Earlier that morning...
When reflecting on how things had progressed, it had gone...decently. Not well by any measure, but decently enough. Sans stood, leaning on the railing of the second floor.
His focus on the kid, who was now sitting, eating food in their house. He'd listened, and watched off and on as she interacted with his brother. Talking about friendship and the sort. He was, admittedly, not too surprised that Flowey had bailed on her. He didn't have a great track record for sticking around when stuff got tough.
His attention falling on Papyrus, as his brother wandered into the room to get dressed, before heading back to the kid. She ate, and drank much the way any living being would. She got sad, or excited, happy and frustrated as normal as day. Well, maybe a bit not. She was clearly depressed, dealing with a great deal of stress, all the while bottling it up in some very unhealthy ways...but beyond that, perfectly normal..ish.
He'd done the research on humans, both in his spare time, and in his old job. He'd read the reports, dug through the files. He'd seen things, and located information that even Alphys didn't really know about. Ink-tears was the biggest give-away, but not the only one, that the kid...wasn't human. At least, not completely.
She was just...slightly off. Aside from the fact that the original Chara had died, what...a few hundred years ago? Humans definitely didn't live that long. And even if she had come back, her body should be rotten. They weren't like monsters, didn't bleed mana until they collapsed into dust. They were physical completely. Functioned differently, albeit similarly in some respects.
His train of thought was interrupted by his brother stepping out of his room. Once more wearing his coat, and battle armor. The taller skeleton briefly giving him a glance, as the kid did the same. She locked eyes with him.
There it was, something that told him she was alive. Capable of thought. That expression, a mixture of anger and dread, repressed only by snuck glances at his brother. Seemed she still thought of him as a threat, but didn't know how Papyrus would respond. Sans felt his mind going back to her comment about a phone call. It was, undoubtedly connected to the peculiar check message.
Someone was toying with them. Manipulating the situation to some end. Someone who was clearly dangerous, and a dozen steps ahead. He didn't know the how or why though, at least not yet.
"hey bro. you two headin out?" Sans asked.
"That is the idea. We were meant to take Chara to acquire less sti-" Papyrus paused. "a proper set of battle armor."
"I'd love to join, but I got a call from al." Sans noticed his brother glare some. "needs a hand with somethin."
"Are you serious?" The tall skeleton noted. "You know, you could be of assistance in this."
Two reasons kept Sans from doing that, maybe three. One, he had this strange feeling the kid would try and guy him if she got the chance. And he was sure if Alphys had bothered texting him, she probably found something useful. Add to that, he was never much for shopping.
"I'd just be hangin on by a thread the whole time." Sans replied, chuckling. "or, weavin myself into some trouble."
"Ughh, stop." His brother groaned, looking disappointed. "Fine, it's fine. You go handle your social visit. And don't come back with instant noodles and soda next time." He paused. "Unless she has some Pixie soda."
"think she's more a hill dew kinda gal." Sans replied. "but I'll ask." He turned back to Chara. "you two have fun."
With that thought, he vanished. He really hoped Alphys had found something. Cuz he was feeling like an ass for that. His shoes tapping down on the tile, as he appeared in her lab once more. Noting the distinct lack of hostile attack drones as an improvement worth commending.
Sans looked around his immediate surroundings by the computer she usually inhabited the space of. He noticed that there was a cup of tea on the desk. Something he knew for certain she didn't drink.
Grabbing it briefly, it was cold. The smell was unmistakable. Golden Flower Tea, a favorite of only two people he knew about. Only one of them ever bothering to come to the lab anymore. His attention turning to the sound of a wrench being turned upstairs. Vanishing, as he teleported up there.
When he landed, he did so beside her. Interestingly, she didn't appear to notice him. His feet seeming to hit the weird soft conveyer belt she'd installed up top. Presently off, not that he'd have care much if it was still on.
Leaning close he asked. "so, how's undyne doing?"
Alphys quickly jolted, drones arming. About a dozen or so quickly surrounding him. With their cannons armed, and charging. The doctor panting some, with a wrench in her hand. A glare forming.
"S-sans." She huffed. "One of these days, that's going to get you killed."
"heh, sorry." He apologized. "thought you'd like a sir-prise"
"W-was that a pun?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "Tsk. Same old jokes, eh Sansy?"
"ah c'mon, I've got a skele-ton of em." He chuckled, as the drones disarmed. "I just like revisiting the classics."
His humor, causing her to roll her eyes and sigh tiredly. He knew she'd heard that one dozens of times. But it didn't really matter. It was for his amusement more than it was hers.
His attention falling on a...familiar face present on her workstation. Or, rather, a familiar four-armed rectangle. The infamous Mettaton. Sans couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The undergrounds number one star, for all of a year before it all came crashing down.
"Before you say it. I know it's a failed project." Alphys noticed his look. "But even broken things can be useful with some modifications. And I'm almost done."
Sans leaned against the long table that was her workstation. "correct me if I'm wrong. this was the thing you designed for the king, right?"
"Mettaton, yes." She sighed. "Got me the job, if you don't remember."
"oh I do." He noted, asking. "didn't he end up being like...some propaganda box, on the propaganda box?"
"Until it turned into a media whore. Crashing and burning, like an idiot. Yes." Alphys said, in a hostile tone. "As I said, I'm just finishing up some modifications. A few turns, and maybe it can have some use again."
Sans glanced away, gritting his sharp teeth. He wasn't keen on her attitude to the box. He recalled the silly guy running around the lab when they were working. Kept spirits high with his antics. The skeleton noted how dark the lab had gotten. A brief glance heading to Alphys, as he noted how much darker it all felt.
"so, what kind of modifications?" Sans asked, as she glanced. "just trying for a little more data. bytes being left out of the loop."
"Wow...Sans. Those were awful." Alphys snickered some, before stopping herself. "Regardless...those are on a need to know basis"
"what's wrong al?" He asked "don't trust me?"
"That's not..." She sighed. "Very well, but it doesn't leave this room." He gave a thumbs up. "I'm modifying Mettaton for containment and capture, should our...little matriarch get near enough." She commented, adding. "I've also informed Undyne of it's existence."
"so, that's what brought here here, huh?" Sans felt nervous. "and here I thought we weren't gonna do that?" She adjusted her glasses. "ya know, it being a team project and all?"
"Originally. However you never know with something like this." She said. "It could well be dangerous, and she's strong enough to handle it." She added. "I've told her not to kill the...'human' mind you."
The way she spoke the word human suggested she had the same general hypothesis he did. Or, perhaps another he hadn't been clued in on. Sans yawning some, while sneaking a glance over the workstation. There were a variety of folders, design documents and various other things scattered across it. One of them stood out like a sore thumb, despite being mostly buried by other things.
And that was a particular manila folder. He could barely make out a page, slightly sticking out. Something about vessels. Yeah, it was definitely the same one.
"hey, on that topic. did we figure anything else out about her, exactly?" He inquired, adding. "and, bigger question...what do we tell king fluffybuns?"
"You know he hates that nickname, Sans." She cautioned.
"yeah, but I know you find it funny." He noted, the other monster reluctantly smiling.
"You're a pest, you know that right?" She asked. "You're like those comic relief character they put in the show, that people really hate early on."
"ah, al, you discovered my darkest secret." He chuckled, making her smile more. "I ain't just one of those dumb comic relief characters that people hate early on. I am THE comic relief character that people hate early on." He paused, humming. "or, put another way-" He grinned wider. "I'm the pest at what I do."
Alphys facepalmed, and struggled not to laugh. "By the Angel, Sans, that...that was so stupid."
"but it made you smile." He noted. "right?"
Alphys sighed some, ignoring his inquiry. "To answer your question. I did find out something out about it."
She set the wrench she'd be holding down briefly. Moving over to grab a folder, albeit, not the one that was buried. Checking it, she held it out to him. He examined it, noting how new some of the paper felt, despite being crumbled and 'old' looking.
Opening the folder, it appeared to contain some of what he'd seen before, from the original folder. But with...plenty of things he'd viewed in passing. A disparate collection of things mixed with the files from the artificial souls research as well. Composed together with just enough finesse to make it look like it was one flowing document.
"artificial soul experiment?" He read the title, pretending he hadn't read the original files a few times before. "isn't this the experiment we did?" He asked, referencing when they had been toying around with something similar themselves.
"While we did, it appears we were not the first to conduct such an experiment at the behest of the King." Alphys commented. "The former princess, it seems, was being studied in secret at his request, bt the former royal scientist."
Sans glanced at her tail, it wasn't twitching. When it did, he knew she was lying to him. It'd always been a tell of hers.. So, that much at least, seemed true.
"well, this coulda been useful then huh?" He chuckled.
"Hindsight is twenty twenty." She sighed, adding. "They appeared to be studying the capabilities of an active Human Soul, and the means to replicate it." Her tail didn't twitch. "It seems they developed a prototype of this...artificial soul." She suggested, her tail stable. "Implanting it into the corpse. An action that has, albeit slowly, resulted in reanimating our dearly deceased little monarch."
That was her first lie. The tail twitching. He paced around, reading over this heavily edited rendition he'd been given. If he was right, it seemed Alphys believed the first half. A prototype soul being made. But the rest...she seemed to know wasn't true, or believed it wasn't anyways.
Sans knew there were at least two experiments stitched together to make this folder. And honestly, he had no doubt they were somehow connected. He was also very sure, Tori would have never signed off on any of this. His mind briefly going to her, before he shook it off and focused.
When he'd found and looked over the artificial souls tests before, it indicated that seven souls had been tested. A funny thing, considering the King only had six. It appeared, given the records of testing on Chara, well, the one that had died, before her death...they had effectively torn a piece of her soul out. Using it to help construct an artificial one. The 'Prototype' that they used for further testing.
Sans felt repulsed by the things he read. But kept going. The part that interested him, were the parts Alphys had included from the other report. They almost synced up. Almost.
Unlike the rest, these were tests on the body. Testing things like response time, levels of consciousness, and other things. Alone they seemed like nothing out of the ordinary from the rest. But they told him a good amount, especially given the title of the other document. Something about 'Vessels.'
Some of the pictures had also been removed, that he imagined would explain more what they were doing to the kids body. He couldn't recall what was on them, but knew they weren't there. It was...upsetting to know his friend was lying to him. It was alarming to ponder the why of it all. His attention going to Mettaton. What exactly did she have planned? Sans set the file down.
"well, this is good news then, right?" He suggested, as she glanced. "don't get me wrong, it's a bit freaky. but it means the experiment worked." He hummed. "prototype's kicking around in a reanimated princess. I wager the king'll be pretty pleased, on both accounts."
"I'm glad you agree Sans." Alphys smiled. "All we have to do now, is capture this 'human,' which shouldn't be too hard." Alphys replied. "If we can, then we may be able to replicate the work." She smiled a little. "Who knows...it might even be able to break the barrier?"
"or, ya know, we could just bring the kid in with a bit of persuasion?" Sans offered, her head tilting. "honestly, we don't even have to capture her really. couple months of study, and I'm positive we can replicate it that way." He offered, noticing her frown. "what, we give a couple shots, couple scans?" he suggested. "wager the kid'd be willing to go for it. it'd be like going to the doctors, right?"
"Sans...that style of research would take years, not months." She noted, adjusting her glasses. "While I've always found your desire for peaceful resolution commendable, I believe we both know that isn't going to happen."
"al, if we kill that kid, the soul might break." Sans noted, smiling a little wider. "prototypes tend to be sketchy things. and this is a whole soul, right?" He asked. "it breaking, would be bad. in many, many ways. right?"
"Ahh, I see your point." She smiled some. "I thought that as well, actually." She noted, patting the unconscious robot. "Which is why I'm also working on something to...contain it, once it arrives." She told him. "That way we can keep it alive long enough to conduct the studies, and toy with replication." She paused. "Which, I designed to avoid potential complications from...early termination,."
"huh?" he twitched.
"That off little theory, you had." She reminded him, his eyes going dark. "I know things have been...tense lately. But I do pay attention Sans. I think it's a rather idiotic theory, personally. But you're my friend, so I'm treating this like that's possible. So you don't have to worry about it. Okay?"
On one hand, it was an odd feeling to have someone actually pay attention to these kinds of things, and treat it with any seriousness. On the other, Sans couldn't help but feel a little distressed. It sounded like she was trying to account for everything. And if she did, her plan might...actually work.
Enough study and research, and they could definitely crack the formula. Make a fake human soul. Bust their way out of the underground, or hell, harness the power to any number of things. However, the thing that brought this into conflict was his promise to Toriel.
He was already failing to live up to it. Already stretching it as far as he could. Trying to justify that Chara wasn't Chara, so it didn't really apply right? But he knew that was a shit excuse. He was meant to take her home safely, and was intentionally neglected it, out of dread.
That said, he couldn't discredit what Alphys was saying. This was probably their best shot. But she was also lying to him. He didn't know why, but it certainly didn't feel to go to have an old friend lie to his face. Not that it really mattered, nothing did. Unless her plan worked, that was.
He debated his next action. He knew what he had to do. He just wasn't very happy about it.
"i fuckin hate promises." He growled a little, while pulling his hood up.
"Pardon?" Alphys glanced at him.
"al, you don't think asgore is gonna have a problem with you doing this?" He asked. "if he finds out, there's a chance he'll just come and dust us."
"Given the notes, I don't think he'd care." She chuckled.
"don't think, or don't know?" Sans inquired. "consider. if we convince this kid to do the tests willingly, we can still do all our research. hell, I'll even come back and help some. just to expedite it a bit." He offered, Alphys scanning him over. "and we don't have to risk nuthin."
Alphys for her part didn't respond for a short time. Clearly considering what he said, and then considering something else. He liked it best when she replied quick to him. This...wasn't a good sign.
"I am aware of what you're attempting, Sans." Alphys told him. "And moreover, why."
"you do?" He asked. "cuz I don't-"
"I have cameras in front of the door, Sans." She stated, as he shifted posture some. "I know well that you've been talking with our former Queen." She stated. "I know well that you sneak out when you're meant to be at work. And that you both seem to have a warm disposition of one another."
"heh." He let out a nervous chuckle, brief as it was.
"I also know that our deceased monarch came from from the same door, that said Queen left today." Alphys commented, adjusting her glasses some. "I'd be willing to wager that 'Chara' is looking for Toriel." She suggested. "But then again, clearly you knew that. Given what your 'fight' was about."
"you knew?" He asked, laughing some. "ouch, al. ya coulda said somethin." He noted. "wounds me ya didn't."
"Sans, while I appreciate that you seem to like her." Alphys frowned. "Whatever you've been doing, or think you're doing, by befriending our former monarch, it's utterly pointless." She noted. "This is our opportunity to free everyone."
"I uh-" He began.
"The water in Waterfall has been lowering every year, Sans." Alphys stated. "It won't be that many years, until it starts to run out at our current consumption." He tried to speak. "The core has been suffering stability problems, such as constant overheating issues. The snowfall has been less thick throughout the underground. Cities are overcrowding. Food, has been harder to come across." She paused, and fixed her glasses. "I don't have time to do this the mercifully, and you know that."
Sans examined her, and felt his resistance wavering. "I know al, I know." He leaned against the desk. "it's just...I dunno, it's fuckin stupid." He sighed. "it was just nice to have someone who laughed honestly, at my dumb jokes."
"I am sorry Sans. If there were any other way, then...I'd try it." She noted, picking back up the wrench. "But with that thing wandering around, we've only really got one shot at this. And if it goes back behind that door...we'll never solve anything." She glanced. "You understand, right?"
The skeleton let out a long sigh. "yeah. I get it." He was quiet for a moment. "ya know, I'd thought about havin you two meet. Tori and you, I mean...she's pretty cool. and I think she'd have gotten along well with you, ya know?" He chuckled. "you could both use a new pal."
"I'm..." Alphys felt a bit of hesitance. "I'm sure she is an interesting person. But these thoughts aren't constructive. We need to focus." She hummed. "Can you go keep an eye on the v-Chara for me?" She asked. "I need it to come to come to the lab one way or another. Given that it appears to be afraid of you-"
"I got it al." He sighed some. "just like old times, right?"
She didn't respond to that comment. Looking a little bit guilty at it. He chuckled, turning, and vanishing from sight. Alphys stood for a moment, before removing her glasses. Rubbing her eyes tiredly. She reached out for the folder, grasping it while placing her glasses back on. When she examined it, it appeared to be the duplicate folder.
"Oh Sansy...you always were far too sentimental." She chuckled, the shadows around her growing. "Well, I guess you were right." A strange voice echoing under her own. "It's just like old times."