Reconcile
The next morning came all too soon as Sans roused from his not so restful sleep, only to awake to a splitting headache. He groaned as he squeezed his eye sockets tight and buried himself further into his pillow and blankets, not quite ready to face off with reality just yet. He was on the verge of drifting off again when a nagging feeling started to scratch annoyingly at the back of his mind. It was the type of feeling that he usually got when he had forgotten something important, or when something was not quite right with a situation. Sans brushed it off as he settled more heavily into his bedding, until he realized where he was. He was in his bed, why was he in his bed?
Then all of his drunken incoherent memories from last night’s booze adventures came crashing over him. His breath hitched as he stiffened under his covers when he realized what he had done. Oh god what had he done?! He wracked his brain trying to remember what exactly had gone through his head last night, and as his drunken thoughts started to resurface Sans found himself internally cringing.
He remembered how he had entered into his room and found Frisk sleeping in his bed. He remembered how, like a creep, he had convinced himself that it was perfectly acceptable for him to sneak into bed with her while she was none the wiser, and also how he had almost nearly convinced himself that it would be ok to lay beside her.
At that thought Sans also noted that he was no longer leaning against the wall, but was now actually laying down with his body under the covers and his head on the pillow. Panic again raced through him at this realization as he frantically searched his memories, trying to figure out if he had just fallen over in his sleep, or if he had succumbed to his coursing thoughts and moved to lie next to Frisk after all. However, by the way that he was tucked under the covers, he suspected against his desperate hopes that it was, unfortunately, most likely the latter of the two options.
In that moment Sans wanted to die. He rolled over pressing his face firmly into his fluffy pillow, hoping that he would just suffocate. He also realized that he was now alone in his bed which meant that he couldn’t even attempt to hide this atrocity that he had committed. Frisk would have woken up and seen him sleeping next to her like some sort of pervert. He briefly wondered why she hadn’t screamed at him, or hit him in anger and disgust at finding him under the covers next to her. He guessed that she was probably too shocked and had left quickly, wanting to get away from him as fast as possible. Sans curled up on himself even more as he realized that he would have to inevitably face her and apologies for his frankly revolting actions. He didn’t want to. He would much rather just stay in his room forever and hide, but he knew that Frisk deserved better than that. He knew that he needed to at least try to atone for his sins.
With one more disgruntled sigh Sans hoisted himself up from under his covers as he prepared to go and face the music. However, before he could even swing his legs over the side of his bed he froze. There was a hot mug of tea stepping right by his bedside table. Sans immediately recognized the salty sent as sea tea. He paused before he gingerly reached out for the beverage, Confused at how it had gotten there. Then his pinpricks wandered over to another peculiar sight that sat on the floor directly across from him.
Frisk was there, in his room. She was still in the oversized shirt that she used as pajamas as she lay on her stomach on the floor with her bare feet casually swinging in the air, a few books that she had pulled off of his overstuffed shelves were scattered around her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as Sans saw her reading a particularly fascinating journal article on quantum physics. For a while he just stared at her utterly confused. It didn’t take long however, for Frisk to notice his gaze on her, she then turned toward him and gave him a smile.
“Oh, good morning.” She said cheerily and Sans blinked, wondering if perhaps he was still dreaming.
“Uh, morning.” he replied. “You um, finding that interesting?” He asked out of a complete loss for what else to say. Frisk turned back to the book that she had been previously studding.
“Well, it does sound intriguing.” She replied. “But I think I would enjoy it a little better if I actually understood at least half of what they were talking about.” She said with a smirk. Sans chuckled slightly at her comment.
“Heh ya, it’s a bit complicated.” He said simply. Sans then cleared his throat as he worked up his nerve to address the quite honestly strange situation he had found himself in. He searched through his muddled memories once again, thinking that he must have missed something for Frisk to be actually pleased to see him, but he just kept coming up blank.
“So uh….” He began eloquently. “Sorry about last night. I um, wasn’t really thinking all that strait.” Frisk just cocked her head, confused as to why he was apologizing.
“It’s fine Sans, you had a rough night, but you didn’t have to stay at the end of the bed. You could’ve woken me up and I would have given it back to you if you wanted.” She said with a shrug.
Sans paused, a little surprised at how nonchalantly she was handling this turn of events. He knew that Frisk didn’t really understand a lot about society’s rules concerning the boundaries and expectations set between genders as she had been an outsider to society for most of her life, but he also knew that she wasn’t oblivious to the implications of a situation like this. Unless, Maybe Frisk didn’t see him in that way at all?
“I was just at the end of the bed?” He asked, actually daring to become a little bit hopeful. Frisk nodded.
“Ya, you looked really uncomfortable so I moved you after I woke up. No one else is awake yet so you can take your time.” She stated as she turned back to the book in front of her.
Sans didn’t know if he should feel relived or concerned at this . On the one hand, he was glad that Frisk wasn’t angry with him, but on the other, the fact that she had woken up to a strange drunken monster next to her without her consent and did not immediately try to call for help or defend herself, but instead ended up tucking him in and making him a cup of tea frankly terrified him a little bit. She should not so understanding in this sort of situation. She should not forgive him so easily.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Frisk continued breaking his train of thought. “I didn’t want to chance waking Undyne or Alphys in the living room, and I know Papyrus still needs his sleep so I just started to read through some of your books.” She said.
Sans almost laughed wholeheartedly at this. Here she was, concerned about reading through his dusty book collection without his permission, when he had just barged in without an invitation at god knows what hour of the night completely soused . This kid needed to get her priorities straightened out.
“Heh, no problem kiddo, feel free to look at em whenever you want.” He said as he settled back with his mug of tea. She smiled at him before she turned back to the book. They sat in comfortable silence for a while as Sans sipped at his hangover cure while Frisk occasionally asked him to explain a term or concept that she didn’t understand. It was actually rather nice.
Sans continued to watch her try and make sense of the text in front of her. He remembered her telling him that she liked to learn. Maybe he could give her a few physics lessons after everything calmed down, if she wanted. It would also give him a little bit of a refresher considering how long it had been since he had actually looked at any of those old articles. The tranquility of the moment was short lived, however, when Frisk picked up on the sounds of someone stirring in the living room. Before Sans could even protest she was already on her feet and headed to the door.
“I’m gonna go see if I can help any, maybe whip up some breakfast or something.” She said before she exited the room. “You can take your time though Sans. If you want to sleep more I can save some for you.” And Then she was gone leaving Sans alone in his room which suddenly became far to quiet. He tried to settle back into his previous comfortable position to finish his tea, but he found his mind starting to race again in the silence so instead he got up to go check on Papyrus.
When he made it out of his room he glanced over to see Undyne on the couch with Alphys sitting next to her. Both had a plate of pancakes in their laps as they talked animatedly amongst themselves. He could hear Frisk in the kitchen, also jumping into their conversation occasionally. He hadn't known that she could cook.
When Sans entered in to his brother’s room, he was surprised to see Papyrus struggling to hoist himself out of bed.
“Woah there bro, hold your horses.” Sans said as he quickly made his way over to Papyrus side to push him back down again.
“SANS? I’M SURPRISED YOU’RE AWAKE.” Papyrus said.
“Heh, well I wanted to make sure you were doing alright.” Sans answered with a shrug. “Hey listen, take your time Paps. You don’t have to rush, everything’s taken care of, just relax.” He said. Papyrus frowned before pushing himself upward again into a sitting position.
“NO, I REALLY SHOULD GET BACK TO WORK. I’VE BEEN RESTING FOR FAR TOO LONG. I SHOULD GO AND CHECK ON UNDYNE, AND MAKE SURE SHE IS HEALING CORRECTLY.” He declared adamantly. Sans ground his teeth together while he pushed back on Papyrus shoulder more firmly.
“Paps, Alphys has already treated Undyne, she’s fine. Just focus on regaining your stamina and take it easy.” Sans insisted, refusing to allow Papyrus to get out of bed.
“SANS, I CANT JUST SIT HERE. I NEED TO DO MY JOB!” Papyrus snapped.
“You’ve already done your job.” Sans argued back. “Papyrus please, you need to rest. If you keep this up you’ll end up dusting yourself.” He said trying his best to make Papyrus see some sort of reason.
Papyrus narrowed his brow bone at Sans’ request. He wanted to argue against it, but knew deep down that his brother was right. With his magic at the levels that it was at now, he knew that he would be practically useless to anyone anyway.
“I COULDN’T DO ENOUGH SANS.” Papyrus said suddenly, refusing to make eye contact with his brother. Sans cocked his head as he took a seat next to Papyrus on the bed.
“What do you mean bro?” He asked. Papyrus fidgeted slightly before he exhaled loudly.
“YOU WERE RIGHT.” He said flatly. “I WAS UNDER PREPARED. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT I WAS GETTING MYSELF INTO” He said, again turning away.” I – I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOU.”
Sans sat stunned at his brothers sorrow filled confession, before a hefty bout of guilt settled heavy on his shoulders.
“Hey Bro no, I never meant any of that.” He said. “I was just being a numb skull like usual.” Sans continued with a cracking smile in an effort to lighten Papyruses mood. Papyrus just continued to sit glumly next to him .Sans let out a heavy sigh.
“Papyrus, no one had any idea that things were gonna go so wrong. We were all under prepared for that, and if it wasn’t for you then things would have gone a whole lot worse.” Sans said. “I was being selfish going behind your back like how I did. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.” The two sat silently for a while after that.
“I – I WAS ACTUALLY REALLY SCARED.” Papyrus said, his voice starting to wobble. “WE HAD GOTTEN CORNERED AT ONE POINT, AND I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. IF IT WASN’T FOR UNDYNE THEN….THEN.” He trailed of as he began to tremble slightly at the memory of the mobster with the gun. Sans instantly pulled him in for a hug.
“Hey its ok, you’re safe now. Everything’s fine Paps.” Sans said, but the words didn’t sound convincing as sans struggled to contain his own broken feelings.
“I’m sorry Papyrus. I should have been there.” He said instead. Papyrus shook his head.
“NO SANS, I’M SORRY. I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.” He protested.
“Heh, guess were both just a couple of bone heads then huh?” Sans said with a wobbly smirk and a wink. Papyrus rolled his eyes, but actually chuckled slightly at Sans puns.
“HONESTLY SANS, YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR IS TERRIBLE.” He said.
“Hey, you hungry? The kiddo made everyone some grub.” Sans asked motioning to the door.
“I DIDN’T KNOW THAT SHE COULD COOK.” Papyrus replied slightly surprised as he took Sans offered shoulder and leaned his weight on it.
“Ya, surprised me to.” Sans said as he helped his brother down the small hallway to the living room where everyone was sitting enjoying the pancakes that Frisk had made.
After Sans got Papyrus settled in on the opposite end of the couch next to Undyne, Frisk suggested playing a game of cards, Which Undyne and Papyrus got very into. Sans however opted out and instead volunteered to clean up the kitchen, much to everyone’s surprise, leaving the rest of the group to their game. Alphys played a few rounds, but then suddenly excused herself before Frisk could deal out the next hand as she went over to the kitchen where sans was.
“I – I need to speak to you.” She said in the sternest voice that she could muster. Sans turned away from the dishes that he was washing to the yellow lizard monster beside him. She looked nervous but held his gaze. Sans sighed, this clearly couldn’t wait.
“Ok Al, over here.” Sans said as he motioned over to his room. Alphys nodded and followed behind him.
As soon as they made it out of ear shot behind Sans’ closed bedroom door, Alphys turned to face him with determined eyes. There was no way that she was going to back down now, especially with everything that was on the line. Sans fixed her with a curious brow bone; not sure what had gotten into Alphys’ usual shy and timid self all of a sudden.
“So, what’s this all about?” He asked.
“Sans give me back the journal.” Alphys replied without missing a beat. Sans stood silent in the doorway for a moment.
“You know I can’t do that pal.” He said. Alphys only narrowed her eyes staying true to her resolve.
“I wasn’t asking.” She said sternly. “I don’t know what happened between Doctor Gaster and the Pansies to make his research off limits, but I don’t care! The answer that we need could be in that journal and it’s worth the risk! So either you give it to me to decode, or you decode it yourself and give me something to work with so I can do my job and come up with a way to counter the smoker’s effects!” Sans stiffened a bit, not used to Alphys raising her voice. Wow, he didn’t know she had it in her.
“Look Alphys.” Sans began in an effort to calm her down, but Alphys was in no mood to be pacified.
“Sans! We do not have the luxury to think of another option! We have already lost four monsters, with a whole battalion wounded and our own underboss, Undyne, was shot!” She said her voice breaking slightly when she mentioned Undyne’s Injury.
“If I could have done something with that journal, then there dust is on my hands.” She continued sadly. “I can’t just sit and do nothing, not when we may have a possible solution.”
Sans folded at her desperate plea. He knew in a way that she was right. If there was anything in that horrid, evil notebook that may provide them with a clue to protect the lives of their comrades then wasn’t it worth looking into? Sans pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity as he let out a steady sigh.
“Al I can’t let you have the journal.” He said and Alphys wilted immediately, her resolve crumbling beneath her.
“But, I can translate the notebook for you, and if there is anything that could be a clue for the solution to the soul smoker then I will let you know.” He continued. “That’s the best that I can do.” Alphys immediately jumped forward and clasped one of his hands between her own.
“Do you promise?” She asked, her eyes set aflame behind her spectacles. Sans groaned inwardly but reluctantly nodded.
“Ya, I promise.” He said. Alphys released him at that, satisfied with his oath.
“O- ok then.” She stuttered as she came down form her bravado. “I-Im just going to check on Undyne one last time, and- and I think I’m going to head home.” She said as she moved to the door.
“Th- thanks for letting me stay the night.” She added sheepishly.
“Don’t mention it pal.” Sans said as he followed her out of his room.
After Alphys had made her final inspections of Undyne’s shoulder, and went over the proper ways to clean and bandage the wound for the umpteenth time in a row, she finally bid them all farewell and made her exit. Sans sat back in his chair by the kitchen table as Frisk, Undyne and Papyrus continued to play their card game and eat pancakes in their pajamas while bundled up on the couch in the quilts and blankets.
“FRISK THESE ARE QUITE EXQUISITE.” Papyrus declared from his spot on the couch.
“Ya punk, where did you learn to make food like this anyway? Undyne added. Frisk shrugged.
"I learned it a long time ago, but there really not that great. I burnt them a bit and this is the only thing that I really know how to cook.” She replied simply.
“by the way, royal flush.” Frisk added as she splayed out her cards and proceeded to collect her chips with a smirk, which were at the moment just a handful of spare coins that where fished out from behind the sofa cushions.
“What?! Ghaaaa no way!” Undyne shouted as she tossed her own hand up in the air.
“WOWIE FRISK, YOU WIN AGAIN. YOU SURE ARE GOOD AT THIS GAME!” Papyrus chimed in.
Sans chuckled to himself as he watched the three play from his spot at the kitchen table. He was just starting to finally relax when a knock sounded from the front door. Sans grumbled under his breath as he begrudgingly got out of his chair to go and answer it. When he did he almost immediately slammed it hard in Asgore’s face when he found the large goat monster standing right outside of his apartment. Though, he knew that Papyrus and Undyne would probably not approve so much of his actions if he did, So instead he mustered up a smile.
“Heya there boss.” He said in greeting, though his tone held no sincerity what so ever. Asgore inwardly sighed as he had already been expecting Sans to not be very pleased to see him.
“Howdy Sans, I am sorry to disturb you after the events from last night, you must all be exhausted.” He replied. “But I have been informed that Undyne was placed in your care… is she alright?” He asked, and Sans caved a little at his worried tone. Dam it, fine. He would save his complaints for a more private moment.
“Yeah she’s good, come on in.” He said as he reluctantly stepped out of the entrance way to allow Asgore to come inside. As Asgore walked through the door the three on the couch immediately turned toward him.
“Boss?” Undyne asked in surprise. “W-what are you doing here?” Asgores shoulders seemed to slump with relief when he saw that Undyne was indeed safe and cared for, wrapped up in blankets on the lumpy sofa.
“I came when I heard that you had gotten injured.” He replied. “I thought that I would take over your care and take you back to my estate to recover.” He said. Undyne cheeks turned a dark teal as her yellow eye slid sheepishly to the floor.
“You- you didn’t have to do that.” She said. Asgore only smiled softly in response.
“Well of course I did.” He said. “You are practically my family Undyne.” Undyne seemed to shrink further into herself at his comment. Frisk noticed that for some reason she didn’t look too happy to hear those words.
“I also wanted to stop by to make sure that I properly extended my gratitude to you Papyrus.” Asgore continued as he turned to the younger skeleton brother on the couch.
“M-ME YOUR BOSSNESS?” Papyrus asked as he pointed to himself with a confused look on his face. Asgore chuckled.
“Yes papyrus, you.” He said. “I understand that I have put a lot of responsibility on you regarding this last mission and I wanted to apologies for putting so much pressure on your shoulders, but in spite of this you handled the situation extraordinarily well, and I am sure that we would have been in a much worse condition if it wasn’t for all of your hard work.” He stated.
“Papyrus, I am indebted to you. If you ever require anything of me please know that all you have to do is ask.” He continued. Papyrus sat stunned on the couch, his cheeks flushing a brilliant orange.
“WOWIE.” He said breathlessly. “THANK YOU BOSS ASGORE. I- I’M GLAD THAT I COULD BE OF SERVICE.” Sans just grumbled in his seat at the kitchen. He was glad that his brother seemed to be coming out of his slump, but he was still not particularly pleased with Asgore even with all the praise that he was giving to Papyrus.
“Hey paps, think it’s time for you to get some more rest.” Sans said as he made his way over.
“BUT, I’M FEELING JUST FINE SANS.” Papyrus protested as he stifled a yawn.
“Nope, sorry bro docs orders.” Sans replied with a shrug. “Your magic reserves are still too low; you gotta get back to dreamland.” Papyrus rolled his eye sockets.
“IF I SLEEP ANYMORE I'M GOING TO TURN INTO A LAZY BONES LIKE YOU.” He said grumpily. Sans chuckled.
“Here’s hoping.” Sans replied as he helped Papyrus to hoist himself off of the couch before supporting his weight on his shoulder on the way back to Papyrus’ bedroom. Frisk also scampered off of the couch and followed behind the brothers, jumping to Papyrus’ side to help support him on the way as she decided to leave Asgore and Undyne alone. Something about the way that Undyne kept guiltily avoiding Asgore’s gaze told her that they would appreciate a little privacy. Undyne remained silent when she and Asgore where left to themselves in the living room.
“Undyne you are very quiet. Is there something wrong?” Asgore asked, noticing her unusually reserved disposition.
“Hu? Uh, no boss, I’m fine.” She said, but Asgore could tell that she was obviously lying to him.
“Hmm, well I must commend you for your work on this job and apologize for not supplying you with more means to protect yourself. I am deeply sorry for that.” Asgore said as he turned sorrow filled eyes toward her. Undyne sat shocked for only a moment before springing forward.
“What?! No! You shouldn’t apologize for anything!” She declared almost angrily. “It- It was my fault! I let you down! I failed the mission! I – I lost three men.” She said as her voice slowly began to slip back into its quiet and depressed state.
“I led them to their deaths.” She continued turning away again. Asgore reached out a placed a large firm hand on her shoulder.
“Undyne, you must not blame yourself for what happened.” He said. “You did all that you could. If there is anyone to blame it would be me for taking the gamble and ignoring my instincts.” He stated sadly.
“Though Cheecko, Jade, and Alfred were lost, you must also remember how many that you led to safety.” He continued. “Sometimes we just cannot save everyone, no matter how much we wish too.” Undyne curled her arms around her knees as she buried her face in them, suddenly appearing so much smaller. It reminded Asgore of her younger self, back when he had first found her on the streets, when she could barely be considered an adult.
“I’m sorry.” She said, her voice only a wobbly whisper. Asgore pulled her closer as he kept his hand firmly on her back allowing her to morn while he sat silently beside her.
Sans, Papyrus and Frisk were all piled on Papyrus’s bed as Sans tried to get his brother to go to sleep. He ended up reading to him again, though this time it was from a script of one of Papyrus’s favorite movies that Papyrus had somehow gotten his hands on. When he had made it past the first act Papyrus was already out like a light, and surprisingly, Frisk had also succumbed as she snuggled around one of Papyrus’ throw pillows.
Sans let out a relieved sigh as he tucked them both in. When he moved to wrap the extra end blanket around Frisk he paused, noticing that her bruising though faded, was still fairly visible. He had forgotten in all that panic that she herself was still healing. Sans felt his smile fall into a frown.
He had lost Mittsy, then Frisk was almost taken from him as well, and now Undyne had been shot, and his brother’s life had also been threatened. This was getting too close to home. They couldn’t afford not to care about the Gambino’s anymore. Even if they didn’t have the appropriate means to combat their weapon, the Pansies had to act.
Sans swiftly pulled himself off of his brother’s mattress to head back into the living room. Though he would much rather chew Asgore out, Sans knew that this issue revolving around the spreading of the soul smoker outside of the Gambino’s organization was far more important. He would play nice with the boss, for the most part at least. As he left papyrus and frisk behind in the bedroom, he failed to notice Frisk crack open one of her eyes as she watched him go.
When he walked around the corner of the little hallway into the living room, he was glad to see that Undyne had also fallen back asleep, as she was still exhausted from her injury. Sans moseyed over to the couch, catching Asgores eye.
“Heya.” Sans drawled. Asgore turned his tired gaze toward him. He had been expecting sans to make an appearance sooner or later.
“Hello Sans.” Asgore said, returned his greeting as he stood from the couch.
“How’s about we head over to the kitchen?” Sans asked, gesturing to the table with his pinpricks as he kept his hands stashed lazily in his pockets. Asgore nodded.
“Very well.” He said as he followed behind the shorter skeleton brother. Asgore took a seat as Sans pored himself a cup of instant coffee.
“Want one?” He offered, but Asgore politely declined.
“No thank you.” He said. “I find the caffeine does terrible things for my nerves.” Sans shrugged.
“Suit yourself.” He said as he took the seat opposite to Asgore.
“Sans I want to apolo-.” Asgore began, but Sans raised a hand dismissively before Asgore could finish his sentence.
“Save it.” He said as he took a sip from his coffee mug. Asgore frowned.
“There’s more important things to be discussed right now.” Sans continued “That being, how the Hollywood’s got their hands on the soul smokers.” Asgore furrowed his brow. That particular subject had also been weighing heavy on his mind.
“Yes, I have been fairly concerned about that.” He replied. “And I doubt that the Hollywood’s hired a monster of their own to be able to figure out that formula.”
“Which means that the Gambino’s sold it to them.” Sans concluded.
“If that’s the case.” Asgore continued. “What would the Gambino’s want in return? Surly they wouldn’t give away a weapon like that for just money, Its far too valuable. There has to be something more.” Sans nodded, agreeing with Asgore’s train of thought.
“Unless, maybe the Gambino’s were buying the Hollywood’s allegiance.” Sans suggested. Asgore paused at his comment.
“What do you mean?” He asked. Sans shrugged.
“Think about it.” He replied.
“The Gambino’s have a full proof anti monster weapon, and they are the only ones that have the means to make it. The demand for a product like that would be through the roof, especially to all the human gangs of Ebott. The Gambino’s hold the monopoly. All they’d have to do is give the other gangs a taste, and when they see how effective it works against our magic they’ll be hooked.” Sans explained. Asgore’s eyes grew darker as he began to understand where Sans was going with this.
“Now, a gang like the Gambino’s doesn’t really have money problems. So if they don’t want money, what else is there?” Sans asked.
“Power.” Asgore replied.
“Bingo.” Sans said.
“So they are trading the weapon to the rest of the human gangs of Ebott for their alliance, which would leave the Gambino’s in charge of all of them.” Asgore concluded.
“And that would make Big Sam the new Don of every human crime organization in the Under - City.” Sans added.
“With that much man power, as well as the weapon, they could obliterate every monster organization that stands in their way. Not only that, but the innocent as well.” Asgore stated, his voice turning severe as he realized the gravity of this situation.
“The kid did say that Ludo had mentioned something about starting a war, and I think it’s on our doorstep.” Sans said. Asgore let out a shaky breath as he raised a hand to cover his face.
“Then there is no hope.” He said quietly.
“Now hold on there boss.” Sans said with a smirk. “No need to get quite so melodramatic just yet.” Asgore raised his head as he looked to Sans questionably.
“If we look at the big picture it does seem a bit daunting, but if we compartmentalize a little bit the solution to our problem is actually a lot simpler then it seems.” Sans explained. Asgore raised an eyebrow.
“In fact, the solution really comes down to only one monster.” Sans continued. “The one working for the Gambino’s.”
“The scientist that they hired?” Asgore asked.
“Yup.” Sans answered. “He’s like the keystone holding up their castle. We take him out and the Gambino’s organization completely crumbles under their feet. Without him they can’t extract the determination needed for the smokers, without the smokers they got nothing to supply to the other human gangs . The human gangs will break from their allegiance when they don’t receive their end of the bargain. Everything that the Gambino’s are building is only supported on the shoulders of that one monster.” He concluded.
Asgore sat silently for a moment as he processed Sans theory.
“We will have to act stealthily.” He finally said. “If the Gambino’s sense that we are getting to close to their Achilles heel so to speak, then they will not hesitate to wipe us out completely.” Sans nodded, confirming Asgores statement. Asgore frowned.
“It will be risky.” He continued. Sans shrugged.
“Sure, but it beats just sitting around waiting to be picked off one by one.” He said.
“I got a contact I can talk to, see if we can figure out more about this mystery monster.” He added.
“Alright Sans.” Asgore replied. “We will start gathering information, but by no means are we going to take any more unnecessary action without some way to defend ourselves. We have lost too many already.” He said solemnly.
Sans then pulled himself out of his kitchen chair. With his business discussed and done with, he thought that he would join his brother and Frisk in Papyrus’ bedroom in catching a few z’s.
“Sans wait.” Asgore called and Sans paused before he could enter into the living room, but did not turn back to face the boss monster.
“Sans, I want to thank you for-.”
“Don’t.” Sans said, cutting Asgore off again. “Frankly speaking boss, I’m not doing this for you.” He said as he rolled an eye over his shoulder at Asgore.
“In fact, you could say that I’m still not very pleased to see you here at all. If it was at any other time, I probably would have much rather slammed the door in your face then let you step a foot in here.” He continued.
“But this business with the Gambino’s is bigger than me, so for now , until we get this situation under control, I’ll let bygones be bygones.” He said. “However, I do have one condition for taking the high road here, and I expect you to at least be able to actually keep your word this time.” He continued fixing Asgore with a steady pinprick. Asgore returned Sans firm gaze with his own.
“You have my guarantee Sans, Papyrus will not be placed in any more danger.” He said. “I will not break my promise to you again.” Sans held him sternly with his gaze for a moment more.
“I also want that protection extended to include Frisk.” He stated. Asgore cocked his head in slight surprise.
“The human?” He asked.
“She’s my underling after all.” Sans replied with a shrug. “I mean, what kind of boss would I be if I didn’t protect the ones that worked for me.” He said bitterly, Shooting Asgore with a snarky eyebrow. Asgore winced slightly at the sting of Sans words.
“Very well, Frisk will be granted the same immunity.” He agreed.
“Alrighty then.” Sans said as he turned back around. “Now that that’s all sorted out, think I’m gonna go take a nap.” He continued as he headed toward his brothers room.
“Oh, and one more thing Asgore.” Sans added before he could get around the corner of the small hallway. “When Undyne wakes up, you both should leave. This place has been a little too crowded as of late, and I would appreciate a bit of a breather.”
“I understand.” Asgore replied.
With that, Sans left the boss monster alone in the kitchen as he finally made it back to the warmth and safety of Papyrus’s bedroom. He smiled when he saw both Frisk and Papyrus still asleep, nestled into their covers. He then took to his own spot on the floor, though he had no real intention of joining them in dreamland. There was just far to much to think about at the moment, so instead Sans settled back and closed his eyes as he began to ponder who exactly this monster working for the Gambino's could be. However, Something told him deep, deep down inside his soul that he probably wasn't going to like the answer when he found it.