two in one day! Look at me go! After the fluff, the balance has been restored. Both, I'm sorry and you're welcome, depending on which side of the hurt/comfort fence you sit XD
It hadn't taken Sans long to master how to see the numbers by choice with his dad's help, which he was glad of because they didn't make him feel comfortable by any means. He had thought that after he figured that out, he'd be going right home. Five years after the school incident, however, still being on a medical bed in his own area showed him that he was mistaken on that point. Sans still couldn't muster an attack other than reflexively, he's also become 'too reliant' (not his words or opinion) on moving himself out of the way of danger rather than hitting first - he couldn't really help it, he would much prefer to let the attack pass rather than hitting first. It was like he had a voice inside telling him to wait until he couldn't anymore; dad seems to think he's just being lazy with it though. Didn't help that between dodging and trying to tap into his magic, he often had a crash. He's stopped lying to himself that once he mastered the attacks, he would be free to go home.
Sans rolled over to stare at the ceiling tiles, and huffed a sigh as he let his thoughts drift to the attendant on tonight. A dinosaur man who had no arms. Sans liked him a lot, the monster knew a lot and was the one who had the most patience for his jokes and pranks. He was probably the one he would call a friend.
"hey."
"Sans? You should be sleeping."
"eh. i got tired of it." The attendant chuckled.
"That aside, you've got Papyrus coming in tomorrow, right? You'll need the energy."
Despite it all, he finds himself grinning happily. Pap's visits were the best thing to happen in this place.
"yeah, true. wonder what he's learning in school this week."
"Ahh, the usual I imagine." Hahahaha, he says that like his formal schooling didn't end before the same age pap is now. Sure, dad homeschools him but he has a feeling his lessons are far from the usual stuff. A lot of it leaves him with a worse headache than trying to use magic for too long.
"quantum physics and the theoretical possibility of a mathematical basis for the soul based off numbers only you can see just like the rest of us then." It takes the attendant a good five minutes to stop laughing, even Sans himself was chuckling by the end of it tapering off.
"Oh, geeze. I don't think I could even say the word 'quantum' at your age, let alone what it meant."
"well, it is a constant source of pain in the skull, and makes me tired down to the bone." That prompts a second, shorter round of laughter. But only from the other monster. For Sans, there's a sad twist to his soul and he finds his hands twisting up in his blankets and his eye sockets feeling damp. Damn it, he thought he was over feeling like this. "-but at least when he's taught me what he needs to know, I can help him work… and that means… i'll have no reason to ever leave… right? ha, ha, just kidding." Tears stream down his face. Try as he might, he's a child and he's tired and he's scared and lonely.
Most of all, lonely.
"Aww, come on. No need for waterworks. You enjoy learning the science stuff, right?"
"but i want to learn it at home where I can see my brother whenever I want instead of on a schedule. we're buddies, yeah? you could talk to him for me... right…? coming from you or a grown up he might consider it, maybe?"
Quiet hangs between them, the soft sound of keystrokes filling the air. "No can do, little dude. You know we gotta figure out what's going on in that weird little soul of yours and get that magic under control, right?" Despite the soft joking tone in the voice, the words crashed down around San's head. Observers, right. He'd made a mistake thinking that just because the monster had been softer with him meant that he might have actually liked him too. He follows up without the joking edge, but just as soft. Sympathy and pity layers his words - Sans hates it."Doc seems to think we're not too far off, so that's good, right?"
There are no friends down here.
"Little dude?"
No family.
"I was only joking when I called it was weird."
Just unending tests.
"Hey, Sans, talk to me here. You're worrying me a little bit."
Unending secrets.
"i'm going to the bathroom." He slides himself out of bed and makes his way to his rooms ensuite, pushing the door closed softly. He cried until his soul felt like it was going to break, but he swore to himself as he dried his face that it was going to be the last time. Mind you, he told himself that every time. He looked up towards the corner of the room where he'd sussed the camera long ago. 'They are for your safety', yeah, right.
Sadness gave way to fear. ANGER.
Sans found Anger was probably the most powerful emotion of them over the last few years, and maybe the next few.
The emergency alarm alert and the phone jolt Gaster out of sleep simultaneously.
"DADDY...?" Papyrus's voice sounds sleep-fogged voice comes drifting out of the room next to his. He hits the silence alert on the alarm, feeling a pit in his soul when he sees where it is based from.
"Is he ok?!" He asks frantically answering the phone, not heeding tiny footsteps outside his room.
"I...uhm…you need to get here as soon as possible, doc." The monster sounds terrified. He immediately starts to gather his things, summoning multiple hands to start grabbing them. "Sans-" a crash can be heard in the background, his assistant drops his phone.
What in the name of Asgore is going on? He doesn't wait for the phone to be picked up again. All his things to hand, he turns on his heels and nearly trips over the hovering Papyrus.
"IS HE HURT?"
"...I don't know." He's going to have to take Papyrus with him, but if there really is something wrong… no, his child is too young and too scared to be left alone right now. He'll deal with the consequences, god knows it will only add to the pile of them.
yes, yes, destroy this place. you've been patient, it's only getting worse. he promised you and he broke it.
mind the monster, he's just doing his job. he doesn't deserve to get hurt.
they won't ever let you out, he won't ever let you out, so you need to make your own way out.
they're able to do better. do enough to leave, let them think about what they've done.
Conflicting, but not really conflicting, thoughts rattled through his skull as he continued his war path. Tear it all down. Don't hurt anyone unless necessary. Magic flared through every inch of him. Hot blasts of light, things hitting walls and smashing, bone tearing through objects as he threw them. He's not able to keep up with what's happening.
He just wants to be out.
He keeps letting the anger drown him.
The doors open to let him in no sooner is he on the doorstep, and he's not wasting any time.
"Where is he?"
"He's almost up to the ground level. First floor foyer."
"Keep Papyrus her-"
"NO!" little bones cling onto him like some sort of slime monster trying to swallow him whole. There wasn't time to fight with him by the note in the monster's voice.
Gaster took the stairs two at a time.
He throws open the emergency doors and it is like nothing he's ever seen. He only has moments to take in the sight before he's ducking out of the way, a mid-way firing blaster had greeted his vision. Blasters? But who? And how? He saw him then, stood in the middle of the decimated room. His frozen smile as empty as the right eye socket, the left eye socket filled with a burning light of cyan and yellow as his head was lifted slightly back. The left hand flicked down from where it was held at a right angle, blue glow surrounding it also wrapping the Furniture he'd not had time to realise was suspended in the air, or see, came crashing down around them, following the direction of the gesture. Gaster shielded Papyrus, but he needn't have. It seemed to be aimed as a warning rather than an attack, carefully hitting every space in a circle around him, only hitting them with debris that spread around them on impact. Papyrus cried out in shock, and he saw Sans pause.
"Sans it's me. And Papyrus." He feels magic wrap around his soul, and gravity pulls him down to his knees. Papyrus looks between his dad and Sans, and he notices Papyrus' soul is unaffected, not giving off the tell-tale blue glow. So does the child, as he untangles himself from his father and steps towards his brother.
"SANS… STOP!" he notices the quaver in the littlest one's voice. He was scared. As his soul floods him with a fear for both of his boys, Gaster feels himself jerked down, but the only pain comes from his chin hitting the floor. "STOP HURTING DADDY, BROTHER!"
The only response is a low, slow blink. A blaster materializes and takes out the side wall in a burst of light and rubble. Papyrus ducks and gives a cry of terror, which makes the older skeleton look down at him. Another long, slow blink, but blue and cyan flicker in and out of darkness at the sound of the younger one's fear.
"pap...y...rus…?" Gaster's thrown across the room, hitting the wall behind them and remaining suspended there like a picture on a wall.
"NO, DADDY! BROTHER…" Gaster can hear the tears in his voice. "SANS, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" But he soldiers on regardless. That's his Papyrus… and it terrified him that he couldn't move an inch out of the blue magic - definitely gravity-based but rather than just dropping him it could hold and manipulate, like his hands and his own blue magic, the semi-detatched scientist part of his mind noted - to shield him from whatever was happening to his eldest son right now.
No, papyrus was Sans' world, he'd known that from the moment they had fallen into his lap.
He would have to trust he wouldn't hurt him.
But … could he? Can I trust that right now?
"I'M SCARED, SANS!" Sobs filled the quiet space between him and his sons, he sees tears drop to the floor from the youngest. Gaster feels the magic holding him flicker for a moment, before tightening on him almost painfully. He stays still, steels himself with a deep breath, and hopes that the little one can get through.
"...don't cry… pap…" Sans holds out his hands, beckoning his brother closer, eye light still blazing and left hand still glowing blue. Gaster can't help but cringe as Papyrus doesn't hesitate to run to him.
"PLEASE! STOP!" He wraps his arms around the bottom of Sans' ribcage, the most solid part of him he can reach.
"can't… need to… come home…" He heard Sans voice hitch as well.
What have I done?
"YOU CAN WHEN YOU'RE BETTER. DADDY SAID SO. HE PROMISED. REMEMBER?" The light dies from the eye socket. Papyrus is definitely going to outgrow him quickly, he can see that by the fact that despite the age difference, Papyrus' head is resting on the collarbone. "I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE THE TESTS. I KNOW YOU GET SCARED. I KNOW THEY MAKES YOU TIRED AND MAKES YOUR HEAD HURT. B-BUT DADDY WOULDN'T DO THEM IF HE DIDN'T NEED TO. THAT'S WHAT YOU TOLD ME, RIGHT?"
Gaster drops to the floor in an unceremonious heap as Sans finally responds and wraps himself around his brother, sobbing his soul out to the the little one. Gaster feels guilt gnaw at his soul as he listens to them both cry, neither using words any more. He pushes himself up from the floor and walks himself over to his boys, kneeling beside them both. He's at a loss what to say, and falling rubble punctuate the ambient silence around the boys in soft dusty clouds.
They're both exhausted enough they cry themselves to sleep on the floor, Gaster's unsure if it's a crash on Sans' part but at least he's safe and calm now. Neither of them stir beyond gripping the other tighter in their little tangled pile as summoned hands gently pick them both up without separating them. It makes his soul pang sadly, reminding him of how they'd been found. He takes goes to take the elevator before he realises the stairs are the only option at the moment; this floor's call point is sparking frantically, deep burn marks marring the metal and half-melting it, the doors completely missing and the actual elevator itself probably sitting at the bottom of the shaft in melted pieces judging by the large whole gouged feet into the stone of the cavern behind it. He takes the stairs wearily, down to what's left of the second floor medical wing. As he enters the blasted doors, his eye sockets widen.
There's nothing left except debris and cavern wall. He's glad to an extent that they built down rather than up, but… he looks over his shoulder at the small tangled lump of clothing and bone, hardly able to process that this came from the larger of the two unassuming figures who could barely muster up an attack on a good day. "What the fuck happened here, kiddo?" He wasn't taken to cursing, but there wasn't any other words coming to him right now.
"D-Doctor Gaster…?" Spines and scale poke out from behind a small pile of debris, and on seeing him the night assistant unfurled himself from his impromptu hiding spot looking around with terrified eyes. "I-is it over?"
"Yes, he exhausted himself. Judging by the destruction, he's going to be sleeping for the next few days. What happened?" He'd summoned hands as soon as he'd heard the second voice in the room. The dinosaur monster looks like he's about to go into shock at any moment, and Gaster sighs heavily. "Let us go get some tea and some rest first, and I'll find somewhere comfortable to leave these two. We'll have to take the stairs."
They walk back up to the ground floor in silence, the assistant not looking into the ruins of the first floor as they climb past them. They go to the staffing lounge, and the boys are placed on the couch, with him, a spare blanket fetched from the supply closet. The other spares are passed around the night staff that they had there, who had sought refuge on the higher floor. It's not long before quiet chatter starts up among them.
"Is he safe to be here?"
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"Should we call the healers?"
"Shouldn't we be somewhere else? You know, away from-"
"I don't think anyone got hurt-"
"How far is this going to push back-"
"-lost data-"
"- what about The core-"
The noise was quickly growing into a rabble, until Gaster cleared his throat with meaning. Everyone quieted instantly.
"Is anyone hurt?" There's silence as everyone pulls quick *CHECKs on their hp, and one person speaks up quietly.
"Uhh… grand total of about 6hp lost across everyone. Lucky escape."
"Hmm." He doesn't sound convinced, and that pulls a room full of questioning looks. He remembers how that furniture rained around him. An inch either way, and he'd be looking at a fair chunk of missing hp himself, seeing as while his son's attacks didn't do large amounts of physical harm, furniture thrown with that much force and intent just might. "did anyone lose their hp to direct attacks?" More thoughtful silence as everyone stares at the hands that had formed the question for him, and a finally there's a room full of shaken heads. With that, a lot of the room's tension seeps away like oil down a drain. "Okay, so I don't think he was trying to harm anyone, or we'd be looking at a lot more dust by the state of the floors we lost."
There's more than a few shaky nods, before someone decides to speak up.
"So, what? We lost two floors of data, money, objects, time and research because of a temper tantrum?" A haughty voice cuts through the quiet.
"He is a child." Gaster replies coldly, and the owner of the voice sinks back. The signs had been stiff and jerky, conveying the tone just as well as his voice. He sighs, frustrated. "I think we might have all forgotten that. Even myself." Especially myself, he thinks bitterly. "Either way, until he's awake we can only really guess at what was happening with him."
Can't… need to… come home…
"He was talking about coming home again after lights out, doc." The assistant looking after him for the night finally speaks up shakily as the memory drifts to him. "It started out like normal, he seemed like he was in a fairly good m-mood. He was joking with me like normal, and until the subject of his brother's visit came up, everything seemed fine. Then he got real quiet, and there was some tears. Again, pretty normal." How… does a monster who lacks arms shrug? "well, I say normal. There's been a lot less of it over the last 18 months or so. However, it's not unusual for a child of his age, even if he seems to be getting used to the environment emotionally. He said about not going home again, sounded more like he was feeling like a prisoner to me, doc. I tried to joke with him to lighten the mood for him, but I think I might have accidentally made it worse. He just straight up stopped talking to me and headed for the bathroom. I could hear him sobbing through the door…" the assistant trailed off. He looked and sounded like he felt awful. He knew that the guy had a soft spot for his son, that's why he tried to leave them together as much as possible when Gaster had to be elsewhere.
"It's not your fault." Gaster reassured him. The monster nods, and takes a breath to calm himself. He doesn't look any less sad or guilty, but he continues.
"That went on for about 20 minutes. I thought he'd fallen asleep in there. Or crashed, you know? I was about to make my way in there, when there was this sound like… it sounded a bit like a laser powering up? Next thing I know, the room's filled with light and things are all but exploding, and the things that aren't being blasted are being thrown about with blue magic. I tried talking to him but he was just silent the whole time, that's when I called you."
"Did you see his eye?" Another, more excited voice perked up. "I know eye glowing used to be- I mean, is a trait in skeleton monsters, but nothing in the books was anything like that! Also, Sans has never seemed to do a glow before by what I remember… It looked like it was coming right from his soul!" Right, last of their kind. The glow hadn't struck him as odd off the bat, probably because he remembers when skeletons were more common, but now she mentions it, eye glowing was normally both eyes, and… not like that.
"Well, they say the eyes are a window to the soul."
"Ugh, you spend too much time with that kid, are you getting them from him or him from you?"
"I kinda like his puns and jokes, too." A femal voice chimes in. "He gets the cutest little gleam to his eye lights when he's about to make one-"
"Settle down, we're getting off track again." Gaster cuts in. At least the fear seems to be passing. "he has before, once that I know of. During the school incident that happened before I brought him here. It seems like it may be an indication of just him using a large amount of magic or it might be something… else." He rubs at the bridge of bone between his eyes. "We're all tired. There's not a lot we can do tomorrow so all take the night off, and I'll alert the day staff they have no need to attend and start getting things in place to fix the place up."
Everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief and starts gathering themselves up to go home. Only the Dino lingers after everyone else. Gaster gives a weary hand gesture. "Something you need to add?"
"N-not so much. I just… are you going home tonight doc?"
"I think I have my work cut out for me over the next couple of days, and I need to be here for both my sons - separating them isn't going to help anything."
The Dino gives a cryptic chuckle. "Of course you do." He turns on his heel and leaves, leaving Gaster to ponder over that until he himself fell asleep with both boys on his lap on the couch.