As Jemma stepped through the hotel doors, night had already fallen.  Sans was standing underneath a street light nearby, looking up at the stars.

"I never get tired of the stars," he said, eyes skyward.  "In the Underground we could never see real stars, but we believed that if you made a wish on one your wish would come true."

"We believe the same thing," Jemma told him.

"Ready to go?" he asked, turning his head so he was looking at Jemma.  She nodded.  Sans led the way down the dark street in the direction of Grillby's Place.

"So you're going to start traveling with Mettaton?" Sans asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Jemma replied.  "He was going to sign to become my guardian so I could leave the State house a year sooner."

"You know, it's funny that he offered today.  I was actually thinking of inviting you to come with Frisk, Papyrus and I on our ambassador assignments.  Frisk is good at it, but it might help to have an older human with us."

"Oh."

"But no biggie.  We'll see you at the reunions.  We're leaving in two days for our next assignment, but I'll be there at your show tomorrow to cheer you on before we leave."

"Where are you guys going?" Jemma asked, filling a twinge in her chest at his words.

"West, to New Chicago," he answered.  "The mayor there had some issues with monsters, and we're supposed to help things settle down."

Up ahead Jemma noticed four men blocking the sidewalk.  As Sans and Jemma came closer, they folded their arms and turned to face them.  A quick glance told Jemma that their EXP were all at 0, but their LOVE ranged from 10 to 18.

"They look like they have a bone to pick with us," Sans muttered, taking Jemma's hand.  "This way.  I know a shortcut."

Sans led the way into a side alley.  The shadows around them began to darken.

"How could you tell?" Jemma asked.

"Besides the obvious?  I can see their LOVE."

"Their LOVE?" Jemma repeated.

"Oh, I forgot you're human, and humans forgot about LOVE and EXP a long time ago," he said.  "LOVE is an acronym.  It stands for Level Of Violence.  A creature's LOVE is it's capacity to hurt.  EXP stands for Execution Points.  Think of them as imaginary numbers.  Everything is born at LOVE 1 and EXP 0.  If you hurt or kill other creatures, those numbers go up.  I can see those numbers, but most people can't."

"I can see them too, but I never knew what they meant," Jemma said.  Sans paused, looking at her thoughtfully.

"You can see LOVE and EXP?" he asked.

"For as long as I can remember.  But I never knew what they meant, only that if they were higher, then the person could be dangerous."

Sans turned away, taking the lead once again.  The shadows brightened as they emerged onto the street.  Only a few buildings over was Grillby's Place.

"How'd we get here so fast?" Jemma asked, glancing back the way they had come.  She knew from experience that Grillby's Place wasn't that close to the hotel.

"Monsters happen to be a bit more magical than humans," Sans replied.  "Doctor W.D. Gaster thought it was the monster equivalent to Determination.  It comes in handy when Papyrus, Frisk, and I are trying to avoid trouble."

Sans opened the door to Grillby's Place and led the way to a back table.  The restaurant was mostly deserted.  As usual, no humans were present.

"What did you do in the Underground?" Jemma asked, sitting down across from Sans.

"Lots," he answered.  "The last thing I did was working with Papyrus on the Human Watch.  Before that I was an assistant for Gaster, back when he was the royal scientist.  Most of the time I just kept an eye on things and made sure no rampaging maniacs killed everybody."

"Did that happen often?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Maybe we should talk about something else."

Sans' pupils had dimmed, leaving his eye sockets dark.  He spun a ketchup bottle on the table.

"What was it like in the Underground?" Jemma asked.

"Really pretty sometimes, but really quiet too," Sans answered.  The light had returned to his eyes.  "A lot less chaotic than life up here on the surface."

"I'd rather be down there than here," Jemma sighed.  "Seems like all the monsters I come across are nicer than humans are."

"If you'd been down there, you would have been killed with all of the other humans who fell.  Not all monsters are good."

"You are."

"I didn't say all of them were killers either."

Sans stood, taking a long drink from the ketchup bottle before setting it down.

"I should go check on Papyrus," he announced.  "It's getting pretty late.  But I'll be at your show tomorrow, k?  Try to keep out of trouble until then."

With a wink, Sans turned and left the restaurant, closing the door softly behind him.