(Well, I just wanna say, like I pretty much always do, You guys are AMAZING! You stick around and keep me sane, despite my chapters coming in long intervles.... Uh. I know. I totally suck ass. I still love you guys though, and I'm truly grateful for all those still here in NOVAmber. ;)

Okay, so this chapter is going to be a bit more intense, but many questions you'll have at the end will have answers that come in time. Trust me. I don't want TOO many spoilers all at once. It ruins the mystery. At least, for me it does. So yeah. Without further adu, we're going to head into the next bit.

The Song for this section really challenged me here, but I finally decided on something that, works both for this chapter, but also really fits with what's going on. Again, the songs I use for this story are an integral part of it all, and sometimes there are clues hidden within them. ;)

.....Right. So yeah, that said, let's get to the goods! :D

Artist: Starset

Song: Halo

Link: http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=7Qw4IpcIMqw#Halo-Starset_Lyrics_HD

  And as always, I love you all and I truly hope you enjoy!))  

           "Love is composed of a single soul.....

                                                                   ......Inhabiting two bodies." - Aristotle

Sans blinked, bringing a hand up to rub at one eye as he peered around. He was surrounded by total darkness. Last he remembered, Strife's house hadn't been quite this dark. Rising, he brought up a hand and used his magic to shine an orange glow, bathing him in light, but still he saw nothing. Was this the void that Frisk had told him about? And if so, then why exactly was he within it?

"Frisk?" He called out, not daring to be too loud. The sound traveled, but never bounced from any surface, leaving a very uneasy feeling to settle over him. Bringing his blasters out, just to be safe, he took a few tentative steps, hoping to sight something... anything that would tell him what exactly was going on. Suddenly, light began to gradually reveal itself, and before he could blink, Sans realized that he was in Snowdin. A short distance away, he could see his house, but something seemed.... different about this. Something he couldn't exactly put a finger on. Snow crunching under his shoes, he started toward the familiar door, intent on finding Papyrus and making sure he was alright. It didn't seem like the timeline had been reset, but still had the residual feel of another timeline in general. Just before he could open the door however, Frisk came walking from within, laughing. He scratched the back of his skull in confusion. First, how had she gotten all the way back here, and second, why was she wearing different clothing? A pink hoodie with black pockets, hood down with her hair up in a messy bun, long black pants that flared at the bottom and white sneakers. He opened his mouth to speak until he heard a familiar voice.... His voice.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Frisk."

She looked back while Sans watched himself come through the door. His eyes widened at the sight. What the hell was going on? "Frisk?" he said, loud enough that he knew she'd hear, but she didn't even bat an eye his way. "Frisk!" he said again, now with worry laced in the word. Still nothing.

"Don't worry. I don't give up easily." There was challenge in her voice, and the other him seemed to revel in it. "I'm counting on it. Suddenly, this whole scene somehow seemed so familiar. Yes... Next, she would grab a snowball and...

.... Sure enough, she did so before throwing it right in his face. He remembered this. Next, he'd tackle her to the snow and they'd roll around laughing.

A tear then pricked his eye at the sight, a smile widening on his face. This had happened.... just before her birthday. Realization struck like a hammerblow. She'd.... been here, in the Underground with him. They'd been together. Not in a dream, but really here. That tear began running down his cheek at the sound of their laughter resounding within his mind just before the image faded to black. It took another minute or so before he could see again, but it was as if he blinked and everything went from pitch black to him standing in the corner of his room. Yet another familiar sight. The two of them sitting on his bed, backs to one another, playing the guitar. This time, Frisk's hair was down and she wore a simple white t-shirt with a pair of thin black sweatpants, toes poking through the cuffs at the bottom. As he watched, Sans felt a jolt of recognition. That strange image in the mirror when they'd been doing this very thing after the Ball. It wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him. That was a glimpse of a memory that'd been somehow taken from him. How could he have possibly forgotten her? She-.... she'd been the love of his life... Unfortunately, the one thing he couldn't remember was how she'd ended up on the surface, and why he wasn't there with her. 

Floodgates opened, pools that now spilled over and down before dripping onto his hoodie as he listened to the song they were singing. Their song. The same song they'd sang after the ball together. That was how he knew all the words. They'd been buried somewhere deep within his mind, and had somehow reared themselves when she began playing. Wiping away at his eyes, he gaped, trying to take it all in, but couldn't seem to tear his focus away from Frisk. He knew her... felt her... remembered her touch and her kiss. How she'd laugh and writhe in his arms when he'd tickle her in the morning, waking up together.... She was always there. Unlike now, however. Sans couldn't remember a time that he wanted to hold her as much as he did now. Just to know she was there... that she wouldn't leave him alone for good...

Once again, the bedroom scene faded, and when the light resurfaced, they were in Waterfall. Frisk lay in his arms, humming gently while running a finger idly over his ribs through the fabric of his hoodie. This was absolute torture! Sans moved towards her, wanting to take that hand and get her to notice him.... but when he tried to do so, his fingers passed right through hers. He felt like a ghost, trapped in echoes of a past he hadn't even known he had until now. So he did the only thing that felt right. He stepped over her and laid his body as flush as he could with the vision of himself. He might not feel her touching him, but this was the closest he was going to come. The melody she hummed would haunt him until the moment he was with her again....

..... If that moment would ever come, he didn't know.... and that scared him more now than ever.

She'd been his heart, and he'd been hers. The day she fell into the Underground, she'd turned his whole world upside down.... and he loved her for it. Both then and now. He sniffed, tears soaking the inside of his hood as they flowed like twin streams down the sides of his skull.

"Sans?" she'd said, which startled him. "Hmm?"he'd replied. "Will it always be like this?" Sans could feel his soul aching, wishing and praying he could stop reliving all of these memories so he could go and look for her. He realized that the memory of himself took longer to answer that than he should have, and he remembered why. It was because he was afraid, even then, of losing her. Of everything somehow being reset, losing that timeline entirely and her with it. He also remembered why this moment was so significant, and why he could now feel a torturous gnawing at his soul. Here, he'd turned his head, placing a hand at her chin to lift her eyes so they met his. "Y'know what, Doll? Yeah. It will.... and y'know why?" he'd paused, loving the way her brows drew together slightly in confusion before he'd finally said it.... "Because... I love you."

Sans rose, watching the living embodiment of his most cherished memory as Frisk flung her arms around his neck and kissed him fervently. "I... I love you too, Sans." he heard her say, and it was like a stab in the chest. With his sleeve, he wiped away the tears as the scene once more faded into darkness. He stood, waiting for the next that came moments later. They were sitting around a board game of some kind. Him, Frisk, Asriel and... Chara. Sans went wide eyed, another memory slapping him in the face. Chara was her... sister. How could he not remember that?! That was why they looked so similar.

"Do you guys always have to be all over each other like that?" Chara began. "You jealous?" Sans had said, smirking smugly at her as he watched her back stiffen and her arms crossing over her chest. "No! But you're nauseating to watch. C'mon, we're trying to play a game here. It's your turn." she'd retorted, to which Asriel reached over and took her hand as if to placate her. Chara had turned to him with a brow raised. He only smiled apologetically, causing Chara to sigh, relenting. "Fine. Enjoy you're little 'puppy love' phase. When it finally passes, the world will rejoice." Chara said, and Sans watched the scene intently, still baffled as to how this all happened without him remembering any of it until now. The scene began to fade with Asriel leaning over to rub his nose against Chara's until everything was sucked into the darkened void. He didn't know how much more of this he could take....

From the corner of his eye, he spotted something in the distance. Turning, he could see two figures. One on their knees, seemingly hunched over, and the other standing. Upon closer inspection, Sans realized that the figure on her knees was Frisk, her face in her hands and tears wracking her entire body. Chara stood before her, grinning wickedly down at her sister. "Frisk!!" Sans shouted, but it fell upon deaf ears. He tried several more times, but still she didn't turn to him. This wasn't a memory though, so why? 

And that was when he felt it. The violent ripping within his Soul. Eyes darting toward it, Sans gasped, fear taking root as he watched the red begin to slowly drain away. It was only a little, but a little was still far too much. The vision of the two began to distort slightly with that, and when Sans tried to grab for her, his hands once again passed right through. "DAMMIT!" he bellowed in sheer frustration before gently taking his soul within his hands and looking at it sadly. When he finally raised his eyes back to Chara, her mouth was moving, but there was no sound. Then, once again, he felt that horrible shock before something began leeching a little more of the red away. Now, he was left with nearly three quarters of the orange he'd been used to before Frisk had come along this time around. Oddly, now that he recalled it, their souls hadn't merged like this in his memories... so why had they now? 

Sans tried to call out for her again, but even his own voice sounded muffled. She seemed so far away from him now, blurred and fading until.....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bright white light flourished, blocking out the darkness and taking Chara with it. "Noo!" She screamed, not wanting to leave the conversation where they had. There was too much left unsaid. Too many things that needed to be mended. Why did Chara hate her so much? All she'd said was that it'd been all Frisk's fault, but no more... and now this. In the distance, she could hear faint beeping, and the sound of ragged breathing. Wait... that was her breathing. Feeling as though she'd had the air ripped from her lungs, something was then placed over her face and voices began wavering in and out. 

Mass.... Large.... Brain....

It was all she could make out before the light dissolved, luring her back into the welcoming onyx vale that had somehow become like an escape from reality. Stuck between two worlds, but missing the one thing... that one light that kept the darkness at bay....  

She missed him. So much, it hurt. She'd felt the loss when something wrenched a pieces of his Soul from her own. It was like she'd lost a part of herself in the process. Where was he? Was he okay? Eyes closed, Frisk began to rouse, blades of grass settling between her fingers and creating a soft bed beneath her lying form. When her eyes opened, she stared up at a canopy of connecting tree branches with their leaves covering and blocking out any light from above. The forest then.

"Sans?..." her throat burned, the name rasping in hoarse tones through dehydrated vocal cords. How long had it been since she'd had any water? And for that matter, how long had she been asleep this time? If her sandpaper tongue was any indication, it'd been too long. Groaning as she pushed her body into a sitting position, Frisk rubbed at her aching muscles. Legs, arms... she was stiff and sore all over.  

"Sans? Are you there?" She said, gaining a bit more volume this time. Still no response, however. Pulling her knees to her chest, she began recalling the things Chara had said toward the end and a shudder wracked her frame. It couldn't be true. She refused to believe it.... and there was no way she was telling Sans because it wasn't going to happen. 

No. She was going to haul her stiffened ass up and find him no matter how long it took. Now that she had most of her memory back, it was hard to believe she'd ever forgotten. Did he know? Did he remember too? Remember the laughs? The stolen kisses and whispered words? She could only hope as much, but would recall it all to him when they finally found one another if he didn't to hopefully help him along. 

Using a nearby tree to pull herself up, Frisk felt moss on one side and smiled. She'd seen enough movies to know that it meant water was nearby. All she had to do was follow the path. For some odd reason, everything seemed.... darker. More mysterious than it had before. There were leaves scattered about the forest floor, and the trees almost appeared to be crouching and crowding one another. To stave off the worst of her worry and stay occupied, Frisk began to hum to herself as she walked, keeping her eyes peeled just in case she needed to hide, or could possibly spot Sans. Instead, she was soon met with the welcomed sound of moving water. A stream ran through and separated one side of the forest from the other.... but there was also something else. A lone figure seemed to be standing.... wait, were they in the water? Frisk squinted to try and get a better look as her footsteps slowed to avoid confrontation if they appeared dangerous. When she was close enough to see, she realized that the figure was standing atop a raft that floated idly, unmoving despite the traveling waters below. A few steps closer made it much easier to make them out, and the first thing that came to mind was Jedi. A snort followed that thought, but she quickly stifled it to try and remain unseen by the individual. 

"Please, come forth. Mine ears have heard thy laughter and wish to partake in your mirth. And should thee require transportation, thy well of luck doth certainly run deep on this day." 

A male voice then. At least, that's the way it sounded to her. He was too heavily shrouded in that dark brown robe to see a face though. It was large in the arms, coming down to cover the figures hands almost entirely while open in the front to reveal.... was that chainmail? Yet another oddity. And the hood was enormous, covering his face entirely and surrounding it in shadows....

Mysterious indeed.

"Transportation, you say?" She piped up, still feeling her throat ache as she spoke. "Oh yes." said the figure. "I shall grant thee passage aboard this vessel. T'would be my honor, m'lady." 

She had never considered a raft to be a vessel, but eh. She'd roll with it anyway. "Thank you." she started, feeling compelled to exercise manners in this situation.  He certainly talked rather funny though. "Can you take me to Stormcity?"

"Oh, absolutely M'lady. Please, allow me to grant such a small favor." said the Ferryman, as she dubbed him. Taking the hand outstretched to her, Frisk walked onto the raft, which wobbled under her feet until she finally took a seat. And with that, they were off to Stormcity, and hopefully, Sans. If her...as he'd said, well of luck doth run that deeply, he'd be there....

.... he just had to be.