Still frozen in fear of what might happen, I grabbed Papyrus' arm. With a quick move, I went to pull Pap back with me. He seemed to refuse fervently at that idea of leaving as he glared down at me. With a return glare, I eyed Undyne and then Frisk. He thought about it, or I thought he did. He shrugged and pulled out my grip to walk in. He almost yelled out to them, "Alphys! We have a few patients for you to look at!"
The same phrase returned to my skull, oh no. My body was devoid of magic for the time being, which was what I really hated right now. With a look down at the slightly chewed up flower, I sighed with a stance towards the back. I let Pap distract them as I looked at Flowey, "Hey… I know your not down for the count. Not yet. If this goes sideways, I need you to protect Frisk AND Chara." I emphasized that part as I think I saw him move a bit. Whether it was yes or screw off, I don't know yet.
Moving up with Papyrus before he got too close, I saw Undyne focused on the anime intently. Alphys had come around to check on Papyrus as she seemed confused. Her voice was the same stutter as always as it seemed to betray her widening fear at seeing a human, "U…Uh… Undyne, just finish watching the fight without me. I'll be right back up. Sh… Should only be a minute… Come with me to my lab. Undyne, p…p…please finish the episode. I'll be back up." Alphys was quick to motion us downstairs while the animatic fight scene distracted Undyne.
Undyne waved a hand seemingly entranced as the strange cat-like characters fought. She seemed to be watching but I think the proper word was studying. Was she trying to get tactics about fighting from an anime? Well it is Undyne, I thought crudely. She would study Frisk if she found out she was a viable sparring partner… Second thought, she might just kill her if she found out.
With a quick pace to follow, I pushed Papyrus along. Frisk smiled down to me with a small hint of concern. I gave her a small thumbs up as we followed Alphys. The corridors became greyer than before. She stopped, opening the door to an examination room for Frisk and a second for me. I moved to the second room as I saw Frisk move into the one room on her own. I still had the flower, somewhat unconscious in my hands. I think… The room was simple enough. A metal table that looked uncomfortable as hell, a desk, and a chair to go with it. This was a doctor's office alright. The wall even had an inspirational poster of a cat hanging on a tree branch, saying Hang On!
Papyrus moved to my room as he sat down on the chair to look at me. He still had questions but if I read him right, he didn't know how to ask them. So, I answered them before he could ask. With a slow rolling start, my voice seemed to edge on fear, "Papyrus. I know what you want to ask. I think I do… Why is Dad back? What happened to make me run or exhaust myself? Why is Frisk being stalked by a ghost… I can't answer them all, but I can try."
He seemed grateful as he waited to hear more. I think he was happy I was talking. I think I was happy I was talking. With a solemn tone, I spoke what I could without hiding anything, "Papyrus… She had done a few resets up to the point she started killing everyone. I don't think it was her will, but I don't know anymore. She didn't hurt any of us in the first three resets. Then all the sudden, she changed. When I saw her in the Judgement Hall, she was crying and begging to be forgiven after I'd beaten her multiple times. Of course, this is after dying several times in our fight that she fought viciously. I don't think she knew how to stop what she started."
"It was like the friend I knew was beginning to fade away from me the day I saw her leave the ruins like that. She was devoid of that smile or care she had before. She didn't try making friends at all. Each time she killed, I just fumed. Pap, after she killed you, I lost my mind. I waited and by then it got too bad. She was too strong. I probably would have lost eventually," each word flowed from me like a weight that was lifting the more I spoke. The release of the words made me feel a lot better about this situation. The fact he sat to listen was amazing.
Papyrus smiled and took my hand in his. He was trying as he seemed to take it all in slowly. Regardless, he was trying to keep up with it all. The part that confused me was that he just smiled at me with this accepting look I never expected, "Well… I can't say I understand it all, but I can try. And I get it!... Frisk may have gotten angry over Flowey, though I think it was for purely good reason." He looked aside as if debating his next words very carefully, "Sans… Did Dad seem afraid when Frisk fought back? Like he was seeing a ghost…"
While it made me happy to see Papyrus looking at all this practically, his thought bothered me. I wasn't paying attention to Dad, but Papyrus was. That had to mean something… Something was going on that I didn't seem to get. Confusion ebbed into my voice like a river, "I… Pap, I don't know. I was paying attention to Frisk. I never thought to look at Dad. Maybe we should ask him about this after the checkup. That way we can both stay informed about all this to figure it out together." I smiled to Papyrus, glad not to be alone about this anymore. Part of me still wondered if telling all these monsters anything would help though.
Alphys knocked on the door as she came in. It had interrupted the mood that had been there. She walked in nervously, "Sa…. Sans… The human is okay. She just needed some food and water. With some rest, she will be fine. What happened to y… you?" She was careful to sidestep the flower for now. I knew that Alphys knew about it. She knew the flower from before. Another question to be answered later, I guess…. These are building into a to-do list. I hate those.
I provided a smile as I looked between her and Pap. I sighed, "I don't know Alphys… That ghost you had to have seen with the kid… She helped me, and I passed out after… But Frisk coughed up blood… Something isn't panning out and I don't like it. I was told to come here by my Dad. He wants to know if I'm okay. I think." I was speaking but my mind was with Frisk and Dad now. I was trying to conjure what I saw but Dad wasn't in my field of view. My brain was on robot. I guess I missed what she said when she snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"Sans!... S…Snap out of it," she said looking at me worried. She grabbed a scanner as she moved to scan my soul. She seemed to look worried or hesitant. My best guess with Alphys was both. As always. She put the machine aside to grab another as it scanned my soul and beeped rapidly. Alphys stopped as she made a few notes, "Y… Your Soul… Its weak and almost devoid of magic. Your barely together right now. Frisk was drained of her physical strength… This ghost w… Whatever it is drains your strength as it lets you… u…. u… use its strength… Frisk already told me what happened…." She was hiding more, and I was tired of things being hidden.
With a sudden determination, I spoke sternly to Alphys as I had the gall to do this with Undyne just around, "Alphys… What do you really know? I know you figured out a lot more than that. So why not share with the class?" I wasn't meaning to joke, even though Papyrus glared at my comment.
She jumped suddenly twiddling her thumbs nervously. One could see the gears turning in her head as she was trying to say something. With a lot of difficult, she pulled a chart out of her pocket, "Unlike you, Frisk has taken a toll. Her soul seemed weak but pumping with determination. This in mind, your soul isn't affected like hers. She… seems to mirror something akin to possession. The scanner says the soul is fine, but somehow that thing following her can take over part of the soul for itself at a time. How this is happening I don't know. Doctor Gaster will have to help me figure it out. I'd be afraid if there will be anything lef-"
A scream from Frisk could be heard in the room adjacent. Immediately, the flower rolled off the edge of the table. He vanished into the ground as I got up to follow the other two out the door. As we left the room, a crash could be heard the next moment as Undyne stood at the door to Frisk's room with a red knife in the wall behind her. Panic filled my mind as I went to raise a hand and fumed over my empty magic reserves. That's when several vines wrapped around her to hold her still. With a second thought, I did ask the flower for this exact job.
Undyne called out as the roots held on tight, "Let go, you stupid plant! Let go of me!" She pulled against the roots as three more sprouted to hold her in place. With a jolt of fear, I remembered what it said it wanted a long time ago. In the old resets, he mentioned killing everyone but giving up. I moved quickly as I pushed ahead of Papyrus, "Stop! Don't hurt Undyne! Just protect Frisk, remember?"
"Undyne gave me a glare look as she continued to fight the roots, "Are you saying you're working with this plant monster? The hell Sans! I'll break you for this!" She struggled a few more times until I saw her glare into the room at Frisk, who stood holding a knife made of a red material, "She attacked me first. I just defended myself!"
"Seeing Frisk now, I couldn't believe it. Something really wasn't right with Frisk in this reset. Although, I have to wonder if these glitches are my fault or maybe the cause of someone else. I mean if I junked my timeline all up with this reset… Shit... Was this even my timeline anymore? I couldn't focus on these thoughts. I moved up and found the flower's head and pulled at it, "Flowey enough! She's safe. Put a wall between Undyne and Frisk. Just keep an eye on Frisk for now, talk to her if it helps."
"Flowey let go of Undyne as he sunk below the floor boards. Then a wall of vines sprung up in the door way, sealing Frisk in the room. With a slightly confused thought to it all, my mind conjured up the best it could. I looked to Papyrus who stood back from the us staring the knife in the wall, "It's not the fact that the entity is taking over Frisk-"
"The ghost is taking Frisk's soul. The more she takes, the less Frisk is here. I'm sorry, Sans, but it is likely she is going to disappear. She is giving her life for Chara to live. Which makes me more intrigued about Chara's changes. Maybe…. Maybe…. Has to be…" Gaster said as he appeared behind me with a hand on my shoulder that nearly made me rattle my bones. I knew I should be used to it, but it freaked me out that I wasn't the only teleporter anymore.
"Alphys seemed to step back a bit, "D… D…. Doctor G… Gaster. I didn't know you were dropping by yet. You said you had work to do in your lab…" Alphys seemed to jump on the same line of thought he did, "Wait… So, you're saying that Frisk is giving up her soul without a fight…. For that g… ghost… Why? Why would she give up living for this thing if it's so evil?"
"Papyrus spoke up as he looked to the wall with a sad look to his face, "Saving a friend is the greatest act anyone could do. If Frisk really is fading, then that means she's trying to save this… Ghost. If it's a friend, I understand but must we lose the Frisk in the process. Why can't Alphys make-"
"Pap, it doesn't work that way. Alphys said her soul was being possessed slowly. This means that the kid is doing all of this willingly. She wants Chara to live… That's Frisk for ya. She would do anything for a friend, even give up the last fight she had to… She just cares a lot. Kid has always had a soft spot," I stopped as I spoke up without even remembering people were around me. I could see Gaster smiling out of the corner of my eye socket. He approved of something but I'm not sure what yet.
"Undyne burst into this conversation as she was still fuming with rage, "Hey! Is no one going to talk about why I was attacked? I came down to check on Alphys because she was gone so long then I get a knife thrown at me. We don't keep humans as pets or friends. We need the last soul to get out. Or have you all forgotten this? Shouldn't we be… I don't know… Killing the human?"
"Gaster had two hands levitated up to motion her to calm down, "It's better not to. If this is really going on, then we may not need the last soul to get through the barrier. She may very well be our ticket after some further testing. If, indeed, this child is handing her soul to a ghost… This could mean I could test my soul theory. I need to borrow Frisk and Flowey. Only shortly." He went to teleport as I grabbed onto his coat. With a quick rush of air, I saw us in the examining room with Frisk, or I thought it was Frisk.
"Her red eyes turned to Gaster in a glare, "Oh look, bonesy and the bad time squad… You two know about how many timelines have really gone on, right? Three have passed and yet all three of us are at the beginning. I wasn't here in the beginning… So, who wants to talk about what's going on? Or should I start with the not-so-good doctor?"
"For the first time, the flower and I shared a look of disbelief. We couldn't even speak on the matter as Gaster spoke for us, "Child, I need your consent. I have an experiment that might help your situation. I need you to trust me. Can you trust my plan to help you both?" I didn't like this, neither did the flower. Something didn't feel right about Gaster's experiment.
"What was kid thinking in all of this? What was Gaster's plan, too?... I know one thing for sure. Gaster and I have some words to be spoken of before either the flower or me lets him get near her. The kid isn't in the right state of mind for any of this.