Sans is careful in his approach to this situation. The coffee machine grinds on idly in the background, churning with noise, as his fingertips tap against the counter. He can see the fluttering of grass on the hillside as he pours creamer into one cup.

Technically, Sans didn't have to let her in. This wasn't an investigation, that much was clear. There would have been more cops and a flashy warrant if someone had been suspicious.

But she's here for questions. Which means that it's something Sans was involved in.

"Sugar? Milk?"

The woman at the table shakes her head gently, not even flinching at his sudden voice. Damn it. She's alert. Surprise attacks won't hold much of a surprise.

She's got a gun in her holster as well.

"Sorry for the uh... urgency earlier," Sans apologizes briefly, sitting down across from her. He folds his hands neatly onto the table, calm and reassured, but a little nervous. He can't play too calmly with her. Not yet. "We have a newborn, and we're keeping him away from strangers for the next few weeks since there's a bunch of viruses running about."

"Of course, I don't blame you at all," Mrs. Harles, with a flick of her wrist, gathers her coffee. Sans debates the pros and cons of poisoning it, but she had been watching.

Where is his nine-foot-tall serial killer clown when he fucking needs him?

"Okay, I know - I know I'm a monster, but I swear - whatever it is, it's... probably not as bad as some of the neighbors may have made it seem..."

The woman blinks. "Oh, no, it's - it has nothing to do with any of your actions!" The woman waves a hand to placate him. "Not at all. I'm just asking you a few questions regarding someone you know."

Sans pretends to sag into his seat with relief, exhaling a breath. "Oh, thank fuck - sorry, I just... new neighborhood and they aren't always... nice. To monsters."

"It's perfectly fine, I should've stated my intentions earlier. Sorry to make you panic."

Is Sans playing the species card? Yes. Because he needed a reason, or else his head was going to explode from stress. Cole was born fucking three days ago, and Bean is still less than a year old. This was absolutely the worst time for the police to become suspicious.

Why is she here? What has Sans done or been involved with that caught their radar?

They should be fine, though. All of the CreepyPasta living with him hadn't been as active recently, to the point where they weren't on the priority list anymore. Which meant fewer people would know them on sight.

Even with that in the back of his mind, he had motioned for Jane to go upstairs with Sally. Just in case.

"Just - yeah, if there's a next time, please keep me up to date on intentions, I - I was so worried," Sans coughs out. He stirs his coffee lightly. Whatever gem of a monster-made ketchup-flavored creamer, he wants to hug them. It's beautiful.

The woman's expression softened. "I'm actually here about the human ambassador. Frisk Dreemurr."

Sans' soul drops at those words.

"I know this is probably sudden and rude, but due to the role that child had, I couldn't put off questioning any further. I'm sorry for your loss."

His... what?

Sans pauses, his coffee cup of ketchup creamer and several expresso shots inches away him his skull. And for a moment, all is still. He can hear the slight shuffling of Eyeless Jack up in his room.

Sorry for your loss.

"My what?" Sans asks.

The woman blinks. "Oh, did you not... hear? I suppose it's been out of the news since it's still recent, but..."

She tugs out her phone from her black pants pocket, and Sans runs through everything he's ever known about facts throughout the history of his life. Puns are funny, the sky is blue, ketchup is good, and Frisk doesn't die.

The phone, an older model, slides across the table.

And a simple report stares back at Sans.

Frisk Dreemurr.

Deceased.

Sans isn't sure what to do. He stares, blankly and a bit numb, towards the screen. At the name. He almost can't - no, he simply can't believe it.

Frisk. The person who tortured him for years. The child that slaughtered his entire race, that slaughtered him. The child repeated time in a constant loop just because they could. Who only finally gave up just as Sans was on the verge of questioning if life was worth it or not.

Frisk. The child that just didn't die. Was dead.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I uh... I honestly haven't been in contact with them for about a year now," Sans says awkwardly. He shifts in his seat, eye lights flickering between the phone and his coffee cup.

This isn't real.

Unless it wasn't actually real.

Sans blinks, before straightening in his chair. Right. He should've known better. Frisk wasn't above faking their death just to get his attention. Just to get near him. He should've fucking known.

"I am aware of that, but we're still questioning everyone who was involved with them when they had released monsters, and you were one of the seven present," She hums out. The woman is keeping her voice steady as she pulls out a small, neat compact notebook from her pocket and flicks it open to the first page. A black ink pen finds its way into her hand from her chest pocket. "Can you explain what you knew about Frisk?"

"Uh..." Sans blinks. "Determined."

"How so?"

He wants to scream and slap her. Instead, he heaves a breath.

"The kid was... weird, I'd say," Sans explains. "Had to butt their way into everything, couldn't let go of anything without answers. It was good Underground, I guess." The lie tasted filthy. Sans quickly downed another sip of ketchup. "But above the surface, it got more, eh... toxic, I assume would be the right word?"

"Can you elaborate?" Her wrist moved as she wrote.

"They fucking had to know shit. Couldn't settle down at one home and bounced around a lot. They were... I never liked them, honestly. I mean, the kid was decent, I guess - they saved monster kind. But I think they did so just because they could instead of wanting to. If you get what I'm saying. Frisk is - eh... always was like that. I mean, they literally broke into my room Underground."

It should be fine, to tell the truth. Sans doesn't care anymore. If Frisk resets - well, he had his friends now. They didn't have power over him. Not fucking anymore.

There's no hesitation as the woman shoots out the next question. "And can you explain why they visited your house a few months ago, and why you moved shortly after?"

Fuck. They knew.

It made sense. Frisk was probably seen on public transportation getting to Sans' house. The police could put the two events together.

Sans scratches the side of his skull, averting his gaze. "I... that's a bit of a story."

She smiles. "I have time."

Well, it's a good thing Sans has planned for this. That excuses were easy when you knew what to make up, what to observe. And so, his excuse he's had on the back burner for months comes forward.

"If you saw the news almost around a year back, there was a murder at the school I was subbing at. I already got cleared as innocent, but... but fuck, you know, my friends and family were all weird about it. It was so fucking toxic, they all downplayed my trauma and just seemed annoyed I needed attention. I started pulling away when they became iffy if that makes sense. I mean, what kind of friend group acts like that when I just witnessed a murder?"

She watches him carefully, more so intrigued than anything else. "The murder of Olivia Wells, correct?"

She knew. She fucking looked his file up before coming here.

Why the hell was she questioning so intently about Frisk, anyways? Frisk just faked their death. If she can't find the body, why the hell would she be asking Sans of all people? Maybe she thought that Frisk was hiding with Sans?

"Yeah."

"And how did everyone act?"

"Shitty. I just... it was an eye-opener, I guess. They excluded me from trips but expected me to keep doing them favors. Talked shit behind my back. That sort of thing. So we started drifting apart. I was never really that close to Frisk, Frisk was just sorta Tori's kid, so I just played nice for her, ya know? And when I drifted apart I didn't really keep in touch with them."

It's weird, explaining it now. Sans realized that it didn't really matter. What felt like a death sentence before now was just history. Over and done. Bothersome to relive, but he's so distant from it now.

"So - uh, I'm sure you know about this, but the building collapsing thing - I was trapped inside and my brother ditched me when we were meeting there to resolve our differences. After that, I completely jumped ship with that entire group and moved away. I thought I was far enough, but -"

"Frisk visited you," The woman interrupts.

Sans nods. "Yeah. That's why they came, they wanted me to rejoin the group - the thing is, the kid just didn't like 'the gang' not being together. At least, I think so. I kinda slammed the door in their face and moved once I realized they found out where I lived - but fucking hell, can you blame me? The kid stalked me to find my address! And I have three kids I have to watch out for. And one of them, Sally, met them one time and they ruined her stuffed bear. The same one she bought for the adoption process trial. I'm not going to let someone who stalks me, ruins important memorabilia, and who is part of a group that ostracized me anywhere near my family. My kids come first."

Wherever the hell Frisk was hiding, they were probably going to find out about this. But Sans didn't care. They knew he didn't like them. They could just deal with it. Sans wasn't going to hold back punches for this.

"So yeah, I didn't really ever like the kid. But... it was just an avoidance dislike, ya know? It's why I skipped town - I mean, I didn't like them, but I wouldn't... that's too far."

If Frisk is trying to frame Sans for murder, he's going to fucking kill them.

"Thank you, this helps," The woman says. She flips the notebook to the next page and looks up at Sans. Fuck, more questions? "Do you know anyone Frisk may have had a... grudge against at all? Or anyone who would've wanted them gone?"

"Uh... nah. I mean, some of us didn't like them - me included, but they freed us, so all of us kinda owed them a debt. It's why I didn't report them for stalking or harassment at all, and instead just moved. The most I could say is that they probably got into something they shouldn't have. Frisk was... always like that, I guess. They had this intense need to get involved in shit - dangerous shit. I wouldn't be surprised if they just got kidnapped by some gang or something, and their body was in some ditch somewhere."

The woman shakes her head softly. "That's not what happened."

Sans pauses. "Can... can yer tell me? What happened to Frisk...?"

There's a hesitation in the air. And then, she speaks. Sans sees her lips moving before he hears the words.

"We're asking about relationships due to how Frisk was... found. They were clearly targeted since Toriel was at home at the time and wasn't woken up - and... their organs were removed."

Sans felt his hands go both cold and sweaty at once. For a second, he couldn't breathe.

"We're doing an autopsy..."

The rest of the words were static. Fuck. Frisk was actually gone. Dead. For real. Sans just thought they were presumed dead, that they managed to fake... they were fucking dead. For real.

And their organs were removed.

"... believed to be an attacked based off of some hatred, either for representing monsters or for a personal relationship..."

Laughing fucking Jack was gone from home two days ago with Sally.

They've been whispering to one another. Even though Jack has been there with Cole, he's been weirdly distracted.

Laughing Jack would kill Frisk if given the chance.

"Sorry, this is just... it's news, especially after what happened to poor Olivia, ah..." Sans chokes out. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

Despite the clammy feeling in his chest, he was somehow still fighting down a smile and a nervous laugh.

"Of course, I'm sorry - I may have overstepped by sharing that information." The woman across from him slightly bowed. "Due to the nature of the murder, we've been questioning everyone who had a closer involvement to them. I know this is a bit presumptuous and rude, but may I ask where you were two days ago?"

"My kid was born. Cole Font. You can check his certificate. I was in the hospital most of the morning, then went home. I was with him all day."

Laughing Jack and Sally made sure he had an alibi.

More writing. "That makes sense. That'll probably prove you in the clear, since skeletons are the ones who do soul birth, right?"

"Yeah. The soul birth should be on the certificate as well. Since soul births usually have them born a bit more developed than normal births."

Sans can feel his blood pounding in his bones as he bids the woman goodbye with a coffee to go. He stands at the front door, watching her drive away, with a distant, almost foggy mind.

Frisk Dreemurr was dead.

Frisk. The resetter. Who made his life hell.

Was dead. And they weren't coming back, because if they could, they would have.

It's over. It's done, Sans isn't... he's never going back again.

When Jane comes downstairs, she finds Sans onto his third cup of monster alcohol, chugging it down with nervous pacing around the kitchen. When she asks how he's doing, he shoots her a shaking thumbs up.

___

The news is posted on the fifth day of that week. Frisk, the ambassador of monsters, was found dead in their home after going to bed early from a headache. Toriel had found them the next morning. Their organs were torn to shreds from their body, with stab wounds along all nerve points in their limbs - specifically their wrists and achilles heel. Torture before death was suspected.

The media is in an uproar over the news. Constant channels going over what may have happened to the poor, sweet child who saved monster kind. Frisk died a hero. Sans hates that. But what else can he do?

Laughing Jack and Sally looked nervous after the news had been revealed to Sans. Both avoided his gaze. Frankly, he's not too surprised that it's Sally and Jack who got up to this. They were both obsessive over him due to abandonment they'd both faced in the past, and both already had a severe dislike of resets and Frisk separately before they realized just how much both had hurt Sans.

Frisk is dead.

It's weird. The words feel wrong, despite how many news articles were repeating those stagnant words. Frisk was gone, and that was that. Sans' tormentor, gone in a snap.

He busies himself with Cole and Bean, with Jane and Jack and Toby. To doing Sally's hair, helping recipes with Jeff, to checking in on Helen whenever he was painting or tending to that one plant he's had for a while now.

Sans isn't quite sure whether he should thank the two or not. He decides to ground Sally for a night for leaving the house without telling him, but the issue of killing Frisk still stands in the air.

On one hand, Sans is extremely grateful. Frisk is gone. Frisk can't hurt him or anyone he cares about anymore. Out of the entire world, Frisk was no doubt the biggest threat to his current lifestyle. The kid would investigate with resets in their corner and would pry until Sans and everyone he cared about was arrested. And this meant that Frisk couldn't reset any more. They would have if they could. Frisk wasn't someone to give up. Sans never has to worry about the brat anymore. It's a weight off of his shoulders.

On the other hand, Frisk couldn't reset. Which meant that it was someone new. Someone Sans doesn't know, and has no influence over. That can be a problem later down the line if they go reset happy. So far it looks like they haven't touched the button. And, of course, killing Frisk has now thrown the entire world into dismay and chaos. Frisk was the monster representative. Arguably more important than the King himself. Frisk was the one who freed monsters. And it wasn't an accident. It was a slaughter that took them. One that was very CreepyPasta-like.

Humans would blame monsters, and monsters would blame humans. If it gets bad, then the risk of another war may be on the horizon. There's also the risk that Sally may have left behind DNA since she's now officially in the system due to her adoption. And what if they were spotted?

The biggest risk was the fact that the police were now already aware of Sans. He was on their radar. Despite not having spoken to the kid in about a year, he was still questioned about them. He'd have to keep his head low for the foreseeable future. He's lucky the two decided to kill the brat on Cole's birthday.

And that was another thing. On the day of his son's birth, they fucking went and left for a trip to go kill Frisk. Seriously? Couldn't have put it off? It was Sally's nephew (technically), and Laughing Jack's kid (technically)! He knew biology in this household meant jack shit when it came to family, considering how many of these fuckers he's adopted, but still. He was rather upset about that for the rest of the day when he realized. Seeing that the two were actively participating in Cole's care helped ease his anger, though. Probably just poor timing considering when the resets conversation took place and when Cole was born.

He needs to move. Stat. They aren't in a good place at that particular moment for everything that's happened. Unfortunately, there weren't many houses that suited their needs. The available houses on the market either had too few rooms, were in closely packed neighborhoods, or just were too expensive for Sans to believably buy them. Or, of course, they were out of the country. But Sans couldn't cross borders with everyone else believably. Ben and Smile Dog could only do so much to fake passports.

So, for now, it was the waiting game.

Even with the mental turmoil, Sans thanks Laughing Jack and Sally for what they did. As much as it threw the world into chaos, well, it's a good thing. Frisk would always be a threat to Sans as long as they lived. And with Frisk gone, it meant that his old friends would be extremely busy with their personal lives. So he does thank them, and owes them the gratitude he holds, even if it is tainted by circumstances and doubts.

Frisk's death is a wildfire upon the community. Sans mostly keeps his head down, quiet yet listening. People gossip. Mostly, everyone is paranoid about who killed Frisk. There haven't been any active serial killers within miles that killed in that particular way, and there haven't been any kills since. People were suspicious, talking in hushed whispers. Everyone was pointing blame at one another.

Sans keeps busy with Cole. Cole, as it turns out, is a crier. Who thinks sleep is unnecessary. It's become a trend for Sans and Jane to roll out of bed when he starts sobbing to rock him back to sleep if Laughing Jack isn't too busy with Bean, who needs no sleep herself. Sometimes they have to tire him out by ticking his cheeks and making him swat them away. And, of course, they have to keep Bean away from him for the time being. She just keeps trying to headbutt the poor kid for no reason other than she could. Maybe because he was the first thing she's seen that was living and smaller than her?

At least she isn't trying to rip off his head like she does to her dolls.

Sans checks in with Asgore at the end of the week. He's doing fine and gushes over the baby picture Sans sent him. He isn't allowed over yet, though, because human babies were at severe risk with low immune systems. So everyone had to wash their hands thoroughly before touching him, and no new people were in the house for the next couple of weeks. Not that Sans would be inviting over many people anyways.

Asgore mentions the funeral date. Honestly, the big guy is taking the news and pressure of the lost monster ambassador pretty well. It's definitely thrown his schedule for a loop, but he's honestly kind of relieved Frisk is gone.

"Not that - I'd never wish anyone dead," Asgore clarifies over the phone, his voice rushed to deliver that sentient. "I just... it's a human representing monsters. It's conflicting, in a way. Especially since they were a child, and one who acted... strangely? I respected Frisk, of course, but even when Toriel and I got back together briefly, they never were my child, if that makes sense."

"Yeah. It does."

The funeral preparations begin at the end of the second week, with Asgore and Toriel running it due to their respective roles in Frisk's life. Asgore, apparently, has to put his foot down for a lot of things. Sans asks him to not fully divulge any drama - and the King doesn't - but he does throw in some small stories here and there. Toriel is a mess. Papyrus had to get shipped off to mandatory therapy because he's been in shambles. And Undyne threw herself into work trying to find the culprit. Apparently, she's been driving herself into circles trying to hunt them down.

Yeah, she wasn't going to find them. Sans himself has an alibi, since he was actually in the hospital for a second visit during the time of death, and was caught on camera during the presumed time of murder. No wonder Sans hadn't noticed how long Laughing Jack and Sally had been gone. They timed it for a time when they couldn't be with Sans or Jane anyways.

In the third week, a date is secure for both funerals. One massive public one, and a smaller, more private one for friends and family. The smaller one would have an open casket. The public one would not. The body wouldn't even be at the public one, since it would've been buried beforehand.

Sans gets an invitation to both. Asgore is clear that he doesn't have to attend either, but he does give Sans a list of attendees. Of course, everyone he expects to appear is coming. Along with some kids Frisk had been friends with. Some humans they must've met on the surface and gotten close to.

Sans kind of wants to go. If not for the sole purpose of making sure it was Frisk in there. This still didn't feel real. Even though they had a body. It just felt so... wrong. Frisk just didn't die. That was the rule. Yet, here they were.

And, of course, there was the small inkling that if Frisk couldn't reset anymore, and that someone else now has stronger determination. And that's a terrifying thought.