"...𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕠 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕, 𝕤𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕, 𝕒𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕𝕪."
He spoke fondly, reminiscing on times past many Resets ago in Frisk's journey that was also his.

"..it iŞ Ştrคຖງē t໐ i๓คງiຖē Şน¢h ¢l໐ŞēຖēŞŞ คຖ໓ ຖēē໓ f໐r ¢໐ຖŞtคຖt Şhคriຖງ ໐f th໐นງhtŞ. h໐ຟēงēr ໓i໓ ฯ໐น ๓คຖคງē Şน¢h ค ¢hคຖງē?" Damballah questioned, fascinated.

The dragon chuckled. "𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝕋𝕨𝕠, 𝕚𝕟 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕥. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕤, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕥𝕪."

"໓i໓ ฯ໐น ຖ໐t Ştrนງງlē t໐ ¢໐๓prēhēຖ໓ thēir ๖ēhคงi໐rŞ?" Damballah questioned, baffled.
"𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟." Flapping again, he added:

"𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕟𝕠 𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖. 𝕃𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤. 𝕀𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪, 𝕀 𝕒𝕞.. 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝. 𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕀 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀.. 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕤, 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜, 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 ℕ𝕒𝕡𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕀 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕦𝕓𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕤𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖, 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕠 𝕨𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖.."

Damballah regarded him curiously.
"i ค๓ คl๓໐Şt tē๓ptē໓ t໐ hคงē thiŞ ēxpēriēຖ¢ē ๓ฯŞēlf f໐r คll thē Ş໐ຖງŞ ฯ໐น Şiຖງ ໐f it. rēງrēttค๖lฯ, i ¢คຖຖ໐t ค๖คຖ໓໐ຖ ๓ฯ ໓นtฯ Ş໐ ēคŞilฯ."

Sighing, Saecshiun agreed. "𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕕𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣."

"ฯ໐นr ๖ēliēf iຖ thē lēŞŞēr rค¢ēŞ iŞ Ştill นຖŞhคkค๖lē?" The serpent questioned.
"𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕗 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕, 𝕦𝕟𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕞𝕪 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪, 𝔻𝕒𝕞𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕙. 𝔹𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕚𝕗 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙."

"i ค๓ iຖ¢liຖē໓ t໐ ๖ēliēงē hน๓คຖŞ ຟ໐นl໓ ๖ē ໓iffi¢นlt t໐ ¢hคຖງē, ๖นt i ค๓ ຖ໐ l໐ຖງēr thē ๓໐Şt kຖ໐ຟlē໓ງēค๖lē iຖ thē ๓คttēr." Damballah pointed out, regarding a faint strip of land along the horizon.

"คh. ຟhēຖ ຟē rēค¢h thคt ¢໐คŞt, i ຟill ຖēē໓ t໐ ໓ēpคrt คຖ໓ rētนrຖ t໐ คฯi໓ค. i ຟill Şhคrē ๓ฯ kຖ໐ຟlē໓ງē ໐f ๑นētຊคl¢໐คtl'Ş ໓ēຖ thēຖ, ๖นt i ຟคrຖ ฯ໐น thคt Şน¢h iຖf໐r๓คti໐ຖ iŞ hiງhlฯ Ş໐นງht คftēr ๖ฯ lēŞŞērŞ ຟh໐ ຟ໐นl໓ ēຖ໓lēŞŞlฯ Şēēk hiŞ คttēຖti໐ຖŞ. i คŞk thคt ฯ໐น ງนคr໓ it ຟēll."
"𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥 𝕠𝕗 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕝'𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕗𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕖, 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕." Saecshiun assured him.

"friēຖ໓?" Asked the flying serpent.
"𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤. 𝕀𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕨 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤. 𝕎𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕓𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕤, 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕, 𝕪𝕖𝕤?" Saecshiun explained patiently.

"คlคŞ, i hค໓ ຖ໐t kຖ໐ຟຖ ໐f ค titlē f໐r Şน¢h! thคຖk ฯ໐น f໐r thiŞ kຖ໐ຟlē໓ງē, friēຖ໓ Şคē¢Şhiนຖ!" The sky serpent wiggled in delight, twisting through the air.
"𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟." The dragon told him, the shoreline rapidly approaching.

They fell to comfortable silence then, flying along towards the beach and land beyond, air much warmer than it should have been, like a broiling day of summer that would be spent in laziness in centuries past.

The pair descended, sliding into the water and coming ashore on light brown sand, both regarding the trees beyond in varying degrees of reluctance.

"𝕀𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥." Saecshiun noted.
"rēງrēttค๖lฯ Ş໐." Damballah agreed before they regarded each other.
"𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕞𝕖?"
"ฯēŞ, ๖นt i ๓นŞtຖ't คll໐ຟ it t໐ ๖ē ໓iŞ¢ērຖē໓ ๖ฯ คຖฯ ຟh໐ ๓iງht ๖ē ค๖lē t໐ liŞtēຖ คຖ໓ lēคrຖ. ¢໐๓ē ¢l໐Şēr."

He leaned in, watching as the dark serpent drew near and pressed his snout to the dragon's forehead with a spark of prismatic magic. A moment passed, and intimate knowledge was directly passed into his mind, the wisp of another's magic swirling into him before the serpent backed away. Saecshiun blinked, processing it and then nodding.

"𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝔻𝕒𝕞𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕙.... 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝. 𝕎𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥. 𝕌𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟, 𝕞𝕪 𝕗-" A distant screeching interrupted him, the dragon blinking again and looking around, serpent following his gaze in equal befuddlement.

Far off and following the coast was a shape riding the thermals off the beach on wobbly wings, shrieking incomprehensibly.
"ຟhคt iŞ thคt? i ŞēຖŞē Şēຖtiēຖ¢ē คຖ໓ ๓คງi¢, ๖นt ¢คຖຖ໐t plค¢ē ຟhคt kiຖ໓." Damballah queried.
"𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖." Saecshiun admitted, squinting until it became clearer- at which he felt suddenly cold.

Both reptiles watched as the small winged figure dove in for a landing still some short distance away, stumbling on the sand and running the rest of the way.

Finally, a monster stood before them, gasping with his paws on his knees, wingtips dragging in the sand.
"I.. heuhh. Ran too fast. Sorry. Hh. Hnh. Okay."
"..𝔸𝕤𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝?"

The child's head shot up, red eyes wide and somewhat confused.
"Sans?"
He winced, unsure of how to explain. Damballah looked between the two, not understanding.
"hē iŞ Şคē¢Şhiนຖ, littlē ໐ຖē."

Asriel immediately flinched.
"No, his name is Sans. He just. Looks like a dragon and everything. He's not a dragon. Right? Sans? You're okay, right?" His voice wobbled near the end, full of hidden fears.

"..𝔸𝕤𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝." He leaned forward, huffing a breath over the child's fur. "𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒 𝕤𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕕𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟."
The goat child shuddered, stepping back. "Wh- why are you ta-a-alking like that, Sans? I don't. I don't understand."

The dragon hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
"𝕀 𝕒𝕞.. 𝕀 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕀 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕘𝕠. 𝕀 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕣, 𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝔼𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤."

As he feared, that didn't help very much. A few tears welled up in the child's eyes. "What about Sans? A-and Frisk? I- all of Snowdin needs Sans! Papyrus still needs him! And Frisk just wanted to help everyone! They don't deserve to be taken away by some- some dumb dragon like you! Give me Sans back! I want them back!" He started kicking the dragon's claws. "Give them back you stupid lizard!"

"𝔸𝕤𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝." He repeated, abruptly grabbing the young Dreemur. The child screamed in frustration.
"I came! All this way! For my friends! Sans saved me! I'm not, I'm not letting some stupid dead dragon take him away because Soul stuff or whatever and I swear if you don't give him back, I'm going to-"
"𝕂𝕚𝕕."

He cut short, staring in shock, eyes watery.
"Wh?"
Saecshiun gently shook the child, adopting a much more recognizable tone.
"𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕. 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦?"
After a long moment, he nodded jerkily.

Sighing, the dragon set him down.
"𝕀 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕤𝕖𝕥, 𝔸𝕤𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖, 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤: 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕤. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 ℕ𝕒𝕡𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕞𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕦𝕓𝕤𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟. 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤?"

The child stared, struggling to wrap his mind around the information. "I.. but." His face soured. "If you really were Sans, you wouldn't have just left everyone without explanation!"
"𝔸𝕤𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝, 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕟𝕠 𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣." Saecshiun remarked.

"𝔹𝕖𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕔𝕦𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕝 𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥, 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥." He glared pointedly. "𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖, 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦?"
"..No…" Asriel murmured confusedly. "Sans wanted to save his dad.."

"𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕪 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟." He nodded. "ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕝 𝕚𝕤 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔼𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕤, 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 ℕ𝕠𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕝𝕤𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕓𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕟𝕖."

"Do you not wonder why he can do that? I thought it was inaccessible or inescapable- how-"
"𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕤."
"I guess..?" Asriel shifted awkwardly.

Saecshiun leaned back, sighing.
"ℕ𝕠𝕨, 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕚𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕞𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤, 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕠 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕗𝕖-" He stopped short at the flash of fear that passed over the child's face.
"..𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜, 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦?"

Asriel looked away. "I.. I don't. I followed your Determination."
"𝕀 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙. 𝕀'𝕞 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜." He snorted.
The young Dreemur recoiled. "What if you get poisoned again?"
"𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖."

He looked up hesitantly. "It's not?"
The dragon shook his head. "𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤𝕤. 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜- 𝕚𝕗 𝕚𝕥 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙."

"I.. I don't know." Asriel admitted. "I want to be able to find you, I don't want to lose you because Snowdin- Papyrus- they're all counting on me! You can't disappear! They need Sans! And I'll get hi-"
"𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕖." Saecshiun interrupted with laughter coloring his words.

Asriel scrunched up his face, annoyed but agreeing. "O-okay fine. If you really need it that bad." He huffed, arms crossed.

The dragon had to resist the urge to laugh at the sight as he reached over, resting a single claw on the child's chest, poking the sweater as red eyes looked anxiously into his own.
He could feel the distant pang of fear as the youth stared into his eyes and he stared back.

A minute later, Asriel gasped and fell back, a wisp of red leaving him as the dragon caught him, the goat child blinking rapidly in a bout of dizziness.
"That was weird." He muttered in a daze, eyes unfocused.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕕𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤, 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕕. 𝔼𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤." Saecshiun explained patiently, cradling the child in one talon. Asriel laid there wearily, processing the information. He continued before the Dreemur could speak.

"𝕊𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖, 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. ℍ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣, 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕣𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕪, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕠𝕗 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕝'𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖. 𝔸𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝. 𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤?" He faced Damballah.

The serpent, previously a silent observer, considered this.
"if hē iŞ ໐f ງrēคt i๓p໐rtคຖ¢ē ค๓໐ຖງ ๓໐ຖŞtērkiຖ໓, i trนŞt iຖ hiŞ ค๖ilitฯ t໐ ¢คrrฯ Şē¢rētŞ. h໐ຟēงēr, i hคงē ¢໐ຖ¢ērຖŞ ໐f h໐ຟ ๑นētຊคl¢໐คtl ຟill rēค¢t t໐ ໐ຖē ໐f thē lēŞŞēr rค¢ēŞ ຟithiຖ hiŞ ໓ēຖ, Ş໐ it ๓คฯ ๖ē ๖ēŞt t໐ ຖ໐t tคkē thē littlē ໐ຖē iຖt໐ thē Şคຖ¢tนคrฯ. ๖ēฯ໐ຖ໓ thคt, i Şēē ຖ໐ iŞŞนē iຖ thiŞ."

Tapping his chin to his breast, the dragon raised his wings in finality. "𝕍𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕕. 𝔽𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕, 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕖 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟." He rumbled, then launched his weight into the air, circling to catch a thermal as Asriel choked and clung to his talons, watching the world spin and begin to fall away as the dragon flew ever higher, flying serpent watching them go.

With one companion left behind and another gained, Saecshiun winged his way towards the place that would be Quetzalcoatl's great sanctuary of the titans that once roamed the lands.

Asriel watched it pass by faster than he could fly in awe, wind whistling and blowing back his ears as he beamed in hope. He was there, it was possible that Sans was not fully gone, and he might be able to return with the one that held a good part of the Underground together and it's human savior, dragon or not.

With that thought, Asriel raised his arms and whooped, voice ripped away by the wind.
A moment later, and the dragon let loose a deep, guttering roar, tilting his head to regard the goat child in his grasp with a smile.

Something about the mischievous and amused glint in those multicolored eyes reminded him of Sans.
Both Sans and Frisk.
He dared hold on to the hope that both were indeed somewhere in there, waiting to wake up again and remind him they were not gone forever.
Asriel kept smiling, Chara daring to believe it as well.