He was licking his claws clean, he remembered. There had been a massive oarfish swimming close enough to the surface to dive in and snatch it away before anything else discovered it, just about four hundred leagues from the beach. It was a hot day, not a cloud in sight to hide the blistering sun and an abundance of thermals to glide over, the ocean only a dive away when it was too hot.
Overall a pleasant day, one used for many naps.

Yet his peace was shattered by a single, plaintive cry.

With a jolt, he sat up, blinking. With a stretch and a wide yawn, he peered around, pondering the sound when another one came, closer than before.

Inching over to the edge of his sun rock, he glanced down below at the strip of sand, searching for the source and debating whether or not to eat it.
He spotted it easily, though was surprised.

A group of humans gathered around some strange pole.. perhaps a ritual of some sort?
...A strange ritual it was, for a single figure stood tied to the stake, their scales a pale sunrise blue white, silver hair cascading down their shoulders.
Ah, a landfish. The people of freshwater.

He tensed up when he saw one human whip the monster, forcing out a sharp cry.
Why on earth are they doing that? Did the landfish kill one of their own?

He leaned down, studying the strange two-legged ones as they milled about their little camp, gazing out at the horizon eagerly, as if expecting something. What did they wait for? Why did they torment this landfish? The monster's cries were getting weak and hoarse, and the humans had not given them a drop of water.
That was no good, fish need water to live, be it those of saltwater or freshwater or walking upon the land.
So he inched closer, aiming to listen in on their strange speech, catching snippets here and there.

"Not one… so much as showed its face!" ".....clear the camp, try again tomorrow?"
"It'll be dead by tomorrow! Do you want to hunt down yet another walking fish?"
He recoiled, the movement knocking loose a few stones as he considered what had been said.

These humans were hunting these monsters? That likely meant this one had committed no crime, and the humans were tormenting an innocent landfish. How barbaric. Disgusting, even. It was so typical of the race.
His gaze drifted back to the group, seeing that they had fallen silent.

Oh. They had taken notice of his presence, staring in mute horror upon the great, glittering dragon on the cliff.
Well. He wasn't opposed to eating humans, as long as they were wicked. And by glancing at their Souls, he pondered why he hadn't just started with that as he took in the muddied colors.

One abruptly took off running, dashing away to an outcrop in the cliffside. Well that decided what would be his first taste in human meat.
He spread his wings and pushed off the cliff in a steep dive.

. • °

Humans were unbearably unclean. The first one to run was sour in a way that made him spit it out and gag, something that gave the others a head start.

But now fueled by sheer disgust at the humans, he leapt up and attacked the rest, managing to strike down two before the others escaped him.
He bellowed after the humans as a means of warning- do not ever come back.

He then immediately turned around and washed out his mouth with seawater, relishing in the salt as it rid him of that terrible reeking odor. For good measure, he even groomed off the last of the blood on his claws, delighting in the little remains of the terrific catch earlier.

When he was done, he regarded the abandoned camp, suddenly remembering the landfish still held there. He cringed at the sight of the fallen pole, the monster inching towards the water. At least that told him salt water shouldn't be harmful to the lake dwelling race.

He idled over to the waves, watching as the monster froze, staring at him with terrified silver eyes. He simply splashed a wave of water onto the fish, watching as they gasped and burst into a coughing fit, groaning.

He studied the figure then, taking in the features. After a minute of observation, he deduced that the monster was male, wheezing and tugging at his binds.
Stepping over at last, the dragon carefully snagged a claw between the other's hands, picking away at the rope until it snapped.

As soon as he was free, the landfish knelt down and praised him, grateful for his life.
So desperate the monster was for an honest deed- but what could he say? Monsters were not ones to understand the speech of dragons.

So he huffed, and when the fish looked up, he touched his snout to the other's forehead. Silver eyes were wide in awe as he stepped away, willing the world to change, for the natural order to shift, to gift this parched fish the water he truly needed.

When the first wisp of a cloud began to form in the sky, the monster bade an earnest farewell, departing with many glances back.

And soon enough after that, the newly formed clouds began to rain.
His peaceful day was no longer what it had started out as, but at least he could enjoy the rain on the waves, cleansing the place.

Saecshiun sighed. He never expected to find such a thing happening between humans and monsters.
...He decided he wanted to know more of this.
That required meeting with the mortals.
Oh well. He had spent so many centuries in leisure, why shouldn't he pursue his curiosity?

He had no idea what his decision would lead him to.

. • ° . • ° . • °

He jolted awake, choking for a moment before gasping, struggling to breathe through violent tremors that wracked his body, bones clattering in the wake of it. He remembered. He remembered. They remembered. How. How. How.

There was nothing but a swirling storm inside, struggling to remember identity, who he was, who they were, and what body their consciousnesses resided in at the moment.

Yes, yes, they stood unsteadily on four legs, splayed out in an effort to remain balanced while their senses were haywire. Yes, they were a creature of bones, not flesh and scale. Sans. Yes, Sans the skeleton. But who.. Napstablook. He was Napstablook. He missed his headphones. Music would help him order his thoughts. And. And.. and Frisk. The human that never felt human. Yes, he was Determined.. to..? Determined to keep pushing forward, no matter what. And his Determination bled across to Sans, distantly seeped into Napstablook. Right. They were three. Saecshiun- no! Yes? No, they were Frisk, Sans and Napstablook. But.. they couldn't think, they remembered.. What did they remember?

Long days spent riding thermals, swimming in briny water, riding the winds of storms, sunbathing on his favorite rock on a cliff overlooking the water, spitting bright white stormfire upon those he saw were impure, and guarding the strange yet kind white Souls that endeared themselves to him..

But the long span spent in dripping caverns, hard at work, desperate, afraid, hopeful- clinging to what little family remained in the sweltering heat or dank dimness. Losing that which they had held on so tightly to, begging for it to not be this way, fighting to make it otherwise, battling fervently to change the dreadful outcome until all desire to keep going ground to a halt. Memories of fighting to change their situation despite so many barriers, speech, size, confusion, questions, questions, so many…

Almost like a light flicking to life, everything started to clear, disjointed memories falling into place. The three minds regarded each other internally in shock, the memory of a dragon split between them fading in and out as fragments of other memories fizzled at its edges.
At last, they blinked and glanced around them.

It was dark out, but judging from the chill in the air and the faint glow in the sky, it was early morning. They were still on the beach, but now the animals were gone, nothing but a dark mass with glowing green eyes- oh! Oh. Kinepeikwa was gazing at them, silent and watchful.

"... 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨." It was a quiet demand, echoing out across the silence as Sans began to ponder where his body was. The serpent's head fins perked up slightly, like ears. It reminded them of Undyne, actually.

"ı Ɩơơƙɛɖ ıŋɬơ ყơų ɬơ ʂɛɛ ῳɧąɬ ı ɖıɖ ŋơɬ ųŋɖɛཞʂɬąŋɖ. ı ʂąῳ ɱųƈɧ ıŋ ɖıʂąཞཞąყ. ı ąɱ.. ʂơཞཞყ ʄơཞ ɬɧıʂʂ. ı ῳıɬɧɖཞɛῳ ʂơ ɬɧąɬ ყơų ɱąყ ῳąƙɛ ąŋɖ ı ąʂʂƙ.." She trailed, those green beacons drifting to the side. It seemed.. Whatever had been done didn't seem as serious to the shiftling- they noted she was also a good deal smaller now as well, closer to the length of a football field and not four of them.
They hesitated, looking away. "𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧."

She blinked at the Blaster. "ყơų ąཞɛ ცཞơƙɛŋ."
"𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?"
Scales slid over one another as she leaned closer, hesitating. "ყơų ąཞɛ ıŋ ℘ıɛƈɛʂʂ.... ɬɧɛ ɬɧཞɛɛ ơʄ ყơų. ı ῳıʂʂɧɧ ɬơ ɱɛŋɖ ɬɧıʂʂ, ცųɬ ơŋƖყ ῳıɬɧ ყơųཞ ℘ɛཞɱıʂʂʂıơŋ." She paused, studying them as the Blaster pondered her words with suspicion.
"ıɬ ῳơųƖɖ ɠı۷ɛ ყơų ℘ɛąƈɛ... ყơųཞ ʂơųƖ..ʂʂʂ ąཞɛ ųŋཞɛʂɬʄųƖ ąŋɖ ɧųཞɬıŋɠ. ıʄ ყơų ąƖƖơῳ ɱɛ, ı ƈąŋ ɧɛąƖ ıɬ... ı ῳąŋɬɛɖ ɬơ ąʂʂƙ, ɠı۷ɛŋ ɱყ ℘ཞɛ۷ıơųʂʂ ıŋɬཞųʂıơŋ."

They stared at her, thinking.
...I mean, everything has felt completely all over the place lately. Frisk admitted.
𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚢, 𝚝𝚘𝚘… Napstablook explained softly.
I don't think you realize that this could be anything but that based on what she thinks it is and what we know. Sans advised, wary.
What harm can she do? She's trying to help us. Gas said she would.
Gas wants us to be a dragon. Do you want that?
..I mean. No..? Not really?
"𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘?"

Both other minds faltered as Napstablook spoke, watching as Kinepeikwa came closer, tapping her snout to their breastbone.
"ı ıŋɬɛŋɖ ɬơ ཞɛ℘ąıཞ ყơųཞ ცཞơƙɛŋ ცơŋɖʂʂ ąŋɖ ųŋცƖơƈƙ ῳɧąɬ ɧąʂʂ ცɛɛŋ ƈƖơɬɬɛɖ. ıɬ ıʂ Ɩıƙɛ.. ą ῳơųŋɖ ɬɧąɬ ɧąʂʂ ɧɛąƖɛɖ ıɱ℘ཞơ℘ɛཞƖყ. ıɬ ɱųʂɬ ცɛ ʄıҳɛɖ."
"..."

..I want to give it a shot.
Frisk..
𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘.
Their bony snout pressed softly into dry scales.
"𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚝?"
This is a bad idea- we don't know all the details!
"ყơų ɱųʂɬ Ɩąყ ცąཞɛ ყơųཞ ƈɛŋɬɛཞʂʂʂ ɬơ ɱɛ."
You think she means our Souls?
How does this not alarm you?

Two upside down hearts floated up to the serpent, only one voice shouting against the decision, watching helplessly as the silver-white and red-stained Souls were bathed in the green of her glowing eyes.

Two glowing lines of green formed around the two, magic coalescing into tangibility as they coiled around the Souls, brushing across them in flashes of light as the pair were drawn closer to each other.

Their minds were growing fuzzy, slowly setting down onto the ground in a bout of dizziness as the world around became dark, the Souls and the light growing brighter and brighter- painfully so.
Then they flinched as the green pushed the hearts together, an electric jolt blazing down their spine as one heart began sparking spastically, the other bleeding a molten red, the vivid color rapidly spilling into the other- stop wait this wasn't right- no-
For the second time, they blacked out.

. • ° . • °

A lone dragon of royal blue and silver lay chaotically sprawled over the gravel, groaning weakly. A dark green shiftling serpent stood over it, watching, hopeful, cautious, afraid. Waiting.
Minutes passed, and soon another dragon, a piasa halfling, swam out of the lake and froze, gazing upon the smaller seastorm with wonder and hope.

Eventually, under their gazes the blue dragon shifted, dragging his limbs beneath himself and tucking his wings in, hesitantly raising his head and looking up. Eyes of blue and yellow blinked and regarded the serpent and golden dragon.
He.. felt.

He knew who he was once more- a bit unsettled by it- but he could feel gaps in his memory. He knew the two watching him, waiting to hear him speak. He knew what they were as well, and other little tidbits of information- he remembered that the birds of blade feathers were named achiyalatopa, and had a flying variant across the world. The lights of Kinepeikwa's sanctuary were slumbering ababinili, a fiery fairy whose bodies were rarely seen beneath their eternal blazes. He remembered all this, but could not remember where he was, what time it was, or where his home was.

He remembered who he had become- skeleton, ghost, and human. He used to hate humans and how needlessly cruel and unclean they were, but now his stance towards them felt.. he. He was confused. He remembered being Frisk, all that life and through to Chara's poisonous hate and pain.

Sans and his blazing passion for family and the crushing loss of a father and close, close friends at much too young an age.
Napstablook, who adored music and could find it anything, his exuberance for the air and family only finding rejection in cousins with clashing interests, in those that flinched from him because of something he could not control.

He remembered them as one, and found it painful, yet beautiful. He looked upon his life as Frisk and his lives as Sans and Napstablook, and he could see the bits of monster in humans and hints of human in monsters. It was a baffling revelation, yet…. He could only see it as beautiful.
It was beautiful.

He extended his claws, feeling the hollowness of his body and knowing he was still more monster than dragon, and he felt it was good. He could feel the magic holding up a solid appearance of flesh beneath scales formed purely of the same mana, he could feel that his body was still nothing but bones, and it was good. He could feel that his body was not his only one, feel another that was resting in the ribs of his more familiar form, and it was right.

He could no longer call himself only Saecshiun. That would disregard who he was as the music loving Napstablook, as the forever Determined Frisk, as the smiling jokester Sans. He deigned to speak then, addressing the two that feared he was not himself.
"𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟."

The other two blinked.
"Saecshiun?"
He nodded quietly.
"ცųɬ ɧơῳ ƈąŋ ɬɧıʂʂ ცɛ? ყơų ąཞɛ ῳɧơƖɛ. ყơų ɖơ ŋơɬ ῳıʂʂɧɧ ɬơ ཞɛɱąıŋ ცཞơƙɛŋ?"
"𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟, 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕡𝕝𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕕𝕤. 𝕀 𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕞𝕪𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟."

Gaasyendietha and Kinepeikwa regarded him in disbelief- more confused if anything else.
"ı... ı ą℘ơƖơɠıʑʂɛ.. ı ɖıɖ ŋơɬ ųŋɖɛཞʂɬąŋɖ. ı ɖơ ŋơɬ ųŋɖɛཞʂɬąŋɖ."
"𝕀 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕. 𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕." He inclined his head, thoughtful.
"𝕀 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕞𝕪𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖."
"Do you still desire to return the lost mortals from the Space where Things are Not?"
"𝕐𝕖𝕤." He answered without hesitation, remembering Gaster and his team, those like Lewiston or the forever rhyming Ollie. Papyrus deserved to remember his father.
Papyrus…
Yes, part of him was still Sans.

"𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕥𝕫𝕒𝕝𝕔𝕠𝕒𝕥𝕝, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕗 𝕀 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕀 𝕒𝕞, 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕙𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕟𝕠 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕤𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖."

With that, he stood and stalked away, heading up to the low hill to rest upon the grass.
"ცųɬ ʂąɛƈʂɧıųŋ, ყơų ąཞɛ ʂɬıƖƖ ŋɛɛɖɛɖ. ɬɧɛ ῳơཞƖɖ ɱųʂɬ ąῳąƙɛŋ, ąŋɖ ıɬ ŋɛɛɖʂʂ ყơųཞ ƙŋơῳƖɛɖɠɛ ɬơ ཞɛɬųཞŋ ɱąɠıƈ ąʂʂʂ ıɬ ཞıɠɧɬʄųƖƖყ ცɛƖơŋɠʂʂ." Kinepeikwa all but begged.

He opened one blue-yellow eye, regarding her. "𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝕊𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕. 𝕄𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕗 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕪 𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕- 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕜𝕖𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝕀 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖."

Saecshiun yawned before continuing. "𝔾𝕒𝕒𝕤𝕪𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕒, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤. 𝕊𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕒 𝕡𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕦𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕪. 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥?"

The halfling dragon snorted, blowing smoke as he hesitantly turned and prepared to take flight.
"ῳɧąɬ ơʄ ɱɛ, ʂąɛƈʂɧıųŋ? ῳɧąɬ ʂɧąƖƖ ყơų ɧą۷ɛ ą ʂɧıʄɬƖıŋɠ Ɩıƙɛ ɱყʂɛƖʄ ɖơ?"
He huffed mist and replied.
"ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕒𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕝𝕚 𝕘𝕠 𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤. 𝔼𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕣𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕨, 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣, 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖. ℍ𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕓𝕖 𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕪 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕟. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕕𝕠𝕞. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪 𝕦𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞."

The serpent trilled softly, turning back towards the lake. She hesitated, glancing back. Saecshiun locked eyes with her, and both held each other's gazes for a moment until she turned and slithered into the water.

Alone now, Saecshiun briefly pondered what to do with himself. He preferred to be three, that much he knew in the depths of his Soul.. right.

He quietly brought forth the glowing shape, gazing upon the strained, weak bonds. Whorls of red slowly shifted between the two ends, the Soul itself a faint blue and silver, struggling to settle into a newly formed but not quite mended form. It was not ready for this. He wasn't ready to return, not at all. Perhaps not for a very long time. He couldn't be sure.

But what he was sure of was that what he was about to do was going to hurt. Furthermore, it was going to change his three selves. The ghost would not be so separate from the human and skeleton, and the human was not going to be solidly within the skeleton.
Napstablook deserved to have his old Determination back anyway, even if was now attached to a human consciousness.

He tightened his claws around the narrow point of the merged hearts, and snapped it apart.
His body flashed in burning pain and his sight went out, mind melting into confusion in his final waking moments.

. • ° . • °

He twitched at first before waking up. That was all. One claw twitched involuntarily, and the movement brought him back.
But he wasn't..
Not a dragon.
But he was?

He felt the familiar shape and weight of the bone dragon, the Blaster, but sensed an extra layer of solid magic around it's bones, noticed the weight and sensation of extra.. arms? Extra limbs jutting out near his shoulders- their! Their shoulders. Yes, he wasn't a dragon. He was not Saecshiun.
And Saecshiun.. knew this?

Of course he did. Another thought bubbled up. He was their sum, forced into one, wasn't he? They all wanted to be individual, so of course that would bleed over, right?
But.. they remembered what he thought.

Their lives, their suffering, their struggles, he saw them as perfect. He had thought of the music and wanted to put those old headphones on again. He had thought of Papyrus and wanted to hug him, thought of Chara and saw the little pieces of a monster in the shattered human. He didn't think like any of them..
But Saecshiun knew that, and chosen to go back.

Napstablook slowly looked up, squinting.
This is gonna give me a damn skullache. Sans muttered internally.
It both makes sense and doesn't make sense. Frisk supplied rather uselessly.
Forget it. They shook their skull, standing.
And then they glimpsed the glittering blue talon with boney silver claws.
𝚆𝚑𝚘𝚊.

They sat on their haunches, holding it up. It felt the same as usual, with only an added sensation of.. it felt similar to blue magic and an attack. There was no other way to describe it. With that in mind, they considered the thought of dismissing it like an attack.

The solid illusion promptly faded away, leaving only bone behind. Ah.
That is actually awesome.
.. Okay, you got me there. It's neato. Sans relented.
𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗? Napstablook asked.
No bones about it. Sans impulsively added.
The water! I have to see this! Frisk pressured, excited.

Driven by curiosity, the Blaster- bone dragon? Or just dragon? Regardless of title, they bounded to the water's edge to peer at their reflection in the afternoon light. As they galloped, the unusual extra limbs flared out, putting them far more off-balance than normal limbs- though the thought in the back of their minds of what they could be went ignored.

It was only when they stood over the water that they took in the identity of the strange limbs.
Wings. They had enormous, batlike wings with a pale, sky-blue membrane stretched between silver fingers.
The change immediately had them forgetting their reflection, instead turning to gaze down their length.

Their backside was covered in deep blue fish scales, their tail thin and shaped like a crocodile's, with the addition of an angled, horizontal membrane sticking out end like a rudder, a similar lengthened version on either side of it. After a minute, it occurred to them that the vertical paddle shape was for swimming, whereas the unusual membranes were a part of flight.

Hey, I thought we'd be bluer.. Frisk commented as they took notice of their silvery belly scales.
𝙸𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚊..
Why an or- wait…. No, I think I see it.
I don't.
No, it doesn't look like an orca to me, but I get the purpose.
Purpose?
Yes. Orcas are hunters, their pattern is intended to help them blend in, isn't it?
𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖, 𝚜𝚞𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚟𝚎. The ghost caught on.
That's actually really neat application.
Okay, but can we actually fly? Frisk switched topics, uninterested in the science of color patterns.
𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎.
They looked back at their reflection, blinking at the sight.

A wide, heavyset jaw was the first thing they noticed, followed by flat nostrils and wide, blue-yellow eyes. Behind it was a much larger head than expected, only a faint ridge in the middle indicating a sign of the central horn on the Blaster. The rest was a wide head and thick, corded neck. It looked.. more menacing than expected, but also lacked some of the initial elegance the Blaster had to it. Not even the spurs on the jaw were visible, all of it hidden under a layer of magic that replicated the flesh of a dragon.

I.. don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. This looks like a T-Rex to me.
The Blaster isn't even remotely recognizable under this! Sans complained hotly.
𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝.. Napstablook murmured.
That quieted the other two, staring silently at their reflection.
..It does still look pretty cool.
I guess I can live with it.

They sighed, looking away from the water and to the horizon.
Well, what now?
𝙳𝚘 𝚠𝚎.. 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚜?
No, we need to find Quetzalcoatl. He can.. open a door to the Void? Sans hesitated, bits of Saecshiun's knowledge drifting up from the ether.
How do we find him? There's literally an entire world full of hidden places, even if we look just at the southern US and Mexico!
Why there? Sans immediately asked, disregarding the rest.
It. Well. Uh. Quetzalcoatl was the name of the Aztec God, so I figured the two were probably the same, right?
They sat in silence for a long moment.

It's a place to start. Sans shrugged internally.
But.. that could be anywhere! I don't know where the Aztec empire was, it was just somewhere in south America!
We'll probably run into a dragon who can give us pointers. Sans pointed out.
They do kinda send up beacons.

They were already turning, looking generally southward as they held up their wings.
And now's a good as time as ever to see if these things work.
So with that, they leapt off the sand and pushed downwards, wobbling in surprise when it worked.

After multiple unsteady flaps, the dragon quickly settled into a rhythm, flying south.
Whatever their path had in store for them, they were Determined to find Quetzalcoatl and free the prisoners of the Void.