We'd stopped walking. Not because Gaster had forced me to, but because I had physically frozen. My legs refused to move as I stared into his burning yellow and blue eyes. Just like Sans's, but stable.

He blinked, the colors were gone, and Gaster continued forward. "We need to keep moving."

I suddenly remembered Sans sleeping on my shoulder and I caught back up with him.

"Walk and talk," Gaster demanded.

I didn't know where to start. Just straight up tell him? Or do I tell him about the huge hole in his yard- where it came from? But his eyes matched Sans's eyes. Did he take that pill too? Is his soul naturally two toned- but then where did that purple magic come from? There was so much I didn't know about this skeleton- I suddenly didn't feel safe with him.

"Talk," he said again. "I need to know what I'm dealing with. If I need to take him to a monster doctor or to one of my doctors." Gaster sounded impatient- as he should. I just didn't know how to form the words.

"Did… you take it too?" I asked noticing Gaster look at me too fast and we both stopped walking. His eyes studied me, looking from my face to his son's sleeping form on my shoulder. "Your eyes," I added, hoping to give him a clue without spilling the beans.

My body was stiff. I didn't know how to stand like a normal monster. I shifted from leg to leg, making sure to keep my body angled so the sleeping skeleton wasn't toward him. Almost like I was protecting him, but it was all instinct. I felt like the wrong words would get me dusted here and now. No witnesses out here.

"Take what." Gaster's eyes were knowing as they stayed open instead of the normal squint he had.

I took a breath and that's when I felt the smallest flinch from Sans. He wasn't sleeping, of course he'd been awake listening. I let the breath out. "The…" I felt the words collecting in my throat. I couldn't push them out. Another deep breath in and out, and I spilled it. "The pill that you said no one would test out?"

Gaster's face somehow became even more pale. He even stumbled a moment and both of his eyes lit up again, yellow and blue. He looked at his hands, then brought his finger tips to his temples as he looked away at the ground. For several seconds he mumbled to himself, something about locking the lab, how Sans hadn't been himself lately, and how he should have seen the signs.

Something caught my eye and I looked over my shoulder to see a floating hand hovering by Sans's face. I flinched, spinning around to face it. The gaping hold in the palm was lit up purple and it seemed surprised by my reaction as well.

"That's part of my magic-" Gaster was still thumbing through things in his head. "We need to get to Alphys's lab."

I couldn't remember the trip. I didn't know what kind of magic he'd used but somehow we made it to Hotland much faster than I could ever run. My mind was fuzzy and it took the taller skeleton's hand to steady me. Clearly awake, Sans groaned as well and hugged my neck tighter. The sudden change in temperature must not feel good.

Gaster was still on the move, urging me to keep pace with him as he dragged me onward. I had no idea where we were until he turned a corner and the Underground was lit up red. The Core. I didn't have time to marvel at the lava and the several pillars that easily held up walkways all around it. The railings weren't much taller than Sans only just reached my hips. I couldn't help feeling there could be better safety precautions.

Sensing this Gaster said over his shoulder, "We've never had any accidents reported or missing persons in the workplace. We're safe if we stay smart." Yeah, sure. That you know of.

Still I followed him on, having pulled Sans's jacket off of him once I was able to gain my balance. I just stuffed it under my arm.

It wasn't much further till I saw a building that read 'LAB'. Very conspicuous. Gaster didn't stop to explain as that small floating hand shot ahead of us, touching a reader beside the door and it opened for us.

Stepping through the doors seemed to change Gaster's entire demeanor. "Alphys!" he called, rushing to a set of computers and furiously typing away on them.

From somewhere inside the lab came several crashes, a loud boom of music and then it cut off. Some slightly grumbling and a small, hunched over lizard girl stepped out of a back room. "Dr. Gaster? You're back already? I-I thought you said y-your-" She stopped upon seeing me. Her yellow face drained of color a moment and she quickly brushed up her lab coat scattering a few pieces of popcorn I hadn't noticed. "Wh-Who- um… Who is your f-friend…?"

"No time," Gaster approached and gently grabbed up Sans. To his dismay his son's grip on my neck tightened. "Sans, please."

I assisted in getting him off of me. "Your dad knows what he's doing, Sans," I tried assuring him.

His grip slipped as he was too weak to fight them both. A small spout of energy had him grasping at air as he missed my jacket. "No-!" He couldn't do much as his dad easily cradled him and brought him into a separate room.

Of course I followed and so did the other scientist lady. I could tell she was interested in what was happening as she tried to stand on her tiptoes to see past me. I stepped out of her way.

She froze, blushed a deep pink, and mumbled, "Th-th-thank you…" And she scurried into the room with Gaster.

"Alphys, I need you to get me the Justice vial." Gaster had placed Sans on a table and was trying to get him to sit still.

"J-Justice?" She had spun around and was heading to a fridge in the corner of the room.

I didn't know how to help. I stood there feeling helpless, watching. "Um… Can I do anything?"

Gaster glanced my way as if he'd forgotten I was here. "Actually, Alphys wait a minute." The skeleton waved a hand making two of them appear that held Sans to the table by his shoulders. He wasn't too happy but still couldn't do anything. "You still have information I need. You said he took a pill? Why didn't you stop him?" He approached me, standing much taller than me, arms crossed.

I nodded, then shook me head. "He'd already taken it before I started watching them." Only reason I knew that was because his eyes had always had that blue tint.

Relaxing, Gaster slouched more as he stood in front of me, pondering. "What color is his magic?"

I thought, then realized that his magic was only blue. I'd never seen that yellow apart from the glow in his eye. "Blue."

Gaster blinked. "Blue?" He glanced back at his son who wasn't struggling anymore. Sans lay on the table with wide eyes looking at them. "Light or dark?" Gaster's eyes were on me again.

I stumbled over the words, "Like- um… A light blue?" I didn't understand the difference.

Another blink, but first confusion and then complete understanding. "Alphys, Patience."

She didn't move a moment, then sputtered and fell over herself as she hurried back to the fridge.

"What's that got to do with any-"

"How much do you know about his condition?" Gaster had returned to the table and the floating hands were gone. He was hooking some wires with sticky pads to different parts of Sans who'd completely given up and accepted everything.

I rubbed the back of my head. "I told my dad about it."

After he fully finished setting up whatever, Gaster moved to a monitor on wheels and pulled it over to the bed. It flickered to life with a tiny hum and displayed some different numbers and lines. "And you didn't think of informing me?"

I flinched, so did Sans.

"I told 'em not to," Sans grumbled.

Finally Gaster acknowledged him. "Do you even know what's going on with you?"

Sans just looked away. "I wanted to help."

"Kill yourself?"

"Ya never hang out with us!" Sans sat up, the blue glow strong in his eye. "Yer always workin'- Ya didn't even notice something was-" The blue glow let off a spark making him double over. Loud beeps came from the monitor but both Gaster and I were trying to get Sans to lay back down. "I thought… maybe you'd spend more time with me… if I could help out."

The taller skeleton sighed. His expression relaxed. He looked much more like a worried father as he seemed to be trying to figure out the right words.

Alphys's presence was suddenly overwhelming as he awkwardly held up a vial full of blue liquid. She'd been standing there a moment and just hadn't been able to say anything. Gaster took it, thanked her, and then she about exploded as she scurried away from us mumbling things to herself.

"Sans," Gaster's voice was very gentle. "You do know the kind of danger you're in, right?" He took a special looking needle from a nearby drawer. The tip of it was extra fine with a thicker base. He attached the end of it to a longer tube and came back to the table.

All the smaller skeleton did was nod.

"Then enlighten me. Why didn't you come to me?"

Sans glanced my way. He wasn't asking for help, just reassurance.

I nodded toward his dad.

"I… You were so mad when da pill went missing. I didn't wanna get in trouble." Sans stared at the ceiling. He didn't fight when his dad grabbed his arm and turned it over, bringing the needle to bare bone. "An' everythin' seemed fine."

Before going further, Gaster smiled at his son getting in his field of view. "I am impressed you've gone this long. If it wasn't for whatever events transpired yesterday, I'm sure you'd have finished the soul change without help." There was a small crack as the fine needle poked into bone and Sans's arm twitched as he tried to pull away. "I need you to remain still for a moment." He quickly positioned the needle and taped it in place.

Then he glanced up at me. "You may wait outside. Alphys might like some company."