Chapter Text
Consciousness comes to you slowly. You realize just as slowly that it was because someone was tucking in the blanket around you. You shift a bit, nuzzling the soft texture you're leaning on, face scrunching as you try to fall back asleep. You vaguely hear the footsteps of whoever had found you step back, and it's seconds after that you pry your eyes open to see who disturbed you.
The sky has taken on only a bit of color, meaning it's only been maybe two or three hours since you fell asleep. You blink a few more times, trying to clear your eyes, your mind still trying to force you back to sleep. A shadow moves slightly just outside your vision and your eyes snap to track it, only finding Papyrus leaning over slightly to look at you.
"Human ____? Are you awake?" Wow, Papyrus can be really quiet when he wants to. You blinked in response to him, but said nothing.
Memories of the night before (earlier? What time was it?) came back in molasses-like trickles. After your little educational conversation with Sans, you two went on to talk about the stars, with you pointing out the ones you knew. And now your here, being awoken to find yourself leaning on eachother. The two of you must have fallen asleep at some point? It was the only explanation for your current predicament.
"Forgive me for waking you, but while you are awake, don't you think it might be a better idea to come inside to sleep at least?"
Inside? You blink again, trying to comprehend what Papyrus has asked of you. You process that Papyrus wants you to move, so you go to sit up. In the process, Sans slips down onto your shoulder, waking him as well. Sans blinked and squinted, not awake in the slightest either. Papyrus let out a soft "Oh dear" in slight exasperation
"Sans? Brother, I'll let you sleep more, just this once, but I need you to come inside." Sans blinked at his brother, registering that he's there, but not his words. Papyrus sighs. It's clear that neither of you have had much sleep, so he tries instead to be a little more forceful, if only so his words register.
"Come inside. You can sleep more there, but you have to move." Papyrus takes Sans' hand and gives it a tug. Sans grumbles quietly, but indeed stands as his brother wants him to. And with Sans' sudden departure, you are left to nearly tumble over onto where he used to be. You were able to awkwardly catch yourself from cracking your head against the wooden swing, but you were confused as to what happened. Yours and Sans' hands were still linked together, leaving yours to awkwardly bend off the swing. You blinked a few times before deciding that moving inside was an idea. You slowly stand as well, blearily staring up at Papyrus for further instructions, swaying slightly on your feet.
Papyrus sighs and gathers the blanket that had slipped off you when you stood, before taking Sans' hand again and leading him back inside. In turn, Sans pulled you along behind him. Once inside, Papyrus lead the two of you over to the couches in the lobby. Sans registers the couch as a viable place to sleep, releasing Papyrus' hand and flopping down onto the couch, resulting in you being dragged down with him. You tumble down, landing between Sans and the back of the couch. Sans shifts, rolling so that he can loop an arm around you and crush you to him. He mumbles something, burying his face in your hair, before he's out cold once more. You only blink in response, face pressed under Sans's chin, before you too loop an arm around Sans and snuggle farther down into the couch, falling asleep just as quickly.
Papyrus sighs, slightly baffled by the sight, but at the same time not really worried. He's glad someone was there for his brother. Still, there is an oddness to it, how quickly Sans has taken to you.
For now, Papyrus decides to wait and see. Sans has been more relaxed, happier even, than he's been in a long time, and Papyrus doesn't want that to stop. He instead unfolds the blanket and lays it over the two of you. He'll talk to his brother later about it.
-----
Beware.
A grey, grey room.
Keep your Faith.
A white, white figure.
Don't lose Hope.
A black, black shadow.
Beware...
Red, r̬͆͒͐̋̾̚̚͘ẻ͌̂͂͟d͕͙͐̂ͬ͐ eyes
He is Determined.
-----
Light burns itself through your lids and you are confused by the rude awakening. Your room's window faces west, and it's not anywhere near your bed to shine like this on you. So what the fuck sun?
You try and bury your face down into the pillow you're cuddling, hiding from the light. Did someone change the inside of your body pillow? It seems more solid. And when was it so soft? Waaaait a minute, body pillows can't hug back who the fuCK-?!
You jerk awake, sunlight blinding you from the windows of the Inn lobby. The sun needs to not do these things please you kinda really needed your sight. You push yourself up to lean on one arm, using the other to scrub at your eyes.
Wait, the lobby? When did you...?
You finally look down to see what -or who, in this case- you had been cuddling.
You blink.
Sans...?
Your memory started to catch up with you at this point. The spirit, the swing, stargazing, and then there's a blank (falling asleep?) You think a little harder and you find vague images of Papyrus and him saying something.
And now you are here.
And in all honesty, you can't say you this is a bad way to wake up. A little embarrassing, but you could think of worse.
Aaaand you can't exactly leave with how tightly Sans was holding you.
Welp. Might as well wait for the inevitable moment of when he wakes up. Or someone finds you. Which ever happens first. You carefully lay yourself back down, shifting around to lay on your back. You then used your arm to pull Sans to have him lay on your chest/shoulder area, rather than nearly falling off the couch. He took to this new position quickly, even in his sleep, shifting to nuzzle into you as you held him from falling. Your other arm comes to lay over your eyes and you sigh.
....
You really wish you had your phone.
-----
Nina peeks out from the dining area to catch a glance at the couches. She takes note of the shift in position, meaning ____ was awake, but refused to get up for a reason or another. She doesn't go over, however, instead returning to the kitchen.
In spite of the short time knowing him, Nina has developed a fondness for Papyrus. She can see each of her children in the loud Skeleton. An unwavering sense of duty, a boisterously friendly mannerism, and a dauntless positivity towards life. It's only natural her maternal instincts turn towards the tall monster.
She had been surprised when she came to the Inn that morning, right at the crack of dawn as always. First, was finding the other Skeleton, Sans, asleep on the porch swing with _____. Nina had snuck by the pair and into the lobby, took three steps in, and was nearly bowled over by Papyrus quickly coming down the hall from the rooms in a panic, unable to find his brother. She was quick to calm the tall skele, showing him where his brother had gone off to. After, she had invited him to come cook breakfast for everyone with her when he was ready. Delighted, he agreed.
She finds him right where she left him, taking batter and using the waffle iron just as she showed him. She knows he can cook properly, if given the right instructions. Undyne could too, if the two toned it down a bit and didn't mistake "passion" for "skill." But, that was a thought for another time.
"How's it coming, Papyrus?"
"WONDERFUL, MS. CHEF NINA! THESE WAFFLES WILL BE THE EPITOME OF PERFECTION, ONLY ACHIEVABLE BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
"That's great, dear." Nina beamed at him. "I'll be gettin' back to chopping up these veggies for the omelettes. Once you're done there, I'll find you something else to help me with."
"EXCELLENT!" The two of them continued their tasks in amiable silence, only the sound of their utensils filling the air. It's nice, a break from her familiar morning routine.
"Is that a common occurrence for ____? Finding them sleeping on that swing."
Nina almost startles at Papyrus' sudden question. She looked over at him, but he was still masterfully making waffles, not looking up from his task. Nina sighed and continued chopping the veriety of vegetables.
"More than any of us like to admit. So long as the weather permits, if they have a bad night, that's where they end up." Push the chopped bits aside, grab another veggie. "Is it the same for Sans?"
"... More that either of us like to admit." Flip out the finished waffle, pour in more batter.
"Mm. Ain't nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you're trying everything you can."
".... It's hard, sometimes. Especially since he doesn't always let me help."
"Don't wanna worry anyone?"
"Yes."
Nina shakes her head. _____ never tells just how bad the spirits get, but they all could tell most of the time. Even so, it's been well over a decade since ____ asked for any kind of help dealing with the ghosts.
Birds of a feather and all that.
"-ef Nina? Ms. Nina, your hand!"
Nina snaps out of her musings at Papyrus' urgent and worried tone. She stops everything and blinks, gazing down at her hands. It seems she's cut a clean line right across the side of her hand, under her thumb. Luckily, she hadn't bled on any of the vegetables, but she hadn't even noticed. She's so used to hurting her hands in some form or another that the pain barely registers anymore. Papyrus is quick to shut off the waffle iron and move to fret about beside her.
"Now, now, no need to get your knickers in a bunch. This happens all the time for me." She waves the skeleton off and moves to the sink. "A little water and a bandage and all will be well again." Nina washes her hand under the tap, the sting hardly noticeable. Once clean, she pats the wound down carefully. Not deep, so no need for a trip to the hospital. Papyrus still shifts on his feet nervously, seeming unsure of something.
"May I see...?" Nina gazes up at him in question, but holds out her injured hand anyways. Papyrus takes her hand carefully in his. He holds her old ones in one of his large ones (at her request, he hadn't put on his gloves), while the other hovers just above the cut. Nina watches curiously, wondering what he's going to do.
It is the warmth that she notices first. A soft, soothing heat, like a heating pad on her back when it's sore. Then she notices the green. It's almost imperceivable in the morning light, but there, coming gently off the skeleton's boney hand, is a soft, pale green light. There's a tingling around her wound for a second, then it's gone, along with the light. Papyrus removes his hand and inspects hers, before releasing it. Nina is quick to pull her hand back to see what just happened.
The cut is gone.
Nina stands in shock. Not even a scar remains.
"Please keep this between us, Ms. Nina. I'm... not supposed to use magic as freely up here for a while. To keep Humans from becoming fearful of us." Papyrus nervously explained, fidgeting with his fingers. Nina can only nod as she pulls her hand to her chest, wide eyed and a little pale. She takes a breath to calm herself.
"Why don't you go see about waking that brother of yours? ____ probably woke up a while ago, but your brother's got'em trapped on the couch. We can continue after." Nina needs a moment alone to collect herself, and Papyrus can see this. So, he nods and leaves her to herself in the kitchen.
Nina continues to stand in the middle of the kitchen, a thumb running circles over where the wound had been.
(It hadn't been the magic itself that shook her. Not entirely.
It was the familiarity of its feeling.)
--------
You're dozing after a while of laying there, so you don't notice the footsteps coming. Nor the near silent gasp. You do start to come around when you notice muffled giggling. And then you hear the sound of a phone's camera shutter and finally move your hand from your eyes to see who's trying for blackmail.
"Morning nerd."
Ah, Undyne.
She smirks cheekily down at you from the back of the couch, fiery hair spilling over her shoulders in crimson rivulets. Wow, she actually looks really nice with her hair down. Better than you right now, at least, with the bedhead you no doubt have. It looks really soft. It makes you wanna run your fingers through it.
You send her a little wave, not at all bothered by her phone blatantly out and in position for more pictures. In turn, she raises a brow, gesturing to Sans. You give her a flat look back, as if to dare her to say if anything was wrong with your position. Undyne blinked in surprise, before giving you this almost evil looking grin. She readied her phone once more, grinning even wider.
"Say cheese, nerds."
You stared blankly into the camera, middle finger flashing. Undyne just laughed.
"OH! UNDYNE! GOOD MORNING! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Papyrus to save the day! Maybe.
"Morning, Pap." She beams at him as he walks over. "Know what's up with these two?"
"OH GOOD, ARE THEY AWAKE?" Papyrus comes into your vision and you repeat your greeting. "GOOD MORNING HUMAN _____! I SEE MY BROTHER INDEED DOES HAVE YOU TRAPPED LIKE MS. CHEF NINA SAID. NEVER FEAR THOUGH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS MANY METHODS OF AWAKENING HIS LAZYBONES OF A BROTHER! OBSERVE."
Papyrus steps back and gives a quiet 'Ahem,' before taking a deep breath and....
"SANS WAKE UP, THE HUMAN IS ON THE ROOF AND IS LIKELY TO FALL AND HURT THEMSELF!!!"
"who-what-wher-whOASHIT-!"
Sans, in his half-awake response to Papyrus' 'emergency', bolted up, only for that to result in a catastrophic chain of events. Since he sat up, your arm was no longer holding him and he was no longer holding you. And since there was nothing holding him on the narrow couch, he unceremoniously slid off the edge, flailing, getting his legs tangled in the blanket, and landed on the floor shoulder first with a heavy 'Oof!', his feet being the only thing left on the couch.
There was a moment of stunned silence, before Undyne unashamedly broke into raucous laughter. You hear Papyrus mutter an 'oops,' and the two of you lean over to look at Sans, who was still dazedly staring up at the ceiling.
"Well, that's one way to wake up..." You blink, still in disbelief. "You alright there Stargazer?"
"yeah, just wasn't expecting to be seeing stars this late in the day." Sans smirks a little and you can't help the snort of giggles. Papyrus just puts his face in his hands and lets out a long suffering sigh. Undyne laughs harder.
"OF COURSE. OF COURSE THE FIRST THING THAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH WHEN YOU WAKE UP IS A PUN." He shakes his head in exasperation. "WELL, I'VE DONE WHAT I'VE COME TO DO, I'M GOING BACK TO THE KITCHEN WITH MS. CHEF NINA. UNDYNE YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME HELP WITH BREAKFAST."
"O-Oh stars, that was HILARIOUS!!" Undyne wheezed out between fits of laughter, following behind her tall skeletal friend. "I wish I recorded that to show everyone!!"
And with their departure, the two of you were left alone once more, only the vague noise from the kitchen as company. You lean over the edge of the couch to observe Sans again. He's scrubbing at his sockets to try and rid himself of the lingering sleep in them. You take initiative and detangle his legs from the blanket, and he simply lets them slide off and onto the floor with the rest of him.
You lay on your stomach and cross your arms under your chin, gazing down at him. He stares back up at you and gives you a lazy, lopsided grin. You smile back in return.
"Morning."
"morning." He heaves himself up to sit, but makes no moves beyond that. Instead, he rests his elbow on the cusion and his head in his hand. "so, do you know what happened? like, in general? how'd we uh... end up here?" His cheekbones were tinting blue as he tried to not make any implications.
"So, from what I gathered, we fell asleep on the porch swing outside. I'm pretty sure Aunty Nina was actually the one to find us first, but I think she left bringing us at least inside the Inn to Papyrus?" Sans nodded, probably recalling the same fuzzy memories you had. "And from there I can just assume the two of us in our zombie state decided that the couch was fine and we fell asleep here. There was a lot of cuddling involved, if you haven't figured that much out, but yeah, that's probably what happened. You are very comfortable to cuddle with, by the way, I was not expecting that."
Sans burried his face in the cusion, blue staining his cheeks and starting to spread to the rest of his head. Cute.
"how are you so calm?" You heard, muffled from the cusion.
"'Cause everyone already knows I'm a HUGE cuddle bug and can't help it, so I just roll with it. I'm sorry if you're not comfortable with that, though. Undyne took pictures of us too, so, you might wanna go catch her before everyone else gets up if that bothers you."
"nah." Sans rolls his head so that he's looking at you now. His face is still tinted a light blue, but he seems calmer. "best revenge against blackmail is to make it null, yeah?"
"Yeah, guess so." You giggle a bit, and you fall into a comfortable silence. Well, for a short moment at least.
"so," Sans begins, a grin stretching itself across his face. "'stargazer,' huh? that my name now?"
"Uh..." Lovely answer. Your face is totally not blushing. "Is that... Ok? It just kinda, popped out last night, but it uh... I thought it fit? After... Um..."
"so long as you're the only star I gaze upon, polaris." A wink.
Holy shit what-
Your face is not blushing. You're not. You're burying your face in the nearby throw pillow because you're still tired.
Sans seems just as frazzled by his words as you are, if the blue retuning full force to his face says anything. There's an awkward pause, as neither of you could figure out what to say now.
"'Polaris,' huh...?" You murmur into the pillow. "Hope I can live up to a name like that..."
"h-heh... i think you're doing pretty good so far."
You can't help how giddy that makes you feel.
Polaris. The Guiding Star. No one's ever given you that sort of nickname. You kinda like it.
"I'll put my faith in that then." You say, turning your head out of the pillow to give him a goofy smile. He grins back, still blushing but more relaxed now.
Any more attempts at conversation were halted however, as the chime of the elevator notified you that someone had come down. You pushed yourself up to look over the back of the couch in time to see Asgore step out of the elevator.
"Mornin' your Majesty." Asgore looks up in surprise for a second before smiling.
"Ah, ______, good morning. And I told you, it is perfectly fine to call me Asgore."
"Heh, I'll get there. Just gotta overcome the respectfulness ingrained into my mannerisms." You chuckle. He chuckles as we as he walks over to the couch, finally noticing Sans.
"Sans? What in the world are you doing on the floor?" He asks, incredulous and bemused.
"long story. undyne'll tell ya most of it. she's in the kitchen with pap and ms. nina making breakfast."
"Well, alright. Shall we go join them? I was hoping I could request a bit of tea while we wait." You roll over and sit up, shoving the blankets off your legs and stretching.
"If Aunty's too busy, I can grab us something. You want anything Sans?"
"coffee'd be nice, but i'm not picky." You nod and stand. You hold your hand out for Sans to take and hoist him up. You turn and head to the kitchen, a little bounce in your step.
It's the first time in a long time you feel good after a bad night. You're not questioning small blessings.
-----
Asgore watches in astonishment as you simply lead Sans by the hand to the dining hall. As if it doesn't even register for you to let go. And Sans doesn't at all seem to care or notice either.
He feels his Soul stir in his chest, Hope fluttering.
In the time he's known Sans, which was a long time, since Sans was still only a teen, just starting his apprenticeship at the CORE facility, he'd seen Sans change drastically. The exact memories are hazy, but the stark difference in Sans personality then and now is still clear.
He remembers the bright eyed young skeleton in a crisp white lab coat, excited and nervous all at once to begin helping out. Remembers the boy who determinedly stammered through a progress report to him for the first time, and growing more confident the more he did so, until he didn't even need to look at the report to give it. A boy with a brilliant mind and humorous charm and an unmatched drive and passion.
Remebers a young man so devistated by the lose (Death? Retirement? What... happened to...? What was their name...? Why does it hurt?) of the former Royal Scientist that it was like watching a flower instantly wilt. Watched him bury his grief behind a smile in order to take care of his brother. Watched the passion and ambition die.
Asgore remembers offering Sans the title of Royal Scientist. Sans was the best candidate for it. He remembers how the small skeleton wrapped his arms around himself like it was the only thing holding him together. How he looked ready have a total breakdown as he apologized and refused the title, shakily trying to explain that he couldn't stay in the lab anymore. Asgore had stopped him and apologized in return, not intending to upset Sans.
But Asgore also knew that the lab was the only income Sans had. He had asked Sans about it, worried for him and his young brother. Sans explained that they had enough saved up that it should keep them afloat until he could find something else. Asgore had pursed his lips at that, but relented. Instead, Asgore offered Sans aid should he find himself at his wits end. Asgore had another position in the Royal Court that Sans could fill, remembering the skeleton's particular magical talent as well, though he warned that it was a heavy task should he agree. Sans nodded and thanked him. Some time later, he ended up appointing the young Alphys as the new Royal Scientist.
Time passed. Asgore had both hoped he would and wouldn't see Sans again. He wanted to know that the two were ok, but if he does not come back then he did not need Asgore's aid, which meant that they were ok, right? But it seems that fate would push Sans back to him anyway.
Asgore is well over a thousand years old. He'd met and known so many people in his time. And was a King on top of that. He'd learned how to read between the lines and find things beneath people's façades, for political reasons. No matter what mask of smiles or words of humor Sans used, Asgore could see.
Sans looked tired. Looked worse than when he left. Asgore couldn't help the worry blooming in his Soul.
Asgore had put on a pot of tea for them and made small talk, asking how he and his brother were. The two had moved to Snowdin in that time, neither of them able to stay in New Home for various reasons. Sans had found a job dishwashing at a restaurant and doing odd jobs for the folk in Snowdin for money while homeschooling his brother. But he found their funds being stretched thin. It wasn't enough. So, Sans had come to take the other job Asgore had offered. Asgore sighed, but nodded.
Any position within the Royal Court, whether it be Court Healer, Royal Scientist, Treasurer, or Guard, paid well, particularly those of higher rank. The position that he was offering Sans, however, was a little different.
The position of the Court Judge, while not normally a physically taxing position, could very easily put a strain on one's mental health, having to see and deal with the aftermath of any crime brought before the Court. But Sans had something of an edge over other Judges.
All Monsters could see a Soul's STATs, some better than others, but that was only if the Soul in question was exposed. A few though, could do so without the need of summoning another's Soul. An ability all Judges had. An ability Sans had. It made Monsters particularly sensitive to others emotions and intent, and could work as a lie detector, but, it could just as easily get overwhelming and strenuous.
But, that wasn't the ability that held Sans above other previous Judges.
Karmatic Retribution was a strange magic. It was a Passive Ability of the Yellow veriety. While Yellow magic was more often a Passive trait than say Orange or Blue, it always had the more creative Passives to make up for the lack of true Offensive power. One did not always need strength to enact Justice, after all. But KR was a particularly aggressive Passive. (He snorted to himself the first time he thought that; aggressive Passive, passive aggressive. Tori would have been proud.)
KR cancelled a Soul's Invincibility Frames, the temporary defensive measure a Soul takes in battle when suddenly wounded to prevent and escape further damage. Instead, it adds a secondary damage to the opponents HP that drops it over time, like a poison. KR is also active no matter what the user wants. Even if the user has no desire to harm the opponent, KR will still activate.
However, KR only activates under certain conditions. The opponent has to have done some particularly heinous crime(s); Murder was the best example, but things like embezzlement and abuse and such are also applicable. The opponent then must not feel any guilt for said crime(s), and/or deny that they had done such crime(s).
Sans had a measure of procuring the guilt of a Monster without extensive interrogation, though as a proper Judge, he could not enact any rulings without hearing the full story from both sides, even if he found the guilty party. It would be bias and negligent on his part to not do so.
And Sans would not be judging Monsters alone. Sans would need to Judge any human that made it that far.
Asgore explained all the necessary information to Sans. It wouldn't be a frequent thing. Monsters were not particularly unkind to eachother, and solved things on their own more often than not without the need to get the Court involved. Rare was it that a crime was big enough the be brought before Asgore. Even so, it would still pay a large sum when it did arise.
Sans agreed and Asgore directed him to the current Judge of the time.
It was in that time that Asgore saw the full extent of the changes that had imbedded themselves into the once bright skeleton.
Judges needed to be unbiased, so keeping themselves emotionally unattached to a case was a given. But Sans shut out everyone. It made him a frightfully wonderful Judge, enough to garner a bit of a reputation, but it only made Asgore worry more. He could still charm people with his humor, but the same humor deflected any attempts anyone had at getting to know him. He even attempted to shut Asgore out, if Asgore hadn't been privy to Sans situation and Asgore's own stubbornness. He didn't show affection of any kind to anyone except his brother. In those few moments, he became aware of how despondent, how Hopeless, Sans had become. And the worst was, Sans didn't seem to care. Any care that he had left was turned to making his brother happy. Sans was on a slow, almost methodical path that Asgore only saw very rarely.
Sans was Falling Down.
Most of the time, Falling Down was just as it sounded. It happened all at once, when a Monster had completely lost all Hope and will to live, would simply fall to the ground, and not get up. Some time later they would Dust.
But very, very rarely, Falling Down could be a gradual thing. It would slowly chip away at one's STATs, until there was hardly anything left. The Monster would continuously grow less and less active, as their Magic furiously worked to try and keep them alive against their spiraling mental state, leaving them with less and less energy. Nihilistic tendencies and Depression-like symptoms were also not uncommon. Suicide was rare, but it happened. If not, eventually, the Monster would start to flake Dust. It was a terrifying thing to see, but by that point, the Monster would most likely not care. They become bedridden, weakened by all the stress. And finally, they shut their eyes, never to wake again.
It was possible to save a Monster Falling slowly, but the exact method depends upon the Monster in question. And Asgore was not sure how to help Sans.
Sans seemed to be holding on by a fraying rope, though. Asgore was sure that it was the unparalleled love he has for his brother keeping him going. And sometimes, that seemed barely enough.
Asgore couldn't say he and Sans were close, or even friends, but Asgore still felt some kind of Paternal affection for the skeleton. And in the rare moment Sans visited the castle, Asgore tried to offer whatever small kindnesses he could. An ear to listen or just quiet company over tea.
Asgore shakes himself from his thoughts, following slowly behind Sans and the human ______. Sans sits at the table and Asgore takes a seat across from him, while the human heads into the boisterous kitchen. Asgore gazes out the windows, watching as the sun climbs higher into the sky. ____ is quick to return with a tray of things. They set down a large mug of tea in front of him, along with sugars and a small bottle of milk. Then they place one mug on the table, for themself, before handing Sans his own. Sans sends them a small, but genuine smile, and they return it ten fold, and Asgore feels his Hope warm in his chest.
Sans didn't open up to him. Asgore doesn't know if he has tried with anyone else.
But, Asgore had seen something he didn't know could happen. Sans' care for Frisk. It was a breakthrough that made him begin to Hope.
And then this, whatever this was, that Sans had found in _____, Asgore can only wait and see if it will be enough for Sans.
"So, when will I be privy as to why you were on the floor when I came down earlier, Sans?" The door to the kitchen being kicked open by Undyne is his answer.
"OH HO HO! Just WAIT 'till you get a load of THIS!"