Chapter Text
Sans had finally graduated college, and now had his Masters in Quantum Physics and Astronomy. While the Astronomy major wouldn't have mattered down here in the Underground, he still dreamt of seeing the stars up on the surface and studying every inch of their glowing beauty. The first thing Sans did when he got home from his graduation was apply to a job listing as a scientific assistant, trying to make himself seem as qualified for the job as possible.
Wiping his brow when he finished, the short skeleton rad over his work, giving a tired smile at his accomplishment. Sending it off to the employer, with the application having been digital strangely enough. Now that it had been finished, Sans scooted the chair background, standing an stretching his limbs. It had taken him a good couple of hours to get that done, but now he could take the rest of the time he wanted to relax. Grabbing a bottle of ketchup and some fries he had sitting on his counter, the skeleton moved in front of his small tv to watch some science show that was playing at the moment. No more than an hour had passed before Sans got a notification on his phone, getting it out to stare at what had popped up. It couldn't be a text, since most of his few friends would be taking advantage of their now free lives.
What he saw brought the skeleton into a stupor, shocked at what he was seeing. He had only sent his application in a mere hour ago, and yet here he was with an email stating that the employer would be more than happy to schedule a phone call to solidify some information before he was hired. Scrambling up from the couch, the skeleton quickly went up the stairs to send a response email to figure out the best time for the call.
The next week Sans found himself hired, and on his way to his first day as a scientist, or an assistant to one. Becoming an actual scientist would need some more credentials that he didn't have just yet, but he would get there at some point. The ride to work was rather long, though he had known it would be in Hotlands. The Riverperson was as reliable as ever though, and managed to get there in a timely manner. Thanking them for the ride and paying the fare, Sans walked on his way to the lab, stopping in front of the massive building. He had always dreamed of working in such a place, and now he finally was able to.
Taking a deep breath in, Sans knocked on the door, having no key to let himself in. Within moments a yellow dinosaur-lizard woman answered the door. "O-oh, hello! Y-you must be S-Sans! Nice t-to finally meet you!" she said with a nervous smile, the electric door staying open as Alphys moved out of the way for Sans to enter. When he walked in, he was surprised by all the anime stuff that seemed to line the walls and sit on the desks. This must be her personal space here. "nice place you got here." he said with a smile. The dinosaur gave a soft chuckle, glad that she wasn't being judged for her interests. "W-well, we'll be going d-down the elevator on the other s-side of the room here to get to where w-we'll be working." she said, guiding Sans. After a little while, the duo reached the labs underneath Alphys's home, the place brightly lit and consisting of only a few rooms. While it was nothing like the Core, it was smaller scale and quite efficient-looking.
"so, this is where we're gonna work, huh?" the skeleton asked, putting on a lab coat. Alphys gave a nod, walking over to a couple of her mechanic projects. "Yep, t-this is." she said with a small smile. Sans could feel the excitement in his soul at finally having something to work on, something that could make a difference in the world. "well, let's get started then. i can't wait to see what it is that you're working on." he said, his permanent smile seeming wider than a few moments before.
Alphys ended up spending the rest of the day explaining her project to Sans, who eagerly listened, ready to help out with whatever her could to make things go easier. As the day came to a close, Alphys remembered something, perking up instantly as the thought came to mind. "O-oh! I n-nearly forgot! We need to t-travel to the Capital in a c-couple of days to talk to the k-king about f-funding for the projects." she said to him. Sans gave a nod, already expecting to get a few stares from the people. As far as he knew, he was the only skeleton in the Underground, and with his kind being so rare, it always resulted in monsters giving his looks of awe or surprise. After a little more talking and writing, the duo split off, Sans going home and Alphys going back to her house about.
The next day was spent making sure Alphys's machines worked according to her plan, and making sure they wouldn't break in the transport. Of course they had to prove them to the king himself to get grants for them, so hopefully they would perform well enough to get his approval. After spending hours running tests on the machines to make sure they were in the best shape they could be for the next day, Sans made his way home to pack while Alphys went back to her own living quarters to do the same. Upon arriving home, Sans made sure to bring everything he thought he would need, and even decided to bring a couple of his best Astronomy books to keep him busy at night.
Finally the day came where they would travel to the Capital. Using a robot Alphys had created to help with transport, the two left the labs with a cart containing the machines towards the largest city in the Underground. Gazing around at every corner, Sans gasped at all the tall buildings and the sounds. It was so busy there, the constant chatter of people in the air and the smell of food wafting from nearby restaurants invading his nasal cavity. He grinned, thinking about how much he would enjoy spending the next week there. After a little more walking, the two scientists arrived at the hotel they were staying at, checking in and bringing their machines up to their respective rooms. Of course, Asgore had given them a room in the castle to display their machines as well, wanting to make sure they had the space for it. Once they had situated their belongings in their rooms, Sans and Alphys took their projects to the castle to set them up.
Just as they got there, Sans realized that they had left their research papers back in their rooms, giving a groan. "i'll be back in a moment, alphys. i've got to go grab all the paperwork we need for this." he said, setting the objects he was carrying down on the table before he started speed-walking off. He eventually made it back to the hotel and hurriedly went up to both of their rooms, grabbing the paperwork from both before leaving again. With the giant stack that resulted in their combined work, he certainly wouldn't be able to hurry. As he walked, his gaze landed on something strange, something he never thought he would be able to see: another skeleton. This one was rather tall, and was covered from head to toe in armor. He must have been a guard or something. He had started slowing down in his walk as he admired the other skeleton, though it was soon that the other caught his gaze as he walked past. He too looked rather surprised to see someone looking at him, another skeleton. Sadly enough, both continued down their paths, the guard looking forwards once again after a moment and Sans stopping to watch as the other skeleton disappeared from view.
When he got back to the castle Sans hurried over to their room, quickly setting down the papers before glancing at the door. "hey alphys?" he asked, grabbing a sheet from the stack. "Y-yes Sans?" she asked, grabbing a paper herself and mulling over the notes to figure out what it went to. "i, uh, didn't know there was another skeleton in the capital, or in the underground in general..." he said, turning his head to look at a paper. Recognizing Alphys's handwriting, the skeleton handed it to her. Alphys looked over to him in shock, her eyes wide behind her large rounded glasses. "Y-You met the Royal S-Scientist?" she asked. Sans shook his head. "nah, i'm pretty sure he was a guard." he answered in reply. "w-wait, there are two skeletons in the capital!?" he asked, now the one that was surprised. He had already seen one skeleton other than himself, and he never would have guessed there would be another. "W-Well, you probably saw the R-Royal Scientist's son. He's in t-the guard." Sans was flabbergasted. How could he have gone so long without knowing there were more skeletons? It seemed absolutely inconceivable now that he thought about it. "why didn't you tell me this earlier?" he asked. Alphys just gave a shrug in response, busy with separating the paperwork. "Y-you never asked, and you started this week..." she responded.
Sans gave a sigh. Of course she was right. He had only been on the job a couple days now, so there really hadn't been a lot of time for him to ask questions for figure out much outside of their work. But now he had something more to look forwards to on his trip here. Hopefully he would run into the guard again, or the Royal Scientist, and he could ask more questions about his kind. The thought of seeing them excited him, and gave him determination to do his work here so he could explore faster. He had a skeleton to find.