"what the hell did you do?" Sans hisses at you.

You shrug. Sans grumbles and motions for you to go hide in Papyrus's old room. You dart up the stairs. Papyrus's door is covered in 'do not enter' stickers. The room is entirely empty except for a cardboard box filled with bones. You leave the door cracked, so you can hear what's going on. The front door opens.

"Wha- Sans?!" Undyne is in a frenzy.

"sup." Sans lazily retorts.

"Where is the human?!"

"are you here on o-fish-al business? or did you just want the oppor-tuna-ty to sea me?"

"Aaagh!" You can hear her aggravation dripping from every word. "I know she's here! Why do you keep protecting her?!"

"i dunno what you're talkin' about, buddy."

"Move it. I need to search the house."

" f." San's tone shifts into a dangerous growl.

"What are you gonna do, punk?! Tell me more stupid jokes? Or make me a hot dog? That seems to be about all you're capable of. You were the most useless sentr..."

You're not entirely sure what happens next, but there is a blinding light and a series of deafening booms that shake the house. The floor vibrates beneath you, making your heart skip a beat.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Undyne screeches.

" e."

"Okay! Jeez! I'll go! But you owe me an explanation, Sans. I'll be calling you, later." Undyne's words are shaky and rushed. You hear the door slam shut. There's a moment of silence. Your ears are still ringing from the noise.

"you can come down now."

As you exit Papyrus's room, you find that the entire living room floor has been scorched, black. The couch you were just resting on has been reduced to a pile of ash. From the landing, you stare at Sans with wide eyes.

"don't worry. i didn't hurt her, just scared her a bit."

You open your mouth to say something, but words fail you. Damn. You make a mental note to never piss him off. Who knew magic could be so… destructive. Fuck. You've always had a thing for dangerous, powerful guys. You're beginning to have thoughts about Sans that you really shouldn't be having about a skeleton…

"…and i hated that old couch, anyways. it was sofa-king uncomfortable." Sans smirks at you.

You force a laugh. "That was terrible, but... uh… can we talk about what just happened?"

"nothin' to talk about. i was just protectin' my favorite human. undyne ordered me to, after all." Sans replies with a lazy grin and a wink. Your heart flutters a bit.

"I'm pretty sure she meant for you to protect me from terrorists, not her. Also, while you were… gone, she called off the bodyguards. The Royal Guard is busy trying to get information on the hate group, now." Sans just shrugs at you.

"do ya wanna get some food? i have the worst hangover right now. i think a burger would really lift my spirits." his expression shifts to a more serious one. "also, we need to talk about these dreams you've been having."

You nod, making your way back down the stairs. "Food does sound nice. I haven't eaten yet, today."

"c'mere" Sans pulls you close to him. "let's go to grillby's."

You shut your eyes. The floor falls out from under you. After a moment of freefall, you feel solid ground beneath your feet once more. You're getting more used to this.

When you open your eyes, you're standing in front of Grillby's II.

Sans holds the door open for you. Inside, it is buzzing with activity. It's even more crowded than your last visit. It makes sense since it's Friday afternoon. You realize that, once again, you are the only human there. At least ten different monsters greet Sans as you make your way to an empty booth in the corner. He must come here a lot.

"Hopefully bun isn't here today, Sansyyy. Wouldn't want to catch the bunny flu." You tease.

"if you're trying to embarrass me, that's a dangerous game you're playin'."

"Oh Sansyyy! Take me to the bone-zone!" You're loud enough that the monsters behind you start snickering. Sans's face flushes blue.

"…don't say i didn't warn ya, kid."

Almost immediately, Grillby comes by to take your order.

"hey grillbz. I'll have my usual. my friend here will have a bacon cheeseburger with blue cheese crumbles and dressing."

Grillby nods at Sans as he walks away.

"…how did you know that blue cheese burgers are my favorite?"

"i know more about you than you think." Sans grins. "so tell me, what did you do to get undyne so worked up earlier?"

"After the shooting, Frisk went into hiding in the ruins. When I went looking for you, Toriel thought that I had come down there looking for Frisk, so she called Undyne. They still think I might be working with the terrorists…" Sans rolls his eyes.

"undyne has good intent-fins, but my cod, sometimes she's a real beach."

You giggle. "Well it probably doesn't help that I ran away from Toriel's house…"

Sans snorts. "you ran away from tori?"

"Undyne scares me."

"eh. don't be scared of her. me n' alphys will get this all cleared up for ya. believe me, undyne will definitely listen to alphys."

"Speaking of which… when are you guys supposed to start studying my dreams?"

Sans frowns. "i haven't talked to alphys yet. she's been building a machine that will analyze your soul's fluctuations as you sleep."

"Oh that's kinda neat. So you'll be able to tell what my dreams are?"

"not exactly. we'll only be able to see how your soul reacts to the dreams. hopefully, we will also be able to see any… foreign energy." Sans grumbles.

"earlier," his eyes darken, "you mentioned the name 'gaster'."

"Yeah. He's the one who has been contacting me in my dreams. He says he wants to help us."

"i don't know what he's planning, but I'm sure it's not good." Sans scowls. "this shouldn't be happening. the arrogant bastard's supposed to be dead."

There's a moment of awkward silence.

"…I hope you don't mind me asking, but what did he do? I thought he was your father."

"he murdered my mother. the fucker used her in one of his experiments, which he assured us was safe, and she died. then a week later, he fell into the core, leaving me to raise paps all by myself. i was only nine… as far as i'm concerned, i have no father." Sans's word drip with malice, his fists tightly clenched.

"I'm so sorry, Sans. I had no idea…"

"it's alright. just be careful, okay. don't trust him. i don't want him to take you from me, too… the sooner alphys gets that machine done, the better."

You nod at him.

Grillby returns with a tray of food. He gently sets three bottles of ketchup onto the table. Sans got the same thing as last time, just a regular hamburger. The burger that he sets in front of you looks incredible. It's piping hot with bleu cheese oozing from under the bun. Several thick slices of bacon are sticking out from atop the hamburger patty, which is glistening with grease. Grillby sets down a basket of fresh fries between you two. He makes a gesture to Sans and walks off.

"grillbz says he's giving us dessert, on the house. ya want some of my fries?"

You hum in affirmation and take a big bite of the burger. The food here is even better than you remember. Every bite tingles with magic that thrums through your body as you swallow it. You close your eyes and enjoy the pleasurable sensations. The two of you settle into an amicable silence as you enjoy your food.

"so how's school been treatin' ya?"

"It's been alright. I missed a lot because of the trip to D.C. but I've been able to ketchup. However, finals are this week. Ugh. I have a million things I need to finish. I haven't been as focused on school as I should be." Your pun gets a smile from Sans.

"lemme know if you need any help. especially with math or science." Sans gulps down half a bottle of ketchup.

"Well actually, I have an algebra final on Tuesday morning… I'm not feeling great about it."

"algebra is for baby-bones. you should have no problem. how about i help you study on monday night? i can grab some of my old textbooks."

"I'd really appreciate that, Sans."

Grillby returns to your booth and sets down a plate of churros with a creamy dipping sauce. They look delicious, but you're already feeling pretty full. You tear one in half so you can taste it. You nibble a little piece off, enjoying the cinnamon sugar.

"So… sorry if this is awkward, but I had a few questions about the other timeline."

"it's not awkward. you're probably pretty confused, huh? It's a lot to take in." Sans gives you a sympathetic look.

"My memories are broken and incomplete. It's really hard to make sense of it all. I mostly just remember you taking me underground."

"that's because that happened near the end of that timeline." You give Sans a puzzled look and he continues.

"think of it like a dream. your memories quickly fade and it's easiest to remember the last parts of it. if you want to remember, you need to write everything down as soon as you wake up. that's why I keep journals of all of the timelines. the workshop seems to be the only place that is unaffected by the resets, probably due to some sort of spell gaster put on it, so i've taken advantage of that."

"I guess that kinda makes sense. why do you remember other timelines and nobody else does?"

"every monster has a different kind of magic, right? My magic involves the manipulation of space and time… the same as my father. it makes me extra sensitive to time anomalies. my mother's magic was telekinesis and bone attacks. i got both, while paps was lucky to only inherit my mother's."

"is that why you can teleport, too?"

"yup."

"How much of the timeline do you remember?"

"whenever we get to the surface, i make sure to write in my journal every week. so while I may not remember most of it, i still know what happened."

"…what caused it to end?" you ask quietly.

Sans frowns, rubbing his temple. "…a drunk driver hit frisk. i was completely unprepared for a reset. this happened just two days after i took you underground..."

"I'm sorry, Sans."

He shrugs at you, "eh. i'm used to it. the resets have changed me. ya know, i wasn't always lazy. once, i was a young scientist who just wanted to live up to his dad's legacy. gaster was the most renowned and respected monster scientist to ever live. he designed and built the core, a geothermal energy plant that powered the entire underground."

"Wow. That's a lot to live up to."

A pained expression haunts San's face, "what's ironic is that now, nobody remembers the bastard but me. that's what's happened to anyone who died before the resets started. they've all been slowly forgotten. With every reset, less and less is remembered. me and my bro had some good friends who had fallen down, monsters we'd known since childhood, that he doesn't remember at all." Sans sighs, taking a long drink of ketchup.

"i've pretty much given up on trying to go back to that time. i don't think it's possible. sometimes i'll go down to my workshop to tinker on that machine… but it's really just to make me feel less helpless, ya know? like I have some control…"

"What's the machine supposed to do?"

"it's supposed tap into my magic to allow me to travel to any time, in any universe. unfortunately, it's gaster's design. i can't read his goddamn blueprints. even if you manage to decipher his weird symbols, it's written in some sort of code."

"Hmm…" You're lost in thought, trying to process all of this new information and wondering what Gaster's motives could be. Should you trust him? Do you really have any choice? And poor Sans... he's been through a lot. Losing his mother, having to raise his brother by himself, and now all this reset bullshit.

Sans interrupts your thoughts, "sorry for rambling… we should probably get going. i need to go talk to alphys before it gets too late. i'll take you home. it's probably best if you lay low for a while… undyne will be looking for ya."

"That's fine. I have a lot of studying to do this weekend, anyways."

After leaving some cash on the table, you and Sans walk back outside. He teleports you back to your house, right into your bedroom.

"stay safe, okay? don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. especially if you have any more dreams."

"Don't worry, Sans. I will."

Sans wraps you in a hug as he says goodbye. You blink and he's already gone, leaving you alone in your room.

Welp.

Better start studying.