#goops-art

“mornin' bro,” Sans mumbled as he trotted down the stairs. He winced at the bright lights filtering in through the front windows, freezing as he reached the ground floor and the realization hit him. His eyelights lifted, flitting over the windows and the room he was in. He wasn't... underground? When he went to bed the night before, he'd just gotten back from one of his posts. What was going on?

This house was larger than their home underground, evidenced by the huge living room. A large television set hung from the wall, a small open-faced cabinet for gaming consoles underneath. Stands for movies and games were on the left and right respectively. The couch was huge and fluffy, he could practically see the pressed down section where he would normally spend most of his time. There was even a nice, glass coffee table with matching stands to go with it. Everything was... so neat and clean. The few plants dotted about were well taken care of, flourishing; even a cactus in one of the windowsills was flowering.

That was when he focused on the walls. On top of a few decorations, there were a multitude of picture frames. The first set he glanced at seemed to be of his friends. Some of them had Alphys and Undyne looking the happiest they'd ever been; there was even one of their wedding! A wedding he didn’t remember happening! There was another picture, one of Asgore and Toriel, Frisk between them, that caught his eye as well, especially considering how happy they all looked. But..., there were none with Papyrus; rather, there were none of either of them.

He moved further down the wall, looking over a shelf. There were a few knick knacks on it, including a set of newton balls and one of those 'hovering' things created using magnets. Most notably, however, were the photos. While none of them had Pap, there were a few with him and... another monster? The other monster was purple and rather... goopy in nature, for lack of a better term. It seemed like he and this monster got along pretty well; in every picture, the two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Frowning, Sans poked at the newton balls and walked over to the window, glancing out. The yard was gorgeous, with immaculately cared for gardens and a beautiful cobblestone pathway. The attention to detail was amazing, something he would have only thought possible from his brother. Which meant Papyrus had to be in the house, somewhere. The porch just outside was made of wood, including a swing that hung and swayed in the breeze. Everything seemed too serene... where was Pap?

Sans turned on his heel, nearly taking a shortcut up the stairs in his rush. The top of the staircase opened into a hallway, with part of the wall being replaced by a bannister that overlooked the living room. The first door he checked, first one on his left, was a laundry room, the washer and dryer both running. He glanced around, hoping to find a loose scarf or battle body, but found nothing that he could relate it to his brother. Feeling a shiver force its way down his spine, he checked the other door on the right. It appeared to be an office of sorts, and it was divided in two zones: one side had his unique brand of messiness all over the place, the walls and desk covered with papers. Various equations were scribbled on almost every one of them with his distinct handwriting. The heavy-duty computer that took up most of his desk was covered in sticky notes, and he counted three mugs, each with their own pun written on it. In contrast, the other side of the room was much cleaner, though still messy in its own way. The same type of computer took up a large portion of that other desk, though more interesting was the drawing tablet. On a small cabinet organizer to the left of the desk sat a sketchbook. Through the clear drawers he could see a multitude of drawing supplies.

That definitely wasn't Papyrus' desk.

Sans shut the door, taking off down the hall in the other direction. There were three rooms there, and he started with the first on the left. That one was clearly his, and he could vaguely remember waking up in there. There was his self sustaining trash tornado in one corner, though the rest of the room was cleaner than he usually kept it. An empty hamper sat just inside his door, a single sock sitting beside it. His bed was raised, no longer a single mattress on the ground. The sheets and blanket were clearly washed recently, though they were messy from him waking up just a little while ago. A bookshelf beside his dresser stared back at him, the titles all things he knew were ones he'd enjoy. Joke books took up the entire top shelf, and science books took up the bottom two. The remaining two shelves had everything from novels to comics to other types of textbooks. There was even another desk in the room with what he guessed was a personal laptop. Frowning, he shut the door and turned to the other room on the left.

He was greeted with another bedroom, this one slightly larger and, judging by the door on the right wall, with its own personal bathroom. The bed was a bit bigger than his as well, though this one had clearly been made. There were more pictures in here, mostly of that goop monster with his friends and several with him. There was a bookshelf in here as well, though this one had less textbooks and more sketchbooks. The desk here had a laptop and several cans of drawing supplies. A laptop bag hung from the chair, several buttons pinned to the strap. On the other end of the room, next to a closet was the dresser with a few small boxes and a stack of clean clothes on top. At the very least, this was the room of that purple monster..., but what did that mean for him? Why was he living with a stranger? Well..., clearly they weren't strangers. There were pictures of the two of them plastered everywhere. Who was she?

Grinding his teeth, Sans shut the door and spun around to the only remaining door, practically tearing it open. His SOUL fell as an immaculate bathroom greeted him. It was clean, sure, and definitely to Papyrus' standards..., but where was his brother.

A beeping from downstairs caught his attention, and he suddenly realized that the goopy monster was probably in the house! He made his way downstairs slowly. He took one final glance around the living room, opening the door underneath the stairs and catching sight of lab equipment in the basement. Wincing, he passed an open door to a bathroom and through an archway into a kitchen. The purple monster from the photos was bustling around, a section of the goop on her head looking like it was about to fly off. She pulled a pair of oven mitts on, the edges of her sweatshirt disappearing underneath. Clearly unaware of his presence, she pulled out a tray of cookies, yellow eyes gleaming happily at the perfectly cooked confections. She set the tray to the side, turning her attention back to the spaghetti sauce bubbling on the stove. After stirring it, she grabbed another tray, this one with some sort of bread, and popped that in the oven. Once the timer was set, she spun around and nearly jumped out of her clothes.

“Sans!” She grinned at him, turning around and pulling open the fridge to grab a glass bottle of ketchup with a straw cap on top. “Morning lazybones. I finished the homemade ketchup this morning, so feel free to take a sip!” She set it down at the table, moving back to the marble counters to wipe some crumbs off and clean up a few spills. “And you really need to stop sneaking around everywhere. You're gonna give me a heart attack!”

The skeleton slipped onto one of the cushioned seats at the table, taking a sip of the ketchup. It was good, great even. Better than anything he'd had underground. And he told her that.

A chuckle escaped the goop monster. “Well, thanks. Considering all you've done for me, making ketchup and handling the cooking is the least I could do.” She grinned back at him as she moved the cookies to a cooling tray. “I'm almost finished the treats and food for your party tonight. And don't worry, I made sure you could have a lazy day when your actual birthday rolls around on Tuesday.”

“uh, yeah... right.”

The monster paused, hand halfway towards a bowl of cookie dough. “Sans? Are you alright?” She turned around, leaning against the counter. “You seem... off? You seemed really excited about the party when we were talking about it yesterday.”

Sans gripped the bottle tighter, taking in a big sip. “are... have... where's my brother?”

“Brother?”

“yeah, papyrus. my brother.”

The monster glanced to the side, tapping the counter. “Sans, you've never told me about a brother? You always said you were an only child.” She glanced back, tightening her grip on the counter at his disappeared eye lights.

“no, i remember having a brother. i... i know him. how... where else would these memories come from? i... i don't even know you!”

“You don't...?” she asked, eyes widening. “But... we've been housemates for years.” Taking in a shuddering breath, she stepped away from the counter and sat at the table with him. “I moved in about three years ago after Undyne found you passed out on the floor and everyone decided you needed someone to keep you alive. I needed somewhere to go, and you decided it was a win-win.” The goop monster rubbed a hand over her head, smoothing the balls that were trying to float away. “I work on my drawing to help with some income, and you take care of the rest in return for me making sure you're fed and getting proper sleep.”

“that's what pap does,” he argued back, voice weak and barely audible.

Sighing, the other monster leaned forward. “I hate to suggest this, but could it be one of those timeline anomalies you're always muttering about?” She fell back against her chair when his gaze shot to her. “From what little I understand, there could be a timeline where you're living with this brother, but this timeline could be one where he never even existed or something happened to stop him from being born.”

Sans blinked once, considering the implications. Seconds later, he remembered the equipment in the basement. He shot up from his seat, running through the house and ignoring the sound of his housemate calling after him in worry. Using his magic, he tore open the door to the basement and flew down the stairs. After nearly tripping at the bottom, he skidded to a stop and looked around. Scorch marks greeted him, metal shrapnel embedded into the wall, floor, and other pieces of equipment. In the center back of the room, he could see the remains of a machine. A familiar machine. One just like the one he had in his secret room in the Underground.