Sans opens his eye sockets.
No, not like this.
Sans opens his eye sockets.
For some time he's been lying on the comfortingly familiar floor, evaluating such an achievement. Obeying the impulse of the monster's mind, his hand moves up to his face. He stares at it as if he's seeing it for the first time in his entire life. The arm flexes, sheepishly. Bony fingers slowly сlench into a fist and then relax, opening freely. The eyes shift to look wherever he wants them to look. One part after another is tested and moved by his command until there are no doubts left: his body is back to being his again.
As if something snaps into place inside his head, Sans is thrown off out of this self-reevaluating state and onto his feet. With a sharp wave of his hand, he pulls a soul out of his chest.
The plain-white upside-down heart floats before him.
He stares heavily at it before pushing it back and looking around, frantically searching for the answers on the heaping pile of immediate questions that only keeps getting bigger.
Fortunately, he didn't have to search for long. As he storms out of his room he overhears voices talking downstairs. One by one the other monsters seem to wake up from the similar mysterious blackout he had to experience himself. The familiar faces are all here - his work buddies, his brothers and one big sticky pile of amalgamated dogs - scattered on the floor and furniture as if his domestic trash tornado swallowed them and then spat them back out. However, there's also a fresh new face in the vicinity, one that immediately commands all of his attention.
A fuzzy boy in a striped sweater.
The little monster looks terribly like a smaller Asgore, same features, same fur, even somewhat similar posture. A more thorough inspection has Sans shaking his head and rubbing his eye sockets, blinded by the rainbowy mess that is his aura. The light surrounding the kid's figure is so bright and vibrant it's nearly white, which makes it physically painful to stare at. It's the first time Sans has seen this boy, but it's not too hard to figure out who he is. Looks like the time has come for a formal meeting.
"sup."
Asriel flinches away, startled, immediately sinking lower and lower, as if he's attempting to disappear inside the floor. Worriedly twitching snout, long floppy ears, big red eyes, shining with fresh tears, all topped with a faint scent of cotton candy. It's hard to believe, even for Sans, that this adorableness incarnate brought so much trouble and pain to the entire Underground.
"enjoying being saved, kid ?" he prods, after not getting a verbal response, "or should i address you by your royal title?"
"You… How did you-" The somewhat bleating voice is shaky, not unlike a leaf.
"yeah. i know the full scope of your sprawling secrets. and it might not be my job to judge. but..." The meaningful pause is underlined by his darkened eye sockets, "be sure that i'm not happy with what you've done."
"Uh… oh…"
"relax." A nonchalant dismissive shrug stops his stuttering. "I won't make a buzz as long as you'll beehive from now on. sounds good?"
Asriel nods with unbridled enthusiasm.
"okay… so…" Sans' face is calm, but his voice… His voice is starting to give him away. "do you have them?"
"Um… What? Who?"
"i ain't goat time for-" He stops himself, pausing before speaking again, "the… the red soul. you have to know where they are. you have to."
"Ohh… The seventh soul! So that's why I feel stronger than before!" He gets excited for a second, before lowering his head once more. "I think I do have it."
"good." Sans nods without breaking eye contact. "now give it to me."
"I… ah…"
"it's not yours." White lights in the skeleton's eye sockets spark, violently. "as if it wasn't obvious enough for you."
Before Asriel could do anything a human child darts to stand between them. They stare at Sans and then shake their head.
"frisk…?" Sans visibly tenses up, but after looking them over he relaxes. "he has berry. they're your friend too. right?"
The kid looks down yet continues to stay between the two monsters.
"The souls…" Asriel raises his voice slightly, leaning out of Frisk's shadow, "They're all slumbering right now. If I try releasing even one of them, they'll all wake up and most likely start to rebel. They will vanish and then I'll lose this form and my powers… But I… I'm okay… with that…" His lips and shoulders start to tremble.
Sans keeps staring at the morose kids. It takes a while before he finally closes his eyes and lets out a very deep sigh.
"i see… we do need your powers to fix ya up, so… let's make it quick." His eye sockets snap back open. "i'll go fetch my brothers."
The smell of burnt metal and argon permeates inside the walls of the hidden laboratory. The whirring of drills, banging of hammers and metal clattering doesn't seem to stop even for a moment. The cables, hoses, and wires lay and hang everywhere like it's not a workspace, but a jungle full of vines and snakes.
It's been a week since Asriel absorbed the human souls and hid from everyone in the brothers' house, interacting only with Frisk and Papyrus, who's been tasked with looking over the kids and making sure that no one finds out their hiding spot. It's getting harder and harder for the little prince to keep the souls asleep so there's less and less time for preparations that normally should take months and even years of work.
Even though the assistants barely recovered from what happened to them, if at all, every one of them agreed that they have to attempt saving their prince and breaking the barrier once and for all. If anything, that's what they've been trying to achieve in the first place. Lobo helps out with calculations and blueprints, Suzy lands her knowledge in creating chemical and alchemical formulas, Katter and Meatchell also do what they can, even if crafting and assembling isn't their field of competence. Surprisingly enough Alphys and Gaster are getting along really well, they keep throwing short technical phrases at each other, while tinkering with the tech, being the most productive team within the team as being fully into the work helps them to push aside their usual anxieties and formalities. Undyne is also here, as she refused to leave her girlfriend alone with a bunch of "nerdy freaks" as she puts it, hauling exceptionally heavy parts of the equipment when needed, but mostly just chilling at the top floor.
Throwing his laziness out of the window, channeling his old self, even changing his beloved jacket to the lab coat, Sans works too. At his fullest, at one hundred and twenty percent capacity, forgetting to eat and to sleep. All of his rest boils down to few blackouts during the day and ungodly amounts of coffee, but, of course, he can't last like this for long. Right now it's the tenth attempt at plugging the wire into the supposed slot as Sans keeps missing by a long shot, eye sockets watering from the smoke of the smoldering rubber and hands shaking from the lack of energy in his body. He drops the wire, sending it clattering onto the table and rubs his head in frustration, smearing the machine oil and soot across his already grimy face.
"You don't look so good," notices the cat doctor, who's been observing Sans' activity while slowly sipping his recurrent fix of coffee.
"well, ya aren't all rosy-cheeked yourself." And that is true as well. Katter might not be gray and faded any longer but he's certainly pale and shaky due to the lack of sleep and too much caffeine.
"I've been lost in time and space for years. What's your excuse?" He smiles, clearly joking around.
"fair enough."
"Oh? No witty puns in retort? You really are out of shape, my friend."
"i'd tell a chemistry joke, but all the good ones argon." The skeleton clinks one of the metal cylinders filled with flammable chemicals standing beside his chair and winks. It takes a visible effort to open the tired eyelid again.
"Ugh…" The doctor winces, though not without a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth. "Oh well, I did lure myself into this one… Anyway. I suggest getting some rest and cleaning your head… and your face. You're not going to be of much use in your current condition."
"Sound idea, Katter!" comes a remark from the other side of the room. Gaster's ability to overhear conversations might just be what made him the lead scientist in the first place. He wipes his forehead and straightens his back, then he raises his voice so everyone present in the room could hear his announcement, "Attention, everyone! I know that we don't have much time on our hands, but for the next eight hours I forbid anyone to keep working. Get out of here and have some food and sleep! An unhealthy mind leads to... incidents. And we do not want any of that to happen, isn't that right?"
A half a dozen tired voices uproariously agree with him.
The small skeleton sets his slipper-wearing foot onto the scorched ground of Hotland and takes a whiff of the stale and stuffy air. It tastes as good as the freshest mountain breeze after all the smoke he had to breathe for the past days. Other members of the crew bump into him as they walk out, but he just can't be bothered to move. Each unfortunate soul who exits at this side of the building gets a much dreaded departing pun.
Finally, everyone has left. Sans looks back at the sliding doors, giving them a long, contemplative stare, but then shakes his head. Going back and disregarding Gaster's veto might be tempting, as the time is short, but it's entirely pointless to work on the project alone. That's a fact that's been proven time and time again. Besides, the cat doctor is right. He is in very poor shape. Yet, even though there is nothing better to do with his time, he doesn't feel like sleeping. So he starts walking. He's gotten used to the long walks during the time of his body's involuntary abduction, and even though it wasn't him moving his legs and he never quite understood why would anyone walk if you could just teleport anywhere, sometimes… Sometimes it did feel nice. To just waddle around. Taking in on the atmosphere. Perhaps, it isn't the worst thing to do with his spare time after all.
After walking and walking, wandering through the cave's labyrinths and fields of whispering echo flowers, he stops dead in his tracks and looks up. The twinkling crystals look back, winking in the same pattern they've been repeating for innumerable centuries. Not unlike the stars on the surface, that the lonely monster got to witness for one short night.
Sans tugs on the laces of his hoodie, clenching his teeth. Then he swiftly reaches out to the pocket void to grab some papers seemingly randomly floating in there. He digs into the words written by his sloppy handwriting with a strange fervor, but then his expression slowly changes. As if he expected to read something else between these lines. A fast stroke of the pen against paper adds a new entry to the journal:
"day 8 nothing new nor suspicious still"
Lost in thought, he doesn't pay any mind to the rapidly approaching footsteps and his carelessness comes to gather its debt. Something big crashes into him with ample velocity, pushing him back and almost causing him to let go of his precious notes. Luckily the thing that hit him is very soft or there would be only dust left of his poor fragile bones.
His spinning vision slowly focuses on the tall silhouette of white and purple that chatters in a worried tone, "Oh, I am so sorry! I have not noticed you… Are you alright?"
"if i were an angle, right now i would've been a rectangle …" Sans mumbles, rubbing his ringing skull while hastily hiding his papers.
The figure responds with a snort and surprised sigh. "My friend! Is this really you…?"
"i mean… even if not, it's always not too late to make some friends." He smirks, one eye closed, but, of course, he recognized her as well.
"I suppose that is true." The warm voice softly chuckles. "I am Toriel and I am more than assured that I know you!
"welp, what can i say. you goat me. the one and only sans the skeleton is who i am. nice to meetcha."
"Yes, yes! It sure is nice, however…" Toriel's smile wavers. "You've stopped coming to the door and I… I couldn't just sit there any longer. Please, you must tell me! Are they alright?"
Sans hesitates, but only for a barely noticeable moment. "they were just fine when i saw them not too long ago, but i've lost the sight of 'em," he explains calmly. "i'm sure they're okay though. there are no threats for them 'round here anyways."
"Ah, I see - I see…" She nods even though it doesn't seem like she believes in that. "Then I shall run up ahead, maybe I will be able to meet them on my way to the castle. You can find me there if you seek them out first, but most certainly they will attempt to cross the barrier sooner or later."
"uh… yeah. good luck."
"See you soon!" And just like that, she storms off, dashing away like a bolt of pale lightning.
Looking at her go hits Sans with an idea and he gathers himself up to step into the shortcut.
"HERE YOU ARE, SANS!" The teleportation brings him to the front of his house as well as in front of his brother's scolding gaze. "WHY DID YOU STOP VISITING?"
"i told ya, bro. got lotsa work to do."
"YOU'RE ALWAYS SAYING THAT, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE YOU'RE JUST LAZING ABOUT!"
"so you're suggesting that i'm lyzing ?"
"WHAT'S THAT EVEN SUPPOSED TO MEAN..?"
"nevermind. how're the kids doing?"
"OH, THEY ARE FINE! I THINK… I DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM."
"huh?"
"THEY NEVER TALK TO ME. THE HUMAN ISN'T PRONE TO CONVERSATIONS AND THAT SMALL ASGORE CLONE SEEMS TO BE EVEN AFRAID OF ME. OF COURSE, SUCH GREATNESS CAN BE INTIMIDATING, BUT I DON'T WISH HIM ANY HARM! SANS…" The bombastic voice tones down to nearly sound like a whisper. "HIS EYES… THERE'S SOMETHING FAMILIAR IN THEM, BUT... I SEEM TO FORGOT WHAT."
"don't think too much about it. just give these two more time to adjust. s'gonna be fine."
"FOR ONCE I HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT!"
"i'll go say hi to 'em," he says as he steps into another shortcut leading into his brother's room. "heya there, jelly beans." Sans' entrance is met with startled and slightly unnerving silence. Both kids stop doing what they were doing, raising their heads and staring at him, little action figures squeezed tightly in their hands. "why, aren't you a cheerful bunch. relax a little, won't ya? "
No answer.
"anyways. do any of you wanna go visit toriel? she came out to save you, Frisk. heh. i'm sure she'll be mad happy to know that you're okay. not to mention seeing you alive, kiddo."
As soon as Sans nods at him Asriel starts to tremble like he's having a seizure. He can't even speak as he frantically shakes his head left and right. Frisk hugs the spasming goat kid and frowns at Sans.
"what's with that look? it's just a suggestion. no means no. i won't tell a thing. and kid…" The skeleton pierces Asriel, who just barely started to calm down, with a cold glare full of hidden meaning. "hold them tight, a'right? thanks."
As Sans walks out of the room and down the stairs he stumbles into Gaster - or, to be exact, on his very long legs - sitting on the couch and staring blankly in front of him.
The shorter brother smirks. "i know you like space as much as I do, but you don't have to space out like that, bro."
"Ah, yes. You are right."
"can't sleep?"
"I'm afraid so."
"so do i… hey. wanna go for a walk?"
"Don't mind if I do. Oh and by the way-" He tosses Sans a deflated whoopie cushion. "You forgot your pranking device on my chair, you ought to stop being so reckless with your belongings."
"pfft, thanks bro. no idea how it ended up there."
It's been snowing quite a lot while they were stuck in the Lab. The roofs, the tree branches, the ground, everything that could be covered is now tucked underneath the thick blanket of white, which hides all the tracks and muffles all the sounds. The two brothers slowly make their way through the quiet forest, renewing the ancient path as they go. The extra puffy snow doesn't bode well for Gaster's long black coat. The hem of the coat is getting soggy and heavy, tugging on his back with every step. Though he doesn't seem to even notice that fact as he keeps on trudging forward while muttering to himself and calculating something with the help of his many fingers.
"you just shooed everyone away from work and already back at it. there's no place like the workplace, huh?"
Gaster throws a frantic glance at Sans as if he just saw him for the first time today, then he dismisses most of his extra palms and lets out a chuckle. "What can I say in my defense, except that I've missed it dearly?"
"it's funny, isn't it? it feels like no time has passed since it all went down the drain and yet it feels like freaking forever at the same time."
"Quite peculiar indeed. I do feel the same way."
"oh yeah, by the by. i've met an old friend today."
As they pace around Sans tells his brother about meeting Toriel and Asriel's reaction to his suggestion of seeing her.
" I think we must show him anyway! After all, they are his parents, we must ask for their permission-"
"since when you're so shaken about permissions?" Sans huffs with a smirk.
"Do you have anything against that?" Slight notes of annoyance can be caught in a usually calm voice.
"i don't. but the kid does. don't forget that he's like a god right now, with all the souls and whatnot… might be better to just leave him alone."
Gaster scratches one of the cracks in his skull and hisses from pain. "There's not a lot of things I hate more than uncertainty…"
"heh. lemme guess. you don't really care what they're going to say. you just want to see an old friend."
"Ugh! That's exactly one of the things that I hate MORE than uncertainty! Stop reading me, Sans, that's indecent!"
"heheh, yeah. glad that some things never change. i can still see right through ya." Sans pulls one hand out of his jacket's pocket and pats the back of his brother, dusting off a couple of snowflakes in the process. "don't worry, gassy, i understand the urge to-" Sans falls silent for a moment. "to see your friend."
Gaster sizes up Sans with a sad smirk settling on his face. "You miss them, don't you?"
No answer.
"I do not recognize you, brother. It's not exactly in your style."
"we've all changed. for better or worse." Sans shoves his hand back into the depth of his pocket and shakes off his thoughts. "anyways. let's go check how the bosses are doing."
"How is it possible that they still did not find them!?" Even behind closed doors of the New Home two bone brothers can hear the loud and irritated voice shouting, "The Underground is so small! Where can they possibly be? Ugh! Your sentries are just as useless as you are, Asgore!"
"sup." Sans pushes the faded door and walks in first, interrupting the unfolding drama.
"What is the matter," the same annoyed voice grumbles.
"the useless sentry has arrived." He declares, bowing his head slightly.
"Sans!" Toriel swirls in place, the tone of her voice changing in a flash. "You are here, thank goodness!"
Before she could say anything else Gaster steps out of the shadows, drilling her with a disapproving stare. Behind his wife's back Asgore blinks, owlishly, radiating an aura of utter confusion.
"Widi…?" The king rubs his eyes and takes another look, but the ghost of the past doesn't seem to go away. "Golly! Doctor... I… I do not…? I was sure…"
"I'm glad to see you as well, your majesty."Gaster stiffens, hands fumbling behind his back. "I was absent, yes, but I have returned."
"Oh! Well, of course! Of course, I am glad! Are you here to return to the laboratory? A new scientist is working there, but I am sure we can figure something out."
"That would be appreciated."
"Asgore…" Toriel snarls growing tired of hearing this conversation. "What are you thinking? There is no time for all this! Someone could be hurting the child as we speak!"
He stares at Toriel with wet eyes filled with puppy love, flattening his ears against his head. The big monster suddenly seems very small, almost pocket-sized, or at the very least smaller than his wife. "I'm sure the royal dogs will sniff them out soon, To- Um… A-any minute now."
"Tsk."Gaster looks away, visibly struggling with himself.
Sans raises his brow bone, shifting his gaze from one monster to another, but gets deliberately ignored by everyone.
"You are such a pathetic whelp!" The angry woman snaps once again. "Is murdering innocent children all you are good for?"
"Stop that."All of a sudden the room grows darker and colder. Out of nowhere, a wind picks up. At the core of the brewing storm stands Gaster's hunched figure, clenching half a dozen floating fists.
"Calm down, friend. It's alright." Asgore comes forward, past his baffled ex-spouse and lays his paw on the shoulder of a cloaked skeleton. The latter lowers his head, eye lights shifting nervously.
Toriel huffs, gathering herself back. "Who are you anyway?"
"Win Din Gaster, the ro- The previous royal scientist," he responds, once Asgore moves away from him. "Was born after your... disappearance. So surely you had no chance of meeting me."
"Young and naive," she mutters, bitterly. Gaster smirks at that remark with one side of his mouth. "Why do you stand up for him with such fervor? Do you not know what he did? Hm. I suppose not." She scrunches her face. "For the children whose souls he reaped for no purpose, but to fool everyone, are just the tip of the iceberg."
"Maybe we should not talk about that…?" Asgore attempts to step in, but steps back as she glares at him.
"It has been entirely too long... I believe everyone has to know the truth after all. Maybe then they will see that this war was complete nonsense all along! That the monsters were never meant to leave the underground!"
"What are you even on about?"Gaster frowns, still struggling to hold himself from saying something extremely rude. "Why must we stay in this hellish prison?"
"I was about to say…" she continues with faltering patience, "That the barrier is NOT a prison, but a shield! A shield that was made by our human friends."
"That… Doesn't make any sense." His voice, however, doesn't sound assured anymore.
"If you truly are a person of science you must understand! Don't you realize that united by fear, greed, and anger, the human armies would have never left us be?" Toriel pleads, desperation seeping into her expression. "They were specifically ordered to wipe us out, every single one of us... But there were some humans who wouldn't believe the lies. They knew better. Knew that we never did anything to deserve such a fate... So they alerted our city of the incoming attack and volunteered to escort the evacuation to the mountain..." She draws in a deep, shaky breath. "That is where they cast the barrier... The spell works the way it does so that other monsters could still join us, while no human would dare to follow us knowing that they might never escape out of the darkness filled with monsters. Rest assured, that spell is very complex and dangerous... We do not know how it went. These young, valiant mages may have had to sacrifice their lives just to help us! And even if they did survive the ritual they still certainly had a lot of repercussions for their actions."
A shocked silence settles in before she continues.
"They have saved us, because they have believed in us and what we did? What Asgore did? He betrayed their trust! And so did everyone else, happily agreeing to start the war! Killing poor, lonely, defenseless children…" She shakes her head in grief. "And what for? To return to the surface?! Ha! Ha-ha…" She can't help a short, miserable laugh. "Do you even know what awaits us there? How humans will greet us this time? Will they destroy us instantly? Will they accept us? And even if they will... for how long will their grace last? I certainly do not know any of that. But what I do know is that Underground was our home for generations... Is there any good reason to tempt fate at this point?"
"Tori, I…"
"YOU." Her fiery gaze is set ablaze once more as she stares at the king with utter disgust. "You are a murderer Asgore... A murderer, a coward, and a traitor!"
"Sshhhhtup." The bone-chilling hiss sweeps across the room. " Shut up, woman."
"H-h-how... How dare you speak to me like that?" Toriel stares at the hunched scientist more baffled than angered, but the latter quickly takes hold.
"I dare..?" His eerie whisper slithers into the souls of each monster present within the room. " You push him around like you're the ruler here, but you are not the queen…" Gaster's head rises slowly as his uneven smirk shifts and distorts to resemble a maw full of fangs. "You lost that title as soon as you left your people in their time of great need. A true ruler would've never done such a thing. She would've stayed to do everything in her power to help her people," he rants quietly, throwing accusations like twigs into a flame, leaving Toriel to open and close her mouth in a fit of indignation. "That is right, I'm talking about Asgore."Now his voice is getting louder. "He was here to bring us hope when everyone was about to give up, curl up and die. He was here to promise us freedom and sunshine. He was the one who worked hard in trying to keep his promises. Violent or nonviolent way - doesn't matter! He made a promise and he keeps it till this very day. Needs of an entire race stand above some petty morals-"
"Nothing would ever justify murder! I-"
"YOU are not worth a hair from his head," he practically growls at her. "So it's YOU who shouldn't dare to badmouth YOUR KING!"
The room reminds heavily of a battlefield between the light and the darkness. One side is scorching hot with little flames bursting at random places, the other one is freezing cold with shadows gathering and growing in every corner.
It's all about to blow when - slowly and silently - Asgore walks to stand between the two infuriated monsters.
"Now-now," he coos softly, looking down so that no one can see his face. "There's no need to fight."
"She doesn't have a ri-"
"I appreciate your loyalty, Gaster," the big monster cuts him off, firmly, "but Toriel is right."
The aura of years upon years of regrets and sorrows fills the room like smoke from a dying fire.
"I have never aimed to set us free. I just stalled for time, filled with doubt and fear… Otherwise, I could've at least attempted to go through the barrier after I had gotten just one soul... " He shakes his head. "No... I never meant to start the war nor ever wanted to hurt anyone…" Asgore casts a sad smile. "I merely wished for my people to have hope." He closes his eyes. "However... I have no excuse for my actions. The blame and guilt will remain forever on me." As if feeling he's about to be interrupted he raises his hand. "I would only ask, or order, if need be, to let us not fixate on the past, for now. Not for my sake, but for the sake of a better future for everyone." Head up, posture straight. This is the king that leads his people, this is the one who fills their hearts with hope. "There are things to be done which we can not solve by fighting."
"Funny to hear that from you." Toriel huffs, and yet the magical flames surrounding her seems to wither.
"Very well then." The hungry shadows wisp away with disappointed hissing. " There are, indeed, things to be done. Let's go, brother. We have seen enough here."Gaster turns around, his cape making a dramatic flap, and leaves the building with a firm and tense pace.
Sans makes a quick apologetic shrug and walks off in the opposite direction to where the dark figure went, leaving two boss monsters standing confused. One trying to recall when did the old scientist that disappeared so suddenly reappear like this and the other to recall anything about her friend having a second brother, and a very rude one at that.
"so… that's it?" Sans peeks at his brother's still quite angry face, after catching up to him in one of the many castle's hallways. "you ain't gonna tell them anything?"
" That friend of yours…" Gaster grumbles through the clenched mouth, bravely containing his indignation. "She will try to stop our plans. I have a feeling about it."
"in your guts or in your bones?" Sans prods with a smirk.
" In my head Sans. In my HEAD," he replies in full seriousness. " Who knows what she's capable of. Asgore is too timid beside her to go against her opinion," he continues, flailing his many palms in exasperation," She's simply twirling him around her finger!"
"you sound incredibly jealous right now, you understand that, right?" Sans flashes a mischievous smile.
"Jealous? Pfff!" Some black liquid spurts out of his mouth, just to be awkwardly slurped back. "I am way above such pettiness!"
"whateva ya say, bro."
