NOTE: Sorry for the delay, I would've posted this a couple of days ago but my mom has this strange disease and she can't do much with her hands so I've been a bit busy doing stuff for her and such :/ Anyways, here's the chapter now :)

The man is still leaning against the wall in a daze, feeling guilt and shame take him over slowly. Meanwhile, just a few feet in front of him, the small skeleton's bones start to rattle.

As soon as that emptiness set in Sans' chest, it was quickly replaced. As he stared at the ground beneath him, he balls his hands to fists and clenches his jaw. A blinding rage rises up inside him, his eye sockets are dark as black holes, devoid of any light whatsoever. And all of a sudden sparks start flashing all around him. The chains are supposed to suppress his magic. He's supposed to be weak and powerless. But as anger surrounds his soul, the thought of what just happened only helps fuel it and it's too much to contain. The chains jolt as streams of Sans' magic pulse through them and electrify them and the air around him. Pure energy is pouring out of him. He can only think of one thing. You're dead. And it's this guy's fault.

His left eye socket suddenly comes to life with a blue iris, like a flame flickering from inside the darkness. The power surging out of his soul is so immense that the chains that are supposed to keep it controlled and silenced start cracking.

A low growl sounds from the small skeleton on the floor and it snaps the captor, no, the killer, out of his stupor. The raw magic leaking from Sans has such might that it seems to bend the space around him. He's nearly frozen in fear of the scene in front of him when the sight of the chains all but snapping and dissolving in a haze of electric lightning pouring from the skeleton makes him start crawling towards the gun that's fallen somewhere to the side.

But finding himself no longer restrained, his magic leaking out, his anger and his hatred blurring his vision, without even looking the harness is torn away from the man's chest, a flash of red exploding out of it from the reaction to the magic. That would've killed any monster near it, no doubt. But Sans threw it far, to fall to the floor completely depleted of its power, and he doesn't let the man move even halfway to where he meant to go. Even if he could there's nothing he could have done. Not anymore. His soul has been turned blue. The skeleton snaps his head towards the murderer the blue iris on the corner of his left eye socket glowing with the intent to kill.

Slowly, he gets to his feet, his breathing is ragged and uneven, his bones rattling from how hard he's trembling, his clothes as if blowing in a non-existent wind from the force of the magic around him. The guy can't move, with a flick of Sans' wrist he gets dragged back to where he previously sat against the wall, screams getting choked in his throat as he tries to fight the fear in his gut.

"How could you?" Your soulmate's voice is barely recognisable, cold as ice, hard as steel. It's low, like a growl coming from a feral beast just before it pounces on its prey. "She was innocent." The pitch of his tone rises along with the volume with each thing he says. "She was kind!" He raises his arm and the man's tossed up against the wall with a cry of pain as his head hits it. "How could you take her away from me?!" Sans shouts.

His left eye socket is still afire with the power that's coursing through him, the pain and anguish he feels only making his desire to kill this man all the more enticing.

"I'm sorry." The excuse for a man whimpers, a mess of tears falling down his pathetic cheeks. This is what he wanted, right? And yet here he is, crying with regret. It only makes Sans angrier. He nearly explodes with the pure fury that's got his mind warped into nothing but how much he wants him to die.

"I'm going to kill you." He says lowly. "No, I'm going to rip you apart piece by tiny piece, until you beg me for death. Because killing you quickly would be a mercy. And you don't deserve mercy."

The man cries once again and as Sans steps towards him he feels something stopping him. His leg shakes slightly and fails under him, bringing him down to one knee, however still keeping his hold on the soul he so wanted to crush. Tears form in the corner of his right socket and along with the anger he feels sorrow. A deep rooted sadness he hadn't allowed himself to feel until just then. And he closes his eyes and it's like he can feel your arms around him, holding him from behind, your body pressed against his in a merciful embrace that for the briefest of moments takes away his pain. And as he thinks about you, your face before you fell, the determination in your eyes, he almost hears you whispering to him.

"Please don't kill him. There's so much blood on our hands… Show mercy like I would. Please, for me…"

Your voice is so sweet. So gentle. So kind.

Sans feels his resolve cracking. His soul trembles when he imagines your hands on his face. He opens his eyes and for a second it's like he can see you. He reaches out but you're not there. He breaks down and his body wracks with sobs. He can't believe it. You can't be gone. You can't have died. The blue droplets fall from his sockets and to the ground he's staring at, unwilling to turn his gaze to the face of the weeping man that drove you to your death. The man you would want him to forgive.

But how can he? How can he let him go unscathed after he tore the most beautiful thing this cruel world had to offer from him?

He raises his eyes to the man and stands, each movement a chore, each breath a torture. Nothing has meaning anymore. Not without you.

Sans drags his feet to the man and eases his magic. He grabs his collar and pushes him against the wall, faces mere inches from each other. Both crying. Both broken. The man is looking away, so scared for his life, just waiting for whatever Sans has in store for him.

But the small skeleton doesn't do anything. Because you wouldn't want him to. And even though you're not here anymore he can't help but listen to you. He can't bear the thought of disappointing you anymore, of failing you yet again. His forehead falls and touches the man's chin, Sans standing that much shorter.

"She wouldn't want me to kill you. And that's the only reason I'm not painting the walls with your blood." Sans whispers, feeling utterly defeated. "Go. Get the hell away from me. If my eyes ever fall on your sorry face again, you can be damn well sure that mine's the last thing you're going to see before you take your last miserable breath." He lets go of the man's shirt and he just stands there, stained cheeks and mouth hanging open, awe stricken. "GO!" Sans shouts in his face.

He scrambles to get his feet to move and runs back into the building, only stopping to grab the harness before bolting out of there, hoping never to be seen again.

When he's left all alone at the rooftop there's nothing but silence for what feels like forever. And then he screams. He screams as loud as he can. He lets his magic run wild, tearing things apart, breaking whatever's in his way. He throws things, he thrashes, kicks and punches the air and screams more into the emptiness that surrounds him before letting himself crumble onto the floor.

He curls in on himself, his forehead on the ground as he holds his face between his hands and cries miserably, trembling. Everything hurts down to his very core, his soul feeling so unbelievably empty. The thought of your body crashing to the pavement tears him apart. He can only hope you died quickly and painlessly. He knows he's going to have to see it. Your mangled corpse on the sidewalk where you fell, most likely in a puddle of your own blood, surrounded by curiously horrified onlookers.

He knows he's going to have to do it. Better get it over and done with. Like his body weighs a ton he struggles to his feet and transports himself to where you fell, preparing himself for the gruesome show he's absolutely sure to witness.

But when he blinks into existence all he sees are the people walking like nothing's wrong, only the few who noticed him appear out of nowhere staring with confusion. For a moment he's angry that no one cares enough to even react but when he looks around…

He doesn't see you.

Your body isn't there. You're not lying on the ground dead as he was certain you would be. Maybe he went to the wrong side. He runs around the building in a frenzy. Your body just isn't there. Even if you were already taken by an ambulance there should be blood but there simply isn't anything. It's like you never even fell. He doesn't know what to think. He walks around the building and searches once again wondering if maybe he somehow missed something. But there's nothing there.

Teleporting into his bedroom the first thing he does is pull out his soul. It looks completely miserable, covered in fresh scars that almost look to be bleeding and dimmer than it's been in ages. But in the midst of the pathetic mess that's the culmination of his being, those pieces of you are still there. He collapses on the bed completely dumbfounded. If you had died those shards of your soul would've melded completely with his, almost like they were never even there, because you were gone so would they be. But they were still there, glowing white against his cyan. Intact. Whole. Alive.

You were alive.

Then why couldn't he feel you? Why did it feel like a void where you're supposed to be?

You felt yourself falling. The tips of his fingers were the last thing you touched of him. You don't want to die. You have so much left to live. You shut your eyes as tight as you can waiting for the inevitable but all the while wishing with all your soul that somehow this isn't the end. You wish with all your might that you could be somewhere else instead of falling. Anywhere else. Just anywhere that isn't right here, falling to your death.

You never felt your body hitting the ground but you felt the wind getting knocked out of you. You felt every particle of air leaving your lungs and choking you. And when you opened your eyes all you saw was black. There was nothing but darkness. You couldn't see anything. You couldn't hear anything, not even your heaving as you tried to breathe but nothing reached your lungs. You couldn't feel anything but the pain in your shoulder and the burn of no oxygen getting into your bloodstream, to your brain, your organs.

You bring your hands to your throat and you can feel that at least. You can feel the pain that shoots through your left arm when you move it. And you're sure you screamed from it but no sound reached your ears. You don't know where you are. You don't know what's going on. You're supposed to be dead. Maybe you are. But you don't feel dead. You can feel your frantic heartbeat in your chest. You can feel panic surrounding your soul. You can feel your soul.

That last fact is every bit of confirmation that you need to know that you aren't in hell. You feel an agony that is both your own and not. You know that some of that is Sans and you're so happy that he's alive despite not being able to breathe. You wish to comfort him. To hold him in your arms and whisper to him. To touch his face and take away his pain.

But you can't.

Because you're not with him. You don't know where you are. You just know that you feel like you're dying but somehow death doesn't come. You feel like you're lost somewhere, or nowhere at all.

"Hmm…"

A hum reverberates inside your skull. You know this sound isn't reaching your ears because it feels like it's echoing from inside your own brain. It's almost painful. But with how much you're already hurting you can't really make out that ache as well.

"When I felt Sans' magic I surely didn't expect this…" The voice is scratchy, like a broken record, glitched. The sound of your soulmate's name is so familiar and comforting that for a moment you can focus on that and nothing else.

The feeling of breathlessness, choking endlessly but never fainting, never dying, is already driving you crazy. Maybe that's the source of this voice inside your head. Just insanity already taking over as you die without dying. But somehow you know it's something else despite not knowing exactly what it is.

"You can stop trying to breathe. There's no air in The Void. There's nothing here. Time and space are meaningless. You can't die."

You try to say something. Ask this disembodied voice what's going on, where you are and how you got here. But nothing comes out. And nothing goes in still. This perpetual state of choking is overwhelming.

"Speaking is useless too. No matter, no sound. It's simple science really. I'm speaking directly into your brain through magic. Not that you'd understand that."

The condescendence seeping into the words is honestly quite irritating. This voice knows nothing about you, if it really lives outside of your head. Knowing that trying to speak again is useless, you move your hands in signs.

I know more about magic than any human out there.

"Sign language. Clever. Maybe you're not as stupid as you look." You would've glared at the source of the words if it weren't for the fact you saw nothing but never-ending blackness.

You can still feel your soul and the magic within it. So you summon it to your fingers and shoot blasts in every which direction, the effort draining you of the little energy you still have. You see the light of your magic fading in the not so far distance but nothing beyond it. It's like the darkness is smothering, consuming anything that tries to exist here.

"Magic? From a human?" The voice sounds confused.

You see a faint glow from your chest and see that it's your soul shining through, a mix of cyan with the pure white of your being. You feel so tired but like you can't go to sleep from the discomfort and pain of the constant choking. You can't seem to fall unconscious either, which would be a blessing by now.

"That glow… There's no mistaking it… That's Sans' soul isn't it?" The voice asks you. You can hear its curiosity inside your brain. It's a familiar curiosity, the thirst for knowledge of a scientist, not unlike Alphys', Sans' or even your father's.

You're Gaster. You sign with a certainty that you can't possibly deny. There's no room for doubt. This is The Void. He's been here this whole time. But like he said time is meaningless. To him it could feel like the events that brought him here just happened moments ago or like he's been alone for literal millennia.

"You're not breathing but you're not dying either. You're in pain. You'll either get used to it or you'll go insane. Whichever comes first." He completely ignores your observation to mock you instead. You clench your jaw and sign once again.

Which did you?

He laughs. You can feel it echoing in your mind, and it's almost inviting. "You're feisty. I like you. I suppose I can see why Sans did as well. It's good to know they got to the surface."

You can't help the small smirk on your lips despite everything. You wished that meant you were finally getting used to constantly trying to suck in air that just isn't there but to say that was the case would be a flat out lie. With each passing second that wasn't really passing you could feel yourself crumbling.

How do we get out?

"If I knew that I would've been out of here long ago. But even if I did I would've just disappeared. I no longer have a physical body. I'm just a soul drifting through the void. That's all I managed to piece back together. So why are you asking how 'we' can get out?"

Because Sans cares about you. And I love him. So if you're still alive I'm getting us both back.

You explain with your hands. The energy you have to spend to move is exhausting. You hear Gaster humming into your thoughts. He doesn't say it but you can tell he finds your attitude interesting to say the least. He stays silent after that. You decide that's for the best, considering each time he talks to you it's like someone's screaming right next to your ear despite not being loud. It feels like something pounding at your skull from the inside. It's awfully distracting when you're trying to figure out how to get out of here.

You're not as smart as Sans or your current 'roommate' but you're definitely not stupid. If there's a way in, there has to be a way out. You're not dead yet. From what you've been told you can't even die here. So if that's the case you're certainly not just going to stay here waiting to rot. To go insane.

It already feels like your mind is being torn. You're starting to hear sounds that you know aren't there because Gaster isn't talking right now. Perhaps he's also thinking. After all you coming here is something he didn't expect would happen. It's a new variable in the endless math he's been doing in his consciousness ever since he managed to get himself back together. If something physical got into The Void without breaking apart, there had to be a doorway. And if there was a doorway, there was a way to leave.

"Sans, he cares about me?" Gaster asks after what feels like an eternity of silent torture.

Very much. Everyone forgot you when you disappeared except him. He held on to the memory of you. So I'm getting you out for him.

"You're a strange human." You would've laughed if you weren't in such agonizing pain and it wasn't a waste of precious energy.

After you don't even know how long you are starting to hear voices, voices that aren't supposed to be here, that you know aren't here. Whichever comes first, huh? You know that you can't get used to this feeling. You're positive that if those two are the only options… Well… You're not getting out of here the same as you came in if you don't figure out how to leave soon.

You think about Sans, hoping that will help tether your mind to something tangible. And when you picture his smiling face, his hand held out as he's asking you if you want to take a shortcut something clicks inside your brain. A shortcut…

If you take a shortcut you have to go through somewhere to get to your destination. He pulls the two places together to get from one to the other. That's what he told you. You must've tapped into his magic and teleported yourself out of harm's way (sort of) in your desperation to get somewhere safe, to not die. But what happens if you only have a starting place and you don't know where you want to end up… You'll stay in between.

The Void is the shortcut. You sign to Gaster, squeezing your eyes shut as you feel the edges of your consciousness being stretched thin.

"What?" He seems confused so you gather everything you have left to explain.

Sans takes a shortcut whenever he teleports. Through here. Each time he teleports there has to be a ripple. We have to find it and go through with him.

"That's… Genius… By Asgore, I think you may be right." You can just about hear the astonishment in his words and you feel a hint of pride before your mind completely tears.

NOTE: And that's it for this one! Hope you liked it, I had a lot of fun writing it so I can only hope you had as much fun reading!

Thank you for taking the time to read and please leave much appreciated feedback! I'll post more as soon as I can, cause I'm sure loving working on this lately :P