Underfallen

[shadow_claw]

Sans hesitated as he stared at Frisk, his grin quickly becoming uncomfortable. Humans, man. He swore they could stare through his soul. And they were hard to lie to. Which was why Sans had never even brought up some...other things. "C'mon kiddo, let's go towel off." He declared, motioning towards the closet where linens were stored. Pulling out a stack of towels, he dropped them on the floor and frowned. "Just...uh...don't tell Papyrus, please? I'll tell you the truth, just...not right now."

Edited November 17, 2015 by shadow_claw

[pudding]

Frisk followed the motions, walking over to the closet easily enough but still giving Sans the same flat look. They wanted answers. They weren't going to let this question go. Not until Sans at least addressed it. Taking one of the towels from the stack, they patted their face with the towel, listening to the whispered voice Sans spoke in. Don't tell Papyrus? Why not? Looking more confused now, they blinked but apparently gave in and finally shrugged and continued to dry off their hair. Fine, they'd accept 'cousin Roman' for now. But Sans better tell them in the future who they were.

[shadow_claw]

When Frisk chose not to push it any further, Sans didn't elaborate. He draped a towel around his shoulders, and picked up the large stack once more. "Just...be careful around him, okay? I don't know how he is with humans yet." Liar. "I can only keep an eyesocket out for you if I'm around." He walked away from the child, returning with Papyrus in the kitchen to clean up. That other Sans...worried him. He had already expressed the willingness to kill Frisk. That alone with enough to worry.

[pudding]

Frisk wrapped the towel around their own body, the towel easily touching the floor. Now that everything was calming down,t eh fact they were covered in water was starting to set in and they were starting to get rather cold. Shivering slightly, they pulled the towel more closely around their body, looking up at Sans with a frown. Watching him walk away, they sighed faintly then walked over to the couch and climbed up onto it, holding the towel around their body and trying to dry off their hair. Nearby, 'cousin Roman' opened up one of his eyes and glanced briefly at the kitchen before walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Frisk. The difference in weight caused the human to bounce upwards slightly.

Looking up at the skeleton, Frisk tilted their head to the side questioningly. The skeleton nodded slightly but didn't say anything, only looked towards the kitchen before relaxing, sitting back into the couch with a sigh.

[shadow_claw]

"Hey bro, how's aboutcha towel off?" Sans suggested, tossing a towel to his brother. Papyrus caught it, chuckling softly. With his free hand, he pulled the plug to the sink. Sans was always so considerate. As the taller skeleton dried off, sans threw towels on the sopping wet floor. Once they all went to bed, he'd clean it up the easy way. He'd save his brother the work of all that. "Dinner's just about ready, huh? I'll do the mopping here, you can start serving."

"Why of course! Cold spaghetti is inedible!" Papyrus smiled widely, seemingly undeterred by the chill settling in. In only a few moments, he had several plates ready to serve. Each was set on the coffee table, complete with a fork and napkin. Four plates in all, one for everybody. Soon did both brothers join Frisk at the couch. For extra measure, Sans placed the towel around his neck on frisk.

"Look like you're...chilled to the bones"

[pudding]

Frisk looked surprised and quickly looked up at Sans as another towel was added to their body. Shifting around slightly, they moved the towel so it was draped over the first and both now helped insulate their body. Their clothes were still soaking wet but they had nothing to replace them with so they remained on. Especially since it was time to eat! "Thank you!" The child said happily as they began to eat the pasta carefully with the fork. Over time, Papyrus's cooking had really improved and the spaghetti was actually edible. That was great considering the first encounter Frisk had with Papyrus's cooking was it frozen solid and stuck to a table.

Sans, meanwhile, sat up slightly and looked at the food on the plate before turning to the other version of himself as what was probably one of the worst puns he had ever heard was said. That was...something. Did this version of him tell ****ty jokes? That was disappointing. But instead of saying something and attracting attention to himself, he looked back down at the plate of spaghetti before looking up at Papyrus.

"Did you make this?" He asked. When was the last time he and his brother had eaten together? Had they ever in the first place? It was so strange that not only this Sans and Papyrus seemed very close, but they had also invited a human to live amongst them and seemed to enjoy it. How could such a flawed and broken family even start to work?

[shadow_claw]

To top it all off, Sans shrugged his massive coat off and placed it around the small child's shoulders. It was really the first time he's taken in off. At least, in front of Frisk. As expected, his upper arms were naught but bones. Which, considering everything, wasn't all that surprising. Who's white shirt beneath served just as well as his coat. Happy with this, he put the plate in his lap and began to eat.

"No problem kiddo. We'll get you tucked into bed here soon, and getcha changed outta those wet clothes." He replied with a smile. Then again, he was always smiling. It was sorta his thing.

 

"Why, yes! Spaghetti is my speciality!" Papyrus seemed more than thrilled at his 'cousin's' question, his expression lighting up with excitement. Sans noticed this too, his approving gaze flickering to his other self just once before he looked back down to eat. It was good that the other Sans wasn't bringing attention to Frisk. It seemed his warning was actually taken heed to.

 

---

 

That...wasn't good. Papyrus ducked as a flame ball was hurled his way, a bone materializing in his hand. "Don't make me waste my time on you. For I, the Great Papyrus, have a home to return to."

Toriel' eyes narrowed, but the flames eventually fizzled out. If he wanted to go further into the underground, why hadn't he knocked? The woman pocketed her phone, frowning.

"Very well. Most people, however, choose to knock and ask to use the passageway." She chided.

[pudding]

Frisk looked up at Sans in surprise but accepted the coat on top of the two towels wrapped around their body. At this point, their body was almost entirely covered by the towels and blankets so that only their head poked out from the top and an arm snaked out to stab the plate of spaghetti so that they could eat the pasta. Looking very pleased with their current state, they continued to eat, quickly finishing off all of the food on their plate and then setting the fork down on top of the plate.

 

Sans paused, taking a few bites of the food before looking up at Papyrus. Offering up a small smile, he nodded at Papyrus approvingly. "It's good," He replied. While smiling was something that occupied his face as almost a resting position, giving sincere compliments was unusual. His home wasn't a place where you complimented others, not even family. It felt weird trying to be nice.

 

-----

 

"I can meet you on the other side of the tunnel," Flowey responded as he started to dip back into the dirt. Or maybe he wouldn't. This skeleton was clearly dangerous and he didn't need to get himself killed. He needed to bide his time until the human made the way to the end clear to him.

[shadow_claw]

"Neh he he! Another wonderful meal from the Great Papyrus!" Looking pleased with himself, the taller of the two skeletons ate happily until he had finished. He collected both his and Frisk's plate, and walked back into the soggy kitchen. Running water could be heard as he cleaned the plates.

 

"My brother...isn't he the coolest?" He said, a distinct look of pride in his expression. For what a confident, clumsy oaf Papyrus was, he was also the sweetest monster he knew. Although his ego was pretty inflated, he was also incredibly selfless. Sans's eyes flickered to his other self as he chewed. He looked...Surprised? What was his domestic life like that made this so surprising? This Sans was already expressively violent. Was he like that to his brother? Poor Pap...he was such a softie. The thought of his other self bullying Papyrus made his heart sink.

[pudding]

Frisk nodded, kicking their legs out from under the towel and swinging them casually as they turned to look at Sans as he spoke. Their nodding increased significantly in response as a small smile formed on their face. Yeah, Papyrus was fantastic. He was nice, funny and always willing to make new friends. Without Papyrus, they probably wouldn't have made friends with Undyne at all. And while they had their fair share of misunderstandings, he was their friend.

"Yeah, he is," Sans replied softly, staring in the direction of the kitchen. Sighing, he turned to look briefly at Frisk before staring at the other Sans instead.

And he smiled.

"Your brother acts so differently from mine. They hardly even look alike." Chuckling slightly, he rubbed the back of his skull almost sheepishly. "They might as well be opposites, really."

[shadow_claw]

"And yet, they're the same person. Strange, isn't it?" Sans replied, his gaze drifting to the kitchen. This other papyrus...has the same soul and yet this Sans claims they're entirely different. "Nature only does so much. It's environment that really shapes character." Sans's gaze rested on Frisk as they spoke. The child had gotten their explanation. The skeletons' 'cousin' looked so much like Sams because he was Sans. Just...not the same version.

[pudding]

Sans closed his eyes in thought, his hands drifting back into his pockets. Everything about this place was so different. Monsters behaved in a warm and welcome way, the human seemed to be able to actually survive with them instead of being killed for a single monster's gain or an attempt to destroy the barrier. And, even more close to home, this version of himself had a very close relationship with both his brother and the human. It was so strange how this other version of himself could just sit by with a human right next to him and not act. Did he not realize he would be reset? That the SAVE files would be merciless in overwriting him? That this entire world bent to the whims of this one individual when it was such a flawed system?

 

How could anyone be so stupid?

 

"Of course," Sans replied. His gaze also turned to the human as he shifted slightly. Did this human even have a name? "Don't worry, kid," He declared, offering up a smile. "I won't stick around here forever. I just need to figure out how to get home and then everything will go back to the way it should be."

 

[shadow_claw]

To this, Sans merely shrugged. The other version of himself could say whatever he wanted, but there was currently no way to take him back to his timeline. It looked like it didn't even exist! Setting his plate in the table, he stood and stretched. "Well...I think it's about time for bed. What do ya think, Frisk? Ready to get changed into your pajamas?" Okay, the pajamas were just one of Papyrus's old shirts, but it was better than soaking wet clothes.

[pudding]

Frisk blinked then nodded, carefully rolling over and slipping off of the couch and onto the floor. Holding onto the two towels and Sans's jacket, they quickly ran across the floor, climbing up the stairs towards the top. Reaching up, they opened the door to Papyrus's room and darted inside to change into the large shirt that had been designated as their pajamas.

 

Sans watched as the kid ran up the stairs before standing up himself. "I'm going to go look around outside. If I ended up in a new timeline, I feel like it wouldn't be unlikely if others found their way into new timelines as well. I should make sure none of them ended up here." With that, he started to walk towards the door to leave.

[shadow_claw]

Sans nodded towards his mirror, watching as he left the house. Papyrus, too, headed off to bed, wishing his brother a good night's sleep. With everyone in the house in bed, he could finally work. Both hands glowed a soft, wispy blue as his eye lit up. In an instant, the water that soaked the floor was a floating blob, wiggling gently in the air. The water was returned to the sink, and the towels were folded back up. There. The light from his eyes fading, Sans stooped and picked up the stack of towels. It...it sucked that he had to hide everything from even his brother. But he did what he could to help.

[pudding]

There wasn't a day and a night in the underground. But there was a time in which most monsters went indoors to rest. Now was one of those times and the streets of Snowdin were largely empty. Making his way a fair distance away from the house to the forest outside of Snowdin. Sitting down under one of the trees, he closed one of his eyes and waited in silence for a few seconds. When he opened it, his blackened eye socket had turned red as he closed his other, normal eye and began to look into the timelines. Papyrus. He needed to find his brother first and foremost. If the timelines had broken down and he had been flung into a new place, it was likely Papyrus found himself in similar shoes.

Or boots, rather.

 

 

Time passed. Near when monsters began to awake, Sans walked back through Snowdin, eventually arriving back at the house. His house. Quietly opening the door, he walked inside and looked around briefly before settling down on the couch. He hadn't been able to find anything noteworthy. No sure signs that Papyrus was fine or even alive. Sighing softly, he curled his legs up against his chest and rested his chin forward on his knees before gradually falling asleep. Using so much energy trying to sort through the timelines had worn him out. He would have to keep looking after some sleep.

zzzzZZZZZZ

[shadow_claw]

Papyrus was the first to leave in the mornings, more than eager to begin his sentry duty. Not that there was much of a big deal to look for humans. After all, Frisk was doing to free them! But Papyrus was true to his word, and had agreed to be a sentry. He crept out of his bedroom, down the stairs, and towards the door. His gaze rested on the sleeping skeleton for a moment. He...sorta reminded himself of Sans. Sans always sleeps like that.. The thought was shrugged off almost immediately. Family were similar. That's how it worked.

 

Sans, however, was a late sleeper. Always was, for that matter. He slept quite poorly on most occasions, so he needed to sleep a good deal. Save for the snowfall outside, the house was silent.

[pudding]

With both of the Sanses fast asleep, the second one to rise was Frisk. Having more or less overtaken the corner underneath the pirate flag Papyrus had hung up (After, of course, moving the desk slightly to the side), they had a pile of blankets dedicated to being their bed. There had been some debate on them staying downstairs or in the garage but Frisk preferred to sleep in Papyrus's room. Which meant that when the skeleton woke up, Frisk was not that long to follow. That being said, the child was slow to completely wake up and spent a fair bit of time changing out of the large shirt they had been given and into their normal shirt, which had been laid out to dry the previous day.

 

Sans had shifted only slightly during the night, going from resting their skull on their knees to draped over one arm of the chair in a position that looked slightly uncomfortable to sleep in considering the angle of his neck. And while under normal circumstances Sans would like to sleep late, he was a very light sleeper by nature. It was a good idea never to sleep soundly where he came from. So when someone walked by him, it was enough to disturb the sleeping skeleton and wake him up. "Papyrus?" Sans asked, looking momentarily confused at the figure near the door before remembering why the skeleton looked so different. Ah, right. "Where are you going?"

[shadow_claw]

Hand on the door, Papyrus turned his head at a voice. For a second, he was sure it was Sans. But Sans never woke up so early! So when his eyes met on his 'cousin', surprise lingered on Papyrus's face. It faded quickly, however. "Good morning Roman!" He greeted cheerfully, recovering from his confusion. He wasn't Sans. His brother was Sans, after all! I signed up for the earliest sentry duty this week, so I can spend time with Frisk when they wake up!" He declared, his eyes shining. Getting up early and getting work done meant there was more time for he and Frisk to play!

[pudding]

His movements were sluggish as Sans placed a hand on the arm of the couch, using it as a way to climb to his feet. After falling asleep in such a poor position on the couch, his bones ached and creaked as he found his footing. Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked over to the door with a smile. "I'll come with you, then," he replied with a nod. "Nobody else is awake yet." It was curious how this version of his home also had sentry duty. For some reason, he found it difficult for Papyrus to set traps for humans when he was so close to one.

[shadow_claw]

Why, of course! You are welcome to join the Great Papyrus at work!" The skeleton beamed, taking his scarf off the coat rack and wrapping it around his neck. "Frisk?" He turned, watching the small child walk down the stairs. "Will you join us? You can try out that new coat Sans and I had bought you!" After discovering humans didn't fare very well in the cold, Sans had scraped together some money to get Frisk a coat. Papyrus got to pick it out. It had been quite a surprising gift to the child!

[pudding]

Sans turned around, looking up at the stairway where the human was. At Papyrus's words, the child looked up then quickly bounced down the rest of the stairs and hurried over to the door. Moving to the coat rack, they grabbed their own jacket off the smallest level. Like many thing in the house, the coatrack had to accommodate both Sans and Papyrus. Thankfully, that meant they could reach one of the lowest levels and use it to carry the coat Papyrus and Sans had bought for them. Quickly slipping it on and zipping it up tight, Frisk nodded and reached up their hand to hold Papyrus's own. They didn't know where he was going to be patrolling today so letting him lead on was the best.

[shadow_claw]

Smiling, Papyrus wrapped his fingers around Frisk's tiny hand. Opening the door, he was surprised to find the resistance the door had given. Hm. It must have snowed quite a bit! Faint footprints could be seen outside. They...looked suspiciously like Sans's shoes. Had he taken a snack run late at night? He often did that. But...there was no trail of water like usual. did eh clean up? Not likely. Sans must have met early. "We're working near Waterfall today! Maybe we can visit Undyne later!"

[pudding]

Frisk stepped out into the snow, followed not long after by Sans. While Frisk seemed pleased with the idea of meeting Undyne and added a slight skip in their step as they kicked their way through the snow, Sans looked a little more confused and possibly even concerned. Glancing between Papyrus and Frisk, he frowned but decided to hold his tongue, instead following closely behind them. If the Papyrus from this world was different, the Undyne had to be as well. Perhaps she wasn't as horrifying. Although, maybe, meeting with her was a bad idea. She might notice more than Papyrus had.

"I may have to leave before," He replied with a small shrug as he walked behind Papyrus and the human. "But I can stay while you work, at least,"

[shadow_claw]

Papyrus turned to the other Sans, his smile widening. "Oh! That's fine. I'm sure Sans would appreciate your company if you choose to leave." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "Or you could have a look around Snowdin! You must be from the kingdom, since we've never met before! I'm sure you'd enjoy a look around!" The taller of the two skeletons chattered on about Snowdin as they walked, nearing the sentry post that was closest to Waterfall. It was clearly one of Papyrus's sentry posts, because it looked tidy and no condiments were stashed anywhere. "Let work...BEGIN!" Promptly did Papyrus stand at attention right in front of the post, remaining still with an intense look on his face. If it hadn't been Papyrus doing this, most would wonder why he would stand for hours just...standing. But the younger of the two skeletons was surprisingly vigilant in his duties...all of them. Though, he was kind enough to stash toys and books for Frisk to play with, and even a small chair for the child. Getting a library card ended up being a great idea.