PATCHWORK SOUL - NEW MEDIUM

by TakaiWolf

DIRECT SEQUEL TO "PATCHWORK SOUL" — A few months later. A family of monsters and their little human kid try to start life anew beyond the confines of a giant mountain. Maybe they find something. Maybe they lose something. Time flows ever onwards, but sometimes it goes sideways, and it's heavier than they thought.

84. the skeleton boy that shines but green

the skeleton boy that shines like the sun except it's green this time chapter 84:

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Raising out of the earth, high above the magma, an exhausted skeleton scrambled to follow the trail of a tiny, purple crocodaur. A teleport still stalled Sans with staggering nausea and blindness— wherever Suzy had gone, he missed it while trying to catch his breath. The elevator from the deepest section of the CORE was empty when he was finally able to check.

.

However, emerging into the entryway gave Sans the only trail he needed: the panel above the main elevator's door blinking with a light that indicated that the lift itself was near the top of the tower. He braced himself and warped again.

.

Grasping onto the wall, the skeleton fought to keep himself upright. He strained to hear through a low melody flooding his cranium. The deep pulsing of the CORE throbbed in tandem with it, aching inside his skull.

"Suz?" he asked.

If she was there, he didn't hear an answer.

.

He staggered forward until the pain subsided and the black clouding his eyes seeped away, revealing blue and silver metal walkways and the mist that ebbed up the tower from below. Golden starlight glimmered far ahead and a little purple kid crouched down near it. Sans took off towards her.

.

"Suzy." He was a little out of breath. "Kid, y'okay?"

The little crocodaur jumped up and whipped around, wide-eyed. "Aah! Sans, uh, I can explain!"

"Sounds great." He grinned sideways. "Second question same as the first."

"Wh…?! Oh." Her cheeks flushed. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. I—!"

"So." He gestured vaguely back the way he'd came. "What the heck was all that?"

She gulped hard, her little fists clenched. "Okay. Okay. Um. You'll…? You're gonna believe me, right? Because it's really crazy, and—"

"Kiddo, c'mon, we been through this," he said.

"Right." She nodded to herself and took a deep breath. "Okay. It was the ghost. She didn't want your dad to go in the CORE. It was really important to her. It… Ugh, I know it sounds nuts, but I'm just gonna say it: Ghost was your sister."

.

Sans froze. His eyelights shrunk and he gripped a little tighter to the wall. "…Say again?"

"I think it was just a piece of her, or something?" Suzy continued. "It was really confusing. She was kinda lost, right? She didn't know. And she was like a freaky shadow, and then she was a freakier shadow, and then she was like a shadow but with fire coming out of it. But when we went to the CORE room downstairs, she turned into a red human, sorta, before she had to go again."

.

The skeleton's head spun and the beat of his soul did a slow, solid thump that rattled through every note of magic in his bones. That red handprint burned the inside of his head. "She…" His voice faltered for an instant. "She alright?"

Suzy nodded emphatically. "She wanted me to tell you: things are gonna be okay and we're coming as soon as we can. That's what she said."

.

Sans put a hand to his brow. His knees wobbled and he let himself slump to sit on the floor. "How…? Ah. Damn."She'd been there. She'd been right there and he hadn't even seen her. "…She knew I wasn't ignorin' her, right?" he asked quietly. "She knew we wouldn't just—?"

"Aah! N-No no, wait, don't be sad!" Suzy sputtered. "It was just me who could see her, I think 'cause of the black soul stuff? That's what we figured, anyway. I said we should wait for your dad because I bet he could, too, but she was really worried the mountain was gonna do something bad so she wanted to go in the downstairs room. She really, really didn't want him in there, and then once she did the stuff with that big twisting magic thing, she had to go right after." She gave a quick shake of her head. "D-Don't worry, she knew you were, like, her family before she even remembered who she was."

.

About a million questions raced through Sans's mind, but he had to settle on one, first. "So, she's… safe. Somewhere else?"

Suzy nodded, but her brow furrowed. "She said something like she got shot outta her body. And when she left, I think it was like, her soul was tugging her back to wherever she actually was?"

The skeleton frowned thoughtfully, though a headache was setting in right away. With more detail, what Suzy said reminded him a lot of what his father had said when recounting what he'd seen with the phantom Prince.

.

His poor, goofy little sister. Of course her message was one of reassurance when she was the one stuck out in who-knows-where. He couldn't imagine it being anything else. The memory of her voice strained just at the edges of recollection. He still couldn't grasp it.

.

A cold, heartbroken ache seeped through him. He wished he'd seen. More than anything, he wished he'd seen.

.

Sans leaned his head back against the wall and massaged his brows. Suzy squatted down beside him.

"I, um… I did my best. To help and stuff."

He cracked an exhausted grin and reached out to pat the crocodaur kid on the head. "I know y'did."

She held out her hands, offering him a red and white flower. Its petals glistened, shifting with subtle colours in the light. "She, um… She left this. I think you should have it."

He raised a brow and carefully plucked it from her. A gentle ebb of magic reverberated through his finger bones and the scar on the side of his hand pulsed. A little glimmer came to his eyes. He recognized the song— his sister's, and the little prince's, together. He cradled it in his palm for a moment before carefully stashing it in his pocket.

"Thanks, bud."

.

Suzy nodded. Her eyes glazed and she let out a little, warbly sigh before she plopped fully onto the floor. She ran her palms over her face and groaned quietly, then flopped onto her back, arms out. Sans let out a small noise of agreement and shut his eyes.

"I don't think I ever ran so much in my whole life," Suzy said.

Sans snorted. "Same."

"Sorry we freaked you out. Everything was so… ugh."

"Nah." His grin widened. "Thanks for stickin' with her, whatever went down."

"Mhm." She tilted her head to look at him from the corner of her eye. "D'you think it's gonna be okay now?"

"No clue, kid." He was willing to risk a hope, but wasn't about to infect her with it. Even so, he couldn't shake what he'd seen in the CORE. A little sigh slipped from him. "Trust 'er, though."

.

Probably would have been responsible to go back down the tower, Sans thought, but he couldn't bring himself to get up again. The two monsters slumped in their exhausted heaps for a long, quiet while, until the low pulse of the CORE tower was cut by the sound of a pleasant chiptune ringtone.

.

With a lethargic hand, Sans fished his phone from his pocket and clunked it against the side of his head. "Hey."

"A-Ahh, hi! Hi! A-Are you alright?" Alphys wheezed. "Th-The cameras are right, right? You and, um, S-Suzy are still up top, right? B-Below the broadcast area?"

"Yup," he said.

"Okay! G-Great! Okay, great, good, um— don't move, o-okay? Stay there?"

"No problem."

The lizard let out a shrill puff of air. "O-Okay! You're okay?"

"Sure."

"A-And Suzy?"

"Yup."

"Good. Okay. W-We'll be—! Or, someone's…! We'll m-meet up where you are. Jaa ne!"

.

Alphys had long since hung up by the time Sans's shoved the phone back into his pocket with movements reminiscent of a sloth. He would have been perfectly fine if nobody showed up for a couple hours, but it wasn't long at all until jogging footsteps banged and echoed on the metal walkways.

.

Sans opened one eye and— before even tilting his head to look— raised his hand to greet his father. The old skeleton, brow bent with worry, skidded in his boots as he reached them, then clunked to his knees on the hard floor.

"What in the world—?"

Sans pointed at Suzy. The small monster sat up, snout a little flushed, and Gaster quickly took her by the shoulders.

"Kiddo, what happened?! What made you…? Are you alright? Are you—?"

"Whatever happened to the prince happened to my sister," Sans said. "Suz was with her."

.

Gaster's gleaming eyelights reduced to pinpricks and he looked down at the crocodaur with his jaw hanging open. Some croak of noise with the raised inflection of a question was all that came out.

"She didn't want you to go in the CORE thing down there, she said something really bad would happen," Suzy said swiftly. "But she had to leave right after."

The old skeleton's eyes shot right to his son. Sans replied with a limp shrug and a dip of his head. Gaster forced himself back to some state of composure and gulped.

"Little one. Could I ask…? Would you show me your memories? Just of… this. It will only take a moment."

Suzy scrunched her snout up, but she nodded. The skeleton carefully rested one hand on her head and the other above her soul spot.

"Just concentrate on what you've seen," he said quietly.

"Right. Um." The kid screwed her eyes shut tight and clenched her hands together. "Do it, do it."

.

Gaster's lids slid closed. Within a second, the gold-orange and deep purple magic inside him began to dye the pitch of the cracks in his skull. Sans leaned forwards curiously. He didn't have to wait very long for his father to jolt back, his eyes wide and glimmering. Gaster let out a sigh that rattled his whole body and he wrapped Suzy in a tight embrace.

"…Th… Thank you," he said.

The kid went limp in his grip, tilting her head back back to look at him. "Y-You got it all?"

"I did."

She grabbed onto his arm. "Did we do the right thing?" she asked in a small voice.

"You absolutely did, little one," he assured her. "You were very brave."

"Yeah?!" Her cheeks flushed faintly. "Thanks."

.

Sans caught his father's eye and the old skeleton slumped. He rubbed his sharp fingertips over the back of his skull and his mismatched irises relit.

"I… I should see Asgore," he said.

"He's alright," Sans said. "'Cept the horn. He's up top."

"Is everyone?" Gaster blinked. "Where's your brother?"

Sans's grin strained sideways. "He's, uh… Yeah, we need to have a talk 'bout that."

"Why, what happened?"

"Yo, is he okay?" Suzy asked.

"He is, yeah," Sans said.

.

Gaster raised his brows. The heaviness that came to Sans's face gave the old skeleton pause.

"Sans," he said quietly; probingly.

Sans drummed his fingers on the floor. His shoulders sagged as if a great boulder rested upon them, and he tilted his head to the side just slightly. Gaster perked at the distant sound of the elevator, then got to his feet, carefully cradling Suzy against his shoulder. He offered Sans his hand and hefted him up.

"You're a little colder than usual," he said.

Sans gave a small shrug and a half-hearted smile before he began to amble away. "Snow big deal."

.

Toriel and Alphys met them down the passageway, awash in concern and relief. The huge woman held her hands out and Gaster let her scoop Suzy up. She cooed and lifted the crocodaur into air under her arms as if she were a tiny baby before drawing her in tight against her chest.

"Oh, dear, you had us so worried!" Toriel said. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry you had to see all that in the cavern, you must have been so scared. Were you hurt at all? Did any of the debris strike you?"

"I-I'm okay! I'm okay," Suzy said. "Th-Thanks, Miss Toriel, but it's—!"

"I-I can't believe you g-got all the way down into that chamber," Alphys said, her eyes wide and worried. She looked at Gaster and gulped. "I-I'm sorry, I m-must not've…! In all the rush, the s-security must've been—"

"You did nothing wrong, Alphys, don't worry," Gaster assured her. He had to take a little breath to steady himself. "It was my daughter who brought her there."

.

Toriel and Alphys both froze and gawked before erupting into questions so quickly they could hardly be parsed from one another. Sans snickered hoarsely.

"Hold on, it's alright," Gaster said quickly.

"I-I know it's weird but I can tell everything," Suzy said.

"You don't have to," the skeleton assured her. "You've been through a lot today. Take a breather and leave that to me. Correct me if I mistake anything, alright?"

"Oh. Um." The kid sagged, her face softening. "Okay."

"But, old friend, I also have to say," Toriel said quickly, "something happened in the caverns, I—"

"I've seen what Suzy has," he said, holding her shoulder and dipping his head in a reassuring nod. "We can head up right after."

.

With hardly a hint of his struggle to keep calm and measured, Gaster relayed what Suzy had been through with only minor interjections from the kid and a lot of hand-squeezing from Toriel. The revelation of what the missing time child had done— or at least, attempted to do— set Alphys off in a flurry. The tremors had certainly stopped for now, but she just had to be sure. She excusing herself to rush back to her instruments down below, and then to the lab, promising to join them on the surface as soon as she could.

.

They gave her first use of the special elevator, though Toriel's fur bristled and she couldn't help the tapping of her foot as time ticked by awaiting its return.

"Sans," she said, breaking the silence, "you saw Asgore last. He was still alright, was he not? Still there, with the humans?"

"Yup," he said.

"Did he mention anything about heading to New Home on his own, by chance?"

"Nope."

"Good. Shall I—?"

"Think he'd like to," he said.

She sighed. "I'll check in on him, first." Her brow furrowed and her ears flattened a little. "You also saw what was going on in the city most recently?" she continued. "What do you think, is the evacuation still necessary?"

"Necessary, not sure," he said. "Probably still smart, though."

She nodded. "Then we'll keep to our original plan." She shot him a curious look. "…Hun, is Papyrus still down there?"

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Sans's eyes betrayed him instantly as they dimmed to darkness. "Yup." He leaned towards the elevator button on the wall and jabbed it with his finger on the off-chance it would make it return to them faster.

"What is it?" Gaster asked. "What's he doing?"

"Oh. Y'know. Gettin' people outta the city. Blastin' rubble. Normal cool hero stuff."

"Then what's bothering you?" his father pressed. "…He's alright, isn't he?"

"Like I said. He's fine," Sans said. A few more words circled inside his head and he would have really preferred to keep them in there. But, they'd run into Papyrus sooner or later, wouldn't they? He let out a little sigh. "It's, uh… It's June."

"June? The human? What about her?" Toriel asked, blinking blankly. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end. "What happened?"

"Well. Uh." Sans rubbed the back of his head. "Not too long ago, things were really shakin', right?" He looked between the others and caught Toriel about to cover Suzy's ears. He shook his head. "So. Uh. Thing is. The… ceilin' was comin' down, right? And the ground was splittin' at the same time."

"Oh my god," Toriel breathed, a hand raising sharply to her mouth.

"Wait, she didn't make it?!" Suzy yelped.

Sans grimaced. "We couldn't reach 'er in time."

.

"Oh, dear. Oh, my boy— Sans, I am so sorry," Toriel said, reaching down to gently cup his head.

"B-But she's gonna come back, right?" Suzy said shrilly. "Like, when your sister's back, right?! She'll be okay?!"

"Yeah. It'll…" Sans took a breath. "It'll be fine. Heh. That's, uh… actually the least of the worries."

"Wait," Gaster said stiffly. "Don't… Don't tell me." He put a hand against his chest and his irises flickered.

"Yeeeeeah, basically that."

Toriel's eyes all but popped from her head. "No," she breathed.

"He's fine," Sans said again. "Just, uh… won't be fittin' in his bed any time soon."

.

Gaster swiftly began patting himself down. "I need… Damn it, I…? Sans." He held out his hand. "Phone."

Brows raised, Sans did as he was bid. Gaster quickly dialled Papyrus and waited with bated breath. Two rings and the phone crackled to life.

"Did something happen?" Papyrus asked.

"Papyrus, where are you?" Gaster demanded.

"Dad?! Oh! Hello! I aaaam currently on my way up towards the King's, why?"

"Son. Listen to me very carefully." The skeleton's words were sharp and his voice was low. "Do not set foot onto the surface."

"…Huh?! But I'm helping with the evacuation, I—"

"Papyrus. Do as I say," he said. "Not one foot onto the surface. Do. Not. Go. There. Am I clear?"

"Um. Y-Yes? I guess so." A long, empty pause. "Um. Ssssso where should I go instead?"

"The lab. And be careful. Shroud yourself, if you have to."

"Oh! Okay! I guess I'll do that, then?! Just after I finish up here."

"Now."

"Aaaas soon as possible! See you there! I'll be very quick don't worry, okay love you bye!" He hung up.

.

Gaster lowered the phone with a heavy sigh, rubbing his head with the heel of his hand.

"What the hell was that?" Sans asked.

"Gaster, what has you so frightened?" Toriel asked.

"Ah. Y-You… You didn't see…" He straightened his shoulders and attempted to steady himself. "To be brief. I have seen a monster take a human soul outside of a combat situation. An accident, by all accounts. A natural disaster. But, the way the other humans reacted to it…" He grimaced. "It was like they were transformed into wild beasts. I'm… not sure they were even able to stop themselves."

"Wait, you mean P-Papyrus took a human soul?! What?!" Suzy yelped. "And you think the other human'll try to beat him up?!"

"I refuse to risk it," Gaster said. "I'll…" His eyes darted back the way they'd came, towards the gleam of starlight. "I'll meet Paps at the lab and I… will figure something out."

"Like what?" Sans grabbed his arm. "And just wait for the damn elevator, it'll be here in like thirty seconds."

"Do I have time to—?!"

"Yes," Toriel said. "Deep breaths, dear."

Gaster folded his arms tight to his chest, but he did as she suggested.

.

"But he said he's not going up, right?" Suzy said quietly. "So… So he should be okay? Right?" She looked around between the others. Her sharp little fingers clung tight to Toriel's robe.

"Don't sweat it, kid," Sans said before turning to his father. "What exactly are you thinkin'?"

"I have to get it out of him, obviously," Gaster said.

"Uh." Sans blinked. "Seriously?"

"Of course. He can't stay like that."

"Ain't that up to him?" Sans asked.

"Gaster, I apologize, but is removing it even a possibility?" Toriel asked. "I don't know that I've ever heard of such a thing."

"The soul will release, one way or another," Gaster said. "I have no idea how long he can hold onto it. I need to make it as safe as possible, and I need to get started."

.

Sans frowned. He thought back to when he'd absorbed his sister's soul. Though they'd inadvertently taken a nap, he was sure they'd stayed together without an ounce of trouble for over an hour. Even when she'd reversed time, it was certainly not because they were having any problems with synergy. Then again, she was someone who had made the questionable decision that he was one of her favourite people in the world. He didn't have the data, but he was fairly confident in thinking that that was probably not the average experience of a monster with a human soul in their chest.

.

"Look, uh…" Sans absently scratched the side of his skull. "I'll go meet 'im and we'll see you there, okay?"

"I'll come along with you for a while" Toriel said. "We need to head in that direction regardless." She took Gaster warmly by the shoulder. "Relax, old friend. Nothing will happen to Papyrus."

Gaster grimaced, but he nodded anyway. He tried to do the deep breathing again, but it made his bones rattle.

.

When the elevator finally returned from rushing Alphys away, Gaster shot off first. Sans took the lull in conversation to shut his eyes for a moment. Toriel drooped a little as well before turning her attention on Suzy.

"Little one, are—? Oh." She chuckled softly and lowered her voice. She cradled the back of the child's head, letting gentle, refreshing magic seep into her through her palm. "Poor dear, she's nodding off."

"Lucky," Sans said quietly.

"M'okay…" Suzy said groggily, eyes half-lidded.

"Don't worry, child," Toriel said. "Rest your eyes for a while. I will wake you once we are on the surface, alright?"

"…N-No, I'm…" She yawned— her next blink took her a few seconds. "I'm fine. M'totally… fine."

Toriel smiled fondly. "Of course you are."

.

As soon as they could, the pair and their dozing charge continued on their way towards the surface They ascended to the large walkways that eventually lead to Asgore's home, preceded by a multitude of voices echoing off the stone.

.

The main cavern housing the city beamed with daylight that cut through the red glow of warning. At the open walkways overlooking the rooftops, makeshift stairs of wood, stone, and bone had been erected below. The paths and stairs were bustling with throngs of monsters making their way towards the surface, though they were packed so tight that they were moving at a snail's pace.

.

All the noise stirred Suzy awake again. The kid blinked her big eyes and looked back and forth in utter confusion before tilting her head all the way back to peek up at Toriel. The woman shot Suzy a reassuring smile before she looked over the congested crowd and let out a soft sigh.

"Hold tight, dear." Toriel puffed herself up and strode up and into the group with all the air of calm regality that befitted a well-composed queen. "Excuse me, little ones, coming through."

The monsters at the back parted instantly and she strode forward and turned again, gently shifting them into rows.

"In lines, please," she announced, "this will go much more quickly if we keep to an organized structure." She reached down and carefully plucked a scruffy little mouse from the crowd and plopped her into the line up. "And be cautious of one another, let us not have anyone trampled today."

.

The monsters gave way to her, relief passing through the crowd as she began to put it in order. She caught Sans's eye and tilted her head, but he raised his hand to wave in response. The faintest hint of puzzlement crossed her face, but she quickly went back to work, moving up along the path.

.

Sans drew back a few paces from the steps and leaned over the edge of the walkway to peer at the monsters climbing up, skimming the crowd for a very large, antlered skeleton. He had a feeling his brother was close, but he still couldn't see him.

.

Rubbing the back of his skull, he stepped back from the edge. He considered heading back into the city or giving his brother a call, but his train of thought was interrupted by an uncommonly tall figure brushing behind him. He turned to see the tail-end of someone wearing a blanket like a cloak, the head poking up tall and oddly rectangular; muttering quietly to himself.

Sans raised a brow. "Paps?" he asked.

.

The newcomer whirled around, bright green eyes shining. "Ah!" Papyrus beamed and pulled the makeshift hood down— his antlers were glittering faintly. "Sans! Sorry, I was… a bit in my head!"

Sans couldn't help but return the grin. "I bet." He winked. "Nice cape."

"Hm?! Oh! Well, dad said… Oh, never mind, forget that." He pulled the blanket from his shoulders and folded it neatly before tossing it away like a discus. "How are you; what's going on?!"

"Oh. Heh. Kinda a lot. How you feelin'?"

"Fine! Great, actually, things have been going extremely well until…" His brow furrowed and one hand flitted to his chest. "Don't worry. Don't worry," he said under his breath, before turning his gaze fully back to his brother. "Soooo. Um. Is dad mad at me?"

Sans had to suppress a snort of a laugh. "No."

"Are you sure? He sounded pretty, um, intense over the phone."

"I'm sure." He smiled sideways. "He's just, uh… Little bit concerned about the whole soul thing."

"Oh, that?! It's fine! We're fine. Aren't we?" He nodded. "June isn't bothered. But… Nyeh. I really don't want to worry him. We— I can explain everything to him. Should we go? I could get us there very fast, if you'd like!"

"Hm." Sans frowned thoughtfully. "How 'bout… we take our time, actually? There's, uh, a lot to go over."

"Oh?!" He blinked with surprise. "Like what?"

.

Despite the heartache returning at full force, Sans smiled. "Our, uh, Crabapple Kid showed up for Suzy for a bit."

"She…? SHE WHAT?!" His voice was so loud that some of the monsters in the noisy crowd turned to look. Papyrus clenched his fists and his eyes shone with starlight. He bent and grasped Sans with all four hands. "What how where, is she here?! Where is she, what happened?! Can I see her?! GASP, and how's Suzy?! Oh my god, what a—!"

"Easy, big guy," Sans said with a wink. "I'll explain on the way."

"YES. PLEASE."

xXxXx

As Sans took the time to get his brother up to date, Gaster wasted not a second of it in the lab. The skull-like DT extractor a few levels beneath the main floor was his first destination. He set to work recalibrating the massive machine from pinpoint precision to a widened siphon to absorb excess determination, in case something were to go wrong with Papyrus.

.

Gaster's whole being ached at the idea of his little boy swelling with the heat and power that came with a human soul. He cursed himself for panicking in the moment and not getting more information from Sans about what had transpired. He couldn't fathom what had to have been going through Papyrus's mind. He knew, for many monsters, it was a fanciful dream to possess the soul of a human, but for Gaster, the thought brought only dread.

.

June had offered, he had to remind himself. June had offered it to him, even, outside of the direst of circumstances. He rubbed his temples as his extra, phantom hands picked up the slack on the machinery— tapping the controls for new parameters and sliding small levers to modulate programmed power intensities. Whatever happened must've been truly catastrophic, he thought, but why did it have to be Papyrus…?

.

He set the extractor to reboot with its shifted specifications and left the chamber with too much racing around inside his skull. Maybe it would have been better to just have Suzy explain everything to him in her own words, rather than see it through her eyes exactly as she had. He couldn't get the image of the little ghost out of his mind. That ring of a glowing scar on the phantom's back was more than enough to prove the claim of who it was. Then again, he thought as his soul throbbed in his chest, seeing his daughter in any capacity was worth the heartache.

.

He headed out through the security doors and off in search of his stabilizer, the same one he'd used on the time child not too long before she vanished. The plethora of exam and work rooms were in a different order again, so he used the time to search for something else as well: a spare soul container.

.

A soul container was a moderately-sized canister meant to stabilize and nourish a soul indefinitely, so long as it stayed safely within the glass. A clear, pure magic liquid, similar to what was used to feed a baby was used to fill the excess space, and a special vent on the lid absorbed new ambient magic from the air to refresh it constantly. Each human soul that had come into the monsters' possession had been safely housed within one. So, too, had Gaster's attempts at making souls himself— both of his boys had spent their developmental phases in one of those capsules before being born.

.

Unfortunately, with the way the rooms had shifted, he couldn't seem to locate many of his things at all. Cabinets had swapped their contents, desks had traded rooms; boxes once arranged by colour were now arranged by weight.

.

As he dug for parts through a cupboard that struck him as familiar, he caught the sound of feet on the tiles and perked up.

"G-Gaster, are you still around here?" Alphys called.

"I am," he replied.

The lizard peeked in through the doorway and came in, clutching a notepad tight to her chest. Her dark eyes gleamed and she had a little bounce in her step. "I, um, h-have good news! I think." She tilted her head. "Uh. What are you doing?"

"Have you seen a soul container? Or the parts?" he asked. "Or my stabilizer? Because I'm afraid I'm bloody lost."

"Oh! Um. Well…" She squinted in thought. "Oh! D-Did you look in the fridge?"

"The fridge?" he repeated. "…Why on earth would it be in the fridge?"

"Y-Yeah! I mean. If things are… different than what you remember, it c-could be that I moved things and then I don't remember, right? Sometimes, if s-some gear overheats a bit, I st-stick it in the fridge for a little."

"Since when?" he asked with a laugh.

She shrugged. "F-Forever, I think?" She scrunched up her snout. "Actually, I'm not… sure."

.

Gaster smiled sideways and took off swiftly. "Well, might as well give it a look, eh?" He tilted his head to look at the little lizard as she hurried to keep up. "Ah, sorry, Alphys, what was the good news?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah, um! So!" She grinned. "I took a look a-at the CORE and I l-looked at its energy and what… What it seems t-to be doing is: the pillar i-in, um, the centre, down in the chamber? It's rotating i-in a stable loop of a-about, um, three minutes." She held out her notepad to him, and he plucked it up carefully. "It's still jumping when the, uh, loop r-restarts, but the transition is, um, a-a lot smoother like… Um… Almost l-like a cross-dissolve, you know, like in a movie or something?"

Gaster quickly skimmed her scribbled diagrams and the measurements that accompanied them. "So it'll quell the tremors."

Alphys accepted her notes back with a nod. "Y-Yep! Well. I mean, for now? O-Other things could still go wrong, but th-that part is pretty g-good! Um. U-Unless the, uh, t-time bubble bursts. Ha…" Her smile wobbled. "B-But I don't see that happening f-for a while, though…" A little frown marred her brow. "I do… sort of… worry. That w-we might have to break it to hook the t-time machine up to it."

"We'll deal with that when we get to it," he said. "Once the evacuation's complete, I'll wager."

"Mhm. That sounds the s-safest to me."

.

They came to a crossroads in hallways— Gaster headed to the left, but Alphys grabbed his arm and pulled him in the opposite direction. He had to contain an exasperated laugh.

"You know, I think maybe it's good that you aren't aware of the swaps."

"O-Oh?" Alphys gave a little snort. "Oh, r-right, because you're… remembering something else, aren't you?" She smiled sheepishly. "God, this is still s-so weird to me. Because… I g-guess I don't feel that weird a-at all."

"That's good, too," Gaster assured her.

.

The skeleton caught sight of the line of refrigerators and took off at a jog. Alphys scampered to keep up.

"S-So it was really your, um, daughter that did that bubble?" she asked.

"It was," he said as he began to peek inside the fridges. "Oop. Hello, there." He paused to let a snowball of a dog summersault out, give his fur a good shake, and prance away with a can of soda in his mouth. "Um. Anyway, at least, it was a piece of her. The same as what happened to the Prince."

"That's…! Well, I mean, that's b-bad that that h-happened to her, b-but I'm glad that she… Ah!" She pulled what looked like a long, metal cannon with a wide barrel out of the fridge. "Is this—?"

They both winced at a strange bang and a hiss sound down the hall. Gaster only turned for a moment before redirecting his attention to what Alphys had found.

"Let's see." Carefully, he took it from her and looked it over.

.

The case was smooth, but fitted together from a jigsaw of several silvery pieces, some of which were inlaid with faint, swirling patterns. Raising his brows, he stuck his sharp fingertips into the casing on the side and pried part of it up. A much more sinister-looking, segmented drill-like machine was settled in underneath. He cracked a smile and gave a silent thanks to some version of himself or Alphys that had finally given at least part of the apparatus the less-threatening makeover it needed.

.

"This is it," he said, snapping the case back into place. "Thank you." He took off again.

Alphys squeaked and rushed to keep up with him. "Wh-What's the rush?"

"I'm still looking for a few more components."

.

In the hall just ahead, there was a stiff, pale orange foam all over the floor and walls. Gaster carefully stepped over it; Alphys dug her heels in to stop herself slipping. She made a face and tiptoed around the citrus mess.

"What p-parts are you looking for? M-Maybe I remember where they are?" she said.

"A spare soul container. Or the bits to make a new one."

"A…?" Alphys blinked. "R-Really?! What for?!"

"Ah." His soul stuttered. It had completely slipped his mind that she didn't know. "It's… very bad news, if I'm honest."

"Oh no, wh-what happened?" she asked shrilly.

"Are you sure—?"

"Yes! Yes. Please."

Gaster grimaced. "The… human, June. She… passed away in an accident."

"What?! WHAT?! WHEN?!" Alphys yelped.

"In New Home," he said, "during the earthquake, as far as I understand. It's barely been any time at all."

"Oh my GOD?! What?!" She clapped her hands to mouth, her eyes wide, her scales taking on a pallid sheen. "Oh! A-And… And her soul?! We're keeping it?! Why?!"

"It's… It's an option. We'll have to see," he said. "More so, I need to remove it f—"

"Oh no, no no n-no, oh my god, it's inside someone?!" she shrieked. "Who?! Are they okay?! What's—?"

"Papyrus," he said.

Alphys stammered loudly, her glasses fogging up. "P-P-PAPYRUS?!"

"So you see why I need t—"

.

Alphys began to wheeze so loudly that Gaster swallowed his words. He bent down to embrace her and she heaved for air for a few, long moments.

"A stór, le do thoil a bheith socair," he said softly, "beidh tú ceart go leor."

"S-Sorry, sorry sorry," she muttered. "O-Oh n-n-no, the p-poor little g-guy." She drew back, wiping her face with both hands. "O-Okay. Oooookay." She pointed down the hall, following sticky orange paw prints; towards the way up to the main floor. "You—! You g-go check that way, and I-I'll look over this way, o-okay?"

"Do you need another minute?" he asked.

"D-Do I have one?!" She squeaked out an incredulous laugh. "Forget it, I-I'm going." She raced off like her tail was on fire. "A-A-And d-don't p-panic!"

.

Gaster straightened up, folding his arms to his chest, his brow bent with worry. Something bumped his leg— looking down, he saw the puffball of a dog, dyed creamsicle orange over his front half. He held a can of ginger ale in its mouth, and offered it upwards.

"Oh. Thank you," Gaster said as he plucked it up. He popped the tab, barely waiting on the hiss before he took a deep swig. His eyes slid down again towards the little pooch. "…You wouldn't happen to have seen a soul container around here somewhere, would you?"

The dog woofed. Gaster let out a little sigh.

"Didn't think so."

Tilting his head to the side, the fluffy canine let out a little aroo. The skeleton frowned thoughtfully

"Hm. I suppose. But I can't imagine it'd smell like much more than metal and glass."

With a little yip, the dog bounced on his forelegs, then pranced off down the hall.

"I appreciate it!" Gaster called after him.

He received a little sneeze as a reply.

.

The old skeleton briskly headed back up to the main floor and dug through Alphys's boxes of spare parts while his mind raced to grasp their options. He found a sheet of glass thick enough to serve his purposes, despite not being enchanted in exactly the correct way. That was fixable. He'd just have to get started on it.

.

He took that and a plastic tub of scrap metal and was about to head downstairs again— then paused and doubled back to Alphys's computer. With quick, precise fingers, he typed out a greeting to his youngest son and laid out the options he could come up with for the next— and an optional space to type in anything else that came to mind— and had it set up to text Alphys with whatever answer was selected.

.

A few variations existed between extracting June's soul or attempting a release. Allowing it to pass on naturally, or containing it. Concealing it, or returning it. He had a preference towards transparency and honesty with the remaining humans, but if that would compromise Papyrus's safety, he would lie more convincingly than he ever had in his life.

xXxXx

Gaster had long since vanished back into the deep sections of the lab by the time Sans and Papyrus arrived. The tall skeleton's eye sockets were a little steamy and he was reluctant to leave his brother's side, but he did so to stand high on his toes and peer around the whole room. Some machines were whirring on the upper floor and all the monitors were illuminated.

"Hellloooo?" Papyrus called. "Is anyone here? Daaaaad? Doctor Alphyyyys?"

"Probably workin'," Sans suggested.

"Hm. What else is new?" He winked, then quickly wiped his eye sockets. "Let's see if… Oh!"

.

Papyrus levelled a finger at Alphys's computer where a message waited in plain, white text on an otherwise black screen:

.

PAPYRUS, I HOPE ALL IS WELL. WE CAN ASSESS THE SITUATION TOGETHER, I WOULD PREFER TO RETURN THE SOUL TO THE HUMANS,

BUT WE CAN DISCUSS THIS AS WELL. FOR NOW, PLEASE SELECT THE OPTION THAT SOUNDS THE MOST FEASIBLE:

.

A) EXTRACT SOUL - PLACE IN CONTAINMENT

B) EXTRACT SOUL - RELEASE TO NATURAL DEATH

C) ATTEMPT NATURAL SEPARATION - ATTEMPT CONTAINMENT

D) ATTEMPT NATURAL SEPARATION - RELEASE

E) DO NOTHING - BUT YOU MUST REMAIN UNDERGROUND INDEFINITELY

F) ENTER YOUR OWN SUGGESTION: _

.

Papyrus blinked. He read the message aloud to himself under his breath. His lowest hands clasped together tightly before him and his brow furrowed.

"Huh," Sans said. "Got any thoughts?"

"I… Hm. Nyeh. I'm nooooot sure," Papyrus said. "I…"

"If it helps, I'll stay down here with ya," he said..

"But why…?" He frowned. The green in his eyes shone a little brighter. "Why doesn't he want us to go up?"

"Well. Uh." Sans scratched the side of his skull. "Dad said somethin'… weird might trigger in the humans if they see you like that."

"Oh?! By that look on your face, I'm guessing that something is not shining adoration and overwhelming awe. But, they're June's friends. They're at least our friendly acquaintances. You don't really think they'd do something crazy, do you?"

"The ol' man thinks they might. Might not be able to help it, is what he said." Sans shrugged. "Got no clue, but I'm givin' him the, uh, benefit of the doubt."

Papyrus nodded. "I wouldn't want to put them through that either, then, if that's really true." His eyes raced over the options again. "Then…" He leaned forward, his finger hovering over the keyboard, but then jerked back, eyes flickering. "Wait."

"Sup?" Sans asked.

.

Papyrus went quiet for a moment, his eyes narrowing in a squint. "…Do you think you could give me a few minutes?"

"Uh." Sans looked around. "Alone?"

"As alone as I can be, I guess," Papyrus said with a little laugh.

The short skeleton gave an easy shrug. "Sure, I'll just, uh, bum around near the lava or somethin'."

"Thanks, brother, I appreciate it."

.

Sans gave a two-fingered wave and strolled back out into the heat. He half-considered warping up to the surface to check on progress there, but he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with everything else that went along with that yet.

.

The air around him felt a little denser; clingy in its high temperature compared to normal. He strolled just a little farther from the lab, down some stairs and to the dock where the cooling river passed through the area on its way towards New Home. Humidity was higher here, but the water was a welcome trade.

.

He took off his slippers as he sat down and dunked his feet in the water. The bracing river felt nice as it flowed between his bones, and carried with it a sense of déjà vu. Sans smiled ruefully as he leaned back on his hands. Crabapple Kid, Ghost; his sister— somehow, he missed her even more than he had.

.

What a pathetic guy he turned out to be. Still couldn't cope without using a kid who deserved better as a security blanket.

.

He puffed a quiet sigh into the sticky air. He wondered how she was. If she'd been… what had Suzy said, shot outta her body? What did that mean, exactly? Someone had attacked that little kid? His soul ached, cold with frost. Could it be that that weird, otherworldly version of their father was behind it? The thought made him numb and nauseous.

.

There was nothing he could do. As usual.

.

He grimaced. Already breaking that promise to Undyne, wasn't he? He took a deep breath and racked his mind— was there more? Anything at all?

.

A faint wonder: were there any clues left in the red handprint that bound the magic pillar deep in the CORE? He reached into his pocket for his phone, aiming to reexamine the photo, only to find it missing. A small jolt of alarm subsided almost instantly as he recalled his father had had the device last. Instead, his fingers brushed on something soft stashed away and the scar on his hand warmed again.

.

Sans pulled the small blossom he'd received from Suzy out and into the open where it shimmered and hummed in his palm, not a petal out of place. He frowned thoughtfully. He closed his eyes and warped.

.

His back clunked into a hot, metal surface and the bare bones of his feet scraped stone and began to steam. A melody churning, accompanied by a swirling breeze let him know he'd reached the right spot. Cautiously, he opened one eye, but he was hit with vertigo and a rainbow of intelligible nonsense. He had to wait a little until the chamber became clear enough to traverse, though the shards of time in his eyes were brighter here than above.

.

He slipped his slippers on and strolled towards the looping pillar behind the control panel. The gleaming red handprint still shone against the stream of magic, as if asking it to wait. All around it— though it was hard to see at first— flickered with embers in red and glistened like the sheen of a bubble.

.

Sans cautiously extended his hand towards the layer of magic but, when he tried to touch it, he was repelled as if he was trying to push the matching ends of magnets together.

"Alright, fair," he said under his breath.

The flower hummed through the bones of his hand. He carefully caged it in his fingers before raising it up. It looked the same as before, but as it aligned with the bubble of time magic, the shifting of its iridescence matched it seamlessly. He made a mental note of it.

.

Stashing the flower in his jacket again, he took another few moments to absorb the melody vibrating in the magic. Supposing it had been time enough for Papyrus, he took a shortcut to land himself back outside of the lab. He waited until the vertigo stopped and he could see again before walking in.

.

Papyrus sat near the largest monitor, eyes closed, his lower pair of hands grasped tight to the seat of his chair, while the others were clasped together, fingers knitted tightly.

"Mhm," he murmured. "…I see." A pause, as if he was waiting for someone on the other end of a call. "No, we… I was told the other humans might… not see it that way. They might not even be able to help it." His brow furrowed. "…I mean, if you'd like to try, be my guest."

.

The large skeleton went stiff. He opened his mouth and his jaw hung agape for a long few seconds. He grimaced and gave a soft shake of the head.

"Sorry. I didn't think so." He settled a little more comfortably on the seat. "We'll give you back, instead." His brows raised and he snickered. "Nyeh heh! What do you mean, if we need…? You'd really…? I actually have no idea if that even works! Maybe. But I couldn't expect them to give you b— No, no no. Don't worry. Don't worry. We will see you in the reset. I promise."

.

Finally, Papyrus opened his blazing chartreuse eyes. A moment to refocus— he glanced around and his gaze came to rest on Sans. "Oh! Good, you're back." He reached over to the computer and hit the C key, then confirmed it when prompted. He shot his brother a smile and put a hand to his chest. "She has to rest again."

"Can she hear inside your head?" Sans asked.

"Nooot much, no," he said. "Maybe she's too weak? I'm not sure." He tapped his chest. "I can hear her in here but when she speaks, she almost sounds like she's falling asleep."

"So you, uh, talked it over with 'er?" Sans asked.

His brother nodded. "She actually wanted to stay. In case I needed her again, she said."

The short skeleton chuckled. "Stubborn, huh?"

Papyrus nodded. "I think this'll be better. For her friend." He laughed quietly. "She actually said to tell him to let me borrow her again if something happens. I don't know if it's possible. But I think it's better that she rests up for now. I'd feel a little guilty just holding her like this." His eyes brightened. "And who knows! Maybe…! Maybe the timeline'll go sideways again and she'll just be… alive. That'd be good."

"Yeah," Sans said. "I mean. It's… definitely not impossible."

.

Papyrus sighed. "This has really been a bizarre experience." He reached up and touched one of his antlers. "Do you know how it picks?"

"How what picks what?"

"You know, this whole thing?" He gestured to himself. "You borrowed our sister's soul one time, right? But the two of you ended up looking like a dragon, if I remember right. I definitely don't look like a dragon. But I also wouldn't call myself an abomination either like what you hear about in the old stories." He shot his brother a sideways smile. "That is, unless I just look okay to myself."

"Nah, it's fine," Sans said. "But, uh… I got no clue. Could be you come out different if the human didn't hate ya or somethin'?" He scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Or it couldda just been a cautionary tale."

"Mmmmaybe." He perked up. "Dad's coming."

"Took him long enough," Sans said with a teasing smile.

He leaned back on the desk and Papyrus got to his feet just in time for the door on the west side of the lab to fling open.

.

Gaster froze before he'd even fully set foot in the room. Papyrus smiled bashfully and waved. Gaster let out a breath that rattled his shoulders. He bolted in, quickly pulling his jacket straight.

"How do you feel?" he asked stiffly.

"Oh! Fine, honestly," Papyrus said. "Though I do keep forgetting how tall I am."

"Of course. I understand. I… Uh." He paused before his son, looking up at him with a mixture of awe and dread in his eyes. He beckoned to him. "Would you mind?"

"Oh! No, not at all." The huge skeleton bent down.

Swiftly, Gaster dragged him into his arms and squished him. Papyrus was startled still for an instant, but then quickly wrapped all four arms around his father and knelt down.

"Dad, I'm okay," he said.

The old skeleton nodded, but his bones were still shivering. He drew back to hold Papyrus's face in both hands. "And the human?"

"She's asleep, I guess," Papyrus said. "She knows what's going on."

Gaster nodded again. "Alright. Okay. That's… good. It's… It's all going to be fine."

.

"What's the worry?" Sans asked.

"Several things," Gaster said quickly. "I… I believe you will be fine, Paps. It's… June. She's cooperative, right? But a human soul extracted may panic and do damage."

"I trust her," Papyrus said.

"It may be a reflex," the old skeleton said. "Instinct. Aside from that, if… If she would really prefer to be in stasis—"

"She does," he said. "Well. I mean, technically it's her second choice, but she'd rather be around as a backup plan, if she can help it."

Gaster nodded. "…And what was the first?"

Papyrus snickered fondly. "She wanted to stay like this." He patted his chest. "But I said I think Boyd would like to have her more."

"I agree." The relief on Gaster's face was plain as day. "And you selected that you wanted to try for natural release?"

Papyrus nodded. "Like I said, I trust her," he said. "I'm hoping she can just sort of pop out! But I don't know all that much about it." He looked to Sans. "You and Crabapple Kid just used the reset, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Hmmm." Papyrus folded all four of his arms. "So I guess nobody's done this before, then."

.

Sans turned to his father. "Have you, uh, at least seen somethin' like this happen? Y'know, the soul comin' out part?"

"A few times. Mainly in some skirmishes leading up to the war," Gaster said. "Which is why I'm… concerned."

"Oh?! What's concerning about it?" Papyrus asked, eyes widening.

"Typically, it goes like this," Gaster said. "A human soul claimed is subdued by a strong will but, after some time, will often struggle. One that is strong enough may release itself. And many, if not released naturally, will burn through their host's strength, leaving them unable to survive afterwards or reducing them to a comatose state for a long while. The few monsters that were able to release naturally and regain their bodies were always left with some scarring or something malformed about them." He crossed his mismatched arms. "But, that is with an understandably uncooperative soul. June understands what's happening?"

"This whole thing was her idea," Papyrus said, gesturing to himself. "I'm not worried about it at all."

"I see…" Gaster's expression softened. "Hopefully the effects will be limited." He tilted his head to the side. "And, to be honest, your form seems unusually… manageable. From here, anyway."

"I'd say so!" The massive skeleton grinned proudly and looked at Sans. "If I end up with the extra arms, will you help me fix my shirts up while we're stuck before the reset?"

"Course," Sans said.

"Nyeh heh! Then we're good to go," Papyrus said, sticking two right thumbs up.

"Not quite," Gaster said with an apologetic smile. "I just need to finish up a soul container. It's almost complete, though." He beckoned towards the hall that lead to the elevator. "Come down, if you like. Alphys was very concerned, so I'm sure she'd be glad to see you."

"Of course!" Papyrus said.

.

Being even taller than Asgore, Papyrus had to duck to get into the elevator, and then sat on the ground so as to stoop less. "So, what's the soul container?" he asked. "King Uncle Asgore had some, right?"

"Mhm. Bang on," Gaster said. "And hopefully we won't need to go grab one of those, eh?"

"It… won't hurt her to be in there, will it?"

The old skeleton shook his head. "I designed it to essentially coax the soul into a comfortable torpor state. There's a magic fluid that nourishes it, and it rests until released." He winced faintly. "My intentions have always been to minimize harm. As much as possible in a situation like this, anyway."

"Well, good!" Papyrus said. He tapped on his chest and whispered, "Did you hear that? It's like a heavy nap. Is that…?" He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then looked at Gaster curiously. "Is it almost ready, then?"

The old skeleton nodded. "I'll need maybe ten, twenty more minutes. To shape the chamber."

"Okay. We're ready whenever you are."

.

On the main floor below, the skeletons were greeted by the orange-and-white dog, clutching another soda in his mouth. Upon seeing Papyrus duck out of the elevator, his eyes bugged out and he dropped the can with a loud clunk. It spewed soda from the fang-holes and jettisoned away in a sticky, ginger mess. Sans almost buckled laughing.

"Hello to you, too!" Papyrus said brightly, scooping the little guy up. "Is it alright if I go visit Undyne while you do the science things?"

"Of course," Gaster assured him. "Won't be long."

.

Papyrus and the citrus pooch headed off on their own and Gaster sped away down the hallway as well, leaving Sans still catching his breath. Wiping a tear of mirth from his eye, the short skeleton looked down at the soda mess and gave it a tap with his foot. It froze solid.

.

He strolled along after the others and entered the large room where Papyrus was already sitting down to watch over Undyne. He was about to join him, until Gaster whispered his name sharply, waving to him from just outside the room. Sans wandered over at leisure. As soon as he was in reach, Gaster took his arm to pull him aside. He looked very austere.

"Can I speak to you?" he said.

"Sup?" Sans said.

Gaster's eyes darted back towards the large room for a moment before he crumbled and pulled Sans into his arms. "Scrios mo chnámha— Go raibh maith agat, a réaltaí, mo ádh, do mo mhac."

"Okay, okay," Sans said quietly, his cheekbones tinting with blue as he patted him on the back. "S'alright."

"You were right. He's not—! He's…" He smiled warmly, looking back at the large room. "He's himself. He even still… looks like himself."

Sans winked. "I can only say he's fine so many times, huh?"

"It's not that I didn't—"

"I know."

Gaster took a breath to steady himself and gave a little shake of his head. "Anyway, I'm glad. Let's hope our luck keeps up." He thumped Sans on the shoulder and headed on his way. "I'll crack on."

"Mind if I watch?" Sans asked.

"Not at all."

.

Glancing in the open doorways they passed as they walked the hall, Sans didn't recognize a single room being where he remembered it. Luckily, Gaster found the one he wanted fairly quickly: a workspace with a wall made up of chunky computers and object analysis ports. Built into grooves in the metal were thick, glass tubes that flowed with clear, bubbling liquid.

.

Closer to the door, several desks had been dragged together to form one large table under a couple of eye-wateringly bright lights. Long, thick cables like twisted vines draped the edges and hooked up to a wide tray where a sheet of glass rested in the same clear, bubbly liquid that was in the tubes. A capsule's lid sat upon a dark, flat panel, little lights along its edges blinking softly. Beside it, a tiny mechanical arm with a charge of deep blue magic in its back ran over the metal according to the specifications set up on a computer screen nearby.

.

Usually, a soul canister had a base and a top that encouraged healthy magic flow, Gaster explained. They'd only been able to find one top and a broken vent, which he had a program and a small, mechanical arm repairing, and would have to make do.

.

Sans had never worked on one, but he took a look at the schematics and tinkered alongside the automation as Gaster dealt with the glass. Moulding it carefully with indigo magic, the glass bent and warped like taffy until it took on the shape of a rounded jar, a little wider at the top than at the base, and about a gallon in size. He tempered it in a relaxing cyan wash of magic, an aspect of Patience. At the same time, Sans installed a secondary vent in the lid. Once a test of magic ran clear through its ports, they were ready.

.

They found Papyrus right where they'd left him, though he'd been joined by Alphys, who had him in a death-grip of a hug and looked like she was about to cry.

"G-Guys, I—!" She pulled away from Papyrus, her dark eyes glittering. "L-Look at him! Just look at him, he's b-b-beautiful!"

"You think I'm beautiful?!" Papyrus squawked, eyes bugging out. "Th-Thank you!"

"Suuugoooiii…!" Alphys cooed. Her tail was wagging like crazy. "Aaaah, I n-never thought…! I was so scared something horrible happened!"

Sans snorted a laugh and tossed her his phone. "Send me your pics, I can save 'em."

"Eeeeee! Thank you!" She beckoned Papyrus to lean down beside her and formed a V with her fingers as she held out her phone before them. "Hai! Chiizu!"

Papyrus mimicked her with all four arms. She squealed when she looked at the picture.

"This is… s-so cool," she said.

Papyrus cackled loudly, his cheekbones flushed.

.

Gaster couldn't help but crack a relieved smile. He beckoned to them and presented the soul container. "We're ready."

"Oh! Okay!" Papyrus got to his feet and put his hand against his chest.

"Ah! Wait, one moment!" Gaster blurted swiftly. "Downstairs."

The huge skeleton blinked. "Why?"

"More support structures," he said.

.

The old skeleton lead them away and back down a level, to the large chamber where the extractor was suspended. He switched on its ambient mode and the whole room hummed softly as its false sockets gleamed with soft, white light.

"A few ground rules," Gaster said as he wheeled over his disassembled stabilizer and dragged a cable down from the extractor to hook it up. "Once the process starts, under no circumstance should anyone else touch June's soul. It may reflexively try to head upwards and vanish — if so, this is something we have to allow. Also, nobody touch Papyrus physically— magic contact is alright, but Sans, no soul-steadying either until the two are separate, alright?"

Sans stuck his thumb up.

"We want this to be as calm as possible, and with little interference," the old skeleton continued. "I'm not going to hook anything up— no analysis or anything that could cause discomfort, no matter how mild. The only exception is, Papyrus, if the magic becomes too much to contain at any point, I'm going to hit you with a weak pulse from this." He tapped the barrel of the stabilizer. "It should be enough to put any flare-ups back in line without making a proper mess of everything. Everything clear?"

"I think so!" Papyrus said. "But I have two questions!" He pointed at the extractor. "What's that doing?"

"If there's any excess spurts of DT from the human soul, it'll siphon it away from you automatically so your soul won't have time to reabsorb it." His father patted the machine on its side. "Won't hurt at all."

"Okay! And! How does June end up in the container, though?"

"I… I've handled that before," Gaster said, a little crack in his voice. "Leave that to me." He turned to Alphys. "Are you ready to heal, if necessary?"

"Y-You bet," she assured them. She smiled at Papyrus. "I-I'm sure you're going to be fine, though!"

.

"Hey," Sans said. He held out a hand. "Gimme anything you wanna keep."

Papyrus looked himself over. He pulled off the green and gold scarf, gave it a little squish, and handed it to his brother. "I think that's all."

"Cool," he said, folding it up. "And, uh… Hey, June? Can you hear this?"

Papyrus went stiff. He closed his eyes and, after a second, nodded. "She can."

"Thanks, huh? You did great. You can take a rest." He winked. "T'be honest, I'm a little jealous."

The huge skeleton smiled softly. "She laughed. She says thanks to you, too." He opened his eyes and they blazed with magic. "Okay, everyone! We. Are. Ready!"

.

Gaster braced himself with the container, one arm around it and the other hand clamped securely onto the stabilizer. Alphys clenched her fingers together and stood just slightly behind him. Sans plopped down on the floor to watch. He gave his brother a thumbs up, and Papyrus grinned and reciprocated with three hands, resting the top right one above his chest.

.

He took a deep breath, in and out. His ribcage swelled and the tips of each prong of his antlers burned with light. The chartreuse glow of the conjoined souls blazed outwards between his fingers. He carefully cupped his hand below it, cradling it, and the shape of the soul began to peek out. His magic's resonance, accompanied by a loud, rhythmic beat pulsed from him, a vibration that traveled through every inch of his body and the monsters who waited. His bones took on a soft, green lustre and began to glow. His jaw fell open and his arms dropped limply to his sides.

.

"Uh," Sans said. "Paps?"

Gaster shot him a steadying look despite holding back a grimace himself.

.

The soul began to move— pulling forward, ever so slightly, shifting hue to a deeper green with every bit of distance it gained. Papyrus's hum slowed and distorted like a bad signal through an old radio. Then, a crack like a strike of lightning. His spine arched back and every bone in him beamed with searing white. Alphys and Sans both had to shield their eyes and the lizard let out an alarmed squeak. Sans got up in an instant, feet braced hard on the floor, but he didn't move.

.

Gaster quickly grabbed up the stabilizer, propped it up on his shoulder, and fired it. A pulse of soft, white magic beamed straight into Papyrus's head. His son's posture slackened. The green of the soul gleamed brighter and brighter. Then, with an unceremonious jolt, it popped forward and hovered in the air, frozen. Gaster raced forward and scooped the container around the soul and clamped on the lid. It sealed with a blaze of cyan magic. Little lights flickered around the rim, then dimmed. The soul was still.

.

Papyrus's bones became lost in their light— white, and then gold, like a ball of flame. Then, it all receded in an instant and he clattered back onto the ground with a little nyeh and splayed out where he lay.

.

"…Yo, you okay?" Sans asked.

"Yeeeeep!" Papyrus stuck two thumbs up, for that was the amount of them that he had. "I am…! Oof! Perfectly fine!"

Sans broke into a wide grin and bent down to help him up. Alphys snorted out a relieved laugh and Gaster's shoulders sagged. He carefully unhooked his stabilizer and rushed to shut everything down.

.

Papyrus rubbed the back of his skull as he sat up with Sans's hand on his back. He had returned to his normal height, but he hadn't been left unblemished. His open jacket was scarred with rips and his pant legs were shredded. His t-shirt had a hole burned through it so dramatically that it was almost split in half. Small remnants of the antlers remained on his skull— just small, rounded, two-pronged nubs.

.

Sans grabbed him and the boy let out a tired sigh and snickered quietly as he slumped around his brother.

"Seeee? I said it was okay, didn't I?" Papyrus said. "Nyeh heehhh, I am a little dizzy, though."

"I'll bet," Sans said fondly. "C'mere, lemme see?" He grabbed his brother's face in his hands. "Hm. Same as ever."

"Toooold you."

.

"Aah, P-Papyrus, let me see your chest?" Alphys said.

A little dazed, the skeleton nodded. He pulled his jacket off and peeled off the ruined tee. His brother winced and the lizard drew in a sharp breath through her teeth. The centre of his ribcage was wrecked— a hole cracked through to make a window to his golden-amber soul. Green lines streaked out from it and across his ribs, both on the inside and out, wrapping up around his neck and upper arms as well, as if vines had burst from within him.

"D-Does it hurt?" Alphys already had her hands on him, focusing hard to push out a warm, healing glow.

"No, not at all." Papyrus reached up to touch the bones around the hole. "…Hm. Still, nope." He smiled tiredly. "Well. That was pretty exciting, right?"

.

Sans patted his brother's head and offered him the green and gold scarf back. The boy grinned and took it, wrapping it warmly around himself, a little like a poncho.

"Proud of you, bro," Sans said, also offering him a can of soda surreptitiously passed to him by the messy little dog.

"I know, thank you."

"My turn." Gaster plunked himself in between the others, and Alphys shifted aside to let him get in close and pull Papyrus in to a tight hug. He bumped his brow to his son's, then pulled back, cupping his hands around the base of the short antlers. "A stór, you're…!" He beamed. "I have never in my life seen someone come out of that so well before!"

Alphys's eyes just about bugged out her head. She gripped onto Papyrus's arm. "What…? Wh-What do people n-normally come out like?" she asked shrilly.

"Honestly, you're better off not knowing."

"O-Oh."

"June did her very best," Papyrus assured them. He reached up and brushed his fingers over the antler nubs and snorted out a little laugh. "I'm sure mom'll approve." He popped the tab on the soda and took a swig, wincing. "Where is June, actually?"

.

"Just here." Gaster pulled the soul container from just around back of him.

The green soul inside shone warmly, gently bobbing up and down where it was, suspended in crystal clear magical fluid. Alphys gawked.

"Wh-Whoa… It's… so pretty," she said.

Papyrus held his hands out, and his father gladly gave him the capsule. The young skeleton held it close and smiled fondly.

"I really hope she's proud. It was thanks to her that I could make the evacuation go so smoothly, you know."

.

"Speaking of," Sans said, "what d'ya think, start headin' up ourselves?"

"I… Um. I might stay," Alphys said quietly. "I still have some work to do before—"

"You do not," Gaster said.

"Uh. Huh?" the lizard said.

Gaster shook his head quickly. He grabbed Alphys by the hands and stood up, pulling her with him. "We're going to get you some sunlight," he said decisively. "And we'll get back to this tomorrow."

"B-But I—!"

"Not another word of this," he said. "This has been one of the most intensely stressful days since any of this started. You should go up. We all should." He looked to his sons, brows raised. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Sure, but what I really wanna know," Sans said with a sly grin, "is how'd ya sneak in here and replace my dad with a doppelgänger? Looks good, but it's shoddy work: dialogue's completely off."

Gaster scoffed loudly and Papyrus snickered.

"I take your point, and I rebut with: hypocrisy doesn't mean I'm wrong," Gaster said. "Also. I need to see Asgore."

"Oh, hey, dad's back," Sans with a wink. "Fair."

.

A little woof sounded from behind them, and the creamsicle-coloured dog hopped about near the doorway. Sans raised a brow.

"Back to Snowdin, huh? Why?"

The dog woofed. Sans tapped his chin and shot his brother a look.

"Oh, you mean deep in those frozen caves?" Papyrus asked. "Nyeh, I hoped everyone would be out, but…"

"I can move ice with magic now, somehow," Sans mused. He shrugged. "Guess I don't mind."

"I also don't mind," Papyrus said. "Was it the other dogs who—?"

The small dog yipped. Papyrus nodded.

"Alright." He turned to Alphys and his father. "We can meet you up there, then?"

"Aren't you t-tired?" Alphys asked worriedly.

"Of course! But I'll be tired in either place," Papyrus said. "Don't worry about me for one second! You should be worried about you being tired, and then get some rest and some sunlight, before it sets!"

.

Alphys bit her lip. She looked between the three skeletons and drooped. "I g-guess I just… feel kind of, um, guilty. Y-You know, stopping before I… really really have t-to, you know?"

Gaster smiled sympathetically. "I understand. I sympathize. I am identical to that," he said. "But things are… We're very close, but things have gone so far off the rails. I think, for the project, it would be best for you… Er." His grin turned bashful at a pointed look from his eldest son. "Best for us to go in fresh-eyed tomorrow."

"…I mean, y-you're probably right, but—"

.

"Hey, Alph, if you still got a work bug, you can come with us," Sans said with a knowing grin. "Snowdin air'll wake ya right up."

Papyrus looked puzzled for just a moment before perking up and sticking a finger in the air. "Ah, yes! It is incredibly brisk and frosty, and we definitely do not have any extra downy coats. And, wowie, those are your only two options in the whole world! What do you think?!"

Alphys flushed and smiled sheepishly. "Aaaactually… I think I'll go with G-Gaster, for now."

Sans winked. "Good choice."