Sans tries to get more answers from Frisk where the new child came from but is not happy by the answer

——

@?£ Multiverse

"I THINK I'M GOING TO NEED TO GIVE YOU A SECOND BATH....MAYBE A THIRD AS WELL AT THIS RATE"

Papyrus muttered to himself, concerned at the dirty brown colour the water had gotten after putting the goat child in the water. He was still appalled that Sans had tried to bring a child into the house and then try to lie to his face about it even when he saw the child standing right in front of him.

He was admittedly hurt, truly having thought they had grown closer and moved past the many lies but it seems he was mistaken.

He had enough though, this time bulldozing past Sans pitiful excuses and demanded he be told the truth. He wasn't a child anymore who needed to be sheltered and didnt appreciate being treated like one, threatening to leave and never come back.

It would have hurt but after many talks with Undyne and being on the Surface for years, he realised he wanted more to life then to be treated like this, as if he was a helpless child that couldn't defend themselves.

He had a job!

He had his own car, if that wasn't enough to get him taken seriously then he wasn't sure anything would be enough for Sans..

"There are so many bubbles! Look at how big this bubble is, Mr Papyrus!"

"ITS VERY NICE. NOW LEAN BACK SO I CAN RINSE SOME OF THE SOAP OUT"

"Ok, Mr Papyrus!"

His eyes trained back on the giggling child in the bathtub, emptying the water but quickly filling it back up again. He placed the rubber duck that used to be his in front of the pouting child who complained about all the 'bubbles vanishing', grabbing the soap to try and scrub their fur clean.

It was a good thing he stocked up for when Frisk visited although it had been an oddly long time since they had, unsure if one bottle of soap would be enough and grabbing the comb to try and untangle the fur which was much whiter than he had ever seen before.

It looked nothing like the King or Queen's fur and wasn't an idiot like many claimed to be and was able to parse the clues together despite Sans trying to hide them.

Maybe this was due to their magic type...?

He gently began cleaning their tiny horns, surprised at how dark they were and wondering if they were actually a goat monster or not.

He easily shrugged it off as he grabbed the wash cloth for their face, not thinking it mattered either way, as a monster was a monster after all and he was sure they would still love his delicious spaghetti!...after another bath of course.

He was sure he had some of Frisks old clothes here, the monster looking small enough to fit in it easily as he refused to put them back in those rags.

Although, he was confused on why they stubbornly refused to take off that odd pendant around their neck, the black material almost reminded him of that odd material humans called 'obsidian'. He left it be as it looked clean enough, not wanting to disturb the child too much as they were behaving surprisingly well otherwise.

They was such a mystery though and he was ashamed when he realised he didnt even know their name, hoping he wasnt catching his brothers lazy tendencies and lack of manners.

——-

"C'mon kid, you have to start talking at some point"

Sans didnt never thought of himself as a patient guy, no matter what anyone else said.

He might have had the dullest job in the Underground and be called lazy a thousand different ways but that was due to having to do it. That is to say he wasn't naturally patient but after the years of monotony and the many RESETS he knew how to do it.

That didnt mean he enjoyed it and right now he was rapidly losing his patience, the only reason he hadnt lost it was the reminder that Papyrus was upstairs with their latest guest.

"You know how stubborn Frisky poo can be. All shy after growing up big and strong and ready to take on the world! Truly the saviour of the monsters. An absolute angel"

Flowey cooed mockingly, swaying side to side in his plant pot.

They had sat here for what felt like hours and he was growing bored, wondering if Fisk DETERMINATION had grown even more as they aged and ergo made them as stubborn as a mule.

"We can do his all day, kiddo...or perhaps i should ask the kid upstairs if-"

"NO! Dont ask them!"

Sans was surprised by the instant reaction but at least they were getting somewhere, sitting back in his armchair and waiting for them to continue. He hadn't seen Frisk in a number of years but they had a silent understanding.

They wouldn't RESET again and they would forget everything that happened Underground, both taking what they had done to their graves.

He preferred this arrangement as seeing them only reminded him of the Genocidal runs and the endless loops where he had literally begged for rest but never received it. He was unsure if he would ever forgive them despite it being over ten years since they had escaped that hell.

"Don't ask them questions. Please Sans.."

Sans SOUL twinged at the pain in their voice and despite Frisk being technically grown in 'humans terms' he still saw them as that tiny kid who enjoyed making pasta with Papyrus and indulged in all their puzzles.

"I wont but i still need answers, Frisk. Monsters don't just pop out of the woodwork like that and questions are going to come up when another goat monster is seen"

He was frankly lucky the genocidal flower found the child first not a sentence he ever thought he would be saying so he could try and do damage control, wincing at imagining how badly Toriel would have reacted to seeing this.

"You remember Gaster?"

Any hints of a good mood vanished in Sans when that name was brought up, hands tense on his knees as he tried not to lash out at the name.

"Sure do. What about them?"

He mustn't have kept the venom out of his voice that well considering how Frisk flinched but he wasnt in the mood to keep tip-toeing over the subject, stressed and not appreciating how cryptic Frisk was being.

"I found some of their notes and while it wasn't clear the picture i found made me do some digging"

He got a bad feeling at that, watching warily as an aged photo was brought out of their Inventory, stiffening when Flowey gasped when they looked at the photo.

What could it be to make the soulless monster pale?

He accepted the photo, clutching the edges roughly when he fully took it in.

"If this is some kind of sick joke-"

"It's not! Look at the back, Sans"

He frowned but gave them the benefit of the doubt, eyelights extinguishing at the handwriting recognising it as Toriel's.

"How is this possible?"

He said faintly, looking back at what was clearly a family portrait of the Royal family. He had seen it in Toriels home when he visited her for tea but this one was different, the two children in the picture recognisable but it was a tiny ball of fluff held by Toriel that shook his SOUL.

"I think it had something to do with the CORE. The notes were hard to read but i dont think Flowey was the first they tried to revive-"

Sans stared at the photo intently, not commenting when Flowey came over to look at it again.

"-so many entries on SOULS and links to the CORE. You wouldn't believe how many entries they wrote-"

Frisk's voice seemed to be further away then he recalled, Sans hands shaking when his mind slowly pieced together everything.

"-couldnt leave him! I had to try. I thought i failed after so many RESETS but it must have finally worked-"

He really would never be free of the old man, would he. Constantly having to be faced with their past mistakes and work.

Did Alphys know about this?

"-think time was off due to SOUL mechanics but i'm not a scientist and i didnt want to ask Alphys and make them suspicious but i truly thought i failed!"

Did they base Flowey off of Gasters notes and never said?

..or did Gaster succeed where Alphys failed and brought back a dead monster but with a time delay

"NYEHEHE! BEHOLD! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS SUCCEEDED IN HIS TASK!"

"Ive never been so shiny before!"

Sans looked over as if in slow motion, the tiny goat child in his brothers arms bleating happily, Instantly spotting the similarities in the photo in his hand. He hid it away from his brother could see it, the guilt of keeping something from them long familiar but he didnt want to burden them with this.

He gave a silent look to Frisk that this wasnt over, watching as Frisk happily accepted the giggling goat who was going on about all the bubbles in the bath but his mind kept racing.

Why didn't anyone remember them?

How many RESETS had he endured due to this single photo?

He needed to go to the CORE and find answers.

~~~~~

Papyrus: *Cleaning OC and wishing his brother would trust him*

Sans: *Already planning his next lie*

-

Frisk: *Guilty silence*

Sans: *Trying to be patient* C'mon kid. Whatever it is cant be that bad

Frisk: *Showing a worn out picture*

Sans: *Trying not to have a SOUL attack* It seems i was mistaken...