#but the years passed and for the undertale fans who remain? i consider them all very gentle funny people

[willyhoos]

chara deserves to break out of the game window and stretch their legs a little.

HD still beneath cut!

[dutchyderpbox]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER!

Seriously, what are the odds of Mother’s 30th anniversary falling on the year of the pig? And Porky is mysteriously absent from Smash Ultimate. Maybe there really aren’t any coincidences. All these signs makes it a perfect time for Nintendo to do absolutely nothing.  Well, I guess a spirits board event isnt ‘nothing’, per say.

So, I’m just gonna ramble about my feelings about this franchise and my journey with it. So, like I assume many of you my age, hadn't heard of an ‘Earthbound’ prior to playing Melee back in the early 2000′s. Ness wasn't a character I remember playing a lot of, but I did like his taunts (OK!) and Fourside was one of my favorite stages. Then Brawl came around and we got the shy boy named Lucas and a big ass stage. Oh, and some music. That was nice, but I was more excited for Sonic The Hedgehog being in a smash bros game.

I didn’t get interested in the franchise until around 2012/2013(maybe) that I found myself browsing on Youtube and by chance I ended up on a video called “Earthbound, The Dark Side of Mother” by Game Theory. inb4 GAME THEORY?! REEEEEEEEEEE

I was completely blown away by the video, and it remains one of my favorite GT videos. I got me interested in playing the game for myself and seeing what I missed out on.

So I downloaded a ROM, booted up my emulator and had a blast! I fell in love with the game’s sense of humor, the combat system, the music and the sprites, as well as the underlying unnerving atmosphere of it all. Walking through Onett and hearing that music for the first time was oddly nostalgic and it reminded me of where I used to live when I was 6 with my Mom. It reminded me of when you play pretend with your friends and travel to distant lands and fight strange creatures and use common household items and pretend they were swords or axes. And sure, I got stuck on some spots, like the maze with those moles who all think they’re the strongest, but it was an otherwise pleasant ride!

Next up on the list was Mother 1, or Earthbound Beginnings, which I started playing in the Summer of 2014.  Finding a translation for the NES rom I had sucked, and I had heard that there was a better one for the Mother 1+2 GBA game that we also never got, so I played a translated version of that Mother 1. It came with an item at the beginning of the game that made things easier because apparently the game has a nasty difficulty spike. I think I game over’d the most in this one of the 3 games.  While I cant say I enjoyed it as much Earthbound, I still had fun with the game, and was satisfied by the end of it. It also made me retroactively feel bad for Giygas/Giegue/Geeg/The Geek. I was surprised by certain songs originating from Mother 1 being reused in Earthbound, like Humoresque of a little dog, Snowman, and the music at Lloyd’s school.  I dont really have much to say, other than Pippi is cute chad, Teddy has Kamina shade and the Josuke hairdo, and that that one factory maze can burn in hell. Also, remember how at the end Ninten’s dad was like “Hey hold on, this might not be over yet!” I dont think anything became of that. I would have liked Mother 1 and Earthbound to have had more of a connection. Maybe answer questions like where Ninten and his crew were during Earthbound? I think they could have been cool mentor characters for the Chosen 4. Oh well.  Happy Birthday, Mother 1! If any of the 3 games deserves a remake, it’s you.

And then there was one. After beating the first two games, I immediately  decided to end my journey by playing Mother 3, which I had heard was the best one. And having played it, I can safely say that I agree.  I’m glad I didnt get spoiled on anything because this game blew me away. Not only did we have more of a story this time around, we had chapters and character development! The sprites were updated and more expressive, the humor was on point, the music fit perfectly and when this game wanted to break your heart, it did just that. I also liked that the main setting was on an island with a town of residents with names, and that we got to see them all grow older as time passed. I also liked the theme of the game being a sort of nature vs technology, as shown from the game’s logo, and how the town became more distant and empty as Porky’s happy boxes began filling every home. The gameplay was still fun as always, and certain fights, like the Barrier Trio, gave me a run for my money.  When they struck their last, spectacular pose, I was laughing hard and felt relieved! ...Too bad the Masked Man took the needle anyways. When I got the the final fight, I had a mixed feeling of sadness and dread and it only got worse as the intermissions kept happening. And the ending to that fight and the game as a whole...Sheesh, they really know how to punch your heart, huh? And when you get to the final screen with the restored logo...it’s just perfect. “No crying until the end”, huh? Well, I bawled at the end, so how’s that? Thanks, Mr. Itoi. And shout out to the team of fans who translated the entire damn game by themselves, cause they did a fantastic job!

Mother is one of my favorite game franchises of all time, and I hope it continues to get exposure and introduce new generations of players into the crazy, noisy bizarre worlds of these games. The games also served as inspirations to many other games, like Undertale, which I loved as well.  I heard that there is some official poll going on in Japan right now that’s asking fans what they want from the franchise. If I’m being honest, other than more official merchandise spanning all 3 games, my pipe dream for years has been getting a Mother Trilogy Remake where the characters and setting looked like those official clay figures. While a Mother 4 would be cool, I’m kinda content with how open-ended things are. Plus, if Itoi isn't on board or doesn't give his consent, then what’s the point? Also, I’d love for Porky to get in Smash cause we need more Mother and villain reps, but I doubt he’ll make the cut. Considering the track record so far, the last two DLC fighters are gonna be 3rd party characters, which is fine.

Anyways, that’s all I got. Happy 30th Anniversary, ya’ll! May the power that be grant us our wishes for Porky in Smash, Mother 3 world-wide re-release and a Mother Trilogy Remake.

Fuzzy Pickles!

Artwork is from here: https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=56436164

[topazshadowwolf]

False Hope (Chapter 5)

After the human left the underground, Sans is left trying to piece his life back together with those who remain. As time goes on, decisions are made about what monster kind should do next, and how best to escape to the surface. But if they do get their freedom, what will happen?

Written by: Topaz Shadowwolf Undertale Fan fiction Undertale is owned by Toby Fox

Heads up: Soriel, Sans POV, my goal in writing this is to poke at your emotions Warnings: Major character death, implied suicide, homicidal thoughts, don’t expect a happy ending

AO3 On Tumblr: Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4

I almost combined these last two chapters, since they are so short... but I think they are best separated. Anyway, enjoy...

Chapter five: Wrongs

 The question is: is revenge the right thing. Y’know?

In the big picture, no it isn’t. I mean, hurting someone because they hurt you only means the person who originally hurt you will, most likely, hurt you even more next time. Just makes this horrid and confusing circle of pain. And worse yet, it causes more people to get hurt. Friends and family stand by, watching, and they get hurt trying to stop it from happening.

But I can’t help but wonder, does it apply in this case? I mean… trying to force someone to reset could result in an even worse ending. Yet, it could make everything better.

I remember hearing a long time ago that two lefts don’t make a right. Of course, I had to joke and say, “three do.” The words didn’t mean much to me then. Not that the meaning was lost on me; I understood what was meant. Just didn’t see why I should care. It didn’t feel like it applied to me or anything I was doing at the time. It was just this cute little saying that people would say to stop someone from reacting badly to another. But now, I understand it completely. Now it does apply. I’m thinking of my options, considering the choice I must make, hearing the voices of the others, and that little saying is just replaying in my head.

Which, I guess, is why I’m wavering with my revenge plans. I mean, I still want it, but how do I go about getting it without upsetting my friends?

Which is silly, it’s not like they will remember. Even my dear brother won't remember. Heck, how much of this will I remember is debatable too, after all. So, it’s possible for me to go through with this and never feel any guilt from it. And yet, the pure notion that, without knowing it, Papyrus’s big brother will continue to let him down, is painful.

Still, if my research is right…

Well, let’s just say, I have reason to carry out my original plan. I think you know the reason. You’ve got to know, you must understand that there is happiness for my bro out there, somewhere. So, killing a killer to force that killer to reset… Does that make it right?

Is it right to kill a murderer?

They did kill someone, in this case, a lot of someones, but does that make killing a killer the right thing to do? Objectively, revenge isn’t right. I have no right to play judge, jury, and executor. It would be different if I let Undyne do it. See, then it would be the law passing down judgment. That’d be different than me becoming like the killer I hate just to try getting my way.

But normally, if you kill a killer nothing happens other than maybe some guilt or relief. Yet, this killer can reset. So, does making this wrong, after their wrong, make things right if they make things better? Common sense says, “no. killing like this is never right.” My objectivity says “no,” too. Y’know? Since murder is wrong.

And yet…

I don’t want to wait for Undyne.

I’ve been waiting too long for this reset…

I’m losing myself...

  Based on the levels of determination he could extract from this human, Sans doubted the boy could reset. It seemed reasonable to assume, then, that the power still remained with the other, the killer. So, it was just a matter of time, and thankfully it was not long before he had something that would trick the Barrier. It really was all because of Alphys’s help that he was able to make a breakthrough. She had all the answers he lacked, and thanks to his understanding of what she was telling him, they were able to work together to make a contraption capable of simulating seven human souls. It was complicated and took time to make, but still, freedom was achievable.

Revenge was achievable.

Once the project was done, he took it to the castle to finally see if it worked. Undyne didn’t want to just do a trial run. The Barrier could only be broken once, after all, and she felt all the monsters should be there to witness it. She had gathered all of monster kind, informing them that freedom is close at hand, and might be today. She told them that, whether this works or not, freedom will come, and humans will pay for their crimes against monsters. “Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, it won’t matter. What will be important is that we will be ready, and we will win!” Undyne rallied monster kind. Which put pressure on him, though her speech left an opening for him to not be disgraced if it didn’t work for some reason. Still, with Alphys by him wringing her claws nervously, he couldn’t help but want it to work. So, as he prepared, he took care in making sure everything was right.

After setting the device, Sans started it and then backed up. The Barrier creaked, cracked, then shattered like a window being smashed by a rock. The natural light of the morning sun filtered in, lighting the cavern. It was so beautiful but far brighter and different than anything his sockets had grown used to. Sans squinted his eye sockets as he looked passed the opening to the world beyond. There were more mountains, trees, and sky as far as he could see. monster kind, behind him, cheered and rushed by him into the open air. He felt a hand on his shoulder as Undyne said, “Nice going, Nerd! You freed us! We’re all in your debt for this.”

“heh, it’s nothing undyne.” Sans started to shrug but felt Undyne’s grip on his shoulder tighten. He looked at her and saw she was about to say something when a member of the guard called for her.

The current ruler of monsters sighed while giving Sans’s back a pat that caused him to tip forward, but not fall. “Look, Sans, I’m being serious here. We’d still all be stuck down there if it weren’t for you. So, seriously, let me know if you need anything. Alright?” Undyne asked with a bit of forcefulness behind her words.

“sure thing, boss,” Sans lazily replied. He offered her a grin that she clearly was not satisfied with. She had that look, one that seemed to say she was worried about him, though he wasn’t fully sure why. Okay, yeah, he had started talking to Toriel, Papyrus, and Alphys more openly, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. So, he didn’t see the reason why anyone would think it was. Undyne was about to say more when she was called again. She sighed, turned sharply, and started barking out orders

With that, the Guard was mobilized and the war on humans truly started. Undyne’s wrath was quickly learned by all that were in her path, deserved or not. Monsters attacked the nearby towns in an organized and unmerciful manner. They easily took out unsuspecting humans with few injuries and barely any losses on the monster side. Sans was forced to sit out when it came to the fighting. Undyne reminded him he was too weak to fight, not that he minded. Papyrus didn’t need to see him fight, and it would upset Toriel as well. So, he watched from the sidelines as the attacks happened. He didn’t know if he liked these random attacks though. His wrath, unlike Undyne’s, was more focused on one, while she was willing to attack all humans. But he was willing to let her waste her time on hunting down every human. It gave him the time needed to send the spiders out to gather information, as well as time for them to work.

Once monsters had conquered that stretch of land, Undyne was prepared to track down high levels of LV. Most likely, other violent humans will hinder her progress. Which was fine for him, Sans just needed time to wait for the spiders to report back. With her tracking down every human criminal, he’d definitely get to the brother killer first. It was now just a waiting game, and he had far more patience than the average monster. Though that was fading fast.

The last issue was what to do with the human kid. The boy didn’t want to go back home, he was apparently scared of his parents. It seemed wrong for a child to fear their parents and knowing that bothered him. But, Sans still had no idea what to do with him. He didn’t want to send the kid off to some human town if it was just going to be the next target for a monster attack. Sans considered asking Undyne what she thought when Toriel said, “Why don’t you take care of him. You are both lonely, after all.”

“tori,” Sans started his rebuttal, but he was quickly interrupted by the eager voice of his brother.

“THAT IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA, SO LONG AS MY BROTHER CARES FOR HIM BETTER THAN THE PET ROCK,” Papyrus added with a bright smile.

Alphys went on about the anime they could all watch together, but Sans lost interest in the conversation. Fine, he’ll watch the kid. Not like it will matter in the end. Besides, there was no arguing with them once they got an idea in their heads. Right now, he didn’t have the energy to spare to try talking them out of this.

The next few days, the kid was always a step behind him as he worked on whatever projects Undyne needed him for. And she did come up with something. Though he suspected that some of it was busy work. She seemed to think she needed to keep him occupied so he didn’t just sit around and ruminate. There were a few times, when he turned sharply or took a step back, that Sans nearly stepped on the kid. If Sans were any taller, he’d think the kid was trying to trip him. When they had a chance, they would sit together and watch anime or read books. They seemed to have accepted that Sans either talks to unseen monsters or himself, as the kid never questioned Sans about that odd behavior. In the end, Sans was thankful for his “shadow.” At least it was someone living to talk to, even if he didn’t say much.

Asgore could be seen now and then, sadly trailing after Undyne. As bad as Sans felt for the guy, he had his hands full with the three ghosts, or figments, following him and a kid. So, he didn’t really feel like asking the past king to join his already formed group of spirits. Either way, it was just a game of patience, soon enough, Asgore will be alive again.

Sure enough, after two weeks of freedom, the spiders pulled through and he knew where to find the human he hated so much. He thanked them for their service and promised that things will be better soon.

That night he got the kid to go to bed early and asked Toriel, Papyrus, and Alphys to watch him while he was out. Toriel didn’t like what was going on and she watched him carefully, though she said nothing. If Papyrus or Alphys thought something was up, neither of them said anything.

As Sans started to leave he heard a voice behind him, “Sans?” There was so much worry and concern that it hurt Sans to hear Toriel say his name like that.

“yeah, tori?” Sans replied though he didn’t have the heart to look back at her.

“I don’t think you should be doing this…,” Toriel said softly and she moved closer to him. He saw her reach to put a paw on him. If she did, if he felt her touch him, he might lose his will to do this, and so he moved out of reach.

“it will all be okay,” he muttered, trying to hold back tears, “i’ll make it okay.”

“Sans, you don’t have to be the one to do this,” Toriel again, pleaded. But, Sans quickly left, tears seeping from his sockets as he retreated.

It’s not like she will remember…

No one will remember…

He’ll make everything better…

…

Right?

…

Thanks to the detailed directions from the spiders, he was able to get to the human quickly and undetected by the use of shortcuts. They were living on the outskirts of a small town, in their own house. Everything looked far nicer than the human deserved. Killers like them shouldn’t have all these nice things when others were left struggling with the pain they caused.

He wasn’t going to be careless. He doubted the spiders would give him false information, but he wasn’t about to kill someone based on bad intelligence. He walked up to the house and looked into the windows to check for the human. The first two rooms he saw nothing of interest. But in the third, he saw them.

… and they were not alone.

[marshmarrowsans]

Merry Christmas and happy new year, @lostsoulwolf​ and @undertalesecretsanta​!  You got us-- a blog run by two mods-- as your Undertale Secret Santa, so guess what?  We made you two gifts! ^-^ Mod Kasha drew this fan art of your CUTE AS HECK OC with Sans, and Mod Cerbie wrote this fanfic about your CUTE AS HECK OC with Sans.  We hope you enjoy them, because we had a lot of fun working on them! Summary: Another year passes by in the underground, and Sans isn’t too enthusiastic about it.  Luckily, Mikaela has a few ideas to get him in the holiday spirit...

A brand new year was arriving. Around this time many people make resolutions to better themselves, or maybe to save up money for a big goal, and still some just wish for a brand new, better start. However, far below the ground of Mt. Ebott, there was a population of decent folk who all just shared one dream every passing year: to finally attain their long awaited freedom from the magical barrier that trapped them down here.  

However that didn't stop the monsters from celebrating and welcoming in the New Year.  It was a way to try to keep up their spirits when all else seemed hopeless and grim. Every year was a hope and a dream that maybe this was the year they would gain their freedom. Of course, that didn't mean individual monsters didn't have other dreams. In fact, a short skeleton monster was dreaming of making do by sleeping at his sentry fort. At this point in his life the New Year's celebration meant very little to Sans-- he made more of an effort during Gyftmas, when he played "Sansta Claus" mainly for his brother's happiness, but it didn't really matter to him whether or not the New Year was greeted with celebration. As far as Sans was concerned, they would always be stuck done here.

As he snored away, a wolf-like monster came over, carrying a bunch of echo flowers in her paws.  Her fur was damp up to her elbows, the sleeves of her jacket rolled up.  She must have reached far into the water to gather them.  That wasn’t surprising, considering that whispering one’s New Year’s resolutions or wishes into an echo flower was a tradition, so they were in high demand at the moment.

“Oh Sans, there you are!” she greeted him, a cheerful lilt to her familiar voice.  Sans snorted in his sleep a bit.  He didn’t lift his head, though he was apparently awake enough to mutter a response.  It wasn’t like he could just ignore his best friend.

“mikaela…  i told you, i’m not into the whole new year celebration thing...”  

“Awwh, come on , lazy bones! There has to be SOME holiday spirit, even in you! You had it in you around Gyftmas.” She leaned over his side-- got right in his face-- and flashed him a toothy grin.  “You already called me Mikaela instead of shortening my name to ‘Kay like you usually do.  So see?  You can put in the effort for my sake, at least.  I mean, that’s a whole extra two syllables.”

He stuck his hand in her face, which would have been extremely rude if it wasn’t the kind of silly roughhousing they engaged in all the time.  “that was different, ‘kay.  i only did that for my brother so he wouldn’t lose his holiday spirit like i did.  it’s hard for me to celebrate the new year when i know it’s just gonna be another year of the same, y’know?”

Mikaela stared at him with her hands on her hips for a long moment.  When that didn’t work, she let out a sad whimper. “Sans, come on….don’t make me bring out the big guns.”

“...  no.  oh no, you wouldn’t.” “I would…”

“don’t you dare.”

“You leave me no choice…”

“nooo…” The short skeleton pleaded with her.  “i said….”

But it was too late.  She whimpered some more, bowed her head just enough that she had to look up at him through her eyelashes, angled her ears back and widened her eyes.  She was hitting Sans-- that poor, defenseless little skeleton man-- with the most powerful and skillful puppy dog eyes he had ever seen.  He practically felt his soul melting in his chest, along with a lot of guilt for denying her the holiday cheer she so desperately wanted to see from him.

“nooo…  you stop that, ‘kay! You’re not gonna change my mind!” Sans insisted. But he was wrong…  oh, he was so wrong. The whimper just got louder, it even turned to a whine for a moment, and her eyes grew even more pitiful.  She looked like she could cry.  Stars, he would never forgive himself if he made her cry.  “ugh…  fine… fine.  i just don’t see the point in--”

“Yesss! “ Just like that, she went back to normal, if not even happier than before.  Her ears perked up and her tail began wagging excitedly.  “As per tradition of the New Year, I brought you some echo flowers!  Seeing as how I knew you wouldn’t go out and pick them yourself.”  She began handing them over before noticing he was scratching his ass. “I wish you would stop that.”

“heh.  bit of a waste of one of your new year wishes, i’nnit?  and besides. there’s nothing there but a tail bone.” Sans chuckled before stretching and leaving his post. “you’re lucky we’re such good friends.  do me a favor, though, and don’t ever teach papyrus that trick.  the one with the eyes.  it’s my only weakness and i’m trusting you with that knowledge,”  he quipped as he took the flowers.

“Can skeletons even make a sad puppy face? Eh, guess you never know with Papyrus.  He can be pretty adorable.” Mikaela shrugged.  “So go on then, make a wish! Anything your soul desires.”

“anything, huh?”  Sans’ voice softened.  He traced the tips of his fingers idly over the glowing petals of the echo flower.  “... i guess…  i dunno.  you probably already know my biggest wish.  it’s the one we’ve all made.  year after year after year.  but it’s never enough.  each year we all make a wish to leave this place, but we’re still here.” Sans sighed, frustrated and downtrodden.  “so what difference does it make if i wish for it again?  just one wish in a sea of identical wishes.  and none of ‘em are being heard.  why would mine be?”

“Well…”  Mikaela tapped her thumbs together thoughtfully.  “Well, it’s less about believing that there’s someone or something out there that’ll actually directly grant your wish, and…  more about setting goals and instilling yourself with a sense of hope, I think.  So…  Yeah.  Even though nobody can answer us, we can still keep wishing and keep hoping.  After all, if we all lose hope then we stop trying, am I right?  And trying is what helps us achieve the things that we wish for!”  She smiled at him reassuringly.  “So never stop trying, Sans.  Even if it’s just a little.  It can make all the difference.”

Sans couldn’t help but blush and rub his neck.  She always made him feel like such a loser and a downer…  in the best way possible, of course.  She made him feel like he wanted to better himself.  “yeah.  i know you’re right.  heh, you must have been talking to my brother.  sounds like something he’d say.  well, i guess some of us have to remain strong enough to hold on to what little hope and happiness we have, but…  it’s been really hard for me lately.”  Sans admitted.  He noticed the worried expression on the she-wolf’s face. “but hey!  don’t let me get you down.  what about you?  what’s your wish?  you know, other than the usual?”

Mikaela sighed and smiled sadly.  “My wish is to help make you happy in whatever way I can, big or small.” She admitted.   Hearing that made his soul feel like it was fluttering in his chest.

“‘kay…  you’re too good for me, y’know that?”

She acknowledged his somewhat self-deprecating comment with a slight shake of her head, then continued.  “Isn’t there some other wish you have? Other than the usual?”

Sans shuffled his feet, as if thinking about if he really wanted to tell her. He was so used to being closed-off and secretive, after all.  He never talked about his own problems, his own feelings.  He just supported other people through theirs.  But as had been the case for many months, they were really good friends, so what the hell?  If he had to tell anyone, he’d rather it be her than anyone else.  He gave in.

“well…  there is this one little thing.  i’ve always, y’know, stared at the sparkling rocks in waterfall, but they’re not the same.  my wish is to see the stars.  the real stars, out there, so far away you can hardly comprehend it.  and the moon too.  but that’s not going to happen.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground, but not too quickly to see Mikaela’s face light up with a smile. “Is that so?  Well, Sansy, I may have just the thing. Come on-- I have something to show you!” She latched on to his hand and began tugging him in the direction of Waterfall.

“the thing just for me?” He repeated. “did you catch a bunch of stars? that’d be a paw-some feat.” He chuckled.

“Well you’ll never find out if you don’t move that tail bone of yours!” Mikaela let out.  That finally got Sans to follow her of his own free will.  Appealing to his sense of curiosity never failed.

“fine. but i’m pretty sure it ain’t nothing i haven’t seen before. “ Sans insisted.

“Oh, trust me. I think you’re going to love this! I discovered this ‘paw-some’ thing a few days ago! I couldn’t believe it when I saw it, but…  well, you’ll see.” She promised.

Sans shrugged, letting her pull him along without a fight. He was pretty sure he had seen just about everything there was so see down here…  except, apparently, for a crevice that led into a small cavern.  It was hard to see in the darkness, away from the lanterns and the glowing flowers.  And besides that, the opening had been blocked by a patch of overgrown marsh grass and could easily be missed. “...  okay, i stand corrected.  i guess i haven’t seen everything down here after all.”

“And that’s just the entrance!” Mikaela noted as she continued pulling him along. “I noticed a nice smell coming from inside.  Something I’ve never smelled before in the underground.”

She continued pulling Sans along and around a corner next to the ice cube carrying river, and then she finally stopped. The area didn’t look like much-- just another dark blue rocky walled cave-- until, that was, Sans noticed a tiny bit of light leaking from above.  He glanced up and his pupils widened at the wondrous sight that awaited him overhead.

Way up on this part of the underground, the ceiling had an opening just wide enough to let in a ray of true moonlight and a glimpse of the actual stars themselves.

“Well….what you think??” Mikaela asked.  Her tail made little scuffing noises against the ground as it wagged in anticipation.

Sans remained quiet, staring up at something he never thought he’d see in his lifetime. To him, it was like finding a treasure chest. Suddenly his broken smile didn’t seem so broken.  In fact, it seemed genuine.  If for only a little while, it was a true smile. “...  damn, ‘kay.” He finally let out after a long stretch of silence.  “wow.  i…  i don’t know what to say.  this is amazing.  heh.  i guess… some wishes can come true.”

Her tail began frantically wagging as her toothy grin returned. “Didn’t I tell you?  Isn’t this place magical? Ha, and I guess that means two of our wishes came true! I was able to make you happy again.”

“you’re right about that.  this is a better start to the new year than i could have ever predicted.” Sans smiled back at her. “y’know, i think maybe i can hold on to some hope after all.”

“Make that three wishes coming true, then.  Papyrus’ wish was you finding renewed hope,” Mikaela told him. “Three wishes come true.  Can’t beat that.”

“or maybe you can.”  Mikaela knew that tone.  It was the tone of a man who just had a brilliant, brilliant idea.  “you know…  i’ve heard of a new year’s tradition the humans have up there.  and i know we aren’t exactly buddy-buddy with humans on a lot of matters.  but i think they’ve actually got a pretty good idea here.”

His friend was intrigued, her ears perked up in curiosity.  “Ooh?  And what tradition might that be?”

Sans turned to her and pulled his hands from his pockets. “here, let me borrow this.”  He took one of the glowing echo flowers from her paws and turned away. Quietly he stared at the flower for awhile, as if making his wish in silence, before letting out a big sigh and as loudly as he could, he proclaimed, “i wish for a kiss from my best friend at midnight!  y’know, as per human tradition.”  He shot her a wink…  although it was the most nervous wink of his life.  He felt like his soul was going to explode in those moments awaiting her response.

   “...  Your best friend?” Mikaela didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but they did constantly say that they were each other’s best friends.  

“oh, yeah.  she’s a real gem.  about yea high--” he stretched up and placed the palm of his hand directly on top of her head-- “long hair.  super pretty.  like can’t-take-your-eyes-off-her pretty.  most convincing puppy dog face in the world.  great sense of humor, and, ah…  honestly, she could cheer up a guy who’s so far down in the dumps he’s practically in the bottomless pit below it.  can’t miss her.”

Mikaela’s soul began to pound in her chest.  She knew it.  She knew she hadn’t been imagining something more going on between them.  His lingering touches on her arm whenever they were around each other, the abundance of hugs he liked to give her, the occasional joke that just crossed the line into the realm of the flirtatious… “Well…  If you’re sure, then…  Hell yeah.  Let’s make it four wishes come true, then.”  She was quick to pick him right up off the ground and give him a big kiss, before either of them lost the courage to do so.  He was ready for it, and he held on tight.  Though he couldn’t kiss back without lips, he nuzzled his teeth against her in a way that conveyed the same effect.

They only pulled away from each other when Sans began to laugh against her lips, his soul glowing like a miniature star of their own.  “damn, ‘kay! you really went for it.  you must have been waiting for that almost as long as i was.  there’s just one problem.  uh…”  He scratched the back of his skull. “it’s not midnight yet.”

“Oh dear.  I….  I’m sorry about that.” Mikaela apologized and sat him back down on his own two feet.  Her ears folded back a little and she blushed with embarrassment. “I guess I got a little carried away in the heat of the moment.”

“ ‘eh...but who’s countin’?” Sans shrugged. “you can just give me another one when the time comes.  And another one after that…  some more after that…”  He put his hands on her waist to pull her a little closer, earning a bashful giggle.

“Alright, well don’t get carried away,” she teased him.  “I won’t keep kissing you if you fall asleep on me.”

“dude.  my entire life isn’t about sleeping.  and besides.  humans also have this saying about kisses.  i dunno what they mean by it, but it’s perfect.  y’know what they say?”  He leaned in a little, got up on the tips of his toes, and said it to her in a quiet voice, like a secret: “every kiss begins with ‘kay.”

“...  That joke sucked, Sans.” “i love you too.”