I've written many antagonists in my time, but never before have people wanted to see them die so much, and with such passion (seriously, you guys have filthy mouths, and I love it!). We're approaching the end now, so things are going to get messy...
The Other Other Experiment.
It was dark. Sans could see the blinking light of the security camera in the ceiling, blinking red every few seconds. Blink, blink, blink, blink. He wasn't sure how long he was staring at it before he realised it was there, but it felt like it was a while. The second thing he realised was that he could think in a straight line again – no more feverishly cycling the same points over and over. Now that he could think, he started to remember: that red medicine Gaster kept pouring down his throat – since when had the Underground had something like that? That coffee Gaster had given him – had it been drugged? Why would Dr Gaster do that?
Frisk.
Dr Gaster needed Frisk for this experiments, but Sans had said no more. The fact that someone as enigmatic as Gaster couldn't simply talk Sans around spoke volumes of what kind of experiments he had planned. Then why not kill him outright? Have Sans out of the way for good, instead of playing this game of doctor?
Because he wanted to leave with everything – that was the only explanation Sans had. He wanted to experiment on Frisk, but still be the 'good guy', still have the respect of his researchers and his assistant and his lab, with 'Alphys dear' all safe and secure down in her nest. There's no way she'd want anything to do with him if she knew what he was doing. If Sans happened to get better, then the 'medicine' worked, and Gaster was a hero. If he didn't, then the doctor would have been seen to try his best against death itself and lost his assistant, his good friend, despite all his efforts.
Sans thought back to what Gaster had said before handing him the coffee – that speech about being family, about looking out for each other – it had all been part of the play, staged for Sans, or anyone who might be listening, or hell, even for Gaster himself. Frisk, after outliving their usefulness, was sure to meet some manner of 'accident', or some other 'strange illness' that Gaster could bravely fight a losing battle against.
Narcissistic jackass.
Getting out of that bed was the single hardest thing Sans had ever done: his bones felt ten times heavier than before, and he literally had to peel the sheets from his bare arms and legs, as if he had somehow partially fused with them. It hurt. He collapsed in a heap on the ground as he fell, still unable to see a damn thing. He was very weak, and very hungry. It took every ounce of strength he had to get up, using the bed as an anchor, every move and stumble soliciting groans of pain.
His movements triggered the overhead lights to turn on, and for the first time he realised where he was, but only because he had no damn idea. He had never seen this room before, and he knew every single inch of this place, or so he thought. It was clearly an observation room, but way more tricked out than the other one, with monitors of all kinds on every surface, a tangled mess of wires shoved anywhere that could be considered 'out of the way'. That being said, half the room also looked like storage, piled high with boxes, broken machines and reams of obsolete data.
And this was the place Gaster had chosen to shove Sans. Apt.
Wherever it was, there was only one way out – a long, long set of stairs, so long that it gave Sans vertigo just looking at them. His head went woozy, his knees weak. He had to get help, find Frisk and Papyrus and get them the hell away from Gaster. Like everything in Sans' life, no-one was going to come along and do it for him, so with a great amount of shuddering effort, he took the first step.
Gaster tapped his long, pale fingers on the desk erratically as he stared at the screen. The data was sound, his calculation flawless – why the hell wasn't he getting the results he wanted? No matter how much 'determination' they extracted from the subject, the amount of power it produced never exceeded that of a single soul. Whether it be one vial or one hundred vials, the amount of power remained constant. How? Why? There was no explanation for it.
"Dr Gaster?"
He stopped tapping, looking over at who had called him. Dr Hive looked at him sheepishly, like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.
"The King is on the phone." he reported "He wants to know how our research is coming along."
Oh good, just what he needed. Gaster sighed, rubbing his temples as he got up from his chair.
"Alright, I'll deal with him." he conceded "Restart the extractor while I'm gone."
"Yes, sir."
Taking the steps two at a time, Gaster got the top just as the screaming started again, closing the door behind him so it wouldn't disturb his phone call.
Alphys had no desire to see someone die, but she just couldn't stay away any longer. She had to see Sans one more time, before he turned to dust. See his dumb bald head and his stupid grinning face and his awful stubby hands and... and... oh god, why was this happening? Why now? When everything was finally going well for them all? When he was finally happy? Alphys loved Sans a lot, he was by far her closest and most important friend, and she had seen the changes in him since Frisk had literally fallen into his life: his depression was easier, his smile kinder, his laugh lighter. He had been more genuine these days, not just going through the motions like he had been for so long, putting on a brave face.
Was there nothing she could do? Alphys would literally do anything to save him, and not just because the thought that she would have to become Papyrus' guardian terrified her. She would do it, of course – she would never betray Sans by letting those people get custody of him again – but still...
Under the guise of getting some fresh clothes, Alphys had made the trip back to Hotland, creeping silently into the lab. She knew Dr Gaster would send her away if he saw her, so she kept her head down, tip-toeing along the foyer to the lift. Up above, she could hear the man himself in a one-way conversation.
"Yes, your highness, everything's coming along quite well." he promised "We're getting some very promising results and... tea? I'm afraid we're at a crucial stage right now, but I can pencil you in in a fortnight?"
Alphys slipped into the lift, happy that it ran almost silently. Once downstairs, she headed straight for the observation room, steeling herself for what she may see. However, Sans wasn't there. Alphys went cold. It wasn't too late already. It couldn't be. Gaster wouldn't be talking so happily on the phone if... Alphys turned tail, searching every room. Where would they have put him? Somewhere more comfortable? The break room? In one of the back rooms, to give him some privacy? No, he was nowhere. Her room, maybe? Even before she got to the bottoms of the stairs, she could tell he wasn't there.
It occurred to her that she hadn't seen anyone else, either. Where was everyone? Had Dr Gaster given them the day off? At a time like this? Had they moved Sans some place else? Determined to find someone, Alphys went back upstairs, going to the only room she hadn't checked. Just as she got there, an almighty crash came from... somewhere. It was loud enough that she could tell it was close, the ground shaking handily beneath her, but everything around remained intact. Where on earth had it come from? The foundations?
As she looked around, one of the fridges that lined the far wall fluttered open, a fine spray of dust floating out. What on earth? As she drew closer, she could tell it was plaster dust. From inside the fridge? Pulling the door open, behind the shelves full of chemicals, Alphys saw... a crack? A doorway? In a fridge? Her heart caught in her throat when she heard Sans' groan coming from within, tearing out the shelves without a second thought and proceeding inside.
Dr Odin hardly even looked around. He stirred his coffee disinterestedly as he gazed at the hole in his ceiling, tapping the spoon against the mug before he took a sip.
"I told Gaster those stairs weren't stable." he noted "Hello Sans. How are you feeling?"
As much pain as he had been in before, Sans was in much worse now. Those rickety old stairs had given way when he was half way up, but instead of finding himself on top of a pile of boxes, he had somehow fallen through the ceiling of an entirely different room. It was darkly lit, and with his head already woozy, Sans could barely see a thing. Uncurling himself from the knotted mess he has landed in, he tried to hold himself up, barely managing.
"O-Odin..." he managed to gasp "Wh-where...?"
"'Where are we?'" he guessed "In the old part of the lab. It was shut up even before you were born, so it's kind of falling apart. Y'know, I heard rumours that Dr Gaster used to do all sorts of sick experiments on other monsters down here. I never used to believe it, but... well, I guess they weren't just rumours."
Odin sipped his coffee, turning back around to his computer to continue working. This wasn't like Odin – he was the first person to reach the first aid kit when someone was hurt, and for him to just ignore Sans... The skeleton tried again to get to his feet, grabbing the closest sturdy object to brace himself against as he stumbled through the rubble at his feet.
His hands slipped on the sheer surface, causing him to grab it. For being old equipment, it was in perfect condition, not giving an inch as it glowed gently. In fact, the only lights in the room were coming from the half a dozen large glass and metal cylinders and Odin's computer screen, making the place look more than a little ominous. What was Odin even doing down here? Trying to force himself to stand, Sans looked right into the glowing glass, feeling something unpleasant run down his back when he saw the small, dark mass that lay inside.
"D-Dr Odin..." he managed to say, ribs still aching from the fall "W-What did you say you were working on?"
"Echo flowers." he replied robotically.
That thing was not an echo flower. The mass of cells, the distorted clump of something that couldn't be recognised, full of tubes and wires and floating in some manner of amniotic fluid, was definitely something of higher biology. Sans could identify a tiny dark spine, dark round eyes like a baby bird and the furious pulsations of a minuscule heart through the translucent skin. Looking around to the other tubes, he saw the same again, in various states of growth and mutation, and one that was straight up in pieces in its tube, the fluid having turned red.
Sans finally stood, glad for his flat feet as he leaned back against the tube.
"Odin." he said without stammering "What are these things?"
"Humans." a voice called from behind.
Dr Odin looked around for a second, but soon went back to his computer. With his usual gliding footsteps, hands poised elegantly in front of him, Dr Gaster appeared from behind Sans, walking between the tubes. Sans hated him on sight, especially as his face betrayed no emotion other than slight irritation. Stopping behind Dr Odin, Gaster turned to Sans, looking down at him with that same expression.
"This is project 'echo flowers.'" he explained, gesturing to the tubes all around "Our 'plan B', should the extraction not work out the way he hoped."
"You're growing humans?!" Sans demanded "How? Cloning?"
"Now now, Sans, you and I both know that cloned bodies don't develop souls." Gaster went on "We needed to create something new. Luckily for us, there were already two humans in the underground – a 'mother' and a 'father', if you will – so we didn't have to mess around splicing in monster genetics and just praying for a pure human soul to grow."
"Y-You what?!" Sans gasped "What did you do to Frisk?!"
"Nothing, nothing." the doctor assured "The whole process was achieved completely synthetically, thanks to the genius of our good friend Dr Odin here."
Odin didn't look around as his name was called. His shoulders were slumped and unmoving as he fixed his gaze on the monitor.
"This is illegal." Sans knew "And that's just the start of what's wrong with it!"
"I'm disappointed, Sans." Gaster sighed, throwing up his hands "A man of your intelligence, of your vision, unable to see the bigger picture. These humans-"
"These THINGS are not HUMAN!" Sans roared, gesturing wildly at the tubes.
He felt his hand and eye start to burn. With an almighty crash of glass and liquid, one of them exploded, covering the floor in the sticky contents. It was this that made Odin finally look around from his computer, both him and Gaster looking at him in stunned amazement. Sans stumbled back, again using the tube behind him to brace himself as his head spun, his eye burning painfully. He was suddenly very tired. The delighted look on Gasters face didn't improve his mood. Gaster, however, soon composed himself, clearing his throat.
"Dr Odin, how many is that now?" he asked.
"Uh... we have five left." Odin answered, looking at the tube full of floating pieces "If Alphys fixes the machine-"
"Alphys will have nothing to do with this." Gaster said sternly, his tone heavily implying that he had said the same at least once before "We'll just have to wait until we can harvest one of the others, then use that tube."
"Right..." Odin sighed.
"To answer your question, Sans." he went on "It isn't important that they look human, just that they have human souls. It took some work – you can see the results of using too much determination in our dessicated friend here – but they're finally starting to develop. A few more months and they'll be ready to be 'born', and he can harvest their unique souls and use then to break the barrier."
"That's messed up." Sans retorted "Completely fucked... I can't believe the King and Queen agreed to a scam like this!"
"It isn't important how we get it done." Gaster argued "Only that we get results. We're going to destroy the barrier, Sans, the King and Queen will be grateful. Their son will finally see the surface, be free and see the sky and the stars... don't you want Papyrus to be free, Sans?"
"Don't you bring him into this." he growled "This isn't about the barrier any more – you've seriously crossed the line! Do you think people will honestly be okay with what you're doing? To know where those souls came from?!"
"And who are you to take away peoples hopes and dreams? As long as the barrier is gone, do you honestly think people will care how it happened? People will celebrate this achievement for years to come!"
"And when they find out you've been experimenting on other monsters? You think they'll celebrate that too?"
Gaster's smile finally faltered.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, although the wince in the corner of his eye gave him away "I've never-"
Sans responded by making another tube explode, not only splattering the fluid all over the walls, but tearing apart the biological blob that lay within. Gaster looked decidedly unhappy, but also thoughtful, choosing his words carefully. The actor was improvising.
"As expected of you." he complimented "You always were such a fast learner."
"YOU did this to me." Sans growled "What did you do?!"
"Sans, I was only trying to help you," Gaster insisted "You were very sick-"
"Because you poisoned me!"
"But the 'determination'-"
"Determination?! Is that what you gave me?! Did you even know what it would do?!"
"It made you stronger! Did you ever think you were capable of magic like this?"
"I could've died!"
"You still might!" Gaster pointed out "Unless you let me help you! We need to stabilize you-"
"You're not coming anywhere near me!" Sans interrupted "You think I'm ever gonna trust you again? That anyone is?"
"You'll fall apart, Sans." Gaster warned "You'll melt. You'll die. You'll leave Papyrus all alone. Are you honestly okay with that? After you worked so hard to get him away from that family that rejected him?"
"I told you not to bring him into this!"
Gaster tilted his head to the side a little, standing upright as he thought, once again picking his words. He straightened out his clothes.
"Fine." he said finally "Fall apart. Become nothing more than a pile of sludge, locked away in a jar in a sealed room in a basement, unloved and forgotten in a decade. I'll hire a new assistant. I hear that Papyrus takes instruction pretty well. He'll never be as smart as you, of course, but with the right education, and the encouragement of his loving new father, I'm sure he'll make a fine lab-tech."
The rest of Gaster's words descended into unintelligible murmurs in Sans ears. His hackles rose, something dark and ugly rearing up within him. Papyrus' loving new... what? He could not have heard that correctly... Gaster really did want to leave with everything, even things he had no business touching. Something rose not just within Sans, but behind him as well. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was big, and he knew it was his. Gaster didn't notice as he pontificated, but Odin did, getting up out of his chair and running right out of the way. A bright blue light started to shine behind him as his blaster charged, finally getting the good doctors attention.
"Oh."
You'll have to wait for the next (and possibly last, not sure yet) chapter to see Gaster get his ass handed to him. Sorry, kids!
