Started as a Feeling

Chapter 22 - Loose Screws

For the next three days, Asgore and Undyne stayed awake to plan ahead to take out the murderer of the ex-king's heart. The apartment was filled to the brim with wadded up pieces of paper containing ideas and plans. Asgore was taking this way too seriously, and Undyne knew it. She couldn't bare to stop her beloved friend, however, because she didn't really know how badly he could possibly feel right now. She decided to just help him get his revenge. After all, the dirty scoundrel needed to be taught a lesson or two about feeling up other people's wives. She tapped her foot anxiously, all of the pent up excitement made her ready for action. She could crush a million skulls at once at this rate, she couldn't wait to help Asgore get the justice he needed. Although, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder who this mysterious monster was. She knew all of the monsters from the Underground, and nothing seemed to add up. Was there someone she never knew about? 

Asgore sipped on his fifth cup of yellow flower tea slowly, savoring the bittersweet liquid as much as he could. He was finally at ease knowing that they have finally made the perfect plan to take out this bastard skeleton once and for all. He gave his old student a patient smile, "Shall we go over the plan once more?" Undyne looked to him with a stern expression. She nodded, "Yes, it will be better to make everything set in stone. The last thing we need is to screw this up."

"Very well," Asgore mumbled as he straightened himself up in his wooden chair, "Here's what we have so far." Asgore gestured to the current piece of paper in front of him. He turned the page upside-down to better Undyne's view. He continued, "This monster is a lot smarter than he looks, I've seen him do things with my own eyes." Asgore tapped the paper, "The first thing we need to do is get this monster out of Toriel's home. He's been residing there for the past couple of days, maybe weeks. I know for a fact that Toriel goes for groceries every Tuesday. Guess what day it is today?" Undyne scrunched her nose, the worst day of the week, "Monday..."

"Correct. When Toriel leaves her home, Frisk will already be in school. This leaves the house empty. This monster can't castaway itself in her house forever. I believe that he will leave this place soon after Toriel. From there, I will quietly pursue him. After you bring me one of Alphys's walkie talkies, I will contact you from time to time, letting you know when it's the perfect time to strike. We need to get him as close to the Underground as possible. Because if I fail the first time, knocking him back down the hole will be Plan B." Undyne nodded, minus all of the minor details, she understood this plan well. This will be easy as pie, and what's better is that the mayor won't know anything about this. Only Asgore and herself will know about it. One thing's for sure, this poor sucker won't even see them coming.

Later that evening, Sans stretched his arms and legs nonchalantly. A huge yawn escaped from his gaping mouth as his eye sockets squeezed shut. He retracted slowly and rubbed the back of his skull. In the other room, he could hear Toriel calling the boys to their beds. For the first time in a while, Sans doesn't feel like staying up late. Living with Toriel has been life changing for this lazy bones. For a very long time, Sans used to feel like he would never really amount to anything. All he would do is watch TV, and when Papyrus left it was nothing but studying the laws of quantum physics and discovering how time works. That dusty machine sitting in the secret room of the skeleton brother's home hasn't progressed at all since they moved above ground. But now that can wait, Sans was going to milk every last drop of this time with Toriel. He never knew that the lady from the other side of the door would one day call him... 'hers'. It was nice, and each day he grows closer and closer to Asriel and Frisk. There wasn't anything that could ruin this for him. Except... maybe- 

"Can Sans tuck us in? Please?!" Frisk's whining interrupted the skeleton's thoughts. He smiled to himself as Toriel called his name. "Heh heh alright kiddos, Sansy's comin'." Sans rocked forward and pushed himself off of the living room couch. He turned to grab his jacket that was draped on the back of the furniture, and threw it over his shoulder as he climbed the carpeted stairs. He made his way to the boys' room and was greeted by the beautiful goat mother. She planted a kiss where San's nose would be and whispered a "Thank you." He nodded and sighed happily as he gently pushed the bedroom door opened. The lights were on, but the two children were already tucked into bed. They were wide awake and ready to be kissed to sleep. Sans walked over to Frisk's bed and leaned over his body. Frisk looked up to the skeleton and grinned tiredly. Sans softly stuck the tip of his finger into Frisk's ear and tickled. It made Frisk laugh a little and squirm. Sans chuckled and rubbed the human's hair, "Goodnight Bucko." Frisk closed his eyes and managed a small, "Goodnight Sans..." Sans then walked over to Asriel's bed on the other side of the room and performed the same ritual. "Goodnight Bucko number two." Asriel smiled and whispered, "Goodnight." 

Sans made his way to the doorway and turned off the light switch. He looked behind him and smiled. Just as he turned to walk out, a small voice could be heard coming from the room. Sans strained to hear, "Sans... can you come here for a s-second...?" It was Asriel. Sans made his way back to the goat boy's bed and sat on the edge. He peered down at the boy, "What'cha need?" Asriel had tears in his eyes, and his voice was soft, but he choked out the words, "Do you hate me Sans?" Sans sat back at the sudden off topic question. His smile faded for a moment, but came back just as quick. He patted the goat's head, "Nah. You're alright." Asriel sniffled, "I'm g-glad... D-do you forgive me Sans?"

"Yes kiddo, I do. Just as long as you don't hate me back."

"I-I don't, I promise. I'm a good boy now. I won't ever hurt anyone ever again, I swear."

"Good." Sans smiled wide. Maybe as a flower, this child was a pain in the ass. But being a scientist, Sans knows that he couldn't possibly be in the right mindset without a soul. Now that he has one once again, he can be his normal self. He can grow and prosper, and Toriel can finally age. 

Sans gave Asriel a wink, and stood up. He held his jacket in front of himself and inspected it over. After a moment, Sans laid his jacket over the goat's bedsheet. This made Asriel happy. It made him feel accepted. Sans looked at him one last time and decided to leave the room for good. After the door closed, Asriel grabbed the jacket and pulled it up close to his chin. Within moments, he was off to sleep, waiting for daytime to come.