"I'm sure they're fine..." Frisk sighed. Sans slowly nodded, peering back around the corner.

"chara should show up in any minute..." Sans narrowed his eyes, watching out for her to appear... Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light and just like he had predicted, Chara appeared in the hallway, firmly holding a knife in her hand.

"speak of the devil..." He muttered, stepping out from their hiding spot. Frisk rose her eyebrows and quickly stepped out after him.

"well, well, well... what do we have here?" Sans grinned, his gaster eye flashing a bright colour of blue. Quickly turning around, Chara spotted the two of them, and her smirk grew. She started to laugh.

"Well, I have to say, I can't say I'm surprised to see you two." Chara laughed. "After all, I was expecting you to come back here and stop me... You're from the future, aren't you?"

Sans narrowed his eyes, as she continued to talk. "But it won't matter. You're not going to stop me, Sans. You'll end up as good as dead. The both of you."

"heh... we've had to deal with you, time and time again... we've beaten you every time, somehow... and we'll manage it again. i don't care how many times it takes. you're gonna have a bad time, kiddo." Sans grimaced. Chara smirked.

"Haha... You seem pretty confident... Try to kill me if you can... But you won't win. Not this time."

****

"You know what's funny about all this?" Chara commented, dodging another gaster blaster blast. "Why would I come to you guys, basically warning you about what I was going to do? Wouldn't that be a stupid move to tell you guys exactly what I was planning?" She commented. Gaster's eyes widened. 

"Don't you see it? You're all so foolish..." Chara giggled. "Sending Frisk and Sans into the past is EXACTLY what I wanted! They'll die there! And all because of you!"

****

"You're boring!" Chara cried, dodging a gaster blaster with minimum effort for the third time. Sans exhaled in exasperation, as he tried to hit her another three times, and missed every time.

"stay still you little brat!!" He exploded with anger, firing at her over and over. But still, every time, he continued to miss.

Sans was obviously utterly exhausted... Frisk and Sans still hadn't been able to stop her, which means the paradox was STILL going to somehow happen... Sans felt like his soul was slowly being ebbed away from him every couple of minutes... Chara giggled.

"Do you really expect to me able to fight me like this!? How sad!" 

"frisk..." Sans muttered, turning towards her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her right in the eye. "listen to me... you have to go and find the younger version of myself... i know i told you to stay away from him, to not be seen, but right now we have no other choice. go, find him! NOW!" 

"B-But! I don't want to leave y--"

"FRISK GO! I'LL COVER YOU!" 

"U-Uh..." Frisk hesitated, looking towards Chara. Slowly, she started to nod. "O-Okay!" Just as she said that, she quickly started running, in the direction of Chara. She was standing towards the hall where Sans and Gaster had went, so she had to go that way.

Just as it looked like Chara was about to throw a knife right for Frisk, Sans quickly formed a shield for her, that followed her as she ran. The blade hit the shield, hardly damaging it at all. Frisk smiled over her shoulder.

"Thanks Sans!!!!" She shouted down the hall. Eventually, she was around the corner and gone from sight. Chara giggled.

"So, looks like it's just me and you now, comedian. Got any last words?" 

"if anyone will be needin' any last words, it'll be you... so i'd stop bein' so confident if I were you..." 

"Haha! We'll see about that!" She giggled, spinning another blade in her hand. Sans got ready, standing in a proper position to be prepared for any attacks that came for him.

"let's go... dirty brother killer." 

****

Oh god... Oh god... Oh god... Frisk felt utterly panicked beyond belief... She had no idea where she was supposed to find this younger version of Sans... Not only that, but what kind of state would he be in...? She came to a stop, putting her hand on the wall beside her. She rubbed one of her temples with her hand and tried to focus on her breathing. Now wasn't the time to freak out... Now was the time to stay determined...

Further somewhere in the lab, Frisk could hear the sound of gaster blasters and giggling not too far away from her... She hoped Sans was doing okay and was able to hold her off, in his current condition... If anything bad happened to him, she wouldn't know how she'd forgive herself...

Okay... I need to find Sans... She thought to herself, now starting her pace back up, towards her destination.

The area around her was so creepy... She had remembered being to the true lab, during some point in the past when Alphys had willingly let her in... But she didn't ever see it like this... It somehow seemed so much worse... And she didn't like it one little bit. She started to shiver, remembering the sound of Sans' scream echoing down the halls, and again, she had to come to a stop before she'd start hyperventilating.

How could a father so easily do that to his son?! He was only a kid... Why did Gaster find it so easy to experiment on him...? She didn't understand it at all. The bond they had now, it seemed so innocent. So normal. But perhaps that was the reason he had gone into the void... His old self was just too evil... So it seemed.

"Ugh... Just stop thinking so much..." Frisk muttered to herself. By the time she'd get to Sans' room where he was being kept, it would be too late... She needed to get him as far away from here as possible... Again, trying to push her thoughts aside, she began to put one foot in front of the other and started to quickly make her way down the hall. Further down the hall, she could see a single labeled door, which read "RESTRICTED". Was this where he was kept...?

Biting down on her bottom lip, she looked down at the handle, preparing herself for what lay ahead. She honestly didn't know how she was going to react to what she was going to see behind this door. She didn't even know if she would even be able to look at what was in front of her... But she had to try... She just had to be determined...

Taking the handle into her warm, sweaty hand, she grasped it tightly. Pushing it down to open the door, it let out a slight screech, which startled her a little. Then, seeing that the door was unlocked, she slowly pushed it open...

Her mouth lay agape, seeing the room before her. It was like a prison cell. Literally. The room seemed dirty and decrepit... Not only that but there were even mice running around on the floor. Frisk felt like she was going to vomit, as the moment she had opened that door, a putrid smell had made its way into her nostrils. She was trying so hard not to breathe it in...

In the corner of the room, lay a small bed, which didn't have very crisp sheets on top of them. Instead, they were brown and mostly consisted of just dirt and mold; just like the mold that was beginning to creep its way up the walls. Beneath the sheets, there seemed to be the shape of a small, frail looking body... Frisk had to only assume, that was Sans...

"w-whose t-there....? g...? is that you...? do you need somethin' else from me or somethin'...? g, I honestly don't think i'm in the mood..." He muttered to the wall. Frisk kept her mouth shut, not knowing just exactly what she should say... She wondered just how long she was going to be able to keep herself together. It wouldn't be long until she'd start bursting into tears for this small, fragile skeleton, and he'd have no idea why. He doesn't even know who she is at this point...

Noticing that he got no answer, the skeletal being slowly sat up and turned away from the wall. Frisk's eyelids moved further up, seeing the look on his face. His staring, white pupil, was just as wide as her bright green ones. His left eye, however, was covered with a bandage. That's when it hit her, that that must have been the reason for Sans' endless screaming of agony... His gaster eye...

Oh Sans... She thought to herself, still trying her best to remain calm and collective. But the scene ahead was really starting to take its toll on her...

"uh... do I know you...? are you a friend of g's...? he doesn't usually let other people come in here..." His voice was quiet, unlike his usual confident voice. It was obvious that he wasn't used to talking to other people. Being experimented on, must have also been the reason for his seemingly distant personality.

"U-Uh..." Frisk croaked, feeling a lump at the back of her throat. She tried to open her mouth, to get something out, but no sound came. She was way too tongue tied.

"well...? who are you?" 

Again, Frisk hesitated, not knowing what to say. WHAT could she say in this situation?! It was so unbelievably crazy! It's not like she could tell him that she knew him from the future, that would just screw everything up! She didn't know what she could say, without creating a huge error in time – or whatever they actually called it. So, what exactly could she tell him, without messing everything up?! Sans looked like he was starting to get a little impatient... So finally, Frisk opened her mouth to speak, hoping that some sound would actually come through this time. This time, it did...

"I've come to save you..." She said.