But, it was a good pain in the butt. He’d be that way too, so some give would be good.

He knew he could handle kids with her, he didn’t mind raising Bellefont. She was more like a little sister to him and Frisk, but that might change. Either way, he didn’t mind more kids. For the surface or whatever. It'd be good to have little skeletons in the Underground again.

Now, could he have kids naturally? After that deep check he knew the answer. Hell yes, in the future he could see that. He definitely liked her soul jabs and exploring her soul and body, that was something he could see himself doing in the future more.

As for having that kind of relationship with a human? Frisk . . . was probably warming up to friend. Maybe close friend? Humans moved slow, like their language.

The slower he proceeded with Frisk, the better she would feel. “It’s a tough situation, Frisk. I’m not promising anything either way. Just? I guess I should tell you that kids don’t have to be natural. There’s a little procedure, and bam. You’re good to go. So don’t worry too much about that part, okay? It’s more like you just living with me and Papyrus again.” Slow and steady.

‘Oh, Sans!’ Papyrus called to only him. ‘You are making the human feel better about the arrangement too? That’s sweet. You are being sweet. You really do like the human! Good job. You knew her a whole month, what took you so long?'

'I'm lazy?' he reckoned. 'She used to be part of something that took out several timelines so I had to overcome some personal issues with it? Nah, JK. I'm lazy.'

'The laziness makes sense. Can one be named after the greatness of me?’

‘Sure,’ Sans said. ‘I think we have to have like twelve? At least six I think, I don’t know. Research will say after their conceived.’

“You mean, there will be a doctor that can just make me pregnant?” Frisk asked him skeptically, interrupting the conversation she couldn't hear with his brother. “Your other self in that other world said that, but are you sure it's safe?” He nodded. “Is it required?”

Oh? Maybe the human was moving faster than he thought? “Nah, you can do natural if you want?” Surprising.

“No, I mean, can it be required? Like, if I did have Madjick, then he couldn’t force a natural way?” Frisk’s words sounded mixed up. "It's what the other one said too, that he would have to have it that way because I showed I didn't like him much. Is that true?"

Sans understood those mixed up words though. “You are your own person, Frisk. It doesn’t mean he wouldn’t try stuff to wiggle through. I’d really rather you just stay with the safety of me.” 

“Can I still see my friends?” Frisk asked him.

“Yeah, you bet. Go watch anime and go play all you want,” he agreed. “I might even join you sometimes.”

‘Awwww!’ Papyrus was so excited that he had to talk to him again. ‘How in love you are! You always said you’d rather be dusted in battle than spend any free time with Undyne.’

Sans ignored that for now. He was trying to make Frisk feel secure. “All the Sans’ too, if you think something is strange, just . . . ask? Just ask about timelines. Even the Sans from yesterday, he wouldn’t have . . . you know, outright killed you. Not like that. It’d take a lot to make me murder anybody.” He shrugged. “They are all kind of me. Some might be scary, but they're all me.”

“But, I still want to help,” Frisk insisted to Sans. All of the comforting, she just pushed it away. “If different versions of me used reset, and I have Chara, can’t I reset those other timelines?” 

What? This still? Geez, humans had too much determination. “No. Worry about this timeline, Frisk. It’s impossible to worry about every timeline out there. I can’t even reach all of them. Only 100.”

“Why only 100?” Frisk asked.

“According to an old theory of a used-to-be colleague,” Papyrus said to her, “Major events that happen through timelines can connect them through points for travel. However, when these major events do not occur, then there is no connection. So, there may be an endless amount of timelines, but only 100 are connected through us.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Sans gestured to Papyrus. “All that gook.”

“Then the event that tied it, was me.” Frisk didn’t look good.

“No, I believe the timelines have been connected much longer than that. I imagine, Sister, that most likely it was when we went Underground,” Papyrus reasoned.

‘Papyrus, stop that,’ Sans warned only him. ‘Frisk isn’t used to fast feelings, she’s human, give it a year at first.’

‘Oh, sorry,’ Papyrus apologized to him. 

Frisk didn’t seem to even notice it much though. “Then, if the Underground was affected in those 100 timelines, I could help fix it if I go to them and reset.”

“Princess Frisk still wants to be a helper,” Angie interrupted. “She’s so sweet. I’m glad he got his princess. I hope you find your version of Princess Frisk some day, Uncle Sans.”

“Uh, nah.” The timeline was way too different. Besides, he never ended up with anyone in any timeline. He’d always been a loner, ever since he checked. This was the first time he saw himself actually ending up with someone.

He always thought if it did happen, it’d be something stupid that he was forced to do. Kind of like what was happening with Princess Frisk through most of it. Instead, there was a version of him, that actually fell for someone.

That someone really liked him back too. “Sounds like it’ll get a good ending after all.” That was good for now though. He closed the book. “We’ll read the epilogue tonight, if you guys don’t give me much trouble. Kay?”

“When’s dad come home?” Phal just had to ask. “Why’d he leave?”

“Whenever he left, he was always super ready,” Angie said to her Uncle Sans. “Always super super ready. He had menus laid out. Usually, us out of school. He’d tell us exactly where and what he was doing.”

Yeah, Sans understood that. “He’ll come back when he’s ready. I’m still in contact with your Daddy Pap, okay? He’s fine so far.” The girls were a little worried too. “Hey, let’s concentrate on figuring out what we want to eat for dinner, yeah?”

Papyrus stared at the official national assistant. He wiggled his finger bones together back and forth. “That should be everything. Did I forget anything?”

The lady didn’t say anything just stared at him. “Who the hell ever asks for this?” She stood up and came closer to him. “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen from a monster! Are you nuts?”

“No.” Papyrus looked at her badge. “Miss Undying?” That was a familiar name from the timelines. “Sorry, but yes. I would like to grant that for us.”

She groaned. “Do you have any idea what liberties you forfeit if you do this and visit the other side?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“There’s no fee to keep it. It’s just there. It’s been there since your birth. You filled out all those papers to vanquish it.” The Undyne fish woman still glared at him. “It’s more trouble to reject than just keep.”

“May we speed this up?” Papyrus asked. “I’ve got somewhere to be soon.”

“I will for you, but I’m not doing it for any of these others. They have to come down and forfeit it on their own.”

Ugh. “Look! Phal and Angie are my kids, and so, I am in charge of this sort of thing for them,” Papyrus disagreed. “You can’t keep me from doing that on them. As for Sans, he will be down later.”

“You are terrible!” The fish woman yelled at him. “What kind of father would ever do this to their girls? I might have to bring this case to the attention of our leader.”

“It is my own right! As you can see, I already have things set up.” Papyrus showed his tickets. “All expenses, and all options. If my girls end up in trouble, they will be fine.”

The Undyne woman looked at the information. “Wait, are you just trying to do this to take your family on vacation? You don’t have to reject your nation to go on vacation, it goes with you. The protection of being from our nation goes wherever you do.”

“Yes, I know, I’m not stupid.” Papyrus was trying. “It is what I want. Maybe I want to try and join a new nation? That could be a thing. Just, make it official.”

“Fine, but this is really, really, dumb,” she told him as she stamped the kids’ too. “There. The Great Papyrus the Skeleton, The Cutie Angie the Skeleton, and The Radical Phal the Skeleton are all no longer part of the nation. You gave up your citizenship and you have 24 hours to leave.”

Good. All that was left, was Sans. If he didn’t finish the book yet, he would soon. Until then, he would wait exactly where he knew his brother would go.

Chapter Text

Another full day with no Papyrus yet. Sans just kept the girls happy with some yummy food, and a promise to finish the Princess Frisk story. It should almost be over now. They were all in their pajamas, ready for the ending. He opened up the book and grabbed the piece of paper.

He couldn’t believe how many more pieces of paper there were on the side he never got to. How was he really reaching the epilogue with the princess when there were so many more connections to the word ‘princess’ now? He began to read to the girls again.

World 36

Aw, geez. “Frisk? Can you get the notion out of your head already? Besides, you can’t go skipping through timelines without me or Papyrus.” Sans had thoughts about World 66 meeting his Frisk to see if Chara's traces carried over, but no way now. He had to get all of that out of Frisk's head.

“Neither one of us would ever allow it,” Papyrus agreed. “It is much too dangerous. I mean? Can’t you tell how dangerous it is? Our other colleague that knew about it all, he isn’t here because of that work! Even Sans would never cross out there again, right, Sans?”

‘Uh?’ Sans had to be careful. ‘I’m not gallivanting around out there unless it has to do with Frisk. Never for fun or pranks, honest.’ Not anymore. Still? Frisk looked determined. “Quit. Focus on what you can do to better this timeline, Frisk. If you want to reach the surface for the best ending, you’ve got your own work to do.”

“Uh, good idea,” Papyrus agreed to her. “Make lots and lots of babies to equal the soul power of a human. It’s just about twelve children I think?” He started to count on his fingers. “Maybe. Twelve children might make you explode. Perhaps in batches of three. Three a year?” He looked toward Sans. “Three a year or so?”

Dang, Papyrus wasn’t helping. “No rush there,” Sans said to Frisk. “Don’t worry about finishing it out on your own. You can take centuries if you want, and it can also be Bellefont too. She’ll be grown up too. Kids of kids kind of thing.”

“Yeah.” Frisk nodded. “I understand, it will take time.” She still seemed out of it. “I want to go see my friends for a little while. It would be good to see them before these lessons start tomorrow. Can you tell mom I’ll be right back soon? Can you watch Bellefont?”

“Uh oh, she’s up to something,” Phal said. “She wants to help in those timelines. She’s not gonna back off, she’s up to something.”

“She can’t do anything.” Humans couldn’t just travel along timelines. He continued reading.

World 36

“Sure, yeah.” Sans watched her leave the room. He went over toward the little human. She didn’t seem as occupied with the mobile now. ‘Careful, Papyrus. Frisk seemed kind of weird there. Don’t make her feel like she’s got to get down to becoming a baby factory. It’ll be tougher to make the next moves. Okay?’

‘Okay. Sorry Sans,’ Papyrus apologized. ‘I was trying to distract her mind with something completely new. Thinking about timelines was risky.’

‘Not much risk.’ Sans picked up Bellefont. ‘We’re the only ones that can do it, and there’s not another me out there that will randomly pick her up and just let her cruise around with them.’

———————————

‘Hello, Alphys and Undyne,’ Frisk said as she came into the room at the castle where her friends said they’d meet her at on the phone. ‘Thanks for coming.’

‘Anytime, Frisk,’ Undyne said. ‘So, since you are Princess Frisk and can’t leave the castle?’ She grinned, her wonderful grin again. "We brought games! I’ll go hook them up."

Frisk watched as Undyne went to hook up games. ‘Alphys? I wanted to ask you something.’

‘S-sure, Frisk,’ Alphys smiled. ‘You bet. W-what is it?’

‘You know timelines, don’t you?’ Yeah, Frisk wasn’t surprised by her expression. Alphys used to do some strange experimentation. She had confided in Frisk about blueprints and notes she found. Most likely, that belonged to the colleague of Sans and Papyrus. ‘Can you travel through them?’

Alphys fidgeted with her thumbs. ‘Not exactly. No one has that I know of. Legend says someone did, and their body was torn apart into different timelines.’

Eww. That didn’t sound good. Still? Frisk was a determined person. ‘Do you know what they messed up on?’

‘Oh? That’s easy,’ Alphys said. ‘Well, it’s easy now. They were monster. They needed determination to make it through, more than what a monster could have.’

‘Hey, fascinating. Can you show me more of the stuff?’ Frisk asked. ‘I’m super interested.’ Yes, an ACT of lie. Frisk knew she was a hypocrite. ‘I want to learn more about the history of monsters for my research for princess lessons.’

‘Oh.’ Alphys seemed to perk up. ‘Okay then.’ She looked toward Undyne for a bit. Undyne just grinned back at her.

They all left together with Undyne.

True Lab

Frisk looked around. She’d already seen this with Alphys years ago, when she was ready to admit the truth. It was a little scary, she admitted that. Not the friendliest area to be.

‘Yes, our history is really neat.’ Alphys gestured to so many things. ‘This is the lab area where one of the greatest inventors used to work.’

Undyne was less thrilled.

‘His name was Gaster, and he created the core we still use today,’ Alphys continued. ‘A lot of the equipment and work in here was his. These tools and computers, they were his. Something happened to him though. He was the royal scientist before I had been. When I had been.’

Frisk stood in front of a huge weird-looking skull machine. Whatever it was he did, Sans and Papyrus had it now. Her will wouldn’t be satisfied until she learned everything she could. She pointed toward it. ‘This thing is huge, Alphys. What is it?’

‘A determination extractor,’ Alphys answered. ‘I think Gaster had used it to extract all the determination from an object, maybe a human, to run something. The extractor works but it’s off right now. It would be dangerous for anyone to mess with though.’

‘I guess so.’ Such a shame. There really was a bunch of mystery, and Sans and Papyrus wouldn’t share it with her. At least she saw it all for herself. She couldn’t live with the regret of not helping other timelines, if there was a way to.

If there was no way to? ‘Thanks for the tour, Alphys. Can I get some paper and pencil from your lab area?’ Frisk asked. Seriously, this would interest her mom. Maybe not the timelines since Sans said he didn’t want her knowing, but at the very least, all of this neat history. ‘Can we bring mom down here someday?’

‘She knows it exists,’ Alphys told her. ‘It was built right after the castle. She might enjoy looking at the history again?’

"Let’s go already," Undyne insisted. "This is boring, Frisk, we could be playing video games right now."

It wasn’t that boring to Frisk, but she would only have a little while to spend with her friends before real lessons started probably. ‘Okay.’ “Let’s go.”

“Hang on there, Frisk.” Sans’ voice.

Oops? “Just research?” Frisk just wanted to know more about timelines. It’s not like she would be able to do anything, she didn’t have a huge brain to figure stuff out.

“Alphys. Undyne.” Sans seemed rigid. “Nice to see you again. Want to talk to my almost wife for a bit. Come over here, Frisk, I know a shortcut.”

——————————

Snowdin

Sans wanted to know, he had to know if Frisk would be back to his world 22.

Crap. Really? This Sans again? Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, he had to include this part. He went ahead and read ahead to see how it went. Okay. “So, this isn’t her Sans,” he said as he continued reading.

World 36

He doubted the other Sans would just instantly take care of it. He was usually pretty lazy. Still, he went and got some of the royal wear. Nobody ever really bothered the castle in his time, everything was still there. Preserved and dusty.

He doubted she’d fall for him being her Sans again, so he’d meaningfully dupe her this time. The best way to see might be to check himself.

The other Sans seemed shy about getting it done. Considering where the soul might be, he could see that, but him? He lost his whole gawdamn world, shyness wouldn’t be a factor.

When he arrived, it didn’t take long to find her. As he was seeking her out, he could really feel her. She was standing right in front of the determination extraction machine.

He could feel the determination coming off of her. It was HUGE. Frisk always had a lot of determination. She couldn’t sense it and the machine wouldn’t do anything without real power running through it. The human though. That determination. It still made that machine vibrate.

Forget it. This could be much better. “That machine right there.” Sans went over to it. “Hold my hand again.” He wouldn’t risk losing track of her, the real Sans could come any minute.

In the other Sans’ shoes? He’d be totally against it. In his own? He was totally for it, he had nothing to lose anyhow.

—————————

True Lab

“This is it.” Sans patted the device and then started to hook it up.

“Hang on?” Undyne looked at Frisk. “What are you two doing?”

Frisk didn’t exactly know. Did it give all the Frisks a fresh start? Did it rewind time? What would it do?

“It is going to pull us out of this ground.” Sans gave Frisk something to hold. “Face the determination machine.”

Frisk looked at the small line she was holding. Sans was completely against everything before, so was Papyrus. Her determination made it harder to see, but . . . this wasn’t right. “No.” She dropped it. “You aren’t Sans, are you?”

He looked at her, surprised. “Didn’t think you’d figure that one out as fast. Pretty good. Guess you do know your own Sans a little, huh? What gave it away?”

Frisk tried to move, but she was frozen in place. What? She looked at Undyne and Alphys who seemed frozen too.

“Relax. Now? Did he check you or not?” he demanded. “If not, I’m going to check you.”

‘Tummy. He checked my tummy,’ Frisk spoke to him. ‘What did you do to my friends?’

‘I’d never hurt my own friends. They are just trapped in time. Tummy, huh?’ He came over and put his hand on her tummy. ‘Yep, nothing evil at all. You’d be his then. Yep. Nothing to lose.’

Nothing to lose?

‘He’ll probably kill me later if this doesn’t work. Heh, it’d be a first. Sans killing a Sans. We’ll see. If your sacrifice is even a chance to bring Papyrus back, it’s worth it.’ Sans put the line on her head. ‘Stay still. Heh.’ He moved over toward the other machine. ‘Now, the last guy that tried to do this ended up in a heap of trouble. Shattering across time and all that. You humans have a lot of determination. Your chances are much higher of survival.'

“Uncle Sans, what is another you doing?!” Phal shouted, definitely using her pop’s inherited yell.

Yeah, it wasn’t sounding good. “People change depending on desperation.” This version of him was pretty desperate. “It’ll be okay. I read ahead. It’ll have a good ending,” he promised as he continued to read.

World 36

He started to make sounds behind the machine. Frisk couldn’t see him at all. What should she do? What would he do? She felt herself getting dragged away by something long and skinny. Viney. Vines?

‘I don’t think so, seriously?!’ The flower was pulling her away. ‘One of you Sans is really messed up to try this stupid trick!’

‘Flowey, stay the hell out of the way, yeah?’ That Sans asked. ‘Knock it off, I’m on a tight schedule-’

‘Tighten it more.’

-----------------------------

Sans came over and, without even a fight, made the other one move away from the machinery.

‘She could do it though,’ the other one said. 'It's worth the risk.'

‘Yeah, and she could screw up all space and time too,’ her Sans pointed out. ‘Life is life. We all know this. She’s no threat, she’s not yours, leave. You know we hate fighting but I will.'

That Sans sighed. 'Yeah. You like her too much.' He disappeared.

“And you?” Sans was talking straight to her now as he came over to her, still wrapped in vines. “Don’t give me any I was dragged down here line, my other self doesn’t work too hard. You gave him the idea. What are you doing down here?”

“I wanted to know more,” Frisk insisted. “You and Papyrus just shut off like a fountain. I wasn’t going to do anything drastic, but I wanted to understand.” She shrugged. “I’m a curious sort, and I wanted to see if I could do anything myse-!”

“No, you can’t.” Sans pulled her away from the vines. “Thanks for the assist, Flowey. You can leaf her be now.”

“A curious Frisk is a dangerous thing, you should have known that, Smiley Trashbag,” Flowey warned him. “Sweet saccharine over sugary Princess or not, Frisk is still a Frisk. She is really connected to those timelines too. Be more careful! Don't experiment with Frisks!”

“Fine, fine.” Sans gestured to the big skull machine. She wanted the basics, he'd give her the basics. “That takes your determination.” He gestured toward the machine the other Sans took from his house. “Deals with timelines.” He placed his bony hands at his sides. “Our colleague Gaster was trying to pull the timelines back in all 100, to a point where they weren’t trapped Underground. It didn’t work. He’s shattered through space and time of 100 timelines. Still alive, but it’s no way to live.”

“Shattered in space and time. That’s bad.” Looks like she finally got it. “I’m sorry.”

“No more coming back here,” Sans warned her, “and now you owe me for that.”

“I promise,” she promised. “I’ll be good. I’ll be up first thing tomorrow for royalty lessons.”

“No, I said you owe me.” Sans grabbed her hand awkwardly. “Royalty lessons are probably better than being shattered and scattered across time. Probably, but they still suck and it’s pointless.” He scratched the back of his skull. “It’s me or it’s Madjick, and that’s it. I’m not letting it be Madjick. He doesn’t treat you right.”

What? “But you said-”

“You’re dangerous, Frisk, Flowey’s right,” he told her. “Besides, you aren’t exactly getting the best rep with what I did. I’m stopping all of this madness with the I do lines now.”

Well? She had to marry someone. Plus, it’s not like she had to be forced to do anything. Royalty would give her children. So? Not that . . . she needed to stop thinking so much. “Okay, Sans. I’m not going to be impregnated like right away afterward, right? Bellefont’s young.” So was she. Being pregnant wouldn’t be fun. Her weekends would be over.

“Nah,” he promised. “Give it a couple of years at least afterward. Come on, let’s go. Might as well just walk back. Oh yeah?” He looked at their friends. “I better undo that.”

When he did, Undyne immediately dog piled on him. Frisk tried not to laugh.

“It was all just a prank, I swear!” Sans told her. “Seriously, I’m even marrying her so no one thinks she’s easy anymore, come on!”

"What do you mean easy?” Frisk asked. “I am easy, Sans. I'm not difficult to get along with.”

'Sans, Tori keeps her away from bad influences, she didn’t understand that!' Still, Undyne let him be. 'Marry her right away, or you’ll get the honor of Guard Duty Training lessons too.' She still held her spear out one more time. “Don’t tease Frisk like that again with this science machine.”

“I won’t, sorry,” Sans said one more time as he decided to take a shortcut back to the castle after all with her.

---------------------------

Castle

“There you go. Better?” Sans asked her.

“Yeah. I’m sorry again,” Frisk apologized again. “Thanks for coming to my rescue. How’d you know where I went? Did that flower tell you?”

“Nah. I can follow you easy, Frisk, but I had no idea what was going on.” He gestured toward Bellefont.

Frisk caught a whiff of the air and looked toward Bellefont. Yep, diaper change. Less heroish, more laziness. “My hero, Sans.”

“Don’t look at me, you brought this on yourself,” Sans warned her right before there was a knock at the door. He opened it.

“Here is the itinerary of what we are starting with tomorrow.” Toriel came straight in. “First, we are going over basic manners at 5:30 from 6:30. Then we will head straight to Hotlands and find basic help needs. Less intense. We will help for three hours, and then at 10:00 we will break for food. From 10:30-12:30 we will go over some of the history of the royal house and lineages. From 12:31 onward we will go back over basic manners. From-”

“I’m marrying her.” Sans didn’t even want to wait for the whole schedule. “Forget it, schedule some royal marriage quickie tomorrow.”

“Sans!” Papyrus came from down the hallway, his bones shambling quickly to the door. “You are getting married now, I’m so happy for you!”

Great. He wasn’t kidding. Frisk did have to marry someone, and she did just scare him. Besides, he really did seem to care. He was a good friend, and in the little time she got to know this particular Sans in her timeline? She already . . . “It’s him or Madjick, so I guess.”

She already started to like him a little more than she should a friend. Her mom pulled her into a hug, along with Sans. Papyrus hugged all three of them miraculously from behind.

———————————

“Aww, it’s so cute,” Phal had to say. “I can just imagine that. She’s going to get a happy ending.”

“So will the Sans that matters,” Angie said.

Chapter Text

Wait, wait. “The Sans that matters? Nah, nah. Every Sans matters. Just like every Phal matters, and every Angie matters,” Sans told them. “How come he matters, and I don’t matter? Do I matter? I better matter, I don’t see that Sans telling you bedtime stories.”

“Sorry, Uncle Sans,” the both said. They both went over and gave him hugs. “You matter a lot!”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He gave them each a quick hug. “I may not have a princess, but I still matter. We all matter. We gotta respect our other selves, just like we respect ourselves.” Phal and Angie gave him a weird look. “What?”

“But, you are telling us stories out of other timelines?” Phal said. “These are real people. That’s not very respectful.”

“Yeah, nah, it’s fine for me,” he insisted. “I know myself. I wouldn’t give a . . . care,” he watched himself. “Most would, I don’t. If they started reading about me too, I wouldn’t care either.”

The girls just laughed. Like anyone would want to read about them?

“Okay, let’s finish off,” Sans agreed. “It looks like you get to stay up later than usual, I timed the epilogue wrong.”

They clapped their bony hands together as their Uncle Sans read the last chapter.

 World 36

Frisk checked her dress. It was pretty, white, but almost as fluffy as the princess outfit her mom made her wear. Still, it was nice. She also got her own little tiara her mom said she just had to wear for the wedding.

Her mom did most of the wedding detail. Frisk did some with Undyne and Alphys and Papyrus. Sans did the barest of stuff, like what kind of food to have.

There wasn’t much to do though, Mom had it all set up for some time ever since Madjick had been her unofficial husband.

“Don’t forget the top part.” Undyne handed her the veil.

“Mom wants me to wear the traditional tiara.” Frisk put the veil down and put on the tiara. “We did get it in writing, no kids right away, right?”

“That’s not up to us,” Undyne teased her. “Only if we are too slow for you two.”

Frisk punched her in the arm. It was the equivalent of a nice knock on the shoulder for Undyne. “I’m not having kids naturally. You don’t think this tiara is going to bother Sans too much? It’s so royal looking.” She blushed as she saw Undyne point at her again. “What?”

“Nothing. He won’t care at all,” Undyne said. “Never cares about much. Much,” She said firmer. “What he does care about, he takes care of. If he bugs you, I can take care of him though.”

She’s already offered that before several times. “I’ll be fine.” Frisk waited for the traditional riff and waited outside. Sans was standing in a nice blue tuxedo at the other end with Papyrus jumping in the background. He refused to get in the royal get up of the old times. It was hard enough to get him in a tuxedo.

They met each other in the middle and took their vows. It was nice, Sans used his magic to amplify it all around, so she could hear everyone. It was a cute ceremony. Much cuter than the actual marriage. All she had to do was touch ground. Could Sans easily grant that? No.

Sans had her drift to her skateboard and took the magic off. He promised her mom that in the ceremony vows, he’d take off the magic. It’d be hilarious, and if she took away the biggest thrill of seeing Frisk skateboarding down the aisle, he’d postpone it.

It made her mom so mad. Frisk tried to calm her down, but through the distraction, he slid the skateboard out from under her. She fell on her butt.

He laughed so hard. So did her mom.

He definitely owed her a nice traditional ceremony wedding after that!

Undyne and Alphys were giving her thumbs up from the side. Her mom was all dressed up, so pretty. Even Prince Asgore seemed happy. Frisk was trying to get along with him. So was her mother, but it was still tough.

However, everyone caused a little hurt, and everyone deserved a second chance. ‘I do, I agree to be a good wife, I know he’ll be a good husband, and I agree to have kids in two years.’ With royalty’s help. Boy, they just had to put that in the vow agreement too, didn’t they?

‘I do,’ Sans said. ‘I agree to be an okay husband.’ He joked at first. ‘Um. Fine. I agree to be a good husband, I know she’ll be a good wife, and I agree to have kids in two years.’ Still, Sans was Sans. ‘I got a Bellefont, does that count?’

‘No,’ the priest warned him. ‘The loving couple may also have children sooner if they wish as well. Time does not dictate how slow or fast the act of love works.’

‘Not sooner,’ they both said together.

Frisk heard the unenthused sounds of the crowd and her mom but forget it. No one was rushing her to have some twelve babies or whatever to open the surface. She heard a strange pop sound by her feet.

It was the strange flower. It looked at her a few seconds, and then popped back away. That was strange. She paid attention back to the priest.

She could tell there was a lot of pictures being snapped the way everyone held up their phones. Her wedding would probably be all over Undernet in a few hours. Not her biggest worry, the last part would be.

Sans was a skeleton, and he had no lips. They hadn’t ever technically had a first kiss. How would this next part be handled?

‘And so, to commemorate this moment of togetherness,’ The priest said to them, ‘the groom may make his feelings known.’

Oh, so that’s how they did it?

‘If it includes a private way that would increase the chance of children, there is a traditional tent set up on the side,’ the priest also said.

‘No thanks. Frisk, close your eyes.’

Frisk closed her eyes. She felt him coming closer and nudging her mouth open. He didn’t have lips though, what would he-?

That was pure magic. She didn’t know if it was a tongue or what, but she felt something that was energy enter into her mouth.

“Aw, geez.” It just had to be more of this? He almost had the whole thing read.

“Just read it, Uncle Sans, we know what a skellysmooch is,” Phal said. “We see momma and dad do that. Well? We did see momma and dad do that.”

“Just go on, it’s almost over,” Angie said agian.

Oh, okay. It didn’t look too bad? Sans kept reading.

World 36

It had form and with every movement, she felt something. Peace? Warmth? Vibrations? Oh she didn’t know, but it felt good.

After he pulled away, she opened her eyes. ‘Wow.’ Frisk looked back at the priest. He clearly said something, but she couldn’t hear. Sans expanded magic the whole ceremony so she could hear the priest and him at the same time, but he closed that part off from her. The priest must have offered the tent again or something. Then, all of the amplified hearing came back.

‘I now pronounce you man and wife,’ the priest said. ‘Many tidings to the new royal lineage.’

‘Many tidings to the new royal lineage!’ Everyone shouted.

‘Long live the new Dreemurs!’ her mom shouted.

‘Love live the new Dreemurs!’ Everyone shouted.

‘Let’s go to Grillbys for the grub!’ Sans shouted.

Frisk couldn’t help but laugh as everyone shouted-

‘Let’s go to Grillby’s for the -! . . .?’ Confused sounds.

Frisk just shoved him playfully. “Come on, Sans. Let’s go home.”

————————————

The Skeletons House

“Don’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“Please don’t, you know you’re going to- Sans!”

Sans just chuckled as he lifted Frisk over the threshhold. He had to put her in the air one more time, but had her settle down into his arms. “I had to carry you over the threshold, right?”

Frisk crossed her arms, but she couldn’t be too mad. She knew it would be coming. Mettaton was still outside, still trying to get some pictures of the newest prince and princess.

Papyrus came in afterward, holding Bellefont. “Now the princesses are safe and sound in the house. So, we can have spaghetti now!”

Frisk got down from Sans and went with Papyrus and Bellefont to the kitchen. She’d eat the food, only when she was able to help prepare it. It didn’t make it perfect, but it always made it edible.

——————————

Before he headed that way, Sans took a shortcut to where Frisk fell. He’d already seen Flowey at his ceremony wedding. ‘Hey, you?’ he shouted at the hole. ‘What’s the big deal, interrupting my big day?’

Flowey popped out. ‘Interrupting? I didn’t make a sound, you’re the one that cracked a joke!’

‘Well, yeah, but it was my ceremony,’ Sans reminded him. ‘What were you doing over there?’

‘Wondering how you could really be that stupid,’ Flowey told him. ‘One of yourselves went after your Frisk for her determination.’

‘Yeah, but he won’t come back. Too much work. Too miserable.’ Sans hated that he knew what his other self must be feeling. ‘Getting stopped is like fate saying it wasn’t going to happen. He snapped out of it.’

‘Not just your Frisk. Any Frisk will do. How many Frisks are left?’ Flowey asked. ‘Go get the others and fix this mess.’

Other Frisks? ‘No, I’m not doing that.’ But, the flower did have a point. ‘I don’t want to mess around in timelines anymore.’ In fact? ‘I won’t let others mess around with my world either. I’ll disconnect us.’

‘Oh?’ Flowey looked at him oddly. ‘What do you mean?’

——————-

Back of The Skeletons’ House

Sans went over to his machine. He had explained right, and wrong, to Frisk about the timeline machine part of the experiment. He went over to it. If another version of him did, by some remote chance, put in some effort? They could grab Frisk from someplace else.

Some other dimension.

Easily.

Like Flowey said, Frisk was dangerous. He didn’t want to mess with anything about any Frisk anymore. His Frisk was his Frisk, and nobody was going to mess with his Frisk.

Sans was done with this timeline crap. He lost Papyrus for fifteen years. Believed a whole other life above ground had been his, and it was all taken away.

Papyrus knew the truth now. He’d been rebuilding his life, and he even found love with Frisk. Someone that he barely met every few years. Sometimes yearly. ‘I’m not losing anything. Timelines won’t be messed with ever again from me, or anyone.’

“Uncle Sans?” Angie asked. “Why’d you stop reading?”

“Are you paraphrasing again?” Phal asked. “Is that the end of the story?”

Sans was getting a baaaad feeling about that. Did that Sans really? Really? “Yeah. He promised that he’d watch his Frisk very carefully, and he’d hurt anyone, including another self, that came after her. He went back upstairs, and kissed his new princess. The end.” It was brisk, but he needed to look into this stuff on his own.

“I knew she’d get a happy ending,” Phal said. “She was the funniest princess I ever read about. I liked her.”

“I did too. I’m glad she got a happy ending,” Angie said. “I’m a big girl and can handle bad endings, but I really wanted a happy ending!”

“Yep. Happy ending. Time for bed. Maybe your dad will be getting back soon, so get some rest.” He watched the girls close their eyes, but continued the dreaded reading.

Sans knew he had a serious weakness. Just like he didn’t see what Phal saw with a Sans actually falling for someone. Just like he didn’t see that Sans also had a huge decision about killing or giving away Frisk to save that timeline. That Sans had that same kind of weakness.

He found happiness. Real happiness with someone who really liked him back. It was strange reading Frisk’s parts in the story, that someone actually liked the way he acted. Liked his magic. Liked him for being him.

That Sans . . . was going to be influenced by that weakness. And, uh? That wasn’t good. Not the way he put it.

Sans waited until he knew the girls were all asleep before he went back to reading for himself.

World 36

Gaster always had another theory, and one that made more sense about the connection of timelines. It wasn’t really the act of being sent Underground that started the connection. It was the creation of the machine itself.

The timeline machine. They connected the worlds.

Never again. ‘Sorry, Gaster. Your favorite invention. I am done with it. I barely used it, but it screwed me over just like it did you. Not as bad, but fifteen years lost bad. Nothing good will ever come from it.’ Even knowing the danger of Frisk didn’t make things better, it just got him lost.

Nah. He logged off and then he used his bone magic and pushed a hundred bones into it at once. He would keep his world, world 36, offline forever. No matter what any Frisk, Flowey, or other Sans did? It would never affect his world again.

The only connection left was simple data before he went offline, and that’s all they needed. His world was his own business. ‘End of transmission,’ he chuckled as he turned away. ‘World 36, signing off.’

——————————

Flowey heard the words from outside. He didn’t care that it was snowing. It was hard to put together what had happened. One day he was greeting the human, ready to kill it, and then it nailed him. Hard and fast.

When he woke up again, he felt the power of reset. Nothing new, but the time had passed. Fifteen years of it. He had eavesdropped and gathered enough information to find out about the Frisk that thought she never met him.

Fifteen years later. Since he was the only one she killed, nothing else had changed. Yet? That meant that trick had worked. He had no problems thinking Sans wouldn’t mess around with anything, but when the wedding ceremony arrived?

Flowey just didn’t know. He took a look at the fully grown human woman. She had a lot of determination in her too. With the right charming words, maybe she could convince Sans one day far in the future to mess with everything.

Flowey couldn’t risk it. He made contact. As expected after that mess, Sans was still hating the timelines and ended it. Flowey just bopped his petally head around.

It was over. No more timeline connection, but Sans got it wrong! He didn’t just destroy the machine and go offline to the other worlds.

A chain didn’t just lose one link and still stay strong. He broke it all, every single timeline connection.

Every Sans and Frisk would have to deal with the mess of the actions that happened, but Flowey didn’t care. It wasn’t his mess. He dealt with destiny before, and somebody else could deal with it's mighty blows.

He just popped himself back into the ground. At least this new time would be something different and interesting to get to know.

Still? He couldn't help a small chuckle. Imagine. Imagine the wonderful chaos both Sans' had just put into motion! The good. The bad. The neutral.

They would never be the same again. He laughed. 'What a wonderful idea!'

World 5,236

Sans closed the book, checked on the girls one more time, and then teleported to the timeline machine room. Right there, was Papyrus. “I finished the princess story.”

His brother looked terrible. “Yes, I figured you would tonight.”

“How bad is it?” Sans asked.

“That Sans logged off the machine before destroying it. It disconnected before it was destroyed,” Papyrus said. “No Sans ever did that. The machine would just be destroyed at the end of any erasing, but no one ever took actions to . . . to . . . log off.”

“Phal saw stuff that I couldn’t see in the story at all. Sometimes, Sans are just a little short-sighted. Should I apologize for him?” Sans asked. “I know it’s real far from our timeline, real real far, but it’s still the same tech?” Papyrus nodded. “Yeah, it’s not just his closest 100 timelines, right?” Papyrus shook his skull. “So. Can we do something, or is this it?”

“That Sans had some things creep through. It isn’t absolutely simple. I’m trying to keep up, but? There are certain things I want to do, Sans!” Papyrus announced. “There is no guarantee we will make it out of this, and I? I have things I want!”

“Right.” Sans got it. “Anything you want, Bro.”

“We are going to find my wife,” Papyrus insisted. “We know the ones that are probably lying. This time, we’ll get the truth. We’ll get the location. And I’ll?”

“Get branded traitors, get the nation in trouble, got it, no problem.” If it made Papyrus happy.

“There’s no guarantee I can do it on my own, but I need you to watch over Phal and Angie if anything goes wrong,” he warned him. “I am monster though, and if this is how it will end, then I get her, or I don’t! Then, you’ll continue with what I want?” Papyrus asked softly.

“Yeah. All the way.” If anything happened to Papyrus, Phal and Angie would be his to take care of. He’d take his spot, but a monster wouldn’t let anyone else save their wife like that. “We better end our citizenship, they’ll find us faster.”

“Already did it. I filled out all the paperwork. In that office, I ran into someone that we’ve read about from other timelines,” he warned him. “I don’t know it that’s good or bad. Her badge said Undyne the Undying. I was very polite and I tried to get along, and she still threatened me and told me I was dumb. So, just be very quick about it. I did all the paperwork, just go in there and say your name and renounce it?”

“Yep, no prob.” Easy. “What else do you want?”

“I want to try and save our reality? Be the hero of it, so it doesn’t end?” he asked. “I know it’s not very likely we’ll find what we’ll need, but if we do? We need to go for it!”

“Okay.”

“You might have to get married.”

“ . . . kay?” End of world thing.

“You might not.”

“Okay.” Even better.

“Either way, we will need that Frisk person. It’s hard to say why, but if she doesn’t exist, nothing will help. The other thing I want?”

“Yeah?” Sans was gonna grant his bro’s every wish.

“I’ve figured out which timelines are related, and I think I know what it will take.” Papyrus gave him the papers. “Murder. Death. Killing. The royalty being terrible. The girls can handle all of it, if their Uncle Sans is reading to them. They are so very smart. I just, don’t want to, so very much.”

Papyrus didn’t want to tell the girls why or how things were happening. He wanted them to learn about it, day by day, in the form of a story. That was more of the ways monsters liked to remember things. Writing them out like stories.

Just like puzzles, a lot of monsters liked stories. They liked to tell them when bad things happened. They liked to write it down for future generations to know. It was a good way to go out, if they had to. Sans took the papers. “They really liked Princess Frisk. I bet they’ll like to hear about all the different Frisks, princesses or not now.”

“Yeah. I think so. You don’t have to talk about the naughty parts,” Papyrus warned him. “Read through the others with Phal and Angie. You can read the other connections to the children now, I can’t coddle my babybones anymore! I either wrap them up, leave them, and let destiny happen without them ever knowing, or they learn. I want them to know before the end!”

Right. “I can keep reading them their stories. They’ve admitted they are big girls,” Sans said. “They can handle big girl endings. Anything else?”

“Yes! We are going on vacation. A long, hopefully one year vacation!” Papyrus broke out a camera. “We will travel across the nations, Sans! I haven’t had a decent vacation since before they were born. And you? You never left.”

“Eh, I was always content.” He chuckled. “When you came back from your last one, you brought home a wife with babybones inside of her. Guessing it was a fun one.”

“We will go see everything, Sans! This might be the last chance to show Phal, and Angie, and you? The whole world! I’ve also got the extensions and all the options for the trip. I have magic warmers so we don’t fall apart into just some bones on the ground. They have a radius big enough to cover us in non-magicky sections. I also have invisibility remotes just in case something happens.”

Papyrus was well prepared. “Yeah? Sounds like we’ll have a blast. When are we leaving?”

“I’m going to wake up the girls at first light. I have less than 24 hours to get us out,” Papyrus warned him. “I have a giganto mondo humungo vehicle!” He spread his arms out wide. “We can drive, while we can also cook and sit in a place like a home.”

“RV huh? All options? Extensions? You went all out to collect your life savings, didn’t you?” Sans asked.

“Yes. If this is it, we will be so very happy for the last of it,” Papyrus insisted. “We will have fun. We might even find a way to save it. If we do, I’ll scream about my decisions to do this later. For now!” He saluted to Sans. “We will run this year like it will be the best year of our lives!”

Heh. “Got it. I’ll pull my savings then too.” He’d keep half of it though. Papyrus might need extra along the way, anything could happen. Then again, if they did save the world? Then they didn’t want to be flat broke.

“Are you ready to renounce your citizenship, Sans?” Papyrus asked. “Remember to be nice.”

He’d go right after he got his life savings, but he did want to make Papyrus feel better. “Actually bumping into somebody seen a lot in other timelines,” Sans pointed out, “maybe there’s like, uh, a reason? Maybe fate will pull it all together for us.” It was a bullshit outlook, but Papyrus did look a little better.

“I hope so, Sans. I hope so.”

THE END

It looks like Sans had fun reading stories, but it's time to move on to his next adventure. End of the World RV Adventures. Will they find what they are looking for, or just enjoy life before reality ends? Keep reading to know! Thanks to everyone who has supported this story so far.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Papa!” Phal and Angie greeted Pap with open arms as they woke up that morning. They piled on the questions, while Sans got things ready one one more time. He read a little ahead, but Papyrus didn’t want him to do that much either. It was better to leave some mystery. Plus, apparently Papyrus wanted to stop reading too.

He would hear the events along with everyone too. It seemed like . . . the most monster way to go out. Instead of just impending doom, also some hope, or some foreshadowing over the distance? Either way, this was it. Might as well make it exciting. They would all go out as monsters preferred.

With, a story.

“I can’t believe we are really going on a trip, just in the middle like this?” Phal was the first to be real worried as they hopped into the RV.

“What about our studies, Daddy Pyrus? You didn’t want us to bring any books?” Angie pointed out.

“Oh? It’s just not needed anymore,” Papyrus said as he helped them into the RV. “This year, we are doing a different kind of learning called just life. No books. No studies. Just us and discovering the adventure of the open road.”

Phal definitely didn’t believe that. Angie also didn’t believe it, but neither of them knew what was happening.

Sans just gave him a thumbs up. He sat in the back, relaxing as Papyrus drove out toward the road. It’d be great if they got a whole year, but Sans didn’t know for sure. They enjoyed the scenery and the girls played their handheld games for awhile until the eventual-

“I’m bored. I want a story,” Phal said. “Why didn’t Daddy Pyrus let us bring any books?”

“Oh. We got to bring one.” Sans brought out his book storyline book. “So? You guys want to know what happened in the other timelines I couldn’t tell you about?” Oh, they were thrilled. He reread the parts where Sans had gone to other timelines, and met another Frisk and another Sans. He even read about the Sans that had hurt the Frisk in the prison.

“I don’t like him, he’s way too mean,” Phal said. “He’s not like you at all. Can’t we skip over him?”

“Nah. Every Sans matters.” Papyrus kept this in for a reason. Later on, Sans would have to figure out his own best order to read, but for now, Papyrus had them in the order he wanted them to be read in. “In fact? Like, let’s go see his timeline from his perspective, don’t ya think?”

“I don’t think I’d like him any better,” Phal muttered.

“You might understand him a little better?” Sans tried. “Anyway, that’s where we are starting. So this is just after he almost killed Princess Frisk.”

“Aww!” The girls complained, but Sans couldn’t skip it. It was there for a reason.

“Don’t want to read him? Fine, I won’t read none.” It wasn’t much of a gamble, the girls would definitely say okay. “Alright then, let’s start.

World 22

 Two Years Later After the Events of World 36 . . .

Sans walked home. Same thing every day. Dark like always, no one would be there waiting for him. Never had been anymore. He spent all night out, trying to make himself feel better. It’s how he tried to get through his days. There was no use wandering around to find anymore answers out in different worlds.

He was trying to get used to what he did still have. There were still some monsters, and some of them were having new kids. Trying to accept the little he had.

As he opened the door though, he heard the voice of an angel.

‘I have been here, sitting in the dark, what took you so long?!’

A bony angel’s voice. Sans stared at . . . ‘Papyrus? Papyrus?!’ It worked! It worked?

‘Sans! It is about time you came back because you see? I am very, very lost,’ Papyrus said. ‘I was sparing the human and trying to show some good will, but I? I think it won? But, I’m here. So, I don’t know.’

Sans strolled over to his brother. He’d been gone for so long. ‘I’ve been very bonely for so long.’

‘Don’t joke, Sans, I’m scared!’ Papyrus’ legs rattled. ‘I don’t understand what is happening!’

‘A second chance. You’ll be okay.’ Sans went over and patted his brother, getting rewarded with being scooped into Papyrus’ arms. ‘It’s all okay now.’

It worked. It took a little time, two whole years, but it worked. If Papyrus was back, then others must be back too. That princess kind of Frisk did it. That determination really could move mountains.

It moved Papyrus back right where he belonged. Who cared what happened with the other Sans of World 36 then? Screw him. He won.

He won.

‘How?’ Papyrus asked him. He asked it over and over, even insisting on checking the machine. Finally, Sans broke down and told him what he did. ‘That was so risky! You could have killed someone, Sans!’

‘But, Gaster worked out the factors all those years ago. I knew there was just a little chance.’ Sans was trying to convince him. ‘When the determination was extracted, it would just pull across some subtleties. Smidge of royal power and a version of my magic. .0001.’ It was too small to have an effect on anything.

‘You used something from a timeline that was not your own for your own purposes. Karma will be severe,’ Papyrus warned him. ‘Brother! Don’t you remember what happened to Gaster? You must be careful.’

‘It’s fine,’ Sans assured him. ‘Only thing was, it was a late effect.’ Super late for some reason. Two years late. ‘Time is finicky, but it’s okay. You’re here.’

Papyrus wrapped him up in another big hug. He looked so worried. ‘Don’t mess around with anything else. Promise me you will not touch the timeline machine again. No more traveling through timelines.’

‘I promise.’ He meant it to. He had Papyrus back, and there’s no reason he’d ever mess with timelines again.

Never again.

But? That didn’t mean it wasn’t ready to mess with him.

————————————

World 5,236

“Maybe he’ll get better?” Angie said trying to be positive. “He did get his brother back. Maybe that will make him nicer?”

“I’d rather read more about Frisk,” Phal said.

Sans looked at the pages. “Well, that can be arranged. His story is over for now?” Weird. One section and then Papyrus flipped it? “Oh hey, your Papa Pyrus went ahead and put in a picture of Frisk for you.”

“Is that what she really looks like?” Phal asked.

“Uh? No,” Papyrus said. “We don’t know what anyone looks like, but she looked fitting.”

“Okay, okay. Just read. I want to hear about Frisk,” Phal said.

“Okay. She’s not a princess anymore. I can tell you that much from the beginning of this,” Sans warned them. “Might have a big girl ending.”

“We are big girls,” they reminded them.

“Okay then.” Ooh. This beginning didn’t sound good. He began to read.

World 10

“A human is attacking!” Sans heard from his stand. Monsters were going nuts as they heard the news. Déjà vu. He knew this part. He heard cries telling him to get out and vacate the lab, to run to safety. Evacuation.

“Sans!” another monster yelled for him. “What are you doing? We have to go.”

“Nah.” Sans looked at his hotdog. “You wanna hear something really sad? I’m out of ketchup.” The monster ran away from him. A human on a rampage. It sounded familiar. 

As he took a shortcut home to Snowdin, he could see how familiar it had been. Everyone had vacated except for a few monsters here and there. He moved down the snow, into a place without snow. A small home with four mushroom lights that squeaked in the front. He held the prison key to open the little house. It was something he only did to leave food.

He only did that so it remained calm. He didn’t waste good food like Grillby’s, he tended to buy the garbage food Bratty and Catty had. After all these years, he hadn’t even seen the thing in a long time. There was a chance that this might actually backfire. He had to hope that feeding it and keeping it safely under lock and key was good enough for it to . . . help.

Once upon a time, it brought about great destruction. He was the only one that stopped its warring path. He had no idea what part of his words reached it, or if it just faced the fact it couldn’t beat him. Either way, it quit. A part of Sans was happy about it, but a greater part felt nothing. He had saved the Underground. Saved the survivors left. Saved the king.

But he lost everyone else, including the most important skeleton in the world to him: Papyrus.

World 5,236

“He lost daddy too?” Phal interrupted. “Is he going to end up being bad?”

“I think it’s less of him being evil, and something else bad happening,” Angie said. “Everyone’s terrified of something.”

“Yeah. I don’t think he’ll be as bad. We’ll see,” Sans said as he began to read again.

World 10

He took a shortcut in the house, half feeling like he was opening up Pandora’s box. Who cared though, he already knew the might of the human soul. “Hey?” He called out toward the bed it was sleeping in. “Another one of you humans came down and it’s dusted everybody it can find up to Snowdin so far. What’re you going to do about it?” He waited, to see if it moved from beneath its covers. “Either come kill me or talk to it.” Another human was the only chance they had to make it quit. 

The human moved its head from beneath the covers and looked at him. The he/she had grown. It was a she now. “Age.”

“Don’t know. Sounds like kid,” Sans said, still unsure if it would help. She chewed on her nail.

“I’ll need clothes that fit,” she said. “Then take me to it.”

“Clothes. Fine.”

“A tutu with a top at least.”

World 5,236

“Time to stop for some yummy food,” Papyrus insisted.

The girls were just staring at Sans.

“You said dusted and killed,” Angie pointed out. “In front of Daddy Pyrus too?”

“You are getting older,” Papyrus said to them. “I told Sans to read a lot more to you. You are big girls?”

“Yes, yes, we are big girls,” Phal agreed. “Angie and I can handle all the words.”

Yeah. They weren’t gonna get a choice, but good to see they were still excited. Everything was still fine so far. “Okay, let’s get some food. First food of the trip.” Yummy.

As they ate though, Papyrus was already on stuff. “Sans?” he whispered to his brother. “Stay here. Watch the children. We are close to the house we questioned.”

Yeah, Sans had a feeling. It’d be nice if they got like a year, but it could even be a day, or just hours. Papyrus was going full force with his plan. “I gotcha. Good luck, Pap.” Sans would help him at least with this part, but the girls would need someone to watch over them.

They couldn’t risk them both getting dusted and the girls left alone out there. Sans tried to stay calm and relaxed for the girsl. Tried to act like nothing was wrong.

Not like Papyrus was starting the chain reaction that put them all on the line. “This place has pretty good food, huh?”

“We already told you!” The spiny monster said as Papyrus took negotiations tougher than last time. “We never heard of your wife at all, why would we care?”

“You are rumored to be border thieves!” Papyrus was not holding back. “Our quiet home is not quite on the border, but it wasn’t too far. I still can’t believe someone would just up and take my wife shile she was shopping.”

“Nobody took anyone, she probably just left you, get over it.” The spiny monster paid for that with the sound of another ‘gack!’.

“I am a very. Nice. Monster. Most of the time,” Papyrus insisted. “I have a lot of stress built up inside me, and if I accidentally end you, then I will find the next lowlife to question!”

“You do anything and you’ll put your nation in such trouble,” he threatened Papyrus. “Our nation never did anything. Humans are safe. There’s no kidnapping or black mail out this way.”

“I don’t have a nation, I dropped it,” Papyrus said.

“Are you crazy? Who drops their nation?”

“Someone who will do what it takes to get their family!” He said none too nicely as he aimed a large degree of bones right at his most delicate of monster parts. “I am at a place right now that even if I lost a leg, I’d still be hopping to the next monster to question!”

“Desperate man, you are desperate. The whole nation is gonna be in big trouble-”

“Then it’s in trouble, I don’t care anymore! My ending days will not be limited in it’s happiness just because of my fear of what will happen any longer.” It was bad enough that he couldn’t question this deeply last time. A monster needed a nation to ally with. To be theirs. It was almost like a death sentence without it.

A year, tops, if even. “Where if my wife, Chara the Skeleton, or you are losing the ability to have family first, then to hop anywhere again, then to hold anything again, and then I will end it right off your sensitive monster head!”

“Plot 42, it’s hiding behind the rails of the abandoned cheesecake chain place!”

He finally got his answer. “If she isn’t there, then this will get worse. If she is there but dead, they this will get much, much worse.” He left.

Cheesecake chain, abandoned factory. That wasn’t very far from where he had been.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

When Phal and Angie finished their food, Sans knew it was either a bad sign or a good sign Papyrus wasn’t back. Papyrus was a strong monster, one of the strongest, he just didn’t overuse his power like a lot of other monsters.

Still, if he had got ganged up on, someone could have taken down. It was also pretty likely that someone told him where Chara had been. If so, he might not return without her too. So? “Is it time for another story?”

“Right here at the picnic table?” Angie asked.

“Yep.” The RV was only a few feet. He grabbed the book and brought it out toward them. “Let’s see, where were we?” He began to read.

World 10

Good. Looked like it wasn’t going to join it. Looked like it at least. Sans went and got some clothes that looked like they would fit and dropped them off. He unlocked the front door and went out. “When you’re ready.”

The clothes weren’t the best, but she seemed to fit in them fine. She looked out the door and took a step out. She continued on her way out the door. She didn’t kill any monsters in her path and most of them were running away as soon as they saw her anyhow. None of the monsters knew where he kept her. She went through the snow and upward.

“It’s past here.” Sans would have to give her a shortcut. “Come on.”

After a quick trip, she moved toward the little genocidal maniac. Monsters ran in all directions from both of them.

She stood in front of the boy as he pulled her into a fight. She didn’t move as he tried to hit her with his toy knife. “Cute.”

Frisk watched the little boy. Towhead. Eight or nine. Scared and raging out of his mind. “Don’t play with me, little boy. I’m level 19 and I have a human soul. One swipe from my real knife and you are dead.” That seemed to calm him down. “There’s no way out. Forget trying to get stronger so you can fight the king. It’s not happening. You’ll never see your home again. You’ll never leave the barrier.”

The child tried to strike again. She made it mad of course. No one wanted to hear that they couldn’t go home. “You happened to climb the mountain. Proving something to your friends? Wanting to look at it, to see if it was real and accidentally fell?"

“I didn’t mean to fall,” he said. “I want to go home. If it all exists, then a king exists.”

“At first, it was scary,” Frisk said, knowing she was finally breaking through to him. “Weird frogs jumped at you, but it was so easy to take them down. Then when you knew how easy it was to take EXP from them? You knew what you had to do to get home. It’s not enough. What’s your name?”

“Kevin,” he answered. “What’s it take? I want to go home!”

“It’s over. You fell and it’s over,” Frisk told him again. 

“I can get strong enough! I can beat the king!” he insisted. “I can dust every monster, and I can beat him! I have to!” The little boy was starting to cry. “If I don’t, they’ll kill me. They fight me. I have to.”

Gimmick crying or real crying? Trying to manipulate her emotions or not? “They fight you because they’re scared. You’re different. You fight them because you’re scared. They’re different,” Frisk answered him wisely. “Being scared only leads to suffering and death. Stop rampaging through here, trying to collect enough to take on the king.” She held her real knife at him. 

“But what do I do?” He asked. “What do I do? I gotta go home, I can’t just stay here! I’ll die.”

Frisk could have put her knife away and reached out for his hand, letting her defense down. Yet, it was a perfect human trick to make someone feel safe and then strike. “I’m not putting down my real knife. If you are coming at me with that toy knife, then come at me. I’ll try not to murder your soul completely in one whack, but I guarantee nothing, Kevin.”

Kevin held his toy knife close. “What do I do?”

“Realize that you made a mistake. You fell and you’ll never see your family or the sky again.”

“No!”

“Kevin. Besides your name, what else do you remember?” There. She hated to pull it out in battle but he was continuing to be a brat. EXP created a lot of bratty stubbornness in a human when they first inherited it.

“I can’t give up.” Kevin held his toy knife at her. “I’ll break through the barrier, and I’ll be free to remember more than just my name.” He rubbed his eyes. 

“Don’t open them very much, do you? Every time you do, you know what a monster would see.” Tears. Breaking down. She had kept her eyes shut too in the past. She battled most of the time with her eyes closed, sealing herself off from what she was doing. 

They were only monsters. It was the mantra that kept her going. They were just terrible monsters. When they tried to break down and show mercy, she could even strike harder. She had liked that. The whole way it wasn’t so hard as long as she waited until tough monsters were at their weakest and she killed off every other monster she could possibly meet. Anything to get out. Besides, even if she could be turned into not hurting anyone, she felt that regret fester as soon as she killed Toriel.

There was no changing her mind. No one would protect her but herself. She was strong with a human soul. Monsters were easy.

It was why Kevin was having such a hard time right now, accepting that it really had been over. There was no second chancing with any determination with her. She had a human soul like him, and she could kill him dead. She didn’t want to, but she would.

She really didn’t want to. It would be nice to have a future with him. She already had ideas and visions of what she wanted, what would be nice. However, if he was too far gone, she would take him out. The boy would never reach the unending brutal fight with Sans the Skeleton.

It was the only reason she ever stopped. None of that skeleton’s words reached her, she just couldn’t beat him. No matter how many times she came back, some things couldn’t be changed. Winning against Sans was like a five year old passing a geometry test. Without extreme intelligence and will power, that would never happen.

Frisk was no genius. She walked up a final time, but stopped fighting. Sans and her had stood in front of each other, much like she was doing with Kevin now. It didn’t take long for him to figure it out.

She would stop. Frisk was human though and couldn’t survive down there. She needed shelter and food and the bravest of monsters would keep coming after her until her EXP rode so high, she’d forget who she’d even been. He seemed to already understand that. He was smarter than he had ever let on.

He took a shortcut to a small house and sealed her off inside. There would be no garage for her, he wanted her nowhere near his home or along the path of monsters. He locked her in.

She had a bed. He brought food, knowing if she died, her determination could bring her back again, and maybe not starting from in there. 

That was Frisk’s life now, along with other things Sans didn’t know.

She finally watched Kevin break down and drop his toy knife. Now it was safe to put her real knife away. She went over to the young boy and picked him up.

With him in her arms, she went toward Sans. “I’ll take care of him.”

“A growing collection of humans.” Not a joke. Just a statement. There would be no thanks, nor would she want any. He took a shortcut and brought her back to the small house.

He locked the door behind them again.

“I don’t want to be locked up for life like a prisoner!” Kevin yelled at her.

Children. “Child,” Frisk warned him. “The world doesn’t work the same down here as it did up there. Be grateful you live. Come.” She took his little hand and then? Finally smiled at him. “Welcome home, Kevin. I will take the best care I can of you. You have someone else who is going to love you just as much.”

“What?” Kevin seemed confused of course. So had Frisk when she first came down. “Who?”

“He’s the most special of monsters,” Frisk said as she picked the boy up gently. She went toward the back and opened the door along the crease of the wall. It was something Sans had not caught onto, or didn’t care to catch onto. “He’s messed up in his life too, just like us. We’re all the same in the end.”

Her eyes met Asriel’s soft ones in return when she opened the door. “Asriel.” She held Kevin even closer. “Look.”

Asriel came toward Kevin, not touching him right away. “Howdy. My name’s Asriel. I’m going to be your new dad.”

“No, no.” Monsters worked so much faster in that way. “We start as friends with him. That’s the human way.” Frisk smiled at Kevin, and then at Asriel. “His name is Kevin, Honey,” Frisk said to him. She looked back toward Kevin, to see if he would allow Asriel to come closer. Seeing he wasn’t as frazzled, she encouraged Asriel to touch him.

“Hi, Kevin.” Asriel touched the top of his head in the same way his father once had. “Welcome to your new home. It’s not as bad as it seems.” He gestured to Frisk. “Thanks to her.”

“Thanks to you too,” she said. She sat the little boy down. “This is our backroom, it’s where we spend most of our time. No one knows Prince Asriel is actually here and he would like to keep it that way.” Most likely, the boy would never even see anyone again, but just in case he did have a run-in with Sans.

“I don’t have a ton of magic. Sans helps to keep Frisk fed,” Asriel said to Kevin. “The rest of the time, I’ll try to whip something up back here for you too.”

It was an emotional time. Kevin was coming to grips with the new life he’d just been dropped into, and Frisk and Asriel were about to share their story to an outside for the first time.

Well, part of it.

Asriel had been reborn from determination and his own leftover dust. He had been a flower for some time, visiting her when she first arrived. Curious about her. Convinced about her being his sister, Chara.

Frisk had learned overtime the truth. Flowey was a sociopath, he could be good or bad. When she kept him on a good side, she learned more about his sister and him. He was a very talkative flower, and once she knew the secret to restoring his form?

She changed her own life forever. She split her human soul with him. A normal person couldn’t have done it, but Frisk wasn’t a normal person.

After that kind of bonding, and now being back, Asriel could have left her there, but he wouldn’t do it. He stayed in the back with her, not feeling comfortable about joining out into the Underground again. Not after everything. Not all the questions.

It was no surprise after that, once they both started to grow up, that they had bonded close enough to form a relationship.

Her first kiss. Her first date. Her first everything. Even if they couldn’t officially have a ceremony too, Asriel swore one day he would marry her if she wanted him.

She swore that she would agree to be his arranged wife. 

World 2,356

“Whoah. Uncle Sans?” Phal pointed at the book. “You didn’t get the Princess this time.”

“Guess not.” Eh. “Don’t think this Sans wants the girl? I mean, she took out his brother and a lot of his world.”

“It’s weird. This Frisk feels weird,” Angie said. “This world is really different.”

“Yeah, but hey, she’s almost like a Princess Frisk?” He needed to keep them interested. “A new little human just blazed their way Underground too. Might change a few things.” Little menace was caught too, so that was good.

“When’s Papa Pyrus coming back?” Phal asked.

“I don’t know. Soon. Let’s finish reading this section.” Sans was trying to keep the distraction up so he began to read again.

World 10

Until that day, if they had to share themselves, they would lie that they were already married.

It always seemed the best to Asriel. If anything happened to him, it would protect her.

Frisk never minded. One day they'd be married anyhow.

They could have both won the snuggling championship from the Underground several times over the years. They were made for each other and it would always be that way.

At least. That’s what she had believed.

————————————-

Sans sat down in Grillby’s. Not really eating, just sitting down. Now that the residents were getting the word the human had disappeared again, life was moving back to the way it had been. A couple questioned him, but most assumed it just quit and disappeared somewhere just like the last raging human fifteen years ago.

Fifteen years ago. “I’ll take one now.” Sans looked toward Grillby. “Do I get it free for saving the day?” A few residents that were now in the area laughed at his pathetic joke. He took his order and stared at it.

“I know you didn’t want to, but you did the right thing.”

Sans glanced beside him. The goat. He’d known someone had stayed beside Frisk in that house. He didn’t care who or why. At first it was just a flower that moved all over the place, but now it was a full fledged goat monster. Well, it was what it was. He had all the trademarks of royalty though. 

“I am Asriel.”

Hm. “Nice to meetcha.” He looked back at his burger. “Your dad is on the other side of the kingdom. Your mom’s dead. Sorry about that.”

“You know that I’ve been with the human.”

Yes, of course he knew Asriel had been with the human. “Yep. Don’t care.” As long as she wasn’t savagely murdering everyone again, he didn’t care. He would have had to care if Undyne and the whole Royal Guard were around. There was no Royal Guard, he was it. The lonely sentry that took care of everything. Still? He was just as lazy as ever. He stood watch sometimes, but mostly sold his hot dogs and made conversations with others to get through his days. 

“We are monsters. We forgive,” Asriel said to him. “I don’t want this anymore for her. I want the human woman to be able to get out and live with the boy.”

Sans didn’t even flinch. “Heh, I never considered that. Rampaging was exciting I guess but nah, the death toll rose too fast.” Most monsters believed they were dead or had disappeared forever. Why would he ever do something as foolish as let her out? Besides, she could get out if she wanted. He just wouldn’t feed her and more hell would happen.

“If I undid all the pain she caused, then I want a royal decree that my family would be fine.”

Sans looked back at Asriel. Soft, funny goat. “You’re ramming up the wrong tree. Go talk to your dad, not me.”

“You’ve taken care of my human. My power is limited and I wouldn’t have been able to get what she needed without coming out into the kingdom,” he confessed. “I didn’t want to.”

Ah. He wanted Sans to ask for some kind of forgiveness and guarantee they would be okay to Asgore for him? “I’m just a sentry. Nobody special, Chum.” 

“I’d erase it all. Monsters would come back confused, but they’d be back.”

Sans took a bite of his burger.

“Including your brother, Papyrus.”

Sans set down his burger. To even believe that a little would hurt. All conversation stopped there. Papyrus’ name was like a blue stop sign, Asriel melted any kind of chance he’d talk further to him.

“I see. I understand, Sans,” Asriel said as he gave up on the conversation. “I will talk to my father first then, but I want you to promise me one thing? That you’ll continue to watch over the humans.”

Ouch. Sans felt a degree of hope hit him senselessly. He had to answer back. “Buddy, if you bring back Papyrus, and if they don’t go round dusting, then I guarantee the maniacs would be safe.”

“Not just locked up in that little house without anyone to talk to,” Asriel continued further. “Monsters will still be mad. Everyone is going to try and take a shot at them. Don’t let them near the human woman, she’ll be fragile. Especially not the boy, the EXP is light within him, but it’s still dangerous. She's always warned me to never take any human lightly that fell, even if it was saved. So? He could start to kill and then the other human would have to kill him. She shouldn’t do that. Ever.”

Then, the other shoe dropped.

“The human woman isn't just a friend, she is my wife. She is the Princess of the Underground. She should be protected. Take me to my father.”

World 5,236

Plot 42

“Whoah, whoah, whoah!” Friskarino work up Farrisk as the lights started to blare on and off. “Hey, someone’s trying to escape or something!” He went over to see Mina and Chara and Them. “Hey, you guy’s cool over there?”

“Let go of that!” A voice came over the intercom. “Let go of that, hey!”

“No, give! She needs to know her Funny Bones is back!”

“Funny Bones!” Chara shouted as loud as she could. “I have no idea how he did it, how he made it, or how we are even going to survive. Screw it, I want out!” She started to shake the cell.

Gabe helped too. Friskarino and Farrisk were shaking theirs on their end too. A chance at escape before the bitter end.

“I want out of this cage!” Farrisk yelled. “I want out into the forest, where I can just run!”

“I just want out, pick me up by a bus, I don’t care!” Friskarino yelled out his own request.

“Hey, hey, pipe down, nothing’s happening!” One of the guards yelled as he came and started to bang the cells. “Relax, we will take care of the intruder. He’s not getting far, don’t put your hopes up.” He smiled at Mina. “Help me make them relax, Mina? You are always so good at cooperation."

Mina crossed her arms. “I can’t do that, Connor. For all I know, that could be a lie.”

“Mina, you better help them calm down!” Connor yelled as he heard more sounds from outside the room.

Some of the doors started to open.

“Funny Bones found the control panel. Keep going,” Chara squealed. “Almost home, Mina, I’m almost home.” Chara was starting to wipe her face.

Mina gathered Abe and they started to pull at the cell door too before it just gave out. Farrisk and Friskarino’s had opened too. They all started to run out, with Connor yelling at them but not doing much more than that once someone bashed his face against a wall.

Mikey was coming, and so was the other guard, and the same thing happened. No more ACT of friendly from anybody, they were getting out of there.

They found a door that took them upwards and Chara ran straight for the skeleton that must have helped them. “I’m going to love you and kill you for this, Funny Bones!”

“Chaaaaaaaraaaaaaa!” The skeleton just hurrahed as they all got out of the area.

They were surrounded by a forest on one side, and civilization on the other.

“I don’t trust that way right now, I need that way.” Farrisk pointed outward to the forest. "Come on, Friskarino."

“We could try calling a bus?” Friskarino asked but Farrisk was already running toward the windows. “Yeah, I figured. We gotta scram, good to have met ya!” He called toward them.

Mina just smiled as she watched Chara being reunited finally. After all those months, her heart was soaring.

“This is going to get the whole nation in trouble, our girls lives are ruined, I was lucky I didn’t die, I love you, but I’m so angry, but I love you!” Chara’s words were all scrambled.

“It’s okay.” Her husband came back softer, understanding her. “All the huggies in the world for you that you missed.”

Chara gestured toward Mina. “That’s Mina and Abe and Gabe.”

Mina waved along with her brother and his roommate.

“Yes, we can chat later, we must go now. I need to collect Sans and the girls,” Papyrus insisted.

“You brought the girls?!” Flames could almost be seen in Chara’s eyes.

“Safe with Sans. Safe with Sans,” Papyrus convinced her. “It will be okay, I promise. Sans and the girl and I? We all have plenty of protection. I bought some for you too, so let’s go.”

“Not just us.” Chara gestured toward Mina. “Them too.”

“Uh? We can get them out and find them a ride,” Papyrus insisted.

“Screw that Papyrus.” Chara moved away from him, grabbed Mina and threw her in front.

Mina looked toward the monster. “Uh, hi? Nice to meet you.” She wasn’t as used to monsters. Like, at all. She never met one in her life before.

“Without her, I’d be dead, so we owe her. Also, her brother and her room mate,” Chara insisted. “We are getting them to safety first.”

“Okay, okay,” Papyrus agreed. “Who was it that took off into the forest?”

“Huh? Oh, that was Farrisk and Friskarino,” Chara answered.

“Frisk?!”

“Yeah, Farrisk and Friskarino,” Chara answered back. “Why do you sound like that? You can't practically know them.”

“We should really follow after them, which way are they going?” Papyrus asked.

“No, we are going to Sans, and my girls, Now!” Chara demanded.

That was a much better idea, most likely they couldn't catch up anyhow. They were running out of time, MIna had to play a new card to get them moving from this tender moment. “I know where they live, Sir,” Mina interrupted, but with information. “I can give directions, once we leave from this dangerous place?”

“Oh, right, right, yes. We should go,” Papyrus decided. “We’ll meet up with them later. We should go.”

“Yes, let’s!” Chara was getting antsy, and she should be. More prisoners were coming out and backup guards would be there soon.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Uuuh?” Sans had bought his nieces some desserts to keep them relaxed. He could see Papyrus coming, but he also had a whole band of humans with him. His wife, and a troop of three more humans. He watched Papyrus walk up to him. “Got her back?”

“Mommmmmaaa!” Phal and Angie recognized her right away. Chara swooped the girls up in big hugs.

Sans felt himself being shaked a lot, his bones began to rattle. “U-u-uh?”

“Sans, I got her back, and I found Frisk too!” Papyrus shouted. “I didn’t follow them, they had a brother and left toward the woods, but one of the other humans knows where they will be going!”

Frisk? “Oh.” That might be good.

“Not just some humans, people,” Chara said as she pulled the other woman over toward them. “This human is Mina. Without her, I’d be dead, months ago!”

Yeah, someone would have had to pull up on some slack in that place for Chara to survive. Honestly, Chara was probably spitting facts, she wasn’t exactly the hospitable easy to get along with type when she was in a bad mood. “Hey.”

She just waved. Not real used to monsters.

“That is Abe, and that is Gabe,” Chara also said, pointing to the other humans. “We have to help them get home. I can’t just drop them on a bus and hope for the best.”

Yeah, especially since they were still in a hell of a lot of monster nation territory. Humans that lived there, they had to have some kind of monster looking after them or they’d be . . . uh, just like them on the other side. They weren’t gonna be treated real well. “We got an RV. They should fit.”

“I don’t have any options for them,” Papyrus warned her as he handed the options to Chara. “If they run into trouble, they are on their own.”

“Wrong, Hon.” Chara took the options. “If they run into trouble, we will help. We have to get them home. If not all the way home, at least in a moderately safe area for their nations.”

“I like your name,” Phal said to Mina. “It’s pretty.”

“Well? I like your clothes,” Mina said to her. “They are very pretty. Are those from your mom?”

“Yes,” she said. She pointed to Angie. “That’s my sister, Angie. I am Phal.”

Not bad. The human Mina wasn’t used to monsters, but she was trying to get along. The other two were different. One of them wasn’t saying a word, paralyzed in fear. The other one. He was just looking all around the place. Overall? Not a threat, they could take them.  

“Where exactly do you live?” Papyrus asked them.

“Tulip City,” Mina said. “It’s in the same nation as Farrisk and Friskarino.”

“Oh my goodness, we really should have chased them down in the forest,” Papyrus moaned.

“Uh, no? Guards would have come and we’d be boned, our hellos were taking too long,” Chara warned him. “Plus, we don’t navigate forests.”

“Yes, but? Do you know how far that is from here? We will need more than an RV, we’ll need a plane too, or a ship! That is soooo . . .?” He looked toward Chara. She was shaking her head no. “Doable?” She was nodding yes. “Doable. It’s doable. We have to go see this Frisk anyway.”

Mina just looked toward Chara. “Are you sure?”

“You’re gonna be dead, they don’t talk reasonably out here,” Chara warned Mina. “Besides, how many times did you save me in there?” She wrapped her arms around Mina. “Enough that I owe you more than one. Also, I think Papyrus bit off a lot to come get me. There’s no way we have a home anymore, so let’s get you to yours, okay?” She grinned. “I have the determination to get you home.”

“Oh no.” Papyrus groaned. “She said the determination phrase, Sans.”

“Yep.” It was going to happen now, no doubt. Well, they did have to get to Frisk anyway. Tulip City? Then, Tulip City it would be. Sans pulled out his phone and started to map it out.

Humans and monsters had different paths they had to follow on a road. There was some merging sections, of course, but they weren’t exactly the funnest sections either. There was still a lot of fear, on both sides of the species. Humans feared monsters would steal souls, and monsters feared humans would attack with their strong souls. It was a weird balance to an outsider, but humans and monsters that had lived together were used to it.

So, the world was balanced with monster mainly territory, where they had lived. Chara had to have papers, live in a designated section near an alliance border, and just do her best. Usually Papyrus helped watch over her, and the town was pretty used to her too. Made living pretty easy if a town would kill to save you too. Respect for family was always high for monsters.

Then there was the human mainly territory, where Frisk would be living. It was all the way on the other side of the map. Those humans didn’t trust monsters anymore than they trusted them. Then there was the middle, which is where they had been headed. It was filled with a mixture of humans and monsters, actually living together peacefully. Most of them just grew up that way in that area.

It wasn’t fully peaceful, there were a lot of skirmishes, but there always would be. In that mixture of human and monster nations in the peaceful middle, there were pockets of monster only and human only deadly areas that were way worse than the other places.

They didn’t go by papers. The wrong kind messing in the wrong area, they’d be dead and the body wouldn’t be recovered. Bad areas.

Not to mention, it wasn’t an accidental forget which area you were at either, there were gates and passageways you’d have to go through. So, this wasn’t going to be the funnest trip to map out.

Yep. “So, yeah, we’ll have you home in 110 days.”

“110 days?!” Papyrus shouted. “Are you kidding me? Frisk lives that far away.”

Sans put his phone back away and crossed his arms behind his skull. “Guess so.” 110 days.

“Then 110 days,” Chara said. “I have to get them home safely.”

“Yes, I understand,” Papyrus moaned. “There isn’t a choice, I heard your phrase.”

“Thanks for the help,” Mina thanked them. “Where are we exactly?”

“Alacore Nation,” Papyrus told her. “You didn’t know your nation?”

“Funny Bones? Seriously?” She put her hand on Mina’s head and tickled it, making Mina look at her oddly. “They’ve never even seen monsters before. Mina was visiting her brother in college. She took him and his room mate out for something to eat to make sure he was actually accomplishing anything. Then they were nabbed there in the restaurant, and dragged all the way out here.”

“It’s so far. By plane?” Papyrus asked. “Planes aren’t allowed to fly over other nations.”

“No, they just shipped us all the way out here,” Mina said. “Sorry.”

“Then, maybe they went the other way?” Papyrus brought out his own phone. “If we went the other way, we’d be there in less than a day.”

“Hey?” Chara yanked on his sleeve. “I love you. That’d kill us. You’d have at least enough monsters to take out a human soul attacking, and if you manage to pass that, then 10,000 human souls ready to attack on the other side. Nobody goes that way. Human, monster, hybrid, nobody.”

“Well? It was supposed to be a family vacation,” he said. “For one year.”

“Which I am thrilled about.” Chara hugged him. “I’m sure there’s a huge reason you were being this dumb, so you can tell me stuff up front while everyone piles in the back.”

Well? Sans grabbed his book and stood up. “Come on, Phal. Angie. I’ll read to you later in the RV.” He looked toward Chara. “I’ve been reading to your kids. Papyrus wants me to read some stuff to them.”

Chara gave Papyrus a funny look. “That’s cool, but I’m back? I can take over.”

“I’d much rather have you next to me up front,” Papyrus said, “and Sans will read in the back. He started the adventures, and I want him to be the one to end them.”

Chara wasn’t understanding but - “Total monster thing, right?”

“Right.” Sans grabbed the book and looked at the new travelers. “Yeah. You want to bum a ride, folks, you are listening to storytime too. No choice.”

“That’s fine,” Mina agreed. “Abe and Gabe will be fine with it.”

“Oh yeah.” Chara went between him and Papyrus. “If Mina sounds like she’s getting bossy with the guys, she isn’t. She's really good at reading people, and Gabe is a little shy to talk right yet. And Abe? He's her brother and a a bit of a weird one. He will take two hours to answer a yes or no question. She’s been keeping him alive in that place too. Mina herself is probably still in survivor mode, she's never been exposed to monsters at all. Joke time up the ying yang won't hurt with her. As for her brother? Don’t ask Abe anything, unless you want to give him a long breath to answer. Then when he does? Prepare for a whole essay.”

Got it. Sans waited for the humans to get into the back. He kept Phal and Angie out until he got in.

He looked toward the front where Chara was crawling up front with Papyrus. “Hey? It’s not soundproofed, so remember that? Already got two nieces.” Eh. They had been separated for months though. “I guess a nephew would be okay?”

“Shut up and get in,” Chara warned him. “No promises about a nephew.” She crawled in the front seat and looked back out toward him. “Make sure your nice to my friends, Sans.”

“Super nice. All the nicey nice for all the humans,” he agreed as he climbed in.

Then he remembered something.

He climbed back out and went toward Papyrus' side. "Hey?" He tapped the book. "So, I'm currently in the middle of a story where a human is the enemy in the timeline and has been jailed for awhile? Might not go over so well with the humans in the beginning."

"What are you reading to my kids?" Chara asked him.

"No naughty words, I promise," Papyrus said quickly. "Monster thing. I'll explain soon. Hang on, Sans." Papyrus got down. "There is a nicer story in here about the same time. I haven't read it all the way through, but I read the beginning, and it'll work until the humans are more used to us." He rearranged the papers. "There. It's a princess story even. Sort of."

Okay. "Thanks, less killing should go over well," Sans said, hearing Chara question Papyrus as he headed toward the back again. He helped Phal and Angie into the back this time. He didn't think any of the humans were a threat, but Phal and Angie were his nieces. No chances taken. He even made them both sit closest to him.

He sat back down in the chair he’d pretty much made his for the trip.

The human Gabe just tried to smile. Even gave a thumbs up. Super nervous. “Hi? Gabe. I’m Gabe. I’m the roommate. I wasn’t supposed to be here like Mina and Abe, but uh, yeah, I am? So. Sorry. You know, long journey.”

“Hi.” There, that seemed nicey nice.

The one named Abe, was looking around. It’d be good to give something to say.

“No rush, Abe,” Sans said to him, “but if you could give me an explanation of why you and Mina were abducted, and why Gabe wasn’t supposed to be? Appreciate it.” There.

Now? Mina. The reason Chara survived. Not used to monsters, but speaking up. Solid smile, with an awkwardness to it. A small bit of awkwardness. “You don’t have to be in survivor mode. We don’t do shit back here. No questions to survive by, just storytime.” She gave him a real smile now.

Ooh. Nice smile. "So, Phal. Angie. Uh, are new company means we are going to switch stories." He held up the princess he found for the area. "Uh, looks like another princess."

"Princess Frisk!" Oh yeah, they had no problems switching to the new story.

Sans looked at the story a little. It didn't seem bad. It was even one of the Underground happy ending tales. Still, Papyrus didn't finish it. He must have made a decent way into it though. It would probably be fine.

He began to read.

---

World 59- Perfect Ending, Monster’s on the Surface

Sans looked through his shades. ‘What a bee-yoo-tiful day.’ The sun was shining nice and warm on the Monster Kingdom. He hadn’t moved for hours.

‘Sans!’ his brother scolded him. ‘You are supposed to be on the lookout for unsupervised humans in the kingdom.’

Ah, Papyrus. Sans stretched his bones lightly. ‘I am. They could attack from the sky. Never know.’ Heh. Boy oh boy. It was a shame he lost track of home for so long. He never would have guessed his world was one of the few with not just a neutral ending, but the best ending. Surface.

He had all his friends there, and they could all feel the sunshine. He’d been living that life for about the last two years, made more friends and decided it was the best world of all of them. Everything was a paradise, except one thing?

Sans lifted his shades. The sun was getting sort of purplish? That wasn’t normal. ‘Hey, that’s not supposed to happen.’

Papyrus stared up too. ‘Of course not. Why is the sun getting purplish?’ He gasped. ‘Sans! Are you still playing pranks in space and time?’

‘No.’ Definitely not anymore. He hadn’t touched that machine and he never planned on it again. But uh? ‘Not really a known phenomenon, right?’

‘Suns don’t turn purple. We should look into this. We must abandon this duty for a graver one,’ Papyrus said to him. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Oh, I’ll take care of it.’ He didn’t want Papyrus playing out there in the timelines. ‘Wait.’ What? Sans looked at himself. ‘What?’

‘You are so lazy, I will take care of it.’ Papyrus stood still for a little while with the same kind of shock. ‘I can’t move!’

The ticklish feeling deep inside. The sense of movement. Nothing. They felt nothing. Long ago when Gaster created the machine, they were all able to use it to change themselves to move through time. Gaster wanted more than just to move, he wanted to reset, so his greediness destroyed him.

But Sans and Papyrus had kept that ability. Easily. Where was it?

‘We better go pick it up again.’ Maybe for some reason, there was a limit to how long they had? If so, they better check. ‘Come on, to the house.’

——————————

Behind Sans and Papyrus’ House

Sans and Papyrus both looked at the timeline machine.

‘Some people do trek to the ancient Monster Kingdom’s underground ruins,’ Papyrus said to Sans. ‘I don’t want to. Do you think we can move around in the timeline?’

Shortcuts? He touched the timeline machine with Papyrus. ‘Let’s try it.’

——————————————

Underground: True Lab

‘Yeah, we can do that.’ Sans looked in front of them. They were still able to move around inside the timeline, but not outside of it. Huh. They both set to work to making sure that the timeline machine still worked.

It . . . didn’t. ‘Don’t bother with working on everything, this thing is a hunk of metal now.’ Sans kicked it. No way, that was bad news. What happened?

Papyrus tried one more time to make something work. ‘It’s utterly broken, but how? It’s like there’s never been any power to it. What happened?’ Papyrus printed out some readouts.

Sans scanned them too. It would be bad if something happened to the timelines, many versions of him were still trying to find their exact homes. Were they trapped?

‘World 36 went offline?’ Papyrus handed him the paper. ‘Look, one of the World’s just turned off their machine.’

‘Uh?’ Damn. ‘Wait. Okay, so it’s offline, but we aren’t. So why isn’t it working?’ Sans looked over it again.

‘Maybe it can’t?’ Papyrus offered. ‘Remember what Gaster said? He said that he thought the worlds were connected through the timeline machines. Maybe if one went offline or broke? Maybe it gets all of them. Like? Like the lights in Snowdin. When one burns out-’

‘-they all burn out.’ Aw man. Some version of him must have been mad enough it just turned off all communication, severing the chain of timelines. He couldn’t believe he’d ever do that on purpose. Stranding several Sans’ that never found their correct dimension, into the dimension they were in now. ‘It must have been an accident.’

‘Accident or not, the timelines aren’t connected anymore.’ Papyrus started to mess with the machine more. ‘We still have a purple sun to worry about. We should look into the readouts of each world and find out what’s happening.’

Good idea.

‘Sans?’

Oh great, the great fuzzy pushover was nearby. Not surprising. They were Underground now, but Asgore would have the power to teleport too. He also knew about the timelines and Gaster of course. He never gained the power to move through them, Gaster did that just with him and Papyrus.

Asgore could create his own shortcuts though.

‘Greetings, King Asgore!’ Papyrus saluted him. ‘What brings you down into the terribly dark depths of Gaster’s lab?’

‘The sun has a purple smog over it,’ Asgore said to Papyrus. ‘Does it have to do with timelines?’

‘We are ascertaing the question to ascertain the answer,’ Papyrus said.

‘It stopped.’ Sans would just tell it like it is. ‘One of me destroyed their version of the machine. It broke the connection.’

‘Is that why the sun is covered with a purple fog?’ Asgore asked. ‘Is something ill to befall us now?’

Sans shrugged. ‘Shouldn’t. I dunno. We’re looking into it.’

‘Then look faster,’ Asgore pleaded. ‘Do you need help looking? How will we look?’

‘Detailed readouts.’ Papyrus started the process, making more paper spew from the machine. ‘Such a waste of paper, we should have worked more on making these things digital.’ Papyrus cleared his throat, ready to announce the results. ‘ . . . oh, there’s a lot.’

‘Let’s try this thing.’ Sans went over to the other side. When his car was giving him troubles some time ago, they just plugged it into a machine and found exactly what was wrong. Gaster had one of those too. ‘Ours is still working, so this thing should work.’

It started to make a beeping sound and a yellow processing light blinked on and off. It blinked faster, turned into a red flashing light, and then gave one final beep. It stayed a red flashing light.

None of it looked good. Sans looked toward Papyrus that read the readout. ‘Well?’

Papyrus was sweating. ‘It sure is a nice little detailed invention added to this. To detect what is wrong. Do you think it is at all wrong?’

‘Nah.’ Not if Gaster made it. Sans looked over toward Papyrus’ paper. ‘Timeline is on course to implode? That’s bad.’

‘Implode!’ Asgore had a more realistic reaction to it. He grabbed the paper. ‘Do you mean the timeline machine? Does it mean the timeline machine, Gentleskulls?’

Whoah, Gentleskulls. That was a real polite name he hadn’t called them since Gaster was around. ‘No, it means this timeline is going to implode. Explode. It’s gonna fry basically, nothing will be left of it.’ Sans thought about it.

Dang. Didn’t find home more than two years ago, and now he had to turn to dust along with it. Really didn’t want that. ‘Let’s see if we can’t figure out the bug that’s causing that, Papyrus.’

‘Agreed. I do not want to be all explodey,’ Papyrus agreed. ‘We’ll figure it out, King Asgore. You can count on us.’

————————————

World 5,236

"You put yourselves into the story?" Gabe asked. "I mean, it's cool, if it's a monster thing. I mean? It might just be a thing, in general. Especially for young kids. Um?" Gabe was trying again.

"Yeah, sure, Monster thing, Pal," Sans went with. That'd probably flow better. At least better than the riding. He felt an abrupt stop, and the vibes of an emotional human headed toward the back.

It looked like Papyrus just told Chara.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Like he thought, Chara showed up right at the back. Sans just waved. "Joining storytime?" Yeah, she was stressed. Nervous. 

"Chara?" Papyrus came toward the back himself. "I would like to talk to you more? Really? Let's let Sans just read."

"You better be reading easy around my friends," Chara warned him. 

"Real princess story. It'll be okay," he said. "Be great. Getting along just fine."

Chara still didn't look much better. "It's only because . . ." She left with Papyrus.

Yeah. Hearing about the end of reality unless they could figure something out to save it? It's not easy to hear. So far, Phal and Angie hadn't seen it yet. Maybe they would start to slowly question things by the next tale. "Okay, let's continue the story."

————————————

World 59 (Perfect Ending)

Frisk’s College

“Frisk, hey Frisk. Are you up yet?”

No, it was a Saturday. “Unless you are waking me up to go out for breakfast, Frisk is not here right now,” she murmured. Frisk had finished her finals and was just mumbling on her bed. Actually, it should have been a deeper mumble, her head had been buried in the pillow for sleep?

Aah! Frisk tried not to yell too loud to alarm her friends. Clearly this wasn’t normal. She was floating above her bed, her blankets over her, but her pillow further away from her face. “On second thought, no breakfast either! Just, come back later, I need more rest.”

“You are going to miss out on eats?” Her friends knocked at the door again. “We’re paying too.”

Dangit, that would have been so nice. “No, I’m real tired. Thanks.” As she heard their feet walk away, Frisk tried to move around.

This seemed like something some very old friends might know about. Frisk kind of . . . tried to swim to her phone. She managed to seize it and dialed Toriel.

“Frisk, good to hear from you,” Toriel greeted her. “How are you?”

“Floating.” Frisk would get straight to the point. “I’m floating, Toriel. Do you know how to make someone stop floating?”

“Frisk is floating.” Toriel said it like it was a fact. “You haven’t been outside yet, have you? The sun has a purple cloud over it. Or it’s purple itself with clouds surrounding it.”

Uh? So something was going on. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“Not at all, Frisk, but I will let you know when I do,” Toriel said as she hung up.

————————————

Monster Kingdom

Papyrus, Sans and Asgore were trying to put the pieces together. Using the error paper that printed out, along with the last details of what was going on in each of the timelines? They were getting a vague idea.

At the very least. ‘We must tell the kingdom about the timelines,’ Asgore announced. ‘We must. If we do not, someone will start pointing fingers and blaming each other. Gentleskulls, I will do my best to explain to them. While I do that, will you two be able to figure out how to stop this?’

‘It’ll take some work,’ Papyrus confessed. Sans groaned. ‘But, we will do our best, Majesty.’ As he left, Papyrus looked toward Sans. ‘Where do we even start?’

‘Let’s start with why in the heck monsters came back to life.’ Sans gestured to the information. ‘Living information, set back 15-17 years, resetted in current timelines with no reset on memories.’

‘Yes, it seems to have created some havoc, even an error in years,’ Papyrus agreed as he looked at the other timeline data. ‘This says 15. This says 17. Touching timelines though. Aw, look! Alphys confessed her feelings for Undyne. How nice. I’m glad she had feelings. I wonder what feelings she had?’

‘I don’t know, but it means it wasn’t like zombies,’ Sans noted.

‘Sans! Our friends in other timelines are not the living dead!’ Papyrus stopped. ‘Technically. Well, it was a reset malfunction.’

‘I don’t think it was a malfunction but I don’t know what happened.’ It could take some time to find the answer. Did their timeline have long enough for them to find it though? ‘Resets of the dead, in every dimension it looks like.’

‘So we wouldn’t know about that naturally. Frisk never took out a single monster here,’ Papyrus said. ‘Except for me on a date once, but that’s in a different way. The human was so confusing.’

Heh. That comment made Sans smile for just a bit. Not many worlds had a Frisk that he openly met. There were a few. Some were locked up for their own good because Asgore would kill them and they were being protected by a version of him.

Some of the Frisk were gone and dead because they went a little too far and Sans let Undyne take care of them, or they were good Frisks and got out and went above ground where he barely saw them again.

‘Oh, the human came back too.’ Papyrus looked deeper. ‘Some traces of it’s soul. That wouldn’t end well I guess. I suppose?’

‘Is it committing genocide?’ Sans couldn’t find any evidence any of them started to kill again. Everything looked fine, besides the reset of the living.

‘There must be something wrong. There must be, the sun does not just change to purple.’ Papyrus kept digging through the data. ‘How cute, the Snowdrakes reunited in this one. Oh, and this one has a happy snowman.’

Yeah and some of them had a real happy Sans. Papyrus had been given back too. Sans doubted a Frisk just up and figured this out, another him must have been involved. Maybe that’s why World 36 took itself offline?

‘World 36 though, it was the kookiest beforehand.’ Papyrus pointed it out. ‘You were missing for fifteen years from it? My, that’s terrible.’

Oh? So, it was the Sans he kicked out of his world. Well, that wasn’t a fun coincidence.

‘Fifteen years. He was longest in another world.’ Papyrus was digging for the clues. ‘Maybe he corrupted something when he visited worlds when it went offline? We should dig for the world he was in.’

Damn. ‘Don’t need to do that,’ Sans distracted him. ‘Not enough time, world could explode any minute. Let’s keep at the meat of everything.’ Papyrus was still digging into the research of what was left of it. ‘It won’t help, let’s not look?’

‘A Sans was somewhere for fifteen years and then arrived there.’ Papyrus continued to check. ‘If only I could find it. There just isn’t much to retrieve from that world since it went offline. We can find so much about the other worlds, but that one? There isn’t much. Kooky, but isn’t much.’

‘Kooky? What’s so kooky about it?’ Sans would get his mind off it. ‘What can you see?’

‘Frisks levels. She was Underground clearly through here and here and here.’ Papyrus pointed to the machine. ‘But then her levels changed into including magic, your magic, and royal blood. Isn’t that kooky?’ Papyrus pulled up more. ‘The readings show that this Sans was at the castle for a day in the royal family room, was out in the royal wedding area, and then went home with the odd signature of Frisk.’

Whoah. Wait? ‘Are you saying a me married a royal Frisk?’

‘Your signatures were very close, and her makeup shows it was your magic,’ Papyrus said for certain. ‘Yes, she was of royal blood and you married her. You were a prince, Sans.’

Ew. A prince. With . . . a Frisk?

‘Oh, there it is. There was only one death that resetted. It was tricky to find, it’s not labeled a monster. It is labeled entity shape of flower.’ Papyrus gave Sans the information. ‘So, even in that one, there was a resurrection.’

Huh. Somehow, that Frisk only killed the flower and no one else. Damn. He could have easily gone to see the flower in World 36, or even himself, to get the info he needed. How was he going to figure this out?

Sans pointed to the readout. ‘Look, another Sans’ reading signature is here. It was near World 36 Frisk, and then it wasn’t.’ Another Sans was causing trouble? He looked for the location they had been in. ‘Bingo. Gaster’s lab. Someone was getting creative.’

‘So, it was a different Sans that used World 36 Frisk to create some kind of reset?’ Papyrus asked. ‘Okay then, why did time not move backwards in the other worlds? It shows resurrection but no time moving backwards. It would be so terrible that way. Knowing that you died and then up you just popped again.’

‘Error I guess. Risky to do in the first place.’ Sans found it hard to believe one of them actually did that. They must really have either hated Frisk, or missed Papyrus enough they became a little corrupted. Shucks. ‘Explains the happy zombie syndrome.’

‘Sans,’ Papyrus complained. ‘Stop with that wording.’ He tried to find something else. ‘Just glances on the surface of this information. Hundreds of miles of information to dig through for 99 timelines, and one basic last report data for World 36.’

Huh. Sans heard Papyrus’ phone ring. He handed it to him? ‘Who is it?’ Sans answered it. ‘Sup?’

‘Sans? Could you do me a favor?’ Toriel asked on the phone. ‘I need to see Frisk. She is . . . floating.’

‘Floating?’ Really, something was happening to her? ‘How?’

‘I don’t know. Can I get a ride from you for a shortcut? Do you have an emergency shortcut to her?’ she asked.

Damn. The other one might have. They would want to make sure they could get to the kid as fast as possible if anything happened to her. He couldn’t just say no, Papyrus would-

‘It’s this world for sure!’ Papyrus lifted his gaze toward Sans from the data. ‘World 36 Sans, I can’t find much on it, but so much is still found in other worlds. Conversations even.’

Uh oh. ‘I told you not to dig into those,’ Sans warned him. He was still holding the phone.

Papyrus took it back. ‘I have made a shortcut to Frisk. I will get her right away.’ He hung up. ‘Really, Sans? You had to hide this from me?’

‘I didn’t want to,’ Sans admitted. ‘Sorry. I didn’t know how you’d take it. I didn’t mean to lose track, Papyrus.’

‘I just needed to know,’ Papyrus admitted. ‘You didn’t seem to know anything about this world two years ago. You couldn’t drive a car, couldn’t find your license or ID’s easily, you got lost on the way home, forgot the names of our neighbors, and no being lazy didn’t count as an excuse for everything! These were the simplest things on the surface.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Sans apologized. ‘I didn’t want you to hurt, knowing that I wasn’t ever here for fifteen years. It’s a long time. I wanted to . . . pretend the other me was me.’ He couldn’t pull it off half as well. Being on the surface was a whole other thing than being Underground.

'It's okay. You are forgiven,’ he said as he stole a hug. 'I want you to not do this ever again! Each Papyrus should have their Sans.'

Ah. 'Every Sans wanted their Papyrus. That's the reason weird stuff is happening.’

'Well, not like you can anymore, but I will say it anyway. Do not leave home again! Understand?’

Yeah, don't leave the timeline. 'Promise.'

'Good, now let's check on Frisk with Toriel. Studying her might help with the answer too.’

---

World 5,236

"Uh? World 36 was the last Princess Frisk world?" Angie seemed to be picking it up slightly.

"Yeah. That's weird," Phal agreed. "Real weird."

Sans shrugged. "I guess." He felt the RV stop. "Everybody stay still." There must have been a reason Papyrus stopped.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Abe watched Sans open the RV door briefly and look out. He closed it back up. "Stay quiet, Humans," he whispered. "Phal. Angie. Come with me." He watched them leave him, Gabe and Mina alone.

"Do you think it's something bad?" Gabe said. "Did they find us already?"

Mina held her finger up, shooshing him while she looked around. She grabbed Gabe by his collar, denoting seriousness without speaking and pointed to a really small end table behind the side sofa, then pulled him over a little behind it.

That is why Gabe had a crush on her. It wasn't the first time she took charge without words. She did the same thing to Abe, having him hide behind an extra chair. He looked down where he saw light coming from the chair and saw her stuff it with some plastic bags full of some kind of stuff. She would probably go hide herself somewhere. 

This might work. If they were getting stopped and someone wanted to look in, they wouldn't see anyone. There was still a good chance someone could have a little more motivation, climb in, and just look around two seconds and find them. It all depended on how much they were looking for them.

---

"Ummm . . ." One of the law people were definitely confused. "You have papers for four, but you have three here?"

"Yeah," Sans piped up real fast. "Last time my brother took a trip, he like, ended up having someone come back once. It was a real pain to get it all sorted out. Needed her though, or he'd be paying for more passengers later."

"Aww," the other law person seemed to empathize more. "Was she someone found as a wife? Was she your momma?" she asked Phal and Angie.

"Yessss . . ." Phal and Angie said together. 

Sans knew the problem. "Officers?"

"Oh, yes, you are a little farther away. We are called Authorities," Dogaressa said to him. She pulled out her bad. "I am Authority Dogaressa."

Each location of different authorities would have a different name. One of the annoying things about having so many nations. They'd already driven far enough, they were in another location.

"I am Authority Dogamy," the first one had said. "Sorry for the disruption, folks. We need to check new monsters coming through. There has been some shady things going on around here with humans."

"Humans?" Papyrus played dumb. "They are just so far away though. What a weird thing? Way out here, why would it come way out here? Isn't that certain death?"

"There's all kinds of different illegal trades, with monsters or humans," Dogaressa answered. "Be careful on your vacation. I know you have a long one planned, but always be mindful of where you are. You were warned about things before paying for this long trip, right?"

"Yes. Yes, very warned! We will not be going into any of the sketchy areas. We are just touring around well known places, and visiting! Spending several weeks there," Papyrus lied. "Oh, it's going to be so grand!"

Dogaressa was nice with the kids. Sans should have told the humans to hide for inspection. Chara was safe, she had the protection of invisibility Papyrus bought for her. If he appealed to her enough, maybe they wouldn't do a quick inspection? "Yeah, it'll be great," Sans said. "We really need this. Little monsters, they grow up so fast. We wanted to spend this whole year with them."

"Still. I don't know anyone who goes on vacation for a whole year," Dogamy said, skeptically.

"Well?" Yeah, he was going to have to play some hard ball. He moved a little closer to them. "Confidentally, it's been a hard year? Their mom? Yeah."

Yep, he was starting to get Dogaressa. "Oh no. The poor puppies. Oh, Skeletons."

"Yeah, those babybones are my little nieces," Sans kept it up. "Bad things happened to their mom. This trip is supposed to really help them out, and my brother. We might not even be going back to our old place. Starting fresh new somewhere else, but we want to explore what's out there first."

"Oh, yes." Dogaressa was starting to wag her tail. "Yes, I understand. I'm so sorry, that makes sense now." She looked toward Dogamy. "The poor things. We won't intrude for much longer."

Crap! Sans watched her briskly head in the RV. She came back out. Good thing those humans knew to hide. 

"No problems. No thorough inspection needed," she insisted. "Have a safe trip everyone. Be mindful of everything."

"Take care of your little ones," Dogamy said, almost like he was empathetic too? "Try to stay in one place and have lots of fun. This year there has been an exponential growth with illegal activity. Be more careful than you usually would be."

"Okay." Oof. That didn't sound good. They weren't even on a border of human and monster, and they were already getting minor warnings? 

---

"Okay, you are good again."

Abe heard Sans the Skeleton's voice. They couldn't keep dodging like that. That was risky in the first place. He looked toward Mina, who came back out smiling. Gabe came out of his corner, holding his back some. It was a harder corner to squeeze down in. Abe moved himself out, seeing everyone else be out. 

Phal and Angie came back again, taking their seats. Sans took his seat again, and grabbed the book.

Abe looked toward Mina. She just had her usual, 'nothing is wrong' face on again. 

"It was all cool, we did well," Gabe cheered. "Thanks to Mina. In a pinch, you can grab me and toss me wherever you need to, I would never be mad."

Abe just heard Sans chuckle at that. He didn't get why, it was an action she often did when she meant business. Mina had to play simple word games and actions and be pleasant or coarse at the right time where they were trapped at. That's all Chara knew of her. That's all Gabe knew of her too. How should he answer what Sans had posed to him, without putting them in trouble? He had kept thinking over the course of the story. It gave him time to think.

"Does he always do that?" Sans asked Mina. 

Abe didn't know what Sans was referencing. 

"He stares at things when he thinks really hard," Mina said to Sans. 

"And him?" Sans gestured to Gabe. He was holding the storybook but not reading it yet.

"It's? Gabe often mimics, sorry," Mina said for some reason. "They aren't bad."

"Spooky. Can at least both of you smile or frown at the same time?" one of the skeleton children pointed out. Abe thought it was Phal, but it might be Angie. He wasn't sure.

"Okay, let's get back to something more pleasant." Sans held up the storybook. "Everyone can stare at the pretty cover instead of me, okay?"

Abe looked at the story cover. 

World 59: Perfect Ending

Frisk’s College

‘Ooh. Ooh. Ooh.’

‘How in all of the world?!’

‘Da Fuck?’

Papyrus, Tori and Sans were all taking turns as they saw Frisk trapped in the air. It wasn’t just a small lift, she was up to the ceiling like a hot air balloon. Not only that but . . . ‘I didn’t do anything, I swear, Tori.’

‘Why is Frisk-’

‘I don’t know!’ Sans tried to stay chill on the outside. He waved to Frisk. According to what they were all sensing?

Frisk had Sans’ magic in her somehow. They also felt something else.

Tori was able to put it into words for them. ‘Frisk has a tiny amount of royal blood.’

Royal blood? Royal blood and mixed with San’s magic? Sans approached the girl he hadn’t seen with his own eyes for about fifteen years. He’d seen other versions of her, but not her.

Frisk asked something, but he couldn’t quite pick it up. He hadn’t heard enough of her language waves.

‘She asked if we knew why she was floating,’ Toriel said for him. ‘I will induce longer conversations, so listen carefully.’

As they started to talk back and forth, Sans was using his magic to try and learn the language. He never had to before, Frisk used to think it out, but Frisk was just a kid back then. Kids had an easier time with some things than others. Language was one of them.

“. . . friends . . . floating . . . breakfast . . .”

Sans was starting to get a better grasp. Just a little more.

“floating . . . down . . . class . . . sleep . . . sleep in today.” Frisk looked toward Sans and Papyrus. “So, can anyone help? I can’t do this up to lunch, my friends will come back for sure.”

“We uh? We will see what we can do, Frisk,” Toriel said politely while she was eagerly looking at Sans.

Sans didn’t know the answer. ‘Asgore is going to address Underground about something important. You should be there for it, but know that Papyrus and I don’t know all the details.’ Yeah, it was best she scootch off.

She wasn’t leaving. ‘Sans, she has your magic in her. How?’

Sans gestured to Frisk hanging to the wall like a balloon. ‘I never did anything with the human balloon. I’ll get rid of it.’

Tori was looking less friendly. ‘How in the world could someone this far away, suddenly be this way? How does anyone just have a drop of royalty in them?’

‘I dunno.’ Sans stared at the funny human.

“Can anyone try and get me down?” she asked.

‘Hell yes.’ “You bet, Frisk.” He didn’t know she got some of his magic, but he was tearing out the little bit she had right now. About .0001 or so. Geez, if she had accidently had more, that would have put them into marriage.

As he drained it all back, she drifted back to the floor. “Thank you, Sans the Skeleton,” she said politely. “That was strange.”

Then, he heard Papyrus’ voice, just to him.

‘World 36 married Frisk and she was royalty,’ Papyrus reminded him. ‘Remember Gaster’s advice about the extraction machine? Perhaps with the resetting of lives, that Frisk had something distribute things outward from her besides determination as well. It was a theory. We should look over the basic data of World 36. Find out why you married her there.’

Good idea. This situation was weird. ‘We’ll see you, Tori. You should really head Underground to hear Asgore,’ he insisted as he and Papyrus took off.

World 5,236

"This Frisk is a lot like the Princess Frisk," Phal said. "She doesn't need a crown, but she's still floating."

"Yeah. She's . . . doing that floating. No magic skateboard." Bad feeling. Shouldn't be a bad feeling. Sans figured he'd start getting bad feelings in other stories more, especially with the way the authorities just acted. A lot of the feeling of it being just a story felt more lost, and it started to feel more real now. The Underground in the story, was trying to figure out how to save themselves, just like them now.

"Uncle Sans, keep reading," Phal insisted. "It sounds like it's getting really good."

Uh? Okay. He looked at Abe and Gabe still. Jeez, those humans were kind of weird. He held up the cover better in front of his skull, so they could look at that instead of him.

Back to the story.

World 59 (Perfect Ending)

Sans and Papyrus took all the little bites of information they could find for World 36, to explain what was happening. The places. The people. Where who was at and when. The change of DNA. Etc.

Frisk almost married Madjick, they had uncovered that much. There was some gaps where Sans’ signature disappeared and then reappeared. He had made her married to him, but he put in a lot of juice to make Frisk float. The magic wasn’t allowed to settle. So, she wasn’t married to him.

The unknown human signature was weird too. It had a huge concoction of weirdness. Frisk herself had oddities.

‘HP of 0, EXP of 0, none of that is possible for being alive. 66? Where did that even come from?’ Papyrus whined. ‘It’s like a note at the end for fun. World 66? Was World 66 playing as well?’

Nothing to lose, more to gain. They investigated World 66’s timeline which had a lot more information hiding inside of it. The Frisk there was always in the location of the locked house in Snowdin. Before that, she had a deadly journey.

‘Her exp and hp did not change after the rampage, but this shows questionable changes in her own soul.’ Papyrus was printing a copy of the readout. ‘It doesn’t match the changes that took place in World 36 Frisk, until . . . yesterday. The day before the machines lost connection. They were different changes.’

Boy, Papyrus was good at connecting lines. These changes were years between. Something in her soul changed almost seventeen years ago. Something else in her soul changed a day before the machines stopped.

‘Look at those radical changes.’ Papyrus laid out another readout. ‘Look at this one. They match. According to this, she has some traces of your magic and royal magic.’

‘Creatures of the ruins were reset to life, same botched 15-17 years later error that keeps happening.’ Sans stared at the sheets.

Those years again. Gaster had these things down to an art. It should be down to nanoseconds of knowing when things happened. How did a two year discrepancy keep happening?

‘Sans. Something happened with Frisk 36 causing a botched reset across all timelines,’ Papyrus concluded. ‘However, it seems we found the evidence that she seemed to copy across them too.’

Yeah. Now the fun part. Sans was pulling out the bad ending genocide worlds. ‘In some, she’s just standing there at the edge of the barrier. She came to life too, some of her soul at least, but she’s got the strange additions as well.’ Tiny amounts.

‘Royal blood and magic?’ Papyrus guessed. ‘Whether good or bad.’ Papyrus pulled out more readouts. ‘At the time of the strange error, whether alive or not, the template of Frisk from World 66 transmitted to all timelines. Including pieces of your magic and the power of royalty. Fact.’

‘Explains why she was floating so high. World 66 probably had enough in her she could control it well.’ At least he took care of that. ‘It wasn’t much for our Frisk, more like helium. Not even enough for her to just drift lightly where she wanted.’

‘Fine, then we get how this is happening. It’s still a small thing. A balancing. Why are all these errors leading to the purpling of the sun?’ Papyrus asked. ‘I do not see that answer.’

‘No. The errors don’t have anything to do with them. They all balanced out, even within all the Frisks.’ Yeah, it had to be. ‘It wasn’t Frisk copying across timelines. It was World 36 taking his machine offline that aggravated it.’

‘Well, we can’t do anything about that.’ Papyrus sighed. ‘Are we doomed?’

‘I dunno, but that wasn’t there before.’ Sans went over to a corner and saw a present. ‘Where’d this come from?’ No address. No name. Sans opened it up. ‘What’s this?’

‘Well, you are lucky enough to have me in this world.’

Sans turned around. The flower, of course. ‘It figures you’d be stuck in this world.’

‘Stuck nothing, out of 99 timelines, of course I’m going to go to the one where I can enjoy the surface,’ Flowey told him.

Damn. ‘Guaranteed, we can’t move through timelines anymore.’

‘Righty-O, Smiley Trashbag. That paper inside of there is the present I left in all the other dimensions,’ Flowey warned him. ‘Look at you, you get the bonus at not having to study anymore to figure it out.’

‘Oh good.’ It was a lot of work. ‘So, the purple sun?’

‘You were part right, it was the destruction of the connection between World 36. However, other worlds were wiped right off the map thanks to Frisk, and they didn’t change anything in the other timelines, except dropping off a Frisk to murder more. So? What do you think is the problem with World 36?’

Aw, there was still work to be done. ‘The other worlds didn’t choose to break that connection, they were just erased. World 36 broke the connection while their world lived on.’ Huh. ‘What does that mean?’

‘That means that you need to make the timelines happy. Real happy. You broke it, but now it’s having a sort of temper tantrum before it busts apart the connection for good. I grabbed the last transcripts, notes and little bitty readouts I could manage from World 36. I knew that Sans would probably be disconnecting soon.’

Yeah. Even Sans admitted it, he had thought about it a couple of times. Getting rid of that machine.

‘If it had just been Frisk’s little self distribution across timelines, it would have been fine. Correct answer you arrived at there,’ Flowey applauded with his stems. ‘Instead, World 36 logged off before the timelines could fully balance that little distribution.’

Oooh. ‘That don’t sound good,’ Sans said to Flowey. That didn’t sound good at all. ‘That sounds like a small wind turning into a hurricane.’

‘Righty-O! Each world has to match World 36’s signature now. It’s the only way to balance it all,’ Flowey explained. ‘Once it’s done, this world should be able to break away from the last connection it had.’

‘World 36.’ Damn. ‘So, matching up the signatures to World 36 will end this?’ Okay. At least they weren’t doomed.

‘Oh, such a casual okay? I did say you need to match World 36’s signature. Each day you can’t, the sun and skies will be darker and darker, plunging the whole Earth into chaos.’ He shook his petally head around. ‘Then when you do match up, the sun will suddenly be all happy again!’

‘Well, we can’t exactly match everything perfectly,’ Papyrus disagreed. ‘There are babies born and monsters who died that weren’t in Underground before the reset.’

‘The signatures of existence from that world that could match to this world,’ Flowey said. ‘You aren’t including those who were born or who died after Underground. You need it to match World 36’s Underground. You’re actually lucky about that whole zombie thing, Sans 22 saved a lot of timelines with that one.’

‘Okay? So, just match the signatures up of the ones Underground.’ Huh. ‘Do we have to go back Underground? Does the placement have to be the same?’

‘Not the placement, just the signatures. It’s just about the signatures,’ Flowey encouraged them. ‘You also know that the closer someone is to the timeline machine, the more the signature needs to match? Don’t you?’

‘Yeah.’ Of course.

Flowey smiled wickedly. ‘So, how long do you think it’ll take you to get it right?’

Was he kidding? ‘It’s just the signatures.’

‘But what about different babies that may have been born down there, that were never born up here?’ Papyrus asked. ‘It’s been 17 years since we’ve been Underground. What then?’

‘I don’t think they count, Papyrus.’ Sans looked toward Flowey. ‘Right? That’s why you just dwelled on that singature thing just now.’ Yeah. ‘You seem pretty certain we could do this.’

Flowey snickered. ‘You bet you can. No, Smiley Trashbag’s Brother!’ He moved his petally head back and forth again. ‘You just have to have the signatures of the regular Underground. By the way? In World 36? Frisk was also a part of the Underground. She lived with you.’

Why was Flowey excited about that? Frisk was part of the Underground. ‘Her signature will count. Oh.’ Yeah, that was it. ‘We need to get Frisk closer to over here? Is there a certain amount signatures can be away from the old destroyed barrier area?’

‘Probably. You’ll have to figure that one out. Congrats by the way. Timeline connections don’t stop in nanoseconds. It is time. Time moves at a steady drip. Like turning off the water of a leaky faucet. I would expect about maybe . . . two years?’ Flowey disappeared into the ground.

‘What was the congrats for?’ Papyrus asked. ‘Congrats for figuring it out? That was nice of him.’ Papyrus looked toward Sans. ‘Let’s go get Frisk and bring her over here closer. We aren’t too far from the Underground here. It will probably be close enough and then the sun will be better.’

What was the congrats for? Sans thought the same thing. ‘Let’s see all the details of that world that are missing.’

Sans dug into the present. He divided the goodies with Papyrus. That flower was being helpful because it wanted to live, so hopefully they had all the puzzle pieces now to fix their world.

———————————

Three Hours Later . . .

‘Hm. Um. Hm.’ Papyrus was clearly trying to think of something to say. ‘We could track down the human baby that fell with the data signatures of the machine. It’s just that, it’d be about twoishy? Twoishy. It probably has a family that will worry about it too, since they would be alive. So?’

Papyrus got some paper and continued. ‘Step 1. Retrieve child at the last second.’ He wrote it down. ‘Just a small amount of kidnapping so that it reads correctly.’ Papyrus gestured to the light on the timeline device that was red. ‘I’m sure when we get down to slow flashes of yellow, we can borrow it from its home, save the world, and put it back before anyone notices preferably?’

Papyrus looked back toward his plan. ‘The mother was never technically in Underground or the father. That should be fine. So, step 2.’ Papyrus viewed his brother’s skull on the table. Sans wasn’t feeling well at all. ‘Are you okay, Sans?’

‘Step 2, ruin Sans’ life,’ he retorted before putting his skull back on the table.

‘I know. It wasn’t what we expected.’ Papyrus tried to pat his back bone. ‘Cheer up. It will be okay. It could be worse.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ Sans admitted. ‘It could. It totally could, there are Sans’ out there in other dimensions that have it way worse. I know. I get it, but it doesn’t mean this is diddly squat.’

While the timeline broke, it broke two years ago. It had been leaking a connection still because like Flowey said. Time didn’t stop on a dime, especially something that had connected 100 worlds. To completely break, it took two years. They had data of the day that stupid version of him broke the machine.

That’s where the 15 kept coming from, even though it had been 17 years. They needed to match the signatures of what was Underground, in World 36, today.

There was little data to say what would be under there today, but as long as they had the same old monsters they would be fine. Except, for people near the timeline machine. Those signatures had to match.

And? World 36 had been close to the surface. Sans and Papyrus realized why Sans 36 had married Frisk 36, and why it was such a big deal.

Those monsters could get to the surface, if Frisk and her kin, had boss monster babies. The royalty of it would allow the souls to all join, without hurting anyone.

Which meant, Frisk’s signature would be different. Very different. She would also be close to the timeline machine. Very close. Right above it in fact, she’d be living with them.

In their world, World 59, Frisk hardly knew them, communicated mostly with Tori, and lived in the human world with some friends going to a University.

In the other world of 36 Frisk was a bonified princess, had royalty blood and power, married to Sans, and if she had any kids? If they were inside of her, that would change her signature.

‘Well, we could look on the bright side?’ Papyrus tried to cheer him up again. ‘This little human toddler we will retrieve from the surface, we won’t have to get Frisk pregnant to break the barrier to reach it. We are already above ground.’

‘Sure, great news. Thrilling news, The Great Papyrus.’ Sans lifted his skull. ‘That sure makes a huge difference in the fact that I have to marry Frisk, she has to become royalty of the Underground, making me a stupid Prince, and to top it off?’ The worst of the worst. ‘What if that’s not enough?’ Then the already being on the surface wouldn’t matter.

‘We’ll have to find out,’ Papyrus said. ‘It has been about twoishy years.’

‘Two years. It’s been two years, I know it,’ Sans whined. ‘I know it. I’m going to have to have kids with this human I haven’t known since she was a kid. That princess has gotta be pregnant by now, they wanted to crack that surface and get started soon I bet. Everyone wanted to go to the surface.’

‘Maybe she’s already past it?’ Papyrus recommended. ‘If she had children before royalty started to work to give her children in World 36, then maybe she just has a baby or a couple of kids? Maybe she isn’t pregnant at all?’ Ooh. ‘Then again, forget I said that. That wouldn’t be good news, we’d need those exact kids. They would be in the household too meaning close to the timeline machine. We’d have to speed up pregnancy, risky complications . . . I’ll shut up now.’

World 5,236

"I need a beer." This was really hard to read. He looked out toward the girls. "You didn't hear that from me. I still need one." Shit. Is that why Pap said he might have to get married? They did find a Frisk, but he never even met them, and now he had to get married? It was much better when it involved a different Sans. Not only that, but he barely managed to read through that last part. He had to get up. He needed air. "Break on story kiddos. Uncle Sans is a bit dizzy right now."

He went toward the front. It was covered with separating covers. "Hey, are you guys presentable to talk to?"

Chara opened the curtain. "Well I'm not gonna be doing anything in an RV right behind one pair of curtains. Not at this hour at least."

"You can take a break, Sans," Papyrus said through the curtain. "Chara can keep her friends company while we talk for a bit? If you want?"

"Yeah." Yeah, he wanted that. He wanted that a lot right now. 

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Sans didn’t speak right away as he downed a beer and chased it by downing catsup. “I read about even signatures being needed, and that um? Called for marriage?”

“Found the first possible match,” Papyrus said to him. “Yes, I knew you’d discover that one. It’s a possibility, but also? Not set in stone, and probably not the greatest possibility?”

“That sounds like that’s bad if it’s not?” Sans phrased. “Of course, yeah. That’s the easy save, isn’t it?” He chased it with more catsup.

“The thing is, Sans, that it might be and it might not be,” Papyrus said. “Later on, something . . . much, much more volatile than marriage happens. Just remember that if it occurs in a timeline you are reading? That I am here. With you.”

That was ominous. “Pap?”

“If we start hearing about places where something comes through and it cannot be stopped, then we need to stay away from it. It will be invincible,” he said. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“Without this Frisk?” Sans asked.

“Pretty much. Yes. That’s why it doesn’t matter whether we are taking the human all the way home or not. We need to get to Frisk. Something must budge. We must find the flower too.”

“Hey?” Chara came bugging them from the curtain again. “Sans?” She sighed. “So? Did you find out about Farrisk yet?”

Sans held his catsup toward her. “Keeping 1-2 beer and catsup ratio.”

“Yeah, um?” Papyrus glanced back toward Chara. “My Red Haired Light of my Life? Um. I didn’t share everything yet.”

“There’s more?” Sans asked.

“Yes. Um, Frisk here is? Well?”

“Farrisk is a guy,” Chara said. “If you need kids, you are screwed. If you need marriage, that’s not gonna be the funnest knowing you.”

Um? “Uuuh.”

“It just has to line up for a little while to something? Different times balance with different things,” Papyrus said quickly.

“Mm.”

“Yeah.” She patted his shoulder bone. “You want me to get you laid with Mina on this trip?”

“Uh, well?” He wasn’t expecting that out of the blue, but it was Chara. Humans were a little different. “Was uh, angling for not creeping her out? She’s fine but she’s not actually used to friendly monster.”

“We’ve got 100 days at least,” Chara pointed at. “She makes friends super fast. She’s been locked up with her brother with no alone time for months. Zero romance there. She used to talk about this cute little gold necklace heart she once had they took away. It had room for two pictures in it. She likes roses, but she likes them mixed with other red flowers or blue flowers or purple flowers. Her favorite colors are red and blue together or purple and blue. We had like hours to just talk everyday about what we liked and didn’t. So? I bet I can get you smashed and not passed by day-”

“Oh, look!” Papyrus saw it too as they stopped at a stoplight. “Do you see that?” He pointed to a business called Frisk’s Hardware. “Frisk! If it is a business name, then maybe it is more common than we think? Maybe that isn’t the Frisk we are looking for?”

“Hang on. F-R-I-S-K?” Chara asked.

“Yeah?” Sans looked back at her. “What?”

“I thought you’ve been saying Farrisk,” she explained. “F-A-R-R-I-S-K.”

“Yes. Well. Farrisk? Frisk? I could see that,” Papyrus explained. He sighed. “I guess we didn’t find the right one yet.”

“Doesn’t matter, my friends still needs to make it all the way home,” Chara insisted. “We are absolutely stopping tonight for a hotel room.”

“Sure. You’ve got to give big hugs behind doors.”

“The biggest hugs,” Papyrus agreed.

“Better believe it, Funny Bones,” Chara said as she patted his shoulder again. “Catsup from now on, then you can be back here again in an hour.”

One Hour Later . . .

Okay. Great. Really. The story didn’t seal his fate, Papyrus said so. “Ready for more?” He looked toward Phal and Angie. Both of them looked like they were getting a little closer to getting it.

Mina was reading her own book.

Abe was doing his strange staring thing at him, with Gabe also doing that, but in a positive way. Maybe that strangeness came from their souls or something? Might explain why they were taken? Eh, eventually Abe would tell him. “Okay, here we go.”

World 59 Perfect Ending

Ugh. ‘I’m gonna wife someone I’ve barely met within 17 years, and I highly doubt Frisk is just gonna jump over here and say it’ll be awesome to live with two skeletons.’

‘Well? We do have some things on our side though,’ Papyrus reminded him. ‘For one, your other self clearly went through a ceremony for her. He didn’t shove her into another world, or to Madjick, or to anyone else. That means you must have a connection. You will eventually love her and that’s comforting.’

Sans chuckled for a little longer than usual. ‘Saying that is like saying every single Sans is exactly the same ‘cause they are me. They kinda are, and they kinda aren’t. Nature vs. nurture, Papyrus. That Sans fell for some sweet royal Frisk that lived her life Underground. Another Sans was ready to risk that Frisk to try this experiment.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Papyrus tapped his mandible. ‘I see, yes. Being raised by Toriel and by monsters may have changed her from that young of an age. This other Frisk.’

‘She might not click with me at all.’ Maybe, maybe not. Sans leaned his skull down again.

‘Well, Frisk always did the right thing down in the Underground,’ Papyrus said confidently to Sans. ‘Frisk always does what’s right. When she understands that the world will end unless she marries you, she’ll marry you. Wait? That didn’t sound as positive as I wanted it to be.’

‘Nah, it’s about right. Marriage to a stranger she doesn’t know is a punishment.’

‘Well, you used to know her,’ Papyrus said. ‘We all liked her. She was fun.’

‘Yeah, a fun kid. She was a fun kid, and nobody wanted to see her get lopped just to reach the surface. We all cared too much to sacrifice her. We watched her.’ Sans knew that. ‘She was fun, and I think we all loved her in the end. But? It was a different kind of love, than the love of marriage.’ A huge difference.

‘Okay, then, before you marry her, perhaps you should get to know her? Monsters know their feelings fairly fast,’ Papyrus reminded him. ‘Humans are slow. Very slow. Awfully slow.’

‘Well, I guess that might help me. If I hit it off, if not, then it wouldn’t really.’ Sans just couldn’t see the point to it. ‘If I hit it off, but her slow speed just never does, then that’s not real fun for her.’

‘Well? Okay, okay.’ Papyrus was trying real hard. ‘At least we have royalty and tech that can do the heavy lifting of pregnancy if it is necessary? So, even if you do never hit it off, you can still be just friends?’

Huh. That one was actually helpful. ‘Yeah, you’re right on that one.’

‘It doesn’t matter whether the other Sans has it naturally or with royalty’s help either,’ Papyrus pointed out, clearly thinking he was on a roll. He stood up straight. ‘Pregnancy doesn’t have signatures, just the signature of being pregnant. It won’t be detected until after it is born and away from the location of it’s mother.’

Fine. A good point also. ‘Hope Asgore is done explaining timelines. Everybody is gonna have to get it because we’ll have to explain this.’

‘I will explain it with Asgore,’ Papyrus insisted. ‘You should go see Frisk.’

He was right of course. Sans should go see her. Try and explain things before royalty just starts knocking on her door. ‘Can I borrow that shortcut location?’

Frisk’s Apartment Complex

Yep, shortcut, right here. Right now. Sans went ahead and combed his skull. This was going to be tough. How should he start? He knocked on her apartment door.

Hopefully, her friends weren’t there. They might kind of freak out, monsters were really only seen vaguely in the world so far.

Frisk answered the door. “Sans the Skeleton?”

‘Hey, Frisk.’ Oh yeah. “Hey, Frisk.” He should remember all the waves he heard. Toriel drew out long conversations to make it easier. “How are you?”

“Just wondering what you are doing out here?” She looked worried. “That floating was the cause of something, wasn’t it?”

“Heh, you could say that, Kid.” Oops. No, wrong word. Not a kid. He shouldn’t call his soon to be wife a kid. “Hey Pacifist . . .” Not child.

‘Lady, try lady.’ Papyrus showed up behind him. ‘I will see Asgore soon, but I will make sure you get into her home first.’

“Hey Pacifist Lady,” Sans tried again. “Could I come in and chat for a bit witcha?”

“Uuh?” Frisks eyes darted to the left. “I have some human friends I live with, and they’ve never seen a monster. I don’t want them to hurt you.”

Oh. “Trust me, it’ll be fine.” She’d have to get used to it. It wasn’t the first time he left the Monster Kingdom, and it wasn’t the first time he dodged in a fight with a human. “Come on, Ol’ Pal? Amigo, you remember me? I won’t cause no trouble.”

“Okay,” Frisk agreed. “If anyone does swipe, I’ll try to help you.”

Sans stepped inside and looked back at Papyrus. ‘I’ll be okay. I’ll get this done right, promise.’ He watched Papyrus salute him and disappear.

“Papyrus didn’t want to come in?” Frisk asked as he walked in and she closed the front door.

“He’s got things to do. So do I,” Sans said. Okay, how to start this? ‘So, hey how’s life?’ Shoot. “So, hey, how is life? For you, here?” Probably too broken for the language. Didn’t feel right.

“Life is good.” She seemed to get it. “I’m in college. Studying.” She laughed. “I have no idea what to be, so I’m going for learning business. Then, when I find out what I want, then maybe I can sell it?” She moved toward the kitchen. “Do you want a snack?”

“Ya kiddin? Of course.” Sans followed her in the kitchen. He saw one of her roomates come out. He waved hi, and they went right back in. Eh, he could deal with that response.

“Sorry about that,” Frisk said as she tossed Sans a bag of small chips. She knocked on the door of the person who went right back in there room. “Judy, hey, come out and meet my friend. Don’t be rude. Yes, he’s a monster, but it’s just who he is.” She stayed firmly at the door. “Judy, get out here please.”

Ah ha. Sans was starting to remember what they did like about the kid. She really wasn’t any dainty princess. She wouldn’t even let a friend hide in their room.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you are being so prejudice. I wouldn’t expect of all people-”

“I’m not prejudice,” Judy defended herself. “I’m not, but it’s a monster.”

“It is a monster,” Frisk said. “The thing you are behind is a door. I am a human. What is your point? He is my friend and he would never hurt you.” She knocked on the door again. “You know I won’t leave you be. Come and meet him. You’ll feel better.”

Frisk’s friend opened the door and looked out. She waved at him.

Sans waved back. “Hi, I’m Sans. Sans the Skeleton. Nice to meet you.” Be nice to the humans. That’s what he learned.

“Hi?” Judy looked at Frisk. “Monsters speak our language?”

“I understood them when I was younger,” Frisk told her. “I gave Sans a bag of our little chips.”

“Yeah, I'm easy to befriend with a snack,” Sans teased.

“Oh. I need to study. I just came for a soda.” She moved to the refrigerator slowly. Grabbed a pop, and sprinted back to her room. “Nice to meet you, bye!”

Frisk just smiled at the door. “Judy is kind of shy.” She moved closer to Sans. “So, what is it you'd like to chat about?”

Oh yeah. Teasing the new human was over, reality was calling again. “How you liking college life? Don't know what you're gonna be. Feels a little useless to be here. You don't need schooling for that in the Monster Kingdom.”

“I need it to learn business and get good at it,” Frisk insisted. “I have some idea of what I want to do. I want to open up some kind of a soul shop. I just don't know what kind I want to open up.”

Oh. Well. “Have you ever thought maybe instead you would get married and have kids?”

Frisk just laughed. “Maybe one day? I can do both though. It would be better to have my business all laid out though if I were to ever decide to do that.”

Yeah, he had a feeling Frisk wasn't yearning for that.

“Plus, Brent and I have only dated a couple of months, and it's not real serious. I don't see it being an issue.” Frisk moved way more forward though toward him. “Sans. I was real young when I knew you best, but I do know if something you say isn't part of a joke, it has meaning. Why are you asking me about this?”

Welp? Here we go. “You did a lot to save your hide as a kid. What would you give to save the actual world?”

Her eyes were big, and her mouth was left wide. “I knew it. The sun looked really weird and I was floating. I knew something was wrong. It's the end of the world unless I do something? Yes, I'll do whatever it takes to save it!”

Her heart was in the right place. She was still a good person. Determined with a sense of humor. Good, she’d be at least a friend. “Marry me and be a princess.”

Frisk was waiting. “Great joke? Seriously, what do I have to do?”

Yeah. “Frisk. It's got to do with timelines.”

Sans sat down with her and tried to compare the timelines to her knowledge of resets. He explained how the signatures had to match exactly now because of World 36. He explained that signatures had to be exact the closer they were to the timeline machine.

He tried to cover what he could, in a manner he could without using knowledge or language she wouldn’t understand. “So, the timeline is on its way to a slow death until we match the signatures that are Underground in World 36.”

“So, there is some me out there who stayed Underground.”

“Yeah, and she was a princess and married to me. We have to match that,” he insisted. “You like this, it don't count. You have a smidge of royal power and I took my energy from you so no marriage.”

“Oh, good!” She sounded too excited about that. 'Shit, this is nuts. I just made out with Brent last night, that could be cheating.’

Ahh, yeah. Maybe he should sort of teach her that too? 'I read your thoughts Frisk.'

'What?!’ “What do you mean?”

'Don't worry bout making out with your boyfriend. We aren't married yet.’ Yeah, not so happy look. 'It is how you communicated Underground before.’

'It's freaky!’

'Nah, nah. I can only hear certain thoughts. You can only hear and speak to one monster at a time too. You'll get the hang of it.’

'How? How do you not hear my thoughts?’

'Just like a half. You used to be able to do it. Hey, I know. Remember blue stop signs?’ Sans tried to help her.

'I do. Sort of?’ Frisk said. 'It meant do not move.’

'Right, well imagine a blue stop sign in your head.’ Sans waited. She got it. “Now just imagine like something that means go. Green stop light.”

'A green stoplight?’ she asked. She was quiet for a bit. 'But when I imagine it’s green my mind is open.’

“You got it.” Good. 'So about that will to save everything? The marriage and royal blood might be enough, but it might not.’ Good, it was easier mind to mind for serious topics. 'You might need to have some kids too.’

“What?!” Oh, loud and clear. She wasn't communicating with her mind anymore.

“The timeline would have slowly evened things out, but it got cut off and pulled into error city so everything has to match exactly now. Royal princess might have to be a little preggo or have some kids?” He shrugged. “Dunno. Won't know until after the marriage.” Poor Frisk was freaked out. “It can be done with royal tech. Royal tech helped keep numbers up Underground.”

Frisk still wasn't communicating either way. She was trying to. Sans could tell, but he could not quite understand her. Her thoughts were too jumbled. Unclear.

Then he caught a firm word: Toriel.

World 5,236

"Uncle Sans? Do we have to read this story?" Phal asked. Yeah they were starting to get it.

"Yeah," Sans said. "It's important. Pretty sure you are starting to get why."

"I don't like it," Angie said. "This isn't . . . right."

No. It wasn't right at all. But? "We'll put it up for now. Why don't you kids do something else for a bit?"

Chapter Text

Nice break to ignore all of the crap probably coming in the story. Sans enjoyed it, but it was getting later. He should really continue. Abe and Gabe were both talking amongst themselves too. Mina was still reading her own book. Everything seemed fine. "Okay, girls."

The girls groaned.

"Hey? Maybe it'll get better?" Sans mentioned. He started to read.

————————

World 59 (Perfect Ending)

Frisk knew that floating was never a good sign but this? No, how could he know all this? He was a simple puzzle maker! He wasn't even that good at it, his brother made the majority of them.

Toriel. She would have everything. Sans the Skeleton was just confused. That's all. Yeah, just confused.

Frisk stood up. Sans kept sitting. 'I have to make a call and get all of this straightened out before something happens.’ “I have to-”

'I get ya, make the call to Toriel.' Sans didn't seem upset at all as he paid attention to his chips.

Yeah. He was pretty relaxed. It's not like he was trying to trick her. He just had the wrong information.

Besides, he had to be. Frisk was a stern believer in natural births. She felt proud enough, she had it on bumper tags and her clothes. Natural births were scientifically safer. When the soul science got involved to create a specific person, things went wrong.

Choosing sex, choosing aggressive or domestic traits for personality, choosing the kind of soul before birth, it was too much control for someone to have over another living being.

World 5,236

“I agree with Frisk,” Mina spoke up during the story. “Natural births are so much safer. There shouldn’t be anything else but natural.”

Sans glanced toward her. Weird. She never interrupted story time. “Do a lot of humans feel that way?”

“Not everyone, but we do.” Mina gestured between her and Abe. “We do a lot. A baby should be born however it is born. That’s how it should be.”

Sans watched Abe, who actually stopped watching him for once. Abe looked at his sister. “You have an answer yet for what I asked, Abe? Still curious. Been awhile since I asked?”

Abe still didn’t seem to want to answer.

“Okay, well, just let me know whenever okay? I guess back to the story.”

World 59 (Perfect Ending)

Monsters though, it could be an exception? Maybe? It's not like they changed the soul inside. Did they?

Ugh! Frisk felt like a hypocrite. 'Is it just a random chance of pregnancy without soul manipulation or not?’

'I dunno.'

Oh, Sans answered back. That's right, she didn't put a blue stop sign in her head. 'I don't like this, this feels weird, I shouldn't have to think in pictures to keep someone out of my head!’

“Eventually you just learn,” he spoke to her. “For now the pictures help so you can learn about keeping your thoughts private from monsters.”

Frisk imagined a big blue stop sign now as she went to the phone. “Just stay here.”

Frisk moved to the other room with her cell. She dialed up Toriel.

“Hello, Frisk.”

Okay, how to start? Should be nice. Maybe say Sans visited and he was really confused?’ “Hi, Toriel. How are you?”

“I know Sans is there, and that he told you what he needed to,” she answered.

'What, thoughts through the phone too?!’

“Yes. I never wanted you to worry about that, but from the future coming, I need to make sure you understand communication correctly now.”

Big blue stop sign. Frisk gave herself a few extra seconds before envisioning green light. 'Tell me something is wrong with this. Someone please explain it?’

“I understood sort of, Frisk, but thought communication via telephone or signs are harder to comprehend. You are afraid he did not have it right. Correct?”

“Yeah,” Frisk admitted.

“He is right. You must be royalty, marry him and possibly become pregnant to save our timeline.”

'Why?!’

“As far as I can tell from Asgore and Papyrus, the timelines severed wrong. Once they match the sever, it will be fine being on its own.”

'I still don't understand.’ “I? I just don't get it, Toriel. Why does it have to be this way?”

“The puzzle’s broken.”

Frisk looked behind her at Sans who was speaking. ‘Great, it’s Sans.’

‘I didn’t know I was great,’ he joked back. ‘Imagine a jigsaw puzzle, already built and made. It’s got a little duck under a bridge with grey skies and grass. You know, regular shit. It’s ready for framing, showing off, the works. Then there is this huge kind of earthquake that shakes it apart. The pieces start to scatter everywhere, and the puzzle is messed up.’

Frisk nodded, understanding the visual concept. ‘The piece can’t be placed back in the puzzle though.’

“No, it can’t,” Sans answered her back out loud. ‘The puzzle basically lost the whole connection. That one piece with the little duck under the bridge is gone forever. However, all the other pieces? The water, the bridge, the grey skies, the grass, it can all come back together. It’ll never be a whole puzzle, but it can come back together.’

Oh. ‘The puzzle is broken, it will always be broken, the little duck can never be back, but we can mend it the best we can so it will still be a puzzle.’

“Something like that, yeah.” Sans moved closer. ‘The thought isn’t appealing to me either, I’m not duping you into this. You think I’ve been fully wanting to have a wife, some frickin’ kids and be royalty? I barely stay awake to sell hotdogs and watch for unauthorized humans.’

“I am in college, getting my degree. If marriage saves the world, then okay, but I still want to be in college.”

‘Pfffft! I’m not leaving home to spend days with you, following you around from class to class.’ “You’re going to the Monster Kingdom. You’ll be royalty anyhow.”

What? “I am staying in college. I will come to the kingdom for the marriage, but I am staying for my degree.”

“Not this again? Aw.” Sans closed his eyelids. “Human, you are too damned determined to follow your own path. You could have just stayed in Snowdin, made friends around there, or kept going and made more friends in Waterfall. Hotlands. But you? No, you had to go all the way to Asgore.”

Why was he complaining? “You’ve been on the surface for years, why are you complaining?” Geez.

“That’s not the point. You never listen. I hate that,” Sans told her.

“I follow my own heart,” Frisk corrected him as she crossed her arms. “Don’t think because I’m agreeing to anything that I will just give up on my real life.”

Sans . . . seemed kind of stunned. “You’re gonna marry me and be royalty, and then run away?” He seemed really stunned. “You know, fine, I can see you not wanting to hang out there with me, but to diss Toriel.” He shook his head. “Her heart’s gonna feel like it’s dusted.”

What did he mean by that?

‘You are royalty. That makes you like family to Toriel. Your kids will be royalty. Sadly, my ass will be too, and I don’t want to do anything, but even I wouldn’t say something so selfish and miserable as you, human.’ “Fine. Beat it afterward. Be a silent royalist, and a wife that runs from her husband.” ‘Not a good image. Monsters will think I’m a dead beat, but gotta save the timeline.’

Was he kidding? He wasn’t letting her read that. He was using an ACT. That was a complete ACT.

‘Call the bluff, Kid.’ Sans’ eyesockets went dark. ‘Tell Tori. Tell her how you’ll help and see what she thinks of it.’

Mph. Frisk went over to her phone again. “Toriel?”

“Frisk, yes? Have you come more to terms with things?”

“I will become royalty, and I will marry Sans,” Frisk said strongly, “but I want to continue my life out here. My college is my life.” Frisk waited for a response. Instead, she got something else. A thought through the phone.

‘To run from a husband that has done nothing to deserve it brings great shame. As shameful as becoming royalty yet never putting any effort into it!’ “I do not recommend it my child.”

'Child?’

'Yes, a spoiled one from the look of it.’

That was just-

“If you want to help save the timeline, then do it with kindness in your heart. If you want to do it your way, Asgore will not be as kind.”

Not Asgore warnings again. “He won't kill me.”

“No, he will rudely force marriage and royalty,” Toriel warned him. “It is possible sadly. After that, you can ignore your marriage and duties. No one would expect you to stay because of the way it was all handled.”

Hm. Frisk felt stuck. Toriel almost always sided with her. Save with kindness, or let it be forced? Those were the options. “What if I have to have a baby?”

“No problem, we have the tech to give you one,” Toriel answered. “However, Sans will be held responsible for it. A half-monster baby in a human college would not be smart.”

Oh. Not only that. ‘I could never leave a baby in danger.’ But? 'I would never want to just leave my own baby behind either.’ Her baby left to Sans and Papyrus to raise? “It's first words would be nyeh heh heh.” No! Also. “I am against unnatural births too. I feel it shouldn't be created through science. I understand people wanting children, but not with the methods that control the soul.”

“Oh?” Frisk swore she heard her laugh. “Really, Frisk, you may want to squash that. In order for us to help, we have to pair the soul perfectly for a monster and human.”

Oh. Oh no. “I can't then.” She looked toward Sans. “Do I . . .?” Natural. She had her own beliefs, but if she did follow through. “A form of sex with Sans the Skeleton somehow?”

Sans had been drifting off to sleep, but then suddenly woke up, grabbing onto her wall for support. “I remember the determination, Frisk, but your shit is off the wall.” He gazed back at her. “Are you kidding? It'll be fine and safe.”

No. “It's debatable.-

World 5,236

“Humans who have soul science used tend to have more emotional problems with their souls, and they typically live 20 years less, have more body problems in life, and are overall less happy and healthy,” Mina said.

World 59

-Humans tend to have more emotional problems with their souls, and they typically live 20 years less, have more body problems in life, and are overall less happy and healthy.” If she had a daughter or son, she would never wish that upon them. “It's being voted out of options next year. Only body science will be allowed to create children, no soul science.”

World 5,236

“Your story you are reading is a lot less of a fairytale for children,” Mina said toward Sans. “Pardon, but I don’t think Chara would appreciate you reading that to them.”

Sans looked at the book again. Mina had just mentioned the previous sentence word for word almost before he read it? That must be an actual slogan of something. Bet the reason they were taken is because of something like this. They all had been watching their steps, and mainly minding their business. The fact it was Mina, the one that hadn’t messed up at all with anyone, spelled it out the most clearest. “I know it’s rough, but they are monsters. I won’t get too gnarly, Mina. If you want, go talk to Chara. She’ll say the same thing.”

Mina actually stood up and went toward the front.

Yep. It had to have something to do with that alright.

She came back over, surprised. “I’m sorry for not understanding monster tradition. Still, Chara said you should replace s-e-x and try to be more hospitable. And . . . um no dismemberment?”

Man, this stuff was really riding Mina. "S'okay."

Neither Phal or Angie were half as excited either. They were smart kiddos. 

He continued.

World 59

Sans made a strange noise. It was kind of a guffaw mixed with a whistle. “Well, I can't have nookie with a human that just wants to run from me. You'll have to decide to stay with me if you want to jump my bones.”

Boy, he had a way of phrasing things weirdly. “What if I don’t run?” Frisk suggested. “What if we spend part time in the Monster Kingdom, and part time here for my studies?”

She waited for either Sans or Tori to answer.

“I don’t think royalty and marriage is a part time job, Dear.” Toriel sounded strained.

Hmm. “Then?” Frisk gestured to Sans. “Sans could stay here with me between times, and I could do leader stuff over here? Promoting monsters and stuff?”

She watched Sans kind of back out of the room to her living room.

———————————

Not gonna work at all, no way. Whatever sweet Frisk was a princess that his other self was in love with, it wasn’t this Frisk. This Frisk lost no determination, was stubborn as hell, and didn’t want to back down at all.

Her life fell apart? Join the club! Like he wanted to be in that situation either? Not only that, but when they did get married, she wanted to drag him back and forth, to keep her happy life. Oh sure, it would be oodles of fun dodging all of the human souls swiping at his life.

One friend was fine. Dealing with a few humans, okay. Visiting the places that monsters were welcome to? It was alright. A huge college campus was not one of them.

He would either end up getting struck one day, or he’d end up accidentally killing someone and the kingdom would look terrible.

She was an okay friend at best. If even.

————————————

“Maybe it has been a long time for you since you’ve been in the Monster Kingdom, Frisk. It is easy to fight monsters with a human soul.”

Peh. “Asgore wasn’t easy. You weren’t easy.”

“To hit back, Frisk. Had you swung only a couple of times you would have taken out a Froggit. It does not take much, and the swinging comes from the soul,” Toriel tried to convince her. “It is very easy to honestly dust most monsters for a human.”

Okay. Well? Okay. “Judy was scared. Normally shy.” What would others do? On a . . . a huge campus. With thousands of humans walking around. “Dangit.” Tori was right. She just told Sans to endure a barrage of bullets everyday. “You’re right, I can’t do that. People need to know monsters more before it’s safer or he’ll get hurt. I was . . .” Thinking of herself.

She looked in the other room. Sans was staring at the window. What a position she put him in. “We’ll work something out, Sans, but I won’t put your life in peril just to attend class.”

Frisk moved back to the other room. The semester was over with anyhow. She would have to figure out next semester’s problem. ‘Not a part time job. Basically, force Asgore to make me do the right thing so I can leave with no hurt feelings or I can be kind.’ Frisk would rather be kind.

Also? Even if she had Asgore enforce it all, she might still have to end up pregnant. How in all the . . . ‘Why am I even a royal princess in the first place, let alone with Sans?’ Bad monster, no. Dreamboat, no. Someone she met a little here and there, yep. That’s it. Sometimes yearly. That wasn’t someone she wanted to say I do too.

Dang. Poor Brent too, they were going on two months. She would have to just call him to say it wouldn’t work out? That wasn’t fair to him. She couldn’t really say it’s because she had to marry someone and be royalty somewhere. He’d swear she was joking and being mean.

Next step. Information gathering. Frisk paid attention back to the phone. “Toriel? What does royalty do?” The answer was go around and help monsters. Walk around and help? “Just walk around?” That was it?

Help. Frisk liked helping. She loved helping. Even what she eventually sold, she wanted to sell something that would help people. If being royal just meant helping in the first place?

Wait. There was a reason she wanted to help and sell. “If you just help others though with their problems, then how do you survive?” Even royalty needs money.

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry, human royalty is so different, isn’t it? We live in the castle, it is our shelter. We have our traditional clothes to wear that certain residents make us. Usually there is plenty to eat by the front door each morning from the citizens, but you may also get anything Underground for free as royalty.”

Wait. So? “Royalty lives on the grace of others, and in turn, they help the citizens.”

“Exactly, Frisk. We guide problems, great and small. Many times it is small problems, but conflicts do arise. We did our best to navigate the wars above as well.” Toriel sounded happy. Frisk thought she seemed . . . excited? She probably sensed Frisk changing her mind.

“I didn’t have much more college to go.” Frisk sighed. About a year and a half? She’d have her degree. But? She only ever wanted to help people.

The charity part would take some getting used to, but if it wasn’t just sitting on a throne in royal clothes quietly, then? ‘But there were thrones. I saw one.’

“Of course there were thrones, Frisk. When you want to make it easy for everyone to access you without walking, then you sit at your throne. Not a big deal, dear, just grab your phone and play a few games for certain hours or certain days.” Toriel realized her mistake. “You didn’t say that to me, did you?”

“I didn’t remember the blue stop sign again.” It was still good information to know. “Do I have to wear royal clothes?”

“Tradition and charity. If you choose not to wear them, you’ll have to tell the makers not to make anymore. Be prepared for tears,” Toriel warned her. “It’s their way of giving back too. All of the problems of the Underground become your problems. You may delegate some tasks to others, but it all still falls upon you. If a citizen is sinking, you must help them float. The crown is heavy.”

Yes, Frisk understood that.

“Not just big problems, all of the small problems tend to add up making the weight hard to bear. But? I know that you would do well. You can make it, Frisk.”

Frisk held the phone but looked out her window. That sun was wicked, those dark purple colors looming around, back and forth. Something supernatural was happening, the sun itself proved that. There was already news reports on it, trying to figure out what the murkiness was over it.

Timelines. Fixing timelines. “Okay,” Frisk decided. “Okay, I agree to being royalty, marrying Sans, and staying in the Monster Kingdom on three conditions.”

“Okay, Frisk, tell me.”

“If I don’t mesh well being a royal, or if Sans doesn’t like it, then in a year, I want to leave the Monster Kingdom to try getting a business degree online. I’ll stay in a monster friendly town for Sans.” Especially if she had a baby.

“I can agree to that if Sans does, Frisk. The second?”

The second was easy. “Sans needs to meet my family before we do anything.”

“You want your family to meet Sans too. Makes sense, I suppose. This is a huge change,” Toriel agreed. “Okay. The third?”

“Sans has to help me break up with my boyfriend.” Frisk could hear the question in Toriel’s voice. “Brent won’t believe me if I just say I’m going to be royalty and married. I don’t want him to hate me and he deserves the truth. I’ll protect Sans, Brent won’t hurt him.”

“Aw, geez Frisk!” Sans voice came from the other room. “Am I gonna love you or hate you forever?”

That was a strange phrase. “Brent deserves to know. If I don’t explain right, he’ll insist at being at the wedding.”

“Oh, great. You date someone like you, don’t you?” Sans groaned. “Fine, I’ll meet your parents and I’ll be there while you break your boyfriend’s heart. I’m not responsible for accidental death if he pulls me into resets. If he starts that shit, then you better pull me out of them.”

“Fine.” Good. “Okay, Toriel,” Frisk said back to the phone. “Agreed.”

World 5,236

There. That was good for the night. "We'll mark that for now."

"I hope you end up getting along with Frisk better," Phal said to Sans. "It's not gonna be fun for this guy at all."

"He was told right away, and so was she, and everything was just thrown right on them." Angie didn't like it any better. "Can't you get to know each other a little bit?"

"I don't know how it'll go. We'll find out later. Your Momma Char and Pop Pyrus want to bunker down in a hotel though, so we aren't staying up so late. I have to babysit five people tonight back here." He already felt the RV stopping. 

"All five people, Uncle Sans?" Phal questioned.

He promised Papyrus he'd help with anything. "Yep."

"We won't be much bother," Mina promised.

"Well, you aren't kids, but you are humans. So?" He wiggled his hands as he walked to the back. More towards the back, they had beds from the walls. "Two a piece. Tonight, just a couple have to bunk together. Tomorrow night, we'll figure stuff out later."

His nieces both took the bottom beds area easily. It's where they were always sleeping. Abe and Gabe had no problem taking a spot. Frisk took a short ladder to another bed, while Sans took that same kind of short ladder on the other side. It wasn't glamorous. The room area was mainly nothing but beds. When fully spread out they almost touched.

Oh yeah. Naw. "Nope." He climbed back down, and then just lifted Abe and Gabe upwards. Gabe screamed a little but it took like two seconds to get in bed. "Uncle Sans is gonna sleep on the other bottom. You were too close to my nieces."

"We would have moved," Gabe insisted. "Man. I got lifted off the ground. Wait? If you can do that, why didn't you just do that instead of using the little ladder?"

"Uh? I'm supposed to like . . . try?" With certain stuff that took a few seconds, using magic instead drove Papyrus crazy. His nieces just giggled at him as he rolled onto his bed. "Night, night. Be good folks. I'm not as slouchy a babysitter as you think." Absolutely true, but none of the humans were really posing a threat. They all seemed fine. Abe had to think too hard to do something. Gabe was probably too stunned to want to bug him. And Mina?
Mina was already asleep?

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Mina didn’t know how close she was to her goal. She really needed to check in. She had been gone for so long. She tried to get some decent sleep, knowing the monster would be pretending to be asleep for some time to watch over his nieces.

She woke up some time later and saw Z’s coming from Sans. She moved slowly down the ladder and to the front.

Daytime. Area was monster of course. Leaving yet was a bad idea. She would stay with the monsters until they got to a more tolerable area. ‘Should I leave Abe? Chara is trustworthy. Abe is fine.’ She didn’t want to do that. Her brother wasn’t safe without her. His survival instinct was nil.

A little longer. She walked back toward the bed, but noticed the monster Sans staring at him. “It’s morning.”

“Point?” he said. “What are you doing?”

“I haven’t been able to see the sun in months,” she said to him. That wasn’t a lie. “No one saw me.”

“Well, you need to be careful.” Sans pulled himself out of the bed. “Still don’t know anything about you people.”

Hmm. “I was visiting my brother in college. Worst dinner ever.” She tried a little bit of humor to ease him up. “We aren’t here to mess around with you. We just want to get home.”

“Yeah, I could sort of believe that.” He moved closer to her. “At first. I know your brother is at college. I know he’s got an unusual soul. I dictated a really simple way for him to give me an answer. I even gave it in the right way, to make him want to get it done.”

Hmph.

“He hasn’t said anything. If it was simple, he would have said something. So, I get you were visiting his college? What is it you do, Mina?”

Okay, Sans the Skeleton was getting nosy. Not what she wanted. She would have to give him something. He was moving closer. ‘Back. We haven’t done anything against you.’

‘Not yet’. Sans stared at her. “Got something wrong with your soul? You sure were interrupting story time yesterday.”

“I have a problem with soul science and children. Yes, I was born with soul science. So was Abe,” she admitted. “But I won’t interrupt again.” She didn’t know how his story time was making sense. It was a lot of storytime all the time.

“Try not to. It’s important. It’s a monster thing, and I don’t need humans getting in the way of it,” he said. “I hope your good. I do. Especially since we are stuck with each other for a long time, Mina.”

“Yes. Home is quite far,” she said.

“Not going for Farrisk anymore though. Wrong person,” Sans admitted. “Still? We are still taking you because Chara wants it. If Chara wants it, then Papyrus wants it. If Papyrus wants it? Then he gets it. That’s pretty much how that works.”

“Well? No matter why you are helping us, I appreciate it,” Mina said.

“Cool. Glad to hear.” His tempo always shifted around. “I got some world class jokes for you later if we can stay friendly to each other.”

Then trust equaled jokes. Trust would be important to get. “Hope I get to hear some then later.”

“Sure. First, I gotta get a couple squirts out of bed. I love these kids. I try really hard to be a good Uncle,” he said.

Odd. It couldn’t . . . “That’s good to hear.” Hang on? His voice. It had sounded like such a different pitch. She was very good with ACTs. His been had been tougher. Was he doing that on purpose? Mina had to check. “There’s so many people that don’t really get to know their nieces or nephews. It’s nice to see someone that cares so much.”

“Yeah. Not a big deal.” He went over toward the girls and kicked their bed slightly. “Up. We gotta read.”

The girls both groaned.

“That’s not how you wake people up,” Phal complained to him.

“That’s how people wake me up,” Sans said to her.

Okay? Mina was good at reading people. Sans was one of the trickiest people ever. First, she thought he was suspicious of her. Then, he seemed to be kidding with her. Then? It almost seemed like he was flirting? But, she paid extra attention to that and he didn’t care. Now, he was just waking his nieces up to read again.

Add the fact he was a skeleton so she couldn’t even get visual facial cues? She had to play it carefully. Stay polite. Stay to the side. Stay simple.

Simple and quiet.

As everyone eventually got up and ready for the day, it wasn’t too long before Chara emerged from the front.

“Good morning, Mina,” Chara said sweetly as she came in. “Abe, Gabe, everyone sleep well? And of course, you two!” She went over and hugged her girls. “I’m going to be back here listening to the stories with you while your daddy drives. Okay?”

“Okay!” Phal and Angie were excited. Aww, Chara was such a sweet mother.

Mina sat down and got comfortable. Maybe she would have better luck gaining trust by actively listening to the story today? It was a little odd to keep actually hear monsters using their real names for stories, but it was just a tradition too.

Sans got comfy and broke out the book again. This time the girls seemed more excited with their mom.

“Okay, Uncle Sans,” Phal said. “We are brave monsters. We are ready.”

“Good,” Sans agreed. “Okey dokey, let’s get started.”

World 59

Sans felt switchy with Frisk. One minute she was a good friend, the next he felt like pulling off his own skull with her. He was with her now, driving to her parents. Definite need for a shortcut for this one as soon as he got there.

They had talked a little in the car over the two hour trip.

Not much. Random simple stuff. How’s the kingdom doing? What’s your favorite music? Anything else interesting happening not related to the end of the world? Things like that.

Sans did it to try and get to know Frisk. Frisk did it because she was trying to learn how to talk out her thoughts safely more.

When Frisk pulled to the side, she got out and was greeted by a dog. “Hi, Mattie. Did you miss me? Well, I missed you.” She hugged the dog. “Come on, Sans. They are this way.”

Sans sort of opened the door on the car and shuffled past the barking little dog. ‘Great. Meeting the in-laws. This’ll be just fantastic. Real, real fantastic.’

‘I can’t miss the sarcasm,’ Frisk said back to him. ‘It’s not any easier on me bringing you home to them.’ She knocked on the door. ‘I promise, if they accidently swipe, I’ll defend you, but I have a feeling you will be fine.’ Frisk smiled as the door was opened. “Hi, Mom.”

“Frisk, home so soon?” Frisk’s mom glanced at Sans.

A little to the right. Simple dodge.

“Don’t be scared.” Frisk still guarded him in front. “This is Sans the Skeleton. One of the monsters that helped me when I went Underground.”

Frisk’s mother moved behind the door a moment. “I’m? Okay.” She came back out. “One of your friend’s, Frisk? Hello.”

Yeah, yeah. Frisk’s dear old mom didn’t even realize she swiped. “Hey.”

“Oh, it- I mean- he- He?” Her mom made sure with Frisk. “They speak our language?”

“Yeah, he does,” Frisk said for him. “Can we come in? I need to talk to you about something.”

“I imagine so.” Frisk’s mother straightened her back. “You came with no word to home, so I imagine it is some heavy news.”

“Yes. Can you get dad too?” Frisk asked.

‘Oh yeah, ‘cause a two for one on barbecued Sans is funner,’ Sans said, only half teasing.

Frisk didn’t answer as they went inside. ‘Listen, Sans. It might be a little rough, but they will understand. I will make sure they understand before I begin.’ As her father came in, Frisk stood as straight as she could. “I have something to tell both of you. It is very important that you understand it, and do not move too fast. If you do, your feelings might lash out towards Sans. It happens without you even knowing most times.”

“Okay, Frisk,” her father said. “Are you okay?”

“Healthwise, I am okay. I need you both to promise me that you will hear me out, think of what is happening with the sun, and understand the world is not always clear-cut and dry.”

“We will,” both her parents said.

“Good.” Frisk cleared her throat. “The world is in peril. The sun is the proof that you have. There are times connected to this world, just like there are resets.”

Both her parents nodded their heads.

“Tell us, Frisk,” her father told her. “We can take it, I promise.”

“I know I can take it,” Frisk’s mother said. “If your father can’t, I can.”

“The same for me, Dear,” Frisk’s father said as well. “If your mother can’t, I can.”

‘The hell is wrong with competing for being most understanding?’ That was weird. ‘Frisk?’

‘My mother’s friends dared her to date my dad 100 consecutive times a row and marry him if there was no reason to stop dating. My father found out about the bet, and felt it was his duty to make sure he never messed up. They were married.’ Frisk looked toward Sans. ‘They compete to be the best, but they love each other as well. I don’t know which is stronger though.’

‘That explains a hell of a lot about you.’ Sans didn’t distract her anymore.

“We have a broken connection to these other worlds, and to fix it, I must marry Sans the Skeleton.” She gestured toward him. “I must also become royalty for the monsters, and I may have to get pregnant as well.”

Sans watched her parents. Boy. If he wasn’t the one causing the stress, it might be kind of fun to be watching them. Frisk’s dad kept moving his fingers on his side, while her mom twitched her mouth repeatedly.

“I understand,” her father said slowly. “There is something in another world that broke, that . . . caused this?”

“That . . . that caused it. Another Frisk?” Her mom’s voice jumped up higher. “Is that why?”

“Yes. The signatures, in a way, have to match. Another Frisk was married to Sans, was royalty, and might be pregnant. We don’t know that yet for sure until after the marriage and we balance it out.” Frisk explained what she could.

Sans just watched both of them. ‘Your parents? At another time, this would be hilarious.’ Heh. ‘Nah, it is hilarious. They want to crack so bad, but they don’t want the other to beat them.’

‘Sans, this is a serious moment. Please be nice.’ Frisk stared at her parents. “Well?”

“Well? I? I. Well. Dear?” Frisk’s mother looked at his dad. “Kelsey. Are you doing okay with the news?”

“Oh. Yes, of course,” he insisted. “I was just wondering if you need a second to, um, to . . . to process it.” He cleared his throat. “Are you okay, Tracy?”

“Doing fine. Doing fine.” Her mom shook her head. “Doing fine, Frisk. Doing fine.”

Yeah, right. “So, yeah, Frisk is going to leave college now and head for the Monster Kingdom.”

“After I break up with Brent,” Frisk said strongly. “No matter the situation, I should not be a bad girlfriend or a bad wife. I need him to know too.”

Her dad was running his hands through his hair. “Oh. Uh-huh. That’s proper. I think I need to work on the car.”

“Dad, you don’t work on the car. Mom works on the car,” Frisk corrected him.

“I mean, cook supper. Big supper tonight, I’m gonna cook supper. Good to meet you, new fiance of Frisk’s.” He started to scoot out of the room.

He shouldn’t. Sans really shouldn’t, but years from now when things were all worked out, he’d have regrets if he didn’t. He gave him a bony thumbs up and winked. “Thanks, Dad. See you at the wedding.” He looked toward Frisk’s mom. “You too, Mom?”

“Mom?” Oh yeah, she looked straight at Frisk, then back at him. “Mm-hmm. Wedding. Yes. See you then. For the sake of the world. A purple sun. Mm-hmm.”

Wow. How far could he really push them?

“Kelsey is better.” Oh, Frisk’s dad broke first. “I don’t suppose there is definitive proof?”

“The purple sun, Kelsey,” Frisk’s mom said to him. “The purple sun is why we will have a . . . .”

“Aw, new mom likes puns like me,” Sans said. He couldn’t resist. “Son and sun. Hilarious. Good one.”

“Mm. That did become a pun. Oh.” Her mom was still out of it.

‘Sans, they are pushing their determination to their limit! Please don’t aggravate it anymore?’ Frisk asked politely.

Yeah, okay. ‘Let’s beat it, Frisk. I made a shortcut back from your school, to this house.’ He wasn’t gonna just drive two hours again.

———————————

They went out for pizza and waited to meet the last person they had to talk to. Frisk figured Sans might feel better over pizza. Maybe it would help Brent to?

It would be a tricky moment. Brent came into the pizzaria smiling and waving toward her.

“Hey, Frisk.” He sat right next to her and then took a closer look at Sans. “Um? Costume?”

“No.” Sans closed the lid on the pizza. “Monster. Skeleton. Hi, Brent. I’m the bastard that ruins your wonderful life with Frisk.”

World 5,236

“Not asking for a whole lot of change on hard parts?” Chara said to Sans. “Real easy to change that to jerks.”

Right, right. Momma was in the back today.

Chara looked toward Mina. She looked a little more into the story than usual. “You okay, Mina?”

“Yes.” She sounded almost . . . angry? “Traditional. Is. Interesting.”

“Yeah, names and stuff,” Chara said to her. “It’s just what monsters do.”

“Mina?”

“Shut up, Abe.”

Whoah? Sans glanced to Chara.

“That was a little harsh, Mina.” Chara didn’t like that either. “What was that?”

“That was kind of harsh,” Gabe agreed. “He hardly says anything.”

Mina didn’t look at all well. “I’m not very good at cues when I don’t feel so well.”

“Oh. You need to use the bathroom, you can,” Chara said. “Stay back there as long as you need to. Do you need a washrag?”

Mina got up and moved toward the bathroom without an answer.

“Still harsh.” Gabe looked toward Abe. “She wasn’t feeling well.”

Abe didn’t answer.

“Probably bad food. It’s a bad day when Mina’s off her game,” Chara said. “It’s fine, just ignore her. Continue, Sans.”

Sans looked toward the bathroom a little longer before paying attention back to the story.

World 59

Sans was moving straight to the point. Frisk looked toward Brent. “I know we had a great two months of dating,” she said, “but I have to break it off with you.”

Sans flipped the pizza lid open again. Looks like he finished his last piece already. “Frisk is gonna leave you and move to the Monster Kingdom. That’s all you need to know.”

That isn’t all he needed to know. Frisk looked at Brent who continued to smile.

“It’s fine, Frisk. I can handle a long distance relationship,” Brent encouraged her. “I like you, Frisk. Whatever your plans, I want to be in them.” He tried to kiss her but a bone popped up between them. Brent ended up kissing ancient bone that had appeared and then disappeared. “What?”

“Sorry there,” Sans said with a piece of pizza stuck between his teeth. He winked at Brent. “I can’t just let you kiss my future wife in front of me. There’s lazy and then there’s super lazy. I’ll never hear the end of it if that happened. Even future kids might be teasing me. You want a slice?”

Sans had his own way of handling things. Frisk looked toward Brent. “Sorry, he isn’t joking. I have to marry him.”

“Yeah. I’ll spare a slice for ya.” Sans held a piece of cheesy pizza toward him.

Brent wasn’t as pleased. “No.” He glared at Frisk. “What is going on?”

“End of the world times,” Frisk said. “The purple clouds over the sun, it’s a symptom. I’m going to become royalty to stop it.”

Brent sighed exhaustively. “Did you look into this, Frisk? Why do you have to be royalty and marry this guy? It doesn’t make any sense.” He glared at Sans. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Welcome to timelines. Nothing but trouble really.” Sans stuck the pizza out again. “So no take on the pizza? Going once. Going twice.”

Brent crossed his arms. “I just think you’re too kind, or stubborn, to break up with me, Frisk. Prove it. I want to be at the wedding.”

At the wedding? Oh, really. “You don't believe me?”

“I believe I'll wait for the invitation before I believe anything. Monster royalty, Frisk? At least try a more decent lie.”

Ooooh! Like she would lie just to avoid confrontation of breaking up. Frisk tried to explain it with concepts he would have heard of, like resets. It didn’t help. She had Sans try. He didn’t do much more at first, but it seemed like Brent was making him madder too with his stubborness.

Frisk could barely keep up with him as Sans used vocabulary she’d never heard of, but it sounded like his theories and notions were top notch. If Frisk hadn’t had Toriel to confirm things, Sans might have been able to sway her with his words.

But Brent? Nothing. “Look, Frisk, this is one of two things. You either want to break up, but you’re too nice to do it. Or? This relationship is more intense than you thought, and you are trying to drive me away instead of facing your feelings for me.” He smiled at her. “Either way? I want tickets.”

“Fine, Brent. I will put you in the front row.” Sans said while he ate his cheesy pizza. “I'll even personally come and get you so you don't have to worry about travel. No problem.”

Oh. 'That's too mean, Sans. He's just in denial. His heart will break if he's there.’

'Yeah, but it'll be funnier in the future when we see him in photos and somebody asks about him. Historical funny moments are priceless.’ “Can we go now, Frisk?”

“Okay then, Sans, Frisk will know how to find me then,” Brent said as he stood up. He walked out without even a look back.

'Okay, I kept the promises on my side. We need to go.’ Sans put the other pizza down. “Let's go.”

Oh. He did keep his promises. It wasn’t what she wanted to do. At all. But? She wouldn’t let the world end just because she didn’t want to get married. That’s all it was right now. Just marriage. ‘I should get my stuff.’

‘I can handle your stuff,’ Sans insisted. ‘I just want you to get over by the kingdom. The more pieces we have put together of the puzzle, the longer it overall lasts.’

Yeah. Maybe it would even be enough?

World 5,236

Abe kept his eyes on Sans. They all stopped the story to get out and stretch. Mina was still in the back, probably figuring out the next move. He watched Sans come over.

“It really shouldn’t be that hard, but here.” He gave Abe paper and pencil. “I’ll make it even easier to answer me.”

Paper and pencil. Paper and pencil. He loved paper and pencil to write down the answer to. Proper eraser for mistakes even. Work out the answer in spades.

“Come on. Off you two. We need to stretch a bit. It’s an alley. No one will see you,” Sans promised. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

World 5,236

100 percent, I am still with the enemy. They were playing with her, for what reason? Why didn’t they just hold them behind bars? They could have kept playing her forever, led her to her downfall, but they got cocky.

They thought they were invincible. Now? Mina had to decipher her enemy. Is this the real Sans and Papyrus that Chara knew who have betrayed us? Or, are they doppelganger monsters taking their form?

Straight up getting out wasn’t an option, not until she knew for sure. Chara couldn’t be a plant, she was in there the whole time with her. There was never any added decency to her. Mina bet her life on Chara not being a plant. What about her children? Are those little skeletons good little girls or also in disguise?

No! This is not what she wanted. Mina thought Abe, Gabe, Chara and her were all safe.

But they were telling stories using her, without her name. They were using her parents name. Her philosophy of souls. They were even talking about timelines. Hold, Mina. Alright. They might not be the enemy, maybe they just know about timelines? That was a possibility too.

Mina bent down and checked the back of her leg. She unstrapped it and looked at her soul knife. She was prepared if things turned, but she needed to know what the enemy’s actual plan had been.

First step, be alert, but be aware. She needed to talk to Chara and see if she knew about the timeline mess. Then, after watching everyone closely and reassessing, she would choose her course of action.

Stay, leave, or kill. The one called Sans the Skeleton is a reader, he will read my emotions if I don’t have a compelling reason for them. What could she say?

She couldn’t reveal the truth, that she knew what they were doing. She couldn’t just fake ignorant either, not now. She heard a knock on the door.

Sans’ voice. “Hey, Mina? You should really stretch your legs. We don’t stop much on account of there’s a chance someone might kill ya in a lot of places.”

She strapped her knife back down to her leg. Not only was he a reader, he was hard to read back. She couldn’t quite tell how to act with him before. Hold something positive in your mind, Mina. No, hold something complicated. Something you wouldn’t normally be thinking about, that he wouldn’t want to read. Hmm.

Hopefully, she pulled the right act. She opened the door and looked at him, already feeling tired. Nobody wanted to think about it. “I’m coming.”

“Kay.” He went right by, having read her maybe two seconds, then backing off. Great, now she had to hold it in her head while she did other things. He was even nice enough to get the back door for her.

Mina stepped off. Ugh.

“You okay?” Chara asked. “It’s a good time to stretch, but you don’t look so hot. What’s wrong?”

“She’s not feeling well,” Sans said for her. “She probably doesn’t need to walk too far.”

Right, it was working. She was imagining what the actual doctor’s office looked like last time she was really sick. The simple painting. Staring at it. Old magazines. It would make sense she’d be thinking about that if she was sick.

And while a reading couldn’t get that much off her, just the visual of remembering how sick she had been, subconsciously triggered worry about being sick, which he would sense.

Monsters were tricky. The way to act was tricky. Ugh. She hated the painting in that office. Why would a doctor’s office have such a dizzying black and white painting? Even though it was nice to stretch a little, it didn’t last long. She also couldn’t risk enjoying it much. She had to remember the old magazines she flipped through. The scratchiness of the chair.

They all went back in soon after. Chara was staying near her a little closer. Everyone got comfortable again as Sans continued the story.

Monster Kingdom
 
Frisk looked above her . No change in the purple clouds. Maybe it took time?
‘Hello, Frisk.’ Papyrus came out from his house and greeted her. Frisk was more used to just visiting Toriel, but she had seen their home before. ‘Welcome to your new home. I guess?’
Papyrus seemed confused about how to feel either. ‘For a year or so.’
‘A year or so?’ Papyrus questioned. ‘Have the duties changed, has new evidence been found?’ He looked at Sans cheerfully.
‘Nah.’ Sans shrugged. ‘She’d only come if she could use extortion on us.’
What did he say? ‘It’s not extortion.’
‘Blackmail then, whatever.’ Sans looked at Papyrus. ‘I have to return with her back to wherever she wants if she isn’t pleased in like a year of being royalty.’
Oof! The way he put it. ‘You are the ones forcing me to leave my college to marry and become royalty to save the timeline.’ Besides? ‘Once it all lines up and the world is saved, can’t we just divorce and everything can go back to normal?’
‘Hmm.’ Papyrus didn’t seem like he knew that answer. ‘Is that a thing? I don’t think that’s a thing.’
‘Nah, but you can run and hide away in your college or whatever. I wouldn’t come stalking for you or anything,’ Sans insisted.
Yeah, but? ‘We couldn’t get divorced though?’ Not a thing. Made sense, if it had been, Toriel would have gotten one. ‘Dangit.’
‘Not a huge difference. Unless, you know, there is something else attached between,’ Sans pointed out. ‘Then it’s blackmail ‘cause you’d try and take my child.’
‘Oh sure, just play like you are the innocent one!’ Seriously? ‘Stupid Sans, can’t believe I even have to-Blue sign! Shit!’ Frisk covered her face.
‘I have never heard of that color of waste,’ Papyrus noted. ‘You can phrase it nicer.’
‘She didn’t mean for us to hear that. She is still trying to learn how to talk but hold back at the same time.’ “I am trying to speak her waves too. Meet in the middle sort of thing.” Sans just looked at her. ‘We are probably both blackmailing each other in a way, but it’s not our fault. I’m as mad at you, as you are at me. But we really aren’t mad at each other, we are mad at the situation. Remember that.’

World 5,236

“I’m confused,” Gabe admitted. “What’s with the finger movement? Like quotes?”

Sans looked at his fingers. Oh yeah, humans wouldn’t understand. Their world wasn’t even supposed to allow this kind of chat. “It’s, uh, telepathy. If I hold up my bony digits, it means they are all speaking through the mind.”

“Telepathy?” Gabe asked. “I didn’t know monsters could do that?”

“It’s not technically legal. Most places have things in place so it doesn’t happen.” There were a few holes here and there that would let it get through, but not many.

He continued.

World 59 (Perfect Ending)

Right. He was right. ‘Sorry, Sans. You’re right, it’s the situation.’ Although? ‘It was one of his former selves . . .’ No, no. Blue stop sign. Still, he heard the beginning.

‘It was one of you too,’ Sans reminded her. ‘Monsters probably wanted to reach the surface.’

Hm? ‘I don’t get it, how would me marrying you do that?’ Wait. Oh. ‘That’s where the . . . the might be pregnant thing comes from in this deal somehow, doesn’t it?’

‘Yep, and being royalty. Souls can survive a little long outside of the body so enough half-monsters, and whammo. Broken and no lives sacrificed. You’d be a hell of a baby factory though, Frisk.’

Frisk whined. ‘How many?’ Papyrus had a strange look on his face so she kept looking toward Sans.

‘A decent amount. Don’t worry, if we have to go that far, we can put kid by kid in you to see how many the other you was pregnant with.’ Sans gestured toward Papyrus. ‘He’s angry because I stopped amplifying the conversation.’

‘Amplifying?’ Frisk was confused. ‘What is that?’

‘I was using magic to amplify your thoughts to him at first when we showed up. You can only hear and speak to one monster at a time. Side effect of being human.’ “It’s another reason using your language is good.” ‘A hell of a lot of monsters won’t do it though, Frisk, it’s super slow to speak compared to the speed of thought.’

‘Oh.’ Frisk looked toward Papyrus. ‘How do I change who I am speaking to? Do you hear me, Papyrus?’

‘Ah ha, yes! Finally, it took you long enough,’ Papyrus complained to her. ‘Absurd. We’ll have to really speak the slow language or that is going to get annoying. Either that, or waste our magic on it. I suppose it would probably be better to waste our magic on it.’

‘Yeah. So, grand tour.’ Sans gestured to the house. ‘We live there. End of tour.’ He chuckled. ‘Sorry. Hm. What day do we want to do the world saving stuff?’

‘I think the queen wants a huge festivity for it,’ Papyrus said. ‘It might be months.’
‘Months? We are saving the world because it’s ending, right?’ Frisk looked between both of them.

‘Yeah. Eventually.’ Sans stopped and combed his skull. ‘Just not right away.’ He took his comb and gestured to the sun. ‘The clouds are just over the sun, but the tinting hasn’t changed at all. When the whole world is getting this purple tint from the sun, then we need to move much faster.’

‘Yes, that gives you time to know us again,’ Papyrus insisted. ‘More than casual friends. We will be family. We will have to know each other better. For instance, our home is your home. Go inside and relax. Go look around. Go get something to eat if you want. Sans and I will get your things.’

Frisk went inside to be polite. Food. Relaxation. She didn’t really know what to do yet.
 
——————————————
Sans watched her head outside and notice Papyrus look at him.

‘Well? How did you do?’ he asked him. ‘Are you feeling a little better about it?’

Sans didn’t know. ‘I gave it as casual as I could. Tori did the heavy lifting of trust. I followed her wishes.’ Still, it was a pain. It was a pain on him, a pain on her, and a pain on both of them. They had nobody but themselves to blame. Literally. Their other selves in World 36. ‘At times I just want to hate her. She has way too much determination, it should be a crime.’

‘Well, Sans, we knew Frisk as a child was pretty miraculous there. It is humans,’ Papyrus said.

‘More than that, her mom and dad? I don’t even know if there is love, they only got together because of their determination not to fail. Worse than that, I wonder if they planned on Frisk, or if they overplanned on Frisk.’

Sans went ahead and told Papyrus the strange deal with her parents.

‘Oh. That explains a lot,’ Papyrus said.

‘Yeah, exactly what I thought,’ Sans agreed. ‘A lot of her keeps acting like this is all on her. Her, her, her. She’s the one stuck in this situation, the one that has to save everything. I’m here too, you know. I didn’t feel like marrying a human and becoming some royal. No way, me, royalty? I would never want it. Never.’

‘Yes, I see.’ Papyrus rubbed his bony fingers. ‘I get it.’

‘Then again, she isn’t always like that,’ he confessed. ‘When I was at my maddest with her saying she wanted me to stroll around a human campus, she went back to me right away and admitted she didn’t think it through. She’s okay conversation. She’s caring enough to her boyfriend that she tried to explain it, and she was even decent enough to tell her folks. Her weird, strange folks.’

‘Okay, well, a little here and there,’ Papyrus said. ‘A little good and bad. Sounds tolerable.’

‘But it shouldn’t be, because as much as I want to blow up at her for being selfish, there’s another part that’s screaming she isn’t being selfish enough. I’m about to yank her away from her entire life, and so is the royalty of the Monster Kingdom. She is going to be dealing with a lot of new stuff on her plate she never asked for, along with Mrs. Skeleton attached. Marrying a monster she barely knows since she was a kid.’ Torn. ‘She gets it though. She knows it’s important.’

‘Then in a year, if she doesn’t want to stay, will you go with her?’ Papyrus asked. ‘Or will you just act like you don’t know where she went? You’d be laughed at Sans, for your wife running away.’

‘I guess it depends on what I feel by then.’ Sans looked back toward the house. Monsters developed feelings fast, but he’d gone through too much bad/good with Frisk to be able to make anything certain. ‘I won’t have a clear view until some of this tension melts between us.’ That wouldn’t happen until after the marriage.

‘Yes, well? The festival will be pretty. I will be there. What a momentous . . . wonderful . . .’ Papyrus wasn’t half as good at faking it. ‘Wonderful.’

‘Sure, a wonderful wonderful. Frisk and I will try to grin, while each of us will probably want to grind our teeth,’ Sans answered for him. ‘The wedding bells will sound like a funeral dirge.’

‘Sans!’

‘It’s true. She’s keeping a real brave face on, but this just hasn’t sunk in yet. She isn’t a kid this time, real issues are going to have a new feeling in her. Don’t be surprised if the Pacifist . . .’ Hm. Not child. Not wife, didn’t want to use wife. ‘Lady. Don’t be surprised if the Pacifist Lady starts to cry during the wedding.’

‘Cry? She won’t cry. Will she cry?’ Papyrus asked worried. ‘I don’t want her to feel bad.’
‘Yeah, but that’s what it is. Bad. I know Frisk is a nice person, but I don’t even get a chance to really know her and I’m being forced to marry her,’ Sans said. ‘Frisk doesn’t know me any better than a hole in the ground.’

‘Yes, Frisk does have problems with holes in the ground,’ Papyrus just had to note. ‘What do we do if she does cry, Sans?’
‘Then we let her cry.’ Plain and simple. ‘By the way, her ex-boyfriend is coming to the wedding too.’

‘Pardon?’ Papyrus started to sweat. ‘Did you say ex-boyfriend?’
‘Yeah. He seems to not be able to understand the concept that Frisk couldn’t date him anymore. I think it’ll hit home when he starts seeing her walk down the aisle. Could you sit beside him, Pap?’ he asked. ‘Just in case he’s a little more emotionally wrecked, he won’t swipe at no one that can’t handle it.’

Papyrus nodded. ‘Silly humans. So much determination, they must crush their own hearts. Just bring him before the wedding to lessen the damage and to avoid distraction.’
‘Good idea.’ Smart brother.

Papyrus was quiet a moment. ‘I know it’s not the happiest occasion, but one day when you are far in the future, you might be looking over the photos of today and wished you had more smiling faces.’ Papyrus beamed. ‘I will always smile for you.’

‘Hey, great to hear. Let me too, if that kind of thing happens,’ Sans answered.

‘Let what happen? You smile as well?’

‘Nah. If I start crying too.’

Two hours later
 

Frisk was being given Papyrus’ cooking. It was edible. Not the best, but edible. Being exposed to the surface probably helped a lot. She’d been sitting on a chair in the front room, watching some TV with them, when there was a knock on the door.

Papyrus got up to answer it. At the door were royal guards. ‘What is it? Oh.’ He opened the door more.

Frisk could see a strange purple tint coming in. Oh no.
‘We are ready for the ceremony now. Her majesty said it’s better to make this quick since the world is changing shades,’ Madjick said. ‘Knight-Knight and I are the escort for Sans the Skeleton and Frisk.’

What happened to months? ‘Why’d it move so fast?’
‘The faster it moves, the more off balance it is,’ Papyrus reminded her. ‘I guess it won’t be as slow as we wished. We best get going.’

Now? Now now? Now now now? ‘Too soon! It hasn’t even been a whole day, this was supposed to take some time!’

Sans stood up. “Not much would have changed. We’d get to know each other a little better, that’s all.”

“It was a big that’s all!” Frisk crossed her arms. For a moment, just a moment, she wanted to be a spoiled brat. A spoiled brat that could say ‘no’ or ‘make me’. But? That wasn’t her. This was bigger than her. She didn’t free Underground just to end everything in their timeline’s existence. She stood up and headed to the door.

World 5,236

“This is a real sour story,” Phal said softly. “This is like, similar to Princess Frisk, but it’s not. Not at all.”

“They need to match,” Chara said for him. “If they don’t, it’s the end of the world. There’s a lot more important things than how they care about each other right now. It does suck for them, but if the world goes on, they’ll figure themselves out.”

“I hope something happens, so they don’t get married right away,” Angie said. “They should get more time.”

“Well, I guess we are gonna find out here soon.” Sans set down the book. His little nieces came over and gave him hugs. “Uh? I know it’s a version of me in a story, but it’s not me? Relax, okay?” Honestly. He’ll be lucky if all he had to do was marry someone. In their time? He didn’t even know where the Frisk was that he should marry. Or, if marrying was even it.

A baby factory. Mina was still picturing the doctor’s office, but she was already starting to feel ill. Are they trying to take me somewhere? Are they playing a trick on me? More and more, she trusted them less. Less and less.

Changing her name in a story to Frisk, didn’t change anything else. Yet, Chara didn’t seem disturbed by it at all. Did she even know anything? Mina had to find a way to talk to her, one on one.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Everyone was taking a break, with Chara staying with them on the inside this time. Her children and Sans had left to get food. Papyrus was up front. Now would be the time. “Chara? Could I talk to you?”

“You bet.” Chara came close. “So, are you feeling okay?”

“I need to ask you about something.” She had to be careful about it. “You never told anyone about Abe and I’s parents names, did you?”

“Nah. I don’t know them,” Chara said. Casually. Real casually. “Why?”

“Oh, okay.” It didn’t appear as if Chara did know that information. “I’d really prefer if you didn’t mention anything about us, if you knew anything? I’m usually on the ball, and I’m sick right now. I don’t want anyone to know when I can’t protect everyone as well.”

Oh yeah, Chara was looking at her harder now. Mina knew she would have to give up something now. “We were all in there for months, in a monster’s domain. I know you trust your family, but I don’t know them. I definitely don’t want to play trust right now. I really appreciate all the help, but . . . I am in an unfamiliar territory, far from home, and . . . and this monster tradition pulled out my old boyfriend’s name.”

“Oh.” Chara seemed to buy it. “Yeah, I know, the tradition probably feels unsettling when an actual name comes through. It’s just a first name though. Sans didn’t know about it. This stuff was actually written before they even met us. It’s just a coincidence,” she promised. “It’ll be okay. Still, anything I do remember anyone talking about, I won’t be going over with the guys. I actually don’t remember much. Not even the name of the college. Sorry.”

“No, that’s good. That makes me feel better,” Mina admitted. “Sorry. I’m not prejudice. I’m just cautious.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Chara said again. “No sweat. You’ll eventually feel better soon. Maybe when we get closer to human friendly territories, you’ll get to see a better side to things. Right now, um? They are distracted,” she settled with. “I bet though? You know.”

“I know what?” Mina didn’t get the hint.

“I mean. Sans. My Brother-In-Law,” she uttered. “Don’t put too much thought into him.”

Too much thought?

“He’s chill. He’s lazy. He’s fine,” Chara said. “He’s a heck of a guard for my daughter’s, but there’s no reason to be scared of him. At all. He tries to be funny. I mean, he is funny.”

Chara seemed a little odd.

“Look? Life is short, and you just never know what might happen.” She shrugged. “I had no idea I’d end up with my Funny bones.”

“Uh huh.” Mina still didn’t understand. She was trying to. “He’s friendly.”

“He’s easy. I mean, not easy.” She sighed. “Look? Time’s are tough. You aren’t going to be exactly swarming in new people for awhile.”

Right. “I will try to make friends with Sans.”

“It’s a good start,” she said. “Maybe when you’re feeling better, you can get closer.”

Was Sans causing this to make her lower her guard? “Maybe.”

“Yeah. That’s good enough for now,” Chara decided. “It’s almost storytime again. After some grub.” As she said that, Mina heard the others starting to come back.

They had got fast food, but Mina couldn’t have that. It would easily make her story about being sick go bad. Instead, she had to imagine some terrible combinations of things she didn’t want to, to keep herself from thinking about the food. Visualization. Oh, maggots are so disgusting. Visualization was one of her best friends in these situations. She didn’t even want to look at it, even though her stomach growled.

“Yeah, figured.” Sans came over and handed her a to-go box. “Try a light salad.”

Oh, nothing right now. “Maybe later.” She moved it away. She watched Sans scratch his skull.

“Okay. Later then.” He offered her a drink. “Juice?”

“Later.” Not right now. She had to focus.

“Okay, everything will be in the cooler section,” he said as he took her stuff away.

Everyone sat around and ate the food, while Mina kept visualizing disgusting things in her head. Ugh. After they were down, Sans took his usual spot.

Chara moved back toward her usual spot with her girls.

Storytime.

World 59

Royal Castle

Frisk stayed still as the temmies made adjustments to her wedding dress. She never knew if she’d wear a wedding dress in her life or not, but she didn’t imagine it would look like that.

‘It was short notice, Frisk,’ Toriel said to her. ‘This is the traditional garment worn by several princesses. We are just getting some alterations for it. The temmies were not ready to have everything. We needed some things ordered and there’s no time to wait for delivery.’

Frisk nodded without a word. Technically, she was in a big, off-white dress with a poofy round bottom and poofy sleeves. However, she didn’t fit the dainty princess size and the only thing the temmies had enough of was a cerulean blue sequins.

They were doing their best to strategically put it in around her waist and as ‘border’ or ‘design’. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough. They found a pure white color with pure white roses that stood out from the off-white and had to use it.

It was done by the most professional monsters out there with clothing. It shouldn’t look like patchwork, made at the last minute.

Yet, in the end, that is what it had been. All of Frisk felt like one big patchwork princess, made at the last minute. She watched Toriel try to guide what was best for the Monster Kingdom’s band, but they just couldn’t get the hang of the ceremonial monster tune. Toriel tried to get them to learn the ceremonial human tune, but they never practiced that one.

She had actually ended up buying a piece of ceremonial music and they were all basically pretending to play it.

If that wasn’t bad enough? Frisk saw Brent, right in front of her. Sans had already got him? “Hey.”

He gestured, open-mouthed. At her dress, at the monsters helping her, at the whole setting. “What? So? You really are getting married to a monster?”

“Yes,” Frisk said as she tried to hold still for the Temmies. “I have to. It’s a timeline thing.”

“Today? You are getting married today?” Brent looked like he was about to cry. “But . . . but we just started to get to know each other. How did . . .?”

Oh. Frisk wished she could move and reach out to him. “I’m sorry. I have to do this. Everything Sans told you before, it’s true. Without this, the world is doomed. I have to.” He just stared at her. “Look, at least there wasn’t a goat and a flower and-”

Brent held his hand up. “I get it. You don’t really want to do this either.” He sighed. “Can I at least get one more kiss?” He came over toward her as the temmies backed away. “I’ll miss you and the possible future times we could have had together.”

Frisk watched him come closer. Her arms were stuck in the wedding dress arm’s, stuck in a T position with pins marking spots. She wanted to say no, but that action wouldn’t have stopped him, he would have just stolen an open-mouthed kiss. Her only choice was to-

“Hold it there, Romeo.”

Sans’ voice? Frisk watched Sans pull Brent magically back a bit.

“Like I said before, I might hate myself in the future if I let someone kiss her. Especially on a wedding day. You got to say a proper goodbye, life sucks, and I get that,” Sans said to Brent. “You got to go now though. I brought you early so you didn’t make this wedding more awkward.” He looked over toward Frisk. “Papyrus’ idea. Ain’t his ideas the coolest?” He looked back toward Brent. “Come on, we got to get back.”

“It doesn’t seem real,” Brent complained. “Even the dress, it’s not even a real dress. Why? How is this happening?”

“You’re mad but you understand enough of it for me.” Sans disappeared with him.

Yep. Even Brent knew the dress was last minute. Frisk couldn’t even pretend any of this was normal when nothing worked out right. There was a reason it should have taken so long.

The music would be lip-synched in a way, by a band pretending to play.

The dress was all patchwork, with the wrong material to fix it.

The food was supposed to be shipped in, then it was supposed to be done by Mettaton but the wedding was so fast? Only Grillby could promise diners could go to grillbys for a burger per guest.

The spot in the palace they were supposed to use was in the middle of being cleaned for the wedding. Great big wet paint, and wet stained wood was started in there, but with the advanced move? They had to get married outside in a clearing.

Sans’ suit also didn’t fit, and the temmies didn’t have time to fix up both. There just wasn’t time. He wore his own tuxedo, a strange blue getup the temmies didn’t complain about because it was the same blue sequin material of her dress.

Frisk looked back toward the sun. It was getting darker, gnarlier, and the whole world was in the shade. It almost looked like something was starting to eclipse it.

There just wasn’t time. One thing though. If she could just hang onto one thing that could go right. One thought that she could use for her determination to pretend she was happy on that day. If one thing had turned out right.

‘Here, here.’ A temmie put a bouquet of echo flowers in her hands. ‘Okay. Tiara or veil?’

‘Veil.’ So she could hide her face.

“No, a tiara.” Toriel came over and corrected it. “I know the wedding is quick, Frisk, but you are still going to be a royal princess. I know you will make a great one.” She took the tiara and put it on Frisk’s head. “Don’t mind the silly details, Frisk. You are going to be fine. One day, you’ll see. Sans will be a nice monster to you.”

There was a difference between a nice monster and a nice husband. Frisk started to hear the ceremonial tune. ‘Is it really already time?’

‘Everyone is anxious. The light of the sun is getting blotted away. I’m sorry,’ she apologized. ‘You should have had at least weeks if not months to get to know Sans and Papyrus. Lift up your dress from the ground and come.’

Frisk followed Toriel. As she appeared at one end of the aisle, she saw Sans. He looked about as pleased to be there as she did. At least the Brent thing was out of the way though.

She could feel regret and cry later after this was done. Just hold onto the adrenaline and her determination. Just one step at a time and a short ceremony.

Except Asgore walked over to her? Sans was walking over to her too.

——————————————

‘It is purely embarrassing, nothing is ready,’ Asgore said to Sans. ‘I agree with you, we should have just the basic marriage with no ceremony.’

‘That will not work!’ Toriel was right beside Frisk and she wasn’t giving up.

Sans just tried not to groan. Either way the day was a bust. They were each keeping the conversation just between the three of them. ‘It’s the process, let’s just do this and get it over with? Frisk and I just want this over with. Don’t push us down an aisle.’

‘An exchange of power can happen right here,’ Asgore agreed with Sans. ‘Marriage and royalty, others will come to know. Come, Tori, look at the royal dress on her? She looks like-like-’

‘I don’t care how she looks.’ Toriel crossed her arms. ‘She is about to flip her entire life for a future that she cannot guarantee will or will not include more than her yet. The least we can do is give her a proper ending as the single human she had been.’

‘A goodbye ceremony.’ Yeah okay, Sans could see that. He still didn’t know if it’s what she’d want or not. He just didn’t know her well enough. Tori did know her better than anyone else there in the kingdom.

Still. ‘I’d rather have a hello ceremony,’ Sans threw out. ‘Why don’t we do this marriage and royalty thing, but let’s save a ceremony until it’s a happier occasion? When we’ve gotten to know each other.’

‘Agreed.’ Asgore looked back toward Toriel. ‘He makes sense. Besides, nothing is ready, this whole thing feels like a sham, and even the traditional dress has been butchered to become some patchwork catastrophe.’

‘Hey.’ Sans didn’t quite know why he spoke up at first. ‘I . . . don’t mind the dress? I think it’s neat, better than old classic things. It all seems to fit her too. The weirdness of Frisk.’

‘It’s not about the dress, and it’s not a good idea to just save it for when everything is happy.’ Tori hadn’t given up. ‘If you want that, Sans, I can agree to a second ceremony when you and Frisk want one. But? We must have some kind of showing, nothing in secret about the power exchange. I won’t have anyone trying to slightly object to her royalty.’

Ugh. Sans had a feeling Frisk was pushing her limit. Yeah, as a kid, she did amazing. Even now, she whipped up a saving the world that only she could do. She didn’t hide anything from her parents. She made peace with it and with her boyfriend without offending Sans. Frisk didn’t have a word of complaint during the dressing, and she was overall trying to keep the anger aside in not having choice in it.

It wasn’t going to last much longer though. It was a different kind of thing. Her mind understood things differently as an adult than as a kid. There wasn’t going to be any huge battle to prepare for with Asgore. ‘It’s saving timelines. Even the monsters that couldn’t understand it, should understand enough.’

‘Fine, then we will compromise,’ Toriel said toward them. ‘She will show with Sans up front with the ceremony, but few words will be exchanged. Only the words they want to say. Afterward, it should be done. Agreed?’

‘Do you think that perhaps you or I was dying?’ Asgore pitched a new question to Toriel. ‘Which one of us gave her the royal power? I have it too, and it would be legal through me. I am King.’

‘I had it first.’ Tori didn’t seem as pleased with his words. ‘Officially, I gave up the position when I ran away. True. I see. I must have retaken the throne for her to be princess.’

Sans watched as she actually smiled at Asgore.

‘Then by all means, the kingdom should match as much as possible. State I own the kingdom, Asgore.’ Yep, she was smiling away. ‘If you gave it to me, then you are merely prince. I should have more power.’

Tricky Tori. Yet, Sans agreed. ‘Signatures should match. If you gave it to Frisk originally, King Asgore, then you should be the one to give it to her now. Hang on.’

—————————-

Snowdin

Sans left for a minute back to the hidden room in his home where the timeline machine rested. He checked into the very details of the signature of Asgore. Then in that world, and now in his world.

Yeah, just a smidge less power. He did it. Maybe not traditionally, (or maybe so) but he was the one who gave the power away.

—————————

Back to the wedding area

‘Yeah,’ Sans agreed with Toriel. ‘Asgore’s power is weaker than it is now. Not by much, but the theory is right. Give the kingdom back to Tori and become part of the prince club with me.’ Great! Another signature match.

‘The more that matches, the better things should slow down,’ Toriel reminded Asgore. ‘A very good examination.’ Then, she snorted. ‘A little late of an examination.’

‘Not something I wanted to dwell about until it was time.’ Asgore looked toward Frisk. ‘She has been left out of the loop for long enough. Say some nice words when you head up, Sans. Tell her to say just a few things if she wants. You can start with your power, I will insert some of the royal power, and then we will seal it.’

“Go on,” Toriel smiled at Frisk. “Proceed down the aisle. Sans will meet you down the split and tell you anything you need to do.”

—————————

Frisk tried to walk down the aisle confidently, no matter how many monsters seemed surprised by what they saw. Yes, she had once saved the monster kingdom Underground, nearly seventeen years ago. It didn’t give her the right to come in and start guiding it.

That’s probably what a lot of them were thinking to themselves. She sure didn’t feel like she fit the part. Frisk grasped the echo flowers as tightly as she could, feeling the tiara she had to wear start to slide down. ‘Lift your head up higher, Frisk!’ She said it only to herself, but demanded it of herself.

She was almost at the split in the aisle. Sans was already waiting there. Papyrus was next to him.

‘Just, turn that way.’ Sans kept it real simple. He strolled right next to her. She slowed down to match his slower walk. It didn’t bother her much to slow down. At all.

‘Now what?’ she asked him. ‘Do we have to say things after a priest or a pastor or something?’

‘We can say whatever we want without any repercussions,’ Sans answered. ‘Then you are going to go through a hell of a whole lot of pain by me. Sorry. Then Asgore. Sorry again. Then we’ll say a little more and it’ll be over. Toriel will heal you at that point and we’ll head home.’

A whole lot of pain? ‘Like a battle?’

‘Sure, like a battle, if that makes it easier for your determination.’ He seemed to get that she wanted that. Something familiar. Something she could deal with. ‘Once we get up there. You’ll have to stay still for it though. Don’t fight back. I’m not going to kill you.’

‘Yeah, I understand that.’ Getting hurt but a battle she couldn’t win. ‘Can I protect against it?’

‘No. It’s how we get married. Here we go.’ Sans stood at the end of the aisle, in front of an empty alter. “So, a few words from the heart. Not many monsters are going to understand your language. Some will, here and there. Most won’t.” He shrugged. “This sucks. It never should have happened. I hate the me that made this happen but I understand that the moron didn’t see it. He was too lazy to see it. Papyrus always said I’d pay for my laziness one day.”

Oh. ‘Probably not the words for a marriage.’

‘No words, it happens whether we want it to or not, so say what you want, Frisk.’ Sans looked at her. “Glad you are a nice Frisk. Things are gonna be ten times messier for other me’s. Wish them luck.”

Even though he said all of that, Frisk still didn’t feel like he was speaking from the heart. “I’m invading your life,” she told him. “That must be what you’re feeling, isn’t it? I didn’t ever want this. I don’t even know you. I don’t get why this has to happen, or why some version of me had to be some princess that had to . . .’ she started to rant to. No. ‘That’s not right.’

‘It is. We should be ranting. We should be fucking cussing if we want,’ he told her. ‘I really don’t give a shit because this is it. The whole game could change after this. I don’t want responsibility, I like being me, and I’ve had enough trouble with my life as it is.’

Oh. There was definitely a story there.

‘You want your dreams and I want mine. They aren’t the same, and in a year I might have to say bye to Papyrus to go be with my wife. Still, it’s been agreed, right? Not right to you either, taking you from your college life. You were building up to something you wanted. And that’s? Hey, that’s the best thing that could happen.’

Yeah. ‘Pregnancy.’ If it came to that, it would be really tricky. Everything was tricky enough. ‘I can’t anymore, Sans, I just have to do this. Start to hurt me, I can’t. What do you need to do?’

Sans didn’t move right away. ‘I wanted to tell ya, but I can’t yet.’ He closed his eyes.

‘Why not?’ Hurry it up. “Hurry it up!” Hurry it up. “Just hurt me. Commence battle.”

“It’s not a battle. If it is, we are both losers already.”

No. Gaw. No. Not that, not the way he . . . Frisk looked at the aisle beneath them. It was wet. ‘I’m not crying.’ She looked toward Sans.

Oh. She’d never seen. Well, she did. Once she remembered seeing Papyrus with happy tears in his eyes. But? The action. Skeleton tears, unhappy. It was just too much.

Frisk saw her own tears fall to the aisle. ‘I’m sorry, forget it, I won’t take you from your kingdom.’

‘A promise is a promise. It’s not fair to you either.’ Sans wiped his closed eyelids. ‘Let’s get this pain over with, Frisk. Hang on.’

Frisk watched as he grabbed her arm and- “?!”

Slashed it open! Never had any monster actually ever hurt the human body from the kingdom. It was all based on the soul, they hurt the soul. Frisk tried to grab at her arm in reflex but Sans was pouring something into it.

Asgore was then there, and he was doing something. Frisk screamed from the pain, felt herself being lifted in the air, and expected to feel some kind of fall to the ground.

Instead she felt herself somewhere else. What?

‘It’s okay, I caught the little woman.’

What? Sans? Frisk tried to open her eyes. He was much too small to be holding her. ‘Sans?’

‘Hang on, Frisk, I am healing you while you finish the ceremony.’

Toriel. Frisk knew that voice. Ow. It took a few minutes longer as she heard more words, but then- “uh?”

She snapped out of it and looked at what happened. She was in Sans’ arms? She was in a pair of bony arms. Papyrus was too skinny for the stature though. “What the-?”

‘Can I put her down now? She woke up.’

Frisk just stared at him. Sans was big now? As big as Papyrus? What? She looked at herself. ‘Hang on, what?’

“Don’t move so much, Frisk, I’m healing you,” Toriel said. “Just say that you take Sans to be your husband after the adjustment.”

“Adjustment nothing,” Sans insisted. “That’ll hurt her even more, and it’ll screw up the signatures.”

Frisk kicked her feet. “Wait, wait, adjustment!” She was really starting to wake up now. She was shorter, while Sans got bigger.

“The signatures have to match,” Toriel warned her.

No way. “Are you saying there is some princess self that was satisfied with turning smaller?” Frisk looked at her dress. Now it was too big on her.

“No. Most likely, the barrier affected the magic that um? Uh?” Toriel seemed stuck for words.

“Barrier affected the magic that other me put in other you,” Sans said for her. “It made our signature results different.”

“Yes. He probably got a normal Frisk and a normal self with his signature match. If not, he would have fixed it.” Toriel looked like she was slightly starting to sweat. “It’s only one more thing, Frisk.”

“I prefer this one,” Sans said as he put her down. “There you go.”

Frisk looked at herself. She lost some inches.

“Look on the bright side, Frisk?” Sans said from beside her. “You could have become a real skeleton instead of just a change in shape.” He shrugged. “It’s not that bad.”

A real skeleton?! “Okay, it’s not that bad.”

Frisk looked upward. She’d noticed the purple tinted shadow across everything had disappeared. The sun’s light was back, but it still had a purple smog over it. What did that mean? “Are we safe?”

“It’s not so bad right now. Let’s just go with that and call it a day,” Sans insisted. He looked to the crowd there and then they started to wave and leave. “I told them we’re all set and we’ll see them soon.”

“Are we all set?” How could they know?

“Just, we are fine for now. For awhile. Most signatures should match up.” Sans looks like he wanted to just get out already. “Can we just go home and relax for a little while?”

Sans didn’t look as good. Frisk looked back up. She watched as Toriel brought over a toddler to her.

“Here, hold her.” Toriel put it in her arms.

Frisk winced, she was just healed in her arm. What was she doing holding the toddler? It patted her face a little.

Papyrus finally appeared in front of them. He didn’t say anything to her, just looked towards Sans.

—————————————

‘The signatures of what we have, to what we have achieved.’ Papyrus didn’t look good at all.

Sans knew what was coming. ‘I knew it from the start. They’d want to break that surface. That princess of the other me, I guarantee every monster down there pushed for it.’ He remained calm. ‘Go ahead. Let me hear it.’

‘The signatures of the new queen match up, and Asgore’s signature also matches now. Your signature matches, albeit, it’s a little stranger having my big brother about as tall as me.’ Papyrus was trying to lighten the mood. ‘The little human we kidnapped matches as well. Everything matches.’

Papyrus gave Sans the first sheet they needed to match. He gave him a second, lighter sheet. All the power levels of the ones they needed to count. Matched. That left only one thing.

Sans gave it back. ‘Give it time? The sun is back to purple smog from the doom and gloom eclipse it was striking. We’ve got time.’

‘The King-’

‘Is a prince,’ Sans interrupted him.

‘Queen Toriel must know,’ Papyrus said. ‘We’ll be concealing, Sans.’

‘It won’t matter. My new wife has a problem with soul science. She likes things natural, so like it or not, we are giving it time.’ Sans rolled his arm around. ‘Just make up something subtle. I already had to marry her all in one day, I don’t want to push anything else. I can’t take it.’

‘Oh? Well, like what?’ Papyrus asked. ‘Everything matches.’

‘Say that, I don’t know, there’s a smidge in Chara still in the human toddler,’ Sans said.

'That would be the ending of the timeline,’ Papyrus whined. 'Maybe we should convey there is little hurry to force this yet. Surely they won't be too eager to skip ahead?’

'What is the news?’ Toriel insisted.

Ugh.

'So, there is only one thing left.’ Toriel looked toward Papyrus. 'Are you sure it can't be anything else? Anyone else whose signature changed due to pregnancy?’

'Only those closest to the timeline machine will have subtle changes like pregnancy matter to it. Frisk would have lived with us, putting her square in the middle with us. Sans and I cannot be pregnant. Unless you somehow moved in with your daughter in our house and you got pregnant? There is nothing else it could be.’

Tori looked frightened out of her mind. 'Asgore and I? Preposterous! Never. Then, Frisk must be pregnant. How many do you think?’

World 5,236

Oof. Poor Schmo. That world wasn’t doing so hot right now.

“So, is it Frisk, or is it something else?” Angie had to ask. “What happened? Do we have more of World 36?”

Uh? Sans looked through his papers. He could have sworn . . . “Some.”

“Then tell us, Uncle Sans!” Phal and Angue both yelled.

“Why? Even if we know, it doesn’t change what’s written down,” Sans reminded them.

“Yeah, but, we just want to know,” Phal said. “Please?”

“We want to see what’s going on with Princess Frisk’s world,” Angie said.

“How much longer of a part is it?” Chara asked Sans.

Sans looked at the notes. “Papyrus says I can read a couple of pages.” He had strict yellow stickies that said ‘THE OWNER OF THIS YELLOW STICKY PAPER STATES THAT NO ONE CAN READ PAST THIS POINT WITHOUT ASKING THE OWNER. WHICH IS ME, PAPYRUS! BEWARE TO ANYONE NOT ABIDING BY THE RULES! NYAH HAH HAH!’. Yep, he was serious. “After the break, we can read a little I guess.” A break would be good.

He looked toward Mina again. She was a strange one. Abe had written a little down, but he hadn’t shown him anything, and kept using the eraser. Mina, Mina, Mina. What was her story already? He could tell she was sick, but . . . it was almost like she was trying to force herself to get sick? Stay sick?

Maybe she was trying to get herself sick enough to go to a hospital and bail? That would be stupid, monsters were all over that area. A hospital wasn’t a - Is she trying to make sure we steer to human alliance areas by making herself sick? Maybe. Still. She could just feign being sick, why was she actively feeling like she was trying to be actually sick?

He better warn Papyrus of her actions. Until he knew her true intentions, he needed to stay alerted to her.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Mina looked toward the girls. Sans was still gone on ‘break’. She glanced toward Chara. “He was really into the story, but the girls want some back story. A couple of pages. I could read it for him?”

“Eh, he can handle it,” Chara said. “He’s the official storytime boy.”

“Maybe, but I’m fairly good with voices. I’m pretty sure I can voice a princess?”

“Ooh.” That caught Phal’s attention. “She would have a princessy voice. Mina has a pretty voice.”

“Two pages. Quick backstory,” Mina said again.

Chara went over to get the book. She looked through the pages. “I’ve got no idea what I’m looking for.”

“World 36,” her girls helped out.

“Or maybe their momma might wanna give it a spin again?” Mina knew Chara used to read to them all the time. She had talked about missing it so much. “Me or you?” Either reader, Mina now manipulated the situation enough to see the paper herself, and both make her look like ‘a good friend’.

Chara sat down with it and her girls came over to sit beside her. “Why don’t I read, but you take on Princess Frisk’s voice?”

Perfect.

Chara cleared her throat, smiled at her girls and began to read.

World 36

It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. “Mom?” Frisk asked. “It’s been like three months? Maybe you should consider talking things out with Asgore and going back to the castle?”

“No,” she insisted. “No and no, I refuse Frisk.” Her mother stroked her tummy. “I won’t get suckered into anything else.”

“You had a nice time with him,” Sans was trying to encourage her. “You forgave him, had the whole overdue talk and were starting to slowly date. You’d still be slowly dating if that hadn’t happened.” He gestured to her tummy. “Just? Can you please go back to that, Tori?”

World 5,236

“There’s the answer, it was Tori!” Phal said excitedly. “The other Sans and Frisk don’t have to do anything.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that,” Chara told her. “That and this story has more to read. No telling what will happen.” She went back to reading.

World 36

“No! Besides, I don’t mind it here,” Frisk’s mother said. “If I go anywhere, I’ll go back to the ruins.”

“Not alone,” Frisk insisted. “I don’t want you taking care of a newborn all by yourself.” She looked toward Sans, searching for the right thing to do.

“Dangit, Tori, our house is built for two. I squeezed in Frisk and Bellefont, but you can’t just keep staying in my room and leaving me and Papyrus in the same room.” Sans finally started to confront her a little. “The castle is your home. This is the home for me, Papyrus, and Frisk. Remember your daughter? You know, the wife of mine that everyone wants me to get with anyhow? Forget about that? Kind of putting a damper here on anything happening if you keep taking over my room.”

“Oh, please.” Frisk’s mother looked toward her. “You’ve been busy doing something or other every time I bring up children, and if any natural chance would have blossomed, it would have happened by now.”

Ugh! “Bellefont’s still small, she takes a lot of care.” Frisk sighed. As long as she sort of drug things out, her mom was going to drag things out with Asgore. It wasn’t her fault her mom had the hots for him one night too much. It wasn’t Asgore’s either that she got pregnant. Things happened.

Only thing was, Frisk was naturally getting with Sans just fine. They just didn’t want to strive for a kid yet, so they were also kind of not getting pregnant on purpose. Frisk pretended not to be into Sans, and Sans did the same thing.

They both swore their friendship marriage couldn’t endure anything besides soul science. They’d made up great excuses along the way, Sans coming up with the best ones by far.

If her mom knew they were more than ‘just friends in a friendly marriage’ she would make sure a baby happened. And? They just weren’t ready.

However, this situation was getting to be unbearable. It started out justified, but her mom wouldn’t budge easily. “We just want some privacy back,” she urged her mother. “You are in the same room as me while I look after you.”

“So?” Her mother still didn’t understand.

‘So at this rate? I don’t know what to do anymore, Sans.’ Frisk looked toward him. ‘I still don’t think I want soul science. Do we need to . . . ?’

‘I’d like to double check on Chara being in your soul again.’ He winked.

He wrangled a blush from her. ‘Sans.’

‘I don’t think it’ll make a difference in a good way, she’ll just move to Papyrus’ room. She’s queen. Maybe even add to the house. I know she’s your mom, Frisk, but this is getting to be too much. I want to spend time with you, without having to make it obvious.’

Yeah, it wouldn’t make things any better. Tori was getting comfortable in his home with Frisk, and not where she needed to go! He looked straight at Tori. ‘If you don’t want to move, Tori, fine, but I’m moving with Frisk.’ Sans just spitballed it out there. ‘Frisk and I will move into the ruins or the castle and Papyrus can take over care.’

Frisk saw her mom start to cry. “Sans, what did you say? You said something.” She rushed to her mom’s side. “It’s okay, Mom.”

“I’m in the way, and I’m sorry. I’ll go back to the ruins.” She wavered around.

“No, no you can’t. You have to be with someone to watch you all the time. You know that pregnant monsters have terrible balance, and your magic falls off track too. You need someone watching you, and it gets harder when your older than 500.” She hugged her mom. “You can’t be anywhere alone.”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” her mother cried out again, holding her tightly in the hug. “I was supposed to be grammy, not mommy.’

“It’s okay to be both,” Frisk assured her. “Go back to Asgore, mom. Please? You both understand each other’s side now. You were giving it a good chance. Let him watch over you.”

‘Shoot me, Frisk. One more week for the mom-in-law,’ Sans told her. ‘After that, we need a clear decision. Talk to Asgore. Talk to your mom. Whatever it takes, but we need to figure this out in a week. Okay? I kind of miss having some semblance of privacy with you again.’

‘Yeah. I miss it too,’ Frisk agreed. ‘One more week. We’ll figure it out, I promise.’ She looked back toward her mom. “We’ll get it figured out within a week, mom.” Her mom hugged her again, and then picked up Bellefont.

—————————

“They should just say that they are a romantic couple now,” Phal said.

“They are a complicated romantic couple,” Chara said to her. “When they admit it, it’s like real work begins. So? It’s like this version of Uncle Sans has to decide to tell or work. You know which one he wants.”

The girls giggled.

“Yeah, he’s not a worker,” Chara said. “Still, it was only supposed to be a week until she got out. Something else might have happened instead. Let’s continue reading. Oh, Mina?” Chara winked. “Stellar Frisk voice.”

“I try,” Mina said.  

World 36

‘Uh? Sans?’

Sans watched as Papyrus came in the room. ‘Didn’t mean to throw you under the bus, just trying to get Tori out.’

‘Oh, not that,’ Papyrus assured him. ‘Did you do something to our machine? You know, in the back room?’

Oh. ‘Yeah, I destroyed it.’

‘That is one heck of a destroy,’ Papyrus complained. ‘When did you do that?’

‘The day I married Frisk,’ Sans said. ‘You just now figured it out? Hey, what are you doing hanging around it?’

‘I wanted to see if other parallels might have a similar problem with a quick analysis of the nearby timelines.’ Papyrus folded his arms. ‘I know it’s important to get her out, but she is also queen. It’s not so easy to tell someone who rules the Underground to get out in a nice way.’

Oh. That would have been a good idea. ‘It’s up to us. I broke the ties, all the machines do is cause catastrophe. It needed to end.’

‘I don’t think logging off the machine was a good idea,’ Papyrus said. ‘Gaster said that no matter what happened, we shouldn’t do anything to the machine. You could have just kept it off. You could have just given it a light tap for being bad to you.’

‘Fifteen years.’ Sans didn’t want to spend any more time on it.

‘Gaster said bad. If Gaster said bad, there was a reason,’ Papyrus said again. ‘However, it is done now. No help to be had. We’ll have to find a way to get her out ourselves. If we don’t, Frisk will eventually choose soul science, she’ll have a baby, and we’ll have two pregnant women around here. Our house is only so big.’

‘One week. I promised one week.’ After that, Tori had to be out. Damn it, Frisk was his wife. He moved at a snail’s pace for the human’s relationship and he was finally making headway with her, and then he was just shoved into the background. The citizenry spoke up to him, but what were they going to say to the queen? Yeah, we can kill humans for Asgore but nope, you can’t live with your daughter?

Nuh uh! They were driving the Skeletons crazy, but no one was uttering a whisper to Tori.

She was a boss monster. She was upset. She was queen. She was pregnant. Monsters did not want to mess with her.

Even for the sake of the Underground going above ground. It was a long trek anyway and the part that mattered was taken care of. Who cared if her husband was separated in their own house, forced to stay with his brother and watch Bellefont while his wife stayed with Tori in his room?

That got him too. He liked sharing his room with Frisk. He didn’t like sharing it with others. Then again, it was his private domain to have a place to talk about private matters with other Sans. No other Sans’ would ever be visiting him.

Still? It just?

It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t.

‘Perhaps you should go on another date with her?’ Papyrus suggested to him. ‘A nice romantic date so the week won’t be so bad. Go see a show with Mettaton. Go on a nice picnic.’

Mettaton. ‘Mettaton’s is nice.’ Sans thought about how much G he had. He didn’t have to spend it really being Prince for like two years. Hm. ‘You’re right, Papyrus.’ He was ready.

To get Frisk and him out for a bit, he was taking his little princess to Mettaton’s hotel.

World 5,236

“Alright, just me and Mina are going to read this part. It’s grown up,” Chara told Phal and Angie. “If anything important happens, we’ll tell you.”

Mina looked over the paper with Chara.

---------------------------

World 36

Mettaton's Hotel Room . . .

"Best Four out of four," Frisk insisted as Sans won another game of tag in the bed. It really was a clever game as big as those beds were. 

"Just let me have this win against you?" Sans teased her as he came up next to her. "It's nice spending time with you again. Even if it's not in my room."

"I know." She curled up next to him. "Okay, you can have that win." She groaned. "I'm sorry. If she doesn't go to Asgore, then I just can't leave her alone. Are you sure not revealing we actually are a couple wouldn't stir her to leave?'

"She'd just park it in Papyrus' room," he said again. "Plus, she would rocket even harder about babies, Frisk. All of Underground will."

"Yeah, but . . ." Hmmm. "What if we just tell her that we promise we'll have a baby in like a year if she leaves to Asgore?" Yeah, Sans didn't even bother answering. It was year two already. Something had to give soon. Underground was starting to give some nasty looks. Not like they could say much though. Her mom was sharing her room, not Sans. It was the excuse they had, but it wouldn't last forever. 'Fine.' "Fine." She took a deep breath. "One more year. It takes like a year to have a baby. Can you help me make them think we're having a baby?"

"Wha?" Sans groaned. "Princess Frisk Dreemur the Skeleton." He used her whole royal name. Bleh. "It's gotta start sooner or later. I'm not real fond of having to go through it all over again either, but . . . well, Bellefont will have company?"

Frisk plopped right on top of him. "But, Sans? I mean, I am in the middle of this great game with Alphys and Undyne, and it's going to take at least four months to finish, and if I have to take care of a baby and a toddler, when will I find the time?"

"You find the time now, don't you? You stick her with me or Papyrus. Same difference," Sans said. 

"Yeah, but, it was still?" Frisk groaned. "Saaaaans? One more year? I'll do that thing you like with your rib cage?” Frisk insisted.

“Prince or not, your mom would take me out,” Sans complained. “Sorry, Babe.”

“One year. Let's just pretend for one year,” Frisk insisted again. She knew Sans could do it. He was smart, and it was just a little soul. He probably knew something. “How would mom know otherwise that it’s a trick? She would be safe with us, but I'd be back in your room. You said it takes one year for a baby with a human to her.”

“More or less. You'll make a great mom,” Sans said, “when it’s time for the charade to quit. Whichever comes first.”

Yes! “Thank you, Sans! So, how do we fake it?”

“Say Oh, Sans.”

“Oh, Sans.”

“More of a crescendo.”

“O-oh, Sans?”

“Louder but more confident.”

“O-oh Sans!” She yelled. Uh? “Sans?!” Oh great, that just sounded like-

He laughed. “What a climactic ending. Think the whole place heard it?”

“You really owe me now,” Frisk demanded.

“This won't last long, Frisk.” Sans pulled out her soul and touched it a tiny bit in the middle. “Just a teeny bit of me in the center. This gag won't last, there’s no year here. My soul will eventually make it's way back to me. You probably have four months, tops. Maybe even just two. Call it three.’

Well? It had to end sometime. Four months at the most. “I promise, Sans, I won't let any of it go to waste.”

“Don’t fret, Frisk,” Sans added. “I get it. Bellefont is more like a little sister than a daughter. Sometimes, that’s just the way it feels. Maybe you’ll feel like a mom later, and maybe you never will. Doesn’t change the fact you care.”

Oh. He nailed the problem on the head. “I just don’t think my feelings will change toward Bellefont. But? What if carrying a baby makes me treat the other differently? Isn’t that unfair to her?”

“Nah. Just ‘cause you carry doesn’t make you any less or more of a mom than you are now,” Sans chuckled. “You’re not gonna love everything equal, but I know you. You’ll be equally good with them.”

Frisk sighed. “Do you feel ready for this?”

“I’ll be okay,” Sans said casually. “It’s a human thing to be more scared. Or a super, super young monster thing.”

Oh yeah. She kept forgetting how much different aging was between them. “One of those human qualities I can’t get rid of.”

“Don’t matter. Like and deal with all of them,” Sans encouraged her. “Look? Your mom isn’t gonna get defensive about you leaving pregnant for a little while. At least four months. Stack on another couple months for this whoopsie pregnancy. Humans are actually only pregnant for about 9 months instead of 12. Most of Underground probably doesn’t know that.”

Wait? “So you’re only giving me three?”

“Three extra months before you start getting all big and everyone will get all cautious because you are pregnant? That gives you six months, Frisk,” Sans insisted.

Oh. That’s why he wasn’t risking momma’s ire for longer. “We aren’t even giving her news about the oopsie pregnancy. She’ll just think it took a little longer to have.”

“Yeah. I keep my hit point, but I keep my Frisk happy too. Not to mention, making sure you get pregnant between then and now, there’ll be lots more nap times.” He touched her nose. “Six months, human. Then? Yeah, you get to carry on. But, I’ll be there and so will Papyrus. For the queen’s too,” he groaned. “Not like she’ll instantly move out anyhow.”

“Sans!” Frisk wrapped her arms around him. “As long as she gives the room back?”

“Papyrus is going to pitch a fit, but she’s Queen anyway,” Sans said. “Not my decision. Her decision. I just know her decision already. We do need to work on getting her seeing Asgore again though.”

“I promise, yes.” Frisk hugged his bones so tight. She wouldn’t have to worry about her mom, and she got about a whole half a year before everyone would be delicate and she’d be all big for pregnancy.

——————————————

Back at Home . . .

“What?” Tori looked at Sans. “You two are together?”

“Oh yeah, loads,” Sans admitted to her. “Sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.”

“Sans,” Frisk corrected him. “Once-ish do you persuade me.”

“I try to get her to sleep beside me at least 2-3 times each day for a nap,” Sans corrected himself. “Working on more than once-ish.”

Tori looked sour again. “Cute. You’re at the cute stage. Tell me you are having relations too?”

“Yes, momma,” Frisk revealed. “In fact?”

Sans revealed her soul to Tori briefly. She saw the small amount of grey swirling in the middle. Very little. “Yeah. That’s kind of why we told you.” He put her soul back. “It’ll be about a year before it’s born.”

“I recall humans giving birth around nine months or so,” Toriel answered as she hugged Frisk and laughed.

“Nah, trust me. This one, it’ll be about a year,” Sans repeated. “Anyhow? If you could let me and Frisk . . .”

“Oh yes, of course!” Tori beamed. “Of course you may have your room back. It will help keep your affection alive easier for each other.” Still, a small glare. “You should have told me.”

“I didn’t want to force anything,” Frisk muttered.

“I didn’t want to make the wife mad,” Sans replied.

“Okay. I’ll move to Papyrus’ room until we can add onto the house,” she insisted.

Yep. Just like he called it. “Doable.” Not the best. Living with Queen Mom-In-Law wasn’t loads of fun, but if he just had his bedroom back with Frisk? Fine.

World 5,236

“Oooh.” Chara looked toward Mina. “Yep. Okay, it’s both. Frisk and the queen are gonna be pregnant.”

“Oh no. Poor other Uncle Sans,” Angie said toward Chara.

Mina read most of it too, and . . . “Girls, could you tell me the story of this world 36? Like, all of what happened between Sans and Frisk?” The catalyst. The stimulant. They had it.

She listened to Phal and Angie recount the story. Mad Jick. A skateboard bed. Mutliple Sans. Marrying Frisk happily instead of because he had to. Then, the clincher.

The break. The log off. It was on purpose. The fact that the monsters were now noticing the problems. It never took long after the main timeline crew noticed that things would go awry. “Chara, could I borrow your phone? I’d really like to call home. Let our parents know we are okay.”

“It’s been a little while. Waiting until we made it a distance?” Chara asked. She handed over the phone.

Mina had to play this carefully. She dialed the number. “Mom?”

“Mina! Oh my goodness, is Abe with you?! Are you okay? Is he okay?!”

“Yes, we’re fine,” Mina said, moving her ear from the phone a bit. “Sorry,” she apologized to Chara. She’d been missing for some time with Abe. Her mom’s voice was going crazy with wanting answers to questions, and going through scenarios in her head of what happened before she started to break down crying.

Mina wiped her eyes, not showing tears, but making it clear to Chara, she’d like to talk alone.

“Why don’t you take the bathroom real quick?” Chara offered.

“Abe? I think they’ll want to talk to both of us.” Mina got up. “Thanks, Chara. We’ll be back.”

Mina went in the bathroom first before Abe came, while Gabe started asking if he could talk to his family next.

Bathroom

Mina and Abe calmed their mother down. Mina told her what happened, and Mina gave her some help with the dialogue from Abe. Hearing his voice made her mom feel better too. They spoke for a little while in a polite capacity, before Mina wished her goodbye and promised they would talk more soon.

She hung up and tried to call a different number, but she ran out of time.

“Hey, Mina.” Chara’s voice didn’t sound so loving now. “Hang up and come out. We need to talk.”

Damn. Time ran out. Mina looked toward Abe. This was it. There was a window to get outside, or she would eventually end up revealing something. I can’t leave Abe. I can’t take Abe into this kind of area, it’s too risky. Fine.

It looked like the ‘riding with strangers’ was going to get a bit more intense. Mina opened the door and looked at Chara. She gave her the phone.

Chara immediately checked the phone. “That was just your mom?”

“Yes.”

“Is that true?” Chara asked Abe. “Just true or false. Did you call your mom?”

“Yes.” Abe could answer that, the answer would be short.

Chara pocketed her phone. “Why are you visualizing things making you sick, to make you sick?”

Sans figured it out. “What do you mean?” Mina asked.

“Nah, nah. I know I spent a lot of time with you, but I trust my Brother-in-Law’s gut,” Chara warned her. “The truth.”

Mina didn’t want to say it. She really didn’t want to say it. “Abe and Gabe aren’t involved.”

“Mina.”

“Tie me up if you don’t trust me,” she insisted. “Shove me in a corner and don’t even bother with looking after me. Leave me behind at a stop somewhere if you want, just take Abe and Gabe to safety.”

Chara didn’t seem happy at all. “You saved me countless times. More than I can make up for, I won’t outright drop you off to get you killed. But, you are hiding secrets, and my family isn’t exactly in a good position ourselves.” She sighed. “You know about timelines, that’s obvious.”

“Yes.” She’d admit that much, it was obvious.

“Do you know how to get out of a monster area? Do you have someone to call that would come get you?”

“I can get arrangements made to get taken from behind the lines,” Mina revealed. “At an airport. If I make contact. I can’t take Abe or Gabe.” Damn. She didn’t want this. “I didn’t mean any harm, Chara, I just wanted to go home. I was going to be silent, and just go home, or at least wait until a friendly area to leave. The chances you would be involved in this kind of thing too were not likely.”

“Okay, Sans, take her outside. You can talk now,” Chara uttered.

Damn. Mina continued to imagine the most disgusting things she could, to try and keep him out. As Sans came to grab her, Abe handed him a piece of paper. “Bring it outside with us.”

Sans looked at the paper as they went outside. Abe finally wrote him an answer. “Kind of dealing with your sister, read it out loud for me.” Not only would it help him focus to break whatever shell Mina was putting up, it would help tear down her defenses as she heard it back.

He didn’t get the feeling Mina herself was bad, but there was something deep she hid. He couldn’t trust everyone to a secret he didn’t even know. “Go ahead, Abe. Read. Could save your sister’s life.”

“When Mina was three, she was taken from our family because of overdetermination (which is the process of having too much determination for an individual human). The people who took her were energy hoarders, people who were illegally using her determination for their own gains. Six years ago, using someone for their determination was established as being a drug user. by definition, Mina is a drug.”

“Abe!”

“They found her again when she was eight, my mother and father’s determination finally located her being chained up in the middle of an energy building, it’s a building with high conductiveness that spreads determination to others around the building. She was found with twenty other children. After that, she was brought home safely, and then she was stolen again by another energy user. This time, it was the unofficial Lord of the Residency that was under another name that had wanted her back for his private collections. My parents took him to court under claims they knew he kidnapped her, while now raising me, which is a counter to determination. They used soul science to make sure I would not have determination that anyone would want to use me for.”

Mina just closed her eyes and bowed her head. It didn’t really matter anymore, he was spilling everything. Some sentences were awkard, but they made enough sense. Sans would know.

“When they got Mina back this time at the age of thirteen, she was considered an incapable overdetermination child. She wasn’t allowed to leave anywhere except our home, and was kept in a comfortable cell that was made to look like a room. If she left anywhere, she had to wear secure electronic trackers around her feet and neck. This only lasted legally until a person reached the age of 18. When she turned that, two weeks later, she was taken again. This time, by people calling themselves Timeline Scouts.”

Her whole self felt naked and on display. Leave it to Abe not to leave out a single detail! Paper. Pen. There was no way Abe could resist it.

“Mina didn’t know anything about the timelines themselves, just that she was hooked up in the middle of the building with ten other people, charging a pole again. She said they said there was ten on each floor, and there were about forty floors. She had enough natural talent acting to gain an audience to give her a chance to do something else. They gave her act training and missions to locate other people with great amounts of determination. They stated it in a way she would get what they wanted, including secrets about the timeline mess that would end the world one day, but her determination was even higher to break free of them and escape.”

Abe took a breath before starting again. “She was now old enough to survive on her own, she didn’t make much contact with the world, but she did call my family. The last time we met in college, she just wanted to come out and see me and thought it would be safer being so far away from the original home. Instead, the timeline group almost nabbed us. She got us out before we got too far, but we were already in monster territory. With the right searching equipment, Mina can shine like a beacon. Knowing it was risky either way, she chose to get us captured to the monsters on purpose, to avoid the Timeline Scouts again. Anything else they did with her, I don’t know, but the fact she chose to get us all incarcerated instead of going to them told me enough. She isn’t bad, she’s just scared, and she’s worth millions.”

Mina waited. All the visions of disgust she had used had broken away as all the old visions came back into focus. Crying out alone, strapped to a pole, with no one caring, trying to be quiet. If she wasn’t, they would throw a gag over her mouth. Sometimes blindfolds if her looking at them made them feel guilty. All so people didn’t have to go to sleep at night, so the body could stay up.

Peak performance, while she was drained. On the floor. Sometimes fed scraps, sometimes healthy pellets, and sometimes a feast. She preferred the scrap owners. The feasters always wanted more from her.

She watched Sans move forward to her. “You’re fine, Mina.”

What did he mean?

“You’re fine,” he said again. “Nobody’s gonna hurt you or use you as a drug. It makes sense why you got antsy about timelines,” he said more to himself. “Been running most of your life. No wonder you hate overdetermination. It looks like from Abe, even your parents didn’t want that involved again.”

“He’s too far. It’s still soul science.” They should just be natural. “There is equipment that tracks determination. Abe is right, I am worth millions. I have a group of escaped determination people like me. They could find a way to get me home. It’s a network that is underground, so in human ally areas, there tends to be at least one. We also know how to hide under most of the radars of determination. They won’t take Abe or Gabe though.”

“An underground network. Underground,” Sans said thoughtfully. “I’m guessing it’s a safer option than taking you to your home, which would probably be watched right now for when you returned.” He seemed to get it. He gave a short nod. “Got it, Mina. Don’t run. Just, chill in the back. Listen to the stories if you want. Visit with Chara. Get yourself a freaking hug.”

A freaking hug?

“Papyrus would give you a great big hug, but he doesn’t know you. I’d give you a hug, but you don’t know me, and I don’t want to frighten you. You’re not bad, you’re like the worst version of a baby bunny getting lost in a forest.”

Part of her was irritated with that comment, while another part knew that meant it might be safe. Might.

“Still don’t know us. Not going to trust us when you’ve been nabbed by a lot of people before. I get that. I’m good with it,” he said casually. “I won’t be looking into you either. Your thoughts and feelings are yours. Head inside with your brother again. We’ll get you dropped off somewhere safe, but we’ll take Abe and Gabe safely to their home.”

Really?

“Really.” He gestured back inside. “Go on up into the RV, Abe. Tell Chara to come out a second.” Abe went back in with Mina. Papyrus was also watching at the far end of the back now, but Sans knew the humans were all okay.

He watched Chara stick her head out. He gestured for her to come closer. “Is it bad?”

“Depends on the definition,” Sans revealed. “She’s scared shitless, and her determination to keep her brother safe is the only reason she hasn’t run off yet.” He showed her Abe’s paper. She covered her mouth as she read it. “Mina’s good. We have to watch her better though, she’s worth millions. She’s classified as a drug.”

“She only knew about the timelines because they were using her. She was one of those electric pole kids.” Now, she looked sick.

“I got all her defenses down, which broke any kind of acting she could give,” Sans told her. “She’s good, just scared. Give her the phone so she can make contact with some allies. When we get closer to a human ally area, we are turning that way. Taking her straight home is more dangerous for her.”

“Damn,” Chara muttered. “I just thought she was nabbed because she was human in the wrong area or something. She’s a drug.”

“Abe said she was classified as that. I don’t know what that is?” Didn’t exist for monsters, they didn’t have determination.

“There was equipment invented a long time back that could convert determination to the perfect drug. Basically, holding Mina’s hand with this little electric thing in the other, would get someone super high, but it wouldn’t stand up in court. There’s no traces.” Chara looked behind her real quick, then back at him. “Did you know a single bottle of her breath runs a hundred bucks?”

“Yeah. I wonder if she’ll backwash a six pack of beer for us before she goes?” he joked.

“Not funny,” Chara warned him. “Liquid ingestion is ten times the price, but that’s not the point.”

Ten times the price? “Six thousand bucks for backwashing?” Damn. “She probably doesn’t get much peace. Better not ask anything about that. Back on in. I am a lot later for storytime today. I didn’t know this world was already seeing signs themselves. Timeline Scouts.”

“If the girls were old enough to read themselves.” Chara sighed. “They seem to slowly be getting it. Wonder what else happened in world 36 though? Oh, we read those two pages, so you can stick to the main story. It looks like the queen and Frisk will probably be pregnant. Poor other you.”

“Eh, he’s fine most of the time,” Sans mentioned as he got back on himself.

“I can’t believe we still ran into someone who knew about timelines.”

“Convergence. Things are getting closer. People are coming together that know,” Sans uttered. “It’s closer than we want to think, Chara. Just, enjoy your time with my nieces. Glad you got back.”

“Glad I got to be back,” she said softly. “Before it all ended.”

Yeah. Yeah, the kids weren’t the only ones starting to realize how close the end was coming. Stay clear, sky. Don’t turn purple. Just, a little big longer please.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Mina had used the phone in front of Chara this time to make contact. There was a place nearby they could help her get in the Underground Network not too far away. He discussed the route to Papyrus, and the adjustment wouldn’t take much.

Mina though, was also starting to get more near to Abe. She knew her time with him was short again. This time, she might not try to see her family again for a long time.

Sans strolled back over to the book. This time, Mina was paying even closer attention too. Maybe she was thinking there was something in there that could help her with her determination? There wouldn’t be, but at least she was feeling better.

Gabe asked Abe and Mina about what happened, and neither one bothered to tell him anything the whole time. Same old, same old. Poor kid just ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sans opened the book. “Am I losing my place as official storyteller? I can. It’s a free gig.”

“No,” Papyrus insisted, finally coming from the corner. He didn’t want to interrupt any sense Sans needed to pick up from Mina during that whole interrogation. He looked like he was cheerier. “It’s nicer when you read.”

“Yeah, I’ll go ahead and chill in front for a bit.” Chara hugged Phal and Angie. “You be big girls, okay? But if your Uncle Sans says a bad word, gnark on him for treats.”

“Hey, hey,” Sans complained.

“Not the bloodshed. You know what I mean,” Chara warned him as she headed back up front with Papyrus.

Right, right. Sans found his spot easily. “Easily staying up so far, everybody?”

“I think so,” Gabe said. “Boy, I hope that marriage did the trick.”

Heh. “Guess we’ll see.” He started to read.

World 59

'The sun is frickin' shining, Tori,’ Sans interrupted. 'We got time. Besides, Frisk wants it natural if it needs done. We need time.’

Tori didn't answer at first. 'As long as the sunlight shines. It happens so fast, the change in it all.’ She sighed. 'Some time will be granted. Take your wife home and get to know her.’

‘Thanks.’ It’s a phrase that shouldn’t even need to be said. “Hey, human I just married?” He called to her. “We’re done. Let’s go home.”

Frisk gestured to the sky again.

“We’re done for now, so let’s just go home,” he said again.

She still wasn’t moving though. She wanted to know.

“Unless you suddenly don’t have qualms against soul science, come home, or Toriel will do something.” Hey, that got her moving. Her stubborn ways did have some weak spots. “Hang on, you’re walking too fast.”

“You walk too slow, Sans,” Papyrus told him as he matched Frisk’s gait. “Let’s go.”

“At the pace of a snail, but I’ll get there,” he teased, making her look back. “No big rush. Nothing to do back home. We don’t start that royal duty thing until tomorrow.” A break. A nap. A rest. A- ‘Shit, she is going to have to go into my room?’

He never let anyone in there except Papyrus. It was always locked.

‘Now that this marriage is over, can you fix this?’ Frisk said, gesturing to herself. ‘This dress is too big for me. All of my clothes would be too big.’

‘It was an equal exchange. What you lost, I gained.’ Sans looked at his own clothes. His tuxedo pants were almost tuxedo shorts. ‘We just have to accept the fact we have to go shopping later. It could be worse.’ Much worse. ‘So? You like Grillby burgers, right, Little Woman?’

Frisk almost stomped her foot this time. ‘I’m not a little woman.’

Hm. Not so fond of that one. ‘Sorry, trying to think of what to call you.’

‘Frisk is fine, Sans.’ Frisk rubbed her neck.

Hm. He had another one. ‘You like burgers still, Patchwork Princess?’ Oh? Ooh. Sans could tell that one wasn’t pleasing to her at all. It would have been even more terrifying of a look if she wasn’t starting to fall asleep again. ‘Burgers it is, P.P.’

‘No, that’s offensive, don’t,’ Frisk warned him.

P.P? Really? ‘You aren’t leaving me much, Pacifist Lady.’

‘Frisk! Just. Frisk. Just call me Frisk, Sans,’ she insisted.

‘Frisk-Sans?’ Huh. ‘Is that like a human joining names for a ship?’ Nope, still not funny. “Come on, OTP. Lighten up.”

Nah, just madder and madder.

‘Sans, what are you saying to Frisk because she is only getting redder,’ Papyrus warned him. ‘Be nice to your wife.’

‘I’m trying to throw a joke, but she keeps acting like I’m throwing them at her skull,’ Sans complained.

‘She was just forced into marriage, it is not a time for jokes!’ Papyrus scolded him. ‘Apologize and quit joking around.’

‘Life sucks, it’s the perfect time for a joke.’ Besides, he wasn’t going to change the monster he had been, just to appease her.

‘I am Frisk, like you are Sans,’ she finally spoke to him again. ‘Unless you want me to throw out different names for you, stick with Frisk.’

Ooh? ‘Each time I call you something different, OTP, you’re going to call me something different?’ Yep, hey, a result.

‘Yes . . . Mister Bones.’ Frisk tried. ‘My name is Frisk.’

‘Pacifist Lady.’

‘Lazy Bones.’

‘Frisky’

‘Sansy’

‘Ooh, I like that one,’ Sans stopped. ‘Frisky it is.’

‘My name is Frisk, Sans!’

‘Nah,’ Sans teased. ‘We already made that joke way back in the conversation.’

Heh. He got her to really stomp her foot this time. ‘If you want to be Sansy, you can be Sansy, but I am Frisk. Frisk, Frisk, Frisk!’

‘Frisk Frisk Frisk. Three Frisk. A Tri-Frisk. A Tri-F-Alon. A Tri-F-Ecta of Frisk.’ Okay. Sans knew if Papyrus knew what he was saying right now, he’d be in so much trouble. He’d kept the exchange just between them. Only between them.

A part of him wanting to see how far he could tick her off and what she’d do. A part of him was pretty mad about being forced into that corner and wanted to get a little selfish revenge. Another part, just . . . ‘Such a big deal about your name all of a sudden. You never even told anyone here your name all the way through until the very end.’

Frisk seemed to pick up on that clue. ‘Timeline flower.’ She looked the other way, toward the ruins. All of her anger seemed to melt away. ‘I want to check the ruins.’

Interesting. Her anger was able to melt with a simple statement? Able to express herself, and cool herself down rather well. At least he knew that about her now. But still?

One more check. Out of all the Frisks out there that messed up, she’d done everything right. Let’s see if he could nudge just one more bit. How calm could she make herself? How far could he push her? ‘Papers please, Tori?’ He would have saved it, but she would have them there already.

Tori smiled big and wide. Probably proud that he was already taking care of it. ‘Here, Sans. Use the royal pen.’

If they had the big whole to do ceremony, it would have happened in the middle of it, or been saved for another day for a whole other royal ceremony. To her, Sans was probably just getting it over with.

He took the royal pen and placed it on the paper. With a few quick swishes, it was done. A part of him would probably regret it, but he had to see for himself. Which direction Frisk would take. “Here you go, Frisk. Sign your official royal name.”

Frisk took the paper and stared at it. “Something is written where I should write?”

“What?” Tori came over and looked at the paper. “Sans!” She pointed to the paper. “This was no joke, you knew this was not a joke!”

“Oh, what did Sans do?” Papyrus looked over it. “Egad, Sans! Brother, why? That was- that was- these papers cannot change easily!”

“Not for at least a few years. A condition created to ensure royalty could not meddle with traditional documents willy nilly.” No nice eyes from Tori.

“What is it?” Frisk gestured to it. “What is this?”

“It is your official namesake for the time you are royalty.” Papyrus sounded so disappointed. “Sans is working out his own ways of dealing with this marriage, I’m sure.” He wiggled his bony fingers against each other. “It should be Princess Frisk Skeleton Dreemur.”

“I thought Patchwork Princess fit better than all those words all the time.” To say he didn’t second-guess himself whether he should have done that after seeing Papyrus would be lying.

Even if he couldn’t ever lose his wife, he just wanted to know who he married.

‘Ah!’ Papyrus gestured to the paper. ‘Frisk has the paper though and you did not fill in your name!’

‘Nah, I forgot.’ Sans just watched her. Her eyes were trained on him in almost the same way. Not love. Not hatred. Trying to figure him out.

—————————————

World 5,236

“Oh no. Oh no, Uncle Sans, would one of you really be that mean?” Angie asked. “How could you changed Frisk’s name like that?”

“She didn’t even like the patchwork dress, and she really hated that name,” Phal added.

“Sans was testing her,” Mina said to the girls. “You heard it yourselves. Frisk isn’t the only one upset about the marriage, he is having to trust someone that he doesn’t know if he should trust.”

Right. “Still. That was her name,” Phal pointed out.

“Yeah, uh, another me risked another Frisk’s life to get his time back? This was a paper name change. One was worse than the other,” Sans pointed out.

“Uncle Sans? I think you might be best Sans so far,” Angie said.

Think? Was there any real competition? “Glad I’m in for the running?” Sheesh. “Okay, let’s see how Frisk handles it.”

World 59

Patchwork Princess. The official name when others called to her in polite gesture for being royalty. No Princess Frisk. Nothing. Not even Frisk. Patchwork Princess.

Temptation was in her grasp with the pen. Why did Sans do that? He knew it was the worst thing he could have called her. She reacted so badly to it. She looked back at the messed up dress she wore.

He knew it hurt her. She helped him save the timeline, but he was hurting her. Revenge against having to be married? Maybe. But maybe not.

Timelines. He said there were many things that happened in other timelines. Maybe he knew other Frisks better than her, and maybe he didn’t have good experiences? To be friends with her was probably okay, but to be married?

Either way, she had a choice. What kind of a leader would she be for the Underground? Revenge never worked out, it only brought more regret. She had to show him what kind of a person she had been.

She wrote down his name: Sans. No Prince or anything associated with it.

Papyrus covered his eyesockets and then uncovered them, peeking over.

‘A mature princess indeed.’ Toriel glared at Sans. “You will be known as Sans.”

Sans seemed a little surprised. “What, no Prince?”

“There is room to add it.” She tried to keep her voice less heavy. She thought he wouldn’t be the type to want it attached to his name.

“Nah. Nah, I like Sans.” He seemed to have his little light guiders on her longer. “Let’s go home, Patchwork Princess.”

World 5,236

“Mina got it right,” Phal said as she looked toward her. “Did you think Frisk would figure it out?”

“It wasn’t a riddle,” Mina said toward her. “It was common decency in the face of anger.”

“You know Frisk really well, or you are Frisk,” Phal said to her.

Nah. “Her name’s not Frisk,” Sans told them. “Also, things tend to repeat and she doesn’t have any brother named Abe. Those two particulars keep her out of the running.”

“Too bad. Uncle Sans is supposed to marry Frisk,” Angie said. “They did really well in the other timelines.”

“Hey, do you like our Uncle Sans?” Phal asked. “He’s not married. Our mom said skeletons make the best daddies.”

“It sounds like he’s taken,” Mina said, smiling and not getting mad at his annoying little nieces right now.

“He might not be. If it’s the end of reality, would you go out with him?” Phal asked.

“Oh, gosh, look at that time fly.” Sans took a watch and tossed it in front of the girls. “Time to call it a day.”

“I’m not picky.”

“And no, time didn’t fly after all.” Sans regrabbed the watch. “What was that?”

“I mean . . .”

Oh. Oh, me and my big mouth! He couldn’t judge her now, he promised, but what was that?! Wasn’t she like traumatized by monsters? Were monsters the one who took her? No, it was determination. Humans use determination. Then, was she . . . into monsters? Or was she testing him. Yeah, she’s really good. She’s had training. Maybe she is testing to see if I bend? Which would leave him just wondering.

Probably a trick. Probably. Then again, Chara did say . . .

Mina never finished her sentence.

Gotta be trick. Just testing me to see if I’d keep my word. Right. “Anyhow, breakaroo. Time to stretch. Let’s see where Poppa Pyrus wants to go now.”

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Mina.” Chara gave Mina the phone. “One of your boys called back again.”

Wow. Mina answered the phone again. They had agreed to get her some time ago, but now they weren’t wasting any time. They had called once to get her just five hours up ahead, but now they stated they could meet her in an airport that was only two hours away.

Two hours. “Okay,” she agreed, writing down the information. “Thanks.” She hung up while she gave it to Chara.

“Ooh.” Chara handed it over toward Sans who’d just been lying back. “Two hours away.”

Sans looked at it. “It got moved up. Again? Boy, they really want you, Mina. You sure about these people?”

“Yeah. They have determination like me,” Mina stated. “A lot of it. They’ve been through all the same things. It’s not just an underground headquarters, it’s literally under the ground living. People walk secretly beneath to ignore all the laws going on above.” ‘It even allows more mind reading nearby it.’

‘It can cancel the waves law?’

‘Yes. Oh. Ugh. I didn’t invite you to start talking to me.’

‘Yes, you did. I shouldn’t be able to do that. This kind of talking, it’s never allowed.’

‘It’s mind reading, and no, so quit.’

‘I don’t know how to quit.’

“Just, start speaking out loud,” Mina said. “Ignore it. How about more story.” She had to get his mind off her own. Blue stop sign? Isn’t that what Frisk had used in the story?

“Okay, sure, why not?” ‘Before I say something I really shouldn’t right now.’ Sans sat back up and grabbed the book. “Gather round. Let’s see how miserable this guy’s life ends up being.”

World 59

The Skeleton’s House

‘It was crude. Conceited. Selfish. Mean. Why?’ Papyrus continued to moan at him. ‘It wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t your fault. But now, now every time someone wants to be respectful, they must call her Patchwork Princess. Patchwork!’

‘Got it.’ Sans went over to the fridge, still being griped at by Papyrus. He had to do something big to measure her. Papyrus just didn’t get it. He reached down for the catsup. ‘The other Frisk was a nice princess raised Underground. This one was filled with so much determination in everything, it was hard to see how some other me could have ever wanted one of those things.’ He opened it up.

‘Patchwork Princess is not a thing, she is a person with feelings,’ Papyrus corrected him.

‘You don’t have to say that Papyrus. Just call her Frisk.’ He went back into the fridge.

‘No, I should be respectful?’ Papyrus groaned. ‘It’s hard to tell what to do because of your stunt.’

‘You’re family to her. She’s your sister now. Just call her Frisk.’ Sans pulled out a cold Grillby burger. ‘Wanted some mayo or mustard.’

‘Oh, in the back of the fridge there’s mayo. It’s brand new.’ Papyrus shook his skull. ‘Chug it if you need to, I will buy more later.’

It wasn’t for chugging. Sans went to the microwave and put in the Grillby burger. They didn’t bother going to the reception which was Grillbys. He loved that place but he didn’t need a thousand questions about being prince, married, or explaining timelines better right now.

After the microwave beeped, he took it out and brought it over toward the table. Frisk had just been standing in the living room, looking out a window and probably contemplating her miserable life.

Sans used the ketchup and mayo, and brought the burger over to her.

———————————————

It didn’t matter whether she got undressed or not. She would feel trapped either way. No one answered her about the wedding being enough to save the day. About the changes in her being enough to save the day.

She rubbed her thumb gently between her other hand’s fingers gently. She felt no relief. The sun hadn’t been pulling a dark kind of eclipse anymore, but the purple clouds over it remained. It wasn’t changing and it wasn’t getting any lighter.

It was probably her imagination, but she thought it was getting slightly darker clouds again. There was probably a swarm of monsters over at Grillbys, but she didn’t want to meet and greet anymore than Sans did.

Then her husband did. ‘I married a monster I barely knew to save the world. If it were anything besides that, some doctor somewhere would say that I had an addiction to it.’

She heard a chuckle from behind her.

Sans. ‘Aw, poor Frisk. Saving the world is like drugs that no one wants you to quit.’ “Here, Frisk.”

Frisk looked at what he presented. A Grillby burger with the top bun off. With the ketchup he’d written Frisk on the burger and traced it with the mayo on the rest of the burger. The sight was so unusual and strange, she couldn’t help as a small smile escaped. “Thanks.”

“A lesser person would have taken some revenge against me about the name I wrote down for you,” Sans said. “You didn’t. Thanks.”

Thanks? “There were other less permanent ways to test my strength as a person.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to see what I had to work with. The marriage probably won’t be enough, the clouds are still violet, and they are tinging a little darker.” He said it like it was so casual. “If you had taken revenge against me, I would never push for any natural way with you.”

He shoved the burger plate toward her. “I am in the I don’t know for sure camp, but I won’t turn away from ya?” He shrugged. “I know you’ll want to jump my bones, but you’ll have to give me some breathing room to think about it.”

Hm. His strange words again. “I’m not looking to jump bones right away. I want to learn more about the soul science of monsters and see if it’s more ethical. If not? It would be new to the both of us.” His skull looked at her oddly. “What?”

“After meeting your mom and dad, I figured you would have ended up jumping someone’s bones by now? That determination of yours is reckless,” he teased her.

“No way,” Frisk corrected him as she picked up the burger. She even used his own vernacular to explain. “If anything, it made me more cautious of who I would jump bones with. Brent had asked for evidence and proven facts we were a working combination before our first date.” She bit into the burger and watched Sans absolutely laugh at her.

That was no little chuckle, he was laying into that laugh. Or it was laying into him, considering he had to use his bony hand for support against the wall next to her.

Frisk swallowed her burger bite while he kept laughing. “It’s not that funny. As long as he promised me he’d fill out my contract of not getting into any determination bet with me, I went along with it.”

Oh great, now he was slapping his bony hand against the wall.

“You are being a jerk right now,” she said. “I know it’s unusual, but I didn’t want anything stupid to happen after what happened to my mom and dad.”

“Oh geez, you are the same,” he finally said as his laughing died to chuckling.

“I am not the same as my parents, it was precaution.” Didn’t he get that yet?

“I wasn’t talking about them.” He lifted his bony hand and dragged his skeleton over beside her. “Heh. Okay. I see it now.”

See what? Frisk didn’t understand him. She just took another bite of her burger as he got up and left toward the kitchen.

———————————

Sans went over to the fridge, slapped on mayo and catsup but didn’t need to microwave his burger. He moved back over toward Frisk and joined her on the side of the wall.

Interesting. Interesting, interesting. Papyrus came into the room and made disapproving noises of their greasy taste. ‘Cheer up. I’m trying to eat with Frisk. You’re bringing down the mood.’

Papyrus looked at him oddly. ‘Is my presence bothering you that much?’

‘A little.’ He wanted to get to know her closer. ‘They are similar. I can see why the other me liked a version of her.’

Of course, that statement made Papyrus excited. ‘You love her?!’

‘I don’t know about something like that.’ Sans kept eating as he looked at her. ‘I just said I could see something the other me liked. That’s all.’

‘See? Then this Frisk is similar to the princess the other you fell in love with!’ Papyrus said anxiously. ‘This will end well.’ “I will leave the two of you be. Good day. Get more acquainted!”

‘I didn’t mean you had to-’ Nope. Sans shook his skull as he watched Papyrus leave the house. Well? Fine, he needed to get to know her better anyhow.

“A contract would not be bad in our case,” Frisk spoke up first. “I’m already married to you, so there isn’t this fear that I’ll end up marrying you.”

Oh no. “Contracts never end well, Frisk,” Sans warned her. “It’s better to just question what you don’t know or say what you want to say to me. Life wiggles it’s way through that. I’ll be honest.”

“Do you have to be into it for soul science to create for monsters?” Frisk took another bite.

Weird phrasing? “Timelines are my specialty, not the creation of children. That is a mixture of royalty power and science.”

“I should ask Toriel these questions then?” Frisk asked him. “Do you know anything about soul science? Do you have to be halfway through your own process and then can it be joined?”

“Through your own process?” Was Sans getting her language words mixed up somehow? It could happen. “What do you mean through your own process?”

Frisk shrugged oddly. “Normally it’s in two rooms, each person does their own process, and then they meet in a central room and the doctor takes the glowing processes and does his own process.”

Sans still wasn’t getting it. Oh, great, there was something humans did that he didn’t understand. Sans sat his burger down and started to search the internet for the human soul science process. “Spanking a monkey?” Sooooo lost.

“What site are you on?” Frisk looked at his screen. “No, don’t go to that site.”

“In the mood? Pleasing oneself. Oh, masturbation.” Now he got it. “Spanking the monkey, that’s funny. How come they call it that?” He just looked at Frisk who blushed. “Processes. I thought I got your language wrong.” He put his phone away. “It’s DNA for monsters. It’ll be simple.”

“So then, what processes does it take?” Frisk asked.

Geez. “Do I look like a pro? Last I looked, I’m a skeleton. Until I get ‘in the mood’, ain’t nothing gonna happen and skeletons don’t get themselves ‘in the mood’ for no reason.”

“Then it does take a process?” Frisk asked.

Huh? Okay, shy human was a little infuriating. “Human, you are using the word process as a process and in place of the word masturbation. If you don’t talk to me straight, I am not going to understand you.”

“Then think of it as a puzzle?” She offered.

“More like a word search.” Infuriating. “Come on, use some of that determination and tell me what your asking for already.” Heh. He triggered her.

“If two people want to have a baby, then they have to masturbate in separate rooms, but be thinking of each other also in other rooms. If they don’t think of each other while masturbating, then there will be no resonance in the souls. If done correctly, the masturbation should glow. After that, they are handed off to the doctor. He takes the two glowing masturbations and sticks them in an artificial womb. The womb will nurture the fetus that is created and it will let them out in nine months. If one of the humans would rather carry for sentimental reasons, then it will be inserted to either of the humans instead of an artificial womb. There.”

Sans didn’t quite know how to react to that. What a strange process. He didn’t know what the process was for monsters, but it wasn’t that. “Learn something new everyday.”

“I feel more comfortable with in vitro,” Frisk said. “It doesn’t involve the souls and will let the individual grow its own soul in the manner it should. It’s better than soul science.”

In vitro. Great, another word he didn’t know. Sans pulled out his phone and looked it up again. Would he ever be able to enjoy his burger?

Oh. She meant in vitro fertilization. Human names for stuff sometimes. “Yeah, it’s not that either. Monsters don’t have that one.” There was no need for it. He put his phone back away and enjoyed his burger again.

“If your sex way to have kids isn’t in vitro, then what is it?” She asked once again. “There must be more than just . . .”

Which just confused Sans. “Dangit, Frisk, talk straight again.” He was trying to be friendly speaking to her in her language, but it was mondo confusing.

“I mean? I don’t want to sound offensive, but monster’s are mostly magic, but you can have sex. So, if you don’t know in vitro then what kind of sex?”

Oooooohhh. Well? Humans weren’t real knowledgeable about monsters. Some of what he’d been saying had been going right over her, while what she explained was going over him.

Better put a nail in this. “I am bones but I’m not like a human corpse or anything. I have magic. I talk without any of your throat instruments. I walk without any of your muscle instruments. I can do everything you can do,” he said clearly. “Including your raw, natural, physical sex.”

“Physical sex?!” Oh, there, confusion was gone in her eyes. Yep, now she looked terrified. It took her a little while to swallow the last gulp. “So? It’s soul science or physical sex? Not science sex? Body sex? There’s no in vitro here? A different word in monster instead of in vitro that I don’t know?”

Sans shook his head. “Nope.”

“Then, I mean, can we get in vitro here?”

“Frisk.” Sans was sure she knew just how hard it was to get anything in the human world. It wasn’t an easy jaunt for monsters. He wasn’t there, but he didn’t have to be to know it wasn’t easy. He’d learned about the history. How to get any footing let alone equal footing.

It was highly doubtful the human world was going to send an in vitro fertilization specialist into the monster kingdom to make a human pregnant with a monster’s child. Real doubtful.

Even Frisk seemed to be thinking about the chances, now that she understood better. “Real sex? Bones?”

“So polite you be,” Sans said to her. “What did you expect? I just say some magic words and out comes DNA into you? Please and Thank you. Nope, it don’t work.”

“The soul science . . . or physical . . .” He knew Frisk wasn’t pleased about it, but she didn’t have to look so digusted.

There just wasn’t a way. If there was, not yet. “The soul science, it happens all the time. Really, it’s no big deal on the monster side. It’s simple and easier.”

“It is on the human side. If we have . . . I mean when, then it will have human on it’s side,” she warned him. “It’ll have half of the failings of human soul science.”

Shoot. How nice did a guy have to be? Making progress just to push it down again. “Look? I didn’t want to say it, but you’re starting to drive me crazy. Do you know how many monsters you know that are only here because of soul science?”

“I was created with it.” A surprising comment from her. “My mom and dad had been married three months. My mom’s friends said that she would probably have the finest baby of determination, except Veronica. Her friend Veronica was having a baby already and she said hers would be better. When my mom told my dad that Veronica challenged her?” She didn’t say much more.

Oyyy. That explained a lot. Frisk wasn’t born from love, she was born from a challenge. “Bet your mom won, huh?”

“I just think that nature should have had more input in my determination than them,” Frisk admitted.

That’s why Frisk felt so strongly about it. “If we have to do something, we’ll make it as random as possible,” Sans said. “We wouldn’t strive to make it into anything else.” Still, he could tell it bothered her. “If. I don’t know, with the right kind of wine and dine, you might get somewhere with me. Don’t give up that easily on your goals,” he teased her. Half testing her.

“I am not them,” she came back with. “I am not my parents, and I won’t fall for that.”

Good to hear. “Not even a single chocolate rose?” He looked at her a little longer. “Is that the term you humans use, chocolate roses? You like chocolate roses?”

She just had a strange smirk. “Close enough. Can I just ask where my bedroom will be? I really want to just lie down for a bit.”

“Yeah, I bet your determination took a beating today. Got through it with iron will,” he teased her, “but got the rest of life to deal with the consequences.”

Yeah, she didn’t answer.

He gestured upstairs. “My room is the one with flames coming from it. It’s, uh, never visited by anyone but me.”

“Uh? Oh, I see.” Frisk fidgeted with her fingers. “Your wife. Not a guest room thing?”

“No guest room to be had.” Sans headed upstairs. “If you feel something squishy on your feet, just apologize to it.” He made it to the door and unlocked it. “All the things little princess’ dream of I bet. Prince Charming’s bedroom.” He opened the door. “Too bad I’m just barely Prince Sans. Heh.”

He noticed Frisk’s reaction. “Where do I sleep?”

“Yeah. I don’t know, I’m thinking sleeping bag,” he admitted. “No time to plan things out. You’re good with a sleeping bag, right?”

“For now I . . . guess, is that a dog on a tornado?”

Heh. “Yeah. Rumor is it comes and goes.” Sans passed the dog and went to his bed. “You’d probably be safer in a sleeping bag.” He looked at the floor. “Think. We might have to do something unspeakable in here.”

“Unspeakable?”

“Yeah. Clean.” He chuckled. “That felt dirty to say.” Really strange having someone else in his room. Really strange. It was his room. No one ever came in there except him, or other versions of him in the past. It was always a legit place to go for serious conversations with oneself, to avoid being seen.

Sort of like a sanctuary, but now he had to share it. He took his wadded up bedding off the bed. “Papyrus probably has some cleaning supplies downstairs.” He had to make it at least hygienic enough Frisk could safely sleep in there.

“I can clean then and you can go buy a sleeping bag?” Frisk suggested.

Yes! He hated cleaning. “Gotcha. Be back, Frisk.”

‘Why?’

Hm. ‘Why what, Frisk?’ She volunteered the cleaning, he didn’t force it.

‘You officially made me the Patchwork Princess, but you keep calling me Frisk now. Exactly all I wanted since the beginning.’ She stared at him. ‘Why?’

Oh. ‘I never call people by their real names most of the time.’

She just smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re an odd one, Sans the Skeleton.’

‘Coming from the kid born of determination challenges? I guess I should take it as a compliment.’ He turned and headed outward. ‘I won’t stop until I find the best sleeping bag I can for you.’

‘Nice way of saying I’ll stay out as late as I can so you can clean.’ “Have a nice day, Sans.”

“You too, Frisk. Have fun.”

World 5,236

“Lunchtime!” Papyrus’ voice came from ahead. He came backward with some hot dogs. “For the humans, I bring it straight to you.”

“What about me?” Sans joked.

“You can get up and go outside, they can’t,” Papyrus complained. “You know that, Sans. On the left. Oh, like you can’t tell where the restaurant is at.”

“Restaurant is a heavy word for hot dogs,” Chara teased him. “I’ll be back with some food for you.”

Sans got off and headed over to the stand. Papyrus was still there anyhow, and there wasn’t much to worry about if he was there. He ordered the food, and went back to the RV.

He looked over toward Mina, who was trying to get some last minute conversation and bonding in with Abe. Prisoner or not, at least she got some time to get to know her brother. Now, it’d be awhile since she’d see him again. A long while.

Maybe. Convergence. She might be important?

Chapter Text

World 5,236

After the hotdogs and a little bit of downtime, Sans got back on the stories. So far, he hadn’t actually seen one ‘end’. He read some of the not-so-good Frisk one. He saw up to the wedding of the world that screwed them all in the first place. Now, this one? It must have some kind of end. Did it get better for that version of him, or did it not?

Even though he used to read more for the girls, he was finding himself wanting to hear them too. Did this timeline he was reading now survive? “Get comfy. Let’s read one more chapter before Mina has to go.”

World 59

New Waterfall

Sans thought getting a sleeping bag would be the funner choice. He was dead wrong. ‘A sleeping bag. Hey, a sleeping bag?’

‘You know, what you could do is get her to take some pills, have the new Queen do her thing, and then have it self multiply each day.’ Another idea from another clueless monster. ‘It can’t be that bad. Frisk was so sweet.’

‘Yeah, sweet.’ Sans said the thought out loud to everyone, but made his second thought just for that monster. ‘Sweet enough I’m not going to suck her into anything with some pills, geez! Bug off!’ He turned and looked toward the shopkeep again. ‘A sleeping bag,’ he said to the shopkeep. ‘Anymore in stock?’

‘The light from the sun and that scary darkness was so close together,’ the shopkeep said to him. ‘I really think you two can come together and make this work. You are royalty, you won’t have to pay for anything, Sans.’

‘Nothing is happening yet, the whole eclipse dark banging went away.’ No one would stop talking about it. Geez! ‘The light is back. Purple clouds, I get it, but it’s fine for now.’

‘Stop being so selfish, Sans,’ a different monster said as they waited in line. ‘You should be happy to even have the chance to have more skeletons. There are only two on the surface.’

Irritating. So irritating. ‘Hey, Buddy? I never said that. Never isn’t an option, I get it, I just don’t want to keelhaul this decision on the back of Papyrus’ car face down at eighty miles an hour.’ Sans looked back at the shopkeep again.

‘I think New Temmie Village York might have something,’ the shopkeep offered. ‘It changes so fast. It’s scary. I still don’t really get how timelines-’

———————————————-

New Temmie Village York

Sans looked around for the main place to shop. The village expanded slightly when it came to surface and they took a famous city and added it to their village name to differentiate it from not being Underground anymore.

Most places had done that. Even if it was just putting New in there. If it had the same name, they wanted the documents of things bought, books written, etc., to showcase what happened when in history. How much they knew verses what they were allowed to know Underground.

‘Prince Sans!’ A bunch of temmies started to gather around and jump like little well . . . dogs.

Fresh out of temmie flakes to keep them at bay too. ‘Just Sans. Officially.’

‘Temmie saw the dress,’ one of them said. ‘All Temmie’s tried really hard!’

‘Yeah, it was pretty.’ Sans hoped that would get them through it, but nope. They went on about how it wasn’t their fault the human was taller and rounder, or how they couldn’t help it if ordering wasn’t soon enough. Even walking wasn’t easy because the Monster Kingdom had a strict 200 mile authority around them due to a contract and deal struck with the humans. No one bothered each other without full authorization.

Or, you know, marriage. Sans rubbed his bony chin. ‘Yeah, I get it. It was tough. It was a nice dress or a poor dress. I don’t know anything about dresses. I need a sleeping bag? Anyone got one of those?’

‘Temmie’s will make new royal skeleton’s clothes,’ one of them said. ‘Several onesies with tiaras and crowns.’

‘Don’t need tiaras and crowns, and I don’t really look good in onesies,’ Sans warned them. Yeah, they actually talked back and said the onesies would be for the apparent skeletons after pregnancy. Future thinking again. ‘No hurry for that stuff. Sleeping bags?’

‘You might have several if Frisk was rescuing Underground,’ one of them warned. ‘We will have plenty ordered soon! Soon soon!’ The temmie jumped around him. ‘Please no have babies until then!’

‘Hey, that’s great thinking,’ Sans said to her. It was the first time someone wasn’t rushing him to the finish line. Except, he couldn’t just lie. ‘Humans have like a year or so I think of carrying.’ He didn’t quite remember. It was awhile. ‘You’ll be plenty prepared.’

‘Oh? That’s great news!’ Temmie’s jumped around his feet again. “Temmies so happy!’

‘So good to hear,’ a Temmie announced to him. ‘Then make wonderful pregnancy soon then, no end of Earth, and we have time to have supplies for clothing!’

‘Sleeping bags?’ Sans asked. ‘I gotta have a sleeping bag for Frisk.’

‘The Patchwork Princess needs a sleeping bag?’ One of the Temmies asked. ‘Hoi, I get it! You have single bed! Citizens must invest in bigger bed for new royalty.’

Oh no. ‘Not needed yet.’

‘We buy bigger bed to make up for dress!’ another one yelled. ‘Let’s get new bed!’

‘Not needed!’ Sans tried but instead of finding a sleeping bag, he had a giant bed. ‘This won’t fit in my room easily.’

‘We take to room!’ Temmies offered.

No way. ‘Nevermind, I’ll deal with it.’ He didn’t want them in the room. Well, it’s not like it was going to change anything. He had to get used to Frisk being near him anyway. ‘Gonna need sheets for the bed, and pillows too. Make them comfy if you can.’

He heard several ‘Hoi’s!’ of help as they gathered everything for the bed.

‘Here is second and third pairs of sheets!’ one called out as more was put on top. ‘Plenty for no worries about Princess Patchwork’s comfort while pregnant!’

Not even close. Not even remotely close, and they were looking toward that kind of thing. ‘Comfort’s fine. No more, thanks.’

‘Make plenty of babies to offset timeline disasters! Like twenty! Thaaaaaank youu!’

Sans wasn't going to touch that sentence, he just took the stuff and took a shortcut back to the bedroom.

——————————————

Sans’ room

“Nice job, Frisk.”

Frisk looked behind her. She’d cleaned and mopped the floors while throwing the bedding in the washing machine. She was expecting to turn a sleeping bag she could sleep on the nice clean ground.

She saw an entire full bed, and the single bed gone. “What happened?”

“No sleeping bags. Got royal gifts instead.” He gestured to the bed. “I’m not good at making sheets.”

Entire full bed. “No sleeping bag?”

Nope just good luck on the pregnancy from a lot of monsters. “I don’t bite humans. I bite burgers and fries. No worries.”

‘Would have rather had a sleeping bag.’ Frisk took the cleaning supplies back downstairs and headed back to the room. Her room, with Sans. It would take time to get used to that. ‘At least it’s clean.’

She went ahead and laid on one side. She was tired of the whole day. The whole damn day. Why did some other her have to get pregnant so freaking fast? Couldn’t marriage be enough?

It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. She felt miserable. Tired. Dizzy. Like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Strange. How did that happen so fast? How did she go from being happy to finish cleaning to wanting to sleep.

“Frisk!”

Huh? Sans’ voice. Strange. What was he yelling at? She didn’t know, she was just curled up on her bed. A bed. Probably the bed he brought.

Curled up. Tired. Too tired. Her determination felt . . . spent. Maybe. She never spent it so much before but she felt like she couldn’t take another step.

—————————————————

Timeline Machine

‘Bull!’ Anger. Sans stared at the timeline machine with Papyrus. ‘What’s happening?’ Frisk was getting strange, almost transparent. Something was happening to her, and he knew what that transparency signaled. He’d seen it once before. Only once before.

The day they lost Gaster.

‘Your wife is going to disappear. She is disappearing with slivers of soul only exposed in at least ten timelines- what are you doing?!’ Papyrus yelled as Sans started to go into the log in area.

His eyes beamed several different colors as he logged off. No more. ‘I lost so much time in my world. I had to marry the nice grown up kid I never knew. I have to be some prince. I have to learn how to father royal kids. That was all annoying, beyond annoying, but this?’ No! He raised his arm up high. ‘No matter what I know of Frisk, she is good, and nothing is taking her away!’

He shot several bones through the timeline machine. They didn’t have time to analyze and figure out what was happening, Frisk was going, and she was going now!

And he wouldn’t let her.

‘No, Sans, the more that disconnect the harder it will be to-’

‘Too late.’ It was gone. The machine. The connection. ‘We concentrate on our present from now on, not any of that. Nothing good can come of that.’

‘I highly disagree!’

Sans turned. No way. Standing right behind Papyrus. ‘Gas?’

‘Thanks to you, I almost didn’t get my one chance to come back. Everything has disconnected, nothing can cross anymore. Only pieces, the tiniest molecules, the farthest restores in shift, and even that will be done soon.’ Gaster moved toward Sans and gave him a piece of paper. ‘Here is your answer. Give me a wink and a thank you.’

Sans looked at the paper. What the-? ‘Are you sure?’

‘I am the last living thing that could cross because I was shattered through timelines,’ Gaster warned Sans. ‘I believe your Frisk was on the edge of shattering, but you reacted fast. She will probably be fine and remain out of the mess so many yous are causing right now.’

Sans showed Papyrus the paper. ‘Pap. You see?’

‘Yes, Sans, I saw,’ Papyrus scolded him. ‘We could have seen more before turning it into chop suey! I suppose it was best to protect your wife first though.’

Sans just chuckled as he winked at Gaster. “Thanks.” He took the results back to Frisk.

World 5,236

“Hey, you know? Not a bad place to leave off,” Sans mentioned as the place was coming closer. “How’s this gonna work?” He looked out the window and found a human nearby. “Your ride, Mina?”

Mina hugged Chara. “Thanks for all the help. Please look after Abe and Gabe for me. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”

“Hope so. You are an interesting one.”

Phal and Angie both stole a hug for Mina too. She hugged them back. “Good luck.” Mina looked toward Abe and Gabe. “I’ll . . .”

See you? Miss you? Mina didn’t know what to say. Trying to get to see Abe only led to them all getting kidnapped. Abe just nodded at her.

“Don’t mean to shine the light away from escape, but give me a couple seconds too?” Sans had grabbed something from the back. It was an easy tracker, that was in the shape of a gold heart broach. He had put it in a small box. If he presented it as a gift instead of stuffing it on her, it might go better. “Here you go.”

Mina looked at him curiously, opened the box, and turned red. “Oh.”

“Yeah, I thought you might like it,” Sans threw offhand. Less suspicious, the better. He really wanted to make sure if she was part of the timeline somehow, or they needed her determination somehow to save everything? She would be capable to be found again.

She looked at it for about a minute, so he made a move and took the broach. “How about just right here?” Plain and center on the pocket of her shirt. He pinned it on.

When he looked back at her, he caught her cheeks going all pink. Blushing?

“Smooth,” Chara complimented him. “Add to it, Sans, so you can see her again.”

Oh. Right. Um? “You’re just traveling down below, but your still considered with the gang,” Sans pointed out to Mina. “Chara, I need your phone.” Yeah, she didn’t look pleased, but she gave it up. Papyrus could get her a new cheap phone later. He put in their numbers, and the map coordinates they were taking. “If you figure out your way, we could meet up around here in a couple of hours?” He pointed out a spot that looked kind of fun. There was an amusement park and everything. It wasn’t very far. “After that, maybe you could tell me more stuff about your tunnels, and we can find some more destiny places to meet along the way.”

He gave Chara’s phone to her. “Here.” She was still stunned, and still pink in the face.

“Oh.” She nodded as she looked at the broach. “Thank you, Sans. This means a lot to me.”

“Yeah, and if you can’t make it, just call, right?” he pointed out. “You can still call us.”

Mina was clinging to the phone hard and touched her little broach. “Chara, I’m sorry about taking your-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chara told her. “Take it. Hope you meet up with Farrisk and Friskarino in these tunnels so the journeys less lonely. I don’t know what they were in for, but maybe those guys have the same kind of trouble as you.”

“Thank you.” Mina gave her a hug. She looked towards Sans again. “Thank you too. I’ll, um. I’ll be there. Thank you.”

She sure did say thank you a lot. “No problem.”

Mina went toward the door and opened it. The other human wasn’t far. She made a small run for it, obviously knowing how to run.

“Hey, they move like bunny rabbits,” he had to say. “Already gone.” Underground. “Yep, just like bunnies. The people with determination, went physically underground. Her name wasn’t in any of the timelines. Convergence. “Too bad.” He turned back inside. “That bunny was cute.”

“Uncle Sans, you can’t do that. You need to concentrate on finding the real Princess to save our timeline!” Phal complained to him.

“Hey, hey,” Chara corrected them. “Weren’t you just joking about them dating earlier?”

“Yeah, but . . .” Phal stumbled.

“We really need to find Frisk. If she doesn’t exist, then her, but we really need Frisk!” Angie explained.

“Look? Feelings don’t matter yet. He hasn’t met Frisk, and he might not. Who knows how everything goes in every timeline? We haven’t reached the end of the last story either.”

“Bunnies are cute. I made a joke she was a bunny, so she was cute,” Sans tried to backtrack.

Not good enough. Papyrus actually came toward the back now. “Did the cute girl leave?”

Oops. Chara didn’t look happy with that comment.

“Daddy!” Phal and Angie both scolded him.

“Oh no, no, no! I don’t mean I think she’s cute!” Papyrus whined as Chara glared at him and crossed her arms. “I don’t, why would I want her when I have you? It’s just how Sans always referred to her when we talked. That and a pun of Mina’s name that isn’t appropriate for young skelekids to hear.”

“Well, it wrote itself.”

Chara sighed while Gabe looked confused. The idea never even struck him as a ‘thing’, since he was being weary of them with his nieces.

Still, the guy spoke up. “That can’t be right. You’re a monster. Is there some slang I’m missing?” Gabe asked.

Kay. Take it easy. “You always thought she was cute too. What’s the difference?”

“Well, I’m human?”

“You prejudice there?” Sans cornered him, hoping it would get him to shut up.

“No. Just. You were watching us real closely all the time. Abe said that Mina was really on the verge of getting in trouble,” Gabe pointed out.

“Yeah, she was.”

“But you thought she was cute?”

“And?”

“And you gave her a gift. A really pretty gift.”

“Gabe. Shutup already,” Chara commanded. “It’s time to move on. Bad, good, cute, doesn’t matter. Mina’s safely away now. Maybe next time someone sees a cute girl though?” She looked at Sans. “They should say ‘Hey, you are cute’ before she leaves again?”

Hmph. “She was iffy most of the time. Hiding secrets and whatnot. Cute don’t make me stupid.” And he did flirt. In between being careful with her, not knowing her true intentions. It seemed to just really confuse her. He also probably wasn’t good at flirting. Didn’t do it much.

Besides, he also knew there might be someone else out there that he might have to do something with. Frisk.

It was better not to get things mixed up bad, and end reality, just because of one cute human.

THE END

Pretty broach. Hard past. Pretty broach. Me thinks someone might be interested now. >.~ Find out in Sans Gets A Girlfriend!

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Underground Determination Tunnels

Mina touched her broach as she continued traveling. It was hard to stop touching it. Normally, when she received something, it’s because she used an act of her own to get something. Nothing was ever just given to her.

Out of the blue though. A gold heart broach. He even clipped it on. She was probably still blushing. Mina knew she was fairly attractive, but she didn’t have a normal life filled with boyfriends.

She was an Undergrounder, a survivor of tunnels. For a decent amount of time she was able to come up and live amongst the normal people who lived their everyday lives. In her mind, she was thinking the Underground was the only safe place after getting her friend in trouble.

But. Monster area. If she was clearly with a monster? Plus, the phone. She was left with a connection.

An emotional connection and a physical gift. She knew storytime kept following a timeline version of another Sans and another woman, she picked up on that. But? She couldn’t help herself. It’s not like he met this Frisk yet, and it’s not like she would be around whenever he did find her. She’d be lucky to meet him again.

Thinking about regret, guilt or the future wouldn’t stop her present happiness. All that was ever guaranteed was the present. If she was happy in it, she wouldn’t mess it up.

She traveled along the tunnels, taking their path. Going to the amusement park.

Going with a guy to the amusement park. Then what would she do? Would she meet him and need some money to eat something? Would he pay or was that old-fashioned and unexpected now?

She didn’t know. She didn’t want to mess it up though. Food would just get in the way. There was no time for food. That was normal thinking. She wasn’t normal.

Mina waited by the tunnel. She wasn’t going to smell that good, so she did steal a thing of deodorant. If only she could put on a prettier dress. She watched from the hole, not wanting to miss them. When she saw the RV coming, she went to the next tunnel over and started to call.

She gave her location with the targets that she could see within range. He was coming.

He was coming. Just relax. It’s fine. It’s still just Sans the Skeleton. But, a part of her didn’t want to relax. She waited to see him before she came out of the tunnel.

He immediately closed in. “Heya. This way.”

Mina letted him guide her to a booth. She stayed very close, so monsters would think she was his. She sat down on a bar stool at the booth he took her to.

He didn’t say much as he turned on his phone. “Bring out yours. Let’s synch these suckers for destiny places.”

Synch? Mina brought out her phone and gave it to him.

“Okay, now I’m adding like timed stops here. I know we can’t meet everyday. It takes likes hundreds of days to reach where we need to be,” Sans explained. “So, we are starting shorter and then we can go longer.”

Oh. She was watching the blue dots appear. “Sans? I’m not like other women.” She couldn’t come up this much to the surface.

“Too many dots?” he questioned. “You need to stay in touch. What if we erase like half?”

“You don’t really understand.” She touched his bony hand lightly. He seemed unprepared for that. “I don’t have time to be shy and make small talk on the surface for long.” There was never time for life, for normal life. “I stole the phone I used to talk to Abe to go to his college. I stole the car that drove me to the restaurant. I stole money so I could afford the Above Ground’s restaurant.”

“Well? That’s reasonable sounding,” Sans told her. “Selfishness for a normal life. You take what you can get, when you can-?!”

She didn’t really know how to do this with a skeleton. There was never any time to figure things out. Mina never had anything but gut instinct, and there was no time to play. She gave him small pecks of kisses on his teeth.

She doubted that was what she was supposed to do, but she didn’t care. Regret went with normal people over stupid actions taken. Regret only went with her, by actions she never chose to take, stupid or otherwise.

He seemed to get the hint though, as he brought her closer. She felt something almost electrifying in her mouth, but warm.

Skeletons had tongues. Impulsive decisions taken was the only reason she knew. She held him back closer. They didn’t talk. They just made out for about a minute until she heard the telltale signs of someone picking up on her determination price.

She ended the kiss. “I loved our date, Sans. I will find you again, but I have to go!” Yeah, she could already see them about to turn after her. She reached the safety of the tunnel and went back inside.

She didn’t have to go too deep. She could even stand there and watch them if she wanted. Determination tunnels always had a determination barrier on their entrances and exits. Someone had to have a lot of determination to come to their underground tunnels.

Meanwhile? She wasn’t upset, she was beaming. That was fun! “My first boyfriend.” She turned around in a circle lightly.

That was so great. She never thought she’d get a boyfriend. Anyone else Above Ground would call her something for what she did. Instead of being polite with small talk, she took the minute she had and just figured out how to make out.

And she didn’t care. It was so worth it. She touched her broach again and looked at her phone. So many blue dot meeting places. A lot wouldn’t coincide with the tunnels, but there were some good ones. “Oh, I should have got him a tunnel map.” Technically illegal, but he’d know where she would be most likely to pop up. He’d be worth the risk.

He was caring and protective because he watched over his nieces. He was funny, and while a little on the lazy side, it was refreshing to see someone able to be like that. Lazy didn’t survive, yet they were all on a survival RV, and he never sped up. He was even compassionate, and encouraged her to get back to safety. Took Abe’s long awaited words to heart and let her go in understanding.

He managed to do all that, while reading a lot to his nieces, so they’d understand in their own ways what was happening.

She watched someone pass by her. He said hello. She nodded and kept going, still on an emotional high.

Chara watched as Sans returned back to the van. “Did you meet up with her and get places to meet up in the future?” He didn’t answer. He looked out. “Sans?”

“Hm?” Like he didn’t even hear her.

“You okay, Uncle Sans?” Angie asked him.

“Mm. Mmhm.” Sans nodded his skull. “Uh huh uh huh.”

That wasn’t Sans’ usual. “What happened?”

“Uh? Showed her blue dots.” Sans tapped his bony foot slowly. “She showed me a good time.”

A good time? “I didn’t think you guys would actually go into the amusement park?” That didn’t sound like something she’d ever risk.

“We didn’t.” Oh, Sans was being real sketchy. “Look, I haven’t met this Frisk yet, okay? Maybe I don’t even have to marry her, maybe something else happens?” He picked up the book.

Ugh. “What happened?”

“I made out with her,” he admitted.

Of course, Phal and Angie were being vocal about that.

“Easy.” Chara made them back off. The RV stopped and Papyrus came toward the back, hearing the girls go off. “It’s fine, Papyrus. Sans hit it off with Mina.”

“Oh well that’s . . . good?” Papyrus looked toward Sans. “I think that’s good? It’s great right now.”

“I didn’t start it,” Sans said to him. But? “I didn’t wanna stop it.”

“Did she get the places to meet up?” Chara asked.

“I managed to do that at first. Then, that was all she got. For information.” It was so quick, and he couldn’t judge her, but he didn’t have to. She told him everything he needed to in the few words she used. He knew what he was signing up for when she started to kiss his teeth. “Didn’t see it coming.” How’d he miss it?

“I’m not too shocked,” Chara told him. “Seriously, remember what I said I’d do if you had to marry you-know-who?”

“Wrong.” Chara didn’t get it. “It wasn’t like that, she’s not easy, she was just- she don’t get time for polite small talk. One minute later and she was out. Even I could tell people were coming after her.” She felt feelings, and she went with him, and so did he! And?

And maybe he’d regret it when he met whoever this woman Frisk had been. Maybe. But, Mina? “She felt right.” Sans looked to the storybook. “All kinds of things are up in the air. Maybe something else does happen?”

“I didn’t mean easy,” Chara told Sans. “Humans want determination the most. Most likely the people who hurt her the most were humans. So, if she did get someone special?”

“Monster.” Made sense. Close quarters ever since the rescue. Part of a crew that never hurt her. Fed her. Was taking care of her brother and home. Understood her. Only competition was Gabe, who she had no interest in at all. That and human, she didn’t trust her own kind much. Papyrus who was always married. So? “Not much competition.” No competition.

“Hey,” Chara scolded him. “Don’t be an idiot. If she was looking for someone, you could say that. She was trying to get her brother safe, and figure out safety again. Not romance. It was probably the farthest thing from her mind.”

Oh. Maybe? “I’m just so incredible that she couldn’t help herself?” Hey, that wasn’t so bad. Still, his nieces were both staring at him, without any light in their eye sockets at all.

Papyrus. He kept saying it could be something different. Sans grabbed the book. “Storytime. Sit down.” There had to be something different. There had to be.

World 59

Sleeping comfortably. Solid. Unaware of ever becoming translucent. Frisk looked much better on their new bed. Sans stared at the last results Gaster had gathered.

Frisk moaned softly. Sans took the sheets and covered her up. The action woke her up. “Get some rest, Frisk. It’ll be okay.” He showed her the results. “No mommyhood for you.”

Those words made her sit up in bed and look at the paper carefully. “Really?”

“Really. So, just relax. We’ll rest off what happened today. See Asgore tomorrow and give him this. Also, an old friend way better with timelines just came back too. We’re going to be alright now.” He winked at her. “Great job at saving the timeline.”

Frisk stared at the results. “We are going to have to make a butterscotch and cinnamon pie for Toriel.”

“Chocolate pudding too,” Sans recommended. “Mixed with gelatin and whip cream.” Yeah. The news was gonna hit Tori hard.

It would be okay though. In some other time, Tori found a way to work it out with Asgore. Sans laid on the other side of the bed. “We could also make more.” His bones jumped for a second. “I mean the desserts, not babies. No need for those. The desserts, yeah, it’s good to eat with company.”

He heard Frisk laugh. He hadn’t got to hear that very much. “Maybe we can whip up a little extra?” She laid up on her tummy. “Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t . . .” She touched her stomach. “I don’t feel so good.”

“You’re nothing but good,” Sans joked, until he looked at her stomach. She was getting all funky and translucent again. What? Sans almost got up when he saw Gaster right at the door. ‘You said-!’

‘Probably. I also said that she would probably miss all of the problems the other yous would cause.’ Gaster approached Frisk. ‘When you break the machine, it still does work for some time after. Nothing stops on a dime. I thought with the disarray of the offline connection before that it would prevent it.’

No. Sans tried to hang onto her, but she couldn’t be touched anymore. The details of her being Frisk were now disappearing. ‘I can’t do this. I can’t be her husband, be prince, and then be a widower all in a day! Fix it, please!’ She didn’t deserve that.

She didn’t deserve it. She never deserved any of it. ‘Fix it!’

‘The timelines are fixing themselves, mending themselves as they can with the broken connections,’ Gaster told him. ‘I think there is only one way left to fix it now.’

Anything. ‘Whatever you have to do, Gaster, do it.’

‘I am sure that I will, but this version of me can’t do it,’ Gaster told him as Frisk completely disappeared. Her soul remained on the bed, slowly ebbing away and becoming smaller. ‘Wait by the barrier.’

Barrier? ‘There is no barrier, we are on the surface,’ Sans told him. ‘We got the good ending.’

‘The timeline barrier. The amount you were allowed to travel when you were Underground. All the timeline machines had the same barriers, Sans. Wait there inside the edge of it. When you see something, hold on. Note? I do not guarantee it will end well, Sans,’ Gaster warned him.

‘What’s gonna happen?’ Sans asked him. ‘Gaster?’

‘Just go and decide when you get there, whether you really want to pay the price.’

———————————————

Where The Barrier Used to Be

Sans waited, staring outward. It was where he should have first saw the sun Frisk had granted them all somehow. He didn’t cross the area even though nothing was there.

Pay the price. Gaster’s words. There was going to be something happening, and it wouldn’t be pretty. ‘I don’t know the girl I married. I just know that I see something that I might like in her. There was another me that loved one. I have to rely on that.’

Whatever the price, he had to pay it.

Sans reached toward the sliver of the soul.

World 5,236

“This is getting spooky.” At least that him was starting to see potential in Frisk as a wife. That was good, any of his forms being miserable never felt well. Although, still, just marriage. A ‘him’ with no problems in life, could still find problems. “The chapter gets funky. Hang on.” He went up front to see Papyrus about it.

“Oh, I don’t know exactly. We just picked a nicer story so the humans wouldn’t be so scared,” Papyrus reminded him. “I never read that one.”

Hmm. Sans took some time to try and find the linking page. It wasn’t actually linked to one worlds. It was linked to nearly 100. “Okay, this story is about to get bizarre. Ready?”

Sans reached toward the sliver of the soul.

Sans reached toward the sliver of the soul.

Sans reached toward the sliver of the soul.

Sans knew, he could feel something new. There was something connected, connected tighter than ever before. There was nothing there, but there was something there.

Sans reached . . . toward the sliver of the soul.

--------------------------

Run. Run. Run.

Sans. Sans tried to keep his thoughts all together. Gaster messed up, but he couldn’t think too hard about that. Anything past related, he had to not think about. He kept his concentration on following the connected soul.

He had 98 different pasts running through his head all the time, so he had to keep his mind on the present. Talking took effort. Walking took effort. Even when he spoke and moved, he did it with a strange blurriness that revealed his fate.

He was all the Sans’ still connected through the timeline machines. 99 different ones. He had to work on automatic to just get to the connected soul.

---

‘Hiya.’

Sans looked in front of him. It was . . . him? Maybe a him of that dimension?

‘Yeah, I know, it’s kind of awkward right now to you.’ That Sans held out his arm for the baby. ‘Name’s Skrit. Sanskrit the Skeleton. Basically you.’

‘Connections. End. Timelines.’

‘Yeah, I get that.’ Skrit pointed to his head. ‘I’m from this time, and it’s my home. I’ve been feeling all of you just pounding away in my head. Things about like Underground, some human named Frisk, how you want to protect someone named Papyrus and a bunch of other stuff.’ He shrugged. ‘It hurts. You’re hurting. If you are some other me though, then you know it’s wrong, no matter what, to do what you are doing.’

‘Gaster.’

‘Hung onto that word, huh? Good ‘cause we are gonna go see him.’

------------

Frisk. Frisk. Frisk. Frisk. Frisk.

‘This me is hurting my head the closer it is,’ Skrit complained again. ‘Come on, Genius, figure it out. We just need a human soul to get through the barrier more grown up. Right?’

‘Yes and you are acting like it’s such an easy thing,’ Gaster complained. ‘For one, you have it wrong. Souls don’t grow, bodies do.’

World 5,236

Uh oh. Uh oh. “Um.”

“Don’t just um,” Chara complained. “Read on. What’s wrong?”

Um. “Cute.” Man. “Mina.” He looked at the pages. “There’s dashes instead of lines. Means I am falling in and out of consciousness.”

“You never refer to the versions in the stories as you, Uncle Sans,” Phal said quietly.

“It’s a lot of me’s in one. Things are weird. We are missing stuff.” He began to read.

---------

“My wife. My Mina,” Skrit told him. “She’s my life. I don’t care what it takes, please? I’m begging you Wingdings Gaster, get her back.”

Gaster glanced at Sans. “This mess. Look at him. He is a physical representation of what this all looks like, Sanskrit. It’s all so unbalanced that time would not do what the other me wanted. It had to join several forms together. Hm?”

-----------

Gaster groaned. “I just need some of Mina to even out the instabilities of Frisk, I promise-”

“Every piece of Mina needs her Skrit,” Skrit demanded. “If I lose a piece of my wife’s soul, then I’ll lose my own soul to stay next to hers.”

------

‘Also? World 36 screwed all you guys over. We can make Frisk’s souls come together in harmony, but we can’t add that royal power or husband signature. You all need to marry this Frisk, be princes, her a princess, make someone called Toriel pregnant with someone named Asgorian’s kid.’

‘Asgore,’ Gaster corrected him. ‘Asgore will be a prince, while this Toriel will be Queen now. Also, you will have to have a child with the human Frisk.’

‘Kid, huh?’ Skrit whistled. ‘I didn’t see that coming. Yeeks.’

'Yes, I think it's a human adoption though.’ Gaster ran the results again. 'Oh? Yes and no. There is a child on the surface you will have to nab, but? The control connection just got pregnant.’

'Ooh, that's baaaad,’ Skrit said. ‘Yikes again.’

‘Just happened as I ran it on the machine.’ Gaster shrugged. ‘Too bad, if I had just figured this out a few minutes ago, it wouldn’t have happened. I severed and mended the connection now. Nothing else will bleed over anymore.’

‘Well, dems da brakes?’ Skrit shrugged. ‘Have fun with fatherhood. It’s not too bad, ya know? Got two of my own.’ He went toward Gaster and retrieved the paper. He gave it to him. ‘This paper will probably only survive in one world, but since you are 99 Sans’, I’ll bet you’ll all remember.’ He gestured toward the paper. ‘Mettaton’s hotel? Sounds like a fancy place. Playing tag under the covers? Sounds like some big beds. Yep, looks like the Sanskrit that went offline had to screw you over one more time.’

---------

'Queen of Clean?' Skrit asked. 'The Clean Spring Queen?'
"Skrit, no! Do not joke, he will have trouble getting all the details," Gaster warned. 'Toriel?'
'Spring Clean Queen,' Sans answered.
Skrit chuckled. 'Come on, Gas, it's me and it's a joke. I'll remember that.'

Marriage. Prince. Frisk. Kid. Frisk. Prince. Marriage. Kid.

‘He isn’t looking very good,’ Gaster said as he came over and snapped in front of him. ‘His auditory seems to be working, but his light guiding sensing activities and vision are hazy and clearly fading. He’ll get worse the longer he stays. If he’s going to keep it together, we need to get him out now,’ Gaster warned his Sans. ‘Think about it. Some of him loved the human, liked the human, didn’t know the human that well, absolutely detested the human, and died to the human. All rolled into one. There’s too much love and hatred burning inside of him from this news. Let’s go.’

World 5,236

“Okay,” Phal said to Sans. “I guess Mina was cute to you. I can see why now.”

“Mina was Frisk the whole time?” Angie asked. “We had Frisk here?”

“I guess when Uncle Sans said he thought she was cute, we should have taken it more seriously.”

“I can’t believe this!” Chara covered her face. “Mina is another name for Frisk?! Papyrus, did you know about that?” She ran to the front to talk to Papyrus.

Sans felt the RV come to a halt.

“We had Frisk here the whole time?!” Now his brother was coming down on him.

“Maybe. It is just a first name,” he pointed out. “That just happened to come through with the same name as someone in the timeline . . . as being a wife in a faraway dimension than the usual jaunt in these timeline stories . . . plus, was a classified drug with her determination here.” Yep, somehow, it was her. “We have to find her. Who knows these Underground tunnels?”

“I don’t know. I never had her problems, and then when I did get noticed, I was already married,” Chara reminded him. “Oh maybe Farrisk and Friskarino know? We might be able to contact them?”

Sans glanced toward her. “Uh huh.” Numbers.

“Mina had their numbers. She gave them to me. We were still taking them home,” Chara reasoned, noticing Sans offhand glance. “You want them or not?”

“I just need some basic info about them,” Sans said. “Then I can track her myself.”

“Track her?” Chara looked at him oddly. “How?”

“Oh, we got the same determination thing Papyrus had when he went wife hunting all those years ago,” Sans revealed. “Great at finding determination.”

“What?!” Chara looked angrily at Papyrus. “You said it was destiny, Liar!”

“Oh, no, wait!” Papyrus held his bony hands up in defense. “I was looking for someone with a lot of determination to be a friend with! Sans, stop fooling around!”

“Yeah, he wanted to meet a human friend,” Sans went ahead and corrected that mistake. “His human friend wanted to play games he had fun with, and then when he comes back from vacation, he had more than one souvenir with his human friend.”

Chara still didn’t look pleased. “Look. Fine. Let’s just focus.” Still angry. “Determination tunnels are going to have a lot of determination people in them already.”

“Yeah, I also got something else.” Sans moved around the vehicle to his stuff. “I didn’t suddenly become sweet with Mina. Hopefully this doesn’t cancel out the making out again?” He found his goodie and brought it out. He turned it on. “Less than one mile away.”

“The heart. You gave to Mina. The thing that probably got you your nice kissy time? It’s a tracker?” Chara still wasn’t looking too happy. “Why did you think you would need to do that?”

“Convergence is in effect, I thought she might be important later, but I didn’t want to put her at risk with us either.”

“Sure.” Gabe didn’t sound happy about that. “Did you hear that, Abe? He’s tracking your sister.”

Abe didn’t say anything.

“Four words, Man,” Gabe said to him.

Abe gave his answer. “Lucky, or unlucky, Mina.”

Ooh, so that’s how he got Abe to actually interact better? Should probably get to know that. “Hang on? I’m supposed to marry Frisk. That means I marry Mina? Is that it?”

“Things are not set in stone, as I said before,” Papyrus told Sans. “I didn’t even know this part of the story.”

Chapter Text

No highlighting because there's no other world in this chapter.

World 5,236

Maritime Sans found his pod opening and he wasn’t at home anymore. His brothers weren’t there either. “Where am I?” Oh, good. “Uncle Gaster.”

His Uncle Gaster seemed a bit off, but things were intense right now with the humans. “This should bide us a decent amount of time,” his Uncle said toward him? No, towards some others nearby.

They weren’t skeletons, and they all weren’t monsters either. “What’s going on?”

“How much time will that give us, Sir?” Someone asked Uncle Gaster.

“One year, ten years, I don’t know,” he muttered. “Point being, this will work.” He suddenly smiled at Maritime Sans. It was cool when Uncle Gaster did that, he was the only skeleton who could. “Hello there. Your name is Maritime Sans, right? Welcome to timeline 5,236. Would you like to meet your cousins?”

Cousins? “How would I have cousins? Uncle Sans never had kids.”

“Gentle,” his Uncle Gaster said to the monsters that started to take him away. “Just seal him up nicely. Nicely!” he demanded.

Al looked behind him. Back of the cell was opened? “Whoah.”

“What is it, Brother?” Juleyard also looked behind them. “Is that . . .?”

Yeah. They could see through the cage.

“Is this good or bad?” Juleyard asked him. He put his hand up through the grating, and saw some other people beyond it. “Hello?”

A boy looked over toward them and waved. “Hi. I’m Frisk.”

“Ooh!” Juleyard got excited. “That is our mother’s name. Oh, but?”

He wasn’t their mother.

“Yeah. Hi. Uh? Whoah? Are you like, a half?” Al got closer to him. “Whoah. No. Your. You don’t belong.”

“Yeah, I doubt you do either, or you wouldn’t be in this cage.” The wrily Frisk grabbed onto the grating and started to climb. “I’ve been looking for a way out for a long time. Nothing can hold a Frisk forever. This is just really good at it so far.” Frisk climbed back down. “Hey, there’s some others you should meet. Hang on.” Frisk went outward a better deal until someone else came.

Whoah. “Mutant.”

“Hey, that’s not nice,” the skeleton kid insisted. He came closer, his grating was on the other side. “I’m Maritime Sans. My Uncle Gaster had people put me in here. I don’t like it. I thought I was the only one here.”

“You alone too, Frisk?” Juleyard asked the boy in the front. “This wasn’t very nice. Is this everyone?”

“Not quite, no.” A woman came forward. “There are two babies back here. Cassiopeia and Orion.”

Huh. They were never allowed to actually see through the cages since they got there. One minute they were with their momma Underground, then Secret Keeping Sans had taken them to something called a core.

Then they were plucked to there by another version of their biological weird dad and caged. The whole time, the place had walls around it with grates you couldn’t see through. Now the grating had been uncovered.

Now, things were getting interesting.

“Who are you?” Juleyard asked her. “Are you a warped other version of our mother?!”

The woman just shook her head. “No. They just threw me in here because they needed someone to take care of these babies.” She touched the grating. “I can finally come back here. Was it sealed off before? Did you hear multiple baby screams that almost drove you crazy?”

“Nah.” No babies of any kind. No other sound was heard either, like someone was purposely keeping them from meeting. He moved closer toward Juleyard. Was this good or bad?

“Hey, hey! Come back up here!”

Oops. Guess the guards were still on patrol. Al and Juleyard slowly made their way up. It was extra hard, their feet weren’t normal feet. They were kind of funky feet, and it hurt when they walked on them too much.

They used to have slippers that their other brothers gave them, but they had been taken away. Probably for more control over them. Pretty standard.

The guard waited up for them to return though. All the way to the front.

Juleyard sheltered Al, but he was shirking back too. “Here?”

The remark back? “Not for long.”

Juleyard started to scream as he and Al were grabbed.

Al didn’t yell. It was obvious from day one what would happen to them. Wonder how they ended them? Boiled to death? Frozen to death? Slashed? Bullets maybe? Injection? At least it would all be over soon.

“Let go, let go, let go!” The other kid Frisk was also now next to them. He had more than one guard, and he was fighting hard. Juleyard was struggling. Al was just hanging, no need to struggle.

But Frisk? That kid actually made one of them bleed.

“Let me go, let me go!” Maritime Sans was now being carried over too, and the other woman with the babies was coming over. “This was never supposed to happen, why did my brothers do this to me?”

“Okay, dump them.”

“No, no, no, the babies!”

“I gots!”

Al hit the ground in a thwump. Huh. Not uh, big enough thwump to kill them. He stood up and looked around. Juleyard was trying to act dead on the ground, even lolled his tongue out. No fooling him. He saw the woman that had been in the cell.

Oof. She landed wrong. She was definitely dead.

“I’m sorry. I. Can’t do everything, I suck at magic, help!”

He looked over and saw Maritime Sans holding some babies in the air with like magic or something. It looked shaky. He’d help if he could. Frisk came over and got on top of Maritime Sans, jumped off his head and snagged one of the babies like it was a parachute. It floated downward like a dandelion fluffy thing.

Frisk gave the baby to Al to hold. “Uh, not good?” Al was smaller than the average kid. This was hard. Maritime Sans was busy, Frisk was rescuing the other one, so he decided to sit down with it.

“Nobody’s buying the dying?” Juleyard asked as Frisk held the second baby out for him. “I’m too small.”

“I guess we all are.” Frisk sat down with the baby next to Al. “This might be a waste of time, we might have only minutes to live as some huge thing is released from one of the walls around us and tears us limb from limb. But a Frisk is brave, and always tries their best.”

Uh?

“I like the spirit!” Juleyard said to Frisk. “Thank you, Frisk! Ooh, my back itches. I don’t know how to hold a baby. Is this it, Al?”

Al shrugged. He couldn’t tell. Then he saw a line of flames coming down from the top toward them. “Yeah, it’s it. We’re going to burn to death.” He readjusted the baby so it didn’t look at the fire.

He felt Juleyard wrap around behind him, facing him down too. The heat from the flames really lapped at all of their backs.

“I don’t know if skeletons survive this?” Maritime Sans said quietly. “If I do, I have a feeling it might hurt. I don’t think I do.” He sounded panicked. “I’m really going to die?”

Ah. Poor extreme mutant kid. Looks like he didn’t have the threat of death looming over him all the time.

“I didn’t even live long enough to learn fractions right,” Maritime Sans whined. “Cobwebbing.”

Then, there were new sounds above them.

“Stop, she’s been found!”

Al was suddenly cold as he felt water land on him. A lot of water. “I was prepared for death by fire, not a shower. That’s cheating.” The ground itself was actually starting to rise to the surface? The ground was an elevator? Kind of neat.

When they were brought back up, they were all grabbed again. Well, except for the dead woman. They just kind of kicked her away.

“Okay.” Someone in charge looked at them. “You are so lucky, you get to live after all. Gaster pulled through for you. You wouldn’t believe who we finally found.”

Hm. “Waldo?”

Chapter Text

Mina traveled politely through the tunnels, met a few people here and there, but as a man came closer? She knew his intentions.

She jumped over him as he made to slash her on the arm. It wasn’t even a great place to try and slash. She pulled out her knife she had hiding and had it drawn at him, ready to slash him herself.

They backed away. “Good. You do have training.”

“Just ask.” Still, she wasn’t letting her guard down.

“Well, for most of your life you were locked up as a drug,” they pointed out. “Didn’t know.”

Most of her childhood, yes. Some of her teen years. After that, she had watched her back and studied very carefully with other determined people. So? This guy knew that much. He was specifically looking for her.

“The timeline crowd that keeps stealing us,” he responded. “We discovered a lot more about what’s going on.”

“This branch of the tunnels?” She didn’t know what he meant by ‘we’.

“The timeline is ending, Mina,” he said softly. “We all have to have the determination to keep that from happening. No matter what it takes.”

Nobody said no matter what it takes in that kind of way without something bad happening already. “What are you doing?”

“Whatever it takes to keep us ticking,” he simply said. “I’m glad you called. We were just about to give up on a lot of things, and go for extra power over the timeline instead of just matching it. It wouldn’t have kept it away forever, but if we continue living another hundred years, then maybe we could use something else to crack it.”

“Fortunately, we don’t have to.”

Mina heard sounds from behind her. A lot of sounds. She moved back and forth between her guide, and the voices coming through more tunnels.

Those were a lot of voices.

“Sorry, Mina,” her guide said to her. “Your training isn’t going to let you get away with as many that are coming. You are way too important to lose. If it makes you feel better though, you helped saved five lives, and probably all of reality later?”

Why? What now? Mina had no choice but to let them get cuffs on her. There was more than just a few, and they had all had the same kind of training she did. In fact, it was in the tunnels that she learned all the fighting. Determined people in the tunnels knew that the surface wasn’t going to protect them, and she followed that line of thinking too.

It had been right. As soon as she came back to it, her brother suffered the consequences. Still, it was unsettling to being given away by people who were considered prizes themselves. She walked along several more tunnels, before they surfaced.

She was brought in front of a group of monsters, and everyone scattered again. They didn’t say anything, just grinned at her.

For one day, I had someone special. No regrets. She was taken from the barriered determination tunnels, into regular tunnels. She was taken into a building inside of a huge tunnel. Inside the cage they were putting her into, they had . . . a skeleton boy, two very small boys just a little bigger than babies, and one small regular sized boy. Along with two babies? “What’s going on?”

She watched as they unlocked her cuffs and shut the door behind her. Some of them congratulated each other, like she was the best catch ever. There was no place in the middle to be handcuffed or leashed to. What was this?

“Hey, Mom,” one of the very small boys said as they swung their legs back and forth on a bench. “Are you the new Waldo?”

Waldo? “I’m Mina,” she said. Mom? “Who are you?”

“I’m Al,” he said. “The cool guy next to me is Juleyard.”

Juleyard looked at her cautiously. “Is she good?”

“She’s fine to me,” Al said.

Juleyard got down from the bench and bowed. “I am Juleyard! I am your wonderful and charming and handsome son!”

What? Whoah, these children were confused. “Nice to meet you.” Mina watched as the other young human boy made his presence.

“Hello. I’m Frisk,” he said.

Frisk? That was a young boy. “Someone has been looking for someone with that name.” He didn’t fit the bill though.

“Not me, just someone with my name,” Frisk said to her. “Actually, Frisk is a given code name, but I am your son too.”

“Sorry?” Mina apologized. Someone lied to these children. Why? She looked toward the skeleton boy. “You?”

“Maritime Sans,” he said. “Emotional cobwebbing makes me bad at fractions.”

Sans? Skeleton too. “Don’t sweat it,” Mina told him. “I didn’t even go to school. I spent most of my life running or . . . other. I don’t know fractions either.”

“Uncle Sans was teaching me them,” he said. “Before he left. My Papa Papyrus did too, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t get the hang of it.”

Uncle Sans and Papa Papyrus? “You are Papyrus’s kid? I’ve met him." No one told her their son was missing? Maybe it had been from a long time ago. "He’s with your mom and sisters.”

Maritime Sans gave her an odd look. “My mom isn’t . . . alive. She’s just a soul now.”

That was odd. “Chara is just fine.”

“Ooh, nobody told her yet?” Juleyard said. “Or him? Then again, he can’t even do fractions.”

That wasn’t very nice. “I can’t do fractions either, so what is your point, Kid?” Mina asked. That seemed to have scared him some.

“Nothing, nothing! Who needs fractions to survive? Not us, no Sir!” Juleyard had been terrified now.

“Sorry,” Mina apologized. This boy was a real sensitive soul. There was a reason he was down there. “I was cranky, because I’m an adult, and I should have had proper schooling, Kid.”

“You sound like Uncle Sans,” Maritime Sans said to her. “He loved calling people Kids.”

He did? “If you prefer your names, I can do that instead, Pal.”

“He does that too. Why do you do that?” Maritime Sans asked again.

“Convergence,” one of the nosy guards said. “Closer to ground zero than ever.”

“So what are you in for, Waldo?” The little boy Juleyard next to him asked her.

“Probably determination? Some timeline mess? Who knows,” she confessed. “Do you have anything to eat?”

“Yeah, we were almost burnt to death, then we were important again and they got us some wings and cheese,” the boy Al showed her in the corner.

That was way too casual. This boy was way too casual about all of what he just said.

“Al, take things seriously!” Juleyard scolded him. “We almost died! Could you not mix that in casually with talking about food!”

“Anytime is a good time for food,” Al teased.

“It’s fine,” Mina said to him. “It’s how he copes.” She sat down on a bench, and all the children gathered around her, as well as bringing two babies over to her? Did they think these were hers too?

“Adult equals instant caretaker,” Maritime Sans said as he held up a little baby awkwardly to her.

Mina took her and looked at her. What were they trying to do? The other baby cried out too, and that was brought to her. “Don’t they have cribs and mothers?”

Mina felt a hug getting stolen from her as she tried to hold the two babies. That was fine, she understood loss. “I would hug back if I could.” It wasn’t a long hug though, she had things to get done. She’d correct their thinking about her being their mom later. Someone had reason for these tricks.

She stood up and took the babies toward the front. “Hello? I need some supplies for these babies. Cribs, blankets, bottles?” Where did the nosy guard go? “Hey, dos amigos? A couple of pals, maybe? Anybody out there?” When Mina didn’t know the name of someone, saying ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ didn’t get her the best and fastest results.

People were drawn to answer to friendlier terms, even if she shouldn’t be friendly to them in the first place. It was how she always survived. She saw someone come over toward them. Their nametag said Ali. “Hey, Ali, thanks. Boy, you don’t know how complicated this already is, and I really need some supplies Hon’?”

“Those babies don’t need to survive much. They were mistakes,” Ali said to her. “Gaster was supposed to send us Orion and Cassieopeia. He didn’t grab them right. Both are even girls, such a dead giveaway. We don’t know what to do with these. We still gave them the same names.”

“Well, if you were expecting them then you’ve got to have some supplies already?” Mina tried again. “Come on, Sugar, why not give us a little hand? One woman holding babies with a bunch of kids by her feet. That’s not real fair, is it?”

“Fine. Until we figure out what to do with them? I guess they were spared,” she reasoned. “No reason for innocent babies to die.” She left a little while and brought over two cribs with things inside. “Here. They seem small enough to fit.”

Mina thanked her and settled the babies inside. They want me and these children, but not these babies. They told these kids that I’m their mom. They told Sans’ nephew his mother is dead. What game is being played here?

“No! I don’t want to go in there with those people!” another new person started to yell as he was dragged in.

Oh good, another adult to come help. He was a monster though? Just like the skeleton boy, only a goat monster. People always wanted determination, it was the crux of troubles. Why would the monsters be there?

“Jerks.” The monster dusted himself off and got up. He looked toward her. “Who are you?”

“She is Waldo,” Al said.

“Eh. Asriel.” He tried to hold onto the grating and pulled around it.

“There are two girls,” Mina told him.

“I’m a boy,” he answered.

Mina scooted one of the crib’s over. “Apparently this one is temporarily Orion.”

Asriel looked down at the crib. “I don’t know anything about babies.”

“Join the club,” Juleyard complained to him. “We had to hold them while we were almost burned alive!”

“Well, hopefully it just keeps sleeping like a lazy bum,” Asriel said as he looked at Orion. “What are they up to? Why are we all in the same cage?” He moved back over to the front and held onto the grating. “Hey! I don’t know whoever said I was important, but I’m not. I’m just a mechanic, that’s it. That’s all.”

One of the monsters came closer on the outside toward him, but didn’t unlock it. “You are Prince Asriel, heir to a small throne.”

“Yeah, but what good is some small throne? Not in our world, plenty of those are around. Plus, I gave that up years ago,” he admitted. “No power either way for you to steal.”

“You running away made it harder to find you, but not as hard as it was to find her.” The owning monster pointed at Mina. “You have a visitor.”

“Uncle Gaster!” Maritime Sans rushed over towards the front. “Uncle Gaster, where’s Papa?”

His Uncle Gaster didn’t answer him. Didn’t answer anyone. “They were fairly mad when I rebelled and grabbed Flo and Fancy instead. I was risking too much to go for Cassie and Orion.”

“What are they trying to do there, Fella?” Mina asked.

“At least I was able to fix Maritime Sans world.” He smiled at the boy. “I’m sure one day you will figure out how to get home. It didn’t shatter like it should, I stopped it for you.”

“The timeline ended?” Mina asked.

“No, his thing was different. Anyhow? Mina. I found you in the nick of time, thank you for making contact. Without you, these children would all be dead.”

Burnt to death.

“If you escape? There will be no use for them,” Gaster warned her. “Now, there are a virtual treasure trove of what could or could not balance to fix our timeline. We’ll be trying it all. At the very least, you do have something you will have to slay.”

Slay? “I fight for my life, but I don’t kill.”

“Trust me, you need to kill it,” he warned her. “You are the only one who can. So far, it hasn’t appeared. If it has, it’s being very careful.”

“Why do you have your nephew in this cage?” Mina asked.

“It’s not my choice, and he’s not really my nephew. He is of a different timeline. All of the children in there, are from different timelines,” he said. “We plucked them while we could still pluck them. It’s open again, temporarily, so I came to get Flo and Fancy back.”

The babies. Mina scooted her crib towards the door.

Asriel was less willing. “Your trying to tell me that different dimensions exist and ours will be dying soon?”

“Less so. All the people that could change the timeline is here now. Almost. The others will come. Convergence will make it happen. I need to move quickly before it closes, I don’t know how it happened, but I am lucky to get this chance.”

Mina went over toward Asriel and took the crib. He placed his hands firmly on it.

She decked him and pulled the crib away as he slumped to the floor with a groan. She took it to Gaster. If he did take these babies from another place, they needed to go back. Besides which, they had limited supplies for these babies or themselves in there anyway. “Here.”

“Thank you for peacefully doing this. I don’t have much time.” Gaster left. No goodbye wanted or needed.

“His name was Gaster?” Juleyard asked softly. “WD Gaster or something else?”

Maritime Sans answered. “He’s Wingdings Gaster but everyone calls him Gaster. I call him Uncle Gaster. Uncle Sans called him Gas usually.”

“Oh! Then he’s! He’s!”

“Another version,” Al muttered to Juleyard.

“Another version is our daddy, but in our timeline, he is very very dead and ancient and old!” Juleyard said excitedly. “That’s what he looked like. That’s what he acted like? Wow.”

More relation or more conning? If timelines existed, maybe there was a way to cross? Papyrus’ kid. Gaster’s kids. “Frisk?” Mina looked toward the other boy.

Frisk nodded. “WD Gaster was mine too. He was never whole though, he shattered in a lot of different pieces.”

These were all Gaster’s children and hers except one, which was Papyrus’? Mina looked toward Asriel. “You?”

“I’m nobody. I’ve never met Gaster. I’m not his kid,” he stated. “I shouldn’t be in here.”

“None of us should be in here,” Frisk said to him. “I am doing my best to figure a way out, but this is a, um? What’s that word. Efficient cage.”

Mina watched that boy. He had been feeling all over the cage, trying to find a weakness.

“Great!”

Gaster wasn’t influenced by the words of congrats for getting the children back to where they belonged. He immediately logged off, before he had to hear the next part.

“You were supposed to grab the right ones this time!”

“The last chance to transfer again wasn’t very long. It was just a fluke,” he insisted. “There is nothing in time that those two are needed for.”

“They are a complication, they will allow us to survive longer!”

Another rant. Monsters and humans alike could go from giving words of praise to words of threats so fast. Anything seemed to go to them as long as it saved their reality.

Even keeping the peace for other realities to continue to exist with their actions was tough.

“You better hope we have a match soon,” one of them threatened him again. “Or they are all going to die as well, to preserve this time as much as possible.”

Preservation instincts. If it hadn’t been for Mina finally being found,, there’s no way any of them would be alive right now.

“Can you make it match now?” another one asked. “Do we have all the important ones? Do we have enough signatures? What else do we need?”

“I think we might almost have it. Exchanges are ready.” Gaster didn’t really know if they were ready. There was no telling whether or not they were really ready. From what he had gathered, this looked like what it would take to finally stop all of this.

Mostly.

Maybe.

Mina watched Gaster come back, this time without the babies. Hopefully they were safe now.

“Alright. For the good of this reality?” Gaster said to them. “And, basically all those children’s lives. You two must marry.”

What?

“I don’t even know her,” Asriel complained.

“You need to share your soul with Asriel,” Gaster told her. “Come, Frisk, this is for the world.”

“What do I have to do?” the little Frisk asked.

“No, not you. Mina,” Gaster insisted. “Mina is Frisk.”

“My name isn’t Frisk, it’s Mina,” she insisted.

“Frisk has more than one name. Trust me, it’s you,” Gaster insisted again. “You must share part of your soul with him.”

“Why would I ever want part of a human’s soul?” Asriel pointed out.

“You were once a soulless flower, and part of her soul made you monster again. This is step one to saving reality.”

Ugh. “No,” Mina refused. “I have someone.” Someone she might not ever see again, and they did just make out, mainly because of her, but it counted to her!

“It’s just traditional, not ceremonial, and you can switch it or end it afterward,” he insisted. “The feeling of being with another soul is overwhelming, it usually leads to ceremonial, but it can be reversed in our time.”

“I refuse.” There was no way she was going to marry someone she just met! “It’ll hurt Sans.”

“Sans?” Gaster looked stunned at her. “You mean to tell me, that you have already met Sans? You are even dating?”

Was it considered a date? It felt like it. “Sort of. We made out?”

“Oh. Ew. Can you meet back up with him?” Gaster said. “Are you close enough now that he’d marry you without much hesitance?”

What? “Not marriage. We just made out for like a minute,” Mina admitted as she touched her broach. “Still, it’s special, and I’m not losing it. Besides, there was no mention of a flower guy at all in storytime.”

“Storytime?” Gaster was interested. “What is storytime?”

“Timelines. Sans is reading to his nieces,” She said. “So you can’t trick me, there was nothing about a flower at all. Frisk married Sans. And?” He kept saying she was Frisk.

“Honestly, as nasty as what is coming can be, it might be a good idea to put marriage on hold for each of them,” Gaster said. “We need to find . . . no, these people are insane enough. You need to bust out and get to Sans with the children.”

“Are three of those children really mine and yours from another timeline?”

Gaster was too busy talking to himself to respond. “Sans is reading the timelines like stories to his nieces. He has the machine to read timelines himself,” he said softly. “The more that are sacrificed from another time that have a direct connection with events inside of it, the better things go to these people. Oh? I will find a way to get you out of here with them.” He didn’t sound so well. “We all have to go some time. Can you meet up with him again?”

“I had dots Sans put on my phone,” Mina said. “They took my phone. If I can get my phone?”

“You can’t. I can. Be ready.”

Be ready. She understood that.

Oh, oh, oh. How to even start this conversation? Yep, Sans was in the phone. Ugh. How to start. How to start . . .

“Oh, hey, Mina, just about to call you soon.”

“Your the stupidiest stupidy of all the stupids! You are the foolishest fool of all the fools who ever fooled!” Sure, why not start that way? “How could a version of you be so moronic that you log off on my machine?!”

“Gas. Where is Mina.”

Cranky. No time for hello. He would explain things later. Right now? “Sans, my machines!”

“It wasn’t me, me,” Sans defense was. “Your machine had messed his whole life up. He just wanted to correct it. Technically, looks like it worked out for him.”

Sans usually didn’t sound that stressed. It looked like something got under his bones finally. “I was about to marry her off to a prince.”

“You what? No way, she’s hot and likes me. At least for now.”

Gripey and reaching for words. “She is Frisk.”

“I figured it out so just give her back to me. Us. Gotta save reality.”

“I kidnapped four children from three other dimensions.”

“Hey? Do you ever have any good news?”

“When I get them all back to you, you have to read to them as well. Everyone gets storytime with Sans, including Frisk. Do you have the last of the realities that mattered that shot out of the machine?”

“Your going to give them back, as long as I promise to keep reading the timeline stories? Why?”

“You should understand everything that is involved, as well as what could possibly be coming. You should understand everything on the line, and what will happen with each action.”

“Are you kidding? Aren’t we never supposed to know about other times to mess up our own recourse unless it’s an emergency? Shouldn’t you be yelling at me for turning timelines into bedtime stories?”

Easy. Calm. “Normally, yes. I love the fact you knew the rules, but didn’t feel like obeying them!”

“Hey, at least I knew them.”

Ugh. “Convergence changed things, so you are lucky. Next time, go out and buy an actual bedtime story book instead. Now. You must understand what Mina is to Frisk, and what Frisk is to Mina too. Everyone should know everything.”

“I thought they were the same?”

“You will have to understand that too. There is no guarantee any of this will save our reality, but we have our best shot, if the decisive factors are with you. If not? This place has already tried to burn innocent children to death to elongate our reality’s life. Finding Mina was the only thing that saved them. I have no more control here, once I stop being useful, I’m dead.”

“We need more protection,” Sans said, not putting up an argument. “Can you get us some?”

“I will get what I can, including a device that blocks the determination reading. I suggest still not staying real long in an area,” he warned them. “And? I’m probably not going to make it through this, so I am coming with them.”

“Aw geez.”

“Pardon me for wanting to live. One more thing? Sending abnormalities back will help this reality and perhaps the others survive a little longer, but not that much longer. Remember that. And? You have to follow the rules, Sans, I am trying to keep this fair in monster tradition. No keeping anyone out of storytime, no matter how hard it is. If you betray me, I will find a way to do what I can for this reality myself.”

Mina had the children holding hands. They were all ready. Al was eating the rest of the wings, but holding on at the end. Asriel was near the opening too.

Then as the doors opened, they all started to bolt out. Gaster was right beside and handed her the phone before the red lights started to blare.

Mina felt Asriel hold onto her free hand. “Don’t worry, I was unprepared for what they wanted before and got caught. I thought it would be for a land feud, but since it’s not? We aren’t going to get stopped!”

Already, she could see what he meant. He had power! If he really was a prince, he must have a lot of power.

“Going faster please!” Gaster picked up Al and Juleyard, who were both starting to hurt even after a little running so far.

Frisk had held Maritime Sans hand, but they were moving slower.

“Grab the kids, Mina,” Asriel insisted.

Mina bent down to grab Maritime Sans and Frisk.

They all kept running through the tunnels as long as they could. Gaster ran the most behind, but not by far. Asriel was up front, making sure no one came after them. Mina tried to stay in the middle.

The exit from the tunnel was ahead.

And so was the RV? How?

Chapter Text

Yep, right on schedule. Sans watched as Mina, probably the Prince Asriel, Gaster (of all people), and a bunch of kids came running toward the RV.

He didn’t get a whole lot of time to explain what was going on, and Papyrus would keep from yelling by being the driver. Steps at a time. First, get them on and get out. After that?

Rip Gaster!

As they each got on, he got a bit of respite as he looked toward Mina. She was blushing again. She was still sweet on him. Hopefully the small amount of pleas he made kept him in good standing too. Just a little caution between Chara and Gabe, and promises of how Gabe better act or Chara would rip him apart. Yay for Sis-In-Law being on his side. “Heya.”

“Flirt later,” Gaster insisted as they all sat down with children being brought to the ground.

“Hi.” Angie stepped up first to the skeleton boy. “What’s your name?”

“Momma!” The skeleton boy almost ran head first into Chara.

“Yes, sorry. This is your son from another dimension where you had died, so he’ll be a bit clingy,” Gaster said to her, as if he just bumped into her on the sidewalk too hard.

Guy. Never. Changed. Takin’ it easy. Concentrate on something better. The tracker did look good against Mina. Her clothes were plain, but not bad. She would probably like some different clothes than they got at that prison. I wonder what she would want to wear? He looked toward the ground.

There were two kids that Mina had been holding that were instantly on that ground, loving every minute of it.

“Carpet, carpet, carpet!” One said excitedly. “Carpet!”

The second one just leaned all the way back, relaxing like he was on the beach.

“This RV is getting really busy,” Gabe said, “but it’s good to see you again, Mina.”

Sans watched the last kid not really move much. He was choosing to survey the area, check out the front door, look at everyone there. Huh. Not real normal for a, what, kindergartener? What’d you bring Gas? He tried to hide a sigh. “Protections?” Sans asked Gaster.

“Yes, I snagged some before I ran.” Gaster handed an invisibility device to Mina, and another device. Her eyes were wide, like she saw forbidden treasure. She clasped onto it tightly. Probably something that could jam determination sensing. He also gave one to the other guy he didn’t know. “I have some for the others.”

“Um?” Chara just kept looking from the boy clinging onto her leg, to Gaster. “Could I get some more explanation here?”

“Oh. His name is Maritime Sans. He’s been tucked away during the Monster War on the surface. I think? I pulled him before things got bad,” Gaster said.

Once again? Gotta be nice. Gotta be nice for now. Smooth it over. “Clinginess makes sense, when someone was lifted from their own dimension to a new one. How do we get them back to their homes?”

“It’s less that than being separated from his entire family, thinking death was probably around the corner. Because it was.” Gaster looked toward the boy. “Each of these children are from . . . complicated timelines. By taking them specifically, it will make their timelines work harder to set things right in their balance. That slowdown is making our reality get longer. Probably years longer, so we can figure out how to stop our own end.”

“Oh, yay, abducting kids from other timelines to extend termination day?” Really. “So, hey?” Enough was enough. “Not dead I see?”

“I’ve been busy,” Gaster said. “Faking death was easier than involving anyone else in this mess. Yet. I must give myself a hand, I was nearly ten years ahead of the projected date.”

Ten years ahead. “World 36 was still connected back then, Gas.”

“Yes, but I could already tell that something was going to happen to my machine at some point. There were too many crossover connections, and after humans came down, things just kept getting worse. At some point, one of you would mess up.”

That was really his excuse?

“Hey, uh?” One of the little humans sat back up and pulled on Maritime Sans some. “That’s another version of your mom, remember? She doesn’t really know you. Your still orphan meat.”

“Al, not again,” Gaster muttered as he slapped his skull. “Think before you speak.”

“What? It’s fine,” apparently Al said. “Me and Jule are orphan meat too right now. So is Frisk.”

“Frisk?” Was Mina accepting the new name? Sans watched the other boy salute.

“I am not an orphan, I am simply separated from the protection and numbers of my timeline team right now,” apparently Frisk said.

“Did that boy just speak like he was in the army?” Chara looked toward the boy Frisk. “How old are you?”

“Six, Ma’am.”

“This RV is a decent size, but there’s no way we can have everyone in here,” Gaster pointed out. “We’ll have to split into two groups.”

Okay. Just? Okay. Even Sans had a limit. “Sure, yeah. That is Chara, Papyrus’ wife, and those two skelekids are Phal and Angie, your granddaughters, thanks for asking,” Sans said toward Gaster. “You know, those are all family. Family you never met since you-”

“I knew something would go wrong, it was bound to go wrong,” Gaster said again. “I will get to know others soon. I promise, trivialties and discussions and casual talking will come later. Right now, our main concern is staying away from the enemy. They are trying to sacrifice the abnormalities in the timestream now that I brought them out. They quit when I found Mina, but choosing to get rid of children in such a way, I don’t approve of that. I don’t trust them anymore.”

“We were almost burnt to death,” Al said simply as he stood back up. “Then we took a shower. This carpet feels good on da feet, ya know?”

Burnt to death, shower, and carpet. Definite relation. “Good to see you still have some morality, Gas.” Some.

“Bonus points, I was able to return two babies back to where they belonged,” Gaster pointed out. “Before it all sealed up again. The children’s presence won’t be leaving for some time.”

Sans watched Chara pick up Maritime Sans and look at him. Her leg was all wet where he’d been. The kid was manifesting tears everywhere. She was probably trying to figure out how to respond in the best way. “How long before it unseals again?”

“I need to devise a new way, a new back door without a connection to do that,” Gaster told him. “I barely found the fraction of a second I tracked where I could get the babies in. The only reason I saw that give is because our timeline is so far out from the original,” Gaster explained. “However? That second joining meant that the balance between had changed again. Oh, and this is Prince Asriel. You probably know him as the soulless flower sometimes in those stories. Maybe not, I don’t know. Papyrus did marry Chara.”

“I’m just a mechanic,” Asriel muttered. “I shouldn’t be a part of this. I don’t know anyone here.”

Man, this was not good to hear. Not good at all. No wonder Gaster was saying split up. The RV was big. Huge for him, Papyrus, and his nieces. Still not bad with Mina, Abe, Gabe, and Chara. Now there was him, Papyrus, Gaster, Chara, Mina, Abe, Gabe, A nephew, and three other kids. Eleven people. “Can’t split up and read the same stories.” Throw that wrench at Gaster for a little while. He went toward Chara. She was having a hard time figuring out how to act. “Mind if I borrow that?”

Chara was looking at the boy, then back to Sans. “This isn’t how I was planning to give you a nephew.”

Sans chuckled a little at the joke as he lifted the kid off. “Come on.” The skelekid wasn’t saying any words, just weeping on Chara. If it wasn’t so sad, he’d be funny. When he sobbed, he sounded like a squeaky toy.

Sans moved toward the front. Papyrus looked absolutely pissed as he drove. “Hey? So we got Gaster and a whole slew of children from other timelines. This one’s yours. From a war.”

Papyrus’ anger seemed to ebb away as he looked at him. “A son of mine from a different timeline? Why did Gaster do something so wreckless?”

“Elongating our reality, but his team seems to want to kill them now,” Sans said. “Hence, he is here to stay for awhile.”

“Nothing. No sign that he was ever alive after the accident! We totally expected that accident because of all the other times he was shattered!” Papyrus was still upset, but he had to let go of something.

Sans was too. They never bothered one bit about finding Gaster, the creator of the timeline machine, because they really believed he had been shattered. Gaster had used that knowledge and reasoning against them, to skip away and leave them behind. Not tell them anything about the timeline problems coming.

“Hello there.” Papyrus seemed to be easing back into things. “What’s your name?”

The boy was still getting Sans all wet. “Maritime Sans.”

“Well, that’s a very monstery name,” Papyrus complimented him.

Sans hated to do it. He really did. The fact Gaster plucked them from another timeline was one thing, but when Gaster had already studied it so much for that one moment, and found only one moment to return some babies? “Gas yanked them. Gas can’t put them back, easily, and he’s real busy with saving this time.” In short? Probably talking awhile.

Papyrus almost lost control of the RV a second. It really hit him. This other timeline kid was there to stay for awhile. Maybe even permanently. “I . . . see. Could you find out what world he is from for me? He can sit in the passenger seat up here while you do that.”

Sans buckled the little guy in, then went toward Gaster.

“5020,” Gaster said to him. “The others are umm . . . actually, I will go get them with my keywords.” He went toward the back and dallied with the machine.

“Sorry.”

Sans looked toward Mina right next to him.

“I didn’t say anything last time much, I just made out with you,” she muttered. “I don’t get long to do things.”

Heh. “Never need to be sorry about that.” Gaw, she was blushing again. So cute.

“I’m Frisk too,” she said. “The Frisk of the storyline.”

“Figured that out.” Sans tried to lean back kind of cool. “I don’t really mind.”

“I don’t why my name was Mina,” she admitted. “Your name was and is Sans. Papyrus too.”

“Small thing.” Sans didn’t really do a whole lot with others romantically. He didn’t exactly ring charming to many women. He wasn’t even trying for Mina, especially with her being unknown, but one pretty tracking thing later? Try. He sort of danced his fingers toward hers, to see if she’d hold his hand.

She saw his hand and latched to it, with a quirky smile for a second. They both sort of just swung their hands back and forth, until Gaster came back with some papers.

Aw, flirting over. Sans let go and took the papers. 5020 and . . .? “Where’s the rest?”

“Well? Um?” Gaster’s fingers sort of danced around. “You see, all my work was at the lab, and it was less the exact world, and the circumstances that made me grab them. I did remember one.”

Really? “You don’t . . . know . . .where you stole them from?” Was he serious?!

“Look!” Gaster shook his finger at him. “There are so many timelines that follow exactly what each one does, one after another, and these are in groups. Now in these groups, I labeled these differently, more with my own alphabet system because I wanted the timelines that followed events in A to be associated with A, B to go with B, etc. Now, with that system I could see what would happen and I could find the timeline that is just a little bit earlier, and then I yanked.”

Sans just stared at him.

“5020 was easy to remember. Anyhow, one is in the D’s and one is in the F’s,” he said. “I think F 3 . .90 . . . somewhere around there. The other was in the D’s. D 32 or 320 or . . . D 23?”

“Gas. You would know three numbers.” Why didn't he know?

“Well? When the other allies I had at the time knew how it worked, they made it clear we reach in more than once.”

Aw hell! “How many?”

“Doesn't matter. These were spared,” he said. Since I found Frisk. I was nearest to these.”

Okay, done. I can't be Mr. friendly anymore. It was Papyrus’ time. “I really hope you got some big shiny monies,” Sans said to him. “Papyrus already spent his life savings on this whole thing.”

“I have plenty. I am pulling the money for the funding of the research. I can take care of the vehicles, the inventory, supplies, and pay him back his life savings.”

He better be able to do all that. “Kay Pap, your turn.” Done. Sans waited, feeling the RV stop, he held his hands out knowing Papyrus would be depositing his ‘new’ nephew right in his arms as he drug Gaster outside to give him a piece of his mind.

Papyrus yelling, like super yelling didn’t happen much, but when it did, it was never fun.

Gaster deserved it. None of the kids seemed affected too much by the yelling. Maritime Sans was in his hands, so he probably felt safer. He did tighten up the hug more. The six year old Frisk was just standing at attention straighter, Al didn’t move, and the other one seemed to just creep up beside Al.

The squeaker is Papyrus’. Who were these others? None of them are clawing to Mina. They aren’t skeletons either. Aw, shit. Were they that damn Prince Asriel’s? Gas said he was gonna marry him off to Mina. Was that why? I hope not. She’s . . . he looked toward her and caught her looking away. He waited until she looked back toward him. “Hey. Sorry about the yelling.”

“It sounds like Gaster did bad,” Mina said toward him. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s okay. He sucks.” He shrugged. “Then again, he never agreed not to suck. Sorry he got you involved.”

“Well? I got this.” Mina showed him the little device she had. “This is worth way more than me. It’s freedom.”

Freedom. “Nice gifts still don’t make up for what he did. He’s not always . . .” Nah, he wasn’t going to waste his breath. “Hey?” He waved toward the other children. “Could you guys come over here?” Since Gaster didn’t know which world they were from, it’d probably be up to them to figure it out.

Two of them moved. One of them didn’t. The one named Al.

“Yes, Sir.” Frisk was right in front of him first, right next to . . .

“Your name?” Sans asked.

“I am Juleyard!” He said proudly as he pressed his hand to his chest.

“Juleyard and Frisk. So, just wondering? Who are your parents?” Were these more of Papyrus’? The Prince’s?

“I was told that he shattered,” Frisk said. “He was WD Gaster.”

Great. “Hey, other timeline Bro. Nice to meet you.” He looked toward the others. “You?”

“Waldo version of mom.” Al pointed to Mina.

“Our father is also Gaster. We are timeline brothers!” Juleyard said happily.

“Hey, in more ways than one,” Sans greeted them. “Then you two know me after all?” He didn’t sense a lot of recognition.

“You call yourself Uncle Sans,” Juleyard said. “We are getting used to you still.”

Ah. Some mystery solved.

“Mm.”

Sans looked toward Mina. Oh yeah. She was the mom. “It’s okay, Mina. None of them expect anything big from you. Your just a doppelganger to them.” She still didn’t look better.

He went and gave Maritime Sans back to Chara, and came back toward her closer. “Look? It was a version of you, but not you. There’s a difference. Not every you is nice. Not every you is evil. Experiences make us.” There, that seemed to do better. He wiggled his fingers toward her and got her to hold his hand again. “When we get to a more neutral zone, why don’t I get you a new outfit?”

She did more than perk up, she hugged him. She didn’t even say anything, just sort of nibble-kissed on his teeth a couple of times, then laid her head on him.

Well. He couldn’t leave her hanging. He hugged her closer.

“Abe. Your sister kisses skeleton teeth,” Gabe muttered.

Judgmental.

“I mean?” Gabe must have noticed he wasn’t happy with that statement. “Is there something I am missing? Is that making out?”

Oh. “No, but I like it. It's like . . . a nibbly kind of kissing.” He looked back at Mina. “You can do that 24/7 whenever you want. I am an easy going guy.”

She just smiled and kissed his teeth more.

“You guys are sweet,” Chara encouraged them. “Don’t get too sweet.”

Heh. Sans just winked. He knew what Chara was getting at. Her whole life, Mina had been used by others or running, with just a few years of peace between. Chara didn’t know that before, and still thought he could get a relationship with her. So? His actions could greatly influence Mina’s actions. “I’ll take it easy with the Nibble Kisser.”

At least the moment made it easier to stand all the yelling outside. There was a lot of . . . really not good stuff being shared around.

It sounded like it would be reaching it’s climax soon.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Are you done yelling?” Gaster finally asked Papyrus.

“Gee, let me think? Did I cover everything?” Papyrus stuck his bony fingers out and ticked them off one by one. “Pretending you were dead. Not telling us about the inevitable reality burst. Bringing several children, several several children away from their safety, and letting your allies-”

“Used to be allies-”

“Cage them and burn them to death! All but four!” He held his hands up toward him. “Four!”

“They were each on the brink of a death?”

“Trading one death for another, that’s all you did. Not only that? But it’s been so long since you removed the ones left, that even if you found a way, they would end up where again?”

“ . . . okay, I see your point. They needed to be taken at a vulnerable point in the timeline,” Gaster said. “When they are a timeline’s strength, that strength is then added to this one.”

“That is not the point, Gaster!” Papyrus yelled again. “Have you grown stupider? Meaner? What is this with you?! True or false? When the boy Maritime Sans is sent home, he will be sent to his exact location. Meaning?”

Gaster was fidgeting with the hole in his palm. “Looking at it another way, I saved him for now.” Papyrus’ bony eyelid flinched as he waited for an answer. “When he returns, he’ll be ripped into two beings, essentially killing him.”

“And the boy named Frisk?”

“That was not my fault at all, how was I supposed to understand every subtlety? Not every dimension is the same, and that human magic thing was weird.” Gaster shuddered lightly. “He’ll be just fine going back, once I locate everyone else that came with him, but ran off.”

“Seven others.”

“Yes.”

“One of those seven, is the Frisk that stops the bad thing coming.”

“Presumably.”

“And.”

“And. There is a good chance Al and Juleyard will be found in the core. If not, they die. Yes. I get it.”

“Yes. You are so filled with love for your children.” So much sarcasm.

Finally, it was over. Eventually, Papyrus came back inside and took the boy back. “Storytime, Sans. You know which one I want to hear.”

Yep. From this point forward, it didn’t matter how sweet or nice the story had been. The girls already picked up the truth. The humans all knew the truth.

Sans sat down and opened up for World 5020: The world Maritime Sans had been from.

World 5020

"No, no. 1/4 plus 1/4 equals what?" Papyrus said at the table as he tried to teach his youngest son, Maritime Sans, fractions. Of all his children, he was the one born more with his mother's human wits. He looked over toward Sans, his brother, relaxing at the table eating steak. "Try this one then. Half of your Uncle Sans' steak is gone."

Maritime Sans looked toward him.

"And about another quarter disappears in a few minutes," Sans said. "Seconds." He bit into his steak. "Yep, it's gone."

"Sans!" Maritime's father scolded him. "Maritime struggles in the math department, you should have only eaten 1/4. That just confused him."

Maritime shrugged while his older brothers, Tempus and Perpetua came in the room.

"No, it didn't," Tempus said. "Uncle Sans plus steak equals zero very fast." He chuckled. "Uncle Sans should be used to teach about time and velocity."

"Hey yeah, I could be a lesson for your kid," Sans agreed. Great excuse for extra food. "I'll get more steak."

"No, no," Papyrus said to Sans, knowing what he wanted to try. He went back to trying to teach his son.

Skeletons were priviledged monsters, they were naturally born with a higher intellect. Sans was smarter than he let on, Papyrus was smart, Tempus and Perpetua were smart guys, and Gaster was so genius he was famous among monsters. There was also something that infringed upon the ability to think though. Cross breeding. It didn't happen very often, but Papyrus' passed wife was a human. While Tempus and Perpetua had some human traits, Maritime Sans was the one who held the most. He even had a nickname that they all used to call him more often, when Chora, Papyrus' wife was still alive. Marty.

A more human name. Maritime liked the comparison while his mother was alive, but with her gone, everything just went down further for the kid. Tempus and Perpetua seemed to deal with it okay, but they were older. They were in college, and not even living there anymore, just visiting for break. Papyrus dealt with it too, in his own way. They all dealt with it everyday, because her soul was still there with them. Right behind Maritime.

Sans warned his brother once that keeping his wife's soul while she was technically dead wasn't a good idea for anyone, but he wouldn't move it away. He just let it be, saying she would leave if and when she's ready. But a whole year later now, and Chora's soul was still there. He watched as Papyrus sighed exhaustively, getting tired of Maritime's lack of understanding, and moved over toward the  soul's glass.

"Good morning, Choramanda," Papyrus said. "Do you want to leave today?" He opened the glass casing and gave it a full minute before closing it again. It was a ritual by now each morning for him to do that. "Okay then." He closed it back up, and then went back to sitting down again. "Tempus Sans, don't forget to get some breakfast."

School. That was something else wrong with his youngest nephew. He was below average level of understanding for an eight year old skeleton. Until his grades raised again, Papyrus and Sans were teaching him at home. It was seriously time to talk to Papyrus again about Chora's soul. Until it was gone, he had a feeling Maritime just wouldn't get better.

While he was thinking about what he'd say though, Gaster showed up in the kitchen. Waves of nerves were coming off of him. Sans didn't even bother asking, every skeleton there could feel it. "What did you do?"

"Why do you have to start with it like I'm the one responsible for everything?" Gaster said as he grabbed some food. "Have you heard from Alphys?"

"Why are you asking about her?" Papyrus asked. "Sit down," he said firmly. "Take a load off. Eat. Relax."

"Yeah. Relax," Sans continued also firmly. "If you don't have anything to hide."

"I don't have anything to hide," Gaster answered back. "I just, I must go away for a few days. Some corrections needed to a problem. Good luck everyone." Gaster grabbed some of the snacks on the table, lingered on Chora's soul briefly and then went on his way.

That was another reason Papyrus had to do something. Not only was it affecting the kids, it was affecting Gaster. When they were slightly younger, Papyrus and him lost their mom who was Gaster's sister. Gaster and his human, Chora, came to live with them since Skeletons liked to live with family. It worked out great. Gaster had time to make inventions, and his human wasn't lonely with Sans and Papyrus. But then . . . it was more than just a friendship with Papyrus. It was subtle at first, he simply added onto her original name for a nickname, saying Chora wasn't nearly sweet enough for her. But after that, things just escalated.

Gaster and Chora were technically never married in a ceremonial monster way because they never had children. He simply owned her. Sans never got the details, nor did he want them. However, Papyrus and Chora got along so well that they accidentally produced Tempus Sans, making Chora Papyrus' wife.

World 5,236

“Instead of nieces, I had nephews,” Sans had to interrupt himself. Yep, that’s why Gaster was driving. “Fun facts for all.”

“Are we saying . . . that Gaster guy and . . . ?” Chara didn’t know how to phrase it. At least, not in front of all these kids.

“I would not have messed around without reason,” Papyrus phrased it. “Even another me would never do that. Don’t think about it.”

Still, Sans saw her grab onto Papyrus’ arm. He got back to reading.

"I thought Gaster was dad not another Uncle?" One of the littlest guys got confused again. 

Oh. "Well? Uh? It's different for you humans," Sans tried to explain. "See, uh? We know right away because of the soul's progression when it's in the tummy, the relation. When the soul of a baby leaves the tummy? You can still tell what kind of monster they are."

"Relation is trickier. There is no blood testing whosifa stuff for it with them, Marty," Chara answered him. "They usually consider him their Uncle. Gaster might be a distant relavive. He could honestly be their dad. They got a confusing family line."

"But skeletons are skeletons, and are always welcome with other skeletons," Papyrus told him.

"Then, how did you know that Chara had Papyrus' and not Gasters, Sir?" the little Frisk asked.

Oooooh . . .

"We just know," Papyrus said to the boy.

"Sorry, Sir, but that is a circular response," Frisk called him out. 

"We can tell when the baby is still in the mommy," Sans tried for Papyrus. "Just not after. As easy."

"Then where was Gaster? Did he not meet potential fathers until after he was born?"

Oh man. 

"Since we don't have like those fancy dna tests, sometimes mothers like to make sure of things," Papyrus tried again. "Souls are tricky to identify."

"It's a good countermeasure to hide identity? I see," Frisk agreed. "Sorry for the disturbance. You may continue, Sans the Skeleton."

Thank goodness. Sans really didn't want to get into that conversation. 

World 5020

Gaster. After that, he really pulled himself into his inventions. Even all those years later, Gaster was still more involved with inventions and creations than just living.

Chora passing on hit Gaster hard too. It was hard for Sans to even see his old Uncle at the table in time to eat anymore. "Papyrus, we need to have a talk."

"Later, Sans. I have to get some work done first," Papyrus said. "Can you take over the lesson for Maritime? I'm sure you know where we are at."

"Yeah, better get going to." Tempus Sans nodded toward Perpetua. "Only so long for break. Come on."

"Yeah, no problem." Sans watched Tempus and Perpetua take off too. He was all alone with Papryus' only young kid now. He came over with a chair to Maritime Sans.

"What page do we start on?" Maritime asked.

"I don't know, Marty. You tell me." Sans called him by his nickname. Maritime didn't need math lessons. He needed life lessons.

"I don't know either," Maritime said as he looked at the pages. "I hate fractions."

"Life's not always about whole," Sans said. "If you don't get your fractions down soon, Marty, life's gonna get tougher. You get fractions down and maybe you'll even get into a regular school again," he said, trying to urge him on. "You just, you got too much going on in your skull," his Uncle Sans said. "Too much emotional cobwebbing up there. If you get yourself under better control there, I bet that intellect will finally shine through. Until then, at least you can still be a smart alec."

Emotional cobwebbing. "Um."

"I know that's not the words I should have used," Sans said, "but I see it as I see it. I know you miss your mom. It's been almost a year though, and you still got a lot of grief dwelling in your eye sockets. You need to find a way to deal with it like everyone else."

" . . . yeah." Maritime Sans' eye sockets glanced back at the soul.

"Grieve," Sans warned him. "That soul isn't going to get up and talk to you. It's not going to hug you 'cause your blue. It's just a soul. More of a tombstone. It's not your mom. She's gone." Okay, that was probably too hard. "You are my family, so I'm telling you for your own sake." He got up. "Your birthday's in a couple of months. Almost nine now. Whatcha want for it?" He decided to change the subject to something a little kinder. He couldn't get any further without Papyrus.

Maritime became shy. "I don't know."

"Well, think about it later than." Sans moved past him, slightly noogying his skull as he passed. Papyrus would be back soon, and then he could take over with- The? Ooh. Chora's soul was gone? Did Gaster just take it? 

"Sans, terribly horrible news!" Papyrus said running into the room. "Come. Now."

Sans followed him making sure Maritime wasn't tagging along. It sounded serious.

Maritime Sans had no idea how much his world would change after that. His brothers watched over him as their Dad and Uncles all left. They had been gone for days so far, but now they had other things to worry about.

"I can't find dad," Perpetua said as he grabbed Maritime from his coloring book and crayons at the table. "Uncle Sans. Uncle Gaster. They are gone."

"I can't feel their signature," Tempus Sans said. "They are far, real far away." He looked out the window. "A lot of monsters are on the move. I don't understand. Where's the Royal Guard? Dad said if anything happened- aah!" He looked away from the window. "There's battle out there! We should hide!"

"Hide where?" Maritime Sans asked. He felt himself being picked up and carried to a pod.

"Uncle Gaster makes these things ultra secure," Tempus said to Maritime. "You stay in here while your big brothers figure this out." Tempus sealed him in the strange green glass container. "Okay, let's find one for us two. We can hide and discuss strategy."

"Where's Undyne?" Perpetua asked again. "She needs to trigger the defense on the kingdom."

"I think that was before the whole battle in the kingdom, it probably surprised them," Tempus said. "Trust me, don't look out the window! Come on, we'll find something to-"

"Wait!" Perpetua went over to the machine they had placed Maritime in. "Oh no, he's gone!"

"Teleported?" Tempus came over to check it out, but stopped. Frozen. "I feel weird." He looked at his skeletal hand. It seemed to thump energy. "Perpetua?" That wasn't good. That was never good.

World 5,236

Thumping energy? That would never end well.

“That’s why you kept focusing on fractions,” one of the littler guys said to Maritime Sans.

“I’m not alone in not knowing fractions,” Maritime Sans finally spoke. “Mina doesn’t know them well.”

“I don’t,” Mina agreed. “You are never alone there. I can read though, I was taught to read. They thought I should be able to do that.”

Eesh. Sans closed the book on that one. “Our Gaster helped correct the dimension actually shattering into pieces for the kid. If he does get back, his world is in war, the versions of us are underground, but not shattered. I guess.” Yeah, right. Not happening.

Chara took Maritime Sans right out of Papyrus’ hands.  “Marty. Marty fits.” She held him closer. “Can I call you Marty?"

"Yes! You . . . uh . . . my mother always did," he said softly."

"Okay. You stay here. I need to talk to Papyrus.” She sat him over by Phal and Angie. "Funny Bones?" She definitely choked, but tried to hide it. "We need to talk now."

"Yes." Papyrus agreed. “Sans? Could you take him one more time?” His voice was weaker.

“Cool.” Sans went over and picked up the little squeaker again. It didn’t take real long before they came back out. Chara had cried a little but she kept putting on a brave face. Papyrus was starting to look better now.

Chara took him from Sans first. “Look at that, you did get a new nephew on the trip after all, Sans. How’d I do? He half as cute?”

“I like Squeaker,” Sans kidded back. “Hope he likes sisters.” Yeah, there was no way Papyrus would be sending him back just to get killed and ripped into two.

From the way that yelling went with Gaster, it seemed like none of these kids would be candidates for going back real fast.

How? How did Gaster ever mess up this bad?

“So, Marty?” Chara asked him. “This is home now. Is that okay with you?”

“Permanently?” he asked. “What about the others?”

“They will all be fine,” Papyrus told him. “Your Uncles are going to be fine, but they’ll live a different life now. They can't get back to you. Neither will your brothers. Not that they meant anything to happen, but they can't help you either. So? You are . . . okay to stay. But? This world is different. Things are very different from there. I’m not going to be the exact same as you know, although . . . probably close. Most versions tend to be very close.”

Gaster left the front. Made sense, the RV stopped. He threw a few notes to Sans.

Sans read them. He gave him some basic cliffnotes about the 5020 world. There was a lot to digest. Then he had the notes for World 5000.

5000 had shattered into pieces. What they thought were timelines, was just their shattered timeline? Crap! In 5000, Maritime grew up and had been eliminating Gaster from the other worlds and messing with Frisks and Charas. Yeesh. It was bad, all around, just because the pod he was in was actually supposed to tear him into two uneven people? “Gas, can’t you just create something that is not world ending? Like, ever?” Damn him.

“I just did. When I grabbed him, I fixed the problems of his world,” he insisted. “Most of them. The big ones. The shattering one.”

Ugh. “What about this other timeline that’s shattered right now?”

“If this reality continues to survive, then maybe one day I can create another way to visit that messed up dimension and help. I mean things are bad enough with bad connections, but that one is shattered in itself, it will take time. He will probably be old enough by then to actually help with the whole thing. If he wanted to.”

Yeah. No kidding.

“I don’t think he could do much. He is like Papyrus though, so maybe he could visit just a section of one, and . . . somehow help just a section and be fine with that? I don’t know,” Gaster muttered. “I can’t get into other projects right now, I have to save this reality.”

Uh huh. Sans watched Phal and Angie meeting Maritime Sans as their new brother. Cracked into two, went insane, split dimension tests. Gaster inadvertently did a good thing. He’d go over it better with Papyrus later.

Most likely, this wouldn’t be ‘temporary’. “Papyrus doesn’t need to know that storytime, Gas. Neither does Maritime.” Not yet. Not until he was older at least. Sans glanced to the side and saw Mina looking in the distance. Looked like she was eavesdropping a bit though. It was just an RV, but nobody else noticed his conversation with Gaster since everyone was more focused on the meeting in front of them.

Mina hadn’t been focused on the kids’ meeting. “I gots a new nephew,” he said to her. He pointed him out. “Cute little squeaker created and ruined future shattered lives.” Maritime Sans just looked at him oddly, overhearing him. “Just a joke, Kid.” No joke, but he couldn’t blame him.

“Hi, Marty,” Mina said. “Do you like that name again?”

“I have her back,” he said.

Boy, this kid could not stop crying. “New Neph? Definitely see a lot of Pap in you. You’ll have to reign that in with your sisters, or Phal and Angie will have you doing their bidding.”

“You are a lot like Uncle Sans,” he just said.

“Probably.” Sans watched as Asriel seemed to be going in a different direction. He was standing right in front of Gaster.

“We should get riding back on the road again,” Gaster insisted. He went toward the front. Asriel followed.

Asriel moved toward the passenger seat.

“I don’t need anyone riding up here with me,” Gaster told him.

Asriel just glared at him. “My Flowery ass you don’t.”

Gaster glanced back toward him as he started to turn left. “Yes, I had a feeling.”

“I am very good at sensing the gap between good and evil,” Asriel told him. He kept his voice lowered. “In other words? I am very good at detecting lies.”

Gaster kept turning left.

“Skullhead, there’s no way someone who risked their life to run with us, would choose absolute strangers to work with over Sans and Papyrus. If someone did, they wouldn’t showcase work that would get children killed. It’s obvious you aren’t bad. So what are you hiding?”

Gaster kept turning left.

“You said that I have to share half my soul with Frisk,” Asriel uttered even lower. “That wasn’t how things were left.”

Gaster kept turning left.

“Fine. I guess I have my own storytimes to catch up with,” he admitted.

“Everyone gets storytime.” Gaster finally spoke as he kept turning left. “I? I would like some storytime myself. Someone must drive though. We must get further and further away. We are so many, but no one can be left behind. We will have to split. We have to read a story, before we split.”

“Or you could tell them something?”

“I can’t explain anything, without explaining other things and I?” Gaster finished turning left. “I’d rather they be angry at me, then reveal the truth that bluntly.”

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Sans sat down with his book. “I should make this into a credible profession, look how my audience grew,” he joked. Everyone was there to listen except for that guy Asriel and Gaster. They were all mostly sitting and paying attention. “I gotta finish off the first story. Time to see if that me and that Frisk ended up okay.”

He noticed Mina being almost as close as his nieces this time. No doubt she wanted to know about her other self now too.

World 59

'Sans?'

Sans opened his eye sockets and saw Gaster. 'Spring Clean Queen. Clean Spring Queen.'

'Sans, it's okay.' Gaster helped him up. 'Frisk will be okay now.'

Sans knew there was something he couldn't forget. 'Spring Clean Queen.' Sans wiped his skull on his arm sleeve. He was manifesting tears and didn't know how. 'I was . . .'

'A long distance away,' Gaster finished for him. 'Frisk will be okay now. Tell me what you see in your mind before you go? Anything besides Spring Clean Queen?'

'I was . . . several . . . I was . . .' Everyone. Every Sans in so many dimensions all touched the sliver and they went to a world. A new timeline they had ever seen. 'Queen Toriel. Prince Asgore. Prince Sans. Frisk pregnant.' 

'Oh. Sorry,' Gaster apologized. 'You are one that isn't happy with that one?'

' . . . I just told her it was fine. She laughed.' Sans didn't know what to do. 'I liked her laugh. She felt good being carefree.' This would ruin everything.

'Sans. I? Uh . . . I'm not quite caught up on everything in every time,' Gaster warned him.

'Yeah. You probably feel funky.' He could join the crowd. 'It's great you found a way back. I got married today, I saved her life, um, I made her laugh, and now I screwed up again. She doesn't want a soul science baby.'

' . . . okay. I still don't know which one. Too many things going on. I have to get used to permanency. Permanent facts, this is my time now,' Gaster remarked. 'What matters is you didn't marry Frisk out of love, and she won't feel good when she finds out about a baby.'

'I barely even knew her,' Sans said even more clearer. 'Barely knew her first name. I knew she was a good kid as a kid. That's it, that was all. I didn't even speak her language, Tori was nice enough to show me how to communicate with her.'

'Getting married with all of this on you too. Okay.' Gaster sighed. ' . . . delay. Is there a flower prince here?'

'Flowey?' Sans asked. 'You want Flowey?'

'Do you think that you could um. Get Frisk to warm up to you in six months to get pregnant and have a baby?' Gaster asked.

'Six months is definitely longer than no time at all,' Sans supposed. 'I don't really know. She'll do what it takes.'

'Well, if we gave an eency weencie little lie, uh? Then, you could take six months to get to know your wife,' Gaster said. 'World saved, and you two could feel better.'

Why would he care so much about that? 'What have you been doing?' Sans asked suspiciously. 'You aren't this nice on accident. Maybe you'd be a little nicer to the human since she freed the kingdom, but you are never this nice. Giving me six months to warm up to her? What kind of hell have you been a part of?'

Gaster scoffed. 'I'm not completely mean. I just . . . I'm not the exact same,' he tried to explain. 'Different Gasters are a little different in the timelines. A little more good or a little more bad. My bad ones are maybe doing something really bad. Maybe? I don't know, I can't fix anything anyhow, and I had thoughts before I was put back together.'

'Back together.' That too. 'This um, Skrit and Mina. He mixed his soul with all Sans.' Sans looked at his bony hand. 'He wanted to save every good and bad Frisk. Mina was his wife, but also Frisk. Glitter.' Yeah, that word. 'Gaster said the soul was fragile now for Frisk. It was like Glitter.'

'All mixed up. Yes, I know that strange feeling,' Gaster admitted. 'Imagine being all 100 and then all mixed up. Probably tried to fix memories. Hopefully.'

'Yeah,' Sans agreed. 'I gotta go see her. Six months?' He asked Gaster. 'Lie for six months?'

'Not really, well sort of?' Gaster reckoned. 'Frisk knows it's Queen Toriel who needs to be pregnant. The queen will want to delay as much as possible. I will promise to fix her little prince back up into the cute little goat he should be.'

'Wow, Gas, how you weren't here but you knew stuff still is spooky,' Sans said, not really caring about how blunt that had been. 'You going to be okay?'

'Yes. Just, must get used to permanence,' he said again. 'Anyway, I will fix the boy, and then the queen will bear Asgore's child. We'll go with 'she needs to have it born before there is an affect' if she gets too jumpy. There is your time.'

'Time with Frisk.' Sans understood. 'Yeah, I like that lie.' He had no problem with lying, he wasn't perfect. Frisk was the one who was perfect. 'Yeah, I could be a lying piece of shit for that, great idea.' No problem. 'I'll be a little distrusted.' Eh, he was already distrusted.

'You're already distrusted,' Gaster pointed out. 

'Yeah, that's a great thing for once,' he chuckled. 'Uh? So. I probably need to do this in the right way to get Frisk ready in six months to be more than a fake wife, right?' Sans asked.

'Uh? Yes.' Gaster looked at him. 'What?'

'Don't you got any tips?' Sans asked. "I'm not the dating type."

'I'm not either,' Gaster reminded him.

'Well, shit then, still screwed.' Aye.

'Oh, just say that most likely the effect is only the queen since that's what you see,' Gaster said. 'Don't say it will never happen. That way, she'll have some time to prepare.'

Eh. 'Guess that's all I got.'

'I don't know. I don't know girls, Sans,' Gaster said again. 'Um?'

Um. 'Dating?' Sans asked. 'Should I like try that? She might go with that since it's not a hundred percent, right?'

Gaster just sort of stared at him. ' . . . am I supposed to yes or no? I don't know about that, Sans. I know timelines and science, not frivolity like dating.'

Sans sighed. 'Okay. I guess, set up dates then. And? She's got like some of the Mina in her. That should make it easier?' Once again, looking at Gaster gave him nothing in return. 'Okay, we will go with that.'

'She is your wife, she would probably be okay with dating you,' Gaster said unhelpfully. 

Technically? 'Yeah. You suck even worse at this then I do,' Sans told him, also unhelpfully. 'I better get going. Good luck on finding a place to stay, the lab belongs to Alphys now. Bye.'

'Sans!'

Sans didn't leave yet when he heard Gaster call to him. 'What?'

'Uh? I was a little helpful.' Gaster took his bony fingers and started fidgeting them together. 'So if anything actually finds a way to come through and starts killing anyone, don't be too mad? I can't stop other things outside my timeline.'

Ohhhh, yah. Now him being nicer made sense. 'Evil creature coming through killing people?'

'Yes, but I know that Frisk can defeat it easily,' Gaster told him. 'One swipe and dead.'

Heh. Well. 'This Frisk is the pacifist one. She'll probably want to die before she kills.'

'Oh. Yes, well? Maybe that can come up in conversation between you two sometime?'

Great. 'Woo wife for sex. Woo wife to kill. Which do I start with first? Either way, I suck at wooing.'

'Sorry, Sans.' At least Gaster sounded genuine. 'Can I sleep on your couch tonight?'

World 5,236

Sans stopped to glance toward Papryus. He also looked toward the front curtains where Gaster would be driving. Gaster was kind of weird in the story. Was theirs . . .? Nah, I’m thinking too hard. There’d be no reason. He’s an ass, plain and simple. Probably being extra nice in the story because of whatever bad thing was coming. Which, might be what Papyrus had really been more scared of.

Hmm. He continued reading. 

-----------------------

World 59

Sans and Frisk's Room

Sans went back and saw Frisk in the room. Solid. Again. She didn't appear to be moving, she was just rubbing her tummy.

"I feel like I ate something that made me so sick." Frisk glanced toward him. "Do you know if I ate anything?"

"Nah. It's probably marrying a skeleton and getting dragged to a kingdom to rule it all on an average day," Sans teased her.

Frisk tried to shake the feeling. "At least I'm not Tori. We probably shouldn't delay on telling her."

"About that?" Sans needed to nip this quick. "There is a lot of discrepancy pointing toward Tori and Asgore. Uh, but there's like a tiny chance it's not quite cemented for us?"

Frisk just stared at him. "We still have to have a kid?"

"We'll know more as time goes by, but it's like, not real high?" Sans lied. "So. I mean, we are married anyway." How to do this? "You did just lose your boyfriend anyhow, so maybe we should go on a few dates?"

Frisk just gave him an annoyed look. Sans could see she was annoyed, angry, frustrated, and searching for answers. "You aren't lying about the chances at all? They are small, Sans?"

"Yeah, of course." Great thing about being a skeleton. Best poker face ever. "I figured dating would be a good way to get to know each other. I mean, we are kind of married now, no matter what."

"Yeah, no divorce here." Her voice held a tinge of melancholy. "For the world." She sighed. "Sorry. The dating is a catch, just in case, isn't it?" she asked him. "Easier to get with each other if we'd been dating I guess."

"Better to just get to know each other overall with a lot less stress too," Sans added. "Whether or not that small chance comes true, we are married. You do want to kidnap me a year from now if you don't like it here. So, maybe give this a shot?"

Frisk didn't look anymore excited. "I wanted to talk to you more about that kind of thing. I didn't want to do it tonight," she said, "but it was important. There are ways to keep a monster safe out there in my world," she answered. "I'm not familiar with the techniques and it's real risky without knowing what you are doing. With it though? I mean, I could be out there, and so could you. No stress about being hit. You could even bring Papyrus, and live in your own home. I could live beside you?"

" . . . yeah . . ." Sans didn't quite know how to finish that. " . . . no . . ."

"Yeah . . . a baby would break that plan," Frisk groaned. "But it is a small chance, and by the time we know whether we have to or not, the year would be up."

"Yeah . . . naw," Sans said a little more strongly. Live right beside me and Papyrus? Give us our own lives, not really be a run away from a husband, a technicality. 

"Does it fall in the realm of cheating?" Frisk asked. "It's not like I'll date or anything."

"Pretty much."

"Then I guess we could still live together?" Frisk suggested. "I don't date, and we still live together."

Masterful plan, human. If they had something like that, what an option. "Dates. We aren't out of the woods just yet."

------------

'Right. No making contingency plans on my wedding night,' Frisk agreed. 'I didn't think I'd ever think that.'

'Wedding night?' Sans asked as he got in the bed.

Oh yeah. He'd been speaking to her in her way, she forgot to put up a blue sign in her head.  "No, saying no making contingency plans," Frisk answered.

Sans started to crack up again. Of course he would, that's why she'd only been thinking it!

"I'm just careful," Frisk said, definitely annoyed. "Do you always have to laugh at me?" Very irritated. "Your huhhuhhuhuhuh's are not charming."

'Heh hehe heh, yeah they are. Automatic, I'm a straight up prince,' he laughed.

Frisk folded her arms together. 'Not everything is charming just because you are considered a prince.' Then, she covered up her nose. "Sans!"

"I give an air of elegance now."

"Oh gaw!" Frisk looked away, her voice nasally now that she was pinching her nose. "How even?!"

"Already told ya. Speak without voice. Walks without muscle. Farts without butt. It's good to be a skeleton." Sans watched her start to back away some from the middle of the bed. "Where are you going, Frisk? Don't you like Prince Charming?"

Frisk reached for the door and opened it. "I have had many battles, but no one tried to kill me through suffocation." She heard him laugh all over again. 'I'm not kidding. You would wake roadkill off the road.'

"Okay, okay. I can control the power, I can turn it down to nonkiller," he said. 

'If he can control the power, then he shouldn't-'

'Nah, no way, it's fun,' Sans said. "Come on, Frisk. I'm still the same idiot you used to know when you were younger. I don't change just because you married me. I am not a ‘fixer-upper’, what you see is what you get.”

Ugh. "I just cleaned the room, but it might have been a waste of time." Frisk got back in the bed. "The smell wasn't from the grime."

"Nah, it still needed cleaned to be like survivable for you," Sans added. "How about that one?"

Frisk glared. 

"Hey, a glare, but you didn't take off? That's about at half power? Got it." Sans winked at her. 

'For the world. I saved the world. I did this for the world.' Frisk glanced back at him. "You could just do it at a different time I'm not here?"

"Hey? You were the one that caused it," Sans blamed her. Then he laughed. "No contingency plan on your wedding night. I felt compelled to respond."

'You weren't even supposed to hear, I just forgot to imagine a blue sign.' He just had to rub it in how different she had been? 

'Nah, it's not a bad thing. I'm glad I heard it.' Sans playfully bumped her in the side. 'I can't super control it, it's like hiccups. You know, if you control how bad your hiccups get. I got excited, my magic got silly.'

Oh. 'So you started hiccuping, in a way, but chose not to get water.' Frisk had a feeling that was close enough.

'Sort of.' Sans shrugged. 'We can go with that. Ends the day on a nicer beat."

Frisk looked away again. 'On purpose or not this time? Like hiccups, Frisk.'

'I'm feeling more comfortable,' Sans offered. "Relief too, Frisk. The wedding is over, probably don't need a kid, world isn't ending, so definite relief."

"I understand," Frisk offered. "Are we ready for bed?"

'I thought you knew?' Sans reminded her. 'I fall asleep anywhere and everywhere. The bed is more for you. Would you rather I sleep standing up in the corner?'

'No, I should get used to this.' "It's fine. If you enjoy something, I won't deny it from you." 'As long as it isn't too bad'.

'Don't get it, I don't care where I sleep? Oh, you mean when I rip one?' Sans chuckled. "You're a strange one, Frisk."

Ugh. She imagined a blue stop sign. 'I am trying to get through this civilly. Does he have to point out how different I am all the time?' 

"Blue stop signs don't always work," Sans told her. "You're too tired to concentrate. I'm glad I heard it though. Um? I like that you're different."

"You keep making fun of it," Frisk pointed out.

"Yeah 'cause you are perfect," Sans told her. "You are the perfect ending Frisk. You brought everyone together, got us to the surface, and even saved the world again. That's cool and all in a hero. Not someone that's gotta hang out with me. Or you know, be married, so."

"Oh." Frisk got it now. 'I feel more human to him when I'm imperfect?'

"You're pretty human all the time," Sans said. "Don't know what that thought means."

"I'm more . . ." What kind of word to use? "Attainable? No, that's not the word." Oh. "Normal? Average?"

"Yeah. When you aren't all superhero, then you're average." Sans nodded. "I'm friends with average people."

'I never get to be thought as average.'

"Everyone is just who they are," Sans answered. "Flowey is a crazy flower. Papyrus is a cool bro. You're obsessed with determination so much it's funny. I like jokes and farting. We are who we are."

Hm. "I will try to be more average."

"Don't do that, you being overdetermined makes things funny as hell." Sans poked her shoulder. "So you want me to sleep in the corner?"

"No, I think that's rude," Frisk admitted. "Even if it doesn't matter to you, it does to me. You should be allowed to sleep in your own bed." Ugh. "You can do whatever you want in this bed, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone."

Sans had such a weird look on his skull. "Kay? I guess, I can share the bed, Frisk. Just don't get any ideas in your head about stealing a kiss from me while I'm sleeping."

Frisk dropped her head a little. "I will try to control myself?" How was she supposed to answer?

"Joke, Frisk," Sans corrected her. "I got no lips." He leaned against her slightly. "It don't mean I can't, but you aren't going to be able to steal a kiss that easy."

"I'm not going to try to do that?" Was he still joking?

"Good. I need some wooing with some dates first. Marriage isn't a free ride to get me you know," Sans warned her.

'You aren't that much of a catch.' Frisk couldn't help herself. "Sorry, but I'm not that into catching you."

"Your mom and your dad have so much determination to beat each other, it's funny," Sans said to her. "They were made with soul science too, huh?" He winked. "You're my wife. If we are fine, that's great, but if you ever want kids? Then I'm screwed. Literally, because you won't take another way. If that day comes, then I will be a catch. Won't I?"

'Clever.' "I can't predict the future. Why would I be wanting children though? What if you do instead?"

"Me?" Oh, now he finally didn't seem so chilled. "That's work, I don't like work. Why would I ever want that?"

"Age. Hormones. I don't know," Frisk smiled. "In that case, you know I won't take soul science. You will have to wine and dine me instead."

Sans actually wiggled slightly away. "Okay, let's just agree we are both catches and move on?" He held out his bony hand.

Frisk shook it and heard a farting sound. It was different than before. 

Sans revealed his mini whoopie cushion. 'I don't always got the real thing, but I make do.'

'Whatever makes a person happy.' Frisk went ahead and lied down. She needed to get used to the bed. She needed to get used to where she lived. Above all? She needed to learn to understand her new unexpected husband. She tried to imagine a blue stop sign, but saw she didn't have to.

He didn't get all nestled in. He already fell asleep, Z's coming from him as he was still sitting upward in the bed.

'He likes jokes. He likes farts. He loves his brother. He cares for his kingdom and family.' Sans was a decent person. She would need to learn and understand him to get through this new challenge.

World 5,236

“I am seeing signs of you being fine with her,” Chara said. “I guess she will be good with that version of you.”

“Ugh.” Phal didn't agree. “He is worse than you Uncle Sans.”

“Oh no, I could-” Wait. New potential girlfriend up front. Not stuck together. Actually near him by choice. Not the time to compete.

Mina just shook her head with the lightest of smiles.

“Yeah, he’s worse. He has problems with kissing. I don't.” To make that clearer. Whatever issues that Sans had with that Frisk? It just wasn't the same with him and Mina.

“The flirting is getting on the edge of annoying,” Papyrus warned him. “Just finish the storytime.”

Aw. “But I always just read one chapter, Pap. Then we break for awhile.”

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Sans, I really just want to hear when the timeline balances, so we can move on,” Papyrus insisted “Reaching the timeline balancing or not balancing, it is the moment I want to reach with each story.”

Well? “We’ll see how far this goes.”

World 59
No.

No.

No.

Frisk was standing there, in a simple red dress. Just their simple first date. So simple. Simple burger and fry at Grillbys. Sans had barely gotten dressed in a nicer outfit. Simple.

Simple.

The sky was a deep dark purple, with lightning starting to strike far away. It looked worse than it had ever before. “It was okay.” It was okay. It was supposed to be okay, wasn't it?

Sans put his bony hand to the top of his skull and seemed to look to the sky too. “That is too wrong for this.” He shook his skull. “Frisk, this is too intense to have everything match except one thing. It gets better the closer we get to the signature. Something's changed.”

Again? “What? What changed now?”

“I don't know.” Sans headed back home, but he went in through his back door. Frisk followed him in.

Underneath was . . . another skeleton.

'Gaster, Frisk, Frisk, Gaster,' Sans introduced them. 'Something changed.'

“Mm.”

Well? 'What changed, Gaster?'

'I don't know, you were the one who broke the machine.' “Hello, Frisk. Nice to meet you, I am Gaster.”

Frisk waved slightly. 'Broken machine? What's going on, Sans?'

'I thought it would help to break the connection.' Sans looked at the pieces of the machine on the floor. 'Something huge changed, the standards must have changed.' His eyes stayed on Gaster. 'You sensed that other yous weren't being so nice. Can you sense anything about a switch caused by a you?'

'A nicer one of me might want to correct some easier signatures to follow.' Gaster stroked his mandible. 'Did you see anything strange when you broke the machine?'

'Not a thing.'

'Well. Then, serves you right for breaking it.'

'It's the end of reality if we don't make things match!' Sans was mad, Frisk could hear the loudness of his thoughts straight at Gaster. 'This isn't just a one kid short kind of thing, the whole of reality is on the verge of collapsing!'

'I wasn't the one who broke it.'

'Gaster, please. Okay? I'm sorry.' Sans went down on his knees. 'I am sorry for yelling. I am sorry for breaking your machine. I just need your genius help one more time to save existence. We can't survive without you.'

Oh, Gaster was one of those guys. Frisk got the hint and also kneeled. “Please, Mister Gaster?” She folded her fingers together. “Please, we can't do this without your brilliant intellect. Don't let our inferiority be our doom.”

Gaster grumbled and went to a bunch of paper readouts. 'If I was somehow trying to make things better on multiple timelines, I would take a signature that was easier for everyone. One without marriage. One without royalty. One without pregnancy.' He kept looking at the readouts. 'If it were simply regular signatures at ground zero, it would have been fine before the marriage, so this change must have happened after it.'

'Regular sigs? You mean, you think Frisk gotta not be married to me anymore?' Sans asked. 'How the hell can that happen? How does a monster lose a wife?'

'It might not be that simple.' Gaster kept looking at the readouts. “It doesn't just change on a whim, I couldn't really just choose and go 'I'd like this one please'. Besides, what about for the others that weren’t single? No, no. There must have been a new connection made when the old connection was lost. That new connection is what we must match.” He stared at his hands. “If fate is to be trusted, I have a feeling it is a dimension where a more evil me is lurking. Wanting to be whole.”

“Damned if we don't try something.” Sans went over and joined him in the readouts. “Which universe?”

'It's not here, I don't think things changed when you were making prints,' Gaster said to him. 'I can sense it though. It was taken as a dead timeline. It never connected. It only connected, to bring some part of me back. To get help. With, Frisk and Asriel. Asriel is a goat. He was a goat without me.'

'The flower?'

'Yes, it was a goat. Frisk was in the home with someone else. Not Asriel. He's important though. Frisk wasn't able to cast reset anymore, she could be killed. Sans protected her for Asriel for Papyrus. I don't know many more details, mostly strange things are hitting my mind about several other timelines right now. Walking around in them. Glitter, like Frisk, like Glitter.'

'Don't fall down in a conscious pit,' Sans warned him. 'Asriel was a goat, not a flower. Frisk couldn't cast reset. These two were heavily on your mind.' Sans looked toward Frisk and then back at Gaster. 'She doesn't have a whole soul over there.'

'Asriel and Frisk were together for most of their lives,' Gaster said. 'That's why Asriel did what he did. Trying to save Frisk and something else for some reason. Trapped. Sans trapped them together. I don't know much more, but Frisk is the one that is on the mind. Heavily on the mind. Heavily . . . Frisk, Frisk, Frisk, Frisk, Frisk.' Gaster was staring at her. 'Your soul has great power, enough to change a flower back into a goat, which should take seven souls. Seven. Frisk, Frisk, Frisk.'

'Hey, okay. So, this is totally going to have to be made legal now.' Sans looked much better. 'Frisk. You were a good wife, but it turns out, we will have to now have that divorce thing.'

'There is a way to do that?'

'It's gotta be signed off by all the royalty,' Sans said. 'Let's go to Toriel, find that flower, split your soul, and get our lives back.'

‘Asriel is more, that won’t work,’ Gaster said to Sans. ‘His soul grew with Frisk. They were together for many years.’ Gaster closed his eyes. ‘It could be too different.’

‘How?’ Sans asked.

“I think Asriel threatened everyone. Frisk was terrible, but Asriel wanted her. He saw her as his princess. I do not know if they married or not.’

World 5,236

Aw, no! Are you kidding? I just found the perfect potential girlfriend. Is that damn prince gonna take her instead? Ugh! Okay, not like it was probably perfect love. Monsters figured out love faster than humans, but it wasn’t even a whole 24 hours since they moved from ally to flirting and skelesmooching.

This. Sucked. Mina was a beautiful soul that just had never been wooed. He didn’t even woo her, he just tracked her, but that misunderstanding started something.

“Sans, you must finish,” Papyrus persuaded him. “Things could be worse.”

“Sit up a little more,” Chara whispered. “Can’t crush a human, Marty.”

“Sorry,” he whispered back. “Straight hugs. I forgot.”

Worse. Well, yeah. Like Papyrus now having a new kid he didn’t know yet. Mina was looking at him with worried eyes too. She didn’t like the sound of it.

But? The reading had to go on.

World 59

Oh no. ‘Am I going from skeleton to goat marriage?’ Frisk asked.

‘Asriel doesn’t age until he loses flower form,’ Gaster said. ‘It would be impossible, he would be like a child.’

‘Fine, whatever,’ Sans said, ‘we’ve got to go with what we can choose to do. Split the soul, and hope to high hell that cures it.’

It wasn’t hard to find the flower, it couldn’t help but put it’s petals into other people’s business. Gossip had reached it, and they were ready to hold it when he popped up.

‘I’m not crazy about this.’ Flowey looked around himself as his petals were grabbed. ‘What is going on?’

‘Feel like making you super powerful.’ Sans gestured for Frisk to come over. ‘Listen, this is kind of tricky. When me and Gaster agree you should let go, let go. We’ll handle the rest.’ Sans held her hand. ‘First, I gotta take all my magic back. Hope you enjoyed riding Air Sans, magic mixed with fun.’

‘Less joking, Sans,’ Gaster warned him.

*

Frisk found herself surrounded by Toriel, Asgore, Flowey, Sans, Gaster, and Papyrus. ‘Is there some kind of scholarship for fastest wedding to divorce? I could use it for college.’

Sans chuckled. ‘Can I get the equivalent in free Grillbys?’

‘There is no reward for such a thing,’ Toriel scolded both of them. ‘Be serious.’

‘Been nothing but serious,’ Frisk said before she could think of a blue sign. ‘Let’s just do this. What do we do? Will my clothes fit again?’

‘Yeah. It was nice to be huge while it lasted.’ Sans grabbed her arm. ‘Sorry about this part again.’

Oh no, not this part. Yep! It hurt as much as last time! She felt the sting , the harder sting, and had it happen all over again with Asgore.

She felt so tender and lied on the ground not wanting to move. Toriel at least tried to heal a little bit. However, the skies? Blue and shining, not a trace of purple.

They did it.

‘Very unorthodox, but it is official. You have no more of Sans’ magic. You are officially divorced and banished royalty.’ Toriel actually smiled at her. ‘That’s okay in this instance I imagine.’

‘Duh.’ Okay. Frisk looked at the flower. Sharing a soul. ‘Just half. What if I do too much?’

‘No worries, Gaster will watch and make sure you don’t put in more than half,’ Sans assured her.

As Frisk carefully shared her soul as careful as possible, she was rewarded with a cute little goat monster on the ground. Also, she felt very weird. Very, very weird. “What do I do now?”

“You can return home. I’m sure we can find you an escort. First though.” Toriel hugged her. “I am so happy this worked out for the two of you.”

“In the fact that it never worked out for us, which works for us.” Sans winked at her.

Over. It was over. ‘That was one crazy journey.’ Frisk looked at her dress. ‘At least I got a new dress out of it.’

Sans came over toward her. ‘Yeah, keep it.’ He gave her a small salute. ‘Be prepared. I kind of like you as a friend now. I might come a knocking for a visit every once in a while.’

Really? ‘Sure, you can visit whenever you like. Just let me know so I can let my roommates know.’

‘But that takes the fun out of the challenge.’

Papyrus watched his smaller big brother once again. He was glad to see Sans hadn’t turned completely away from taking care of Frisk. If another version of him had married a version of her down below, and actually risked becoming royalty to be with her? Then just letting her go to college and never see her again unless she visited would be infinitely stupid. ‘Sans?’ He spoke only to his brother. ‘Good for being smart! She might be someone you want to make your real wife one day.’

‘Wife nothing,’ Sans spoke privately back to him. ‘I ain’t chancing that some other dimensional messed up stuff isn’t going to happen.’

Aww. Papyrus hated hearing that had been what it was, but at least Sans would be visiting Frisk. It could still work out. Maybe his brother would finally get a girlfriend?

 —-

World 5,236

 “The Freaking End.” Sans closed the book. This sucked! Mina was going to be mine. I mean, because of a mistake, but still. He was gonna be good. Gotta quit flirting. Gotta think of her as already married. She’s practically taken now. Sucks! That Sans version? Maybe he did end up getting a Frisk, because the flower was too young as a goat. Marriage wouldn’t be considered a thing that young.

In his world? Asriel was a full blown adult monster!

“Sans?” Papyrus came closer. “Not everything is the same.” He put his bony hand on his bony shoulder. “Traditional isn’t ceremony. Different laws.”

Yeah, but once monsters were bonded traditionally, ceremonial usually happened afterward because the bond was really close! Unless the traditional bond was some kind of punishment, or was forced with someone evil, it usually worked.

If the guy and gal were decent, it worked.

Asriel wasn’t an evil flower hellbent on messing up the world. He was a simple man that apparently was a mechanic. I am screwed.

“There is more that happens, Sans,” Papyrus told him in his funk. “More than Gaster shared with you.”

Oh yeah! He remembered hearing Papyrus yelling about ‘another Frisk’. If they find that other Frisk, he wouldn’t have to give up his Mina!

“Sans? In the other story you stopped when the humans came. There is something . . . more. There is something . . .” He looked back toward Phal and Angie. He looked toward Chara and his new adopted son. “Something else is coming that is big, and we cannot risk losing Mina.” He turned toward Mina. “Mina. I know I have mostly been the driver, so we haven’t had as much of a chance to talk. However, I really need your help. No matter what you start to hear in any of the stories? You must stay. You must. Our lives are going to be dependent on your actions.”

Mina seemed so confused. “I will stay as long as I can.”

“Do your best not to get split up from us,” Papyrus insisted.

“I am determined to stay with you,” Mina said more clearly. “I will do my best. I don’t want anyone to lose their life if I can help it.”

“Good. Thank you. Sans?” Papyrus fidgeted through the timeline papers. “Here.”

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Sans looked at the timeline Papyrus wanted him to read. Of course, back to that one. Most of them hadn’t heard it, just the kids, and they weren’t enjoying it. “I read a chapter to the kids.” At the time, they hadn’t figured out about reality ending yet. Did they remember? “So? I read a chapter of this before, and I don’t want to reread it.” Moving onward is what Papyrus wanted. “I’m going to sum up the first chapter.” He looked toward the girls, then at Mina. Knowing she was Frisk and hearing this now? “Remember, different versions. We don’t judge each other on different versions of ourselves.”

She nodded, but he didn’t know if she fully got that yet. Hopefully, she did.

“First chapter. Frisk destroyed nearly everything Underground. Sans takes care of her Underground, bringing her food to keep her alive. She’s imprisoned. A new human came down and he snagged her to fight him.”

“Oh, bad Frisk story.” Phal seemed to remember now.

“There was also a goat living with her. It ended with the goat approaching Sans, making him promise to watch over his humans, if he reversed everything. That meant, Papyrus would be back. And that is where we left off,” Sans said. “Evil Frisk turning okay, watching human that’s evil, and a goat chilling with her.”

Asriel came from the front. “That goat is me.”

“Yeah. Sure, the goat was named Asriel,” Sans said as he watched Asriel come in. Don’t sit next to Mina. There’s no room. Don’t you dare. He stood next to Chara who was sitting down with Papyrus.

Okay, good. Sans looked at the story. He knew this one was not gonna be a fun one, but it was needed. Papyrus thought it was really needed.

World 10

King Asgore had been awash in joy as he met Asriel. Sans stood over in the corner, not wanting to intrude in the moment. A small part of him wondering if he’d get to experience any of that joy if Papyrus came back.

He watched as King Asgore’s excitement died down when Asriel told him what happened, and that he’d taken the human that massacred about half the kingdom as his wife.

Ooh, and the fuzzy pushover wasn’t happy at all when Asriel wanted a royal decree granting her the right to live just as the monsters did safely below, as well as the new little maniac that just sprung up.

Pretty exciting for a Tuesday.

“I will bring everyone back. I will reverse all of the lives that she had taken,” Asriel insisted to his father. “As well as the lives the boy had taken.”

King Asgore was speechless at first as he hugged his son. “In exchange, you would be gone again.”

“I should be gone,” Asriel insisted to his father. “My time was over a long time ago. I was allowed to grow up, to make a friend, and to have someone special. If I do die, then I’m going a happy monster, Father.”

Sans waited as he watched King Asgore. Something was still funny about the arrangement though. Asriel still felt to Sans like he was hiding something else. What was lie and what was truth?

“The boy could go on a rampage again,” his father countered him. “Even if the human settled down, what if she didn’t take this well? What if someone made her mad?”

“She’s not eight anymore, she’s my wife,” Asriel tried again. “The boy is threatened by Frisk, he can’t beat her. He will one day be considered her son and a part of the Underground. I want them to have freedom.”

Then another shoe dropped. It was really raining shoes today.

“They’ll be too weak, and they won’t have full souls, Father. I don’t know how much damage they can cause, but I know they will be easy to defeat now.”

Killable. The humans would no longer be an immortal, invincible kind down there anymore? Sans propped himself up a little bit. I want Papyrus back. Geez, he felt like he was striking himself, having such impossible hope. Papyrus had been gone for so long.

“Their freedom for everyone’s lives, that’s the deal.” Asriel held a paw to his father. “I don’t know how this will work, but if it does? There’s a good chance when they die, the connection will be broken and the fallen will be dusted again.”

“They will only live as long as the human will live?” King Asgore questioned him.

“Perhaps,” Asriel answered. “I can’t guarantee whether they will have a human’s life span, or if my wife and the boy will inherit the life span of a monster.”

King Asgore nodded. “I will keep her safely in the castle.”

“No.” Asriel pointed to Sans. “She and the boy will be watched by him.”

By me? Asriel was kidding, right? Not the best arrangement. “If Papyrus comes back, there won’t be room.” If. One heavy if. Sans didn’t even want to believe, it was nonsense. Dusted monsters did not come back. Except? He was talking to someone who supposedly died a long time ago who was working with the power of human souls. So. A part of him . . .

“She will sleep on the couch with the boy until it can be figured out,” Asriel commanded of him. “I want them to be close to town. To learn to get along with the residents. I want the festering guilt pulled off. For his brother’s life, Sans promised to take care of them.”

That’s everything he promised? For Papyrus. He’d promise the whole world for Papyrus.

“One can be killed,” King Asgore said to Asriel. “The tie is two, so one could be killed. I imagine that will be tempting.”

“Monsters of today that felt the loss strongly could go after the boy. Those that believe he will break free might go after him.”

“Or they could take revenge on the first human and leave the boy alive safely,” King Asgore said.

That made Asriel mad again. “Which would be wrong because she is the Princess of the Underground! Listen well, Father. I grew up with the human. She was my first friend. My first kiss. My first everything. She is the Princess, and one day when you pass on, she will be queen and the boy will be a prince!” Asriel pointed to his father. “They are your family, and after I am gone, I want you to promise that you will take care of them.” King Asgore didn’t speak up. “Promise me, Father!”

King Asgore crossed his arms. “ . . . I promise.”

Asriel nodded. “To Snowdin then. Make it official.” He watched his father disappear to Waterfall as he walked back over to Sans.

Sans watched him. He wasn’t breaking eye contact.

“My dad hasn’t been king for thousands of years out of luck,” Asriel warned him. “Even if he finds a loophole, make sure she and the boy are safe. Promise me that?”

Oh. Asriel didn’t trust his own dad not to find a loophole to back out of his promise? Yeah, probably smart. “Fine.” He’d play backup guy to loopholes. “What are you hiding though?”

“Hiding?” Asriel asked.

“Yeah. Hiding. For trying to act like your prince charming, you’ve got stuff hiding in your soul. I can feel it,” Sans warned him. “This better work. This better not be a trick.”

“Oh.” Asriel looked toward the ground. “You can feel that.”

Yep, he could. “What is it?”

“It’s not concerning you, but if you feel it, then I should explain. I need you to trust me the most of all.” Asriel took a deep breath. “Frisk is the name of the human you fought. She grew up with me,” Asriel told Sans. “I wasn’t lying. She is my girlfriend and I promised to marry her one day, ceremonially. We care for each other, and having humanity on our throne will be great for the future. But, we are just traditional.”

Ah, no wonder Asriel was harping on about that wife stuff so hard to Asgore. No ceremonial, only traditional? That kind of marrying didn’t count, especially if they did it at a young age. “Lying to protect her?”

“Yeah. And? Uh. There is a chance that the strength I am putting into this, won’t be enough to kill me. It might only weaken me for a time,” Asriel revealed to Sans. “Monsters have really weak souls. I want everyone including Frisk to not think there’s any chance I’m alive.” Asriel looked toward the ground. “I want to know for sure that she’s the one for me?”

Heh, this guy? “Even on the walks, pretty sure she isn’t gonna randomly fall in love.”

“Time changes things. I would be more willing to believe Frisk and Kevin will inherit the monster lifespan instead of backwards,” Asriel warned him. “If we are meant to be, then when I come back for good, I’ll spend that long lifespan with her.”

Yeah, Asriel was right. He needed to share it because Sans needed to know what was weighing down the soul. Besides that, it was actually pretty useless information. If Asriel lived he'd sow some wild seeds before he came back.

“Walk and feed Frisk each day with the boy,” Asriel instructed. “Over time, monsters will know the real her. You can’t just watch snow when they are out, no one can pull her into an encounter. If they do, you need to help. Keep them both safe, Smiley Trashbag. I will give you back your world, if you watch over mine.”

“Pal, even if you can only friggin’ bring Papyrus back, I’d keep my word.”

For Papyrus. If this guy could create a miracle?

Nyahh! Nyah hah ha ha!

He’d promise anything. 

“So he does leave sometimes,” Kevin said to Frisk as he made a move on a board game against her. “The monster Asriel.”

“Just call him Asriel. Yes, sometimes.” He wouldn’t be gone long, he just wanted to move around for a little while. Often where monsters wouldn’t frequent.

“The Skeleton that brings you food?” Kevin asked more questions. “How did you make friends with that monster? I get the Asriel thing, but not him.”

“We are not friends.” She had to correct him there as she made a move. “He brings me food. Keeps me from leaving out of hunger and going out of control.”

“He bagged you though to come and stop me.” Kevin made his own move in the board game. 

“A longshot. To monsters who can’t kill you, you are as good as immortal. I’ve been calmed down for fifteen years. It was worth the long shot.”

“Why didn’t you beat him?” Kevin asked her. “Why’d you stop and let him win?”

“It hurt. Determination runs out. I was tired. It didn’t matter anymore. Take your pick,” Frisk said. “Hour after hour, day after day, and I couldn’t beat him. I quit.”

“But why did you help him to stop me?” Kevin took another turn. 

“He’s fed me for fifteen years, even after killing his little brother. I owed it to him.” Frisk moved her piece.

“I can’t believe you got romantical with one of them,” Kevin said in disgust. “I can’t remember much outside of here, you’re right, but I know that that is wrong. I know something’s wrong. I can feel it. Even with the most sincere smile and words, there is something larger than myself.”

“Larger than yourself.” Oh. She glanced at Kevin. While she didn’t have many memories at first when she came down, she did eventually remember enough to know why she’d been down there. If he was the same way? “Don’t concern yourself with that right now, Kevin.” Then it could be anything. She couldn’t risk telling him about where she’d came from, or where she suspected he might be from.

“I killed a lot of monsters,” Kevin spoke again. “I feel no regret about it. Just regret that I couldn’t finish.”

Yes, he was from where she had been from too. “It’ll die down. You’ll get along with Asriel. As for me and Asriel?” She moved her piece and took his piece. When it came to others, she was supposed to lie. “He’s my husband. I’ve stopped seeing a difference between us a long time ago. A very long time ago. Monsters who have done nothing wrong, deserve the right to speak for their lives.” Her words had picked up his attention more than she had wanted. “They are just like us. Everyone, monster or human, deserves a chance.”

Still. He noticed her words. “If I sneak out and kill monsters again, will you really kill me?”

Yes. Frisk nodded. There was no doubt in her mind she would do that. She wouldn’t want to, but she wouldn’t back down. Asriel had opened her to the truth. They all had the right to live. To show their truest colors before killing them. So far from what she had learned from Asriel, every monster down there deserved to live. 

They caused no trouble. They didn’t hurt each other. They created a society and held a friendship within it. There was no rampaging. It was a structured, well formed society full of good people.

They were misguided and so was she.

So was Kevin, and he would continue that way until more time passed by to accept the truth. An entire lifetime of misunderstood judgments and training wasn’t going to be overturned in a night.

"Frisk."

Frisk turned, hearing Asriel's voice. When she looked toward him, she saw Sans in the background. They were in the back room, why was he there? "Asriel, what's wrong?"

World 5,236

Oh boy. You know? Storytime wasn’t the funnest thing to hear. Never knew what some other version of him was getting up to. Usually it was killing, cursing someone, or it was just up to some tricks.

This is the first time he ever read a timeline where he was technically married to a Frisk. A Frisk. Sans kept giving him subtle clues he didn’t appreciate him, and he didn’t even know his own story yet.

Asriel wasn’t from that world. Whatever guy existed that ran away, he hadn’t been found yet. He took the role to get closer, to find out how to get to the others and save that reality.

But, time. Time didn’t run so exact between timelines. All of these timelines they were reading, it could have been 40 years in the past. 400 years in the past. Some timelines straightened themselves up in seconds a hundred years ago, while others were still unaware, and didn’t even have a Gaster born yet to help fix things.

While others? Over the course of so long, Asriel went through several changes. He had even found how the Skeletons had skipped through timelines, and had stolen that tech for a little while.

Though it stopped for the skeletons, the soulless flower was fine for a time. Except now? The leaky faucet World 36 had sprung? It affected everything.

So many times that he hadn’t known, and that he hadn’t crossed. He could visit now! There was more than 100 timelines. There was more than 1,000. There was probably an infinite amount of different timelines.

He eventually got stuck. Got pulled and found by Gaster for a Frisk that shared part of her power with him. He had to start with mixed feelings between being Flowey and a little goat.

Still. He grew up in that mixture, and then knew eventually the plug would close again. He used the skeleton’s tech to keep going again, to keep running to find a timeline that fit his perfect spot. Why settle for being Underground, or being above but in conflict with humans? Paradise. He had a chance to find a paradise.

And now that so much more had opened up, why settle to just see a few hundred timelines? He crossed and he crossed, knowing the plug was always right behind him. He saw so many things. So many interactions.

He’d seen several weird timelines through the machine where Chara actually ended up with him romantically. He saw one where he was a goat but ended up with some human named Gloria. He saw the craziest one where monsters were enslaved, but humans ruled in their own paradise barrier that even eliminated their mortality. Ah, hah! There were so many crazy times out there.

Yet, he also saw how none of these had others involved in the Underground timelines, until timeline 36 messed up. Now, convergence. Convergence was throwing so many familiar faces always together again.

This timeline didn’t feel like it was collapsing soon, and all the monsters and humans didn’t exactly get along? But it wasn’t that bad. He had stayed for a little while to get a feel for it, then things went awry. How the heck did they even find him?

He was, from what he gathered from Gaster’s yelling, about 5100 timelines away from his original spot. Wow, had he gone a distance.

He really needed to get out. Eventually the plug up of timelines would come and he couldn’t move. The tech he used was Gasters latest, and it was usually stronger than what Sans and Papyrus had. He needed to skedaddle, or this would be home.

He was pretty sure, this Sans didn’t want him hanging around. It was a weird time anyhow. Everybody from so many different timelines riding in an RV together? Al. Juleyard. He’d seen a version of them. The little boy Frisk. Oh yeah, that little conduit. Another weird one. So many could be coming.

Only, his tech was at his home. He had to get out, and get back home. He had no idea how far that was though, not until he saw a legitimate map.

Boy oh boy, Smiley Trashbag could not make it any more clear he didn’t want him too close to Mina. So? He moved up a little bit in the story. Just a bit, little by little.

Just to annoy him. Why shouldn’t he? He’d already saved timelines before, or helped, or whatever.

He noticed Sans’ eye sockets black and buried toward him. Finally noticing him move up.

“Plenty comfy by Chara,” Sans reminded him. “Should probably head back there.”

Asriel watched Mina’s head turn. Such a funny thing. She was similar to the Frisks he knew, but not quite. Mina and Frisk didn’t even look exactly the same, Mina’s tended to have more red in their hair than Frisks did. Mina had brown eyes, while Frisk tended to have green or blue eyes.

It’d be great to know why. Why were the same versions of the same person . . . different? Maybe one of these storytimes would finally explain that.

“Hey, could you mind not just staring into her eyes like that?” Yep, Sans was getting mad.

That made Asriel feel better. He took several steps back again, but threw in a nice wave to her. He just looked at Sans like he did nothing wrong.

“Breaktime, big story,” Sans said as he closed the book, took Mina’s hand and went out the door with her.

Heh heheh. Smiley Trashbag was so predictable. Timeline 5, 50, 5000, or 5 million. He’d always be predictable.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

“Storytime isn’t us,” Mina repeated again after Sans. “I understand. Papyrus warned me about not getting upset. You warned me I’m not them.”

“Right, but you aren’t responsible for anything they do either,” he said to her. “Like? Like I know the last me ended up with Frisk, but he didn’t mean for that to happen. We didn’t have to go that way, and you definitely do not have to go that way with that goat over there.” Strange, it’s like he growled. “Ba-a-a-ad idea.”

Then he joked?

“This Frisk in the story is a killer. She’s hard to understand. Not super good,” Sans tried again. “She’s real far from you.”

“I get it. I can handle storytime,” she promised. “I am who I am. I am not that Frisk. I understand the story so far.” She moved closer to him. “I wasn’t staring into his eyes, I was just wondering how it happened.”

“Well, it just did, but that’s not you. That’s not him. He doesn’t even know you, and you don’t know him,” he reminded her. “He could be anyone. So.”

“I don’t . . .” She didn’t have a single feeling for the goat. She moved closer to him and kissed his teeth again. She didn’t know if that actually was enjoyable for him or not. To her, it felt like a more affectionate pat on him. “I like you.”

Sans gave her a light nod. “I like you too.”

She just smirked at him. “Good because I don’t want a prince.” She hugged him. “I like you.” She could feel him holding her back.

“Just, remember that in storytime,” he warned her. “Sans is gonna be mad, I know it. That’s not me.”

“She isn’t me either,” Mina said once more. “I understand.”

They both went back inside. She took her spot back, and concentrated on Sans as he picked up the book and continued the story again.

Well, almost. The little guy Al had just started snoring. Sans looked around, trying to identify where it was coming from. The kid was so small, he could fit anywhere.

“Hey?” Gabe gestured behind Chara’s chair. “The . . . the little guy is like . . .?”

Huh?

Chara moved toward them and looked. Then laughed. “Okay, smooth move.”

The other little guy Juleyard went over and called out his brother. “Al! What are you doing?”

“Uh? Sleeping?”

Mina moved closer and got a better view. She couldn’t help but smile too. Smart little guy took some stuff out of the travel nettings in the back seat, and fixed it for his little form. As a hammock.

“Oh yeah, plus a hundy, you are def skeleton,” Sans chuckled as he came over too.

Al just looked at everyone. “Dang, this worked fine before.”

“Well, you weren’t snoring before,” Sans told him. “Snoring gives you away. Can’t ever be lazy for too long. Out, Al.”

Al pulled himself out of his hammock. “Yeah, okay, but I call the hammock for the bed tonight.”

“Pretty sure the only ones who fit in there is you and your brother,” Sans said as the little guy crawled from the hammock to the seat that Chara was on. He managed to tumble onto it. “Almost down.”

Chara took him off the seat and put him back on the ground. “Sit down and listen.”

Mina looked at him move over toward his little brother. Strangely, the other young boy from the different timeline than those two had just been standing straight without a sound. All interesting children.

She took her seat again and watched Sans take his. She just had to remember, like everyone kept reminding her, that it was just a story. That Frisk, was not her.

World 10
Hotlands Core

Frisk tried to talk him out of it. What he wanted to do meant certain death! She begged, implored him to change his mind as he stood in Hotlands, near the core. "I didn't give you life again just to have you waste it away!" No amount of her words or actions would stop him. "This will not lead to better things, you are wrong!" Nor should it. "Asriel, you don’t get it. That isn’t the way it works.”

He kept misunderstanding what she was saying. Yes, she was only a young child when she came in, but her years of training was constant and consistent. She understood the capability of souls better than he did, and he couldn’t accomplish it.

He kept thinking she was hysterical, and he wouldn’t give her time to explain.

"I should not even be here anymore." He tried to hold her to calm her down. "I can't take this anymore. I have a shot at giving you a life with some kind of happiness with the boy. I have to take it before I lose my nerve." He held his paw out for the boy.

"Asriel, no," she insisted. He was not listening! Frisk had her whole life of training to understand. "He isn't what he appears to be anymore than I had been. Don’t you understand?" He was not just a random boy. 

"It doesn't matter. He has it. We can do this now."

"There is no guarantee any of us will survive," Frisk warned him.

"You two can share, as you shared with me," he insisted. "It will be okay for the two of you."

Frisk wanted to say more but Sans already had his bony hands on the boy, bringing him over. Damn! Those two monsters there wouldn’t listen to a word she said.

"No matter what, if anything happens, trust Sans. Not my dad." Asriel held his hands out to Frisk. "I love you, and my time being with you? It was worth all the extra torment as a flower. I’ll never regret it." 

Frisk wiped her eyes, knowing Asriel would not change his mind. He wanted to bring back what she stole and unburden what survived of him.

All she could do was make sure some soul stayed with him to alleviate his fears of a dustless death.

She knew how to do that at least.

"Kevin, come here," Asriel commanded. Sans brought Kevin toward Asriel. "Please try and be good or you will die." Kevin nodded. Asriel looked back toward Sans. “Go to where your brother went.”

Sans didn’t say anything, just disappeared.

Snowdin

So many things happened at once. For one, Sans watched as he saw a Woshua suddenly appear from nowhere. A Woshua. The human he kept fed had eliminated that entire species. That meant?

Asriel had done it, he brought someone back. Sans moved over to the icy crossover path that Papyrus once stood on. The fog was thick around it, but he stared out, trying to see his little brother's silhouette. He came closer, trying to pinpoint him just right.

Not asking for much. Just want one thing. Sans already saw someone come back from the dust. It was possible. It had to be possible. If it wasn’t, the hurt would probably be enough to strike his soul down now.

"Where did my battle armor go?"

Sans stood still as he saw it. Fifteen years gone but now his silhouette was clear. His words were clear. The impossible happened.

"Sans, have you seen my battle armor?" Papyrus asked him. Like he had no idea what happened to him. "Sans? Is the freaky human coming yet?"

Sans didn't answer at first. Then, he managed to say something. "It killed you . . . fifteen years ago." 

“Killed?” Papyrus was shaken. “I’m here though.”

“Yeah.” He was there. Papyrus was there again. “I’ve got a skele-ton of news to tell you, The Great Papyrus.”

“Aaah! Do you know how often I hear that one?” Papyrus complained.

He hadn’t heard it in 15 years. Sans hadn’t shared that joke in 15 years. “Pap.”

“Oh? So, you aren’t trying to make a long and senseless jape? I really was killed?” Papyrus looked like he understood that much. “You’re so out of it.” Papyrus felt all over himself. “Do you know where my battle armor went?”

Papyrus. “I don’t know.” Sans took the scarf he had tied around his pelvis for all those years and gave it to him. “Here’s your scarf though.” Papyrus reached for it, taking it from him. It was the only person who could ever take it from him.

“I can hear your bones trembling, Brother.” Papyrus took his scarf and wrapped it around his neck. “It will be okay.” He pressed his bony fist toward his chest. “Papyrus is here once again!”

Asriel. Frisk had loved him so much, but he had moved on his plan too fast. He didn’t listen. He didn’t want to risk the chance that he’d lose anything, before he even knew what was at risk.

Frisk held Kevin close, enjoying the last few minutes of the human contact she would receive. This would end tragically. At least Asriel was able to be dust. I lived a good life as long as I could down here. She would forgive him though, he was just trying his best to protect them in the end.

It was so him.

Kevin watched Asriel and Frisk, and felt something clawing at his soul. Frisk? It felt human. What the heck are you doing?!

Fixing the world, she thought back to him. Don’t be scared. I am just taking a little of your soul. You will be okay.

Heck no! That wasn’t happening. Kevin wasn’t letting her- hey!

You aren’t getting a choice, Kevin. It was the sound of the monster, Asriel. Don’t make this tough. This won’t hurt, but Frisk is helping me to get to your soul. There’s no way you can win against that support.

Damn. What do you want with some of my soul?

We are going to fix this world. What happened, I understand it. I have talked to Frisk extensively about it. It’s not your fault, and we are going to fix this with just my life as a sacrifice. There will be no more worries for you. Okay?

Sure, the monster could die. Kevin really didn’t care. Frisk could die too, he didn’t care. However, he knew he was screwed. A monster and a human soul gaining up against him would be too much.

He felt a strange sensation of loss from himself. They were taking some of his soul. Damn it. Frisk was too strong to fight back against. It wasn’t fair! If he lost it, he’d lose the power he had of reset.

That’d mean that he couldn’t kill all the monsters, which meant . . . it meant something. He just couldn’t remember what.

However, he also knew this wasn’t going to work somehow. Even Frisk seemed to be hanging back from giving a decent amount to the monster. The math maybe? One monster soul and a human soul and another human soul did equal enough power to what the monster wanted. They didn’t even need a monster soul, it was just the conductor to what souls would be helped.

Healers. They were becoming soul healers. Something Kevin remembered. We are restoring the souls. Why aren’t you pulling faster on me, Frisk?

Frisk didn’t answer. She was giving a little more of her own soul to Asriel. Probably trying to save her stupid monster husband.

What a waste. Everything was a waste. It was all just a gigantic-? What’s that? He felt something different from Frisk’s soul. Frisk still didn’t answer. It felt . . . weird. Come on, what is that?

It’s Chara. Her determination latched onto my soul a lot. Frisk finally answered.

She had something attached to her soul? Then there’s no way this would work. This won’t work. You know that. You have to do more before this ever could work.

I do but Asriel wouldn’t listen. I am giving what I can.

It will work! Asriel insisted upon it. Just direct it and don’t worry about leaving me anything, Frisk.

Ugh. Too mushy. Kevin groaned, this wasn’t going to turn out well at all.

At first Frisk was surrounded by no one, but eventually the stronger monsters of the Royal Guard were there. The ones she encountered toward the end before Sans. They were powerful, with attacks ready to shred her.

She was weaker, but she could still defeat them all easily. Yet, Frisk wouldn’t choose that way. Not after all this time living with those mistakes.

She jumped the attacks, trying to keep Kevin safe too. She already knew how it would end, but she wouldn’t give into fate. She had too much determination for that.

“I even stopped fighting you monsters.” Kevin’s eyes were turning red. “I stopped, and you are coming back after me? Is everyone in the whole world a damn monster?”

Damn. Fate. Frisk tried to hold the boy still, but his determination mixed with all of the strength of his current bloodlust wouldn’t let her hold on. “Kevin, if you try and kill, I will have to take you out.”

“I don’t care!” His LOVE mixed with bloodlust was at its maximum now. He broke free of her grip and drew his toy knife.

Frisk grabbed it and held it down. Everything in her would try and stop this fate. I couldn’t hold him close to me, I won’t be able to do it now. Still, she would try. She didn’t want to-

-Asriel didn’t want it-

-He gave them that chance-

-but-

Frisk found herself on the other side of the battlefield of Kevin, once again. “You’re not going to put down the knife?”

“You have only half a soul.” Kevin knew. “I can dust you now.”

“I’m not a monster. I am your friend, the only one in the entire Underground.” Friendship. It probably wouldn’t work, but she would try anything once. “Would you like some candy?”

“Shut up and fight!”

“Do you want hugged?” She was desperate. “Why not tell a funny joke?”

He wasn’t even responding as he tried to attack with his toy knife.

Frisk dodged the knife. One hit and it was over, half her soul was gone. While she was battling Kevin, at least the other monsters were staying away from her. After all, she was doing their dirty work.

“If I could have ended it to save you, I would.” She stood back up, positioning her real knife. “If I let you just kill me though, it would do nothing but end more lives.” She heard him scream ‘I don’t care!’ from the top of his lungs. He was in full bloodlust mode. He didn’t need to be at level 19 if he had gained some of his memories again.

Having LOVE with the painful realization would be too much. Frisk had no choice. Nothing could save him. Perhaps, nothing could have ever saved him. 

Maybe, maybe not. he wasn’t confinable anymore though. He screamed and grabbed his head as he lashed out with his toy knife again. Frisk barely managed to dodge it.

Barely. With only half her soul, she could only be so quick. If only the other part of her soul, what was being shared with him, could have helped. Her soul had been corrupted too though.

The situation was miserable. Asriel had waited until they had a full human’s soul that wasn’t shared. Instead of living and learning to love her and Kevin, he decided to restore the Underground. He sacrificed part of Frisk’s and Kevin’s, but left all of it with them. Frisk managed to spare a little extra for Asriel, so he could be dusted at the end.

What was left was Kevin with most of his soul, and Frisk with a little more than half of hers. Neither of them were capable of resets anymore though.

It was only a matter of time, but it would take sacrifices of many monsters before someone fully took out Kevin. Frisk couldn’t risk it.

She stood up. He lashed out again, but she was ready to talk for real. For the last time. “You are fighting for nothing. Everyone is dead.” It wouldn’t soften his blows, but she would make him hear the truth before the end. “You may have a stronger soul, but I am still LV 19 and I have battled a lot heavier than you. My determination is still greater than yours too, don’t doubt it.”

He didn’t respond. She didn’t expect him to. He was lost now.

“I’m going to kill you now,” she said casually to him. 

Snowdin

Sans found some clothes for his brother. He never messed with Papyrus’ room. Couldn’t bring himself to mess with it, just kept the door locked and ignored it. The battle armor was gone, but Papyrus had some of his normal cool clothes he loved to wear.

Papyrus admired himself. “That’s still a cool outfit because it’s mine.” 

Yep. The coolest. 

“So, I was brought back because a monster did some ritual and sacrificed some human soul?” Papyrus fixed his scarf better. “Very strange. Anything else I should know?”

“Oh. I gotta guard the maniac humans that took your life.” Sans promised that.

“You know what? That’s good!” Papyrus proclaimed. “They changed. Even if they killed me first before they did it, they changed, and that is a good thing. But?” Papyrus looked at him. “If you are here, then who is guarding them?”

Closer. Closer. It took more than one hit now to take out Kevin. Even with a real knife vs. a toy knife. Frisk dodged again. Her tutu was in shreds, but she was still not out. She couldn’t be. She had to take out the boy.

She drew out the real knife again, but watched Kevin shudder. He’d been hit but not by her.

Sans had joined the fight. 

What now? What could Sans be doing there? Asriel destroyed himself, apparently his belief worked and the whole Underground was restored. She was taking care of  Kevin, and then she’d end herself. 

It didn’t call for Sans the freaking Skeleton.

“Stop sneering, Human,” Sans answered back. “I keep promises the best I can.”

Frisk had no idea what he was talking about. She just stared at Kevin. Sans was keeping him bouncing around on his bone magic levels. Did Sans plan on killing Kevin instead? “Leave. He isn’t the same to fight as I had been,” she instructed him.

Sans didn’t listen. He just sicked his Gaster Blasters on the kid, but slower. What was he doing? Like always fighting with Sans, he didn’t want to talk back to her.

Fine. She didn’t need to talk to him, she needed to talk to Kevin. “You’re doomed to die. Don’t make it harder on your soul, Kevin.”

“I have nothing left and I won’t lose to a monster!” Kevin screamed as he tried to lash out toward Sans.

Sans moved, but it almost caught him by surprise. Of course it did, Kevin was different than her in the fighting. The memories had loosened within him.

“Fight me!” Frisk insisted to Kevin. “It wasn’t the monsters that hurt you. Lash out at what hurt you. What hurt them.” She’d known why he’d been brought down. She wanted to believe it was an accident, but of course it wasn’t. She dropped her voice to a whisper, but with a threat. Like they used to talk to them. “Why fight another ugly monster when you could take out a wretched human?”

Kevin stared at her. He didn’t react at first. “Your . . . ?”

His mind should be so deeply ingested in LOVE. It should work. “I’m going to kill you just like I did to everyone else. You failed,” she threatened him with the knife. “You failed.”

“I didn’t!”

“You did, I killed everyone, and what are you going to do about it? You can’t change anything,” she pushed him on. “You can’t do anything. Wrongly chosen. I’m embarrassed.”

“Well, I can kill you!”

Then do it. She watched him try to start fighting her instead of Sans again. His emotions poured from his soul. He lashed out and cried and yelled with all of his might. Good. It was risky what she was trying, but if she reversed the LOVE inside of him from wanting to go after monsters instead to humans, he shouldn’t want to hurt anyone but her and after she was gone, then he’d-

She heard the ear piercing scream from Kevin as he fell to the ground. Immense pain? She looked toward his leg. Oh.

“Not immortal anymore.” Sans moved over to the kid. Frisk thought he would end Kevin, but he picked him up and disappeared.

Frisk stared at the ground. The whole time Underground, monsters just aimed for the soul. Also, human souls were strong and invincible to monsters, so anything else besides the soul wouldn’t be vulnerable. 

Less than a full soul though? Frisk stared at the severed leg on the floor. Human meat was mincemeat.

What would happen now?

--------------------------

World 5,236

“Fairly violent,” Juleyard said at the end of the chapter. “I don’t think we would have been approved to listen to that?”

“These are important stories,” Phal said to him. “Silly human. You need to listen harder.”

Humans might not listen. They were half human, but still. Might still not be able to hear the truth through it. He read to Phal and Angie. He didn’t have to say a word, they picked it up. Would these human kids? They were supposed to be Gaster’s kids, so like little brothers.

Al was sleeping through it though and Juleyard was more upset about the violence. “They aren’t just stories,” Sans decided. “They are true stories of other timelines.”

“Then why are we reading them like stories?” Juleyard had to ask. “This feels insensitive!” He pushed his hand out and turned his face away pretty haughtily. “I refuse to be involved in such a naughty thing!” He plugged his ears.

Sans could tell Al had more sway than anyone else. Everyone was trying to talk to Juleyard. Papyrus. Chara. The girls. Al would be the ticket, he was his brother. Sans got up from his spot, quick glance back to make sure Prince Charming wasn’t crowding in on Mina, then went over to the boy sitting on the ground. “Hey. You get why we are reading the stories, don’t you?”

Al swayed his whole top to the left, along with his head. The poofball hat he was wearing fell to the left to. “You owe me Grillby burgers.”

Yeah, he knew. “This Grillby’s doesn’t exist in this timeline, nor does that Sans,” Sans told him. “New guy.”

“Same issues witcha,” he said quick.

Then, Sans really felt it. Ooh. This kid could judge like him.

“Equivalent exchange, Secret Keeper Sans.” This little guy was not pleased with Sans. He couldn’t tell at first since so many just popped into the RV. This cute little fella?

Ooh. Not happy at all. “I’m not him, Al.”

“Then you’re like a plumber.”

A plumber? “I don’t plumb, Al.”

“Plumber who leaves the place a poop show, means the customer doesn’t want to rehire the company that plumber was from. That Sans was a terrible plumber. Your yelp ratings bad right now, Dude.”

Ah. Sort of logical. “Maybe, but it doesn’t mean the next plumber is gonna be bad. They might be better. In emergencies, you gotta trust somebody. Your brother needs to lighten up the ‘lalalaing’ he’s doing.”

“Grillby burger. Never got paid,” Al said. “Just got bamboozled.”

“Never got paid because Gas stole you from your timeline,” Sans corrected him. “Fine, next fast food place, I’ll buy you a burger.”

“Not the same,” Al said.

“Then two burgers?”

“Okay, fine, three burgers, agreed. Not gonna leave me alone ‘til I do.” Al stood up like he was super irritated with the deal Sans just made, and went toward Jule. “Hey? You gotta hear to prepare for the end of the world. Til we get back home to ma, we gotta be prepared for this too.”

“Oh.” Juleyard seemed to understand now. “It’s not rude, it’s so we have a better chance of surviving? Then we can get back to mom?”

Al nodded. Juleyard stopped plugging his ears as Al sat down next to him.

Sans would have to work on that kid more later. Find out their stories. He didn’t hear every word in the yelling, but even with what Papyrus yelled, Gaster might still be hiding more.

That kid was definitely teed though. He’d love to hear why.

Chapter Text

World 5,236

Sans adjusted himself. He wasn’t getting a long break. Papyrus really wanted him to tell this story already. “Okay, okay. Let’s get back to it.”

World 10

Asgore’s Castle . . .

“Why didn’t you just kill it, Sans?” Asgore asked as he winced and heard the ear splitting sounds of the human child.

Asriel brought Papyrus back, along with everyone else the first human murdered. A promise was a promise. “Just heal it enough so it stops bleeding and crying.” Asgore didn’t move. “Your son’s last wish was for them to be safe.”

“This child was destroying the kingdom, just like the other one. All over again,” Asgore complained. “Then again, it is very loud.” He covered it with some healing magic. “Why did you only injure the body?”

“It’s missing the leg. It’ll never be able to stand to fight correctly again.” It would need resources to do that, and Sans would make sure it never got it. If it did figure something out, he’d take the arms. Now, he just had one more to take care of. 

The original human that had destroyed his brother fifteen years ago. The one Asriel had called Frisk. 

Right after he got this one to the couch he promised.

----------------------------

Snowdin

Sans strapped Kevin to the couch. The kid wasn’t talking or screaming. The couch he had placed in their dungeon-er-shed. He kept the promise, but he never said where the couch would be located.

Unless he was specifically with them, these two weren’t getting out. It was better than what the last one even got. “Listen here, Chum,” Sans warned him. “You try and leave without me? You’re going to lose more of your parts. Same thing for the other one.”

The kid didn’t answer. He didn’t expect it to. Sans just wanted to get them taken care of so he could get back to the reason he made this promise.

Papyrus. He’d eat ten thousand gallons of his spaghetti if offered to him.

When he went back to find the other, she was on the ground, staring into space. Good, made it easier. “Let’s go.” He took her back. She didn’t struggle as he wrapped her in chains.

“Listen, Buddy,” Sans warned her. “The deal is different now. You have to stay here strapped to the couch. Husband wanted it that way.”

“Asriel. Is he still alive?” It was the only thing she wanted to know.

Sans remembered what Asriel said. “Nah.” He left without another word. When he left, he put a thick lock on the shed. There. As he headed inside, he heard the little human start to scream. Just great, that’s exactly what Snowdin needed. A screaming kid.

He went back over and took the lock off. He looked back toward the boy. “Keep doing that and, uh, you’re going to lose another body part.” That seemed to do it. Sans shutted the door and locked it back up.

He went inside his own house, to spend time with his brother again.

———————————

“This is your fault,” Kevin blamed Frisk. “You should have kept fighting.”

“I couldn’t win.”

“Because of you, I had to be used. Because of you, another one will be selected in another-” Kevin struggled with the chains. “It’ll never end!”

Mm. “Be happy you live,” Frisk said. “Be happy we are alive.”

“Look at you. You’re just as locked up. Why bother?” Kevin blamed her.

Frisk didn’t answer. Kevin would either learn through his own experience when he settled down or not.

“I lost my leg. He soooo cheated,” Kevin grumped. “It hurt like hell!”

“You’re killing monsters, you can’t complain,” Frisk corrected him. “Sans will do what it takes to win. Now quiet or you’ll lose more.”

“I am not sitting strapped to this couch in this stupid shed all my life!” Kevin yelled again. “I’m not doing it, I’d rather die!”

Frisk knew that. This wouldn’t end well. Sans may have stopped the murdering, but Kevin would not calm down that easy. Even under threat of more pain. All Kevin really wanted in the end-

“Aaaaaahhhhhhh!”

Was death himself. He couldn’t be saved.

Kevin continued to struggle in the chains on the couch, making as much noise as he could. “Come on you lousy skeleton, be a skele-man! Stupid monster, weak as shit! Stupid jerk! Stuuuuupid jerrrrk! Come finish me off already!”

Frisk watched as the door opened. Sans looked at Kevin struggling and yelling on the couch.

“What did I say, Kid?”

“I don’t listen to monsters,” Kevin growled back. “If you think one leg will stop me, you’re an idiot! An absolute moron! I’ll never quit!”

“If you don’t, you’re going to lose more than just the leg.”

“Then do it shit for brains, hurry up!”

Frisk just shook her head.

“Other one.” Sans called to her. “You, Pal. Can you talk any sense into the kid?”

Oh. He was talking to her? Of course. Chum. Buddy. Pal. It was all a ploy. “No, he wants death.”

“Death isn’t an option,” Sans warned Kevin. “Here are your options. Since the striking your limbs off isn’t doing anything, which, really says a lot about you right now? Then I’m going to put you back into the little home you were at. You can cry and scream all you want out there until you straighten up.”

“Sans, I think it just needs soothing.”

Oh no. Papyrus. All Kevin had to do was say something about Papyrus and he’d get his wish. Frisk had no idea what would happen now.

Sans turned around and went back to the door. “Don’t worry about it, Pap, just stay out of the shed from now on.”

“Uh? But? Oh, hello human!” Papyrus waved at Frisk. “My, it grew. That’s the one that killed me, right?” He asked Sans.

Frisk just sort of waved. Papyrus was a different kind of guy altogether.

“You should have just gotten yourself killed,” Kevin said to her suddenly. “Pathetic. If you couldn’t beat the monsters, then kill yourself! Why didn’t you?”

“Now see here!” Papyrus started on Kevin. “No one should go around killing others or themselves. We should all get along. Now, Sans told me that all your bad doings down here have been reversed. So, you should see this as a second chance to make it right, human.”

“You’re a nincompoop.” Kevin scoffed at him. “You don’t understand anything.”

“I am not a nincompoop!” Papyrus stomped his bony foot. “I am very intelligent and cunning.”

“Nincompoop.”

Frisk laid her head on the back of the couch. Kids.

“I have to die, or I have to kill,” Kevin told Papyrus. “If I can’t kill, then kill me.”

“I would never kill anyone,” Papyrus insisted. “Why do you want to end yourself so badly?”

“Kevin.” Frisk couldn’t take the child’s whining any longer. “You’re smart. You know why I didn’t do it, and you know why you shouldn’t. Calm down. Shut up. Use your head.” She glared at him. “It makes no damn difference whether your dead or not to them, Child.”

That seemed to cut through some of his thinking. Kevin groaned but he laid his head back and went quiet.

“Why didn’t you do it, Human?” Papyrus was now talking to her. “I mean, I know why you shouldn’t do it, but your wording? It sounds like you are hiding something. Like, who is ‘them’?”

It didn’t matter. Frisk didn’t answer.

“Hey, Pal,” Sans said to her. “He’s been dead for fifteen years because of you. If he wants to know something, have some decency and tell him.”

Well? When he put it that way. “All of the children’s souls you have collected over the years have been involved in the same way. They were sent down here to murder you. So was I, so was Kevin, and so will more every few years.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Papyrus scoffed. “Why?”

“To wipe out the last of the monster trails. There are platoons of children raised since birth to survive and decimate the Underground. Every few years one is chosen that has great determination. The first one ended up being your princess, Chara. She was a traitor, in the end preferring humans to die anyway.”

“The last of the monster trails?” Papyrus came closer to her. “What is that?”

Frisk really wasn’t in the mood for storytime, but she was forced to do it. Sans wanted Papyrus to know anything he wanted. “Monsters and humans get along on the surface, but not everyone wants it that way. The nations against it create platoons of children to enter every few years illegally.”

“They adopt children whose parents were killed by monsters,” Kevin said.

“They kidnap children with lies to enhance determination,” Frisk disagreed.

“They show pictures of dead parents, Frisk,” Kevin growled to her.

“They kill the parents and take pictures afterward,” Frisk insisted back to him.

“The kid can be any age,” Kevin helped her. He must be calming down. “It’s just done every few years. The one with the best grades, the highest determination and the best skills. The younger the better.”

“Why children?” Papyrus asked. “Seems unnecessary.”

“Easy to corrupt. Easy to fit down the small space that’s open to fall in,” Frisk admitted. “Harder to kill, youth provides more strength and reset power.”

“That stupid monster took part of my soul,” Kevin complained.

“Asriel wasn’t stupid,” Frisk warned Kevin. “Be nice. He cared for you.”

“He sucked and he was a monster. He messed this whole thing up. I never would have accepted him.”

“You would have one day. Monsters just move faster with their emotions.” She didn’t want to think about Asriel again. She’d start crying.

“Then I would have used it to trick him somehow and kill him.”

“Stop talking bad about him.” Frisk tried to be strict but she was starting to cry. “He was the best monster ever. Don’t badmouth him.”

“I didn’t see any stupid half-monster kids down there.” Kevin kept up the teasing. “Maybe you didn’t love him enough after all.”

That little-! “He respected me, and he respected you enough to make some kind of deal to keep you alive.” Little worm. “Otherwise, you’d be dead right now.”

“I’d rather be dead,” Kevin complained. “Maybe it would stop.”

It wouldn’t.

“Maybe what would stop?” Papyrus asked curiously. “You humans keep an awful lot of secrets to yourselves. That’s part of the problem. Share what you mean,” he demanded.

“Maybe what would stop is the killing of my entire kid platoon,” Kevin said. “The best one is picked for the survival missions. Until they destroy the barrier after killing every monster, they are killed off each day. Starting with the youngest.” He glared at Frisk. “Every one of yours is dead because you didn’t kill yourself, Traitor.”

“Will you stop harrassing her!” Papyrus scolded. “My, my, Human! Can you not see she is deeply sad over this Asriel person?” He looked toward Sans. “He was like a husband?” He looked toward Frisk. “Like a husband, Human?”

Hearing that made it harder. She didn’t cry super loud, but it couldn’t be hidden. “Yeah.”

“Pure make believe. You were living with a monster for years on end. Who else would you end up with?” Kevin called her out. “You’re human. You reach out for the nearest soul.”

“You are really trying to get her to hurt you, aren’t you?” Papyrus said about Kevin suspiciously. “I am sorry that those humans have people you care about in a terrible position. I know what it’s like to deal with that kind of thing.” He rubbed his bony hands together nervously. “It’s not your fault. How could they even tell if you were dead in the first place?”

“Well?” Kevin couldn’t answer that. “Well? It’s over 5,000 kids. There must be something for them to tell whether I died or not.”

“Killing less than 1,000 monsters to save 5,000 human lives? Sorry, life doesn’t work like math.” Sans finally spoke up. “This isn’t ‘save the greatest number’ and be forgiven of your crime. Don’t kill. It’s the only rule.”

“I understand the dilemma though,” Papyrus said. “That is not your fault. Those are threats, and you are not the one causing the deaths of your comrades. Someone else is doing that.”

“If I fail-” Kevin spurted for a second before Papyrus interrupted again.

“You are much too young to have signed up for such a duty!” Papyrus yelled at Kevin. “It is not your responsibility to die for. You’re a child manipulated into it. Now, stop killing. You have a second chance down here.”

Papyrus really was smart. He already understood what Asriel had once told her. They were just kids, raised in a way where there was no choice. It was the reason Chara hated humanity. Chara was strong enough to do what Frisk and Kevin couldn’t.

To say no to the mission. There was never any proof that anyone died, or didn’t die down there either. Only proof on the surface. Frisk couldn’t see that at first. Not until some time after she calmed down.

“Why didn’t you try not to be the best?” Sans threw in his own question to Kevin. “I was always pretty good at that. It’s easy.”

Kevin groaned. “Because. We aren’t told about the real missions at first. Were lied to and then we’re taken away. We are trained from four onward to take on monsters.”

“So you get the training to survive, and then the truth is revealed when you get selected. Huh.” Sans didn’t say much more than that. “That’s a lot of kids to keep sheltered, fed and trained for just one to be selected.”

“You’re not the Monster Kingdom. Your just a monster kingdom,” Kevin said. “There are 500 barrier holes. No one knows which one the royalty fell into.” He groaned. “This’ll be over when that one is cleaned.”

“I keep it very clean in my area,” Papyrus said to him.

That wasn’t what Kevin meant though.

“How come every few years?” Papyrus asked. “Why not more often?”

“It’s illegal.” Frisk could answer that. “There is a seal above the barriers, to ensure that no one can come in. It needs resealed every few years before it weakens.”

“Sometimes you don’t always make it,” Sans said strangely. “Sometimes you do. It’s not always the same day either.”

How did he know that?

“How did you know that, Sans?” Papyrus asked his brother.

Sans shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

That wasn’t a guess. Frisk watched him. He knows when the others fell. Six in all. The Underground must have kept records on when they fell.

“How do you keep defeating it?” Kevin asked Sans. “We keep resetting normally. How’d you do it? Did you fight them all like Frisk?”

“Oh, Sans doesn’t fight,” Papyrus interrupted. “He’s much too lazy for that.”

Kevin only groaned. “Sure he doesn’t.”

“The human soul is strong. Keeps up it’s determination,” Sans agreed. “Doesn’t mean the body is invincible, just tough.” He edged closer to Kevin. “Except yours right now. Let’s be careful what we say right now, huh?”

“Just promise to be quiet, Kevin,” Frisk told him.

Kevin just stuck his tongue out at Sans.

“You know, getting rid of that might really help,” Sans threatened him.

“Oh, Sans, that’s cruel to say,” Papyrus warned him. “If we want to reach him, we need to be understanding.”

Understanding? I killed you because you let your guard down. Papyrus needed to be more cautious and less understanding. He even approached her fairly close. What was he doing?

“Hmm . . . you know, both of them seem very skilled in being murdery,” Papyrus noticed.

“Uh huh. Noticed that too,” Sans said casually. “They’ll probably be fine. Can we leave now?”

“Raised as children to be illegal murderers of monsters by being bamboozled,” Papyrus went on. “My senses are tingling.” Papyrus moved toward Kevin.

Sans moved faster over by Papyrus. Frisk figured that was a good thing. “You don’t need to get so close, Pap.”

“There’s paper in the child’s shorts.” Papyrus pointed out a shred of paper barely sticking out. “What is that?”

Oh damn. “Please take them,” Frisk asked Sans. “Get them all away from him.”

“Don’t touch them!” Kevin got mad again. Frisk held the child’s arms back more and took out all the shreds of paper. “Meanie!”

“Shut up.” Frisk had all the paper. She wanted to hand it to Sans. He wouldn’t have even cared to look at it, but Papyrus was a different matter.

He took them instead and looked at them. “What are these? Samantha. 5. Starvation.”

Sans took it all from Papyrus. “Thanks. You go ahead and head back in, Pap. We’ll go out and get stuff for your battle costume again.”

“Oh, okay.” Papyrus seemed happy about that and headed away. Sans closed the door behind him as he looked through the names on the slips. “So they’re all dead?”

“Only if I don’t take you out,” Kevin answered.

“Then they are dead.” Sans looked at all the shreds of paper before stuffing them in his pocket. “I get the deal. You kill all of us, or all the leftovers that weren’t used for the missions are sacrificed.”

“Don’t call them leftovers!” Kevin warned him as he started to struggle.