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Sans had been a kid then, Gaster had given him the job of tracking the constellations and watching the planets, when he had glimpsed his first look at the primordial god. He was small, smaller even than he was now, his jacket had been down to his feet back then. Gaster had always said he had stars in his sockets but he had not expected how quickly his nephew would take to watching the sky. It had been a special clear night, when the constellations danced their courting dances and the stars sang a hymn for the heavens. When the planets whispered their secrets to the sky around them.
Stars glinted above, every color ever conceived twinkling in their centers. Beautiful glinting treasures, so close Sans could have touched them but millions of miles away. They danced across the dark canvas they had been painted on, the heavenly bodies doing their intricate dance around the globe he stood on.
Sans had known some monsters worshiped the sky gods, whether they existed or not no one could be sure, they argued and they bickered over who was right and who was wrong, what god was patron to what planet and so on. Despite their arguing they could all agree on one thing. A primordial god, a fire elemental or something like that, who’s very flames fueled the stars, his flames bled into the universe, the creator of all the planets and gods, the father of the skies, the lord of stars, the king of suns.
On that fateful night Sans’ nihilistic soul changed in a way that only happens once in a lifetime.
When the skeleton had put his eye socket against the telescope he had never expected to see a man. There in the distance, a man who seemed to bleed into the night sky at his knees. He looked to be made of the very sky itself. His eyes blinding suns, his flames trailing up and merging into the sky. Nebulus gasses drift in his flames, the birthplace of stars. He’s sharply dressed, a white button down rolled up to his elbows. A pinstripe vest, which is darker than the night with stripes of the sky during a purple sun set. A yellow bow tie. His glasses reflecting secrets Sans will never know.
The primordial sky god reaches out and as his hands brush the planets he sets them in motion, twirling slowly, dancing around his fingers and through his hands. The celestial orbs flow around him as if it is their only purpose. Comments swirl around his hands like eager pets wanting to please their master. Stars twinkle in the god’s hair, his hands are the darkest night with licks of the aurora borealis flickering up on his fingers.
Sans stares entranced as the elder god moves through the night sky. He moves gracefully, a giant leviathan of the night. A titan of darkness, a merciful night. He moves slowly through the seas of the sky and spins planets Sans watches until early morning when his eyes feel leaden but he can not stop.
Gaster finds him asleep at his telescope the next morning. He laughs and gathers the small skeleton in his arms and puts him to bed, as images of stars and far off worlds dance through his head.
After that night Sans would have done anything to watch the night sky just to glimpse that beauty again.
He volunteered at the labs to monitor the constellations, he studied the skies, he found every text he could about the ancient primordial god who he had seen that night. He researched every fact there was to know about space. He tried and failed 6 times to get into the Intergalactic Pilots Union.
He was frequently glum, he would never see the sky as he had that night all those years ago, and yet today, nothing could have given him a bad mood, he couldn't remove the smile from his face, it stretched wide across his skull. His eye lights sparkled like tiny cold stars, fluttering about.
Today was the day. It was the star festival, a festival of space, and how far they had come, how much they explored, it was a celebration of the skies and the stars, the beauty of the night, it was a celebration of the primordial god he had glimpsed in his childhood.
Lanterns drifted in the sky like golden stars. Monsters danced in the streets and on floating chunks of rock. They titled back their heads and downed burning liquors and sweet alcohols. They drank and drank, and watched the beauty of the sky.
People laughed and danced, they drank the sky in cocktails, and they sipped the stars in whisky. They fell on their backs in the street and gazed up into the sky, the night swirled in their wine they watched the constellations dance in celebration. They shared crooked grins and chuckles, they traded jokes and bellowing laughter. They rubbed shoulders and giggled.
They were a space faring race, monsters were, and they loved a good party. A party about space? They were all for it. This particular party was once every 5 years, when the skies themselves shimmered and meteors came hurtling past their planet, streaking the sky.
Sans was weaving between monsters a grin on his face as he kept his eyes glued to the sky. The second sun was setting, dipping below the horizon it spilled golden light across the land.
Aurora Fall was the best place to watch the sky from. Sans had a special place there, tucked away behind the crashing waters of the sky there was a bench, and he could see the stars from there, and he was always completely alone.
Walking through the crowds was easier because he was small, ducking between legs and errant limbs he finally made it to the Aurora Fall fields where monsters were setting up their blankets and picnics to prepare for the night. Exited mothers wrangled more excited children as fathers chatted and swapped stories. Weaving around the maze of blankets and monsters he turned off the normal path, a few monsters had gathered here but it was thinning out the closer he got to the falls, it tended to be to wet for most monsters to enjoy the sky when they were this deep in.
Something caught his wrist and Sans turned around surprised, his magic flaring in response ready to defend himself. Instead he came face to face with the most gorgeous fire elemental he had ever met. The man was taller than him and had stooped to catch his wrist, he looked a little disgruntled but mostly earnest and flustered. His flames faded up from a light purple to a warm orange at the very edges of the licking flames. Like a reverse sunset. The man’s white eye shapes are distinct behind his glasses and seem to swirl with colors the skeleton cant even pretend to name.
The elemental’s soft ethereal voice makes him realize he was staring.
“ Excuse me, ah excuse me sir… I didn't mean to grab you so forcefully, do you have the time!?! ” It was then that the skeleton noticed the glinting golden watch on the man’s wrist and his eye sockets narrowed in confusion and suspicion. The elemental seemed to realize he was still holding the skeleton’s wrist and he let go and jerked back. At his full height it was clear the elemental was nearly twice his height. He wore a simple white button down with a crisp black vest and a dark bowtie. On the left side of his chest someone had pinned a boutonniere like arrangement, but instead of a floral arrangement it looked like a collection of stars and planets. The elemental’s hand moves to rub the back of his neck nervously.
“is your watch broken?” The skeleton asks curiously trying to catch a glimpse of it. The fire elemental’s flames spark up as if the elemental had been surprised by his question. The slightly surprised look on his face which quickly turns to embarrassment has a grin on the skeleton’s already grinning face in an instant.
“ I ah… well it's not meant to keep the time exactly... neither of them are. ” Sans then catches sight of a golden pocket watch chain hanging from one of the man’s pockets. The skeleton’s skull tilts in confusion and the man holds out his wrist for the skeleton to see.
Inside the glass tiny circles spin around one another, it's a model of the solar system. The two suns, purple and white dance around each other in the center, around them each of the planets and their moons twirl in their orbits. The rings of the planets dance and the moons swoon. Behind all of the planets someone has painted the background black and dotted it with stars that look so realistic it's like the man had taken a piece of the sky and placed it within his watch.
Sans stares mystified at the man’s watch, his hands have moved to hold the man’s wrist. Nothing else matters anymore, not the surges of monsters around them in the thrall of waiting for the sky to darken, not the noise and rumbling apprehension that fills the air, not the smell of alcohol in the air. Only the beautiful fire elemental with the night on his wrist. Sans eventually tears his eye lights from the watch and stares up at the elemental into the flame’s eyes. The flame looks patiently down at him, his expression impossible to read. Sans doesn't mean to say the words that come tumbling out of his mouth in that moment, but he certainly meant them.
“geeze, you are the most beautiful thing i have ever seen.” The flames on the man’s head leap up about half a foot in surprise and Sans flushes in surprise at the words that had just come out of his mouth. Jerking back from the elemental as if he had just been burned he buried his face in his hands. He never wanted to look out at the world again, his embarrassment burned on his face. He was however coaxed into glancing out between his bone fingers to peer up at the elemental by the sounds of soft laughter.
The elemental has moved one hand to cover his mouth as he laughs. When he finally stops he pushes his glasses back up and he restates his question, his voice tinged with humor.
“ As much as I would love to stand here and be complemented… you never did tell me the time. ” Sans immediately feels his face start to burn again.
“oh uh, wait one sec.” pulling his phone out of his pocket he parroted the time to the elemental. “6:29” The elemental gives him a beaming smile and suddenly Sans can’t think straight and his head is swimming. Thankfully before his knees go out from under him the elemental turns his gaze to the sky.
“ Ah, good, I have not missed it. ” There is something wistful in the elemental’s tone. Like a hidden secret, known between only he and the sky.
“you’re, uh, you here to see the show?” The man’s gaze doesn't waver, it stares up at the sky and beyond.
“ I am indeed. ” Sans rubbed the back of his neck. Glancing up at the man who had his gaze fixed on the sky he sighs to himself.
“follow me, i know the best place to watch the stars.” Turning without stopping to see if the elemental was following behind him, knowing his soul might just shatter if the beautiful creature wasn't following him. Finally he gets to the waterfalls and he turns to see the elemental did in fact follow him. The elementals gaze is wary and fixed on the water now, once more his hand moves up to rub the back of his neck, he looks sheepish. Sans realizes that he just led a fire elemental into a completely wet area. “don’t worry,” he assures “we’re almost there and it's completely dry there.”
He leads the elemental just a little bit further through the marshes. When he comes to the lonely waterfall he pauses. Normally he would just walk in and shake off the water on the other side. This time he has a companion though.
Grabbing the man’s sleeve he stares straight forward and speaks as he feels the elemental’s surprise.
“don’t worry, i know a shortcut.” And with that he folds the space between them and the room beyond and suddenly they are standing in a cave with no ceiling. Its small, and a bench was in the middle of it, a single echo flower turns its petals to the sky as if it too is watching and waiting.
The elemental stays in one place as Sans moves to the bench, blinking rapidly. He soon moves to join the skeleton on the wooden bench. They have time to kill so Sans speaks.
“where did you get that watch, it’s really something?” The flame turns and looks at him, once more caught off guard. His hand migrates to the back of his neck in that nervous tick of the elemental’s.
“ Ah… a friend of mine made it for me… ”
“wow, must be quite a friend. don’t suppose he’d make me one? i’d pay for it obviously.”
“ Well… he’s not exactly the… social type… I’m not sure that he would be comfortable making one for a stranger. ” The skeleton shrugged and put on a light hearted grin, concealing the slight disappointment he felt.
“that's cool, i get it.” They sit for a few minutes, content to watch the sky fade from a gilded sunset to the deep swath of dark night.
Sans pulls the quiche he had brought to eat out of his jacket, Papyrus had offered to make him spaghetti but Sans had refused and replied that he was going to make a quiche. Papyrus had been so proud of him for making his own meal he hasn't even asked why Sans didn't want to eat his spaghetti. Reaching in his pocket he feels the single fork.
Turning to the elemental whose eyes are once more fixed on the sky.
“do you want some?” He offers the confection to the fire elemental who seems startled out of whatever trance he was in.
“ Oh, ah that's very kind of you… I wouldn't want to impose though. ” Sans shrugged, this guy was incredibly endearing, he had to struggle to keep any more stupid comments from tumbling out from between his teeth.
“it's really no big deal, i usually end up leaving a slice anyway, i dunno who eats it, but when i come back there’s never any left, ‘cept a clean plate.” Sans wasn't really sure what the look that suddenly passed and disappeared over the elemental’s face but had he more time to analyze it he might have taken it as decidedly guilty. The elemental hesitates.
“ Well… perhaps just a bite… ” Sans’ grin widens.
“great!” Pulling the fork from his pocket he delivers the bad news. “unfortunately we’re gonna have to share a fork.” The elemental laughs and takes the fork from offering hands. Spearing a bite of quiche the elemental opens a fiery mouth and inserts the fork. Sans isn't really sure how much fire can taste but the elemental makes a sound he interprets as pleased and closes its eyes happily. Passing the fork back to him the elemental watched him as he unlocks his jaw. Shifting it so he can un-slot his bottom teeth from behind his front teeth. Summoning a tongue he takes a bite and passes the fork back, keeping his jaw unhinged as they eat in silence.
When they are finished Sans sets the dish by his feet and turns his eyes to the sky where the first of the meteors are making themselves known, it will be a few minutes until the storm really starts though.
Leaning back Sans hardly realizes when the joke slips off his tongue as he slots his jaws back together.
“you know, the planet’s rotation really makes my day.” His eyes slide over to catch the fire elemental’s face, the bewildered expression that flashes over flaming features, the expression quickly smooths over to something playful.
“ My… my… that joke was… out of this world. ” Sans grins.
“nice! good star-t”
“ To make a joke like that… you must know the most important thing about making a joke… remember to plan-et ”
“that was a stellar joke!”
They trade quips, and somewhere along the line the jokes fade into fire puns which the elemental manages to decimate him in, until it shifts to bones and Sans reigns supreme with his knowledge of each bone’s name.
And then a streak of silver crosses the sky and neither of them can breathe much less speak. Sans stares up at the sky as it shimmers beautiful greens and blues and the white streaks of meteors that cross the sky, and in that moment he forgets that he is sharing this space with anyone else he is so caught up in the sky. For a brief moment he wonders, where is that primordial god on this night. Did he sit on a planet every night watching stars streak across the sky, did he even stop to look at the beauty of his universe.
In that moment Sans finds he doesn't care all that much, the only thing that matters is the sky, and the man with the universe in his watch.
When the sky finally stills, returning to darkest night they sit there gazing up into the inky night for a few minutes more. The elemental suddenly jerks sitting upright with a panicked expression. Looking at his watch his flames flared in anxiety.
“ Oh my… I must be gone! It was very nice to spend the evening with you! ” Sans’ shoulders slumped and the elemental made his way for the waterfall before faltering.
“oh, uh here, lemmy take you outside.” Sans has a hard time keeping the disappointment out of his tone. Grabbing the elemental’s shirt cuff he folds the space and suddenly they are standing outside. The elemental makes as if to walk off then suddenly pauses. Reaching into his pocket he withdraws his pocket watch, and detaches it from his pants. Pushing the watch and chain into his hand the elemental speaks in a rushed tone which implies he will not take denial as an answer.
“ Please… I would like you to have this. ” The elemental is then walking with such long strides Sans could never hope to catch up, the elemental rounds a corner and Sans runs after to catch him.
“wait are you sure-!” He cuts himself off when he rounds the corner and finds the man god. He turns and looks back up at the sky as his fingers tighten around the pocket watch, he sighs.
Opening his hand to look at the gilded pocket watch in his hand. The watch like it’s chain is golden. Inlaid in the cover are the phases of the moon around the edge of the watch. The illuminated part of the moon ivory and the shadowed part ebony. In the center of the cover a gem not unlike the ones in Aurora Fall was shaped like a star. Clicking it open revealed it to be internally the same as the watch on the elemental’s wrist with the swirling planet shapes. Turning it over a single letter was revealed. An elegant G, surrounded by swirling star patterns. As the bones of his thumbs ran over the letter and traced the G he thought of how odd it was that there was no initial for a family name.
He nearly dropped the pocket watch as a revelation slammed into his skull. His eye lights went out very suddenly.
“shit.” He never found out the other monster’s name.
Tucking the watch into his pocket he trudged home that night, an odd weight in his soul. Papyrus and Gaster were still on the roof when he made it home. A few lanterns were tethered to the roof illuminating the eldest and youngest skeleton brothers were they reclined on the roof.
It was tradition that skeleton brothers had at least one article of clothing with a map of the constellations woven into it. Gaster’s cloak had its beautiful purples shifting on the outside and had a trim of constellations. But within, it reflected the galaxy beneath its carefully woven folds. Papyrus’ scarf had every constellation woven in its exact relative position in the sky, and it's trim was allegedly made of stardust woven into thread. Sans was no exception, however unlike his brothers, his was a little more subtle. The gloves he wore for gripping things had tiny silver threads outlining the entire skies on them.
As Sans sat on the roof the light from the lanterns cast and illuminated the strands as he tugged on his gloves. Papyrus’s scarf shimmered, the youngest skeleton fast asleep. Gaster's cloak shifts in the light as it warps with space time.
For a long moment Sans and Gaster stare up at the dark sky together. The younger of the pair flips the pocket watch in his hands Gaster's eyes slide over to catch his brothers gaze and instead fall on the watch.
“Where did you get that? It looks lovely.🕈☟☜☼☜ 👎✋👎 ✡⚐🕆 ☝☜❄ ❄☟✌❄✍ ✋❄ ☹⚐⚐😐💧 ☹⚐✞☜☹✡” The soft echo of his voices draws Sans from his thoughts. Sans considers lying for a beat but couldn't see a point so he went with vague.
“a friend,”
“May I see it? 💣✌✡ ✋ 💧☜☜ ✋❄✍.” Sans falters, but once more can't see a reason not to let Gaster see it. Opening his palm for Gaster to take it he sees his brother’s fingers touch the watch and he can see his brother freeze.
When Sans glances up at Gaster’s face its devoid of emotion. His eye sockets are filled with glowing white light. Oh. That was anticlimactic. Gaster tended to have visions about the smallest things. As soon as something new was introduced to their environment Gaster tended to have visions that usually aren't even related to them. It only ever tended to be a big deal if the elder skeleton started speaking in verse.
Prophecies were a bitch.
The moment drags on longer than most of Gaster’s visions do. By the time Gaster is blinking rapidly and reacclimating himself with his surroundings and how gravity worked Sans was starting to get a touch worried. When Gaster did speak there was a note of awe in his tone.
“That is… some friend you have there. ❄☟✌❄ ✋💧📬📬📬 💧⚐💣☜ ☞☼✋☜☠👎 ✡⚐🕆 ☟✌✞☜ ❄☟☜☼☜📬” Gaster seemed to be torn between ringing his hands and fiddling with the hem of his cloak, eventually he moved them into his lap and clasped them.
“do you still want to see the watch?” Gaster lept back as if he had been burned.
“No, no! That is quite fine. ☠⚐📪 ☠⚐✏ ❄☟✌❄ ✋💧 ✈🕆✋❄☜ ☞✋☠☜📬” He raised his hands defensively and the skeleton shrugged. The two brothers returned to gazing at the dark sky and the moon which hung above tinted a slight pink by the reflected light from the purple sun. Sans grins up at the sky. Sans has always been one to do things all the way or not at all, now he could safely say he had fallen for two elementals, and both were out of his league, one by several thousand light years. Crossing his legs he relaxed his head on his hands. Gaster had moved from his laying position to a sitting one.
A single white streak burned across the sky, a straggler from the storm.
“That reminds me, this came for you today, it has the royal seal on it. ❄☟✌❄ ☼☜💣✋☠👎💧 💣☜📪 ❄☟✋💧 👍✌💣☜ ☞⚐☼ ✡⚐🕆 ❄⚐👎✌✡📬 ✋❄ ☟✌💧 ❄☟☜ ☼⚐✡✌☹ 💧☜✌☹ ⚐☠ ✋❄📬” From within the folds of his cloak Gaster produced a sealed white letter, the wax crest on the back showed a star overcrossing a moon and a sun. The royal seal. Slipping gloved fingers beneath it he cracked the seal opening the letter.
Fluttering fills his gut. Gently easing the folded paper from within the anticipation grows in his chest cavity. His soul pulses rapidly. He opens the paper, skims through the first through pleasantries and his eye lights spark. His grin widens.
“well, better start packing i leave in two weeks.” He grins over at Gaster who looks torn between excitement for Sans and absolute horror.
“Sans, please tell me you were not drafted. 💧✌☠💧📪 🏱☹☜✌💧☜ ❄☜☹☹ 💣☜ ✡⚐🕆 🕈☜☼☜ ☠⚐❄ 👎☼✌☞❄☜👎📬” The panic in his voice bubbles up and Sans can feel it spilling out of Gaster.
“huh? nah, i’m going on a research mission, it will only be 18 months. i won't even be in any dangerous area.” Gaster’s shoulders slump in relief but his smile is still sprained. “you ok there bud?”
“I’m happy for you Sans, truly. ✋’💣 ☟✌🏱🏱✡ ☞⚐☼ ✡⚐🕆 💧✌☠💧📪 ❄☼🕆☹✡📬” The brothers lapse into silence as they watch the stars twinkle in and out in silent laughter, congratulating the younger brother and warning the elder. They stay there until the wee hours of the morning when sneaking tendrils of pink light bathe across the land as the two suns begin to rise.
Its two weeks later when he meets the mysterious G once again. He had been hoping to see him the last 3 times he had visited his secret spot but the elemental was never there. This would be his last time there, even though he had only been there the day before. He was mostly taking this trip because Papyrus was complaining about him taking one of the good plates.
He teleported in and was a little off ending up standing on the far side of the room instead of the entrance. Shrugging he turned around and froze in his tracks.
The long lanky form of the fire elemental was sprawled on his back staring up at the sky in the wooden bench. His legs thrown up over the arm rail, his head resting on the rail at the opposite end. His flames were pale blue and green. He watched the sky with the innocence of a child peering over the rims of his glasses. His legs were crossed. On his chest rested a mostly empty plate with a sliver of spinach quiche left. A fork sticking out of his flaming mouth, one hand holding it loosely. The elemental hummed a jaunty tune.
“so you’re the one who eats my quiches?” Sans laughs as he speaks and has to hold back the full blown laughter at the elemental who suddenly jerks up. The plate goes flying and the elemental grabs it out of the air and holds it to his chest like a shield.
“ H-how long have you been standing there… ” The elemental says, a hand creeping to his neck nervously.
“since you stopped humming the heavenly bodies song and started humming swooning stars.” Sans shrugged, it was true he had been watching for a little longer than he had intended but the elemental’s humming was rather entrancing, he had gotten a little distracted by the melodies. Teleporting in the snap of his fingers to sit beside the elemental he leaned back. Reaching over and pulling the fork from the elemental’s mouth he stabbed the final bit of quiche unlatched his jaw and ate it.
“i’m leaving for a research trip soon. i’m gonna be a solo pilot for collecting samples and monitoring solar activity for about a year and a half, so there won't be any more quiches until then.” Sans leaned his head back and locked his jaw crossing his legs.
“ Don't you have to have at least 2 years of training to be a licensed pilot? ”
“i did the military training courses in school, i’m a licensed pilot.”
“ Hmm… perhaps we shall see more of each other then very soon .”
“huh? you work for the i.g.u?”
“ Hm? Oh… something like that. ”
They speak until the moon hangs high over head pale and daunting like a single watching eye. Sans waves goodbye and teleports away. Only hours later when fighting against the tide of insomnia his bone lids shot open in surprise.
“how the fuck did he get past the waterfall?” His boney fingers gripped the sheets and he quickly teleported into the secret area. However it was empty, the echo flower murmuring softly to itself. Walking over to it and tapping its petals in a frantic panic the echoey elemental’s voice comes back warped.
“ If you are back... I assume it's because you realized I couldn't get out…. Don't worry… you are not the only one who knows shortcuts… ” Sighing the skeleton folded the space of the voice and landed on his back exactly two feet from the bed. With the panic wearing off he doesn't have the effort to drag himself into bed and simply closes his eyes and falls asleep.
His brothers find him lying on the floor in a halo of pale sheets which he had dragged from the mattress. They laugh, and send him off to his ship with a full belly of breakfast spaghetti and a promise to take care of Roxie, Sans’ pet rock.
He had grinned at both of them, Gaster standing with his arms crossed but a kind smile on his face but a note of loneliness in his eyes. Patting Sans on the shoulder he wished him luck as Sans pulled his jacket around his shoulders. Papyrus furiously wiped magical tears from his eyes as he feverently denied he was crying.
“I’M NOT CRYING- THERE'S- THERE'S JUST SOMETHING IN MY EYE!!!”
“what’s that bro?”
“TEARS!!!”
And with a laugh Sans waved goodbye and began his walk to the capital to get his official license.
Space is prettier when you’re stranded all alone in it and you have nothing else to look at. His vessel is small, and has small living quarters, he spends most of his time gazing out the windows when he’s not actively collecting samples.
Sans only docks with a mother ship once a month and usually only has communication with Alphys the head scientist for this venture 3 out of every 7 days.
Most of the time he floats in the void. Watching stars blink in and out of existence, navigating in twisting twirling maneuvers to avoid meteor showers. He skates in upper orbit of all sorts of planets.
Slarkamam, an icy planet as been enjoyable to skate the upper atmosphere of. The fridged world was icy bellow with seas that churning a frothy white and ice caps which glinted in the light of that planet’s sun. Floating ice islands and clouds of frost and dust had made the cool blue world a delight to the eye.
Eshama, the sister planet of Shayama was a fiery hell compared to the cold planet. Volcanoes quivered and erupted, hat magma marred the surface of the planet. Tectonic movements through spurts of molten rock into the air hundreds of miles high.
He had skated the rings of planets and laughed as he swerved around moons. He had seen thousands of stars and his own feet had touched the surfaces of thousands of planets. He had stood on rocky shores overlooking strange beaches, snoozed on tall mountains in thin atmospheres, reclined on icy mesas in worlds of water. He had seen gas giants with marbled surfaces, stretched his fingers through fine icy rings around asteroid fields. He had drifted through the nebulous clouds of dead and dying stars. He had skated the gravity of black holes and watched stars getting snuffed out of existence. He had watched as many as 7 suns rise on one planet’s horizon and had made wishes on thousands of stars, shooting or first. He had gazed up at foreign skies were the stars were all in the wrong place. He had seen planets collapse in on their own mass. Had watched moons collapse into beautiful worlds watching them turn into fiery hellscapes.
He didn't have a whole lot to do in the times between landings and lift off. He spent most of it looking out the windows, sleeping and reading the online library. Since he had left the monsters had reached out once more to the humans, first contact had been promising and there was even talk of monsters moving back to their old homeland.
The way Sans had found out about it was all the human texts suddenly appearing in the library. They had been fascinating… if somewhat formulaic. He had to say he liked poetry the best, some humans really had a way with words. His favorite which he swore he was going to get engraved in his bones was by some human named Nikita Gill. He often found himself repeating it like a mantra.
“we have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names.” Though admittedly some of those things did not apply to him, not having veins, or a brain, though most monsters didn't even have bones he could appreciate the sentiment.
Singing was always a good way to pass the time, he wasn't exactly anywhere near the best but he could tolerate his own voice for a couple hours. From old sea shanties from back when Gaster had allegedly been the captain of a sailing vessel, folk songs that meandered around actually reasoning, old nursery rhymes.
“the story of the golden echo flowers is a tale spread from fool to fool, started by the greatest fool of all, who’s soul and body are about to fall.” It's an old song, part of a cautionary tale about echo flowers if he remembers right. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets he swiveled around in his chair to look out the large glass panes above the control panel and freezes.
The night swirls and takes shape before him, a titan stands waist deep in the void. His pinstripe vest and button down shirt immaculate without a single wrinkle or fold. His yellow bowtie blinding. The old space god gaze is cast away from the ship. He idly picks up an asteroid in the field which hangs about his waist, tossing it from one hand to the other in a bored movement Sans can't help but gape.
“oh my…” His voice is barely a whisper but the elemental whirls around and suddenly Sans can feel just how small he truly is. His ship would fit in this elemental’s hand.
The elemental’s head snaps over. The elemental’s grip tightens on the asteroid in his hand and it crumbles to dust and suddenly the space around him seems to fold in on itself and he’s gone. Sans falls back in the captain's chair rubbing the bridge between his eyes comets. He sighed closing his eyes he stares into the dark space before him beneath his bone lids.
Fleeting glimpses, of power and beauty.
In that moment Sans can't decide if he has the best luck of any monster he’s met or the worst.
When he opens his eye sockets nothing has changed, the stars twinkle with secrets they guard, debris of the smashed asteroid floats around it’s brethren, the song of the heavens soft around them.
The night is quiet.
Sans had been scheduled to meet up with the mothership to report, then he was headed home for a two week leave when the fleet finds him.
Human ships, they’re clunky at best but functional. They make up for their ships with piloting expertise, and apparently they haven't heard of the truce on the home world because Sans is zig zagging between heavenly bodies to avoid the hostile ships.
Tugging the steering to the right one of his wings clipped the edge of a asteroid causing him to swerve wildly. Glancing at the radar two ships had dropped off. That was either good meaning the ships had left, or they were going to take him by surprise. Great.
His headphones are on his head, but they play static as he yells into the mic hoping anyone is there. He yells into a void of static as he heads deeper into uncharted space. Another ship has dropped off.
The leader ship in the fleet is faster than the others, it's only a few meters from him and he flips the switch. Monsters have had thousands of years to improve intergalactic travel, there was no chance any human ship could keep up with a monster’s, especially not a ship in the royal scientist’s fleet. Every ship was built for travels through thousands of light years. Unfortunately, the travel was typically meant to be activated when secured in one’s seat. Sans was not. The ship kicks so fast Sans is thrown out of the chair. He’s scrambling against the pulling artificial gravity to stand.
His eye lights go out and one reignites in a ring of blue flame he struggles to lift a hand. Once its off the floor he snaps. The gravity of the ship jerks right avoiding the moon that it had nearly taken a nosedive into.
The ship is sent into a tumbling spin. Grabbing the gravity of his clothes he rights himself, the ship still turns in corkscrews. He reaches a hand out and grabs the gravity of the chair, yanking it through space towards him he sits and tries to subtly adjust his gravity but launches himself into the control panel. His hands grip the steering, he fights against the ship to pull it out of the spiral it had begun. As he fights the control his magic fights to right the ship itself. He’s far from the human ships now, in uncharted deep space, fighting a dying ship.
Something hits one of his wings and he’s spiraling again. His skull connects with the dash and the world goes black. As his consciousness fades he realizes that his ship is still traveling at 543 light years per second.
When he wakes up he decides he must be dead, but apparently the afterlife looks a lot like the smoking hull of his ship on a planet with no atmosphere, the air he tries to breathe in does not exist.
He has to be dead, there is no way he survived the crash, he repeats it as a mantra even as he feels his soul beating in his chest a firm reminder of life.
He doesn't know how long he was out before he crashed, could have been seconds, could have been hours, he could be thousands of millions of lightyears away or just a few galaxies from where he started.
Once he has pulled himself out of the smoking wreckage he realizes something about this planet.
This planet is odd.
Looking up at the dark sky he could see constellations, but depending on which way he tilted his head they would shift and change completely, it was like with every slight tilt of his head he changed places in the galaxy immensely. Blinking up at the strange sky he sat down. Taking a deep breath he didn't need he calmed his fraying nerves. His soul was pulsing sending waves of distressed magic into the empty night.
The planet was desolate and stony. Eventually he stands up, he walks. Following his feet watching the sky, anything to drown out the panic bouncing around his skull. He pulls his hood up and tugs his gloves as far down his arms.
As he walks there is not a sign of life, not a trace of magic, not a scent of emotion, not even a moss growing on the rocky surface of the planet. He wandered his hands deep in his pockets, choosing directions at random. He cant orient himself with the stars because they won't stay in one damn place. Every few miles he teleports a couple hundred yards. His shoulders quake.
He judges time by every time he has to wind the pocket ‘watch’ when he’s wound it exactly 178 times, with nary a moon or sun rising and over three days from his ship he finds something.
The empty plains and caves of the planet had been soft dark blues and purples that made his head feel fuzzy to look at. His shoes were worn from the near constant walking, and his soul was heavy. His already abysmal health was ticking down decimal point by decimal point. He was falling down at the lack of hope, but then he found it.
It was a bar, in the middle of nowhere. The window cast beautiful light out that made the ground shimmer like the skies above his home, which after days of being stranded on a strange planet was a very welcome sight.
Suddenly he can't seem to walk, he stumbles over his feet. His gloved hand falls on the door and pushed it open.
The bar is empty save the bar keep.
Its cast by soft purple light from crystals in the walls. One large table was strewn with gilded tarot cards, another had a glass turned upside down. The bar glints, polished to a shine, each table has the stars in its surface that dance in the soft light. The planks of the floor are purple and blue like someone had taken slices of the sky at different times in the evening and made a patch work floor. Behind the bar keep bottles glowed casting light about the bar.
A red bottle swirled with a crimson gas glinted next to a bottle which Sans was half convinced had the sun trapped in it, the yellow one from home. The pink sun from home burned three bottles over next to a bottle that seemed to swirl with the planets. Dark liquid like the void of space swirls with pin pricks of light like stars. Tiny suns and planets float in bottles and vials. Glasses and liquids that burn oranges and purples and teal lights. The jukebox in the corner spits out soft tunes and Sans recognizes it.
Anyone who had ever listened to the hymns of the sky would recognize it. Science had never been able to explain where the song of the heavens came from and in that moment Sans wondered if, all those light years away this jukebox was spitting out the notes that had puzzled men and monsters alike for years.
A neon sign flickers with cool light.
Sans stumbles up to the bar through the empty restaurant and pulls himself up the bar stood and turns his attention to the bartender who reaches for the bottle of stars. The bartender is tall fire elemental. Perhaps fire is the wrong word. The man’s very ‘flames’ seem to be made of the void of space with the colors of nebula and the very star stuff that makes up the known universe painting the picture of his body. His flames lick up in high curling patterns idly twisting.
His pinstripe vest, black with stripes that fade from yellow to pink. His bow tie yellow enough to burn Sans’ eyes after all the blues and purple of space. His dark pants seem to shimmer in the soft light, it reminds him of his gloves which shimmer with faint impressions of the constellations even as he realizes gazing at the elemental’s pants is probably not exactly the polite thing to do. Dragging his eyes back up to the back of the elemental’s shoulders and the elemental’s crisp white collar. The elemental turned around and adjusted his glasses, bottle in his other hand then he wiped his hands on his apron tied around his waist. Without glancing up he spoke as he opened the bottle.
“ Hello welcome to the restaurant at the end of the universe. ” Then he once more adjusted his glasses and looked over at the skeleton and his mouth opened in an O shape. He blinked rapidly, removed his glasses, polished the furiously, returned them to his face and stared at the skeleton.
“ It’s you… ” The elemental set down the bottle and Sans noticed the gleaming watch on his wrist and he idly reached into his pocket to pull out the watch’s mate. Sans’ eyes are dragged back up to the elemental’s face as it bleeds into the colors of a sunset.
Huh… what do you know, there was only one elemental he had fallen for who was out of his league.
The elemental recovered from his shock before Sans did and extended a hand. Sans blinked at it surprised before he realized that handshakes were indeed real things and they were typically greetings. Extending a gloved hand he forgets the shake half of a hand shake and just ends up clasping the space god’s hand in his own reaffirming to himself that this man, this beautiful man, was real.
“ I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself in any of our meetings, but then I suppose you haven't either. ” The elemental’s voice is soft and laced with humor.
“oh, uh, i’m sans.” He sounds stupid and his voice seems grating compared to the soft heavenly tones of the elemental’s. The space god smiles at him, a primordial creator, a god of the heavens, a lord of the skies. He gives the skeleton a simple smile.
“ Hello Sans… I’m Grillby .”