The Time Before (Undertale)

53 ~ Instability

More time went by.

With only Sans trying to build the machine, everything was taking so much longer. Nearly another year passed, and he was still just working on a timeline monitor.

He still went out to Grillby's often, and visited Alphys, but his attention, his Determination, his Soul, was focused on building the machine. He went to Grillby's only when he needed a break, and to Alphys when he needed help with some mathematical calculation or needed to borrow some tools his workshop didn't have.

He worked nearly every waking hour on the machine.

He could barely remember his creator, but he knew Dad would have done the same for him. He loved his father, this unknown person, with a wild strength that drove him on. He would rescue his father.

But his constant focus on his mission meant neglect in everything else.

He rarely talked to people, except for the rare visits to Alphys's or Grillby's. He slept the bare minimum allowed for his body. He ate little more than what he could carry with him while working. He didn't clean up after himself, except to keep his workshop in the basement organized.

Eventually, Papyrus got worried. He sat Sans down for a serious conversation.

"Sans, I'm happy to see you working so hard at... whatever it is you're working on, but I think you need to tone it back just a little! Even I know that a Soul can only take so much hard work before it need to rest, and you need to rest!"

Sans looked at his brother a little, and realized that Papyrus had grown more in the last year. He was now nearly six and a half feet tall. "... pap, i'm fine, really."

"No, Sans, you're not! You're barely eating and sleeping less! Most mornings, I have to keep you from leaving to make sure you've had breakfast! And you're in the basement every day, working all the time! You need to see more people, make more friends!"

"pap..."

"I'm really worried about you, Sans! If you keep going the way you are now, you're going to hurt yourself really badly! Please, Sans!"

Sans blinked. "... papyrus, i... i have to..." ...But no. Sans had promised. Anything for Papyrus. ".... alright... what... what do you want me to do?"

Papyrus looked at Sans. "Well, obviously I'm not going to tell you to stop working. Just... slow down a little, okay? Don't hurt yourself. If-... I don't know what I would do if-... if you-..."

Sans reached out a hand, setting it gently over one of Papyrus's hands. "... alright, bro." His smile widened just a little. "i'll slow down a bit."

Papyrus smiled just a little.

~o0o~

After almost two more years, Sans started to get things working. The farther along he got, the fewer things went wrong. He had gotten better at checking his work.

He also had made a rule for himself, to satisfy Papyrus- no working after nine PM. He spent that time at Grillby's, or with Alphys, or just with Papyrus.

That was how he learned that Papyrus was intending to join the Royal Guard as soon as he turned eighteen. And how he learned that Undyne, a fish monster whom he had some vague recollection of, was captain of the Royal Guard, the youngest captain on record. Papyrus thought she was really cool. Sans thought she sounded a little... arrogant, but he supported his brother in his decision to join the guard.

When he was getting ready to test out the machine, Sans found out that the house was directly wired to the CORE, giving it highest priority to the power there. He realized, with some surprise, that this didn't surprise him at all. That made him wonder how much he subconsciously remembered about his creator.