"You are aware of who I am?" Gaster asked. Certainly it was possible; Gaster had been able to engage in limited communication with Frisk in some of their timelines. Perhaps Sans's determination in his own body allowed his memory to remain intact.

"nah, sorry," Sans said, "but i did sense everything you did while using my body. next time you should a-void doing things like that. kinda rude."

Maybe if Gaster did not acknowledge the puns, Sans would stop. "What do you know? While scattered, I saw you working on various projects. My sense of hearing at that time was not reliable, but sight usually remained constant. I saw everything you ever did during every timeline since my fall."

"ya know, you really could have phrased that in a less creepy manner."

Gaster tried to interpret Sans's expression. He just seemed to be grinning, genuinely, but that's all he seemed to do since Gaster's fall. "I don't understand," Gaster said honestly.

"never mind then," Sans said. For the first that Gaster has seen, Sans looked around the void, turning his head and squinting his eyes as if trying to see something in the distance. "not much creativity with the design of whatever this place is."

"This a dream state I've induced in order to try to communicate with you. You have not reached full consciousness, so I tried to come to you. There's no need for anything more elaborate than this; we just need to -"

Sans cut Gaster off with a wave of his hand. "doesn't matter." Sans sighed. "actually, your name has always been in my head. just sitting there for no reason i knew of. i managed to piece together what happened mostly. you just confirmed most of my theories and filled in some holes that i had. though i have to ask, have you always been a jerk or has this happened since you 'fell,' as you say?"

Gaster frowned. "While it is interesting that you had some latent memories, there is no time to criticize how I handled things. Everything happened as I hoped it would, and that is what matters. We need to discuss serious issues and wake you up fully."

Sans shrugged. "whatever. i don't really care - you can calm down and calm that black expression on your face. okay, your plan is so important, what is it? tell me what's happening while i try to wake up or whatever. start with the human."

"You know about their manipulation of time?"

"yeeeeep."

Gaster continued, "They did not start killing all monsters. I noticed that you said you tried to be a friend in order to get them to stop. Your efforts were effective in some timelines, but were insufficient in some. In the end, you failed."

"i know that," Sans commented drily. "i assume you're going to tell me what i should have done in the first place."

"First there are some things that you need to understand," Gaster said. "Frisk is the name of the human whose body you see, but there is another spirit in them. Chara, the king's and queen's human child, also is connected to them and has limited control of their motions."

Sans placed his hands behind his head and looked up as if studying clouds in the sky"go on. i'm listening."

His nonchalant attitude irritated Gaster. He frowned and continued, "The first time Frisk came to the Underground, they did not try to kill every monster. In fact, they managed to find a way to free everyone after resetting to the beginning a few times." He glanced at Sans, who had turned off the lights in his eyes. "However, they reset after that and eventually came back to murder everyone." He paused.

"figures," Sans said without turning on his eyes.

"During that timeline, they learned that Chara, the dead human, had been connected to their SOUL when they fell into the Ruins. Chara had absorbed all of the EXP and LV Frisk had earned. Because of this, Chara became corrupted. Once again, Frisk attempted a timeline where all the monsters were freed, but Chara came awake and forced them to kill and reset."

"so, my efforts were useless because a soulless human with endless bloodlust attached themself to the kid. just my luck."

Gaster shook his head. Why he didn't know, as Sans was still not looking. Well, it was probably related to his using sign as a main means of communication before all of this. "No," he said aloud. "Chara did not start out wanting to kill. They retained the EXP and LV even after Frisk reset and started a new timeline. Frisk killed every monster they could find of their free will, but Chara would not let it be a mistake that could be erased."

"huh."

Gaster stopped speaking. Eventually, Sans flashed on his right socket. "anything else?"

"You do not seem to be taking this seriously."

"oh." Sans turned off his eye light again. "i am."

Ah, Gaster had nearly forgotten how infuriating it could be to work with this skeleton directly. "Please pay attention."

"i just said i am."

"Your vision is turned off. You are not even looking at me."

"you just said that we only needed to talk. i can understand your speech. like you said, it's not necessary."

"I would think that you would care that Frisk is going to come out of the world and kill every monster, including your brother, again and again."

Finally, Sans turned on his vision, looked at Gaster, and put his hands at his sides. The lights in his eyes dimmed slightly before he said, "you just said that asgore's and toriel's dead kid has been corrupted and will ruin any good ending that frisk tries. i knew that the kid was resetting. now i know that it is all really worthless and they have no choice but to never stop. either you have some way to stop them which you will tell me momentarily, or you don't, in which case i don't need to bother. lose-lose situation. or win-win. don't know, really. eventually we're all losers, but for now, eh." He shrugged, his eye light returning to full brightness

Gaster took a deep breath with his own lungs. Sans watched, grinning. Gaster reflected on how Sans seemed even worse before the fall. Was Sans always this apathetic? Gaster made himself stop thinking of the past. Partially, Sans was right. He had to cut to the point. He was letting his feelings for Sans and to a smaller extent Alphys get in the way of his purpose. Sans chuckled. Gaster frowned at that.

"should i explain?"

"I don't understand again."

"alright. go on."

Gaster took a breath. Sans would probably reject this. "I believe, that if I am able to wake you up, we may be able to take Frisk and defeat them in a way that removes their determination and hence time-travel abilities. That way, they will be unable to reset again. The Underground will be saved."

"no."

Gaster opened his mouth, but Sans cut him off.

"i can see what you're about to say written on your face. despite that you don't seem to know how emotions work, you have realized that i would object. probably that means we're going to mind-meld or something for the plan because if not you wouldn't tell me at all. but no. find a new plan. i'm not leaving papyrus dead. try again in a new time- oh, won't work?"

"Frisk has already reset and worked through various timelines after I came here. Technically, we've had this conversation more than twice now. The events will only work if Undyne dies. She is the only monster with a fully formed SOUL besides you who can handle even a little determination, which I need to reach through and manipulate matters. Undyne is only killed after Papyrus."

"that's not good. not sure what we're going to do about that now."

"Sans," Gaster warned, raising his voice. He felt the first glimmer of anger since coming back from being scattered. "this is not about you. I was fond of Papyrus too, but this affects every monster. Stop being a child. You cannot doom every monster survivor and many humans to death just because someone you loved is dead. Many people are dead. You are not special in that regard."

"you need me to cooperate, and i said no. that's it. hang out and let's talk or something. can you make this place something other than a black piece of place. i could use grillby's now."

Gaster met Sans's eyes steadily. Sans looked back, hands in his pockets. "Grillby is dead. He had a young son. That son will be killed too. Doesn't that matter to you? Undyne is dead and Alphys would and is willing to continue on to save everyone. You cannot doom everyone because you will suffer some personal loss. I said before, I was fond of Papyrus too."

"yeah, yeah, you said it. now listen here, my friend: there's one person in the world that gives me anything at all to go on. there's one person who I care about at all. that's papyrus. either figure something out or drop it."

Gaster clenched his fists. He knew Sans would object, but this. He found himself stalking forward, approaching Sans. He stopped within a foot and glared down at him. He felt his eyes flare red. He said through gritted teeth. "Is that all you can say?" All Sans did was shrug apologetically.

"want me to help you brainstorm? hmm, maybe give frisk a good talking to and tell them not to do it again? tell the same thing to chara? how will that work? assuming can't you control them like you did undyne."

"I would be fighting for space with Chara," Gaster gritted, "and EXP and LV make it more difficult to control them. Undyne I managed because she had a deteriorating state and she had low LV, as she had only killed to help others. It's impossible."

"well, i guess you had a lot of time to think about things. if you can't come up with something, then i probably can't." He still looked up as Gaster loomed over him. Gaster suddenly realized that he had just resorted to physical intimidation and stepped away. He made himself breathe in deeply through his mouth and exhale through nose, something he had done before to relieve stress. He instinctively turned away so that Sans would not see him trying to gain control of himself, but Sans had the ability to read even the most stoic face like a book anyway. He might as well narrate his thoughts out loud. As if to taunt him, Sans's grin broadened, and he turned to the side and looked over into the nothingness.

Gaster turned to face him and checked his feeling to insure that his voice would be level before he spoke. "You say that you hardly remember anything about your past before I was erased. I believe I am able to restore all memories that had been erased by my fall. I would have tried with Undyne, but she had no significant ones."

Without moving, Sans said. "huh, do you think they'll make me change my mind?"

Gaster bowed his head. "Possibly, but even if not they will emotionally disorient you and perhaps I will be able to use that to convince you."

"wow, what's inspiring this honesty?"

"I guessed that you would be able to tell anyway through non-verbal cues."

"i'm not looking at you," Sans said, seeming amused.

Gaster glowered. "You are probably able to decipher it through my subtle shifts of tone and the implications of my word choices."

"heh." Sans faced Gaster again. "i'm better at facial expression, but yeah. sure, let's do it. i'm curious, honestly. all i have are these impressions."

Sans should not have impressions at all, but Gaster attributed that to his determination. "Are you ready? This will not affect you waking up and will not take long in real time, and I might as well spend time this way since you refuse to see reason and consider that this might not be about just you."

Sans put his hands in his pockets. "ready when you are. also, they're gonna be real traumatic but you don't feel the need to tell me since you assume i can tell all this by looking at your face."

"You are boasting," Gaster commented irritably.

Sans simply shrugged again.

Deciding it wasn't worth continuing, Gaster switched off his vision and spread out into Sans's skull again. He located the cluster of magic that focused on memories. The tricky part was connecting his own essence to it. By doing so, he should be able to remind the deeper parts of Sans's consciousness that had been affected when Gaster fell that Gaster existed in the first place. That should trigger a flood of memories that had been blocked off and hidden so well that Sans's mind never even considered their absence. But he had to connect himself carefully – he did not want to put in too much of his essence and give Sans his own memories (which while not disastrous would be potentially embarrassing) or overwhelm Sans's personality with his own, shoving Sans into complete unconsciousness again.

"hey, be careful in there."

"Quiet," Gaster muttered, and frowned because he lost what he needed and had to try again. Eventually, he managed to isolate just enough to do what he wanted. He managed it and heard Sans say, "welp. let's see what happens."

Sans's first memory was of making pizza with his mothers. He was young, about three or four, and for some reason he decided to upend a bowl of cheese over baby Papyrus's head.

He saw himself running around the house with Papyrus, playing his moms. Sticking his tiny fingers into the gaps of Momma Garamond's skeletal body, causing her to start and gasp and laugh. He remembered tricking Momma Kel into closing her eyes so he could surprise her with a brand-new haircut. Momma Kel's waist-length blond hair was saved by Papyrus, who'd wandered into the room and tackled Sans. As Papyrus straddled his brother he screamed at him not to cut the pretty.

One day he asked why he, Momma Garamond, and Papyrus had bones instead of skin like most of the people he saw. Even some people had fur, but Sans didn't even have hair on his head. Momma Garamond said that they were skeletons, a kind of monster, and that Momma Kel was a human. Sans asked if he could have been born with skin like Momma Kel. Momma Garamond considered this and said that it was possible. No one really knew what would happen when Momma Garamond got pregnant with him.

He went to school. Some kids thought he was cool; some didn't like him. He didn't care about the ones who didn't like him, and even his friends there could not compare to his brother Papyrus.

His moms took him to the doctor, where a furred monster with long ears used a machine to examine his SOUL and asked him to perform magic. His moms told him he must be very careful; he had only one HP. He didn't quite understand at the time.

He grew older, and more things became clear. His moms sometimes received phone calls from strangers. They told Momma Kel that she would go to hell because of what she had done and Momma Garamond that she was a demon. After one such call, Momma Kel gathered Sans and Papyrus in her arms and just held them for a while. He understood that his family was not like others. He had two moms, but that wasn't too weird. It was that Kel was human and Garamond was not.

He got older, and kids began to bully him. Most of his friend were other monsters. Kids picked on Papyrus too, but he didn't seem to even notice. Some of the really religious ones told him that he would go to hell. Papyrus told them that only bad people went there and confusedly tried to correct them when they insisted. Sans spent a lot of time with Papyrus, protecting him. He was older by two years, and though his moms told him that Papyrus was not his brother by magic, Papyrus was a part of their family and thus his brother. He would never let anyone hurt him.

Sans turned twelve.

"SANS!" Papyrus grabbed Sans's arm. Sans had been holding onto Papyrus's wrist, but he released his brother and took a step back. Papyrus noticed the look on Sans's face and took a step back, clutching his hands together. "SANS… WHAT H-H-HAPPENED?"

Sans took his brother's hand again and at a slower pace began pulling him down the alley into the deep parts of the city. "pull up your hood. just follow me."

"SANS, I'M COLD," Papyrus said to his brother. The two of them walked home from school. Beside them, cars roared down the streets until they turned a corner into a less busy, suburban area. They had passed humans, mostly adults returning from work, but now the sidewalk was empty except for the two. Sans walked with his hands in pockets of his hoodie, the hood pulled up.

"that's probably because it's november." Sans looked back at Papyrus. His little bro had his arms wrapped around himself, wearing only a t-shirt. Sans could just barely hear his brother's bones rattle above the diminishing cars and the gusting wind. "weren't you wearing a hoodie too when we left for school today?"

"I WAS, BUT I TOOK IT OFF AND PUT IT IN MY BACKPACK. I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE MY NEW SHIRT."

Said shirt had 'Cool Dude' written on the front. Sans's grin broadened. He turned around, walking backwards to face his brother. "well, i guess it's too short of a way for you to bother to dig it out of your bag and put it on. race?"

Papyrus instantly forgot the cold and pumped his hands in the air. "YES! BUT SANS – WAIT UNTIL I COUNT. YOU ALWAYS IGNORE THIS, BUT WE START ON THREE. READY? ONE, TW- SANS!"

Sans whirled around, removing his hands from his pockets as he burst across the pavement, hearing his sneakers hit the concrete and Papyrus trying to follow and yelling, "SANS, THIS IS THE EIGHTEENTH TIME YOU'VE DONE THIS!"

Though Papyrus had a couple inches on Sans, Sans had a couple years and could easily outstrip him. He didn't run too fast, though, not letting his brother get beyond several yards. He turned and ran for his house, jumping the steps that led to the porch and throwing open the door, able to hear his brother's cry of dismay.

Sans let his backpack fall to the floor. Kicking off his shoes, he passed the entryway and called, entering the room. "moms?" No answer. Thinking nothing of this, he entered the kitchen.

"your hoodie's in your bag, right?" Sans asked. Papyrus nodded and Sans instantly took the backpack off his bag and began digging through it. He found the yellow hoodie and pulled it out. Papyris took hold of his arms.

"What Happened, Sans?" Papyrus whispered. "Why Are We Running? Where Are Momma Kel and Momma Garamond, Are They Not Home?"

Gripping the hoodie, Sans felt his hands tremble. He clenched his teeth, trying not to cry.

Just inside the kitchen, laying partially against the counter in the middle of the room, next to a fallen chair, lay Momma Kel. A red circle grew on the front of her white blouse, and her face, her face was –

Red splattered the wood of the island. Momma Kel's hand lay over a half-scattered pile of gray dust.

Papyrus began to cry. "SANS, DID YOU CALL THE POLICE BEFORE YOU RAN? WE NEED TO CALL THEM."

"i can't call them, pap. i... just put on your hoodie and pull up the hood so people can't see your skull."

"Is The Person Who Killed Them Chasing Us?" Papyrus asked in a near silent voice.

Sans felt a lump rise in a throat and all he could do was shake his head.

Sans stood there, looking at his mothers and what remained of them. Dimly his mind registered movement coming from the floor above him, but then as he stepped forward he heard a loud thump directly above his head. His heart pounded. The murderer.

He heard the front door open. "THIS IS THE EIGHTEENTH TIME YOU HAVE FORFEITED YOUR VICTORY TO ME!" Papyrus called.

"Papyrus, run!" Sans heard his voice yell though he could not feel his jaw move. "Get out, now!"

He didn't know what Papyrus did. He looked over at the kitchen counter and saw that the drawer where his moms kept the kitchen knives had been thrown open. He couldn't let the killer get Papyrus. He stepped over his moms and scrambled for the drawer. He pulled out a huge knife and held it up. He looked at the sharp blade.

"Papyrus! Go!" He screamed again

He heard footsteps rushing downstairs. He realized what he was doing and rushed for the door, wanting to get out, trying to drive the sight of his moms' remains on the ground. He rounded the door and thought to himself, it's not real. it's not. i didn't see that. He tripped over Momma Kel's arm and fell to the ground. The knife fell from his hand and flew across the floor.

"Which one of you fuckin' demon spawn is here?" a deep masculine voice asked in a growl.

Sans struggled to his hands and knees and saw him, a human wearing black clothes and a mask and holding a gun in his hand. The man bared his teeth upon seeing Sans on the ground and leveled the gun at him.

"Go back to hell."

Sans didn't know what he was doing. Crouched near Momma Kel, he screamed and swept out his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut, but all he heard was the sound of the man cursing. He looked and saw the man being pressed against the wall above the sink by some force. The gun had fallen from the man's hand. It rested normally on the floor.

Then the man fell. He crashed down to the ground again with more expletives. Sans snapped. The man hit the floor but put his hand on the gun while pulling himself up. Sans turned but fell again when something blasted behind him. He landed face down and rolled. Panicking, he pushed himself backward until his back hit the wall.

Still snarling words at Sans, the man walked forward and kicked him in the side. Sans went flying, landing in a heap. He wanted to cry for help but his voice was useless. He couldn't comprehend what the man was saying; all he heard was the magic swirling in his ears.

He thrust out his hands again. Bones shot up from the ground, knocking the man against the table in the middle of the room. Sans rose to his feet, closing his eyes again as he let the magic run out of him. He slashed and hurled magic blindly, not daring to look to see when the man would shoot him like he did Momma Kel and Garamond.

Sans's knees buckled and he half-fell against the wall. Still not daring to switch on his vision, he slashed the air with a trembling, burning arm. He knew the magic was weak. He let himself fall, curling his skull between his knees, guarding the back of his neck with his hands. His body shuddered, with grief and terror.

His body eventually calmed, but he didn't dare move until a hesitant voice called out, "SANS?!"

"Papyrus!" Sans found rasping out of his throat, "Stay there!"

More quietly: "SANS?"

"Wait there." Though he trembled slightly still, a kind of clarity washed over Sans. He sat up, and flashed on his vision.

At the far end of the room from him, the human man, now disarmed, lay motionless. Shards and strips of fractured bone littered the ground. The man bled from gashes across his face, limbs, torso. His neck lay crooked at a strange angle. His open eyes looked at nothing.

For some reason, Sans found the sight of the dead murderer more repulsive than the remains of his moms. He couldn't bring himself to look at what the man had done to Momma Kel's face with his gun, so he looked at where her hand lay across Momma Garamond's dust.

"ARE YOU OKAY, SANS?" asked Papyrus, still sounding as if he were at the doorway. There was a tremble in his voice.

"wait there." Sans's voice came out choked, and he was not sure it was loud enough for Papyrus to actually hear.

Then Sans realized what he had done. He could hear his SOUL speed even faster than before, feeling like it would burst and explode, spewing magic everywhere. He could hear the clattering of his bones as his body shook. He found himself running to Papyrus, who stood in front of the door.

"I LEFT WHEN YOU SAID, BROTHER, BUT YOU DIDN'T COME BACK SO I-"

Sans cut Papyrus off by placing a hand on the arm and reaching for the door. "we need to go."

Sans and Papyrus had fled their home several hours ago. The sun set early this time of the year, and it had retreated behind buildings and more building before seven. They hid deep in the streets at first, huddling in a corner, neither of them talking. Sans had decided that if anyone approached them, he would attack them with magic. Sans had also made Papyrus put on his hoodie first thing, drawing up the hood to hide their skulls and keeping their skeletal hands in their pockets. But as it grew darker, Papyrus said that he was getting scared and Sans went in search of light. They tried to hide, and found a deserted area of the city park under a streetlight. Sans led Papyrus out of the way of the path and roads that led to their house. Have people discovered what had happened? The fight had been so loud, surely someone had heard, but if someone came in, they would see what Sans had done.

Sans looked down and scratched his fingertips against his palms in his pockets. Papyrus sat on the grass. He hadn't spoken in a long time. It was almost nighttime, and neither of them had eaten dinner. Eventually, Sans realized what he had to do. Surely no one would think that ten-year-old Papyrus could have killed that man. They could check with Sans's doctor and see that his magic was abnormally strong and unpredictable. Papyrus hadn't done anything, so they couldn't punish him for what had happened.

"papyrus," Sans said quietly. "do you remember where meryl lives?"

Papyrus perked up. "YOU MEAN MY FRIEND? OF COURSE I KNOW WHERE HE LIVES. CAN HE HELP US? CAN HIS PARENTS?"

Though friend was perhaps too strong of a word for the relationship between Papyrus and the young bull monster, in school monsters has a tendency to stick together and both he and Papyrus had been invited to Meryl's birthday party. Though none of the other kids clicked with Papyrus, for some reason Meryl's mom and parent loved him. Most of all, Sans knew that Meryl's parent was a lawyer. Sans remembered his moms calling them for various reasons when they thought he didn't hear or understand. Surely they could help Papyrus.

Sans exhaled slightly. "yeah, i think they might, but paps, i need you to go alone for a little bit."

"GO ALONE WHERE?" Papyrus asked.

Before answering the question, Sans took Papyrus's hand and began to lead him back to the streets. "meryl's."

"OH," Papyrus said, following him. "HOW LONG IS A LITTLE BIT?"

"i don't know," Sans answered, not looking back at his brother, "but when you get there, you can't tell them where i am."

"SANS… HOW WILL YOU BE OKAY WITHOUT ME THERE TO HELP YOU?"

"i'll be fine, promise. you just go first and tell them you don't know where i am."

"SANS," Papyrus said again. This time he stopped walking. Sans let go of him and turned to face him, "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? YOU NEED A FRIEND IN ORDER TO BE OKAY, YOU NEED A BROTHER, AND I... I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE. I WANT YOU HERE WITH ME."

Sans felt liquid form at the corner of his eye sockets, but the hood and the dim light of dusk hid it from Papyrus. "i'll be okay and you'll be okay," Sans said, but his voice seemed to travel across a long distance before exiting his mouth. Sans seemed a long distance from his own body, as if his SOUL had floated away and was drifting into the air, like a balloon let go by a child.

"SANS." Papyrus's voice trembled. Sans pulled his brother close and hugged him. Papyrus began to cry again, resting his skull on Sans's shoulder. They both stood still in the abandoned park alone on the chilly fall day. Sans held him, wanting him to be okay. But Sans couldn't go with Papyrus. Papyrus had nothing to do with it, and everything that happened was all Sans's fault.

Sans prepared what he would say when Papyrus calmed down and looked up. Several minutes had passed before Papyrus raised his head. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE'RE FAMILY. YOU WERE ONLY TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF ME."

Sans started. He pressed his teeth together to keep from chattering. Did Papyrus guess? His little bro could be occasionally perceptive among his attitude of general obliviousness.

"come on," Sans said. "let's just get to meryl's house."

"SANS…"

Sans waited for Papyrus to finished speaking before he realized his brother looked over his shoulder. Sans spun around and saw a humanoid figure approach.

"papyrus, go!" Sans hissed, pushing his brother away slightly.

Papyrus looked and hesitated a minute before running away. Sans prepared his magic. A crisscrossing pattern of bones appeared in front of him.

But the person was not a human. He wore normal clothing, like he would expect a human to wear. But like Sans, Papyrus, and Momma Garamond, he looked like a skeleton, white lights suspended in his sockets. The only difference was that his mouth was in a slight frown, something most skeletons couldn't do, but Momma Garamond had once told him that sometimes when a skeleton had a parent who wasn't a skeleton too the bones could become more flexible, thus allowing things like being able to do anything other than grin.

The skeleton's eye lights followed, but he made no move to follow. He approached Sans instead. Sans look at him through his bone pattern, waiting for him to do anything.

"I'm not a police officer here to take you or hurt you or your brother," the skeleton said. "There's no reason for you to have your magic out." The skeleton also spoke with a strange clacking, beeping sound that formed into words strangely through Sans's ear holes.

The skeleton had a point. There were no monster police officers. But there weren't many skeletons in the world. Only five or so families, and Sans knew most of them if only through pictures and glances at skeleton family reunion. This monster was unfamiliar.

"what do you want?" Sans asked, trying to keep a tremble out of his voice "if you're not here to take me or my brother, why are you here?" There weren't any monster police officers, that would not go well with anyone, but there were social workers who could have been sent to find him.

The skeleton regarded Sans. "My name is Dr. W. D. Gaster. I am before your time. I am from before the Underground was freed before the barrier was broken. I have come for various reason, but mostly to offer to take you and your brother with me."

Sans took a moment to process what Gaster had said and then clenched his fists. More bones joined the waiting pattern. "get away from us."

Gaster took a small step forward. "I have no way to prove I am from the past at this present time, aside from the fact that you would not recognize me as a skeleton living in the aboveground now. But you have very few choices at the moment. I can promise you food and a place to stay. You may live Underground with me,"

"get the hell away," Sans all but shouted. Gaster didn't move but he didn't back away either. After a moment, he opened his mouth to say something further.

Sans shoved out with his hands and pushed his bone formation forward, giving new limbs joints and protrusions as it went.

Gaster held out a hand and his own bone pattern formed a large and tightly gridlocked cage mesh in front of him, blocking Sans's pattern. Their magic collided against each other and shattered.

Sans took a step backwards as Gaster said, "'I am not going to force you to go with me, nor am I going to fight you even if you do decide to attack me. But you should hear me out. I am aware of what just happened, but="

"leave us alone!" Sans shouted, though he did not form more magic. Gaster did not move, so he threatened, holding out his hands, "i just killed a person. get away."

"You did," Gaster said softly, "but it was self-defense. If you are thinking that you are a bad person or a criminal because of what you did, then you are wrong. You had every right to defend yourself. If you were a human, you would be lauded as a hero for potentially saving your brother. But you are not a human, you are a monster, and things will be different. I am not saying this is right, but it is the way things are."

Sans's hands shook. He stared wide-eyed at Gaster as the other monster spoke. Sans's bones were still tight and ready to attack or run, but he remained quiet as Gaster continued to say:

"Since you are a monster, the fact that you acted only to protect yourself and your brother will be glossed over to say that you killed a man. Again, I do not blame you for what you had to do, but you must understand that if you stay here you will be found before morning, likely before midnight. The police were called when a neighbor heard the commotion, and they arrived ten minutes after you and Papyrus left. They are currently searching for you, and I have little doubt that they have warned that you both are "dangerous and armed with magic."

"i can't stop having magic," Sans protested. "they can't blame me for that."

"They shouldn't," Gaster responded, "but they will. They will mark you as dangerous for what you are able to do and will try to paint you as a killer with a weapon that cannot be taken away. Not every human will be against you, but enough to make a difference. I cannot say what will happen exactly, but those people who will have power and who will use this against you will use this to take away the rights of monsters. They will try to get you locked up. I cannot say for certain if they will fail, though I think it is likely. But you will never lead a normal life. Papyrus will be caught in the flow of everything that will follow too."

"how are you here?" Sans asked. "if you're from the past and can time travel, why don't you know what happens, and if you aren't able to research, then how can you know what will happen anyway?"

Gaster breathed a deep sigh. "It is very complicated. If I learn events that take place in a future that has chronologically not happened yet, then what I learn may allow me to change events. It is unlikely for that to happen, but if I do it will be split into an alternate universe, which to say shortly would not be good. I could go onto many more consequences based on theories, but we do not have the time to discuss every implication. Most you will not be able to fully comprehend anyway. I-"

"then try!" Sans yelled. "you can't just call me stupid and expect me to do what you say. if you cannot explain it, then that must mean you're lying."

Gaster looked at Sans with an expression of confusion. "I did not say you were willfully ignorant. You will not be able to understand simply because you have not had enough time or experience to learn everything that you factor into comprehension of this subject. You simply have not had enough time to gain understanding. But this is not the point."

Emotions mixed inside of Sans. Part of him wanted to scream and part of him wanted to throw a dozen or so bones into this smug skeleton's face. But somehow in mixing all together they twisted and brought up the emotion that they had buried in the first place. Sans's shoulders heaved. He tried to pressed his skeletal hands together more and in doing so they grinded together like teeth. Tears snaked out of his sockets and rolled down his cheeks. Shame burned within him and probably kept him from running as he wiped them angrily away. Gaster looked at him with a new expression, this one different, something like concern. It was not malevolent in any case.

Gaster said slowly, as if carefully choosing his words,

"I will not say that I have decided to come for you simply for your own benefit. In truth, I have also come for another reason, I believe that you may be able to help me break the barrier in my own time; I believe you may have had something to do with the way you got here. At the same time, I can also say that things will not be easy if you choose to stay. I am not certain, but from what I can tell your main connection to this life is from your... is from those whom that extremist has taken anyway. Your decision will also not be permanent. I can take you back at any time. But I would implore you to consider. I believe it would mean the best to you."

Sans didn't respond at first. Though he tried to stop, he was unable to, the tears coming out in drops he didn't even try to wipe away because he was too busy clenching his hands into fists at his side, too busy pressing his jaw closed so that his teeth would not chatter as his mouth trembled. Gaster shifted on his feet. Eventually, the adult skeleton took a step forward, a small only, and hesitant, " I understand if this is difficult for you."

"get away," Sans hissed. Another pattern of bones formed and went towards Gaster without Sans's control. Gaster reacted to the formation too late.

It slammed into him, and he fell to the ground. He sat up immediately and darted to the side to try to dodge if Sans tried to attack him again, but Sans could not only control his magic but also his emotions. He backed away from Gaster as his vision became cloudy. But he bumped into something and nearly fell himself.

"SANS." Sans felt long, thin skeleton hands and arms around him. Papyrus took his brother and pulled Sans into his chest.

"papyrus," Sans said quietly between sobs.

Over Sans's shoulder, Papyrus clacked fiercely, "DON'T GO NEAR MY BROTHER. DON'T TOUCH HIM."

"I didn't touch him." Gaster said. "He sent magic at me and I blocked it, but like I said, I have no intentions to hurt you. This is your decision too, Papyrus. Will you go with me?"

Papyrus tightened his grip on Sans. "HOW WILL WE GET TO THE PAST?"

"Papyrus," Sans said quietly.

"I have a machine," Gaster replied. "I am not able to use it often without repercussions or use it to take me to whenever I wish, but it will be able to take us to pre-freedom Underground."

"Sans," Papyrus whispered. "What Do You What To Do?"

"paps, i thought i told you to get away." They spoke as if they were alone. Gaster turned to study the park bench and looked like he was trying to ignore them and let them have a conversation without him hearing. He could still probably hear every word they said, but it was an illusion that they chose to believe right now.

Sans thought for a moment. There was no reason why a skeleton would be lying to them, and it wasn't like time travel was impossible - everyone knew that weird things happened when the monster were sealed Underground. He thought of Papy. The more he did so, the more he released that having him go to Meryl's house was a stupid plan in the first place. They would have gotten Sans's location out of him eventually, and like Gaster said, Sans wouldn't have been able to hide. Really, every one of Gaster's words stank the harsh, pungent aroma of the cold hard truth. He didn't think Gaster was lying, and Momma Garamond had always said to them that skeletons were all one extended family, and that they all could and should look out for each other. She even said that if a skeleton tried to help or look out for them if something happened to her and Momma Kel, they should trust a skeleton

Sans took a shaky breath. "i think we should do what you want. what do you think we should do, papyrus?"

Gaster wandered a few feet away, determinedly not looking at the brothers.

"I THINK WE SHOULD GO WITH HIM. MOMMA... MOMMA GARMOND SAID. AND MOMMA KEL TOO, THEY WOULD W-W-WANT US TO BE SAFE."

Sans said nothing after that. The two held each other for a few minutes before telling Gaster what they had decided.

Frisk shook as they stood up, their clothes covered with sticky liquid. They backed away, staring at Undyne. They heard her words echoing through their head. Surely, they wouldn't have to beat Sans more than once.

They found them backing anyway from the puddle they had mutilated Undyne into. Then they ran backwards towards the entrance of the Judgment Hall.

Save Points only appeared for a certain period of time. If they ran, maybe the Save Point at the of the Judgment Hall would still be there. Within a few moments, they realized it was not so. They stood still, their damp hair hanging in their eyes.

They had never seen a Save Point form, but they assumed based on the convenience of most of them that they did so when Frisk felt most determined. But if there wasn't another Save Point, maybe they wouldn't face Sans again after all. They had confirmed that Sans turned to dust eventually.

The turned away and began walking out of the hall. Maybe they should search for more supplies too. Their leg, Undyne had cut it bad. It stung and soaked blood onto their pants. Frisk knew that they could die of blood loss here, but that seemed a lot more difficult to do in the Underground. The only explanation they could come up with was that monster food affected them somehow.

They decided to move on. The wound hurt, but it would lessen as time passed.. If they did fight Sans, it would begin flaring up again and slow them down, but honestly, if Sans appeared again they would probably lose anyway. They had faced Sans multiple times, but it was always so much of a challenge. Battle were always a little bit different each time they faced monsters, but with Sans the only constant was the massive first attack and the last one.

They walked to the Throne Room. They looked around the corridor as they walked, hoping to catch sight of the yellow glimmer of a flashing Save Point hovering in the air, but nothing showed up. A part of them wanted to go down to the room where the coffins of the other humans rested, and after hesitating they gave in.

Of course nothing was there. Just coffins, one empty and reading, 'Chara.' When Frisk finally realized that this coffin used to be meant for the demon piggybacking in their hed, they had laughed. Even now it still had a kind of certain humor to it.

They returned upstairs, climbing the cold gray stone staircase. They would head to the Throne Room, hit Asgore, try to kill Flowey before he got the king's SOUL, and that was it. No Sans. So far, so good.

As if summoned by the thought, Sans appeared in front of them, standing his hand sin his pockets and a grin on his face. "hey kid." Frisk didn't move. Sans chuckled. "what's wrong? Are you-"

Frisk plunged into themself and reset, not just to the last Save Point before they fought Sans, but to the beginning. Blackness that seemed to vibrate surrounded them. One button like the video games they used to play floated in the darkness: BEGIN GAME. They did not press it. They only collapsed, head falling against their knees, yelling at Chara mentally. Saying how it was all their fault. Everything, everything was.

Again, sorry for typos. Still NaNo. I plan to go through the story after the month and fix up mistakes, but that's not my priority for now.

I have several thousand words of the next chapter written. I would have posted this sooner, but as I said before I'm focusing on writing over editing this month. The next part looks like it will be really long though, so I might have to break it up. My hesitant plan is for three more part after this one and then the story will be over, but that all depends on if chapters are split or not.