((This chapter could be better.))

Sans almost screamed in frustration when he woke up at the entrance to the Underground.
Thankfully he didn't. He was initially outraged that he was still stuck in his own attack, but then he realized something unnerving.
Talons gripped gravelly earth and flowers, and hands tightened around balled sheets.
...What?

He sat up in bed in a dark room, simultaneously blinking at the lightening sky. It wasn't like something in the back of his mind as a Blaster should be- rather, it was like he was halfway between the two: himself, and the dragonish creature.

Stumbling to his feet back in his room, Sans groaned. How am I supposed to focus now? He asked himself, rubbing his skull
...Sans..?
And he forgot about Frisk.
Where were you last night? He couldn't help but ask.
What do you mean? I've been here.. did you not fall asleep too?

He blinked at the light seeping through the bottom of his door and the sun on the waves outside the mountain. I mean, I did, but.. didn't stay asleep.
What did I miss, then?

Sans chuckled drily under his breath while approaching his door, ignoring how the Blaster softly chortled.
I was stuck in it. He mentally regarded the creature by way of indication.
It wasn't a good time.
...I don't see why, that sounds cool.
Sure, until you just want to sleep and deal with more important things than.. dragon crap. He growled quietly while making his way downstairs.

There are dragons?
Yeah, and apparently I'm related to them!
Frisk froze, then continued. And that isn't epic as hell to you?
Maybe under different circumstances, it would be.
He glanced at his hand, the grey object gripped within now molded by the impression of his phalanges.

I have more important things to worry about.
Saving the Grey Followers? Or.. scientists, I mean.
Yes.
How do you plan on doing it?
You've seen my basement.
No way.

He snorted quietly while arriving in the kitchen, peering into the fridge while pondering Papyrus's whereabouts. He lit up at the sight of a half-eaten burger from Grilby's in the back, snatching it up with a grin as he turned away- only to freeze.

Well that's where he went. He thought, staring up at his brother without his favorite armor.
"Heya Pap. You good?" He set it down on the counter, seeing the stricken face.
Papyrus suddenly swooped him up in a tight embrace.
"Hey, whoa, what's going on bro?"

"A long overdue brotherly hug." Papyrus stated, the waver in his voice unmistakable.
Sans cautiously returned the hug, concerned.
"Something's got you rattled." He murmured.
"...You screamed, Sans."
"Huh?"

"Last night, in your sleep, you seemed to have a terrible nightmare. You were screaming like you were being attacked and I- I could do nothing." He sighed shakily. "And before then, Undyne had called about your attack going on a rampage again, this time kidnapping the Prince, and I thought- I was worried that you-" "Whoa, whoa, Paps, calm down. I'm fine. There was no rampage. The kid wasn't kidnapped. Nappy was just helping him get home and Asriel wanted to give him.. scream therapy on the spot. It was a misunderstanding."

Papyrus held him at arm's length. "Really?"
Sans held his arm around his brother's, smiling gently. "Yeah."
The taller closed his sockets with a relieved sigh, before huffing. "You were still hurt." He pointed out, before blinking.
"And how did you know what happened? You were asleep!"
Sans hesitated. "That's where it gets weird.."
Papyrus set him fully on his feet and stared expectantly.

Sans chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his neck vertebrae. "How do I put this.. I just kind of woke up? But in the Blaster..?"
"How?"
"Beats me. All I know is I just wanted to sleep and wake up like normal again."
"What about Napstablook? He had been possessing it."
"Still feel him there, I think he's still conked out. Lucky." He glanced at the burger on the counter longingly.
"Well.." Papyrus noted his hungry gaze with disappointment in the food choice before brightening. "At least you are back to normal now!"

Sans was reaching for the cold food before hesitating.
"I mean.. for the most part, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Papyrus inquired, sockets narrowing.
Sans shrugged, still a little confused about it himself.
"Dunno. It's like I'm still half there."
"In what way, Sans?"
"Can't ignore it, I guess. It's weird, can we leave it at that?"
Papyrus sighed. "All right, I will. For now! Because I will be continually curious until I understand what is bothering you!"

"Heh." He bit into the food. "Okay, bro." He hummed, still tired. Papyrus gave him an odd look, then turned. "I will call Undyne to explain the plight, as she is currently at Alphys's place today!"
"Nah, it's not really that much of.. an issue." He trailed as Papyrus zoomed away.

"..Welp." He resigned to zone out and stare at the ocean in the morning light from the entrance of the Underground. It still pulled at him, like sleep called when one was exhausted.

A light footstep rustled a patch of flowers, and both selves tensed before he forced one to relax, turning to peer at the strange, slightly brown skeleton he'd seen the night before. Muddy orange eyelights stared at the Blaster with a strange lack of fear and awe, instead with a look he recognized from Gerson when the old turtle knew something and chose not to tell.

He hesitantly shifted to a more upright position, ready to leap up in case something happened.
"𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞."
"I never had the chance to toss it." This one had a different accent than Abbadon and Urbane, softer with hissing tones, more soft-spoken.
There was a pause, and the elder continued.
"Avalon."

He would have given his name, but Sans quickly realized that he generally felt tenser in this form, snappy and hesitant, especially with telling others anything about himself.

Avalon suddenly rested a hand on the end of his snout, making him immediately snarl, but his gaze caught onto the flames the other was producing; warm, orange, crackling softly as they moved in slow patterns before him. The snarl died and he gradually eased, despite his nerves.
The other murmured softly, stepping away with his hand still out, still aflame.

The fire faded after one final loop, spelling out a word in no language he knew. Sans leaned forward, expecting more- until he became conscious of what he was doing, pausing in confusion.

"How do you feel?"
Sans blinked several times, still lost on what just happened.
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?" He questioned, noting the sound of Papyrus on the phone getting loud from somewhere else.
"Nothing important." Avalon chuckled, turning to gaze out at the morning. Sans stared for a moment longer, then followed his gaze, still bewildered.

The confusion began to fade, forgotten as he stared at the ocean, waves roiling and crashing onto the beach hypnotically.
...He never even cared about the ocean before.
"This must be quite the abrupt change for you."
He blinked, regarding Avalon.
"𝐀 𝐛𝐢𝐭." He admitted.

"Do you feel it? The sky calling? Does the forest make you want to run away into its depths and live free?"
Sans didn't answer, not sure how to reply. Avalon faced him, face full of intrigue.
"Doesn't the world feel empty and restless, waiting to wake?"

Sans shuffled in place, staring out where he was drawn to. "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬." He sniffed the faintly saltine breeze, faint from the distance.
For a moment, there was nothing. Then Avalon murmured in wonder.
"It's the sea that calls you. You sense something there."

He coughed, more of a gagging sound in this form as he stood.  "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?"
Avalon smiled like he'd won. "I see the way you gaze at it. Like a starved wolf gazes after elk. Tell an old bones about it, will you? Perhaps I could help you understand it."
"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭."

"I'm a nostalgic old skeleton, Sans. I miss the days where you could look up into the sky and find a thunder of dragons there. I miss when you could enter a cave and find fire elementals living amidst the molten rock deep within, or find their kin in the deserts with the winds living freely. I miss the days where the ents grew taller than trees instead of burying themselves under the earth for an eternal sleep. The world was so alive a hundred years before the War. Now I look out into the sunlight for the first time in a century, and the air is thin and flat, and I fear the world we knew is lost to us. Humor me for a little while, won't you?"

Sans stared at him, struck by the sadness Avalon had revealed in his brief monologue.
"... 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭."
"Of course you didn't.. you would have been but a little bones when the war began. You've been spared much grief because of that." Avalon smiled tiredly, touching a phalange between his sockets and glancing out at the gleaming towers, brilliant in the morning light.

"They say a thousand years passed in the world outside."
Sans chuffed, glancing away. "𝐀 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲."
Avalon seemed to age a little more upon hearing that.
"...Makes one wonder if this world even remembers what it once was."
Sans made to speak, but his voice died.

A minute passed before he'd collected his thoughts enough to say something.
"𝐈𝐭.. 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬."

Avalon glanced at him, saddened. "Truly?" Sans shook his skull. "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬." A smile tugged at him, remembering certain times with fondness.

"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧, 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫."
"To improve, one must work for it."
Sans nodded. "𝐈𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞."

"...Do you truly believe that all the magic in the world was trapped by and inside the Barrier?" Avalon questioned him.
Sans hesitated, then shrugged. "𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧."
"Of course there is, boy. You've just been ignoring the signs."

Summoning an attack into his hand, Avalon pointed it to the ocean, flame flickering on its end. "Newly arrived magic takes a long, long time to settle down into something. Even longer to call out to Souls and draw them close. Yet the ocean already calls you. There is magic already settled there, and it is waiting for you." He rapped the bone on one of Sans's ribs.

He snorted, blowing steam and giving up on hiding it. "𝐖𝐡𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧? 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨?"
Avalon hummed, now leaning on the bone like a cane. "I know of your mission, Sans. The young prince told me of it. And I know that anything involving that which is beyond us and this world is best taken to the Elder Races. And I know that they are not dead and gone. I will not say how just yet, for it is not my secret to tell, but I will tell you that your chances improve exponentially if you can obtain a dragon's assistance. Is that not what you want?"

Sans growled, pawing the flower-strewn gravelly earth. "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞.. 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟? 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞.. 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜!"
"Then prove me wrong." Avalon stated calmly.

"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭?" He paused, staring at the strange skeleton.
"You heard me." He nodded to the distant waves. "Go out there. Answer the call. Tell me what you find there. Prove that I am just an old skeleton with an idyllic view of dragons."

"𝐈.. 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭." He set his talon flat on the earth.
"And why is that?"
"𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝- 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚-" "Then do that."
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭?"
"Work on this project of yours. After all, is this body not just a special attack? You have your real body elsewhere, far off already, in the depths of your Underground. At home, I imagine. You have the ability to essentially be in two places at once. So why don't you go out there and work on your project at once, hmm?"

"𝐈-.." Sans hesitated, having not thought of that. Was it even possible? He gazed out at the ocean, now more helplessly drawn than ever. Something in him was screaming to just do it, awaken, awaken, awaken- He shook his skull, clearing it.

"𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚝."
He tensed at Napstablook's voice, only to relax against his will, the ghost awake and now taking part control. He found himself beginning to agree, tired of the fear and confusion.
"...𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭... 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤."

"That hardly seems like something I'd mind." Avalon smiled as Sans strode over to the cliff, glancing back.
"𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕."
With that said, they leapt off, down into the trees, landing with a huff and galloping away.

Back in the kitchen, the empty wrapper fell from his hand as Sans leaned against the cabinet, stunned by his own decision.
Two places at once.
What am I doing? He asked himself.
𝚃𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙, 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜.. Napstablook replied, from within the Blaster that was still moving further and further away. That was still something to wrap his mind around, as impossible as it should have been.

… For the most part, he decided not to try and understand it. He could already do impossible things, so why not? It didn't matter.
In fact, Avalon was right; it helped. He could do things at the same time, and he knew what he was doing first- well, aside from running full speed away from Ebott.
..This was going to be harder to comprehend than he thought.

With both an irritated snort and sigh, Sans teleported out of his house and to the space his Blaster had previously occupied, gazing out at the ocean his other half could no longer see due to trees. It still called to him.
"..You seem uneasy."

He slowly turned to give the old one a look. "If you were in my position, wouldn't you be uneasy too?"
Avalon snorted. "I wouldn't. But perhaps that is why it is you with this destiny and not an old bones like me."

Sans quietly sighed into his hand- partly annoyed at his own irritation. For a moment, he made no effort to continue the conversation.
Then he shoved down the tension and put on a blank grin.
"You agreed that we'd chat."
Avalon smiled infuriatingly. "We did indeed. What did you want to discuss?"

With a controlled twitch, Sans studied him… and promptly gave up all pretenses. "What is with all these dragon references? Why me? I've only heard about dragons once or twice my entire life before yesterday, and now they're suddenly everything! I just.. I want to understand."
"I know."
"If you do, then can you please." He stared hard, forcing down a strange panic.

Avalon sighed, spinning the makeshift cane around in a circle before casting it away, folding his hands in front of himself. "I imagine dragons are not often mentioned on your side. None of the races in your Underground have much of anything to do with them. To you, they were known as one of the races that could have helped in the war and did not, correct?"

"..No." Sans frowned. "I didn't know they had anything to do with that. Just that they were like monsters and vanished, if they were even real in the first place."
"That is partly true." Avalon hesitated, regarding a yellow flower at his feet thoughtfully.

"For the most part, all Elder Races went into hiding. From the greats that ruled the elements themselves- such as the dragons, yes- to lesser creatures of the world that were closer to monsters than otherwise. There were many that resembled even humans that wandered the earth. But to say that dragons kept entirely out of the war would be a lie. Many lesser dragons, earth giants, fae and nymphs joined forces with monsterkind near the beginning, but nearly all took to vanishing when it became clear we would not win. I nearly joined them in retreat myself."
"What?" Sans blinked at him.

Avalon chuckled, gesturing to himself. "I am not a full-blooded skeleton, you can tell. But neither do I conduct myself quite as a nymph." He held out a hand, the flower beneath suddenly shooting up and gently meeting it, petals flush as their slightly curled edges straightened out. Sans just blankly stared as Avalon lightly brushed one petal with tender care, then waved and it sank back down to its original height.
"You're a dryad?" He blurted.

Now the other chuckled. "No, no, dryads are closer to trees and the ents, specifically oak. My mother was a nymph. And with luck, perhaps she is still alive somewhere."

Glancing back outside, Sans hesitated. ".. Didn't know nymphs had fire magic."
"They don't."
"So like, your dad?"
"He was a dragonblood who was very adept at handling forest fires." Avalon huffed, a flame flickering to life in his hand. "Some said I was a sin to be born. I say love is what it is, and magic is no single, definable thing."

Sans studied the orange flame before speaking up. "Candara said two colors is connected to dragon.. being related. Is that true?"
Avalon grinned, flicking his hand as the flame switched to a disconcerting black-grey. "Indeed it is. Did he tell you why?"

"There's a why to genetics?" Sans asked flatly.
"Of course there is. Most genes exist because they were selectively chosen by magic and nature to survive. That is a reason. And others, such as two colored flames, are because of magic alone."
"I know. What I don't know is how the hell it's possible to be related to a dragon. Weren't they huge? And I dunno.. not monsters at all?"

"You seem to think monsters cannot take partners with other races."
"Well, maybe some pairings can work- you're living proof of that, just... dragons!"
"Magic is a funny thing sometimes."
"That still doesn't answer the question."
"Then know what I have been told since I was young- if there is a Soul, there is a way."
Sans felt a flush creeping up on him. That was a bit of an awkward question to ask, wasn't it?

Then it struck him. "Wouldn't that mean humans.."
"Oh, I'm sure many monsters and otherwise that could pass for humans managed to survive in hiding. Even skeletons."

"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure we can't pass off as human."
"There are ways, Sans. It was used in the war. I believe you could pull it off, if you tried." Avalon smiled serenely.
Sans stared at him like he was insane.
"Alright. Tell me how the hell that's possible."

Now the hybrid's smile widened. "Do you really believe that you and Napstablook are the first pairing of your kind? That ghosts simply do not find skeletons as hosts?"
"...There are others?" He blanked. Even the Blaster slowed down, stunned.

"Of course. The most common living hosts were skeletons. Both races are quite closely related, after all."
"But. How.. how did they disguise themselves?"
"Ghosts are known for changing their selected forms. For inanimate, it is simply altered to a living form, but if it is a monster, the results are wide and varied. Skeletons, in particular, we obtain illusionary magic, which indeed includes the ability to hide our features and look human."

Sans felt weak. Avalon summoned a bone through the earth beside him as he tilted to the side. He leaned on it, blinking rapidly.
"Are.."
"No, none made it into the Underground." Avalon explained gently.
"You mean they all..?"
"No, they were not killed. At least, there were many sent to live among humans when it became clear we would not win the war. They should be all around the world now, and more likely than not, if any have survived all that time without us, they have sensed the release and are finding their way back to us as we speak."

Now he sat down, processing what he'd learned. Avalon followed him to the ground, grunted lightly as he got comfortable, vines curling out and around his legs as he sighed. Meanwhile, in the distance amidst trees and foliage, the Blaster sat on its haunches, blinking.

"Do you believe they live?" Avalon asked him. Sans blinked slowly, still in a funk.
"I.. don't know. It's been.. centuries and centuries for them. Shouldn't they have tried to send humans down here to help us free?"

"They were ordered to stay far from the monsters' mountain of imprisonment and not attract attention until humans could peacefully coexist with monsters once again. And perhaps the humans that did fall were sent by them."

Sans hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. I don't know. Guess there's only so much I can handle at a time."
"Everyone has their limits." Avalon stated kindly, pushing himself up to his feet. "Come now, I'm sure some tea will help clear your thoughts."

Now Sans flashed a grin, pulling out a bottle of ketchup that wasn't previously in his pocket. "My mind 'll ketchup with me eventually."
Avalon hesitated. ".. Isn't that a condiment?"
"Technically, it's a smoothie." Sans pointed out while standing up, unable to resist a small grin.

"Well, if you decide to change your mind, I do have some extra tea to share."
He jumped at Asgore's voice behind them, turning to see the king standing a few yards away, just outside the entrance to the hall.

Avalon smiled, meandering over to the king as Sans hesitantly began to follow.
"As jumpy as a dragonet." He caught the half-nymph muttering, shooting him a look as he eased up again.

Asgore chuckled, offering a spare teacup to Avalon, the elder taking it with a fond smile.
"For your information, I'm not normally jumpy." Sans pointed out, walking just ahead of the pair of older monsters.
"I know that." Avalon winked, leaving Sans to stutter indignantly.
"Is there something else I haven't been told?"

Asgore regarded the half-nymph in curiosity as well, said hybrid laughing softly. "Well I imagine that normally, the dragon is not awake."
"And here I thought you said the dragons were still asleep." Sans pointed out despite suspecting where the other was going.

Avalon moved to point at him, phalange pressing into his shirt. "No, Sans. I mean the dragon in you."
He scowled. "Now you're making no sense."
The old one just chuckled. "Perhaps you'll understand in time."
"I'm a 105." Sans retorted.
"Still quite young." Avalon replied easily.
"That's longer than most humans even live."
"You seem to think I was referring to your age as the problem in the first place."
"Wh-!" He scoffed, outraged.

Avalon started trotting down the hall, chuckling. Sans glanced at Asgore in disbelief. "How old even is that guy?"
"A good three hundred years older than myself." Asgore replied slowly, sipping his tea. Sans stared, gradually drawing his attention.
"Hmm?"
"I just.. he doesn't seem that old."
"Sometimes appearances truly are deceiving." Asgore shrugged, now padding after the amused old skeleton nymph. Sans stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.

A few minutes after the pair had vanished down the corridor, Sans sighed, leaning on the wall.
Today's gonna be a long day.
A very interesting one, though.
He quietly acknowledged the human with a huff.
True, I guess. He turned to peer out at the sea again, taking note of the clouds on the horizon.

𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎? Napstablook asked distantly, striding through the woods.
In a bit. Sans replied, sliding down to the floor.
It's a lot to take in. He admitted, gazing up at the glittering ceiling, noting that much of the glimmer had faded, leaving behind grey rock.

Curiosity took over, and he blinked at it, igniting his good light and studying it. He wasn't actually expecting it to work, but it did; he could see the fading wisps of magic, leaving trails as they seeped outward, flowing in a slow river out of the cavern. It fascinated him.

What if it all went away?
What do you mean?
I mean like, what if all the magic in the Underground was sucked out, slowly? The world's huge.
...Oh. No, that shouldn't happen. We have an access compared to everywhere else, but it shouldn't leave behind a vacuum.
What if it takes so much that the Underground can't support itself?
That is a legitimate possibility, but monsterkind is moving to the Surface. Soon, anyway.
...I don't want it to die out. The Underground, I mean.

He shrugged, not sure how to respond as he made to get up- there was a human standing at the entrance. Sans almost swore, completely caught off guard at the human just standing silently, staring at the top of the arch that led into the castle, carrying.. some kind of equipment.

Sans stood up, the noise making the other look down and immediately flinch, grabbing his side.
"Oh shi- fuck- uh- hi- no- I mean-" He flung up his hands, pressing a button on a device on his head before holding both hands up in a peace gesture.
"I come in peace."

Sans blinked, incredulous.
How the hell did he sneak up on me? He wondered as the man hesitated. It occurred to him that the device was a camera, a light blinking. Sans sighed, slightly amused by the increasingly nervous human making nonsensical gestures.
"I. Am. Honored. To meet. You."

That broke him. Sans bent over, snickering. "Yeah, sure pal. What an hon-" He cut short in a snort. "What an honor." He snickered, watching the other straighten.

He recovered from the initial stupidity and smiled. "So.. come here often?"
"No, I heard of the kids' story and wanted to greet the new.. species properly."
Sans gave him a look.
".. Well for starters, it's multiple species. Second is the preferred term is race. Pretty sure you can understand race." He knew a nut when he saw one. He was going to have to tread carefully with this one.

The human was standing up straight in his own self-importance. "We humans have races of our own as well. We live together in good harmony and balance."

Now this was sad. "...Buddy, let's not lie to each other. I know you have different races- and I know that you don't really get along at all."
"Oh no, we really-" "Don't. Just don't." Sans asserted seriously, before slowly analyzing the human in front of him.

"Do you have a leader I could address?"
"Sure we do, but who do you think you are to ask that, anyway?"
Another shift, chest puffed out like a young lion pretending to rule the world.
"I am the ambassador, here to establish communication with your people."
"...Right." He tried not to sound overly unconvinced.

Taking a step back into the hall, Sans nodded. "So.. I'll be right back. With uh.. our leader. You just.. stay put." He strode out of sight and teleported off where he was sure he would find the king.

And there Asgore was, talking seriously with Avalon and unsurprisingly, Abbadon, Urbane just across from him as Toriel stood across from her ex.
"Hey guys." Sans interrupted, the goat woman flinching slightly as the rest turned.

He pointed behind himself. "So there's a slightly disillusioned human at the entrance who's pretending to be some kind of ambassador. And a little head's up: he's not."
"How can you tell?" Toriel asked, concerned.

Sans listed off. "He greeted me like we're from a different planet, he's completely alone, he's overly proud of himself, he's spreading misinformation, so on and so forth. But." He glanced up. "He could still help us make ourselves known. He's carrying a lot of things, including cameras. It's up to you what you want to do with that info."
They all considered his words, a rare look of professionalism on the king's face.

Then Asgore smiled at him. "Perhaps you could bring him to me. We could talk and show him our home."
Sans paused. He didn't like nutcases and egoists, he really didn't, but he couldn't say that. So he sighed, stepping back. "Guess I'll be back, Fluffybuns."

With that, he left the room in trepidation.
...They had been talking about him before he'd interrupted. He knew. Just like he knew that human would be in the corridor, having followed in total disregard for respect.
Just like he knew this human thought he was a greater being than monsters.

So he teleported around and leaned on the wall behind the man who was a poor excuse for silent.
How he had ever snuck up on Sans in the first place was a complete mystery.
"Soooo.." The human jumped, turning around.
"How did you get there?"
"Why didn't you stay put like I asked?" Sans fired back.
"You left me to wait for five minutes."

He pushed off the wall, sockets narrowed as he took a step closer, staring first at the man's grey eyes before regarding the camera.
"I really hope you have an awful sense of time, because otherwise you just blatantly lied to my face."

With that being said, Sans walked past him, shooting a look over his shoulder. "Either way, you're expected now."
"Good." An unexpected hand grabbed his shoulder, pushing Sans into the wall.
"The hell you think you're doing?" He hissed at the sudden aggression.

"I wanted to know why you seem so upset to see me. What can I do to fix this? I want you to trust me." The human's heavy, putrid breath washed over him and Sans couldn't help but wonder if all humans with beards had bad breath or it was a coincidence.

Pushing lightly at the hand pressing him to the wall, Sans scowled. "First of all, I don't trust a stranger who lies to my face. Second, I can read people." He twisted out of the grip, knowing that if he used force, he would have hurt the other.

Ignoring the surprised look, he leaned in as close as he could despite his comparatively short stature to the other. "And what I read from you already sickens me."
"You think I am a bad person? For what? I've done nothing to you."
"You just pushed me into the wall and got in my face."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that would appear offensive."

"Sure you didn't." He scoffed, keeping his distance. "You keep acting like I don't know a damn thing about humans. Well here's a fun fact you should know: I'm the one who actually knows a thing or two about humans here. And you know what else? I'm tense as hell right now, so I'm not feeling my usual chill and friendly self. And if you try to pull that shit on the others, then trust me." His eyelights died. "It ain't gonna fly."

He smiled tensely. "So. Let's be civil about this, shall we?"
"You seem to think you're in control, monster." He pulled his hand out from behind his back, holding a black, sleek weapon.
"You don't even hide what you are. I came here to know what sort of creatures have entered the world, and now I know what tainted devils are crawling out of hell." He spoke, emboldened by the gun.

Sans regarded it with an odd excitement, almost grateful, yet afraid.
"Put it down, man. Don't make me fight you. There are children here."
"Where is your master."
He held himself from snapping at the other.
"I don't have a damn master or whatever. Put the fucking gun down."
"You must have been revived recently, have you? What demon made you?"

Sans sighed, feeling a burn building in his center. "Demons aren't real, buddy. Put the damn thing down already. I don't want to kill you. Don't get me wrong, I do want to kick your ass, but let's not do that. You said you came in peace, right? Let's keep that peace."

The hammer cocked, and Sans twitched.
"You mock me and reject my kindness even when I ignore your unholy visage and affront to humanity and you expect me to forgive that transgression?"

"Pretty fancy way to tell me you think I'm ugly, but you're not looking too good yourself, pal. I didn't reject any kindness- you never gave it in the first place. You disrespected me, and I let it slide. You lied to me, and I let it slide. I could tell from the get-go that you were a nutcase and I still tried to be civil. Hell, you're pointing a deadly weapon at me and I'm still trying to be civil despite the fact that I want to fucking throw you off the cliff! Just put it down and listen to me!"

"Do you fear the power of God?"
"This isn't about religion, you lunatic!"
"Sans, are you alri-" Toriel stepped into the hall in concern, and everything went downhill in seconds.

The man's eyes widened, his gun hand shifted up and over to the new target in time for Sans to tense up. The world slowed as a bright flash burst from the front, the weapon snapping back from the force of the shot, and Sans did the first thing he could think of in that second.
The world paused.

Sans bent over and gasped, stunned at the speed in which everything went wrong and the incredible strain it put on him to slow everything, only leaving a second bubble around Napstablook still in the distance, the ghost horrified.
𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚜, 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢?
I'll be fine. Just.. need a moment.

He straightened, studying the bullet in the air, the faint path of dislocated air twisted only an inch behind it, having moved so fast that it was already behind him, aiming to hit the former queen right in the jugular- something that could potentially dust her. He felt his Soul drop at the prospect. His phalanges twitched in the sudden raging desire to tear this threat apart, but he withheld himself.

Instead, he slowly arranged patches of slowed time to maneuver magic into its path, and released everything.
Toriel flinched as Sans winced, blue magic stopping the projectile. Immediately turning back around, he threw out his arm, launching the human into the wall and wrenching the pistol from his hand.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"The power of Christ- power of God- you will fall, Devil!"
"You sick fuck, that's the Queen!"
"Sans, what on earth happened?"
"He shot at you, Tori! It would have killed you!"
"Oh heavens." She glanced back the way she came. "Please stay calm. I will be right-"

"What was that sound?" Abbadon darted into the hall, already taking in the situation, pausing only to stare at the human that muttered biblical references in growing fervor.
"Toriel almost got killed." Sans hissed. The goat woman flinched at his voice before the overdressed skeleton stiffened.

"Let me hold them down, Sans. You are clearly not in the right state of mind."
He glared at the elder, knowing he spoke the truth yet struggling to unbend himself enough to pass it over.

After a moment, he hissed through clenched teeth and let the human fall, immediately caught by Abbadon. Instead, he swept the gun into his hand. "It was this." He explained tensely, ignoring the tremble.

Toriel rested her hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm. "Sans. You can relax now. You had it under control the moment there was danger. I am sorry I came in so suddenly, I see that the human presented a danger now. Now, are you alright?"

His shoulders slowly fell. "I.. I'm sorry. It just.. scared the hell out of me. I'm still getting over yesterday, y'know?"
"I understand." She patted him softly. "I can see that you are still trying. Now, will you come with me?"
"..Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Tori."

"It is nothing." She smiled before guiding him back the way she came, Abbadon nodding at her. Sans kept his breath even, calming down the further they went from the aggressor.

Asgore met them halfway, alarmed. "What was that loud sound?" He questioned, Avalon beside him.
"An attempt on my life." Toriel explained stiffly, some of her fear bleeding through. "Sans thwarted it before I even understood what was happening. It would seem this human is more than a little unstable."
"No kidding." Sans growled beside her, shaken.

"Something must be done." Asgore's face darkened, filled with a cold fury Sans had never seen before in his life. The king faced him. "What do you believe is the wisest choice?"
"I don't believe now is a very good time to-"
"No, no, I can still make decisions. I know I'm mad, but we shouldn't kill him." He sighed, pushing down his murderous impulses, a little put off by them.

"It wouldn't set a good image of us for the rest of them. It's better to get him to his own government's authorities. The entire incident was recorded on his own equipment, too. It's more than enough proof that he instigated the incident." He let out the rest of his breath in a big woosh.

Asgore nodded slowly, understanding the logic.
"It does not seem very pleasant to reintroduce ourselves with a case of violence against us, I will admit." Avalon noted.
"On the contrary, it could help prove that we do not intend harm upon the human race." Asgore pointed out, still tense.
"How will we transport him to their authorities?" Toriel asked.

"The city's too far from here for him to have come here without a vehicle, we can.. use that." Sans rubbed his neck vertebrae, starting to realize something. "..Shit."
"What?" Avalon, Toriel and Asgore asked simultaneously.

"I'm the only one who knows how to drive.." He didn't even bother hiding it- they knew about the Resets, they knew he had the most information out of all of them. Even compared to Asriel and Chara, both having never really lived on the Surface before. Flowey had been brought up once or twice by Frisk, but he never interacted much. Not enough.
And Chara.. well.

Sans finally ordered his thoughts enough to relax. Certainly not forgive, but be the better person. He was a Judge, after all. He wouldn't let these new, feral instincts control him.

"Are you willing to operate this vehicle long enough to reach the human city?" Toriel inquired. Sans took a deep breath, and sighed.
"Yes. Yes I am. But given how things work over there, you'll probably have to come with.. and I'd like someone who can keep me from hurting him if I snap. I'm not.. not myself. I know that."

"Perhaps your friends will suffice?" Urbane's voice rose up, drawing their attention. Next to him stood a lightly panting Undyne, giving Alphys a piggyback ride. The lizard waved shyly.
"I take it you ran here from Hotland." Sans stated.
"Yup. As soon as we saw the human on the camera and Asgore didn't answer the phone."

The king winced. "I am sorry. It is still unwieldy for my hands."
"Nah, we know. That's why I ran." She flashed a grin. "And it sounds like they deserve a pounding into the dirt!"
"Unfortunately, we will not be doing that. He will be transported to human authorities." Avalon explained, treating the last word like it was completely foreign to him. It probably was.
"Damn." Undyne tsked.

"You are still useful here." Avalon added.
"Yes, it would be delightful if you chose to help escort this human back to enforcers." Asgore explained. Undyne's face fell. "That sounds like kind of a long trip."

Sans burst into a grin. "Haven't you heard of cars?"
Both Undyne and Alphys immediately brightened, suddenly excited.
"That's what I thought."

. • ° . • °

"WHOOOOOOOOOOO!" Undyne bellowed into the wind, cackling as they zoomed down the long stretch of highway. Sans was somewhat anxious, operating the large truck tensely as he used blue magic to push the gas all the way down.

Sure, he could handle it well enough to avoid crashing into things- such as other, much slower cars- but it still made him nervous. Undyne was sticking her head out the passenger window, whooping into the wind even as it tore into the vehicle. It made the other windows shake, so now all of them were down and it was a whirlwind inside the car.

Alphys was clinging to her girlfriend in fading fear, but both Toriel and Abbadon in the back were clinging to everything they could in sheer terror. Between them was the human whose name they'd never discovered, completely passed out from a good whack to the head, everything incriminating to him confiscated.

By now, he was pretty sure they had sped past Napstablook's current location, even though the Blaster was galloping full speed from the infectious excitement Sans was dealing with. It was a bit of a relief compared to the stress of yesterday. He cackled into the wind, tasting the salt from the ocean as the glittering towers swelled the closer they came to them.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Undyne hollered, voice ripped away by the wind.
"THIS IS TERRIFYING." Alphys screamed back. "I LOVE IT."
Sans cackled again, squinting through the wind rushing into his sockets.

"ARE YOU SURE THIS SPEED IS QUITE NECESSARY?" Toriel asked for the fifth time.
"I got it under control, don't worry!" Sans shouted back with ease, despite his slight anxiety. It was literally the plan. Go as fast as possible until a cop took chase, then stop and explain their situation.

They could easily say that they had no idea about road safety laws. And to an extent, this was absolutely true. Technically, Sans had never been in a vehicle before, let alone have a driver's license.
But of course, they all knew that this just doesn't matter for him.

It took a good deal longer than expected for lights to start flashing behind them, Sans still grinning maniacally as he let up on the pedal, Undyne still slapping the outside of the truck in excitement.
"C'mon, let's make him chase us!"
"That's a terrible idea." Sans told her, still all smiles as they slowed down.

When they pulled over, he got a spur of the moment idea, teleporting an old pair of sunglasses he'd technically removed from a teddy bear years ago into his hand, slapping them on his face and keeping them in place with a light touch of blue magic.
"Cool times."

"Where'd you get those?" Undyne asked, surprised.
"Somewhere." He answered vaguely.
"Oh come on." She muttered.
"Please remain respectful." Toriel reminded them wearily. "They do not know us."
"No one does." Sans pointed out. "And we should try and change that."
"Preferably without causing panic." The goat woman stated drily.
By now the highwayman was jogging over, one hand at his hip.

He pulled up, partner close behind, and immediately stepped back as he took in the skeleton's features.
"Heya.. you wouldn't happen to be a lawman of some kind, would you?"
"You-" The officer hesitated, disturbed. "Sir, what are you wearing?"

Sans shifted the frames down his nasal bone. "Sunglasses, my dude. The coolest kind there is." He then held his hand out the window.
"Name's Sans."
"... Peterson." The man hesitantly replied, shaking it.

He turned and pointed out the others. "And that's Undyne, Alphys in her lap, behind us the old bones is Abbadon-" "You wound me." "Behind my seat is the queen Toriel, and that human there is the one who just tried to kill her."
Peterson stared at the occupants of the car, dumbfounded.

"...Sir, I'm not sure what you are doing here, but do you have any idea how fast you were going?"
"Nope." He said, grinning. "Was just heading down this path to find a place to turn this bastard in. You know, you have your own system separate from ours."

The other officer abruptly pinched his face. "Do you have any idea what you've done whatsoever?"
"I'm afraid we do not." Toriel spoke up. "We chose to send this human to human authorities for his attempt at murder so we did not spark any negative interactions between our peoples."

"Though this entire experience has been negative for me." Abbadon interjected weakly, gripping the seat in front of himself. "I never want to ride in this box again."
"Relax, the trip back will be easy." Sans grinned.
"The trip back will be instantaneous." Abbadon snarked.
"Just how we like it. Anyway." He faced Peterson again. "Would you mind escorting us to drop off this criminal in a jail?" He pointed at the still out of it human in the back.

"Perhaps you could transport him in your vehicle? I am still quite unsettled to be so close to this one. He is quite.. upsetting."
"I think the word you're looking for is insane. He shot at you. Even if it hit and you survived, those things leave marks." Undyne said darkly. Toriel frowned.

"I think we're getting off track." Sans said loudly, keeping a friendly tone as he went back to the officers.
"So, can we work out an arrangement or something? It'd be much appreciated, bud."
"Alright, listen." Peterson began, gesturing to his partner before resting his hands on the door. "Are you aware that you broke the law?"

Sans shrugged. "We figured as much. Never been in one of these things before, and we don't know where to find law enforcement except to break what rules we can figure out about your society. We can't exactly ask around- there's no humans to ask. So we just winged it. And here we are." In the background, the other officer was chatting into his radio.

Peterson gave him a long look.
"So.. you're real, huh?"
Sans made a show of checking himself. "Pretty sure." He over-enunciated. "Hey Dyne, I'm real, right?"

"Sans, be serious." The captain sighed into her hand, Alphys snickering.
"But I can't be Serious, I'm Sans."
"Sans!"
"Still my name."
"Stop screwing around!"
"Want me to screw the other way, then?"
Toriel snorted into her hand, Undyne ticked off. Even Peterson snickered.

"Anyway, we got a deal?" Sans smiled easily.
"Do you have a driver's license?" Peterson fired back.
"No, I do not."
"Then you are not eligible to drive."
"Well that complicates things."
The man sighed, rubbing his hand down his face.

"Alright, alright, how about this: we take him to our car, and one of you is switching with Doyle here. And that.. you, in her lap, you're getting in an actual seat." He pointed at Alphys, who blinked. "Oh, okay. Th-thanks."
"Wait, who's switching with him?" Undyne pointed out.
"Me." Sans volunteered.

"Wait, are you sure you can handle being alone with-" "I'll be fine, Undyne." He sighed, smiling habitually. "Nobody is dying today."

With that, he opened the door and hopped out, landing with a grunt. Peterson stepped away. "Oh, I did not expect- how old are you?"
Undyne barked with laughter in the car as Sans flushed. "Do I look young to you?"
"I can't tell. In all honesty, you look like the living dead."
"That's me every other day. I'm just compact."
"How did you even reach the pedals, though?"
"I don't need to reach them." Sans grinned mischievously.

"What? You have to be able to reach the pedals to drive- did you put a rock in there??" He bent over to peer inside, Sans all but giggling. As Peterson stood up, turning to speak, he lifted a hand, closing the door with a flick. The human flinched, glancing back. Sans regarded him with a devilish grin, twitching his phalanges to shift the gear out of park.

Undyne was the first to yell, Toriel panicking the moment the vehicle shifted forward, tearing open the door and stumbling onto the asphalt with barely more than a gasp. Sans snorted as Alphys scrambled into the driver's side to stop it, before the car jolted forward, taking off with a violent swerve.

Abbadon was immediately stumbling on his feet, having teleported out in alarm, the girls left behind screaming alternatively as the pair of cops ran after them.
Well, they ran until it lifted straight into the air, navy truck gleaming a more royal blue as the wheels spun and stopped erratically.

Sans brought it back to their original place, a car passing by on the other side of the street as he set it down, Alphys squeezing through the window and putting distance between herself and the truck. "I pressed the wrong pedal oh God-" She whimpered even as Undyne was hopping over the roof.

"Okay, that was a bit much. I'm sorry. You okay, Alph?" Sans asked sincerely, concerned.
"N-no, I-I'll be okay. Just s-scared myself a-a-a bit." She giggled nervously. "My tail got wedged and I c-couldn't reach th-the other one, haaahh.."
"Okay, no more car pranks." Sans sighed, wincing.

"What the hell was that?" The other officer demanded, visibly disturbed.
"It's blue magic." Undyne explained simply, picking up her girlfriend and nuzzling her.
"It's pretty much a skeleton thing."
"Not necessarily, our kind is simply more naturally adept at it." Abbadon explained while shakily walking over, leaning on his bone staff.
"Oh that's nice." Sans commented distractedly, staring into the back of the vehicle.

"Oh, is Asshole awake?" Undyne asked.
"Yep." Sans stated flatly.
"We didn't forget the camera and weapon, did we?"
"Still got it."
"Hey, is it okay if we knock him out again?" Undyne turned to ask the officers.
"What? You knocked him unconscious? He could have a concussion!" Peterson's partner cried, reaching into the vehicle.
"Nah, I was careful."
"'Sides, Tori has healing magic." Sans pointed at the exasperated goat woman.

All they got in response were a bunch of unintelligible mutters as a dazed human was forced out of the vehicle, both cops hovering around him. Undyne stepped over, curious, but Abbadon quickly stepped forth and stopped her with his staff, shooting a stern look.

The man suddenly shouted incoherently, sitting up fervently repeating lines from the bible. "The Word of God! The-" "Buddy. Pal. Friend. The Bible isn't some god's all-powerful message to anyone. It's just a book written by a human that got really popular. And for the record, it's not even a good read." Sans stated, holding back a smirk.

"You disrespect the Lord-" He cut himself off, throwing himself up with a cross in his hand as he lunged. Peterson whipped out something from his belt, but before he- or his partner- could aim it, the human was crashing painfully into the asphalt, grunting.
"You wanna try that again, buddy?"

"I'll send you back to hell!" He screamed, spit flying. Undyne stepped away in disgust, even as the officers moved to hesitantly bring the other back to his feet. Sans just scoffed. "Been there, done that, don't really care."

There was an inarticulate cry that rang painfully through his skull as the human thrashed towards him, the officers getting over their fear and pinning him down, stating orders as they collectively heaved him to their car. The entire time, Sans kept a steady stream of blue to make movement against the arrest difficult, but..

He was tempted. So tempted. A violent urge swelled from the depths of his being, furious and disgusted, itching like sand in his joints- aggravating, impossible to ignore, downright almost unbearable- he wanted nothing more than to tear into the insufferable, less-than-human piece of shit that thought he was better than them. With that mottled orange Soul of his, Sans could recognize a reprehensible human who did nothing of any worth and considered others to be worthless instead.
"Sans? Hey Sans? You can hear me, right?"

He slowly blinked back to the present, somewhat unsettled by how easily he zoned out with morbid thoughts. Or perhaps he was more put off by the hunger that accompanied it.
"Of course I can hear you." He forced out in an even tone, struggling to look away and face Undyne, still seeing the patterns of the world as magic shifted and flowed around them.

A visually different variety radiated from each of the others, a distinct contrast between humans and monsters and subspecies of monsters as well- all separate from the eddies and currents of the environment, blending and splitting as they spoke.

"Sorry, I just figured that the yellow meant bad." Undyne shrugged awkwardly. Sans regarded her in confusion, not get understanding-
Her Soul thrummed flush against the background of her pulsing mana.
Seeing it so clearly through her was shocking enough to make him flinch, stepping back.

If Undyne had been easing up before, she certainly wasn't now. She was tense, looking at him like he might go completely feral at any given moment.

"Sans? Talk to me. You're acting weird again. Kinda not really the time for that."
"Yeah no, m'fine, just another one of those weird moments again, y'know?" He waved it off, looking away as he felt the others around him.
"Dragons certainly are strange creatures, aren't they?" Abbadon spoke up mysteriously, grinning.

Sans pointed at him, deliberately avoiding looking at the elder. "Just quit it about the dragon stuff. It's really starting to annoy me."
Abbadon sighed in more amusement than anything else, relenting. "Very well, I will keep my silence for the time being."

He squinted at Abbadon before making his way to the passenger side of the squad car, avoiding questions from the others- including the cops approaching him.
Sans just wanted to get on with it at this point.

And he also just wanted to understand what was so wrong with him. It seemed that every few minutes there was something else bothering him. Be it another incident or something about himself changing.

Disquieted, Sans pulled out the puddy-like mass, pale grey and resembling a disgusting dough.
With his sudden ability to see magic, he could see an unnerving empty fuzz where it should have been. Eerily similar to static, if not more unstable. There was a hint of yellow and purple- mainly purple- flickering within it, like a screen flashing with fragments of the image it was trying to display.

And still, it was so removed from everything else that he could see the blue of magic from his hand beneath it, flickering through as though the object wasn't truly there. And in the end, it really was barely there. Fighting to exist, filaments of magic wrapping around his, making a faint, grey element stand out in his mana. Grey like things of the Void. Grey like his manipulation of time.
Part of the Void was in him.

The car door opened and Sans flinched, shoving it back in his pocket. Peterson was standing there, giving him a look.
"So not all of you like to turn wild, do they?" The human started casually, climbing in. Sans hesitated. "Pretty sure I didn't."
"You were snarling."
"...Oh."

Peterson changed the gear and slowly pulled up around the truck, stopping in front of it as everyone else piled into the truck. Sans studied the other cop, taking in the features he could see and the ones he shouldn't have been able to see.
"Doyle isn't going to hurt your friends." Peterson explained somewhat drily.

"I'm not worried about him hurting anyone." Sans replied, righting himself. "Just curious."
"About what he looks like? It doesn't seem like any of you have really.. seen normal people." The man explained, clearly out of his element.
"Humans. You're humans."
"And you're really not human?"
"Do I look it?"
"...No, but.. you're really just some hidden society trapped in a big cave?"

"Nah, story's cooler than that. We're from an extinct volcano that was split into two different halves." Sans grinned, though it wasn't his nicest smile. "And it was humans that put us there in the first place." He paused as the partner in the other vehicle, Doyle, said they were ready through the walkie.

They eventually started moving, the car shaking slightly as it bounced on the uneven asphalt, truck following. "Even so, there should be evidence that your society existed. Structures, scriptures, fossilized remains, even. And there's conveniently nothing?"
Sans shrugged. "That's honestly how I feel about dragons. Should be signs, right? Shouldn't they be talked about more often? But no, suddenly everyone insists I have some kind of destiny involving a living myth."

He shook his skull, Peterson staring. "Mini rant aside, I can't explain why all evidence has vanished, save for remains. We monsters turn to dust when we die. You humans just kinda sit there and sort of slowly.. rot. I forgot the word for a sec there."

"What do you mean you just turn into dust?" The officer questioned as they began speeding down the highway. "That's not physically possible. Nothing just abruptly dissolves."
"Those structurally based on atoms and molecular bonds don't. You're a bunch of chemical reactions housing a Soul. We're not that. Our bodies are based more on magic and energy. Basically, humans are chemical based while monsters are energy based. We have less atoms in our biological makeup than you."

"So you die and the energy holding you together evaporates?"
"I mean.. yeah, that's one way to put it."
"But how are you made of magic when it isn't even supposed to exist in the first place?"
"It is supposed to. Evidence supports the theory that the Barrier absorbed all loose magic in the world over time, and now that it's gone, all that's being released."

"That doesn't sound as good as it probably should."
"I agree, actually."
"You do?" Peterson glanced over.
Sans nodded, frowning. "Looking at your history, the idea of adding magic into that madness is honestly frightening. Humans have committed horrific acts of violence and cruelty without it. You've barely started getting yourselves in order. Hell, I could argue that you're still pretty far from peace regardless. You humans are terrifying now, and you were already a threat before the war."

"The war?" Peterson prompted somewhat hesitantly.
"The one no human could possibly remember, obviously." Sans retorted before sighing, rubbing his face.
"Just.. humans attacked monsters, yadda yadda yadda, majority of monsters died and we lost, ended up in the Underground."

"You'd think there'd be evidence of a war, too."
"I know, right? It's like your ancestors wanted to erase us from history. It hurts. There's not a single monster alive I know that doesn't have some family that was killed in the war."
"That sounds a little extreme for something that happened thousands of years ago."
"For you it was thousands of years ago. For us it was just a century."
"Excuse me?" Peterson regarded him incredulously.

Sans snorted humorlessly. "Time slippage, Peterson."
"How?"
"The Barrier removed the Underground from the same timespace as everything else. We only really figured it out from the garbage we got in from the river. Time was passing by in entire centuries per week at first based on projections, but it gradually slowed down to only a little faster than the Surface. Still, it's jarring."

"If it was so recent for you, why.. why is everything about you perfectly modern?" Peterson struggled to put his confusion into words. Sans chuckled. "Oh.. buddy. We were trapped with limited resources and had to adapt as quickly as possible. That results in either dying or advancing. A lot of people dusted."
"Dust..? Oh. Oh. You mean died."

"Yeah, lots died. In a whole variety of ways, too. We had junk from your sped up achievements to boost us along at first, but eventually we worked faster than that. It's kind of funny. At this point, we had but a tiny fraction of the time the humans had the whole planet to grow and develop, and somehow we managed to produce things more advanced than you. Or maybe we just had the right geniuses on our side. Who knows?"

"You seem confident that you've created more advanced technology than humanity." Peterson noted somewhat numbly.
"You're struggling with robotics and our celebrity is a living robot. I think I can afford that confidence."

"A.. sentient AI..?"
"Well.. his body's more advanced than everything I've seen on the Surface, but technically he's just a ghost inhabiting a glorified toaster." He snorted loudly. "And he thinks I'm after him when I'm just a small town comedian."
"A comedian?"
"I got puns for days."

"I'm sorry, I just thought you had a scientific background with some of the things you were talking about."
"Being a comedian disqualifies me from being a physicist?"
"You're a physicist?" Peterson blinked, bewildered.

"Well, I was. I quit it after an incident took my dad and friends. Couldn't really handle it. Luckily for you the past comes back to haunt us all."
"What do you mean?"
"Something I prefer not to talk about right now." Sans shrugged indifferently, hiding his ache.
They rode in silence for a few minutes.

"..What was that business with dragons you mentioned before?"
"Oh.. That." Sans shrugged again, sort of at a loss for words. "You know, like you I'm sure, I spent most of my life not hearing anything about dragons except they were winged lizards that spat fire and used magic, right? Only difference is I heard there was a variant related to monsters that supposedly died out in the war. I can't believe that anymore, though."

"I have heard about dragons, yes, but what's with the not believing in a dead thing?"
"It's a bit funny." He pointed to himself. "I grew up being told that me and my bro were the last skeletons. Everyone else: Gone. Dead. Killed off. And you know what happens? I find a closed off part of the Underground that leads to an entire half that's been closed off since the beginning. They developed independently, and did so well that they built a city. My side could never do that, only a few scattered towns. And need I mention that this was discovered yesterday?"

"Damn. I take it more.. skeletons were there?"
"Yes!" He threw up his hands. "The main chunk of the population, in fact. I have a cousin! It's still overwhelming."
"Are they the ones to bring up dragons?"

Sans paused. "Well yes. They did…. Apparently some traits are connected to being related to dragons?" He rubbed the back of his skull, glancing out the window at the buildings passing by the closer they got to the city, stopping at a red light.

He formed a heatless flame into his hand, burning cyan and yellow. "Apparently bicolor flames and another thing. I really don't understand the deal." He shrugged, Peterson peered at it in surprise. "How are you controlling that?"
He shrugged. "It's magic, not a real blaze." He flicked it away. "That's not the most of it, though."

"Well, what is?"
"Shit got wild." Sans gestured, chuckling weakly. "It's still going nuts, actually. Feels like a bad dream, really."
"Why? It sounds.. well, decent to me."
"That's because it's only the beginning. "
"You did say you had a destiny with them."
"Pretty sure I don't." Sans quickly replied. "It's just random.. crap that elders are obsessed with."
"So what's it got to do with you?"

He sighed, long and hard, dragging his hand over his face with a scraping sound. "Tibia honest? I don't know." He smirked at his own automatic pun. "There's this thing I never heard of before.. Someone related to dragons would turn into one or something and wake all the sleeping dragons somehow because this person is somehow closely connected to giant winged reptiles. Bit much, isn't it?"

"It sounds like the basis of a bedtime story." Peterson noted.
"No kidding." Sans muttered, unnerved.
"So why would you be considered this.. dragon? Skeleton?"
"Because my damn attack suddenly became some bone dragon as Undyne and Asriel put it and I got stuck in it. For no reason. That's it. The whole thing is based on some freak accident."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand what you said. Your.. attack?"

Sans paused. "..Right. Different definition for you. Eh.." He summoned a bone, making sure the human could see it. "Us monsters have these.. bullets we can create. They're used for fighting and sparring a lot, so they're our attacks."
"Right."

"And every monster has their own attacks based on who and what they are. They're basically.. it's an extension of self. Especially the more powerful attacks. Now me, I happen to have these skulls I like to call Blasters. They're essentially laser cannons, but according to others they're actually just a large, overpowered version of something they.. yeah, they called them skullsummons. Point is, one of my Blasters got unintentionally possessed by a ghost friend of mine, Napstablook, shy guy, deserves better, and it suddenly had a body?" He gestured vaguely in his confusion.

"And later, I was suddenly stuck in it. No explanation, still need one. Hell, I'm still half there. It's been messing with me. Let me tell you, it's not fun."
Peterson didn't respond for a while.

They turned a corner before the cop found his words.
"So.. you can create laser weapons that resemble skulls of some sort. A ghost possessed one by accident, and this gave it a body, and.. transferred your mind to it?"
"Yup. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?"
"...It does. What does this ghost have to do with anything?"

Sans shrugged. "Beats me. At least he doesn't mind. For the most part. People keep crowding the poor guy. Social anxiety sucks."
"A ghost with social anxiety?"
"Yeah, his family mistreated him for being overcharged. Shitty thing to do."
"..Uh huh."
"I'm just glad to hear you treat it as nuts as it is instead of just deciding it's cool." Sans admitted quietly.

"This bothers you?" Peterson asked, pulling in front of a station.
"Of course it does. I just want to be a normal guy with my family back. I don't want anything to do with stuff like dragons or the Void or being different, but I do. So yeah, I make the most of what I have, but it's still.." He sighed into his hand as the car jolted forward with a stop. "I don't know. I'm just trying to make sense of it."
"I see." Peterson murmured, glancing between him, the handcuffed human in the back, and the others exiting the truck.

"We're here."
"I know. Thanks." Sans abruptly opened the door, stepping out and sighing, before literally squawking as Undyne grabbed him, cackling.
"Sans, you gotta show Doyle your attacks!"
"What??" He yelped, arms pinned to his sides. She shook him lightly. "Your skull thing! Please! He has to see it!"

He chuckled awkwardly. "You want me to summon a weapon in front of a cop?"
"Well you know it's more than that! We gotta see if all of them can turn into dragons- you could have an army of bone dragons! That's fucking awesome!" She shook him wildly in excitement, then set him on his feet.

"Undyne, calm yourself. We have business to attend to, do we not?" Toriel pointed out. The fish lady cringed.
"Okay, okay, but afterwards!" She poked Sans in the sternum, flashing her teeth.
"Yeah, I got it." He pushed her off, smiling faintly.

"W-we should go in." Alphys gestured to the building with her tail before facing it, blinking up in hesitation.
Sans sighed.
"Yep."