*Finally updating this story fills me with DETERMINATION... DETERMINATION TO GET FINISHED WITH THIS SEMESTER ALREADY, GODDAMMIT! So sorry for the small delay, have you ever had those moments in school where your teacher just seem to know when is an awful time to ask for homework and they still do it anyway?... and those times teachers just want it all for the same date? Yeah, that's been these last two weeks at school. Thankfully, I've had enough free time to finish this one! Wow, almost 4,000 words just of the chapter itself. I'm quite proud with how this story is going.

A small notice for the code at the very end of this: I won't use Caesar Cipher anymore, given it has brought some confusion to some readers and to me as well to be honest (lol, not kidding). So now, you'll have to use Attbash Cipher, which is far more simple! (ABC turns into ZYX). Sooo yeah, there's that thing!

And kudos to the one who recognized the Insomnia scene in the dream sequence last time! I love the comic (I'm following a comic dub by SwiftSky VA, you should totally go check it out if you haven't already). Anyways, I think that's all I have to say for now. Enjoy!

"Normal dialog."
'Thoughts.'
Dream sequence
"Dialog."
'Thoughts'

Chapter 3: "Early start"

A distant rooster's crow could be heard, waking up most of the individuals in the shack. Including the sleepy skeleton sitting in the roof.

"agh!" Sans woke up startled and slid from the roof. "oh sh-" before he could crash on the ground, he stopped himself mid-fall and teleported himself to the living room. There, he fell to the ground on his back. "ow… whatever that was, it sure rattled my bones." He chuckled slightly, standing up and rubbing his backside. He noticed Asgore and Toriel missing –the first probably talking with one of the Pines and getting ready to leave soon.

"So you finally decide to show yourself, huh?" he heard the question from behind him and saw Flowey sneering at him. "And don't even pretend that you were here the whole time, I saw you walking up the stairs last night!"

"heh, no need to be like that, buddy." Sans' sockets narrowed on the flower. "i sure slept well, if that's what you're worried about." 'sure, that's a lie; but it's not like i'm gonna tell him that.'

"Hah! Me, worried for you?!" the flower denied arrogantly. "I just think it's amusing, how you always pretend everything's alright and hide the truth from everyone."

"yeah, it is quite funny, isn't it?" the lights in his sockets disappeared and his voice got darker. "'specially coming from you, your majesty."

Asriel's shell growled. "Why, you piece of trash-"

"Sans, is that you?" a warm voice called from the kitchen. Toriel peeked her head from the doorway. "Oh, there you are! Glad to see you're awake."

Sans' personality shifted completely. "oh, hey tori! are you cooking somethin'?"

"Oh yes!" she confessed happily. "I'm making breakfast for everyone! It's a small 'thank you' for this family's kindness for letting us stay."

"that's nice." He sniffed (apparently, with Magic everything is possible for a skeleton to do, huh?). "wow, that smells great!"

"Thank you, Sans!" she smiled. "I've put a lot of work into this! Could you please go wake up the kids?"

"ok. i'll be right back." Sans grinned and calmly walked up the stairs and to the attic room.

He knocked the door lightly and opened it slightly.

"hey, kiddos, time to wake up." He said lightly and peeked his head inside. The sight before him warmed his soul.

Dipper, Mabel and Frisk were fast asleep in one of the beds; the twins were hugging the sides of the silent child. His dear brother was huddled up in the other bed, taking the covers all for himself; Alphys was hanging from one side of the bed while Undyne was sprawled on the floor. Sans could hear light snores from the female Pines and the loud ones from Undyne and Paps.

Sans laughed whole-heartily. ´this is heck adorable, but they need to eat already.'

He knocked again and spoke louder. "hey kids, time to wake up."

He heard some groans of protest and yawns. "heheh, sorry buddies; but tori made breakfast and she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Ugh… HUH? WOWIE, SANS! YOU'RE UP EARLY!"

"yup. guess all of your talk 'bout being punctual and stuff has rubbed off on me."

"THIS IS GREAT!" Papyrus' eyes sparkled. "IN NO TIME, YOU AND I WILL GO OUT FOR JOGS EVERY MORNING AND YOU'LL STOP BEING SUCH A LAZYBONES!"

"heh, i wouldn't take it too far, paps." Sans admitted. "anyways, tori is waiting and whatever she cooked smells good."

"She's the best cook ever!" Frisk told them with a bright smile. "Even her pies are the best I've ever had!"

"Oooohhh, she bakes pies?" Mabel's eyes lit up. "I love pies!"

"Mabel, you love anything as long as it has sugar, glitter or cuteness in it." Dipper said with a smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!" Undyne got up and rushed downstairs, Alphys and Papyrus in toe.

"Come on, Dip!" the twins smiled at each other and ran downstairs. Sans couldn't help but to watch them go.

'those two are really close, huh? they're kinda like paps and i…' he sighed and went downstairs. 'they sure are something special.'

The young ones were all sitting at the dinner table, only the grunkles missing (and Frisk, who was currently watering Flowey).

"I hope you're all hungry!" Toriel smiled and served a plate for each.

"OH, GOODIE! LET'S EAT!" Papyrus' sockets lit up with joy.

"Toriel, this looks great!" Mabel complimented.

"Yeah, and I bet it tastes way better than Stan's pancakes." Dipper shivered at the thought.

"I'm glad you all came down to eat." Toriel began. "Especially you, Papyrus! I think you could use some…"

"Why do I get the feeling you're about to-"

"Use some meat on those bones!" Toriel finished. Sans couldn't contain his laughter and the others at least cracked a smile.

"SANS, I BLAME YOU FOR THIS!" Papyrus yelled indignantly.

"hahahahahah, i accept the blame. that was great, tori."

"Hahah, thank you!" Toriel accepted the compliment.

After breakfast, both Stans and Asgore joined them to get ready for the day. Ford would take Frisk and Asgore to see Mayor Tyler; Undyne offered to go with them in case it was needed (even after she had been reassured time and time again that there was no need to worry). Meanwhile, Stan would stay at the shack and wait for Soos to get back and help with the tourists soon to arrive… and he had just the right plan to make this all work…

"HUMAN! WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANTED ME TO DO?" the younger skeleton asked curiously, excited to be of help.

"I need you to help greet the tourists today!" he explained. "This shack is a place for tourists to come and have a small taste of all the weird stuff that happens in this town. And I think you, Papyrus, would be the perfect guy-skeleton for the job!"

"Hmm…" he looked thoughtful before brightening up. "WOWIE! I'LL BE THE BEST GREETER THOSE HUMANS WILL EVER MEET!"

"I'm sure you'll be! I'm counting on you." He said, patted the skeleton's back and went to open the front door.

Stanley was sweeping the front of the tourist trap, casually humming to himself while he waited for Soos.

"heya."

"JESUS CHRIST!" Stan yelled startled, quickly turning around to see the always-grinning skeleton right next to him. "When- what- how did you get here so fast?!" he questioned, holding his chest tightly.

"i've my ways." Sans shrugged. "by the way, i overheard your conv' with my bro. you want him to greet some visitors today, huh?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Stan looked at him, a bit nervous noting the weird tone in the skeleton's voice.

"nothin' much. just wanted to let you know…" the whole world around them darkened and Sans' sockets turned completely dark. "if anything happens to him while you try to use him as a tourist attraction, you'll be dead where you stand…" his voice darkened and suddenly went back to normal along with the rest of the world ('Did everything just… freeze for a moment?'). "but hey, i'm not complaining! in fact, i think this'll be a good thing for paps; he needs somethin' to keep him occupied."

"Y-yeah, you're right…" Stan began, unsure of what to say to the death threat and the sudden attitude change. "Well, some people I know will be here soon to open up the shack to the public, so I think you and your friends should think of what to do." He grabbed the broom and headed back inside, pausing at the doorway. "And… the same thing goes to you." He said, turning slightly to look at him seriously. "This is the only family I have, so if anything happens to any of them, you'll have me to answer to. You got it, bonehead?"

Sans closed his sockets and chuckled. "yup, i get 'ya."

And so that moment ended and was never spoken about.

Ford's group went to town and to the Mayor's house to discuss the monsters' situation. Ford had previously talked to Alphys and Asgore about the barrier surrounding the town –unless they find a way to let the monsters out without actually breaking it, they would have to settle in Gravity Falls for now. Before heading out, Frisk approached Sans.

"hm? what is it, kiddo?" he asked curiously. Frisk just gestured to Flowey at the counter. "ah, don't worry 'bout it. the flower won't leave my sight." His eye flashed briefly, making the ex-prince flinch under his gaze.

Frisk merely gave him a thumbs up and a smile before going out.

As for Stan's group…

"Hey, Mr. Pines!" Soos greeted from the door.

"Yo, boss! How's it going?" a female voice greeted from behind the handyman.

Dipper visibly perked up at the sound of that voice.

"Wendy?!"

She peeked her head from behind Soos and waved at the twins.

"Dipper, Mabel! So good to see you're back in town!" Soos let her pass and the mystery twins went to hug her. "Oh! By the way…" she snatched the hat Dipper was wearing and exchanged it for the famous Pine Tree hat. "I figured you'd want that back." She winked at him.

"Haha yeah, thanks!" he smiled awkwardly and blushed (a sight some of the people in the room could easily notice). "How have you been?"

"Ah, you know, the usual." She conversed casually. "Dad's still being a paranoid mess after last year, but I can't really blame him for that." She smiled.

"Yeah, can't blame him either…" Dipper mumbled. "I still have nightmares about that…" a hand ruffled his hair from under his cap.

"Hey, chill out, dude!" Wendy cheered. "You, Mabel and the Stans came back, so let's celebrate that!"

"Uh yeah, about that…" Stan interjected. "You see, there's been some changes around here… pretty big ones, so I suggest you prepare for that –both of you; I don't want anyone fainting right now."

"Alright, don't worry." Wendy chuckled. "Well, what do you want us to see?"

The Pines exchanged nervous glances at each other and gestured to follow them upstairs.

Wendy's and Soos' jaws dropped with the sight of peculiar monsters just hanging out in the twins' room.

A goat woman stroking a golden flower's petal –let's not forget to mention the flower had a face and seemed to enjoy the treatment-; also, a reptile lady twiddling her thumbs and talking with a pair of skeletons. They all stopped what they were doing to glance at their new guests.

"Uh…" was all the red-head could utter. "Hi…?" she lifted her hand in a hesitant greeting.

…

"GREETINGS, TALLER HUMANS!" said first the tall skeleton, making the shorter one chuckle and the goat lady smile. "I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND IT'S AN ALSO GREAT PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!"

"Yea, uh, same to you." Wendy replied, already getting used to his energetic and loud personality. "Name's Wendy, by the way."

"Hi, I'm Soos!" the man in question said. "Hey, is this the time where one of us faints? 'Cause I'm so into that idea, dudes." He asked, soon going with that idea and falling backwards.

"… U-uhm… i-is he going to b-be okay?" the scientist asked worriedly.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." The teen dismissed.

"Soos is always fine with that!" Mabel agreed.

Once Soos woke up and introductions were made, both him and Wendy were quite hyped at the situation.

"Wow, this is so cool!" the Corduroy girl breathe.

"Yeah, dudes!" Soos said as well. "I should really start writing a story about this…" he murmured to himself.

"Anyway, they had decided to stay up here until closing hour." Stan said.

"AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL DO MY BEST TO GREET NEW FRIENDS AT THE DOOR!" Papyrus exclaimed, earning a proud and quite happy look from his brother.

"Alright, enough chit-chat! The tourists will arrive at any minute now, so we need to get everything ready." Stan informed and walked out of the room.

"Well, I gotta restock some of the merchandise downstairs. Later, dudes!" Soos said, going after Stan.

"We'll talk later, okay?" Wendy ruffled the twins' hair and went downstairs as well.

"DO NOT WORRY, HUMANS! I'M COMING TOO!" Papyrus announced and was the last one to leave the room.

…

"Soooo…" Dipper trailed off.

"Who wants to take a look at my scrapbook?!" Mabel said.

"I would love that, my child." Toriel smiled.

"I-I don't see w-why not…" stuttered Alphys.

Sans just shrugged and Flowey grumbled something under his breath.

"Yay! Okay, just come over here and I'll be the best narrator ever!" Mabel exclaimed and Waddles oinked with her. "Aw, of course you agree, Waddles!" she hugged her pig and started her narration of their first summer in Gravity Falls.

Of course, Mabel only talked about her special moments of the summer. Because of that, some questions arose about some pictures and notes on the last pages.

"hey, kiddo…" Sans spoke for the first time in those few hours. "what's that yellow thing you drew?" he pointed to the yellow figure in a sloppy drawing of her and her brother fighting that thing. Sans didn't miss the way they both stiffened.

"Uh… that's…" she nervously glanced at her brother, a silent question to which he spoke out loud.

"That's Bill." He answered seriously. "Some sort of demon we encountered last year. He had messed with our family quite a few times just last summer and almost brought the end of the world with him." His fists clenched.

"Thankfully, our grunkles thought of a way to stop him before it was too late!" Mabel interjected before things went even darker. "Anyways, he's long gone now, so there's no need to worry about him!"

"Yeah. It's just…" Dipper looked off to the side, already feeling uncomfortable. "It's a topic I would rather not talk about so, let's just leave it at that, okay?" he cracked a smile.

'huh… "long gone" they say?' Sans let out a breath. "good to know. honestly, i couldn't even begin to hypotenuse what would happen if things turned a whole new triangle in our lives as it is." He joked. Dipper cringed, Flowey deadpanned and the others laughed at the puns.

Meanwhile, downstairs...

Toriel's laughter boomed throughout the entire shack, scaring some customers downstairs.

"Mommy, what was that?" a scared kid asked.

"I don't know, sweetie." The mother answered, equally scared. "Let's get out of here."

Papyrus saw the two of them leave. After some thinking, he knew just who was responsible for all that racket.

"Grr… SANS, STOP PLAGGING THESE HUMANS' LIVES WITH YOUR INCIDENTAL PUNS!"

"sorry bro!" came from upstairs.

'OF COURSE HE'S NOT SORRY, THAT LAZYBONES…' Papyrus thought and continued with his new job.

When the sunset came around, it was time to close the shop. Everyone came downstairs to join the workers and bid Wendy and Soos goodbye. Poor Papyrus sat tired in a chair.

"WOWIE, MY LEGS ARE HURTING." He sighed and then perked up. "THAT MUST MEAN I'M REALLY GOOD AT MY NEW JOB!"

"heh, 'ya did a great job, paps. i'm proud of 'ya, you deserve a break right now." Sans said in complete honesty. No one missed the way his eyesockets lit up and how his smile looked less forced when he looked up to his brother.

Dipper saw this exchange and smiled. At first, he had been really wary of each and every monster staying here; but over last night's slumber party and the time they spent together today, he decided it wouldn't hurt too much to give them all a chance.

"Hiya, punks! We're back!" came the loud voice of Undyne at the door. Ford opened the door and let her, Frisk and himself inside.

"Undyne!" Alphys went to receive her with a hug. "Y-you're all back." She noticed there was someone missing. "H-hey, where's Asgore?"

"We transported him to Mt. Ebott." Ford answered. "He wanted to get there as soon as possible and give the rest of your people the good news."

"Good news?" Toriel asked. "Does that mean…"

"The Mayor says you're all welcome here!" Frisk ran to their mom and hugged her excitedly.

"WOWIE! HE REALLY SAID THAT?" Papyrus' sockets shone with happiness.

"Yeah! He was a really nice guy; he listened to our full story and we came up with an agreement of sorts!" Undyne grinned.

"Tomorrow, Mayor Tyler will hold a meeting to introduce the monster race to the townsfolk; there, we will discuss job offers and the possibility of building a whole new residential area for your people." Ford explained.

"Why, these are wonderful news!" Toriel expressed.

"Y-yeah." Alphys stuttered, a small smile on her face. "Until w-we figure out what to do with t-the barrier surrounding the town, it w-would be nice to get settled h-here and get along with t-the residents."

"NYEEEHEHEH, WE WILL MAKE LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS!" Papyrus almost squealed, eyesockets glinting with innocent glee. "ISN'T THIS GREAT, BROTHER?"

"huh?" Sans snapped out of his thoughts. "yeah, it's pretty cool." He admitted absent-mindedly.

"This is amazing! Think of all the cool stuff we'll do together now that you're staying in town!" Mabel excitedly rambled on and on about all the things they could do. Everyone else just listened to her, smiling and laughing while they did.

Frisk let out a laugh when they noticed from the corner of their eye that Sans was being awfully quiet.

"hm?" Sans snapped out of his sleepy trance at the feeling of something tugging at his sleeve. He looked down to see Frisk with a troubled expression. "what'up, kid?"

"Are you okay?" they asked quietly.

"heh, sure i am, buddy. don't worry 'bout it." he answered, ruffling the human's hair and grinning when they heard a groan of displeasure as the child tried to comb it back to its original state. "hey, why don't you go play with papy? i heard he had some new puzzle to show you." Frisk hesitated before hugging him and running to the younger skeleton.

Sans looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Once he decided it was safe to do it, he teleported away.

Pop! He appeared over the couch at the front porch. He sighed and got himself more comfortable, enjoying the distant sounds of the birds chirping and the tranquility it brought. His eyes glanced upwards at the darkening sky; the sunlight was still visible from his spot, but above the orange lining the horizon, stars were sneaking out one by one in the deep blue.

Sans took in the sight and let out a breath in bliss. "How can anyone take this sight for granted? Certainly beats the underground's rocky ceiling…" he smiled for a moment before his grin faded. Last night's event still circling his mind.

"Nice to finally meet you, Sans! The name's Bill Cipher, and I'm sure we'll get along just fine!"

"uh…" Sans was at a loss of words right now. 'what is this thing even supposed to be?! this is no regular monster, that i know…' His mental musing was cut short by that thing –Bill- clearing his throat ('does he even have a throat?... then again, i can do that too…').

"Look, pal, I don't really have much time." The triangular creature said, rubbing his eye in an annoyed manner. "I just came here to have a little chat with you, so let's not waste any second!... and to answer your mental questions: I am a dream demon, and no I don't have a throat, but a being of pure energy like myself can do lots of things." He added, putting an emphasis at the word 'lots'.

"ooookay then… what did 'ya wanna talk about?" he asked, straight to the point. His sockets narrowed at the mischievous aura that demon was giving off.

"Now I have your attention! Good." Bill smiled (or at least it appeared so, by the way his eye curved…). "You see, this plane is called the Mindscape. You could say it's a place where everyone's minds connect without really interfering with each other; a physical landscape of the mind, in simpler words." Bill explained, gesturing to their surroundings. "This place is your mind –or well, just a part of it anyway."

Sans soaked in this information. "ok, i kind of understand what you're saying…" his sockets looked at the visitor with suspicion. "but if that's the case, what are you doing in my mind?"

"Geesh, kid, relax!" he held up his hands. "I told you, I'm a dream demon; that means I can roam this plane of existence freely." He said, eye and voice taking a darker and more serious tone. "Thing is… I used to be stronger. I had more power than anyone else; so much power, I could actually get out of this place and move around your world!" Bill was starting to turn red from anger, but he somehow controlled it. "But someone tricked me and now I'm too weak."

"i still don't see why you would've come here, buddy." Sans was getting tired of this guy. He didn't like the way his personality seemed to shift so swiftly from happy, to angry, and now back to being 'friendly'. And oh he certainly didn't like the way this thing's soul radiated darkness.

"You see, I'm really weak right now. I need to find a way to get my strength back and as I was going from dream to dream, I thought you would be the perfect guy for the job!" Bill gestured to the skeleton standing before him.

"So what do you say, Sans? You help me and I'll give you anything you want in return!" he extended an arm towards him, his hand lit up in blue flames. "Do we have a deal?" the demon's voice seemed to echo around the hall.

Sans stared at Bill's eye, then he glanced at the extended hand and back at its owner.

"heh. sorry, buddy; but i have no reason to make a deal with ya." Sans denied the offer.

"WHAT?! How can you say something like that?!" Bill shouted. "There has to be something, anything! Don't you want money, fame, infinite knowledge?!" he rambled angrily, his yellow form turning an angry red.

"i have everything i could ever ask for." He admitted. "besides…" his sockets turned completely black. "who's to say you won't try going back on our deal once my part is done? and i just can't trust powerful beings that are dead-set on striking a deal in someone's mind."

"You…" Bill suddenly growled. "You IDIOT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT'S BEEN FOR ME TO FIND A SUITABLE MIND TO INVADE?!" he snapped his fingers and everything around them turned white. "You know what? Fine, have it your way! But when you're ready, I'll come back for you." He warned.

"if you try anything funny on me or my friends, you really won't like what happens next…" Sans said, eye flashing blue from his left socket.

Bill laughed. "Hahaha! We'll see about that, Chuckles…" Bill mentally smirked when he saw Sans flinch at the nickname. "I'll be watching you-" his voice got deep. "ALL OF YOU."

Bill floated backwards to the exit.

"And remember: reality is a game! The universe is a save file! Send Temmie to college! Byyeeee~!" and just like that, the triangle flashed out of existence and Sans woke up.

"so the kids dealt with that guy before, huh?" he mused. "whatever they did to get rid of him didn't really work so well, if last night was anything to go by…" he frowned. "i need to talk with them about this; but later, once everything and everyone has settled in…" he sighed and closed his sockets, slowly slipping into a dreamless sleep.

'it'll be different this time. everything'll be alright and i won't let anything happen to any of them; not this time.'

Finally got a chance to write that line (Bill's)... I regret nothing.

Next Chapter:

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