Click clack

Click clack

The sounds of his boots echoed through the empty passageway. The bright red, contrasting against the marble surroundings. Click-clacking his boots went as he entered the castle hallway.

"SANS?" Picking up his pace, the tall skeleton stood over the smaller skeleton who lied on the ground. "BROTHER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"i don't know." The blue hooded skeleton mumbled.

"WELL WHATEVER IT IS, STOP IT. THERE IS NO TIME FOR YOU TO BE LAYING AROUND! WE MUST FIND JASPER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WHO KNOWS WHAT KIND OF DANGER HE MIGHT BE IN!"

"seems to be doing just fine..."

The tall skeleton stomped his foot in frustration. "SANS! THAT'S NOT THE POINT! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THE TINY HUMAN IS TO US!?"

"yeah... he's my son." He mumbled once more.

"WHAT? SANS SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOUR MUMBLING."

"correction, he's our son."

"OH! SO YOU FOUND OUT AS WELL. THAT'S GOOD!" Papyrus bent down and scooped his brother under his arm. "WELL NOW THAT YOU ARE ALL CAUGHT UP. THIS MAKES IT ALL THAT MUCH EASIER. TOGETHER WE WILL FETCH OUR MYSTERY CHILD OF UNKNOWN ORGIN AND THEN FIGURE OUT THE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO PROCEED FORWORD IN THIS STRANGE SITUATION WE FOUND OURSELVES IN!" Papyrus walked through the rooms, steadily making his way towards the throne room.

"ok."

"BROTHER! I'M BEING SERIOUS HERE! WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE HE'S SAFE!"

"ok."

"BROTHER, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? DON'T YOU WANT TO FIND HIM?"

"what's the point!? it's not like he'll listen to us! don't you get it? he hates us... he doesn't even know us and already he can't even stand to be in the same room as me."

"SANS... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"you should have seen him paps. he... he was so desperate to get away from me. nothing i did worked."

"SANS...MAYBE HE DOESN'T KN-"

"he didn't even flinch when i told him! it's like he knew or at the very least figured it out before we did. he doesn't care, so why should-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH BROTHER! WHETHER YOU'RE RIGHT OR WRONG, WE SHOULD FIND HIM! IT IS OUR DUTY AS NEWCOMERS IN THE LIFE OF PARENTHOOD!!" Sans looked up at his brother, amazed that he would never waver away from what he set his mind to.

"heh, when you're right, you're right."

"I'M ALWAYS RIGHT! NYE-HEH-HEH!!"

When the brothers reached the throne room, they spotted someone dashing in from the other side of the room. Noticing that it was the king, Papyrus placed his brother down and ran to him. The king looked panicked and afraid. With one hand on the skeleton's shoulder, he pointed towards the exit that led to the barrier. Quickly he told the brothers of the tiny human and how he was in danger.

Before the king could ask for their help, both skeletons had already rushed past him. Soon they reached the barrier, and the room was dimmed with the presence of an incoming battle.

"JASPER!!" "jasper!?"

"Sans? Papyrus?" They saw the tiny human turn around before darkness covered them. Frantic, both skeletons searched around in the dark. They called and called for the little boy. But as the time past by, they knew the child was gone.

"SANS! WHERE IS HE!! I CAN'T SEE HIM!! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE ARE!!"

"it's okay... don't panic-"

"OF COURSE I'M GOING TO PANIC!!"

"well panicking isn't going to help us, is it?! look, just calm down, okay. i've been here before..."

"YOU HAVE? WHEN? HOW!?"

"maybe-"

"SANS!!"

"look, they all look the same alright! just black empty voids! just give me time to think this through or we both be stuck here for who knows how long!" Papyrus giving him space, Sans lets his eye glow. His magic pulsed through the space, seeking for anyone else that might be stuck in there with them. As the hour came close, Sans felt something.

Leading his brother they rushed towards the direction his magic had picked up the faint signal.

[Hw intereting... both eyes shne a differnt light. Quite unhead of betwen our kind. We... I suppse you are an excption to the norm. A pity yr soul is so... underdevloped. But evn so, your glw is quite strog, quite fasciting actually.]

Upon hearing a strange voice in the dark, both brothers slowed down. Something about the voice ran a chill down to their bones.

[Caldown! You'd oly deplete your magic even furer if you don't clm don! Your body cn't surive with only your humn side alne. Hnnngg... I was nver god at this. Hmm...? You snse somene coming?]

Catching a glimpse of light, they rushed forward. Before they could get any closer, a spark of light lashed at them. Skidding to a stop, they barely manage to not get hit by it. Accompanying the bolt of light was the pitiful cries of a child. Looking through the various sparks of magic, they saw the little boy curled up in a ball.

"JASPER!" Sans' brother shouted in relief, but all he could do was stare. Staring at the dark looming figure that kneeled before the child. Before he could get a good look at the figure, it melted into the ground. "SANS!? HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET NEAR HIM?"

"uh...he's... he's our kid right? so... it shouldn't hurt us... too badly?" He wasn't too sure, but that was all Papyrus had to hear before running through the thunderstorm of magic. Focused on reaching the child in pain, he made it pretty close before a quick jolt of light whipped at him.

"AAH!"

"papyrus!" Sans attempted to get close at seeing his brother pushed to the ground.

"NO! STAY BACK!!"

"but... you got hit..."

"IT'S OKAY...IT DOESN'T HURT THAT BAD. I'M OKAY..." Getting back up, Papyrus tried again. The magic more condensed the closer he got, the harder it was to dodge. Leaving no other option but to power through it. Grunting his way, he struggled to reach the child. Once his hand reached close enough, he gave one final push. Quickly grabbing the child, he pulled him into his arms.

"SANS! A LITTLE HELP HERE!!" The magic having subsided to mere sparks instead of thundering lightning, Sans rushed to his brothers side. Papyrus struggled to keep his hold on the boy as he continued to scream out in pain. Trying hard not to freak out, Sans placed his hand on either side of the boy's face.

"jasper?! come on squirt, snap out of it," Sans ran his phalange over the bottom of the boy's closed eyes, pointlessly wiping away the tears as more kept coming. But then, Sans quietly gasped out in surprise,"... woah..." Being trapped inside the arms of the tall skeleton, the sparks ran through the tiny human's skin, causing patches to dissolve through out. "guess the squirt really is one of us."

"SANS, HURRY!! I DON'T THINK I CAN HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!!"

"right right, sorry bro..." Getting closer, he pulled the now small skull face towards him. "jasper open your eyes! squirt don't make me force you!!" Getting the tiny skeleton's attention; Jasper open his eyes. "that's good, now just look at me..." Sans left eye began to glow a soft blue light, "just like me, can you do that? can you glow? come on, i know you can do it! just a little..."

Seeing the soft glow, the little boy quieted down significantly to quiet sobs. Hearing Sans encouraging voice, he did what he was asked. Soft blue and orange light shined through his eyesockets. "shh shh, there you go... see, you did it." He responded with such care as his phalange wiped the last tear. "i knew you could... don't you feel better?" Jasper snuffle and nodded his head tiredly.

"SANS YOU DID IT! YOU... J-JASPER?" Both skeletons stared down at the young child as his head dropped down against Papyrus' arm. Sans quickly lifted the tiny skull up only to be faced with hollow eyesockets.

"no... no no no no!!!"

Papyrus turned the little body in his arms around. Kneeling down, he gently cradled the child comfortably in his arms. "JASPER!! JASPER, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Tears ran down his skull as the tiny body remained unresponsive. His soul pulsed, emitting a bright green glow around their body. "WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP... " Closing his own eyes, he tried reaching down to the boys fragile soul.

He stood in a white space with numerous shattered bones surrounding him. Looking around, he spotted the shadow-like silhouette of the child floating motionless up above. Papyrus struggled to get near, but it felt like swimming in water. "YOU HAVE TO..."

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get closer. But he didn't quit, using the shattered bones around as steps, he made his way to the floating body. Holding the child close, he could see the boy's eyes begin to open.

"please...please wake up..."

"Pa...Papyrus?...Sans?..."

Both brothers cried tears of joy at seeing the child awake, "THERE YOU ARE..."

"gave us quite a scare... don't... don't do that again, okay squirt?" But their joy was cut short when darkness consumed him.

"JASPER!! S-SANS WHERE DID HE GO!!?"

"i-i don't know." Soon, they both disappeared deeper into the void.

Feeling weak and heavy, unaware of his surroundings, he heard bird singing. The warmth of the light on him caused him to stir. Blinking a couple of times, he squinted before turning his gaze from the hole that the light shown through. Eyes focusing, his sight met with the one of the many golden flowers he layed on top of. Ever so slowly, he sat up. A simple task turned to a chore by the ache his body felt. Disturbing the flower patch, the petals floated around him.

"Starting over..." Words that fell from his lips, weighed heavy on his heart. He removed his glasses and carefully stored them back to it's case. Tucked away in his backpack, he struggled to stand. "Bon...bon... " Body quaking, he leand against the cave walls. Steadily he made his way through. Seeing the opening, he tried to step away from the wall. But his sweaty hands caused him to slip his grip on the rocks. Falling to the ground, he got back up on shaky legs.

He hugged his body, forcing himself to stop shaking. Unfortunately, it only made his heart beat faster. Constricting his lungs, his eyes blurred as he got light headed. Taking calming breaths, he let himself go. Once he felt well enough to walk, he went through the opening.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey the... heh, don't worry. I'm not going through that again. Take my advice and save your progress. It'll make this all that much easier." While the flower monster talked, the boy staggered past him. "Hey! I was ta-... kid, you don't look so good."

"Yeah well... I feel a lot worse."

"If you feel that bad, just wait for the Ruin Keeper. She'd love to heal you." Jasper stopped in his tracks. He'd forgot about the goat monster and he really didn't want to go through the same things. Closing his eyes, he could feel his skin burning. The smell of burnt hair and flesh filled his nose. His sister' screams assaulted his ears. He wanted to scream as well, let anger fill his soul but he couldn't. He couldn't let himself get distracted, so he steadied his breathing. Listening closely to his heart, he waited for the steady beat. Catching it, his eyes opened wide as he pulled his magic from his soul.

Quickly his hair turned snow white and his skinned thinned until it was no more. Being in his skeleton form was draining to get into, with having to use a lot of magic just to push away his human side. The only upside was in that moment, in this form, he felt stronger. Was stronger... But he could only hold it for so long until it tired him out completely.

Even though going to his skeleton form right now was a bad idea, (considering how terrible he felt), he needed to. It was the only thing he could think of that might work on passing the Ruin's Keeper. Keeping his body steady and tall, he waited for Toriel to come by. He was glad that he didn't have to wait long. The goat women was surprised at first at seeing someone in that room. But once Jasper smiled and said that he got lost, Toriel returned a smile of her own and told him that all he had to do was go straight and he would surely find his way. His plan had worked; the keeper went on to water the small patch of flowers and he went back to his human form. With the exception of his hair. Didn't have enough strength to change the pigment. Exhausted to the brink of collapsing, he struggled through the Ruins.

In a quick gasp, Sans awoke from his sentry station in Snowdin. Looking widely around in a panic, his mind tried to process what just happened to him. Calming himself down, he stepped onto the snow. "how'd i get here? wasn't i just at the castle?" Looking down at his hands, he could faintly feel the soft skeletal cheek, the wet tears that ran down them... "jasper!" He look towards the bridge that lead to the Ruin doors. The ominous large doors made him anxious. Not really sure who would come through it. "did he... reset? no... this is different. feels more like he didn't save..." Even though it wasn't a reset, it still gave him a killer migraine since it brought him all the way to the beginning.

"SANS! SANS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"papyrus?" He was confused on why his brother was showing up so soon. He never came by so early, always after Sans meet whomever came out those large sealed doors. "uh... sup bro? need something?"

"DON'T SUP ME BROTHER! I AM HERE TO...TO... WHY EXACTLY AM I HERE?"

"to... check on the puzzles?"

"YES!? WAIT... IT'S TOO EARLY FOR THAT! I AM HERE... HERE FOR... A DIFFERENT MATTER?" His brother was never in the void during one of these "spells", probably why he looked so lost.

"hey, bro? what would you do, if i said we had a kid?"

"SANS! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! AND HIGHLY DISTURBING! WE ARE BROTHERS, WHY WOULD WE DO SUCH A THING!"

"w-what no no no, not like that!! stars... what i ment was, what if... (and this is just hypothetical) ... we found a partner. someone who liked us both and with this someone... we had a child."

"A PARTNER... LIKE SOMEONE WHO WOULD LOVES US AND CARE FOR US WITH ALL THEIR HEART AND THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE PROUD OF US!! THEY'D TELL US WE WERE GOOD AND AND WE WOULD LIVE TOGETHER AND BE HAPPY... LIKE... LIKE A FAMILY." His eyes shined in wonder.

"something like that."

"THEN THIS PERSON MUST BE TRULY SPECIAL TO HAVE CAPTURED BOTH OF OUR HEARTS!!"

"bro, i think your getting of track."

Papyrus in his excitment, lifted his brother and swung him around in his arms. "OOOH BROTHER CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!! TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO WOULD CHERISH US BOTH!! WE WOULD NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING APART!! WE WILL BE TOGETHER FOREVER IN ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY!!"

"that's great and all, but back to the part of the kid."

"OH YES, THE CHILD. WELL THEY WOULD OF COURSE BE QUITE GREAT SUCH AS MYSELF. THEY WOULD LOVE PUZZLES AND HELPING OTHERS!"

"bro..."

"DON'T WORRY BROTHER, I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU. THEY WOULD PROBABLY INHERIT BOTH OF OUR SMARTNESS. HOPEFULLY NON OF YOUR BAD HABITS. BUT EVEN IF THEY DID, THEY WOULD STILL BE THE BEST MONSTER ANYONE HAS EVER SEEN!! WE WOULD BE SO PROUD! AND AND... They Would Be Good And Happy." His last words were filled with so much fondness over a child he has yet to meet.

"paps, hate to burst your moment there, but there's something you need to know."

"WHAT IS IT SANS?"

"that kid your dreaming about, yeah he's probably going to step through those doors."

"WHAT!!!"

"we should probably hurry over there. i don't think he's feeling w-"

"SANS! THIS IS SO SOON!! ME, A PARENT!!! I'M NOT EMOTIONALLY READY YET!!! WHAT SHOULD I SAY!? WHAT WHOULD I WEAR!!!"

"bro, calm down..."

"WE HAVE YET TO MEET OUT PARTNER AND ALREADY WE HAVE A CHILD!!! THIS IS ALL MOVING TOO FAST!!"

"why don't we panic closer to the ruin doors. ya know, just in case the squirt comes through. don't want to miss him, now do we?"

"BRILLIANT PLAN, BROTHER!" In quick haste, Papyrus made his way to the Ruin doors. Standing their with his brother under his arm, he waited as time crawled by. The longer he waited the more nervous he was getting. After a while, he set his brother down and started pacing. "BROTHER, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS WE MUST GET READY AFTER HE ARRIVES!! THE HOUSE HAS TO BE PROBABLY ACCOMMODATED TO HOUSING A NEW MEMEBER! WHICH MEANS WE MUST ACQUIRE ALL SORT OF NEW THINGS!! CLOTHES, BED, SANS WE NEED MORE BACKING SODA!!!"

While Papyrus continued pacing and listing off random assortment of items they "needed" to get, Sans was leaning his back against a tree. He wasn't surprised to see his brother so enthusiastic about the whole thing. But for him, he wasn't sure how to feel about it. The last round didn't go so well with the kid. Which didn't help him feel any less anxious. Especially the whole almost dying part.

yeah, i could live without going through that again

As morning turned to early afternoon, Sans found his brother almost knee deep underneath the snow with all his pacing. Starring at the doors, he was getting more frustrated. Not at the kid, just the inability to go through the Ruins himself and find the squirt. He did have time to think about a couple of questions he wanted answered regarding the kid. Noticing that the boy was a hybrid (didn't believe it was possible) it only made sense that the kid's mother was a human. Did he and his brother finally left the underground and met someone on the surface... or was it someone who fell down. Trapped just like the rest of the monsters.

There was one human that came to mind. But that just opened a whole other can of trouble. Disregarding those sets of questions, he tried to figure out the mystery of the kid's soul. Even though figuring out where the kid came from was an interesting topic. He chucked it up to something like a different time line or even just from the future. It didn't concern him as much as the soul did. How could any soul be in such a state and still be alive. The soul hasn't even developed it's form yet, which gave the reason why it still swirled with it's parent's magic. A process that only occured during the creation stage. When the soul is complete, that is when the infant can leave whatever protective environment it was in.

Developing it's own trait, the infant then relies on the parents to feed them their magic. Helping them grow until their own magic becomes stable. But the way Jasper's soul appeared, shifting to one parents magic to another, to the way it shakes with unsteady magic... it seems as if the soul had skipped all the crucial point on surviving. Except there it was, alive for years, struggling to exist. The only thing that came to mind on how that could be possible, was it's human trait. But even that was deteriorating. The child was smaller and weaker then what was preferable.

On the topic that bothered him the most was what happened to the kid's parents? What happened to him and his brother? Were they missing? Dead? It was the only thing that made sense on why the kid didn't have an ounce of magic besides the small piece that helped create him in the first place. It's unbelievable that the kid could even use that magic to battle the way he does. He suppose that monsters combined with a human soul... really are stronger.

Then their patience were rewarded. The Ruin doors opened. Both brother's stopped what they were doing, anticipating for whomever opened those doors, to show themselves. A few excruciatingly long seconds past before the little boy made his appearance. His little soul, calling out towards it's parents was all Papyrus needed to know that that was the child Sans had mentioned. But before they could say anything, the little boy collapsed onto the snow.

Papyrus was confused and started to panic. Sans could understand, who wouldn't be. But he... He was afraid. Gathering the child in his arms, he patted the child's face. "s-squirt? come on kid, wake up wake wake up.. don't- don't...jasper you can't just-" The child stirred in his arm, whimpering as he tried to curl himself deeper into Sans coat.

"AAAAAHHHH!, SOMEBODY HELP US!, WE NEED HELP-"

"hey paps, calm down."

"BUT THE CHILD!!? HE'S... HE'S..."

"he's just asleep." Sans brushed the little boy's hair away from his face, noticing the the thin layer of sweat. "poor guy, must've been tuckered out."

"OOHHH~ SANS, HE'S SO SMALL. CAN I HOLD HIM, PLEEEEASE?"

"sure, knock yourself out." He carefully placed the small child onto Papyrus open arms. "just keep him away from the cold. don't wanna end up getting him sick." His brother removed his scarf, wrapping the sleeping child. "i don't think we know what to do if he got sick because of the cold. never happened to us before."

Making their way back to Snowdin Town, Papyrus had asked him why the child looked sick. If it was perhaps his fault, that his scarf wasn't enough. But he reassured him it wasn't because of the cold. That the kid was already sick, kinda the reason he collapsed in the first place. A little bit of rest and food when he wakes up should do him some good. Then they could figure out what to do with him. Entering their house, Papyrus went straight to his room, and gently tucked the child in his bed. Satisfied that the child didn't wake from being moved around so much, he left his room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Waiting outside his room was Sans, lost inside his head again. Papyrus quietly said his name as to not disturbed the child. Sans gave him a tired smile before going to sit on their couch. "BROTHER, HOW DID YOU KNOW HE WAS COMING THROUGH THOSE DOORS? AND WHY DID YOU CALL HIM JASPER?"

"cause that's his name."

"YES, BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW?" The tall skeleton joined his brother on the couch.

"paps, do you remember those deja vu's we used to get. you know from way back then?"

"YES... SORT OF. IT'S BEEN SO LONG THAT I'VE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT IT MUCH. WHY? IS THAT HOW YOU KNEW?"

"eh, something like that. it's like going through something, but then going back."

"SANS, HAVE YOU BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS THING, WHATEVER IT IS, FOR A WHILE NOW?"

"w-what?! no, it's not- i mean..."

"BROTHER! YOUR KEEPING SECRETS FROM ME AGAIN, AREN'T YOU!"

"that doesn't matter right now-"

"WELL IT MATTERS TO ME!" Papyrus stared at his brothers eyes, daring him not to tell him. But he looked away. "FINE! KEEP YOUR SECRETS! I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW THEM ANYWAY."

"sorry bro. i'll tell ya when things settle down."

"REALLY?"

"... yeah."

"YOU BETTER!" A silent minute past before Papyrus interrupted it. "I SAW GLIMPSES OF BONES UNDERNEATH HIS SKIN. BUT WHY DOES HE EVEN HAVE SKIN?"

"he's half human bro."

"HALF...HUMAN? OOOOHHHH SANS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!"

"we gotta keep the kid a secret?"

"NO... WELL MAYBE BUT THAT I MUST HAVE CAPTURED A HUMAN!! AND WHAT'S BETTER THEN THAT IS THAT I HAVE ALSO CAPTURED THEIR HEART!! I MUST BE EXTREMELY GREAT TO HAVE DONE SUCH A TASK!"

"heh, the best. who wouldn't love you?"

"YOU TOO SANS."

"eh... whatever you say bro."

Ba-dum Ba-dum

He could hear muffled voices through his sleepy conscious, along with the smell of food being cooked. (Or burned in that matter.) His vision blurred in and out as he opened his eyes. He tried focusing at the red object in front of his face. With shaky arms, he pulled himself up and saw that the red was from the car bed he had slept in.

Slept...? That's strange, thought the murdering crazed Chara would've possessed me by now.

《Don't worry, they're not going to do that. Too busy... uh... enjoying the show? Their words not mine.》

{Ha! Goody two shoe here just doesn't want to admit that they're just as curious as I am!}

《I guess I'm a bit curious, but it doesn't mean I enjoy it.》

{Enjoy it or not, that curiosity is the thing that got you in this mess!}

Don't worry... Miss. Frisk, I know you don't mean any harm by it.

《How... how do you-》 {Hahahaha, he called you miss}

Can you two leave me alone, I don't think I can deal with anymore problems. Sorry, I...I feel like I'm about to pass out again.

Just as the little boy said, he fell back onto the bed, darkness consuming him. Once his eyes opened once more, he was back in the void. A tall skeleton loomed over him again. Standing up, he noticed the scar on its face and the dripping black body that covered him. The monster brought chills through his bones, but he couldn't look away. "Who are you?"

[I doubt that's the right question you should be asking.]

"Where am I... no..." looking at his hands, he knew what to ask. "What's happening to me?"

[That, little hybrid, is the right question. Simply put, you are ceasing to exist.] Eyes wide, the child didn't move as the mysterious monster grew closer. Hands with holes in the middle flew closer towards him. [You are by far the most interesting creature I've had the pleasure to meet. But you mean nothing to me if you don't hold on longer. Listen carefully, the brothers are going to try to attempt to save you.]

"No... I don't need them! I don't want their help! I... just..."

[If it's about your sister. You don't have to worry about her. She's still alive if that's what concerns you. Her timeline is breaking, but it's merely an inconvenience. With due time, you will meet her again. But not if you die before then.]

Jasper didn't want anyone's help. Getting help only brings more people into the problem. But if what the mysterious skeleton said was true, then he was left with no choice. He's gotten weaker and he was incredibly tired. Just a little... just until I can stand on my own again. Falling back again, he found himself back in the room with the car bed. It was hard to breath and his head wouldn't stop pounding. He should be happy that his sister was still alive, but all he wanted was to be with her. Without her, he felt so unbearably alone.

"HELLO?" The tall skeleton peeked through the crack door. "ARE YOU AWAKE YET? SANS SAID I SHOULDN'T DISTURB YOU, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN IN BED FOR QUITE A LONG TI- OH! YOU ARE AWAKE! THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS PREPARED YOU THE BEST MEAL!!"

Papyrus noticing that the child didn't respond, he saw how the little boy was struggling to stay up. Rushing to him, he placed a gloved hand over the small of his back, helping him sit. The built up stress came crashing down on the little boy. Nausea hitting hard, he had no strength left to keep it all down. Chunks of magical particle spewed out of his mouth.

Coughing uncontrollably, the tall skeleton acted quickly and held the little boy facing downward so he wouldn't choke. Jasper's stomach kept on contracting violently and forcing everything out. Seeing that the boy's face turning white, he called for Sans. Dripping magical bile, sweat, and tears, Papyrus kept holding the child. Not even caring if it got all over him. Cold shivers didn't help as the little boy heaved even though there was nothing left. Amongst all the coughing and dry heaving, Jasper tried to apologize. The green magic Papyrus let out around helped, but not by much.

"THERE THERE, IT'S OKAY. YOU'RE OKAY. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE... RIGHT SANS?"

Sans looked at the worry on his brother's face and then at the magical bile that coated the bed, the floor, his brother's armor and the kid. He didn't want to lie, this whole thing was looking bad. When Jasper quieted down to soft sobs, he answered his brother. "papyrus, we gotta get the kid to alphys. he's not looking too well." His words left the air heavy with tension. Papyrus nodded before going to his closet. "bro, let me clean the kid, you should worry about getting yourself cleaned up."

Papyrus was reluncted to let the child go. But agreed that in his currant state, he would draw unwanted attention. The magic bile on the kid having dried, Sans didn't have to worry about it dirtying his own clothes. Unlike human vomit, (a memory he rather not remember from one of your more... unpleasant reset) monster vomit were orderless and dried quickly. Taking the kid to the bathroom, he didn't have to worry about setting up the bath seeing how he could easily just use the sink. Removing the kid's clothes, he gently washed away the crusted bile with a warm wash cloth. Jasper was still asleep after drying him with a towel.

Carrying him out of the bathroom, Papyrus had already changed out of his armor and into an old shirt Sans had found at the dump (with the word spaghetti inside a red rectangle) along with a pair of long pants. In his gloved hand, he held one of Sans plain white t-shirt. They didn't have anything smaller for Jasper, so it was better then nothing. When they were ready, they took the riverboat to Hotland.

The boat leaving them near Alphys lab, they made their way into the large building. Papyrus stayed by the entrance holding Jasper in his arms while Sans went to see where Alphys was. "hey al, you here?" Not getting a response, he went towards the door that led to the secret lab. He knocked a couple of times before he heard shuffling. The door slid up and Alphys came out stumbling with a stack of papers.

"Aaaaahhh! S-sans! Wha-what are you d-doing here? Y-you were just h-here a few days ago?"

"sorry al, i... i kinda need a favor."

"A-a favor? W-what is it?" With his thumb, Sans pointed towards Papyrus. Alphys didn't understand at first. Wondering if it was her brother who needed the favor. Once the child in the tall skeletons arm made a pitiful whimper, she let out a gasp. "A... A human?! B-but why here! Why me!? I-I d-d-don't... I mean isn't U-undyne in charge of... you know..." But Alphys cut herself off when she saw the sad tired look on Sans' face.

"no, we don't want to turn him in. he's... he's our kid."

"Y-your...kid? I- I don't understand. H-he may look smaller then m-most humans but you can't just take one in! W-what if the g-guards find out!? O-or even the k-king!?"

"you don't get it al."

Papyrus left the entrance hall and joined his brother. "HE'S OUR CHILD, DR. ALPHYS. WE DIDN'T ADOPT HIM, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT HIS SOUL... PLEASE..." Papyrus gently pulled the small human's soul. "HE NEEDS YOUR HELP." The doctor's face illuminated by the small glow, let out a soft gasp of wonder. The tiny soul floated weakly above the sleeping child, shifting from one color to another.

Needing no more explanation, Alphys guided the brothers to the elevator. Tension grew in the pact little metal box as it lowered them down to the secret lab. When the doors open, Sans followed Alphys but Papyrus hesitated. "don't worry bro, it's fine..."

"W-WHERE ARE WE? AND WHY ARE THE LIGHTS OFF?"

"the patients become more active when the lights are on. but with the whole where we are situation... don't really know myself. been coming here for a while and i still haven't figure that out yet."

"A WHILE?! HOW LONG IS A WHILE, SANS?"

"... just a while." Sans feature darken so Papyrus didn't push any further. "alphys says it's just a lab she built under the other one, when she just want's privacy. but i don't think she even believes that." Leaving the elevator, Papyrus followed his brother.

"BUT THIS PLACE...IT FEELS..."

"familiar right? yeah i got that too. you don't have to be scared though."

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT GET SCARED!" Even having said that, the tall skeleton stayed close to his brother. He would even on occasion try to grab Sans jacket when he heard strange sounds. The brothers continued to walk behind Alphys as they went deeper and deeper into the lab. After passing a couple of empty cells, eventually Sans was getting curious.

"hey al. where exactly are you taking us? i don't think i've been through here." The blue hoodied skeleton questioned as they went through a small hallway hidden near a large metal cabinet. Going down the stairs, Papyrus held onto the sleeping child closer.

"Th-there's a couple of containment tubes with artificial magical fluids th-that would help sustain a m-monster from falling. B-but just for a-a little bit. I-it's just a temporary solution." Turning left, they came to a room that held a few large glass tube like chambers layed down on the floor. The room lit up a low blue hue that came from the small light inside the tubes that shined the liquid inside them.

"oh, those things. i remember those... the patients were kept there before the whole determination insertion. but why did you move them down here? weren't they in the room before the cells?"

Alphys went towards one of the tubes and flipped a couple of switches, draining the liquid before it opened up. "Th-they were, but uh... The patients, th-they kept bumping into them and... and I-I didn't want them to break.. so... you know. J-just in case... um..." Sans made his way towards a glass cabinet, removing a couple of respiratory equipment.

"in case you have to use it again?" Alphys looked down at the computer panel near the tubes. Her glasses clouded, hiding her guilt-ridden eyes.

"... Yeah..."

Finding a small enough medical gown, Sans tossed it to his brother who then started dressing the boy in it. "that sounds good and all but, the squirt is only half monster..." Sans stopped and pondered for a bit, "or is it 2/3rds...huh." Sans motioned Papyrus to place Jasper inside the tube when he was fully dressed. He was unwilling at first, but did as he was told. When he gently lowered the child inside the container, Sans started hooking up the the connection of the oxymask to one of the sockets inside the tank. Fully secured, he placed the mask over the child's face.

"I-I found a sodium lactate solution, w-while I was cleaning up. N-not sure w-why I have that. B-but they were near the extra human soul containers."

"not trying to clone a human are we al?"

"W-WHAT!? N-NO! I-I already told you that I didn't even know we had that."

With a feather like touch, Papyrus stroke the child's cheek before moving out of the way as Sans placed 3m red dot ecg electrodes on either side of Jasper's forehead and one over his heart. "just like the rest of the stuff down here?" Alphys didn't answer back as she typed a couple of commands to regulate the temperature. In silence both Alphys and Sans finished setting up the tube before sealing it off. With a push of a button on the keyboard, the mixed solution filled the tank. The tall skeleton looked worriedly at the tiny human as he floated in the liquid. Placing his gloved hand against the tubes, he closed his eyes for a moment... wishing that everything was going to be okay.

"SANS, THIS WILL WORK RIGHT?" Sans laid his hand over his brother's arm in comfort. The tall skeleton looked at his brother's downhearted face.

"don't know..."

Both brother's gazed protectively over the little boy as he floated ever so quietly with but only the sound of the heart monitor beeping steadily in the background.