It's been a while since Sans heard her voice in that distant recording, long enough for him to start worrying again. He could feel anger fill him at thought of someone harming her and his Soul tremble at thought of… worse.
Each of his or Papyrus' attempt to escape ended in failure. The dark magic that surrounded their cell was unfamiliar to Sans, but didn't require much of his effort to figure out who it belonged to. None of the skeletons' attacks worked: their magic was drained into nothingness the moment they tried to use it. In the end he had no other choice but to wait, his intent to kill growing by second.
Before long the guard returned followed by the king and Sans stepped back into the shadow, his eyes growing dark. Stepping in, the guard put shackles on Papyrus' wristsa and muttering an apology pushed him out.
"Where are ya takin' him" – Sans hissed, but no one answered – "where is she?" – He asked trying to hide his fear, the king only smirked and walked away.
That worried Sans even more, he could only hope that she was fine, that her spirit was stronger than them. Either way he had to get out, now for Papyrus too.
In the far corner of the cell Sans found an old crushed bone – from what creature he didn't know. He tried to pick the lock with it, but had to stop when the guard once again showed up in the corridor: this time stopping by the cell not far from his. Moments later Undyne stepped out.
"He really thinks he can handle 'er?" – Sans smirked watching them quietly.
The guard looked scared and for a good reason: it took a second for Undyne to knock the poor fellow out. A dim glow of a silver key soon caught Sans' eye as shackles on Royal Guardsman's wrists unlocked.
"Hey!" – Sans called out just when she turned around to leave – "Lemme out!"
"I don't have time!" – She replied – "they already… got to Alphys. I'm not letting the same to happen to the others" – throwing a quick glance down she picked something up and threw in the skeleton's direction – "get out yourself and make it quick"
Undyne's footsteps soon vanished filling the dungeon with deafening silence and Sans' mind with terror. Hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind while he tried to reach for the keys outside the metal bars. Dark thoughts of her death made it hard to move, to see, to breathe.
Despite the trembling of his hands Sans managed to find the right key and unlock the cell quite fast. Bolting out he ran through stone corridors, past dancing flames on walls: the only means of light in that rotting place. Gaster's weak, yet strange and unknown magic filled the air, slipping in every crack and between the rocks, it tried to slip into Sans' Soul too, preventing him from entering the Void.
"Running through this shit is harder than I thought" – he thought already panting heavily.
Short legs weren't his best trait, but at least they didn't let him fall too hard when he stepped on damp moss. A dull sound of falling weight filled the silence followed by intense cussing.
Without a moment to lose he took the stairs leading up, his legs were killing him, but he didn't seem to have noticed. Soon he felt her Soul nearby and relief filled his troubled mind. As he reached a well-lit grey corridor and dark magic faded he stepped into the Void for a second to reach his destination sooner, even if only for a moment.
In a wide throne room, under bright rays Sans saw the monster he hated the most. Kneeling down he held a darkened Soul, smile of triumph on his pale skull.
Before the dark figure he saw her, motionless and weak, life almost entirely drained from her.
"Sunshine!" – Sans called out, but she didn't respond or move. For a moment he wondered if she could hear him.
The Soul weakly responded with joy before the last drops of crimson magic fell and LOVE took over.
In an instance Sans teleported and falling down on his knees held her closer.
She looked so calm as if was sleeping peacefully under golden rays of an afternoon sun that now looked dull and colorless to him. Leaning closer he kissed her, still warm, forehead then gently carried her and her brother to a small bed of golden flowers near the wall.
Sans stood up, his hands resting in his pockets, and turned to the only other monster in the room.
Gaster stood tall, his calm eyes fixed on Sans, carefully examining his movements; his dim violet pupils were now outlined by a burgundy layer. Deep in his chest weakly resonated a fading warmth of a powerful Soul. The air, the ground, seemingly the space itself around him occasionally glitched and disappeared in grey static revealing dark depths of the Void. Its traces vanishing a bit more by second made her Soul seem different.
"I see ya found yerself a buddy" – Sans said in a calm voice, crimson flames burning brightly in his eye – "that means I can kill ya now, doesn't it?"
A wide, insane grin covered his mouth and his mind got lost in haze. In a blink of an eye rows of red and white bones formed in the air near the floor and ceiling, followed by few blasters. All followed a single target, none reached it; with almost no effort Gaster summoned a barrier around him. He mastered his newfound power sooner than should've been possible, yet there he was: standing proudly, his arm extended in front of him controlling dozens of small hexagons that were moving in perfect sync.
But Sans didn't seem to have noticed, in his broken mind lingered only one thought: to kill he who had taken his light away.
Violent attacks followed one another with hardly any pause in between. He moved constantly with no visible pattern, appearing in different spots each time or hanging in the air for a split second only to attack before returning into the Void once again.
"Stop this, boy" – Gaster raised his voice slightly, his usual smile replaced by an angry frown – "you know you can never regain her"
Those words made Sans stop for a little longer - large crimson iris trembling in his eye socket - a mistake that wasn't overlooked by his opponent, one fate wouldn't forgive.
His eye darted down as he felt black threads twist around his leg, slowly making their way up. He tried to move, but the bindings were too tough, he tried to use a shortcut, but the dark magic was too strong. Putting his hands back into his pockets he stood still, his expression blank, yet his Soul filled with dread ready for Gaster's next move.
Several bones formed in the air launching at Sans: they were covered in numerous small cracks, black threads flowing from within and twisting around the white matter like veins. Few blasters followed, their beams violet with strings of burgundy trapped within.
Sans barely blocked it all using up great amount of his magic, but more than that it took a toll on his mind: the attacks were different, but he could feel her energy within them.
Blow after blow his defenses dropped, blasters cracked then broke when a sharp pain pierced his Soul. Glimpse of pride showed on Gaster's face, but soon faded into confusion.
Sans was staring at his hands, waiting for them to turn to dust, but soon noticed that his health didn't go down even by one. It shouldn't have been possible to survive an attack with that amount of LOVE, let alone stay unharmed. It took both of them a while to realize what the reason was.
"She really is a strange Soul" – Gaster spoke with a sigh – "trying to rebel against our rules even now"
He once again concentrated her determination, made the Soul obey him. With every passing second his grip on it narrowed and Sans' vision blurred, with every drop of red, he could vaguely see, his strength left him just a little more.
A lonely Soul lost in darkness trembled, trying to break free. It felt something dear to it disappear, a feeling similar to the one before, yet stronger.
It tried to fight, but nothing happened.
It called for help.
"The hell?" – Sans whispered under his breath.
Colorful shapes and lines rushed by him, blurry images flashed before his eyes before a vivid one surrounded him. A place he had never seen before showed up. He tried to look around, but couldn't, like on a screen he could only see what was shown to him.
He was standing in a wide field, rare trees scattered in it thickened in the distance covering the hills with forest. The sun shone in blue afternoon sky, birds were singing quietly, flowers were blooming under bright rays.
But the view monsters were dreaming about for so long withered under a sinister layer. Countless bodies of soldiers were covered in blood, fading magic still visible in their wounds, grey dust was covering most of the area and flying up with the cold wind.
The battle was over and survived humans could be seen scattered on the endlessly stretching battlefield: some treated by doctors, others mourning over their friends, but most of them didn't show any kind of emotion, like empty, broken shells.
As the scene changed Sans found himself standing behind a tall man. His golden locks had string of white between them. Heavy silver armor and well-crafted sword, he was resting his hand on, reflected the crimson rays of the setting sun giving this man a strangely comfortable aura.
Few more humans were standing by that man, Sans tried to look into them, but couldn't see even a single Soul.
Large figure of Asgore was in front of them, down on one knee, his head bowed. Strangely for himself seeing his king like that didn't affect him in the slightest. The reason wasn't clear for him, he just felt different about everything at that moment, everything but the most important things, ones buried deep within him.
Fading to black once again, the image changed to something he'd rather not witnessed. On top of a mountain, by either side of a large cave entrance stood about a dozen of humans, monsters stepped in one by one. Last one to enter was Asgore, as his large body disappeared in the darkness Sans followed. He was soon facing the grey stone arc again, watching the humans.
Slight regret in his heart was repressed by a burning emotion Sans felt no more than few times in his life, but now it was much stronger. For the first time in this strange place Sans' senses returned and he didn't know what to do with that overwhelming feeling. It was too confusing and too powerful for him, it made him feel invulnerable as if he could do anything, but stronger than that was the will to do what he was meant to no matter the consequences. Fear vanished and he once again looked forward.
Six people were forming an arc in front of the cave, courage was all Sans could see in their eyes. As they sat on their knees Souls of strange, unseen colors appeared in front of them, before himself Sans saw a hovering light blue Soul, its surface bight with magic more powerful and dense than he had ever seen.
For a while the humans remained motionless than one after another their Souls parted. Leaving lifeless, empty bodies behind, they vanished giving the barrier different patterns, colors and properties, making it stronger.
Last one to move was the light blue Soul in front of him, with a light tap it gave the barrier its pure-white form monsters saw today, blocking the world out. Soul's glow dimmed, but unlike the others it didn't vanish. As it moved back into the depths of the cave, so did Sans as if floating near it. Now, for the first time, he saw the Soul's wielder: a young boy hardly twenty years old lay lifeless on the cold stone.
The Soul floated over thousands of monsters' heads, through familiar areas, now dark and empty. After a while it stopped near the center of the cave and slowly floated down towards a small lake and dove into it. As its shape disappeared from view the deep water lit up cyan, first dim then brighter by second.
"The fuck was that?" – Sans muttered looking around the throne room he was now back into where, it seemed like, only a moment had passed.
It took him few seconds to notice a calm, barely audible melody near him, and even longer to recognize it. Looking down he saw cyan glow shining through knitted fabric, flickering peacefully and singing the tune she so loved.
Sans knew that with a powerful human Soul he would be stronger, if it was enough to let him win he could only guess. But that was only his knowledge, the way he felt now could tell him more than any research he ever did. He was braver now, more daring as if certain that he won't lose: an overwhelming feeling similar to one earlier. Sans couldn't help but wonder if that really was determination.
Gaster looked confused, he obviously didn't know what had happened and why his opponent wasn't falling. As he noticed the strong presence in Sans his expression turned to anger, before a cold, yet confident smirk covered his face. Despite everything he seemed sure in his victory, after all her Soul was one of the stronger ones.
Bones and blasters surrounded them and a wave of attack launched at Sans. It didn't take much effort for him to dodge and only after the action he noticed that the threads previously binding him down were now gone. A gentle touch pushed his leg bone, looking down Sans saw the little flower he forgot all about, the one that probably helped him. Flowey hesitated at first, but soon climbed the skeleton's leg holding on his jacket with all his might, careful to not get hit by the endlessly raining attacks.
Just like Gaster's, Sans' magic changed too: the crimson flames around the bones were almost entirely gone, with flickers of it dancing in light blue. Beams from blasters, on the other hand had few traces of cyan, while his own magic glowed brighter. Sans barely ever stood still while dodging or attacking with every opportunity and opening presented. Despite that and the constant teleportations Flowey soon found himself on the skeleton's shoulder.
"What happened here?" – He asked in a small voice mastering the courage.
Sans was, more or less, balanced after his Soul 'changed' which was the only reason he was willing to let the little creature near him. Had it happened a minute ago he might've had a difficult time recognizing her friend. Still Flowey's simple question was enough to make him furious.
"And where the hell were ya?" – He growled, his voice deeper than ever and for a moment the flames in his eye socket outlined black – "ya ran away like a little coward you are and now ya dare to act all innocent?"
"I… I brought one of the Souls mo… Toriel had collected" – Flowey responded in a whisper trying to hide under the large black hood – "I wanted to help"
"Help?" – Sans smirked – "help 'er now, see what good it does"
Finally a bone hit his opponent and his health dropped, the Soul flickered for a split second and Sans felt a fresh wound on it – "he has her Soul" – he said loud enough for the flower to hear as if just remembered it.
After that they remained silent: Sans too concentrated on the battle and Flowey, too scared and shocked to make another sound, only observed silently.
Both monsters were strong, but Gaster seemed to have the upper hand. He, not only, mastered his abilities almost perfectly, but the Soul in him was, in a way, stronger. It was darker than any other he had previously seen: LOVE higher than the Barrier's fit so perfectly in it as if it was meant to be. Kindness and justice were erased without a trace as if never existed. And now in those empty spots Gaster added his own magic as well as the Void's and the Soul accepted.
With Sans it was different. Though originally the Soul was much stronger than hers, lack of LOVE made it vulnerable. At the moment it was in sync with Sans' magic, it let the monster use its abilities and life force and helped him willingly, but the only reason for that was her plead and Sans knew it wouldn't last.
Seconds passed turning into minutes and monsters grew weaker, but none was willing to abate, or rather they couldn't. Magic would appear and vanish constantly, filling the room with colorful light and powerful energy that only lingered for mere moments. Occasionally Gaster got hit, but didn't show any signs of injuries, only his expression changed to constant anger and unrest. Sans, however wasn't as lucky: as time passed and his hope faded more, his opponent struck him more and more often. Flowey did his best to heal the skeleton, his magic wasn't strong, but was enough to keep him alive and well. Though Sans hated the power that wasn't hers, he had no other choice but to accept that help.
Sans lost the track of time and was growing impatient quickly. It wasn't long before he noticed Gaster's strange behavior: he looked confused, lost, it took him longer to defend himself.
"Or is it harder?" – Sans thought as a blaster's beam broke through the dark barrier – "maybe… she's not letting 'im" – the last thought warmed his Soul giving him strength and hope he never noticed as he sent another wave.
"Are you sure?" – Asked Flowey's voice from behind his skull – "If you kill him, she'll die too. A-and if Frisk ha-hasn't rewound yet, he probably can't… Sa-Sans?"
But he didn't hear Flowey's last word. He froze in place, his arm stretched out in front of him, shaking. His eye sockets grew empty as the crimson flame flickering in one dimmed then died. Doubt and fear filled him.
"I have to…" – he said in shaky, weak voice.
Flowey has never seen him like that, never thought he could look so vulnerable and, for the first time, he felt sympathy towards that cruel and scary creature.
"She'd prefer that… 'I'd rather break this Soul myself than let him have it', that's what she told me"
He finished his thought, but didn't move, he told himself he'd end this, but he couldn't shake off the doubt. Hope that he'd bring her back wouldn't leave him, despite his knowledge that it was impossible.
Gaster attacked him over and over again, but his, now weakened, magic only shattered to pieces or vanished without a trace coming into contact with cyan barrier that Sans never put up.
When Sans came to his senses he found himself full of energy, his HP was fully recovered by the flower, while his opponent was on his knees clutching his chest and gasping for air, fear present in his eyes.
Without realizing at first, Sans instantly looked into the tall monster, eagerly searching for her Soul: it was still filled with darkness, but easier to find. As it fought back, trying to break free, it seemed to take all of his concentration and strength, it gave Sans the best chance yet to end this.
Holding his hand in front of him Sans snapped his fingers. A large canine skull appeared in front of him, bright magic flowing from its mouth passed right through the 'perfect' barrier Gaster so carefully crafted.
The Soul cracked, black threads barely keeping it together. It didn't take Sans long to notice it and once he did the skull vanished.
For the first time in years Gaster felt pain, stronger than ever. Clutching his chest he fell, it felt like he was breaking like a fragile vessel. He tried to take back the control over the Soul, nothing happened. He tried to pull it out, to get rid of it, nothing happened.
Quiet thoughts and whispers echoed inside his head, clear as day, but not his own. When he tried to chase them away they only got louder.
"I won't give it to you, you're too weak, too wrong"
"you'll pay for what you did to him, to everyone"
"this Soul could never be your, monster. You knew it all too well, but you still took it"
"how naïve, how arrogant"
"now you'll really die"
The words kept coming, forming more thoughts, mocking him, repeating over and over in a loop: sometimes in order other times chaotic, overlapping each other. They got louder, then stopped suddenly only to continue in a whisper. Inside his head got darker and darker, but he couldn't escape, he felt himself getting lost in it. Gaster's dimming pupils darted from one side to another as he desperately tried to cling to reality with everything he had.
Golden light shining through the window, calm breeze blowing from somewhere far, cold stone under his fingers and blades of grass gently stroking his hand and bare feet. It's been long since he last noticed it and now it felt so sweet and nostalgic, so peaceful and desired.
But it all vanished when a thought sounded louder than any other making the darkness return.
"You wanted this, didn't you? This power, this barrier, this LOVE, but you couldn't control it for even an hour. In the end what was the point, Gaster?"
As the voice died he felt emotions, any monster was well familiar with, build-up in the Soul, but the amount was enough to make him shiver: hate, killing intent, anger. The feelings were overwhelming strengthened with determination, swirling in chaotic storm, trying to break free.
"Is this the end, my dear?" – He muttered looking down.
There was nothing else he could do. After all he was a monster, determination wasn't something he could contain…
A violet magic that appeared in his half closed eye socket flowed down his long pale face and stopped on his cheek, crimson dyed its surface as he heard a familiar hum of a blaster. With the last of his strength left he created a barrier, but it refused to protect him. The magic was strong and merciless, he felt his life leave him, this time forever.
With every breath his magic faded a little more, with every moment threads on her Soul unraveled slightly letting out the horror, making it pure again.
Before it was too late Gaster threw a glance at his student: a cyan Soul was hovering above his head for a moment before disappearing.
As the last thread was loosened and the last drop of LOVE vanished he felt the Soul pulsate: a barrier formed around it and braking apart spread further away.
He felt himself disappear.
As the dark figure faded and the presence vanished a burgundy colored Soul stayed behind hovering above the ground. Sans took few quick steps towards it, but before he could reach out it began to tremble softly then breaking apart shattered. Glimmering in golden light the pieces froze for a split second before disappearing with a quiet tinkle of a bell.
"Get off of me" – Sans muttered without looking back.
As soon as the flower touched the ground he walked away. Passing by a glass container with a pale orange Soul he walked up to a bed of golden flowers. He sat down holding his sunshine in his arms and putting her head on his shoulder closed his eyes.
Minutes dragged on slowly and soon the remaining magic of the cyan Soul began to fade along with his consciousness.
"I won't be able to do this again" – a little girl's voice suddenly echoed.
Sans' eyes darted open as he scanned the area, but there wasn't anyone beside Flowey, who was near a window staring at a golden crown, holding it with his leaves and vines.
Sans hugged her tighter in an attempt to protect from whatever might come, his eyes traveling from one end of the room to another.
"Please do everything right this time, please free them. I won't be able to help you anymore" – the girl continued, and once done bright red light flashed above the throne.
Red breaches spread from there like a lightning covering the room in an instance. Yet Flowey didn't seem to notice neither the light nor the voice.
Sans' vision began to blur, through the haze he could only see a, strangely comforting, darkness grow between the red as if the space around them collapsed into nothingness.
Within moments the world went blank.