---(Y/n)'s Pov---

We must of walked for a good ten minutes, my boots were clicking against the rocky surface of the cavern. You'd think that everyone could hear my echoing footsteps, but it seemed impossible over the constant dripping and distant sounds of water.

As Flowey promised, we eventually came across Sans' sentry station... however, he wasn't sitting there. Taking it as a stroke of luck, I decided to pass by it. "He should of been here..."

"Heya, bucko. Leaving so soon?"

Turning around on my heels, I saw him. Sans was sitting in the chair of his station with one arm resting on the wooden table and a knuckle pressed against the side of his skull. His single crimson eye was half lidded, almost taunting me to move another step forward. "Heh. It's rude to leave before dinner, don't ya think?"

"I didn't have the stomach for it." I explained. Deciding to slowly walk away, I froze in place once I heard the sound of him taking out a paper, followed by him reading something-

"Entry 1. I find myself in a place that is completely different from my own expectations. After coming here to complete a job, I have learned that Monsters in the Underground have lost themselves to hunger and starvation. I'll have to take a closer look at their diet to understand the reasoning behind their consumption considering the fact that they would of probably had enough Souls to escape by now."

My head snapped towards him, but he didn't stop reading what I wrote on the back of that page. In fact, him knowing how to read that font was... unexplainable to me.

"Entry 2. I believe that I have broken down the fundamentals of their preferences for Human flesh rather an escape. Monsters require a magical form of sustenance to survive. Such a thing was usually fueled by the energy provided by the Core... but now... it seems as though the body wouldn't give the same magical quantity of their own food unless they allowed the SOUL to remain intact. Removing the SOUL would only diminish the quantity of energy within the meat of the body, rendering it nothing more than useless to the digestion of a Monster."

"Let's go now... hurry!" Flowey insisted. However, I was frozen in place. Sans had used his magic to barricade my exit with sharp bloody bones. In fact, he was smirking with a sense of humor over this situation.

"Entry 3. I cannot read this font. Without Flowey here by my side to provide assistance, I am incapable of completing this puzzle. Perhaps I am not as determined as the seventh that caused all this strife. Regardless, I do not have to worry about their interference during my task. With how unstable the Core became over the course of their resetting, they immediately lost their hold on that ability during their neutral escape. It seems that the Core couldn't provide sufficient energy anymore for the use of RESET... especially since it's energy wasn't given a reset during each run... Once I finish this, I will make a few changes to prevent a Human from repeating such an issue."

My eyes were heavily shadowed over by my (H/c) hair. Perhaps I should of paid more attention to Sans... especially since Gaster wanted to keep him as a 'surprise'. Although, I thought that the concept of a surprise was to keep it exciting... what a pain. He was unpredictable. "So what now, hmm?"

"Well... heh. Now you're gonna tell me what you're doing down here." He said deeply. His sharpened fingers started scratching at the interior of his eye while his opposite hand resumed his signature tapping. It kept me on edge, and he was probably using that as a tactic to judge me. Though... what did I have to lose?

"I'm here to conduct repairs on the Core."

"What." If possible, Sans' eye widened momentarily... and for once, his grin may of faltered. He seemed confused, but somehow pulled off looking just as creepy within such a state. "You're joking."

"I attempted to explain this to your brother, but he didn't seem to believe me." I continued while crossing my arms nonchalantly. Sans finally managed to recover from his confusion, but easily lost the rhythm of his tapping.

"Prove it." When he insisted this, I didn't go to show him the prototype since I was unsure of his reaction... so instead, I reached into my bag and pulled out several blueprints of the Core's structure.

"Here." I simply said before approaching his station. I was somewhat unsure of my approach, so I stayed back several inches with the papers in hand. I kept them outstretched in his direction, but he didn't move to take them.

"Come here, pal. I don't bite." He insisted... and of course, I decided to offer him a blank stare because I knew better than that. As a result, he corrected himself. "Hard."

"Don't get too close!" Flowey urged while pulling back slightly. His movement seemed to be in an effort to force me further from him, and when Sans saw this... he gave a chilling glare towards the flower.

"Fuck off, weed." The harsher tone didn't make me flinch away, but it didn't necessarily make me want to stick around either. Since I wanted this to be over, I took another step forward. Placing the blueprints on the table of his station, I was definitely surprised to see that he didn't lash out at me- well... this time.

"See? Nothing to worry about." Despite his words, his eerie grin told me otherwise. I had A LOT to worry about. He pulled out the blueprints in front of him and scanned through the details with interest. While doing this, he was also scratching at the crack in his skull. "Where did you get these?"

"I drew them." My claim was not wrong, but it only caused Sans' curiosity to grow. He also appeared to be decently confused.

"You drew these? And write in Wingdings?" He added, causing me to nod. "Hmm... I faintly remember someone who spoke in that font. Both me and my bro can speak it too."

"Really...?" This time, it was my turn to be slightly surprised. I thought that the language was unique to both Gaster and I... but then again, he did leave out a lot of details about Sans and Papyrus.

At the sound of his claw like phalanges scraping against bone in a very unpleasant fashion, I was snapped out of my thoughts... only to see Sans trying to practically dig into the crack of his skull as if he were in search of something. "There is an itch... that I just can't scratch."

He looked lost, or maybe nostalgic for a split second... I really couldn't tell the difference.

"Heh... ya know, I never did catch your name." He suddenly said, completely off topic from what he was just doing. Unless maybe- his scratching was almost similar to the mental effort of searching for a memory? Unusual, but possible.

"That's because I never threw it."

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"Pffft.... Hahah..." And then, I got to hear Sans' laughter. For a split second, I could catch a glimpse of his former humerus self. Just as soon as it was there, it was suddenly gone... at least we were able to get some relief over this unbearably tense atmosphere. "You really crack me up, pal."

And then, his stare became half lidded and overly relaxed for my comfort. He reached out a hand over his sentry station and held it in place for me to take. "Heya. I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton."

Since I noticed that his little... tool wasn't attached to his hand this time, I chose to finally take a chance on him. He obviously had many more questions. However, for now... I could use an extra ally. Reaching out my hand, I grabbed his own in a firm yet friendly grip. "I'm (Y/n)."

"Huh. Nice name." As he said this, his wall of crimson stained bones vanished. For once, I didn't feel too threatened by him... until he yanked his arm forward while lashing his free hand out to grab Flowey.

When his grip was secured around his stem, Sans easily ripped him from his hold on my shoulder before releasing me. "Let- Let me go!"

"Heh. I'm taking it upon myself to fire you, buddy." As if on queue, a red glow ignited in the palm of Sans's hand, ready to scorch my guide.

"Sans." And for the first time, I used his name. The skeleton's eye immediately focused it's attention on my own stare, causing his magic to slowly die down. "Can you please release him? He is my guide."

"Your guide?" He started to think for a moment, allowing his hand to lower slightly while Flowey stared at him in pure horror. "Fine."

Once he agreed, his hand once again lit up in a red glow of magic, making the flower screech in fear. "But on one condition."

I gave him a look of confusion before gesturing for him to continue. "I'll let the weed go... if you agree to let me guide you instead."

"As long as you're not guiding me to my death." I began emotionlessly, causing Flowey to let out a small whine. I had to get him out of this situation... since admittedly, I did enjoy his company.

"Don't do it, (Y/n)!"

"Then we can strike a deal in the form of a promise." His smirk faltered slightly, but it soon widened after I spoke my next words. "Because I always keep a promise."

"Alright, pal. Also, the weed needs to leave. Go back to the ruins for all I care." After he said this, he put out his hand out for a second time which I took to shake. Straight after the deal was made, Flowey was quite literally thrown to the side.

Sans then got up from his station and put both of his hands in his pockets before he started to walk alongside of me. "Let's go."

Turning my head slightly to send the Flower an apologetic stare, he only seemed to look back at me with pity. My previous guide seemed to be worried about me... but even Sans finally understood the error of his ways since he dismissed my abilities so carelessly during our first encounter. "Here."

He handed me back my blueprints which I stashed into my bag. Thinking about this carefully, I soon decided to reach into the depths of my bag and pull out the second bottle of ketchup. "Here."

That would probably keep him busy for awhile... at least for now, I can focus without worrying about him chopping my head off. After all, didn't Flowey say something about the dangers of Waterfall? I'd need to work on evading that since I doubted my newest guide to be of any assistance.

He gawked at my gift for a moment before snatching if from my hand. Sans was quick to start quite literally drinking from the bottle... how, I did not know. Any Human that were to try and attempt such a thing would of probably ended up pretty sick. Well, this was also Monster food so they'd probably be fine...

Thankfully, the ketchup was obviously a good call. It made this walk along side of a Human eating monster less unnerving. Despite this fact, I was probably feeling somewhat on edge due to his proximity to me... he was walking fairly close. I could not only smell the ketchup that he was consuming, but the slight metallic scent of blood and decay.

"Don't make me regret this choice." I said bluntly to him as he pulled away from his bottle.

"You didn't have a choice, bucko."