You and Sans never did talk about it later. After sharing souls that night, there was nothing to talk about. Sans saw how strongly you felt about your new job, and you saw how conflicted he felt about it, too. On one hand, he was happy that you were doing something you cared about. But on the other, he didn't like that it often took you away from him. You had to go to meetings which Sans couldn't be a part of, and now there was the possibility that you might have to travel outside of camp. If Sans had hated the town meeting, then he'd probably hate whatever else you had to do in the future. So he was faced with the choice of either going with you and doing something he loathed, or staying in camp and anxiously waiting for you to get back. You couldn't see a solution to this fundamental difference between the two of you; you certainly weren't going to give up your job, and Sans wasn't going to suddenly start wanting to do ambassador work with you. You'd both just have to get used to being separated every now and then.

In the meantime, things were actually beginning to settle down. Between the Christmas celebration and the town meeting, you hadn't had a chance to breathe for a while. For now, though, all you and Asgore had to do was sit back and let people decide what they thought about the meeting.

It was frustrating to not have television or the internet, since it meant that all of your news from the humans had to be heard second-hand. On top of that, Reives and Wolfe were oddly cryptic about the news they gave you. You had to ask probing questions in order to get anything out of them. It was like they wanted to keep you in the dark… But at least Charlie didn't seem to have any qualms about keeping you updated. He came down from his tower once a few days after the meeting just to show you and Asgore the many news segments that had covered the event.

"How did you get all of these?" You asked while the King squinted to watch a clip on Charlie's phone. The officer silently took the phone and turned it sideways, making the video much larger for Asgore, "I mean, we don't have service up here…"

"Well, I do go home sometimes, y'know," He said, smirking, "I don't sleep up in the Northwest tower."

"How do you get home and back?" You asked, mostly just stalling so that you didn't have to watch yourself on TV. Asgore was chuckling about something, and you didn't want to know what.

"Helicopter. You ever see it land a little South of camp? That's the guards, rotating shifts. Hey, watch this one…"

You reluctantly turned your attention to the phone. After you got over how cringy you thought you looked, you had to admit that most of the coverage seemed pretty positive. The major, national news stations that you recognized appeared unbiased, and the local South Ebott station even had a segment on the similarities and differences between the current monster camp and internment camps of the past. All of it was based on your off-the-cuff comparison. It felt weird, but satisfying, to have people analyzing your words so closely.

One news clip that Charlie had on his phone bothered you, though. It wasn't anything bad against monsters necessarily… It was just a list of all of the missing persons reports that had been filed in the Mount Ebott area. Of course, you and Frisk had been taken off of it, but something about it still struck you as odd… You just couldn't put your finger on what.

After nearly a week of this simmering in the back of your mind, you found yourself staring at the missing persons poster on your front door one morning. It was still nailed there from back when your parents had first given it to you. Or, rather, to Orion. It had become a such a permanent fixture on your house that you never even noticed it anymore; your eyes usually just skipped right by it.

Now, though, you stood with your back leaning on the door frame, letting cold air into the house as you left the door wide open. You had your arms crossed, frowning. Eventually, Sans begrudgingly emerged from the bedroom to see what was going on,

"Any particular reason you've got the door open? You tryin' to freeze me awake, or somethin'?" You pursed your lips, knowing full well that the cold didn't affect Sans, anyway, so you were under no obligation to feel bad. You gestured to the poster,

"See anything wrong with this?" With a small sigh, Sans came to stand next to you, close enough that his arm was pressing into yours. It didn't take him long to figure it out,

"There's not enough people on there," He said casually, as though commenting on the weather, "More people've gone missing since this poster was made. S'that what's been bothering you?" He looked up at you, and you nodded slowly,

"Yeah… I mean, we know it's not the monsters, but I can see how the humans would think that," As you often found yourself doing, you spoke as if you and Sans were not human and monster. Like you were both something else, entirely, "It's weird that so many people would go missing around here." There was a moment of silence. You continued to stare at the faces on the poster, shivering in the cold, January air.

"C'mon, let's get this door closed," Sans suggested, and you knew that he had no answer for you. Reluctantly, you did as he said and shut the door. The two of you walked silently to the kitchen together, Sans sitting at the table while you started making coffee and toast. Once you both had breakfast in front of you, Sans spoke again,

"Well, I hate to suggest doin' any actual work..." You snorted, and Sans smiled, "...But maybe we could put the poster somewhere more visible. Make, like, an announcement board, or somethin'." You chewed your toast thoughtfully,

"Yeah… That's a good idea," You didn't really know why you liked the suggestion so much, seeing how you knew it wouldn't do any actual good. Even if you made the poster more visible to other monsters visiting the surface, (Which, occasionally, you saw them doing. Every now and then, a group of monsters would come up, take a walk outside, maybe take a look at some of the empty houses. It was encouraging, to see more of them being unafraid of the surface.) you knew none of them would find any of the missing humans. The ones that had fallen underground were long dead, and the rest… You had no idea. But, still, the thought of displaying the poster to everyone made you feel a little better about it. Like you were showing your support. Doing something, at least.

Your mind made up, you shoved the rest of the toast into your mouth and stood. You got up a little fast, though, and you hissed at the twinge of pain in your hips. You leaned against the back of the chair you'd been sitting in, and Sans frowned,

"When's the last time you saw Pap?" You had to think for a moment before realizing he was right.

"Like, three days ago… I guess we should go visit him first, huh?"

"Yeah," Sans agreed, his voice strained. He always hated being reminded of your… problem. It seemed to bother him even more than it did you. You were more used to relying on other people for your health. Granted, not to this extent, but still. You figured you were in a better position than most people to cope with this.

Not that you relished living in a body that was technically still dead. Every now and then, you'd notice some new and disturbing consequence that you hadn't foreseen. Like getting a papercut and noticing that it didn't heal for days... Not until Papyrus took care of it for you. You tried not to think about what would happen if you sustained a more serious injury. If you cut yourself, would you bleed until you were dry, your wound unable to close on its own? No, no… Best not to think about it. There was nothing you could do to prepare for something like that, anyway.

Instead, you and Sans headed over to Papyrus' house as soon as you'd cleared your plates. You barely even knocked once before the skeleton had thrown open the door and invited you inside. You didn't even have to tell him why you were there; he seemed to have been expecting you. As soon as you walked in, he told you to sit in a bright, cheerful voice.

"You aren't working today, Pap?" You asked as you limped over to the couch, noticing a suspicious lack of Undyne's loud presence. When both of them worked, they usually left together.

"I only work in the afternoon on Fridays, remember?!" He said as he sat down next to you. He turned to face you, his legs crossed.

"Oh, my bad," You said, though you didn't really feel bad about forgetting. Pap changed his schedule so often, there was no way you or Sans could be expected to keep up with it.

"I swear, you are both so forgetful!" He announced with his eyes narrowed, but you could sense a hint of fondness in his tone. You glanced at Sans, who was standing with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. Was that true? You never used to be forgetful. Were you really taking on Sans' traits, or was Papyrus just painting the two of you with broad strokes? It was hard to tell sometimes.

The three of you lapsed into silence when Papyrus began to heal you. As usual, you were filled with a comforting warmth as his unique magic seemed to seep into your bones. You sighed, your eyes closed. Papyrus huffed in mock annoyance as you leaned back against his chest. You couldn't help that you often nearly fell asleep while being healed; it was always somehow an unexpected, but welcome relief. When he was done, Pap put his hands on your shoulders and pried you away from him, forcing you to sit up straight. You did so with an unhappy grunt, turning around so that you were no longer sideways on the couch. You stretched your legs out in front of you, pleased that they didn't feel sore and achy anymore.

"Thanks again, Pap," You recited earnestly. Papyrus waved you off and stuck his chest out with pride,

"Of course, sibling! The Great Papyrus is happy to lend his superior healing skills, as always!" You snickered, getting a kick out of it whenever the tall skeleton referred to himself in the third person.

"Hey, Sans and I were gonna work on a little project today… Do you think you could help us?" You suggested, glancing at Sans for approval. His smile grew, as you thought it might. Sans didn't hang out with his brother as much as you'd thought he would once you were in separate bodies. You knew why he felt nervous about the prospect, but that didn't change the fact that he should spend time with Papyrus, anyway. This billboard thing would be a good opportunity for that.

"YES! I mean, I am sure my many, varied talents can be of use! What kind of project are you working on?"

You went on to explain Sans' idea of the news bulletin. You didn't mention specifically what you wanted to put on it; you figured it could be used for any kind of announcement, as long as no one covered up the poster you wanted to tack up there. You and Papyrus spent longer than you'd be comfortable admitting discussing where it should go and what materials it should be made out of. You found yourself feeding off of his excitement, and were reminded of the weeks when you'd lived in his house and spent the days creating and solving puzzles with him. Sans wasn't the only one who wasn't spending enough time with Papyrus, these days.

Speaking of Sans, the skeleton in question didn't contribute much to the conversation. He mostly just leaned against the wall, grinning as he watched you and Papyrus debate the merits of putting the bulletin board right at the exit of the Underground versus a little ways down the road. Whenever either of you asked his opinion on something, he'd deflect the question with a pun, betraying just how indifferent he actually was to any of this.

"Sans, why don't you and Papyrus go and get the wood we'll need? I don't wanna walk that far," Really, you just didn't want to go to the Underground because you'd stick out like a sore thumb as the only human down there. But you weren't above using your disability as an excuse, in this case. Plus, it would be a way to get Sans and Papyrus to hang out alone, something you'd decided was needed right about now.

"Sure," He said with a shrug that failed to hide how tense he was, "C'mon, bro. I know a shortcut. Well, a coupla shortcuts…"

Papyrus' eyes lit up as he bounded after Sans out the door. You could hear him jabbering about where would be the best place to get the lumber before the door shut between you.

You hummed, unsure what to do while you waited for the brothers to return. You tapped your fingers on the arm of the couch before standing up, using your cane for support. You figured you could at least go back to your house and take the poster off of your door.

As you stepped back out into the cold, you realized that you couldn't remember the last time you'd been alone like this. The closest you ever got was when you had to go to the bathroom. Otherwise, Sans was always there. And when Sans wasn't there, then it was because you were in a meeting where he couldn't follow you. You wondered if that was why he'd been so tense at the idea of going to the Underground without you; because the two of you had never willingly separated before this. It wasn't something you'd even considered a few moments ago, but wasn't that a good thing? It was probably unhealthy for you and Sans to be glued to each other's sides 24/7. The fact that you were starting to feel more comfortable with him not being there all of the time was a good step forward.

What bothered you was that Sans didn't feel the same way. He still felt unduly nervous whenever you left for a meeting, and would fret about it by pacing the length of the living room until you got back. You were surprised he hadn't paced himself a hole in the floor by now. The fact that you seemed to be getting over the dependency more quickly than him was awkward, to say the least. But he hadn't protested when you asked him to leave with Papyrus… That had to mean something, right?

You walked slowly from Papyrus' house to your own, hyper-aware of your isolation. The mountain air was crisp and fresh. You watched your breath condense in it, momentarily distracted by the sights and sounds of nature around you until you abruptly found yourself standing right in front of your own house. With cold fingers, you struggled to remove the nail holding the poster in place. You didn't have a tool to remove it; you'd hammered it in with a rock, initially. Thankfully, you hadn't done a very good job of it, and you eventually managed to wiggle the nail free.

The poster slid to the ground and made a loud warbling noise, as laminated paper tended to do. You bent down and rolled it up, tucking the poster under your left arm while the right was occupied with your cane. By the time you were through with that ordeal, you turned around to see Papyrus and Sans walking back out from the Underground together.

You made your way over to them, watching with amusement as Papyrus dumped all of the wood he was carrying onto the ground. Sans, meanwhile, levitated his one piece of lumber down slowly until it rested on top of Papyrus' pile. The younger brother looked aggravated, but in that way where everyone could tell he wasn't really serious.

"That was quick," You said as soon as you got close enough to be heard. To your surprise, another voice from inside the maw of the cave answered,

"Woulda been a lot slower, if these two whippersnappers hadn't rushed me!"

Even before Gerson emerged, you found yourself grinning from ear to ear. The old turtle had helped you a lot by giving you the necromancy book many months ago. It was nice to see him again, even though he wouldn't make the connection between you and Orion. He hobbled out into the sunlight, blinking up at it before shaking his head and turning his attention back to you, "Hey there, young'un! Don't believe we've met… The name's Gerson," He held out his hand for you to shake, and you took it,

"Pleased to meet you, I'm-"

"Wahaha!" The old monster laughed before you could finish, "'Ain't no need to introduce yourself, bucko! I reckon every man, woman, and child knows who you are!"

You blushed, suddenly feeling self-conscious. You supposed that made sense; you were rather famous among humans, and it seemed obvious that you would be among monsters, too. But to hear it stated so plainly was strange.

"Gerson leant us the wood!" Papyrus exclaimed, cheerfully oblivious to your discomfort, "He's always got spare things lying around!"

"Yes, well, at least my hoardin' gave you an excuse to come and visit me!" The turtle crossed his arms with indignation. He looked at you, but pointed to Papyrus with his thumb, "I swear, this one never has the time to talk to his ol' guardian… Sad, innit?"

"I visit you all the time!" Papyrus squawked defensively. It was weird to watch Gerson and Papyrus, two people who you'd never seen interact before, argue back and forth like family. And to hear Gerson call himself Papyrus' guardian…

Suddenly, a loud crash interrupted the conversation. Everyone turned to Sans, whose left eye was glowing bright blue. One of the wide, round logs Papyrus had carried to the surface came to rest at the bottom of the hill, but not before smashing into every tree and rock along the way. Sans' eye quickly turned back to normal.

"Whoops… clumsy," He confessed with a wink and a false smile. You didn't think 'clumsy' really covered it, but Papyrus seemed to buy it,

"SANS!" He fumed, stomping his foot petulantly, "That was going to be the leg! Now what will the board stand on?"

"We can go down and carry it back up. Right, Sans?" You quickly assured Papyrus, shooting Sans a look that forbade argument. He sighed imperceptibly,

"Yup," He agreed. You handed the poster off to Gerson before taking Sans' arm and leading him back down the hill. Nevermind that you wouldn't be any help carrying a heavy log up a steep cliff; you needed to go with him to have an emergency discussion.

"Sans…" You started as soon as the two of you were out of earshot, but he cut you off,

"Don't even tell me that it doesn't bother you," He said sharply, but with a hint of desperation in his tone. As though he was hoping that he wasn't the only one. You figured it was better to avoid responding to that.

"I get it, but you can't go throwing things around because you're frustrated that Papyrus has other people in his life," It came out harsher than you'd intended. Sans flinched, and you let go of his arm. Your voice was softer when you continued, "I know it sucks. I know. But you need to move on…"

I thought you were ready to move on. The second half of that sentence didn't make it past your lips, but Sans seemed to know, anyway. He sighed again and ran a hand over his skull,

"I am. I'm trying, anyway. This won't happen again," He walked around you, stiff-backed. Without anything else to do, you followed close behind him. The two of you made it to the bottom of the hill and walked around to where the log had fallen. Its path had created a deep ditch in the snow; the fresh powder was probably what had stopped it from rolling any farther down the road.

"Papyrus' birthday is comin' up soon," He stated casually. You were surprised to hear him talk. The way he said it sounded like a peace offering.

"...What're you going to get him?" You asked after careful deliberation. Sans lifted the fallen log up with his magic and turned back around to face you.

"Dunno. Probably just gonna reuse old gift ideas from the last timeline," He joked, but it sounded strained. After a moment of silence, his shoulders sagged as he added, "I'm… uh… worried he won't like the same stuff he liked before." You bit your lip, remembering how off-putting it had been for Sans to see Papyrus' bedroom in Snowdin covered in pirate-themed paraphernalia.

"I'm sure Papyrus would like anything you got him," You said honestly, "Maybe we could get him something from both of us? That way, if he doesn't like it, you can blame it on me."

Sans laughed, and a relieved smile spread across your face. You were the one who was supposed to be the compulsive worrier, so it was disconcerting when Sans' anxiety levels were as high as they had been recently.

"Sounds like a plan," Sans interrupted your thoughts. You gave him a thumbs-up,

"We can figure out what to get him tonight…" The 'when we're sharing souls' part went unsaid, "But we should probably get back up there now," You gestured up to where Gerson and Papyrus were undoubtedly waiting for you. You couldn't see them from your angle, but you assumed they couldn't really get much work done without the base of the billboard.

"Right. Let's go, then," Sans seemed to steel himself before beginning the walk back, the wayward log hovering in front of him as he went. You followed behind him, hoping that this would be the first and the last outburst of its kind.